Take Two (A psychological thriller) (3 page)

Eddie shook his head. ‘You’re the one who needs to go.’

Tears began to run down her face again. ‘Eddie, please…’ She sniffed and wiped her nose with her hand. ‘I just need to talk to you. I don’t want to be on my own, not tonight.’

He shook his head again. ‘You need to go, Carolyn.’

‘I love you, Eddie,’ she said. ‘Please, don’t throw me out.’

‘You shouldn’t have come in the first place,’ he said. He took a step towards the door. ‘Don’t make a scene, honey. Please.’  He put a hand on her shoulder, trying to steer her through the door. She threw her arms around him and hugged him, pressing her cheek against his chest. ‘Please, Eddie. Let me stay.’

‘Carolyn, no.’

‘I’ll do anything, Eddie. Anything you want. Don’t send me away.’

Eddie untangled her arms and held her by the wrists. ‘You can’t stay, Carolyn. I’m sorry.’

Tears were running down her face and she sniffed. ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t phone. I’m sorry I broke your mirror. I’m sorry about everything.’

‘I know,’ he said. He pulled her into the hallway. ‘But you have to go.’

Carolyn caught sight of her reflection in a mirror by his coat rack. Her face was red and blotchy and she’d smeared her lipstick. She looked away, embarrassed.

‘Come on Carolyn. Don’t make this worse than it is.’  Eddie released his grip on her left wrist and opened the front door.

‘Eddie, don’t do this,’ Carolyn sobbed. ‘I need you.’

‘You don’t need anybody,’ said Eddie. ‘That’s your problem.’  He pushed her out of the door. She stood outside, her hands over her face, sobbing as he closed the door.

Still crying, Carolyn reached out to ring the doorbell, but then stopped. She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.  ‘You bastard,’ she muttered. She was suddenly ashamed of the way she’d behaved. At least a dozen things she should have said flashed through her mind but she knew it was too late - there was nothing she could think of that was going to change anything. She turned and walked downstairs and let herself out of the building.  As she crossed the road, she took out Eddie’s keys and used the Yale key to scratch the full length of the driver’s side of his BMW, sneering as the key scarred the immaculate paintwork. She started to drop the keys down a nearby grid but began to cry as she realised she couldn’t bring herself to throw them away. A black cab was driving towards her with its light on and she flagged it down.  The driver wound down the window and she managed to blurt out ‘Notting Hill Gate’ before she climbed in the back and burst into tears.

CHAPTER 5

Carolyn’s alarm woke her at just after five. It was still dark outside. She rolled over, switched on her bedside light and picked up her mobile phone. She looked hopefully at the screen, wondering if Eddie had called or sent a text, but he hadn’t. She smoked a cigarette before rolling out of bed and padding over to her bathroom. She showered, toweled herself dry and pulled on a pale blue Chanel dress.  She sat down at her dressing table and applied mascara, blusher and lipstick. It would all have to be redone when she got to the studio but there were always paparazzi around and the last thing she wanted was a picture of her disheveled and without make-up appearing in the Daily Mail along with snide comments about her looking her age. She tilted up her chin and ran her fingers along the skin there, then turned her head slowly from side to side. ‘You look good for forty-four,’ she said. She moved her face closer to the mirror and scrutinised the fine lines at the corners of her eyes. ‘Your eyes might need some work, though.’  She forced a frown and examined her forehead.  There were a few lines there, but not enough to warrant another course of Botox.

Her phone rang and she flinched, then hurried over to the bedside table, hoping the call was from Eddie. Her heart sank when she saw it was Billy. ‘Miss Castle, just wanted to check where I was to collect you,’ he said.

‘I’m at home, Billy.’

‘I’ll be there at six on the dot,’ he said.

‘Thanks, Billy,’ she said. She ended the call and then scrolled through for Eddie’s mobile. She pressed the green button but the call went straight through to his voicemail. Eddie had switched his phone off.

She went downstairs and made a coffee and a slice of toast and smoked another cigarette. She stared at her mobile phone as she ate, willing it to ring. She just wanted to hear Eddie’s voice. She wanted him to say that everything was all right, that he still loved her and wanted her, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She felt tears well up in her eyes and she blinked them away.  She shook her head, hating herself for being so weak. In the studio she could fake any emotion, and could cry on command, but in the real world she could do nothing to quell the feeling of panic and loss that she felt.

