“I’ll bet that didn’t sit well with Jennifer.”
“I don’t think Hypatia was too thrilled with it either.”
Jack and Katherine had reached the bar. Admiral Simmons was holding court, and it was obvious why the Navy had chosen him to lead the Pacific Fleet. He dominated the conversation, even to the exclusion of the Assistant Secretary, who was barely staying awake, having just arrived in Hawaii from Washington after thirteen hours of airports, airplanes, cars and a five-hour time difference. As he approached the Admiral, Jack noticed that Commander Butler was walking toward Hypatia and Jennifer, who were still standing at the seawall.
“Admiral, I want you to meet my wife, Katherine.”
“It’s a pleasure, Katherine, and I hope you’ll call me Andy.”
“I would be delighted, Andy,” Katherine said as she extended her hand to shake his.
“I must warn you, Andy, that Katherine reads all the national security and naval thrillers and she is well-versed in foreign intrigue,” Jack said.
“Wonderful,” the Admiral replied. “Katherine, what do you think of this Middle East situation?”
As Katherine engaged the Admiral in a lively discussion, Jack saw that the Assistant Secretary was fading fast.
“Rich, can I give you some advice about adjusting to the time zone here in Hawaii?”
“Please!”
“I know that your body time is closing in on two o’clock in the morning. I also know that you’ve now been up for about twenty-one hours if you took the early morning flight from Washington through Los Angeles.”
“You’re right. I’m dead on my ass.”
“I know the feeling, and I have a suggestion. Some say the cure is worse than the ailment, but it’s worked for me.”
“Anything. What is it?”
“You’re not going to like this, but you’ve got to stay awake for another two and a half hours, until eleven o’clock. Then, you’ll sleep eight hours and wake up on Hawaii time, more or less, tomorrow morning.”
“Great. How do I do that?”
“Keep talking. Keep standing. And don’t think about it. You’ve only got a little while to go, but if you give up now and go back to your hotel, it will take you two days to get on Hawaii time.”
“I’ll do it. I don’t want to make this any harder than it has to be.”
“Good. So what do we have in common that Noa told you about?”
“Jack, I’m a recovering lawyer,” Richard pronounced in a somber tone.
Jack howled upon hearing the phrase that had recently gained popularity in legal circles, describing lawyers who had left the private practice of law for other endeavors.
“How do you feel?” Jack asked.
“You know, Jack, I feel good so far. I haven’t missed it yet. Do you?”
“Oh, every once in a while, I get the urge to try a case, but it usually passes. Not always, though, I have to admit.”
“I know what you mean. You can’t get it completely out of your system, even after you leave it,” Rich said.
“That’s true. Say Rich, where did Commander Butler go? I want to hear about that new Destroyer he commands.”
“Jack, it’s the damnedest thing. We’re standing here sipping these Mai Tai’s, we he turns to me and says he knows Hypatia Adams. He dated her in California before she became a star.”
“Did he know she’d be here tonight?”
“No, his ship just arrived in Pearl this weekend for antisubmarine warfare exercises, and this is the first time he’s been off the ship. Admiral Simmons called him this afternoon and ordered him to join us tonight, to get him away from the ship for some R&R.”
“What a pleasant surprise for Tom.”
“Yes. He got very excited when he saw her. I don’t think they’ve talked since she hit the big time.
“Jack, would you excuse me for a moment. There’s a local politico here, and the Secretary of the Navy asked me to be sure to say hello to him. I just spotted him across the room.”
“Of course,” Jack said. “But don’t violate Rule One and go to sleep before eleven o’clock.”
“I won’t and thanks for the advice. I hope we can get together while I’m here in Honolulu.”
“Absolutely. Where are you staying?”
“I’m at the Royal Hawaiian.”
“Great! That’s where we live. We’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks, Jack,” Rich said as he walked toward the Mayor of Honolulu.
