He bounced into the apartment, his arms full of groceries, and said to her, “Where is your costume? Why aren’t you dressed? We have to hurry! You’re going to miss my show!”
All right. So he wasn’t sick with stage fright.
Chapter Fourteen
Hearts are Wild
Jack, Brianna, and Mamie Hoya arrived at the club. It looked terrific. Everything was all set to go. The sun dipped suddenly behind the buildings, casting the club’s entrance in shadow. Dee had decided to light the candles in the jack-o’-lanterns he’d made that afternoon. Ten jack-o’-lanterns decorated the sidewalk in front of the club, and Arnaud, the bouncer/doorman, dressed as the grim reaper, stood at the entrance.
Jack, Brianna, and Mamie Hoya stood on the sidewalk and looked in through the plate-glass door. They could see straight in to the bar where Suki was disguised as a werewolf, and his assistant, the lovely Ann, was wearing a Little Red Riding Hood outfit. Suki’s dreadlocks looked a bit out of place.
The waitresses wore French maid uniforms and had glow-in-the dark devil’s horns perched on their heads.
Dee had his vampire costume on. It was a fancy black silk outfit. He wore fangs and white makeup, and his long, blond hair was tied back with a black velvet ribbon.
Jack peered in through the front door and looked at the stage, set up with a red velvet curtain and jack-o’-lanterns with electric light-bulbs in them, and he sighed. It looked fabulous. So why did a feeling of pure dread invade him? He felt sick.
Dee depended on him. What if the club failed? What if no one came? What if he Dee had to close because his arm fell off and someone died of a heart-attack? What if ... No! Stop it Jack! He couldn’t bear to think.
“Everything looks great.” Brianna held onto his arm and gazed at the club. “I’m getting a case of the willies though,” she admitted. “Last time I was here on Halloween it was with you, and look what happened.”
“You don’t think I’m not thinking about that too?” Jack’s stomach clenched and a sudden headache assailed him. He put his hand on his forehead. No fever. He looked at his watch. Nearly eight thirty. The doors would open in half an hour. He glanced at the club again. The grim reaper stood solemnly under the awning, his arms crossed, the large iron sickle gleaming in the flickering light of the jack-o’-lanterns. Several people had stopped to gawk. Some more were starting to line up behind the velvet ropes strung between the two brass poles holding the awning up. A taxi stopped and more people got out. They were dressed in Halloween costumes; a devil, a ghoul, and a belly dancer. Laughing and chattering, they got into line.
“Let’s go inside,” said Mamie Hoya. “Dee will be getting nervous.”
They went around to the back door. Jack saw Dee and waved to him. He turned and held the door open. Brianna came in next, looking suddenly peaked, with dark circles under her eyes. She had put on a fairy princess costume that involved a long pink skirt of tulle, a pink satin jacket over a lacy camisole, and a crown and scepter made of gold plastic and glitter. Mamie Hoya was last. She had dressed in her usual outfit as a fortune teller with hoop earrings, a scarf on her head, several multi-colored layered skirts, and a purple vest over a large, white chemise. She clutched a box of lemon drops in one hand, and a squashy purse made of patchwork velvet in the other hand.
“We came early,” said Brianna to Dee, holding her crown on her head. It was plastic, covered with huge purple plastic gems, and kept slipping off. “Jack said he had to be here before nine.”
“It’s fine—it will make the club look busier,” said Dee. “Why don’t you go sit near the stage. That way you’ll have a good view of the show.”
“We don’t want to take the best seats,” said Mamie Hoya. “You’ve done a great job decorating. It looks very nice.”
“Can I show you two charming ladies around?” Dee asked.
Mamie Hoya beamed at him. “Oh, that would be so nice.” She latched onto his arm. “I’ve always had a thing about blond vampires.”
“Me too,” said Dee. He gave her a wink. “Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m fine. I love the Big Bad Wolf behind the bar, and the little devils are cute.” Mamie Hoya waved at the waitresses, and Dee introduced her. Then, as Jack trailed after, Dee showed them the stage decorations, the hanging pumpkins in the billiard room, the bouquet of flowers someone had sent him for the grand opening that he’d put in his office, and by the time they came back toward the front door there was a long line of people waiting to get in.