She paced around the central isle in her kitchen, trying to get into character and running through her lines.  She was still pacing when her phone beeped to let her know she had a text message. It was Billy, letting her know he was outside.

She grabbed her coat and bag, set the burglar alarm, and hurried out to the waiting Mercedes.

Billy could sense she had something on her mind so he drove to the South London studio in silence. The security guard waved them through and Billy parked in front of the main studio building.  ‘What about this evening, Miss Castle?’ he asked.

‘This evening?’

‘It’s the Soap Digest awards, Miss Castle.’

Carolyn groaned. She’d totally forgotten the event. It was in a hotel in Surrey and she had to go because they were giving her a lifetime achievement award. Eddie was supposed to be going with her.

‘What time shall I collect you?’

‘You know what, Billy, I’ll go with one of the team. There’s no point in taking up all your evening.’

‘Happy to do it, Miss Castle.’

‘Bless, but all the producers are going and half the cast will be there. I’ll tag along with them.’  She couldn’t bring herself to tell Billy that the last thing she wanted was to explain to any paparazzi why she was on her own. ‘You can disappear for the day.’

‘I’ll go back and give the missus a surprise,’ said Billy.

‘Yeah, well be careful with that,’ Carolyn said, opening the door. She climbed out and walked into the reception area.

A uniformed security guard raised a cup of coffee in salute. ‘Good morning, Miss Castle.’

‘Good morning, Charlie. How’s the wife?’

‘Not happy at me doing nights,’ he said.

‘What time are you off?’

He looked over at a digital clock on the wall. ‘Another two hours.’

‘At least you get to spend the day with her,’ said Carolyn.

Charlie laughed. ‘She’s on days this week,’ he said. ‘It’ll probably be next week before I get to see her.’

Carolyn smiled sympathetically, then pushed her way through the double doors to the production offices.  Jake Harrington was already at his desk, going through the day’s shoot with his cameraman, Frank McWilliams. Frank had a thick black beard that merged seamlessly into a mop of unruly hair. He grinned at Carolyn. ‘The early bird, huh?’

‘Please tell me the camera’s working today,’ she said.

‘All good,’ said Frank.

‘We’re set up to go as soon as you’re ready,’ said Harrington. ‘Kelly’s waiting for you in make-up.’

‘I’ll go right in,’ said Carolyn. ‘Can you do me a favour, Jake? Can I come with you to the awards thing tonight?’

‘Of course,’ said the director. ‘What’s happened to Eddie?’

‘He’s not feeling too well,’ Carolyn lied. ‘Tummy bug.’

‘Frank and I will be leaving at about six,’ said Harrington.

‘I call shotgun,’ said Frank.

Carolyn laughed and walked along the corridor to the make-up department.  There were three chairs facing a mirror that ran the full length of the room.  Kelly was in her early twenties, and as always was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed despite the early hour.  Kelly generally worked the early shift and Tracey came in at midday. She had shoulder-length blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and wore faded denim dungarees with lots of pockets in which she had slotted her brushes and combs. The lights around the mirror were so bright that Carolyn had to shade her eyes with her hand as she sat down in the middle chair. Carolyn hated the mirror and the lights, the combination showed up every imperfection, every flaw.

‘How are you this morning?’ Kelly asked.

‘I’ll let you know in an hour or so,’ said Carolyn.

‘You’re not really a morning person, are you?’ Kelly said and laughed.

‘Never have been,’ said Carolyn.

‘I love mornings,’ said Kelly. ‘Up with the lark, I am. Early to bed, early to rise.’ She bent down and peered at Carolyn’s face, gently running a finger under her eyes. ‘You’ve got your panda look,’ she said. ‘Were you out late last night?’

‘Quiet night in,’ said Carolyn. She forced a smile, trying to hide her discomfort. She had barely slept and had tossed and turned all night, checking her phone a hundred times. In the middle of the night she’d actually called her mobile from her landline just to check it was working.

‘No worries, easy enough to cover up,’ said Kelly.

She took out a brush and picked up a pot of foundation.

Carolyn looked at Kelly in the mirror. ‘How does my hair look to you?’

Kelly gave her a beaming smile. ‘Don’t worry, Jake’s already been in. I can take care of it.’

‘Take care of what?’

‘The thinning,’ she said. ‘A bit of spray and you’ll be good to go.’

‘It is thinning, then?’

