Part 21 (1/2)

”What?” I said.

”I'm just thinking here,” Van Doren said. ”If you're the person she trusts with her life, you're probably the person that'd benefit from her death. She just got $12 million for Earth Resurrected; that's a lot. So are you the beneficiary? Or will that be a surprise, too?”

The crowd of reporters erupted. I just stood there, blinking, stunned that Van Doren could just casually imply that I was a crazed murderer. On the other hand, he was driving me insane, and if he'd been in reach, I probably could have killed him right there. Van Doren just stood there, with a little smile that said gotcha.

I was still gripping the side of the podium when Carl tapped me and gently dislodged me from where I was standing. Miranda came up to me and pulled me back away. Joshua looked up at me worriedly. I heard Carl speaking to the reporters -- ”Let's try to keep our eye on the ball, here...,” he began -- and then wheeled around into the building.

I stormed into my office and went to my office closet. Miranda came in about a second afterwards, followed by Joshua.

”What are you doing?” Miranda asked.

”Tony Baltz got me a set of golf clubs last Christmas,” I said, rummaging. ”I'm going to take one and put a divot in Van Doren's head. What do you think? The five iron? Or maybe the nine. Or the putter, right between the eyes.”

”I don't think that would be very helpful,” Miranda said.

”Oh, I think it would,” I said. I emerged with the seven iron in my hand. ”It would make me feel a lot better.”

”Only for a minute,” Miranda said. ”But I have to warn you, prison is just one long b.u.mmer.”

I burst into tears. No one was more surprised than I. Miranda rushed over and held me, returning the favor from the day before, when I had done the same for her.

”I'm sorry,” I said. ”It's not every day that I'm accused of murdering my client.”

”Oh, shut up,” Miranda said gently, cupping my face in her hand. ”You didn't kill her, did you?”

”Of course not,” I said.

”Well, then,” Miranda said. ”Don't let it bother you. Tom, you did more for Mich.e.l.le than anyone else ever would have. You're a good man, Tom. Everybody knows it. I know it. You're a good man.”

I kissed Miranda. No one was more surprised than I.

”I'm sorry,” I said. ”I don't know what I'm thinking.”

”Oh, shut up,” Miranda said, and kissed me back.

After a couple of minutes of this, Joshua whined, which I think is was doggie equivalent of clearing one's throat to remind others you are there.

”Spectator,” I said.

”He's a dog,” Miranda said ”He doesn't care.”

”You'd be surprised,” I said.

The situation became academic a second later, when there was a knock. Miranda and I disentangled ourselves as Carl came through the door.

”I've got Mike and Adams at the podium now,” he said. ”Are you all right?”

”I'm severely p.i.s.sed off, but other than that, I'm fine,” I said.

”Be prepared to be p.i.s.sed off a little more,” Carl said. ”Brad Turnow's on his way over.”

My brain fuzzed a second before I realized he was talking about the producer of Earth Resurrected. ”Oh, Christ, what a pain,” I said.

Miranda looked at me and then at Carl. ”What does Brad want?” she asked.

”His money back,” I said.

”His star is in a coma,” Carl said. ”He's going to have to get someone else to play the part. He'll figure that, since Mich.e.l.le is laid up, it's only fair he should get his money back.”

”What a jerk,” Miranda said.

”Do you want any backup?” Carl said, to me. ”We could gang up on him.”

”No,” I said. ”It's all right. I can handle him.”

”That's what I like to hear,” Carl said. ”Kick his a.s.s a couple of times. He'll be here at 1:15. That leaves you two about an hour to smooch.”

I think I blushed; Miranda, who is made of sterner stuff, merely smiled. ”Mr. Lupo, with all due respect to your position, that's just none of your d.a.m.ned business,” she said.

”On the contrary,” Carl said, smiling back. ”I didn't get where I am today by not noticing these sorts of things. Come on, Joshua,” he said, motioning to the dog. ”Whether it's my business or not, I know when I'm not wanted .”

”It's a terrible thing that happened to Mich.e.l.le,” Brad said, stating the obvious.

”Yes, it is,” I said.

”I mean, my G.o.d,” Brad said. ”I'd hate for it to happen to me.”

My eyes flicked over to the clock on my phone. For five minutes now, Brad had been finding new and not-so-exciting ways to restate the obvious point that Mich.e.l.le was in a world of hurt. I was giving him another minute before I worked him over with a golf club.

The question is whether Brad would be missed. Somehow I doubted it. Up until Murdered Earth, Brad was a distinctly lower-rung producer, cranking out cheesy, low-production value science fiction and adventure epics that would just about break even in the theaters and then eke out a profit in the video store afterlife: the sort of films you make when you're either on your way up or down the Hollywood food chain, but never when you're anywhere near the top. Murdered Earth was the exception because for once, Brad managed to get lucky with a star who was breaking into the stratosphere. That was Mich.e.l.le, of course; the studio estimated that Mich.e.l.le's presence in the film added $55 million to the $85 million domestic take. Having seen Murdered Earth, I personally gave Mich.e.l.le credit for another ten million or so.

But with a hit movie under his belt, Brad was now a mid-rung producer looking to move up the ladder a little more. Earth Resurrected was going to do it for him, or so he thought. Now that Mich.e.l.le was down and his production suddenly air-braking into oblivion, Brad wanted to do what he could before the whole thing derailed and sent him cras.h.i.+ng back down into the ranks of a straight-to-video producer. Which meant getting someone else for the part and trying to recoup on his losses.

If I were in his position, I'd probably try to do something like what he was doing. Of course, I wouldn't have given Mich.e.l.le $12 million, either. Be that as it may, I could sympathize with his situation. The problem was, he was about to try to screw my client. Sympathize or not, there's no way I was going to allow that.

”Look, I'll tell you why I'm here,” Brad said.

”I'd appreciate that,” I said.

”It's terrible what's happened to Mich.e.l.le,” Brad said again. Below his view, I was groping for the 7-iron. ”But it also creates a real problem for Earth Resurrected. Tom, we're just about ready to roll, and we can't wait too much longer. h.e.l.l, we've already got the special effects crews working on some scenes, and the second unit's out shooting.”

I sat there silently, waiting for Brad to continue. He wanted me to be openly sympathetic to his plight, which I was not willing to do. After a few seconds of waiting for me to say something, he went on.

”The real problem is Allen Green,” Brad said. ”In our contract, we committed to a start date, and if we miss that start date by more than a week, he can walk, with his full paycheck. Pay or Play. That's 20 million, shot right down the tubes. The start date's in ten days, Tom. Even if Mich.e.l.le comes out of her coma today, she's not going to be ready to go in ten days. You know that.”

Again, I said nothing. Why make it easy?

Finally, Brad said what he came to say. ”We have to replace Mich.e.l.le, Tom. I'm sorry, but we can't wait.”