Obsessed (32 page)

Michael and Andy laughed so hard they could barely get out of the car. But Heidi looked very puz zled.

“Your passport? Why would you need that?”

“Because your house looks just like the Taj Ma hal.”

“Oh, really?” Heidi looked pleased. “I’ve heard of the Taj Mahal. It’s a famous French landmark, isn’t it?”

Carla was struck speechless for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Not exactly. It’s in India. But I was just teasing, Heidi. Your house is very beautiful.”

“I know. Daddy got it for only three point four, and that’s a steal.”

“Three point four.” Andy repeated the numbers. “Is that . . . uh . . . three point four million?”

Heidi nodded. “I know that doesn’t seem like much, but the seller was desperate. He got busted for insider trading or something like that, and he had to liquidate all his assets. He wanted a lot more, but Daddy offered cash.”

“Very impressive.” Michael squeezed Carla’s hand as he gazed up at the domes. “I’m surprised you’re singing blues, Heidi. With a house like this, you should be doing Indian music.”

Heidi giggled. “Maybe that’s true, but I hate all that tom-tom stuff!”

Carla exchanged glances with Andy and Michael. Was it a joke? Or was Heidi serious? But Heidi was so intent on ringing the doorbell, she didn’t seem to notice their puzzled expressions.

The door was opened by a butler, who bowed low and ushered them in. “Good evening, Miss Heidi.”

“Hi, Sidney.” Heidi gave a casual wave. “Tell Susan to set up the patio. We’ll need snacks, and a tray of drinks. I’m going to show my friends Daddy’s posters.”

“Yes, Miss Heidi. Right away.”

The butler hurried down the hall in one direction, and Heidi led them to a wood paneled door at the other end of the massive hallway.

“This is Daddy’s den.” Heidi opened the door, and flicked on the lights. “He’s got posters from every picture he’s ever produced.”

Carla was amazed as she stepped into the huge room and saw the posters. There were dozens of them, all framed behind glass, and some were actu ally from movies she’d seen.

“Tender Moments?” Michael stepped up to one poster, and read the name of the producer. Then he turned to Heidi with a shocked look on his face. “Your father is Ralph Robinson?”

Heidi nodded. “That’s right. And my mother was Patsy Coleman.”

“The Patsy Coleman?” Michael looked awed as he repeated the name of the famous blues singer. “No wonder you have such a dynamite voice!”

“Yes, Mother was good. But I’m even better. That’s what she used to tell me before she died.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. They all knew that the famous Patsy Coleman had died of a drug overdose six years ago. It had been in all the papers.

Andy cleared his throat, and changed the subject. “Your father’s my favorite producer. Is he working on a new movie?”

“Of course.” Heidi looked bored. “He’s always working on a new movie. This one’s a little different. It’s all about an aging mega-superstar who takes young singers under his wing and . . . Michael!”

Michael turned to look at her, and Heidi gave him her best smile. “How would you like to audition for Daddy?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Heidi reached out to take his arm. “You want to get into the biz, don’t you?”

“Well . . . sure. But I don’t think that your father would be interested in someone without any film ex perience.”

“Don’t be silly.” Heidi smiled up at him. “Daddy’ll do anything I want him to. And he told me he needs a lot of teenage extras. I’ll invite the whole Covers crowd. Even you, Carla.”

Carla felt her face turn red. She knew exactly what Heidi was implying. Extras were supposed to look like ordinary people. They could even be plain like her.

“Come on. Let’s go out to the patio and discuss it.”

Heidi tightened her grip on Michael’s arm and pro pelled him out of the room. She turned to look back at Andy and Carla, who weren’t really sure whether they were invited or not. “Come on, you two. We have to work out a schedule. I’ll take in groups of ten at a time. Any more than that would freak out Daddy. And once we get on the set, we’ll just hang around until Daddy notices us.”

Michael looked puzzled. “But wouldn’t it be eas ier just to ask your father if we could audition?”

