Hooray For What

Installment 9

2008-05-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

Tom Powell tapped on his watch and looked at it once more. He wound it a couple of times and dropped it into his pocket. He got up from the soft green chair and began to examine the signed photographs of film stars, musicians, singers on the wall of the small room.

The door behind him opened and he turned to face Paul Waverly. “I understand you want to see me,” said Waverly as he entered.

“I’m Detective Tom Powell with the New York police.”

“I’m Paul Waverly and I’ve got to be on stage in,” he looked up, “six minutes.”

“Four more than I need today,” said Powell, sitting down opposite Waverly who had thrown himself down on a big green couch. “Any idea why I’m here?”

“Yeah, I just heard about Mabel a little while ago. What’s the word?”

Powell swung his hat forward and back by the brim between his knees. “You tell me. As far as we know, you were the last to see the girl.”

Paul touched a finger of his cigarette hand to his tongue to remove a tobacco grain. “Well, she spent the night in my hotel room, if that’s what you want to know. At least she was there when I fell asleep. She was gone with the wind when I woke.”

Powell’s brow arched. “Gone with the wind?”

“Half the boy’s are reading the book. The one’s that can read, that is.”

“Book? Right.” Powell pulled out a pad and flipped the cover forward. “How well did you know Miss Herrmann? Was she a frequent...companion?”

Paul smiled. “I haven’t been back in town long enough to have frequent companions. I just came out of retirement.” Paul glanced at the clock, stood up and began adjusting his clothes.

Powell looked up. “Retirement. At your age?”

“Christ. You are one hell of a detective. ” Waverly glanced at the clock. “I met her that night at El Morocco. She made a scene, we left in a hurry. We ate. We tangoed. I fell asleep. She was gone.” Powell stood, looked at his hat, pinching the crown. “I gotta say I liked it. I’m sorry I won’t be playing that song again. She seemed like a good kid.”

Powell studied Waverly’s face. Paul met his gaze for a few seconds and questioningly raised his eyebrows. “Thanks,” said Powell finally and put his notebook away. “I’ll try and catch you when you’ve got a little more time.”

“Sure. You’ll excuse me. My public awaits.”

Powell looked absently at the empty doorway for a moment. Tilting his head down, he put on his hat and left the room.

Installment 8 (Chapter 3--Entertainment is Everywhere)

2008-03-17T00:25:00.004-04:00

A car horn screamed past Arthur Vine as he stepped onto the hot concrete sidewalk outside his door. He held a beer stein, its top flipped up, chest high before him. “Now, my sudden friend, let us sketch in the backdrop of your existence.” Vine turned south, squinting in the noisy glare of the Manhattan morning. The smell of steaming sausages awoke a sensation within him, which he guessed was hunger. Behind him he heard a rhythmic metallic clicking noise and within a few seconds a small boy passed him pulling a small toy monkey on wheels. The monkey tapped on a little metal drum as it rolled. “Entertainment is everywhere, Jonah. Inescapable,” he mumbled to the fish in the beer mug.

A group of sailors bounced out of the huge arched doorway of the New York Aquarium as Arthur Vine began his slow ascent of the stairs. The sailors broke out in laughter as they raced one another down. A winded Vine reached the top of the stairs and stepped to the side to allow another group of sailors to pass. He placed the stein on a pedestal next to the bust of a 19th century woman. A plaque below the bust read, “On this spot, in the year of 1850, the “Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, made her North American debut.” “Inescapable,” chuckled Vine as he grasped the stein by the handle and entered the great circular fortress.
The air inside the Aquarium was considerably cooler and it washed over Vine refreshingly. Two levels of glass ringed the building and large undersea murals covered the stone walls. “Surely, we must find some of your brethren in such a place, Jonah,” whispered Vine into the stein.

