‘Anything?’ Lily asked quietly. She had come into the study to check on Ceri who was going over news sources on the Internet. Normally the half-succubus would have been glued to the evening news, but the lounge was full of people who could do without knowing what the media thought of Suzie’s death.
‘Something,’ Ceri replied, ‘but not much. I’ve found no mention of Carter, which is a plus.’
‘Between the Greycoats and his own media control, I’m not too surprised.’
‘It probably helps that Suzie got pushed off the top story spot fairly quickly.’ Lily raised an eyebrow and Ceri gave a little shrug in reply. ‘A witch died in a fire in the New Forest, suspicious circumstances and public, so there’s more for the press to go on. Suzie’s death got some heavy initial coverage, but the cops clamped down on the details so there’s not much to keep the interest going.’
Lily nodded. ‘Good. Tomorrow we’ll go talk to one of my old contacts. Information gathering. You up for it?’
‘Of course. I do it all the time, y’know?’
The half-succubus patter her on the shoulder. ‘Not like this, love.’
Muswell Hill, August 22nd
‘Why are we in Muswell Hill?’ Ceri asked. Getting there had not been fun. Highgate tube was on the Northern line at least so they had not had to change going north from the Oval. But then Lily had got on a bus! Ceri hated busses more than cars.
‘Jessie Leonard lives up here,’ Lily replied, watching the Edwardian terraces whip past. ‘She worked in all kinds of film, even did a few straight pieces. Played a vampire’s victim in one of Hammer’s Dracula series. She knows more about what’s going on on both sides of the legal divide than anyone I know.’
‘And we’re dressed like hookers because?’ That had just made the entire process so much more fun. Ceri’s skirt barely covered her arse and the high-hipped, thong-backed teddy she was wearing was mesh with enough lace to cover vital areas. Lily had put on a mini-dress which hugged her amazing figure and was translucent enough that her lack of underwear was very apparent. Ceri was in four inch sling-backs while Lily had opted for thigh boots with equally high heels. The looks they had got on the tube had been hungry. Out here in suburbia they were getting evil glares and surreptitious, lust-filled glances.
‘Jessie’s bi and she talks more when there’s something attractive to look at. Besides, I want her to think I’m interested because I might be going back into the business. It’ll make her more comfortable than if we go in as cops.’ Reaching up to a button mounted on the pole beside their seat, she pressed it and there was a ding noise. ‘Up you get, I’m sure you want off this thing more than I do.’
Ceri so wanted off the bus. She managed to stand and make her way to the door despite the braking and having to balance on her heels. As soon as they were off, Lily crossed the road and led the way into Church Crescent. Ceri chuckled. ‘Porn actress living on Church Crescent. How appropriate.’
‘She hasn’t acted in years. She runs a casting business these days.’
They walked up the crescent, which seemed to be straight, for about fifty yards before Lily turned off and walked up to a well maintained, attractive house with a bay window and a porch over the front door. She pressed the doorbell and waited. Out of the corner of her eye, Ceri saw the curtains on the bay twitch. A few seconds later the door was flung open.
Jessie Leonard had a gorgeous smile. Probably in her fifties, she was keeping her looks well; there were a few laughter lines around her eyes and mouth, but her feminine, high-cheekboned face was still very attractive and she had kept a trim figure with wide hips, a narrow waist, and firm, but not overly large breasts. Her legs were holding up nicely as well, quite visibly since she was dressed in a short, silk wrap, and there was no grey in her black, bobbed hair.
‘Lilith! You look as gorgeous as ever, dear.’ Her voice was soft and almost musical with no hint of an accent. ‘And you’ve brought a friend. It must be my lucky day.’
Lily smiled back. ‘We talked about this, Jessie. Lilith on a set, Lily off.’
Jessie blushed prettily. ‘Of course, I always thought you made such a wonderful Lilith though.’ Considering that Lily’s birth name was Lilith, her mother had thought it was a good name too.
‘This is Ceri,’ Lily said. ‘I brought her along to have a chat, catch up on what’s going on in the business, y’know?’
Jessie stepped back into the hallway beyond. ‘Come on in then,’ she said. ‘Go through into the lounge and I’ll get some drinks sorted out.’
