BRIMSTONE
VS Episode #204
"May 19th, 1999"
Written by Joel Rauch



AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The Star Wars universe was created by George Lucas and is the 
property of Lucasfilm, Ltd.  I think everything in here has become part 
of pop culture, but I don’t want to tick him off, or he’ll go back and 
change the movies I grew up on.  Oh wait, he already did... so go out 
and find your favorite version while you can, because he’s going to make 
more changes.  I think I’ll pass on seeing Jar-Jar in Episode 4.

‘A New Hope’ is copyrighted by Blink 182, off of their 1997 CD ‘Dude 
Ranch.’  It’s a great CD, I recommend it.

The Matrix was created by the Warchowski brothers, and is the 
property of Warner Brothers.


The following takes place on Wednesday, May 19th, 1999.  Events occur in 
real time... just kidding.



From The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000, p68
	“I had to get my priorities straight.”
            Movie fan Vince Rego, on quitting his job to be first in line 
	    for tickets to STAR WARS: EPISODE 1-THE PHANTOM MENACE.


TEASER
	
12:01am	

The man in the devil mask comes toward her.  She tries to back 
away, but her feet won’t move.  He hits her, knocking her down.  She 
tries to scream, but no sound comes out.  She wants to tell him to get 
out, that this is her house, her kitchen, and he has to go.

She finds strength and tries to crawl away.  The intruder slams 
her head down, and as it hits the tile floor, she sees stars.  

It is this act of violence that allows her to find her voice.  
“Get out of here!  Get out!  I’ll call the police!”

He laughs, the sound muffled by the mask that he wears.  He pushes 
her head down again, this time holding it, pressing her cheek and ear 
against the cold tile.  “You see this, bitch?  How about I slip this 
inside you?”  He waves an object in front of her face.  Even with the 
tears and hair obscuring her vision, she can see it quite clearly.

The gleam of the steel blade saps her strength.

“No... don’t...”

“Quiet.  Don’t scream, and I won’t cut you.”  He pulls at the 
neckline of her shirt, and she gasps.  She lifts her head up, trying to 
catch her breath, but again he slams her head face first into the floor.  
For no reason, he grabs her hair, and again lifts her head.  She has 
time to see her blood beneath her on the tile before he beats her head 
down again.

With a scream, Rosalyn Stone sat up.  She touched her face, testing 
for the reappearance of bruises that faded long ago.  She looked around 
her room, but no one was there.

She lay back against her sweat covered sheets, thinking about the 
past.

The dream haunted her.  Sixteen years and three thousand miles 
away, the nightmare still pursued her.  Gilbert Jax, the man in the 
devil mask, had been dead for almost that whole length of time.  

She remembered the relief she felt when her husband and love of 
her life, NYPD Detective Lieutenant Ezekiel Stone, came home from work 
to tell her Jax had been found dead.  “An overdose,” he told her, and 
they’d held each other and cried.  Foolishly, she’d thought that it all 
ended there.

But Death made another visit while in the neighborhood.  Two 
months later, a squad car pulled up in front of their house carrying two 
somber officers.  It was the call that she’d feared ever since she was a 
teenager.  “We regret to inform you...”

She hadn’t had to identify the body; she’d never seen him dead.  
The service had been with a closed casket, for no undertaker was 
skillful enough to fix the damage done by five bullets to the face and 
neck.  The image that always remained in her head was that of a smiling, 
healthy man, the man with whom she had fallen in love with so quickly.  

Many years ago, when she was first widowed, Roz had had an 
irrational hope that her husband was still alive.  Perhaps the body had 
been misidentified.  Maybe he had gotten amnesia, and forgotten who he 
was.  Any day, his memory could come back, and he would come home.

A tiny voice in her head suggested that if he was alive, it was 
because he’d faked his death and left her.  That he’d been so 
disappointed in her for what she let Jax do that he couldn’t stand to 
live with her anymore.

She had leaned on her mother at first.  But as the first painful 
years passed, she’d found a new strength.  Personal defense classes 
helped her build self-confidence.  No one would ever violate her again.

Roz yawned, closing her eyes, feeling calmer now.  

Moving out to LA had been the best choice for her.  She’d only 
been out to California once before, when she’d taken a vacation there 
with Zeke.  She’d gone back to school, and gotten her teacher’s license.  

What if it had been him in the bank three months ago?  Maybe Zeke 
would come back to her.  As she drifted off to sleep again, she felt the 
old hope again.

Her hope WAS irrational.  Ezekiel Stone was dead.
						

12:50am

“Hey, why can’t Jar Jar speak English?  Can anyone else understand 
him?”

It was the midnight screening of STAR WARS: EPISODE 1--THE PHANTOM 
MENACE.  Fans had literally been waiting a lifetime for this.  Star Wars 
fan Ana Tagert would not let the psycho behind her ruin this.  He’d been 
shouting earlier about the lips of the Trade Federation guys not 
matching what they were saying.

She had vague memories of seeing RETURN OF THE JEDI in the 
theater, but mostly she knew Star Wars from videotaped movies and the 
adventures she and her two older brothers had created with dozens of 
figurines.  She counted herself lucky to be here tonight.  Her boyfriend 
had gotten off work early the day tickets went on sale, and he was able 
to get some.  She gave his hand a squeeze, a thank you that he wasn’t 
expecting.  

Behind them, the weirdo shouted again.  “C-3PO was made by a 
little kid?  What a rip-off!”

From the back row: “Shut up, nut job.”

“This movie blows chunks!”  Ana felt a wave of heat pass over her.  
What was that?  

The movie screen caught fire.  As C-3PO complained of being naked, 
the fire licked up across the screen, spreading sideways.  Fans in the 
front bolted for the clearly marked exits.  Ana and her boyfriend were 
trapped in the middle of the theater, and really had nowhere to go 
until part of the crowd cleared.  

Flames raced across the ceiling.  The whole theater had begun 
burning.  The drapes along the side walls dropped hot ashes into the 
crowd as it fled.  Their breathing became impeded by smoke.  

Dave, her boyfriend, wouldn’t wait any longer.  He stood up, 
standing on his seat and the seat back in front of him.  He reached a 
hand out to Ana and pulled her up to him.

She knew what to do.  She kissed him quickly and murmured, “For 
luck.”

He smiled, catching the reference.  Then they stepped out onto the 
backs of the seats below them, and then the seat backs below that.  They 
held hands, and maneuvered as quickly as they could down the rows.  When 
they reached an empty aisle, Dave halted their progress, and propelled 
Ana in front of him to the exit.  

They made it out into the fresh air, coughing to clear their lungs 
of smoke.  Star Wars fans milled around, looking at each other.  Most 
had expected to be stunned after leaving the theater, but not in this 
way.

“What in Hell was that?” Ana wondered aloud.
	


	I was a cop...
	Then my wife was raped.
	I caught the guy who did it, and I killed him.
	(Bang, bang, bang)
	Two months later I died.
	I went to hell.
			(Evil laughter)
	113 of the most vile creatures escaped.
			They think they’ll beat the Devil.
			Nobody beats me.
	So, how am I supposed to send them back?
			The eyes are windows to the soul.
			Destroy the eyes, and the damned get a 
			one-way ticket back home to Hell.
			But it’s not hell you should be scared of...
			It’s losing your second chance of life on
			earth.
	Time to give the Devil his due.



ACT ONE


7:03am

Roz busied herself in the kitchen, fixing a quick breakfast before 
heading off to work.  School was almost out for the year, and she would 
have a long summer ahead.  There were things to do, of course, like 
organizing her lesson plan for the next year.  This summer, she 
wondered, would she be able to find Zeke?  

In the living room behind her, a local morning show droned on with 
mindless chatter.  She half listened as she scooped her scrambled eggs 
out of the pan and placed them onto two waiting bagels loaded with bacon 
and cheese.

The topic today seemed to be the new Star Wars movie.  It was 
certainly a big deal to everyone.  The last time she’d visited Wal-Mart, 
the whole store seemed covered in advertising tie-ins.  She dropped the 
pan in the sink, where she would wash it along with the dinner dishes.  
From the living room, she heard the familiar snap hiss of lightsabers 
clashing.  She carried her plate into the living room and glanced at the 
screen.

The man in the devil mask stared back at her.

She stopped still and shut her eyes.  She carefully set her plate 
down on a nearby shelf.  Take a deep breath, she told herself.  Then 
another.  And another.

“Wow,” said the perky female co-host of the show.  “That looks 
like a great movie.”

“I’ll say,” her charming male companion replied.  “I’m planning on 
taking the whole family to see it this weekend.”

Roz opened her eyes.  Seeing that image on the heels of her 
nightmare had been a shock.  Still, she was proud of the way she’d 
handled herself.  She sat down in her favorite chair, remembering the 
first panic attack she’d had.

She remembered a time just a few weeks before Zeke had died.  It 
was right before Halloween, 1983, and she’d been looking out the window, 
waiting for Zeke.  The Jets were playing on that Sunday afternoon, and 
he’d gone to pick up some friends who were going with them.  Waiting 
near the window, she’d seen a small boy who was running down the street 
toward his friends, excited to show off his costume.  He was wearing a 
mask of some kind, but she hadn’t seen what it was until he ran past the 
house and looked at her.

The sight of the devil mask triggered her fight-or-flight reflex.  
She’d backed away, knocking into the TV that stood on a little cart 
where it could be moved easily from the living room to the kitchen.  A 
wave of bad memories swept over her.  She felt as though she’d been 
violated all over again.  His filth was all over her, and her immediate 
need was to wash herself.  She’d made her way up the stairs, dropping 
bits of clothes here and there.  

Her sanity had been returning when Zeke found her, huddled in the 
shower.  She lay there, naked, the cold water pelting her icy skin, 
mixing with her hot tears as it swept over her.  It still wasn’t enough.  
She’d shouted at him as he burst in, “Zeke, don’t touch me!”

They never made love again before he died.

What a cheerful memory to start your day, Roz told herself.  Her 
sandwiches stared up at her on the plate, but she had no appetite now.  
She scraped them into the garbage before leaving for work.
						

