Free Fall Read online

  "I was wondering if you would mind if Lamont gave me a ride back to Joe’s crib," Trish asked playfully. Eyes sparkling, she looked supremely complacent with a pińa colada in one hand and Lamont’s hand in the other.

  "Nuh uh, no. Absolutely not!" Nina took the glass from her hand. "I won’t allow it. This is your first night here! You can see Lamont tomorrow night, right?" She looked to Lamont for confirmation. He nodded and said, "Of course!” and turned to Joseph, "if I could get the address to your house?"

  Nina guided Trish out of the library as Joseph and Lamont discussed the logistics of getting to his house. Once outside the door she said quietly, "She’s here."

  Trish caught on immediately. "Show me where she is!"

  Nina had to take Trish’s hand to negotiate the stairs because of her spike heel shoes. When they reached the bottom, she saw Laura in a group of people. Nina caught her eye and gave a jerk of her head as if to say, ‘Let’s go!’

  Laura came right over, bless her heart, and led the way back to the front room. They passed by the sofa where Karen still sat next to Peter, smiling brightly, her hands folded between her legs like a coy little girl. The smile faded when she saw the three women walk past towards the front door. She locked eyes with Nina and held her gaze.

  Peter rose from the couch. "Laura! I didn’t know you were here! You’re not leaving already?" He sounded disappointed. "And who is this beautiful creature?" His eyes took in Trish’s leopard print pumps, lavender skirt and lavender top. "The purpleness of it all!" He took her by the hand. "I’m Peter Benson. Where on earth did you come from?"

  "This is my friend Trish from Seattle," Nina said. "she’s visiting. I hope you don’t mind that we brought her along." Trish simply stood there and allowed Peter to pay homage to all her glory.

  "You must be kidding! You can’t be leaving yet. Please stay and have another drink. Shandra is going to sing a song pretty soon. You’ll miss the best part of the evening!"

  Nina wasn’t interested in being with these people any longer. She felt extremely uncomfortable with Karen’s eyes on her. All of her previous bravado had vanished. She wanted desperately to get away. She saw Joseph coming. "Thank you, but we’re going to go home now. I hope we get invited again, soon."

  "Certainly you will. I look forward to seeing you all again." Peter bowed slightly and returned to his party.

  Karen was smiling again, the same cheap-ass fake grin she’d given her in the bathroom at Willie’s. The look in her eyes said clearly that, although Nina might have won this round, it wasn’t over by a long shot. Nina felt a niggling feeling of dread creep up her spine. A hand brushed against hers and she looked down to see that Laura had clasped her hand in her own.

  "Courage, dear heart," Laura said out of the side of her mouth. "Don’t let her see you sweat!" She wiggled her fingers in Karen’s direction and muttered, "Yes, hellooo. You freak of nature. You filthy slut bag."

  They heard Trish’s muffled giggles behind them and Joseph gave Laura a stern look. Karen made as if to rise and join them but Joseph turned his back on her. "Ready to go, ladies?" They all nodded and he ushered the small group to the door.

  As soon as they got home, Trish headed straight to the guest bedroom. "I’m beat. Too much excitement for one day, I need my beauty sleep." She closed the door firmly behind her.

  Nina and Joseph went into the master bedroom. She changed out of her dress and Joseph took off his jacket, kicked off his shoes and flopped across the bed. He grabbed the remote for the TV.

  "Do you want to go Las Vegas with me?" He flipped through the channels to catch the late evening news.

  "I can’t, Joseph. In case you didn’t notice, I have a friend visiting here until Monday." She came out of the bathroom scrubbing her face with a washcloth.

  "You can both come with me. Who doesn’t want a free weekend trip to Las Vegas?"

  Nina threw the washcloth in the general direction of the clothes hamper and pulled on the comforter, trying to move Joseph’s body off the bed so she could get under the covers. "Move your skinny ass. No, because Trish and me have plans, see? That’s what people do, they make plans and then they tell the important people in their lives about those plans." She made just enough room to scoot in under the comforter and then used her foot to kick Joseph halfway off the bed.

