Брайан Фриман: Alter Ego

As Serena approached her, Aimee’s eyes made a quick assessment, the way one beautiful woman typically did to another. Her eyes stopped when she saw Serena’s badge. The actress’s face immediately turned cautious.

“Ms. Bowe? My name is Serena Stride. I’m a detective with the Duluth Police. I was hoping to talk to you about Haley Adams.”

Aimee didn’t look surprised. “Have you found her?”

“No, we haven’t. Not yet.”

The actress took a sip of wine and then said, “I don’t think you will.”

Serena gave her a curious look. “Why do you say that?”

“You’ll think this is very Los Angeles of me,” Aimee replied, “but sometimes I sense things.”

“Sense things? What do you mean?”

“I guess some people would call it psychic,” Aimee said. “That’s not the word I use, but it’s close enough.”

“I see.”

“No, you don’t. That’s okay. Anyway, I sense something about Haley.”

“Which is?”

“She’s dead,” Aimee said.

Serena tried to keep the skepticism off her face. “Can you think of a reason why something would have happened to her?”

“Maybe because she was a spy,” Aimee replied.

Serena blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“She was here to spy on us. I don’t know why or who sent her. Don’t misunderstand; I liked her a lot. She was sweet and very smart. Too smart to be an intern. But she was always watching. She never missed a thing. And then there were the disguises, too.”

“Disguises?”

“She looked different every time she came on the set. Different hair, different type of clothes, even different eye color and skin makeup. Half the time, I didn’t know it was her until she introduced herself. She said she did it because she was only comfortable talking to people when she was pretending to be someone else. I can relate to that as an actor. But I think Haley didn’t want anyone around here to know who she really was.”

“I heard she was a film student at UMD,” Serena said.

Aimee’s lips bent into a smile, but without showing her teeth. “I doubt that’s true.”

“If you thought she wasn’t who she claimed to be, why didn’t you blow the whistle on her?” Serena asked.

“I told you, I liked her. And it wasn’t my problem. She wasn’t spying on me.”

“Then who?”

Aimee took a moment to reply. “I have no idea.”

Serena could see that the actress knew more than she was saying. Psychic or not, Aimee was obviously an intelligent and intuitive woman.

“I feel you’re not being completely candid,” Serena said.

“I’m sorry, but I just met you.”

“Yes, but you also said you liked Haley Adams a lot. If you know something that might help us find her, I wish you’d tell me. You may not know me, but you can trust me.”

This time Aimee’s smile showed her perfect teeth, as if Serena had said something very funny. “I don’t think you understand the people who have invaded your city. We play by West Coast rules. Don’t ever trust us and don’t ever ask us to trust you.”

Serena rarely felt naive, but she found herself oddly outclassed by this woman, as if she were foundering in deep water because of a twenty-seven-year-old actress. She didn’t know what to say.

“It’s okay if you think I’m a condescending little bitch,” Aimee went on more playfully. “You wouldn’t be the first.”

“That’s not what I was thinking,” Serena replied.

“Well, I deserve it. Anyway, I did like Haley, but I really don’t know what happened to her. And I’d rather not speculate about why she was here. Shooting off your mouth in this business gets you into trouble, and I had to work hard to get this role.”

“Why is that?” Serena asked. “You’re very good.”

“Have you seen my other roles?”

“I saw—”

“The Macarena bit. Yeah, I know; everybody did. You do what you do to pay the bills, but good luck convincing anyone you’re serious after you jiggle your tits in a Judd Apatow flick.”

“I have no trouble realizing you’re serious,” Serena told her.

“That’s sweet of you to say.”

Serena smiled. “It’s called Minnesota nice.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about that. I’m afraid there’s no Hollywood equivalent.”

“I just mean you really can trust me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Aimee said, “even if it goes against my nature. You know, if you’re interested, I’m filming tomorrow. We’ve rented a warehouse down near the port. You should come watch.”

“I’d like that.”

“I’ll make sure you’re cleared,” Aimee told her.

“Thanks. I’ll be there.”

“May I ask a favor in return?” she said.

“What is it?”

“You’re married to Lieutenant Stride, right? The man Dean’s role is based on?”

“Yes.”

“I wonder if you could ask him to talk to Lori Fulkerson for me. My role is based on her experience, and I want to know more about what she went through when she was in the cage. She won’t take my calls. I get it, she doesn’t want to go through the pain again, but I need her. I was hoping your husband might be able to persuade her to talk to me.”

“I’ll mention it to him, but honestly, I don’t think he’ll do it. I wasn’t around for what happened back then, but I know it was emotional for everyone. I can’t imagine he’d put any pressure on Lori. If I was a victim, I wouldn’t want to talk about it.”

“I understand. I appreciate your trying. And listen, for what it’s worth, there’s one more thing I can tell you about Haley Adams.”

“Is it something you know or something you sense?” Serena asked.

“It’s something I sense, but it’s important.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“I’m pretty sure her name wasn’t Haley,” Aimee said.

In less than an hour at the party, Cat had twelve offers of drinks, seven offers of drugs, two hands on her ass, and one marriage proposal from a drunk fifty-nine-year-old who said he was something called a key grip. She decided it was one of the best evenings of her life.

Then it got even better.

As she tried to decide which actor’s clique to crash next, a man bumped into her near the restaurant entrance. He was in the process of slipping on his heavy coat. She heard an apology from a familiar voice and found herself staring up into the electric eyes of Dean Casperson.

Her studied maturity went right out the window, and she was nothing more than a teenager with a crush. “Oh! It’s you! I can’t even — wow! Mr. Casperson!”

She knew he had been approached like this a million times in his life, but she still went weak in the knees when he said, “Call me Dean.”

“You are so amazing. I just love you.”

“That’s very sweet of you. I’m lucky to have good people around me when I make movies. And who are you? Are you with the film? I can’t believe that, because I’m sure I’d remember your face.”

“Really? Oh, no, no, no, I’m not. Just a civilian. I mean, a Duluthian. I’m sorry, I sound like an idiot.”

“You don’t. I promise. What’s your name?”

“Cat.”

He unleashed his smile on her like a nuclear weapon. “Cat as in meow?”

She couldn’t seem to stop giggling. “Yes, as in meow.”

“Well, meow, Cat. It was a pleasure meeting you. Maybe we’ll run into each other again. You know, I meet a lot of pretty young people in this business, but I can honestly tell you that you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve met in a long time. You are a rare prize; remember that.”

Cat could feel her cheeks burning red. She tried to say something, anything, but her tongue was tied. Casperson winked at her, and then he was gone. He swept through the restaurant door as two people held it open and two others followed him outside. The cold air blew inside to diffuse the heat she felt. She watched him go and put both hands over her face.