Through the reflection in his face, Vine watched the flowing fins of a fish just like Jonah in every way, except this one had a blue red sheen with not a trace of the green which dominated Jonah’s color scheme. “Betta Splendens”, he read, “Commonly referred to as the ‘Siamese Fighting Fish’. So, you are a fighter, Jonah. You certainly fought for your life on the New York City street.”
“I knew you liked ta drink, Mr. Vine, but you shouldn’t oughta bring beer into the Aquarium.” A big red haired man in a guard uniform looked down at Vine with a wide yellow smile.
“I assure you, Mr. Cornthwaite,” said Vine, returning the smile, “that the contents of this decanter are entirely appropriate to this establishment.”
“Watcha got there, anyway?” Asked Cornthwaite as he leaned down.
“Betta Splendens, it says here, Mr. Cornthwaite, the Siamese Fighting Fish. This particular edition bears the appellation Jonah.”
“Don’t you never say anything simple, Mr. Vine? I aint big on fancy talkers, but you're all right. You don't do it to show off.” Cornthwaite took the stein into his big red hand and, popping open the top, looked inside. “Colorful, ain’t they,” he said lowering his voice. “Where'd you pick this up, Mr. Vine?”
“I found this wayward child lying in the middle of the street as a matter of fact.”
“You don’t say. “He looked up at Vine. “What? Just lyin’ there?”
“Indeed. By all rights he should be dead,” said Vine taking back the stein. “It is a bond we share,” he said and snapped the lid shut.

Installment 7

2008-03-06T19:40:00.000-05:00

The steam fogged Lionel Barry’s glasses as he washed his bony hands over the porcelain sink. When the water stopped, he heard a single rap on the diamond-shaped window in the door.

Barry stepped out of the autopsy room, wiping his glasses on his white lab coat. “Whaddya got for me, doctor,” said Tom Powell, offering a cigarette from his tin case to the slight man.

“Thanks,” said Barry, leaning close to the open case, his face speckled with reflected light. He picked a cigarette from the case. “Well, the head wound, obviously, was the most severe,” he wheezed. “The top of the skull was crushed most of the way back,” he said, finally putting his wire-rimmed glasses back on, “and the spine was broken in a few places...the neck was totally severed, just the skin holding it together. Some small items, a kitchen knife, a fork, a tin can lid...trash really...were embedded in the skin. Those occurred at the time of death, all bled some, but all seem incidental. Broken left forearm. She’s been dead at least 24 hours, I suppose.”

Powell looked up from his notebook. “No gunshot wounds, strangulation marks, deep knife wounds? Nothing like that?”

“No,” said Barry, reaching under his lab coat to pull out a lighter. “My theory is that she fell from a great height, directly into the back of a garbage truck, either striking the edge of the truck or some heavy object in the truck. Cause of death was a combination of the blow to the head and broken neck. I’ll get you the report in a few hours.”

“Pretty girl, huh? A shame,” said Powell, looking up from his notebook.

“Well, none of us will look too pretty a hundred years from now, detective,” said Barry, his thin lips in a slanted, sardonic smile.

Powell gave an amused snort in response.

Barry raised an eyebrow, thrust his hands in his pockets and began to walk down the well-lit subterranean corridor. The clicking of his heels stopped and he turned back to Powell, who was raising a lit match to the cigarette in his mouth. “Oh and she was recently impregnated.” Powell’s lips drew back and he held the unlit cigarette between his teeth.

“Paramount doesn’t want to know about her. I talked to the head of publicity. He said she hasn’t been under contract for a year her last movie was poison. As far as he was concerned, she died in 1935.” Powell sat down heavily in the padded green chair across the desk from the police chief, Benson Donleavy.

“Feet down,” said Donleavy as he twirled the cigar on the desk before him. “I guess all bets are off, then. What do we know about her?”

“She was a wild one. Dope, booze, sex--of all kinds, plus any other vice you want.” Powell set his hat on the desk and ran his hand over his slick auburn hair. “She was last seen with Paul Waverly, the musician, at a club and a restaurant last Thursday, the day before he opened at the Raven’s nest.” Powell’s gray eyes looked up briefly from his hat at Donleavy.

Donleavy sat up straight and somewhat self-consciously squared his shoulders. “That’s Russ Treacher’s place, isn’t it? Do you think Treacher is mixed up in this?”

“Hell if I know. I’m checking on it.”

“Well get a move on, we’re going public with this. There doesn’t seem to be any reason not to.”

