Jack the Stripper

by Jennifer Macaire

Jim Ling-Li took matches from his pocket and lit the three candles and the incense. Then he pulled the chair up to the side of the bed and sat down. They waited for a few minutes, no one speaking, Jack getting tenser as the seconds ticked by. When would it happen? What was about to happen?

  “I’m tired,” said the Weeper.

  “Then close your eyes, and sleep.” Jim’s voice was very soft. The incense started to make Jack’s head spin. He shook his head, aware of a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  Jim Ling-Li began to speak then. Jack had no idea what language it was, but the words he spoke seemed to wrap themselves around Jack’s insides and squeeze. He felt the words insinuate themselves into his skull, his stomach, his arms and legs. And yet, he knew, or rather, his body knew, that the words were not meant for him. The words filled him with dread, and at the same time, appeased him, somehow. He risked a glance at May and saw she was affected too. Her skin pressed against the bones in her face and her mouth was white. Her small hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, and she shivered almost uncontrollably.

  Jack didn’t know how long they stood there, or how long Jim Ling-Li muttered his incantations. As he spoke one candle, then another flickered and went out. Suddenly the last candle flared and extinguished itself, and on the bed, the Weeper finally slept.

  Jim Ling-Li reached over and drew his hand over her face, touching her eyelids, her nose, and her mouth. Then he stood up, bowed to the lifeless form on the bed, and said, “It’s done.”

  Jack found himself back in Jim Ling-Li’s office. He touched the teapot, but it was cold.

  “Shall I heat some up for you?” Jim Ling-Li asked kindly.

  “Yes, please.” Jack wanted something scalding.

  “It’s called bitter sun,” said Jim Ling-Li, ever the tea poet. He turned to May, who hadn’t spoken at all since the ceremony. “You see, May, it isn’t a hard choice to make. All you have to do is know when to make it.”

  May didn’t reply, but Jack knew what she felt like. One day, he could choose to lie down and let his soul leave his body, and let the life-force that animated him fall asleep for all time. Like a candle being blown out.

  “Ever after,” said May suddenly. Her face relaxed and she turned to Jack. “That’s what she wanted, and she’s weeping no longer. I can’t hear her. She passed into the shadow.”

  Jack sipped his bitter sun tea and felt a small measure of peace fill him. The Heart Taker was no more, the Weeper slept, and May was not the invincible, scary creature he’d thought she was.

  “Do you think I’ll get a raise?” he asked May, and was surprised when she started to laugh.

  ****

  Brianna sat at her desk and tried to write the report. As she’d surmised it wasn’t easy. She hadn’t seen most of what happened. According the Jack, the Heart Taker had stopped time twice. Once to speak to Jack, and once to grab the jar with his wife’s soul in it.

  She looked at the paper and sighed. That just didn’t look right.

  “What’s the matter?” Jeffrey came in and sat down in front of her, on the opposite side of her desk.

  “No one will believe this report,” said Brianna, putting her head in her hands.

  “You forget who you’re writing it for. Moosie. The folk here have seen everything, believe me. And the boys in area Fifty One will even believe stuff they haven’t seen. So just write the report as you saw it.”

  “Moosie believes,” said Brianna, making her voice deep and mysterious. “Whatever happens … Moosie Believes.” She was happy when she saw Jeffrey grin. It was a faint smile, and only whisked across his face like a shadow, but it had been there. She reached over the desk and took his hand. “I’m so sorry about Wendy. I know it’s too soon and you will probably hate me for bringing it up in the office, but if you ever want to talk to anyone, I’m here. I really liked her, and I’m sorry you had to lose her.”

  The tears that had been just below the surface welled up, and Jeffrey turned his chair around so that Brianna only saw his broad back. He took a few deep breaths, then spoke, his back still to her. “You’re right. It’s too soon. But I needed you to tell me that, Brianna. Thanks.” He paused, pulled a hankie out of his pocket and blew his nose loudly. “Now, get that report done and no more personal business in the office.”

