"ENCORE" ~ By Christina Vincent ... *The Shadows of Our Noir* ~ AT THE BIJOU

E N C O R E

By ~ Christina Vincent

Jimmy had half of his face covered with his hand, and when he turned around I knew he was trying not to laugh at me. Seeing him do that was my trouble, honey, not anything I mighta done or not done. When the bulls came into my crummy little apartment in New York years ago, I was just sitting there with a butt and a glass of bourbon in one hand and my little Remington derringer in the other, and Mr. No Good Two-Timer all spread out on the bed with all that blood staining the pillowcases. Didn’t even take my smile off when they threw me in the cooler.

            But when Jimmy was trying to hide how hard he was laughing at me? Yeah, that spells trouble for a girl, especially when there’s some private dick on the couch across the way asking about another dead body. I licked my lips and gave him my stage smile.

            “Sweetie, you’re just gonna have to stop messing around and tell me.”

            “We found him dead, Miss Dietrich. His wife saw him leave for work this morning, and then we find him out back behind the newspaper office tonight.”

            I made my eyes real wide, and Jimmy had to turn around again. Nobody made Jimmy laugh like me, and I kinda like that. “Oh, goodness, that’s just… gosh. How awful! What happened?”

            “I was hoping you could tell me that, Miss Dietrich.”

            “I don’t see how she possibly could,” Jimmy said, face all serious again, that sweet accent of his filling up the room. I don’t know what it is about English guys. They never really did it for me until Jimmy. Now I could sit here listening to him read the paper for hours, watching him run those long piano fingers through hair the same color a Hershey kiss left on your fingers if you held it without the foil, not to mention those eyes. You look straight at them, and they’re the palest shade of something in the middle of blue and gray, but you look at him from the side while he’s looking straight ahead, and they’re gold, I ain’t kidding. Jimmy reached for the deck of Luckies on the table and pulled one out. “She was with me all afternoon.”

            “Doing what, if I may ask, Mr. Sangster?”

            There was that smile again, lips all closed and one eyebrow going up. Jimmy was trying not to laugh, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had to pretend to take a drink of bourbon before I started in. “Now, Detective, that isn’t a terribly appropriate conversation.”

            The cop looked back at me, but I was real busy inspecting the inside of my glass and trying to stop grinning. “All day, Mr. Sangster?”

            “Hannah’s quite a woman,” he said, all calm and cool and British, and I set the glass down on the table.

            “Any other questions, sweetie?” I crossed my legs at the knees, and the hem of my dress might’ve gone up just a little bit. I saw him staring at my ankles, and I rotated one foot in a circle. He cleared his throat and looked back at me, no kidding around this time.

            “Are there any other witnesses who’ll swear you were here all day, Miss Dietrich?”

            I put the ciggy to my lips and had a nice, long smoke. “No, sweetie, I ain’t that kinda girl.”

            The cop was getting awful red by now, and Jimmy was watching me the way a cat looks at a bird through a window. I was gonna get it, and I didn’t care one little bit. “What brought you to Los Angeles, Miss Dietrich?”

            “What girl doesn’t wanna see Los Angeles?”

            “You see, that’s what I’d like to know.” The detective leaned back against the cushions, all kinds of comfortable now. “There aren’t any records of you, Hannah. Not a single one.”

            “It’s Miss Dietrich,” I said smoothly, tilting my head to one side. He’d done some digging, that was pretty damn clear.

            “Is it? See, I don’t think that you’re really Hannah Dietrich. I’m not convinced there’s a Hannah Dietrich at all.”

            “Ain’t that something.” I tried not to look at Jimmy.

            “I believe our time is up, Detective.” Jimmy handed me his ciggy and stood between me and the man on the couch.

            “I don’t think we’re done here,” he said.

            “I believe that we are.”

            “No, because, see, I read this story about a dame in New York about fifteen years ago. Real pretty thing, with nice blond hair like Miss Dietrich there, only shorter, and the prettiest green eyes, just like Miss Dietrich. Back in ’29. this dame shot her husband with a little Remington derringer, just like our stiff, and then she just disappeared out of jail.”

            “That’s fascinating.” Gosh, Jimmy could sound real, real cold when he wanted to. I was shivering. I took a smoke off of his cigarette, just to taste him.

            “The girl’s stage name was Hannah Clara Santa Barbara. She was a dancer. Frequented a lot of jazz clubs, speakeasies.”