“See? There’s nothing to worry about,” said Mamie Hoya. She patted Dee’s arm. “And Jack, I bet you’ll be a hit. Stop worrying. Here, have a lemon drop.”
Jack felt better. Mamie Hoya had a calming personality. He managed the first real smile of the day.
Dee said, “I’m off to be the host now. I want you to have a good time. I’ll tell Suki and Ann that your drinks are on me.”
Jack led the ladies to a table near the back door. “I’m going to see if I can get some aspirin for my headache,” he said to Brianna, and went to Dee’s office where he found a bottle of aspirin. He washed three down with a glass of water and grimaced at the taste.
“It’s time to get ready now, Jack,” said Dee, popping his head into the office. I’m opening the doors in five minutes, and your show starts in less than an hour.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be ready.” Jack checked his reflection in the mirror. A bit pale, but that was normal. He took a deep breath. Ready or not, here I come, he thought.
****
People arrived in droves. After the place filled up, Dee stopped looking so nervous and started smiling. Suki and Ann were pouring drinks nonstop, the waitresses were dipping in and out of the crowd, trays expertly balanced, and the music was loud and good. People were gyrating on the dance-floor. The billiard room was filling up as well, and whenever there was a slight lull in the music, the clicking noise of balls and cues could be heard.
Brianna was impressed. The club was so different than it had been she could almost forget where she was. The thought of the Heart Taker didn’t leave her mind, but she could push him to the background and enjoy herself looking at all the different costumes.
“Where’s Jack?” asked Mamie Hoya, settling herself in her chair and setting her bag on the table.
“He was looking for some aspirin,” said Brianna.
“Aspirin?” Mamie Hoya shot to her feet.
“Why?”
“Aspirin and zombies don’t mix.”
Brianna felt a zing of fear. “Is it dangerous?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.” Mamie Hoya sat back down and patted Brianna’s hand. “It’s too late to worry about it now. So, don’t worry.” She looked worried though.
Brianna frowned and took the zombie handbook from her handbag. Jack had asked her to carry it for him. She flipped through the index until she came to “aspirin,” and read the entry. A minute later she put the book back in her purse. Her heart was pounding and she thought she might get sick. “Please God, or whoever is up there watching over the undead, don’t let him find an aspirin,” she said fervently.
And then a drumroll started and Marty hit the lights on the stage. The red velvet curtain was illuminated and Dee went up and faced the audience. There were five rows of bistro tables and chairs in front of the stage and next to that was the dance floor, packed, with standing room only. A sea of faces and masks stared back at him.
“Ladies and Gentlemen and creatures of the night, welcome to my Halloween show!” Applause. Dee waited until it died down. “Tonight we have a special show for you. Without further ado—Jack the Stripper!”
The music started, the curtains parted, and Dee stepped off the stage and made his way to the side to watch the show. Brianna saw him sandwiched between a wood-sprite wearing a leafy, green minidress and a crown of ivy, and a woman wearing what looked like an antique wedding dress of ivory silk and a top hat.
Then all Brianna’s attention became fixed
on Jack as he appeared onstage. He wore the pumpkin mask and his tattered monster outfit drew a collective gasp from the audience. Then he started to dance. He whipped off the mask and stood for a minute, gazing out over the audience. His eyes were supernaturally bright, his hair tousled, his skin glowing. He looked like a movie star. The women went wild.
Brianna could hardly breathe. Jack was more than hot. He was scorching. The women were crazy about him, and they screamed his name and applauded madly. Jack strutted to the center of the stage in time to the music, and then bared his chest. The scar drew shrill screams and more applause. Then Jack danced, and Brianna could swear she heard women swooning all around him. Next to her table stood a woman dressed as a vampire. She sank down into the chair next to Brianna and gave a low moan.
“He is sooooo amazing,” she breathed. “I want him.’
Brianna was torn between pride, jealousy, and worry. Would his arm stay put? Had he taken the aspirin? Would he be all right? “Careful, Jack,” she muttered.