Turning toward Katherine and Admiral Simmons, Jack saw Jennifer Adams out of the corner of his eye, standing next to Derek Reynolds, sipping Mai Tai’s with him and appearing for all intents and purposes as his long lost friend. First it was Sidney and George Lane enjoying Hawaii’s favorite libation with the producer who had ruined her career and his finances, and now it was Jennifer Adams with the guy who was abusing her sister.
Hollywood people are truly strange, Jack concluded.
CHAPTER FIVE
Katherine had the look that she generally reserved for filet mignon just before she sliced into it. Instead of a steak however, the object of her attention was Admiral Simmons. She wielded her knowledge of international affairs like a steak knife, slicing issues and presenting them to him for consideration, debate and resolution. Simmons was clearly enjoying the moment, not only because Katherine was easy on the eyes, but also because she knew what she was talking about. Jack decided not to interrupt them and instead walked over to Arthur Fairbanks who was talking to one of the cast members.
“Arthur, my good man, you aren’t discussing one of your screenplays, are you?”
“How on earth did you know, Jack?”
“I just guessed, although it was a close call between your screenplays and Captain James Cook’s impact on Hawaii.”
“Indeed. And I am gratified to see that you continue to educate yourself on the Pacific voyages of Britain’s greatest explorer. Jack, I would like to present to you Robert Claridge, who starred in ‘London Nights’, for which I wrote the screenplay nearly ten years ago.”
“Robert, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I haven’t seen ‘London Nights’, but I’ve seen some of your other movies and I’ve enjoyed them very much.”
“Thank you, Jack. I was just telling Arthur how much better the screenplay for this movie would be if he had written it. Derek has a bad habit of hiring his friends and his friends’ friends to work on his movies, rather than finding the person best for the job.”
“You’d think that would catch up with him after a while,” Jack said.
“Yes, you would,” Robert replied. “But Hollywood is a funny place. You can go a long way just by taking care of your friends and their friends. After a while, you’ve taken care of so many people that they all start thinking you’re brilliant and your movies are magnificent.”
“What about the audience?” Jack asked.
“What about them? They read a glowing review written by someone Derek has taken care of. They see an ad in the newspaper prepared by his public relations firm. If they don’t like the movie, they think there’s something wrong with them, not with the movie.”
“Maybe Hollywood isn’t as different as I thought,” Jack observed.
“Well, it’s a bit different,” Robert said, “because in this business, we get stuck with bad scripts and have to make some sense out of them.”
“Are you having problems with this one?” Jack asked.
“Yes, we are, and many of us are very damn unhappy with the script Derek stuck us with.”
“You could quit, couldn’t you?”
“Of course we could. But like any other business, you don’t want to get a reputation as a quitter or as someone who’s hard to work with.”
“So you bite the bullet and make a movie you’re not exactly thrilled with,” Jack said.
“Yes. We all make movies we’re not proud of and just hope that nobody in the business or the public is too hard on us. And, I hasten to add, we do need the mon
ey. LA mansions are very expensive.”
“Well, Arthur, I think it’s time I met this infamous producer. Would you do the honors?” Jack asked.
“I would be delighted. Just try to act as if you haven’t heard anything about him, if you wouldn’t mind. He will sense it immediately if you give him the slightest indication that his reputation has preceded him.”
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Arthur. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Arthur took Jack across the room to meet Derek Reynolds who was regaling a comely reporter from the Honolulu Star Advertiser with his plans to shoot more movies in Hawaii and maybe even film a new television series in the Hawaiian Islands. As they approached, Jack heard Derek whisper to the reporter that he’d love to tell her more about his plans for the TV series over breakfast at his hotel the next morning.
Jack was surprised at how ordinary Derek looked. Reynolds was a good seven inches short of six feet. His thinning brown hair reflected the valiant but fruitless efforts of a very skilled plastic surgeon, while his orange-hued face suggested regular visits to the tanning salon. And his developing paunch evidenced a long time since his last visit to the gym. If Jack had passed Derek on the street, he thought, he would barely have noticed him. He looked like any other short, fat, bald guy closing in on sixty and fighting off the grim reaper with little success.