            “Ten years ago, Detective?” Jimmy reached behind me for his ciggy. “Precisely how old was this girl at the time?” The way the smoke just curled out of Jimmy’s mouth, the way he stayed right between us… I needed another drink.

            “She was about twenty, I’d say.”

            Jimmy turned around, giving me that little closed-lipped smile. “That would make this pretty thing about thirty-five if that was the case, wouldn’t it? She doesn’t look a day over twenty-one to me.”

            Oh, Jimmy, you…

            “It’s a pity about the young man, but even if my darling girl was seeing him on the side, well… I’m certain you’ve never had any such indiscretions come to your notice, hm? Seems to me that your victim had his fair share of… how shall I put this delicately…”

            “I see your point, Mr. Sangster.”

            “And it’d be a horrible shame if your department were to come under investigation for harassing my darling girl.”

            The cop stood and nodded to me around Jimmy. “My apologies, Miss Dietrich.”

            “I’ll show you out, Detective.” Jimmy kept right behind the man until he was safely in the street, then locked the door and turned to me.

            “Jimmy, honest to God…”

            He finally let the laughter go, those long needle fangs catching the light. “Hannah Clara Santa Barbara, you are an absolute nightmare.”

            “But you love me anyway, honey,” I purred, hooking my fangs on the rim of the bourbon glass. He shook his head and smiled.

            “Aye, love, I do.”

© 2012  Sultry NOIR Author ~ CHRISTINA VINCENT

Cold crimes for  "The Shadows of Our NOIR"  ~ AT THE BIJOU

IMAGES: Ms Dietrich from The Scarlett Empress

CHRISTINA, whisper-shouting the past months in her vibrant worlds: "You guys wanna know a secret? C'mere real close... I'm gonna be featured AT THE BIJOU real soon. Keep an eyeball on me and AbsolutelyKate.

"Hey, callin' on all o' you swell fellas and classy dames... come meet me AT THE BIJOU for a little serving of THE SHADOWS OF OUR NOIR, where you will see yours truly giving my dear friend with the moxie, Ms. Absolutely*Kate, an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at some of the characters in my novel-in-progress. You'll only be seeing this'un AT THE BIJOU!"

Absolutely*Kate ~  LASCIVIOUS LADIES and GENTEEL GENTS . . . You're in the enthusiastic joie de vivre of an up and comer where Authors go to soar ~ Ms Christina Vincent, whose name you shall all come to know the more!

CHRISTINA ~ "Thank you for everything that you do for people. You're a shining star, Kate, and you're glowing no matter what the cloud cover outside is like. We're lucky to have you."

A very, very happy new year to all. Here's hoping everyone is surrounded with love and joy this season, and that peace and creativity walk with you hand in hand through the quiet winter. Much affection to all of you wonderful theater-loving folks!

Absolutely*Kate sails with stars.

Will notify the spotlight guy that you are ready for your curtain calls, Lady sultry Stina. Much thanks for tellin' the worlds you dazzle in about your encore of ENCORE ... AT THE BIJOU.

CHRISTINA ~ Sultry, eh? Guess I'd better practice my jazz voice for the stage, huh? Prep the microphone. For Noir Night? I'm thinking poils. Goils love poils.

"Well, if these folks want to see my exclusives, they gotta get a ticket at your theater... because my characters are staying EXCLUSIVELY on your stage or in my library! (That's 'cause I love ya, schweet-haaaaaht.)"

"Naps in the Library will officially compensate Absolutely*Kate for any and all popcorn consumed by card-carrying library patrons."

Absolutely*Kate ~  Shy? Introverted? Not our gal 'Stina. Give the dame a hand folks ~ She's the voice who shouts out so many other authors in their own dances of acclaim to fame. She's a heart that 's bursting at every tip-tap-typing she attempts ... even when she goes scary, Christina's not contrary.

CHRISTINA ~ "Kate, ain't a dame this side of Casablanca that gives intro like you do. Hats off to ya, doll face. "

Christina Vincent

@StinaVincent Capital District, NY 

Storyteller, lunatic, occasional human being. Currently working on a paranormal fiction novel entitled The Occult Consult.

THE NEXT BOOK!

Naps in the Library  <------- click & go visit her wild crazy ride of a blogsite ... Shhhh, you're in a library, y'know

CHRISTINA ~ Well, Kate, like I told you backstage, I’ve been missin’ AT THE BIJOU something fierce, so I’m giving it my all now that I’ve come wandering out of my library and back on stage with the great gang here.

