Joan Hess - Arly Hanks 04 by Mortal Remains in Maggody Page A
Authors: Mortal Remains in Maggody
Ads: Link
potentially contagious drabness, and drove toward Farberville and the state police barracks. I wanted to talk to Sergeant Merganser one more time.
-- ==+== --
"Did you hear what Fuzzy told Carlotta?" Gwenneth said as she dribbled coconut oil onto her arm and began to rub it into her skin. Even a cruddy little swimming pool would have been better than the edge of the motel parking lot, but she and Kitty were bored out of their coiffures after less than twenty-four hours in Maggody. Sunbathing seemed better than vegetating. Both women were on aluminum lounges, and wearing what most of the locals would describe as Band-Aids and little pieces of string.
Kitty lit a cigarette and blew a ribbon of smoke into the sky. "From the mouth of the seriously inebriated?"
"I think it means something," Gwenneth said. She regarded her companion from behind her dark glasses, then flipped her hair back and sighed gustily (lustily would come later, in front of the camera). "Fuzzy swears he saw an unauthorized cut of Prickly Passion in a motel in Vegas. When Hal had me in his room last night to rehearse my lines" -- she rolled her eyes, even though Kitty couldn't appreciate the effect -- "he admitted as much and said someone had pirated a tape."
"Well, hell," Kitty said, then paused while she oiled her basically bare breasts. They weren't of Gwenneth's caliber, but they were better than standard issue and twice as expensive. "If that's true, we won't make nearly as much on the distribution. Buddy and I are currently in an uncomfortable situation, and we were counting on our five-percent cuts to ward off the wolves baying at the Jaguar."
The sunglasses fell off Gwenneth's delicately tilted nose, as she jerked upright. "Five?" she said shrilly. "Five? You and Buddy got five? Hal swore up one leg and down the other that everybody was getting three. That son of a bitch! I'd like to take his toupee and shove it -- "
"Good afternoon, ladies," Ruby Bee said as she came across the parking lot, a tray in her hands and a determined smile on her face despite the quantity of naked flesh on display in her parking lot. These Hollywood people seemed disinclined to clothes, she thought uneasily. "I brought you all some iced tea. It must be hotter than an oven out here on the gravel."
Gwenneth got the sunglasses back in place and rewarded the woman with a dazzlingly white smile. "Aren't you a sweetie! I was just telling Kitty that I'd pass up a day of shopping on Rodeo Drive for a glass of tea." She held out her hand, and Ruby Bee hastily put a glass in it.
"Thanks," Kitty said, her voice as gravelly as the parking lot. "I didn't have a chance to meet you last night when Hal ordered us -- I mean, invited us to have a few beers at your bar and meet the locals. I'm Kitty Kaye."
"Oh, I know who you are," Ruby Bee said, trying not to gush but gushing all the same. "I saw every last picture you made back in the fifties. I used to try to fix my hair just like yours in case Humphrey Bogart came knocking on my door. It must have been heavenly to be kissed by someone like that, even if you had to do it 'cause it was in the script."
"It had its moments," Kitty murmured. "It's very kind of you to remember me. I can't count the number of times I've been accused of being dead, even to my face. Before we leave, you and I will pose for a photograph, and I'll autograph it for you personally. Buddy will, too, if you like."
"Oh, Miss Kaye," Ruby Bee breathed reverently, imagining the framed photos on the barroom wall, just like in those fancy Noow Yark restaurants.
Gwenneth frowned at a freckle on her arm. "Who's Humphrey Bogart?"
Kitty and Ruby Bee exchanged looks that bordered on unspoken condemnation. Ruby Bee started to explain, then realized it'd be presumptuous to think she knew better than Miss Kitty Kaye, who'd kissed him in the fifties.
"Later, darling," Kitty said. "So, Mrs. Hanks, what kind of excitement can we anticipate in Maggody?"
"I'd be happy
-- ==+== --
"Did you hear what Fuzzy told Carlotta?" Gwenneth said as she dribbled coconut oil onto her arm and began to rub it into her skin. Even a cruddy little swimming pool would have been better than the edge of the motel parking lot, but she and Kitty were bored out of their coiffures after less than twenty-four hours in Maggody. Sunbathing seemed better than vegetating. Both women were on aluminum lounges, and wearing what most of the locals would describe as Band-Aids and little pieces of string.
Kitty lit a cigarette and blew a ribbon of smoke into the sky. "From the mouth of the seriously inebriated?"
"I think it means something," Gwenneth said. She regarded her companion from behind her dark glasses, then flipped her hair back and sighed gustily (lustily would come later, in front of the camera). "Fuzzy swears he saw an unauthorized cut of Prickly Passion in a motel in Vegas. When Hal had me in his room last night to rehearse my lines" -- she rolled her eyes, even though Kitty couldn't appreciate the effect -- "he admitted as much and said someone had pirated a tape."
"Well, hell," Kitty said, then paused while she oiled her basically bare breasts. They weren't of Gwenneth's caliber, but they were better than standard issue and twice as expensive. "If that's true, we won't make nearly as much on the distribution. Buddy and I are currently in an uncomfortable situation, and we were counting on our five-percent cuts to ward off the wolves baying at the Jaguar."
The sunglasses fell off Gwenneth's delicately tilted nose, as she jerked upright. "Five?" she said shrilly. "Five? You and Buddy got five? Hal swore up one leg and down the other that everybody was getting three. That son of a bitch! I'd like to take his toupee and shove it -- "
"Good afternoon, ladies," Ruby Bee said as she came across the parking lot, a tray in her hands and a determined smile on her face despite the quantity of naked flesh on display in her parking lot. These Hollywood people seemed disinclined to clothes, she thought uneasily. "I brought you all some iced tea. It must be hotter than an oven out here on the gravel."
Gwenneth got the sunglasses back in place and rewarded the woman with a dazzlingly white smile. "Aren't you a sweetie! I was just telling Kitty that I'd pass up a day of shopping on Rodeo Drive for a glass of tea." She held out her hand, and Ruby Bee hastily put a glass in it.
"Thanks," Kitty said, her voice as gravelly as the parking lot. "I didn't have a chance to meet you last night when Hal ordered us -- I mean, invited us to have a few beers at your bar and meet the locals. I'm Kitty Kaye."
"Oh, I know who you are," Ruby Bee said, trying not to gush but gushing all the same. "I saw every last picture you made back in the fifties. I used to try to fix my hair just like yours in case Humphrey Bogart came knocking on my door. It must have been heavenly to be kissed by someone like that, even if you had to do it 'cause it was in the script."
"It had its moments," Kitty murmured. "It's very kind of you to remember me. I can't count the number of times I've been accused of being dead, even to my face. Before we leave, you and I will pose for a photograph, and I'll autograph it for you personally. Buddy will, too, if you like."
"Oh, Miss Kaye," Ruby Bee breathed reverently, imagining the framed photos on the barroom wall, just like in those fancy Noow Yark restaurants.
Gwenneth frowned at a freckle on her arm. "Who's Humphrey Bogart?"
Kitty and Ruby Bee exchanged looks that bordered on unspoken condemnation. Ruby Bee started to explain, then realized it'd be presumptuous to think she knew better than Miss Kitty Kaye, who'd kissed him in the fifties.
"Later, darling," Kitty said. "So, Mrs. Hanks, what kind of excitement can we anticipate in Maggody?"
"I'd be happy
Similar Books
