Free Tinseltown Riff by Shelly Frome Page A

me, Iris and Gillian. Is like family. All brought about by me, I am telling you with no bull.”
    â€œAll brought about by capitalizing on some offhand remark, you mean. Something you heard at the gym and passed on to Gillian.”
    â€œYou’re saying please?”
    â€œWho,” Ben went on, “among other things, used it to hawk her screenwriters’ conference for idle wannabes.”
    â€œAgain, you will please repeat?”
    With the aid of the margaritas, feeling no inhibitions whatsoever, Ben declared, “Doubtless, this whole thing was instigated by you after learning that down-and-out rock star Angelique was looking for some streetwise venue. Then learning that Gillian was looking for a way to both keep her Secrets-of-Screenwriting gigs going and her development projects percolating. Hazarding a guess, and at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll bet, like always, you overheard something and jumped at it.”
    â€œOh, you’re meaning muscle man with long hair at Iris’ gym. Mexican fellow who has cachet maybe.”
    â€œAha. And says who?”
    â€œIris tells me he signs in as Pepe. You know him maybe. So I figure he has cachet because someone else at gym tell me someone else tells him this Pepe is undercover. And  person who tells him knows somebody at big studio who says what is going on under the covers is new crime stories but like old and so is going to be hot.”  
    â€œAnd how, pray tell, does this retro brainstorm connect with conning me to glom Aunt June’s super camera? Glom it and zoom-in past police barricades? How, in the whirl of your gonzo schemes, does this all add up?”
    â€œFits positively like hand in glove, I am telling you. Pictures you take show Angelique this is insider person she is talking to. Person who has access and penetrates like movie camera, like seeing-eye dog, like Cossack who travels anywhere, what you need, where you want to go. So Angelique finally is saying to me ...”
    Fumbling for a slip of paper in his out-of-style cubavera jacket, Leo proudly stated, “And I am quoting here, ‘Wow, this Leo sure gets around.’”
    â€œTerrific. And as a direct result, I am now on the L.A.P.D. nuisance list.”
    â€œBut worth it, I am telling you with no bull. Is price you pay when you strike hot iron. And what we got, I am swearing to you, is hot irons in fire for sure. Empty studio with cop movies sets, everything connecting.”   
    Leo shook Ben’s arm with all his might, released his grip and signaled to the waiter for the usual, which was a double Belvedere Polish vodka on the rocks. This was followed by a disparaging look on Leo’s part, signaling that he was unsure about Ben’s preppy attire. To be with-it, this new venture called for California-black duds like Leo’s.  But then, in typical Leo fashion, his meaty features shifted a tad to uncertainty.
    â€œMistake?” said Leo. “My getup, deep charcoal and shiny, is no longer in? You’re not telling me?”
    â€œHaven’t said a word.”
    â€œExactly. I’m talking face you are giving me. Better we table this, yes? Until I am taking more soundings.”
    â€œGladly.”
    But it was obvious Leo wasn’t about to table anything. Just as Ben was up against it the day his unemployment insurance ran out, Leo was more than a bit anxious about his prospects. Otherwise why was he running around putting so much stock in Angelique’s Starshine Productions ?
    Pulling himself together as the vodka appeared as if by magic, Leo downed it, spotted someone in the opposite corner and slapped Ben on the back. “I see power brokers I must greet. You understand, old timer that you are. But I am returning spit-spot, we are getting show on the road before you can say okeydoke. All right, dude? Yes!”
    True to his word, Leo’s table-hopping and shmoozing seemed to be going well and took up