The tattoo1/fang2 and claws parlor3 was located on the fringe of a lower middle-class commercial district in downtown Fresno. It was a ramshackle storefront, with an old dentist’s chair prominently displayed in the window. In the chair was a girl who couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen. She sat with her skinny, pimpled4 neck bowed toward her lap, wincing5 with each needle puncture6. On a tall stool beside her sat a young guy with a bright blue and yellow bandanna7 wrapped tightly around his head. He was applying the tattoo. He reached for a bottle of ink. The array of tattoo inks beside him reminded me of the spin art booth at a school fair. I watched from the street for the next few minutes. I couldn’t help thinking about the role of physical pain in making tattoos8, but also in the murders so far.
I knew the basic tattoo process and watched as the resident artist adjusted a gooseneck lamp toward the nape of the girl’s neck. He used two foot-operated tattoo machines: one for outlining, the other for shading and coloring. The round shader between the machines held fourteen different needles. The more needles, the more colorful the flash.
A middle-aged9 man with a crew cut was passing by on the street, and paused just long enough to mutter, ‘That’s nuts, and so are you for watching.’
Everybody’s a critic these days. I finally went inside and saw the result of the tattoo master’s art: a small Celtic symbol, green and gold. I asked him where I could get fangs10 and claws. He moved his
head, his chin actually, to indicate a hallway to his left. Never said a word.
I walked past display cases: tongue and navel studs, including glow-in-the-dark studs; massive knuckle11 rings; sunglasses, pipes, beaded thingees; a poster for two popular claws - Ogre and Faust. You’re getting warmer, I thought as I entered the hallway, and then met the fang master face to face.
He was expecting me, and he started talking as soon as I entered his small shop.
‘You’ve finally arrived, pilgrim. You know, when you go to the most interesting, and most dangerous, vampire12 clubs, the ones in LA, New York, New Orleans, Houston, you see fangs everywhere. It’s the scene, and what a scene, my man. Goth, Edwardian, Victorian, bondage13 apparel, anything goes. I was one of the first to custom-make fangs out here. Started in Laguna Beach, worked my way north. And now, here I am, the Fresno Kid.’
As he spoke14, I became aware of his teeth, elongated15 molars. Those teeth looked as if they could inflict16 severe damage. His name was John Barreiro, and he was short, painfully thin, and dressed mostly in black, much like Peter Westin. He was probably the most sinister-looking person I had ever met.
‘You know why I’m here - the Golden Gate Park murders,’I said to the fangmaker.
He nodded and grinned wickedly. ‘I know why you’re here, pilgrim. Peter Westin sent you. Peter’s very persuasive17, isn’t he? Follow me.’ He took me into a small over-crowded room in the rear of the store. The walls were dark blue, the lighting18 crimson19. Barreiro had a lot of nervous energy, he moved around constantly as he spoke.’There is a fabulous20 Fang Club in Los Angeles. They like to say it’s the only place where you can meet vampires21 and live to tell about it. On weekend nights you might see four, five hundred people there. Maybe fifty of the fuckers are real vampires. Almost everyone wears fangs, even the vampire wannabes.’
Are your teeth real?’ I asked him.
‘Let me give you a little nip and we’ll see,’the fangmaker said and laughed. ‘The answer to your question is yes. I had my incisors capped, then filed to a sharp edge. I bite. I drink blood. I am the real deal bad dude. Detective.’
I nodded, didn’t doubt it for a second. He looked and acted the part.
‘If I might take a simple cast of your canines22, I could make a pair of fangs just for you. That will really separate you from your detective peers. Make you peerless.’
I smiled at his wit, but I let him talk.
‘I make several hundred sets of fangs every year. Uppers and lowers. Sometimes double fangs. Occasionally, I make a pair in gold and silver. I think you’d look great with silver canines.’ ‘You’ve read about the other killings23 around California?’ I asked. ‘I’ve heard about them, yes. Of course. From friends and acquaintances like Peter Westin. Some vampires are excited by what’s happened. They think it signals a new time; perhaps a new Sire is coming.’
I stopped him. A sudden chill ran through me. Something he’d just said. ‘Is there a leader of the vampires?’
Barreiro’s dark eyes narrowed to slits24. ‘No. Of course there isn’t.
But if there was, I wouldn’t talk to you about it.’
‘Then there is a Sire,’ I said.
He glared at me and began to move about again.
I asked, ‘Could you make tigers’ teeth - for a man to wear?’
‘I could,’ he said. ‘I have.’
Suddenly he lunged up at me with surprising speed. He grabbed my hair with one hand, my ear with the other. I’m six three and a lot heavier than him. I wasn’t ready for this. The small man was swift, and he was very strong. His open mouth moved toward my throat, but then he stopped.
‘Don’t ever under-estimate us. Detective Cross,’ John Barreiro hissed25, then let me go.’Now, are you sure that you don’t want those fangs? No charge. Maybe for your own protection.’
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tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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fang
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| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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pimpled
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| adj.有丘疹的，多粉刺的 | |
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wincing
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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puncture
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| n.刺孔，穿孔；v.刺穿，刺破 | |
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bandanna
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| n.大手帕 | |
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tattoos
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| n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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knuckle
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| n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输 | |
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vampire
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| n.吸血鬼 | |
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bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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elongated
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| v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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vampires
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| n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门 | |
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canines
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| n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 )；犬牙；犬科动物 | |
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killings
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| 谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发 | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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