Chapter 3
Sonya stared at the dead woman, pushing the blond locks off her face. What a shame. She looked young, barely in her thirties. She must have worked hard to get to where she was, and yet, this is how she’d ended up.
Whatever Detective Rhonda Baker had been working on, could she have had any idea what she was up against?
Looking up and down the street, Sonya weighed her options. She couldn’t very well leave the detective lying there. If anyone were to find her, see the marks on her neck, realize she had no blood left in her system, questions would no doubt arise.
Though she felt certain none of her own vampires were behind the kill, she still wanted to avoid bringing any attention to the blood sucking world.
She quickly grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled the limp body onto her shoulder.
After another quick look into the darkness, she ran to hide the detective in the freezer stored in the garage of her bungalow.
*****
DETECTIVE BAKER’S FACE flashed in Sonya’s mind, repeatedly coming back to ask nagging questions.
What had she been looking for? What had she been investigating? And what did Zwick have to do with any of it?
Around the studio she asked a few vague questions of the other cast members.
“I’ve never lived alone,” she said to Eddie as they waited for their turn on stage. “I tend to spook easy, especially at night.”
He glanced at her, shrugged, then walked away, keeping his haughty, royal stance.
Connie, on the other hand, was eager to help and reassure her. “There’s really nothing to worry about. Enjoy your time here. This is California.”
“Nothing to get spooked by out here,” another cast member told her. “Don’t worry about it.”
Everyone she spoke to gave her the same reassurance. It was a safe place where nothing exciting ever really happened.
She headed back to the bar across the street to see what the people there might have to say. Maybe after a few drinks the people there would be a little more talkative.
“Hi,” she said as she sat on a stool hoping the bartender would remember her from the night before.
“Hey. Good to see you again. Another pretzel?”
Sonya smiled and shook her head. “I’ll just have a martini.”
“Good call.” As he turned his back to her to fix her drink, Sonya took a good look around.
Many of the same people who’d been there the night before were once again sipping the drinks and nibbling on snacks.
How many of them had noticed the buxom blonde?
Sonya smiled at the thought. The better question was how many of them hadn’t noticed Rhonda.
The detective was the type of woman who turned heads on entering a room. Hardly the type to go unnoticed.
“You seem to get a lot of regulars here,” she said when the bartender set her glass in front of her. She took a quick sip of the drink.
“Keeps the business going,” he said, extending his hand out to her. “Seems like you may be our new regular I’m Bart, by the way.”
She looked curiously at him. “Bart the bartender? Is that your real name or, well, your stage name?”
He let out a loud and sincerely amused laugh. “No. Believe it or not, that’s my real name.”
Sonya extended her hand to take his. “Sonya.” She shook his warm hand. “I’m hoping to be around long enough to become a regular.”
“Opening this place just across the street from WUS studios wasn’t a fluke. The big guy knew exactly what he was doing.”
“Any big shot celebrities coming in?”
He shrugged. “Not that much. The big shots go to more exclusive, hoity toity places. You know, clubs you and I couldn’t get into.”
“I see what you mean.”
“But we do get some familiar faces. Like the actors you’ve seen around in plenty of productions, but you don’t know their names... that type of thing.”
“Like who?” she said out of curiosity and to keep the conversation going.
“Oh, let’s see. Like Mark Woods. He’s been in several movies, you know, playing the friend or colleague or neighbor. Then we had Maevis Cording... always playing someone’s secretary.”
“I see.”
“Were you hoping to cross some celebrity’s path here?”
Sonya laughed. “I don’t know. I’ll admit that being out here in Hollywood has been an eye opener. No doubt I would be girlishly starstruck... even meeting a lesser-known celebrity. And even though I’ve been cast in The Muse, this is all a dream that is incredibly hard to absorb.”
“The Muse. Yeah, I heard about that. So, you got a part?”
“They liked my voice,” she said, downplaying her own talent.
“I bet they liked more than that. You have one of those faces.”
“What do you mean?”
He glanced up at the ceiling. “Oh, how do they say that? Oh, right... a face the camera loves. You’ve got that face. Regal, yet approachable. A quiet sort of confidence that draws people in.”
“That’s very nice of you to say.”
“I’d put a hundred dollars down that within the year; you’ll be too big of a star to come to this little neighborhood bar.”
She laughed loudly, amused by the young man. “Well, if I’m not mistaken, Marilyn Monroe was in here last night. Now that’s as big a name as you can get.”
