Jack the Stripper

by Jennifer Macaire

  “Why did Jack have to spend a whole year in his grave?” Brianna wanted to know.

  “His soul took a great deal of persuading. I had to agree to let it reflect. There were many things it had to consider. There was also the question of his strength and talent. The longer he waited, the stronger he would grow. There is a sort of healing in rest, and he needed much rest in order to overcome his ordeal.”

  “You spoke to my soul?” Jack looked incredulous. He made to pick up his cup, stopped, and very delicately took it between his thumb and forefinger. It shattered. “I’m sorry!”

  Jim Ling-Li waved dismissively. “It is of no importance. Enough pain, and everything breaks, even the strongest of teacups or souls.”

  Brianna felt he hadn’t told them enough. “I’d like to know more about your, um, business, and why Jack’s soul needed so much persuading. How do you influence a soul to do your bidding?”

  “More tea? Hold out your cup. Let’s see, where was I? Oh yes. My childhood ended and I became apprenticed to my grandfather. I learned the art of necromancy, and worked in my village. I married a kind and funny woman and we had May. And then the war came, the world changed, and technology made necromancers obsolete and even forbidden. We left China for a free world, and along the way I lost my beloved wife. When May and I settled here, at the turn of the century, life was much different. But some things never change. People live, and they die. My art was needed here, especially as the undead are common in this area. I was asked to many a funeral to make sure the dead would not walk again.

  “Then May was killed by a vampire, and I went to bid her soul farewell, as is custom for me. But she begged me to bring her back. She promised to be patient, as Jack was, and finally, I agreed. She is what you call a zombie, and I’ve never regretted it bringing her back. But, and this is vital, the soul has to agree to come back. My wife’s soul wanted to stay dead. She and I said farewell in the afterworld. Perhaps we will meet again. But until then, I had to respect her wishes. It is a rare soul who agrees to return, and to force one to return, as the Heart Taker has certainly done, is an abomination.”

  “So what about vampires?” Brianna was fascinated. Jim Ling-Li’s voice was deep, calm, and mysterious, and she found herself completely spellbound by his story.

  “Their souls wait in the afterworld. Most have been violently ripped from their mooring, and it is painful to see and hear them. There are the lost souls too, the ones of murder victims. But there are no more necromancers to speak to them and soothe them, and find out the truth behind their deaths.”

  “You mean, you can solve any murder?” Brianna saw the advantages of such a talent for a detective. Maybe necromancy should be required study.

  “Only if I can speak to the spirit before it leaves for the underworld, and they don’t stay around very long. Perhaps one or two days in the case of a violent murder. But mostly the soul, deeply shocked, leaves right away. Only strong souls stay around hoping to communicate. And it’s a rare spirit talker who can hear them.”

  Jack looked startled. Then he shifted in his chair and said, “Can the spirits confer this power on someone? Like, say, your own ancestors?”

  Jim Ling-Li nodded. “Your own ancestors can always find you. There is a very important link between family members. They can appear to you in a dream, perhaps, and give you this gift. Did this happen to you, Jack? I have to tell you that your spirit family is very strong, and that was part of the reason I had such a hard time convincing your soul to return.”

  Brianna held her breath, and then Jack said, “Yes.” She felt like someone had just kicked her in the stomach. She felt ill. He hadn’t told her. He hadn’t said anything about that. She felt left out, left out of the conversation and left out of Jack’s life—or afterlife, whatever. He hadn’t even wanted to return. Mr. Ling-Li had to beg him. Her mood darkened, sadness settling like a wet blanket over her shoulders.

  “You never would have agreed to return, if I hadn’t used an important argument,” said Mr. Ling-Li.

  Brianna frowned, and heard herself churlishly demand, “And what was that? The argument of the girl of his dreams?” She was thinking of May, convinced that Jim Ling-Li had used his gorgeous daughter as bait.

  “Why, yes,” said Mr. Ling-Li.

