The Dance

by James Goodman

  “What was it?”

  “Let’s just say it was something that could have brought them closer to finding out more about us than they need to know.”

  “Don’t we do that every time we leave the house?”

  “I suppose eventually, the police will know you by name, but I want to do everything in my power to postpone that day for as long as possible.”

  “So, you’re not going to tell me what was in the house?”

  “No… someday I will, I can promise you that much, but now is not the time,” she said, caressing his cheek. “Are you ready to Dance?”

  “You know it.”

  “Then make a left up on seventy-first and let’s paint the town red.”

  “The town?” He let out a hearty laugh. “Why don’t we just start with a bedroom?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Tom, I know you didn’t want to be disturbed, but…” Jack’s voice sounded heavy.

  “Let me guess, she only wants to talk to me,” Tom said after a long sigh.

  “No, I am just pulling out of her driveway but—”

  “Did she have some good news for us?”

  “Tom, quit interrupting me. This is important,” Jack barked. “Someone just blew up the Pearlman house.”

  “What?” Tom dropped his slice of pizza on the table.

  “It’s gone. The place was leveled with a room full of investigators in it.”

  “Oh, my God! How many were in there? Are they all…” he let his voice trail off when he noticed his daughter staring at him intently.

  “Six are dead and there are another three in the ICU, burned so bad I doubt they’ll see morning.”

  I wonder if Anna was one of the officers on the scene.

  Aloud he said, “That’s terrible! How did our teams miss that the house was rigged? That is standard procedure in a case like this. I can’t believe nobody thought to check the place for explosives.”

  “I don’t know where the disconnect happened, but it did. They’re still trying to put out the flames.”

  “What’s terrible, daddy?” Julie tilted her head.

  “Jack, can you hold on a sec?” Tom put his hand over the phone as he looked at his children.

  “Hey, why don’t you guys go play over in the arcade?” I don’t need them going back to their mothers talking about how many cops were killed tonight.

  “But, I’m not done eating,” Julie whined.

  “Me, neither,” John added, his cheeks puffed out from being packed with pizza.

  “Okay, then I am going to step right over there for a minute.” He pointed at the restroom sign. “Don’t leave the table until I get back.”

  “But, dad what if—”

  “No, buts.”

  “But dad, they stamped us when we came in, no one is going to snatch us,” John said in a surprisingly adult voice, obviously not wanting to be put under the mercy of his dad’s cell phone.

  “Okay, okay, just be careful and keep an eye on your sister.” He fished out some money and put it on the table for them to use in the games.

  “Are you still there?” he asked once he was safely out of earshot of his children.

  “Yeah, as I was saying it will probably be tomorrow before we can get in there to sift through the ashes.”

  “Where there any patrol cars on the scene?”

  “There were two of them and I am way ahead of you.” Jack picked up on his line of thought. “They are sending the tapes from their dash cams over to my office this evening.”

  “Good job, Jack.” He paused, as a thought finally hit him. “How did you find out about all of this before I did?”

  “It came over the radio and I called in before they had a chance to disturb your dinner.”

  “Oh, so you just wanted to be the one who disturbed my meal.” He forced a laugh.

  “Hey, I just thought you would want to know,” Jack answered defensively.

  “I’m just giving you a hard time, man.” He let out a long breath. “Have you talked to the Captain about any of this? He’s bound to be on full tilt by now.”

  “No, I left a message that I need to speak to him, but he hasn’t returned my call yet.”

  Tom fell silent as he tried to grasp what The Puppeteer hoped to gain with such a late retaliation. Surely, he had to know that if he wanted to do the most damage, he would have rigged it to blow up while we were all in there. Kill the main detective investigating the case and you definitely slow down the investigation.

  “You still with me, Tom?”

  “Yeah, I was just thinking about something.”

  “Care to share?”

  “The house wasn’t rigged. That son of a bitch was watching when the house went up. He must have been there. A sick bastard like that would have wanted to see his handy work up close and personal.”

  “Wasn’t rigged, but how could he return to the scene without being noticed?”

  “No, I am sure the explosives were hidden beforehand, but nothing our guys did in there set them off. He had to have used a remote detonator. Nothing else makes sense.”

  “Oh, shit. Now, I’m positive we caught him on tape.”

  “I like the way you think.” Tom quickly scanned the restaurant to see where his children had got off to. “Hey, I am going to be about another hour here. Do you want to go check out those tapes after I drop the kids off at their mom’s?”

  “I’ll do you one better. I will check them out for both of us. You go spend some much-needed quality time with your kids. If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “But I have to have them home soon anyway. I’ll just meet you there.”

  “What, you don’t think I can handle it?”

  “It’s not that, I just—” Tom wasn’t sure how to phrase the rest of sentence without coming off like a jerk.

  “You’re afraid I might miss something, aren’t you?”

  “You know what, just do it. If you find anything give me a call,” he finally conceded.

  “If I don’t find anything, you can come in tomorrow and check it for yourself.”

