Trevor started to move toward the three who had just entered the room. I reached out, putting my hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.
"Trevor," I said, "I don't know what the problem is, but sit down and think for a moment."
For a moment, I thought that he would ignore me, but then he turned and nodded. There were tears in his eyes. He allowed me to guide him to a seat in one of the alcoves around the room, which meant we were out of direct sight of anyone in the main room. I started to tell Johnny to go and get Susan, but Trevor interrupted me and said he did not want his parents involved. So, I told Johnny to get Ben.
Ben came over, took one look at Trevor, who was now quite teared up, and asked me what was up.
"I don't know. You, Phil and Tyler came into the room, and Trevor got upset. Muttered something about killing someone and started to move towards you. I stopped him and got him sat down, but something is seriously wrong."
"Look, Mike, can you take him to the Billiard Room?" Ben asked. I nodded my head. "Johnny, you and the boys go into dinner and don't say anything to anyone."
I got Trevor to the Billiard Room. By the time we got there, he was shaking. I placed him in a chair by the fire, which had been lit more for show than heat, and then poured him a good shot of brandy.
"Here, drink this." He took it without a word and started to sip it. I sat in the chair next to him feeling totally out of my depth and just hoping Ben did not take too long. Everything told me we needed his expertise. Like me, Ben had gone to university, but he had stayed in London and studied Psychology. After graduating, he had specialised in youth counselling before being side-tracked into show business.
Ben joined us a couple of minutes later. "Look, I've told everybody that something has come up about tomorrow that we need to sort out immediately. Phil will be joining us as soon as he's seen everybody into dinner."
"That black bastard's not coming, is he?" Trevor asked.
"No, and that's not a nice way to describe him."
"Well, he's a bastard," Trevor shouted at Ben. "He put Mark in prison."
"Shit," a voice said from behind me. I turned to look, and Phil was standing in the doorway.
"You appear to know something," Ben commented, looking at Phil.
"This is difficult. A lot has been hushed up, partly for the sake of the boys involved but also to avoid embarrassing some people who should have known better. I did not know Trevor had been involved. Didn't know he knew Mark."
"Who is this Mark?" I asked. Ben nodded; he clearly wanted to know as well.
"Mark Glesson. He was an up-and-coming director. Made several television programmes and a couple of films. He co-directed a couple as well."
"He was co-director on the first film in the series," Trevor stated.
"Didn't know that. His name's not on the credits," Phil responded.
"No, they took it off before release. He was in prison by then."
"Wish I had known," Phil stated. "I knew Tyler had worked on the first film. He said he had got on well with you."
"We did, but that was before…" There was silence.
"Before what?" Ben asked. Trevor was starting to tear up again. He looked at Phil.
"Mark was caught with a fifteen-year-old boy in his bed," Phil informed us. "The boy was Tyler."
"Fuck!" exclaimed Ben. That was just what I was thinking.
"They said Mark was raping Tyler, but he would never have done that. Tyler must have agreed; he must have wanted it," Trevor sobbed.
"Look, Trevor," Phil stated, "you don't know that, and I don't know that. We weren't there and don't know what happened, though I have an inkling. There is somebody here who does know, though."
"He'll lie," Trevor shouted. "Tyler will lie, just as he did to the police."
"I'm not thinking about Tyler," Phil answered.
"Who, then?" Ben asked.
"Allen Davidson."
"How would Allen know?" Ben inquired.
"He was there."
"What?"
"Ben, before Allen joined us, he worked in film-production security. You knew that," Phil stated. Ben nodded his head. "You saw his CV. Didn't you ever wonder why a man who had been a Detective Inspector with the Met and was so well qualified and experienced was out of work."
"No, I just thought it was because there was a production slump at the time. Anyway, you vouched for him."
"He was out of work because a lot of people blamed him for exposing Mark Glesson. They thought he should have covered it up as the bastards had done before." That shocked me, and it must have shown on my face.
"Oh," Phil continued, "it was not the first time Mark had been caught in a compromising position with a boy. There had been rumours floating around the trade about him for as long as I'd been in it.
"Always in the past, a deal has been done. The boy had been paid off, as had his family, and everything had been hushed up. This time that was not an option, and Allen did what he had to do. Unfortunately for him, a lot a people, not knowing the full story, thought he should have hushed it up.
"He really did not have a choice in things, but they still blamed him, which is how he came to work for us. I'll call him now and get him to come over." Phil went over to the house phone and dialled. After a few moments, the phone was answered at the other end, and Phil spoke, then held for a bit, then spoke again. He put the phone down.
"He's out at the South Lodge. It will take him fifteen to twenty minutes to get here. In the meantime, I suggest we get some refreshment, seeing that we are missing dinner. He went back to the phone and called the kitchen.
We sat around in silence. Nobody seemed to want to say anything. After about five minutes there was a knock on the door, to which Phil replied, "Come in." Mrs M entered pushing a trolley. She placed the trolley in front of us and then looked around, clearly taking in Trevor's distress.
"Would it be a good idea, Mr. Phil, if I locked the connecting doors?" she asked.
"I think it would," Phil replied.
She nodded, then walked off, leaving the trolley. Shortly after, I heard the sound of a key being turned in the door between the Library and the Billiard Room. The same sound followed quickly from the doors to the reception room.
I don't think any of us really felt like eating, but we all helped ourselves to something off the trolley, more because it gave us an excuse not to speak than because we were hungry. Phil kept looking at his watch as if he could make the time pass quicker by doing so. Trevor did not even make a pretence of trying to eat. He just sat, looking at his plate.
I think we all jumped when there was a knock at the door. Phil called out, "Come in." A large, well-built man entered the room. I had seen him about the estate a few times but never met him.
