A Stranger in the Mirror (10 page)

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Toby blinked, sure that he had missed something. The man was watching him, his eyes twinkling. "I -- I'm sorry," Toby said, in confusion. "What did you i" Al Caruso smiled warmly. "Millie loves you. She told

Millie? Could that be Caruso's wife? His daughter? Toby ted to speak, but Al Caruso interrupted. "She's a great kid. I been keepin' her for three, four �." He turned to the other two men. "Four years?" They nodded. Al Caruso turned back to Toby. "I love that girl, Toby. really crazy about her." Toby could feel the blood beginning to drain from his t "Mr. Caruso--" Al Caruso said, "Millie and me got a deal. I don't cheat icr except with my wife, and she don't cheat on me unless tdls me." He beamed at Toby, and this time Toby saw ething beyond the cherubic smile that turned his blood e. "Mr. Caruso--" "You know something', Toby? You're the first guy she ^cheated on me with." He turned to the two men at the fc "Is that the honest truth?" They nodded. When Toby spoke, his voice was trembling. "I -- I swear tod I didn't know Millie was your girlfriend. If I had even wied it, I wouldn't have touched her. I wouldn't have e within a mile of her, Mr. Caruso --" The Santa Claus beamed at him. "Al. Call me Al." t"Al." It came out as a croak. Toby could feel the per- ation running down under his arms. "Look, Al," he said. I-- I'll never see her again. Ever. Believe me, I --" Caruso was staring at him. "Hey! I don't think you were fang to me." Toby swallowed. "Yes. Yes, I was. I heard every word said. And you don't ever have to worry about --" "I said the kid loves you. If she wants you, then I want to have you. I want her to be happy. Understand?" down Toby's back. But it was all right. Caruso was beaming and saying, "You were great tonight, Toby, really great." Toby began to relax. "It was a good audience." Caruso's brown eyes twinkled and he said, "You made them a good audience, Toby. I told you -- you got talent." "Thanks, Al." He wished they would all leave, so he could be on his way. "You work hard," Al Caruso said. He turned to his two lieutenants. "Did I say I never seen nobody work so hard?" The two men nodded. Caruso turned back to Toby. "Hey--Millie was kinda upset you didn't call her. I told her it was because you was workin' so hard." "That's right," Toby said quickly. "I'm glad you understand. Al." Al smiled benignly. "Sure. But you know what I don't understand? You didn't call to find out what time the wedding is." "I was going to call in the morning." Al Caruso laughed and said chidingly, "From L.A.?" Toby felt a small pang of anxiety. "What are you talking about, Al?" Caruso regarded him reproachfully. "You got your suitcases all packed in there." He pinched Toby's cheek playfully. "I told you I'd kill anyone who hurt Millie." "Wait a minute! Honest to God, I wasn't--" "You're a good kid, but you're stupid, Toby. I guess that's part of being' a genius, huh?" Toby stared at the chubby, beaming countenance, not knowing what to say. "You gotta believe me," Al Caruso said warmly, "I'm your friend. I wanna make sure nofhin' bad happens to you. For Millie's sake. But if you won't listen to me, what can I do? You know how you get a mule to pay attention?" Toby shook his head dumbly. "First, you hit it over the head with a two-by-four." Toby felt fear rising in his throat. "Which is your good arm?" Caruso asked.