These fine folks can find me at Naps in the Library, where you’ll see everything from horror to paranormal fiction to downright comedic nonsense. I’m a gal of many talents. I used to be a supervillain way back in the day, and you can see some links to my work as Lady Unpleasantries up on the site. I’m hoping to eventually rewrite all of those pieces because, as you’ll see if you dare venture that way, my writing style has changed dramatically since then… but don’t we all do everything dramatically?

I’m hard at work on two novels right now. One of them is the finished first draft of The Occult Consult, which is a dark comedy about demons, ghosts, zombies in a liquor store, and home-cooked Italian cuisine all mixed up with a little magic and a cat named Snickers. The second thing I’m pouring my heart and soul into is a story about vampires, shape shifters, and a hefty dose of paranormal science. The working title is The Project, and the very same James Sangster and Hannah Clara Santa Barbara that schmoozed their way into my latest AT THE BIJOU performance are some of the upcoming cast of that little horror/drama. If you keep your eyes peeled, you might see more of my extra special characters popping into the theater to steal your popcorn.

 A*K ~  Another of the gazillion reasons I find myself rather fond of Christina Vincent, is her sensational support of INDIE AUTHORS . . . and now  . . . what goes around -- deservingly, comes around:

CHRISTINA YELPS SUCCESS!

C.V. ~  I won. I’m going to be published.

My short story Inferna won first place in the Bloody Parchment anthology competition, and will be published along with some amazing authors. Read all about it here. Release date to be announced.

As if I needed more reason to dance through the day, first place also means that the fabulous Nerine Dorman will be editing a novel-length work for me. Hm. We don’t know about any novels here, do we…?

This has been such an incredible morning. Waking up to Nerine’s email was unreal. I had to read it three times before I believed it, and then proceeded to flood inboxes and cell phones with excited, caps lock-ridden messages. It’s remarkable to think that it’s beginning. This is my dream becoming reality.

AND NOW I'M BACK ~ AT THE BIJOU ~ AGAIN. It's my encore with ENCORE, our luscious Absolutely*Kate stage-whispered me, before she swooshed me out in this fabulous spotlight of "The Shadows of Our Noir" show. What a cast! What a slew of a crew -- Hey Kate? You writing my dialogue on this paragraph?

Thank you all for being here to share it. I’m so grateful for all of you, my friends here AT THE BIJOU, and to the other writers that will be in this anthology. I’m not going to be able to wipe the smile off of my face for weeks, and I’ll probably be dancing periodically throughout the day.

Thanks be ours, sultry, excitable 'Stina,

We wish your soar the greatest heights!

~ Absolutely*Kate

and the ritzy crew

*AT THE BIJOU*

Where Writers' Raves are Readers' Faves

THE SHADOWS OF OUR NOIR

   LINK delicious INFLUENCES of ~

                OUR NOIR AUTHORS' "JUST DESSERTS" ~

   LINKS TO OUR NOIR SO FAR ~

  

Kevin Michaels ... Graham Smith ... Julie Morrigan 

  

Chris Rat-a-Tat Rhatigan ... Joe Grant ... AJ Hayes

 Absolutely*Kate co-noveling with AJ Hayes

Paul Bishop ... Anthony Venutolo ... Eric Beetner 

Matt Hilton . . .  Jeanette Cheezum ... Nigel Bird 

 Zelda Martin . . . The GRIMM TALES Gang ...

Ian Ayris . . . Steve Miscandlon ... Helen Howell   

Sal Buttaci  . . .  Kevin j Mackey


 . . . and Absolutely*Kate so far . . . . 

   NOIRTORIOUS COMING ATTRACTIONS ~ 

                          Every-other-day or so, cold crimes . . . jump-jiving January's NEW NOIR

Paul Brazill ... Leon Jackson Davenport

BR Stateham ... Fiona Johnson ... Jack Bates 

Luca Veste, on the record OFF THE RECORD

 Julian Bramwell Slater ... 

Charlie Wade ... Darren Sant  ... 

Lily Childs ... Walter Conley

Carrie Clevenger ... Daniel Stine  ...  

Thomas Pluck and the Lost Children benefit show

New Year's new NOIR-Publisher BLASTED HEATH

editor John Kenyon, publisher of GRIFT magazine

tempting telling tales of GRIMM TALES' fairytale crime-spree

Rex Pickett picks a surprise ... 

plus . . . return of our pally, the great Randisi ... 

