The Mardi Gras Murders

by Mark Peters

Chapter 34

Just as soon as we arrived back at Adam's place, he switched on the television, apparently having not forgotten what I had said earlier about catching the news.

'I've been curious all afternoon,' he said when he noticed me grinning at him. 'I was even checking the online news sites to see if there was anything juicy that could have been what you were hinting at. I figured that it would have had to have been something to do with state parliament, seeing as that was where you had been.'

We had missed the start of the bulletin, but I knew that they always did a recap at the end of the show, so while we busied ourselves finding some clothes we kept a close eye on the television.

At the end of a commercial break which followed the weather report the presenter came back on air, saying, 'And now recapping today's top stories . . .'

Both Adam and I immediately focused our attention on the screen, while sitting down on a nearby sofa.

'The New South Wales Police Force is in crisis tonight, with the arrest of Assistant Commissioner Colin Barrett on charges relating to a child prostitution ring, while the police minister has also come under fire in state parliament and been questioned about his knowledge of the affair . . .'

The statement was accompanied by a few seconds of footage of the day's action in parliament, showing a very worried-looking police minister and a grinning leader of the opposition.

'Holy shit!' Adam exclaimed. 'Is this for real?'

'Very much so. This is pretty big,' I replied. 'And I don't think it's going to stop with just those two either.'

'What do you mean?'

'You should have seen the look the premier gave Cummings when the Opposition Leader asked his question. Helen and I both reckon he knows all about it . . . and if it comes out that he has covered anything up, it'll be his head on the chopping block as well.'

'That guy from the opposition sure looked smug. I reckon they'll be thinking they're on to something here . . .'

'And that's just it . . . they're all over it.'

As he got up from the seat and switched off the television he said, 'I can't wait to see tomorrow's papers then.'

'No, neither can I,' I replied as we both headed for the bathroom, pulling off clothes as we went.

The show at the Imperial wasn't scheduled to start until after nine o'clock, which had given us plenty of time to have a shower and get ready then grab something to eat, before heading to Newtown. We ate at a café not far from Adam's place, then headed across town by taxi, as neither of us wanted to be driving after the show with alcohol in our system. The trip took about half an hour, and we arrived at the Hotel with plenty of time to spare. Even before we had climbed out of the vehicle we could see the place was jumping, with music blasting from open windows and the colourful crowd spilling onto the footpath. This was the hotel which featured in the movie Priscilla: Queen of the Desert , and while I had been here several times over the years, I had never seen it quite this busy.

'Must be a lot of extra people here because of Mardi Gras,' Adam said, after paying the cab fare and joining me on the footpath.

'You said you had tickets, didn't you?'

'Yeah. We'd have Buckley's chance of getting in otherwise.'

'Well, what are we waiting for? Let's not waste them,' I urged, as I took his hand and started dragging him towards the front door, eager to push the events of the day as far back into the recesses of my mind as I possibly could.

It was a pub, just like thousands of similar pubs that could be found anywhere in Australia, yet it was unlike any other I had ever been inside. The traditional solid-brick construction with a liberal insertion of dark timber had stood the test of time. Yet the lights and the gaiety, in stark contrast with the interior walls that were painted black, and the almost exclusive gay clientele, set it apart from most other similar establishments. It was a place that needed to be experienced, and as we pushed our way through the throng and made our way to the bar, where I ordered us both Whiskey Sours, that was exactly what I hoped to do tonight, with Corcoran and everything else that was going on to hopefully be forgotten about, at least for the next few hours.

Around us there were people laughing, people drinking, and people generally having a great time, while posters and signs were plastered everywhere promoting the Mardi Gras and the various acts that would be providing entertainment at the Imperial over Mardi Gras weekend. The most prominent of these seemed to be that for The Twisted Sisters, featuring Trixie Peanut, Christie Sausage and Star Crackers, and their stage names alone were enough to start me chuckling, so I had high hopes for an entertaining evening.

