|
Chapter 11--The Scarlet Letter After
Miss
Julie, Christine felt ready to do The Scarlet Letter.
She wanted to do everything her mother had done, and especially the play
Betty had starred in while pregnant with her. She knew Hester would
be a good role for her, a proud woman, who dominates the scenes she's in--the
infamous woman of the scarlet letter.
121
|
| Christine, as Hester appealed to him to do in their forest
scene, for, if he did, as was true for Dimmesdale with Hester, he'd always
be subordinate to her--and he now had his own life and career to consider.
What he was most conscious of was how much he missed Marcella-- who was working regularly in one of Randall's soap operas in California-- and talking with Henry about Plato and Mishima. He had begun to see himself as a California boy, as he knew Jack did, more comfortable working in film than on the stage. They might always be doing bits and pieces, but every day was a new experience, not, as Marjorie liked to say of stage work, doing the same thing every night for a month--or more, if the play was successful. Better to do it once and then let people continue to watch the movie long after you were dead, if it were successful. When Jack traced him down, Dan Parker, now Dr. Parker, director of the theatre program at Southern Missouri State University, was pleasantly surprised to be remembered by a Jack he hadn't seen for years. He said, "Why yes, Jack, if you plan to do that play this summer, I'd love to come play Chillingworth again. And in New York! Just think of it! I couldn't really take the time off during a regular semester--and wouldn't want to. But that gives me another idea. If you'd consider bringing the play to my college next fall, 'take it on the road,' I could probably schedule a week-end of performances here, too." When Dan arrived in New York, he and Jack spent a few days exploring the city together, and going to shows. Then, after the first read-around, Dan told Jack, "Christine is so much like Betty that it is almost déjà vu. And, while I've only just met Charlie, and Jordan was the greatest actor I've ever worked with, I agree with Christine that Charlie will be more convincing as Dimmesdale." The play went very well in New York, in spite of the mixed feelings of those involved, and then they did take it on 122
|
| the road, including a week in Los Angeles and then a
weekend at Dan's school in Missouri.
But The Scarlet Letter convinced Charlie there was no future for him with Christine, as she'd become even more domineering than she'd been as Miss Julie. Then she offered Charlie the chance to do Hamlet, saying, "You'd have the role Jordan always wanted, and I'd have the role Mother refused to do," Charlie told her he was reversing that pattern in declining to do Hamlet, for which he did not believe himself suited. And, he was thinking, Hamlet should not be subordinate to Ophelia. Christine laughed and said, "Well then I'll have to find someone in London to play Hamlet. After we do it there, we can bring it back here to do in New York, then perhaps make a film of it in California." "If so, I may try out for Horatio in the film version," Charlie said. "I think my future's in the movies." Soon after he came back to California, the run of the play over, Charlie had decided he was getting too old, and his life was getting too complicated, to continue to live with his parents, so he rented the house Jack and Laura had lived in in North Hollywood, and, as it happened, still owned. As Laura had in Nebraska with Jack, within days Marcella had moved in with him. Lieutenant Carlson had long since decided that Christine and Charlie were basically telling the truth about their confrontation with Ben, even about not having taken the Ferrari, as they had come up there to do, which left him with the mystery that had first made him suspicious of her--who then had taken the car? He thought, "Ben had borrowed the car from Christine, but Arthur might have taken it when he left, knowing Ben was dead." Arthur, back when playing Caliban in The Tempest, had officially denied being at the lake that week. But his fingerprints were found everywhere, including on the 123
|
| telephone, so Lieutenant Carlson knew he'd be able to
build a case of sorts against him. And Arthur knew that at least
two people had seen him, or his car, there that evening. Thomas
knew most, but evidently preferred to leave as many things ambiguous as
possible. Then, on the plane back to New York Charlie had told him
he had seen his car there. So Arthur was still concerned.
