“I see.” Mattie looked somewhat calmed by Nancy’s explanation. Still, she turned to Bess with a sudden, compelling stare. “Just be careful, please,” she said, warning her. “You don’t know Rick the way I do—you don’t know how dangerous he can be.”
Chapter Six
“LISTEN, BESS—” MATTIE relaxed her stare a bit, trying hard not to look so severe. “I really don’t want to upset you, but, honestly, Rick can really love them and leave them. Maybe it’s because deep down inside, he’s very unsure of himself. Or maybe he’s become too successful too fast, and— Sometimes I wonder if he can really handle it.”
“Rick? Unsure of himself?” Bess shook her head, in disbelief. “I’m sorry, Mattie. I don’t think you know the real Rick.”
“Maybe not, but I’ve known him a long time. We did summer stock together years ago. He was different then, warm and sincere. In the past few years, he’s really changed. He can be so cold now, even cruel.”
“Well, maybe he just hasn’t met the right girl yet,” Bess suggested.
“Wait a minute,” Nancy interrupted. “Mattie, why are you so concerned about a man you’ve just told us is cold, cruel, and steps on people?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mattie answered softly. “I guess I still think of him as a friend, even if it didn’t work out between us.” Looking over at Nancy imploringly, she added, “Rick would never admit it, but I’m sure that way down deep he’s scared. I’d just feel so much better if you were on the set tomorrow.”
Bess rolled her eyes and got up from the table. Nancy watched her go. She hoped Bess knew what she was doing where Rick was concerned.
“I’d like to be there myself,” Nancy replied, turning back to Mattie. “But now that the set’s closed to visitors—”
“Wait a minute!” Mattie cried. Her eyes shimmered with excitement. “I just got a brilliant idea! We’re shooting a hospital scene tomorrow, and I’ll bet I could get you and Bess jobs as extras! What do you think? Will you do it?”
Across the kitchen, Bess couldn’t help jumping up and down with excitement. “That would be fantastic!”
Nancy thought for a moment. “Are you sure you could do it?”
“Almost sure. Here, let me call the casting director. Eloise, do you have a phone book handy?”
Nancy’s aunt brought the book over as Bess loaded the dishwasher. “Just imagine, Nancy, appearing oh my favorite soap!”
“We’re in luck!” Mattie announced, hanging up the phone a few minutes later. “She says you two can be nurses. Just report to the studio at seven sharp, and go straight to the costume room as soon as you get there.”
“But what if people recognize us?” Nancy wondered out loud.
“Oh, they won’t recognize you.” Mattie laughed and stood up to leave. “No one ever looks at the extras. Besides, when you’re on camera you’ll probably have wigs and uniforms on. You probably won’t even recognize yourselves.”
“You know, Nancy,” Bess said after Mattie had gone. “No matter what anyone says, I’ve read that a lot of big stars started out as extras. You never know—this could be my lucky break!”
Bess and Nancy had reported to the studio at seven the next morning. After the dry blocking, in which they learned what they were to do, they reported to makeup and wardrobe. Now, standing on pedestals as two wardrobe people finished their final fittings for the dress rehearsal, Bess and Nancy couldn’t help giggling.
“You’re really a knockout as a brunette, Nancy!” Bess said.
Nancy looked over at her friend, who was wearing an identical uniform. She had a white nurse’s cap over her bright red wig, and Nancy had never seen her look more excited.
“Your dress rehearsal will be third, ladies,” a production assistant told them. “After the big love scene, which is the second, report to Lillian. You know where to stand and what to do from the first rehearsal. So, break a leg. Oh, if you want to catch Rick and Mattie in rehearsal, you can. Rory and Serena are going to have a big scene. It’s supposed to be pretty hot stuff.”
Bess immediately dashed down the corridor to the set, determined not to miss a word of Mattie and Rick’s scene. It was all Nancy could do to keep up with her.
Watching the cast and crew gather around the set of Serena Livingstone’s living room, Nancy could feel their edginess. The near-disaster of the day before had obviously gotten to everyone. Even though the set was closed to outsiders, Nancy could tell that nobody felt truly safe.
