consciously mimicking Sol Hurok's reneurial pose. Trip saw where she was

  looking, pulled her away. ' doan get involved with the likes o' him,

  mama. He's bad Baba's got some kind of deal with him.' '. Well I doan

  warma know ' it an', anyways, ol' a knows w-hut he's doin. That man's

  gotta eye fo' the ies. Long as they ain't spic or nigga, he'll gobble '

  up an' t ' out so fast they doan know which end's up. Yo stay now like I

  tol'you.' But it was too late. Ocasio, had obviously spotted her in that

  of dark faces and was already bearing down on them.

  "Well,' he said, grinning like a piranba, ' it ain't Baba's U Somehow he

  made the last word sound like whore. hat're you doin' this far uptown?

  Seein' how the other half ? Slummin' your way into our hearts - or

  should I say SP ' don't think,' she told him, ' should say anything.' '

  ho!' He laughed but it was anything but friendly. ' r that, Smiler?' He

  half turned so that she could see the in dark face.

  Smiler grinned, licked his lips as if he were a feast. ' got a lip on

  her. You know I like that. I'm tired all these empty-headed broads I

  usually tumble. Now how ut you and me splittin'this place and 185 She

  heard the gentle click at her back, knew that Trip had extracted his

  switchblade, but before he could use it, a great black hand descended on

  to Ocasio's outstretched wrist. The golden hairs disappeared beneath the

  dark mountain and Ocasio swivelled his head. '?' ' on about, Ally?' Baba

  rumbled. ' ha, nuthin, mman. Just having a conversation with the lovely

  lady is all.' He looked down at the hand encompassing his wrist but Baba

  did not take it away, only tightened his grip- ' know, Ally, I'se a

  tolerant nigga. Live an' let live is how I likes t'live my life. But

  y'know ev'ry once in a while some joker comes ' makes me forget all

  that.' He jerked hard on Ocasio's wrist so that pain rippled across his

  lips like an adder's shudder. But those pale, pale eyes were as opaque

  as stones, showing nothing at all. ' doan like liars, Ally, an' tha's

  whut yo are. A liar. I heard ev'ry word yo said an' I didn't like even

  one of '. Yo know whut I think? I think yo' gettin' outta hand. Yo need

  a little sumthin t'think about these cold winter nights so I'm gonna

  give yo one. ' out o' my end as o' now. Yo had it. Yo go find yo' fine

  self some other connection, baby, ' I had it with yo.' He looked past

  Ocasio. '' yo, Smiler, whut yo doin' suckin' up t'this spic? Doan yo

  have no self-respect?' ' gots plenty o' that, bro. Fo' sho.' ' yo tell

  this spic muthafucka good-bye, baby.

  Come on, I want thear it. Yo gots a job with me, Smiler, if yo gots the

  guts t'stand up an'be a man.' By now most of the dancing had ceased

  while people gathered in a loose semicircle to gawk at the spectacle.

  Smiler looked around at all the guests, gave a quick glance towards

  Ocasio who did not look up from his seemingly avid contemplation of the

  back of Baba's pinioning hand. He glared around him again, stared at

  Baba, ', baby. Yo got it. Yeah. Pse an independent now jus' like yo.' '

  hear that, Ally?' Baba said softly. ' get on outta here. Yo got no

  bizness talkin' to ladies, y'hear? Go find that 186 slut yo been

  sleepin' with all these months. Yah, baby.' Bung Ocasio's hand from him

  as if it were leprous .... In the hubbub that started up, Daina heard a

  sigh from ind her and Trip saying, ', m'man, yo got some set o' Is."

  "Hey,' Baba said, moving them away from the epicentre of commotion's

  aftermath, ' ain't got nuthin' t'do with it. ft no cocksucker gonna tell

  me whut's whut no more. Pse with all that, put it behind me, y'dig.

