The Case of the Flickering Star
A Mark Julian
Vampire PI Mystery #11
In the early
decades of Hollywood when, movies were still being referred to by some as The
Flickers, no star had shone brighter on the silver screen than the
luminously ethereal Amber Corrine Terry. In the supernatural world she was
known as the Greek muse Thalia. Her romantic movies were always financial
blockbusters and many a young man dreamt of making love to the ashen haired,
wide-eyed beauty. By the mid 1920’s she was dubbed the Queen of Love.
One of her biggest hits was the controversially notorious film, Nights in
Babylon. In its cast was a young foreign actor named Marcus Caesarea making
his first, and last, foray into films. Daring even by today’s standards, the
movie shocked audiences and caused preachers to rail against the degeneracy of
movies. Naturally it was also the biggest moneymaker of that decade.
As the twenties
came to a close and while still at the very height of her fame, Amber retired
from the screen. Many assumed it was the talkies that forced her, like so many
other silent film stars, to bow out of acting. Yet others felt there was more
behind her retirement. When her silent movies were lost in a studio
warehouse fire, all that was left of her artistic contributions were some
grainy publicity still photos from a few of her films.
Recently, her
great granddaughter has launched her own successful movie career. The very
image of her famous ancestor, young Amber is rapidly rising to the heights her
namesake once held in Tinsel Town. But now something threatens the young
ingénue. A message was sent to her claiming that a pristine and unedited copy
of Nights Of Babylon has been discovered. Its finder has threatened
Amber that they will show it to the world unless she makes certain payments.
Amber knows
that if that film if seen it will prove she has more than a mere resemblance to
the original Amber. In desperation, she hires Mark Julian to find the film it
for her. For Mark this is more than a job. Back in the day, as a favor to his
lover and Amber, he too had appeared in that movie under the name Marcus
Caesarea. If that film is publicly seen it will not only be Amber who has some
tricky questions to answer concerning uncanny resemblances. He would also
prefer that Vinnie and especially Vinnie’s mother and her friend did not view
Mark’s rather revealing performance during a certain orgy segment of the film.
The hunt is on for Mark but, with Jean-Claude and Jaime visiting Europe to
celebrate their cousin Laurent’s crowning, and a deadly killer on the loose, he
is forced to seek assistance from a delighted Viola Lupa. Together this odd
couple soon discovers that the other eight Greek Muses may not be so eager that
the pair succeeds. It’s a madcap adventure as Mark recalls how, during his
early days in Hollywood, he was seduced not only by the thrill of acting in a
movie, but also by a certain sexy male actor into clearly showing an his family
jewels in that film. Will Mark be able to help the Greek muse Thalia keep
her secret as well as his own?
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