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Authors: Carlyn Cade
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any credible source.
“Enough time has
passed now, over sixty years to be exact, and many of the original participants
of this mystery are gone, so Audra Parker and Mark Bennett’s deaths will
probably continue to be a mystery, except maybe to just a few.”
Stacia flipped off
the remote. She let her thoughts wander to Rob’s story about Audra and Mark. Mystery ,
he’d said, and Hal wouldn’t tell her anything. How did Helen Ashley Shores fit
into this scenario? And now even a secret, locked-up journal had entered center
stage.
Hollywood truly
was made up of the good, the bad and the ugly. But who would have thought the
gossip capital of the world was really a hushed-up Hollywood Confidential?
And how would all
this affect the filming of the new London Affair , her career…and her?
CHAPTER FOUR
“Thank you so
much, Mrs. Shores, for seeing me on such short notice,” Stacia said as they
dined the next afternoon on her patio.
“How about calling
me Helen? Mrs. Shores is so impersonal, and it makes me feel as if I’m an old
lady.”
“The way you look,
you certainly have many years before anyone can call you old.”
“That’s sweet of
you to say, Stacia, especially when I had almost no sleep last night. The
reason is I debated most of the night about whether I should tell you what I
know about Audra and Mark’s deaths.”
Stacia noticed the
tears gathering in Helen’s eyes. “You don’t have to –”
“Telling it is reliving it, and it’s hard to go through everything again, but I think the
tragic undertone may make your performance stronger. The storyline of the movie
is heartbreaking, as you now know, but drama films back then usually were
tear-jerkers, as they used to call them years ago. It may help you stay in
character better realizing that fiction can sometimes spill over into reality.”
“It’s really not
necessary to...” Stacia let her voice trail off, as Helen didn’t seem to hear
her and continued talking as if she were on an unstoppable mission.
“I spoke with Hal
this morning after I decided to tell you my story. If what I’m considering to
do is really important to me, I like to talk things over with him first. You
see, there’s probably only ten people altogether who knew the truth. Studio
executives, the chief of police – people like that. Obviously, they’ve kept
still all these years and refused to disclose what they know, which is a hard
thing to find in Hollywood.”
Yes, it is, Stacia agreed silently.
“I only hope the
money that can be made from tell-alls today doesn’t tempt one of them to come
forward. With the publicity London Affair will generate, I’m sure some
of the media will be digging around, although many who knew what happened are
dead now. This cuts down the odds somewhat. I, myself, believe Audra and Mark
should rest in peace.”
“Were there any
problems while you were shooting the picture?”
“None that I can
remember. This was my first movie role, and I was only nine, so I don’t know
exactly. The trouble began about a week before the movie was set to premiere.
The studio and Farrell Fontaine – he had power in those days – decided it would
be a good idea to do a little promo work at a local theater. Farrell picked up
Audra and me and drove us there. Audra and I did a little dialog on the stage
as Victoria and Lily. Mark Bennett, by the way, was up at Audra’s and his cabin
getting it ready for their honeymoon.
“When we were
finished, we went out the backstage door to avoid the crowds. Farrell
instructed us to wait there while he went to get the car parked in front. He,
of course, was in no danger of being recognized like Audra was. No one was
around. After Farrell disappeared from our view, suddenly a car came screeching
down the alley and skidded to a stop. Two men jumped out, ran up to Audra and
me, held their hands over our mouths and half-carried, half-dragged us to their
car.
“We both were
kicking. Once, I heard the
“Enough time has
passed now, over sixty years to be exact, and many of the original participants
of this mystery are gone, so Audra Parker and Mark Bennett’s deaths will
probably continue to be a mystery, except maybe to just a few.”
Stacia flipped off
the remote. She let her thoughts wander to Rob’s story about Audra and Mark. Mystery ,
he’d said, and Hal wouldn’t tell her anything. How did Helen Ashley Shores fit
into this scenario? And now even a secret, locked-up journal had entered center
stage.
Hollywood truly
was made up of the good, the bad and the ugly. But who would have thought the
gossip capital of the world was really a hushed-up Hollywood Confidential?
And how would all
this affect the filming of the new London Affair , her career…and her?
CHAPTER FOUR
“Thank you so
much, Mrs. Shores, for seeing me on such short notice,” Stacia said as they
dined the next afternoon on her patio.
“How about calling
me Helen? Mrs. Shores is so impersonal, and it makes me feel as if I’m an old
lady.”
“The way you look,
you certainly have many years before anyone can call you old.”
“That’s sweet of
you to say, Stacia, especially when I had almost no sleep last night. The
reason is I debated most of the night about whether I should tell you what I
know about Audra and Mark’s deaths.”
Stacia noticed the
tears gathering in Helen’s eyes. “You don’t have to –”
“Telling it is reliving it, and it’s hard to go through everything again, but I think the
tragic undertone may make your performance stronger. The storyline of the movie
is heartbreaking, as you now know, but drama films back then usually were
tear-jerkers, as they used to call them years ago. It may help you stay in
character better realizing that fiction can sometimes spill over into reality.”
“It’s really not
necessary to...” Stacia let her voice trail off, as Helen didn’t seem to hear
her and continued talking as if she were on an unstoppable mission.
“I spoke with Hal
this morning after I decided to tell you my story. If what I’m considering to
do is really important to me, I like to talk things over with him first. You
see, there’s probably only ten people altogether who knew the truth. Studio
executives, the chief of police – people like that. Obviously, they’ve kept
still all these years and refused to disclose what they know, which is a hard
thing to find in Hollywood.”
Yes, it is, Stacia agreed silently.
“I only hope the
money that can be made from tell-alls today doesn’t tempt one of them to come
forward. With the publicity London Affair will generate, I’m sure some
of the media will be digging around, although many who knew what happened are
dead now. This cuts down the odds somewhat. I, myself, believe Audra and Mark
should rest in peace.”
“Were there any
problems while you were shooting the picture?”
“None that I can
remember. This was my first movie role, and I was only nine, so I don’t know
exactly. The trouble began about a week before the movie was set to premiere.
The studio and Farrell Fontaine – he had power in those days – decided it would
be a good idea to do a little promo work at a local theater. Farrell picked up
Audra and me and drove us there. Audra and I did a little dialog on the stage
as Victoria and Lily. Mark Bennett, by the way, was up at Audra’s and his cabin
getting it ready for their honeymoon.
“When we were
finished, we went out the backstage door to avoid the crowds. Farrell
instructed us to wait there while he went to get the car parked in front. He,
of course, was in no danger of being recognized like Audra was. No one was
around. After Farrell disappeared from our view, suddenly a car came screeching
down the alley and skidded to a stop. Two men jumped out, ran up to Audra and
me, held their hands over our mouths and half-carried, half-dragged us to their
car.
“We both were
kicking. Once, I heard the
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