  "I forgot about it, okay?" Joseph scrambled onto the bed and grabbed both of Nina’s arms, pinning her. “You’re ornery. I will now have to torture you into submission."

  He swung one leg over and sat on top of her. He caught both arms in one hand above her head and used his other hand to dig into her ribs, tickling her viciously. Nina tried to wriggle out from under him. "Joseph, No! I hate being tickled, please!" He continued his exploration of her ribs then moved up to her armpit. "Joseph! Please! You’re hurting me!"

  Joseph stopped and regarded her doubtfully as if he were trying to decide if she was serious or setting a trap.

  "How ‘bout this?" He jabbed his index finger into the space where her collarbone met in the middle. "The typewriter, right?" He held her squirming body beneath him and jabbed a few more times.

  "Okay!" Nina yelled. "I give up!"

  Joseph bent his head close to hers. "Are you sure?" He caught her lips with his and kissed her deeply. Then he moved over to her ear, snorted like a pig and rooted around in the crook of her neck.

  Nina giggled helplessly, "Stop!"

  Joseph gnawed on her neck. "Yum! I could eat you up. You’re my very favorite dish," he murmured between bites. He kissed her again, his grip on her wrists relaxed then he plopped down beside her. Nina turned on her side and moved her face close to his against the pillow, so that their noses were almost touching.

  She voiced what had been on her mind since they left the party. "Do you think that Karen had that guy cause a scene?"

  Joseph sighed. "It does seem like too much of a coincidence doesn't it?"

  "Yeah, out of all the women he could have made advances to, he came straight to me."

  "I don't find that part surprising, but I do know that she is very good at manipulating men. That's why I think you should come to Las Vegas with me." She felt his breath against her cheek. "I don’t want to leave you here alone."

  "I’ll be careful. I’ve got Trish and your sister, remember? I can’t go with you. Me and Trish made all these plans to explore Hollywood, find the walk of stars, go on a tour of celebrity houses or whatever."

  "You can do that tomorrow," Joseph said.

  "No, Joseph. If we go to Las Vegas then Trish will be spending part of her trip running around spending too much money gambling. I want to spend a leisurely weekend here, in this great house with the pool, hanging out with my best friend."

  "It’s you, isn’t it?" Joseph said, "You don’t want to go. You don’t want to be on the shoot with me. You’re just using Trish as an excuse."

  Nina thought for a moment. "That is partly true. It’s just not my thing, Joseph."

  "Well, it’s my thing."

  "I know and I respect you for that, but it’s your job. I really don’t have to go to work with you, do I?"

  "I thought you would be interested in my thing."

  "I am interested in your thing. Both of our things are interested in the other. If you were off doing your thing for a longer amount of time, I’d come with you. But it’s only for one night, two at the most, right? We can do Vegas another time."

  "Alright, but I want to know what you guys are doing while I’m gone."

  "And vice versa, man. Are you going to be out in the desert or is it in the city itself?"

  "The city. Guess what?" He got out of bed and pulled a brown bag from the bottom drawer of the dresser. "I got something for you."

  "For me?" Nina was as pleased as punch. She reached into the bag and felt something soft, then dumped out a pile of periwinkle blue suede. "Joseph, it’s brand new. How did you know where to find it?"

  "From Laura, who else?" He took the jacket from her and hung it u
p in the closet. Nina fluffed up his pillow and held out her arms. "Come here and let me thank you properly."

  EIGHT

  FOR what could be the first time in her life, Karen was jealous. That woman looked a lot better than she had looked at the club. Karen recognized the dress as a Rachel Roy. Good taste in clothes, she had to admit, though you wouldn’t be able to tell from that messy first impression at Willie’s. Joseph had finally seen her side by side with that homely woman and he had barely looked at her. In fact, he was almost rude to her! How could he not make the comparison? Karen had the confidence of a beautiful woman. If she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in any room, then there certainly wasn’t anyone more beautiful present.