Powell stood up, put on his hat and buttoned his jacket. “You do what you think you gotta. Look, I’m not sure what happened to her. It looks like she fell out a window. Maybe she got pushed; maybe she was so drunk she thought it was the door. I’m gonna see Waverly at the Raven’s nest tonight. Hopefully, I’ll get a feel for the case from him.”

“Call me after you talk to him.” Donleavy stood up and turned to the window behind him.

Installment 6

2008-03-02T20:02:00.002-05:00

Selene Davis slammed the trunk and headed out through the tall grass towards the garbage dump. She threaded through a small group of policemen and reporters until she came upon the dead woman embedded in the garbage. She whistled through her teeth, and shook her head. She took the large bag from her shoulder and set it on the ground, unsnapped it, and pulled a large camera out, snapped in a flash bulb aimed it at the exposed head and pressed the button. She popped the dead bulb over her shoulder, loaded a new one, pulled the film cartridge out, flipped it over, reinserted it and framed the head from a different angle.

Tom Powell walked up behind her as the camera flashed. “We’re gonna dig her out as soon as you're done with this.”

“The papers are going to have a field day with this one, huh, Powell?” she said, rummaging in her bag.

“Pretty Jane Doe, naked in a garbage dump, with her head open wide, I guess so,” said Powell, pushing up the brim of his hat.

“Jane Doe?” said Selene, looking up from her bag. “You mean to tell me you don’t know who she is?” she asked.

Powell looked about distractedly, flipping open his cigarette case.

“You need to get out more, Powell. That’s Mabel Herrmann.” The camera flashed. “She’s a movie star.”

He raised his eyebrows and his cigarette drooped very slightly in his mouth.

Flash. “I can understand a shut-in like you not recognizing her, but the reporters should have.”

“They haven’t been over yet, I kept them away until we got what we needed,” he said, his mind working. “I’ll take care of the press. Just get your pictures. And keep this under your hat, understand.”

Selene smiled, “Now who am I gonna tell. Kennedy’ll be back in a couple of days and I go back to civilian life--and a new camera. This job pays ok and it's steady work, but I like my life to be my own.” She lifted her department-issued camera to her eye and flashed another picture. “Don’t worry about me, you’ve got bigger problems.”

“Good. You done yet?”

“Yeah. Do you want some of her after you’ve dug her out?”

“No. You can get those at the morgue.”

“The morgue,” she repeated. She snapped her case shut and headed back to her car.

The steam fogged Lionel Barry’s glasses as he washed his bony hands over the porcelain sink. When the water stopped, he heard a single rap on the diamond-shaped window in the door.

Barry stepped out of the autopsy room, wiping his glasses on his white lab coat. “Whaddya got for me, doctor,” said Tom Powell, offering a cigarette from his tin case to the slight man.

Powell looked up from his notebook. “No gunshot wounds, strangulation marks, deep knife wounds? Nothing like that?”

“No,” said Barry, reaching under his lab coat to pull out a lighter. “My theory is that she fell from a decent height, directly into the back of a garbage truck, either striking the edge of the truck or some heavy object in the truck. Cause of death was a combination of the blow to the head and broken neck. I’ll get you the report tomorrow.”

“Get me something short tonight, if you can. Pretty girl, huh? A shame,” said Powell, looking up from his notebook.

“Well, none of us will look too pretty a hundred years from now, detective,” said Barry, his thin lips in a slanted, sardonic smile.

Powell gave an amused snort in response.

Installment 5 (Chapter 2--"Who'm I Gonna Tell?")

2008-02-29T23:39:00.003-05:00

Detective Tom Powell squinted from under his brown hat at the burnt-orange sun that filtered through the smoke-filled sky. He flicked his cigarette at the massive pile of garbage before him. “All right, let’s see it.” He followed the thin old man down shoreline of decaying meals, broken toys and discarded newspapers. The old man slowed, then stopped and pointed into the pile. “Right there,” he said.

“Nice,” Powell said flatly, as he stared into the cloudy eyes of the woman who stared up at him. Only her head and part of one shoulder protruded from the dense pile of refuse. A large wound above her brow seemed to lay her skull wide open. Powell reached into the pocket of his overcoat and pulled out a pad. “Green eyes. Looks like brown hair. What do you make her age at pop, middle to late twenties?” The old man stared down at the head and said nothing. “Any idea where this particular garbage came from?” The old man looked over at Powell and shrugged.