  “There is one thing I have to ask you, Jeffrey.” Brianna took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you ever tell me your mother is a registered mutant?”

  Jeffrey looked taken aback, then nodded slowly. “The files. You hacked into the police files.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I suppose I should be angry, but I’m rather proud of your detective work. Always will be.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “No, that’s all right. My father was afraid that my mother being a mutant would discriminate against me. He had all the files erased. You must have found one that he missed.”

  “What was her talent?” Brianna asked.

  “My mother’s talent was interesting. I never met anyone with it. She could switch places with people. Literally, physically put herself in their place. The other person would find their self in her seat, for example, or standing in her spot in line at the supermarket check-out.” He chuckled. “She couldn’t really control the talent either. It just took over in times of great stress as a sort of safety measure. If anyone had ever fired a gun at her, he’d be hit by his own bullet.”

  “Or if she ran in a race, her body might think she was being chased, and switch with the leader.” Brianna gave a wry smile.

  “Right.” Jeffrey stared at her keenly. “You thought I was the Heart Taker at one point? Is that it?”

  “Never,” said Brianna. “I swear.”

  “I believe you. Oh, one more thing. We have to talk about your partnership with Jack.”

  Brianna twiddled her pen, wrote another sentence that ended with, “…and the soul burst from the jar like a fourth-of-July fireworks.” She knew what was coming next. Fine. She was a professional. She could handle it. “I already spoke to Jack about that. I explained that it wasn’t possible for us to work together.”

  “You’re right.” Jeffrey swung his chair around. “Starting next week you have a new partner, and so does Jack.”

  “May.”

  “How did you guess?” Jeffrey sounded surprised.

  Brianna put the pen down after gouging a hole in her report with it. She shouldn’t be upset that Jack had May as a partner. “Jack and May complement each other,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. Reasonable. Professional. Jeffrey didn’t know that May had tried to seduce Jack away from her, and now he was giving her a new chance to try even harder. Damn.

  The pen in her hand broke. Damn. First blood now ink on these pants. They were ruined.

  “No, May is going to be your partner.” Jeffrey nodded and tapped his feet on the floor in a quick two step. He always used to do that when he was pleased about something.

  That took a while to sink in. May? Her partner? Could she work with May? She thought she’d have to consider, but the idea wasn’t as bad as she’d first supposed. May was cold, cool, and competent. She was also bright, and could be counted on. Fine. She’d get used to the idea. And that way she could keep her eye on May. Brianna raised her eyebrow. “Who will be working with Jack?”

  Jeffrey tilted his head, a funny expression on his face. “Me,” he said.

  “You?” Brianna rubbed her hand over her face. “But, Jeffrey, you’re the chief here and--”

  “And I was getting tired of all that paperwork, tired of sitting behind a desk most of the time, tired of holding down two jobs trying to keep my head above water. I am …” his voice broke but he plowed on. “so sorry Wendy died. I would have worked thirteen jobs for her. But one thing I know. Life is short, and life is precious, and life is to be lived while you can still live it. I’m quitting my job with the city police. I’m still chief here at moosie. But I’ve missed working the crime scenes,
missed working with a team, and missed being a part of …” he broke off and looked at her. “You have ink all over your face.”

  Brianna looked at her blue-spattered hand and at the report, also spattered with blue and now sporting a ragged hole in the middle. “Do the boys in area Fifty One care what the report looks like?” she asked. “Are they the ones who file them?”

  “You could write it in glow-in-the-dark ink on rainbow colored paper and they wouldn’t notice,” said Jeffrey. He smiled again. A fleeting smile, but a smile just the same. It was a good thing to see. He’d been somber for so long Brianna had almost forgotten how he was before Wendy got sick. She signed her name on the bottom of the report.

  “I’ll let Jack and May sign this and then it’s off to the files.” She leaned back in her chair and stretched. “So this case is closed. The Heart Taker has been found. No more stupid poems shoved into bloody chest cavities. No more hiding in safe rooms on Halloween.” She set her chair back down and shook her head. “I’m going to be bored.”

