Secrets (25 page)

They asked me what time he left the party last night, and I said I thought it was around ten. I probably shouldn't have told them that. He looked as though he felt bad he had. None of them had grown close to Bill since shooting had begun, yet he was one of them, part of the family, and Zack didn't want to cause more trouble for him. Jane looked at him sympathetically.

I was so excited about everything, I didn't even see him go.

Neither did I, Gabby said.

They talked to Sabina after that, and then Jane, and then some of the other members of the cast. It was ten fifteen before they called in Gabrielle, and by then they had let most of the crew go. Jane stuck around, waiting for her, and Zack had promised to take them both home, so he was there too. And everyone was talking openly now, about how depressed Bill was sometimes, how morose he had been in New York, how surly much of the time. It made Jane sick as she listened to them, and her heart went out to him. She said something to Zack and he looked dubious.

I don't think you should.

How would you feel?

He glanced at his watch. He was still wearing the clothes he had worn in his last scene, and his makeup had started to run. They probably won't let you anyway.

We can try. There's no harm in that.

He smiled at her, and whispered the words. He still felt the glow of the night before. He bent low next to her so only she would hear. I love you, Jane.

I love you too. They exchanged a look meant only for them, and it seemed a very long time as they waited for Gabrielle.

She was in the main makeup room, with the police. They had started interviewing people there.

Did you know him before the show, Miss Smith?

She shook her head. No, I did not.

Did he ever mention his wife?

No. She shook her head again, looking extremely calm, and watching them. She had been thinking about it ever since she'd heard, and she was certain he hadn't killed his wife. But she wondered if he had still been in love with her. That would have explained the way he had behaved for all these months. Things were coming into clearer focus now.

Did you ever see her on the set? They handed her a photograph of Sandy in better days.

She looked at it and shook her head. No.

Would you say Mr. Warwick was angry yesterday? ' say, last night?

She smiled at them. Not at all. We all went to a surprise party for Jane ' Jane Adams ' and Bill was there.

What time would you say he left?

A little after ten o'clock. She knew Zack had said the same.

Do you know where he went? Did he say?

She smiled, and then looked away from them. I met him at my apartment later on. She looked into their eyes again, demure, faintly embarrassed, but anxious to be honest with them, it seemed.

Did you leave the party with him, Miss Smith? She shook her head. I left later on. About twelve. She had left at two, but by then everyone was too drunk to care.

And you met him ' where?

At my place. Didn't he tell you that? She looked young and innocent and surprised and embarrassed again, and the inspector questioning her shifted his weight in his chair. She was a very pretty girl and she was wearing a robe that kept opening and revealing one small breast as she leaned anxiously toward him. She even looked a little like the photo of the girl. And then he thought of something else.

Did you two have a fight? Maybe he had taken it out on the other one, if they looked so much alike. He had to think of everything.

She laughed like a child and played with her long black hair. Not at all. On the contrary ' She actually managed to blush.

What time did he arrive? The cop narrowed his eyes and she looked at him pensively.

It must have been a little after twelve.

That certainly changed everything. But why hadn't he told them that? He asked Gabby as much and she shrugged.

I don't know. I guess he thought it would embarrass me. She lowered her voice as though the walls could hear. No one knows about us. I ' it would complicate everything and, you know, the morals clause ' If the morals clause were invoked every time two actors went to bed with each other, Hollywood would have had no one left to work, but they didn't know that and the chief inspector nodded his head solemnly.

I understand. He stood up then. We may have to talk to you again, Miss ' uh ' Smith. Thank you very much. They dismissed her to rejoin Zack and Jane and they let everyone go for the night. It was a somber group as they left the set, no one spoke, and everyone appeared to be lost in thought, as Jane shared her idea with them.

I thought maybe we could drop by and see Bill.

You think they'd let us in? Gabby looked dubious, but she would have liked to see him too. She had stuck her neck out for him, but she was sure she had done the right thing. She just knew instinctively he wasn't guilty of the crime, no matter what the cops said. He wasn't that kind of man. If he had wanted to kill her, he would have done it a long time ago. And when they talked about it, Zack agreed.

He had a look in his eyes as he followed her out that day at Mike's ' as though he still cared about her very much. Gabby seemed to flinch as Jane watched, but she spoke in a normal voice.

I think he must have been. I think that's what has been eating at him. Probably being secretly married to her didn't help.

The police said they'd been separated for months, Jane said as they climbed into Zack's car, but I think Zack's right. When I saw him that day, I thought the same thing. He looked devastated by the way she looked. She looked so terrible, poor thing' . Jane looked pained as she remembered her.

What do you suppose really did happen? Gabby asked.

It probably had to do with drugs. Zack glanced at them both as he started the car. Apparently Bill claims she had called him on the set. I didn't know anything about it, but she could have, and she asked to meet him at his place. She never showed up, he went out for a drive, and when he came back, there she was ' dead. It sounded gruesome to all three of them, as Zack drove toward the jail where they had been told he was. It was well after ten o'clock by then and he was sure they wouldn't let them in. But when they asked, they were surprised. The inspectors had just gotten back from the lot where they'd interrogated them, and they agreed to make an exception for them, because of who they were. Their tone annoyed Jane, who felt desperately sorry for Bill, but they were all grateful to be allowed to see him.

