Stage 1 - Goodbye, Mr Hollywood

G O O D B Y E , M R H O L L Y \ i l O O D 'The girl suddenly took Nick's face between her hands, and kissed him on the mouth' "Drive carefully, Mr Hollywood. Goodbye," she said, with a big, beautiful smile. Then she turned and walked quickly away.' Nick Lortz doesn't understand. He oiily met the girl ten minutes ago when she came and sat next to him in the caf6. So why does she kiss him when she leaves? And why does she rcall him 'Mr Hollywood'? He thinks about these questions when he is driving to Vancouver, but he doesn't find the answers. And there is one more thing that Nick doesn't know. Somebody is listeriing when the girl says goodbye to him - somebody who is very interested in the name'Mr Hollywood'. And in Vancouver Nick soon learns that it's not a friendly interest . . . -/ O X F O R D B O O K V O R M S L I B R A R Y Thriller dy Aduenture Goodbye, Mr Hollywood Stage 1 (400 headwords) Series Editor: Jennifer Bassett Founder Editor: Trieia Hedge Activities Editors: Jennifer Bassett and Alison Baxter E S C O T T Goodby., Mr Flollywood OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6Dp Oxford University press is a department of the Universiw ofoxford. It furthers the Udversity's objective ofexcellence in researah, scholarshiD, and education by publishing worldwide ia O>trord Newyork Auckland CapeTom Dares Salaam HongKong IGrachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melboune Mexico City Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With ofices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece cuatemala Hungary Italy Japan poland portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Thrkey tftraine Vietnam oxFoRD and oxFoRD ENcLrsH ue registered trade marks of Oxford Uuive$ity press in the UK and in certait other coutries This edifion O Oxford Unive$ity press 2oo8 The moral rights ofthe author have been asserted Database dght Oxford University press (maker) First published in Oxford Bookworms t997 2 4 6 8 7 0 9 7 5 3 1 No unauthorized photocopying You must not cirolate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Any websites refered to itr this publication are in the Dublic domain and theiruddresses are provided by Oxford University press ior infomation only. Oxford University press discLairu my resposibility for t}Ie content rsBN 978 o 19 478905 9 A complete recording of this Bookwoms edition of Goodbye, Mr Ho:tlywood is available on audio CD rsBN 978 o 79 478840 3 pdnted in Hong Kong ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS lllwtrated b/: paul Dickinson Word cout (main text): 52OO words For more infomation on the Oford Bookworms Library, visit M.oup.cotrVelvbookwoms 7 2 4 5 6 7 8 C O N T E N T S STORY INTRODUCTION Mystery girl A hand in the back A walk in the park The man with white hair Vancouver Island A tea party At the police station A nice smile GLOSSARY ACTIVITIES : Before Reading ACTIVITIES : While Reading ACTIVITIES : After Reading ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE BOOK'WORMS LIBRARY 1 9 L 4 18 22 28 34 39 4'1. 44 45 48 52 53 - 1 Mystery ginl It all began on a beautiful spring morning in a village called Whistler, in Canada- apretty little village in the mountains of British Columbia. There was a caf6. inthe village, with tables outside, and at one of these tables sat a young man. He finished his breakfast, drank his coffee, looked up into the blue sky, and felt the warm sun on his face. Nick Lortz was a h"ppy man, The waiter came up to his table. 'Mote coffee?'he asked. 'Yeah. Great,' said Nick. He gave the waiter his coffee cup. The waiter looked at the camera on the table. 'On vacation?' he said. '\fhere are you from?' 'On uacation?' 1, Goodbye, Mr Hollywood 'San Francisco,' Nick said. He laughed. ,But I,m not on vacation - I'm working. I,m a travelwriter, and I,m doing a book on mountains in North America. I've got some great pictures of your mountain., The two men looked up ar Whistler Mountain behind the village. It looked very beautiful in the morning sun. 'Do you travel a lot, then?, asked the waiter. 'All the time,'Nick said. ,I write books, and I write for travel magazines. I write about everything _ different countries, towns, villages, rivers, mountains, people . . ., The waiter looked over Nick's head. ,There,s a across the street,'he said. ,Do you know her?' Nick turned his head and looked. ,No,I don,r., '\flell, she knows you, I think,' the waiter said. ,She,s watching you very carefully., He gave Nick a smile. .Have a nice day!'He went away, back into the caf6. Nick looked at the girl across the streer. She was about twenty-five, and she was very pretty. ,She is watching me,, Nick thought. Then the girl rurned and looked in one of the shop windows. After a second or rwo, she looked back at Nick again. Nick watched her. ,She looks worried,' he thought. '\fhat's she doing? Is she waiting for somebody?, Suddenly, the girl smiled. Then she walked across rhe street, came up to Nick's table, and sat down. She put her bag down on the table. The bag was half_open. Mystery girl The girl cdme up to Nick's table. 