Night Show (15 page)

Meat? It looked like ground beef. She crouched down for a closer look.

Raw hamburger!

Gasping for breath, she jerked the door open again. The wrist of the nailed hand was hollow. She touched it.

Rubber.

A rubber hand.

She almost laughed, but she cried instead.

L
YING ON
her side, Dani stared out at the sunlit pool. A beautiful summer morning. She listened to bird songs, heard the distant buzz of a power mower. The mild breeze carried a scent of grass and flowers. It felt cool on her bare shoulders. She pulled the sheet higher.

If only she hadn’t asked Anthony to come over. The day could’ve been wonderful. Just her and Jack, lingering in bed, having breakfast by the pool, spending a few hours in the workshop, swimming later and relaxing in the sun.

Damn. That little invitation would end up ruining the day. She’d been an idiot to . . . no, it was the smart thing to do. Give the jerk what he wants, take the wind out of his sails. So far, at least, it seemed to be working; he hadn’t bothered them since Thursday night.

He’s probably staying home with Ingrid.

The thought made a chill creep up Dani’s body. She rolled over. Jack was on his side, facing the other way. She snuggled against him, pressing her thighs to the
backs
of his legs, molding herself to the warm curves of his buttocks and back, kissing the nape of his neck.

‘Mmm,’ he said.

‘Good morning.’

‘Mmm. What time is it?’

‘Eight.’

‘So we have an hour before Terrible Tony arrives.’

‘A whole hour.’

‘Good. Just enough time for a swim, a shower, and breakfast.’ She slid her hand over his hip. Her fingertips brushed the coils of his pubic hair. ‘Swim? I’d rather do something else.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah.’

Dani lay on her back, arms and legs stretched out, letting the soft breeze cool her sweat. She felt used up and wonderful.

The shower made a quiet whispering sound like a wind in a forest.

She didn’t have to move until Jack was through.

She glanced at the alarm clock. Twenty to nine. Just enough time for a quick shower and a cup of coffee before Anthony came.

Terrible Tony.

She smiled. Jack could be so serious sometimes, but his sense of humor was always lurking nearby, ready to spring out and surprise her.

The doorbell rang.

Her stomach tightened. ‘Oh shit,’ she muttered.

She looked at the clock. Eighteen minutes early. If it’s him.

Sitting up, she used the sheet to dry herself. The bell rang again as she climbed off the bed. She stepped into her panties and white shorts, and pulled on her sleeveless sweatshirt as she hurried down the hall.

She opened the door.

‘Greetings,’ Anthony said. He held out a single, red rose.

‘Why, thank you.’

He lowered his head. The ink eye had been washed off.

‘Come on in, Anthony.’

He stepped into the foyer and looked both ways.

‘Jack’ll be along in a minute.’

‘I knew he was here. I saw his car.’

‘Would you like some coffee?’

‘Does he live with you?’

‘Yes,’ she said without hesitation. It was none of his business, but she didn’t want him to know that Jack might only be here on a temporary basis. She hoped it would become permanent, but . . .

‘You’re not married, are you?’

‘No.’

‘I didn’t think so.’

‘I’ll put the coffee on.’ She shut the door. Anthony followed her toward the kitchen. She felt uneasy walking ahead of him. ‘Have you had any breakfast?’ she asked, looking back at him.

‘I don’t eat it.’

‘I’ll heat up some bagels. You’re welcome to join us.’

He sat at the kitchen table while Dani filled the coffee maker.

‘Do you live near here?’

‘Not far.’

‘In an apartment?’

‘I’ll have a house in another year.’

‘That’d be nice. Houses are nice. The prices are outlandish, though.’

‘I’ll be rich by then.’

‘Well, I hope so.’ She took bagels out of the freezer, unwrapped them and put them in the toaster oven. ‘Do you work?’

‘I’m the Chill Master.’

‘I mean, how do you make a living?’

‘I’m your assistant.’

Before Dani could find a response, Jack grinned at her from behind the bar. ‘Been replaced already, have I?’

Thank God
, she thought. Reinforcements.

Jack entered the kitchen. ‘Hi there, Tony. A little early, aren’t you?’

‘Am I?’ he asked, narrowing his eyes.

‘I’d say so, yes. I barely had time to put on my face.’

Looking annoyed, Anthony turned to Dani. ‘I think we should discuss the terms of my employment.’

‘Nobody’s mentioned employment,’ Dani said.

‘Just you, Tony.’

‘What we talked about,’ Dani explained, ‘is showing
you
a little about how we work, getting you started in the right direction. Just as a favor.’

‘You said you’d hire me.’

‘No I didn’t.’

‘She didn’t,’ Jack said. He smiled at Dani. ‘Shall we ask him to leave?’

She shook her head. ‘Look, Anthony, I offered to help you. I think you probably have potential, but there are hundreds of people out there more qualified than you, people who’ve studied, who’ve worked long hard hours to develop their talents, and I’d be a complete jerk to hire you over one of them. Besides which, I already have an assistant.’

Jack nodded.

‘But the offer’s still open. If you want, you can spend the morning with us and we’ll show you a few things.’

‘Won’t even charge tuition,’ Jack added.

‘We’ll see how it goes today,’ Dani said. ‘If it works out all right, we’ll discuss doing it again.’

Leaning back, Anthony folded his hands across the front of his black turtle-neck. ‘I guess that’s all right,’ he said.

Dani poured the coffee. Jack carried two mugs to the table and sat down.

‘Cream or sugar?’ Dani asked.

Anthony shook his head.

Jack took a sip. ‘So, tell me, scared the shit out of anyone lately?’

