He nodded. He couldnt speak.
He turned around. On the screen, Dianna Breen was screaming. She was being chased by the Egyptian robe-clad murderer, who was forcing her deeper and deeper into the museum.
Alistair stumbled through the audience chairs to the back. He entered the old lobby, where wine and beer were sold, along with various forms of high-end movie snack food. To the far left of the lobby were a few offices and conference rooms, and at the back of his fathers favorite little meeting room was a door, nominally hidden by a movie poster.
Oooh, this is like a high-tech spy adventure! she said.
Theres nothing high-tech about it, he said as guilt clashed with the near-desperate desire she elicited. Its a movie poster covering a door.
She was pressed to his back. Desire won out over guilt.
Alistair swept the canvas poster to the side, dug in his pocket and twisted the key in the lock, fumbling for a moment as he did so.
There were auxiliary lights set into the steps that led down to the tunnel; on the days that the small museum was open, before and after movies were screened, the stairway and the landing would be ablaze with light. But tonight, no one was expected.
Be careful, he warned Jenny.
Of course! she said.
Alistair walked slowly down the steps, ever aware of her sweet-smelling presence behind him. He reached the landing. Hed never been here before when there was no illumination except the emergency lighting. It changed the entire appearance of the place.
The museums first scene was from The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart sat at his desk while femme fatale Mary Astor leaned toward him and a creepy Peter Lorre hovered off to the side. They were all caught in shadow, and even Bogie looked dangerous, ready to strangle Mary Astor. Across from that tableau, Orson Welles as the title character in Citizen Kane stood by the breakfast table, angry after ignoring Ruth Warrick, who played his first wife. The old mannequins, created in the mid-50s by the previous owners special-effects studio, had been works of love, and in the dim red light and shadows, Alistair could almost believe that Orson Welles was about to speak angrily, his patience finally snapping him from the ennui of his marriage. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were together next, in a scene from The Glass Key, and then there were Dana Andrews, Vincent Price and Gene Tierney in Laura. The hall was long, and the exhibits were plentiful. A slim wooden barrier separated the walkway from the exhibits, and visitors could push buttons, which would let them hear the audio from the scene they were witnessing, along with information about the actors, producers, writers and directors. That night, to Alistair, all the characters looked as if they could speak without benefit of electronics.
Bogie made another appearance, with Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca; he was saying goodbye in front of the plane that would take her away. Bogie gripped Ingrid by the shoulders, and the emotion between themand the greater good of the war effort, the sacrifice requiredseemed palpable.
Toward the end of the hallway, Alistair stopped.
The scene was taken from the movie he had been watching that night, Sam Stone and the Curious Case of the Egyptian Museum.
There was hard-boiled Sam Stone, played by the ill-fated Jon de la Torre, arriving just a little too late in the fictional museums Hall of the Pharaohs. And there was the empty sarcophagus, and nearby, the man clad in the robes, his hands around the throat of femme fatale Dianna Breen, played by the equally ill-fated Audrey Grant. SnakesEgyptian cobrasabounded on the floor, and Sam would have to make his way through them if he was to have any chance of saving Dianna.
Alistair stared at the scene and blinked; he could have sworn he saw one of the snakes move.
Hey, Jenny said, pushing against his back.
What? Alistair asked, distracted. He kept staring at the tableau.
The door is open. The door to the studio is open! she told him, speaking softly.
He turned to look down to the end of the hallway. The door into the basement of the special-effects studio stood ajar. He frowned; it should have been locked. His father and upper-level management were adamant about the rules when it came to lockdown.
He glanced at Jenny. For a moment she seemed to look like every femme fatale who had ever graced a movie screen. There was something wrong here. He was being played, he thought, really played. Perhaps punked. There could be cameras somewhere that he didnt know about and other people ready to break into laughter. Yes, he was a fool, ready to do anything for a womans touch. And, as in so many film noir scenarios, the woman was luring him to his doom. At least that was how it felt in his fearful and overheated imagination.
But there was something else about the night, the way the tableau seemed alive. Something that sent a chill raking his bones.
He warned Jenny with a glance that he was wise to the situation.
But when he started through the door to the studio he heard Jenny scream.