As Arthur introduced him to Derek, however, Jack saw the other side of Derek Reynolds. Derek’s eyes quickly narrowed and he looked askance at Jack, sizing him up as a potential adversary. His body tensed as he shook Jack’s hand, and he squeezed it hard, obviously trying to make Jack wince. Jack had one thought: this guy is a major league asshole.
Ignoring Jack, Reynolds turned to Arthur.
“So, Fairbanks, what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere — searching for inspiration?”
“Actually, I do find these islands quite inspiring, Derek, and I assume you do too or you wouldn’t be filming your latest movie out here.”
“Hardly,” Reynolds replied. “Hawaii’s economy isn’t booming so much that you can’t drive a hard bargain. The Japanese aren’t coming here in the numbers they used to because their economy is in the tank, and plenty of Americans on the mainland still think it’s too far to go for a swim. So I drove a hard bargain and got cheap rates for the scenes I needed to film out here. You name them — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, construction workers, the city, the state, the extras — these people haven’t seen a real buck in so long they wouldn’t recognize one if somebody showed them a framed picture of George Washington. They’re willing to work for rates I couldn’t possibly get on the mainland. Now what’s your friend Mr. Sullivan doing here in Hawaii?”
“I’m a lawyer and a coffee farmer and, by the way, you can call me Jack.”
“I never call anybody by their first name until I decide I want to. You know, Mr. Sullivan, I’ve burned out a lot of lawyers in my time. I have no respect for them. They’re so easy to push around. You ask them to do work for you, hard work. They do it and they even do it well. Then you tell them that you weren’t completely satisfied; that you think they didn’t have to do everything they did or charge you as much as they did; and you tell them you may not use them the next time; and, if they still argue with you, then you tell them that you ought to sue them for malpractice. After I throw all that at them, you know what they do? They cut their fees. No self- respect. Just another vendor I have to deal with.”
With that pronouncement, Derek lifted his Mai Tai and sucked the contents of the glass until it held only ice, a sugar cane swizzle stick, and two chunks of pineapple speared on a soggy paper umbrella toothpick that had fallen into the cocktail while he was drinking it.
“Fairbanks, get me another one of these umbrella drinks. I want to talk to this lawyer,” Reynolds said.
“Be careful with those drinks, Derek, they pack a punch that sneaks up on you,” Jack warned.
“Mr. Sullivan, I’ve had three already, and they haven’t affected me a bit. In fact, two of them were brought to me on silver platters. One by Sidney Lane, that over-the-hill broad who thinks she’s still a star and one by Jennifer Adams, that hottie over there at the seawall. And I haven’t fallen down, have I? Trust me, I can handle these umbrella drinks, but dealing with those two broads in one night is enough to make me sick without drinking any liquor.”
At that moment, Arthur Fairbanks arrived with Reynolds’ fourth Mai Tai of the evening. Reynolds grabbed it from his hand and took a big slug.
“See, Mr. Sullivan. I’m just fine. Don’t you worry about me.”
“I was just warning Derek about the way Mai Tai’s can slip up on you,” Jack said to Arthur.
“Oh, quite. Derek, you should be careful.”
“Where’s Hypatia?” Reynolds said loudly, dismissing Arthur’s admonition with a hint of anger in his voice. “She’s never around when I want her. It’s her goddamned sister’s fault. She spends her life telling Hypatia to get rid of me. But it won’t happen. Hypatia will never leave me. She can’t leave me. She needs me.”
Jack and Arthur looked at each other, and Jack decided it was time to find Katherine.
“Derek, I’ve got to find my wife. It was nice meeting you. Good luck with your movie.”
As Arthur Fairbanks started to say goodbye to Reynolds, the producer abruptly turned his back and walked toward the seawall.
“Not likely to win any congeniality awards, is he?” Jack said to Arthur.