The boy grinned. ‘Oh yes.’

‘Want to tell us about it?’

Dani turned away to check on the bagels.

‘I can’t tell. I’m saving up all my tricks for my first feature.’

‘Good idea. Keep ’em close to the vest. We Hollywood types love to steal hot ideas.’

‘I know.’

‘Should we let him in on our hot project?’

Dani shrugged.

‘Oh, why not. The working title is
An American Were-oaf in Sardi’s
.’

‘Or
The Slobbering
,’ Dani said.

‘See, there’s this guy . . .’

Anthony refused a bagel, but drank two cups of coffee while they ate. When they finished, Dani asked Jack to show him the workshop. She went into the bathroom, glad to be away from Anthony. She undressed and reached for the shower handle. Then she changed her mind. As much as she wanted to postpone returning, she knew it would be unfair to leave Jack alone with him for so long. She cleaned herself with a damp washcloth, brushed her teeth, and brushed the tangles out of her hair. Then she got dressed and headed for the workshop.

Jack and Anthony were at the far end, in front of a shelf lined with white plaster face molds.

‘These are negative molds,’ Jack said. ‘We use them to cast positive molds out of celastic. That’s a silicone rubber material. It’s fairly rigid, but flexible, and . . .’ He stopped and smiled at Dani.

Anthony was smiling, too. He looked eager and happy. ‘This stuff’s great,’ he said.

‘Do you recognise any of the faces?’

He turned back to them, and shook his head. ‘It’s hard to tell.’

Dani stepped up beside him. ‘This one’s Adrienne Barbeau. Joe Spinell. Jamie Lee Curtis. This is Michael Fisher, who gets his head shot off in
Midnight Screams
, and the last one is me. I’ve got a small role in
Screams
, too. I also get my head blown off.’

‘You’re
in
the movie?’

‘For about ten minutes,’ she said, noticing his surprise. Was it an act? He must’ve known about her role, already, if he took Ingrid.

‘This is Bill Washington,’ Jack said, and lifted down both halves of the actor’s mold. ‘We have to make a prosthetic head of him for Monday.’

‘Why don’t we do a cast of Anthony’s first?’ Dani suggested. ‘Would you like that?’

‘Sure!’

‘We’ll give you the full treatment, and make a head for you at the same time we do Bill’s. That way, you can see the whole process.’

They led Anthony to a straight-backed chair, and had him sit down.

‘Would you like to be screaming?’

‘That’d be great.’

‘Okay. We’ll do it with your mouth and eyes open.’

Jack turned on a gooseneck lamp and tipped it to shine on Anthony’s face.

‘You’re not wearing contacts?’

‘No.’

‘You want to get the eyedrops and lenses, Jack?’ While he went to the workbench, Dani explained the process. ‘We’ll be covering your head completely with alginade for the first impression. Any trouble with claustrophobia?’

‘No.’

‘Well, it only takes about three minutes to dry. It’s a bit cold and uncomfortable, but it doesn’t last long. We’ll put in drops to anesthetise your eyes, and give you a couple of scleral contact lenses to protect them. Okay?’

‘Sure,’ he said, but his smile faltered.

For just a moment, Dani forgot all the trouble he’d caused. He was a teenaged boy, nervous and vulnerable, trying to be brave. She squeezed his shoulder gently. ‘Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.’

He gazed up at her.

He no longer looked worried.

He looked adoring.

Dani let her hand drop. She wanted to take a step backwards, but Anthony’s eyes held her like an embrace.

What have I done? she thought. My God, what have I done?

‘Here we go,’ Jack said.

His presence surprised her. ‘Right,’ she said, and felt as if she’d been snapped out of a trance. ‘All set, Anthony?’

‘I’m ready.’

‘You put the eyedrops in, Jack. I’ll get the alginade.’

The rest of the morning, she felt the difference in Anthony. The brief, sympathetic touch had changed
him
. He acted intensely interested in every detail of the work, but he studied Dani’s face more often than he watched the procedures. He looked at her as if infatuated. The bitter sharpness was gone from his voice. He stood close to her, sometimes brushing her arm as if by accident.

While they were applying makeup to the finished heads, Anthony asked to use her bathroom. Dani told him where to find it, and he left.

‘Want me to go out and keep an eye on him?’ Jack asked.

‘You can’t very well do that.’

‘He may do some snooping.’

‘He had plenty of chance to do that the other day.’

‘The other day, he wasn’t so hung up on you.’

‘Hung up?’

‘Yeah. The kid’s obviously fallen for you. I don’t particularly blame him; you’re easy to fall for.’

‘Thanks.’

‘But I don’t much like the idea.’

‘Neither do I.’

‘What’ll we do?’

‘I don’t know,’ Dani said. ‘It’s a complication I hadn’t counted on. I sure don’t want to encourage him, but I don’t want to dump on him, either.’

‘Let’s give him his head and send him home.’

‘That won’t be the end of it. As far as he’s concerned, today’s just the start. I think we’d be better off if we play along with him, ask him to come back but not till next Saturday.’

‘I don’t think he’ll be happy about that.’

‘We’ll just explain that we’re too busy during the week, and if he bugs us before Saturday, it’s all off.’

‘You’re willing to have him as a permanent fixture on Saturdays?’

‘Look, we can’t just tell him to shove off. We’ll be right back where we started.’

‘When we started, he just wanted to get into special effects. Now, I think he wants you. It’s only gonna get worse if we string him along.’

‘Next, he’ll want you.’ Dani grinned, but Jack didn’t.

‘You’ve got it all wrong. He wants to
be
me.’

Dani felt a cold tremor in her stomach. ‘Did you have to say that?’