She reappeared a few moments later and handed him an envelope. Its all therethe amount we agreed on earlier, less ten percent. But feel free to count it, Mr.
Travis pocketed the envelope with a grin. I trust you. Besides, if you short me I know where to find you.
The womans hand fluttered to her throat and she turned a little pale, as if suddenly realizing that shed just struck a bargain with the devil.
Lady, if you only knew.
She followed him to the door and after he stepped outside, he heard the click of the dead bolt behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the womans silhouette in the window, but she quickly shut off the light and pulled the shade.
Travis stood on the sidewalk for a moment, deciding whether he wanted to go straight home or stop off somewhere for a drink. It wasnt often he had spare change in his pocket. Might as well do a little celebrating.
Across the street, a shadow darted into a doorway, and his heart raced. For a moment he thought it was the woman hed seen earlier on Bourbon Street, but as he peered into the shadows, he couldnt make her out.
He was seeing things, probably. A guilty conscience could make a man jumpy.
Whatever the hell was wrong with him, he couldnt wait to get out of New Orleans. Too many weirdos hanging around to suit him. Hed leave the city before having that drink. Maybe stop off at a little place he knew on the way home, buy a bucket of shrimp and have a few beers. Later hed make a liquor store run with Desiree, and the two of them could sit out on his back porch getting shit-faced as they watched heat lightning over the Gulf.
It all sounded good.
Hunching his shoulders against a light rain, he headed east toward Bourbon Street. At the corner of Chartres and St. Louis, a group of tourists had stopped to watch an old black man tap-dance beneath a balcony. The rat-a-tat-tat of his shoes resonated in the darkness, and for some reason the sound made Travis feel lonely.
He stopped to stuff a couple of bills into a beat-up coffee can, then quickly moved on, discomforted by the mans toothless grin. The old geezer looked to be pushing eighty. He should have been tucked away somewhere in a rest home instead of busting his hump on a street corner in the rain. But that was New Orleans for you. The old didnt die here. They were just forgotten.
You dont get yourself straightened out, thatll be you someday, boy, he could hear his daddy goad him.
Travis didnt want to think about his father or the future or even what he was going to do with himself beyond the next drunk. He tuned out the echo of the old mans taps as he neared the cathedral and turned up St. Peter.
The street was nearly deserted here except for a woman who stood in the glow of a shop window. She wore a green skirt, and when she moved her head, light sparked off her silver earrings.
Travis slowed his steps. She was the same woman hed seen earlier on Bourbon Street.
Their gazes connected as he approached, and a shiver slid up his spine. She had the palest face hed ever laid eyes on. He knew hed never seen her before tonight, but there was something eerily familiar about her features. He couldnt put his finger on what it was.
She smiled, and the skin at the back of his neck crawled. Who the hell was she?
Spooked by that smile, Travis decided to keep on walking, but as he passed her, she said in a low voice, Can I trouble you for a light?
Not exactly an original line, but curiosity got the better of him and he reached in his pocket for a lighter. Turning, he shielded the flame with his cupped hand as she lifted a cigarette to her lips. They were nice lips. Not too full, not too thin. It was only when she smiled that something seemed off about her mouth.
She took a pull and slowly exhaled the smoke, then handed the cigarette to Travis. He didnt know what he was supposed to do with it, but when he took a drag, she didnt seem to mind.
So what are you doing out here all by your lonesome? he asked.
Killing time.
Kind of dangerous to be here alone. Nothing but freaks in the Quarter.
She smiled. Really? I hadnt noticed.
That smile. Travis wished shed stop doing that. It wasnt a nice smile and it kind of ruined the mood for him. He glanced away.
Do you like to party? she asked.
Doesnt everybody?
My place is just back there. She nodded toward a narrow alley that ran between two buildings. Got a nice little courtyard where we can sit and watch the rain. Come on, she said, and started walking. Ill buy you a drink.
Her smile might not do anything for him, but the way she walked sure as hell did. Travis followed her into the alley. He didnt know if she was a hooker or just some bitch out for a good time, but at the moment, he didnt really give a shit. The money hed made from the doll was burning a hole in his pocket.
She was a few steps ahead of him, humming something under her breath.
Whats that youre singing?
Its an old song. Something my mother used to sing to me at bedtime. She glanced over her shoulder. Do you like it?
Yeah, its nice. He hurried to catch up with her. My mama didnt believe in music. Or dancing.