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'My -- my right one," Toby mumbled. Caruso nodded genially and fumed to the two men. "Break e said. From out of nowhere, a tire iron appeared in the hands ie of the men. The two of them began closing in on . The river of fear became a sudden flood that made hole body shake. 'For Christ's sake," Toby heard himself say, inanely. can't do this." One of the men hit him hard in the stomach. In the next d, Toby felt excruciating pain as the tire iron slammed st his right arm, shattering bones. He fell to the flooring in an unbearable agony. He tried to scream, but he 1 not catch his breath. Through tear-filled eyes, he looked ad saw Al Caruso standing over him, smiling. "Have I got your attention?" Caruso asked softly. Toby nodded, in torment. "Good," Caruso said. He turned to one of the men. ;n up his pants." The man leaned down and unzipped Toby's fly. He took are iron and flicked out Toby's penis. Caruso stood Acre a moment, looking down at it. "You're ky man, Toby. You're really hung." Toby was filled with a dread such as he had never known. , God ... please ... don't... don't do it to me," he sed. "I wouldn't hurt you," Caruso told him "As long as re good to Millie, you're my friend. If she ever tells me did anything to hurt her--anything--you understand " He nudged Toby's broken arm with &e toe of his shoe Toby screamed aloud. "I'm glad we understand each r," Caruso beamed. "The wedding is at one o'clock." Caruso's voice was fading in and out as Toby felt himself ring into unconsciousness. But he knew he had to hang on. can't," he whimpered. "My arm..." "Don't worry about that," AI Caruso said. "There's a doc us way up to take care of you. He's gonna set your arm give you some stuff so you won't feel no pain. The boys be here tomorrow to pick you up. You be ready, huh?" Toby lay there in a nightmare of agony, staring up at Santa Claus's smiling face, unable to believe that any of this was really happening. He saw Caruso's foot moving toward his arm again. "S -- sure," Toby moaned. "I'll be ready..." And he lost consciousness.

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II

The wedding, a gala event, was held in the ballroom of Morocco Hotel. It seemed that half of Las Vegas was ?. There were entertainers and owners from all the other ds and showgirls and, in the center of it all, Al Caruso i a couple dozen of his friends, quiet, conservatively dressed �, most of whom did not drink. There were lavish arrange- its of Sowers everywhere, strolling musicians, a gargantuan Eet and two fountains that flowed champagne. Al Caruso taken care of everything. Everyone sympathized with the groom, whose arm was i cast as a result of an accidental fall down some stairs. But f all commented on what a marvelous-looking couple the Ie and groom made and what a wonderful wedding it was. Toby had been in such a daze from the opiates that the tor had given him that he had walked through the ceremony ost oblivious to what was going on. Then, as the drugs an to wear off and the pain began to take hold again, the er and hate flooded back into him. He wanted to scream to everyone in the room the unspeakable humiliation that been forced upon him. Toby turned to look at his bride across the room. He embered Millie now. She was a pretty girl in her twenties, x honey-blonde hair and a good figure. Toby recalled that had laughed louder than the others at his stories and had wed him around. Something else came back to him too. I was one of the few who had refused to go to bed with him, which had only served to whet Toby's appetite. It was all coming back to him now.

"I'm crazy about you," he had said. "Don't you like me?" "Of course I do," she had replied. "But I have a boyfriend."

Why hadn't he listened to her! Instead, he had coaxed her up to his room for a drink and then had started telling her funny stories. Millie was laughing so hard that she hardly noticed what Toby was doing until he had her undressed and in bed. "Please, Toby,'' she had begged. "Don't. My boyfriend will be angry." "Forget about him. I'll take care of the jerk later," Toby had said. "I'm going to take care of you, now." They had had a wild night of lovemaking. In the morning, when Toby had awakened, Millie was lying beside him, crying. In a benevolent mood, Toby had taken her in his arms and said, "Hey, baby, what's the matter? Didn't you enjoy it?" "You know I did. But--" "Come on, stop that," Toby had said. "I love you." She had propped herself up on her elbows, looked into his eyes and said, "Do you really, Toby? I mean reallyV "Damned right I do." All she needed was what he would give her right now. It proved to be a real cheerer-upper. She had watched him return from the shower, toweling his still wet hair and humming snatches of his theme song. Happy, she had smiled and said, "I think I loved you from the first moment I saw you, Toby." "Hey, that's wonderful. Let's order breakfast." And that had been the end of that.... Until now. Because of a stupid broad he had fucked only one night, his whole life was turned topsyturvy. Now, Toby stood there, watching Millie coming toward him in her long, white wedding gown, smiling at him, and he cursed himself and he cursed his cock and he cursed the day he was born.

