Free Step Into My Parlor by Jan Hudson Page B

been the nosy type. Why i s somebody trying to kill you?"
    "It's a complicated story, and the less you know, the better. I don't want to endanger my friends."
    "Can't you go to the police?"
    Anne shook h er head. "I told you i t's complicated. Things will be straightened out in about three weeks. Until then, I'm taking refuge with Spider."
    Molly looked puzzled, but Anne appreciated her not pressing for answers. "Spider will take good care of you. He won't let anything happen."
    "I know. And, Molly, please don't say anything about this."
    The young woman pulled an imaginary zipper across her lips and winked. "Not a word." She started the car, then looked over at Anne. "We still have the sixty-three dollars. Are you sure you don't want to get the polka-dot shoes? They'd be really funky."
    Anne laughed, warmed by Molly's obvious attempt to restore the mood of their trip. She, too, wanted to forget the incident. "I'm very sure. The only thing I can think of that I'd like to have would be some perfume, but I can do without it."
    "What kind do you like?"
    "I usually wear Bal a Versailles, but sixty-three dollars would barely buy a whiff."
    "But it would buy some toilet water, and I know the perfect place to get a good deal. It's on the way."
    Anne didn't want to make another stop, but she didn't protest. She only wanted to go home. Home. Was she beginning to think of a storeroom in a pawnshop as home? Or was it Spider's being there that made her feel secure?
    In a few minutes, Molly wheeled the little red car into a beauty-supply store that advertised special prices on all the best-known fragrances.
    While Anne selected a bottle of toilet water, Molly sprayed a tester of Bal a Versailles on her wrists, sniffed, looked at the display wistfully, then sighed and turned to Anne. "Anything else you need from here?"
    "I don't think so." She sprayed her wrists as well and sniffed. "You like this scent?"
    "I love it. It's so . . . romantic. Maybe if I hint to my boyfriend, he ’ ll buy some for my birthday."
    "Is it coming up soon?"
    "In May. While we're here, I need some shampoo." Molly went to another aisle.
    Anne did a quick computation in her head. Even at bargain prices, she didn't have enough money to buy two bottles, but she wanted to give her new friend something special for helping her. She selected a small purse-size spray, deciding it would do her until Vicki returned. The larger bottle she would wrap and give to Molly.
    By the time they reached the Pawn Parlor, the backfiring-car incident had been relegated to the far corner of her mind. They were laughing and talking, with Molly keeping her amused with anecdotes about working in a pawnshop.
    "I can't remember when I've had such fun. Thanks, Molly."
    "I ’v e had fun, too. And I won't say anything about, you know, the other stuff. Say, it looks like the ad people are still here. Maybe we can watch them film." She motioned to a large van parked in front of the shop with Fast Track Productions scrolled across its side.
    Boots was standing outside the door when they walked up, arms laden with packages. "They're shooting the last one now," the lanky redhead told them. "If you're real quiet, you can watch."
    He held the door open, and they tiptoed inside, trying not to let the sacks rattle.
    "Step into my parlor, sweet thing," Turk's mellow voice called.
    "Keep that bird quiet! We're about to shoot."
    The place was crowded with crew and equipment and lights on tripods focused on an area in the rear of the shop. Anne eased around a drum set and craned her neck to see over the shoulder of a burly man in a baseball cap who stood in her way.
    Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and every package in her arms crashed to the floor.
    Six
     
    "Quiet back there!" a frizzy-haired man in a purple jersey yelled.
    Anne froze and stood as still as a mouse, her attention riveted to the center of attraction. Her initial shock was gradually giving way to horror as she watched Spider run through his