“No way!” Heidi rolled her eyes. “That’s not the way things are done. You have to be discovered. It’s part of the game. Just leave everything up to me, Michael. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Seven

“Oh-my-God! I’m so scared, I’m a nervous wreck!”
Tammy Burns pulled out a mirror to check her curly brown hair as they approached the studio gates. Then she turned to Carla. “Aren’t you scared, Carla? This could be your big break!”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” Carla glanced down at her high-heeled sandals. “I’m afraid I’m go ing to break my ankle when I try to walk in these things.”

“But Heidi especially told you to wear those shoes. She said it would help you make a good im pression.”

Carla shrugged. “Well, I’m not going to make one if I fall flat on my face. I’m switching to my tennies.”

“I think you’re making a big mistake.” Winona Evans capped her lipstick, and dropped it back in her over-sized purse. Both Winona and Tammy had been primping for the past two miles. “What do you think, Linda?”

Linda O’Keefe leaned forward. She was riding in the third seat with Berto and Vera. “I agree with Carla. If she can’t walk in those shoes, she shouldn’t wear them.”

“Right.” Vera joined in. “I think Carla should wear whatever’s comfortable.”

Michael was riding in the front seat with Andy, and he turned around to talk to Carla. “Wear what ever you want, Carla.
Heidi told me her father needs over a hundred extras. There’s no reason why one of them can’t be wearing tennis shoes.”

Carla gave him a quick smile, and took off her high-heeled sandals. Then she slipped her feet into her worn tennis shoes, and wiggled her toes grate fully. How could anyone walk in those ridiculously high heels? Heidi had taken her shopping and in sisted she buy high-heeled strap sandals, and Carla had gone along with her suggestion. But when she’d practiced walking in them last night, in front of the mirror, she’d felt like a baby colt taking its first, tot tery steps.

Andy pulled through the open gate of the studio, and stopped at the security booth. The guard, inside, was an older, gray-haired man who looked extremely bored as he pushed opened the small, sliding glass window. “Do you kids have a pass?”

“Not exactly.” Andy shook his head. “Heidi Rob inson said she’d leave a pass at the gate for us. We’re meeting her at sound stage fifteen.”

“Andrew Miller?” The guard got off his stool as Andy nodded. He walked to the front of Andy’s van and taped a rectangular piece of paper on the corner of his windshield. Then he stepped back and smiled as he noticed their eager faces. “Are you kids going to an audition?”

“No, sir.” Andy answered his question. “Heidi’s just letting us watch while they shoot her father’s movie.”

The guard nodded, but his smile grew. “Do you know they’re looking for extras?”

“Yes, sir. She said something about that.” Andy blushed bright red. “The truth is, we’re sort of hoping to be noticed.”

The guard nodded. “Miss Robinson always brings her friends to the set when they’re casting for extras. And it usually works. Do you need directions?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Go straight past the courthouse, and turn to the right. That’ll put you on New York Street. Follow it until you come to the stop sign by the big cannon. Turn left, and you’ll see Lot B directly in front of you on your right. You can park in any space
that‘s marked for visitors. Sound stage fifteen’s the third big metal warehouse building on your left.”

As Andy thanked the guard and drove forward, Carla stared out the window with fascination. Even though she’d lived in the area all her life, she’d never been inside a studio before. They passed a series of low bungalows, and Carla saw several glamorous women walking down the sidewalk. She’d never paid much attention to movie stars and she turned to Tammy. “Those women are beautiful. Are they stars?”

“I don’t know.” Tammy shrugged. “They could be. They’re very glamorous.”

Michael turned around to grin at them. “Then they’re probably secretaries. Heidi told me that the stars all run around in turbans and casual clothes. They don’t get their make-up on or their hair done until it’s time to shoot a scene.”

They drove past a tall barracks-type building, and Carla drew in her breath sharply. The man walking down the steps looked just like Robert Redford, but she didn’t say anything. He was probably a produc tion assistant who just happened to look like the fa mous star.

“That must be the courthouse.” Andy pointed to a tall, imposing building with massive columns and a flight of steps.