In the limousine, the man in die front seat chuckled and 98

aid admiringly, "I sure gotta hand it to you, boss. The poor astard never knew what hit him." Caruso smiled benignly. It had worked out well. Ever Ince his wife, who had the temper of a virago, had found out bout his affair with Millie, Caruso had known that he would ave to find a way to get rid of the blonde showgirl. "Remind me to see that he treats Millie good," Caruso lid softly.

Toby and Millie moved into a small home in Benedict ;anyon. In the beginning, Toby spent hours scheming about ays to get out of his marriage. He would make Millie so liserable that she would ask for a divorce. Or he would frame er with another guy and then demand a divorce. Or he would mply leave her and defy Caruso to do something about it. ut he changed his mind after a talk with Dick Landry, the [rector. They were having lunch at the Bel Air Hotel a few weeks 'ler the wedding, and Landry asked, "How well do you really now AI Caruso?" Toby looked at him. "Why ? " "Don't get mixed up with him, Toby. He's a killer. I'll II you something I know for a fact. Caruso's kid brother tarried a nineteen-year-old girl fresh out of a convent. A sas later, the kid caught his wife in bed with some guy. He ild Al about it." Toby was listening, his eyes fastened on Landry. "What ippened?" "Caruso's goons took a meat cleaver and cut off the guy's ack. They soaked it in gasoline and set it on fire while the ?y watched. Then they left him to bleed to death." Toby remembered Caruso saying. Open up his pants, and we hard hands fumbling ^ his ripper, and Toby broke out in cold sweat. He felt suddenly sick to his stomach. He knew w with an awful certainty that there was no escape.

Josephine found an escape when she was ten. It was a wr to another world where she could hide from her mother's mishment and the constant threat of HeU-fire and Damnation.

/( was a world filled with magic and beauty. She would sit in the darkened movie house hour after hour and watch the glamorous people on the screen. They all lived in beautiful houses and wore lovely clothes, and they were all so happy. And Josephine thought, I will go to Hollywood, one day and live like that. She hoped that her mother would understand. Her mother believed that movies were the thoughts of the Devil, so Josephine had to sneak away to the theater, using money she earned by baby-sitting. The picture that was playing today was a love story, and Josephine leaned forward in joyous anticipation as it began. The credits came on first. They read, "Produced by Sam Winters".

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There were days when Sam Winters felt as though he sre running a lunatic asylum instead of a motion-picture idio, and that all the inmates were out to get him. This is one of those days, for the crises were piled a foot high. here had been another fire at the studio the night before-- e fourth; the sponsor of "My Man Friday" had been insulted the star of the series and wanted to cancel the show; Bert rcstone, the studio's boy-genius director, had shut down eduction in the middle of a five-million-dollar picture; and ssie Brand had walked out on a picture that was scheduled start shooting in a few days. k/ The fire marshal and the studio comptroller were in Sam's ice "How bad was last night's fire?" Sam asked. The comptroller said, "The sets are a total loss, Mr. jmters. We're going to have to rebuild Stage Fifteen cometely. Sixteen is fixable, but it will take us three months." "We haven't got three months," Sam snapped. "Get on e phone and rent some space at Goldwyn. Use this weekend start building new sets. Get everybody moving." He turned to the fire marshal, a man named Reilly, who minded Sam of George Bancroft, the actor. "Somebody sure as hell don't like you, Mr. Winters," ally said. "Each fire has been a dear case of arson. Have |l checked on grunts?" Grunts were disgruntled employees who had been recently cd or felt they had a grievance against their empbyer. "We've gone through all the personnel files twice," Sam replied. "We haven't come up with a thing." "Whoever is setting these babies knows exactly what he's doing. He's using a tuning device attached to a homemade incendiary. He could be an electrician or a mechanic." "Thanks," Sam said. "I'll pass that on."