When Arthur did later admit to Lieutenant Carlson he had been there he said, "But I had my own car--Ben never even let me drive the Ferrari." And it did seem he'd left in his own car. "I could still arrest Arthur on the evidence I have, and go to trial," the lieutenant thought. "He may not have shot Ben, but a trial might flush out people who were up there, and give us a chance to fill in a few pieces." The ballistic evidence indicated that the gun had been fired pressed against Ben's forehead, however, and he also had powder burns on his hand, which indicated suicide--but after he'd already been shot in the stomach, which was also at close range. Suicide would have been an easy judgment if the gun had been there on the floor--but the gun hadn't been found yet. So the lieutenant still had questions. Two days after Ben had been shot the police had cleared Henry and Shoko back into the cabin, and Laura and Marjorie joined Shoko in cleaning the place. The police had removed the body and cleaned up the blood stains, but the women were more or less left with the disorder in the bedroom, where they found things as they were likely to be left by men, clothes everywhere, and the bed with the covers just thrown back across it, the way men, particularly those who had never been in the military, would do. And in the top dresser drawer they had found the plate with two-thirds of a sandwich, which Marjorie had said at the time was "as if someone had been interrupted in eating the sandwich and hidden it there for later." When Shoko told Marjorie that she and Henry would like to talk to her and Joe about the evening at the cabin when 124
|
| Ben was shot, Marjorie hesitated a moment, then asked,
"How'd you know we were there?"
"I got a strong hint from things you said when we were cleaning the bedroom." "What did I say?" Marjorie asked. "That it looked like someone had been interrupted while eating a sandwich, for example. I wondered why you thought that," Shoko said. "And who would put a sandwich in a dresser drawer to save it. Particularly in my drawer. As I talked to Henry about it, that puzzled him, too. I knew that Lieutenant Carlson must have left it there for some purpose--but what purpose? Then, from what Christine and Charlie said, Henry decided that one of the cars they saw parked down below was yours. And Laura told us you'd planned to come up and check on things before we got back." "Yes, Joe and I were here when Ben was shot. We saw who came, and know there were three shots fired in the cabin. The last time we talked about going to the police, Joe suggested talking to you and Henry about it first, to see what you thought we should do--especially after we've waited so long without saying anything." The Salems were invited to dinner, and, when asked if they minded if Charlie and Christine came, too, Marjorie said, "No, we know that Christine ran out after the first shot, evidently into the ceiling, and Charlie was never in the cabin with Ben, so our testimony should clear both of them. But why do you want them there?" "Henry says he has a question for each of them after you've told us what you know," Shoko answered. So they invited Charlie and Christine, too. They also wondered why, but were curious themselves about what the Salems might know. After dinner, Henry said, "I think we all already know most of what you may tell us, but believe that yours was the third car Charlie and Christine saw when they pulled in up here--and would like to hear your story." 125
|
|
"I knew the Salems' car by sight," Christine said. "It was
the other car I wasn't sure about. Charlie later told me it was Arthur's."
Marjorie said, "Yes, I'm sure it was. But when Joe and I arrived the only other car here was your Ferrari." Then she said to Shoko. "I wanted to put the cabin in order before you got back, and Laura had phoned to say they were home and you'd be getting home the next day." "We were surprised that the Ferrari was here," Joe said, "and thought that perhaps Christine was. Then we discovered that Ben was the only one here, shooting that pistol, when we got up here to the cabin." Marjorie said, "When we got here Ben was down by the lake, all alone. We were surprised to hear shots as we were coming up the path, and then saw that he was shooting at a can floating in the lake with a pistol--but missing it. I always got along well with Ben when we were working on the film, but he seemed to have been drinking. When he had been he always became quarrelsome. We decided not to get in his way if he was shooting that gun in that condition. I told Joe it might be better to come back the next morning, that Ben might be gone by then." "But as we started to leave, here came Arthur and your man Thomas up the path from the road," Joe said. "We might just have told them why we were here, but Marjorie suggested we step behind that large tree just above the cabin, and see what happened, saying, 'I'd rather not get involved, but would like to see why they're here.'" Marjorie said. "Since the Curtises had just arrived home, I thought Thomas had probably come to get Christine's car, and that Arthur might have agreed to give him a ride. But before they saw us they just went down to where Ben was and we could hear Thomas asking him for the keys to the Ferrari. Ben said they were back in the cabin, so all three of them came up and went in." 126
|
|
"We sat down above that tree behind the cabin," Joe said. "I felt
a little foolish . . . but there we were. We could hear what was
going on in the cabin pretty well, and see the lake and the trail, but
could only see in that back bedroom window of the cabin, not what was happening
in the main room. We heard Ben offer Thomas a drink, and Arthur offer
to make him a sandwich, but Thomas said he just wanted to get the keys
and drive the Ferrari home so it'd be there when Christine needed it."