9:45am

Stone looked at the bacon and eggs on his plate.  Rawshank’s Diner 
served great food, but he didn’t have much of an appetite.  It was 
exactly sixteen years ago today that he had decided to commit murder.  

He’d given the legal system one month after Gilbert Jax had raped 
his wife.  And the system had let him down.  

The worst part of it all was that making the decision to murder a 
man in cold blood was an easy thing.  He’d drawn his gun in the line of 
duty on several occasions, but he had never had to fire it.  He’d never 
seriously thought about premeditated murder before.

Making the conscious decision to commit a crime illuminated a part 
of himself that he hadn’t known was there.  It’ll be so easy, this new 
part told him.  You know how the system works; you’ll never get caught.  
Just wait a few months to let the attention die down.

Stone sipped his coffee.  It had been easy.  Trapping Jax in the 
little apartment that he lived in, pointing the gun at him.  The real 
concern he’d had was losing control and executing him too soon.  

“You have two choices, Gilbert.  I’m going to shoot you in the gut 
first, then in both knees and elbows.  You’d have a small chance of 
surviving, so you might think it would be worth trying.”  He paused, 
letting the image form in Jax’s mind.  “But I’d take your eyes, Jax.”  
Jax flinched at the venom in his voice.  “You’d be a blind, helpless 
vegetable, IF you lived.

“Or this,” Stone finished, holding up a syringe.  “Take a nice 
trip off to dreamland.”

Jax had already been stoned on the low-grade street version, but 
he had eyed the door, ready to run.  Zeke had known that Jax was about 
bolt.  He couldn’t shoot him, so he had lunged at him instead, knocking 
him onto the bed.  He had been able to inject Jax with a fatal amount of 
heroin that he had stolen from the evidence room after a big bust.  

Stone had carefully kept him from escaping as the chemicals rushed 
though Jax’s bloodstream.  He moved a chair so he could sit and watch 
him die.

It took longer than he expected.

He had been careful to wipe his fingerprints from everything that 
he had touched.  Maybe that was what tipped off Internal Affairs, the 
fact that Jax’s fingerprints were not on his own needle.

How many times had it been now? Stone wondered.  Have I killed 
twenty people yet?  Is it getting easier?  What did Zhang Fei ask me?  
Did my time is Hell change me?  Am I an evil man?

And he had never told Rosalyn.  He’d wanted to, especially that 
time he’d come home to find her hiding in the shower.  “I killed him for 
you,” he imagined himself saying to her.

He reflected for a moment on how screwed up his memories were.  He 
remembered remembering once that that was how he’d found her after the 
real rape.  His mind had been a mess when he first returned to the 
mortal world.  

His thoughts started to lead him to Roz’s actual assault, how he’d 
found the blood on the floor first-- but he cut off the image quickly.  
Let’s not go there, he told himself.

He tried to finish his coffee, but it was cold and bitter.
						

10:14am

Stone entered the Hotel Irondell, wanting to to brush his teeth 
before heading out in the search for damned souls.  His teeth wouldn’t 
rot if he ignored them, but the clean feeling helped him feel alive 
again.

Samantha was at the desk as he strolled in.  He tossed off a 
quick, “Hey, Sam,” as he walked by.  Then he stopped. 

She was smiling at him in the unique way that a woman does when 
she expects a man to notice a change she has made in her appearance.  
Unlike the tiny changes that usually trip men up, this one was easy.  

Her hair, instead of its usual bright color, was brown.  Her 
natural color? Stone wondered.  It was braided into two small buns on 
each side of her head.  Her usual anti-social T-shirt was replaced, or 
at least covered by a white robe.  It looked familiar...but he couldn’t 
quite place it.  

“You look different today, Sam,” he told her.  

“Thank you,” she replied, still smiling.  “I’m working until seven 
tonight, and I won’t have time to go home and change before the movie.”

Detective Stone considered the evidence.  Dressing up for a movie, 
probably not The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Sound of Music.  The 
hair had to be a clue... got it.

“Should I call you Princess Leia?”

She laughed, glad to be recognized.  “Just Sam.  I’m so pumped, 
I’ve been waiting for this my whole life!”

“Were you even born in 1977?”

“Yes,” she said firmly, offended that he would doubt her.  “Okay, 
I was only four, but my father swore that he took me to see it.  I’ve 
been waiting for a new Star Wars movie since I was ten!”

“George Lucas hasn’t been making them all this time?”

“All what time?  The Phantom Menace is the first new movie since 
Return of the Jedi.”

“I remember when Empire Strikes Back came out.”

“Episode Five,” Sam said.

“What?”

“That was Episode Five,” she explained.  “This one is Episode One, 
Darth Vader as a ten year old boy.”

“Ah, okay.  Anyway, I took my bride-to-be to see it.  It was our 
first real date, actually.”  He smiled off into the distance, 
remembering.

“Aww, that’s sweet,” Sam told him.  He glanced at her and wondered 
if she was teasing him, but her voice was sincere.  “So where is she 
now?”

“We got separated,” he replied.

“Oh,” she said, not surprised.  “I figured that’s how you ended up 
living in a place like this.  Alimony, right?”  

“Something like that.”

“So you took her to see Empire on your first date.  That’s so 
cool.  I’ll bet you went to see Return of the Jedi and had a great 
time.”

“Good guess,” he lied.  There were some things he didn’t want to 
discuss.  

“Excuse me?”  A woman had come up behind Stone, and Sam, attentive 
desk clerk that she was, had ignored her.  “Is it too early to get a 
room?”

“Just a minute,” Sam told her.  

“I’ll talk to you later,” Stone said, tapping the counter as he 
walked away.  He went to the elevator and hit the button.  Nothing 
happened.  With a sigh, he pushed open the door to the stairs.
						

10:56am

Stone wandered down the street.  He walked near the Pine Cinema 5.  
A line has formed, neatly pressed against the building, but still 
blocking the sidewalk slightly.

At the theater, he read the sign.  
	
		Tickets for Star Wars will not be accepted
		until one hour before the start time. 
	
This must be the line for the noon showing, he thought.  He walked 
down the line, estimating it at seventy or eighty people.  What are they 
doing here standing in line on a Wednesday morning?  Don’t they have 
jobs?

The faces in the line blurred, and he remembered standing in a 
similar line with Roz, nineteen years ago. 

				#

“I’ve heard good things about this movie,” she said.  The marquee 
in front of the theater displayed The Empire Strikes Back.  Traffic 
moved by in the street, with New York’s taxicabs the most common 
vehicle.

“Me too.”  A taxi dropped off another couple, and they also joined 
the queue.  Roz watched them, and Stone took advantage of her 
distraction by slipping an arm around her waist.

“Detective,” she warned him gently.  “I hope you aren’t expecting 
anything on a first date.”

“Moi?  Of course not.  You are my Princess Leia.”

Roz giggled, and moved closer to him, giving silent approval of 
his contact.  “So who are you, Han or Luke?”

“I’m Luke, of course.  He’s the hero, and the hero always gets the 
girl.”

“Really?  You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Roz and Zeke shared a smile as the line shuffled forward.

				#

Stone reached the end of the line.  He was tempted to join them 
and see the movie.  But he continued down the street, and glanced down 
the alley next to the theater.  

A fire truck was parked there.  Firemen were exiting the side door 
of the theater.

Fire Chief Thrance was talking to the theater manager, Mary 
Chaine.  “No hot spots or anything in there, the fire is gone.”

“Were you able to tell what started it?”

“It’s really too early to tell, but it looks from the burn 
patterns that it started in several locations at once.  It was very 
lucky that everyone was able to get out unhurt.”

“I agree.  The insurance will cover the fire damage, but if anyone 
died... well.”

“The sprinkler system did its job.  The fire code is there for a 
reason.”

“I know.  Thank you, Chief.”  She smiled at him, and reentered the 
theater through the side door.  

Chief Thrance walked toward the front of the cab.  Stone 
intercepted him.  “Excuse me.”  Stone flipped the badge.  “Could you 
tell me what happened?”

“A fire, of course,” Thrance said, trying to ignore him.

Stone didn’t give up that easily.  “How did it start?”

“I can’t tell you, `cause I don’t know.”  

“Was it arson?”

Chief Thrance reached the cab of the fire truck.  “Look, I really 
don’t know anything right now.  Any fire could be arson.  My suspicion 
is that this one is, but I don’t have any evidence.”

Stone decided not to press his luck.  “Thank you for your time.”
						

11:02am

Inside the theater, the damage hadn't been too great.  The walls 
were damaged, but it appeared to be only superficial, not structural.  
The seats generally appeared fine, although soaked with water.  Stone 
spotted Mary Chaine surveying the damage, and approached her.  

Mary was in her early fifties.  She was once very beautiful, but 
age is rarely kind.  Her hair was dark, but a few strands of gray were 
intertwined within.  She stood straight, which somehow gave Stone an 
impression of royalty.

“Excuse me?”  Stone held out the badge.  “Do you work here?”  

“I am Mary Chaine, the manager.”  She looked around again.  “It 
was a terrible thing.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“No, thankfully.  We were very lucky.  The theater was packed, we 
were showing The Phantom Menace last night when the fire started.”

“You think you might have a pyromaniac for a movie critic?

“Possible.”

“Was it sold out?”

She smiled politely.  “Yes, it was.”

“How bad will this hurt your business?”

“I can’t even replace the tickets for last night’s customers until 
Friday.  Almost everything is sold out until then.”

“Wow.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Detective, I have work to do.”

“Of course,” Stone said.  “Thank you for your time.”


11:15am

“Roz?”

She looked up from her lunch.  Her appetite had returned slightly 
since this morning, but half of her lunch would still send up in the 
garbage.  “Hello, Danny.”

Dan Copper took a seat across from her.  “How are you?  You look 
like something is bothering you.”

She smiled nervously, upset by the thought that her emotions were 
so transparent.  She looked at him, 40, medium build, the faintest hint 
of hair loss beginning.  His well-tanned face was serious.  