“I might as well ask her,” he said reaching up into the garbage above the body and pulled out a small rectangular sheet of paper. He studied the telegram. “Hotel Duval, September 11,” he said slowly as he wrote on his pad. “Gotta start somewhere. I’m gonna call for the coroner and some uniforms. Don’t touch anything till I get back, OK?” The old man looked down at his rugged shoes. “Hmm…,” he said.

Installment 4...

From the start...

Installment Four

2006-06-17T10:09:00.001-04:00

Arthur Vine bent over unsteadily, setting his hands on his knees, and took a closer look at the fish that lay glistening on the sidewalk before him. It was about three inches long, its fins colorless in the poor light of the deserted street. He searched the darkened windows of the buildings around him. He raised one palm and looked skyward at the dingy clouds that moved slowly across the sky. He bent down upon one knee heavily and brought his face to within a foot of the animal. The fish flipped violently into the air, sending Arthur back onto his rump. It flipped once more. "I'll be damned," he said, "It lives." He looked about the street and discovered a broken wine bottle standing at the foot of the next streetlight. It had collected several inches of rainwater. He came haltingly to his feet and retrieved a bottle, returning to the fish. Holding it between two fingers, he dropped it silently into the water. The fish took several quick turns around the bottle, it's fins flashing wide and came to rest peacefully on the glass bottom. Arthur picked up the bottle and raised it to his bleary eyes. "I'll be damned," he said.

The key scraped roughly outside the darkened apartment before finding its mark. The heavy lock clicked and a dim shaft of light appeared on the floor.
"I am ashamed to say, my dear fellow, that this is not the first time I have returned to my humble abode with a wine bottle in hand, but never has it contained such a mysterious gift," he said, lighting the small candle which sat melted into a plate at the center of a small wooden table. Arthur now saw that the fish had metallic purple scales. I do not have much dear fellow, but I believe I can provide more luxurious accommodations than this. He picked up the plate and went to the sink in which a large collection of cloudy glasses and food-caked plates rested. On the shelf above, among the piles of pulp magazines and newspapers stood a crystal vase. "This is all I have from my dear mother," he said as he filled it with water. "You are fortunate that I have never been without drink quite long enough to sacrifice it." He returned to the table and poured the contents of the wine bottle into the vase. "You are a handsome creature, bedecked in the robes of royalty. Of course, I must name you if you are to stay. King? King David? You do have a fierce beauty about you. Too ponderous for everyday conversation. No, I shall presume to call you Jonah," he said, studying the inscrutable animal. "It must have been a mighty whale that spit you from the east river to my front door." He chuckled softly to himself.

Mabel threw herself onto the bed and kicked her shoes into the air. One landed next to her on the bed and on at Paul's feet.
"Dangerous woman," he said as he began to lay his things on the vanity.
"Silly boy, I'm just a cuddly little puppy, after all," she said tossing her clothes onto a chair near the bed.
"Well, I've heard your bark, but I'm not sure I want to feel your bite," said Paul as he hung his clothes in the closet.
"Come on over and I'll give you a chance to compare, honey."

Paul heard the clatter of metal in the street and the sound of a heavy truck moving in the street below. Silhouetted against the light from the bathroom, he could see the outline of Mabel's clothes hanging on the chair. He turned away from the light and passed into sleep once more.

Dusky light flickered across his face from between the undulating balcony curtains. He was alone in the bed, but Mabel's clothes still lay crumpled atop the same chair. The artificial light still shone from the bathroom, softened somewhat by the dawn's aura. "She's still here," he thought. "Well, maybe she's quiet mornings." Paul's mind turned to business, running through what details needed attention before tonight's performance. Satisfied that any problems were minor, his mind returned to the quiet room. "Jeez, Mabel, I would have thought you were the kind of girl who'd talk to herself when no one else was around." Silence. "I'd like to see the size of the cat that got her tongue," he thought to himself.
He stood in the unoccupied bathroom, concern passed like rapid clouds across his face . His eyebrows arched and, whistling, he reached for the silver knobs on the sink.

