When the kid had taken the green, Blackjack noticed that he had two thumbs on one hand.

"Just foller me," the kid had said. "'Tain't far."

The rutted road wound through the woods, then sidelined a long gra.s.sy field. It was hot tonight, and muggy, but that's the way Blackjack liked it. And he was getting hot himself just thinking about that Creeker chick he'd seen dancing the first set. A four-t.i.tter-He'd heard about them, but tonight was the first time he'd ever gandered one with his own eyes. And the tiniest little mouth, probably not even big enough to stick a cigarette in.

Yeah. Here was a girl he could bust up good.

See, there was no kick if he didn't bust 'em up first. That was Blackjack's style-going for the kick. Of course, sometimes he could get a little carried away. One time he'd picked up this little truckstop wh.o.r.e at the Bonfire. He slapped her around a bit first, and then he gagged her when she started to get too noisy, stuffed a big wad of toilet paper in her yap, then tied one of her stockings through her teeth.

Then he got to really punching her up.

He beat her face down to pulp-it looked like a busted open blueberry pie by the time he was through-then he got to giving her a good reaming. Only problem was she all of a sudden got real loose back there, and when Blackjack flipped her over to see what was wrong, he saw that the busting up he gave that pretty face of hers must've been a bit much 'cos she was stone-cold dead. Oh, well. In fact, he'd wound up killing several gals in the past-all accidents, kind of. And his part-time partner, Jake Rhodes? Now there was a dude who really went for the busting up, killed plenty of gals, and on purpose, too.

Funny, though, now that Blackjack thought about it, he hadn't seen old Jake for d.a.m.n near a month.

Probably out roustin' more junkies, he figured. Lookin' for a kick.

That's all Blackjack wanted: a good kick. And this Creeker gal, all f.u.c.ked-up like she was, that would make the kick extra special...

Blackjack was fully boned when the bighead kid's truck pulled up an unpaved incline and stopped. Up ahead, against the woods, Blackjack saw the house, a big whitewashed old place with a long wood porch and sagging roof. The wash took on a kind of gray glow in the moonlight.

Okay, Bighead, what's the scoop?Blackjack thought when he got out of his own truck.

The kid seemed to be staring up at the house.

"Hey, man? What now?"

"Oh, just go on up, walk right in," the kid said.

"Where's the girl?"

"She up there. She'll be waitin' fer ya in the front room."

Blackjack's rattlesnake boots crackled up the drive. The house looked weird-actually it looked ethereal, but Blackjack himself wasn't the type to conceive of such a notion-the ghostly white wood glowing, fireflies blinking swarms of tiny lights. Oil lamps seemed to glow in the narrow windows, the haloed moon radiating high up in the crystalline sky.

There she is, he thought when he stepped into the foyer. The four-t.i.tter. My oh my, am I gonna put a busting on this b.i.t.c.h but good.

To his right, a long hallway extended into darkness. He heard a distant thumping sound, then what seemed to be a m.u.f.fled grunt. A tall grandfather clock ticked hypnotically at the rear of the foyer. Tick-tick-tick. Tick-tick-tick.

Oil paintings hung on the walls, but their faces were so dusty and old they looked smeared.

To his left a flight of banistered stairs rose, and halfway up stood the Creeker girl. A plain, very sheer nightgown made her hourgla.s.s body appear shrouded in mist. In her seven-fingered hand she held a bra.s.s oil lamp.

She didn't speak-of course not. She probably couldn't, not with that tiny, dowel-hole mouth of hers. Instead she gestured him to follow with her other hand, which sported eight fingers.

Blackjack took the stairs up, his groin thumping with his heart. He was getting antsy to put a good busting on her, and a good tweaking to those four little t.i.ts. On the second-floor landing, another more narrow flight of stairs led upward into pitch dark, from which heat seemed to eddie down.

"What's up there?" he asked.

The girl, naturally, didn't answer. She took him down the second-floor hall and turned into the first room.

A big old four-poster bed sat right in the middle. The walls, dark with moldy wallpaper, displayed more blotchy paintings. The girl set the lamp down on an ancient nightstand as Blackjack closed the door.

click "You're right pretty for a Creeker," he said and promptly ripped the nightgown off her body. She trembled only vaguely. The lamp cast indistinct shadows on her paperwhite skin. Blackjack stood back to look at her, and smiled. Yeah, she was a cute little thing, and d.a.m.n near perfect except for that tiny mouth, them f.u.c.ked-up hands, and the four t.i.ts. But to Blackjack, those traits only increased the kick-they made for a better meal to feast on. Her ink-black hair shined, and those fishblood-red eyes of hers-they just looked at him.