“Just missing my husband today.  It’ll pass.”

He smiled sympathetically.  Alexis, his wife of fifteen years, had 
passed away in 1994.  “I know how it is.  Would you like to talk about 
it?”

“No, no, it’s fine.  I just have good days and bad.”

“Listen, Roz,” he glanced around nervously.

He’s trying to ask me out, she realized.  On another day, she might 
have considered it.  He was a casual friend, the music teacher at 
her elementary school.  But not today.

“My son, Stephen, got tickets, um, ‘scored’ is how the kids say it 
today, I guess.”  She smiled at him, not wanting to be rude in her 
rejection.  “Anyway, he scored tickets to Star Wars: Episode One.  He 
offered me a pair.”

Wow, he’s actually blushing, Roz realized.

“Alexis and I, we saw all three together, and I’d like to see this 
one with some one, and I know it’s short notice, and I’m sorry, but I 
thought maybe you’d like to go with me?”  He managed to get all that out 
in one breath.

There was a pause.

“Look, I’m sorry, Roz, I know we’re just friends, and this is just 
a friendly thing, not a date or anything, but I shouldn’t have asked...”  
Dan started to rise, his face beet-red now.  

Women have a mysterious power over men, an ability to smooth 
things out with just a few words or a touch.  And Roz did this, reached 
out to touch his hand, comforting him.  He sat down slowly.  

“Danny, I would like to see the movie.  Zeke and I, well,” it was 
her turn to be flustered, “The second movie, that was our first date.  
That’s why... that’s why I’m missing him a little more than usual 
today.”

“Oh.”  Dan had no idea if that was a yes, no, or maybe in response 
to his question.

She made a decision.  “I’m not looking for a date tonight, but I 
would love to see it with a friend.”  She smiled warmly at him.

“Okay.  Oh.  Okay, great!  Would you, would you like me to pick 
you up, or we can meet there, if you’d be more comfortable with that?”

“Are you seeing it with your son?”

Dan smiled, back on familiar ground.  “Not likely!  He’s seventeen; 
he doesn’t want to be seen with his old man.  No, he’s going 
with his girlfriend and another couple.”

“Even Star Wars can’t bring families together,” she said ironically.

“Not tonight.  Tonight is a social occasion for him.”

“If you’d like to pick me up, that would be fine.”

“Okay, okay, that would be great.  The movie starts at seven, but 
we should get there early unless you like sitting in the...” a puzzled 
look appeared on his face.  “The nose bleed section is in the highest 
section, is there a phrase for the front row of the theater?”

They shared a laugh.



ACT TWO


11:20am

Stone continued to look around at the fire damage.  The theater 
was empty.  He looked at the screen, torn as it was, and pictured an ice 
planet instead.  Giant mechanical walkers lurched toward the base.  Who 
could stop them?  Luke Skywalker, of course.  

				#

After two of the walkers had been destroyed, he remembered nudging 
Roz.

“Told you he was the hero.”

“I never said he wasn’t.  I just don’t think he’s going to get the 
girl.”

“But she kissed him,” he whispered.

“I guess you don’t know everything about women yet,” she replied, 
giving him an impish smile as she turned back to the movie.

Stone watched her for a moment, watched her watching the movie.  
Finally she smiled, knowing that he was looking.  Satisfied by that, he 
turned back to the screen.

				#

Ana and Dave entered the burned theater holding hands.  She’d left 
her purse here last night, and the firemen said it was safe to enter.  
She looked around, marveling at the damage.  It was actually a little 
spooky in here, with only a few lights working and the strong odor from 
the fire still clinging to the air.  

One other person was there.  He was stood in the aisle on the 
other side of the theater.  A tall man, wearing a trench coat, hands 
deep in his pockets, he stared at where the screen used to be.

She poked Dave.  He was a good guy, he knew what she wanted.  
“Excuse me!” Dave said loudly.  

The other man seemed startled by their presence.  “Yes?” he 
answered.

“Have you seen a purse around here?” Dave asked.  She didn’t 
really expect that the man had.

And she was right.  “No, sorry.”  He reached into his coat and 
pulled out a flashlight.  “I’ll help you look, if you like.”

“Thanks, man.  We didn’t think to bring a flashlight.”

Ana watched the way he held his flashlight.  “Are you a cop?”

The man pulled out his badge and flipped it.  She couldn’t see any 
detail across the rows, but it looked like a badge.  And his voice 
sounded like the voice of authority.  “I’m Detective Stone.  Where were 
you sitting?”

Ana made her way toward the back of the theater.  “Back here,” she 
told him, pointing.  

Detective Stone flashed his light down a row of sets.  He repeated 
the process with the next row, and the one after that.  Dave walked at 
the same pace, looking where the light beam went, trying to see the 
missing purse.  When he thought he did, he asked, “Wait, can you go 
back?”

Detective Stone moved the light slowly and stopped in the center 
of the row.  Dave had already begun already making his way across, and 
picked up an object from the floor.  “Here it is.”

Ana was right behind him, and she let out the breath she hadn’t 
realized she was holding.  Dave handed the purse to her.  It was heavier 
than it should have been.  “Crap,” she muttered as she tipped the purse 
on its side and watched the water stream out.  “It’s soaked.”  

Dave approached the Detective.  “Thanks for the help, man.”  He 
held out his hand, and the two men shook, sizing each other in the 
age-old technique hard-wired into every male brain.  “I’m Dave, and 
this is my girlfriend, Ana.”

“Maybe you could help me out,” the detective asked.  “What can you 
tell me about the fire?”

“It was weird, you know?  The screen just caught on fire,” Dave 
explained.

Ana came up behind him.  “It spread really quickly, Officer.”  She 
put her hand into Dave’s.  “Thank you for your help.”

“Did you see anyone near the screen when it caught fire?”

Ana and Dave exchanged a glance.  “No, I don’t think so.”

“Did you see anything unusual?”

“No, we were watching the movie.”

“How was the movie?”  Detective Stone smiled, and she relaxed a 
little.  "I’m going to see it tonight.  Looking forward to it.”

“The special effects were great,” Dave said.  “Even though we 
didn’t see the whole movie.  The lightsaber battle at the end is 
supposed to be good.”

“There was a guy making comments about the bad parts of the 
movie,” Ana told Detective Stone.  “Remember, Dave?” 

“Right, and someone in the back told him to shut up.  Called him a 
screw job or something.  I think the fire started right after that.”

“That guy making comments, do you remember where he was sitting?”

Ana peered into the gloom of the theater.  “Not really,” she 
replied.

“Maybe if you were over by your seats, you could remember where 
his voice came from?”

They nodded and returned back down the aisle.  “Was he in front of 
you or behind you?”  Detective Stone asked.

Ana looked at her seat from last night.  It was still wet from the 
water.  She crouched down, bringing her head to approximately the same 
level that it had been last night.  “Behind me.”

She heard him moving around in the rows behind her.  “This far 
back?”

“Maybe a little closer, but it was definitely on my right side, 
not the left.”

“How about here?”

“It’s hard to tell.  That seems about right.  Maybe a little 
closer.”

“How’s this?”

“I think it could be,” she said.  

“Okay, thank you,” Detective Stone said.

They went back out the right side of the row and watched as 
Detective Stone shone his flashlight around.  He began lifting the 
seats, examining the floor below them.  Then he stopped and held the 
beam of light steady.

“What is it, can you see?” Ana whispered to Dave.  He shook his 
head.  They worked their way toward him.

“Did you find something?” Dave asked.

“Maybe.”

Dave stopped at the edge of the aisle, and she pressed against 
him.  It was feeling spooky back here again.  Together they looked at 
where Detective Stone was shining his light.  

Imprinted into the plastic armrest was the shape of a human hand.  
It was as if someone had squeezed the plastic while it was hot.  But the 
theater certainly hadn’t gotten hot enough last night to soften the 
plastic, had it?

The detective snapped the light off.  “You said it was a man 
making comments?”

Ana answered him.  “I didn’t see, but it sounded like it.”

Dave added, “I took a quick look.  He looked older, maybe twenty 
or so.”

“Go on,” said Detective Stone.  To Ana, it looked as though he was 
smiling.

“That’s about it, I was trying to watch the movie.”

“Okay.  Thank you for your help.”  Detective Stone pulled a card 
from his wallet and handed it to Dave.  “If you think of anything else, 
will you let me know?”

“Sure, man, no problem.”  Dave started back down the aisle toward 
the door.  Ana flashed the detective a smile before she followed.

“Think we’ll get a reward?” Dave wondered aloud when she caught up 
to him.

“Doubt it.”

“Hey, at least you got your purse back.”

“Wait,” she said suddenly, realizing what she hadn’t mentioned to 
the officer.  “Come back with me.”  Leading him by the hand, she headed 
back toward Detective Stone.

“What is it?” Dave wanted to know.

“Detective?” she called.  He turned, and she continued, “There’s 
one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Detective Stone asked, giving her ihis full attention.

“They won’t exchange our tickets,” she complained  “Can you do 
anything about that?”
						

1:22pm

Stone entered the Hotel Irondell.  Sam was still at the desk, 
trying to catch his eye as he walked through.  She showed unusual 
politeness to the guest she was helping as she told him, “Excuse me just 
a minute,” before she shouted to Stone, “Zeke!”

“Hey,” he replied.  He halted his walk to the stairs and returned 
to the desk.  When he made eye contact with the man trying to register 
for a room, he offered him a standard, “How’s it going?”

“What are you doing tonight?” Sam asked.  

“I’m supposed to be working, why?” he answered.

“Good and bad news.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“A friend of mine’s mother got hit by a car.”

“Damn, what’s the good news?”

Sam beamed at him.  “I’ve got an extra ticket to Phantom Menace if 
you want to go tonight.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.  Although...” he eyed her suspiciously, “I 
don’t have to wear a costume, do I?”

“It would be cool if you did, ‘cause me and my friends are.”

“Yeah, I’ll pass then.”

“You don’t have to dress up.  Just be yourself, the dark, 
mysterious man.”  She gave him a smile.

