Charlotte and the Starlet 3 Read online

  'You've seen everything there is to see.'

  'What's Honey Grace doing for goodness sake? Writers.' Sarah-Jane shook her head bitterly.

  'Granted it's not the optimum situation but that's the way it is. We have to start shooting with what we have.'

  'Today has been a total waste.' Sarah-Jane folded her arms and looked accusingly at Tommy, who had dealt with enough of her tantrums not to be riled.

  'Not a total waste, Sarah-Jane. You gave us that great bit about the gold medal from the World Wildlife Fund, remember?'

  Tommy broke off before Sarah-Jane could complain further. Leila felt her stomach begin to knot. In forty-eight hours they would begin shooting. Would she be up to it? It had been over a year since she'd smelt her skin sweating under the hot lights of a shoot. Under Consuela's magic her anxiety had temporarily gone but now it was all coming back.

  'Gee, Leila, you got knots in you like an oak tree, darlink,' said Consuela in her thick accent as she patted her goodbye. She wasn't whistling Dixie. Being a star was scary. Leila relaxed slightly when she saw the limousine pull into the roundabout. Her pals were back. Unfortunately they couldn't stand beside her in front of the camera. She saw Mac, the boom guy, take a text on his phone and then throw it away in anger. Guess the nag he'd backed lost. Leila could have had a word to the horses for him had she known, but most of the time they had no idea themselves if they would win. Maybe Charlie pulled something off at Honey's after all? Leila cantered over to find out.

  'So you got nothing, nada, zilch,' said Leila as they trotted around the property later.

  'I wouldn't say nothing,' snapped Feathers. 'I found this birdbath, marble with a little waterfall . . .'

  Charlotte cut in, 'Like I told you. I got the lead on the window cleaner. If the Grants get back to Honey then I can follow that up. He was there around the right time and might have seen something.'

  Leila shuffled restlessly. 'This was all a stupid idea.'

  Charlotte detected the change in tone. 'What's up?'

  Leila sighed. 'What if I'm no good? What if I forget where I'm supposed to be standing or rear up when I'm supposed to lie down? What if the cinematographer shoots my bad profile?'

  'You know what you need?'

  'Yes, but you can't get it without a prescription.'

  'You don't need pills, Leila, you need a good run.'

  Feathers chirped in that there was a marvellous riding trail through the Hollywood Hills. He pointed his wing in the direction.

  'Mr Gold will never let me out. I'm too valuable,' sighed Leila.

  'Then let's not tell Mr Gold,' said Charlotte.

  Feathers shuddered. 'Not tell Mr Gold? Are you serious?'

  'He's got a lot on his mind anyway,' said Charlotte. 'Can you direct us?'

  'Me? It'll be dark in an hour and there're coyotes in those hills.'

  Leila shifted uneasily. 'Bird brain has a point.'

  Charlotte dismissed it. 'If I can deal with a pack of dingoes I can deal with a coyote.'

  'Maybe you can but what about us?' Feathers was shaking all over.

  'All right, Feathers, you go back to your cage but, Leila, no excuses. You're coming for a good gallop.'

  'You can't get out except through the security gate,' said Feathers.

  'Nonsense. Those walls don't look too high.'

  'Jump? I don't know about jumping . . .' began Leila but it was too late. Charlotte was already driving her boot heels into Leila's flank.

  'Come on, chicken-heart,' she yelled.

  Chicken-heart! Nobody called Leila chicken-heart. She set herself towards the outdoor furniture and leapt high over the cluster of umbrellas, clearing the wall easily.

  Charlie was right. It was exhilarating . . .

  . . . except on the way down, on the neighbours' side, Leila saw a garden of cacti. Oh no!

  She stretched as if she was reaching for the last slice of four-cheeses pizza and cleared the cacti spines by a fraction. A bunch of people were out in the garden having a barbecue. Leila knew Mr Gold's neighbour wasn't anybody famous, just a very good dentist, and she could see his handiwork as the people stared open-mouthed at Charlie galloping past on Leila.

  'G'day,' waved Charlotte to the stunned group.

  'That's . . . that's Leila,' shrieked a little girl ecstatically. By the time she had finished the sentence they had crossed the lawn and jumped the next fence.