Lily followed her in, leaving Ceri to shut the door behind them. They turned into the room with the bay window; a large, open room with a big fireplace at one side and a ring of chairs and couches in the bay, set around a low table. The furniture was all modern reproductions of Victorian designs, as best Ceri could tell. Everything looked expensive, clean, and tidy. Jessie seemed like a meticulous woman, not quite the image Ceri had had before meeting her.
‘Sit over there,’ Lily said quietly, pointing at the loveseat under the window. ‘Try to act a little submissive. She’ll like that.’
Giving her pet a glance and a little frown, Ceri crossed to the seat and perched on the edge of it, sitting with her knees together. Lily sprawled on the matching couch opposite, arranging herself so that it would be far easier for Jessie to sit in one of the two armchairs, or beside Ceri. Ceri felt unaccountably nervous. Perhaps it was the lack of control; Lily was running this one where she normally sat back and allowed Ceri to take charge. Perhaps it was the idea of playing the honey in the trap for a woman twice her age.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Lily said, her voice still quiet. ‘The hint of nervousness is good.’
‘Well, how are you keeping, Lily dear?’ Jessie strutted into the room with a bottle of white wine and three glasses. She placed the glasses down on the table and began to pour, her gaze taking in the seating arrangement with a knowing smile. Ceri knew she would sit down beside her.
‘Pretty good. Quiet life, y’know? But all the sex I could want,’ Lily replied. ‘You?’
Jessie laughed and slipped onto the seat beside Ceri. Her robe fell away from her thighs and she did not bother to rearrange it. ‘Quiet,’ she said, ‘the business is doing reasonably well. I doubt I could ever get as much sex as I want, but I still seem to be able to attract a few fish with this old body.’
‘Ha!’ Lily barked out a laugh. ‘You might be porn-old, but you’ll be getting laid when you’re seventy. Isn’t that right, Ceri?’
Surprised to be included in the conversation, Ceri blinked uncertainly. ‘Uh, yes, you’re really… sexy, ma’am.’
Another melodic laugh filled the room and Jessie’s hand landed on Ceri’s thigh as she leaned slightly closer, acting conspiratorial. ‘It’s sweet of you to say so, dear. Call me Jessie, I’m not your mother.’ She leaned away again, but the hand did not leave. ‘So, what did you want to chat about?’ She sipped her wine and smiled across at Lily.
‘General gossip,’ Lily replied. ‘I need to know what’s going on in the business.’
‘Thinking of coming back?’
‘It depends. The extra money wouldn’t hurt, though if we can get Ceri in it would be more convenient for me.’ Ceri suppressed the gasp which threatened to come out. Lily was painting her as the submissive, willing to go into porn to support her mistress. Well, it was not like Ceri had not played the role of Lily’s pet before.
‘New blood is always a draw,’ Jessie mused. Her hand squeezed Ceri’s thigh. ‘Well, there are… five productions I’m casting for at the moment. All of them have their main stars in place, but there’s still room for a few more girls to be slotted in. She’d have to start at the bottom, of course. Small scenes, maybe a few parts as an extra. I can get her in front of Paul Hoffer for sure, he loves smaller breasts. Marty Dean wants girls for an orgy scene…’
‘You think she’s got some promise?’ Lily asked.
Jessie turned her attention to Ceri, her gaze appraising. ‘Sta
nd up, dear. Slip that skirt off.’ The hand slid from Ceri’s thigh as she obediently climbed to her feet. She would have favoured Lily with a murderous glare if she could have got away with it. A quick downward motion of a zip and the mini-skirt was pooling around her ankles. She turned slightly away from Jessie before bending over to unhook the skirt from her feet, which put her barely covered butt right in the actress’ face. Straightening up, she turned slowly to face Jessie.
The casting agent’s eyes scanned up and down Ceri’s body, taking in the narrow hips, slim waist, average to small breasts. ‘The muscle is good,’ Jessie commented as though discussing a horse. ‘Shaved, that’s popular currently.’ She looked upward, eyes wandering over Ceri’s face. Ceri had always thought she looked too masculine to be pretty. It was the jaw, quite wide, though her cheeks hollowed nicely and she had quite high cheekbones. ‘Can she do Dom?’ Jessie asked.
‘Yes,’ Lily replied, ‘when she’s told to.’
‘Directors like their subs girly. Put her in a corset and six-inch heels and she could make a good Dom. Do you think she could carry a scene?’ Ceri managed not to blush by applying every ounce of willpower she had.
