《I am the Night》Chapter 9: The Curse of Basil Karlo

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Wayne walked along with an older man who carried a clipboard, "The movie is cursed, you see. We've had all manner of accidents since filming started on this project. I saw the bracket on that fresnel light, if you are standing there trying to tell me a woman did that, well, I'm calling bullshit. Unless that woman has the strength of ten men like Wonder Woman or Super Girl. Let me tell you if Wonder Woman or Super Girl is here on the set trying to kill people, why bother using a fresnel light like that?"

Wayne nodded and then asked, "Have any of the other accidents targetted anyone directly?"

"Not at all, just things like that. Boom crashing down, set pieces falling over. Stunt car with no brakes. I caught a pistol loaded with bullets instead of blanks... They have all been things I have seen on other pictures, but never this many." The older man flipped through the documents and said, "Look at this, this is the safety report from the last picture I did. 12 violations of safety procedures. But this is the 'The Man of Clay' 72 violations. 20 Injuries and 1 death. It's ridiculous. Even that Twilight Zone debacle was cleaner than this picture."

Wayne asked, "You said that you thought it would take ten men to take the light down? Why is that?"

The older man took out his cell phone and showed a picture of the bracket, "You see how the bracket is twisted here? Even if I used power tools I couldn't twist it around like that in the time an actress was standing still on a mark. If the light was just hanging by its power cable, we'd have seen the light move like a pendulum and it didn't which means it had to be twisted off and cut in mere seconds. Someone grabbed it, twisted it off, cut it, and threw it down on that little girl's head. Why would the woman that could do that, fight over a part with, no offense intended, a B actress who wasn't even worth a tenth of this low budget picture's budget? No, if I had to guess, the man who did this, they weren't targeting that little girl they were after the picture itself."

Wayne stopped walking and then asked, "You think this is someone with a grudge against the picture, someone with super strength?"

The older man stopped and then pointed at one of the lights in the rafters, "These lights are constantly inspected due to state and city regulations. That means daily inspection. One of the first things we do each day is walk through the sound stage and check each light both visibly and the old tug check. That light was secure three hours before the scene. Do you understand? Now, you're asking me if another actress had the time to walk in and yank that light off its bracket and then hit another actress in the mere minutes she is on a certain mark right beneath? Yeah, I'm telling you it was a super."

"Thank you for your time and expertise, Mr. Grady, you've been a big help." Wayne gave him a strong handshake.

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"Unexpected. I didn't figure you for a hands-on man, Mr. Wayne. I figured you more for a soft hands type." The older man stated respectfully.

Wayne gave him a wink and then turned and walked away.

"Oh! Mr. Wayne, I just remembered... The one you should look into... It's old Basil Karlo." Mr. Grady waved before walking away.

Wayne stopped walking and then took out his phone and did a quick search for Basil Karlo surprisingly found that the man who was born in 1917 was still very much alive. He quickly called up Alfred, "Alfred, I need you to find me an address for Basil Karlo, yes, he's still alive."

On the other end of the line, "Master Bruce, it seems Basil Karlo shares an address with Katherine Karlo."

Wayne nodded and then said, "Well, I was headed there anyway, I won't need to add another destination. Alfred, I was speaking with the Key Grip on the 'The Man of Clay' and he was telling me that the bracket couldn't have been destroyed by a regular person during Julie's murder which was also backed up by the safety officer and various other members of the staff. I heard from several people that our murderer needed the strength of many men."

On the other end of the line Alfred was typing into the computer and said, "Master Bruce, there are several in Metropolis with the strength needed, in Gotham three names appeared that you may want to check into. Mark Desmond, Solomon Grundy and Hugo Strange."

Wayne nodded and then suggested, "I should probably check into Pamela Isely as well, they may have accidentally enraged her if they filmed in Robinson Park or another area she protects." He scratched his head and then said, "No, Basil Karlo and the Karlo family are the most obvious ones to look into. They have a connection to the film and a connection to Julie. I'll focus on them for now. Where are the GCPD looking?"

Alfred looked into the GCPD files and said, "I suggest asking Commissioner Gordon, Master Bruce, because it appears the GCPD are more interested in fired employees and a man named Edison known as the 'Film Freak'. Also, you should know that Mr. Fox and several other people connected to the Gotham Renewal project have left updates saying that stage one is underway and the trash cleanup has met with little to no resistance."

"Good, good, very good news indeed. Thank you, Alfred. I'll head to the Karlo residence then." Wayne got on his motorcycle and then zipped over to the Karlo's home. As he was riding through traffic another bike shot around the corner in front of him. A very shapely woman was riding. Wayne found himself wanting to keep pace with her as they zipped through traffic.