  Brianna stood up. Enough was enough. May and Jack were obviously meant to be together. Why fight it? She grabbed her coat from the chair and picked up her purse. “That’s nice,” she said. “I suppose you’ll be getting the wedding announcement ready. Congratulations. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Ling-Li. I enjoyed your story very much. Jack, you can come get your things whenever you want.” She started to leave.

  Jack stood up. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious? You didn’t want to come back. Only Mr. Ling-Li’s argument made you change your mind.”

  “Don’t you want to hear what it was?” Mr. Ling-Li seemed to find this all funny. He had a wide grin on his narrow face.

  “You promised him your daughter, May,” said Brianna. “Right?”

  “May?” Jack looked thunderstruck.

  “Wrong,” said Mr. Ling-Li. Only true love will work. I spoke to him about you, Brianna.”

  The air left her lungs. She sat back down. It took a minute for her to get her breath back. “We hardly knew each other,” she whispered.

  “Don’t you remember how you felt when he died? You came to the morgue. You were at his funeral. I saw it all.” Mr. Ling-Li touched her arm gently. “True love is hard to find, but once you see it, you recognize it forever. My wife and I shared it. And so do you and Jack. He came back for you, Brianna.”

  She put her hand to her face. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She did remember how she’d felt. She’d felt as if someone had taken a huge piece of her chest out, like the Heart Taker had done to Jack, only she was still alive. She’d been numb. Numb, empty, lost, and it had taken a year of therapy to get her to where she could finally function and work again. And when Jack had come back, and she’d seen him, she’d been terrified and horrified, but most of all … hopeful. Hope, which had for so long been dead, had been born again and she’d found herself looking towards the future and not seeing simply a dark, gray wall. “I do remember,” she said. She scrubbed at her cheeks and glared at Jack. “I never want to go through that again, you hear?”

  He nodded, his expression somber. “I hear.” Then his mouth quirked in a grin. “I knew there was a good reason I came back. Just chasing after the Heart Taker didn’t sound right.”

  “You never would have agreed to come back for that,” said Mr. Ling-Li. “Revenge is not part of your make-up.”

  Brianna got back to her feet. She felt drained, flayed alive, as if her skin had been peeled away. She wanted to lie down, in a soft bed, and cuddle with Jack. The thought brought a smile to her lips.

  “Shall we go?” Jack stood and shook Mr. Ling-Li’s hand. “Thank you for your time. If you have any ideas about how to go about finding the Heart Taker now that we know who he is, and we have a good idea of what he’s doing, please call.”

  “Of course I will, Jack. I think that tonight you might get some information. May mentioned that she was going to the Shores with you.”

  Brianna tried to dredge up a pang of jealousy, but nothing appeared. Not the slightest spark. Jack loved her. He loved her, and not May.

  Mr. Ling-Li hadn’t made Jack to be May’s happy-ever-after-zombie-hubby. May would have to find her own true love. Ha.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  What Sally Saw

  Brianna had forgotten that Dee and Mamie Hoya were at her apartment, so she held onto her idea of a nice cuddle with Jack right up to the moment that she opened the door and Jack said, “Hi Sally,” to thin air.

  Brianna peered at the spot Jack was looking at, but no matter how she strained her eyes, she saw nothing. Not a shadow, not a wisp of mist or vague form that would be Sally the ghost. She smiled nervously and hung her coat on the hook, setting her
purse and the files she’d brought from M.U.C.I. on the bookcase near the door. Then she noticed the smell. It was a delightful smell that tickled the nose and lured her into the kitchen where Mamie Hoya stood by the stove stirring a large pot. “Oh, what is that?” Brianna asked, leaning over to sniff.

  “Just curried rice and beans, but I always grate coconut into it, so it smells good.” Mamie Hoya tapped the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot and put the top back on. “I have a chicken baking in the oven too. I thought you and Jack would like a nice meal.”

  “How’s Dee?”

  “He’s going to be fine. He’s in the room you gave me, and I’m going to find somewhere else to sleep tonight. Don’t worry. I can call …”

  “You can sleep on the couch. It’s perfectly comfortable,” Brianna said firmly.

