Im not a journalist, I said. I know Cassie. Can you tell her Kate Brannigans here?
She looked doubtful, but picked up the phone anyway. Cassandra? Theres someone here called Kate Brannigan who wants to see you. There was a pause, then she said, Fine. Ill send her up. The smile she gave me as she replaced the receiver was apologetic. Im sorry. The phone hasnt stopped ringing all day. Its always the same when theres some big Northerners story. If its not that, its Channel Four researchers doing documentaries about TSs and TVs.
I nodded and made for the door at the back of the shop that I knew led to Cassies office and, beyond that, to her private domain. Cassie was waiting for me at the top of the stairs, immaculate as ever in a superbly tailored cream suit over a hyacinth-blue silk T-shirt. Id never seen her in anything other than fabulous clothes. Her ash-blonde hair was cut in a spiky urchin style, her make-up subtle. From below, her jawline was so taut I had to suspect the surgeons knife. If I earned my living from looking as convincing as Cassie, even Id have submitted to plastic surgery. Kate, she greeted me. Youve survived, then.
I followed her down the hallway and into her office, a symphony in limed wood and gray leather. Shed replaced the dusty-pink fabric of the curtains and cushions with midnight-blue and upgraded the computer systems since Id last been there. Shed obviously tapped a significantly profitable niche in the market. Survived? I echoed.
Cassie sat on one of the low sofas and crossed legs that could still give any of her former colleagues a run for their money. I saw the story in the Chronicle. My idea of hell would be running interference for Gloria Kendal, she said.
Why do you say that? I sat down opposite her.
Unless shes changed dramatically, shes got a schedule that makes being Prime Minister look like a part-time job, shes about as docile as a Doberman and she thinks if shes hired you, shes bought you.
I grinned. Sounds about right.
At least youre not a bloke, so youre relatively safe, Cassie added archly.
I hoped Donovan was. I expect you can guess why Im here?
Its got to be Dorothea. Except that I cant think why youd be investigating her murder when its Gloria youve been working for.
I pulled a face. Its possible that the person who killed Dorothea is the same one who is threatening Gloria. Im just nosing around to see what I can dig up.
Cassie smiled, shaking her head slightly. Youll never make an actress until you stop pulling your earlobe when youre stretching the truth.
My mouth fell open. Id never realized what my giveaway body language was, but now Cassie had pointed that out, I became instantly self-conscious. I cant believe you spotted that, I complained.
She shrugged. My business depends on being able to spot deception. Ive got good at it. Its all right, Kate, I dont need to know the real reason youre interested in who killed Dorothea. Im happy to tell you whatever I know. I liked Dorothea. She was a worker, like me.
How did the connection with Northerners begin?
Cassie frowned in concentration. Ive got a feeling it was Edna Mercer who first discovered her. You remember Edna? Ma Pickersgill?
Shes dead now, isnt she?
Cassies smile was sardonic. Ma Pickersgill died of a heart attack when her house was burgled five years ago. Ednas still alive, though youll never see her at an NPTV function.
She left under a cloud?
Alzheimers. Towards the end, it was touch and go whether shed stay lucid long enough for them to get her made up and on
You surprise me, I said. Id have thought your feet were too firmly planted on the ground to care whats written in the stars.
Cassie smiled wryly. Dorothea was very good. Whether you believed in it or not when you went in to see her, by the time you came out you were convinced shed got something. After that first visit, we were all eating out of her hand. So it became a regular thing. The word spread through the cast, and soon she was coming more or less every week.
What kind of stuff did she tell you?
Shed cast your horoscope, and shed kick off every session by explaining some little thing in your chart. That was one of the clever things about the way she operated you had to keep going to see her if you wanted her insight into every element of your personal horoscope. Then shed talk about the current relationships between the planets and how they might affect you.
She did phenomenal research, you know. She knew everything there was to know about everybody she had dealings with. Dorothea made a habit of gathering every snippet, no matter how insignificant it seemed. You know how these things go Edna would say something in passing about Ritas son, then three months later Dorothea would say something to Rita about her son, knowing full well that Rita knows shes never mentioned the boy to Dorothea. It all contributed to the myth of omniscience.
Making a virtue out of being a know-all. That is clever, I acknowledged. So was that it?
Cassie shook her head. Shed finish off by asking if there was anything bothering you that you wanted guidance with. Youd tell her and shed gaze into her crystal ball and give you advice. She didnt go in for the riddle of the Sphinx stuff shed say things like, Youre never going to have emotional support from your husband
More therapy than prediction, then?
