The Case of the Unseen Lady
Back at the office, I loaded my camera while Natalie dressed in the washroom. When she emerged, she wore a wasp-waisted indigo dress with a black veil. She stood before my desk with her black-gloved hands on her hips. I looked up and said, “What is it?”
“Johnny, why did you take my case?” The question hung in the air for a moment while I busied myself with the camera. She continued, “I know now that what I paid you wasn’t much. You could have turned me down.”
“And miss out on the greatest mystery I’ve ever known. I was about to toss you out of here until you did your little glove strip.”
“Oh, you liked that, did you?” As she put her hands together I realized that these were the very same gloves. She was looking down, touching the buttons at the wrist. I wondered if she remembered the details as well as I did. It’s kind of funny but when you can’t see a woman you can’t help but focus on what she’s wearing.
“And Vince was rather taken with you, too.” I said. Then another thought occurred to me. “You know if we plan on getting into any close situations you might want to abstain from the perfume. It’s very subtle so I don’t think it’s too much of a problem, really. I didn’t notice it myself until Vince mentioned it.”
“What perfume?”
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her veiled face. “That wild rose stuff you wear. Don’t get me wrong. It’s very nice. I just figure … what? What is it?”
She was shaking her head. “That’s not perfume. That’s my bubble bath. I take a bath every night to relax. And boy, have I needed it these past three weeks.”
“You’ve been using the same bubble bath every night for three weeks? Does Greta use the same stuff?”
“No she has her own. This one was a gift from Bradley.”
“And what day did you receive this gift?”
She then caught my line of reasoning. “Johnny, you think the formula is in the bath lotion? Wouldn’t it only make me invisible from the neck down?”
“Doctor Morand says it just has to be absorbed into your skin. No matter where you apply it, it will very quickly spread to your whole body.”
“But Johnny, I’m already invisible when I bathe every night.” I couldn’t help but wonder what a sight that was. But I forced myself to refocus on the conversation.
“Yes, every night you get a dose that carries you through the next day.”
She paced a bit, thinking. Then she stopped and pointed at me.
“But what about the first night I would have seen headless pajamas in my mirror when I went to bed.”
“Were you up late?”
“Well, no. I was tired from the dancing most of the evening. After my bath I really did go straight to bed.”
“Well why don’t you go home and sleep,” I suggested, “And if we’re right then I’ll see you in the morning.”
She went to the mirror on the wall just outside my washroom and took her head off. At least that’s what it looked like. She grabbed the hat and wig together and she hadn’t applied any make-up after our day at the races.
She stood there for a long time facing the mirror. I could only imagine what she was thinking. Perhaps she was trying to remember the face she hadn’t seen in three weeks. I listened carefully to detect any tears of joy.
What I didn’t expect was for her to spin around, still headless, and say what she said next.
“But Johnny, what about us?”
“What? What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, we’re a team now.”
“But you hired me to help bring you back. This is it. You’ve got your modeling career waiting for you and…”
“No, I called them and quit.”
Like a dog stuck in downtown traffic, I didn’t know where to turn next.
“Have you lost your head?” I asked. “I mean … your mind.”
“Johnny, being invisible has made me see myself by not letting me see myself.” She then paused then said, “Does that make sense?” I nodded so she continued.
“Johnny, as a fashion model I got a lot of attention but it wasn’t about me, it was about my looks. I was an ornament on the arms of various young gentlemen but none of them cared about the real me.”
At this point she sat down in front of me. “Then, I met you Johnny.”
I really didn’t want to continue the conversation so I tried to think of a new topic. Something subtle. Subtle like a trombone player in an elevator. I was till searching for something to say when she continued.
“Johnny, you’ve never even seen me and you treat me with more respect than any man. And if it means looking like this,” she pointed to the empty space above her dress, “then it was worth disappearing.”
I felt like a cad just then. I didn’t know how to tell that my attraction to her was also physical. Well, initially. Her condition was a fascination for me unlike anything I’d ever known.
I held up a hand, and then asked, “How much bubble bath is left?”
She sat back, clearly disheartened. She sighed and said, “I think it’s almost gone.”
We sat in silence for a while. Outside the window the sounds of the city drifted up to us. It seemed like such a long time ago when a certain Miss Taylor sat in that very spot and begged me to help her.
I looked at my watch. Half past five. I picked up the receiver on the phone and dialed a number that I knew well by now. Natalie was so still and silent that she was like a mannequin in a dress shop.
I started to wonder if I was calling too late then got the receptionist. “Hello, it’s Jonathan Drake. Yes, that’s right. Is he available? Thanks.”
Another pause then I said, “Hello Doctor Morand. Did you say there was enough information in the journal to recreate the formula? Oh really? That’s fine. We’ll be right over. Thanks.”
I hung up the receiver, stood up to get my hat and said, “How about that. He’s already made some.”
I almost fell over as the blue dress leapt up and hugged me.
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