  Using their backyard shortcuts it took them not much more than half an hour to get to the Hollywood Hills. It was incredible to think that so close to the world's busiest freeways could be such vast, natural scrubland. Leila enjoyed playing tour guide.

  'You know the movie industry was based in New York to start with but they moved it out here because they could shoot longer in the natural light. A lot of L.A. was orange groves.'

  Charlotte found that hard to believe.

  'And all up around here they used for the early westerns. We've shot up here a couple of times. In fact we started the second movie shooting the last scene where I free Sarah-Jane from being trapped in a mine shaft, right here.'

  That didn't sound right to Charlotte.

  'You mean the first scene, don't you?'

  Leila giggled. 'You know nothing about movies, do you? You don't shoot scene one first and scene two next and so on.'

  'You don't?'

  'No, you'd spend your whole day moving around. You shoot all the scenes in that location, then move onto the next location and do all the scenes set there. Then you cut and paste them together to make the film.'

  Now Charlotte finally understood what Leila and Feathers meant by 'cut'.

  Leila was on a roll. 'People think acting is easy but see, you might have to play out how you're feeling at the end of the film and then, an hour later, play out how you're feeling at the beginning of the film, before anything has happened to you.'

  Charlotte conceded that was quite a skill. She felt at home in these hills in the quiet. It was so pretty now. The breeze made the low scrub ripple like little waves.

  'The smog doesn't seem so bad up here,' observed Charlotte. If she didn't look at the sprawling city in the distance at the foot of the hills she could almost think herself back home in Snake Hills.

  Leila herself was feeling better already.

  'I gotta say, Charlie, this was a good call. I'm loosening up. Say, why don't we drop into the Whiskey on the way back?'

  'That's what, some club?'

  Leila snorted, 'The Whiskey isn't "some club", it's a historical landmark. Even better the studio runs a tab there, which means we don't have to pay for drinks.'

  Charlotte reminded Leila she wasn't old enough to go into a club like that.

  'It's Hollywood. Just say you've recently been to Palm Springs for a facelift.'

  'No. That would be lying.'

  'Lying in Hollywood isn't wrong, it's part of the place. Just like food is in Paris or snow is in Moscow.'

  'I don't care. I'm not going to lie to get into some club.'

  'Such a goody two shoes,' muttered Leila. Then a thought occurred. 'Maybe you could wait outside . . .'

  'Forget it.'

  Leila sulked. They walked in silence for a while. Charlotte announced something was bugging her about the visit to Honey's but she couldn't put her finger on it.

  'Did Honey order in some pizza for you?'

  'No.'

  'There you go.'

  'That's not it. It's something about Oscar going missing. It's right in front of my face . . .'

  Right in front of her face . . . even that phrase was important. What was it?

  Leila slowed to a crawl.

  'Er, Charlotte, I think you should worry about that later.'

  Charlotte was annoyed. 'Why not worry about it now?'

  'Because right now I'd rather you worry about that coyote in front of us.'

  Charlotte had been gazing at the sunset. Now she swung her gaze to the path and, sure enough, there was a large, lean animal standing rig
ht there, mouth part open, panting. Leila made to run but Charlotte reefed her back.

  'What do you think you're doing?'

  'Showing that coyote the designer horseshoes on my rear hooves. What do you think I'm doing?' Leila was growing hysterical.

  Charlotte had never seen a coyote but she knew the difference between a cat and a dog.

  'I don't think that's a coyote.'

  'You think it's a rock formation that looks like a coyote?' Leila squinted, a hopeful lilt to her voice.

  'No, I think it's a mountain lion.'

  Leila began trembling. She looked at the long muscular body, the whiskers. She could imagine razor sharp teeth sinking into her gorgeous legs.

  'O-kay,' said Leila in a high sing-song voice as she began edging backwards. Charlotte stopped her again.

  'No. It might be part of a family. In which case, they will have come around behind us.'

  'We're trapped?' Leila was freaking. 'I'm going to be torn apart by a pack of mountain lions and I've never even had the Oscar I deserve. Why me? God, why me? Why not Sarah-Jane?'

  'Quiet, Leila.'