  “Well, where will Jack …” Mamie Hoya stopped and cleared her throat. “Well, thank you Brianna.

  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

  Mamie Hoya shook her head. “You were living peacefully all on your own, and then the refugees arrived.”

  “I was living miserably on my own,” said Brianna. “Peacefully, but miserable all the same. I love having you and Jack here. And I’m glad Dee’s here too, and that he’s recuperating. He gave Jack a job and gave me a place to hide from the Heart Taker, so I owe him. And I owe you and Sally a lot too. You helped bring Jack back from the afterworld. I saw him when the veil came off. Only Sally could have done that.”

  “No, a talented necromancer like Jim Ling-Li can do it too, but to tell the truth girl, no one can do it better and with more finesse than a loa.” Mamie Hoya smiled fondly.

  Brianna’s mouth was watering. She’d had nothing but tea for lunch. Jack drifted into the kitchen too, lured by the smell of curry and coconut. “Why don’t you set the table, Jack, and I’ll go see Dee,” said Brianna.

  He nodded and said, “Excuse me Sally, you’re in front of the dish cupboard.”

  ****

  Brianna was glad to see Dee sitting up and looking better. His color was good, and he grinned and patted the bed when she came in the room. “Brianna! Have a seat; I have to talk to you.”

  She sat. Dee took her hands and said very seriously, “I want to thank you for opening your house and letting me stay here.”

  Embarrassed, Brianna blinked and said, “It’s my pleasure, really.” She felt her cheeks turning pink. She rather liked coming home and finding dinner cooking and having people and ghosts about. Well, she could do without the ghost, actually. She would rather be able to see her guests.

  “I’ll be out of here tomorrow anyway. I have to get back to the club. Halloween night was a terrific success, except for my attempted murder, and the news has made the club even more popular, if you can imagine. Suki is running it while I’m out of commission, and he says that last night it was packed.”

  “Oh.” Brianna was a bit taken aback. She was so used to avoiding danger that the idea of purposely going someplace because a terrifying serial killer had been seen there was aberrant to her. Which reminded her. Since Jack had come back she hadn’t been in any real danger, unless she counted the Heart Taker’s threat; which may or may not have been serious. She hadn’t come face to face with anyone trying to kill her lately. But he hadn’t found her, thanks to Dee’s safe room, and instead, he’d tried to kill Dee. She felt it was a tiny bit her fault that Dee had gotten stabbed.

  “Dinner smells good,” said Dee. “Mamie Hoya has been cooking all day.”

  “Are you coming to the table to eat?”

  “No, doctor’s orders. No solid food for a week. Mamie Hoya said she’d bring me some soup.” He sounded mournful, then brightened. “I can have ice-cream though. She said she got some butter pecan. My favorite.”

  After dinner, Jack took his shower and got ready to go to the Shores while Brianna and Dee played a game of scrabble, Dee and Brianna against Mamie Hoya and Sally. Brianna set up the card table next to Dee’s bed, and she perched on it next to him, while Mamie Hoya dragged up an arm chair and sat facing them.

  They had just started playing, and Brianna had finished telling Dee and Mamie Hoya what Jack and she had found out about the Heart Taker, when Mamie Hoya frowned and said, “What did you say child?”

  Brianna started to explain again, when she realized Mamie Hoya was talking to Sally. Mamie Hoya listened intently and then said, “Yes, I think it might be important.” She leaned over the board and put her word “acrobat” on a double word score, using the “t” from Dee’s word. Then she said, “Sally thinks she might know where the Heart Taker goes shopping. When we used to live in the trailer park, she’d go and hang out at the grocery store. Remember? I told you she loves the produce department. Well, a couple times she saw something strange. A couple times, she saw the bananas disappear. She saw other things vanish too, but she mostly watched the fruit and vegetables.”

  “Can the Heart Taker see spirits? Did he see Sally?”

