owners.
The director’s arrival was apparently a signal for
Bruno to shift gears. He took a cigar out of the pocket
of his denim shirt, rolled it around in his pudgy fingers,
and stuck it in his mouth, unlit.
“We’re assembled here on an historic occasion in the
annals of the motion-picture business.” The producer
paused to gaze around the long living room, from the
plate rails to the wainscoting. Several of his listeners’
expressions of distaste indicated that Hillside Manor
wasn’t worthy of so momentous a pronouncement.
“As you all know,” he continued after a sip of the
thirty-year-old Scotch he’d brought with him, “when I
first conceived The Gasman, most people in the business told me it would be an impossible film to make.
The scope was too big, the concept too ambitious, the
goal too lofty, and the movie itself far too expensive
given the audience we’re aiming for.” He paused again,
this time gazing at the cousins, who were standing
under the archway between the entry hall and the living room. “Excuse me, ladies. This is a private meeting. Do you mind?”
“Not very well,” Renie shot back before Judith
could interfere.
“I’m sorry,” Judith broke in, yanking on her cousin’s
arm. “We were just checking to make sure you had
everything you needed for the social hour.”
44
Mary Daheim
Winifred Best glanced at Judith in amusement. “The
social hour. How quaint.”
Bruno made a little bow to Judith and Renie. “We
have everything for now. You may go.”
Judith shoved Renie back into the entry hall. Renie
dug in with her heels and came to a dead stop at the
head of the dining-room table.
“That egotistical dork is treating us like slaves!” she
railed. “Who the hell does he think he is? I’ve faced off
with bigger fish before he came along!”
Judith knew that her cousin could back up her bluster. In Renie’s graphic design business, she had gone
up against everybody from Microsweet to the mayor.
She didn’t always win, but even if she lost, she still
managed to save face. Renie’s small, middle-aged matron’s appearance was deceptive. It concealed an abrasive manner that, upon occasion, could get physical.
Which was all the more reason why Judith had to keep
her cousin out of Bruno’s sight.
“Don’t even think about it,” Judith said under her
breath. She loomed over her cousin by a good five
inches, outweighed her by some forty pounds, yet Judith knew she was outmatched. Renie had had shoulder surgery on the same day that Judith had undergone
her hip replacement. If nothing else, Renie could still
run.
“Hey!” Joe Flynn’s voice cut through the kitchen
and into the dining room. “What’s going on? Still
fighting over who has the best Sparkle Plenty doll?”
Judith backed away from her cousin. Renie’s ire
evaporated, as it often did after the initial outburst.
“Not exactly,” Judith said, meeting her husband at
the swinging doors and giving him a big kiss on the
SILVER SCREAM
45
lips. “Boy, am I glad to see you. I’m not sure I’m ready
for the movies.”
“What’s wrong?” Joe inquired. “Aren’t your guests
behaving themselves?”
“It’s attitude,” Renie said, joining Joe and Judith
just inside the kitchen. “These creeps are loaded with
attitude, and some of it’s bad.”
“Relax,” Joe urged. “Years ago, I made big bucks
working security for location companies shooting
around town. I could keep the rabid fans and the
celebrity seekers and the nutcases away, but I couldn’t
offer the kind of security they really needed. The problem with these movie types is that they’re basically insecure.”
“That’s true,” Renie agreed. “Bill says that because
of the capricious nature of the business and the personalities involved in moviemaking, they’re constantly
seeking reassurance that they’re loved and wanted. Bill
sometimes uses feature films to study the behavior
of—”
Renie’s latest parroting of her husband’s expertise
was mercifully interrupted by Arlene, who poked her
head in the back door. “I took your mother’s supper out
to her. I’ve got to go home now and feed my darling,
patient Carl. To the dogs,” she added with a sinister expression.
“Thanks again, Arlene, I really appreciate . . .” But
Arlene was gone before Judith could finish the sentence.
“Have a drink on me, ladies,” Joe offered, taking
down a bottle of Scotch and a bottle of Canadian
whiskey from the cupboard. “What are the guests up
to?”
46
Mary Daheim
Judith slumped into one of the kitchen chairs. “Listening to how wonderful Bruno is, from Bruno’s own
lips.”
“And,” Renie put in, opening the cupboard door by
the sink to get three glasses, “listening to Bruno tell
them how marvelous The Gasman is, which I assume
they already know, having been involved in the making
of it.” Handing the glasses to Joe, she closed the cupboard door behind her. Or tried to. “Damn! What’s
with this thing? It won’t stay shut.”
Judith heaved a sigh. “Mr. Tolvang supposedly fixed
it when he was here, but the door still swings open on
its own.” She gave Joe a plaintive look from under her
dark lashes. “I don’t mean to nag, but I have mentioned
that you might look at it. I hate to ask Mr. Tolvang.
He’s so stubborn, he’d probably tell me I was imagining the problem.”
“I’ll give it a go,” Joe answered airily, handing Judith her Scotch. “I’ve been kind of busy lately.”
Judith didn’t respond. While Joe was slightly more
adept at household repairs than Bill, the Flynn to-do
list was never a priority.
“So what’s this movie about anyway?” Joe asked.
“A public utility?”
“Not exactly,” Renie replied. “Dade Costello—the
screenwriter—explained the basic plot to me.”
“That’s more than he did for me,” Judith remarked.
“Maybe you used the wrong approach,” Renie said.
“He’s kind of touchy. Sullen, too. Of course I’m used
to moody writers. Freelancers are the worst. They can’t
bear to have their precious copy rearranged so it will fit
the graphics. Anyway, the bare bones Dade sketched
out for me involve the entire history of the world as
SILVER SCREAM
47
seen through the eyes of a simple gasman. That is, an
employee who works for a gas company somewhere in
the Midwest.” Renie paused for effect. “Get it? Everyman in the middle of the country, the center of the universe.”
“I got it,” Joe murmured into his Scotch.
“Anyway,” Renie continued, sitting on the counter
with her glass of Canadian whiskey cradled in her
lap, “Bruno shows the viewer how certain periods of
history contributed to our evolution as a civilization.
He puts a positive spin on it, concentrating on early
forms of writing, the invention of paper, the printing
press, and so forth. Thus, he jumps from ancient
Egypt and China all the way up to the present. The