‘She’s here! She’s here!’ cried Marcela.
The taxi pulled around the corner and stopped outside the cinema. The door opened and Luke rushed over to help out his great-aunt. She stood on the footpath, her eyes not leaving the cinema.
‘Dad was going to get you from the station tomorrow,’ said Luke.
Hattie kept her eyes on the cinema, her expression not betraying a single emotion. ‘Your father has enough going on with the farm, I didn’t want to trouble him, especially as I am here a day ahead of schedule.’
Claire stood a small distance away, enough to hear the conversation but not too close. She held her breath, unsure what to do. Better to leave it to Luke.
‘I see you have been busy,’ she finally said, her eyes transfixed.
‘Not just me, there have been many, many helpers.’ He waved Claire over. ‘And this clever and kind human coordinated it all.’
Claire stood next to Luke, a cloud of apprehension hovering above her. ‘This was a community effort.’
‘Though Claire came up with the idea.’ Luke held her hand.
‘I … I just don’t know what to say.’ It was impossible to tell from Hattie’s tone or expression what she really felt. Hattie reached out for Luke’s hand. ‘I need to sit.’
Claire ran over to the table and picked up a folding chair. A group of eyes followed her every move and she prayed this surprise wasn’t too much for Hattie. Luke had assured Claire that Hattie would be able to handle it, though now, watching Hattie’s reaction, Claire was scared they’d misjudged the state of her health.
She put the folding chair under the shade and Hattie sat, her lips pursed. Claire handed her a glass of water. Luke’s eyes met Claire’s and she knew he was thinking the same.
Hattie took her time sipping. She finished the water and handed the glass to Luke.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Hattie said. ‘I’m lost for words.’ A sob escaped her lips and Claire knelt down and reached for Hattie’s hands.
‘Really?’
Hattie nodded. ‘No one has ever done anything so special.’
‘This is the least we could do,’ said Claire. ‘It’s a way to thank you for being such a wonderful, caring person and it’s also my way to say sorry. I never meant to let you down.’
‘Oh, dear girl.’ Hattie rested her shaking hand on Claire’s head. ‘Your heartfelt words were enough.’
‘It didn’t feel like it.’
‘Well, it was. Though this …’ Her gaze travelled the width and height of the building. ‘This is so very beautiful.’ She reached into her handbag, pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes.
‘Everyone’s helped,’ said Claire. ‘Starlight Creek is quite the community.’ Now.
‘Excuse me.’ Hattie went to stand and Luke held her arm. ‘I need a moment.’
She went inside the open door of the cinema, her pace slightly slower than normal.
‘Should you go in?’ Claire asked Luke.
‘No. Let her have a moment. She likes to be alone when she gets emotional.’
Claire checked her watch. ‘Maybe we should call it a day.’
‘Good idea. I’ll deal with it.’ Luke went across the road and spoke to the helpers. They nodded, went about polishing off the food then started packing away the equipment.
Colin walked up to her. ‘That was an anticlimax.’
‘I guess so,’ she said. ‘It would have been nice to have the marquee finished.’
‘Ah, well, the best-laid plans and all that.’
‘Yep. Thanks for your help. We can finish tomorrow.’
‘It is a pleasure, Miss … Claire.’ Colin’s warm smile helped lift her spirits a fraction.
Luke returned and put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, committing this feeling to memory.
‘Maybe I should go and check on her,’ he said.
‘I’ll pack up the rest of the gear out here.’
Luke kissed her on the forehead and went inside while Claire busied herself. He and Hattie must have been deep inside the cinema as Claire couldn’t hear a word, which was probably just as well. Her attempt at eavesdropping was not something she was proud of.
‘Claire.’ Luke appeared at the door, his expression serious.
She placed a paint tin on top of another. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Come inside.’
She followed Luke, her nerves on edge. In the foyer she hesitated, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Luke’s warm breath grazed her ear. ‘Come with me.’
Claire walked into the cinema but couldn’t find Hattie.
‘Take a seat,’ said Luke.