Blackjack cracked her hard across the face with his open palm; he wore fingerless leather mitts that gave an extra snap! to the blow. The girl reeled back, her eyes rolling like little red marbles, and fell on the bed.

"What'sa matter, honey? Bighead outside said it was okay to put a bustin' on ya," he guttered. "And d.a.m.ned if I ain't, what with the green I put in his f.u.c.ked-up paw." Blackjack's eyes focused to pinpoints; his gaze painted her flesh. "Yeah, your bighead pimp, he told me I could do anything I wanted, 'cept cut ya or kill ya. Well, that leaves a lot in between, don't it?"

He jumped on her.

He plied her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He squeezed them like little bags. Each small breast had another breast underneath, like one pancake lain over another. The nipples were large and dark-pulpy. He bit into the top two, and the girl made a neat squealing sound. Then he lifted the top b.r.e.a.s.t.s and bit the more tender nipples on the two beneath. The girl bucked under his weight.

Blackjack liked that. It gave his loins the spark he sought. Her bare, pretty legs splayed beneath him; her flesh was suddenly chaos. It was soft, tender. It was wonderful. Her bristly plot shined like slivers of onyx.

Then those big mitted, boat-hook-sized hands of his girded the girl's slender throat and began to squeeze. He watched her very intently. Each time he squeezed, her little red eyes bugged. Then he let go, and she gasped through her tiny mouth. He did this for quite awhile, pawing her double b.r.e.a.s.t.s each time she blinked away. Squeezing a sponge in a pail of water, then releasing it to let the water soak back in-the sponge was her brain.

He stood up. She lolled on the bed, her face looking like a limp freak-mask. Maybe I'll bust that little mouth of yours,he made the serious contemplation. But then he thought better of it; he remembered what the bighead kid outside had said. If he busted her up too bad, Natter would be p.i.s.sed, and Blackjack sure as s.h.i.t didn't want that.

"How they feed ya, hon, through that teensy Creeker mouth? What, Bighead outside, he let ya suck pigslop up through a straw? Bet he does. And I bet he puts a good f.u.c.king on ya, too, anytime he wants. Bighead out there, he gotta big d.i.c.k?" Blackjack laughed. "Shee-it, I'll'se bet he got two, just like you got four t.i.ts."

So he slapped her in the face again.

Whap!

Then he rolled his big hand into a fist and punched her in the face.

Whap, whap, whap!

She moaned as best she could, her eyes fluttering.

"Like that, sweetheart? Bet'cha do. All women do, just they never tell ya. I know the only way ta get any of ya hot is ta beat the s.h.i.t out'cha."

He punched her a few more times, enlivened by the sound. The girl was barely conscious, so he bit into her nipples again, one at a time, until it put some jump back in her. Couple of times, he bit into them big meaty nipples like ta bite 'em clean off. Give her somethin' to remember old Blackjack by. Yeah, that would be a trick, wouldn't it? Just bite off all four of her nips and eat 'em like big, sweet gumdrops...

Then he flipped her over.

And dropped his jeans.

"Now, hon, I'm gonna choke you out full, and when ya wake up, I'll be giving you an a.s.sin' like you never dreamed. And don't tell me ya don't want it, 'cos I know ya do. All you floozy b.i.t.c.hes do. Ya act like yer all highfalutin' and snotty, but watch'cha all really want is a good a.s.s-f.u.c.kin' after ya been choked out by the Blackjack."

Gonna be kinda like corin'a apple, he thought. Then a different thought ganged up on him.

Just like my daddy cored me...

She lay docile on her belly. Blackjack straddled her, and slapped his big hands about her throat. Then he squeezed down.

She bucked at first, then kind of shook.

Then she went limp.

He grabbed a big handful of her pretty night-black hair and pulled it back like horse reins.

A dull whap! resounded behind him.

Blackjack glanced up in a kind of mindless, sudden awareness. But he didn't know exactly what he was aware of here.

What the G.o.dd.a.m.n h.e.l.l happ- Then a blossom of pain exploded at the base of his skull.

Nineteen.

Sallee's was rocking.Heavy metal power chords from the jukebox shook the walls. Strobe lights flashed and hammered the stage in multicolored pandemonium. As rowdy patrons barked for more beer, waitresses hustled between the aisles like gymnasts on high wires.

The crowd was in an uproar.

Christ, Phil thought.

It was Vicki.

She danced through her set with an unmitigated prowess, each step of her high heels in perfect synchronicity with the pounding music. Green eyes scanned the crowd like highly faceted emeralds; her carmine g-string glittered. It was clear-Vicki owned the stage, as well as the crowd, whenever she danced. This was her domain, totally. It must be an odd feeling of power for a woman, through her mere s.e.xual presence, to command the attention of everyone in her midst. But it also must be pretty depressing, Phil considered. When she was up there, naked save for spikes and a g-string, she was an icon of flesh. Not really even a human being anymore, but an ent.i.ty stripped down to its s.e.xual bones.