“Ah, yes. Marilyn Monroe. You’re right. She has been in here before. A few years ago when they were shooting Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Her star really took off big time, and she hasn’t been back since.”
“But I could have sworn I saw her here last time. I mean that blonde hair is unmistakable, not to mention those curves.”
“Ah, yes. I know the one you’re talking about. A very attractive woman, indeed. She definitely has that Monroe aura.” He let out a long, slow whistle then sighed. “Yep. A real looker.”
“Do you think she’s trying to follow in Marilyn’s footsteps?”
He chuckled. “Just about every girl in Hollywood is trying to follow in Marilyn’s footsteps.”
“Right.”
“But, you are right. I do think she’s trying to break into the business. I mean she’s been in here a few nights now, always with a hotshot producer or something.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I’m guessing a new production is on the way and the producers are keeping it quiet for the moment, but.
.. yeah. I mean, I won’t go so far as to say she was auditioning for these guys, but she certainly was working to get their attention.
.. their full attention, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a bunch of suits have been eagerly looking at her. ”
“Suits?”
He grinned. “Money. The guys who finance these things. Movie making is a risky business. You never know what’s going to hit and what’s going to miss.
Believe me. I’ve seen plenty of producers, directors and some actors come in here and cry into their beer when they realize that their ‘sure thing’ turned out to be a monumental flop. ”
“Do you know what her name is?”
“The blonde?” He looked curiously at her. “No. Why?”
Sonya realized she’d dug in a little too deep. Now what? “Oh. Well, since I’m in The Muse and I know a few people... I don’t know... I thought I could put a word in for her.”
His broad grin quickly returned. “That’s really generous of you. But, like I said, I don’t know her name. Truth be told, I’ve never even had the chance to speak to her. It’s always some guy ordering her drinks and paying for them.”
Sonya smiled. “A starlet. A movie star in the making. There’s something so exciting about that.” She spun around to look for her. “I’d love to meet her. Think you could introduce us?”
“I’d love to, but she hasn’t been in today. I guess she finally got her big break and she’s working on a movie.”
“Oh, right. Well, good for her. I’m happy to see her dream is coming true.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. That’s only my assumption. On the other hand, it could be something far less glamorous that is keeping her from coming... like a doctor’s appointment.”
He suddenly grew serious, as if a weight had come to land on his shoulders.
“Are you worried about her?” Sonya said.
He shrugged. “You seem rather... well, pure... innocent. I hate to peel back the glitter of Hollywood, but...”
“I’m a big girl, Bart. I can take it.”
“I hope that your audition was on the up and up and that you were cast without... well, compromising conditions.”
Sonya frowned, not sure she followed him.
“Some producers...” He stopped himself and looked around. “These guys have money and they have power. They have the power to make or break a career.”
“That’s understandable. Like you said, movie making is a risky business.”
“But that still doesn’t give these guys the right to ask girls to... you know... in exchange for a role.”
Almost gagging, Sonya took a sip of her drink and stared at the bar a second.
Oh. So that’s what he meant. Okay. Maybe she had been a little more innocent than she’d thought herself to be.
Never would she have thought a man in such a position could be so disgusting.
Then again, she’d seen centuries of men behaving badly. Why should Hollywood be any different?”
“From what I heard that blonde bombshell was a favorite of your show’s producer.”
She looked up at Bart. “Karl? Karl Zwick?”
“That’s the one.”
She thought of her audition, how sweet and kind everyone had been.
“Are you okay?” Bart said.
Sonya shook off the creepy crawly skin that had suddenly enveloped her. “Sure.” She pressed a tight smile. “I guess I should be thankful that I’m not a buxom blonde.”
Bart pressed his lips tightly and looked at her, his gaze kind, much as a big brother would look at the little sister he wished to protect. “If anything, I’d say you clearly have class. No man in his right mind would ask you to be so... well, so crudely submissive.”
“I’m glad I didn’t know about this at all. I think I would have been too afraid to come audition had I known.”
“I have no doubt the production would have suffered greatly had they not found you. I’ve heard they’ve been auditioning singers for weeks.
Either they had the chops but not the look, or the looks but no singing ability whatsoever.
I’m guessing you have quite the pair of lungs on you.
Girls have come in here crying at how hard the songs are for this production. ”
“They are, indeed, challenging.” She took the final gulp of her drink and set a few bills on the bar then patted his hand. “Thanks for keeping me company. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.”
“Same here,” he said with a nod. “See you tomorrow?”
“Sure thing.”