Free Soap Opera Slaughters by Marvin Kaye Page B

instead, reading the cartoons, memos and interoffice dictums pinned to the bulletin board. One of the latter was an emphatic note from Joseph T. Ames warning cast members that costumes “are the property of Colson-Ames and MUST BE RETURNED TO WARDROBE IMMEDIATELY after taping is done, SOONER if possible so they can be cleaned ASAP . Costumes will NOT be loaned for personal use under any circumstances, and may only be worn in public at publicity functions approved by ME !” Next to this directive someone had pinned up a caricature of an elderly white-haired man, presumably a likeness of Ames, sneaking out of the wardrobe department wearing an evening gown and huge earrings.
    The bulletin board also held several yellowing lists of union rules and restrictions, a few fan letters, and a note on NBC stationery challenging the “Riverday” company to a softball match with the cast and crew of “Another World.” There was also a scene-by-scene breakdown of the day’s taping run with space on it for the actors to initial upon arrival. The place beside Florence’s name was blank, as was Joanne Carpenter’s, but neither were involved in the first scenes on the schedule.
    Most of the memos were soiled and wrinkled with age, but one notice on the middle of the board was new. As I read it, I started to understand what the lobby officer meant about money being easier to guard than the stars he was responsible for.
WBS Memorandum 8/17
    To: ALL PEOPLE IN THE 53 rd STREET FACILITY
    From: PAUL C. BAUER, MANAGER, SECURITY
    BECAUSE OF THIS WEEKEND’S TRAGEDY, NO ONE WILL BE PERMITTED IN THE FACILITY AFTER HOURS WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE NETWORK OR AN AUTHORIZED PRODUCER. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO “BEAT THE SYSTEM.” WHENEVER YOU DO, YOU ENDANGER LIVES AND PROPERTIES. I HAVE REPEATEDLY ASKED ACTORS AND TECHNICIANS TO OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING SAFETY MEASURES:
    Use the front doors to enter and exit. The fire doors are for emergencies only and MUST NOT BE PROPPED OPEN WHEN YOU GO OUT TO LUNCH.
    Lock your dressing room at all times, even if you are inside, and especially when changing clothes. NEVER LEAVE YOUR ROOM KEYS IN THE DOOR!
    If you see someone suspicious on the premises, avoid confronting the transgressor. Report his or her presence IMMEDIATELY to Security.
    Thank you.
    The puzzle in my mind now had another piece that fit. There was no record of Niven signing in at the front desk Saturday, so he must have entered through a fire door. Someone in the building may have left one open for him deliberately, or it may have been ajar by pure chance, but it seemed the only way Niven could have gotten in.
    And whoever pushed him must have left the same way.
    Along one wall of the production office there were several TV sets arranged in two banks, one above the other. Some were tuned to the on-air programs being broadcast by WBS and its three rival networks. Others were studio monitors that showed familiar “Riverday” sets, some of the same ones that the taping breakdown on the bulletin board specified for use that day. On one screen I saw the Jennett family’s living room, on another the hospital room where various characters had, from time to time, recuperated under the affectionate eye of Dr. Matt Jennett. Another monitor was of the supper club owned by Martha and her husband, Leo Jennett (Florence McKinley and Donald Bannister, respectively).
    As I watched, technicians wandered in and out of scenes, checking props, adjusting furniture, dusting bureau and desk tops. A chubby young woman in jeans fussed with the hospital bed, arranged props on the adjacent nightstand—water tray, a box of tissues, a medicine bottle and dosage cup about the size and shape of a shot glass. A flurry of movement in the Jennett living room caught my eye. I focused on that monitor.
    The efficient Ms. Lipscomb appeared on the screen, still holding her clipboard. She was saying something to a tall, white-haired man in his sixties with a dour hangdog expression