Falling Stars (Shooting Stars 5)

"No wandering about the city," she cautioned. "And no late hours! Pay strict attention to your curfew."

Chandler wasn't arriving until late Friday night and coming to visit late Saturday morning, I had gotten permission for him to join us at lunch. Rose was having Barry as well as Evan. Cinnamon and Ice decided against inviting Larry and Reuben. Neither was special enough to them, certainly not as special as Chandler was to me. I was so excited about seeing him again. I almost forgot about the bizarre scene we had all witnessed through the window the Sunday before, and the taking of my clothing. All of us discussed it Friday afternoon before Rose went to meet her brother. Cinnamon was worried I would say something to Chandler and Rose would tell Barry.

"Until we really know what's going on, ifs better we keep it all to ourselves," she strongly suggested.

All agreed.

Shortly after we had our dinner. Rose called Cinnamon from her brother's hotel room. He had arrived and taken the trip well. The hotel had provided him their best room for a disabled person, but she wasn't calling simply to report that.

"I think you should all come here," she told her. "And as quickly as you can."

The three of us started out. Howard and Steven were in the den watching a video of an old American Playhouse production Mr. Marlowe had

recommended. Because we didn't want either them or Laura Fairchild to hear or see us leave, we tiptoed to the front door and snuck out, like people escaping. Once down the steps, we all stuck to the shadows and ran to the gate, hurrying to the nearest street corner to see if we could flag a taxicab. We had to make our way to Third Avenue before getting one, but once we did it was only a little more than twenty minutes later that we arrived at Evan's hotel.

When we called from the, lobby. Rose came out to meet us and bring us to her brother.

"He's putting on a brave act, but he's

exhausted,'" she explained as we walked down the corridor. "I put him to bed. He's embarrassed, so act like it's nothing unusual."

"Maybe we should have waited until tomorrow then," I said.

"No, he insisted, and after what he told me and what we've experienced. I thought you should come."

Evan looked small and very vulnerable in the king-size bed. Rose introduced us all to him quickly.

"From all she's told me," he said. "I feel like I've known each of you for years."

"Same for us about vou, Evan." Cinnamon said.

Knowing how proud Rose was of him brought a glow to his face. He had a soft, round face with long flaxen-blond hair streaming down the sides of his temples and cheeks. Although his eyes confessed his fatigue, they were also bright with excitement at meeting us. I thoug

ht he was a good-looking boy, with a slightly cleft chin and beautiful almond-brown eyes.

Rose fixed the pillow behind him so he could sit up, and then he reached over and pulled some notes out of a leather-bound, letter-size folio.

"Rose filled me in on what you guys saw through that window on the third floor of your school building. I don't know if this will help explain it. I don't know if anything could."

We gathered around him. Cinnamon sitting on the bed. Ice at his left shoulder, and me sitting opposite Cinnamon. Rose remained at the foot of the bed. watching. I glanced at her and saw how she was anticipating our reaction. That had Evan found?

"This was one of the hardest, most difficult searches I've undertaken through the Internet." Evan began. "Roadways into places I had to get to were blocked with passwords I didn't have time to break. I had to figure out ways to get around and come in back doors. But," he added with a smile, "it became a real challenge, and I love a challenge."

"Just tell him he can't do something and he deliberately does it." Rose explained.

"Sounds like me," Cinnamon said. "Go on. Evan," she urged, now impatient. "Please."

"Okay. First, a little history about Madame Senetsky. As you 'mow, she has had a great career. By my last count, she had major roles in over two hundred different theater productions and made nearly forty films in Europe. Apparently, she speaks both French and Italian fluently enough to make foreign films. She was never very big in Hollywood, although she has done close to ten films, some independent productions, a few studio films. Usually, a foreign director cast her. The point is, she spent most of her career in Europe, and that was also why it was difficult getting answers.

"Anyway, she married Marshall Senetsky when she was in her early thirties. The Senetsky family emigrated from Poland to France in the early twenties, where they became successful importers of products from North Africa and some things from the Far East. They invested in commercial property and built a sizeable fortune, Marshall Senetsky enjoyed the theater and invested not only in plays but also in theaters themselves. It seems that he built a theater just for his wife,

"For a long time their principal residence was Paris, but they also had a summer home in

Switzerland. She didn't become pregnant until she was nearly forty years old."

"Why did she wait so long?" I asked.

"Probably her career came first," Evan said.