'Hi! I 'm Jan,' she said. 'Do you remember me? \7e met at a party in Toronto.' 'Hi, Jan,' said Nick. He smiled. 'I 'm Nick. But we didn't meet at aparty in Toronto. I don't go to parties very often, and never in Toronto.' ! Goodbye, Mr Hollywood 'Oh,'rhe girl said. But she didn't get up or move away. 'Have some coffee,' said Nick. The story about the party in Toronto wasn't true, but it was a beautiful morning, and she was a pretty gir l . ,Maybe i t was a party in Montr6al. Or New York.' The girl laughed. 'OK. Maybe ir was. And yes, I'd love some coffee.' \il/hen she had her coffee, Nick asked, ,Whar are vou doing in \)Thistler? Or do you live here?, 'Oh no,' she said. 'I 'm just, er, just travelling through. And what are you doing here?' 'I 'm a travel writer,' Nick said, ,and I,m writing a book about famous mountains. ' 'That's interesting,' she said. But her face was worried. not interested, and she looked across the road again. A man with very shorr, white hair walked across the road. He was abour sixry years old, and he was tall and thin. The girl watched him. 'Are you waiting for someone?' asked Nick. 'No,'she said quickly. Then she asked, ,\7here are vou going next, Nick?' 'To Vancouver, for three or four days,'he said. '\7hen are you going?' she asked. 'Later this morning,' he said. There was a letter in the top of the girl 's half-open bag. Nick could see some of the wri t ing, and he read i t because he saw the word Mystery girl 'Vancouver' - . . . and we can meet at the Empress Hotel, Victoria,Vancouuer lsland, on Friday afternoon . ' . 'So she's going to Vancouver too'' he thought. Suddenly the girl said, 'Do you like movies?' 'Movies? Yes, I love movies, 'he said' "Why?' 'I know a man, and he - he loves movies, and going to the c inema, ' she sa id s lowly . 'Peop le ca l l h im "Mr 'Are you waiting for someone?' ask-ed Nick ' 5 Goodbye, Mr Hollywood Hollywood".' She smiled at Nick. ,Can I call you ,,Mr Hollywood" roo?' Nick laughed. 'OK, 'he said. ,And what can I cal l you?, She smiled again. ,Call me Mystery Girl,, she said. 'That's a good name for you,, said Nick. Just then, the man with white hair came into the caf6. He did not look at Nick or the girl, but he sat at a table near them. He asked the waiter for some breakfast. then he began to read a magazine. The girl looked at the man, then quickly looked away agarn. 'Do you know him?,Nick asked her. 'No,' she said. She finished her coffee quickly and got up. ' I must go now, 'she said. Nick stood up, too. .\Jiss 16-, he began. But the girl suddenly took his face between her hands, and kissed him on the mouth. ,Drive careful ly, Mr Hollywood. Goodbye,,she said, with a big, beautiful smile. Then she rurned and walked quickly away. Nick sat down again and watched her. She walked down the road and into a big hotel. 'Now what, ' thought Nick, ,was that al l about?, The man with white h"i, *urch.d Nick and waited. After four or five minutes, Nick finished his coffee, took his books and his camera, and left the caf6. His car was just outside Mystery girl 'Driue carefully, Mr Hollywood.' the girl 's hotel, and he walked slowly along the street to it. The man with white hair waited a second, then quickly followed Nick. Goodbye, Mr Hollywood From a window high up in the hotel, the girl looked down into the road. She saw Nick, and the man with white hair about fifty yards behind him. Nick got into his car, and the man with white hair walked quickly to a red car across the street. Five seconds later Nick drove away in his blue car, and the red car began to follow him. Vhen the girl saw this, she smiled, then went ro pur some things in her travel bag. Tbe man with white hair walk-ed quicl<.ly to a red cAr ^ closs the street. - 2 - A hand in the back That evening, in his hotel room in Vancouver, Nick could not stop thinking about the girl in the Whistler caf6. \7hy did she come and sit with him? She didn't know him, and that story about a party in Toronto wasn't true. And she was worried about something. But what? And that kiss! It was nice, of course, but why did she do it? 'Maybe she liked my face,' Nick thought. 'Or my brown eyes. But I'm not going to see her again, so it doesn't matter. Forget it. ' He put some money in his pocket and went downstairs to the hotel restaurant. But there were no free tables, so he walked down to Gastown and found a restaurant there. After dinner, he went for a walk. Vancouver was a friendly city, and Nick liked walking through Gastown and Chinatown, looking in the shops and watching the people. It was nearly dark now, and it was a busy time of the evening. There were a lot of cars, and a lot of people. After a time, Nick began to walk back to his hotel. He came to a busy street, and waited, with a small crowd of people, to go across. A tall woman in a blue dress stood next to him. She turned and smiled at him. Goodbye, Mr Hollywood 'It's the first warm evening of spring,' she said. ,It 's nice to be out, after the long cold winter.' 