Stone returned it.  “Okay, that’s fine.  What time should I come 
down?”

“Get down here at seven.  If you’re one minute late, we’re leaving 
without you.”

“Okay, thanks.  I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Happy happy joy joy,” Sam muttered quietly, before she looked up 
at the man still standing there, waiting for a room.  “Thank you for 
waiting, sir,” she told him brightly.  “How can I help you?”
					

1:32pm

Roz had a free period between 1:00 and 1:45.  Normally, she tried 
to grade papers, or plan her lesson for the next day.  She was thinking 
about when she’d seen Return of the Jedi with Zeke.  It was six weeks 
after Jax’s invasion that they went.  

Zeke had picked her up before the movie, knocking on the door as 
if he was a stranger.  He tried recreating the magic of their first 
date, taking her to the same theater and standing on the street with her 
even though there was no line.  She tried to enjoy herself, but couldn’t 
seem to quite relax.

The movie did not become unpleasant until after Han Solo had been 
freed from carbonite.  Princess Leia, as Zeke sometimes called her in 
moments of passion, became the slave of Jabba the Hutt.

She had stiffened when Jabba reached out with his slimy tongue and 
licked Leia.  Zeke had noticed, ignoring the movie and making her the 
focus of his attention.  When Jabba dragged Leia toward him on her 
chain, Zeke turned to her and held her tight.  Ezekiel truly loved her, 
she knew, and she held him close until Jabba became a charred cinder on 
an exploding sail barge.  

She had calmed down as the movie progressed.   Afterward, they had 
gone out to St. George’s Annex, the same bar they visited on their first 
date.  She’d realized what an effort he had been putting into making her 
comfortable.  But she still had the nagging feeling she was letting him 
down.

That night, they tried unsuccessfully to make love.
						

2:39pm

Stone sat in his room and reviewed what little evidence he had.  
It was almost enough to make a man wish for the Devil to show up.

Almost.

Assuming that a damned soul had torched the theater last night, 
what could he do?  If he was going to try to intercept him, what should 
he stake out?  Was the target the movie or the theater?  Or, was the 
target the crowd of people?  

Any showing of The Phantom Menace might be a target.  Mary, the 
theater manager, had told him that it was sold out for the whole day.  
Then again, if the target was only the movie, the next strike might be 
at another theater.  

It was hard to draw any pattern from a single event.  In the 
meantime, there was one thing he could check out.  He picked up the 
phone and called downstairs.

“Hotel Irondell, front desk,” Sam answered.

“Sam?” 

“Yes?” 

“What theater are we going to tonight?”

“Zeke?”

“Yes?”

“Sorry, didn’t recognize that voice of yours.”

“No problem,” he replied.

“We’ve got tickets at the Pine Cinema.  8:30 show.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Later, Zeke,” she said, hanging up.

This was good.  He’d be able to keep an eye on things tonight.  
						

5:45pm

Danny knocked on Roz’s door.  Right on time, she thought.  She 
glanced at herself in the mirror, smiling at the image in front of her.  
She wore blue jeans, and an old white T-shirt that Zeke had bought for 
her not long before he’d left.  It showed Luke and Leia in an embrace, 
with the caption underneath “He’s your brother!”  It was tucked in but 
loose, and showed the rough outline of her breasts.  She’d selected two 
small earrings to wear, tiny diamonds that sparkled in the mirror.  

I could probably pass for thirty-five, she thought.  

Dan smiled when she opened the door.  Thankfully, he hadn’t 
brought flowers or anything.  She grabbed her keys and followed him to 
his car.  

“You look great,” he told her.

“Thanks, so do you,” she replied.  He opened the car door for her, 
and she seated herself inside.  She watched him as he walked around the 
car.  She could see he was nervous, just by the way he carried himself.  
Case in point, he’d accidentally locked his own door, and then fumbled 
with his keys until she’d leaned over to unlock it for him.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully, getting in.  They fastened their 
seatbelts, and he drove down the road.  

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, and then they 
both spoke at once.  “So, is your son-“  “That’s a nice-“

“You go first,” Dan said.

“Are we avoiding your son at the theater?”

“Oh, we’ll probably see him there, but he won’t want to talk to 
us.  You remember how it was when we were seventeen, and how 
embarrassing our parents were.”  Roz smiled, knowing she had had a close 
relationship with her mother when she had been seventeen.  “He’ll 
probably be looking at you, wanting to see what kind of friends his old 
man has.”

“You’ll have to point him out to me.  I’m curious.”

“Okay, I will.”

Another pause, then she asked, “What were you going to say 
before?”

“Oh nothing important, I was just saying you had a nice house.”

“Thank you.  It seems too large sometimes, but I was able to 
afford a large down payment, so I’m building up a fair amount of 
equity.”

“Property is a good investment.  Alexis and I-“ he stopped, 
remembering his wife who passed away five years ago.  “Alexis and I, we 
looked for a good house to raise children.  Stephen and his older 
sister, that’s the only house they’ve ever lived in.  I guess after 
Steven moves out, I’ll probably sell it and find someplace smaller to 
live.”

“How long have you lived there?”

“Nineteen years.  We moved in just before Maya was born.”

“That’s a long time,” Roz said.  She could feel this conversation 
edging around the topic of their spouses, and wasn’t sure if she wanted 
to talk about Zeke.  But it was on her mind, and here was someone who 
could understand, not like her friend Alice, who had divorced her first 
two husbands.  Danny knew what it was like to lose half of your soul.

He was quiet, and she guessed he was thinking the same thing.  
She’d gone to a support group for widows way back when Zeke had first 
died, but it hadn’t really helped fill the gaping Zeke-shaped hole in 
her life.  Still, she had changed quite a bit over the last fifteen 
years.  Maybe talking about him would help.

He must have reached the same decision.  “Alexis was a teacher 
also.  She taught fourth grade.”

“Oh, I like the second grade better,” she smiled.  “The children 
are more innocent.  They grow up too fast these days.”

“It seems like it.”  

She paused, not sure how to begin.  “It must be hard, living in 
the same house.  After Ezekiel died, I couldn’t stand New York any more.  
So I escaped out here.”

“Do you still feel the same way?”  It was an open-ended question, 
one with several possible meanings.  

Roz thought for a moment before answering.  “When Zeke was killed, 
I ran away.  I think sooner or later, I’ll face that demon.”

“Have you been back to New York since?”

“No, but-“ She decided not to make an excuse.  “No.”


6:15pm

Roz and Dan stood in line at for the concession stand.  “Don’t 
look now,” Dan said, “but here comes my son.”

Stephen walked by with his knot of friends.  He carefully avoided 
eye contact with his father, but spoke to Roz in passing, “Cool shirt.”

Dan and Roz smiled at each other.  “They’re so much cuter when 
they’re in second grade, aren’t they?” Dan asked.

“He seemed like a fine young man,” she replied, “but yes.”
						

6:30pm

“Mary?”  Someone knocked on Mary Chaine’s office door.

“Yes?”

“Your son is here.  Want me to send him in?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Gus ‘Rusty’ Chaine was nineteen.  Looking at him was like looking 
back into the 1980’s.  “Hey, mom.”

“Are you okay?  I’ve been worried about you, there was no answer 
at your apartment.”

“I’m fine.  Can I borrow your car tonight?”  Gus closed the office 
door.

Wham!  Mary slapped her son, her hand lashing out with great force 
for a woman in her fifties.  “You almost burned the place down!”

He raised a hand to his cheek, trying to sooth the sting.  “Ouch, 
mom, it was an accident!”

“An accident?  The fire chief said the fire started in several 
places!  Did you have several accidents?”

“It wasn’t like that... it was...” Rusty couldn’t think of 
anything to say.

Mary sighed, unable to stay mad at her son.  “Now, Gus, I am glad 
that we are together again.  But you are attracting attention to the 
theater and to yourself, and not a good kind of attention.”

“I’m sorry.”

Her voice softened, her anger gone.  “I know you have these powers 
that you do not fully understand.  But be careful with them, and do not 
let them get out of control.”

“Yes, mother.”

“No, you can not use the car tonight.  Because of your little 
escapade last night, I will be here until midnight or so, keeping an eye 
on things.”

“Okay,” he agreed, his voice sullen.

“You could get your own car, it would be good for you to be more 
independent.”

“I’ll look around for one.”

“And you could look for a job too.  Something that helps you fit 
into this place.”  

“Ok.  And I’m sorry about last night.”

“I am glad you are okay.  I was so worried that I would lose 
you again.”

“Mom,” he said, embarrassed.  “We’re back together for good now.”

“I hope so.  Now come here and give your mother a hug.”

So he did.  As they embraced, his eyes flashed with hellfire.  



ACT THREE


6:59pm

For some reason, Samantha had a nervous fear that Zeke was going 
to stand her up.

“He’ll be down in a minute,” she told her two friends.  One was 
dressed as Darth Vader; the other wore a brown hooded robe and a fake 
beard.  She leaned toward them as she asked, “If you get a chance, try 
to find out what he does.  He won’t tell me.”  

Sam turned her head to look at the stairs.  Sure enough, Stone was 
walking toward her.

“Cutting it close, aren’t you?” she teased him, feeling more 
relaxed now.  “We were just getting ready to leave without you.”

“But you didn’t.”  He smiled at her.

“Zeke, I’d like you to meet another Lost Soul.  This is our 
guitarist, Alex.”  Stone shook hands with Obi-Wan, and she continued, 
“And this is Amie, his girlfriend.”

“Pleased to meetcha,” Stone said, shaking hands.  Sam watched his 
eyes, wondering if he would check out Darth Vader’s breasts, but he 
didn’t.  Good, she already knew enough sex-crazed men as it was.

“Okay, let me just tell Donnie that the desk is his.”  She turned 
toward the office, cupped her hands around her mouth, and yelled, 
“Donnie, I’m leaving!”

Stone was watching her with an amused expression when she turned 
back.  “Okay, what are we waiting for,” Alex said, “Let’s go!”