  “I’m sure there won’t be any need for that.”

  “Ah, you’re too kind”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

  “Have fun with your kids.”

  “You know what? I have a feeling I will.”

  Tom hung up the phone and went in search of John and Julie. They were playing in a giant netted cage filled with tiny plastic balls. Somehow, that just doesn’t look very appealing. Then again, it’s not me that has to like it. The thought brought a smile to his face.

  “Do we have to go now?” John caught sight of his father.

  “No, play as long as you like.” He smiled up at them. “Tonight… is all about you guys.”

  “Did something bad happen?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded as he spoke.

  Julie climbed to the side of the cage. “And you don’t have to go there?”

  “Not this time, honey.”

  “Dad?” she ventured hesitantly.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now, go have some fun. I have some unfinished business with a slice of pizza I need to tend to.”

  As he slid into the booth, he offered up a silent prayer. Lord, I know it has been a while since I talked to you, but if you could see fit to help me out here, I would be much obliged. He ended his prayer and he waited for a sign he was sure wouldn’t come.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Shh! They are going to hear us,” Nina admonished as she helped Kyle back to his feet.

  He brushed himself off from his fall. “Excuse me for not seeing that bush.”

  “It wasn’t the fall as much as the cursing afterwards that I was worried about,” she whispered, indicating that he should follow suit.

  “Ah, this one is locked too.” He pushed in vain on the third window he tried to open since they arrived. “What happened to the trust in this town
?”

  “Gee, I wonder.”

  He peered through the glass to find the window he had just tried, looked into the dining room. That would be a good place to start.

  “Why don’t you do that little thing you do and we will be on that side of the glass in no time,” he suggested after a moment’s reflection.

  “Maybe, you should try it,” she countered, a smile grew across her face.

  “There’s no way I can do that. I’m not even sure how you do it.”

  “How do you know? Have you ever tried?”

  “Well, no but I don’t have to jump off a cliff to know I can’t fly.”

  “I’m not asking you to fly; I’m just asking you to jump.” She took his hand in hers. “You should give it a try.”

  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Not that it would work the same for me even if I did.”

  “Oh, I think you might be surprised at the things you will be able to do. Once you put your mind to it, that is.”

  “Okay, so how do I do it?” He decided to humor her, though he was sure she seriously overestimated him.

  “I want you to take a good look at the room through that window.” She waited for him to comply. “Now, make a mental picture and keep it fresh in your mind. Then I want you to close your eyes.”

  He felt like a fool standing outside of the house with his eyes closed. “Ah, the things I do for love.”

  “Watch your breathing. I want you to take deep breaths, letting the air in and out slowly. You should be able to hear your heartbeat when your breathing is right. Don’t let that distract you; keep thinking of the room. Once you are ready, picture yourself in the room. When you see yourself inside the house, you must will it to be true.”

  “Will it?”

  “Yes, you have to want it to be true with every ounce of your being. No matter what you see or hear, don’t stop thinking about being in that room.”

  Kyle grunted, but did as instructed. He slowly reconstructed the room with his mind. Let’s see. There’s a table and chairs, the hardwood floors and that God-awful wallpaper. That’s a nice picture of the Eiffel Tower on the wall. Yes, I think I would like to be standing next to that picture. No, I NEED to be standing next to that picture. He pushed with his thoughts.

  The air around him began to dance. His body felt like it was moving without moving. A sound like rushing water filled his ears, like listening to a seashell through a megaphone. He pushed and pushed, but couldn’t seem to make the jump. He wanted it more than anything else in the world, but he couldn’t make it happen. He could feel the power coursing through his body, but it refused to bend to his will. The image in his mind began to narrow, closing in on all sides with a black void. No! Not now, not when I am so close, he screamed with his mind. Suddenly, his world went black.

  “Don’t worry, lover. You will get stronger. I promise.” He opened his eyes to find Nina kneeling beside him.

  “What? How?” he stammered as he looked over her shoulder at the picture on the wall.

  “Shh, I brought us in after you passed out.”

  “I passed—how long was I out?”

  “You were only down for a few minutes. How do you feel?”

  “Confused,” he sighed. “I really almost did it, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, you were very close. Before long, it will be like second nature to you. You’ll see.”

  He rolled onto his knees and pushed himself to his feet. His body shivered as he tried to shake off the effects of losing consciousness.

  “After you, mademoiselle.” He motioned towards the hallway before retrieving his duffle bag from the floor.

  Kyle admired pictures of the happy couple that adorned the walls while they crept down the hallway. This is quite the active couple, he thought approvingly. The walls were full of pictures of them engaged in a myriad of outdoor activities, everything from mountain climbing to scuba diving. He smiled as he looked at a picture of them standing next to a small prop plane, dressed out with parachutes. He nearly ran into Nina when she stopped abruptly in front of a closed door.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes, I’m ready,” he pretended to sing in a whisper.

  “Now is not the time for Barbara Mason.”

  “There’s always time to kiss you, to love you and to hug you. Baby, I’m ready,” he continued to sing through a smile.

