The Spiral Path (7 page)

The phone on her
stomach rang, jarring her back to the present. Putting the past where it
belonged, Rainey began the next phase of work. She would create a movie, and
with it a new direction for her life.

CHAPTER 4

K
enzie
entered his trailer and flopped onto the bed, bone tired after rising at
an obscene hour to shoot several scenes with a costar who had to be elsewhere
in the afternoon. He'd be glad when filming ended; by this time, cast and crew
were heartily sick of each other. Not to mention the fact that it had been
difficult to play a lighthearted rogue while in the midst of a divorce. But he'd
soon be working with Rainey again.

On
the verge of dozing off, he made a mental note to call his English friend and
mentor, Charles Winfield. They chatted regularly, but he'd been so busy lately
that by the time he thought of calling, it was too late to place a call to
London. Today would be a good time...

Rinnnnnng!

The
phone jerked him awake. Yawning, he lifted the handset without opening his
eyes. Hearing his manager's greeting, he said, "Go away, Seth. The star's
brain has quit for the day."

Undeterred,
Seth said, "Sorry to wake you, but I just finished reading the screenplay
of
The Centurion."

The
tone jerked Kenzie into wakefulness. "What did you think of it?" He
hadn't had the time or energy to read the script yet himself, but surely Rainey
wouldn't have taken revenge by persuading him to do a bad movie. That would
rebound disastrously on her own career, and besides, Rainey was never petty.

"It's
a terrific script," Seth said. "I had no idea Rainey could write so
well. But Jesus, you really want to do this movie?"

"What
are your objections?"

"John
Randall isn't exactly a heroic figure. If this flick gets made and more than
ten people see it, it's going to do strange things to your image."

Stonewalling
with the skill of long practice, Kenzie said, "Sorry you feel that way,
but I've given my word and signed the contracts."

"Contracts
can be broken."

"But
not my word. Good-bye, Seth."

He
hung up, feeling a chill of apprehension. He hadn't wanted to admit to his
manager that he'd been so careless as not to have read the screenplay himself.
Besides not having the energy, he trusted Rainey's professional judgment. When
they had been together, her advice on which scripts to choose and which to
refuse had been impeccable. She wouldn't be passionate about making this movie
if the material was weak.

So
why had
The Centurion
upset Seth? It was time to dig the screenplay out
of his briefcase, and actually read the damned thing.

Tires squealing,
Kenzie slammed his Ferrari to a stop in front of Rainey's canyon cottage. He
stalked to the door and hit the doorbell. After the opening chords of
Beethoven's fifth symphony rang inside, Rainey opened the door, wariness in her
eyes. "What an unexpected pleasure. Just passing by?"

He
swept past her into the living room. "I can't do your movie, Rainey."

She
spun to face him, eyes wide with shock. "But you promised! Why are you
having second thoughts?"

He
hesitated, wondering how to explain himself without saying too much. "I
just read the screenplay."

"Today?
You've had it for three days. There was plenty of time to read it before
signing the contract."

"I
was busy, and I took your word for it that the script was good."

Her
face tightened. "Now you've read it and think it's dreck?"

"It's
not dreck. Seth called and was impressed by your writing, but thought that my
making this movie would be bad for my career. So I read the script, and
realized I didn't want any part of it."

"Why
not?" she asked, expression stony.

"You
told me John Randall was tortured. You didn't mention that he was raped
repeatedly, or that he fell in love with his captor."

"I
told you he was abused and tortured, which is accurate, and he doesn't fall in
love with Mustafa," she retorted. "It's all going to be a lot subtler
and more impressionistic than that, especially the abuse scenes. Is that why
you and Seth have panicked--because Mr. Action Hero isn't ever supposed to be a victim?"

How
the hell was he supposed to answer that? He certainly wasn't going to explain
his horror of being helpless, even if it was only acting. Tamping down on his
temper, he said, "I can't do the role justice. As you said, Randall is a
complex man who has to show a tremendous range of emotion. I'm not the best
person for that. If you like, I'll help you find someone better for the role,
but I can't and won't do it."

"You
can't back out now! Everything is in place to start shooting." She glared
at him. "You signed a contract, Kenzie. If you don't go through with this,
I swear to God I'll sue you for your perfectly capped back teeth."

"Sue
and be damned!"

Her
face paled. "Did you agree to take the part with the idea of pulling out
to torment me? What did I ever do to you to justify that?"

"Damnation,
Rainey!" he snapped, angrier with her than he'd ever been. "What have
I
ever done to make you think that I could be so maliciously
cruel?"

"Do
you want me to answer that?"

Lord,
no. He couldn't bear to increase the poisonous tension in the room. Then he saw
tears in her eyes. His indomitable wife, who never cried except when a script
required it, was on the verge of breaking down. "I don't want to fight
with you, Rainey," he said wearily. "I'm not trying to make your life
difficult. I just ... can't do this movie."

She
closed her eyes for a moment. "To be an actor is to be insecure. You think
I don't know that? Every time we take on a role that's radically different from
what we've done, it's like jumping off a cliff. But the roles that really make
us grow and produce the finest acting are exactly the ones that are scariest.
Though you've never played anyone quite as tormented as John Randall, I
know
you can do it, and brilliantly."

"Pushing
limits is all very well, but every actor has a range of things he can do, and
things he can't do. I can't be John Randall. I'm not talking actor nerves,
Rainey. This role is beyond my range."

"I
don't believe that. Some of your early BBC work hit the same notes needed for
John Randall." She gazed at him earnestly. "You can do this, Kenzie,
and I'll help every way I can. Is there any rewriting that would make you feel
better about the script?"

"Are you volunteering to remove the sexual assaults and Randall's complicated
feelings about Mustafa?"

Rainey
sighed. "Those are the core elements of the story. The reason Randall is
so torn when he returns home is because he's discovering more ambivalence
inside himself than his rigid world view allows. Take that away, and there's no
movie."

"Then
find an actor who really enjoys playing tortured characters."

She
offered a hesitant smile. "If you're feeling tortured about taking the
part, you should be very convincing in it."