  She knew Mick from one of her casting calls. Snuck him into Peter's house and told him to be on the lookout for someone who looked like that tramp. Perhaps she had made a mistake in getting him to make a pass at her. At first she was delighted when she saw how uncomfortable the situation was, she wanted the bitch to be embarrassed and look like the whore she was, but then Joseph started to get physical with the man. She felt an unexpected pang when she saw Joseph lose his temper like that. She couldn't remember one time when he had so defended her honor.

  Then she wondered just how possessive that woman would be towards him. Maybe she should switch the players around. A plan started to take shape in her mind.

  She drove to Encino and unlocked the door of her cottage style home. She stopped. Was that marijuana she smelled? Oh, no way!

  There was a bottle of scotch on the small drop leaf dining table and the flat screen on the wall above the fireplace was blaring out an MTV heavy metal rock video. She sped across the living room, her heels clacking on the beige tiled floor, and slammed open the bathroom door to find her sister Karla sitting on the edge of the tub evidently in the middle of shooting up heroin.

  "Get out!" Karen screamed. She made a grab for the needle, and then just as quickly backed off, afraid she'd get stuck. It was too late anyway, her sister had already plunged it home. Karla grinned foolishly and fell backward into the tub with her legs dangling out over the edge.

  "Well don’t you look pretty. All in your 'fuck me' clothes," Karla slurred. "Pretty, pretty," she sang nonsensically. "Pretty Karen, pretty girl."

  "Give me the key!" Karen said.

  "What key?" Karla looked to her left and then to her right. "I don’t see no key."

  Karen picked up a leather pouch from the toilet seat and opened it.

  "So sorry," Karla said. Her head started to nod. "Didn’t save any for you." She passed out.

  Karen went to her closet and screamed again when she saw that two of her dresses were gone. "You bitch!" She stormed back into the bathroom and slapped her unconscious sister across the face.

  "The Halston! Where is it? Did you take it to Gloria’s?"

  Karla’s eyelids fluttered and then closed again.

  "Don’t you OD on me!"

  She grabbed her by the arms and heaved her out of the bathtub. Karla piled onto the floor like a giant sack of potatoes. Karen propped her up and then stood over her, hands on her hips. She was tempted to just leave and pretend she’d never come home tonight. Let someone else discover the body, she thought. Karla wouldn’t be able to tell anyone. Because she would be dead. And her world would be a better place. She didn’t like the idea of a dead body in her bathroom, though, and there would be police cars and ambulances and forensic people in her house and she didn’t want that either. She bent down and slapped her sister again, trying to get her to wake up. She put her hand on her chest and found that she was barely breathing.

  "I hate you!" Karen went to the phone and called her mother.

  "Your daughter is overdosing in my bathroom," she said without preamble.

  "Oh no! Did you call an ambulance?"

  "No ambulance! I’ll take her to Cedars but I’m leaving her there. I’m just not in the mood to spend the night in the ER. I suggest you get down there and meet me at the entrance."

  "Karen, you can’t just leave her like that."

  "Oh, yes I can. I’m not going to be responsible for her. I’m sick of it! If you’re quick I won’t leave her on the pavement outside the hospital. So, get going!" She hung up on her mother and went to change out of her dress into jeans and a sweatshirt. She washed off her makeup and pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Unlikely as it was, she didn’t want anyone recognizing her and leaking a story to the press. Normally she would take any publicity that came her way to get attention and to keep her name circulating, but she didn’t want to be associated with her sister.

  Karla’s drug use had turned her into a death camp caricature, with greasy dishwater blonde hair, a scrawny, caved-in chest and a tacky, amateur tattoo of a snake slithering up her neck. Karen couldn’t take the chance of being seen with her. Very few people knew that she had a twin sister. Joseph knew about Karla because he was around when Karla had bottomed out last time. She’d told a producer at a party once, hoping to manipulate him into giving her a part in his movie. But the producer was indifferent to her tale of woe and she doubted if he even remembered her name, let alone her sister's. Louis knew, but Louis was easily controlled. If a photo of her sister got out to the media the jig would be up. Her sister wouldn’t hesitate to tell her story to anyone. Right now she was just too stupid and too zoned out on drugs to realize that it was worth anything. Karen didn’t want to be known for having a sister for a junkie, certainly not with her new movie coming out next year.