"And it was. So I knew he'd been here," Christine said. "Ben told him he'd just as well wait, then," Marjorie said, "because you were coming to pick up the car yourself. Then Ben came into the bedroom, wearing that pistol, and looking in the pockets of a pair of pants he'd thrown on the bed, then on the dresser, evidently for the car keys--but he couldn't find them. Returning to the main room, he became increasingly belligerent to Thomas--and even Arthur." "It was as obvious he'd been drinking as when he was shooting at that can," Joe said. "Then we saw Christine coming up the trail." "But not Charlie?" Shoko asked. "No, just Christine. I wondered how she'd got here--but she knows the bus system up here pretty well," Joe said. "Well, I did bring her," Charlie said, "but she asked me to stay by the car while she got the keys." "Arthur saw her coming and told Ben. Then Ben told Thomas he wanted to talk to her alone, and asked the two of them to go into the bedroom. He told Arthur to throw him his buckskin jacket, then help Thomas hunt for the Ferrari keys. Joe suggested we slip by and head for home, but I told him, 'Let's watch to see that Christine doesn't get into trouble. Why would she come up here alone?'" "Well, I thought she'd be all right with Thomas here," Joe said. "But I don't think she saw Thomas." "I didn't see anyone but Ben," Christine said. 127
|
|
"We could see Arthur and Thomas in the bedroom looking for the keys,
which Thomas finally found in the same pair of pants Ben had been looking
in--then smiled and put them in his own pocket," said Marjorie. "I
did see Arthur eating his sandwich in the bedroom, and, when we heard the
first shot, he did put it in that top dresser drawer and closed it--which
seemed strange to me, too. I guess I just assumed he was saving it
for later."
"When we heard that first shot, we probably made some noise reacting to it. That's when I thought Thomas might have seen us through the window," Joe said. "As soon as Christine got here Ben was shouting at her," Marjorie said, "accusing her, and Jack, of shutting him out of the Players Company." "That's right," Christine said. "I was surprised by the violence of that and told him it wasn't so. I told him I'd call Dad and he could explain our plans to him, which definitely depended on working with Ben as the most experienced person in the company--though, actually, I didn't support that position much." "But we heard him say, 'Oh, no, you don't,' as he evidently pulled the phone cord out of the wall." "As soon as I picked up the phone." "Then he must have started threatening you with that gun. We heard furniture knocked over, and then the first shot--and your scream," Joe said. Christine shook her head and looked as if she were going to say something, but didn't. 'What was that?' I said. 'Should we go look?'" "'Arthur and Thomas are still in there,'" I told him. "Thomas can take care of her." "By the time I was ready to go help Christine, just after we heard her scream, we saw her run out of the cabin. I don't believe she still knew anybody else was in that next room--or that we were there behind the cabin--though she must have seen our car." 128
|
|
"No, I didn't. I just wanted to get out of there. But
I've thought a lot about what I've learned since," Christine said.
"But she ran out right after that first shot?" Shoko asked. "She went running back down the trail, and hardly stopped when she met Charlie running up," Joe said. "He spoke to her briefly, then continued toward the cabin, just as Thomas came out, evidently following her. As Charlie approached him, we heard Thomas say, 'You get the princess out of here. Then forget you were here. I'll take care of this.' Then we heard another shot from the cabin, and Thomas hurried back in." "Charlie paused a moment, then ran after Christine, so was never in the cabin. He may not have known that Arthur was here, or that we were--but he talked to Thomas, so he knew he was." "Well," Henry said. "You never told me that, Charlie. Just that you hadn't wanted to stay by the car when Christine told you to, distrusting Ben, and Arthur, or whoever might be represented by that third car, so got out and walked part way up to the cabin, to that point where you could look out across the lake, to wait. You said you heard that first shot and started to run toward the cabin, then met Christine running toward you, then continued toward the cabin until a second shot convinced you to follow her instead. You never mentioned talking to Thomas." "I didn't tell anyone, including Christine--though I knew that Thomas had told her--but, yes, I did talk to him, knew he was here, that he drove the Ferrari back to Shangri La. I knew I might have to tell about seeing him, if asked, but expected it to be after he'd told them about seeing me--which I don't believe he's ever done." "We know that Thomas was outside, talking to Charlie, when that second shot was fired, so neither of them fired that," Marjorie said. "Then Thomas returned to the cabin, and Charlie followed Christine." 129
|
|
"Thomas told Arthur, 'Put that gun down, get your things, and get
out of here,' so we assume Arthur must have been holding the gun.
He might have shot Ben, or he might have picked the gun up from the floor
after Ben shot himself and then dropped the gun."
