“He was creative,” Marg said, putting an emphatic spin on the last word, a master of PR for her beloved brother. At least she wasn’t blaming Lee’s behavior on pop culture. “One of them geniuses, I’ll bet.”
Lane continued. “He drew pictures of…I guess they were dragonslayers. Then he started hanging out with the drama crowd, the artsy types. He got cocky around them because, suddenly, he stood out. He was a star in these fringe plays the group would put on in town. The powers that be would always shut down the productions because of ‘indecency.’ Lee just said the subjects were too cutting-edge for the boondocks, and he’d laugh about it and think all of us were such hicks.”
A muscle ticked in Lane’s jaw. He glanced at the carpet, just like Herb.
Mama Coral had been sucking at her teeth while listening, but she stopped at the mention of the plays. “Those other kids put such ideas in Lee’s head. They’re what got him out here to Hollywood. They come out here in a pack, like a bunch of wild dogs, and Lee kept callin’ and askin’ for money because none of ’em were makin’ enough to pay the rent on that hole they were sharin’. They were a bad influence, and Lee was like anyone else, open to what they told him.” She glanced at Breisi. “You getting all this?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.”
Dawn tightened the focus on Coral. So that was Mama’s explanation for Lee’s fall from grace? Peer pressure?
“Ma’am,” she said, “are you saying Lee got talked into going down the wrong path—one that eventually led to…this?”
Mrs. Tomlinson wiped at one eye. Mascara had smudged beneath it. “If Lee did do that murder—which he didn’t—sure, that’s what I’d be sayin’. He’s a good kid, deep down.”
Sister Marg got off the bed to wander over to a table that was littered with vending machine snack packages. Brandless cheese puffs, peanut butter chocolate bars, cigarettes. She slipped a death stick out of a carton and tamped it against her palm. “Lee got a commercial, so he was on his way to doin’ some good. You seen it? It’s the ‘Ahhhhhhhhh, so fah-resh!’ guy swillin’ mouthwash? That’s when he stopped callin’ so much. He damned near broke Mom’s heart.”
“He didn’t mean to,” Coral said off camera.
“Of course he didn’t,” Cassie said. When Dawn caught her on film, she was glaring at Marg. “Lee just got too busy. He had a lot of auditions, I’m sure.” She turned to the camera. “He would always promise to spend his first big paycheck on a Cadillac for Mom.”
“Just like Elvis,” Lane added wryly, standing up and grabbing some chips from the table, then sitting again.
From the bed, Herb finally said something, and Dawn whipped the camera over, catching the phenomenon.
“We’re a close family.” His soft words were almost chalked away by a cough.
Dawn panned around the room, catching Marg staring at her husband. She got out another cigarette, this one clearly for him. Good medicine, those death sticks.
After sauntering back to the bed, Marg dropped the ciggie into his lap. He didn’t touch it, just remained quietly engrossed in the carpet, like he wasn’t enough a part of the family to add anything.
“A Cadillac,” Mama Coral echoed.
Dawn turned the lens to her. A reminiscent smile widened the woman’s painted lips. Red lipstick flecked her teeth.
“See how happy she is?” Marg said.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dawn saw the sister stuff a cigarette in her mouth, sit down, and gesture toward Coral. “Lee’s promises made all of us want to bring Mom a smile, just like that.”
“By coming out to Hollywood? Did you want to act, too?” Dawn zoomed over to the Universal Studios logo on Marg’s shirt. Then she traveled upward to the older sister’s choppy mullet, thinking The Voice, who was watching, might appreciate this ironic moment just as much as she did.
“Can’t anyone act?” Marg said, laughing.
Touché.
“Anyway,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes at Marg’s remark as Dawn turned to her now. “After a while, Lane and I got in touch with Lee’s roommates. They’d all gone back home, but Lee was the only one who stayed behind.”
Goosebumps rose on Dawn’s arms. Had he lingered in L.A. because of his servitude to the Underground?
Breisi jumped in. “So he pursued his career further?”
All of them just stared at Dawn and her partner.
In her chair, Mama Coral leaned forward. “I think his acting wasn’t the only reason. He had a lover.” She said it with such flair that Dawn almost wondered if she was playing to the camera, creating a sympathetic romance for the interview.
“We just found out about her,” Coral added. “Our Lee was in love.”
“Mom,” the siblings all said, obviously warning her to stay quiet. Cassie and Lane even seemed angry, as if this information wasn’t meant to be aired. Herb glanced up at Coral, eyebrows furrowed.
“What?” the mother said. “Lee has a good heart. Everybody should know that. He ain’t capable of nothin’ but love.”