“He’s a dreadful man, Jack, who doesn’t know the meaning of respect. Hypatia simply must get away from him, and I hope Jennifer convinces her to leave him soon.”
“I hope so too. He’s one of those guys.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a certain kind of man, Arthur, who looks harmless and knows he looks harmless. But he’s not. He’s the best evidence I know that appearances are deceiving. This sort of guy is frequently bent on doing harm. He’s angry and resentful, even when he’s been financially and professionally successful. I saw guys like this on juries where they took out their anger on innocent parties. I saw them in corporations where they tried to block the progress of younger guys showing promise. And I’ve seen them try to control vulnerable women in ways that are manipulative and deceitful. They are just plain bad guys.”
“Righto Jack, you’ve just summed up Derek. I’ve seen him do all of those things. His kind is dangerous, all the more so because he appears so banal, so innocuous, so ordinary. And, most offensive of all, Jack, he is a complete and utter bore,” Arthur concluded with a flourish as he adjusted his ascot.
“Amen,” Jack replied.
CHAPTER SIX
As Commander Butler walked toward the seawall, images of his time with Hypatia flashed through his mind — trips to beach towns along the Southern California coast, dinners at quiet places, talks about their lives, hopes and dreams, and reassuring each other that no matter what else happened, they had each other.
“Hypatia,” Tom said softly as he reached the Club’s seawall. “Tom.” They embraced warmly, and then Hypatia turned to Jennifer and said, “Tom, look how my little sister has grown up.”
“Hello, Jennifer,” Tom said, adding, “Do you remember me?”
“Of course I do. How could I forget you standing at our front door in your white uniform?”
“That seems like a long time ago, especially when I look at you now and remember the last time I saw you. I think you had pigtails then. But one thing hasn’t changed.”
“What’s that?” Jennifer said.
“You’re still looking after your big sister. Every time I took Hypatia out, you’d ask me where we were going and what time we’d be home.”
“You looked after her too, Tom,” Jennifer said. “No one took better care of Hypatia than you did.”
Tom blushed, and Hypatia put her arm in his, looked in his dark eyes, and said, “Jennifer’s right, you know. No one took care of me like you did.”
“So, how are things?” Tom asked.
“Not good,” Hypatia said. “This picture is driving me crazy, and I’ve got a big problem in my social life.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s complicated as usual.”
“No surprise there,” Tom said.
“I never seem to get it right, Tom. I vacillate between good guys like you and bad guys like the one I’m stuck with now.”
“Well, you don’t have to be stuck with anyone, Hypatia.”
“I’m usually pretty good at telling men that it’s not going anywhere, and they generally accept it and move on. But this guy won’t listen and I’m afraid he never will. I really don’t know what to do. That’s why Jennifer is so upset.”
“Who is it?” Tom asked.
“Derek Reynolds, the producer of this movie.”
“I suppose starring in his movie hasn’t made things any simpler,” Tom said.
“No, it hasn’t. I should never have accepted this role, but it’s hard to turn down a part in a well-financed movie. You can’t do that too many times before they stop calling you.”
“So you’re stuck with him until this movie is finished. How bad can that be?” Tom asked.
“It’s bad, Tom. He’s not like you. He’s not a gentleman. He has a terrible temper and he threatens me all the time.”
“Then you’ve got to get rid of the son of a bitch now.”
“I just don’t know how. I really don’t. I tried last weekend when he arrived, uninvited and unannounced, at my hotel on the Big Island. He insinuated himself into a weekend that Jennifer and I had planned to talk about girl things. It’s as if he knows I’m trying to find a way to break up with him, and he’s bound and determined to do everything he can to stop me. He and Jennifer had an awful argument in the hotel’s dining room, right in front of everyone. I’m embarrassed to go back. Thank God, there weren’t many people there, and nobody recognized me. It didn’t make the newspapers or the gossip rags.”
“What did he say to you?” Tom asked.
Moonlight Cocktail Page 4