Stone held the door open for everyone, Sam noticed.

				#

Stone looked at Alex’s car.  It was a two-door Geo Metro, and 
certainly looked too small to seat the four of them comfortably.  Alex 
was holding the passenger’s door open, and Sam crawled into the back.  

Here goes, he thought, and followed her.  It wasn’t too bad until 
Alex folded the seat back.  Amie sat down, pressing the seat back into 
his legs.  She took her helmet off.  He wasn’t too surprised to see that 
her short hair was multi colored.  

“Okay, Star Wars fans, let’s have a little traveling music.”  Alex 
slid a CD into his stereo.  Stone watched, still fascinated by the 
concept of compact disks.   A laser somehow read the music off of a 
piece of plastic that you could see through!  It was incredible.  They 
did sound good, but he had many fond memories of his record player too.

“What are we listening to?” Amy asked.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

The intro started off, and Amie and Sam exchanged glances.  After 
about twenty seconds, the beat got harder, and Amie got a puzzled look 
on her face.  “This sounds familiar,”

“I’m betting this isn’t by John Williams,” Stone said.

Sam laughed.  “No, I don’t think so.”  

Alex turned the volume up a fuzz as the lyrics started.

		"I’ve got her in my head
		at night when I go to bed
		and I know it sounds lame
		but she’s the girl of my dreams"
	
Amie started laughing.  “Blink 182?”

“Yep,” Alex replied.

		"And of course I’d do anything for her
		I’d search the moons of Endor
		I’d even walk naked
		through the deserts of Tatooine"

“They’re playing my song,” Sam told him.  He nodded, realizing he 
didn’t get the joke yet.
	
		"Princess Leia, where are you tonight?
		and who’s laying there by your side?
		Every night, I fall asleep with you
		and I wake up alone"

Stone smiled.  Princess Leia, where are you tonight?  He tried not 
to imagine who might be laying by Roz’s side.
  
		"And even though I’m not as cool as Han
		I still want to be your man
		You’re exactly the kind of Alderranian that I need.
	
		But when you were available, 
		I was drinking Colt 45’s with Lando
		and hanging out in the cantina on Mos Eisley
	
		Princess Leia, where are you tonight?
		and who’s laying there by your side?
		Every night, I fall asleep with you
		and I wake up alone"

The music continued, and Sam poked him.  “You’ve got a funny look 
on your face.”  

“It took me long enough to figure out what the song was about.”

“That’s the kinda music we play.”

Stone nodded acknowledgement, then wondered, “Did you ever finish 
that song you were working on?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve written like three more since then.”

“I’m going to make it out there to see you play sooner or later.”

She laughed.  “Probably later, right?”

The next song began, and Stone asked Alex, “Could we hear that 
again, now that I know what the song is about?”  

“Yeah, Zeke, no problem.”  The car stopped at a red light, and 
Alex tapped the back button twice, and the song began again.

Stone watched a couple outside his window.  Did the woman look 
like Roz, or was it just his imagination?  He remembered when they’d 
left the theater after seeing The Empire Strikes Back.

				#

He’d been nervous as they walked out.  He held the door open for 
her, and looked around at the bright lights of New York.  They stood on 
the street, looking at each other.

“That was a pretty good movie,” he said.

“Yes, thank you, Detective.”	Roz replied.

“Would you like to get a drink?” he asked, the butterflies 
fluttering around in his stomach.  He was getting mixed signals from 
her, like she was enjoying herself, but didn’t really want to be.  He 
was almost afraid to do anything that might scare her off.  “You were 
right,” he said, not waiting for her to answer his question.  “It looks 
like Leia was more interested in Han Solo.”

“It looked that way,” she replied, watching him.  Damn!  What did 
that mean?  Was she not interested, or just playing hard to get?  He 
looked at her, her beautiful smile, her beautiful eyes, and her long 
dark hair.  

She looked at her watch.  “I have to get up early, Detective.”

The butterflies all took a shot of tequila and started bouncing 
around furiously.  Might as well push your luck, he thought.

He raised his hand up, palm out.  Then, using his middle and index 
fingers, he traced a half circle in the air, staring deep into her eyes 
as he did.  “You want to have one quick drink with me,” he intoned.

It worked.  She smiled, than laughed.  He grinned back, relieved.

“I want to have one quick drink with you,” she repeated.  She 
turned and signaled for a taxi.  One pulled right over, and Stone stood 
watching her, too stunned to open the door for her.  She got in, then 
looked back at him.  “Coming, Detective?”

He followed her into the back seat of the yellow cab.  “You like 
calling me that, don’t you?”  
		

7:25pm

They finally found a parking space, and Stone was able to get out 
and stretch his legs.  Riding in the back seat wasn’t painful, of 
course, but it was definitely uncomfortable.  

“Wow,” Alex said, “This place is full.”  He surveyed the parking 
lot.  “Everyone remember where we parked.”  

Amie took out a pack of cigarettes.  “Alex won’t let me smoke in 
his car,” she explained to Zeke.  She offered one to him, but he shook 
his head.  She lit one, and inhaled deeply.  “I need to get my nicotine 
fix before we go see the movie.” 

“I quit a long time ago,” he told her.  

“That’s good,” Amie replied, “I should quit too.”

“I keep telling her that,” Alex added.

“Yeah, but when you do it, it’s annoying,” she responded 
playfully, pushing him gently.  He was carrying her Darth Vader helmet, 
and tucked it under his right arm so he could push her back with his 
left.

“Kids,” Sam joked, catching up to Zeke.  He smiled down at her, 
and they walked along in comfortable silence. 

The Pine Cinema 5 was across the street, and they all grouped 
together again as they waited to cross the street.  A line was formed 
along the building like Stone had seen before, but unlike the tight line 
from earlier, this was a loose group of people.  Even from across the 
street, Zeke could hear people laughing and joking.  

“It’s like a party,” Sam said.  

Alex laughed and pointed.  “Look at the guy dressed like a 
Klingon!”

“Hey, he’s more in costume than this guy here,” Sam said, gouging 
Zeke with an elbow.

Stone spotted one other Darth Vader in the line, and two people 
wearing alien masks.   At the front of the line, the doors opened and 
people began to enter the cinema.  
	

7:33pm

Mary Chaine watched the line of people entering through the front 
doors.  Her son stood beside her.  

“Boy, they’re going to be disappointed.”

“Gus, stop talking like that.  These are our guests, and I want 
them to enjoy themselves.  Besides, you chose to end the movie before it 
was half over.  The rest may have been better.”  

“Are there any more tickets left?”

She laughed politely.  “No, there are not.”

“You mind if I sneak in?”

“Yes, I mind.”

“What about the last one?  The eleven thirty show?”

“We’ll see.”

Rusty smiled.  He usually got his way with his mother.  She’d 
missed him too much to deny him things.  Then someone caught his eye.
“That bastard-” he muttered.

Mary looked up.  “What is it?”

“That’s the guy that had me locked up.  Judge Bristol.  If he’d 
let me bond out, I wouldn’t have gotten killed.”

“Gus!  I want you to leave him alone while he is here.”  Rusty 
said nothing, just watched Judge Bristol with a hard look in his eye.
His mother recognized the look, and sighed.  “If you are going to do 
something, I want you to do it OUTSIDE the theater.  I could lose my job 
if you get the theater involved again.”

“He might as well have stabbed me himself,” Rusty muttered.

“Son, did you hear me?”

“Yes, I understand.”  His eyes flashed hellfire as he continued to 
watch.


7:39pm

“Mr. Stone!”

Stone turned around to find a smiling older man trying to catch 
his attention.  He returned the grin and shook the outstretched hand.  
“I thought we agreed you were going to call me Zeke?” he said.

“Of course, of course.”

Stone realized the group of costumed people that stood around him 
might require an explanation.  “I’d like you to meet Samantha,”

“Call me Sam,” she said.

“Alex, and Amie,” he continued.  “This is Thurston Bristol, a 
friend of mine.”  Everyone nodded in greeting.

“This is my granddaughter Sarah,” Thurston said, introducing the 
girl standing by his side.  Then, to Zeke, “We haven’t seen you around 
the batting cages for a while.”  

“Yeah, I’ve been busy.”  

“Grandpa, can we get some popcorn now?” Sarah wanted to know.

“Anyone want anything?” Stone asked his costumed friends.  

“I’d like a Coke,” Sam said.  

Alex peeled a ten dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to 
Stone.  “If you don’t mind getting us two Cokes and a large popcorn, 
we’ll get us all a place in line.”

“Works for me,” he replied.

Sam, Alex, and Amie walked toward the line waiting to enter the 
theater. 

“I was wondering about you the other day,” Thurston said.  “How’s 
Brian doing?”

“Actually, he had to leave town,” Stone replied.  

“That’s too bad.  Sarah here is getting even better.”

“I hit two triples in my last game,” she said proudly.

“Wow, that’s good.  Are you looking forward to the movie?”

She nodded, as Thurston explained, “I was telling her in the car 
on the way over how I took her father to see Star Wars when he was her 
age.”

“Where does the time go?” Stone wondered.  But Thurston wasn’t 
paying attention to him any longer.  “Thurston?”

“You see that boy over there?  He’s the spitting image of a kid 
that appeared in my court, oh, must have been thirteen, fourteen years 
ago.”

Stone looked at Mary and her son, still watching the crowd.  “Okay...”

“The kid robbed a restaurant.  He locked the employees in the 
freezer, and no one found them until the next day.  Everyone of them was 
dead.  Tragic.”

“And you found him guilty?”

“He never made it to trial.  He was a fighter, that kid.  He’d 
grown up in orphanages and foster homes.  Got into a fight his first 
night.  They found him dead the next morning.”

“So he looks like that same person, huh?”

Thurston smiled.  “I’ve seen so many faces in my years, everyone 
looks like someone.  It couldn’t be the same one.”

“No, of course not.  What was his name, do you remember?”

“Ah, Gus something, I’m not sure.”

“Next!” called the woman at the concession stand.  