"Allen," Phil said, "thanks for coming over. This is my brother-in-law Mike, and I'm sure you know Trevor. You might want to sit down."
"That bad is it?" he asked, seating himself in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the fireplace. Phil poured a brandy and offered it to him.
"No thanks, sir, I'm on duty till midnight," he stated, declining the offered glass.
"I think you'd better get your cover in, Allen, as you may be here some time," Phil advised.
Allen took his radio and called in to control and told them to pull his cover in while he was at the house. Then he turned to Phil. "So, what's this about?"
"Mark Gleeson," answered Phil. "I want you to tell us what happened the night he was arrested."
Allen looked around at us. "Are you sure, sir? I've been told not to speak about it."
"I know, and I can guess who told you not to speak about it. This is important. We need to know the truth as to what happened that night."
"OK, but I would prefer it if what I say does not go outside this room."
"I can understand that, Allen," Phil stated. "Can't say it won't because I do not know what might come to light here. What I can say is, it will only go outside this room if there is a very good reason for it to do so."
"Well…" Allen paused for a moment as if not quite sure where to start. Then he made up his mind. "We were on location shooting a pilot for a TV drama series. It was set in a 1910 boarding school. The idea was to follow the boys through their school years and into the Great War.
"Everything was on a tight shooting schedule as we only had the location for just over a week. It was a boys' boarding school, and we had use of it between the end of term and the start of the summer residential courses they ran there.
"It was also fairly chaotic. We had a cast of forty boys ranging in age from thirteen to seventeen. Most of them were essentially extras, but there were half a dozen who had key parts in the planned series.
"The original idea was for the boys to be housed at one hotel near the school under the supervision of the chaperones, with the crew and actors located at another nearby hotel. Anyway, things went pear-shaped as they usually do on such shoots. Turned out someone had forgotten to allow accommodation for the chaperones when booking the rooms for the boys, and there were not enough rooms at the hotel for both the boys and the chaperones. So, it was decided that the boys with the speaking parts would be put up at the hotel with the crew and actors. It was even stated that it made more sense as they would be able to rehearse their parts with the actors they were working with.
"Of course, nobody gave any thought to moving any of the chaperones across, and the production manager did not find that out till everybody arrived on location, by which time it was too late. She did, though, manage to make sure all the boys were placed in the annex. That was separated from the main hotel building.
"I was in charge of location security, so she came and saw me that first day with her concerns. Turned out the whole production had been dropped in her lap forty-eight hours earlier when her predecessor had been taken suddenly ill. It also turned out that she was not very happy about having Mark Gleeson working as a director on a production where there were several underage boys. She had worked on one of his productions before when there had been a bit of unpleasantness involving a child actor.
"As a result, I made a point of talking to the hotel staff and asking them to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary or anything they thought I should be aware of. The first couple of days of shooting went off without a hitch. They were very long days and everybody — boys included — was dead on their feet by the end of the day, which was about eight-thirty to nine pm. With a seven-thirty start in the morning, all anybody wanted to do was get to bed.
"The third day was a disaster. It was supposed to be the outside shots, and the heavens opened just before noon, and it was clear from the forecast it was not going to ease up at all before the light went. So, Mark called it a day, and we were bussed back to our hotel.
"Of course, that caused problems. For a start, the catering people were all at the location, and the hotel was not prepared to feed the crew. The fact we had taken over the whole place and told them meals would not be required had resulted in them giving the kitchen staff the entire week off. Most of the crew went off into town to get something to eat. Mark, though, insisted that the boys stay in the hotel and suggested they try out the pool and leisure facilities. He said he would go to the local burger joint and get them something.
"I looked in on the pool about three, and the boys were all in there, splashing about and enjoying themselves. On my way back to the lobby, I passed Mark, who was carrying a couple of bags of stuff from a nearby burger bar. He had one of the production staff with him, so I did not give it much thought. Anyway, just after that, we had a security incident. There were only supposed to be hotel staff and crew admitted to the hotel, and we had security staff located on all the entrances. However, some journalist managed to get in and was caught trying to photograph the female lead. Myself and one of the hotel security staff bundled him out of place, and we were just coming back in when one of the hotel porters, who was talking to the receptionist, mentioned that one of the boys was ill.
"I immediately asked about it and was told he just come on duty and as he walked from the staff changing rooms, which were next to the leisure area, he had seen one of the crew helping one of the boys, who seemed a bit woozy, into the lift. Actually, he said it looked like the boy had been drinking."
Allen paused for a moment. We all sat there clearly waiting for him to continue. After a bit, he did.
"I immediately became worried. If any of the crew were ill, they should have been brought directly to the crew medical facility. I knew immediately that had not happened, as Sister Jones, our on-duty nurse, was sitting in the lobby reading a book. So, I told the hotel-security chap that I had to check this out, and he said he might as well come with me. That was helpful, as the first thing I did was check the hotel CCTV screens. The leisure-area cameras showed five boys down there and one of the production staff, but no Mark.
"So, I went up to Mark's room with the hotel security following me. We just got to his door when there was a scream from within. The hotel-security chap used his pass card to override the lock and open the door. I'll not forget what I saw. The boy was lying naked and face down over the end of the bed. Mark had his trousers down, and his cock rammed into the boy.
"The hotel-security guy lost it. He was onto Mark before I could do anything and really laid into him. Was tempted to join in myself, but I had the sense to pull him off and push Mark into a chair and told him to sit there. Then I looked at the boy. There was clearly something very wrong. He was conscious but only just and very incoherent and disoriented. I got Sister Jones up, and she took one look at the boy and called an ambulance.
