[Celebrity Murder Case 04] - The Talking Pictures Murder Case

by George Baxt

  “She's making a comeback,” said Roland, for want of anything else to say. “I'm very proud of her “

  “Were you and Miss Leddy still on good terms?”

  Roland's face hardened and Henry Turk was stunned by what he heard him admit to the detective “I made love to her most of last night and I left her singing in the bathtub this morning. If I was going to murder her, I could have drowned her. It would have been simpler than creating this abominable sight.” That was Jim Mallory's cue to cover Leddy's face with a towel.

  “And you, Mr. Turk?” Villon looked amiable.

  “What? What about me?”

  “You just said you could have killed her.”

  “That was just an expression, you know what I mean? She's been hell to work with. I’ve worked with some pretty awful, mean-spirited, temperamental bitches like Mae Murray and Pola Negri but this Alicia Leddy took the cake. She was impossible. She couldn't do anything right. She couldn't walk, she couldn't express an emotion, and I spent all morning trying to make her cry. I mean, when you tell Lillian Gish to cry … jeez … it comes pouring out, real genuine tears.” He indicated the corpse “But this ignorant klutz—”

  “Shut up!” shouted Roland.

  Villon overrode him “Oh no no no. Keep talking, Mr Turk. I love the sound of your voice. Your evaluation of Miss Leddy may be cruelly harsh and brutally judgmental to Mr Roland, but to my ears it's a Brahms rhapsody “

  Henry Turk wondered if Villon had recently escaped from a state asylum. The other detective, Mallory, was smiling That disturbed Turk more than Roland's outburst. Turk said hastily, “Look, that's just a professional judgment as her director. She was a perfectly nice girl otherwise. I can't think of anybody who hated her.” Only the entire company, but what the hell, the kid deserved a more favorable epitaph “Look, Mr. Villon. Because of her were weeks behind schedule, were thousands of dollars over budget …”

  “I didn't know the budget was a director's concern.”

  “Are you kidding?” Turk was truly aghast. “A director comes in over schedule and over budget and right away in this town he shoulders the blame. The phone doesn't ring as often as it used to. It could wash me up. Look what it's done to Von Stroheim. Poor Erich has had to go back to acting in quickies to earn a living, and he's a genius.”

  “And you're not?”

  Turk was lighting another cigarette. “I'm great at kidding others, Mr. Villon, but I never ever kid myself. I'm a good, competent hack. Not as good as some, better than most, and I’ve survived successfully for a long long time. To be perfectly blunt and to be perfectly honest, it was up to Mr. Roland to have replaced Miss Leddy weeks ago when he was informed she was absolutely hopeless. He saw it for himself in the rushes Sorry, Alex …”

  “It's all right, Henry “ He meant it. “I'm not blaming you. Everybody in the industry knows it's not your fault. Well, there goes over four hundred thousand dollars up in smoke.”

  Turk said quickly, “We could reshoot her scenes in less than two weeks. Annamary Darling would be wonderful and she works fast Why don't we—”

  Roland thundered, “Not now later “ To Villon, he asked, “Is there anything else? I must get back to my office. There's a great deal to be done about this crisis.”

  Villon asked, seemingly from out of nowhere, “Isn't the picture insured?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Mr Roland, isn't the picture insured?”

  “All films carry a certain amount of insurance. I don't know how much there is on this one. I want to consult my accountants That's one of the pressing reasons I wish to get back to my office I’ll be there if there's anything else … “

  'That's about all we can do now.”

  “I need Mr. Turk,“ said Roland.

  Villon asked Turk, “When you came to the dressing room, you didn't notice anybody leave or hanging around?”

  “No, not … wait a minute There were a couple of extras sitting nearby gossiping. One was knitting and the other I think was crocheting or something. They were middle-aged. I remember them from the luncheonette scene I managed to shoot the first thing this morning.”

  Villon instructed Jim Mallory to round them up. Then he dismissed Turk, who accompanied Roland back to his office.

  Villon followed them outside, where Hazel Dickson waited for him along with the other newspaper people. “Inspector Villon,” she rasped a bit sarcastically, “have you a statement to make about any further developments in this case, other than the discovery of the corpse?”