  The mountain lion or large bobcat or whatever it was swished its tail and took a slow step forward.

  'What are we going to do?'

  'What do you think? You weigh five times what it does. Would you walk in front of a speeding bus?'

  Leila thought about it. 'Maybe if there was some pepperoni . . .'

  'Yaghhh!' Charlotte yelled and dug her heels into Leila, who shot forward reflexively.

  'Are you mad?' she screamed as she thundered towards the startled mountain lion, who had clearly not anticipated this response.

  Charlotte could see the mountain lion considering whether to attack but deciding at the last moment the horse was too crazy. It sprang to the side as Charlotte and Leila thundered by. Leila didn't stop until they were all the way down the bottom of the canyon.

  For the return trip Leila refused to go via the Hollywood Hills. Instead they padded around back streets. The air was warm and the ride back to Joel Gold's was pleasant. They cut up a side street and jumped across backyards, returning with a thump to the dark reaches of Mr Gold's estate. They had only just emerged from the thick foliage when Strudworth came towards them.

  'I've been looking for you, Charlotte.'

  'Any news?'

  'Yes. There's been a fabulous response to the TV ads about Oscar. It sounds like he's been found only a few blocks away from the apartment. Honey Grace is going over to get him.'

  Charlotte was so relieved. 'Thank goodness for that.'

  Strudworth ticked the air with a finger as something else occurred. 'Oh, and Todd Greycroft called from San Diego. They had their first day of competition today. He's going to call back tomorrow. What have you been doing?'

  Charlotte caught Leila looking up at her. 'Oh, nothing much, just a little exercise.'

  When Strudworth had turned back Leila had great pleasure in needling Charlie.

  'Told you. When you're in Hollywood, it's perfectly acceptable to lie. Now, what do you think they'll have for supper tonight?'

  Charlotte was disappointed to have missed Todd's call but that was outweighed by the good news about Oscar being found. Now she wouldn't have to try to remember whatever it was that had been bugging her before about Oscar's disappearance. She sat next to Miss Strudworth at the very long dinner table in Mr Gold's dining room and heard all about what Miss Strudworth had accomplished during her excursion. It was mainly to do with training techniques and Charlotte didn't understand it too well, especially with her head fuzzy and eyes beginning to droop. It was a much happier Mr Gold, too. He thanked Charlotte again for taking the time to help Honey Grace.

  'Not that I did any good,' said Charlotte.

  'That's not true, Charlotte. Honey told me it was very comforting to have somebody she didn't even know caring so much. Now perhaps we should see if your bedroom has arrived.'

  Charlotte thought she may have misheard.

  'Come with me,' said Mr Gold, and Charlotte followed him down a very long corridor adorned with photos of Mr Gold with various movie stars. Mr Gold pointed to a series of close-ups. In each one he was framed beside a different man in a suit. 'All presidents,' he said.

  Charlotte gasped. There were at least nine.

  'How often do you have elections here?'

  Mr Gold chuckled.

  'Not presidents of the U.S., Charlotte, much more important – presidents of the studio. And no elections, they just get fired every couple of years.'

  Charlotte stopped at a photo of Mr Gold looking out of place on a basketball court.

  'But that one . . .'

  'Oh yes, that one is the President of the United States.'

  They emerged into a very large back courtyard. A prime mover was just leaving, the driver waving to Fernando. It had deposited the largest caravan Charlotte had ever seen.

  'This is where you and Leila stay.'

  Charlotte's jaw dropped. Mr Gold smiled.

  'It's the biggest in the country. Nothing's too good for my star. You want to go get her?' Mr Gold told Charlotte if there was anything she needed, just call on the phone in the trailer.

  'They've put in a line for you. Button 1 goes to the kitchen. If you're hungry, just tell them what you want; button 2 is for Fernando if you need to be driven anywhere; button 3 is Sven the masseur and button 4 will get you housekeeping. Anything else, find me.' He excused himself to return to Miss Strudworth.

  Charlotte found Leila in the stables enjoying a large bucket of pesto pasta.

  'Mr Gold's cook Nunzio really has the touch. What did you guys eat?'

  Charlotte laughed, Leila's mouth was a deep green from the pesto. 'We had fish.'