"Of course, the emergency call to the ambulance also resulted in the police arriving. Actually, they got there about five minutes ahead of the ambulance. By that time, though, the boy was well out of it, and Sister Jones was getting concerned about his breathing.
"The hotel-security chap was ex-police and knew the local lads well. He quickly filled them in on what had happened. Mark was arrested and subsequently charged with rape of a child under sixteen and attempted murder."
"Attempted murder?" Trevor asked. He had been sitting there silently up till now. Those words seemed to have come as a shock to him.
"Yes," Allen replied. "It was fairly easy to establish which of the pop bottles the boy had been drinking from. For some reason, he did not drink cola, so Mark had got Tizer for him. There was one bottle opened, and it was half-empty. When the lab tested it, they found it had enough diazepam in it to kill a healthy adult, never mind a fifteen-year-old boy. The boy was lucky; if we had got to him fifteen minutes later, it would have been too late. As it was, Sister Jones guessed what had happened and forced him to vomit just before he lost consciousness. That probably saved the lad's life. As it was, it was touch-and-go for a few days."
"So," Ben stated, "he got done for attempted murder."
"No," Allen responded, "he claimed he did not know the boy was drugged. The police searched his room and his home but found no trace of diazepam. In the end, they could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had administered it. Especially as his fingerprints were not found on the bottle.
"Once news got out that he had been arrested for the rape of an underage boy, several other boys came forward and made complaints. He agreed to go guilty on all charges if attempted murder was dropped. In the end, he got twelve years; should be coming up for his first parole in a few months."
Trevor had been quiet during all of this but now leaned forward in the chair and looked at Allen. "So, it wasn't Tyler who reported Mark?" he asked.
"No," Allen answered "In fact, Tyler didn't make a statement; said he could not remember anything after starting to feel unwell by the pool. That could very well be the case; diazepam can have some short-term- memory-loss effects in large doses."
"Thank you, Allen," Phil said. "I don't think there is much you can add now, but we might need you again this evening. Could you hang around the house for a bit? Actually, you could make yourself useful and go to the lounge; the dinner guests will be assembling there for after-dinner drinks. If anybody asks where we are, just say there been a bit of a hitch with arrangements for tomorrow and we are sorting things out.
"Oh, and you might like to take Tyler to one side and just say he may be needed in here, but not at the moment. You can give him a briefing about what you've said. Just tell him there is no problem as far as he's concerned."
"Tyler's here?" Allen asked.
"Yes, didn't you know?"
"No, Mr. Phil. I'd only just come on duty when the call came through. Was doing a perimeter patrol before going up to the gatehouse, so I had not seen today's guest list."
"Well," said Phil, "Tyler's here, and Trevor and Tyler have TV interviews in the morning if Trevor is up to doing one." Allen nodded in understanding, then stood and left. Phil turned to Trevor.
"Well," he asked, "are you up to doing a TV interview tomorrow, and can you cope with Tyler as your co-star?"
Trevor looked up. For a moment or two, I thought he was about to burst into tears, then he sort of shook himself and looked at Phil. "I need to be professional, don't I?"
"Yes, Trevor, you do. I know things are not easy at times, especially when you need to get your head straight about things, but this is a tough profession, and as you say you need to be professional."
"I know, but it is so hard," Trevor stated. "I trusted Mark and now…well, what I heard does not fit… Yes, it does, but this is—"
"Look," Ben interrupted, "Why don't you and I go somewhere we can talk about this, Trevor? I'm sure there is a lot you want to tell us, but it can't be easy with the three of us here. A lot easier if you just talk with one of us.
"We can go to my office, and Mike and Phil can go and join the guests. They can also let them use the Billiard Room. How does that sound?"
Trevor looked at Ben and gave a small smile, then a nod.
"Come on, then, let's get to the office," Ben suggested as he helped Trevor up from the chair.
"What do we say to his parents?" I asked.
"Just say that seeing Tyler came as a shock for him and that there is some history which I am dealing with." With that, Ben led Trevor out of the Billiard Room. Phil called Mrs M and asked her to unlock the connecting doors.
No sooner had we walked through into the lounge than Susan came up to me to ask where Trevor was.
"He's with Ben at the moment," I informed her.
"Why, what's wrong?"
"Did you know that there was a history between Trevor and Tyler?"
"No, don't think they've met," Susan replied.
"Well, it seems they have, and there is some history. Seeing Tyler walk in tonight upset Trevor; he was in tears at one point. Seems he may have got the wrong end of the stick about some things. It's taken a bit to sort it out. Now Ben's talking through things with him."
"I'd better go to him." She started towards the door.
I put my hand out and stopped her. "Probably better not at the moment. He's off somewhere talking with Ben, trying to get his head into shape for tomorrow. Ben's trained in this and knows what he's doing."
"How's he trained?" she asked.
"He's got a First in Psychology and a Master's in Child Psychology. He was working in youth counselling before Phil got him involved in acting. He still volunteers for various youth-support groups when he has time. And at the moment, given what has come out, I think Trevor might be more comfortable talking with relative strangers than immediate family." Once I had finished my little speech, I found Susan looking at me with a hint of understanding in her eyes.
"Do I want to know what this is about?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"Was it something from the first film?"
"Why do you ask?"
For a moment she was quiet, then indicated it would be a good idea to continue our talk out on the terrace. We made our way outside. It was a bit chilly, but there was no one else out there.
"Look, Mike, Trevor got a place on that film by chance. He was supposed to be an extra in one of the scenes they were filming in London. This was before they had announced any of the stars; don't think they had sorted all five out then. Trevor went along with one of his mates, Larry, who does dance, and his mate's mother. Seems he had a fun day.