‘With a decent director,’ Lily replied as though discussing the weather. ‘Someone like June Weatherall. She always did fantastic S and M scenes.’
Jessie nodded absently, her eyes still tracing over Ceri’s body. ‘June’s in the planning stages for a new project. She asked me to look out for new talent. It won’t shoot until January though. At the earliest. Turn around, dear.’ Ceri turned slowly; widder damn it if the attention was not starting to get to her. ‘Tight arse… The tattoo is interesting. Some sort of tribal dragon?’
‘Just a design I had put on her,’ Lily said.
‘Sit down, Ceri,’ Jessie said. ‘I think I can place her. You’ll act as her agent?’ Lily nodded as Ceri settled back onto the seat and took a drink of wine to settle her nerves. Jessie’s hand went back to her thigh, higher now since there was no skirt in the way. ‘She’s not going to be another Lilith, but I think she could do well. We’ll need a stage name for her… Kelly, Kelly Blue, those eyes are quite startling.’
‘It’s nice of you to say so,’ Lily said. Her voice took an edgy quality. ‘What about the greyer side of the business?’
Jessie looked at her, narrowing her eyes a little. ‘I thought you were well out of that. You know I don’t cast for that kind of thing.’ Her hand started a gentle stroking along Ceri’s thigh.
‘You keep your ears open though.’
Fingers began to stroke along Ceri’s inner thigh and she relaxed back against the seat. Her lips parted. ‘Would you really want to put this sweet young thing through that?’ Jessie asked. Ceri parted her thighs more, her knee pressing against Jessie’s, and wondered whether Lily would say anything about what the hand was doing.
‘Sometimes she gets out of hand,’ Lily said. ‘She’s tougher than she looks, and she’s a practitioner.’
‘Control spells?’ The hand drifted further between Ceri’s legs.
Lily nodded. ‘She’s very proficient. Quite often people never realise they’ve been tampered with.’
Ceri’s breath caught as the press studs at the crotch of her teddy were unsnapped. Her eyes sought out Lily, but the half-succubus was focussed on Jessie. ‘There’s a market for that, of course, but I don’t cast for it.’ Jessie’s fingers found their target and began a slow, circling motion. Ceri moaned, trying to keep a handle on the conversation.
‘Who does?’
‘Nat Dent is probably your best bet. He handles a lot of new talent and I know he pushes a fair bit of it down that route.’
There was a hint of disgust in Lily’s reply; Ceri barely noticed over the sound of her own panting. ‘That bloodsucker? Okay. How are the old crowd? Tawni, Brian, Mel, oh and Tam?’
‘Well,’ Jessie mused as her hand continued to circle and Ceri’s panting turned into moaning, ‘Brian retired. There were some rumours of drugs, but I think he just got tired and had enough money to manage. Tawni is still working, though I heard she’s trying to get out into production. She put some of her own money into her current project and if it pays back I think she’s off her back. They’re filming in… Wales, out near Cardiff, I think.’ The fingers parted Ceri’s lips, massaging over her clit and Ceri’s back arched. ‘Mel and Tam are still working, going strong. She just wrapped on a new high budget script, filming in Barbados. Tam… well, that big dick of his isn’t going out of fashion until he croaks.’
‘How about…’ Lily began, but she was interrupted by Ceri exploding on the seat beside Jessie. They watched as she gasped and moaned, and finally sagged back onto the loveseat, breathing hard.
Jessie smiled. ‘She’s good. Her skin shows off the flush well and she’s vocal.’
‘Oh, I have to gag her at times,’ Lily said. Ceri spotted the mischievous grin; her pet was enjoying this far too much.
‘I think she’s a natural,’ Jessie said. ‘A little training and she could get her name in big print on the jacket. How does that sound, Kelly? Your name on the jacket of a DVD? I think you could make the front cover if we do a BDSM shoot.’ Ceri didn’t answer; she was still trying to control her breathing. ‘You just lie there and look gorgeous, sweets.’
‘What about Suzie?’ Lily asked. ‘Have you heard from her?’
‘Oh, hun, didn’t you hear?’ Jessie’s voice was shocked.
‘Heard what, Jessie?’
‘Well, it was all over the news. Suzie was killed on Saturday. Well, that’s when they say the body was found.’
