Lovers and Gamblers (33 page)

In the meantime he read scripts, and novels. He was looking for Dallas’s first film. It would have to be a big one.
Man Made Woman
was just a beginning.

* * *

Saturday, Dallas was on location all day. Everyone was working overtime to get the first show out on schedule.

They were shooting at the beach, and it was a glorious day. Hot, sunny, no smog.

Kiki had designed her the most incredible swimsuit. White strips of leather winding round her body.

‘I’m going to get the most peculiar suntan!’ she joked to Cody when he appeared in the afternoon.

‘You look great,’ he enthused, ‘it’s a shame you’re so ugly!’

She stuck out her tongue and wiggled it at him.

‘Talented as well as ugly!’

‘Why don’t you shut up, Mr. Hills. I was thinking of inviting you to dinner and watching you barbecue some delicious steaks I am planning to buy – or maybe
you
could buy them. What do you think? An evening at my house?’

‘The thing I love about your invitations is that they always involve
me
paying out money.’

‘Oh, I’ll
pay
for the steaks. I just don’t know when I’ll have time to get them.’

He kissed her lightly on the cheek. ‘I can’t, beautiful client. My mother has got a sister in town from Cleveland who can’t get through the evening without her very successful Hollywood agent nephew coming by to tell her inside stories of John Wayne and Doris Day.’

‘John Wayne and Doris Day!
’

‘I told you she’s from Cleveland, they’ve never heard of any other movie stars there. Unless you count Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.’

‘Rin Tin who?’

‘Don’t make me feel old, I’m only twenty-eight.’

‘And sexy with it.’

The assistant called Dallas over for the next shot.

Cody watched her. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. None of the men could.

Two takes and she was back beside him.

‘So no dinner tonight then? Stood up for an old lady from Cleveland.’

He sighed. ‘I told you earlier this week that I would be tied up tonight. I’d ask you to come but they’d marry us off before the end of the dinner! Tell you what – I’ll drop by after.’

‘Nope. I wouldn’t mind an early night. I am kind of exhausted.’

‘We could barbecue tomorrow. Maybe ask Kiki and Chuck.’

‘Terrific.’ She smiled brightly. But she didn’t feel bright. She felt disappointed and lonely. However, she didn’t want Cody to know she felt that way. If he knew, he would cancel out on his mother and cause family problems. She knew what a difficult relationship he had there. Talk about love/hate. So she smiled and said she didn’t mind and joked and laughed with him.

Maybe an early night
would
do her good. She had been working like a dog. Up at all hours, falling into bed at night completely flaked out.

But it wasn’t going to work out. She was too keyed up and restless. She needed someone… something.

She knew that tonight was the night she would try out Diamond’s boyfriend.

The crowds were larger than ever. It had been the same way in Nashville and Memphis. And now at the Coliseum in Houston, Texas, they were out in force.

If Al King had been a superstar before, he had now become almost a cult figure.

‘Al is King! Al is King! Al is King!’ chanted the mobs who did not have tickets and were stuck outside.

The bomb in Chicago had triggered off the most amazing reaction. Both Paul and Bernie had been worried that it would affect attendances, and that there would be a lot of returned tickets. But quite the reverse had happened. A ticket for an Al King concert was like gold dust. On the side the rip-off merchants were selling them at astronomical prices.

Gratifying as he found it, it also made Al nervous. So many people expecting so much. He sensed an attitude of expectation from the hordes that he couldn’t quite fulfil. He knew what it was. They wanted blood. They wanted excitement. They wanted another bomb.

Every crank in America wrote threatening letters. Three lunatics confessed to having planted the bomb. Security was rigid everywhere he appeared. Concert halls, theatres, stadiums were searched before anyone was allowed in. Then began the painstaking task of frisking the audiences as they filed slowly towards their seats. To attend an Al King concert you had to arrive at least two hours early.

The Promises’ manager wanted them to quit the tour. Paul was furious, and wouldn’t allow it. They had an ironclad contract, and no way could they slip out of it.

Paul knew
why
they wanted to quit. All the stuff the manager was handing him about the girls being frightened was so much crap. The truth was they had an amazing new record contract and had been offered their own television series.