AT THE BIJOU'S Harry B Sanderford ... Matthew Magda ...  

intermittent intermissions by masters of the ceremonious ~ 

Kevin MadDog Michaels and Absolutely*Kate ... 

Why ~ Who knows who's getting into the act? . . . 

RAYMOND CHANDLER may be channeled! 

  

ABSOLUTELY*KATE, BOGEY & PALLY PRODUCTIONS

THE SHADOWS OF OUR NOIR ~ AT THE BIJOU

PUTTING ON THE RITZ FOR FOOLS ~ Double*Feature Tuesday & Thursday AT THE BIJOU

LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE?

UP FOR THE DANCE?

FAME? FORTUNE?

A CHANCE OF ROMANCE?

AT THE BIJOU

is putting on the Ritz

for the

DEBUT!

CHRISTINA VINCENT

RETURNING GLITZ!

JEANETTE CHEEZUM

Lascivious Ladies

and Genial Gents

AT THE BIJOU

proudly presents

DoubleFeature

FOOLS!FOOLS!

THE FOOL'S JOURNEY ~ By Christina Vincent

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE FOOL'S

JOURNEY

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Introducing

new BIJOU author,

Christina Vincent

Something about the way the smoke seemed to swirl around her doorway drew me closer, and I shivered in spite of the massive bonfire. The air bit at my skin like autumn, as if spring had inverted itself just this once, for tonight only as a limited-time offer. I shook my head and stuffed my hands into my pockets. The music must be getting to me. It was impossible to stay still while bodies swam around the flickering lights and taut strings unleashed golden melodies in minor key that spun through the quickly darkening night. My head swayed back and forth, my legs found the rhythm of the music and walked in time, and I shook myself.

Her door was open but dark, with the faintest hint of rose petals tugging at the edges of my mind as I stepped inside. The candles in the back cast uneven light on the walls that could have been soft ivory or blood-soaked for all I could see. I shoved the glasses up the bridge of my nose and crept around the room’s perimeter, keeping an eye on the cool relief of night just outside.

“What are you afraid of?” The voice sang through the pitch, and I jumped. She laughed, warm and rich like bells wrapped in liquid gold. “Come here, you have nothing to fear from me.”

“I saw your door open,” I offered stupidly. “You were open before but I never… I mean, I was with people and we didn’t…”

“Hush and come here, sweet one. I won’t bite.” As I moved toward the voice, I could just make out her features. Raven hair so deep it sucked the warmth out of the candlelight and reflected it in her rich eyes. Delicate cheekbones, a swan’s neck and supple arms bared of the oceanic dress swirling around her. I gaped, and she laughed again. “I’m not quite the gnarled old hag you were expecting?”

I shook my head, face burning. “I wasn’t expecting… I don’t know what I was expecting.”

“Just not me,” she said, and I nodded. She sat on one side of a small circular table and held out her hand for me to take the chair opposite her. “Her hands were soft where they touched mine, turning my palms toward the ceiling though she barely glanced at them. “What brought you in here to me?”

An itch started between my shoulders. “I dunno. It’s the fair, I thought it might be fun.”

“There are much more entertaining pastimes by the bonfire,” she insisted quietly, and I swallowed hard.

“I don’t believe in anything anymore.” My voice was barely audible, and she nodded again and squeezed my hands.

“Now we’ve gotten somewhere.” She drew my hands closer to her and studied them in the dim light, her thumbs massaging my palms and smoothing across my wrists until my fingers went limp. “Answer my question,” she crooned. “What are you afraid of?”

My eyes stung, and I blamed it on the dry air from the candles. “Of not believing in anything anymore.”

She released my hands and pulled a black drawstring bag from somewhere out of my line of sight. Inside was a deck of cards, rich royal purple backs with a black and gold border. Simple. I couldn’t stop staring at them. She spread them in an arc between us. “Choose,” she invited me, her hands hovering over the edges of the table. I met her snapping eyes.

“How many?”

“As many as you wish.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. That corner of my mind that said this was ridiculous was oddly silent while my fingers brushed along the smooth backs. When I opened my eyes, three cards sat in front of me, with the rest tucked back into the drawstring bag. She smiled at me and turned over the center card. I was staring at a satyr. “The Fool,” she murmured, catching my hand and tracing my finger along the creature’s outline. “This is you.” Her voice held a teasing lilt, and I snickered. She turned over the card to its left.

A dark-haired woman in the flowing white robe stood between two Roman columns. “The High Priestess,” I read, looking back up.

