Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [39]
“Why did she decide that?”
“On three occasions during our marriage, she had accepted roles in a movie or play that required her to be on location or on tour. I will certainly admit that I was sad about those separations, but I flew out frequently to see her. Katie went with me on a couple of those occasions, if they occurred during a school break or summer vacation.”
He looked directly at the jury as he continued, “I'm a theatrical agent. I certainly knew that a successful actress has to be away from home for extended periods of time. When I objected to Natalie insisting on going into a play that would take her on the road, it was because I thought the play was wrong for her, not because I wanted her home to cook dinner for me. That was her interpretation, not mine.”
Oh, sure, Emily thought as she scribbled a question that she would ask Aldrich when it was her turn to cross-examine him: “Weren't her career decisions smart enough that she was already a star when she met you?”
“Did that cause tension in your home?” Moore asked.
“Yes, it did. But not for the reason Natalie believed. I will say it again. When I objected to the quality of a script, she thought I was using that as an excuse to keep her home. Would I have missed her? Of course. I was her husband and her agent and her biggest fan, but I knew I had married a successful actress. The fact that I would miss her was not why I objected to some of the contracts she insisted on signing.”
“Couldn't you make her understand that?”
“That was the problem. She understood how much Katie and I missed her when she was away, and came to believe that it would be less painful if we separated and remained friends.”
“In the beginning, isn't it true that after the separation, she planned to retain you as her agent?”
“Initially, yes. I truly believe Natalie loved me almost as much as I loved her, and that she wanted to remain close to Katie and me. I really think she was quite sad after we had separated but while I was still her agent, when we would meet for business, then leave at the end of the meeting to go our separate ways. It became painful for both of us.”
How about the pain in your wallet when you lost her as a client? Emily scribbled on her pad.
“A number of Natalie's friends have testified that she was upset by your frequent phone calls to her after your separation,” Moore stated. “Would you please tell us about that?”
“It's exactly what you heard from my secretary, Louise Powell, this morning,” Aldrich replied. “Natalie may have acted as if she didn't want me pursuing her, but I really believe she had very mixed emotions about whether to go through with the divorce. While we were together, she loved the fact that I called her frequently.”
Moore asked about the noisy drawer where Jimmy Easton had claimed Gregg kept the money that was a down payment on his con?tract to kill Natalie.
“That piece of furniture has been in my home since Kathleen and I bought it at an estate sale seventeen years ago. The squeak in it is something of a family joke. We called it a message from the de?parted spirits. How Jimmy Easton heard of it, I'll never know. He was never in my living room when I was there and as far as I know he was never there under any circumstances.”
Moore asked Gregg about meeting Easton at the bar.
“I was sitting at the bar by myself having a couple of drinks. I completely acknowledge that I was pretty down in the dumps. Easton was sitting on the stool next to me and he just started talking to me.”
“What did you talk about?” Moore inquired.
“We talked about the Yankees and the Mets. The baseball season was close to starting.”
“Did you tell him that you were married to Natalie Raines?”
“No, I did not. It was none of his business.”
“While you were there, did he find out that you were married to Natalie Raines?”
“Yes, he did. Walter Robinson, a Broadway investor, saw me and came over. He said that he just wanted to tell me how wonderful he thought Natalie was in Streetcar. Easton heard him and picked right up on the fact that I was Natalie's