She did so and looked around, intrigued and a tad concerned about what was happening. A moment later Hattie appeared with a metal canister.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Luke.
Hattie’s voice faltered. ‘Yes.’
Luke went over and took it from her. He whispered something in her ear and gave her a quick hug then he disappeared with the canister into the corridor and up to the projector room.
Claire stood and went over to Hattie. ‘You’re not upset?’
Hattie patted her hand. ‘No, my darling girl.’
They sat and Claire got comfortable. The aroma of freesias surrounded Claire and she inhaled subtly. The scent matched Hattie perfectly—sweet and strong.
Hattie leaned in close. ‘I wish we had popcorn.’
Claire rummaged in her handbag. ‘Mints?’
Hattie popped one in her mouth and sucked on it slowly.
The screen flickered to life.
The music blared through the speakers and Luke turned it down. In black and white, a man appeared on-screen, his dark hair framing a handsome face with a strong jaw.
‘He’s gorgeous,’ said Claire.
‘Shh.’
Claire pursed her lips, worried she’d broken a rule of Hattie’s. The man in the movie was running through dark alleys, gunshots in the distance. He wove between cars on the main street and skilfully swerved around poles and bins. When he entered another alleyway, a door opened, the silhouette of a woman highlighted in the doorway.
‘I thought you’d never get here,’ she said.
‘I had a few things to take care of.’ He entered the doorway and the scene flipped to inside the room of the house where the man held the woman in his arms. The camera panned back to slowly reveal her face. Her lips were painted perfectly, her eyelashes long, her hair curled and pinned in an early 1950s style.
Claire couldn’t keep her eyes off the woman. She looked familiar, though Claire couldn’t figure out the actress’s name. Over the years, she’d seen dozens of Hollywood classics, so maybe she’d seen this particular actress in a minor role before?
Claire listened intently to the actress’s voice. She sounded a little like … Hattie, even though the actress spoke with a strong American accent. Claire rested her elbows on her knees as she observed the actress gliding around the apartment, giving the actor a hard time.
‘Is that Pierre Montreaux?’ Claire asked, hoping she wouldn’t get shushed again.
‘Yes.’ Hattie sounded distant.
The camera closed in on the actress, the lens soft, accentuating her beauty.
‘And is that Lena Lee?’
‘Yes,’ said Hattie.
‘Why are you showing me this …’ Claire spun to face Luke’s great-aunt. ‘Oh my god. Are you Lena Lee?’
CHAPTER 35
1994 – Starlight Creek, Queensland
Hattie waved her hand in the air and the movie shut off. A few moments later Luke joined Claire and his great-aunt in the cinema.
‘Did you know about this?’ Claire asked.
‘Yes, but only for the last few years.’
She couldn’t quite get her head around this revelation. ‘Oh, now it makes sense. When I first arrived here you pushed me away. You were super defensive about not filming at the cinema and for me not to meet Hattie.’
‘
Yeah, sorry about that.’
‘You were just trying to protect her. What were you afraid of, though? That someone would recognise her? Why? What’s wrong with someone finding out Hattie’s a Hollywood star?’
Luke looked at Hattie, who said, ‘I’ve spent the best part of forty years trying to forget who I was. I have my reasons, and in due time I’ll let you be privy to them, but for now, I need you to have an open mind.’
‘Of course,’ she said.
‘My time in Hollywood feels like another life, and, I guess it was. I’d become so good at being someone else that I eventually forgot the essence of me. And because of my ability to reinvent myself, when the time came to come back to Australia, I was able to slip into my old life, albeit a changed person.’
‘But people in Starlight Creek would have known about your life in Hollywood, right?’
‘They did, but it was a tight-knit community back then. Just like Luke, they protected me from the outside world. As time has worn on, though, our little town has fragmented.’
‘Until this week,’ said Luke. ‘Funny how it took an outsider to bring us together again.’
‘Indeed,’ said Hattie. ‘Words cannot express my gratitude.’
‘It’s the least I can do,’ said Claire.