  “I don’t think so. There is a file that just arrived on my desk. Strange things have been going on in the undead community.”

  Brianna raised her eyebrows. “That sounds like an oxymoron,” she said.

  “You’re going to have to retrain your thinking now that you work here. What was strange before is now commonplace. When a vampire comes to moosie and asks for help … now that’s strange.”

  Brianna straightened the papers on her desk, got up, and went to stand next to Jeffrey. “I’m going home to shower. I’ll let you tell Jack the good news, all right?”

  He nodded. “Have a nice evening. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Brianna pulled her coat on over her bloodstained blouse. Jeffrey had offered her a clean shirt, but she just wanted to go home, shower, and change. At the corner she saw the shoeshine boy, and on a whim, went to get her shoes polished. She put her foot on the box and winced. She’d forgotten how caked with blood they were.

  The shoeshine boy whistled. “Wow. What happened?”

  “Just clean. I’ll tell you while you’re working. It’s a long story.” Brianna watched as the boy scrubbed and polished, and while he worked, she told him how the Heart Taker had been captured and killed, and how he wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.

  The boy looked up and gave her a huge smile. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all year. Shine’s on me, Lady.”

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Starting from Scratch

  Jack had been expecting to see Brianna at the office. He felt let down, in a way; that she hadn’t waited for him. He signed the report, admiring the professional way Brianna described the incident, grinned as he saw the word hypothesis, and wondered what the ink stain and the hole in the paper was from. He filled in the missing bits, adding his conversation with the Heart Taker. Then he signed it and passed it to May.

  May, still terribly subdued, added her signature to the affair.

  Jeffrey told them about the new partner arrangement. Jack hadn’t known what to expect. Perhaps in the back of his mind he’d been expecting May. Getting Jeffrey was a surprise, but the more he thought about it the more he liked it.

  May did not look pleased with the arrangement, but she nodded, gathered her purse and coat, and left the office, bidding good night to Jack and Jeffrey.

  “She wanted you as a partner,” said Jeffrey, after the door had closed and the sound of May’s high heels on the tiled floor had faded away. A whiff of her perfume remained though, and Jeffrey breathed deeply before sitting back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. Jack couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his expression. He looked more Native American than ever now, his face haggard and his eyes grim. But his voice was calm. “Brianna tells me you have a knack for detective work. And the proof is all here. Finding the Heart Taker was no easy task, but you did it. Congratulations, Jack.”

  “Thank you, Jeffrey.” Jack was uncomfortable. This was his new partner and although he admired him, he didn’t know him at all and it made him uneasy.

  “I know how you feel.” Jeffrey nodded at Jack. “My first partner was Stan Watowsky. He was a grizzled pro, just three years short of retirement, and he got stuck with a wet-behind-the-ears blue like me. I thought the best thing to do would be just stay in the car, or hide behind Stan, and let him take over. But he knew the ropes, and he made me climb them. He put me right out there and put me to work. He was a teacher at heart. I was lucky I got paired with him. I learned more with Stan in six months than I had at the academy in two years.” He shook his head. “And you are starting from scratch. You never went to the academy. You never had any training at all. So I thought I’d repay Stan. He went out of his way to teach me, and I’m going to go out of my way to make sure you learn everything you need to know. It’s going to be tough, but I think you can do it, Jack. Besides, I’ve always wanted a partner who could stop speeding bullets,” he deadpanned.

  Jack felt things falling into place. Brianna was good, but she wouldn’t be able to teach him what Jeffrey could, and being emotionally involved with one’s partner was too hard. Look what had happened in the trailer. He’d been shocked and terrified by Brianna’s near miss, and that had made him grimly satisfied that the Heart Taker had been killed. Perhaps he could have stopped time and plucked the bullet away. He didn’t know. It was too late now. But his emotions had definitely gotten in the way of his job. Starting from scratch might not be a bad idea. “I can’t promise anything about the bullets,” he said to Jeffrey. “But I’m glad you’re my partner.”