  She went outside, got into her seven-year-old Mercedes convertible and backed up over the winding brick pathway to get as close to the front door as possible. She opened the passenger door of the two-seater and ran back to the bathroom. She took one of her sister’s arms and slung her emaciated body over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. She brought her through the house, down the steps of the porch, and dumped her into the passenger seat of the car. She quickly locked her front door and looked around to see if there were any neighbors watching. Seeing nothing, she jumped in the car and roared off in the direction of the hospital.

  As Karen pulled up to the emergency entrance, she saw her mother standing at the entrance with a wheelchair at the ready. She jumped out of the car. "You are so lucky!" She helped her mother get Karla out and into the wheelchair.

  "Is she breathing?" Mary Wassenbaum pushed her daughter into an upright position on the seat and held onto to her shoulders to keep her from slumping over.

  "I don’t know." She hadn’t seen her mother in six months. Her wrinkled face was distraught and she looked ten years older than her sixty-one years. The old crone. Karen shuddered inwardly, and swore to herself, as she did every time she saw her mother that she would never end up like her. "You look tired, mom. Why don’t you leave her inside the door and go home and get some sleep?"

  "No! Karen why do you have to be so difficult about this? Karla needs help. How can you be so cruel?"

  "Yeah, I’m pretty much tapped out. This is the last time I’m going through this. I’ve got a reputation to worry about and I don’t need my trashy sister ruining it. You understand?"

  "What did she take?" her mother asked.

  "She’s a junkie, mom! What do you think?" Karen got back into the car and drove off. In her rearview mirror she could see her mother wheeling her twin sister through the automatic doors.

  At home, she put on a pair of dish gloves and cleaned the bathroom, taking great care not to touch the end of the needle lying in the bathtub. She picked up the half bottle of Scotch her sister had pilfered from the kitchen cupboard. Joseph’s brand, Joseph’s bottle. Again, she felt that strange little pain at the thought of him. She dumped the contents out into the sink, you never knew what kind of diseases her sister might have, and slipped the used needle into the bottle. She put that and the leather bag into a small plastic garbage bag. She would take it tomorrow and drop it in a dumpster somewhere. Her phone rang and she picked up the receiver but didn’t say anything.


  "I thought you might like to know that your sister didn’t die," her mother began accusingly.

  Unperturbed, Karen said,"Hey, I didn’t hold her down and inject poison into her veins. It’s not my fault."

  "They took her in right away and gave her some Naloxone to counteract the drugs. She’s awake now."

  "Whoopee! My sister made it through another crisis! I think I’ll just do a little happy dance right here and now."

  "Now you listen to me. Whether you like it or not, I need help with this. You think you're riding some rocket to fame? How famous will you be if everyone knows about your sister? Do you want to be known as Karen Clark, the up and coming actress, or do you want to be Karen Wassenbaum, with a sister addicted to heroin and an alcoholic mother? You understand what I'm saying to you? I’m going to try to get her into rehab this weekend and it’s going to take both of us to get her there. I can’t do it alone."

  "You wouldn’t dare." Karen kicked the kitchen cupboard in frustration.

  "Oh, yes I would."

  "Fine! I have a job on Saturday. Could we make it tomorrow or Sunday?"

  "What kind of job is it that takes you all day and night?"

  "It's in Las Vegas." She'd take a chance that Joseph was going to Vegas alone, which was likely, because she had listened to the conversation with Peter when he'd drooled all over that black girl, that woman's friend visiting from Seattle. They probably wouldn't go with Joseph for an overnight trip. She knew one of the players in the film that he was working on this weekend. Michelle, a waitress-slash-actress who would do anything for money, also had thing for Joseph. She'd fly over there, somehow get Michelle aside, and offer her a job. If all went well, this might be the end of the little nobody from Seattle. If Joseph brought her to Vegas, then she'd just have to wait for another opportunity.