The only person who seemed at ease was Rick. Flashing a smile at Bess as he walked onto the set, he looked as if he were on top of the world.
He took his place in the middle of the set, and slowly Rick Arlen seemed to fade away. When the director finally called “Action,” he had become Rory Danner.
In the scene, Rory was supposed to tell Serena that he’d be hers forever, if she would have him. Even though it was an intense scene, Nancy noticed that Rick was reading nearly all his lines from the teleprompter. But then, with all the excitement the day before, she reasoned, he probably hadn’t had time to memorize them.
Mattie was having trouble with her lines, too. She had excused herself early the night before to go home and work, but obviously she didn’t remember much. Although she was really throwing herself into the scene, Nancy noticed that she, too, kept glancing over at her teleprompter to check her lines.
“Should I leave, Serena? Is that what you want?” Rick asked, pacing in front of Mattie nervously.
“No, Rory, don’t go. I love you,” Serena said. Her voice was quivering, and her emerald eyes were full of tears. “I’ve always loved you, even when you didn’t want me.”
“Cut!” came the director’s voice. “Mattie, I need you to cool it a little. If you start the scene at such a high emotional pitch, we won’t have anywhere to go.”
“Right, Luther.” Mattie nodded up to the director’s booth.
“Okay, everyone, take it from ‘Should I leave,’ ” Lillian ordered.
“Should I leave, Serena? Is that what you want?” Rick said.
“No, Rory, don’t go. I love you! I’ve always loved you, even when you didn’t want me.”
They were into it by then. Mattie and Rick were utterly convincing, making everyone who was watching really believe they were desperately in love. Bess had tears in her eyes as she watched them move slowly toward each other. Finally, Serena collapsed in Rory’s arms.
“Here comes her big speech,” Lillian muttered under her breath to nobody in particular. “Watch her screw it up.”
“Oh, Rory, I want to do so many things with you,” Mattie whispered hoarsely. “I want to take walks in the rain with you, I want to sit with you under the stars on a deserted beach. I want to dance with you, to sing with you, to—”
Mattie suddenly fell silent. She stood as if frozen, her eyes fixed on the teleprompter, her beautiful face a terrible white. Then, as everyone looked on in horror, she let out a bloodcurdling scream and slumped slowly to the floor.
Chapter Seven
“MATTIE! MATTIE!”
“What happened?”
“Is she all right?”
“Don’t touch her!”
Everyone gathered around Mattie, who was lying on the floor. After what seemed forever, her eyes began to flutter open. She looked dazed. Mattie struggled to her feet with Rick’s help. The look in her eyes only grew wilder.
“Look!” she cried, pointing to the teleprompter.
Her monologue had been changed. It read:
“I WANT TO DANCE WITH YOU, TO SING WITH YOU, TO MURDER YOU. YES, YOUR TIME IS UP, RICK ARLEN. I’M GOING TO KILL YOU. I’M GOING TO WATCH YOU DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH, AND I’M GOING TO LAUGH.”
“What in the name of— What is this?” Pappas yelled. “Get me the teleprompter operator! I want to talk to her right now!”
“I’m here, Mr. Pappas.” A short red-haired girl spoke up.
“Would you care to explain this?” he asked, arching his eyebrows.
br /> “Well, sir, I, uh—I really can’t explain it,” the girl stammered. “I got here early to type in the scene, and I was at the keyboard all morning. The only time I left was to take a phone call. And I know I wasn’t gone for more than a minute because when I picked up the phone, there was no one there. I—I didn’t think—”
“Exactly, you didn’t think.” Pappas shot the operator a harsh look. “You’re fired. And whoever’s job it was to keep strangers off this set, you’re fired, too.” Then, to the frightened cast and crew he said, “I’ll fire every last one of you if I have to. This nonsense has got to stop!”
Nancy watched the producer from the sidelines. He seemed genuinely concerned, but what if it was all an act? What if beneath all his theatrics, there was something completely different going on, something much more calculated—and sinister?
She noticed Lillian Weiss, too. Lillian was off in a corner, trying to be inconspicuous, but nothing could hide the pleased look on her face. She was loving every minute of all this.
“Okay, everybody,” Luther’s voice boomed from the director’s booth. “Lunch break. And when we come back, let’s try to get this show back on schedule, shall we?”
