I stopped in the hall when I realized I hadn’t checked the condition of the interior back hinges. I’d spent time examining only the front hinges because the front of the book was so striking, with its decorative gilding and ancient brass workings.
I couldn’t go out onstage without completing the work, so I glanced around for a place to set down the book and check it out. It had to weigh at least ten pounds and was growing heavier by the second, so when I noticed Randy’s dressing room door was ajar, I quickly knocked and walked in. He wasn’t there, so I placed the book on the dressing table, where the light was strongest.
The door slammed shut.
It must’ve been a gust of wind in the hallway, I thought, and ignored it. I turned the book over. The back cover was in need of a decent polishing but the hinge and brass works were in fine condition. This entire book was beyond fabulous. I was pretty sure it would win the prize for the highest book appraisal of any of the San Francisco shows.
But after dealing with a few people who couldn’t quite handle the fact that they had an expensive book on their hands, I was a little concerned that the owner . . .
I heard an odd rattling sound and glanced around. I didn’t see anything, so I went back to the book. The back endpapers were in better condition than the front ones, which was typical, since people tended to expose the front papers more often than the back.
I picked up the heavy Bible and adjusted it in my arms, then reached for the doorknob. It wouldn’t budge. “What the heck?”
The rattling sound echoed through the room. I turned again but didn’t see anything.
Suddenly a deadly-looking snake slithered out from under the sofa and headed straight toward me.
I froze in complete horror and screamed louder than I’d ever screamed in my life. I pressed up closer to the door, but there was nowhere to go.
The thing had to be five feet long!
Scared to death, I shook the doorknob but couldn’t open it to save my life. Literally.
“Help!” I screamed over and over as I banged my hand against the door. “Somebody help me!”
The snake moved closer. It was only a few feet away now. If I stood very still, would it ignore me and go away? I kind of doubted it.
Its head wafted up off the floor and I screamed. “Get away from me!”
That’s when its tail began to shake again, making the dreadful rattling sound I’d just heard.
Desperate, I realized I had only one weapon: the Bible. With both hands, I slammed it down on the head of the snake and heard a squishing sound. I knew I’d crushed it or at least made serious contact.
Tremors overtook my body, rushing up and down my spine and arms and legs. I was still screaming and collapsed back against the door. At that moment, someone yanked it open and I fell backward into the hall.
“What were you doing in there?” Randy demanded.
I scrambled and grabbed hold of him and held on for dear life.
“What’s wrong with you?” But he wrapped his arms around me and patted my back. “You’re shivering. What happened?”
“Oh, God.” I gasped for breath. “Oh, God. Thank you.”
“Brooklyn, are you all right?”
“Derek. Oh, Derek.” I spun around and threw myself into his arms. He clutched me tightly.
“What is it, love? What happened?”
“Snake.” The word came out like a breath of air.
“What?”
“Snake.”
“A snake?” Randy said loudly. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Snake.” I pointed at the doorway. “Dressing room. Dead.”
“Christ almighty,” Derek said, and turned on Randy. “What the hell were you thinking, bringing a snake in here?”
“Me?” he shouted. “No! I didn’t do anything!”
“How did a snake get into your room?”
“How the hell should I know? I was out onstage when I got a text from Walter telling me to meet him here. I get here and find Brooklyn in there with the door closed.”
“I couldn’t get the door open.” I could hear myself whimpering, but I didn’t care. I clutched Derek’s arms for dear life.
He continued to hold me close with one arm and pushed the door open wider with the other.
“Looks like a rattler,” Randy said, and whistled. “Holy mother.”
The Bible lay splayed on the floor on top of the creature. The back cover was hanging loosely off its hinges. I felt a twinge of guilt, but not enough to keep me awake at night. The value of the book might have been momentarily diminished, but at least the snake was dead.
? ? ?
The snake survived.
Bloodied and bruised, it nonetheless began to wiggle while we were standing there staring at it. I screamed and Randy jumped three feet backward, then ran out to the stage. Derek pulled me out of the room and slammed the door shut.
Seconds later, Bruce came racing down the hall and took over. He managed to wrangle the injured reptile using a lighting pole and one of the pretty covered baskets they used as set decoration on the kitchen stage.