Page 59 of A Star is Scorned

As if on cue, the monkey came scampering out of the church, Devlin’s finger in his mouth. He dropped it at Livvy’s feet like it was a prize he had won for her. She gagged, trying to swallow down her impulse to vomit.

“You’re going to regret this,” Devlin sputtered. “You and your harlot sister.”

A firm hand wrested itself on Livvy’s back, reassuring her. “Before you start pointing fingers, Devlin, I’d make sure you have all of your own,” Judy growled.

No. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Judy wasn’t supposed to face him again. She should have stayed in the car.

But her sister grabbed Livvy’s shoulder and pulled her back. “Go get in the car, I’ll handle him.”

Livvy struggled against every impulse she had to protect her sister.

Judy wasn’t even supposed to be here. Livvy studied her sister, her breath catching at the fire in Judy’s eyes.

Pride flared in Livvy’s chest. Judy didn’t need her protection.

Right now, she was braver than Livvy had ever dared to be.

Flynn had been right. If Judy said she could handle it, Livvy believed her.

Rallo followed right behind Livvy and jumped into the car, crawling over the front seat and into Flynn’s lap, then tucking in his tail and snuggling calmly into a ball. The monkey closed his eyes, unmoved by the fact that he had just dismembered one of the more powerful men in Hollywood.

Livvy rolled the window down so she could hear what was happening between her sister and Devlin.

“You’re a despicable man,” Judy spat out.

Devlin grinned, the maniacal look on his face chilling Livvy to the bone. “If you think I’m despicable now, wait until I get going. When I’m finished with you and your sister, the pearl-clutchers will be chasing you from Hollywood with tar and feathers.”

“You’re the one who should be run out of town on a rail.”

Voices at the end of the alley interrupted Judy and Devlin’s volley of threats. “I think I see them,” someone called.

Before Livvy knew what was happening, Walter Pince of The Hollywood Reporter was barreling toward the car, with a photographer in tow.

She recognized him from his photo next to his column, his fresh-faced youth a standout among the dour older men that dominated the staff.

He couldn’t have been more than twenty-three years old.

She was vaguely aware that Flynn and Walter were friendly, and she sent up a silent thanks that he had been the member of the press to find them first.

Walter ran up, nearly out of breath, and leaned against the back end of the car, holding his side like he had a cramp.

The press pass in his lapel pocket was torn and his hat looked rather squashed.

“It’s a madhouse out there.” He gestured to the front of the church, gasping for air.

Walter peered into the back seat, addressing Flynn.

“What happened in there? A woman claiming to be your mother found me and told me something about a nun and a monkey. I could barely understand her, she was laughing so hard.”

Flynn grinned. “Good to know her sense of humor is as strong as ever.”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Devlin snarled. Coming down the steps and pushing his way past Judy, he puffed up his chest and got in Walter’s face. Walter turned a light shade of puce as Devlin jabbed at his chest with his bloody hand. “That monkey attacked me on their orders.”

Livvy scoffed. “That’s absurd. He’s a trained monkey, but he’s not that good.”

Rallo lifted his head from Flynn’s lap to chitter in protest.

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?”

Flynn gave the reporter a sad little smile.

“It means for the first time in my life, I was trying to do a good turn. Devlin was threatening to ruin the girl and her sister. I made a deal with him to keep their names out of the papers. Simple as that. Doesn’t mean I would’ve been a good husband.

I made no such promise in that regard. I’ve been told I would make a lousy one, in fact. ”

He gave Livvy a pointed look. She closed her eyes, furious with herself.

How wrong she’d been. But she couldn’t simply take back her words.

After how she’d treated him, did she expect him to embrace her and say all was forgiven?

To take her in his arms and tell her that he was so relieved she’d come, because in truth the only person he wanted was her?

No. Her only intention had been to stop the wedding.

To make sure Flynn didn’t have to sacrifice himself for her.

She hadn’t wanted that on her conscience.

It shouldn’t be so crushing that her rescue hadn’t ended with some great love scene.

That instead it was concluding with a harried escape and his invoking her words as the reason he had almost destroyed his life.

Suddenly, someone from the front of the church cried, “I think they went that way.” Their heads all snapped to see if they were about to be rushed by a crowd, but instead, there was only an older woman, her hat in disarray atop her head, barreling down the alley and gasping for breath.

As she got closer, Livvy realized it was the woman she had guessed was Flynn’s mother.

“Mother?” Flynn asked, confirming Livvy’s assumption. “What are you doing?”

“Buying you time,” she huffed.

The woman clutched at her side as Flynn turned to their group. “Er, everyone this is my mother, Violet.” They all nodded and smiled their hellos.

She smiled back. “It’s nice to meet you. Especially you.” She beamed at Livvy. “But the meet and greet will have to wait. You’d all better get out of here. I told them the crowd you’d gone out on the opposite side of the church, but they’ll realize soon enough it was a lie.”

They sprang into action at her words, moving back to the car. But Flynn stopped before any of them could get in. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

“No,” she insisted. “I’ll keep trying to throw them off the scent.” A mass of people, what seemed to be at least half the population of the church, started to turn into the alley. Violet straightened her hat, steeled herself, and turned to head back toward the crowd.

“Mother,” Flynn called after her. Violet turned around, still jogging backwards in the direction of the wedding-goers. “Thank you.”

A bright smile broke out on Violet’s face then. “My pleasure. And, son?”

“Yes?”

“Remember to always choose joy.”

Flynn smiled for the first time that day, before nodding at Livvy and Judy, who ducked into the car at his signal. “Walter,” he added. “I’ll give you the full story anytime you like. But right now, it’s high time I make like a runaway groom.”

“I’ll hold to you that.” The two men both looked at Devlin, who was starting to stir. “You better go. I’ll take care of him.”

Judy had already started the engine when Flynn slid into the back seat.

He’d barely pulled the door closed when Judy peeled away, the car bouncing up and over a curb.

Livvy’s thoughts were so scrambled that she wasn’t even sure where they were.

But Judy drove confidently as Flynn ducked down, making sure no reporters or wedding guests spotted them as they made their getaway.

Once they were a few blocks away from the church, Flynn popped back up and stared out the back window, checking to see if anyone had tailed them.

But the coast was clear. It was a beautiful December day in Hollywood, bright and brisk.

The streets were relatively quiet, as if the city had yet to really wake up.

All too soon, the car approached the familiar entrance to the Garden of Allah apartments. “We thought no one would know to look for you here,” Judy told Flynn by way of explanation for their destination. “You can lay low here for a bit, and then one of us can drive you home.”

He made a gruff assent of thanks, and Livvy mourned the end of this little bubble of peace and quiet in his company. It hadn’t been enough. To just be with him. It would never be enough. But she’d held tightly to Judy for so long. She couldn’t do the same to Flynn. It wasn’t fair to him.

She had to learn to let go of the things she loved. Even if it broke her heart.