The Monet Murders by Terry Mort Page A

station.”
    That figured.
    Rita shuddered when we pulled up to the parking lot.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?” I asked, more or less knowing.
    â€œThis place gives me the creeps. I see myself coming here some day with one suitcase wrapped with clothesline and getting on a bus for Sioux City.”
    â€œYou could still hit it big. You have the look.”
    She smiled what seemed to be a genuine smile. “That’s nice of you to say. Experience so far says something different. Maybe I’m no good in the sack. Not good enough, anyway.”
    â€œHard to believe.”
    â€œWell, acting’s not easy. In the sack you have to feel it, you know? A lot of women can fake it, but I can’t. Not very well, anyway.”
    There was the hint of a challenge there somewhere.
    â€œIs that your home? Sioux City?”
    â€œNo. But it might as well be. It’s somewhere up north. In the middle of nowhere. It’s like going back to nowhere from nothing, after having achieved exactly nothing except a few sessions with guys named Myron who promised nothing and delivered exactly that.”
    â€œWhere’s your real home?”
    â€œDo you really care?”
    â€œJust making conversation, but, yes, I kind of do.”
    â€œAkron. That’s in Ohio.”
    â€œI knew that. I paid attention in geography class. Besides, I was born in Ohio too.”
    â€œReally? Whereabouts?”
    â€œA little farm town called Poland.”
    â€œNever heard of it.”
    â€œYou’re not alone. It’s outside of Youngstown.”
    â€œI’ve heard of that. Steel mills, foreigners, and mobsters.”
    â€œPretty much.”
    I glanced over at her. She had a wonderful profile, top to bottom, and I could see why the various Myrons had made plays for her. And, let’s be honest, used her. And suddenly the urge to do a good deed came over me. It happens now and then.
    â€œI don’t want you to misunderstand me, but I know some people in the movie business. They might be willing to arrange a screen test for you.”
    She looked at me skeptically. “I’m surprised you’d use that moldy line. You look like you could get over just on merit. Fact is, up till now I was kind of interested.”
    â€œI appreciate that. But I already have a lady friend, and, as a matter of interest to you, I arranged a screen test for her that resulted in a three-year contract at five hundred a week.”
    She stared at me for a moment. “Are you serious?”
    â€œYes. One of my clients is married to Isadore Welkin, the producer. We’re on good terms, and she arranged for my friend to have a test.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œReally.”
    â€œAnd you’d make a call for me too?”
    â€œSure. No guarantees, but no strings attached.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œAs a favor. After all, getting a test is a small thing if you know the right people. If you’re good, it’ll show up on the screen. If not, it’ll be the bus to Sioux Falls or wherever. Or the diner on Sepulveda. That’s all up to you. All I’m offering to do is make a phone call.”
    â€œYour real name’s not Myron, is it?”
    â€œNo. And it’s not Bruno Feldspar, either, just between us.”
    â€œWho cares? How soon can you make the call?”
    â€œJust as soon as we pick up the package.”
    â€œWell, what are we waiting for?”
    I parked the Packard in a litter-strewn lot next to the bus station. The litter included two drunks, whose attempts to panhandle us were so pathetically feeble that I gave each of them a quarter. For a moment, I wondered whether the hubcaps would still be there when we got back.
    The station was pretty empty except for a couple of sleeping soldiers, a guy in a cheap suit who looked like a Fuller Brush salesman complete with clip-on leather bow tie and sample case, and some Mexicans of doubtful citizenship. It was three generations