"Roger Tapp is calling from Tahiti." "Put him on," Sam said. Tapp was the producer of "My Man Friday", the television series being shot in Tahiti, starring Tony Fletcher. "What's the problem?" Sam asked. "You won't fucking believe this, Sam. Philip Heller, the chairman of the board of the company that's sponsoring the show, is visiting here with his family. They walked on the set yesterday afternoon, and Tony Fletcher was in the middle of a scene. He turned to them and insulted them." "What did he say?" "He told them to get off his island." "Jesus Christ!" "That's who he thinks he is. Heller's so mad he wants to cancel the series." "Get over to Heller and apologize. Do it right now. Tell him Tony Fletcher's having a nervous breakdown. Send Mrs. Heller flowers, take them to dinner. I'll talk to Tony Fletcher myself."

The conversation lasted thirty minutes. It began with Sam saying, "Hear this, you stupid cock sucker ..." and ended with, "I love you, too, baby. I'll fly over there to see you as soon as I can get away. And for God's sake, Tony, don't lay Mrs. Heller!"

The next problem was Bert Firestone, the boy-genius director who was breaking Pan-Pacific Studios. Firestone's picture, There's Always Tomorrow, had been shooting for a hundred and ten days, and was more than a million dollars over budget. Now Bert Firestone had shut the production down, which meant that, besides the stars, there were a

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hundred and fifty extras sitting around on their asses doing nothing. Bert Firestone. A thirty-year-old whiz kid who came from directing prize-winning television shows at a Chicago station to directing movies in Hollywood. Firestone's first three 'motion pictures had been mild successes, but his fourth one .had been a box-office smash. On the basis of that money|maker, he had become a hot property. Sam remembered his first meeting with him. Firestone looked a not-yetready-to- shave fifteen. He was a pale, shy man with black horned-rimmed glasses that concealed tiny, myopic pink eyes. Sam had felt } sorry for the kid. Firestone had not known anyone in Holly- ;wood, so Sam had gone out of his way to have him to dinner i and to see that he was invited to parties. When they had first Jdiscussed There's Always Tomorrow, Firestone was very Srespectful. He told Sam that he was eager to learn. He hung 'on every word that Sam said. He could not have agreed more Jwith Sam. If he were signed for this picture, he told Sam, he jwould certainly lean heavily on Mr. Winters's expertise. t That was before Firestone signed the contract. After he laigned it, he made Adolf Hitler look like Albert Schweitzer. |The little apple-cheeked kid turned into a killer overnight. ||Ke cut off all communication. He completely ignored Sam's toasting suggestions, insisted on totally rewriting a fine script |tfaat Sam had approved, and he changed most of the shooting |tocales that had already been agreed upon. Sam had wanted |o throw him off the picture, but the New York office had told I Bo-- .� ^ patient. Rudolph Hergershorn, the president of ipany, was hypnotized by the enormous grosses on le's last movie. So Sam had been forced to sit tight nothing. It seemed to him that Firestone's arrogance ly by day. He would sit quietly through a production , and when all the experienced department heads had speaking, Firestone would begin chopping down everyn gritted his teeth and bore it. In no time at all. Firequired the nickname of the Emperor, and when his rs were not calling him that, they referred to him as ck from Chicago. Somebody said about him, "He's a irodite. He t�uld probably fuck himself and give birth -headed monster." l^cm, in the middle of shooting, Fircstone had closed down the company. Sam went over to see Devlin Kelly, the head of the art department. "Give it to me fast," Sam said. "Right. Kid Prick ordered --" "Cut that out. It's Mr. Firestone." "Sorry. Mr. Firestone asked me to build a castle set for him. He drew the sketches himself. You okayed them." "They were good. What happened ? " "What happened was that we built him exactly what the little -- what he wanted, and when he took a look at it yesterday, he decided he didn't want it anymore. A half-million bucks down the --" "I'll talk to him," Sam said.