Author's Note - Fiddle dee dum .. fiddle dee dee ... Eric the half a bee ...
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"You're saying that ~what~ happened?" The little waif Carly was trying to be patient with Will and with her captain, but as far as grownups went, these two were not really being very clear. "Jack's gone?"
"Jack's been kidnapped," Melanie corrected hurriedly. "Dana Flint's taken him to someone or somewhere, and we have no idea where to find him."
Early rays of sun were beginning to peer over the edge of the mountains as the morning dawned on the three who were standing outside the pony-rides where Carly had spent her evening. Will and Melanie had found her there, waiting for them to open again, and had filled her in - as best as they were able - on what had transpired the night before.
As their news finally sunk in, the little girl's bottom lip started to quiver. "No more Jack?" Her eyes threatened to well up with irresistible little girl tears, and Milton made mournful sounds from atop her head.
Will knelt down in front of her. "No, no. Not necessarily. All we need to do is ~find~ Jack, and then we can worry about rescuing him." He exchanged a glance with Melanie. "That's why the captain said we should come to you. Aren't you the one who's good at finding lost things and helping people?"
She nodded, and swiped an arm across her moist eyes. "That's true, yes."
"Well, then there's no need to be worried. If you find Jack and leave the rest up to us, I'm sure he'll be back in no time at all." Will smiled warmly at her, and as much as the little pirate often found it hard to understand her captain's and the female members of the crew's fascination with icky boys, she certainly thought that she could grow to like this one. She would help.
Now that they were a Jack-Rescuing Team, the three needed someplace to start. And Will knew the perfect place. Back they went to the Not-Exactly-a-Pub. Before Melanie could inquire as to what they were doing there again - like any rational human being, she had become extremely leery of clowns - Will was holding up a hand and explaining.
"The singer," he began, "knew Jack - Jack was going to introduce the two of us." He looked briefly dreamy, and then shook his head as if to clear it. "I think that Dana also knew the singer, because she thought that we should meet, too. If that singer knows them both, maybe she knows something that can help us out."
Melanie rolled her eyes, but did not argue. For once, perhaps it was best for her just to play back up and let Will do the investigating. All of this was technically his fault because after all, he was the one who had trusted Flint. They entered the smoky non-pub again and both kept a careful eye on the smaller pirate who had become extraordinarily chipper after it had been determined that Jack would be found. Carly bounded ahead of them, cleverly dodging the arms and legs of people in her path, and came to stop outside the velvety curtain from the night before. Will started to ask how she had known and it was Melanie's turn to hold up a hand. But instead of explaining, she only shrugged. "That's what we pay her for," was all she could say, and the blacksmith did not inquire further.
Will leaned in close to the red curtain and cleared his throat. He had no desire to be slapped. "Yes?" asked an unfamiliar voice. A well-manicured hand parted the curtains and Will found himself face to face with the singer. She was even lovelier in person.
"Um," managed Will.
One fine eyebrow arched. "Are you looking for someone?" Will surely would have continued to be smitten if not for something that unsettled him. Something was different about this woman now, something -
He had it. "Your voice," he said. "You ... don't sound like a woman!"
"That's probably because I'm not onstage right now."
While Will stood there with his mouth open in either shock or amazement or equal parts of each, Melanie extended her hand to shake the singer's. In it were several silver coins. "We'd like to talk to you, if we can." The singer glanced down at the proffered money, then smiled widely and shook Melanie's hand to take them.
"I would love to chat. Give me just one moment, darlings."
They were all settled at a table - NOT the same one as the night before because like any rational human being, Melanie had become extremely leery of clowns - when the singer emerged clothed in a red low cut gown with matching stockings and perfectly perfect hair. Melanie, conscious of her own rag-tag apparel, might have been jealous if not for the both the fact that she was a scallywag and didn't give a damn, and the strange feeling that this singer was not exactly what they appeared to be.
Carly had no such qualms. She smiled brightly as the singer sat down. "This is my monkey, Milton. He likes to be pet by pretty ladies." The singer laughed and invited Milton to perch on the one shoulder that the dress material did not cover. He did, happily.
"Now," the singer said demurely, "What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?"
Before either Melanie or Will could get a word in, Carly interjected with: "How about first things first. It's mean to keep making that poor author refer to you as 'the singer' all the time. How about you tell us your real name?"
"My name is Eric, but my stage name is Loretta."
