Page 22 of Beyond the Darkness
“Not much,” he admitted, relieved when she released him and sat back down.
Jo was midway through one of those sparse breakfasts that only seemed to be served in posh hotels.Meagre portions of bacon, sausage, eggs and avocado spread across an oversized plate.“You need to eat something.”Rings flashed on every finger as she cut a tiny piece off the end of a sausage and put it in her mouth before chewing daintily.
“I’m not hungry.”There was already a pot of coffee on the table and a spare cup.He helped himself and dropped in a lump of brown sugar.
Jo patted her mouth with a napkin, careful not to smear her crimson lipstick.Despite her old-fashioned glamour-puss image, Hudson knew from experience that Jo was no pussycat.She drove an extremely hard deal and fought like a tiger for the rights of her clients.It was impossible to determine her age.The cosmetic enhancements and dramatic make-up made her appear young and old at the same time.Hudson guessed she was in her late forties but could be ten years off in either direction.His eyes were fixated on a huge sapphire and diamond pendant that hung just above her well-hoisted breasts.
“Aren’t you worried you’ll get mugged walking around with something like that?”
She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.“I’ll like to see someone try.They won’t survive with their fingers intact, that I guarantee.”She had a deep, raspy voice that had a two-packs-of-cigarettes-a-day quality, though Hudson had never seen her smoke in all the time he’d known her.
It was not yet eleven o’clock.Jo had flown to Blyham early that morning.“What time did you have to get up to start putting all this together?”he asked.
“This”—she ran her fingers over herself from head to waist—“was achieved in fifteen minutes in the back of the car to the airport.I might look high-maintenance, darling, but I could practically do this in my sleep.”
He laughed.Despite the circumstances, it was good to see her.He no longer felt alone.“What time are Andie and Rav arriving?”
“They’ve been and gone.”
His mouth dropped.“They’ve what?”
“It’s fine, sweetie, don’t worry.Everything is taken care of.They’re getting it from all angles at the minute—police, investors, cast, crew,theirgoddamned agents.Even I felt a scrap of sympathy for them.It can’t be easy.”
“I don’t understand.What do you mean?Everything is taken care of?”
“To use a showbiz cliché, the show will go on.”
He let that digest.He’d more or less accepted that it would, though he had mixed emotions at the prospect of continuing.“How?”he said at last.
“Rehearsals have been stood down for the rest of the week.Enjoy the time off and try to get yourself together.There’s a great-looking spa in this place.You should book yourself in and take advantage.Relax, unwind, recharge.”
“What about the play?What about Julian?”
“I can deal with most things, but Julian’s death is something I can’t get involved in.”
“Murder,” he corrected.“Julian’s murder.”
“Murder, yes.It appears that way.”She raised the cup and saucer and sipped.“I represented him for a couple of years myself.Back in his early days.I got him some good work in TV.He wouldn’t have been playing understudies now if he’d stuck with me.No offence to you, my darling.Julian was a fine actor.He could have carried this play with ease.”
“I know he was.”After Luke had left last night, Hudson’s mind had been in a state of turmoil.When he’d eventually gone to bed, he’d been unable to sleep and had watched an old episode ofCasualtyin which Julian had appeared as the victim of a road accident, who was trying to escape from a violent relationship.It had been a powerful performance that had Hudson in tears by the end, even more tragic given current circumstances.“So, what are they planning to do?Just replace him?”He clicked his fingers disdainfully.“Like that?”
“You know that’s how it works.Everybody is replaceable.”
“For fuck’s sake.”
“We don’t have to like it, but it’s the way it is.”Jo’s phone rang.She glanced at the screen without picking it up, bared her teeth, then rejected the call.She turned back to Hudson, fully composed.“Look, it’s shit, I know it is.We both do.But there’s a lot of money invested in this show.Two years of planning just to get to this stage.The goal has always been to make this a hit, take it to London and then on road.Potentially Broadway.Julian was a lovely man, but he was one small part of the production.It will go on without him.It must.”
He nodded sullenly.“You’re right.I don’t have to like it.”
“But you have to get that talented arse of yours on stage in two weeks’ time and make this the smash we know it has to be.”
“Jesus, two weeks.We’re already behind.”
“Rav and Andie have agreed to cancel the first three preview performances to allow you to make up for some of the lost rehearsal time.But opening night goes ahead as planned.”
Hudson slumped further into his seat, thoroughly depressed.What she was telling him made complete sense.As a professional, he knew that.He’d replaced other actors at short notice, and been replaced himself a couple of times—it was all part of the business.The opening of any new show was always fraught with problems, but this was so much worse.“I don’t know how we’ll make it.It’s too much.”
She slapped her hand on the table, her rings clattering off the marble.“Get it together, Hudson.Look, you’ve got the rest of the week off.Do whatever you want to mourn Julian.Get drunk.Fuck your blues away.Do whatever you need to do, but make sure it’s all out of your system and you’re laser focused by Monday morning.You’ll need to be to get this show running.It’s going to be under more attention than ever when it opens.”