  “Yes. I can’t stand your hat “

  Sophie Gang was providing Sam Goldwyn with all she had found out to date about the murder of Alicia Leddy. Hers was one of the better grapevines in Hollywood. She was famous for having predicted the gender of Dolores Costellos expected baby even before the actress knew she was pregnant. “So far the only two suspects the police seem to have are Henry Turk—”

  “Don't be crazy.”

  “And Alex Roland. She was strangled with a scarf he gave her.”

  “Phooey. No grand jury would indicate him with such circumcision evidence.”

  “Much as he liked her, Alex liked saving his studio more. I hear the insurance just about covers the losses he's been suffering because of Alicia Leddy's incompetence.“

  Goldwyn torched a cigar and then leaned back, contemplating nothing in particular “Alex does have a pretty terrible temper. But then, so do I. So do all of us. But murder somebody. Tell me Sophie, what am I capable of murdering?”

  ‘The English language.”

  “Me? Me murder the English languish? Who do you know has a better respect for words than I do? Huh? Tell me. Me who has hired such great writers as Rupert Hughes and Maurice Maeterlynx …”

  “Maeterlinck.”

  “So I said different’” His eyes were slabs of granite. “So what’s with Ann Harding? She did her costume fittings for Condemned?”

  “She has to lose some weight Her dresses are a little snug.” She thought for a moment “My God, you don't suppose she’s pregnant?”

  Goldwyn waved the suggestion away “Don’t be crazy. She told my wife when she sleeps with her husband she always uses a diagram Now what are we doing about Jack Darling?”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Didn't we say yesterday maybe we should do something with him? I always liked him, even when he was a snot-nosed kid. Does he talk?”

  “Sometimes you can't shut him up “

  “I mean for films. Can he talk good?”

  “I don't know I don't know if he's ever tested.”

  “So let's have him in for a test.”

  At Diamond Studios, Villon and Hazel were having coffee in the commissary Hazel was questioning Villon about the murdered actress.

  “Enough about her throat How much acid around her mouth?'

  “None.”

  “You suppose the killer ran out of it?”

  “Different killer.”

  “Oh go away “

  “Different killer, I'm telling you.”

  “You mean to tell me there's no connection between Leddy's murder and the murder of the Lovelaces?”

  “I didn't say there was no connection, I'm just saying it's different killers “ Hazel waited. She stirred her coffee though it didn't need it. “The Lovelaces were poisoned. Leddy was strangled. Murderers stick to the same modus operandi “

  “You’re so positive “

  “Look, murderers have this much imagination and no more “ He made a small space between a thumb and an index finger “Murderers are really very monotonous. I've never heard one tell a joke “

  Hazel clucked her tongue rapidly “Murder is no laughing matter.”r

  “I'm telling you. Hazel, stranglers do not poison and poisoners do not strangle.” He sipped his coffee and made a face. It was bitter and tepid “Studio coffee, yuck. Shoe polish “ He pushed the cup and saucer aside “I think the next one will be different.”

  He enjoyed the startl
ed expression on her face “What next one?”

  “The next murder.”

  “What next murder?”

  “How do I know? But there's going to be one—has to—unless I can nail Leddy's murderer within the next couple of hours, and I doubt if I will because I've got no eyewitness. Unless Jim Mallory rounds up those two old ladies Henry Turk saw gossiping near Leddy's dressing room. And even if he does, they might not have noticed anyone because when two women are gossiping, war could break out and they'd be too busy yentaing to notice “ He was studying a cuticle. “There's going to be another murder or two or so because whoever murdered Alicia Leddy didn't murder her because he or she disliked her. She was murdered because of Alexander Roland and the precarious financial situation of this studio. Somebody wants to destroy Diamond Films “

  “Or Roland needs the insurance to cover his losses “

  “That's my girl.” Villon smiled. “That's when I’m proud of you. Either way, it's all connected to Alexander Roland “

  “So maybe he murdered her after all.”

  “Nah. Men like Roland, if they need somebody murdered, they don’t soil their own hands. They can always get somebody to do it for them. You know as well as I do this town is loaded with dozens of killers for hire.“

  “Of course They're known as agents And what the hell do you mean you don't like my hat?”

  * * *

  Jim Mallory had found Carrie O'Day and Maggie Villon and was escorting them to Villon's table. Hazel laughed “Well, will you look who Mallory's found. Your very own mother! How are you, Maggie?”