Adam seemed to know a few of the people here, as I noticed him nod to someone, or say hello to others as we waited to be served. Then a few moments later, with our drinks in hand, we pushed back through the crowd and found one of the few empty tables in the place. Sitting down, we started watching the passing parade of patrons, all the while being bombarded with flashing lights and loud, thumping music with a dance beat.

There were people of all ages and from all walks of life, with everyone from the young twinks just beginning to spread their wings, to older guys and gals just sitting back and watching in amusement as they recalled their own youth, and everyone in between.

It was the younger ones who tended to grab my attention, as I was one of those who was happily remembering my own youth and my first uneasy visits to places like this, even if it wasn't that long ago anyhow. Some of tonight's kids looked a little nervous, while others seemed much more comfortable in their own skin; confident and really putting themselves out there. Some were dressed conservatively, while others were dressed in leather, or in some cases very little at all, giving everyone a good look at what they had to offer. Judging by the expressions on the faces of some of those around us, I figured there would be plenty of offers taken up tonight.

'So, what do you think?' Adam asked, while almost having to yell at me to get his question across.

'The place is really rocking tonight,' I yelled back. 'I've been here before, but it's never been this busy.'

'Yeah . . . I guess Mardi Gras will do that. Do you want to stay here, or should we go into the function room and grab our seat?'

After glancing at my watch, I saw that the show was due to start in about fifteen minutes.

'Come on, let's find our seats,' I answered, as I got to my feet. Adam joined me, and we soon joined a throng of people heading down the dark hallway to the function room, which we found was already more than half full, and filling rapidly.

Adam showed our tickets to the good-looking, young doorman, who pointed towards the front of the room, and we soon began to make our way between the rows of tables.

At the front of the room there was a stage, complete with what looked to be a red velvet curtain, while at the back of the room there was a bar, which was already doing a roaring trade. The rest of the room was filled with rows of round tables, each with space for six people.

'Front row. I'm impressed,' I said to Adam as we found our table.

'What can I say . . . it sometimes helps to know someone who knows someone,' he replied, as we settled into two of the seats.

'I'll have to try and remember that. And are we expecting company?' I remarked, noting the four extra seats at our table.

'I hope you don't mind,' he said. 'The tickets were offered to me by a friend after someone couldn't make it, so that's why I was able to arrange it all at short notice.'

'Why would I mind? I haven't met too many of your friends yet . . . apart from those who you were with at Caesar's when we used to go there.'

'Well, in that case you've probably already met a couple of our companions for tonight . . . but I'm not sure about the others.'

'The more the merrier, I say.'

'That's what I hoped you would say,' he offered, as he leaned across and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

'What was that for?' I chuckled, suddenly feeling like a teenager out on a first date.

'Do I need a reason?' he pouted.

'No, of course not. You can do it any time you want to, as far as I'm concerned.'

'Good. You might just get a few more of those before this night is out.'

'I'm counting on it,' I replied, as I leaned in and returned the favour.

'Well, well, well. Don't tell me someone has finally managed to snare young Adam Bennett?' a deep voice said from behind us. 'I never thought I'd see the day!'

Quite surprised, I turned around to see two men standing there and grinning down at us. One was a big guy, tall and well-built, who I would have guessed to have been in his forties, while his companion was a small and effeminate looking guy, who didn't look to be much older than me.

'I told you that you'd missed your chance, Nathan,' Adam said, while getting to his feet and shaking the hand of the older of the two.

'And as I told you, you were always too damned butch for my taste,' the big man laughed, while putting his arm around the waist of his companion and pulling him close. 'Hi, I'm Nathan Sharpe, I'm Adam's boss,' the big man said, as he thrust out a hand towards me.

'Nathan, this is my partner, Rick. Rick Cooper,' Adam responded.

'Partner? Damn boy, you sure move quick,' Nathan laughed loudly as I shook hands with him. 'When did this happen? And why wasn't I told?'

'About a week ago. I'm sure I sent you the memo,' Adam teased. 'Anyway, Coop, and this is Ryan Langdon . . . he's the only guy I know, apart from me, of course, who doesn't take any crap from the big guy here,' Adam added, while indicating his boss' partner.

