Chapter Three

Keeping the towel pressed against her head wound, Susan swiveled on her barstool toward the voice. Her eyes widened bit by bit as she gawked at the gorgeous woman standing next to her. Sue felt her mouth gape open as she surveyed the lady from head to toe. She knew it was rude, but she couldn’t help it.

The stranger was Jessica Rabbit come to life and the mere idea of it terrified Susan. Hers was the kind of beauty that could haunt a person’s dreams to the point of nightmares. She was an exaggerated version of a woman, but not in a drag queen way. A hormonal teenage boy was commissioned to draw a picture of his ideal girlfriend. This was what he came up with: tall and slender with a tiny waist and curves that defied gravity, all encased in a sparkly strapless red cocktail gown with a sweetheart neckline and swept the floor. She had a luxurious, flowing mane, and it was fire-engine red with a Veronica Lake peekaboo that covered her right eye. Over her full, shiny lips was a beauty mark in the style of Marilyn Monroe.

Susan looked around to see if anyone else could see this woman, but the customers were all minding their own businesses. No one else was gawking at the goddess in front of her like a slack-jawed yokel. What the hell is going on? Here was the most beautiful woman in the world, and no one was paying attention to her.

“Hello.” The red-haired stranger brought her hand close to Susan’s face and snapped her fingers. “Come back to me, girlfriend. There’s a good lass.”

The woman had a weird smell like patchouli incense and the phosphorous of an extinguished match. Her smoky voice didn’t quite match her looks. She sounded old, not like an old person, but… something ancient--like a centenarian Kathleen Turner who just downed a cup of bleach. When Trixie dropped off a glass of water for Susan, she wondered if she was hallucinating the woman because Trixie didn’t ask her if she wanted anything to drink or even acknowledge her.

“Shitty night, eh?” The woman picked up Susan’s glass of water and took a sip. “Ah, that’s good.” She closed her visible eye for a moment as if she were savoring the non-flavor of water. “Sorry for invading your space, but I think you need a friend, frankly.” She nodded at Susan’s wound. “Did someone throw you down the stairs or what? You look like shit warmed over, lass.”

Though initially put off by the woman’s bluntness, there was something about her that compelled Susan to spill the tea. Before she knew it, she was telling Jessica Rabbit her life story.

“Before you get too deep into your saga, let me tell you my name.” She held out her hand for a shake. “I am called Ashtoreth.”

“Is that Eastern European? I’ve never heard of that name before.” Because her right hand held the towel to her head wound, Susan gave Jessica Rabbit her left hand. “I’m Susan. People call me Sue.”

“Here, let me see that.” Looking pained, she approached Susan and took the towel from her. “Not too bad. It’s not even bleeding anymore.” With one long, red-nailed finger, she poked the wound. “It ain’t even gonna leave a scar.” Seemingly disappointed, she dropped the bloody towel on the floor.

As though she were given a truth serum, Susan returned to her story and ranted about hard it was to be a smart woman in modern society.

“Do tell,” Ashtoreth said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m just tired of being treated as a non-woman.” Susan picked up her highball and swallowed a mouthful of her scotch. “At work, it’s fine because I’m a doctor, so I’d rather be non-gendered. But I spend almost ninety hours a week in the hospital.”

When she did have the time to go out and have fun, Susan groused, her lawyer boyfriend would rather stay home and watch TV. A year ago, she had her long hair shortened to a bob, and Jimmy didn’t notice for two weeks.

“I came home tonight and found my boyfriend sucking face with my cousin Trudy, who is supposed to be my best friend! Man, how long have they been making a fool of me? I can’t blame Jimmy, I guess. Trudy is prettier and more charming, while I’m weird and kind of awkward. I mean, I get that.

"Jimmy is trying to make partner this year and Trudy is perfect for him because she's a lawyer, too. I don't even have a sense of style--"

Her brain disengaged from her mouth, and she no longer knew what she was saying. Susan told Ashtoreth she wished she lived in a time and place where men were still gentlemen, and women were treated like women and ladies. Ashtoreth laughed at this but didn’t say anything. Her visible eye glittered like an emerald under the red light.

Susan mused that she would like to be treated like a gentle flower, maybe. She’d get her hair and makeup done by somebody else, and all she’d have to do is lounge around all day, waiting for the man of the house to get home, so he could take her out for a night on the town.

Jessica Rabbit’s mouth curved into a smile that was too wide for her face. It was a Cheshire cat’s smile. “If that’s what you really want, Dr. Chen, I can make it happen for you.”

Susan couldn’t remember telling the woman her last name. A frisson of fear flitted down her spine. Okay, this was getting too weird. She excused herself from the woman so she could go to the restroom and escape. Hopefully, the woman would get bored while she was in there and leave. Besides, her head was pounding, and she could barely see from her working eye—the harbingers of a migraine. She should really consider going to the hospital.

Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she gasped. She looked like a corpse with her mug so pale and skinny. Scrutinizing herself, she thought she resembled that Picasso painting, especially with the left side of her face scraped up and starting to swell. She turned on the faucet and ducked her head to wash off the blood. When she lifted her head again, the woman was standing behind her in the mirror.

Susan screamed in surprise as much as terror. “What the hell, man! You scared the crap out of me. Are you following me?”

Jessica Rabbit sauntered toward her, her hips moving side to side in a sashay. She brushed Susan’s wet hair out of her face. “The universe has mistreated you, Dr. Chen, starting with your parents being taken from you when you were just a girl.” She pulled a white handkerchief from her decolletage and pressed it to Susan’s wound. “I can give you a new life and bring you to a place where men are still gentlemen, and women are still treated like women. Or a delicate butterfly, if you wish.”

Susan’s eyes widened as she instinctively retreated from the woman. “Uh… I’m probably a little old for sex trafficking, ma’am. No one would want me.”

Jessica Rabbit tossed her head back and laughed. The sound was raspy and rough as if she hadn’t laughed in a good long while. “Oh, Susan. Don’t you want a better life? This one is so shitty.”

Susan took another step back and eyed the stall to her left. She could rush in there and lock herself in. Once secured, she could call Trixie, and she’d have Luis fetch her. “Look, lady, you’re going to make me angry, and you don’t want to make me angry. Not if you value your nose.”

Ashtoreth seemed relentless in her pursuit. She was in full predator mode now. Susan finally understood why she was so beautiful. She was like a Venus flytrap that attracted bugs to their death. “Susan, I know you’ve asked yourself why Trudy has a better life than you. That’s easy. Trudy sees what she wants, and she just goes for it. Trudy is an apex predator. But you—” Her eyes glittered under the fluorescent lights, and her pupils shifted to a diamond shape like a snake’s. “You’ve always been so timid, Susan. Ready to give up at the first sign of trouble. How did you get through medical school, dear? Poor little Amir never had a chance.”

Primal fear hit Susan like ice water. This woman is not human, she thought amid her hysteria. If she didn’t get away, she was going to die. Jesus, this was the third attempt on her life tonight. “How do you know all—”

“I know all, child. Now, do you want to get out of this hellhole, or must I drag you out kicking and screaming?” She brought up her hand so she could look at her nails. “Honestly, doll, I’m not a fan of scenes, so I’d rather you cooperate with me.”

Susan’s heart dropped to her stomach. Damn, she might have to punch this pretty lady in the mouth. “You shouldn’t push me. I know how to protect myself and—” She took another step back and promptly slipped on a wet paper towel.

As her feet left the solid ground and her legs went up in the air, Susan thought about Trudy and how that bitch never had a bad hair day. And then the back of her head hit the corner of the tiled sink. Everything faded to black.