can of film, that’s your choice.”
“That’s not much of a gun,” said Rocco. The sweat was still on his forehead and darkening his tee shirt. He was right. In that space and with his bulk it wasn’t much of a gun.
“If you shoot it right,” I said softly, “it can make a nice little hole in someone’s face. And I can shoot it right. Now just back away from the door, and I’ll leave. You can tell Grundy what happened, but I don’t think he’ll call the cops.”
They didn’t back away. Charlie and Rocco took a step forward. I wasn’t about to shoot two citizens trying to keep me from stealing something, but I had a sudden vision of what that small army of muscle could do to me. I leveled the gun and shot. The bullet crackled next to Cimaglia’s ear and slammed into the plaster wall behind him. Cimaglia stopped moving.
“I meant to miss,” I said, “but I’m running out of bullets and getting nervous.”
“I can see that,” he said. A slight grin touched his face, and I think he liked the way I was handling the situation. “O.K.,” he said with a lift of his hand. “Back up and let him out.”
They backed up reluctantly and I moved through the door. I could see that Rocco didn’t like to back up for anyone.
“If you’re lucky, you’ll never meet any of us again,” Cimaglia said.
“I’ll try to be lucky,” I answered, backing out of the front door. My car was a few feet away, and I got into it, dropping the can on the seat next to me. Cimaglia stepped out of his door, but he was in no hurry. He just watched me pull away. I waved to him, but he just stood there with his hands on his hips, shaking his head.
After a mile or so, I pulled over and put the film in the trunk. It was getting late, and I had some choices to make. I could get to my brother fast and tell him I had car trouble. Or I could just turn the film over to him and let him find out what was on it. I could go back to Grundy’s place and talk to him. I could do a lot of things, but I headed for M.G.M.
I wanted to see what was on the film.
The faces at the gate were unfamiliar, but I gave my name and they called Cassie James, who was on the lot. She vouched for me, and I drove in and over to Judy Garland’s dressing room, where Cassie met me, wearing solid green. She touched my arm and gave me a soft kiss.
“I’ve got some film to look at,” I said. “Where can we set it up?”
While she arranged for a projectionist and a projection room, I told her about Peese and Grundy and the film. She asked me what it all meant. I told her I didn’t know, but maybe the film would tell us. Cassie went to tell Judy where she’d be, and I tried to hold up the film to the light, but I couldn’t tell anything.
She came back, held my arm, and stayed close while we walked around a few buildings and into a small one with a projection booth and a couple of armchairs.
An old projectionist Cassie called Lyle threaded the film in the booth and sat back. We turned off the lights and looked at the screen. Blank white film shot through, and Lyle focused on some numbers. There was no sound. The first image was a scene from The Wizard of Oz, with Judy Garland in a yellow wig.
“They shot a few weeks of Judy in the yellow hair,” Cassie explained, “but they decided it looked too phony.”
The next shot was of two male Munchkins holding hands and walking into a house. The Munchkins were dressed as a soldier and a lollipop kid. The film was in color, but the quality of the color was nothing like the first shot. The two Munchkins went into a house and saw a girl lying on her stomach in bed. The girl was wearing the Dorothy costume and had long yellow hair.
The Munchkins leered at each other and began to take their clothes off. The girl on the bed turned and covered her face with her hands. She didn’t look anything like Garland, but the hands across the face hid enough of her to make it clear that the girl in the first shot and this one were supposed to be the same.
The Munchkins leapt on the bed and began to undress the girl.
They hadn’t gotten very far when Cassie James said, “Stop.”
I flipped on the lights and shouted to Lyle to turn off the film. Lyle was obviously not watching. I stepped in front of the screen, and the image went over my body. A naked Munchkin was on my chest. Cassie looked at me frantically, and I shouted again. This time Lyle heard and turned off the projector. He came out of the booth as I took Cassie’s hand.
“What’s wrong?” he said.
“Nothing,” I said. “We’ve seen enough. Just wind it back and give it to me.”
Cassie shuddered next to me. “It’s horrible.”
And that, I thought, was only the beginning. We had seen no more than a few minutes of what looked like fifteen minutes or more of film.
“It explains a couple of things,” I said. “Grundy, Cash, and Peese were in business together making pornographic movies. They stole film, used sets when they could. Cash must have wanted more money, and they killed him, trying to blame Wherthman. I was getting too close so Grundy tried to kill me. When I got onto Peese, Grundy knew he might accidentally spill something, so he threw him out the window and grabbed this film. Grundy told me he wanted to be a cameraman. This is how he was doing it.”
Cassie said nothing, just held my hand. Then she spoke.
“But why did he call Judy to find the first body? And why did he try to poison her?”
I didn’t have an answer, but it was a good question; and I’d put it to Grundy when I found him.
Lyle gave me the film and I thanked him. It was almost dark and Cassie led me to her office, which was really more like a workroom full of costumes, measures, scissors, and drawings. There was a couch in the corner. The room wasn’t really very big and it was among a series of similar rooms, but the rest of the building seemed empty. She turned out the lights and came close to me, leading me to the couch.
We sat in the dark on the couch for a long time saying nothing. Then we made love. I forgot Grundy and my brother for a while, but the while was too short.
“I’ve got things that have to be done,” I said.
“I know,” she said.
“You want me to take you home first?”
“No,” she said, taking my hand. “I’ve got my car. Call me when something happens, and take care of yourself.”
I walked her down to her car, which was parked on the side of the building, and I headed back to my own, parked near Judy Garland’s dressing room. It was dark. There were lights in a few offices and the sound of activity on a stage not far away. I passed two women in fluffy costumes talking about someone named Norman.
I opened the trunk of my car and dropped the film in. When I closed the trunk I heard something behind me.
“Just open it again,” said Grundy.
I faced him. He was wearing a thin jacket and a. 45 automatic. He stepped toward me. I opened the trunk and pulled out the can.
“Meant to ask you something the next time I saw you Barney. Is Nimble really your middle name?”
He didn’t answer, just reached out for the can after shifting the gun from his right to his left hand. The gun was in the wrong hand and he was a rotten shot. If I didn’t do something, I was sure I’d be joining Cash and Peese. His hand was almost touching the can when I brought it down as hard as I could on the gun. The. 45 flew into the dark, and the can rolled after it. Grundy was nimble. He was on me before I could get the. 38 out. I bounced back into the trunk and kicked up at his face. He stumbled backward. As I came up I lost my. 38 in the trunk. I groped for it, but Grundy pulled me out and my back cracked against the ground.
He stood over me, breathing heavy. Blood was trickling out of his nose, and he didn’t look too pleased with me.
“Let’s talk,” I gasped.
He shook his head no and picked me up as if I were a Shirley Temple doll. He was going to kill me with his hands and fists, and he was going to enjoy it. I punched him low in the stomach, but nothing happened. I threw a knee at his groin, but he twisted and took it with his calf. His right hand tightened around my throat, and he pushed me back hard against a nearby wall. My head screamed in pain, and I went out.
There was a tunnel in front of me, and I jumped into its darkness, followed by grinning flying monkeys. My old pal Koko the Clown took my hand and led me tumbling into the darkness to a little black and white shack. A cartoon