“Your past,” she murmured gently. “Your former guidance. That mysticism and instinct that once led you down a path you thought you were destined to take. But that isn’t the case any longer.” She pointed to the Fool. “You’ve emerged from the cave like a newborn. There aren’t stone walls around you to shield you any longer, and you feel alone.” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. It was like her hands had been plunged in snow. I shivered. “You can’t rely on a sense of mystical guidance to lead you.”

“So then I shouldn’t even be here.”

She lifted one shoulder in a gesture too graceful to be called a shrug and flipped over the final card. I caught a glimpse of a figure robed in black and grey with a tall sickle before the candles flickered out. 

(c) 2010 ~ Author Christina Vincent

Premiering AT THE BIJOU!

 

Well  sure, Carrie Clevenger brought CHRISTINA VINCENT around AT THE BIJOU . . . that should tell you that fantasy would fly fast and frenetic . . . pulling you in . . . to want more, more ... and also explain the ruckus with Eddie up there by the BIJOU popcorn popper as supply-side economics increase dramatically.

 
CHRISTINA: Hi Kate!

 

ABSOLUTELY*KATE:  Hey Christina ~ you snuck up on me there --

 

CHRISTINA (excitement unsubdued?): I'm a friend of Carrie Clevenger's, and she's been doing nothing but gushing about how beautiful your site is and what a sweetheart you are. She told me that you're looking for "Fool" stories for April, and I thought I'd give it a go. My story "The Fool's Journey" is attached - whoa -- it just ran -- up there under the spotlights. How'd you do that Kate?
 
ABSOLUTELY*KATE:  *Magic* ~ AT THE BIJOU the shows must go on  -- and your story, well, NCAA slam'dunk aside, it was FOOL-proof for Double*Feature debut. You're up on stage now 'Stina ~ Just go ahead, take the open mic and dance your soft shoe into folks hearts and minds. I know we already like your story-tellin' style.

CHRISTINA:  You're right ~ I am a storyteller as well as a lunatic, former supervillain and occasional human being posting poetry, prose, rants, and other goodies at my site Naps In The Library. Don't go down to the Library Basement unless you have your over 18 membership card, because inappropriate things happen in the basement. Every Wednesday and Sunday, my muse Amelia tells another piece of her story Interludes, for those who enjoy a good bout of wickedness with a criminal vampire. Sometimes I even remember to breathe.


ABSOLUTELY*KATE: Well keep breathin' and coming round AT THE BIJOU. Our writers' hits just keep on comin' too, sorta like Granderson's homer as his first at bat in the Yankees/Sox season opener. Uh, what's that contraption you got there?
 
CHRISTINA: Kate, I brought a gift for you and BIJOU fools and followers ~ Some folks are as jumpy as me without a caffeine fix so the Library is officially sponsoring a GIANT espresso machine to park right in the nice dark corner AT THE BIJOU I hear Carrie likes to hang out in ... and perhaps a crazy straw.

 

ABSOLUTELY*KATE: Hope that's not the last straw - we've got a full house on crazy around here.

CHRISTINA: You crazy theater folk. Thank you so much for letting me try my hand at the theatrics. I look forward to seeing more attractions AT THE BIJOU and I'm thrilled to thrill whenever there's a spot for me.

ABSOLUTELY*KATE: Christina, you are most welcome. Now that your espresso cup and your heartiness is full, enjoy a plush red velvet seat for the return of a BIJOU top act of renown, Jeanette Cheezum with an endearing Fool tale to tell.

 

CHRISTINA: Kate, I have to say, that even before I was officially in the playbill, you've made me feel so welcome and at home here AT THE BIJOU that I just want to curl up and stay here after library hours are up. Good thing you're looking to keep me, because I am absolutely planning to write anything your candy heart desires for as long as you'll have me. Jeanette, I have heard nothing but the finest praise about you, and I am beyond thrilled to make my debut with a feature beside someone so talented and respected! Carrie, I owe you a batch of cookies.

 
ABSOLUTELY*KATE: Uh, you're gonna get along well with the wise whimsical queen of our concessionaries too. Just bring her Milk Duds and you'll go far. You oughta share those cookies too. Folks are always hungry for more ~ AT THE BIJOU -- Sugar? Got someone here I'd like you to meet - -

Thanks Christina

for fooling around

AT THE BIJOU!

~ Absolutely*Kate

and our fine staff of renown

GET YOUR POPCORN!

THE NEXT ACT
IS SPUN OF PURE
FOOLS' GOLD!