  Mamie Hoya tilted her head, looking at a spot next to her, and said, “Sally says no, he’s not an undead or a spirit talker. He’s mutant, and he can’t see her. Besides, she can’t see him either.”

  “So how does she know he can’t see her?”

  Mamie Hoya shrugged. “Sally says he didn’t see her because she was sitting right on the banana pile when a bunch disappeared. If you put your arm through a ghost, you usually say, ‘excuse me.’ He just reached right though her, so she’s sure he can’t see her.”

  Brianna started to get a tingly feeling in her bones. “That probably means the Heart Taker lives in the trailer park somewhere.”

  Mamie Hoya patted the air next to her. “Thank you, Sally. You’ve been very helpful. Do you have a word yet, Brianna?”

  Brianna tried to make a word with her letters, but “snggsfe” wasn’t a word. Dee reached over and using the first “a” from “acrobat”, made “fangs.” “The ‘f’ is on a triple letter score,” he said with satisfaction.

  A fog horn sounded. Brianna looked out the window. Night had fallen. The air was deep blue and stars glittered in the clear sky. Down below, on the river, barges moved slowly, dark water curling at their bows.

  Jack came in, his hair still wet from the shower. They told him what Sally saw, and he nodded thoughtfully and gave Brianna a lingering kiss before leaving to go to the Shores. The feel of his lips on hers lasted until she went to bed, wrapped up in his tee-shirt, her head on his pillow, her feelings of jealousy toward May finally laid to rest.

  Mamie Hoya and Sally won the scrabble game, three hundred and twenty to one hundred and sixty-five.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  The Watcher

  Stepping out the door, Jack paused and looked down the hill toward the docks. They bustled with movement, even at night, as barges were loaded and unloaded. Strings of naked light bulbs strung along the wharfs made the area look almost festive, while the sound of cranes and forklifts rose over the shouts of men and the steady, oddly reassuring thrum of the barges’ diesel motors. The area being busy; it was no trouble finding a cab to take him downtown. He got out at Dee’s club. He wanted to stop in and tell Suki and everyone how Dee was doing.

  There was a crowd, but Chloe and Davinia gave screams of delight when they saw him and rushed over to give him hugs and kisses.

  “You were fantastic the other night. Everyone has been asking about the next show. As soon as Dee’s up on his feet, we’re having a party.” Holding her tray above her head, Chloe did a quick dance step and then trotted off to serve the drinks she carried.

  “How is Dee? He called us this morning, but we haven’t been to see him yet,” said Davinia. “We were all worried sick about him.”

  “He’s fine. He can’t wait to get back here.” Jack dodged a couple who were disco dancing, said goodbye to Davinia, and headed toward the bar to see Suki, but the crowd was too great. All he could do was wave from a distance.

  The noise and lights were starting to get to him, s
o he gave another wave to Suki and headed out the door. Arnaud, the bouncer, gave him a slap on the back, nearly dislocating his arm. Jack grabbed it just in time to keep it in place. “I’ve had to kick three people out so far,” Arnaud said. “The place is really hopping.”

  “Great,” said Jack, hoping that kicking people out was a good sign. From Arnaud’s expression, it must be. “Well, see you later then.”

  “Later, Jack!” Arnaud crossed his muscular arms over his massive chest and took his stance by the door.

  Jack headed down the street. It was chilly out. People hurried through the night, coats clutched tightly, white breath pluming from their mouths as they laughed. The streetlights cast pale puddles of light on the ground, making broken glass glitter where someone had thrown a beer bottle and missed the trashcan. But as Jack neared the Shores, the streetlights seemed to cast little or no light at all. The dark didn’t bother him anymore. He saw into the shadows. As he turned the corner into Cheery Alley, he saw a shadow hiding in the gloom near the door leading to the Shores.

  He stopped. The shadow stayed motionless. So did Jack. After a few minutes, the shadow tilted its head a bit, as if trying to make out what was the matter. Jack didn’t move. He heard footsteps behind him but he didn’t turn.