A mixture of both. And actors are very gullible people. Her smile reminded me that shed once been an actor, and not just on the screen.
So why would anyone have it in for her? I asked.
I havent a clue. I hadnt heard that anybody had fallen out with her. She could be irritating when she was trying to impress you with how mystical and spiritual she was, but thats no reason to kill somebody.
Changing tack, I said, What about Gloria? Has anybody from Northerners got it in for her?
Cassie chuckled, a warm, throaty sound. How long have you got? The only surprising thing about Gloria is that shes still alive.
Chapter 11
MOON SQUARES MIDHEAVEN
She can feel insecure socially because she tends to find herself in conflict with conventional norms. She will construct a world of her own where she can be herself, but will maintain the pretense of being tough and self-sufficient to the outside world. She does not express emotion readily, but nevertheless will often choose a caring or self-sacrificing role in life.
From Written in the Stars, by Dorothea Dawson
It was the first time anybody had even hinted that Gloria wasnt the most popular girl in the school. I leaned forward and said as calmly as I could manage, And there was me thinking everybody loved Gloria.
They do. Thats why she provokes thoughts of murder on a regular basis. Or at least, she always used to. It drives you insane to be around somebody whos always kind, always generous, always doing charity work, always making time for the fans. There are people in the cast of Northerners who have a permanent inferiority complex thanks to Gloria. Cassies voice was light, but there was an edge of something harder in her eyes.
But like you just said, thats no reason to kill somebody.
Cassie raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. No? Well, you have more experience in these matters than I do. I tell you what people would kill for, though, and thats their roles in Northerners. Glorias hot right now. The public adore her, and the management knows it. Granted, nobodys bigger than the show, but when actors are riding the crest of the wave, they do get a certain amount of input into the storylines. If somebody in the cast knew Gloria was suggesting a storyline that would see them written out, thatd be a
I sighed. No. But one way or another, Dorotheas death has rebounded quite nastily on Glorias life. She was the one who was in the room when Dorothea talked about the presence of death. She never said anything similar to anyone else, as far as Ive been able to find out.
Cassie suddenly jumped to her feet. Stay there a minute, she said, crossing to a door in the far wall. Ill be right back.
Cassie suddenly jumped to her feet. Stay there a minute, she said, crossing to a door in the far wall. Ill be right back.
The minute stretched into two, then five. The more I thought about what shed suggested, the more uneasy I became. I pulled out my phone and rang Glorias number. Hiya, chuck, she greeted me.
Everything OK? I asked.
Grand as owt. Were watching a Bette Davis video and having a lovely time.
All right for some. Can I speak to Donovan? I waited while she summoned him. He came on the line almost immediately. Don? Hows things?
Nothing except endless phone calls from the papers. Gloria just tells them shes too devastated to talk and puts the phone down. Its a class act. He sounded both admiring and cautious.
Ive got something to do in town, but Ill be over in a couple of hours to relieve you. Is that OK?
Great. I wasnt imagining the relief in his voice. Considering theyve grown up in the inner city, Shelleys kids have led remarkably sheltered lives. There was no way Donovan had the sophistication to deal with a demanding woman like Gloria indefinitely. If I didnt rescue him before nightfall, his mother almost certainly would, and then wed have another corpse on our hands. And Im still too young to die.
Cassie returned just as I finished the call, carrying a paperback. She held it up so I could see the cover, a misty head-and-shoulders shot of Dorothea looking significantly younger than when Id met her. If Id Known Then, by Dorothea Dawson. The Life of a Stargazer, was emblazoned top and bottom across the cover. It
I opened it. The title page had an inscription. To my darling Cassie. Fire and water make for a steamy combination! Where you are is better for you than where you were. Go in peace. Love, Dorothea Dawson. She seemed to know you well, I remarked.
Not as well as she liked to think, Cassie said drily. Like most people, she thought anyone whose sexuality or gender was expressed differently from the mainstream had to be obsessed with sex. Anyway, youre welcome to borrow it. Its life with all the edges smoothed down, but it does show you a bit of what the woman herself was like.
I pocketed the book and thanked her. It was clear from the way she was still standing that as far as Cassie was concerned, there was no more to be said. But before I left, I had to ask her one thing. You know theyve got a mole, I said. Any ideas who it might be?