Page 28 of Strip Search

J ackie Mitchell

I sat on my bed in the Wynn trying not to hyperventilate.

My audition was still several hours away.

My mind was going a mile a minute. I was worried that Lisa was going to slip away and disappear.

I was hurt that Miles wasn't going to go back to Carson City with me tomorrow.

Although I didn't really blame him. I had taken enough of his time with the wild goose chase Lisa had led us all on.

I almost didn't answer it when my phone rang, but I saw it was Darcy.

“Howzit?” he asked.

And suddenly I had a plan. “What are you and the boys doing tonight?”

“Are you on the pole this evening?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “I've actually got a callback to audition tonight for a dancing part in the Odyssey casino’s new show, Travesty .”

“Congrats. You'll blow them all the way. I can’t wait to tell all the blokes that I knew you when.”

Could you become a big star when you started out as a showgirl? Why not? I closed my eyes. Too much pressure. I will not puke. I will not puke .

“You all right?”

“Can you do me a favor? It's a big one.”

“Go ahead.”

“Miles and I tracked Lisa down.”

“That's great news. But you don't sound so happy. What's the bad news?”

“Tonight is her opening night. She's the star of a burlesque show in Carson City. I can't be there because of my audition. I'm afraid she's going to rabbit, and I won’t be able to pick up her trail again.”

“What can I do?” Darcy asked.

“It's an hour away by plane and it's about three hundred dollars round trip. I can pay your ticket. Do you think you could go to the show and talk to her afterward? She's had a crush on you forever. I know if you ask her to call me, she won't be able to refuse you.”

“You're putting a lot of faith in a man she's never met.”

“You were half naked on her wall for over a year. Just give her that cocky grin and she'll be putty in your hands.”

“Give me the deets,” he said.

I read him everything from the poster I had. “Can you come to the Wynn and I'll give you the money?”

“Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Three hundred dollars is a steak dinner to these arseholes. They'd love to fly on a charter plane to a burlesque show. And I for one, want to see who’s the better dancer, you or Lisa.”

“She is,” I mumbled.

“She was,” he said. “It's your turn to shine. I want to hear all about your audition. Just remember, you've got me and Miles in your corner.”

“Yeah, I do. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for Miles.

” I owed him big. After I got home from the audition, I'd go over to Dalton's and tell him that.

And convince him to go back to the Wynn with me.

I gave a test bounce on the bed. Not even the slightest squeak.

That was all right—there were other noises to make.

“Darcy, you're the greatest.”

“I am, aren't I?”

“And so modest. Thank you so much for doing this for me.” I owed Darcy big too, but he was going to have to settle for a fruit basket or something.

“Like I said, we responsible siblings have to look out for each other.”

“True. Have fun tonight.”

“I think we will. I'll call you after.”

I thanked him again and hung up.

Getting ready for the second callback was more nerve-racking than going to the first one. I had more time to plan and rehearse the number over and over again in my hotel room. I did my best thinking while I was dancing, but today my mind refused to settle down.

If I didn’t get the job, no harm, no foul. The Zimmerman Agency would never have to know that I went instead of Lisa. If I did get the job—my feet tripped up and I used the bed to catch my fall.

“Nice one, Jackie,” I said to myself. “Be sure to do that on stage. That will really impress them.”

I forced myself to sit still while I finished the thought.

If I did get the job, I would have to turn it down and I would have wasted the casting director’s and the producer’s time.

Or I would have to reroute my entire life and move from New York to Nevada.

On the plus side, I was pretty sure Miles would let me stay with him until I found a place out here.

On the negative side, it was going to be expensive—even if I got someone to sublet my apartment until my lease ran out.

I was almost out of the thousand dollars my mother had floated me this week, and that was earmarked for Lisa’s search and rescue anyway. It was nonsense. Ridiculous.

And yet I felt giddy and happy like a kid on Christmas Eve.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” I told myself.

But what if? a little voice in my head insisted. Why not?