  “Never better!” she said with a small wave of a hand.

  Villon stood up and hugged his mother. “What are you doing in the studio?”

  “Me and my friend Carrie were working extra, but the company's been dismissed. Isn't it tragic, that poor Leddy girl. And her first picture too. Usually they get killed after the picture's been released, not before it finishes shooting.” She said to Hazel, “I love your hat.”

  “Ha!” trumpeted Hazel.

  Villon asked the women if they'd noticed anyone near Alicia Leddy's dressing room at what he approximated to be the time of her murder.

  “Henry Turk,” said Mrs Villon

  “Just Henry Turk?”

  “He's all I saw, Herbie.”

  “Now, hold on, Maggie,” said Carrie O’Day. “What about the musketeer?”

  'The musket … oh hell, yes. There was this man dressed as a French musketeer wearing a domino mask I think it was. But he's probably from the stage next door. That’s where they're shooting that musical with Lotus Fairweather and Donald Carewe. They've been working for days on this masquerade party scene. I heard one of the assistants say it'll probably break the studio, something like that.”

  Villon sent Jim Mallory to the adjoining soundstage in search of the masked musketeer.

  Hazel said, partly to herself but loud enough for Villon to hear, “So Roland's got another loser in the works.”

  “He's got more than that,” said Mrs Villon knowledgeably. “Well, you know how it is, dear,” she said with a sweet smile. “When you work in a studio, you hear all sorts of gossip “ Then abruptly and sternly she said to her son, “You're pale and you've lost weight. Why haven’t you been eating? They pay you enough, don't they? Hazel, why isn't he eating?”

  “Well, you see, Maggie, there's this series of corpses that are sure to kill even a glutton's appetite …”

  Jack Darling was strutting about the rear terrace of Annawill with an airy bounce. “So Sam Goldwyn wants me for a voice test tomorrowl Ha! Ha! How about them apples “

  His mother was beaming as she stirred a Sazerac with an index finger. “Sam's always been a loyal friend, bless him. He says he’s got a great part for you in another gentleman thief picture he’s got lined up for Ronnie Colman. He's going to have to give you co-star billing. No child of mind gets listed under the title.”

  Annamary, who was reclining on a lounge trying to cool herself with a bamboo fan, cautioned, “Don't kill it, Mama. Jack isn't snowed under with offers. If the word gets out Goldwyn’s interested, then a lot of other producers will hop on the bandwagon. Be smart. Jack, start practicing ‘How now brown cow’ and 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers' and co-star billing be damned.”

  Cornelius Upland, their new butler, emerged through the library's French doors “Sorry to interrupt, madam”—his facial tic didn't seem to annoy any of them—”there's a certain Alexander Roland calling.”

  Marie was astonished and delighted “In person?”

  “Oh no, madam, I'm so sorry.” The tic’s twitching accelerated, making him look as though he were flirting. “He's on the telephone.”

  “Ha and ha and ha,” said Marie to her children “So Marcus has had the papers served already. Good old Marcus Bring the phone out here, Upchuck “

  “Upland, madam.”

  “I'm so sorry. Bring it out here and take your time about it.” She was sitting up like a ferret about to pounce and destroy its prey Annamary was hypnotized watching her husband prowling around the trees and bushes of the estate's arboretum, carrying a hunting rifle and practicing to be a white hunter. She hadn't seen such enthusiasm on Willis's part since the first time they ever slept together. She was vastly impressed. He's going to make good in the talkers, she was thinking. And I'm glad for him. If he succeeds, my conscience will be less troubled when I take the train to Reno.

  Marie was gloating as she sipped her Sazerac and Jack was prancing about reciting 'The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck,” a childhood memory, enunciating each word with exaggerated clarity. Upland returned carrying a telephone He plugged it into the wall and then set it down on the table next to Marie He handed her the receiver. Marie counted to ten and then spoke

  “Marie Darling here.” Each word dripped with acid.