Jack’s shirt came off. His arm stayed on. Brianna sagged in relief. More screams and swoons. He danced, and even the men stopped playing billiards and came to watch, cue-sticks in hands. Jack’s pants slithered down his hips. He lowered his chin and stared at the audience. They stared back, mouths open, eyes wide, pupils dilated. Then he stepped out of his pants and the music stopped. The lights were killed, and the curtain fell.
The crowd went crazy. The applause nearly cracked the plaster on the ceiling. Brianna could feel the floor shaking beneath her feet. Whoa. She turned to the vampire lady sitting next to her. “How’d you like that?” she asked.
She looked at Brianna and whimpered.
“Please tell me he’s coming back,” said another spectator standing nearby, her hands on her throat.
The music started again, the lights dimmed and then a spotlight appeared as the curtain lifted again. Jack stood in the middle of the spotlight, dressed in his second outfit, and the music started.
The music “Superstition” pounded through the speakers and Jack opened his vampire cape and swirled it around. He grinned at the audience, baring fake fangs. More screams and applause from the women. He tossed the cloak to the ground and took off his shirt.
“Slower Jack, slow down,” murmured Brianna.
Jack looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. He danced, he peeled off his clothes, and he strutted about in his G-string as the women shrieked and squealed and tossed money onto the stage.
Then Jack took off his G-string. Brianna groaned and tried not to stare. A flood of heat dampened her panties. She hated that everyone else was staring at Jack. The women uttered a collective gasp of appreciation, ending in a thunder of applause, whistles, and more screams. The music stopped but Marty was on the ball and put on another song. “Black Velvet” started and Jack began to dance a slow dance all by himself. A flurry of applause and high-pitched sighs and cries sounded from the audience.
Jack seemed to have no qualms at all about exhibiting his body—and why should he? Brianna felt a pang of jealousy. She watched Jack’s show with growing dismay, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming “He’s mine!” it was ridiculous, but that’s what she wanted to do. He was incredible. Every woman in the place was mesmerized. Jack’s muscles looked penciled onto his smooth, white skin. Except for the scar, he was flawless. And his eyes. No one should have such electric blue eyes. But there was something odd about his eyes.
Brianna froze. Something very odd.
Jack came to the front of the stage and winked at a woman sitting in the front row. She gazed up at him, entranced.
Jack leaned over and said in a husky voice, “Can I dangle my dingle in my daiquiri?”
“What?” The woman squawked.
“I said, can I dangle my dingle in your daiquiri, darling?” Jack swayed his hips forward suggestively.
Brianna cringed. This could not be in the script. She turned to look at Mamie Hoya. She had her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “What is he doing?” She hissed.
“He took an aspirin,” said Mamie Hoya. She shook her head, her expression tragic.
Then Brianna saw Dee let go of the wood-sprite, who looked considerably less impressed with Jack’s act, and sprint to their table. “What is going on?” he hissed.
Brianna looked at him, her expression tragic. “I’m sure Jack didn’t know aspirin would do that to a zombie,” she said.
“Aspirin? What aspirin? What did it do?”
Mamie Hoya cleared her throat. “Jack had a headache. It was mostly nerves. He took an aspirin.”
“What?” Dee looked back at the stage where Jack was swaying his hips, making his cock twirl in circles.
“A penis colada anyone?” he cried.
The crowd seemed torn between hilarity and shock.
Dee choked and turned back to Mamie Hoya. “Do something,” he begged.
“It won’t last long, only a few minutes,” Mamie Hoya said.
“I checked his zombie handbook and found this,” Brianna said miserably. She pointed to a paragraph, but Dee was obviously too upset to take the time to read it.
“What is he doing now?” he cried.
Jack spun in a circle, flung his arm out, and then, to Brianna’s horror, it flew off and sailed across the room. This time the screams were not from thrills.
“Oh no.” Dee gasped.
Brianna opened her mouth to scream as well—when Jack seemed to waver. His arm reappeared on his shoulder. The woman who’d been in its trajectory stood up from her frightened crouch and looked around the room. “It’s gone!” she cried.