When he turned around, he was so stunned that at first his jaw just dropped.
The robed killerthe evil priest, Amun Mopathad come down from the Sam Stone tableau. The thing seemed to have no face. There was only blackness where a face should have been. He, it, stood behind Jenny, and seemed to be staring at him, but it had no eyes.
Hey! He wanted to scream. The sound came out like a croak.
An act. It had to be part of an act.
A hand appeared, brandishing a long knife.
It was a special-effects studio, for Gods sake! Someone was playing a game, he told himself, maybe even at his fathers request. Maybe his dad had suspected him of doing something like this, hoping for a hot night with his girlfriend.
The knife looked very real.
Hey, enough! Let her go! Alistair said, willing his feet to move toward Jenny and her costumed attacker.
Jenny was no movie femme fatale. She implored him, her blue eyes wide and filled with terror. Alistair! His name was a shriek of panic.
Enough! he roared again.
Then he stood dead still. The thing attacked and, with a hard, quick motion, drew the blade across Jennys throat. Blood didnt merely leak from the wound; it spurted. Her scream died in choking sounds that accompanied the blood, and it was cut off within seconds.
There was a scent in the air. Hot and tinny and fetid.
Because it wasnt stage blood being spewed.
The costumed form dropped Jenny and moved toward Alistair.
Hed spent his life among the creepy and the macabre, the greatest movie heroes and most terrifying villains. Monsters, vampires, ghosts, alien slime
But something within himlogic, reasonturned off, his terror was so great.
And he fell toward the floor as blackness seemed to overwhelm his vision.
He fell into a pool of blood. And he knew, from its smell, that no, it wasnt part of any special effect.
It was Jennys death, all bloody. Bloody, and real.
* * *
Vengeance.
In Hollywood, every character needed a name.
Vengeance was a good name.
And so Vengeance stood hidden, watching, feeling such a sense of glee, it was almost frightening. The scent of blood remained; the first few minutes after the scene were all but imprinted on the moving reels of memory.
Most people would consider the act, and Vengeance, crazy. Stone-cold crazy. But that wasnt the case. Crazy could not have worked out all the technicalities and the precise timing that had been necessary.
Crazy could not have figured out everything that was needed to pull off the stunt.
Crazy could never act it all out, as it must now be acted out.
But it had gone better than could possibly be imagined. The girlthe blood.
And Alistair Archer, slipping, falling, knocking himself out.
Then waking, screamingracing to the guard station.
And nowthe blare of sirens in the street.
Cops would soon be crawling all over the place. But the cops would never suspect. Because the cops didnt know the studio, and the cops didnt know the past, and the cops would never recognize the brilliance that was bringing it all to fruition.
Ah, tomorrow!
Tomorrow
Tomorrow, Vengeance would become normal, ordinary, once again. Vengeance would throw off the assumption of superpersonality, sympathize, go about day-to-day business.
And no one would ever, ever know.
Not in this lifetime.
Vengeance smiled, and Vengeance actually laughed aloud in the night; no matter, because Vengeance couldnt be heard.
It was all too good to be true.
Time to move, but Vengeance needed to savor the moment. Alone in the dark, watching
Vengeance was good, and vengeance was sweet.
And Vengeance had just begun.
1
Madison Darvil wasnt really awake when the phone rang. She was in that delightful stage of half sleep, when the alarm had gone offbut the snooze button was on and she had a few minutes to lie lazily in the comfort of her bed before rising. Her phone was loud and strident. She rolled over groping for it, swearing softly as it dropped to the floor and she had to lean down to get it, banging her head on the bedside table.
Shit! she muttered, and was further humiliated when she realized shed hit Answer as shed picked up the phoneand the caller had heard her.
Hello? she said frowning. Seven thirty-three. Who was calling this early?
She could hear a soft chuckle, and then someone clearing his throat. Madison?
Inwardly, she groaned.
Yes, Alfie? Alfie Longdale was her assistant at the studio. She loved the fact that she had an assistant and she loved Alfie. One day, he was going to rule the world, his eye for detail was so exceptional.
You dont have to come in this morning. In fact, you cant come in.
Her heart seemed to sink to her knees. Had someone suddenly decided she was really a fake? That, despite her training, degree and experience, she was just a kid who played at working on the movies?