Pallas at the Palace…
I feel the dust pouring into the open vein of ore…I have seen you in photographs and heard you on the radio…I pull you into me like a corner shop which sells post cards from France… On this street, behind this broken glass, I offer all I have for a kind word or a kind of word…I would stand on the edge of a radio tower to get a better picture of you…I think that is what it would take…Every time it rains, it rains, or so they say…I haven't said rain since I was a little girl and I promise to say it every day until you are mine…I wish I could say some words that would unlock the lock, solve the puzzle, make you hear me…I see you in the car, in the rain, on the street, and I wish for you…

Selene laid her bag on the wooden floor by the door and went into the kitchen. She reached into a cabinet and began pulling out jars and cans until she finally found the bottle. she poured a few inches of amber liquid, into a small glass. Walking back into the small living area, she dropped her coat on a chair, kicked off her shoes, set the glass on a coffee table and headed back to her bag. She pulled a folded copy of The Undertaker's Monthly from the bag, carried it back to the couch, picked up her drink, took a swift sip and settled down, unfolding the magazine and browsed the table of contents. "Nice work if you can get it..." she sang softly and set the magazine down. She drained the glass. She leaned back, cupping her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.

"Selene?" Norvell leaned over her and touched her shoulder. "Selene, wake up and go to bed. It's late."
"Huh?" she said, stirring and sitting herself upright on the couch. "Oh, it's you, Norvell. What time is it?"
"Midnight," he said. He picked up her empty glass and went into the kitchen. She heard the sink running. "It's past your bedtime, isn't it?" she called.
"Mr. Vine and I were working. The man doesn't come alive until the sun goes down." He stood in the doorway wiping his hands with a towel.
"How's it going?"
"He's full of...contradictions," said Norvell with a wry smile. "He makes a lot of pronouncements on life, and yet his physical circumstances are atrocious."
"I don't see why you bother. Who's going to read a book about Vaudeville? America needs to face the future," Selene rose and headed towards her room.
"The past is the future," said Norvell, draping the towell over his shoulder, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "You're probably right about the book. But Mr. Bernarr isn't going to let Vaudeville die quietly, and that may be Vine's real value to me."
The door to Selene's room clicked shut and Norvell dropped his glasses into his pocket and went back into the kitchen.

Installment 5...

Installment Three

2006-06-10T23:33:00.000-04:00

"My boy, there is nothing more satisfying than the hamburger. America's gift to the world. I don't believe we invented it, but we have certainly perfected it and, by that right, can claim it as a native." Arthur Vine covered the last visible portion of meat with a splat from the ketchup bottle and replaced the bun. "Most fortuitous, indeed, young man that you suggested a bit of repast when met, for, I am not proud to say, many are the nights when the subject of solid food has slipped my mind. I have regretted it the next day, you can be sure. You have saved me dear boy, saved me indeed, from that most distressing combination of all mortal states, hunger and sobriety." Vine picked up the hamburger and took a large bite.
Norvell Kees brushed a wisp of blonde hair from his forehead and watched Vine. A small, unadorned salad sat before him. "Mr. Vine," he said, quietly, "It is my pleasure to eat with you. I have great respect for the work you've done. More importantly, I think we can help each other."
Vine put down his half eaten sandwich, wiped his mouth and smiled. "My how serious you are, and direct. You remind me of an old vaudeville act, Sober Sue. Well, not an act, really. Old Tony Pastor had her in the lobby of the Palladium for a week. He offered a thousand dollars to anyone who could make her laugh. We all tried, by God. Comics from all over the city. No one could do it," he said chuckling, his body shaking. "Well, it appears that she had some sort of paralysis of her facial muscles. The poor dear couldn't smile if she wanted to. My boy, it's a fine line between showman and charlatan."
Kees smiled wanly.

A heavy silver cross with gems at each point and an agonized Jesus in the center hung from the neck of the middle-aged woman who awaited their order. Mabel looked down at the menu briefly and back up at the waitress. "I'll have the John the Baptist platter--and make it bloody." Mabel couldn't make out the women's eyes from behind the reflected light of the glasses, but her cheeks seemed to sag.
"Excuse me," she said softly and walked from their table into the kitchen.
"Now, that wasn't nice, was it?" Paul said, looking down at his menu.
"I know," she said, "She didn't even wait for your order." Paul shook his head, then took a drink.