"Anyway, he says that towards the end of the day, one of the production staff asked for his contact details. The next day we got a phone call from the production department asking if we could take Trevor in for a screen test. He, of course, was all excited about it.
"Turned out that one of the co-directors had spotted him in the crowd and thought he would be perfect for the Martin Llewellyn character. The problem was that they were due to start the main shoot in four weeks. So, everything was a bit of a rush. I had to go up to Lancashire with Trevor to look after him. Bob was already committed to being in the States, so I got my sister Vanessa to look after Ruth, my youngest daughter. The Trevor's brother was off on a trip to France with his mates for six weeks.
"Anyway, I had been up on location for just over two weeks, with another four to do. Then I get a call from Vanessa's husband that Vanessa had been rushed into hospital. Not only was he asking for me to take Ruth back, but he also wanted to know if I could look after their two boys whilst Vanessa was in the hospital.
"I talked to the co-director and explained the problem, and he said there was no problem for me to go back home. He would make sure Trevor was all right. He'd get a chaperone in to look after him. He even arranged for Trevor to move rooms so he was next door to the co-director in case Trevor needed anything. He had been so friendly and helpful to Trevor the whole time Trevor had been on set.
"It all worked out well. Vanessa was in the hospital longer than expected, but Mark — that was the co-director's name — brought Trevor back down to London when they finished the location shoot. In the following weeks when Trevor was needed at the studio, Mark would pick him up and bring him home, no matter how late it was.
"Mark went off to do something else; it was supposed to be for a few weeks, but he never came back to the film, and that upset Trevor. He seemed to change then, got very cross and angry with people when asked about things.
"Do you know what happened?" she asked.
"Susan, I do not know what happened, though I have an idea. However, making presumptions based on speculation is not good practice. I have no doubt that if either of us needs to know anything, we will be told, though we may have to wait a bit first.
"At the moment, the important thing is for Trevor to get into a mindset where he can deal with the interviews tomorrow."
"You know, Mike, you really are not putting my mind at ease."
"That I can appreciate. What I am doing is telling you that you just have to let things be for a while, and so must Bob."
"Oh, don't worry about Bob. I doubt he even noticed that Trevor was not at dinner. The last six years or so they have lived totally separate lives, just passing each other in the house, that is, when both were home."
We remained talking on the terrace for a bit. Anna and Debora joined us, and talk moved to wedding plans. I told them I'd better get back inside as I had promised Stan a game of dominos.
Just then Phil came out onto the terrace clearly looking for us. "Mike, Ben rang down; he asked if you could you go up and join them. I need to find Tyler; then I will be joining you."
I made my excuses and turned to leave; Susan caught my arm. "He's alright, isn't he?"
"I think so; just having to accept some hard truths, but we all have to do that from time to time."
"Don't I know it?" There were tears in her eyes. She then gave me a push indicating that I should go.
I went down the corridor to a door marked 'Staff Only', pushed it open and stepped through to what had once been the servants' wing of the house. It now held the administrative offices for both the house and Phil and Ben's businesses. They had quite a few. Walking to the end of the internal corridor, I turned left and up a flight of stairs and then across the landing to what I knew was Ben's office.
I knocked on the door; Ben's voice sounded out for me to enter. Ben was seated on the couch; so was Trevor, but he was scrunched up into one corner. As I entered, Trevor looked up. "Thanks for coming back."
"That's OK, Trevor. If you need me, I will do what I can to help."
I took the seat that Ben indicated. "Phil will be up shortly with Allen and, hopefully, Tyler. Trev's got something to say, but first, he feels he needs to apologies to Tyler."
Just after that, Phil and Allen arrived with Tyler, who looked somewhat puzzled. He had just entered the room when Trevor stood up. For a moment, I was worried that he might attack Tyler, but it was clear from his body posture that any aggression was the last thought on his mind. If anything, there was a sense of resignation about it. His shoulders were somewhat slumped, and his whole posture… well, it was not quite one of defeat, but hinted as surrender.
Tyler just looked at him, wondering what this was all about. Cannot say that I blamed him, I had the same question.
"I'm sorry, Tyler? I'm sorry for what I did," Trevor stated.
"What did you do?" Tyler asked.
"I told them I would not make the second film if you were in it. Said I didn't want to work with you," Trevor sobbed. "I was blaming you for something that was not your fault." A look of understanding came across Tyler's face. He stepped forward and put his hands on Trevor's shoulders.
"Is this about Mark?" Trevor nodded in response to Tyler's question. "Don't worry about it. You did not stop them from casting me. They had already told me I was out before the first shoot finished. They had had to cut too many of my scenes because I was in the hospital.
"A new character had been brought in to fill in; he replaced me and kept going on in the series." At this news, Trevor let out a sigh, then sank back onto the couch. Tyler sat on the arm, put his hand on Trevor's shoulder.
"Look, Trevor," he stated, "that bastard messed a lot of lives up. Don't let him mess up yours. You're a good actor, and we have a great script to work with. Let's get this film made. It will make you as a serious actor and give me a chance to get back into work."
Trevor looked at him. "You've not worked since then?"
"I've done modelling and commercials but nothing mainstream, not even TV. That bloody pilot went pear-shaped because of Mark Gleeson, but everybody involved got tarred with the same brush. Nobody on it found it easy to get work afterwards. Some did not bother to try.
"It wasn't your fault, Trevor, it's the way this bloody industry works a lot of the time." He stood up then and started to walk towards the door; Allen went to join him.
"Stay; please stay," Trevor called out. I need to tell you all what happened, and you might as well hear what I've got to say."