'It's nice to meet you,' Ryan said, in a voice that could hardly be heard amidst the noise of the rapidly growing crowd.

'And you also,' I replied.

While we were all still standing, we were also joined by another couple, whom I recognised as having at least met before, at Caesar's if my memory served me correctly, even if I couldn't immediately put names to their faces.

Once the greetings were out of the way we resumed our seats and started chatting, while Nathan caught the eye of one of the waiters who was serving drinks and ordered a round of cocktails for us all.

'So, Adam, you've sure kept quiet about this one,' Nathan observed.

'Just didn't want you drooling all over him, I guess,' Adam replied, to which we all managed a laugh, even his boss.

Upon sitting down the conversation started to flow, and while at first Adam's employer seemed a little loud and overbearing, I soon found myself liking him, and especially his no nonsense, 'call it like I see it' attitude. The other two guys, Ian and John, also appeared to be good company, and over a few drinks, while we waited for the stage show to commence, there were plenty of laughs to go around, which only slowed when the lights began to dim. The sound of conversation everywhere quickly dried up, then being quickly replaced by whistles and cheers from the raucous crowd as they really started to come alive.

Gradually, the shadow that was the stage curtain at the front of the room was pulled back. Despite the room being in darkness, it was easy enough to make out the faint silhouettes of three figures standing in the centre of the stage, given away by the occasional glint of a sequin or the sheen from some shimmering material.

Suddenly three spotlights came on, revealing a blonde, a brunette and a red-head, all decked out in makeup, sequins, high heels and feather boas. Parts of the crowd went wild just at the sight of them, which left me thinking that I was missing something here.

'At first I was afraid, I was petrified . . .' began the all too familiar song, accompanied by some mimed actions from the blonde as she stepped forward into the centre of the stage.

'Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side . . .' added the redhead as she too stepped forward.

'But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong . . .' mimed the brunette as she joined her companions, before the three of them started working together as the song led into the chorus.

Looking around me, I could see dozens of faces, either singing along, or simply with what seemed liked looks of rapture upon their faces, which, given the fact that the performers had only just started, was quite amazing, or at least to me, anyhow.

'Did you think I'd crumble . . .'

'Did you think I'd lay down and die . . .'

'Oh no, not I . . .'

'I will survive . . .'

Being the anthem that it was, the song was infectious, and quite quickly had people swaying in their seats, or dancing around, mimicking the extravagant mime and dance movements of the three stars on stage before us. When I glanced at Ryan, who was sitting beside me, I could see that he too was quite taken with them.

'Are they really well known?' I asked him, still feeling as if I were missing something. At first, he looked at me in amazement, as if I must have been totally mad, but then he smiled.

'Have you been living under a rock or something? They're only the world's biggest drag act. They come from Las Vegas.'

'I . . . errr . . . haven't been to Las Vegas,' I lamely replied, which earned me exactly the look that I deserved.

At least I knew now why everyone was going crazy.

When the end of the song came the place erupted, while the three starlets basked in the applause, blowing kisses to the audience and taking a bow, before the blonde finally squealed, 'Hellooooo Syd-e-neeee,' as she pranced along the front of the stage, waving to everyone, which only seemed to earn them more wild applause from the crowd.

While I had seen drag shows before, they were usually amateur pub acts and were often crappy and unprofessional, with performers often fluffing their movements, telling really bad, or really old, jokes and not taking things too seriously at all. After just one song from The Twisted Sisters, I could already tell that this wasn't one of those crappy pub acts, and it was going to be a night that I would remember for a long while to come.

From 'I Will Survive' the act launched directly into 'You're The One That I Want' from the movie Grease, which I couldn't ever recall having been done in drag before. This proved to be just as big a hit as the first song, as the blonde and the brunette pushed each other back and forth across the stage, just like Olivia and John had done all those years ago. From there, it was a medley of other nineteen-seventies disco songs, familiar to me only because I had heard them and seen them performed in Australian movies like Priscilla or Muriel's Wedding , or in other drag shows.