“I’ll take four cokes and two large popcorns,” Stone said.  “Do you
know the name of the man talking to the manager over there?”

The girl behind the counter smiled.  “That’s Rusty, her son.  Did 
you want butter on your popcorn?”

“Of course,” Zeke said, surprised at the question.  She left to 
assemble the order.  “I guess it’s not the same guy.”

“Of course not, Mr. Stone.”  Thurston looked at him oddly.  
“People don’t come back from the dead, you know.”
	

7:49pm

In the darkened theater, Dan nudged Roz.  “Did you see that?”

“What?” she whispered.

“R2-D2 was behind Liam Neeson.  He came down the stairs, crossed 
the room, and went up the stairs, and R2-D2 was already there waiting.”

She smiled.  It was the kind of thing Zeke would notice.  “Maybe 
R2 can fly?” she suggested.

“I hope not.  That would be pretty cheesy.”


7:55pm
 
“Thank you, Zeke.”  Sam said, accepting her Coke.  

Zeke distributed the food to the group.  “Who do I owe for the 
ticket?”

“That would be me,” Sam said, “but let me share your popcorn and 
we’ll call it even.”

“Fair enough.” Zeke said.  “These prices are terrible.  They have 
a sign up there - a 44-ounce drink and large popcorn for $6.00.  Do you 
know what it says on the sign?  ‘A Great Deal!’”

They laughed at that.  “So, Zeke, Sam didn’t tell us what you do 
for a living,” Alex asked.  He had been eating popcorn, and there were a 
few pieces stuck in his fake beard.  Amie brushed them out.

“She didn’t?  I work for a lousy boss and the pay stinks.”

“Hey, sounds like my job,” he replied.  “Have you seen The Matrix?”  

“No, I haven’t.  What’s it about?”

Sam jumped in.  “It’s about this guy Neo.  He learns that his body 
and the world he lives in isn’t real.”

“Isn’t real?” Stone asked.

“No, it’s just a computer program.”

“Yeah,” Alex said.  “He gets shot, but it doesn’t affect him, 
because he knows it’s not his real body.”

“Remember the Jump Program?” Amie asked, enthused.  “These guys 
can jump across buildings!” she told Zeke.

“Because they’re not real?”

“Right,” Sam said, “their bodies aren’t real, so the rules don’t 
apply to them.”

“It’s got some kick-ass special effects in it,” Alex added.  

“What is the Matrix?” Sam asked.  Alex and Amie laughed as Zeke 
smiled politely.

“Alex, dear,” Amie said, “want to come outside with me for a 
moment before the movie?”

“She almost made it sound like a question,” Alex joked as he 
followed his girlfriend out.

Sam helped herself to a handful of the popcorn that Zeke was holding.  
“Amie and her nicotine fixes.  So, what do you think of them?”

“They seem cool.”

“Amie thinks you’re dark and mysterious.”

He chuckled.  “That was supposed to be my costume, wasn’t it?  
Hey, did you get Alex to ask what I do?”

Sam looked shocked.  “Princess Leia, spying?  Never!”


8:48pm

They had good seats in the theater, right near the center.  Stone 
set next to Sam, who was next to Alex and Amie.  After watching previews 
for several movies, the familiar 20th Century Fox drum roll began.  

The theater exploded into cheers and applause.  Zeke felt himself 
smiling as the Star Wars logo burst onto the screen.  He leaned over to 
Sam.  “Thank you for inviting me,” he said.

“Thank you for coming,” she replied.  “Now let me watch the 
movie!”


9:15pm
 
Roz had been acting very oddly for the last ten minutes or so.  
She seemed tense every time that red and black faced guy was on the 
screen.  Dan’s attention was split between his concern for her and the 
movie.  The music here was excellent.

Then Obi-Wan killed the Sith Lord.  “Die, you son of a bitch,” Roz 
said, not so quietly, watching the body fall down a shaft.

He had no idea what to say, so he said nothing.


9:19pm

“Did you see that?” Zeke asked Sam.

“What?”

“R2-D2 was behind the Jedi, and then after he’d crossed the room, 
R2-D2 was in front of him.”

“Zeke, just watch the movie.”


10:15pm

“Thank you again for the movie,” Roz said.  They were several 
blocks away from her house still.

“I’ll thank Stephen for you.”  Dan hesitated.  “Roz, do you need 
someone to talk to?  Because I can understand how you feel about Zeke.”

Roz did not say anything else until his car pulled up into her 
driveway.  She unbuckled her seatbelt and spoke, “You’re probably right, 
I could use someone to talk to, Dan.  But not tonight.”

She opened the door.  The night air felt hot and muggy after the 
comfort of the air conditioned car.  “Good night, Danny.  I’ll see you 
in the morning.”

“Good night, Roz,” was all he said as she closed the door.  

Roz opened the front door, raising a hand to wave at Dan as she 
stepped inside.  On the shelf near the door was the yellowing envelope 
addressed to Zeke.  She pinned it up on the door where it had been 
hanging for the last few months and then closed the door.  What if he 
had come by tonight while she was gone?  A calculated risk, but she 
hadn’t wanted to explain things to Dan.  

She decided to have a nightcap before bed, and mixed herself a 
screwdriver.  She and Zeke had ordered them on their first date.  She’d 
taken him to a little place she knew, a quiet bar attached to a 
restaurant.  She sat in her favorite chair and remembered.

				#

Roz and Zeke were seated at a table, one of only two that were 
occupied.  The rest of the patrons were clustered along the bar itself. 
They ordered their drinks, and the waitress disappeared.  

“So, Detective.”  She looked across the table at this handsome 
man, and raised one questioning eyebrow at him to tell him this was his 
show.

Zeke looked surprised by her action.  “How did you do that?”

“What?”

“Raise just one eyebrow.”

She smiled at him.  “It’s easy, you just-“ she repeated her 
action.

“Like this?” he asked, lifting both of his.

She laughed.  It was comical, watching him.  “Nope, not even 
close.”  He joined in.

“Okay, your turn to ask me a question,” he said.

“Hmmm,” she said, looking at him thoughtfully.  She felt a strong 
attraction to him, feelings almost as strong as her fears.  She wasn’t 
quite ready to tell him about that, so she chose an innocent topic, 
“Do you think Luke will get together with Leia in the next movie?”

He thought for a moment before he answered, “What matters is that 
they were together at the end of this one.”

So that was a no, but he didn’t want to come out and say it.  
“That wasn’t really my question, Detective, but I’ll let you slide this 
time.”  She gave him another smile.  “What else do you want to know 
about me?”

Zeke made eye contact with her, and held it as he asked, “Why do 
you keep calling me by my rank, instead of by my name?”  

The waitress returned with the drinks, and she took hers and 
examined it.  Zeke must have felt her hesitation, because he added, 
“Never mind, you don’t have to answer that.”

She made her decision.  “Zeke,” she said, pronouncing his name 
carefully, “My dad was NYPD too.”  That was the easy part.

“Really?”  He leaned toward her.    

Now the hard part.  “He was killed in a bank robbery twelve years 
ago.”

His expression showed concern.  “Roz, I’m sorry.”

“He wasn’t even on duty, he was just there,” she told him.  “But 
he tried to protect and serve, and it cost him his life.”

Zeke listened, and touched her hand sympathetically.  

“I watched how my mom died inside when he was gone.  I always 
swore I’d never date a police officer.  But here I am tonight.”

“Here you are,” he agreed.

She could have stopped there, but momentum kept her talking.  “So, 
to answer your question, I’m just reminding myself that you’re ‘on the 
job’, just like my dad was, and you could be dead tomorrow.”

Zeke had no response to that.  Roz could see that she had made him 
uncomfortable.  They each drank from their glasses.  She had more to 
say, but didn’t want to steamroller him with it all at once.  Although 
maybe that would be better, to scare him off and not risk anything.  She 
was still debating when he broke the silence.

“I’m glad you made an exception for me and said yes to tonight.”

“I think I am too,” she said, surprised at her words.  

“Would to like to have dinner with me sometime?”

“No,” she said, and then, seeing the disappointment flash across 
his face, she clarified, “I mean, no, you can’t ask me yet.”

“Okay...”

“It’s my turn to ask you something, remember?”

“How rude of me, my lady,” he said formally, his tone streaked 
with laughter, “I humbly beg your pardon.”  He grinned.

“Of course,” she said lightly, but did not return his smile.  She 
waited until he was serious before beginning.  “Are you a bold cop, 
Zeke?  Because you know what they say, that there are bold cops, and old 
cops, but no old bold cops.”

“I’m not-“

She cut him off.  “Are you ever going to get killed like my father 
did?  Shot by some punk resisting arrest?”  

“Roz,” he protested, “I can’t know something like that.”

She refused to let him off that easily.  “That’s not good enough 
Detective.” She twisted the knife.  “It’s a yes or no question.” 

Their eyes locked across the table.  This was important to her, 
and she could tell that he knew it.  Would he tell her what she wanted 
to hear, or insist that no one could know the future?  The suspense was 
excruciating.

“No,” he said simply.  “I’m going to be an old cop.”

				#

Roz remembered that sweet lie.  She could trace the happiest years 
of her life all back to that point, to that answer.  She had never known 
such total love could exist until she met Zeke.  Like one who has tasted 
the sweetest wine, she could no longer be satisfied with less.

She finished her drink, and stood.  She found her address book and 
flipped through it.  There was a number there that she had found 
recently, a number with an old New York City area code.  She had been 
building up the courage to call for several days.  She dialed it, not 
entirely expecting an answer at this hour.  

“NYPD, Personnel office, Smith speaking,” said the voice over the 
phone.  

“Hello?” she asked.

“Hello.”

“I’m calling from LA,” she began.  “I’m trying to find out some 
information about a Detective Ezekiel Stone.  I wanted to-“

“Okay, look,” Smith said.  “I don’t know what you guys out in 
California are smoking, but let’s do this one more time.”

“What?”

