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responding to whatever Francis had said and I heard the phrase,  & not possible& 
Hallahan was clearly shaken. The Spanish wife seemed oblivious to it all and looked bored.
When she saw me she said,  Please, we may leave?
Five minutes later, we were in the express elevator to the building s lobby.
Everyone was quiet. But, once we got onto the street and were walking toward the
Wilmore Stratton, Hallahan and Francis lagged behind me and the Spanish wife, and
continued their conversation. The wind was strong, and as we walked toward the lake it
grew stronger. I wasn t able to pick up what Hallahan and Francis were discussing.
Presumably it had to do with whatever had made Francis late. Hallahan seemed to want
Francis to do something. Something he was refusing to do. The only thing I heard with any
certainty, when the wind dropped for just a moment, was Francis saying,  I m sorry, that s
not in my job description.
The next morning, I was awake and showered by seven. The coffee service and
croissants arrived a little before eight and so did Stewart. He ordered me to clean up the
suite, and I went ahead and did it I didn t do it well, mind you, but I did it. The maid
would come through in a couple hours anyway.
 Do you know Hallahan s schedule today? I asked, while emptying an ashtray.
 Denny has a screening and Q&A at two. Before that, around noon, he s meeting
with the film critic from the Daily Herald. Then he added the man s name as derisively as
possible.  Fisher Jones.
 Yes, I ve heard of him. I actually read the paper. Is it just those two things? I asked
as I emptied another ashtray into the trash.
 Francis said something about a business meeting at The Pump Room, drinks or
dinner. They d like to see something of the city while they re here.
And a trip of just a few blocks would manage that, I thought.
 Pick ups at the airport? I asked.
 A drop off, he said sourly.  At one o clock. But at least I ll make the screening for
Blood in Wine.
I guessed that might be Hallahan s film showing at two. There was no way I d ask. I
reminded myself that I really needed to spend some time reading the program.
 You probably won t be able to take us to the theater in the van, though, I said.
 I ll make it.
 I ll take Hallahan over in a cab.
 Robert won t be happy if you ask to be reimbursed.
 Then I ll let the director pay.
 That won t make him happy either. You should wait for me.
I shrugged, knowing I d take them over in a cab.
 Why doesn t Robert like you? I asked Stewart, not even sure it was true.
 He likes me yeah, I guess he hates me. It s because of Flowing Water, though I
don t think it s fair to blame me. None of it was my fault.
 Whose fault was it?
 Flowing Water is the only one of Denny s films that he doesn t own one hundred
percent himself. Triumph owns it. They re part of Monarch. Monarch wants to put all the
films on video. But Denny doesn t want his films on video. They promised us a print of the
film, but when Denny refused to meet with them they discovered they d committed the
print elsewhere.
 There s only one print?
 That s their story. They claim the others are damaged. There s a master, of course,
but that can t be sent out and there wasn t time to strike a new one.
It didn t seem fair to blame Stewart. But then, Robert wasn t in the position to be
angry at Denny or Monarch Films. Stewart was the only person involved he could safely be
angry with. I said a sympathetic,  That sucks, and we dropped the subject.
A few minutes later, filmmakers from all over the world began to straggle into the
room. By ten o clock the room was full and there were two or three languages being
spoken. Stewart seemed thrilled by the whole thing, though I don t think he understood
anymore of what was being said than I did. Occasionally, I tried to make myself useful, but
mostly I sulked by the window hoping the future would bring more interesting work my
way.
Kurt Matthews walked into the suite around ten thirty. He ignored the coffee,
ignored the croissants, and made a beeline for me. I wasn t too thrilled.
 I have something for you, he said. I flashed on the idea that he was about to get all
romantic and gooey on me. I was tempted to slap him.
 Let me guess, I said.  It s in your room.
 No, it s right here.
From his back pocket he pulled out a black, shiny wallet. Made of snakeskin, it was a
tall wallet, long and thin, the kind you slip into your inside jacket pocket. I flipped it open.
Inside was Waldo Creed s blue paper New York State license and his credit cards, the one
from Bloomingdale s looked particularly worn. Unsurprisingly, there was no money.
 Where did you get this?
 From a young man I met. He said he found it in the alley outside the hotel.
That didn t seem likely since the credit cards were still there.
 Why did he give it to you? Why didn t he just bring it to the front desk?
 Honestly? I think he just wanted to meet me.
 Really?
 Really. He wasn t as interesting as you were. But it was a pleasant evening.
If he was trying to make me jealous, it didn t work.
 Did he take anything? I asked.
 You mean steal? No. He was nice. Something clicked,  Oh my God, you think he
stole Waldo Creed s wallet?
 No. I m sure he found in the street, just like you said.
He frowned at my lie. I decided I d immediately go down and return Waldo Creed s
wallet.
 I m leaving this afternoon. Will you be taking me to the airport?
 No, that s Stewart. It occurred to me that Stewart might not be as disappointed
about the trip to the airport as he d made out.
 It was nice meeting you, Kurt said.  If you re ever in L.A. look me up.
 I ll do that. I d never been to California and had no plans to go.
He gave me a smile that was probably worth more money than I d made in my
entire life, and said,  No, you won t. And then he was gone. I was about to follow him out
of the suite and go down to Waldo Creed s room, but a dark complected woman with pitch
black hair stepped in front of me.
 I m Afari Bernard, she said as though I was supposed to recognize it. Which was
exactly the way everyone else I d met in the last two days had introduced themselves. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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