Read Online Phantom Angel by David Handler - Free Book Online Page A

meeting friends for dinner,” he said to her quietly, his thin-lipped mouth barely moving. “Don’t make it into anything more.”
    The maître d’ led him to his table—the very table that Henderson was sharing with Matthew and Hannah. Cricket followed him like a pesky terrier and, as soon as he sat down, snapped a picture of the power foursome with her camera phone. The maître d’ clucked at her and shooed her away, but she was already posting the photo on her Web site by the time she returned to me at the bar.
    â€œThey knew you’d do that,” I observed.
    â€œOf course they knew,” she said, thumbing out a caption to go with the photo. “And they want Morrie to know. You’re witnessing history here tonight. The great Morrie Frankel is getting royally hosed. Is this exciting or what?”
    I looked over at the four of them. They didn’t exactly seem to be hatching a nefarious plot. Just chatting together politely. “What do you suppose they’re talking about?”
    â€œI’d say Ira’s inviting Henderson to step back in and direct Wuthering Heights as soon as Morrie goes under. Which won’t be long now.”
    â€œMeaning Panorama will bankroll the show?”
    â€œIra’s wanted to bankroll it all along. Matthew and Hannah are his biggest stars, and Wuthering Heights has major, major movie upside. But I hear that Morrie won’t even return his phone calls. Can you imagine?”
    â€œDo you really think that’s what they’re talking about?”
    She batted her eyelashes at me. “It better be. That’s what I just posted.”
    â€œCricket, that’s outright speculation.”
    â€œThat’s how I roll. And I happen to be right ninety percent of the time, which gives me a much higher batting average than the so-called responsible mainstream media.”
    I finished off the last of my cheeseburger, washing it down with a gulp of milk. “I have a serious question for you.”
    â€œFire away, cutie.”
    â€œWhy is Wuthering Heights in so much trouble? I know Hannah broke her ankle, but a cloud’s been hanging over this show since Day One. What’s the real story?”
    Cricket hesitated. “You didn’t hear this from me, okay?”
    â€œOkay…”
    â€œMatthew and Hannah have been taking voice lessons. And Hannah’s singing voice is getting stronger. But Matthew’s? Not so much.”
    â€œHow bad is it?”
    â€œLaugh-out-loud bad. When he breaks into ‘You’re Still My Queen’ I’m told he sounds shockingly like one of Alvin and the Chipmunks.”
    â€œWhich one—Alvin, Simon or Theodore?”
    She let out a snort. “Does it matter?”
    â€œOh, it totally does.”
    â€œMatthew simply can’t pull off a live Broadway performance. The only way Wuthering Heights can possibly be staged with Hannah and him headlining it is if somebody else sings Matthew’s songs for him and Matthew lip-synchs them. Which Morrie flat out refuses to do. Morrie may be a consummate fucktard but he’s a Broadway purist. And I’m with him on this one. Can you imagine the blowback if there was a Milli Vanilli meltdown in the middle of a major Broadway musical production? It’s too horrifying to even contemplate. But Henderson’s okay with the idea. He thinks he can pull it off.”
    â€œHow do you know this?”
    â€œMy boy Bobby is tight with Henderson’s personal trainer, and he heard Henderson and Morrie screaming at each other about it one day in Henderson’s apartment. This was before Morrie fired Henderson for the penile-related matter.”
    â€œLip-synching,” I said disgustedly. “I can’t believe that Broadway has fallen this far. Ethel Merman must be spinning in her grave.”
    â€œYou really, really need to get over your Ethel Merman thing, cutie. This is why you never get