Mabel speared a thick, red square of steak and held it before her face. "My daddy, in his whole life, never had a piece of meat like this. He was a coal miner, you know. He died in a huge mine blast with 243 other men and boys when I was six. It destroyed my Mother. She couldn't let him go. Every day for the next nine years she walked down to the shaft with a wagon and carried back a pile of coal. She was looking for a trace of Daddy, I guess--A ring, his watch, I don't know. She sifted through buckets and buckets of coal. She never found anything. When she died, I gave the coal to the church. It must have lasted them a year. I didn't stay around to find out. I went to live with my Aunt in California. My uncle grows oranges."
Paul looked watched her pull the meat off an artichoke heart with her teeth and marveled at her feeding skills. He was quick and efficient with his meals, but she combined a voracious appetite with a simian dexterity. Paul made use of several napkins during a meal, impatiently reaching to an empty table for an extra setting if no waiter were in sight. Mabel would not waste butter on insensate cloth but would lick it cleanly from her fingers and only then make use of her napkin. Yet she was not ill-mannered. She was simply engaged absolutely with her meal.
"Coming to California from West Virginia was like dying and going to heaven, you know. I loved the orange farm. The colors, honey----blue, green, orange and white--and the sun, daddy, gorgeous." She drained her glass of wine and looked around for the waiter. "I'd like to know if I were going to die, so I could say good-bye to everyone--and give a piece of my mind to all the people that have done me wrong."
Paul smiled and asked, "There's someone somewhere who's in doubt?"
"Well, anyway, it seems kind of unfair to die the way daddy did, don't you think? You know, the last thing you experience being a big blast of pain, no chance to make up for it, in this life, at least. Personally, I think he's a ghost somewhere--you know, people who die like that, their souls can't leave the earth."

Installment Two

2006-06-08T00:48:00.000-04:00

Knotted fingers swirled the freshly drained glass in a slow circle as the barely melted ice clinked. “You blink and it’s gone, Sammy.”

“That’s life, sir,” said the small, dark man with the neatly graying mustache.

“You know, Green Eddie used to make sure they put a fresh bottle, a bucket of ice and a special glass in front of me when I came in.”

“Yeah, I love that story, too, but it’s eight years now that Green Eddie is dead.”

The old man released the glass and ran his hand through his thin gray hair. His cloudy green eyes were highlighted by Technicolor red rims, which were virulent cousins to his benign pink, pocked nose. “Radio...Soulless voices made of air...Vanity of vanity, all is vanity, so sayeth...” He looked over the bartender’s shoulder into the mirrored shelves behind. Between the colored containers of spirits he watched Paul navigate the crowded room, destined for a well-placed table. “What flavor is this then?”

Sammy looked up. “That’s Paul Waverly. He opens at the Raven’s Nest tomorrow. He’s got a big new hit--’Kiss Me Here’. The chicks eat him up.”

“And so shall they spit him out, soon enough my boy.” He pulled a worn deck of cards from his coat pocket, “Shall we cut for another libation, Sammy.”

“No disrespect Mr. Vine, but I’ve had all the bitter pills I can swallow and I’ve given out all my freebies for the night, so maybe you should move on home.”

“Quite right, dear boy. I shall not draw any further upon your deep well of hospitality, Sammy. I believe I shall introduce myself to America’s Next Sweetheart.”

“I’d rather you didn’t, but it's a free country.” Sammy’s voice trailed off as he moved to attend to a paying customer.

“What’s the word old-timer,” said Paul as the old man lowered himself heavily into the seat opposite.

“I hear you are going to be famous,” said Mr. Vine with a smile.

“May already be, for all I know,” Paul answered, his eyes drinking in the bubbling swirl of bodies about the room. “I thought I saw Winchell, maybe you should ask him.”

‘I seem to remember that I used to be famous, but I would not swear to it.“

Paul eyed him as the waiter set a drink before him. “Want a drink, Mr...?”