Whatwhat?
Alfies voice became hushed. There was a murder last night! In the tunnel. Lord, Madison, Alistair Archer was arrested for murder! Some little starlet he had the hots forthey say her throat was slit from ear to ear. Shes dead, Madison. And Eddie Archers kid is saying that an Egyptian mummyyou know, the priest in the original Sam Stone movie, a monstercame down from one of the tableaux to commit the bloody carnage!
Alfie was being dramatic. He was dramatic. But right now, what hed said wasnt registering.
A mummy? A monster? Alfie had to be making it up. Monsters were what they did, what they created, quite frequently. Well, superheroes, giant rats for commercials, cute little pigs and other such creatures. But horror was big; horror movies could be reasonable in cost and make massive amounts of money.
Alfie, is this
No! It is not some kind of joke. It is not a movie script. Madison, its real. A woman was killed in our tunnel. Anyway, the crime scene units are there today, and Eddie Archers closed the entire place. No one goes in until the police have finished with the tunnel, the security tapes, the studioyou name it. Anyway, I was up last night when it all hit the news. And Eddie Archer looked whiteI mean, white as a ghost!when they showed him on film. He said he wants the police to have complete access to everything because hes going to find out what really happenedhis son is not a murderer!
Alfie was telling the truth. As shocking as it was, she knew he was telling the truth.
Madison felt her heart break for Eddie Archer. He was such a good man.
Alistair was a good kid, too. Could he have snapped and killed someone?
No.
She couldnt accept that. He was too nice and decent, even shy.
A monster, she repeated. You meanthe Egyptian priest, the killer from Sam Stone and the Curious Case of the Egyptian Museum?
Exactly! Is that movie stuff or what? Everyone suspects The Unholy is a remake of that movie, but most people dont know for sure. And now, right in front of that tableaua real murder! Anyway, I thought Id call because if you show up at work, youll be sent home. This way, you might be able to get some more sleep.
Madison wrinkled her face at the phone, as if she could convey her expression to Alfie. What? Go back to sleep now?
Thanks, Alfie. Thanks for letting me know. Im sure Ill get tons of extra sleep.
Keep me posted if you hear more, Alfie said. He seemed not to notice her sarcasm.
Ditto, she said, and ended the call.
She crawled out of bed, drawing an indignant meow from Ichabod, curled up at the foot of the bed. Sorry, my friend, she told the cat, hurrying out to the parlor of her old rented bungalow and switching on the TV, going from channel to channel until she found a news station covering the murder.
The information Alfie had given her was true. The news showed the crime tape blocking off the cinema and the studio, then cut to an earlier interview with Eddie Archer in front of the courthouse. He denied his sons culpability, and swore that hed learn the truth behind the shocking murder.
Mike Greenwood, creative head of the studio and Madisons supervisor, stood beside him. When Eddie finished speaking, Mike stepped up to the microphone. He reasserted what Eddie had said, that the truth would be discovered and, while Alistair had been arraigned for the murder, the D.A.s office had acted only on what appeared to be the casenot what was. They would work toward his release, and by the middle or end of the week, when the police had gone over every inch of the place, Archers Wizardry and Effects would be back in business. They would move forward with their various projects while the investigation continued. Mike spoke so earnestly, he silenced the spate of questions that should have arisen. He seemed concerned, but in control.
Mike was a steady man, excellent in stressful situations. Whenever they were on a tight deadline, Mike was the one who calmed down everyone at the studio, assuring them that, step by step, theyd get it all done.
Eddie had acted with his usual composure, but Madison felt so sorry for him.
Eddie, nearing fifty, was still fit, but his face bore the tension of sorrow. As Alfie had said, he looked white as a sheet. Hed run his fingers through his graying hair repeatedly as he spoke, his words calm but determined.
She was still staring at the TV in disbelief when her phone rang again. Shed left it in the bedroom, and raced to retrieve it, thinking it would be Mike Greenwood giving her the message that Alfie had already conveyed.
Her Hello? was breathless.
Madison?
The caller wasnt Mike Greenwood. It was Eddie Archer himself.
Eddie! she said. Oh, Eddie, Im so sorry.
Then youve heard.