Dream Town

Chapter 77

Archer had on his best suit, his shoes were polished to a high sheen, his hair was freshly cut, his jaw freshly mowed, and he’d even bought a new hat.

He knocked on the door and held the flowers in front of him as he eyed the Volkswagen in Callahan’s driveway.

Callahan opened the door and smiled at him. But he noted she made no move to hug him or give him a kiss, as was usual after they had been apart for a while.

She had on a black-and-white sleeveless number with white gloves, black fishnet stockings, and black pumps. An elegant diamond necklace he’d never seen before encircled her long neck. And her hair was done up in some intricate manner that looked like it had taken both time and talent.

“Archer, I didn’t know you were coming over tonight.”

“I thought I’d surprise you. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, um, yes it has.”

He saw a sable wrap on a table next to the door. That was new, too. “Damn, you’re going out. That’s why you’re all dressed up.”

“I am, I’m sorry.” She looked over his shoulder. “But please come in. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

He passed through the door and handed her the flowers. For some reason, all the things he had thought to say to her at this moment were lost somewhere in his head. He went back in his mind, sentence by sentence, idea by idea, and then, before he got to where he needed to go, they dropped off into nothing, like Cedric Bender’s Ford off Malibu Pier. He heard the splash, and then all his carefully crafted remarks proceeded to drown in the Pacific.

“These are lovely, Archer, thank you. Let me put them in water.”

While she was gone he took a moment to look around. He had been so busy with wrapping up the case and Callahan had been on location in Arizona shooting a film that they hadn’t seen each other in person for well over a month. He noted a cigarette lighter he didn’t recognize lying on a table. He picked it up and ran his nail along the initial S.

When Callahan came back into the room with the flowers in a vase he said, “Somebody leave this behind?”

She glanced at it, put the vase down on a table, and said, “Please, sit.”

Archer sat and studied her as she settled not next to him, but across the width of a coffee table. The stark symbolism in that caused his chest to tighten.

“You look beautiful,” he said cautiously.

“Thanks.”

“Hey, did you land that part in the Hitchcock film? What was it again?”

“Dial M for Murder. And no, I didn’t. But I did have a good part in a film that’ll be out this summer, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I actually filmed it last year. I don’t believe I mentioned it to you. I play a song-and-dance girl. Had a few lines.”

“Well, this gentleman prefers blondes,” said Archer, still trying to break the ice floe he sensed all around him.

“Marilyn Monroe is in it. She’s really terrific. She croons ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ like nobody’s business. And she’s got two other pictures coming out this year. She’s going to be a star.” She paused. “And she’s four years younger than me.”

“So what, Liberty? Everybody has a different schedule in life.”

They fell silent, with all the Hollywood chitchat exhausted.

Archer could feel it coming, just like he had before every battle he’d fought in during the war. You could sense the doom creeping closer and your hand flicked to your dog tags and you prayed that when you died they would still be there, so the Army would know where to send the telegram about your death. And your remains.

She finally said in a tremulous tone, “I read the papers while I was away. My God, everything you’ve been through. It was a miracle you survived.”

He didn’t like the way she said the word miracle, not at all.

“Everything turned out okay,” he said. “No bullet holes in me or anything.”

As soon as he said it, Archer regretted it.

Callahan had turned deathly pale and put a hand to her mouth.

“Liberty, I’m okay. I’m fine, really.”

“I... talked to Connie.”

“What about?” he said quickly.

“She told me about... Vegas, the desert. Darren Paley... You.”

Archer started to twirl his new hat faster and faster. It felt funny in a bad way. Not lucky at all. The nerves didn’t recede, they fireballed. “I didn’t know that.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“I’m not going to bore you with every little thing—”

She stood, her features tortured and savage. “Little! You coming two seconds from being murdered. You call that little!”

Archer didn’t know how to respond to this, so he said nothing. He just eyed her, looking for some opening to bring this thing back to a level he could handle. But he wasn’t finding it.

“If Willie hadn’t been there...” Her voice trailed off and her skin turned from white to near gray. She fell rather than sat back down.

“But he was there, Liberty. That’s the whole point.”

“But he won’t always be. That is the point!”

“What do you want me to say?” he asked, a touch of anger creeping into his voice.

“You don’t have to say anything, Archer. Things are pretty clear. My dream of stardom is starting to fade, and yours...”

“Mine what?” he said a bit more harshly than he probably intended.

“Has turned into a nightmare. At least for me.”

There was a knock on the door.

“You expecting someone?” asked Archer curiously.

“Yes, I am.”

Callahan composed herself, rose, smoothed down her dress, primped her hair, and went to the door.