“Vine, Arthur Vine. Don’t mind if I do. I developed a taste for rum when I worked at a sugar plantation in Cuba in my youth and have yet to find a more felicitous elixir.” He looked off abstractly as he went on. “I often hearken back to those times, and it seems to me I have never been as happy as when I sat half naked as a savage and watched the sugar fields blaze in the night and the thick black smoke obscure the dazzling stars which are all the brighter on that Caribbean paradise. An adventurous youth is like a pension for the soul, young man.”

“What do you like mixed with your elixir, sir,” asked the laconic waiter.

“You may superficially acquaint it with some cola, friend.” He turned to Paul, “I am told you open a new engagement tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We’re playing the Raven’s Nest for a month and then we are on the road for three.”

“Most impressive, indeed.”

Paul was watching a woman move intrepidly, if somewhat recklessly, across the room in his direction. “Hang on to your hat, old man, but we are on a collision course with the good ship Mabel Herrmann.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell, child.”

“I know her by lack of reputation only, but I got a feeling that’s gonna change.”

“I want to meet you,” she said offering her hand for a shake. “I want to ask you,” she leaned over, her chestnut hair sweeping before her face. “Kiss me where?”

Mr. Vine chuckled. Waverly smiled and said, “Sit down, Miss Herrmann. I’m a big fan of yours, too.”

“Who are you?” She asked, her head turning to the old man as she sat down.

“Arthur Vine, star of stage, singer of popular songs, monologist and prestidigitator, my dear. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, but alas, it is well past my bedtime, so I shall leave you children to do the things that young people do. I will find our server and send him to you.” He stood, his fists supporting him against the tabletop. He looked down at the green cloth. He appeared ready to speak, but thought better of it. While waving slowly, he deftly flipped his hand, producing a playing card--the Jack of Hearts. He laid the card on the table and headed towards the door. He intercepted the waiter, took a glass off his tray, drank it quickly and pointed to Paul’s table. As he reached the door, he stopped and spoke with a small, gaunt man with blonde, almost white, hair. Arthur embraced him, patted him on the back, perhaps a little too energetically for the young man’s comfort and they left together.

“Yes, well...” said Paul, returning his attention to Mabel with a certain smile.

“I think I remember him. What songs did he do?” Hundreds of platinum tassels swept in waves across her blouse as she moved.

Paul smiled, “Hell if I know. Will you have a drink?”

“Never touch the stuff. Gin and soda with lime. Make it a double, if you don’t mind, I’m in a hurry tonight.” She looked at Paul intently. “What a fresh face you have, honey. Not like a baby’s, more like an altar boy.”

“You got me pegged, sister,” Paul chuckled. “I lead the choir, too.” Paul leaned back and gave the drink order to the sleepy-eyed waiter, who disappeared instantly. Paul turned to Mabel and said, “That suit looks like it’s alive.”

“Don’t you love it,” she said bouncing up. The dress danced in the glittering light. She swirled quickly and smartly and landed in her seat, whether by accident or design, Paul could not tell. “I wore it in the picture I made and the studio let me have it. Sometimes it feels like I’m crawling with bugs.” Mabel had become famous at a young age and, though her legend was old, she had not long ago passed thirty and her experience was nearly invisible upon her oval face. “You are playing someplace fancy tomorrow, aren’t you.”

“I’m opening at the Raven’s Nest, tomorrow, for a month. Why don’t you come as my guest.”

“Don’t let’s talk about tomorrow, when tonight is still young. Have you eaten? Are you alone?--I’m with some old bore that owns something big somewhere in New Jersey...Let’s get supper before he wakes up and comes looking for me.”

“I think it would be nice if one of my guests waited for the waiter to come back with an order before leaving. Besides, I am not in a hurry tonight. Where’s the fire, anyhow.”

“You may find out soon enough, kiddo.”

“If I wasn’t so naive, I’d be shocked.”

The waiter set the drinks down silently and was gone. Mabel drained her glass with dispatch. “I’m hungry.”

“All right, go outside and tell the driver where we’re going and I’ll be out in a minute.”