“Calm down, Mattie! You’re not going to let some practical joker ruin your day, are you?” Rick opened the front door of the studio for them, and Mattie, Bess, and Nancy filed past him onto the sidewalk.
“Come on,” he added with a grin. “Let me treat you all to lunch—while I’m still alive, that is.”
“Stop it! Stop pretending everything’s fine!” Mattie turned on him, her green eyes flashing. “You’ve got to be terrified! Why don’t you just come out and admit it?”
“Me? Terrified? Don’t be ridiculous.—they can’t kill me. The world needs me! Besides, it’d spoil the ratings if I died.”
“Oh, I could just punch you,” Mattie growled. “And I’ll pay for my own lunch, thank you.”
“Whatever you say.” Rick shrugged. “I’ll just have to treat Bess—and Nancy, of course. Right, ladies?”
Bess and Nancy said nothing, embarrassed by the way Rick was taunting Mattie. Nancy started to walk off by herself.
“Hey, look who’s here!” said Rick, his attention caught by a man at the studio door. “It’s the president of the losers’ league himself. Hi, Dwayne.”
Dwayne Casper, Mattie’s agent, rushed up to them, pointedly ignoring Rick’s remark. Nancy stopped and observed the scene at a short distance from the others. “Mattie!” he cried, throwing his arms around her. “I was bringing some of your new head shots to the front office and I heard what happened. It’s absolutely outrageous! Are you all right, darling?”
“Oh, I suppose so,” Mattie replied softly, shaking free of his embrace. “It was awfully upsetting, but—”
“But nothing,” Dwayne said, interrupting. “You’re in danger, and I won’t have it!”
“Keep your shirt on, Casper,” Rick said, with a scornful laugh. “This nut is supposedly after me, not Mattie. Why don’t you leave us alone and go hover over some of your other clients. If you have any, that is.”
“Rick!” Mattie cried sharply.
“It’s all right, Mattie, he doesn’t bother me. As long as you’re all right—”
“I’m fine, Dwayne. Please don’t worry about me.” Mattie smiled at him warmly. “Honest.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, old buddy. I’ll take care of Mattie,” Rick said, trying to assure him.
“Oh, I’m sure you will.” Dwayne sneered. Then he turned to Mattie and took her by the hand, looking deeply into her eyes. “I want you to promise to call me if there’s any more trouble on the set.”
Mattie nodded, then Dwayne walked off, throwing a nasty look over his shoulder at Rick.
“For pete’s sake, Mattie,” Rick muttered before Dwayne was out of earshot, “when are you going to dump that jerk and get yourself a real agent!”
“Oh, Dwayne’s not so bad,” Mattie answered, watching the man disappear. “Remember, he took me on as a client when nobody else would even give me an interview.”
“But you’ve come a long way since then. You’re a star now. You should have a major agency representing you,” he said as they started walking to catch up with Nancy.
“I don’t know. Somehow I’d feel like a rat if I left Dwayne.”
“All I know is, a major agency could get you a lot more work and more money. And a girl with your talent deserves the best.” Seeing he was getting nowhere, Rick threw up his hands. “All right, I won’t say another word. You know how I feel, though.” He stopped in front of an expensive-looking restaurant. “Here we are. Serena, Nurse Sanford, Nurse Johnson, would you care to have lunch with me?” he said, opening the restaurant door for them.
“It’s Saturday morning and time for another edition of ‘Soap Opera Weekly,’ where we bring you the latest on your favorite shows and introduce you to the stars,” the television announcer was saying as Bess shook Nancy’s shoulder.
“Wake up, Nancy Drew!” Bess said, mimicking the announcer. “Come on. The alarm went off ten minutes ago! Your aunt’s still sleeping so I wheeled the TV in here. Rick’s going to be on ‘Soap Opera Weekly’ this morning. We can watch while we get dressed.”
“Mumpfh—” Nancy mumbled, burying her head under the pillow. Was it really morning already?
She and Bess and her aunt Eloise had had such a great time the night before. They’d gone to see Soft Shoe, the Broadway musical smash of the season. The show was wonderful, but they’d stopped for a bite to eat afterward. By the time they got home, it was almost one in the morning.