Rosa’s mafioso boyfriend arrived from New York and caused nothing but trouble. He hated Al, in spite of the fact that Rosa insisted nothing had ever gone on. He lurked around wearing three-piece black suits with an obvious shoulder holster and patent leather shoes. He watched Rosa like a hawk, and even she started to get a little jumpy.

Nellie was getting sick. She had lost a lot of weight and looked like a skeleton. She kept bursting into tears for no reason. Everyone knew about her enormous crush on Al. Everyone, that is, except Evan.

Evan was enjoying himself. He had managed to save another forty dollars, making a grand total of two hundred. He was delighted, and counted it lovingly every night.

He was left to his own devices. No one bothered him. As long as he showed his face occasionally things were cool. His hair grew very long. His skin even more spotty as he consumed nothing but candy. He had found magazines on sale that surpassed anything he had ever seen before. People actually
doing it
. Girls showing everything. Animals. He was sickened and excited. God, if Nelson ever saw
this
collection
he
would have to pay. Evan snickered at the thought, and packed his magazines neatly at the bottom of his suitcase.

Linda had returned to the tour to find Paul preoccupied with business. Twice during the week he had had to fly back to New York for meetings, and not once had he offered to take her with him.

She took her pictures, and brooded, and decided maybe when they reached Los Angeles she would stay there. Christ! A year was long enough to screw up your life for any man. Yes – in Los Angeles she would give Paul an ultimatum. If he went running back to his wife and kids – which she knew he would – then at least she could get over him in the sun surrounded by lots of horny would-be actors. Good therapy.

Al was invited to a lot of parties in Houston. The city seemed to be full of oil millionaires with randy wives all waiting to throw their palatial mansions open for Al’s inspection – not to mention their legs.

He did the party bit. He even screwed a couple of the wives and one daughter. Nothing memorable.

When they flew out of Houston he was glad. He could never understand why all those rich people fell over backwards to entertain him. And the husbands didn’t even seem to mind him having it off with their wives. On the contrary – they seemed positively
proud.

The next stop was Oklahoma.

Al lolled on the big double bed in his private bedroom on his private plane. He wasn’t tired, but he didn’t feel like socializing with the others. He was bored with the endless games of backgammon and gin rummy. He was bored with listening to his musicians discuss their last lay. He was bored with Rosa’s flinty-eyed boyfriend staring at him, and Nellie giving him tearful looks, and Sutch always playing Stevie Wonder tapes on the cassette player that never left her side.

He was bored with Luke.

And he was extra-bored with Evan, who looked like shit and complained every time you talked to him.

Bernie bored him with his endless talk of this publicity break and that. Didn’t Bernie realize that his job was a piece of cake? Didn’t he realize that Al King would fill the newspapers with or without the help of Bernie Suntan?

And Jesus, what was with bringing those freaks aboard for the ride – those two clap-ridden groupies. Whose plan was this, for Christ’s sake?

Angrily Al buzzed for Paul.

‘What’s up?’ asked Paul, coming in cheerfully. ‘Thought you wanted to sleep.’

Al scowled. ‘I’m sick and tired of my plane being used as a travelling knocking shop.’

‘Huh?’

‘I want Rosa’s boyfriend off. He wants to follow her across the country, let him do it on his own money.’

‘Hey – Al…’

‘Hey Al nothing. The creep gets up my ass. And tell Bernie I don’t ever want to see him bring those two freaks aboard again.’

‘They ran out of money. Bernie thought…’

‘Tell Bernie to shove his thoughts right where it will do them most good.’

‘OK, Al.’ A sudden air pocket nearly jolted Paul off his feet.

‘What the fuck is the pilot doing?’ demanded Al.

Paul did not dare tell him that the pilot was showing Evan how to fly the plane. Al was not the only one who was bored, the tour was getting to all of them. Personally, in spite of the gigantic success it was, Paul could not wait for it to finish. He had so much to do. The offers Al was receiving were incredible. Above all expectations. There was a new record contract to negotiate. Two films. A tour of Australia that promised enough money for instant retirement. He would have to sit down with Al and find out what he wanted to do. Just a formality really, because Paul made all the career decisions. He had already decided that Al should do one of the films. There had been many offers in the past – indeed, early on in his career Al had appeared in a bad British comedy as a horny milkman – but nothing that had been just right. Now both these films he was being offered seemed tailor-made. Of course the main thing was that neither part would tax Al’s acting abilities. And quite frankly, who knew if he had any to tax?