  They's jus' some gs I won't tolerate, tha's all. I c'n put up with a lot

  o' shit, . when it comes t'bizness. But that mutha's gone come mighty

  bad end one o' these days.' He looked down, saw still-open switchblade

  in his friend's hand. '. Yo see whut I mean? I shoulda stayed outta it

  ile yo carved him inta a sucklin' pig!' He grinned, put one rm around

  Daina, slapped Trip on the back. ' damnl' cried. ''s party 1' ina was

  two car lengths away from the Pacific West Airy! entrance when she saw

  Rubens striding through the gic-eye doors. He had an elephant-hide

  overnight case in ne hand and a matching attachi case in the other. The

  miliarity of his face, his walk, made her smile. What the hell's

  happened to you?' he said, peering in gh the open window on the

  passenger's side. There had n some rain and she had put the top up. She

  turned to look ' and he said, ' over. I'll drive.' She did so without

  protest, wafting ivith her head against door post while he threw his

  bags in the back seat, came nd and got in behind the wheel. He leaned

  over, put his d at the back of her neck, pulled her towards him.

  His lips shed hers and she pulled her head away long enough to say, ou

  should've left me a number,' before she buried her head his shoulder.

  Her arms came up around him, holding him t. He had sense enough not to

  say anything for a time. orns blared behind them and the traffic hissed

  by. It had med very cool. At last she let him go. ' was killed early

  this morning.' er voice did not sound like her own. ' was murdered.' 187

  'Murdered? How? By whom?' She told him what she knew. ' sword within a

  circle of blood,' he said when she told him what, Bonesteel had found on

  the speaker box side. ' you sure?' She nodded.

  "Why?' ', last year there were a couple of particularly gruesome murders

  in San Francisco and, just after New Year, two or three more in Orange

  County. All of them were identified with that sign, drawn in blood

  either on or near the victim's body.' Daina shuddered. ' knew that

  lieutenant knew more than he was telling! ', how did you hear about

  this?' ' was with Chris last night. He was so stoned, I had to drive him

  home; he'd never've made it on his own. We came in and ... found her

  stuffed into -' ', Christ! He let out a long sigh, put the Mere in gear

  and accelerated out of the airport. ' the hell were you doing all night

  with Chris Kerr?' he said as he took them on to Sepulveda. ' dropped by

  the recording studio and we went out dancing.

  What's wrong with that?' ''s got some rep.' ' what?' He gave her a quick

  glance. ', come on, Daina. The man can't keep his hands off the girls.'

  ''m not one of the girls.' He jammed down on the accelerator and the

  Mere leaped ahead, humming. ', I will admit you're a bit over the hill

  for his specialized tastes.' ''re a real bastard, you know that?' she

  said hotly. ' needed some help; I gave it to him. He's a friend of

  mine.' ' friend! ''ve no cause to be jealous. The two of you are quite

  similar in some respects.' ', I hope you're joking! ''m not.' He turned

  off on to Wilshire, slowing. ' really are the limit., -,"Rubens' - she

  touched him - ' shouldn't be fighting. now. I saw something this morning

  no one should ever ,,"He took them through Westwood Village, heading for

  set. The kids were out and the line was long for Regina at the Plaza. '

  at that face," Rubens said, glancing the poster of her outside the

  theatre. He drove very hard ng Sunset, downshifting through the turns

  instead of using brake. It was not until he made the sharp right into

  Bel Air d slowed again that he said, ' took us that way to see how were

  doing. I can wangle the true grosses out of Paramount t I like to see

  the lines for myself.' She put a hand on his arm. ' do U She saw that

  Maria d put the lights on before she had left and the trees lining e

  long driveway blazed in the artificial glow. ' wish you d called! '

  did,'he said.