‘There’s something else you can help with, but we’ll come to that shortly. First, though, there are some things you need to know.’ Hattie opened up about her early days in Starlight Creek, how she came to be a swimsuit model that eventually led her to Hollywood. Claire listened with fascination, taking in every word while closely watching Hattie’s movements, listening to the nuances in her speech. As the story unfolded, Claire’s empathy for this courageous woman grew.
‘Then I fell for a man who meant the world to me,’ said Hattie. ‘But things happened—many things I regret and some I had no control over—and one split second changed my entire life.’
‘What happened?’ Claire asked.
‘Ah, this is where you doing me a favour comes in.’
‘Oh?’
‘I’ve been observing you, seeing the passion in your eyes and hearing it in your voice, about how much you want a project you can embrace and do justice.’ Hattie shifted in her seat. ‘I’ve spent too long keeping this secret and the time has come for me to lay it on the table. Even Luke doesn’t know all of it.’
‘Why are you trusting me?’ she asked.
‘I trust you because you are a woman after my own heart,’ said Hattie. ‘You’re trying to make the world a better place using story as your medium but you haven’t had a break. And I’m offering you one on a silver platter, my dear.’
‘You want me to make a documentary? I would love nothing more!’ Her enthusiasm waned slightly. ‘Though it could take forever to get funding.’
Hattie smiled. ‘I’ve lived a frugal life since my arrival back here. I can pay for this project.’
Claire swallowed hard. ‘Are you sure? This would be my first documentary. What if I don’t do it justice? What if—’
‘Claire,’ Hattie said firmly. ‘I would not be asking you to do this if I didn’t think you were the right person. Luke would not be in love with you if you didn’t have a beautiful soul.’
‘What?’ Claire looked at Luke, whose eyes were wide.
‘Oh, please,’ Hattie said. ‘You two have been dancing around each other like you have all the time in the world. At your age, it probably feels like you do. Believe me, though, life can change in the blink of an eye and the future you thought would always be there can be ripped away.’
‘Aunt Hattie, Claire and I are more than capable of figuring this out ourselves,’ Luke said.
‘From what I can see, you’re both off the mark and you’re both just a bit too stubborn.’ Hattie finished this with a firm nod.
Once again, Hattie had left Claire short on words.
‘So,’ said Hattie. ‘I want you to make a documentary about me. This is not some grandiose affair to show off what I achieved, it’s to set the record straight.’
‘Are you sure?’ asked Luke.
‘Darling, I’ve never told you everything because it’s been too painful and I wanted to remain just Hattie Fitzpatrick. That’s why I sent the biographer for Amelia Elliott packing. He started getting too interested in who I was and he got way too close to uncovering the truth. But I’m ready now.’ Hattie concentrated on her clasped hands on her lap then looked up. ‘When I was in Brisbane I went to a heart specialist. I didn’t want to wait for one to do a regional visit.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ asked Luke.
‘Because I didn’t want to worry anyone. Look, the short of it is that my old ticker isn’t what it used to be and I need to come to terms with the fact that it could give out at any moment. This is why seizing the day is so important.’ Her gaze travelled from Claire to Luke and back again. ‘I have kept this to myself long enough and it’s high time I cleared my name.’
‘Cleared your name?’ asked Claire.
‘Yes,’ Hattie said matter-of-factly. ‘Now, how quickly can we get this project started?’
* * *
In the cinema, Phil adjusted the lights on Hattie while she fussed with her dark green dress. The backdrop of Amelia Elliott’s legacy seemed apt as a setting for Hattie to tell her life story and Claire still couldn’t get her head around how fast things had happened. The second she’d contacted Phil, he was on his way to Starlight Creek with his best mate, sound man Rodney. Getting the project off the ground so quickly had meant she and Luke hadn’t had time to talk, but it would come—and she was frightened of how it might turn out.
Claire sat off camera, her questions at the ready. Knowing Hattie so well had helped her prepare for the interviews and as Hattie had talked about her life, Claire saw that the parallels with Claire’s own journey were uncanny. Both had entered a world where women had to fight to be heard and despite all the challenges, they were determined to succeed. Hattie’s ability to negotiate such a high wage was impressive.