How sad for you. She paused to adjust the strap on her sandal, and when she lost her balance, she grabbed Traviss arm to right herself.
He stared down at her in the darkness. She laughed softly, and the next thing Travis knew, he had her backed up against the brick wall.
She laughed again, a breathy sound that spiked his heartbeat. But when he tried to kiss her, she turned her head so that his lips only grazed her pale cheek. He moved to her ear, then nuzzled her neck as he put a hand on her narrow waist, letting his thumb slide up beneath her breast. She was small there, too, but he didnt mind. Whats your name?
After a slight hesitation, she said in a husky whisper, Madeline.
Thats a nice name. Travis figured shed made it up on the spur of the moment, but he didnt care if she had. After tonight, theyd never see each other again, anyway. You smell good, Madeline.
He again tried to kiss her, but she gave him a playful shove. Take it easy, okay? Weve got all night. Dont you want that drink first?
He rubbed up against her, grinding his hips against hers. You know what I want.
Sure I do, baby. Her hand slid between them and she ran it up and down his fly. But itll cost you.
How much?
A hundred and fifty. Her hand squeezed him. You got that much?
He fished in his pocket for the money and handed it to her in the dark. For that kind of dough, you better be something special.
Oh, I am. She slipped the folded bills into her bra. Im very special. Youve never been with anyone like me before, honey.
Reversing their positions, she pushed him up against the wall, then wet a finger in her mouth and traced his lips. You want it fast or slow?
Right now, I want you on your knees, he said, and unzipped his pants.
Patience, baby. Good things come to those who wait. Her fingers closed around him as she slid her other hand over his shoulder.
Travis let his head fall back against the brick wall, his breath quickening as he swelled in her hand. An instant later, he felt a sharp sting in the side of his neck, and pushed her away. What the hell was that?
She smiled in the dark. Youre going to need something for the pain.
Pain? His voice rose in fury as he lifted a hand to his neck. What did you do to me, you fucking bitch? Light from an apartment overhead filtered into the alley, and he could see her eyes staring back at him. He hadnt noticed before how blue they were. And then in a flash, it came to him where hed seen that face before.
Fear and revulsion rose in his throat a split second before his muscles collapsed. He tried to stay on his feet, tried to grab her around the throat, but he had no control over his limbs. He fell to his knees, his gaze locked on hers. His mouth gaped open, but no sound came out.
You took something of mine and now Im going to have to do some very bad things to get her back.
With a foot on his chest, she shoved him backward. Paralyzed, he fell to the dirty pavement, his gaze fixed on those blue eyes.
She removed a scalpel from her bag and knelt beside him. This is going to be a little crude and messy, Im afraid, but I cant have the police tracing you or the doll back to me.
A fresh wave of terror washed over Travis. He wanted to get up and run. He wanted to scream for help. He wanted to fight for his life.
But he could only lie there helplessly as she lowered the blade and began to cut off his fingers.
One
Twilight always fell anxiously over the Big Easy, especially when it rained. Thats when the ghosts came out. A wisp of steam rising from the wet pavement. The murmur of voices from a hidden courtyard. Something dark and stealthy moving in the shadows, and suddenly you were reminded of a past that wouldnt stay buried.
New Orleans was like that. A city of memories, Dave Creasy always called it. A city of secrets and whispers and the kind of regret that could eat a man up inside. Like the wrong woman, shed get in a mans blood, destroy his soul, make him feel alive and dead at the same time. And on a hot, rainy nightwhen the ghosts came outit could be the loneliest place on earth.
Welcome back, a voice whispered in Daves head as he lifted his face, eyes closed, and listened to the rustle of rain through the white oleanders that drooped over a crumbling brick wall along St. Peters.
It was strange how the city could still seduce him. Hed been born and raised in New Orleans, and like everyone else he knew, thered been a time when he couldnt wait to get out. Now he couldnt seem to stay away. The ghosts wouldnt let him.
A car slowed on the street in front of him, and a child stared out at him from a rain-streaked window. She looked a little like Ruby, and Dave watched her until the car was out of sight, the pain in his chest as familiar now as his heartbeat. Then he started walking.
Around the next corner, a neon half-moon sputtered in the gathering darkness. He wanted to think of the light as a beacon, but he knew better. The Crescent City Bar could never in a million years be considered a haven. Not for him, at least.
As he entered the room, an infinitesimal chill slid over him. Welcome back, that taunting voice whispered again.