L.A. Success by Hans C. Freelac Read Free Book Online Page B

this was that director guy.
    “Quick, come in,” I said. He stepped into the courtyard, and I shut the gate. “What's your name?” I asked. He hesitated for a long time.
    “You can call me Mr. Stevens. I have to keep my real name hidden.”
    Oh yeah, it was him. He didn't even go very far to think of a fake name.
    “What do you need me to do?”
    “Well...I want you to follow Gertie Elliot and tell me who she is with. I have to know. Just spend as much time as you can following her. Sit outside her house all night if you have to.”
    “Where does she live?”
    “Uh...I shouldn't have to tell you that. You are a good investigator, aren't you?”
    “Of course. No information needed. And where can I find you when I have what you need?” I asked.
    “You can never come to me. I'll come to you. Just wait for me. I don't even want you to know my real name in case you get discovered. I'm a happily married man and I don't need my wife knowing that I'm stalking my lover.”
    “Okay. I'll do it.”
    “Good. Get started immediately. I'll be out of town for about a week. I'll get in touch with you when I get back.”
    “Um...this is not going to be free,” I said, feeling bold with the booze running through me.
    “When you give me the information, I'll give you double your usual fee,” he said and left.
    I had no idea what my usual fee was. I'd have to ask Dennis somehow. Anyway, I was happy because double is always a good word. But I still had some questions. At least I thought I had some questions. I seemed to have forgotten what they were, so I decided to have another beer while trying to remember them.
    When I passed by my dad on the way to the fridge, I saw that he had started his first chocolate sculpture. He was using knives and forks from the kitchen to do it.
    “What are you sculpting?” I asked. He pointed to the courtyard.
    “Talking people.”
    “Good idea.”
    I grabbed a beer and watched him go at it for a while. It was going to take him forever. He was working on a TV tray. He had one chunk of chocolate for me and another for Spieldburt. He had other little chunks spread around for plants or something. An hour went by before he had shapes that looked like humans. I could recognize mine because it was a lot fatter than the other one. He had to stick the tray back in the fridge every now and then to make sure the chocolate wouldn't melt.
    Then the important question came back to me. Why did Spieldburt's lover have the same name as the characters in E.T.? Maybe he had named the characters after her. That was weird, especially if he was trying to keep her hidden. It didn't seem too smart to me.
    I was going to have to find out more about all this, but I couldn't do it immediately because I wasn't going to be able to drive until I had sobered up.
    I did a couple of searches on the internet to get some more information, but “Spieldburt” came up with nothing, and “Gertie Elliot” always led back to an actress who liked to flash people on talk shows. This might not be as easy as I'd thought.
     
    15
    The next morning I put on some more of Dennis' clothes, took the dog and jumped into the Mercedes. I stopped by the perfume store on the Promenade and picked up a gift box, and then I drove out to Helen's sister's place. It was a nice neighborhood, not too far from the Griffith Observatory. I knocked on the door, and after a while Helen opened it. She didn't look as clean as I remembered.
    “Hi,” I said. I knew I couldn't try to win her back immediately—she'd be prepared for that.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked, looking at me strangely. I could see she was confused by Ballsack.
    “This is my friend's dog. I'm looking after him for a while. Hey, I dropped by to give you this.” I held out the box I'd bought from the perfume store. She refused to take it.
    “Presents won't change anything,” she said. I knew she would say that, and she was right. But that's not why I had bought it. I was