"Are you sure?" Tyler asked. "I think I can guess a lot of it."
"And you might be able to tell me where I've got things wrong also. Please stay. And you, Allen, you might be able to tell me where we go from here. I think I may need to speak to the police."
Tyler took a seat in the chair opposite me, effectively sitting between Ben on the couch and Phil by the door. Trevor sat up and looked around.
"Look," he started, "this is not going to be easy anyway I do it. Ben, though, says I need to bring things out into the open. The sooner I get things done, the easier it will be. Phil, Ben, you need to know because … well, I still don't know if I can cope with tomorrow, but if I can't, you need to understand why.
"Mike, you hardly know me, but you stepped in and helped me when I needed it. You did not ask questions. Your son says you're a great man; he told me how his mother dumped him on you and how you have gone out of your way to support him. Even agreeing to get married." That brought a chuckle from Phil and Ben. Tyler was looking a bit puzzled.
"Look," he continued. "I know you know my parents, and I'm going to have to speak to them. Ben thinks it's best if he and Phil are not involved with that, as it will raise some contractual issues. After you have heard what I have to say, Mike, I would like it if you would be there with me when I tell Mam and Dad."
"Look, I don't care what you have to say," I stated. "I'll be there for you."
"Thanks," he responded. Then he started. "When I was eleven, I came out to my parents as being gay. Dad told me not to be silly, that it was just a phase and that I would get over it. He assured me that whether or not I was gay made no difference to them, that they still loved me.
"It did make a difference, though. Before I came out to them, Dad and I did a lot of things together. We would go off on weekends visiting digs or walking some ancient trackway. But all that stopped. Once he knew I was gay, he just wasn't there for me anymore."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Trevor, but I just need to get something clear. This was how long ago?" I asked. "You said you were eleven, you're eighteen now."
"It was just over six years, a few weeks before my twelfth birthday. I turned eighteen three weeks ago. Is this important?"
"It might be," I answered. "You'd better get on with the story."
"Right," Trevor replied. "As I said, once I told Dad I was gay, he started to ignore me. He no longer did things with me. He also began to stay out late, often not coming in till I was just about to go up to bed. He would also be away on weekends.
"I had done everything with Dad up till then, but suddenly he did not want to do things with me just because I was gay. I'd always been busy on weekends, and now I had nothing. Then Larry, a friend from school, asked if I would like to go with him as an extra on a film. There was two days' work for boys between nine and thirteen. The only requirement was that you had to wear a white tee-shirt and blue jeans. Larry's mother was taking him. He was supposed to go with his younger brother, but Harry had sprained his ankle in dance class so could not go.
"So, I went. Well, Dad was not around, and there was nothing else to do. There must have been about fifty or sixty boys there. We were in this big warehouse space with piles of boxes all around. They had us hiding behind boxes then running out and dashing around the place. Don't know what it was all about because it never turned up in the final cut."
"It was supposed to be the boys escaping from the slave master," Tyler stated. "I filmed the first scenes where the escape is set up, but then was not available to film the actual escape event. In the end, they killed the whole of that storyline as it was only there to support my character, and my character was being dropped."
"Makes sense," Trevor commented before continuing. "Anyway, Mark Gleeson was the director in charge of the unit. He kept telling us what to do and shouted instructions to us. At one point, I had to run down a passage between piles of boxes, but I tripped and fell into the boxes, which all toppled over. I thought I was in big trouble and started crying, but Mark came over and told me it was fine. He put an arm around me and helped me up, then held me, just like Dad used to do before I told him I was gay.
"Anyway, Mark told me that knocking the boxes over had given him a new idea. He wanted me to do it again, but this time instead of tripping into the boxes by accident, he wanted me to jump up and go into the boxes deliberately. So, we reshot it, and this time I ran down and did a flying jump into the boxes; Mark said it was fantastic, just what he wanted.
"When we broke for lunch, Mark insisted that Larry and myself sit with him. He was asking me all sorts of things about my experience. What had I acted in? What type of dance I did? I had to tell him that I had never acted and I did not dance. He laughed and said I must be a natural.
"At the end of the day, they selected who they wanted for filming for the second day, and neither Larry or me was picked. Larry was a bit disappointed, but I was not surprised. However, just before we left, Mark sent his assistant over to us with instructions to get all our contact details. The next day the studio phoned and asked me to go in for a screen test.
"When we got there, I was very nervous, but Mark came and sat with me and told me not to worry. He said the part was already mine if I wanted it, but they had to do a screen test as a formality. All I had to do was follow his instructions. Then he told me I needed to go to the wardrobe to be given the right costume for the test. I also had to go to make-up. Mark came through with me, explaining everything as we went. Then we did the screen test.
"After the screen test was over, he invited us — my mother was with me — to join him for lunch. Over lunch he told us I had passed the screen test and was a shoo-in for the part of Matthew and would be in four films that were being planned. He then told mother how things worked and that when I was on set or location, I would need to have either an adult family member or a chaperone with me. Mam said she would be with me. Mark told her that was fine; anyway, he would also look after me and said I had great potential.
"He then walked us to the parking area where Mam had been told to leave her car. Just before we got there, we passed another parking area filled with really nice cars. Near the front was a white Lamborghini. It looked fantastic. Mark asked if I liked it; when I said yes, he asked Mam if he could take me for a quick spin in it. She said OK, and Mark took me for a run out in the Lamborghini.
"As we were driving back to the studio, he asked me if I could ride a horse. I told him I had never ridden a horse, so he asked me if I would like to learn. When we got back to the studio, he talked to Mam about it and arranged to pick me up on Saturday to take me for a riding lesson.