Melanie and Will gaped, but Carly went blithely on. "My name is Carly, Eric, and this is William and my cap - er, good friend Melanie." She giggled. "I think that William thinks you're pretty."
Eric turned to Will and batted his eyelashes. "Well I'm flattered, darling. It's wonderful to have fans." Will made a sound like a strangled fish.
Melanie somehow recovered her voice. "You give a very good performance, Eric - or, Loretta, or ... ?" The singer laughed.
"Eric'll do, sweetheart. And thank you, I do enjoy my work. However, I don't think that's why you're here. How can I help you?" Will hadn't stopped yet with the garbled sounds, so Melanie spoke.
"Last night ... there was an incident. I don't know if you saw what happened, but - "
Eric's eyes were downcast. "I saw. I'm sorry, love. I saw what happened to that friend of yours. Fact of the matter is, I know Jack Sparrow, too. Very well in fact." Both Melanie's and Will's eyes went wide. Eric noticed this and laughed. "No, not like that. This story is rated PG, remember? No, Jack and I used to work together."
"What did you do?"
"Oh, we did odd jobs here and there until we found ourselves a regular employer." Eric laughed and fluttered a hand in front of his face. "I remember the day that Jack told our boss he was leaving. Ooo, he was maaaaad ..."
Melanie leaned in close. "What employer would this be? Would they have a reason to want to kidnap Jack now?"
Eric looked surprised. "Oh, I don't know about that, darling. All I remember is that when Jack left here he took something with him that he wasn't supposed to. Our employer was a collector you see, and he had this compass that Jack up and figured would be real handy." The singer laughed again. "Funny thing was, the damn thing didn't even work right, but Jack was willing to risk everything to have it. And that's when he left, years and years ago."
Will's eyes were wide again, but this time from recognition. "That compass points to ... a very important place. Anyone would have had ample reason to want Jack if that compass used to belong to them." With visible difficulty, he met Eric's eyes. "Who was that employer?"
As though imparting a great secret, Eric leaned in close. Carly thought his perfume smelled wonderful. "He runs the big top," said Eric quietly. "And his name is - " An elephant trumpeted suddenly outside, but Melanie and Will were nodding already.
Gosh, it sucks to be left out of things, doesn't it?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"You're saying that ~what~ happened?" The little waif Carly was trying to be patient with Will and with her captain, but as far as grownups went, these two were not really being very clear. "Jack's gone?"
"Jack's been kidnapped," Melanie corrected hurriedly. "Dana Flint's taken him to someone or somewhere, and we have no idea where to find him."
Early rays of sun were beginning to peer over the edge of the mountains as the morning dawned on the three who were standing outside the pony-rides where Carly had spent her evening. Will and Melanie had found her there, waiting for them to open again, and had filled her in - as best as they were able - on what had transpired the night before.
As their news finally sunk in, the little girl's bottom lip started to quiver. "No more Jack?" Her eyes threatened to well up with irresistible little girl tears, and Milton made mournful sounds from atop her head.
Will knelt down in front of her. "No, no. Not necessarily. All we need to do is ~find~ Jack, and then we can worry about rescuing him." He exchanged a glance with Melanie. "That's why the captain said we should come to you. Aren't you the one who's good at finding lost things and helping people?"
She nodded, and swiped an arm across her moist eyes. "That's true, yes."
"Well, then there's no need to be worried. If you find Jack and leave the rest up to us, I'm sure he'll be back in no time at all." Will smiled warmly at her, and as much as the little pirate often found it hard to understand her captain's and the female members of the crew's fascination with icky boys, she certainly thought that she could grow to like this one. She would help.
Now that they were a Jack-Rescuing Team, the three needed someplace to start. And Will knew the perfect place. Back they went to the Not-Exactly-a-Pub. Before Melanie could inquire as to what they were doing there again - like any rational human being, she had become extremely leery of clowns - Will was holding up a hand and explaining.
"The singer," he began, "knew Jack - Jack was going to introduce the two of us." He looked briefly dreamy, and then shook his head as if to clear it. "I think that Dana also knew the singer, because she thought that we should meet, too. If that singer knows them both, maybe she knows something that can help us out."