Flipping over and squinting at the TV, Nancy saw shots of different soap opera stars as the upbeat theme song played in the background.
“Our special ‘Soap Opera Weekly’ guest today is the star of ‘Danner’s Dream’!” the announcer said. “Will he and Serena Livingstone finally tie the knot this time? Mr. Sex Appeal himself, Rick Arlen, will be here with us in just a few minutes! But first—”
The commercial came on, and Nancy realized there was no way she was going to get back to sleep. Not with Bess rummaging around the room, tossing one outfit after another on the bed and saying things like, “What do you think, Nancy? The pink or the yellow?”
Pulling herself up onto her elbows, Nancy yawned and looked out the window. It was a glorious day outside—warm and sunny. A perfect day for seeing the sights, she thought happily.
“He’s on! He’s on!” Bess shouted a few minutes later. Nancy turned from the closet and saw Rick. He was seated casually across from the interviewer, waving and nodding as the audience clapped and cheered.
Cleverly refusing to give away any of the show’s carefully guarded secrets, Rick did admit that he was considering leaving the show at the end of the season to star in a movie. The audience groaned, then applauded.
“Tell us about the real Rick Arlen,” the interviewer prompted. “Could we be hearing wedding bells soon?”
Laughing, Rick made an old joke about the gossip columns having him engaged to three different girls. “But then, you never can tell,” he added slyly, blowing a kiss to a “special lady out there.”
“He means me!” Bess cried happily.
“I don’t think so. That’s just talk, Bess. He could mean anybody—or nobody.”
Bess shot her friend an angry scowl, and Nancy decided to back off.
After the interview with Rick, the show moved on to an update of that network’s daytime and evening soap operas.’ Bess snapped the TV off then.
“He said he’d be here in an hour. I can’t wait!” Bess scooped up her makeup and headed for the bathroom. “Hey, I wonder who he’ll bring for you, Nancy. I mean, any friend of Rick’s is probably cute, but I wonder what he’ll be like.”
An hour later the apartment intercom buzzed, signaling the arrival of Rick and his limousine.
Bess checked herself in the mirror one last time. She looked terrific in an oversize cotton cardigan and flowing s
kirt and flats. “Not bad,” she pronounced. “Come on, Nancy!” With that, she flew down the steps of the brownstone to the waiting limousine.
“Not bad at all,” Nancy admitted, looking admiringly at Rick’s limo. The uniformed driver ushered them into the backseat, where Rick was waiting.
“Good morning, girls!” he said brightly. “Welcome to my abode on the road.”
The first order of business was to pick up Rick’s friend, a guy named Gilbert Frost. “He’s an old pal from acting school,” Rick explained. “You’ll love him.”
Bess threw Nancy a meaningful look, but Nancy just sighed and looked out the window. There was no way that she was going to fall for any of Rick Arlen’s friends—not when she was in love with Ned Nickerson. Of course, Ned would understand her being on this date—she had to go. Someone’s life was in jeopardy.
At the corner of Twenty-third Street and Park Avenue South, she noticed a skinny guy in jeans and running shoes, leaning against a streetlight. He looked totally normal, except that he was wearing big black-rimmed glasses and a false nose.
“What?” Nancy mumbled as the limo stopped in front of him. The man swept down in a low courtly bow.
“Hey there, Gil!” Rick laughed, opening the door. “Girls, I’d like you to meet Gilbert Frost. Say hello, Gilbert.”
“Hello, Gilbert!” the guy mimicked, sliding into the plush limo.
Bess was giggling uncontrollably, and Nancy couldn’t help smiling as Rick’s friend took off his glasses, revealing another pair underneath.
Finally, they pulled back into traffic and Nancy got a good look at Gilbert. Without his getup on, he was pretty cute. He had glossy black hair and warm brown eyes that twinkled with laughter.
“Gil is going to be the next host at the Comedy Basement,” Rick said. “He does stand-up.”
“I also do sit up and grow up,” Gil announced. Everyone groaned.
Throwing a proprietary arm around Bess’s shoulder, Rick instructed the driver to take them to Forty-second Street and the Hudson River.