  Jeffrey leaned forward and stuck his hand out. “Well, shake then. And see you tomorrow, Buddy.”

  “Anything but Buddy,” said Jack, pained.

  ****

  The shoeshine boy already knew the big news of the day. He hailed Jack as he crossed the street, waving his brush above his head.

  “Your partner told me,” said the boy, insisting on giving Jack a free shine too.

  “She’s not my partner.” Jack felt obliged to tell him everything, so he did. The boy listened intently, while putting a gleam on Jack’s brown leather loafers.

  “So you’re a zombie?” the boy made a face and turned down Jack’s offer of a tip. “You don’t look like a zombie. Can you do anything cool? Do your eyeballs fall out? Can you show me?”

  Jack obliged him by taking his arm off.

  “That is totally awesome,” said the kid.

  Jack felt the day had been a great success.

  ****

  It wasn’t over. Brianna’s apartment was warm, brightly lit, and scented with spicy ginger candles. A trail of red rose petals led into her bedroom. Intrigued, Jack read the note on the floor among the rose petals. Mamie Hoya is at Dee’s place with Sally, getting him settled in. There’s a salmon quiche in the oven, a bottle of chilled champagne in the ice bucket, and a naked woman in the bathtub. Hurry before the water gets cold.'

  Jack opened the door to the bathroom. It was true.

  “You look so beautiful,” Jack said, running his lips over her jaw and over to her mouth.

  “It’s the candlelight. It makes my eyes glow.”

  “They glow anyway.” Jack took her face in his hands and kissed her again. And again.

  “The water is getting cold,” said Brianna, a little catch in her voice.

  “So let’s get out, wrap ourselves in a towel and …” Jack stopped talking and stared. Standing in the bathroom, a grin on his face, was the ghost from the reservation.

  “What is it?” asked Brianna, twisting her head around to look where Jack was staring.

  “Nothing. What do you think about peeping Toms?” Jack asked.

  Brianna giggled. “Like the one in the hotel? I’ve always kind of fantasized about someone watching me.”

  Jack lifted her out of the tub and handed her a towel. “Well, let’s just pretend someone is watching us, all right?”

  Brianna sucked in her breath. “You are the m
ost inventive lover,” she said, dropping the towel and pressing herself to Jack. “I love your imagination. Tell me more. What does he look like, and what is he doing now?”

  Jack glanced at the ghost from the corner of his eye and said, “He’s tall, dark, and handsome …”

  “Like you,” said Brianna, running her hands down his back.

  “And he has … a hard-on,” said Jack.

  “Like you.” Brianna chuckled. “Try to make him different.”

  “He’s wearing a loin cloth, he’s a Native American, and he’s staring at your breasts like he can’t get enough of them.”

  Brianna stepped back. “He is?”

  Jack nodded.

  “This isn’t make believe, is it? There’s a ghost in here, isn’t there? He came from the hotel? Is it the same one?”

  Jack nodded again. “Do you want to get dressed? Maybe he’ll go away.”

  Brianna thought about it for a minute, and then she shook her head. Her cheeks were pink. “No, we can stay under the covers. Maybe he’ll get bored and leave us alone. Is he really good looking?”

  After, Jack looked around the room, but the Native American had disappeared. He hoped he’d seen the last of him. For a while at least. He was exhausted.

  He wasn’t too tired to eat though. He was famished. The quiche was delicious, but he didn’t touch the champagne, preferring to drink plain water with his meal, and then making an herbal tea afterward. He followed the diet in his zombie handbook with care. He sat with Brianna on the couch, the lights off, watching the animation on the wharf down below.

  “How do you feel about having May as a partner?” he asked her.

  “I think she’ll be a good partner. She’s tough, she’s conscientious, and she will be more careful with her gun from now on. I think she was so used to using a spike she just forgot how dangerous guns can be.”

  “So everything’s all right?” Jack had to know.

  “Everything’s perfect,” she said, stroking his hair. “Especially if you promise to keep your other job and if you can get rid of our peeping Tom.”