Part 7 (1/2)
”Hi, Bess,” she said into the receiver.
But it wasn't Bess. A raspy electronic voice warned her, ”Stay away from Rick Arlen, Nancy Drew! And tell your little friend she'd better stay away, too!” With that, the phone line went dead in Nancy's trembling hand.
Chapter Eleven.
”BY APPOINTMENT ONLY!” ”Put Your Picture And Resume Under The Door!” ”Do Not Ring Buzzer Without An Appointment!”
Nancy read the signs and gulped. Although she'd called earlier and left a message on Dwayne's answering machine, Nancy felt she'd have a better chance of seeing him if she went in person. But getting inside Dwayne Casper's office wasn't exactly going to be easy.
With a sigh and a deep breath, she pressed the buzzer. For a moment it was so quiet that she wondered whether anybody was in the office at all. Then, crisp footsteps sounded on the other side of the door.
”Do you have an appointment?” Dwayne's voice was all business.
”Well, no,” Nancy replied. ”Not exactly.”
”In that case, I suggest you learn to read!”
”But, Mr. Casper!” Nancy said in her most polite voice. ”I left a message on your machine. Mattie Jensen said you would talk to me. My name is Diane Elliot....”
Nancy heard a click as he unlocked the door. It swung open, and a smiling Dwayne Casper greeted her. ”Well, why didn't you just say you're a friend of Mattie's?” he asked. ”Come in! You must understand that if I opened the door to every struggling actor in this town, I'd never be able to get any work done.”
”Oh, thank you, Mr. Casper,” Nancy said, sounding grateful. In the front reception area was a large empty desk. No receptionist, Nancy noted.
”Right this way,” Dwayne said with a sugary smile. He led her into his plush office. ”How do you know Mattie?”
”Oh, well, I was an extra on 'Danner's Dream,' and she was kind enough to talk to me. She did say she'd call you about me. But I guess she got busy.” That much was true Nancy thought.
Dwayne settled into his chair and looked at her appraisingly. ”So you know Luther Parks too?”
”Well, no. Not personally, that is.”
”I see. Has Mattie ever seen your work? Apart from extra work, that is.”
Here we go, Nancy thought. Time to start lying-and lying big. ”Oh, yes,” she a.s.sured him. ”We did a production of The Sound of Music The Sound of Music together in the Midwest. Mattie played the oldest daughter, and I played one of the younger children.” together in the Midwest. Mattie played the oldest daughter, and I played one of the younger children.”
An amused look pa.s.sed over Dwayne's face. ”That must have been at least eight years ago. Mattie wasn't more than a kid herself, back then. Unfortunately, I couldn't see that production.”
I know, Nancy thought. That's what Mattie told me.
Dwayne leaned back in his swivel chair. He seemed warm now, even friendly. ”So, let me guess, you've come to the big city because you want to be a real actress.”
Delighted that the agent had bought, her story, Nancy threw herself into her real-life acting role. ”Yes, sir,” she answered breathlessly.
”Well, well, well- What shall we do about that?” Dwayne pursed his lips, thinking. Then he stood up, walked to the door, and locked it. ”So we won't be disturbed,” he explained.
A sudden chill made its way down Nancy's spine. If the electronic voice on the phone yesterday had been Dwayne's, she was now trapped.
”What did you say your name was?” Dwayne had a pen poised over a small pink index card.
”Diane Elliot,” Nancy said, looking the agent squarely in the eye. ”With two L Ls and one T T.”
”That's a good name for an actress. You're lucky.” He smiled. ”Now tell me, Diane, why did you come to me? There are hundreds of agents in this city.”
”Well, Mattie spoke so highly of you, Mr. Casper,” Nancy began. Dwayne's face grew pink with pleasure. ”And I know you once represented Rick Arlen-”
At the mention of Rick's name, the agent's face clouded over. ”Ah, yes, the irrepressible Mr. A.”
”He's not with you anymore, is he?” Nancy was being bolder than she liked to be, but she had to lead Dwayne on.
”Rick? His real name is Richard Aburtuski, by the way. No, he's no longer one of my clients. I don't deal with failures, Ms. Elliot.”
Nancy looked genuinely surprised. Dwayne laughed derisively. ”You think I'm being ridiculous-after all, he's at the height of success! But I can tell you with certainty that leaving this agency is the biggest mistake Arlen ever made-except for his decision to be an actor, of course. The man can't act his way out of a paper bag. He depends on his looks to get him by, but he'll learn. They all learn eventually that the biggest factor in success is loyalty. And he has none.”
Dwayne's face was red with anger. He wasn't through on the subject of Rick Arlen, but just then the buzzer rang. ”Whoever it is will go away,” he said. ”I have no appointments scheduled today.”
The buzzer rang through the office once again, and then again and again. Finally Dwayne couldn't stand it anymore. He bolted from his chair and unlocked the door. ”I'm going to tell this idiot to go away. Do you have an appointment?” he yelled, hurrying through the reception area. ”Because if you don't, you'd better learn to read!”
”But, Mr. Casper! You must must see me!” Bess's voice was m.u.f.fled through the door, but her sense of urgency came through loud and clear. ”I'm a really great actress and I need an agent! Let me read for you, Mr. Casper, and you can judge for yourself!” see me!” Bess's voice was m.u.f.fled through the door, but her sense of urgency came through loud and clear. ”I'm a really great actress and I need an agent! Let me read for you, Mr. Casper, and you can judge for yourself!”
Laughing bitterly, Dwayne called through the door. ”Young lady, I'm a very busy man, and I don't handle street performers. Please leave me alone.”
”But I'm an actress actress! Just listen.” Bess began to recite a pa.s.sage from Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet.
Good old Bess, Nancy thought with a smile. She really was quite an actress when she had to be. They had devised a plan: After Nancy was able to get inside Dwayne's office, Bess would divert his attention so that Nancy could search it. As soon as Dwayne was out of sight in the reception area, Nancy began to rummage through the papers on his desk. The longer Bess was able to divert his attention from Nancy, the more Nancy would be able to find out. And from the sound of things, Nancy thought she just might have all day.
”And I sing, too! Just listen to this, Mr. Casper.” Bess launched into a well-known show tune in a loud, off-key voice.
”Please, young woman!” Dwayne begged. ”Why don't you go sing in the park or something? You're giving me a headache!”
Aha! Nancy's eyes opened wide as she looked at the papers in front of her. An eviction notice-and several large bills from creditors. Searching further, she found warnings from collection agencies, even threats. Dwayne Casper's talent agency was obviously in desperate trouble.
”But, Mr. Casper, I'm the next Mattie Jensen! Everyone says I look just like her, except I'm prettier.”
”What?” Dwayne exploded. ”n.o.body, but n.o.body n.o.body, ever was,” is, or will be prettier than Mattie Jensen! Mattie is one of a kind-absolutely unique!”
Nancy c.o.c.ked her head to listen. It was clear to her that, where Mattie was concerned, Dwayne's interest was more than just professional.
”Well, I'm unique, too, Mr. Casper-terribly unique and incredibly talented!”
”My dear young woman”-Dwayne was practically screaming now-”if you don't leave at once, I'll call the police. And may I say in parting that with your nerve, you'll probably go far in this business!”