“You’re right.” Carla nodded. There was a big sign on the front identifying it as the County Courthouse.

“Why do they need a court house at a studio?” Winona sounded puzzled.

“It’s not a real court house.” Michael explained as they drove past. “Look at the back. It’s only a couple of feet deep. There’s just enough room to put a cam era inside.”

Winona was embarrassed, but she brazened it out. “I knew that. I just wanted to find out if anybody else did, that’s all.”

“This must be New York Street.” Carla smiled as she saw a row of brownstones with wrought-iron fences and steps leading up to their front doors. “But the next block is totally different. It looks like a small town in the Midwest.”

Michael nodded. “They face this block for what ever movie they’re shooting. It could be Chicago, or Tokyo, or even Saigon.
They just redo the fronts so it looks like another place. Heidi says they can do it fast, and sometimes this block changes overnight.”

“Oh, great!” Carla laughed. “Maybe we’d better leave a trail of bread crumbs like they did in Hansel and Gretel. This might look like Paris when we come out.”

Michael turned to grin at her. “Not a bad idea. Turn left, Andy . . . there’s the cannon.”

“Is it real?” Tammy wanted to know.

“I don’t know.” Michael answered her. “We can touch it when we walk past. Sometimes they make props that look real. And other times, they use the real things. Heidi warned me not to mail any letters in any of the mail boxes. They’re real, but they’re props. Tourists make that mistake all the time, and then they wonder why their postcards never arrive.”

Andy parked between a silver Mercedes and a gold Ferrari, and they all climbed out of his van. As they began to walk across the parking lot, Carla spotted Phil MacMahon’s Oldsmobile and the panel truck that belonged to the Alway Brothers. “Everybody’s here already. Are we late?”

“No. They’re early.” Michael dropped back to take Carla’s arm. “Heidi said she’d meet us outside the sound stage, and we’ll all go in together.”

“There she is!” Vera began to walk faster as she spotted Heidi’s shining red hair. Heidi was standing next to a small group of Covers people.

“Oh, good! You’re just in time!” Heidi hurried to Michael’s side and took his arm. “I told Daddy some of my friends were dropping by.”

Michael frowned slightly. “Are you sure he won’t be mad when he sees so many of us?”

“Of course not!” Heidi pulled Michael to the front of the group. “Daddy won’t mind a bit. Trust me.”

Carla was ready to hang back. Heidi obviously wanted Michael to herself, and she wasn’t about to jeopardize his chances by hanging onto his arm. But Michael seemed to want her with him because he squeezed her hand, and kept her firmly at his side. When they approached the sound stage door, every
one was completely silent. This was a big moment for all of them.

Heidi pointed to the light mounted above the door. “That light flashes red when they’re shooting. It means you can’t open the door until it goes out.”

“Is there anything special we should do?” Michael looked a little nervous.

“Yes. Keep quiet, stay in a group, and don’t trip over any cables. I had Daddy’s assistant set up some chairs for us. Just sit and watch and don’t ask any questions. Are you ready?”

Everyone nodded and Heidi pulled open the door. The huge metal building was shadowy inside, and they were completely silent as they trooped inside.

“This is the patio they’re using for one of the sets.” Heidi spoke in a low voice and they all nodded. “The exterior’s on Mandeville Canyon, but they can’t use the actual house. They’d have to take out all the win dows, and do a bunch of remodeling for the cameras. It’s a lot cheaper to duplicate it here.”

Carla was surprised as they walked past. The patio looked a lot smaller than the actual patio at the back of a real house. There were four lounge chairs with colorful towels draped over their backs, and some glasses on the tables. But there was only the edge of a pool, and a ladder that led to a non-existent diving board. The place where the actual diving board and pool would have been, was walled off.

“You’re probably wondering why there’s no pool.” Heidi smiled at them. “It’s because they only need this particular part of the patio. There aren’t any scenes in the pool so they didn’t bother to build it. When one of the actors says he’s going for a swim, he just races off and disappears behind that wall. When he comes back, he’s dripping wet, and every one in the audience thinks he was in the pool.”