Chapter 25

When Erin opened her eyes, she was in an all white place. The warm sun poured in upon her face, blinding her. She tried to move, but she couldn't. She was laying facing a pure white wall. If she moved her head a fraction the sun caused her green eyes to close. She knew she was dead but was she in heaven or was she in hell? Her throat hurt badly. She wanted some water to drink. But there is no water in hell, is there? As she tried to look around at her surroundings but she could only see the ceiling and the wall she was facing. She tried to move but she was unable to. Would she be forced to stay like this for all of eternity?

Plus she had a blinding headache. The last thing she was aware of doing was singing Boots and then the hypnotic gaze of Honey. She tried to feel the bite marks of the tiger but was unable to move her arms. The bright sun kept her from seeing anything else. Where was Honey? What did they do with her? Why wasn't she with her? Did she go to heaven? And why was she so alone when thousands of people had cheered her?

"She's awake now," Doctor Bington told Rick. Rick got to his feet to look at his beloved through the small window of the door. She lay on the floor restrained by a strait jacket. She was barefoot and wore all white bottoms to the ankles. There were a few yellow stains about her crotch area.

"What now?" Rick asked. "When can you take that thing off of her?"

"It stays on until we are assured that she won't harm herself. You see what she did to that girl, Honey! It took many surgeries to pull her through. That Mexican girl lost one eye, the other is seriously damaged. Ms. Gibson lost all her nails digging into that lady's face. It was her vicious bite marks that did so much damage."

"I saw it," Rick shook his head. "I've got our lawyer handling this case. I was forced to shut Shelly's down. After last month's incident the law put padlocks on the place. Plus we were supposed to move into our new home a month ago." Rick started to cry.

"You are lucky to have Maxwell Samuels," Bington said. "He's the best in Texas but they might grab some of those high powered attorneys back east when the Gonzalez people formally file their lawsuit. With this incident in the media all over the country ... all over the world I should say, there are no sunny days ahead for you or your wife."

"Will you testify on my wife's behalf," he asked through his tears.

"That she's certifiably insane? Count on it."

"I hope that she doesn't find out that her father died of stroke over all of this. He was dead before they could move him out of his private box. And his wife went into hysterics and had to be sedated and hospitalized." Rick broke into deeper tears. He wondered if he stayed away that night all of this might have never happened.

Joyce embraced Rick as he entered Maxwell Samuels office. She held him tightly as he cried for Erin. "Why?" he asked for the ten thousandth time.

"She'll pull through this," Joyce tried to lift his spirits. "Erin is a strong woman, one way or another she'll get past this."

"I love her so much. I mean you are such a wonderful lady, Joyce, but Erin and me fit together like a hand in a glove. I never saw this coming."

"Rick, come on in," Maxwell opened the door to see his wife consoling him. He knew of their brief affair before his meeting Erin plus the fact that Joyce told him everything. Joyce was hand in hand with Rick until she got him settled into the seat. She then left the office.

"Rick, we've got big problems here with your wife. She almost killed Honey Gonzalez during that erotic session at Shelly's last month. There were over five thousand witnesses that saw her lose it all during that dance. Did you see it?"

"I taped it!" Rick dropped the bombshell.

"Tell me once more so I can make sure that I didn't hear wrong."

"I taped it."

"Where is that tape now?"

"In a safety deposit box back home with all my documents, deeds, and a lot of gold coins we've been converting some of our cash into. I put it in two days after the incident."

"Have you watched it."

Rick nodded!

"How many times?"

"Just once," he started crying again. "That was enough."

"Who knows of this?"

"Me! You now. Maybe Natalie."

"I've got to get down there to question her."

"She's pretty busy with her beauty shop. When she became Erin's costume girl, she was in on just about everything. Natalie saw those times when Erin was entering into that zone and ran to tell me, tell Ernie, tell most of the others that were involved. It was my signal to tape them as soon as the music started. Max, we've made a ton of money off these tapes. I've heard that Erin Clubs have popped up all over the country. Every night these people will gather together to watch them in that mutual trance of theirs. Then they will try to do the same as Erin and Honey. One girl in California did that dance and her life was snuffed out by someone. The cops have made some arrests and now they're investigating this and it will land right back here in our laps in Longview."

"Okay, I want to emphasize the fact that you will not make any other disclosures to anyone that you have a tape of this incident. If any of the prosecution learns of this, hand over a copy of it. Never, ever, ever, for the rest of your life tell anyone you have it. Two exceptions, if someone tells the prosecutor, admit to him that you have the tape and if he demands it, let him have it. Now I've told you twice. If the Feds ask you, don't lie. Tell them that you have it. If they ask for a copy, give them that copy as blurred as possible. And make sure that they have a warrant when you give it to them."

Rick nodded.

Maxwell set up his taping device. "Now tell me as much as you can recall leading up to this and the act itself. I want to know every detail. Then I want to see that tape. Joyce and me will fly down to Longview. I, alone, will watch it while Joyce takes you for a drive."

Rick could only nod once more.

"I saw the whole thing from beginning to end," Natalie told Maxwell. "Those stares they gave each other were so bizarre but sexy hot. I always sat on the edge of my seat when I watched them. Many times I thought they were going to rip their clothes off each other and have lesbian sex right there on the stage floor. It got me so hot just watching it. Ummmmmm, I may have had an orgasm or two just sitting there."