Lost in thought, Paul didn’t notice Glory squeeze quietly into the room behind him. It wasn’t until Al roared, ‘What the fuck is she doing in here?’ that Paul saw her edging along the side towards the bed. He grabbed her quickly by the arm. God, but her arm was so thin he thought it might snap off!

‘I had to put my eyes on your room, man,’ she mumbled, ‘like where does the master sleep, y’dig, man? Like give my eyes your body and I’ll die happy.’ She rolled wild eyes in her pointed face, licked dry lips. ‘You are…’

Before she could finish, a red-faced Plum came bursting in, followed by an even redder-faced Bernie.

For one horrible moment Al thought the two freaks had come to rape him. The fat one and the thin one throwing themselves on his body, ravishing him. He shuddered.

Everyone was speaking at once. Plum was screaming complaints at Glory. Glory was mumbling inanely. Bernie was blustering ‘What the fucks’ all over the place, and Paul was coldly shoving them all out.

When they were gone, with the door shut firmly behind them, Al said, ‘I think that proves my point, Paul. No more strangers on this plane. Do you realize if that little freak had had a gun she could have blown my head off? So much for all my fucking protection
then
.’

‘You’re right,’ agreed Paul, more shaken than Al could see. The skinny girl had been totally out of it, stoned shitless. ‘I’ll talk to Bernie.’

‘Don’t
talk
to him. Blast his fuckin’ bollocks off!’

‘Right.’ Paul left the room hurriedly.

Linda tried to stop him as he rushed past. ‘What’s happening?’

He could see Bernie and the fat girl arguing and gesticulating near the front of the plane. ‘In a minute,’ he told Linda, and strode down to Bernie. ‘I want them off,’ he said sharply, ‘as soon as we land.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Bernie, embarrassed.

Plum turned to Paul, fat red cheeks blazing. She indicated Bernie. ‘
He
said we could see where Al slept. He
said
so. He promised. We both gave him blow jobs an’ he
promised
.’ She glared balefully at Bernie, who was gazing out of the window. ‘He’s a fat slob,’ she continued, ‘I wouldn’t have sucked his fat cock if it hadn’t of meant gettin’ near Al. Nor would she.’ She indicated Glory, spread out on a seat, staring disinterestedly into space.

Paul’s anger dissolved. He wanted to laugh. Naughty old Bernie getting it off with these two outlandish little girls.

Bernie was scarlet-faced at having been caught.

‘Well,’ said Paul, ‘what can I say? I guess you thought you had a deal.’

‘Yes,’ replied Plum, still annoyed.

‘Al doesn’t like to be disturbed. Bernie shouldn’t have made promises he couldn’t keep. And you shouldn’t do things you don’t want unless you have a contract. At least you’ve had a free ride.’ He smiled, after all they were Al’s fans and he didn’t want them leaving the plane pissed off and ready to sell their stories to the nearest newspaper. ‘Have you got tickets for the show in Oklahoma?’

‘Can we have six? asked Plum quickly.

‘Six?’

‘We’ve got friends there.’

Paul kept smiling. ‘Fine. Six tickets. You want a couple of T-shirts and some pictures?’

Plum nodded. ‘You’re nice – you know that. Nice.’ She leaned down and prodded Glory who had fallen asleep with her mouth open. ‘Say thank you to this one, he’s nice.’

Glory opened red-rimmed eyes. ‘You want me to suck his…’

‘No!’ said Paul quickly.

Plum grinned, revealing a missing front tooth, ‘We wouldn’t mind. We both wouldn’t mind. I mean you’re nice. Besides, you’re his brother, and that’s family.’

Paul backed away. ‘I’ll get you the tickets, hang about.’

‘We wouldn’t move,’ leered Plum.

* * *

Evan didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t much care either. After an interesting half hour with the pilot he had manoeuvred himself into a seat next to Nellie, and they had been making idle, wonderful conversation.

‘I don’t understand these girls who follow stars,’ said Nellie crossly. ‘It’s so dumb. Don’t you think it’s dumb?’

‘Yes,’ agreed Evan. He would agree with whatever she said. He would agree if she told him to throw himself off the plane.