David Wilson laughed at the idea of becoming Jack the Ripper for Halloween.
"I'm a gambler not a killer."
His neighbor, Maybelle Marino, a professional hypnotist, had asked him to be her assistant for a party about a half-mile down the beach in Gulfshore, Alabama. Her usual assistant, Sheila, wasn't available.
"It's just pretend. I'll fake hypnotize you. You don't have to wear a costume."
"I'm also not an actor. I don't know nothing about Jack the Ripper."
"You know as much as anyone. Make something up. Sheila does Lizzie Borden."
"The woman who chopped up her parents with an ax?" Yeah, with forty whacks. See, you know things. Sheila makes up something different about Lizzie each time."
"The only thing I know about Jack the Ripper is that he carved up a bunch of hookers."
"That's a start." Maybelle winked. "After the show we'll come back to my house and I'll show you my sex magic."
That did it. A beautiful woman could pretzel twist David with sex hints.
"Sounds like fun. Especially, the part at your house."
He would have been nuts to refuse. Sleek and tan, Maybelle had pointed apple breasts and what he called a bubble butt. She had long raven hair, fawn brown eyes, a wide smile, and straight white teeth. He was ten years older at forty, but had always been muscular and could pass for thirty.
David had laid back a big score from a Biloxi casino and decided to rent a beach house for two weeks. He had to travel or do something else for a while after a big hit or lose the money back again. He compared casino gambling to a bad drug addiction, maybe worse. Skill and luck had paid off recently, and experience had taught him to take a break. Maybelle could help ease the gambling withdrawal symptoms before he went back for another fix.
She lived next door to David's rental, year round, and spent most days in a blue string bikini. He had stared at her for two days on the beach before she surprised the hell out of him by knocking on the door. She mistook his lack of nerve for either being cool and mysterious or playing hard to get. He had figured she was out of his league.
)
When a professional gambler takes a holiday on the Alabama coast after a big casino score, he agrees to assist a grogeous professional hypnotist at a Halloween party. All he has to do is to distribute the party favors to the crowd during the show, in the dark, after the screams begin...