"But you didn't see any of that," Henry said. "No, we didn't. Then, after some frantic noises, we saw Arthur hastily gathering things in the bedroom and coming out with an armload of clothes. As Arthur was going down the path, I told Marjorie, 'He may have shot Ben, so don't let him see us.'" "I thought I heard his car start up," Marjorie said. "Then we heard a third shot--when only Ben and Thomas were still in the cabin." "Before long, Thomas came out, with the gun in his hand," Joe said. "We were afraid he might be looking for us. But, after looking in our direction--so he might have seen us--he walked toward the lake and threw that gun as far as he could. Then he, too, went down the path toward the cars. If he did know we were there he made no attempt to talk to us. We heard a car start up and drive away. Then I said, 'Well, Charlie's gone with Christine. Arthur's gone. And we just saw Thomas throw the gun into the lake and leave, so it should be safe in there.'" Joe said, "I told her, 'Okay, let's go see about Ben.' "When we found Ben dead on the floor, lying in his own blood, I said, 'Call the police, Joe.'" "We found the telephone, but the cord had been pulled out from the wall," Joe said. "I could probably have fixed that phone, but we knew we could drive down to Brown's and use the phone there. On the way, we saw Brown's truck coming up the road." "Laura had said she was ordering groceries delivered that evening for your first meals when you got back home. But 130
|
| Joe wanted to be sure, so we turned around and followed
Mr. Brown until be pulled in to your car park--and there were no other
cars there. I suggested helping Mr. Brown carry the groceries up to the
cabin, but Joe just laughed, saying, 'To find a dead man there? Then
everyone will want to know what we're doing here. I trust Brown to
report this, and suggest we go home.'"
"We knew what we had seen--and heard--but still thought, 'Why be the first to come forward? We may have to, if the police find out we were here, but we were never in the cabin, and maybe no one else knows we were here.'" "I was sure Thomas had seen us," Joe said, "and that whenever he talked to the police we would be drawn in--but I don't believe he ever has." "And that's how we've left it, until now." Marjorie said. Henry said, "So you were in much the same position I was when Betty and Jordan shot each other--you could hear more than you could see. You heard three gun shots. We assume the last shot killed Ben--but who was holding the gun when he was first wounded? Christine, it seems unlikely, but you could have been the first time. Arthur could have been the second time. Thomas could have been the third time. Only one other person in each case--and Ben himself." "I wasn't holding the gun," Christine said, with some hesitation, "but . . . as with Jordan . . . I was responsible for Ben's death. When he reached for that gun I instinctively shoved the table against him as he was drawing it--hard--and when it fired it hit him in the stomach. He didn't fire into the ceiling. When I saw all that blood, and knew he was badly wounde--by that same gun, in that same room--I screamed and ran out of there. I can still feel that table hitting his arm." "That's what I wanted to ask about, Christine," Henry said. "Lieutenant Carlson wondered why, if all Ben did was shoot that gun into the ceiling you were so traumatized that you ran out of the cabin screaming, and could hardly talk 131
|
| about it the next day. I imagine Thomas suggested
that you tell that story, for then you'd have been gone before Ben was
wounded. I suspected something like this, though, even if you'd been
holding the gun, you could claim self defense."
"The fact that he wounded himself was largely due to his careless drunken handling of the gun," Charlie said. "I saw him do it enough to know he wasn't exactly a whiz at that sudden draw." "Then one of the other shots was fired into the ceiling, where one of the slugs was found," Henry said. "Thomas would have known that. But which? And which to the head? If the second shot, Arthur was the only one there with Ben. If the third, Thomas. Either had motive enough to have killed him. But you two saw Christine leave immediately after that first shot, know Arthur left after the second shot, and that, shortly after the third shot Thomas threw the pistol into the lake--then left." "That's right, Henry," Marjorie said. "What about the sandwiches?" Shoko asked. "Arthur made sandwiches for himself and Ben, as he seemed in the habit of doing," Marjorie said, "Ben ate part of his before he was shot, and Arthur ate part of his before he put the rest in that dresser drawer." "Then Arthur took all of his things with him." "So should have taken the sandwich--but didn't. Then he denied he'd been there at all--which was what Thomas had told everyone to do." After the Salems left, Christine was talking to Shoko as they were putting Hajime to bed, leaving Charlie alone with Henry. "I think Arthur probably thought he'd be blamed, since he'd been arguing with Ben," Charlie said, "so tried to deny that he'd been here." "But everyone knows that Arthur is a notorious liar," said Henry. "And now I think we need to talk to Thomas." 132 |