A Midsummer Night's Scream

each other virtually all their lives.“
    “I’ll bet Bunting’s appeal is that he’s an actor,“ Jane said. “They can run old black-and-white movies for their great-grandchildren and say, ‘I knew him as boy and man, and still get together with him.’ “
    “While the great-grandchildren snicker,“ Mel said with a grin.
    “Maybe he made good money and was investing it well,“ Jane commented. “That might explain his friendships with the rest of the old dears.“
    “I don’t think so. I called my mother...“
    Jane kept herself from shuddering at the memory of meeting his mother once.
    “She’s a big fan of old movies,“ he went on. “She’d actually heard of them and looked them up in some of her reference books. She thinks he got his roles simply because he was the husband of Gloria Bunting. He usually played the silent, stoic husband the heroine doesn’t appreciate, and she played the wife who has, or almost has, affairs with other men but always comes back to him, repentant and loving him all the more.“
    “I can imagine that well,“ Jane confirmed. “In the few scenes I’ve watched them rehearse, she is the character. He’s nothing compared to her. He might have been good-looking, though, when he was younger.“
    “Maybe so. At least he carries himself well. Very stiff, but with a hint of dignity. Though my personal guess is that he’s a big drinker and probably was quite a womanizer in his heyday.“
    “He’s still attracted to young women,“ Jane said. She went on to explain that he sat down at the first reading next to the girl who plays the slut Denny brings home. And that Bunting was trying to see down her blouse.
    “His wife made him sit elsewhere. She must know that he’s an old lecher,“ Jane said.
    “Hmm,“ Mel said. “Maybe there is a sexual connection of a weird sort.“
    “Between who? Or should that be between whom?“
    “You’re the grammar maven, not me, Jane. What I meant was that Denny played the son who was marrying the slutty girl and Bunting took it to heart.“
    “It’s a play, not real life,“ Jane reminded him. “Not if Denny was really having an affair with the girl and Bunting was enraged.“
    “If so, he probably spends most of his life being enraged. He’s an old man and can’t compete with good-looking young ones. He must realize that.“
    Mel nodded. “I know I’m clutching at straws at this point. I’m still waiting for more information about all of these people. When and where they might have met before, whether they worked together, if they’re old enemies of Denny’s for good reasons. Don’t worry. I was just thinking out loud. I’ve never made an arrest on a wimpy guess at who could have done it. I need solid proof.
    “And in case you’re wondering,“ he went on, “the slutty girl isn’t acting. Everyone who knows her says she’s just being her real self. Surly, sexy, and hopes to be the next Britney Spears. No talent. Just sexy. Also, the tough old cop who interviewed her found out that she was a great admirer of Gloria Bunting and said that she thought Ms. Bunting should have dumped her husband when she was young. Joani is a love-them-and-leave-them type. She wouldn’t have murdered Denny for dumping her if they were having an affair. She’s always the one to do the dumping. What’s more, she told the cop who interviewed her, she’d never date an actor. All of them turn out to be obnoxious and selfish.“
    “Have you talked to the Buntings’ daughter?“
    “I have. She said quite frankly that if her mother had divorced him as soon as she, the daughter, was born, her mother could have been a real star in her own right. He held her back from some great offers of roles because there wasn’t a role for him in them. Gloria Bunting could, the daughter says, have rivaled Helen Hayes in her prime. Even now, it’s her mother that the grandchildren love. They have no interest in their grandfather at all. Nor does he show them any affection.“
    “How sad that is.“
    “Not necessarily. The kids love their grandmother, and so does her daughter. And to my mind, they’re all happy enough with that. John Bunting doesn’t enter into the relationships, and nobody cares anymore.“
    “What about the guy who replaced Denny?“
    “I don’t think he needs an alibi. He was invited by Imry to watch the rehearsal. He didn’t know why. Imry offered him Denny’s role, which he turned down because it would hurt his,