Page 61 of His Girl Hollywood
“Wait, please. Don—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” muttered Arlene. “Maybe he doesn’t know or he hasn’t told you, but my mother took a spill today. I’ve really had about as much as I can take. If he’s sent you to bear his tidings, that’s all well and good, but I don’t want them. Goodbye.”
“He’s disappeared and I don’t know where,” Eleanor spat out in a rush, no breath between each word, trying to beat the snick of the door closing in her face.
Arlene cracked open the door and stuck her head out. “What?”
Eleanor looked over both her shoulders, a stark look of fear on her face. “Can I come in, please? I’m worried I was followed.”
Arlene didn’t know if Eleanor Lester was off her nut or serious. But she supposed it was best to err on the side of caution. So, she opened the door wider and shooed Don’s dance partner—and apparent lover—into her family home. This had absolutely not been on her to-do list for the day. Or ever, for that matter.
Arlene closed the front door, leaning against the panes of glass that were paneled between a wooden trellis. “So, what? He left your place for the studio this morning and he stood you up for a date this afternoon?”
Eleanor gave her a puzzled look. “My place? He wasn’t at my place last night.”
“But he didn’t go back to his hotel last night.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” Eleanor practically shrieked in her thick Jersey accent. Arlene clocked her mother’s distaste instantly. But she knew it wasn’t Eleanor’s grubby appearance or the fact that she had a voice made for silent pictures. No, it was simply because they thought Eleanor had played a direct role in hurting Arlene. Arlene could never call her mother disloyal, that was certain.
“Mama, why don’t you go lie down?” Her mother glared at her, a look that told Arlene that her mother knew exactly what she was doing. But with Arlene’s help, she stood from the couch, took the cane she had propped against it, and made her way to her bedroom.
While Arlene helped her mother, Eleanor made herself at home, removing her hat and gloves and taking a seat at the dining table. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” Arlene asked her begrudgingly. She didn’t like the woman, but her mother would never forgive Arlene for being a stingy hostess.
Eleanor shook her head. “I just wanna know where Don is.”
Arlene crossed her arms and gave Eleanor a hard look. “Look, I don’t know what you’re accusing me of—”
“I ain’t accusing you of nothin’. I want your help.”
Arlene sighed and took a seat across from Eleanor. “You’re telling me Don wasn’t with you last night?”
Eleanor gave her a queer look. “No, stupid, he was with you. I saw ya together on that floating casino.”
Arlene dragged a hand down her face. “And I sawyoutogether. Looking pretty chummy, I might add.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “There’s nothin’ between me and Don, never has been, never will be. He’s my dance partner. And a helluva decent guy.”
“That’s not what it looked like.” Arlene might be a hopeless romantic, but she wasn’t dumb.
“Look, believe me or don’t, but I’m telling ya there’s never been anything between us. Don was comforting me last night because I’ve been a little hysterical lately. The hormones, I guess.” Eleanor patted her tummy meaningfully, and Arlene’s eyebrows shot to her hairline.
“You’re having a baby? But you said—”
“It’s not Don’s, ya dum-dum. It’s my boyfriend…well, fiancé’s. Robert. Only he’s a little confused too. He’s been listening to Frankie Martino too much. So, I’m in a bit of a jam.”
Arlene only understood about half of what Eleanor was saying. “Wait, wait, who’s Frankie Martino? And what’s Don got to do with this?”
Eleanor sighed heavily, as if she thought she was dealing with the biggest idiot on the face of the planet. “He really didn’t tell ya nothin?” Arlene shook her head. “Frankie Martino is our manager. He discovered me and Don, made us a team, launched our careers. But he’s a two-bit crook and a cheat, and he’s had a stranglehold on our lives ever since. He used to be a bootlegger, but he decided to expand into the theatrical management racket. Among other things.” Eleanor wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Frankie’s the one who planted all the rumors in the press about me and Don. The ones my fiancé now believes. Frankie’s got us on a leash so short, we can’t do anything he don’t say.”
Arlene’s mind reeled. Don was in business with a gangster? Orworse, owned by him contractually? Was this what he’d been keeping from her? When she’d sensed him holding back when he tried to explain his radio silence, was this why? “But how did Don come to Hollywood then? Where is this Martino character?”
“That’s the thing. Don was trying to pull a fast one on Frankie. Use this Hollywood deal to set himself free. He probably woulda gotten away with it too. But I came to him for help, not knowing what else to do. Donnie was too decent to tell me to take a hike, and now he’s gone missing. Since you were so keen to shut the door in my face, I’m gonna assume that he didn’t stay with you last night.”
“No.” Arlene’s mind was whirling a mile a minute. This was a lot to process. Don was in danger. She could feel it in her bones. But what could she do about it? “He put me in a taxi and sent me home. Said he had to take care of something. Then, my mother had an accident early this morning. I tried to call him around 5:30 a.m., and the hotel clerk said he’d never come back last night. I thought he was with you.”
Eleanor grimaced. “That don’t sound good.”
Arlene resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Obviously, it did not. “Do you have any idea where he could be?”