Hide & Seek - James Patterson [54]
Will, Caputo, and several technicians were huddled inside the poorly heated trailer that served Will as a dressing room. They were all waiting for the temperamental genius Nestor Keresty to settle on his lighting—the proper play of fill, and front and back lights, to capture the feeling of early morning in a Texas farmyard. High art, indeed.
In the film's first scene, North Downing was to deliver a baby mare, by lamplight, inside a dilapidated barn. The scene had hooked book readers, apparently by the millions. North Downing was the “last American cowboy,” but a sensitive lover and husband as well.
“I want you to make me a promise,” Will said, drawing Caputo aside. “This is a serious fucking promise, Michael. I'll hold you to it.”
The director frowned. He had been asked to promise weird things by actors, and this boy was a neophyte. Still, he was a very large and powerful neophyte, who reportedly had quite a temper. “Shoot. Anything at all, Will.”
“I want you to make me grunt and sweat bullets out there today. When I carry that baby horse, I want it to look hard, as though I'm in as much physical pain as the mare was. I want you to turn me into an actor.”
Caputo smiled, and tried not to laugh. He bit his lip, hard. No one had ever asked him anything like this before. “So you don't think good looks are enough?”
“No. Not even close. Christ, Tom Cruise looks good.”
“That's all the audience will care about, Will. Trust me. Style is reality these days.”
“I don't give a damn about the audience, never have. I was the best there is in football. Now I want to be the best there is on the screen. I will be too. Count on it.”
Michael Caputo stared at Will, stunned by his preposterous, naive request. He's like a boy, Caputo thought, but all he said was “I'll try my best.”
“That's all I ask. I'll do the rest. You're going to eat that condescending smile you gave me a minute ago.”
“I'll be happy to do it,” Caputo said, then he smiled again. Actually, he liked Will Shepherd, and wanted to see him do well.
The very first scene called for North Downing to deliver the foal, then carry it across the barnyard to his young wife, Ellie. This morning, they would shoot only the birthing sequence and North's walk across the farmyard. Later, they would film the actual presentation to Ellie.
It took them twenty-two takes. Will was awkward at first, despite numerous rehearsals, concentrating more on Caputo's instructions than on the subtle emotion necessary for the potentially mawkish scene.
Caputo drove him mercilessly, trying to pull out real feeling, and Will found himself sweating so much he had to have new makeup after every take. They got it right on take twenty-one; they got it perfectly.
“One more time,” Caputo said. “For insurance.”
Will stood behind the horse, delivered the foal with a grunt of pleasure, and, smiling, picked it up lovingly in his arms. Staggering, he left the barn, made his way across an icy patch, and entered a door in a facade meant to simulate the front of the Downing house.
Will stopped. He started to smile, then to laugh out loud. Jesus, this was rich. This was the best.
There was a woman standing at the back of the facade, just out of range of the cameras. When Will entered, carrying the foal, she ripped open her blouse, exposing her breasts to him.
He nearly dropped the foal. There was incredible amusement and invitation in her eyes.
Maggie, he thought. She'll never forgive me. Screw this woman, and you're screwing yourself. She'll ruin your life.
But he couldn't stop looking at her. She was beautiful. Breathtaking, actually. And he had seen enough of the world's famous beauties to know.
“Welcome,” said Suzanne Purcell, “to Primrose.”
CHAPTER 62
I COULD STAY with Will in Australia for only a week. Barry kept pleading with me to finish the new album, and eventually I had to agree to come back to work.
As my car