Hattie patted her hair into place.
‘You look beautiful,’ said Claire.
Hattie gave a nervous laugh. ‘Bless you, lovely lass.’
Claire placed the clipboard of questions on her lap. ‘Are you ready to continue? Remember, we can take a break anytime you want.’
‘No, me talking about what happened is the reason we’re doing this. Promise me one thing, though.’
‘Anything,’ said Claire.
‘Keep filming—no matter what.’ Hattie’s determination was admirable.
‘All right.’ She wasn’t so sure this was the right thing though nothing would stop Claire from honouring this promise to Hattie.
‘Right to go, Rod?’ asked Phil. The sound man nodded and Phil got behind the camera and used his fingers to count down from three.
Claire asked, ‘Hattie, after Reeves was shot, the grief must have been terribly hard to deal with while under investigation.’
Tears welled up in Hattie’s eyes.
‘It was an extremely difficult time. I couldn’t mourn the death of the man I loved with all my heart, and I was hounded by the police. I’d cooperated fully with the detectives yet they seemed determined to drag me through the mud. And in Hollywood, mud sticks.’ Hattie clutched the lace handkerchief in her hand. ‘When they arrested me two hours before his funeral, my entire world collapsed.’
‘Oh, Hattie, I’m so sorry.’
‘They were doing their job, I can see that now, but at the time I was livid. And distraught. Not only had I lost my soul mate, I was denied any chance of saying goodbye. I was a criminal in the eyes of the police, and the public quickly followed suit. Fortitude Studios dropped me like a hot potato and I was left floundering on my own, except for my good friends Yvonne, Vanessa and George. Though they had to save their necks as any association with me would kill their careers.’
‘They dumped you?’
‘Dump is such a harsh word. No, they stood by me in
silence, and I knew they had my back. I don’t blame them. Hollywood is a small place and at a time when people were getting black-banned for the smallest thing, they couldn’t risk getting banned themselves.’
Claire paused, trying to take it all in. Hattie’s life must have been miserable for so many years. Quietly, she asked, ‘Did you ever seek out your friends after you moved back to Starlight Creek?’
‘I did with George, but I’ll get to that momentarily. When I got back to Australia I was determined to keep my nose clean and my head down. As soon as I left Los Angeles I said goodbye to Lena Lee and haven’t looked back.’
‘How is it now, talking about your life as Lena?’
‘It’s hard. There’re so many emotions swirling inside me right now. I had a good life for the first few years in Hollywood. It was tough but the friends I made were incredible and as my star rocketed skyward, I managed to hold on to most of those friendships. It kept me grounded. But life has a funny way of turning things upside down when you least expect it.’ Hattie’s laugh sounded hollow.
‘What happened when they arrested you?’ Claire asked gently. She studied Hattie, watching for any signs of physical distress. So far, so good.
Hattie closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were glassy. ‘I have no idea how long they held me in the cell before my lawyer arrived. It could have been hours. It could have been a day. I’d lost all sense of time in that tiny concrete cell—my heart and mind were with Reeves as I imagined him being laid to rest. I’ll never forgive them for making me miss my final goodbye.’ Her words were laced with bitterness, her usually relaxed jaw set hard. ‘To be honest, after his death, nothing held significance. If it wasn’t for my friend George and my lawyer, I probably would have gone to jail. I had no energy left to fight. I didn’t think I could go on.’
‘What changed?’
Hattie focussed on her hands for a time. Eventually, she looked up. ‘I realised Reeves would be heartbroken if I rotted in a jail for something I didn’t do. And not fighting for my freedom would have been a disservice to his legacy, to our love.’ Hattie moved position and took a deep breath. ‘The biggest problem was that when Reeves was shot, the cameras weren’t rolling. It was only a rehearsal. I’m sure it would have made a difference as they would have seen my reaction on film. I may have been a good actress but there was no way I could ever have faked my shock and grief.’
The Cinema at Starlight Creek Page 33