‘It’s nothing to worry about,’ said Kelly, rubbing her brush on foundation. ‘It happens to everyone as they get older. And, trust me, there’s many worse than you.’

‘That’s good to hear,’ said Carolyn. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed.

‘So have you heard about Andrea?’ asked Kelly.

‘What?’

‘Her agent has just got her a huge pay rise. They’re going to make her part bigger.’

‘Come on, Kelly, how would you know that? No one talks about their salary in this business.’

Kelly looked around as if she feared that someone might be eavesdropping, even though they were alone in the room.  ‘One of the extras told me yesterday,’ she said. ‘The blonde with the breasts.’

‘And how did she know?’

Kelly looked around again then lowered her head to whisper into Carolyn’s ear. ‘She’s been seeing one of the network producers. That Martin, the young one. He got her the job on this show and he told her they’re going to make Andrea’s part bigger. Apparently the viewers love her.’

‘Do they now?’

‘They did some market research, that’s what she said.’  Kelly began applying foundation to Carolyn’s cheeks.  ‘And she said Andrea’s going to be taking over the company.’

‘What?’

‘She’s going to be taking over the company, that’s what she said. The writers are working on the plotlines now.’ She frowned. ‘Didn’t you know?’

‘They never tell us anything,’ said Carolyn.

‘But something like that, you’d think they’d mention it, wouldn’t you? You’re the star, when all’s said and done.’

Carolyn laughed bitterly. ‘When it comes to the power plays, we’re right at the bottom of the totem pole,’ she said.

There was a quick double-knock on the door and Harry appeared with a mug of latte and a croissant for her. ‘Anything else I can get you, Miss Castle?’ he asked.

‘Another two hours sleep,’ joked Carolyn.

It took Kelly just under an hour to get Carolyn ready for shooting, and most of the time was spent on her hair.  Jake Harrington popped in twice to check on her progress. The second time he gave her new pages of dialogue, printed on pale green paper. ‘We did a bit of tweaking last night, sorry about the short notice.’

‘No problem,’ she said. She scanned the two sheets, then frowned. ‘You’ve cut my bit back, why’s that?’

‘Just a bit of tightening, that’s all.’

Carolyn put down the sheets. ‘You’ve gutted it, Jake.’

‘We’re running over, that’s all, and there were a few lines we could lose,’ he said. ‘I just thought it’d be better to do it now rather than when we’re editing.’

‘What about Seb and Andrea?’

‘We’ve trimmed everyone back.’ He laughed uneasily. ‘It’s not personal, cross my heart. We’ve just had to lose thirty seconds, that’s all.’ He patted her on the shoulder. ‘It’s still a powerful scene,’ he said. ‘It’s going to be brilliant.’ He winked at her in the mirror and then hurried out.

Carolyn sighed. ‘He’s nice, isn’t he?’ said Kelly.

‘He’s young,’ said Carolyn. ‘Directors always start out nice but it never lasts. The suits wear them down eventually.’

Kelly spent another ten minutes fussing over Carolyn’s hair before she was satisfied, then Carolyn went through to the wardrobe department to put on the Chanel suit and Prada shoes. Terry Carter, the props manager, appeared with her handbag.  ‘Here you are, darling,’ he said.

Carolyn took the bag. It was a Louis Vuitton, the latest model.  Like almost all of the bags, clothes and shoes she used on the show, it was a gift from the manufacturer.  Designers were lining up to have their products featured on Rags To Riches as without fail an appearance on the show produced a spike in sales. Many of the designers also sent samples to Carolyn’s home in the hope their goods would appear in her paparazzi shots and while she ended up sending most to charity shops, she still had a wardrobe that would have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds if she’d had to buy them herself. It was one of the many advantages of being famous, and went some way to making up for the complete lack of privacy that went with the job.

‘Are you okay? You look tired?’ asked Terry.

‘Don’t say that. Kelly has just spent an hour working on me,’ she said.

‘A bit of slap isn’t going to fool me,’ said Terry.

Carolyn laughed. Terry was one of her closest friends, a confidant and a drinking buddy. He also had a great eye for fashion and she much preferred to go out shopping with him than any of her girlfriends. He was black, gay, and had the look of a young Denzel Washington.  Early in their relationship after they’d drunk a couple of bottles of red wine, Carolyn had put Terry’s homosexuality to the test and, to her disappointment, he’d passed with flying colours.