“Tada!” Jack yelled, taking a bow. “Happy Halloween everyone!”
Dee waved frantically at Marty, who was sitting with his mouth hanging open, and Marty gave a start and killed the lights.
There was a moment of silence, then thunderous applause, laughter, and cries of “Encore! Encore!”
Dee took a deep breath and sank into the seat facing Brianna. “Let me see that book,” he said. Her hand shaking, she gave it to him.
Chapter Fifteen
Strange Places
Jack remembered taking an aspirin. His head had been splitting. A mixture of stress and nerves, for sure. Then he’d gotten dressed and chatted with Marty a bit. He’d gone over his choreography. Dee had introduced him, and he’d done the first act with an atrocious headache. But the crowd had loved it. He’d been watching for signs of the Heart Taker and saw nothing. He started to relax and his headache vanished.
Then Act II started. He put on his vampire cape and fangs, and had gone onto the stage. And then things got fuzzy until all of a sudden he saw his arm flying away.
A moment of panic froze him to the spot as soon as his errant appendage had sailed into the air, but he’d somehow spurred his super speed into action and had retrieved his arm, put it back on, and yelled “Tada!” and had the presence of mind to wish everyone a happy Halloween, just as the lights had gone out. Hopefully they would think it was some sort of prank.
How come his arm had fallen off? Would it happen again? Could he perform anymore? Would Dee ever forgive him? And Brianna ... What must she think?
He buried his face in his hands. Then he leapt to his feet. Brianna! He couldn’t leave her alone! He sped up again and was dressed and back in the club while everyone stood frozen. He rushed past Davinia who was pouring beer into someone’s cup. The beer was frozen in time—fascinating. He passed Dee, who was obviously going backstage to chew him out. Dee’s hair was flowing behind him. A woman had dropped her glass. He spotted it. It hung in the air, and the woman was just reaching after it, but would be too late. He plucked the glass out of the air and it made a strange twanging sound. Odd. Thoughtfully, he placed the glass on the table and then made his way to Brianna and Mamie Hoya.
He sat down, and time snapped back into its place.
****
Dee read the paragraph, sighed, and said, “I better talk to Jack.”
> Brianna watched him go and then toyed with her glass. Her feelings for Jack were suddenly a huge tangle. From a shy, academic type, he’d turned into a stagestruck stripper star. She had to admit, he was terrific. Her sigh fogged the glass in her hand.
“I never saw a strip show before,” Mamie Hoya said, making a face. “He has quite an amazing body. Poor Jack. I wonder how many people saw his arm fall off?”
“I don’t ... Eeek!” Brianna screamed and heads turned as Jack suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She clutched at her chest. “Don’t do that to me Jack.”
“What happened to me?” he asked Mamie Hoya. “I felt like I was drunk, but I didn’t have a drop of alcohol. Dee’s going to fire me!”
“It was the aspirin. It affects zombies in an unpredictable way.” Mamie Hoya patted his hand. “Don’t worry about it. You were a big hit.”
“I wasn’t,” he said. He sat down and put his face in his hands.
Brianna wanted to comfort him when something caught her eye. A slim silhouette in black wearing stiletto heels and a cat’s mask. “May?”
She took off her mask as she arrived at the table. “Did I miss the show?” she asked.
Jack looked relieved. “You didn’t miss much,” he said modestly.
Brianna choked and then cleared her throat. May, as usual, looked absolutely stunning.
“What else is new?” May asked, sliding into Dee’s empty seat.
Jack leaned over the table. “I have news for you. The Heart Taker was in Brianna’s apartment last night. He wrote her a poem, but he didn’t kill her.”
May raised one eyebrow. “That’s interesting. Aren’t you the girl who can hear him?” she asked, turning to Brianna.
“Not exactly.” Brianna frowned. “It’s more like a—”
May waved her hand impatiently. “If he’s marked you for his own then there is no time to lose. Jack, you have to come with me tonight.”
“I have to protect Brianna,” he said, and Brianna felt a warm feeling wash over her.
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