  She just shook her head and opened the door. “If you only knew what I was trying to do for you, you might take this a little more seriously.”

  “Let’s see if they would like to Dance for us,” he replied softly, ignoring her remark.

  “Oh, they will Dance, lover. I can assure you of that.” She smiled and pulled a radio out of the duffle bag.

  Kyle moved to stand at the foot of the bed. He rubbed his hands together as he stared down at the sleeping shapes under the covers. I wish she would let me string them up. We could have a little fun with them before we make them do the new Dance.

  “Allow me to set the proper atmosphere,” she said and loaded the CD into her radio. “You had better bind them, before they try to run.”

  The larger of the two shapes stirred. He opened his eyes. “What the fuck are you doing in my room?”

  Kyle sprang into action, straddling him before he could pull his arms from beneath the covers. His hands flew instinctively to the man’s throat.

  “Kyle, allow me to introduce you to George and Mary Vansant.”

  “Hi, George. The pleasure’s all mine,” Kyle drawled in his ear. “Oh, no no. Please don’t get up on my account.”

  “Don’t kill him; we need them alive,” Nina advised when she noticed the color in George’s face darken. “Or have you forgotten that already?”

  “Oh, my god!” Mary exclaimed. “What are you doing? How did you get in here?”

  She tried to jump out of bed, but Kyle caught her with a blow to the back of the head that was powerful enough to send her crashing into the wall, a good three feet from where she began her flight. She crumpled to the floor; blood flowed freely from her nose and lips.

  “Try to be more careful, lover; you could have killed her.”

  He smiled at her over his shoulder. “I didn’t want her to get away and I kind of have my hands full over here.”

  “Get the hell off me you psycho son of a bitch!” George thrashed under the blanket.

  “Watch your mouth in front of the lady. I will get off you as soon as you pass out,” Kyle assured him, increasing the pressure on his throat.

  “Okay, that should be enough.” Nina watched George’s body go limp.

  He gave George a couple of playful smacks on the cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want me to string them up for old time’s sake?”

  “You can do whatever you want to them after we are finished.” Nina’s face darkened. She pursed her brows, a cloud of thought washed over her face. “In fact, it might be better if you did. We wouldn’t want to deprive the police of your artwork.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You are still an artist after all.”

  Kyle quickly bound the hapless couple and propped them up against the foot of the bed. Doesn’t anyone wear pajamas anymore? he thought to himself as he gazed at Mary’s exposed breasts, the bottoms of which rested lightly on the ropes.

  “You might want to rouse them. I am sure they would want to be awake for this.” Nina turned up the volume on the radio and let her finger hover above the play button.

  Kyle laughed and shook the couple awake. Soon, the two were thrashing about. “Is that absolutely necessary?” he asked.

  George and Mary made quite the ruckus, begging for mercy as they struggled to make sense of what was happening to them. Kyle held a single finger to his lips and they both fell silent. They were still staring at him dumbfounded when Nina hit play on the CD player.

  The music roared to life and their bodies began to convulse. They slowly succumbed to the lure of the Zragration tongue. Kyle braced himself for the power he
knew would be flowing through him shortly.

  And flow it did.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Whoa! That’s beyond disgusting, man.” Jack’s hand flew over his nose and mouth when he opened the car door.

  “What’s your problem?” Tom eyed him over the hood of the car.

  “It smells like cankered ass out here.”

  “I will have to take you at your word on that one.” Tom laughed. “Didn’t you bring your Vick’s?”

  Jack just shook his head.

  Tom looked at the charred remains of Dr. Pearlman’s house. The jagged edges of walls still jutted up from the ground, but they surrounded a hole in the ground that looked black even under the midday sun. It looked like an open maw with broken teeth sticking out of it.

  Tom stared at the wreckage. There was nothing in this world that could get the stench of the place out of his nostrils, but he had a hunch there was something in there worth dealing with the smell to find.

  He pulled a little blue jar out of his pocket and smeared a couple dabs of its contents under each of his nostrils.

  “Here, you can use some of mine.” He rolled the jar across the hood.

  “Thanks.” Jack barely suppressed a gag as he removed his hand to apply the potent mentholated cream.

  “Oh, man.” Jack’s hand flew back to cover his mouth.

  “What now?” Tom was clearly losing his patience.

  “I think I just threw up a little.”

  “Jesus, Jack. How long have you been on the force?”

  “Back off, Tom. You can’t tell me that this doesn’t get to you, even a little.” He waved his arm in the direction of the twisted house wreckage. “Burnt hair, burnt flesh, burnt… plastic. There are so many bad smells here, any one of which would be bad on their own, but when they are all mixed together like this, it’s damn near unbearable.”

  “It just smells like a really bad crime scene. Get over it; we’ve got a job to do.”

  Tom turned away before Jack had a chance to defend himself. He walked up the front steps and stared down into the pit that used to be the basement.

  What were you trying to cover up, asshole? He looked around for the best route to lead him down into its depths.