Night’s Edge Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Is your mom in the hospital?”
    “No, she’s in Van Diver Home, two blocks down.”
    Rue had walked past there a couple of times, and thought what a grim place it was, especially for an old folks’ home. “I’m sorry,” she said.
    “She’s in the Alzheimer’s wing.” Hallie’s hand was already waving off Rue’s expression of sympathy. “If Ididn’t work for Sylvia, I don’t know how I could pay the bills.”
    “You have another day job, too?”
    “Oh, yes. Every day, and nights I don’t work for Sylvia, I’m a cocktail waitress. In fact, I’m due back at work. I ran down to see Mom on my break. Good to see both of you.”
    And off Hallie hurried, her high heels clicking on the pavement. She turned into a bar on the next block, Bissonet’s.
    Rue and Sean resumed the short walk to Rue’s building.
    “She’s no saint, but it’s not as simple as you thought,” Sean said when they’d reached her building.
    “No, I see that.” On an impulse, she gave him a quick hug, then quickly mounted the steps without looking back.
    Two weeks later, Blue Moon’s three male vampires and three human women were dressing in a remote and barren room in the Jaslow mansion. Connie Jaslow had no consideration for dancers’ modesty, since she’d provided one room for both sexes. To an extent, Mrs. Jaslow was correct. Dancers know bodies; bodies were their business, their tools. At least there was an adjacent bathroom, and the women took turns going in to put on their costumes and straighten the black wigs, but the men managed without leaving.
    Rick and Phil, the two vampires who ordinarily worked together at “specialty” parties for Black Moon, had polished a juggling act. They would go on first. They were laughing together (Phil only laughed when he was with Rick) as they stood clad only in floral loincloths. “At least we don’t have to wear the wigs,” the taller Rick said, grinning as he looked over the dancers.
    “We look like a bunch of idiots,” Julie said bluntly.She tossed her head, and the shoulder-length black wig fell back into place flawlessly.
    “At least we’re getting paid to look like idiots,” Karl said. The driver of the van that had brought them all out to the Jaslow estate, Denny James, came in to tell Karl that the sound system was all set up and ready to go. Denny, a huge burly ex-boxer, worked for Sylvia part-time. Megan and Julie had told Rue that Denny had a closer relationship with Sylvia than employer/employee, much to Rue’s astonishment. The ex-boxer hardly seemed the type to appeal to the sophisticated Sylvia, but maybe that was the attraction.
    Anxious about the coming performance, Rue began to stretch. She was already wearing the jungle-print skirt, which draped around to look like a sarong, and matching bikini panties. The bra top matched, too, a wild jungle print over green. The shoulder-length wig swung here and there as she warmed up, and the pink artificial flower wobbled. Rue’s stomach was a uniform color, thanks to Julie and Megan.
    Karl had brought the CD with their music and given it to the event planner who’d designed the whole party, a weirdly serene little woman named Jeri. On the way into the estate, Rue had noticed that the driveway had been lined with flaming torches on tall poles. The waiters and waitresses were also in costume. Jeri knew how to carry through a theme.
    Rue went over the whole routine mentally. Sean came to stand right beside her. On his way out the door with Phil, Rick gave her a kiss on the cheek for luck, and Rue managed to give him a happy smile.
    “Nervous?” Sean asked. It came out, “Nairvous?”
    “Yes.” She didn’t mind telling him. Head up, shoul ders square, chest forward, big smile, pretty hands . “There. I’m okay now.”
    “Why do you do that? That little…rearrangement?”
    “That’s what my mother told me to do every time I went on stage, from the time I was five to the time I was twenty.”
    “You were on