"That Saturday, Mark picked me up quite early. I thought we were going to a riding school, but he took me to his own place where he had a couple of horses and a pony. I spent the day with him learning to ride. Had an enjoyable day. Mark was giving me more attention than my father.
"At the end of the day, he said I could use his pool. I pointed out that I had no swimming togs, but he said it did not matter; there was only him there, so I did not need any. I felt a bit awkward, but I stripped off and dived in. Mark said he had to stay around in case I had any problems, but he would be working. He sat at a table with his back to the pool. So, it did not seem so bad.
"When I got out, he came up to me with a big towel, wrapped me in it and dried me off. While he did so, he kept remarking on how nice a body I had. He said I should get an all-over tan; it would look better. Told him that my mother would object if I sunbathed naked. Mark said I did not need to say anything to her and suggested I lie on the lounger for a bit while he finished off his work; then he would take me home.
"The following week, he came over with the contracts for me. Dad went over them very carefully and was quite happy with them. He questioned a couple of things, but Mark had an explanation for everything.
"The week after that, I started training for the film. Mark insisted that I needed to learn to ride correctly and to scuba-dive. He arranged for instructors to give me classes at his place. I never really thought about it before, but I always seemed to end up swimming naked in his pool at the end of every session, and he would dry me off. Then I would lie around on one of the loungers while he finished off some work. He always had work he needed to finish off.
"This must sound as if I was foolish."
"No, it doesn't," Tyler stated. We looked at him. "He did the same with me. Not the riding lessons — I grew up riding — but he got me out to his place for special training and then got me swimming naked in his pool. He seemed to make it, I don't know, seem just normal."
"Yes," Trevor agreed, "it all seemed so normal. Though something must have told me there was something not quite right about it. I never said anything about the swimming to Mam or anyone else."
"Neither did I," Tyler said.
"Anyway, one weekend — it must have been late May — it was unusually hot; he cut my riding lesson short, saying it was too hot to be riding. Once the instructor had left, he took me to the pool and told me to have a good swim to cool off. Once I was in, he stripped off and joined me, saying it was too hot to sit around and work. We swam for a bit and played around in the water, then he said we'd better get out.
"When we did, he dried me off and told me to relax on a lounger and said he would get me a Coke. He went off into the house and then came back with a couple of glasses of Coke. The Coke was ice cold, and it was a sweltering day, so I drank the glass in one go, then mentioned that it tasted different. He picked up his glass and took a drink, then said he had given me the wrong glass. He said the one he had given me was the Bacardi and Coke he had made for himself.
"He asked me what I thought of it. I told him it tasted nice. He finished off his glass and asked if I wanted another drink. It was hot, and I said yes. Then he asked if I would like a plain Coke or a Bacardi and Coke? I thought he was joking, as my parents never let me drink, so said a Bacardi and Coke. He went back into the house and came out with two more glasses. Mine was Bacardi and Coke again.
"I think I must have been a bit drunk by the time I had finished that glass. We were just lying there on the loungers by the pool, and I was feeling very relaxed and a bit sleepy. Anyway, Mark said I'd better be careful not to get too much sun. He had this bottle of lotion and told me I needed some on; otherwise, I would get sunburnt.
"He came and knelt next to my lounger and told me to turn over so he could do my back for me. I did, and he started to put the lotion on and spread it around my back. As he was doing so, he was telling me what a good boy I was and how good my body was. It all felt so nice.
"Once he had done my back, Mark proceeded to work his way down my body, putting lotion on my backside and massaging that; then he dribbled some in my crack and rubbed it in with his finger. I got all tingly when he ran his thumb over my hole. It made my cock go hard.
"After he had done my backside, he did the back of my legs. He slipped his hands up the inside of my thighs and pushed my backside apart, running his fingers over my hole. Then he told me to turn over. I was embarrassed because I knew I was hard and said I didn't want to. He slipped his hand under me and felt my cock, asking if that was why I did not want to turn over. I told him yes, and he laughed, saying I should look at him and he was hard as well. So, I looked at him, and he was. As I looked, he just pushed me over and started to rub the lotion on my front. He did my chest, abdomen and legs, then worked his way up the inside of my thighs till he was rubbing my cock and balls.
"It really felt good, and he asked me if I liked it. I told him yes; then he said I would like this more and started wanking me. It really felt good, much better than when I had done it at home. He just kept going past the point where I thought I was going to piss — at home, I usually stopped then — and I had my first orgasm. It was dry, of course.
"After that, he told me I should help him with sun lotion, so I did. He kept telling me what I had to do. I ended up wanking him. As I did, he put his hand down and started playing with me again.
"The following Monday, we started actual filming. I had been going to the studio for the previous couple of weeks for rehearsals and fittings but only for two or three days a week and never for more than three hours. This was the first full day of shooting. We had to be there at seven and were told we might be there till late.
"Mark really made me feel important. He was always checking on me to make sure I was OK, seeing if there was anything I wanted. He made me feel that I mattered, even though I only had a few bits of filming. Actually, I don't think I was on set more than a couple of shots in that first week. I wasn't required for the Friday filming and missed seeing Mark, but he called to confirm my riding lesson on Saturday and said he would have to pick me up a bit earlier as he had a lot of work on.
"Anyway, on Saturday he picked me up just after eight; it was usually about ten when he collected me for my riding lessons. When we got to his place, there was no sign of the instructor. Mark told me to wait by the stables, and he went into the house. He came back out a few minutes later and said there had been a mix-up, and the instructor hadn't been booked. Mark apologised but said he would take me out for a ride. He got his stable boy to get two horses out — until then I had only been riding on the pony — and took me out.