‘Killed?’ Lily asked, her voice alarmed. She really was a better actress than she let on.
‘Murdered somehow. The police aren’t saying much and the press haven’t managed to get anything from them. Of course, she was getting a little desperate for money. That lavish lifestyle of hers. And she was getting tired, losing it on set. Several directors put it ‘round that she was too hard to work with. She came to me asking about illegal stuff. I told her the same as I told you, I don’t cast for those.’
‘Do you think she did any?’
Jessie nodded. ‘Masked, I think, but there were a couple of shoots I heard she was involved with. Nothing recently though.’ Her voice lowered slightly. ‘I heard she was on a full-on snuff shoot a couple of months ago and after that she stopped doing them. Couldn’t stomach it.’
‘I know the feeling.’
Jessie finished her wine. ‘Yes, well, I’m afraid I’m going to have to kick you two out.’ She stood, walking to a sideboard near the door and returning with a card which she handed to Lily. ‘You can contact me there if you want to proceed with Kelly’s career. I have a lunch meeting.’
Grinning, Lily got to her feet, tucking the card into the top of her boot. ‘Business or pleasure?’ She glanced at Ceri. ‘Come on, girl, don’t just sit there half-dressed.’ Letting herself blush, Ceri began to reassemble her outfit.
‘A little of both,’ Jessie said, her eyes on Ceri. ‘There’s a young man I’m hoping to place in a couple of movies and I want to try him out before I put him in front of a director. He’s got muscles to spare and a huge cock, but you know how they can have trouble getting it up.’
Lily smirked. ‘Not around me, and I’m pretty sure you can get a rise out of him.’ Jessie preened. ‘We’ll let you get dressed then, and have a good… meeting.’
Outside on the crescent, Ceri walked along beside Lily feeling mildly shocked. ‘Was that what you’d call a casting couch?’
Lily laughed. ‘She’d have had us both in bed “to check your suitability” given the chance. She really must have had a date.’
‘You’re, uh, not going to use that card are you?’
Lily glanced at her, a slight grin on her lips. ‘Don’t you want your face on a DVD cover, Kelly Blue?’
‘I… No… I mean…’
‘Kind of a turn on? A woman who knows how to cast porn thinks you could do it?’
‘Well… yes, but I couldn’t… not really.’
‘You’ve done orgies, love. You’ve just sat there in someone’s front room and had a woman you’ve never met bring you off, and you didn’t bat an eyelid, you just let her do it.’
‘Yes, but… I was acting…’
‘Yes, and? What do you think porn is?’ Ceri did not really have an answer to that. Lily laughed. ‘Of course I’m not going to call her. Porn is amazingly boring for one thing. Your brain would dribble out your ear by the third day of shooting. It’s not all big dicked hunks pumping into you for ages, and you can have that at home without the cameras and some prick telling you to raise your leg higher, and moan more, and “let’s do that again the lighting was wrong.”’
‘I don’t think I could do it in front of a camera...’ Ceri said.
Lily shrugged. ‘I bet you could. That’s the easy part. It’s no different from doing it in front of people and you’ve done that. No, really, it’s the production process that’d get you.’
‘Where to now?’
‘We need to find Nat Dent,’ Lily replied, her voice resigned.
‘You said he was a “bloodsucker.” Not a nice guy, I take it.’
‘Huh? Oh, well, no, he’s a total leech, but he’s also a vampire. You’re going to hate him, he’s pre-Shattering.’
Ceri winced. ‘Just so long as you don’t let him do the same thing as Jessie did.’
Mayfair
‘We really have to go in there?’ Ceri asked as they walked past the tailor’s shops on Savile Row.
‘We’ve tried his other daytime haunts,’ Lily replied, ‘the Dubh Linn’s the only place left before dark. Time for you to play mufty again.’
‘I don’t think the mufty act will work after I walked in there and dragged you out with a control spell.’
‘Damn!’ Lily exclaimed. ‘I’d forgotten about that. Damn it, I enjoyed you playing mufty in there. Ah well, fuck it, Dent’ll go for you wanting to get into the business. We’ll just go down that route.’ Getting to the junction with Vigo Street they crossed the road and started down the steps to the black door which led into the dimly lit room which was the Dubh Linn pub.
Thaumatology 05 - Disturbia Page 8