Alice in LA LA Land.
# She came in one night from Omaha worn out, cause she never could sleep on a train….#
"Union Station, Union Station." The conductor announced.
Gathering her things Alice Middleton stepped down from the train and looked around the busy station. People hurrying everywhere. Rushing to work, rushing home it was so busy she found herself saying.
Following the signs she found her way to the bus stop that would take her to the place she had dreamed of since she was a little girl. HOLLYWOOD! Her one dream was to come to Hollywood and be a star!
# With her hair so blonde and her eyes so brown, she thought she'd take this town and turn it upside down…#
Her parents hoped she'd grow out of it. "How many people do you think have the same dream as you? Hmm? And how many make it big?" Her mother's words still echoing in her head.
"It will be different for me Mom, just wait and see!"
Stepping outside into the pouring rain, struggling with the overstuffed beat up old suitcase, she made her way to the first hotel she could see.
Soaked to the skin she struggled into the ancient lift with her bags and arrived at the fifth floor. "Now the desk clerk said room 502 on the fifth floor." She said quietly to herself.
# Well, I was living in a Hotel just off Sunset she moved in across the hall….#
Walking down the hall she found the room and turned the key in the lock. Switching on the light she took a deep breath and made a mental picture of her 'new home.' "This will have to do" she thought to herself and closed and locked the door behind her.
Heaving the heavy suitcase onto the bed, she began to unpack. "First things first." she said "I need a hot shower and some dry clothes." Placing a change of underwear and her best pair of pajamas on the bed, she slipped out of her wet clothes and turned on the shower. The pipes rumbled and rattled but the water was warm!
After her shower she was towel drying her hair while sitting on the bed reading a newspaper she had bought at a news stand. Running her finger down the page she was looking for auditions, she didn't want to waste any time!
Next morning the rain had stopped and as she was heading out in her 'Sunday Best' she bumped into the man across the hall.
#And she said she be a Movie star and waited every morning for the call.#
"Oh I'm terribly sorry!" She said. "I've just moved in! I'm going to be a Movie Star!" She said without introduction. And with that she hurried off to her first Casting Call.
Later that day as the sun was setting she trudged up the stairs to her floor and cursed under her breath. "Damn good time for the lift to break down, and after I've run around town all day!"
Turning the key in the lock she heard the man across the hall open his door.
"Hi." He said.
"Oh, Hi. I'm sorry I rushed off this morning, I was in such a hurry I forgot to introduce myself." "I'm Alice Middleton."
"Nice to meet you Alice, I'm Jon. Listen; if your free tonight can I invite you in to share a welcome to Hollywood 7 drink"
"Is that the name of this place? I hadn't noticed."
"Well not officially, it's kind of a nick name I gave the place."
"Oh, well thanks for the invitation Jon, but I hardly have the time; I've put out my head shots all over town today, so I'm expecting a few calls tomorrow."
"That's okay, next time."
Alice waited the whole day and not once did the phone ring. A knock at the door revived her spirits but it was just a 'door to door' bible salesman.
A little disheartened she crossed the hall and knocked on Jon's door.
"Jon, are you home?" No answer. Turning around she closed her door behind her and started to cry. "Wait." she said to herself. "It's only the first day. Did you expect so many offers so soon? Wake up and get a hold of yourself" She scolded.
The next day she doubled her efforts! But it was the same everyday for the next few weeks! Walk all over town, drop off head shots and wait by the phone. Her spirit was so low, and her bank balance even lower. She would have to find a job to pay the rent.
This turned out to be even harder than delivering head shots. It seemed every aspiring actor or actress in Hollywood was either parking cars or pumping gas! She couldn't even get a job waitressing which was her former job in Omaha.
# Well she'd sit there and drink my coffee with nothing much to say…..#
Next morning Jon knocked at her door. "Alice? It's coffee time." He called.
Alice opened the door; he noticed the puffiness of her eyes and her disheveled look but didn't say anything.
"Coffee's hot, let's go!"
"Lock the door on your way out." She said to the guy in the bed.
# Well I found her there one mornin' when she didn't come for coffee when I called…..#
Knocking on the door of Alice's room like he did every morning he said. "Alice, coffee's ready."
No reply.
The door was slightly ajar so he pushed it open a bit further and cursed at the sight that met his eyes!
Alice lay on the bed, her throat cut and the bed sheets were stained with her blood. She must have brought home a real sicko this time cause there were crazy marks all over the walls in her blood and favourite lipstick.
Just then the phone rang. Jon picked up the receiver and listened to the voice on the other end, it was the call she'd waited everyday for! "Sorry, wrong number." He said and hung up the phone.
Alice's room was a hive of activity. The local Police, forensics, Paramedics standing in the hall along with a few guys from the press.
"Here comes trouble." The press guy said out loud.
"Why?" Jon asked.
"That's Detective Sergeant Kelly, He's a no nonsense guy, really plays hard ball."
Detective Kelly was talking to a uniformed officer who then pointed in Jon's direction.
The detective reached into his pocket and flashed his ID. "I'm Detective Sergeant Kelly, Homicide Division. Did you make the call?"
"Yes." Jon answered. "I'm Jon England, I live across the hall."
"What was your relationship with the deceased?"
"We were friends, that's all. She thought she could make it big here in Hollywood but reality soon set in. We usually had coffee in the morning before she went out for the day hoping to get an audition. But this morning she didn't answer when I knocked and the door was slightly ajar. Then I found her like this."
"What do you do for a living Mr. England?"
"I'm a musician."
"The M.E. puts her death at around midnight last night." Kelly said. "Where were you at that time?"
"Me? You don't think I had anything to do with this?"
"Just routine." Kelly said.
"Well, I'd probably just finished a gig and was having a few drinks with the boys from the band."
"Can anybody corroborate your story?"
"Sure, lots of people in the bar. Just ask 'em."
"You can tell the officer over there, he'll get names and numbers."
"Are we finished?" Jon asked.
"For now." Kelly replied.
The forensics team were finished with their work and the Paramedics wheeled in the gurney. The Press guys took pictures of the room and joked about the modern art all over the walls.
# Now she's going back to Omaha, but not the way she planned…..#
Next morning Jon had a rude awakening. Detective Kelly was pounding on the door. Opening the door and looking past him he saw the crime scene tape on Alice's door.
Kelly got straight to the point. "Some new information has come to light from the Desk Clerk who told us your 'girlfriend' was seen in the company of a lot of strange men recently. A different one every night he said."
"I noticed, I offered to help her out with the rent but she was too proud to take it."
"Okay, Mr. England. Let me paint you a picture of what I think happened here last night. "You arrived home early; saw your 'girlfriend' waving goodbye to her latest 'John.' You got angry, you argued, youstarted to push her around, she came at you with the knife and tried to stab you with it. You managed to grab the knife and slashed her throat in a fit of jealousy."
"That's a great story. You're in the wrong business Detective, you should be writing crime novels. Did you even bother to check my alibis? I was at the club 'til 2am!"
A Uniformed Officer approached Detective Kelly. "Detective, his alibi checks out. He was there 'til 2am the CCTV confirms that too!"
Without missing a beat, Detective Kelly turned to Jon. "Don't leave town Mr. England, I may need to contact you again." Then he walked down the hall.
#She came in one night from Syracuseexcited from her first time on a plane.#
Two weeks later Jon watched a new tenant take the room across the hall. The room had been cleaned and the crime scene tape removed from the door.
#So I watched her take a lease on the empty room across the hall, to wake up in the mornin', just waitin' for that call.#
On Hollywood seven you can dream your dreams, for seven bucks a night.
The End.
