Page 137 of The Homewreckers
And what about Hattie Kavanaugh? He’d grown more attached to her than he wanted to admit. He found himself watching her before and after the shoot. She was dogged, determined, funny, smart, and yes, sexy. In the evenings, he found himself watching the day’sfootage, but mostly watching Hattie. The way she unconsciously twisted her ponytail when she was anxious, how she bit her lower lip when she was concentrating on something. He found everything about her slightly intoxicating. But the show would wrap in just a few days. What then? It could be months before the network decided if it wanted to order another season ofHomewreckers,and in the meantime, he needed to begin thinking about another concept for another show.
Mo was torn. He was sick ofHomewreckers,the drama and the overwhelming amount of work. But if the network liked what they were seeing? And ordered another season? Maybe he would stay in Savannah and see if something developed with Hattie.
Mo jiggled the ice cubes in his glass and glanced up at the television mounted over the mirrored back bar. It had been turned to the local news when he’d sat down, but now he recognized the opening montage forHeadline Hollywood.
The volume was on mute, but the male half of the anchor pair, Antonio Sorrels, a former quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, seemed to be talking about the breakup of an entertainment industry power couple, because the cameras flashed on photos of the couple, with a jagged rip through the photo. Then came a police blotter photo of a former ’90s child star, who’d been arrested for assaulting a bouncer at a trendy Manhattan nightclub.
And then Jada Watkins was on-screen, seated on one of theHollywood Headlinedirector’s chairs, followed by the grainy photo of Trae Bartholomew and Hattie, caught kissing at dinner only a couple weeks earlier. And another photo, which Mo recognized as one of the publicity stills the network had shot.
HOMEWRECKERSSTAR HAS REAL-LIFE DRAMA, read the chyron streaming across the bottom of the screen.
Next came a film clip, footage of the Chatham Avenue house, either taken from a very long lens, or more likely, a drone camera, showing the Chatham County coroner’s van parked beside the gaping septic tank pit, with another streaming chyron line—MURDER MYSTERY DEEPENS AT HPTV SET.
“Hey, miss!” Mo called to the bartender. “Could you turn up the television volume, please?”
The bartender pointed the remote control at the television, clicked it, and moved on down the bar to wait on another customer.
Mo leaned forward to listen.
“The long-unsolved missing person case involving a popular Savannah, Georgia, private school teacher was cracked wide open last week, when the woman’s skeletal remains were discovered at a home undergoing renovation for the upcoming HPTV showThe Homewreckers,” Jada Watkins said, in a hushed, serious tone. “The show pairs heartthrob L.A. designer Trae Bartholomew, best known for his hit showDesign Minds,with television newcomer Hattie Kavanaugh, a Savannah contractor whose company specializes in historic restorations.”
Jada crossed her long, slender legs. “The schoolteacher, Lanier Ragan, vanished on a stormy night seventeen years ago, leaving behind a grieving husband and three-year-old daughter. But last week her tomb was discovered—in the cavity of a long-disused septic tank pit at theHomewreckershouse, and the mystery deepened.”
She turned to Sorrels, seated on the director’s chair next to hers. “Antonio, the making of this new HPTV show has more twists and turns than one of those winding staircases in one of Savannah’s famed historic mansions.”
“So it seems,” Sorrels replied.
“What a stiff,” Mo mumbled to himself. “And whoever scripts this clichéd pile of crap should be fired.”
“The murder has rocked theHomewreckersshoot, where insiders say that Trae and Hattie, who’ve become romantically involved during the shooting of the show, have recently quarreled over the design direction on the home renovations,” Jada said.
“Insiders tell me that the discovery of the body is only the latest in a series of incidents that have caused turmoil on the Tybee Island set. Local authorities have cited Hattie Kavanaugh’s company for numerous building code and noise ordinance violations, and a fire ofsuspicious origin did extensive damage to the hundred-year-old historic beach house. Law enforcement authorities are calling the fire arson.”
“Wow, a fire, a dead body, what next?” Sorrels said, trying to look concerned but only managing to look slightly constipated.
“Well… our sources tell me that there is significant friction between Trae Bartholomew and the show’s creator slash producer, Mauricio Lopez, whose most recent HPTV series,Killer Garages,was canceled after one disastrous season.”
“Disastrous?” Mo yelped. “Who’s feeding this bullshit to these two?”
A petite brunette, who was sitting two barstools down, looked at him and just as quickly looked away. “Sorry,” Mo muttered. Although he wasn’t.
“In the meantime, network execs are reportedly alarmed by recent revelations concerning Hattie Kavanaugh’s family.Headline Hollywoodhas learned, exclusively, that her father, Woodrow Bowers, once a prominent Savannah banker, was convicted in 2002 of embezzling millions from a local nonprofit which he chaired at the time.”
“Oh wow,” Sorrels said.
Jada crossed and recrossed her legs again. “At trial, Bowers admitted that he stole from the charity, money designated for sick children and homeless families, to fund expensive vacations and buy a condo for his mistress, who worked at the same bank.”
“Jesus Christ,” Mo exclaimed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the brunette take her umbrella drink and move to a table near the window.
“Hmm,” Antonio Sorrels said. “What’s the network have to say about this news?”
“I called the VP of HPTV programming, Rebecca Sanzone, earlier today, and she declined to comment specifically on the revelations about Hattie Kavanaugh, but we do know that cast members on shows likeThe Homewreckersare routinely asked to sign what’s calleda morals clause, which would allow the network to cancel their contract for cause if the personality was accused of behavior that would cause shame or embarrassment to the network,” Jada said.
“Rebecca Sanzone said she was unaware of Hattie Kavanaugh’s family history,” Jada went on. “Antonio, we’ll be following this story as it develops.”
“There is no story,” Mo growled. He looked down to see that his dinner, a rare cheeseburger and garlic-sprinkled pommes frites, had materialized while he was engrossed in watchingHeadline Hollywood. He pushed the plate away and summoned for his check.
63Kiss and Tell