"It was a lot harder riding than I had done with the instructor, and I felt it, getting slightly sore by the time we got back to the stable. Mark said we needed to do something about that and the best thing was a sauna. He asked me if I wanted a drink, and I said yes; it had been a hot morning and riding had made me thirsty, so he got me a large Coke, again with Bacardi in it. Once I had finished my drink, Mark went into his office to make a phone call, then we went down to the basement, where he had his sauna and steam room. There was a big shower that you could get a lot of people in. He started to strip and told me to strip and get in the shower. By now, I was used to being naked with Mark around, so it was not a problem. We showered and then went into the steam room, which really felt nice.
"Mark told me to lie down next to him in the steam room, and he started to stroke my body. Then he started wanking me and started kissing me. Suddenly the steam-room door opened, and someone stepped in. I began to jump up, but Mark held me and told me it was all right, it was only Dean, who had come to see him. He told me that when Dean was my age, he used to come and play with him.
"I felt a bit odd, but then Dean started to kiss and wank Mark while Mark continued to kiss me. Then I saw Dean starting to suck Mark, and Mark told him that he should suck me as well, which he did. It felt great. After a while, Mark said we had spent long enough in the steam room and should get in the spa bath. He told Dean to get us some drinks before he got in; Dean came back with Cokes for all of us; mine had Bacardi in it again, but I wasn't complaining; I quite liked it.
"Mark asked me if I thought Dean had a nice body, and I said yes. He then told Dean to stand up, which Dean did, and told me to touch his cock, saying it was a nice cock. He then told me I should taste it. He said Dean had tasted mine so I should taste his, so I licked the end. Mark said I should do it again, and as I did, Dean grabbed my head and pushed his cock into my mouth. For a moment I thought I was going to choke, but then Dean pulled back, and it was not too bad. Mark started to tell me how to suck cock and that I was a very good boy and was doing very well.
"I don't remember much after that, though I think I sucked Mark as well. I know that I woke up later on a bed thing they had down there, and Mark told me I had done very well and he was delighted with me.
"After that, for the next three weeks that we were filming on set, I went over to Mark's every Saturday. One weekend, I actually stayed overnight. Mark had told Mam that we would be late on Saturday and he had arranged an early lesson for me on Sunday morning, and it would be easier for me to stay overnight than for him to bring me home only to collect me a few hours later.
"He made no pretence with me that I was going for riding lessons. He told me that we would be having fun, and that weekend he told me he had a couple of friends and some other boys coming over. There were about eight other boys there, from my age up to about fifteen. Dean was there along with two older men. I knew a couple of the boys from the film, and one of the older men was one of the cameramen. He had brought a video camera with him.
"I started to get a bit nervous when the other boys and men started to arrive, but Dean said it was all OK. I told him I felt sick, and he said he had something for that and gave me a tablet to take. It did make me feel better but also fuzzy."
"We all went down to the basement, and the boys and men started to undress. I was a bit shy, but Mark and Dean told me there was nothing to worry about, and they undressed me. Dean gave me a Bacardi and Coke — more Bacardi than Coke. Mark put on a DVD of men and boys having sex. It was the first time I had seen boys being fucked. When I mentioned it, Mark laughed and said I would see a lot more tonight.
"I don't really remember much else; it all seemed a bit strange — as if I wasn't there. I think some of the older boys were fucking the younger boys, and I remember sucking Mark and Dean and someone sucking me, but then it all goes a bit blank. The following morning, I woke up in bed between Mark and Dean with my arse hurting. Mark told me I had been a very good boy and was really special. He said I would go a long way in the business and would be a star. I told him that my arse hurt, but Mark said that I would soon get used to it and that he had some cream that would help. He took me into the bathroom and got this tube out with an applicator on it that he pushed into my arse. Don't know what it was, but it did help.
"The following week the unit started to move to the location, so I was not on set so much. Dean came over to pick me up one day, having phoned up to say that they needed me to do some promotional shots. I thought he would take me to the studio, but he took me to Mark's and took some photos of me there. Dean had not been at it very long when Mark came in and asked me to pose nude. Said he wanted some individual pictures of me for himself.
"By that time, I think I would have done anything for Mark. He was taking a much bigger interest in me than my dad did or ever had. I really felt that I was special to Mark and that he was looking after me. He made me feel… important is not the right word, but someone that mattered.
"The first week that we were on location, mother was with me, but on Friday she got a telephone call that her sister was ill. She spoke to Mark, and he said she should go home and he would look after me. Told her that one of the production assistants I knew would chaperone me; that was Dean. He immediately moved me from the room that had been allocated to mother and me and up to the top floor where his suite was located. My room was next to his suite, and there was a connecting door to it. From that night for the rest of the location filming I would go to my room. Then when Mark came to bed, he would open the connecting door and call me through to join him; sometimes Dean would be there, as well. Sometimes there would be some other boy.
"I asked him one night after the boy who had come up had left, why he had other boys come. They were all older than me. He told me that some nights he felt like fucking a boy, so he got Dean to find him someone. I told him he could always fuck me. He took up the offer. It hurt a lot to start with, but I felt he deserved it; he was doing so much for me. Anyway, I soon began to enjoy it.
"End of July we finished the location work, and there was to be a six-week break before we were back in the studio. Mark told me that there was another project they had to get finished before they could get into the studio but promised he would see me at the end of August. About four weeks later, Dean phoned, saying I was needed for fitting and he would be picking me up that afternoon.