  "You weren't home! She looked away. '. That was stupid! ''s okay,' he

  said, pulling up. He shut off the engine. In the den stillness, she

  could hear the crickets singing in counteroint to the soft pinging of

  the motor cooling. ' I did call 1. 1 wanted to get this thing rolling! '

  thing?' He touched Daina's hair. ' hired her.' ' the film?' ' you.' ''s

  Monty think of her?' ' about Monty! She took his hand away from her. '

  did clear this with onty, didn't you?' ''s out of Beryl's league.' He

  was watching her face tently. ' out! ', I want him to know. If he

  doesn't approve -2 ' to me, Monty's getting old. He's tired. His heart's

  ,not what it once was. I think - now, just listen to me - I think @s

  time you looked elsewhere for an agent! She looked at him sardonically.

  "And I'll bet you have , in mind! He chose to take it head on.

  "One or two.' 188 189 'I'm not getting rid of Monty, Rubens, so forget

  it.' ''ll pull you down, Daina. He's a weight you don't -2 She rounded

  on him. ' discard him as if he were a useless rag doll.' ' a sense

  that's just what he's become. You're grown up. He's part of your past,

  now. He's obsolete; there'll be no place for him where you're going.

  There are others who can help you move.' ' there's no one else," Daina

  said, ' can help him. I want to do that and not you or anyone else can

  take it away from me.' ' want you to come to Maggie's funeral with me.'

  ', Christ, Daina.' ', Rubens. It means a great deal to me.' He sighed,

  twined his fingers in hers. They were in bed, the windows full open, the

  night scents drifting in. He had fed her and bathed her, put her to bed.

  For a time she had drifted in that warm twilight between sleep and

  consciousness. The comfortable bed, the delicious coolness of the sheets

  warming to blood heat, the gentle patter of the shower as Rubens soaped

  himself, the knowledge that soon his body would be against hers all

  combined to make her drift off. But she did not want that now because

  the memories that had for so many years remained buried were surfacing

  like sulphurous bubbles break- ing the skin of a dank and hidden swamp.

  ' me,' she said now, pressing his hand, ' happened in San Diego.' ' was

  a real sonovabitch.' He stared up at the ceiling and something in his

  voice changed, making Daina feel as if she were in a plunging elevator.

  ' had to go to San Diego to find out that little bastard Ashley's been

  creating his own empire at my expense. This guy Meyer I went to see -

  he's got a permanent suite at the Del Coronado Hotel. He's got emphysema

  so he had to leave New York - he told me Ashley's been rounding up

  support among the board members. Meyer says he's going to try to oust

  me.' ' thaes stupid,' Daina said. ' company's yours, isn't it?, 190 yes

  ... and no. When we did the Moby Dick remake rs ago, things got a little

  hairy.

  The finances began to out of all proportion.' He shifted on to his side

  to be to her. ' the cast and crew were already on location. had a couple

  of bad breaks: storms, a union strike. But an important film. I believed

  in it and we needed I in a hurry. Now if we'd been cofinanced by a major

  o - like we are on Heather Duell - there'd have been no lem.

  As it was we had to go elsewhere.' t Moby Dick's been very successful."

  -Oh, yeah. I was right to make it. But that's all after the At the time,

  we were in a hole and my friend Ashley tells he can get the bread within

  two weeks. That was better than Id do and, rather than risk suspending

  the shooting, I told to go ahead.' '.@'How'd he do it?' kubens' eyes

  left the ceiling, paused on her face. ', let's say that since then,

  every time I go to New York, I see re and more unfamiliar faces around

  the board table.' He ted. ' to now I've been too busy with other things

  to my nose into it too deeply. I saw what a hole I had put company into.

  It was my pride. But I realized with Moby k that the days of the true

  independent producer are gone. I've been working out a long-range deal

  with Twentieth t would give me enough freedom.' He grunted. ' I get this

  call from Meyer. He and a all number of powerful people are still on the

  board from old days. But the others - it's like a tick infestation. Once

  ey get under your skin ... it's very difficult to get rid of ' not

  impossible.' ', no.' Rubens laughed and she felt the reverberations

  rough his body. ''s impossible.

  You've just got to ave nerves of steel.' Her head was against his chest.