They were locked in a room alone with him, with a guard outside, and a window that allowed him to see everything that went on. Jane and Gabrielle had been told to leave their handbags outside, and Zack had been frisked. And then the door was locked behind them as soon as they stepped in. It was actually an interrogation room and far more civilized than visiting would have been in the jail. Bill himself was led in through another door, cuffs had been put on and taken off again as he was allowed to enter the room with his friends, and he stood staring at them with tears in his eyes, not knowing what to say, as Jane threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, crying herself.

Everything's going to be all right ' I know it will. But he couldn't speak for a long time. He shook hands with Zack, and stared at Gabrielle. He looked filthy by then, and he hadn't shaved in almost two days. He looked ravaged by what he had seen, and what he had felt, and where he was, and as though he thought life would never be the same again. And in some ways it would not. It remained to be seen if Mel would keep him on the show, but more importantly if he was going to be charged with killing the girl.

We couldn't believe it, Bill. It sounds like a very poor script. Zack sat down in a chair and Bill followed suit, looking at them gratefully.

Neither could I. It's been like a nightmare. They can hold me for another twenty-four hours with no further evidence. And after that, they can extend it for another twenty-four. It meant two more days of terror and hell, and they stared at him in disbelief.

But why? Zack didn't understand how it was possible, without conclusive evidence.

Because I have no alibi. I was out driving around by myself. No one saw me after twelve o'clock and it happened between one and two. She was found at my place, and apparently that's enough. They think I was upset about her life, and I was. I've been sick over it. She was killing herself. They all knew that now. But I would never ' He was too choked to speak, and Gabby gently touched his hand, and waited until he raised his eyes to look at her. And when he did, she was calm, and she spoke to him quietly.

I told them you were with me that night.

For a moment he just stared at her, as though he didn't understand what she'd said, and then he shook his head, as she kept looking at him. They were both aware that there might be listening devices in the room, and she wanted to be careful what she said.

What did you say?

I told them you met me at my place after I left Zack's.

He continued to stare at her. Why? Why had she done that for him, after all the shit he had given her for months? Why would she do anything for him? He was stunned.

But she continued to look him in the eye, as Zack and Jane looked on. I told them that because it's the truth. You don't have to lie to protect me anymore, Bill. It's all right.

He wanted to shout, But I wasn't there, and I still didn't kill my wife, but he didn't dare say anything because of the likelihood of hidden microphones in the room. And Zack and Jane stared at them, confused. They were both sure nothing was going on between them.

But Bill looked at her intensely, for the first time seeing only her. I didn't kill her, Gab ' I swear I didn't ' she called me that day, and she was scared. She said someone was after her, and I don't know who. Three weeks before that, she said she owed everyone money, including her connect, and she was worried about that. She said she had nowhere to live. But I only gave her three hundred dollars because I was afraid that if I gave her more, she'd go crazy with it and overdose again. There were suddenly tears in his eyes again, and he hung his head, feeling relief and some kind of warmth around him for the first time in twenty-four hours. We were so much in love ' I wanted her to clean up so bad ' but she never would. I think she'd just gone too far and she didn't care anymore. She wasn't the first to go that route, and all three of them felt sorry for him. There was no doubt in anyone's mind. Except, unfortunately, the cops'.

Jane gently rubbed his neck as he cried and hid his face in his hands, and Zack shook his head unhappily. Can't your attorney do something, Bill?

He's trying. But it looks terrible, she was just lying there. He gulped down a sob, remembering how she had looked with the bullet wounds in her head.

Did they find the gun?

Bill shook his head again. No. And I've never had a gun in my life. I've never even held one, except on some kids' cereal commercial I did once, when I played a cowboy riding a rocking horse in a giant bowl filled with fake cereal, and I don't even think that was real. They all smiled, but there was precious little to smile about.

Gabby looked at him intently again. Just tell them that you were with me. It's all right ' I told them myself we were on Galey Avenue. She realized that he might not even know where she lived. He had no reason to, and he continued to stare at her in disbelief, as the guard outside the room unlocked the door and gestured at all of them.

That's it for tonight, folks. You can come back tomorrow during visiting hours. Two to four, on the seventh floor. Great. Perhaps they would consider suspending shooting so everyone could visit him. He looked at them like a child being deserted in a terrible place and their hearts went out to him as Jane held him tight, and then Gabby hugged him cautiously. He squeezed her hand for an instant as he let her go, thanking her silently for what she had done for him. She might just have saved his life. And then Zack hugged him too, and there were tears in his eyes, as they snapped the handcuffs on Bill again, and the three of them left him there.

They were all three silent on the way down-stairs, and they were back in Zack's car, hungry and tired and drained, before anyone spoke again. Jane turned around to look at Gabby in the back-seat of the Rolls, which they had left parked out-side the jail.

I didn't know that ' you and Bill' She wasn't quite sure what to say and Gabby shrugged, obviously not anxious to say more. But as Zack glanced at her in the rearview mirror, he knew exactly what she'd done, and why. Perhaps better than she knew herself. She was in love with him.

They didn't interrogate Bill again that night, but they asked him about Gabby first thing the next day with his lawyer there. They had spoken to several people on the set, and had found out about the animosity between Gabby and Bill. They knew she was lying for him about being together that night.

It was a dumb thing to do, the detective said. Did you put her up to it?

Bill shook his head miserably, hoping she wouldn't get in trouble now. Suddenly, this was a nightmare for everyone. She didn't mean any harm. She just thought

Yeah, I know. Women did that all the time, though usually for men they liked better than people said Gabby liked Bill. It was no crime, but it was dumb, and it never worked. But you still don't have an alibi, pal. His eyes were cold.