His kitchen counter and sink looked as if they had remained untouched. Metal cabinets were missing their doors. I was afraid to think what was in the refrigerator--or, rather, who.
"You are the first girl I've ever brought down here," Jagger confessed. "I'm surprised. You must meet a lot of girls at the Coffin Club."
"Actually, I'm new to town. Just like you. Visiting."
The hairs on the back of my neck rose. "How do you know I'm visiting?"
"It doesn't take a psychic to figure it out. Someone as goth as you would be a regular at the club. Romeo had never seen you before."
"Uh...I guess you're right."
"Can I get you anything to drink?"
"No, thank you," I replied. "I want to know--"
Jagger walked over to the aquarium. He placed his hand inside and pulled out a huge tarantula.
"I just bought him. Would you like to pet him?" he asked, stroking the potentially poisonous spider as if it were a sleeping cat.
Normally I would have loved to pet a tarantula, but I wasn't sure of Jagger's motive.
"Where's your big-screen TV?" I asked, noticing the lack of televisions or computers.
"I find them offensive."
"So you don't watch movies? You've never even seen the original Dracula?" I hinted. "Nosferatu? Kissing Coffins? Someone as goth as you would seem to have the lines memorized."
"I would rather experience life than be a voyeur."
He returned the spider to the aquarium. I dug my hand into my purse. "You left this behind," I said, and revealed the skeleton earring in my hand. He smiled brightly as if I were reuniting him with a long- lost friend.
As he took the charm from my hand, his fingers lingered, gently touching my palm, sending chills through my veins. It took some strength, but I withdrew.
"Now that this has been in your possession, it is even more special to me," he said, placing it back in his ear. "Can I give you a reward?" he asked.
"You can tell me about Alexander."
"Shall I tell you? Or should I just show you," he asked, stepping toward me.
"Tell me," I said, defiant. "Is he a friend of yours?"
"Maybe yes," he said with an inviting smile. "Maybe no," he said with a wicked grin.
"Forget it, I'm outta here."
"I know him from Romania," he said quickly.
"Have you seen him in America?"
He shook his head, his white hair flopping over his blue and green eyes.
"Do you know where he is?" I asked.
"What if I do? How much is it worth?" he asked, licking his lips.
"You don't know, do you?" I challenged. I backed away from him, stepping on a map.
"But you know quite a lot," he argued.
I pulled my purse close. "You knew enough about my Romanian friend to come to the Coffin Club and ask for him," he said, approaching me again.
"I don't know anything--"
"Then why do you want to find him?" he whispered softly in my ear as he gently stroked my hair off my shoulder.
"I must have been mistaken--" I said, looking away from his gaze, wanting to run, but not being able to move.
"Really?" he whispered. "He made you feel like his breath was yours," he said, circling me, his words landing softly on the back of my neck.
"I don't know what you are talking about," I lied, my heart pounding in my chest.
"That your flesh and his are one," he said, as his lips gently caressed the nape of my neck.
I could barely speak, my heart racing, the map crinkling underneath my boot.
He stepped close in front of me, his eyes piercing through my own, and gently touched my onyx necklace.
He leaned into me and kissed the top of my chest. He whispered, "That you are just a kiss away from being bonded with him for eternity."
I could barely breathe. My heart raced as he held me.
"Get off!" I cried, wedging my arms between us and pushing him away.
A map tore underneath my boot. Jagger tried to pierce me with his gaze, but I stared down at my feet. It was a map of Hipsterville. The cemeteries were highlighted in yellow, with several crossed out in black marker. Then I noticed, lying a few feet away on the floor, the other maps--neighboring towns of Hipsterville and Dullsville. Cemeteries were highlighted and crossed out in black.