  “Just a moment,” said Jason Cutts. “I have to interrupt his conference “

  “Well, make it snappy,” said Marie icily “I've got calls coming in from Adolph Zukor and UFA in Berlin “

  It was for over an hour that Alexander Roland's conference had consumed his time and his patience The conferees included Henry Turk, Diamond's accountants, and two of the studio's shrewdest lawyers.They had convinced Roland to swallow his pride and attempt a peaceful overture to Marie Darling, and offer Annamary the lead in The Bride Wore Sneakers. Jason buzzed Roland Roland stared at the phone as though to lift it might mean instant electrocution. He hated Marie Darling with a passion that would have inspired envy in Jack the Ripper. He cleared his throat and spoke into the phone

  “Marie, I want to apologize for my rudeness this morning. I've been under a terrible strain.” He spoke rapidly, not giving her a chance to interrupt. 'And we've suffered a terrible tragedy here. I don’t know if it's been on the radio or you heard it elsewhere, but Alicia Leddy was murdered.”

  “How awful,” said Marie She sounded as though she were admiring a piece of jewelry. With her hand over the mouthpiece, she told Annamary and Jack about Alicia Leddy. Annamary was genuinely shocked and Jack made a mournful whistling sound.

  “Marie, I'm up against the wall. I’m in terrible trouble. But I think we can save the movie. Henry Turk's directing and he says he can redo Leddys scenes in under two weeks. Marie, I want to settle with you. I want Annamary to replace Alicia Leddy. Now let me finish I’ll not only live up to our contract, but I’ll give her a bonus and I promise you before the picture is finished, her second talker will be lined up and ready to shoot within four weeks.”

  Marie finally had a chance to speak. “Jack has found a script he wants to do “ It was the first Jack had heard of this. “It’s got a great title Margin for Terror. I got my hands on it a couple of weeks ago and three studios are bidding for it. It's a great part for Jack He plays a lady-killer, a young Bluebeard. I want you to get it for him It can't miss. You better hurry, Alex, because Sam Goldwyn wants Jack for Colman's next one after Condemned, and you can call Sam and
verify that yourself. Willis has signed to do three for Joe Schenck, but you're still to guarantee me in writing he'll do the three he’s owed under his Diamond deal Then you can tear up those papers my lawyer served you.”

  It was the first that Alexander Roland had heard of it. “I haven't been served with any papers by your lawyer.” He looked at his lawyers “Have you had any papers from Marcus Tender?” They dueted no. He told this to Marie.

  “That incompetent sunnuvabitch! That lowlife rattlesnake!”

  “Marie!” shouted Roland. The hell with him! Do we have a deal or don't we!”

  Marie was famous for her chameleon moods “Alex, I'm glad we're in business again. I want Annamary to have her suite back, repainted and redecorated. The same for Jack and the same for Willis when he returns to the lot after doing his jungle movie for Joe Schenck “

  “What jungle movie? You mean that chestnut about a white hunter looking for lost treasure? Don’t let him do it! Doug Fairbanks turned it down and so did George Bancroft and even poor old Harry Carey who needs a break desperately has turned it down in favor of some jungle quickie at Metro, he said the script was so awful.” Marie shrieked for Willis, who came trotting on the double, assuming someone was dying of a heart attack “Get him out of it! Whatever you do, Marie, don’t let that be his first talker. I've got a foreign legion movie that's perfect for him. It's better than Beau Geste was. Warner Baxter is begging me to get Bill Fox to lend him to us for it. Marie, do you hear me?”

  “My God, yes, Give me some time to scheme! Leave it to me You know I can handle it.” And how he knew she could handle it. ‘Willis! You're too sick to start that movie for Schenck! You're joining the foreign legion for Diamond. What was that, Alex? Yes, yes, I’ll bring Annamary to the studio right away “ Annamary bolted upright while placing the bamboo fan aside. “You know she's no trouble with costume fittings. Who's the male lead? Who? Arnold Holt? Oh God, Alex, he must be sixty if he's a day. Ah, the hell with it Everybody's eyes will be on my baby She'll wipe the screen with Holt Hang up so we can get started!” She hung up “Baby, baby, I've done it. I've done it! You're replacing Alicia Leddy in The Bride Wore Sneakers. Hmmm. Well have to change that title Come on, we’ve got to get it to the studio. Come on, you two”—she waved at her son and her son-in-law—”come on! We're returning to Diamond in triumph!” All the scene lacked was an orchestral background of “Pomp and Circumstance “ “Upchuck!” shouted Marie “Bring the limousine to the front door!”