Melanie rolled her eyes, but did not argue. For once, perhaps it was best for her just to play back up and let Will do the investigating. All of this was technically his fault because after all, he was the one who had trusted Flint. They entered the smoky non-pub again and both kept a careful eye on the smaller pirate who had become extraordinarily chipper after it had been determined that Jack would be found. Carly bounded ahead of them, cleverly dodging the arms and legs of people in her path, and came to stop outside the velvety curtain from the night before. Will started to ask how she had known and it was Melanie's turn to hold up a hand. But instead of explaining, she only shrugged. "That's what we pay her for," was all she could say, and the blacksmith did not inquire further.
Will leaned in close to the red curtain and cleared his throat. He had no desire to be slapped. "Yes?" asked an unfamiliar voice. A well-manicured hand parted the curtains and Will found himself face to face with the singer. She was even lovelier in person.
"Um," managed Will.
One fine eyebrow arched. "Are you looking for someone?" Will surely would have continued to be smitten if not for something that unsettled him. Something was different about this woman now, something -
He had it. "Your voice," he said. "You ... don't sound like a woman!"
"That's probably because I'm not onstage right now."
While Will stood there with his mouth open in either shock or amazement or equal parts of each, Melanie extended her hand to shake the singer's. In it were several silver coins. "We'd like to talk to you, if we can." The singer glanced down at the proffered money, then smiled widely and shook Melanie's hand to take them.
"I would love to chat. Give me just one moment, darlings."
They were all settled at a table - NOT the same one as the night before because like any rational human being, Melanie had become extremely leery of clowns - when the singer emerged clothed in a red low cut gown with matching stockings and perfectly perfect hair. Melanie, conscious of her own rag-tag apparel, might have been jealous if not for the both the fact that she was a scallywag and didn't give a damn, and the strange feeling that this singer was not exactly what they appeared to be.
Carly had no such qualms. She smiled brightly as the singer sat down. "This is my monkey, Milton. He likes to be pet by pretty ladies." The singer laughed and invited Milton to perch on the one shoulder that the dress material did not cover. He did, happily.
"Now," the singer said demurely, "What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?"
Before either Melanie or Will could get a word in, Carly interjected with: "How about first things first. It's mean to keep making that poor author refer to you as 'the singer' all the time. How about you tell us your real name?"
"My name is Eric, but my stage name is Loretta."
Melanie and Will gaped, but Carly went blithely on. "My name is Carly, Eric, and this is William and my cap - er, good friend Melanie." She giggled. "I think that William thinks you're pretty."
Eric turned to Will and batted his eyelashes. "Well I'm flattered, darling. It's wonderful to have fans." Will made a sound like a strangled fish.
Melanie somehow recovered her voice. "You give a very good performance, Eric - or, Loretta, or ... ?" The singer laughed.
"Eric'll do, sweetheart. And thank you, I do enjoy my work. However, I don't think that's why you're here. How can I help you?" Will hadn't stopped yet with the garbled sounds, so Melanie spoke.
"Last night ... there was an incident. I don't know if you saw what happened, but - "
Eric's eyes were downcast. "I saw. I'm sorry, love. I saw what happened to that friend of yours. Fact of the matter is, I know Jack Sparrow, too. Very well in fact." Both Melanie's and Will's eyes went wide. Eric noticed this and laughed. "No, not like that. This story is rated PG, remember? No, Jack and I used to work together."
"What did you do?"
"Oh, we did odd jobs here and there until we found ourselves a regular employer." Eric laughed and fluttered a hand in front of his face. "I remember the day that Jack told our boss he was leaving. Ooo, he was maaaaad ..."
Melanie leaned in close. "What employer would this be? Would they have a reason to want to kidnap Jack now?"
Eric looked surprised. "Oh, I don't know about that, darling. All I remember is that when Jack left here he took something with him that he wasn't supposed to. Our employer was a collector you see, and he had this compass that Jack up and figured would be real handy." The singer laughed again. "Funny thing was, the damn thing didn't even work right, but Jack was willing to risk everything to have it. And that's when he left, years and years ago."
Will's eyes were wide again, but this time from recognition. "That compass points to ... a very important place. Anyone would have had ample reason to want Jack if that compass used to belong to them." With visible difficulty, he met Eric's eyes. "Who was that employer?"
As though imparting a great secret, Eric leaned in close. Carly thought his perfume smelled wonderful. "He runs the big top," said Eric quietly. "And his name is - " An elephant trumpeted suddenly outside, but Melanie and Will were nodding already.
Gosh, it sucks to be left out of things, doesn't it?