'Oh my,' the blonde eventually said at the end of that set, in a sultry American voice, as she sat down on one of three stools that had been brought on stage, while her companions each took a seat on one of the other stools. 'You're such a wonderful audience. I think I'd like to take some of you home with me,' she cooed, which earned some cheers and some laughter, and some wisearse down the back yelling out, 'Pick me . . . pick me . . .'

'Now Trixie, you shouldn't be greedy,' the brunette said. 'We might want to take some home too!'

'Screw you, Star. You can go find your own,'

'Well, while you two are fighting over who's going to do what, I think I'll go and do exactly that,' the redhead said, as she got to her feet once more and started for the front of the stage.

'Christie, get your arse back here!' the other two called out to their companion, only to be dismissed with a nonchalant flap of a hand as the redhead sat down on the edge of the stage and swung her long, stocking covered legs over the edge.

'Oh, Mr Light Man, can you shine your light along the front here please,' she seductively purred, adding a wave of her hand, as the lighting technician did exactly that.

The spotlight swung from one front row table to the next, before being waved on by Christie, but when it settled on our table she cast her eyes over the six of us and then loudly said, 'Stop right there!'

'Shit!' I muttered.

Christie Sausage walked around our table looking down at us, but when she stopped directly behind me, I just knew I was in trouble.

'My, my, isn't he pretty,' the husky voiced redhead with an American accent said as she twirled her boa around my neck. 'He's the one that I want! Can I take him home with me?' she asked Adam, who vigorously shook his head from side to side and said no.

The crowd laughed some more, while I was left shaking in my boots. For starters, I wasn't exactly the type of guy who liked being the centre of attention, or at least not out in public, so that, coupled with the fact that I was in the position I was in, had the potential to put me in a difficult spot.

Then, before I'd even had a chance to say a word, I found myself with a lap full of American drag queen.

'Oh, my. I sure hope you're a police officer . . . because if you're not, I don't think that concealed weapon you're carrying would be legal in this country, would it?' she announced for all to hear, before leaning in close to me and whispering, 'Just be a sport, and I'll be gone in a jiffy.'

'Christie Lee Sausage . . . leave that boy alone and get your sweet little fanny back on this stage RIGHT NOW!' her two companions shouted.

With nothing like this having ever happened to me before, I had no idea where to look, or what to do, much to the delight of Adam and friends, and those at the surrounding tables, all of whom could clearly see my discomfort.

Christie soon managed to extricate herself from my lap, then straighten herself up and adjust her clothes, before then leaning over and giving me a peck on the cheek.

'Thanks, honey. You're a peach,' she quietly said to me, before placing a finger under my chin to raise my head so that I was gazing into her eyes, then giving me a wink and heading back towards the stage, amidst wolf whistles and calls of, 'I wouldn't mind some of that,' and, 'What about me?' from various sections of the crowd.

'Damn girl, you do that every time we go out somewhere!' Trixie scolded her as she climbed back onto the stage. 'We'll be lucky if we're invited back again!'

'Honey, don't you know you've got to have balls to get away with the things I do?' Christie replied, which really brought the house down.

A sluice of bawdy jokes soon followed, most of which I hadn't ever heard before, then for the next hour or so, until an intermission break at least, I was able to totally forget all my troubles as the trio of lovely ladies on stage kept the music, the dancing and the jokes coming, one after the other, after the other. I couldn't remember ever laughing so hard, and as a distraction from the evils of my day job, it was entirely welcome.

Eventually they came to a stop and said that they were going to take a short break, but we weren't to go anywhere. The lights came on and people started getting to their feet to stretch their legs and grab a drink. Before we could do anything about that ourselves, however, a waiter appeared at our table, carrying a tray with a single cocktail glass upon it, which was soon set down right in front of me.

'What's this?' I said to him.

'Compliments of the man at the bar, sir,' he replied, before motioning towards the bar area.

We all looked that way, and despite the crowd starting to gather there I could easily see who it was the waiter had referred to.

'Oh, fuck!' was all I managed to say, before the crowd seemed to take over and block my view of Daniel Corcoran.

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