  'Canadian trout with a white wine sauce? Nunzio does that very nicely.'

  'Our accommodation has arrived.'

  Leila stopped eating immediately. 'Then what are we waiting for? I mean, the barn is all right in a "quaint, rustic" way but there's no cable and no widescreen plasma.'

  Leila began trotting out of there so fast Charlotte had to mount her. As they rounded the corner into the rear courtyard, Leila began drooling.

  'Oh yes. Oh yes, yes. I like it.'

  Charlotte dismounted and walked Leila up the ramp into the enormous trailer. She had never seen anything like it. Leila's 'stall' was quilted and the 'straw' was some kind of soft synthetic sponge.

  'This stuff is great. No itch and no annoying hay fever. But has he done my air-conditioning how I like?' She looked down and smiled at a plastic hoof-shaped pedal. 'Hoof control. I can adjust the temperature higher or lower.' She walked on a little further and sighed in ecstasy.

  'That's what I call a plasma.'

  The screen took up almost half of one entire wall. It must have been three metres long. It was followed immediately by a mirror the same size.

  'Girl has to look her best,' sniggered Leila, who already had a little spring to her step. Opposite the mirror was a running machine, although this was closer to the size of the travelators in the airport.

  'At least you can exercise,' observed Charlotte.

  'No way! Sarah-Jane has one so I just threw a tantrum until they worked out I wanted one as well. Look at the pizza oven!'

  Sure enough, there was a full-size pizza oven in the kitchen area.

  'I thought I just called the kitchen on the phone?'

  'That's while we're here but when we go on set, my chef comes in and cooks for us.'

  Charlotte's bed was at the other end of the trailer. It was larger than the one she had at Thornton Downs.

  'So, how about we microwave a little popcorn and take in a movie?' Leila was already nudging the remote with her nose, changing the channels on the plasma.

  Charlotte flicked it off. 'No. I'm tired and you have to get a good night's rest. It's rehearsal tomorrow.'

  'Party-pooper,' grumbled Leila as she slunk back to her stall. Charlotte knew Leila must have been tired herself or she would h
ave argued longer.

  Charlotte's bag had been delivered to the trailer. She put on her pyjamas and climbed into bed. 'Good night, Leila.'

  'Night, Charlie.'

  Charlotte switched off the light. The longest day of her life swam through her head, all the things that had happened tumbling over one another. She was vaguely aware of Leila snoring but was too tired to care. She let go of the world and sleep took her.

  Chapter 6

  Leila was floating on a large air bed in the biggest pool you could ever imagine. Warrior swam behind her, pushing.

  'A little to the left, the sun is in my eyes.'

  'Get up, fathead.'

  What had happened to Warrior's voice? Gone was that deep tone as rich and smooth as chocolate. Now it seemed scratchy and annoying . . .

  'Come on, fathead, move it.'

  Ouch. Something was nibbling her . . . SHARKS!

  Leila shook her head. The air bed deflated, the pool shrank. She was in the trailer . . . and Feathers was nibbling her ear.

  'Thanks a lot, Feathers, I was having the best dream.'

  She looked over. Charlie was fast asleep.

  'Ver-ry nice,' said Feathers, checking out the interior of the trailer.

  'You hungry?' asked Leila.

  'I could eat a horse.'

  'Ha ha. Muesli?'

  'You got it.'

  Leila clicked the phone line to the kitchen.

  'Yes?' asked one of the helpers.

  Leila put on an Australian accent to sound like Charlotte.

  'Could I have two bacon and eggs on rye, lightly toasted, eggs sunnyside, bacon crispy. And a muesli, please?'

  'Of course,' came the woman's voice. 'Any juice?'

  'What have you got?'

  'Cranberry, tomato, lemon, grapefruit, celery, carrot, apple, orange, pear, grape . . .'

  'Give us a couple of pear and apple with a twist of lemon. Thank you.' Leila hung up and sighed. 'Bring back memories?'

  Feathers nodded at the thought of shared past adventures. 'You guys have fun last night?'

  Leila told the story of the mountain lion, with an embellishment or two.

  'So the kid is screaming, "get me out of here". I say, Charlie, these are lions, they hunt in packs. They're probably waiting behind us right now . . .'