“Detective Stone was killed in 1983.  He is not running around out 
there in LA-LA land.  This is the third or fourth time you’ve called in 
the last eight months.  So, do me a favor, Officer.  I want you to write 
this down on a piece of paper and post it there at LAPD.  Don’t keep 
calling me and asking the same questions.  I went to his funeral, he was 
a great guy, and if you’ve got someone out there claiming to be him, I 
hope you catch the bastard and string him up.”

Roz mumbled something incomprehensible.  Smith took it to mean 
good-bye, and hung up.  Roz held the phone, staring ahead in confusion. 
Why was LAPD so interested in Zeke?

Her old irrational thoughts returned.  She had new hope.



ACT FOUR


10:58pm

As the music reached its final crescendo, applause burst out in 
the crowded theater.  Zeke found himself grinning broadly, and when the 
lights came on, saw Sam was doing the same.

“That was intense!” she said.

“Yeah, it was.”	

They made their way out to the outside of the cinema.  “En 
guarde,” Alex yelled, and he and Darth Vader both pulled lightsabers 
from beneath their capes.  They attacked each other, plastic blades 
clashing, and cheers went up in the swarm of people around them.  

By now the several hundred people exiting the theater were 
blocking traffic as they crossed the street to the parking lot.  Alex 
and Amie continued to fence as they made their way down the row of 
parked cars.  Sam walked along with Zeke, both still glowing from the 
movie.  

“My mind is in overload,” Sam said.  “Too much detail in that 
movie.  The special effects.  I couldn’t take it all in.”

“I know.  Movies have come a long way since the last time I was at 
a theater.”
						

11:02pm

Thurston Bristol left the theater with his granddaughter.  He kept 
his arm around her shoulder so she would not get lost among the crowds.

“You dad is going to shoot me for keeping you out so late,” he 
told her.

“It’s okay.  It was a great movie, grandpa.”

As they exited the cinema, a young man followed them.  Gus ‘Rusty’ 
Chain had his glowing eyes set on revenge.
						

11:05pm

“You don’t have to get in yet, Zeke.”  Amie lit a cigarette and 
leaned back on the car.  “We’ll be here a few minutes, Alex won’t leave 
without me.”

Zeke looked around the parking lot.  Traffic was flowing smoothly 
out of the parking lot.   He felt relaxed, almost happy.  “What time do 
you have to work tomorrow, Sam?” he asked.

She groaned.  “Bright and early at 8 o’clock, thanks for reminding 
me.  I’m not looking forward to it.”

Behind him, Stone heard a girl scream, and the sound of glass 
breaking.  He turned.  

Someone was smashing through the windows of a car, the occupants 
trapped inside.  The driver tried to call attention to himself by 
blaring his horn.  

“I’ll catch up with you later,” Stone said, jogging toward the 
disturbance.  He pulled his gun out from under his coat, keeping it 
pointed high to be safe.

				#

“He’s been carrying a gun around all night!?” Alex exclaimed.  “He 
can walk back, we’re out of here.”

Alex opened the car door, and started the engine.  Amie flicked 
the last half of her cigarette away.  She opened her door, and folded 
the seat forward.  “Sam, you coming?”

Sam watched as Stone reached the disturbance.

				#

“Hey, hold it right there,” Stone yelled.  He saw that it was 
Rusty, Mary’s son, who was attacking the car.  

“Stay out of this,” Rusty told him fiercely, but stepped away from 
the car to face Stone. 

Stone recognized the driver as Thurston Bristol.  “Get out of 
here,” he yelled, keeping the gun trained on Rusty.  

The car started.  Rusty gave a frustrated grunt and thrust his 
hand at Zeke.  The hem of Zeke’s coat burst into flames.  

He turned quickly as he striped the coat off.  Rusty leaped 
through the air, and as the car began to drive off, he landed on the 
hood.  He raised his right hand, ready to punch down through the 
windshield.  

Stone jumped across the car hood and knocked Rusty off.  The car 
shifted into reverse, and fishtailed toward the end of the lot.  

“You just bought yourself a world of trouble, pal,” Rusty snarled.  
“You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“I know you’re the one who torched the theater last night.”  

“You’re going to take that to your grave,” Rusty yelled, lunging 
at Stone.

“Already been there,” Stone muttered as he planted his feet.  When 
Rusty reached him, Stone grabbed him and twisted him away, lifting him 
off the ground.  He flew five meters across the blacktop, but only got a 
half-meter above the ground.

Standing up, Rusty turned back to Zeke, stunned.  “Who are you?”

“I’ve got a one way ticket back home for you, Rusty.”  Stone aimed 
his gun, and snapped off a quick shot.  He missed, and Rusty didn’t 
stand around.  He ran, heading back toward the cinema.  Stone followed, 
trying to ignore the looks from the people standing around.  

Rusty reached the end of lot.  Traffic was light, but the cars 
were still in his way, so he LEAPED.  He cleared the traffic in a single 
bound, giving off a bluish fire trail as he flew through the air.  He 
landed in front of the theater.    
						

11:08pm

Mary Chaine looked around her theater.  The last showing of Star 
Wars: The Phantom Menace was filling up.  She planned on calling it a 
night after it started.  If Rusty came back from his little revenge 
thing, he could get a ride home with her.  If not, he was on his own.  
He’d been moping around the cinema all day.  He needed to get a job, 
like she had.

The glass of the front door shattered inward.  She wasn’t looking, 
but she knew it was her son.  That boy caused so much trouble.

And of course it was.  “Help,” he yelled, running through the 
crowd, knocking people over left and right.  Popcorn flew through the 
air.  He ducked into the 11:30 showing of Star Wars, trying to lose 
himself in the crowd.


11:10pm

“Hey,” Dave said.  “That looks like the guy from last night.”

Ana looked toward the front of the theater.  “Is it?”

“Could be.”  

“He better not be starting anything tonight.”

“I’ve got my cell phone,” Ana said, “you want to call Detective 
Stone?”

Dave dug into his wallet.  “Yeah, here it is... 213-“

“Never mind,” Any said.  “Look, there he is.”

Detective Stone entered the theater, keeping his right hand 
hidden.  He looked around, but the theater was mostly full, and he 
didn’t see anything.  

“I’ll be right back,” Dave said.  He was so brave. 

Ana stayed in her seat, watching the action.  The mystery man from 
last night was slunk down in a seat, five rows from the front and about 
a third of the way toward the middle.  Dave got the Detective’s 
attention and pointed him out.

Detective Stone went to the row behind the mystery man, and tried 
to sneak up behind him.  He was halfway there when the man spotted him.  
He stood on his seat, and JUMPED.  

Ana let out a gasp, but Dave, who had been returning to his place 
next to her, didn’t see what happened.

“What was that?”

“That guy from last night!  He just jumped across four rows of 
seats and landed in the front of the theater!”

				#

Stone was tired of it all.  What had he been told on his first 
night back on Earth?  The longer you’ve been in Hell, the more it 
becomes a part of you?

According to Judge Bristol, this punk had died after he did.  And 
a few weeks ago, he had faced Hart, who had also been in hell less time.  
But both of them had been able to do things like starting fires, and 
Rusty was able to leap across streets.

He had jumped a fence or two since he had been back, but nothing 
like the distance or height that Rusty could.  What had Sam said about 
that movie earlier?  When the characters knew their bodies weren’t real, 
they could do things that normal people couldn’t.

In the parking lot a few minutes ago, he’d managed to turn Rusty’s 
momentum into a short flight.  He’d been angry, and pushed his limits.  
But it wasn’t like there was adrenaline in his veins.  So, therefore, if 
they could do it, he could do it.

He climbed on the armrest of the seat, much to the annoyance of 
the person sitting there.  I think I can, he thought as he braced his 
other foot.  He LEAPED back toward the aisle, planning to intercept 
Rusty.

It worked perfectly.  He soared over the people sitting in the 
seats, and caught Rusty, who was racing back up the aisle toward the 
exit, across the neck.  

They crashed to the ground.  Rusty managed to get some leverage, 
and launched them both up to the very front of the theater.  They 
wrestled for a moment, then broke free of each other.  They stood as 
each man prepared himself to attack again.  

“You’re going to regret that, old man,” Rusty taunted him.  “I’m 
going to mess you up.”

Stone stared back at him evenly.  “Your overconfidence is your 
weakness,” he said.  He realized the theater was dead quiet.  He 
couldn’t return Rusty to Hell in front of all these witnesses.  Unless, 
of course, they thought it was an act.

“Your faith-“ Rusty said, trying to continue the exchange, but 
Stone jumped at him.  Stone hit him in his midsection, cutting off his 
words and knocking him five meters.

A few scattered claps could be heard from the audience.

Rusty squirreled his way out from underneath him.  Rusty was 
grabbing him around the waist, and standing up... 

Stone found himself launched high in the air, upside-down.  He had 
never really watched wrestling, and honestly thought Rusty would land 
back on his feet.  But at the last moment, Rusty lifted his legs, and 
Stone crashed headfirst into the floor.	

The entire crowd applauded.

Stone lay there stunned.  That hurt!  Rusty straddled him.  “I 
told you you didn’t know who you were messing with.”  Stone’s arms were 
pinned and Rusty reached for his eyes.

				#

That boy will be the death of me, Mary thought.  She had followed 
her son and the man chasing him, the cop from earlier in the day, into 
the theater.  Rusty was toying with him now, doing one of those 
piledriver things that he saw on TV.  If he killed a cop here in front 
of witnesses, she would be fired for sure.

The sound of applause caught her attention.  It had been so long 
since she had heard it.  Those years that she had acted, so many years 
ago, it had always been the praise that she had craved.  She had 
wished to be thought well of by others, and now, her son was filling 
that role.

Perhaps he is not as bad as I imagined, she thought.  Mary watched 
and waited to see if Gus would hold the crowd’s approval.

				#

This was his moment of triumph, Rusty Chaine thought.  Some one 
else had returned from Hell, and had tried to send him back.  But he had 
beaten him, and he lay helpless beneath him.  The eyes, he knew, were 
the windows to the soul.  That crazy ringleader had told them all about 
it.  