Paul watched her walk away, molding his plans for the evening to her body. He took a long drink from his glass, tossed a bill on the table, and took a brief look around the room as he slowly rose, vaguely scanning for Mabel’s escort. He took two steps when a commotion arose at the entrance. Voices rumbled and suddenly an angry female voice rose above it all. As he approached he saw Mabel climbing onto a table pulling her blouse over her head and throwing it at a bewildered young woman.

“I didn’t have to get down on all fours to earn mine you no-talent bitch.” Mabel was being held around her waist by the headwaiter. He turned to Paul with a look of exasperation.

“Let’s go, Missy,” Paul said, putting himself between her murderous lightning and its thunderstruck objective. The headwaiter released her and she flung herself at Paul. He bent slightly and her abdomen rammed hard into his shoulder, knocking the wind from her lungs with a gasp. With great effort, he lifted her and carried her outside to the car, which waited down the block. A waiter came running behind with her limp blouse dangling from his hand. Paul set her down heavily on the hood of the car, to the alarm of his driver, who had barely the time to open the door. She looked up at Paul with mute fury. He shook his head with a smile and let out a closed-mouth laugh. Her face softened to a frown.

On to Installment 3

Back to Installment 1

Installment One

2006-06-02T20:37:00.000-04:00

A small pile of newly minted coins was reflected in the vanity mirror. A silver watch, silver lighter, silver cigarette case and silver ring with a large diamond gleamed in the bright white light. Well made and elegantly designed to outlast their present owner, they were laid out in an ecclesiastical harmony.
The hiss of water stopped abruptly and Paul emerged from the steamy bathroom in his shorts with a towel wrapped around his neck. His long smooth white fingers lifted the receiver off the hook. “Get me the Raven’s Nest, please.” His eyes wandered over the suite as he waited. His clothes lay on the bed--his crisp white shirt, his black silk tie, his sharp black pants, and his glossy shoes directly below. “This is Paul Waverly. Can I talk to Mr. Treacher?” He looked out the window into the wet night. The city glimmered. Lights flickered on buildings and jerked through the streets on automobiles. “Mr. Treacher, how’s the action tonight?...Well, don’t worry, you’ll need a shoehorn to pack ‘em in tomorrow night...Me too...Listen, I’m going out on the town tonight and I need a car and driver. You can fix it for me can’t you?...Uh, huh...Yeah...Now look Mr. Treacher, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to me in this big dangerous city would you? There’ll be a lot of disappointed customers tomorrow night if my boys can’t go on when I wind up in the drunk tank?...Of course not, I’m just covering all the angles, you know, looking out for your interests. You should thank me...Exactly...You’ve got my word...Beautiful. You’re the tops...No, I’ll be at least half an hour...No rush at all, the night is still young...We’ll kill ‘em. You can take it to the bank.”
Paul’s teeth flashed briefly from between his thin lips as the receiver clicked back in its cradle. He picked up the white carnation next to the phone and tossed it onto the bed.

Paul hopped in the front seat of the slick black automobile that pulled up in the glistening street. The rain fell softly, as it had for much of the week in various degrees of misty drizzle, and the city gleamed in droplets and puddles.
“Sir, I think you would find it more comfortable in the back seat. Mr. Treacher has provided for food and drink.”
“What’s your name?”
The burly blonde crew-cutted driver answered. “Niles Listek, sir.”
“I like it up here, Niles. Indulge me for a while.”
The driver watched the road without expression. “Where to, sir?”
“Just head uptown for now. How old are you, Niles.”
“Twenty-six, sir.”
They sat in silence as the car splashed through the streets. Paul watched the people sheathed in coats and under umbrellas. “Pull over here.” The car pulled up to a large newsstand at the curb. “Hey, pal, give me a Metronome and a pack of Camels,” he told the newsboy.
The man reached into the array of glossy magazines and pulled out a copy of Metronome. The cover showed Paul holding his clarinet over his head which is in the act of plunging downward, the forelocks of his hair airborne. A light mist of sweat or spit billowed faintly before his head in the light. “You seen this, Mr. Waverly?”
“Hmm...No.” He leafed through the magazine as the newsboy receded. “Keep the change,” Paul said handing him a five. He slipped into the back of the car and sang to himself, “It don’t mean a thing, if...” The door closed and the car disappeared smoothly down the whispering street.

On to Installment 2