THE MUDDLED MYSTERY OF THE MURDERED MUSE, Chapter 35: The Escape Artiste

The Muddled Mystery of the Murdered Muse is a full-length novel, presented to you in Medium-sized chapters twice a week (Tuesday and Friday), that tells the story of Sebastian Holden, a paranoirmal investigator who solves the strangest cases this side of Jersey City and Brooklyn.

If you missed the previous chapter, read it here; if you’ve already read this chapter, read the next one here.

CHAPTER 35: THE ESCAPE ARTISTE

My quest to find Gordon Von Nestor lead me to a book signing at an iconic book shop in the West Village.

Forbidden Planet was the place every manchild and fangirl went to relive their childhood memories. It was a place where you could gape at all the statues and vintage Star Wars figures and kick yourself in the ass for throwing them all away when your pops told you it was time to grow up and get a job. Or you could relive every memory in between the panes of glass that acted as a see-through TV screen and rerun those countless moments when you tossed Real Ghostbusters ghost traps under cars trying to capture the invisible Slimers that undoubtedly haunted about the tires.

Once I got past the giant shining T-500 endoskeleton from the original Terminator movie, its machine gun poised for mass slaughter, I looked to my left only to find a bit of commotion: it seems that some crazy fella dressed all Johnny Cash “Man in Black” was literally “cooped” up inside a six-foot tall man-sized bird cage! It was so tall he couldn’t sit down, and therefore all he could do was play songs and an old guitar reminiscent of the one Glen Hansard toured around with and sign copies of his latest work of artistic excellence –– The Most Secret Li(f)e of Houdini.

Yes, this was Gordon Von Nestor. Of course it was. That’s just how the Universe worked.

I picked up a copy of his book, the cover a bit different from the one Jacques had shown me at Miss America Diner, but the title was the same. I nodded to Gordon as he put aside his guitar in his cramped cell, and I slipped my copy in between the bars for a signature.

“So,” I asked. “What are you doing in there?”

“I’ve caged myself up in this coop until all of the copies of my book are sold. Then, I’ll let myself out.”

I looked at the locks and chains that wrapped serpentine all around the cage –– all twenty of them –– and imagined it some a charm bracelet some frost giant princess might wear.

“You’re just gonna walk out of here,” I asked, incredulously. And with the straightest face I’ve ever seen, he replied simply with “ab-so-lute-ly.”

“Then you’re the man I’m here to see.”

“I’d love a meeting with you, but it may be a while,” he said, and motioned to the stack of copies on a table beside him where I picked up mine.

“It’s all good,” I smiled. “I’ve got nowhere to be right now.”

>> Continue reading: Chapter 36: Space Coast Ghost to Ghost >>