He placed his thumbs over his prisoner’s eyelids, savoring the 
moment.  “Say hello to Satan for me,” he whispered.

				#

Stone tried to clear his head.  He felt the pain in his soul as 
two thumbs pressed down on his eyes.  His arms were pinned down.  This 
was bad, definitely bad.

Sam said, “Their bodies aren’t real, so the rules don’t apply to 
them.”  He heard her voice clearly inside his head.

That’s right, I’m stronger than he is, Stone reminded himself.  He 
turned his head, feeling a lancing pain as Rusty jabbed him with a 
thumb.  He shook his head back and forth twice, preventing his oppressor 
from getting a clear shot at the windows to his soul.  Then, he forced 
his arms up, sending Rusty tumbling over his head.

There wasn’t any momentum this time, not enough to send Rusty 
flying, but as he rolled over, Stone got to his feet.  They squared off 
again, then attacked.  

Rusty, never having battled an undead person before, went for a 
chokehold.  While it was uncomfortable, breathing was no more necessary 
for Stone than eating was.  As Rusty was digging his fingers into 
Stone’s windpipe, Stone held him at an arm length with his left hand.  
His right hand dipped down, drawing his trusty sidearm.  

He leveled it at Rusty’s face.  There was no time to aim 
accurately, so he squeezed the trigger again and again, sending five 
shots into Rusty’s face and neck.  Two managed to hit home, causing the 
ether light to flare out at him.  Rusty screamed.

The grip around his neck weakened, and Stone pushed the 
disappearing body down to the ground next to the front row of seat.  
Best to hide this part from the audience if he could.  The familiar pain 
stabbed at him, and he clutched his side as he endured it again.  

				#

What have I done?  I’ve let him go back to the flames!  I’ll never 
see him again!  Mary watched helplessly as her son’s body disappeared 
into the ground.  She turned toward the cop, the man that had killed her 
only son.

Then that sweet sound filled her ears.  It was intoxicating.  She 
looked at the hundreds of people clapping their hands, most seated, but 
some standing, beating their hands together in the age old tradition of 
praise.  

The memories blinded her for a moment, and the cop disappeared.  
Damn.  She looked around, wondering what to do next.  Her feet guided 
her to the front of the theater, and she held up her hands for silence.

				#

“Where did he go?” Ana asked Dave, clapping loudly.

“There’s a trap door or something in the front row,” he replied 
confidently.  “It’s just smoke and lights that make it look like he was 
dissolving.”

“They were probably on wires when they were jumping around before, 
right?”

“Of course!  No one can really jump like that.  Like when 
Detective Stone was pinned down, the other guy was unhooking the wires.”

The manager was still holding her hands up, and Ana and Dave sat 
back down.  “Now what?” she wondered.  “The movie doesn’t start for ten 
more minutes.”

“And where did Detective Stone go?”

				#

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Mary announced.  Every eye was focused on 
her.  “I hope you’ve enjoyed our little performance here at the Pine 
Cinema 5.  We’ll be starting the film in just a few minutes, and I hope 
you all enjoy the show.”  

Mary bowed, unable to resist.  The crowd applauded again, and she 
walked away.  She appeared calm, but her soul was raging.  Her anger 
boiled up into her eyes, lighting them with the flames of Hell.

I will get him, she swore.  I will shatter the windows to his soul.


11:22pm

No one bothered Ezekiel as he left the cinema.  Sam was waiting 
for him outside.  She had taken off her robe, revealing jeans and a 
tight shirt underneath.  Her shoulder length hair, still brown, was tied 
back in a ponytail.  She held her robe, along with his scorched jacket.  
“Hey,” she said simply.

Zeke leaned against the brick wall, exhausted.  “Thank you for 
waiting for me.”  His voice was gravelly, still damaged from the fight.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked, concerned.  “What’s wrong with your 
voice?”

“Nothing, it’ll be fine in a minute,” he rasped.   

“Alex was pretty pissed off that you’d been carrying a gun around.  
They left.”

“That’s okay, Sam.  What was that movie you were talking about 
earlier?  With the computer program?”

“The Matrix?”

“Yeah.  I’ll have to see that sometime.”

“It wasn’t as good as this was, though.”

“Senator Palpatine is the Sith Master, right?”

“Always two, there are,” Sam said, lowering her voice to imitate a 
800 year old Jedi Master, “No more, no less.  A master and an 
apprentice.”

“But which was destroyed?” Stone quoted.  “The master or the 
apprentice?”

Sam smiled at him.  “It’ll be cool to see how that little kid 
turns evil,” Sam said. 

Stone nodded as he stood up from the wall.  His voice was normal 
again as he asked, “Sam, would you like to walk with me?”

“Sure, Zeke.”

She handed his coat to him, and he put it on.  When he did, his 
badge fell out.  He picked it up quickly, and looked at Sam to see if 
she had noticed.  She was looking him square in the eyes.

“Did you find it?” he asked.

“It was on the ground near where you dropped your jacket.  I 
looked at it, and saw it was yours.”

“So, now you know.”

“I don’t know anything.  If you’re a cop in New York, what are you 
doing out here?”

They stop, waiting to cross the street.  He looked at her 
carefully.  “Want to hear a sad story?”

“Okay.”  Her voice was serious.  She knew he was beginning to 
trust her, and she was afraid of shattering the moment. 

“My wife and I went to see Empire Strikes Back, I told you that, 
right?”  She nodded.  “All night long, she’d been calling me Detective.  
Wouldn’t say my name, and I didn’t know why.  So we went out for a drink 
after the movie, and I asked her.

“She told me that her dad had been a cop, and he’d been killed.  
She was afraid of loving someone again, someone that might not come home 
one night.”

“Wow, that’s tough.”

“So I promised I would never let her get hurt like that.”  He 
smiled wistfully.  “That was when I decided that I was going to marry 
her.  I wanted to always be there for her, to protect her so that no one 
ever hurt her like that again.

“But I let her down, Sam.  I couldn’t protect her like I 
promised.”  He turned his head away from her, afraid smoke might be 
leaking from his eyes.  “I failed.  I tried to make it up to her, but, I 
couldn’t.”  He glossed over the next detail of the story.  “We got 
separated not long after that.  And we’ve never spoken since.”

“Come here,” Sam commanded.  They stopped on the lonely street 
corner, and she hugged him tightly.  It took him a moment to relax, but 
then he returned the embrace.  They supported each other, not touching 
as lovers, but as two friends, two people that share a connection.

Ezekiel released her.  “Thank you, Samantha.  I’ve been... missing 
her a lot today.”

“It’s okay.  I’m glad to help.”

They walked in comfortable silence.  

“Can I ask you a question?” Sam asked.  “You don’t have to answer 
if you don’t want.”

“Okay.”

“Is that why you’re out here in LA?  Are you running away from 
her?”

“No, not quite.  My, uh, employer, has some business for me out 
here.”

“So you’re not a cop anymore?”

He smiled.  “Not really, no.”

“So, what, are you like a private investigator or something?”

“That’s close enough, except I only have one client.”

“Is that what you were doing tonight?”

He hesitated, not sure what to say.  Should he pretend that he was 
just being a Good Samaritan when he went after Rusty?

She noticed the pause.  “Never mind, Zeke, it’s not important.”  
She pointed down the street.  “That’s me, up there.”

They continued walking.  “You don’t live too far from the Hotel,” 
Zeke said.

“No, pretty close.  That’s why I was real glad Max got me this 
job.”  She eyed him carefully.  “And I’ve met some interesting people.”

“Thank you again for inviting me tonight,” Zeke said.

“It was my pleasure.  Now you have to come up to hear Lost Souls 
sometime.”

“It’s a deal,” he smiled.

“Okay,” she replied.

“Now, can I ask you a question?” Zeke asked.

She stopped walking.  “Better be quick, `cause this is my 
building.”

“What’s your real hair color?”

“Zeke!” she exclaimed.  She stood on her toes and gave him a quick 
kiss before he could realize it.  “I thought maybe you’d find out for 
yourself one of these days.”

With an impish grin, she disappeared into the building.


11:49pm

Traffic was light, but she had managed to follow him all the way 
from the theater without being spotted.  She knew where his bitch lived, 
and now he was approaching a hotel.  She had expected him to pay more 
attention to his surroundings, but he seemed lost in thought as he 
walked alone.  

Mary Chaine sped her car past him on the street, resisting the 
urge to run him down like the dog that he was.  She noted the name of 
the hotel, and glared at Detective Stone.  If he had turned, he surely 
would have noticed the brightness of the hellfire in her eyes.  But he 
stared down at the ground, not knowing that he was being stalked.

				#

Stone entered the Hotel Irondell, still looking exhausted.  Donnie 
was at the desk, reading a paperback book.  “Hey, you’re in 432, right?” 
Donnie asked.  Stone nodded.  “You got a message about thirty minutes 
ago.  Some guy named Dave called, said you put on a great show.  He left 
a number, said you should let him know when the next one is going to 
be.”

“Okay, thanks.”  Stone took the slip of paper that Donnie held 
out.

“Hey, are you an actor, man?” Donnie wanted to know.  “`Cause I’ve 
been working on this screenplay, and maybe you could take a look at it.”

“Not tonight, Donnie.”

“Yeah, it’s almost midnight.  Catch ya later.”

Stone hit the button for the elevator, but nothing happened.  With 
a groan, he opened the door to the stairs.


11:59pm

Stone collapsed on his bed.  Had Sam been teasing him tonight?  
He’d been playing the scene in his head over and over again, and now he 
pushed it aside.  Time to rest.

He summoned an image of Roz into his mind, the way she’d looked on 
that day.  She’d surprised him with the Lightning Hopkins record, and 
he’d asked why.  They’d stood there on the street, looking at each 
other. “Think about it,” she’d answered, leaning forward to kiss him. 
“You’ll figure it out.”   

He closed his eyes, remembering the music that had played earlier.
					
		Princess Leia, where are you tonight?
		and who’s laying there by your side?
		every night, I fall asleep with you
		and I wake up alone.


THE END