Phil tried not to stare.

Her red hair spun to a blur. The strobes seemed to highlight her body in split-second fragments which flashed, then disappeared, all within the pulsing, sonic scape of the music. The crowd howled in frenzy at each step, each move, each sweep of a leg and toss of a shoulder. Glitter and sweat sparkled in the cleft of her bosom...

Phil couldn't help but let his contemplations crumble. He knew he didn't love her anymore, yet still, it was not an easy thing to watch one's ex-fiancee dance topless in a strip joint. The crowd's predatory revel rose like waves, while Phil's spirit plummeted. That black voice returned, to ask the question he couldn't stand to face: How many guys is she gonna f.u.c.k tonight, Phil? Two, three? Five, maybe? Maybe more, huh? A bod and a set of t.i.ts like that, s.h.i.t, I'll bet she bags a bundle off these redneck slimebags. But cheer up, buddy. At least you got to f.u.c.k her for free...

Phil felt even worse when he took a closer look; something glittered more fiercely on her bare chest. Aw, Christ, he thought when he realized what it was.

A tiny diamond on a sheer gold chain.

A Valentine's Day gift he'd given her over a decade ago.

"Another beer, pal?" asked the odd barkeep.

"Yeah, why not?" Phil replied.

"You look like someone shot your dog."

"Well," Phil said, "actually I'm pretty b.u.mmed that there's no wrestling on tonight."

"Grappling," the keep corrected. "It was on earlier. Nature Boy Ric Flair knocked Sting's lights out. It was glorious."

"d.a.m.n, I miss out on everything," Phil said.

Then the ever-familiar slap impacted his back; Eagle Peters stood up to the rail, his long blond hair swaying. "What's up, man?"

"Just hanging out."

Eagle cast a quick gaze to Vicki onstage. "Yeah," he replied rather darkly, then wisely saw fit to change subjects. "Hey, you feel like going in the back room?"

Phil looked up with a wince. "I thought you hated the back room?"

"I do, but I gotta talk to someone." Eagle paused. "Gotta talk a little business."

A little business, huh? Phil thought. It seemed another great opportunity had just landed in his lap. "I'm always game for the back room," he said, remembering his cover. "Let's go."

"And another thing." Eagle lowered his voice. "You interested in a little sideline work? We gotta little run to make tonight, but we need a driver."

"What are you running?" Phil asked.

"Just don't worry about that. It ain't risky. We can lay a couple hundred on you for an hour's work. You interested or not?"

Was Eagle testing him? Phil didn't know. But what he did know was that Eagle had an arrest record for running PCP, and he'd just asked Phil to be his driver. This was every undercover cop's dream...

"Like I said, man, let's go."

Just play it cool, Phil, he told himself.

They got up and wended their way to the entry. Druck, the Creeker doorman, gave them both a hard look, then nodded that they could pa.s.s. Inside seemed even darker than last night, and quieter. A deformed dancer moved slowly up on the stage in a veil of blood-red light and droning music. Thank G.o.d it was dark in here; Phil didn't care to see the details. All he could tell was that her head seemed bulbed in three humps...

Eagle whispered something to a cryptic waitress with large b.r.e.a.s.t.s and one foreshortened arm. Then she seated them in a back booth.

At once, another figure joined them.

"This here's Paul Sullivan," Eagle introduced. "My pal, Phil Straker. Don't worry, he's cool. Says he wants to drive for us tonight."

Alarms were already ringing in Phil's head at the name. Paul Sullivan. That's the guy with the rap sheet for dust, the guy who filed the missing person report. "Hey, Paul, good to meet ya," he said and offered to shake the guy's hand.

The guy didn't shake.

Paul Sullivan had a face like a beaten anvil, a beady-eyed, unpleasant wedge. Shortish dark hair and a toughened build. "I don't know, man," Sullivan complained to Eagle. "I ain't never seen this guy before."

"Relax," Eagle a.s.sured. "I told you, he's cool; I known him for years. You said we needed a new man since Kevin blew town."

Sullivan shrugged. "Awright, I guess we can try him out. So long as he don't ask no questions."

"Hey, man, you want me to drive, I'll drive."

Sullivan sort of smirked, then began trading whispers with Eagle. Phil couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but he figured it best to try to pick things up a step at a time. Instead he pretended to watch the stage. The Creeker girl with the cloven head had lain down on her back, her legs rising in a sleek V. Her bare feet, with but three toes on each, roved slowly in the dark-scarlet light.