"He picked me up but rather than take me to the studio, took me to his flat near the West End. He told me that Mark was in trouble with the police because he had had sex with Tyler. Dean said that Tyler and Mark would not be coming to the filming. I started to cry then, but Dean put his arm around me and told me that as long as I did what he said, I would still be in the film and he would make sure I did well. He said I must not tell anyone about the sex with Mark or anyone else. Also, that I would need to keep certain other men happy now; Mark was not there to look after me. I asked him what he meant, and he told me I would have to have sex with them. I told him I did not like going with men other than Mark. Dean told me I had been with him. I said yes but only to please Mark and that I did not really like it. He laughed and told me I'd better learn to like it.
"I asked him what would happen if I did not do what he said. Dean switched on his computer and loaded up some pictures. They showed me sucking cock, getting fucked, and there were some of me fucking a much younger boy. I could not remember doing that and told Dean. He just laughed and told me I was so out of my mind that night I would not remember if I had fucked the dog. He then said to me that now I did not have Mark to protect me, I have to do what I was told. I told him I did not want to, but Dean said I had to or they would send the photos to my Mam, so I might as well start right there and then.
"He started off by fucking me, then he took me to a house near Hendon where the cameraman lived. He fucked me and then got a couple of boys to come round and filmed them fucking me. I was crying by the end. The cameraman came and put his arms around me and told me I had done very well, and he was pleased with me. He said as long as I did as I was told and did not tell anyone, I would be OK and he would see that I did well in films.
"It's been like that for the last five years. They've been telling me who to have sex with and made me take part in porno shoots, some with quite young boys. It's made me feel sick, but there was nothing I could do and nobody I could talk to. When this part came up, I thought I might finally be able to get out of Dean's clutches. Then Tyler walks in, the one person who I believed caused it all." At this point, the tears Trevor had been holding back spewed forth. He started sobbing. Tyler went over and put his arms around Trevor.
"Fuck!" Allen exclaimed. "That bastard caused a mess."
"Yes," Ben answered, "but one we can help sort out. The question is, what does Trevor want to have done?"
"Do I have a choice?" Trevor asked.
"You always have a choice," Ben replied. "We may not agree with it, and we may try to persuade you differently, but you have a choice, and we will support you in whatever you want to do."
"That's right, Trevor," Phil added. "We will do whatever is needed to help you. If you want to delay the start of filming to give yourself time to sort this out, we can; we are not so far along that the schedule is set in stone."
"You still want me, knowing what I've done. If it gets out, it will ruin the film."
"I doubt it. Yes, we still want you, Trevor. You are perfect for the part; you're a good actor. There are not that many actors around of your age who can handle a part like this."
"What about those photos and the videos; if they come out, they'll ruin me."
"Then we will just have to see what we can do to stop them, won't we?" Allen stated. "I think we can safely say they are not on the web yet; otherwise, they would have surfaced before now. More likely, they have been distributed very privately. The first question is, who is this Dean?"
"Andrew Mayers," Tyler responded. "Dean was his nickname; somebody once said he looked like James Dean. He was a production assistant back then. Still is, I think. Technically, he worked for the studio but always seemed to be working on projects for Mark Gleeson."
"Shit!" Allen exclaimed.
"What is it?" Phil asked.
"Andrew Mayers was the production staff member who was with Mark Gleeson at the pool when Tyler's Tizer was spiked. I bet it was Mayers who did it. No doubt, him and Gleeson intended to share the boy.
"Look I've got some contacts in the police, a couple from that case. I might ask a few questions. If I remember right, they searched Mayers' place looking for the source of the Diazepam but found nothing, but that was a house near Bedford. There was no mention of a place in London."
Trevor looked absolutely shattered, and I suggested that he should go to bed and try and get a good night's sleep. Ben asked if he thought he needed anything to help him sleep; they had a doctor on call for the house that they could get in. Trevor declined the offer. As he did not know his way around this part of the house, I said I would guide him back to his room.
We had just stepped through into the central corridor when Johnny came around a corner. "Dad, I've been looking for you." Then he looked at Trevor. "Are you all right, man?"
"Look, Johnny, Trevor has had a bit of a nasty shock and is upset. I need to get him to his room. Can you go and get the lift for us, please?" Johnny nodded and ran off up the corridor. Fortunately, we could get to the lift without having to go through the hall or enter any of the formal rooms. I waved Johnny off. We got to Trevor's room without anyone else seeing us.
Once I got Trevor inside, I asked him if he was OK and if he needed anything.
"A bloody good shower. I feel so dirty," Trevor replied.
"You're not dirty, and you did nothing wrong. It's those men who used you who are dirty, and you were used, even if they did trick you into going along with it."
"Thanks, Mike. Wish my dad was more like you; he just ignores me because I'm gay."
"I don't think that is the case."
"What do you mean?" Trevor asked.
"There is something else you probably do not know. It's not a secret, but those that are in the know have done their best to not spread it around. Do you know the name of the agency your father works for?"
"Yes, Martha Hartmann. She is said to be one of the best in the business."
"She was," I responded.
"What do you mean was?"
"Martha," I told him, "had a stroke just over six years ago. Since then, she has been incapable of running the business. Your father has been running it. Martha has been nothing more than a figurehead for the last six years.
"That's why your father has been ignoring you. He's been too busy. I'm not making an excuse for him; he should have paid you more attention. His ignoring you had nothing to do with you being gay; I think you'll find he was ignoring your mother, brother and sister as well."
"Thanks for telling me, Mike. I think I am going to have to do a lot of sorting out in the next few days."
"You probably will, Trevor, but if I can help, call on me."
"Johnny's right, he is bloody lucky; he has a great dad."
I smiled, told him to get that shower and left. As I walked back down to the main rooms to find my wife and son, I could not help wondering what the next day would bring.