'Yeah,' said Nick. 'It 's great. l1'5-' Suddenly, there was a hand in his back - and the hand pushed Nick into the road. Nick fell on his face, in front of a big green car. People screamed. But the green car stopped, only inches from Nick,s head. The woman in the blue dress ran inro the road and pulled Nick to his feet. 'Are you OK? \fhat happened?' she said. The driver of the green car shouted angrily at Nick, but Nick did not hear him. A hand in the back 'Somebody pushed me,'he said to rhe woman. ,I didn't fall - somebody pushed me!' 'Pushed you?' said the woman. ' \7ho? I didn' t see anybody. ' Nick looked at the faces of the people near him, but he didn't know them. Then he saw a man's back. The man was tall and thin, and had very short white hair. He walked quickly away down the street, and did not look back. 'Hey, you! 'Nick shouted. 'Wait ! ' But the man did not stop, and he was soon lost in the crowds. 'Did he push you?' asked the woman in the blue dress. q * ! Nick fell on his face, in front of a big green cdr. 10 Goodbye, Mr HoLlywood 'I . . . I don' tknow,' Nick said. 'Do you know him?'she asked. 'I don't know his name,' Nick said. 'But I know that short white hair. Now where did I see it before?' The woman began to move away. 'I must get home,' she said. 'Are you OK now?' 'Yeah,I'm OK,'Nick said. 'And thanks. Thanks for your help. ' 'That 's OK. 'The woman smiled. 'Be careful now! ' Back in his hotel, Nl.t r"t-on nt, O.O and thoughr. ,k was an accident. Nobody pushed me, i t was an accident. Nobody wants to kill me. And there are hundreds of men in Vancouver with white hair.' It was one o'clock in the morning, but Nick couldn't sleep. He listened to rhe cars in the road, and he looked at the night sky through his hotel room window. Then he sat ar the table and tried to wrire sorne more of his book about mountains, but he couldn't think about his work. He got back into bed. There were four or five magazines in the hotel room. They were not very interesting, but Nick sat in bed and opened one . . . and saw a photo of 'Mystery Girl'! He looked at the picture very carefully. But, yes, it was her!Jan, the girl from the'Whistler caf6. She was next to a man of about fifty or fifty-five, and 12 13 A hand in the back Nick sat in bed and opened one . . . and saw a photo of they were in the garden of a big, expensive house. They smiled at the camera) and they looked very happy. Canadian mil l ionaire, Howard Hutson, and his daughter, Meg, it said under the picture, at their bome in Toronto. Meg Hutson! Not Jan. Not Mystery Girl. Meg Hutson, the daughter of a millionaire! Nick read it again. 'Why did she come and sit with me in the cafe at Whistler?' he thought. 'Millionaires' daushrers don'r sir Goodbye, Mr Hollywood with strangers in caf6s, and then give them a big kiss when they leave! Why did she do it? \fhat did she wanr?' He thought back to ,fr. .nf. in Wt irrt.r, and the girl next to him at the table. Then he remembered something. He remembered a man at a table near rhem in the caft.. A tall thin man, about sixty years old. A man with very short white hair. Nick didn't sleep much that night. - 5 - A walk in the pank The next day was Thursday. Nick stayed in his hotel room and wrote about mountains all morning. Then he drove to Stanley Park in the afternoon. He sat and read a book for an hour, then he went for a walk under the tall trees. There was nobody here. It was quiet, and he could walk and think. He thought abour Meg Hutson, and about the man with white hair. Did he know Meg Hutson? Did she know him? He remembered Meg Hutson's last words. Driue carefully, Mr Hollywood. Why did she say that? \ fhy did she cal l him Mr Hollywood? He didn't understand any of it. Suddenlv. he heard a noise. A walk in tbe park He stopped. 'That was a gun! ' he thought. ,There,s somebody in the trees with a gun! There it is again!' Then something hit the tree over his head. 'Somebody's shooting at me!'Nick thought. He turned and ran. And somebody began ro run after him. Nick turned and ran. I4 15 Goodbye, Mr Hollywood Nick ran through the trees. There was no sun in here, and it was half-dark. And rhere were no people. Nobody to help him. ' I must get to my car, ' Nick thought. 'Find some people . . . thepol ice. . . ' He ran on. He could still hear the gunman behind him, so he ran faster. After three or four minutes, he stopped and listened. Nothing. It was all quiet. Nick was afraid. '\7har's happening?'he thought. 