Page 87 of A Star is Scorned
Livvy reached her arm back to pat Rallo on the head. “Not that we didn’t appreciate it,” she whispered under her breath.
Judy stormed down the steps behind Devlin and stood before Walter with her hands on her hips. “You want to know what happened? I’ll tell you. This man”—she thumbed in Devlin’s direction—“attacked me at Shasta Peak Pictures’ annual sales celebration last month. He tried to, to, to—” Judy’s voice became choked with emotion.
“Lies,” Devlin sputtered.
Livvy opened the door to hop out of the car and grab her sister’s hand. “Judy, it’s okay. You don’t have to share this.”
Judy squeezed Livvy’s hand in return and squared her shoulders. She swallowed, and a note of tremulous courage returned to her voice. “No, I want to. I have to. To make sure he never hurts anyone else. I was wrong before, when I said I wanted to forget it. I can’t—for the sake of the next girl.”
Walter scribbled frantically in his notebook. “What did he try to do, miss?”
“To molest me. To have his way with me. He informed me that the girls at this party were the studio’s ‘entertainment’ for the night. Said that since we’d been paid for, we’d better deliver. He followed me into the powder room—”
“Disgusting. Lies, all lies. Now I’ll add slander to your charges as well. I intend to prosecute. Write that in your notebook! For this brat’s attack last month and for everything that happened today.”
By this time, Flynn had hopped back out of the car as well. He cleared his throat. “Walter, I can corroborate the girl’s story. I bailed her out of jail the morning after. She had scratches and bruises all over her body. Though as you can see from Devlin’s face, she put up a hell of a fight.”
For the first time, Walter noticed the wound on Devlin’s cheek, and he whistled. “Boy, she did at that! Nice work, miss.” He tipped his hat at Judy.
Judy preened a little. “Thank you.”
“So”—Walter licked his finger and turned the page of his steno pad, poised to write down whatever she said next—“Shasta Peak Pictures paid you and other women that night to perform?”
“As dancers, yes. We were all Billy Wilkes’s girls. From the Sphinx Club. We were told we were there to be background dancers in a movie. But when we got there, it turned out we were the entertainment at this party. I wasn’t aware there were additional…duties expected of us.”
“But Devlin here assumed you were his for the taking? That you were aware these other ‘services’ were part of your job responsibilities?”
Judy nodded and swallowed. “He told me that if I didn’t do as he said, he’d blackball me. That I’d better lie back and get comfortable on the casting couch if I wanted to make it in Hollywood.”
“Preposterous!” Devlin was getting increasingly angry, his face turning a dangerous shade of purple and his slicked-back, thinning hair sticking out at odd angles.
“Quiet, Devlin,” Flynn roared. “Unless you want me to tell the monkey to take off something more significant than your finger.” Flynn looked pointedly at Devlin’s crotch and the man flinched, involuntarily shielding his nether region with his hands.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Devlin snarled. But then, Rallo pressed his face against the glass and let out a terrifying shriek. Livvy didn’t even know a monkey could produce a sound like that.
Without warning, all the color drained from Devlin’s face and he crumbled to the ground.
“Shit,” Flynn muttered. He kneeled down and checked Devlin’s neck for a pulse. “He’s fine. Just unconscious. Walter, you’d better call the paramedics.” He eyed Devlin’s injured hand. “I think he’s lost a fair bit of blood.”
“Or he’s terrified of Rallo.” Livvy laughed.
Flynn grinned and looked at the monkey, who still had his face pressed against the glass of the back passenger window. “Fine work, my friend.”
In response, Rallo stuck out his tongue and distorted his face into a grotesque contortion. The entire group laughed in relief, and the tension that had been fizzing throughout Livvy’s body since the ceremony dissipated slightly.
Flynn pushed the unconscious Devlin up, got his hands under the man’s arms, and dragged him away from the car, laying him out near the steps. Noticing Devlin’s finger still sitting where Rallo had dropped it, he picked it up, grimacing, and set it on top of Devlin’s chest. Then he stood, brushing off the knees of his morning suit. “Walter, if you don’t mind, these girls have so kindly arranged a getaway car for me, and I’d like to make use of it.”
The reporter chuckled. “Of course, Banks. There’s just one thing I don’t understand.”
“What’s that?”
“Why were you gonna marry that louse’s niece? If all of this is true?”
Flynn sighed and ran his hand down his face. “I suppose because…I wanted to take responsibility for someone other than myself. For once.”
He gave Livvy a somber look, and her heart sank. She had hurled accusations at him, accused him of building a life that meant he didn’t have to care about anyone but himself. About anything but his own pleasure. She couldn’t read his expression now. Did he intend his words about responsibility to be a rebuke of her own? Or as an apology?
Walter stuck his pencil behind his ear and tipped his fedora forward on his head. “What does that mean?”