  She listened to his heartbeat, ike the tide, filling her ears. ' are you

  going to do?' ' of it's already done; I went to see Meyer.' 191 'What

  did Meyer say?' Her voice had dropped to a whisper; she was on the verge

  of sleep. "Meyer.' His laughter exploded again. ''s a funny old guy. I'm

  glad he's my friend. He's no enemy to have.' ' what did he tell you?'

  she repeated. ' I'm not, either.' The Nova Burlesque House had an

  unprepossessing, even a vaguely self-effacing, exterior. This had no

  doubt been carefully thought out for it was no tourist trap filled with

  females superannuated and fleshy or - as was the case with the live peep

  down the block and across the street - sad birdlike creatures complete

  with ellipsoid black-and-blue marks across haunch and ribcage, and dark,

  sunken junkie eyes. Here speciality acts were clandestinely paraded for

  a select audience filled with every sort of fetishist imaginable and

  some - the staff always had a story or two - so shocking as to send

  chills down your spine. Or so they said. One never really knew or cared,

  for that matter. For the staff were a jolly lot who took their work with

  the equanimity of a well-disciplined high-wire artist. No sad sacks

  performed here, for the audience, not to mention the staff who

  considered themselves strict professionals, would tolerate no such

  rip-off. For that kind of trash one only had to darken the doorstep of

  the numerous burlesque houses on Broadway. But not here.

  Downstairs, on the street level, was a rather seedy porno store,

  dispensing with great 61an an oddball assortment of perverse goodies

  that ran the range from under-the-table films in grainy black-and-white

  utilizing child performers - not the shaggy dwarves an unwary buyer

  would be stuck with elsewhere - to high-level black rubber bondage

  magazines that had about them the carnivorous air of the Inquisition.

  There was, of course, the straight nudie stuff but most of the store's

  customers gave that short shrift. Though this store did a brisk business

  - businessmen from as far away as Dayton, Ohio, made a beeline here as

  soon as they hit town - its real profit came from the back where a

  lucrative numbers running operation oiled its cogs and wheels the long

  dusk. And, indeed, the Nova's much vaunted force was comprised of

  members of this blue-collar recognized them the moment she laid eyes on

  them t was hardly surprising since they were fond of displayz@_ Aust

  enough of their pieces, lying snug and warm in A is holsters in the

  sweaty pits under their arms. But e this rather swaggering conceit,

  these men were among mcest she had ever met. For one thing they were, to

  a filled with their proliferating families and never missed

  ,,opportunity to drop for her their plastic accordion cases colour

  snapshots unfolding like endless clowns emerging a tiny auto. They

  deplored the fact that she was not at e with her mother. They mothered

  her but she knew it Baba they loved. He had a kind of off-the-street

  office here, unofficial and ed, which he shared with the Nova's

  spectacled booker who, Daina discovered one winter afternoon filled with

  atrocious pelting rain, lived on a quiet tree-lined street Bensonhurst

  where his wife of thirty years was a member Ladies" Aid and the local

  library association. It was under- d that when the Nova's manager needed

  a place to sit, ba would be displaced. He did not mind. In fact Baba was

  the most easygoing person Daina had ever t. Nothing seemed to ruffle his

  vast exterior and this made feel safe with him. He was a rock promontory

  upon which could stand and watch that turbulent dangerous sea with

  unity. He did not seem to mind when she watched the shows from e wings,

  believing, perhaps, that corruption came only from thin. For her part,

  Daina was fascinated by the phantas- gorical. parade of eye-popping

  flesh. She never believed a dy could move in so many curious ways. Yet,

  gradually, she me to understand that the art - for she felt certain it

  was an - was a part of the mind as well as the body. The women e was

  introduced to here were part of no world she had er been to nor had even

  heard of, equipped as they were with -ray eyes able to unzip the soul of

  every man who passed ough the theatre's portals. 192' 193 And it was

  here, at the Nova, that she began to see the curtain rising; to

 

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