Shockingly the woman who was always just ahead of him made the exact turns leading to the Karlo home. Right up to the gated archway leading to an old estate. She pulled her helmet off and stared at Wayne who pulled his helmet off. She had long blond hair, a beautiful face. She frowned at him and angrily asked, "Why are you following me?"

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Wayne chuckled, "Maybe I am a fan?"

"Oh? You know who I am? You don't seem like the kind who would watch a Soap Opera?" She flipped her hair over shoulder. She gave him a long look and then asked, "Wait, are you Bruce Wayne?"

Wayne gave her a gentleman's bow from the back of his bike, "I came by to speak with your Grandfather about a movie my company is involved with."

"Oh, you guys finally reached out to him about Clayface. Well, I can tell you. Grandpa hates that they are making this remake. He thinks it's a sacrilige to remake a perfected work." The blond woman shrugged.

"I wanted to talk to you as well, since you worked with Julie Madison before." Wayne watched her carefully.

"Julie Madison? Ah, yeah. I uh... Yeah. I worked with her before. We are kinda... Well, we were rivals. I was a better actress and she was prettier than me and was better at networking." The blond woman held a hand up to her mouth and mimed giving a blowjob. "Wait, I'm sorry. She's dead, I was raised better than that. She was good, I am just a little jealous that she got parts easier than I did." She hung her head and then said, "Sorry, follow me up. I'll take you to see my Grandpa."

She started her bike and then rode up to the mansion with Wayne following close behind.

Walking into the Karlo mansion there were movie posters on every wall. There were also props used from the various movies on display. The blond woman set her helmet down and took off her leather jacket in the entryway and then turned and offered a handshake to Wayne, "Sorry, Katherine Karlo, I didn't introduce myself before. Mr. Wayne can I get you something to drink?"

Wayne looked around and then said, "I would love some tea, thank you." He saw a life-sized statue of Clayface and then asked, "Your grandfather is over a hundred now, right?"

Katherine walked into the kitchen, "Yes, he is one hundred and five this year. He hasn't been able to act for the last 15 years. He just can't remember his lines anymore. Well, really he has been retired since the 90s. Not his choice, he just couldn't get parts once he got older."

Wayne who had followed behind watched as she made the tea for the two of them. "I heard that you were trying for Julie's part in 'The Man of Clay', do you have a shot at it now that she has passed?"

Katherine winced and shook her head no, "No, I have no shot. The director said my performance was too close to the original and he wanted a fresh take. He was right really, I have seen that movie hundreds of times after all, of course I would see that part exactly as the original. Only someone like Julie Madison would think to do the part like Molly Ringwald in 'Pretty in Pink'." She sighed and then asked, "Do you like milk or sugar in your tea?"

Wayne smiled, "No, but thank you. Do all actresses assume that the others sleep with directors to get their parts?"

Katherine winced again, "You know all that hashtag me too stuff? Yeah, well, it's a lot more true than any of us would want to let on." She rubbed her forehead, "I try not to get involved like that, I'm a real actress you know? I went to the Tisch school of the arts at NYU. The thing is..." She slumped a bit and then took a sip of tea before continuing, "Agents push you to go to these parties and then they have you aggressively target powerful men, a little flirting, a little smiling and you know, maybe your career path starts looking a little better. You do a little more and maybe you move from a B lister to an A lister."

"And you, are you an A lister?" Wayne smiled and looked as if he were slightly guilty.

"D lister. Maybe a C lister at best." Katherine smirked, "I tried the flirty thing once, with the director of the Soap I am on, you know what it got me?"

"The best part?" Wayne asked as he took a sip of tea.

Katherine shook her head no, "No, I wish. It got me a bad reputation and a bit part on the show. For three years I was little more than part of the set. What got me the best part was a lucky break. The show's writers saw me at a dinner theater by chance while writing the next season of the show. They had been trying to talk the director into getting Julie out of the cast because she was too picky."

Wayne raised an eyebrow, "I had heard a different version of that event."

Katherine picked up her tea and said, "I'll take you to see my grandpa, he's a little unfocused at times. So, please keep that in mind."

They walked into another room, a small parlor and then Katherine said, "Papa? It's Katie, I brought a fan who would like to meet you, it's Mr. Bruce Wayne."

The aged Basil Karlo looked excited as he visibly got into character. He then spoke in a characture of his movie persona, "Mr. Bruce Wayne? I see, I remember your father, Thomas, a brilliant doctor."

Wayne smiled and gave him a head nod. He reached out and offered a handshake. Basil gave his offered hand a squeeze. Bruce felt like his hand had been in a vice. "That's quite a grip you have Mr. Karlo."

Basil chuckled, "The secret to being a top actor is to always keep your mind and body in peak form!" He gave Wayne a long look over and then said softly, "Mr. Wayne, you would be a fine actor yourself."

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