'ril/hy is somebody shooting at me? First a hand pushes me in front of a car, and now somebody's shooting at me!' He waited another second or two, then walked quickly back to his car. He was very careful. He looked and listened all the time. But nobody came out of the trees, and nobody shot at him. Then he saw people - women with young children, some boys with a football, two men with a dog. He began to feel better. 'Nobody can shoot me now,' he thought. 'Not with all these people here.' Ten minutes later. he was back at his car. There was a letter on the window. Nick read it. It said: I'm going to kill you, Mr Hollywood. Nick drove to rhe ,r."r.rl no'Ir.. ,r",ton. He waited for half an hour, then a tired young policeman took him into a small room. Nick told his story, and the policeman wrote it all down. A walk in the park 'Hou many people are tbere in this town with guns?' 'So what are you going to do?' asked Nick. 'Nothing,' said the policeman. 'Nothing!'said Nick. 'But somebody shot at me, and-, 'Mr Lortz,' the policeman said tiredly. 'How many people are there in this town with guns?' ' I don' t know, 'said Nick. 'But . . . ' 'You didn't see the gunman. Was it a man, a boy, a woman? Colour of eyes? Long hair, short hair? you don'r know, because you didn't see anybody. Maybe it was an 16 t7 Goodbye, Mr Hollywood old girlfriend. Maybe somebody doesn't like your travel books, Mr Lortz.' 'But what about the man with white hair in \Thistler?, said Nick. 'The girl, Meg Hutson, called me Mr Hollywood in the caf6, and this man heard her. And now I get a letter to Mr Hollywood onmy car. XTho ls this Mr Hollywood?, '\7e all want answers to our questions, Mr Lortzr, the policeman said, 'but we don't always get them.' Questions. But no answers. Nick walked out of the police starion and drove to his hotel. He was angry, and afraid. 'How did the man with white hair f ind me in vancouver?'he thoughr. 'Did he follow me from $Thistrer? Is he following me now? Maybe he's sraying at my hotel, too. In rhe next room. 'V7ith his gun., - 4 - The man with white hair The man with white hair said to the woman behind the desk. 'He's staying here, I think. He's about sixty years old, and he's tall and thin.' The woman did not look very interested. 'There are a lot of visitors in the hotel,' she said. 'Do you know his name?' 'No, I don'tr' Nick said. 'He's, er, a friend of a friend, you see. He arrived in Vancouver yesterday, and I must find him. It's very imporranr. Please help me!, The woman looked at him. 'There are three hundred and fifty rooms in this horel,' she said, 'and maybe thirty or forry men with white hair. How can I remember all their Nick stopped his car in front of the carefully before he got out, but there hotel . He looked was nobody with white hair near the hotel. He half-ran through the hotel doors and wenr to the desk inside. 'I 'm looking for a man with very short white hair,, he 'It's uery important. Please help me!' 1 8 19 Goodbye, Mr Hollywood names?' She turned away to answer a telephone call. Nick walked away from the desk. 'A drink,'he thought. 'I need a drink.'He wenr into the hotel bar, got a drink and sat down at a table. 'So what do I do now?' he thought. And then he remembered something. A letter in the sirl,s half-open bag in the 'tJThistle r caf6. . . . and we can meet dt the Empress Hotel, Victoria, Vancouuer Island, on Friday afternoon . . . And tomorrow was Friday. 'I 'm going to Victoria, on Vancouver Island!'he thought. 'To the Empress Hotel!' The boy and Nick" fell down on the floor, 20 The man with white har Nick had dinner in the hotel that evening. He finished eating and got up from his table . . . and saw the man with white hair. Nick moved quickly. The man was at the hotel desk. Nick could see the white head above the other heads near the desk. 'Excuse me!' said Nick. He pushed past the people in the hotel restaurant. A small boy ran in front of him and Nick ran into him. The boy and Nick fell down on the floor. The boy began to cry. 'Hey!' said a woman behind Nick. 'I 'm very sorry!' said Nick. He got up and helped the , ! t.:"\ 21 Goodbye, Mr Hollywood boy to his feet. 'Are you OI(?'he asked the boy. 'Be more careful next time,, said the woman. Nick moved away quickly, but when he looked back at the hotel desk, he couldn,t see rhe man with white hair. He pushed through the crowd of people. 'That man!'he shouted ar the woman behind the desk. 'That man with short white hair. \X/here did he go?, The woman looked at Nick. ,Mr Vickers?,she said. ,I don' t know. ' 'Vickers? Is that his name?, said Nick. ..Whar,s his room number?' ' I 'm sorry, I can' t tel l you that, ' the woman said. 'But I need to-, began Nick. The woman turned away to answer the telephone. After a second or two) Nick went upstairs to his room. 'Vickers,' he thought. .Does Meg Hutson know Mr Vickers? I need some answers, and I need them quickly!, - 5 _ - Vancouven lsland Tsawwassen was about twenty_three miles south of Vancouver. Nick drove there in his car the next morning for the one o'clock ferry ro Vancouver Island. Eu.ry fiu. minut