Jackie promised, starting off again.
To their mutual relief they reached Stark’s hotel without further incident. Jackie was surprised to note that it was not a particularly outstanding hotel.
As though divining his thoughts, Stark explained. “It’s difficult to make myself inconspicuous,” he said as they entered the lobby. “But there are times when I simply have to get away from the fans who are always trying to tear me apart. So far, no one has discovered me here but I wouldn’t have had a minute’s peace in the Hilton.”
The hotel employees regarded them with amusement and curiosity as Stark passed through the small lobby in his oil-stained trousers. For an answer, Stark only glowered at each one in turn. He was still glowering when they reached his room.
“I think I’ll feel better if I get out of these,” he said. “And take a good shower. Can you make yourself at home?”
“Don’t hurry,” Jackie assured him, seating himself on one edge of the bed. “I’ll be here when you finish.”
He did not attempt to hide his interest as Stark undressed, dropping the trousers rather noisily into the wastebasket. To his disappointment Stark donned a terry cloth robe before removing his underpinnings. Jackie had seen enough of the body, however, to know that it was a nice one, long-limbed and sturdy.
He remembered as Stark disappeared into the bathroom that the young man had not always been a highly paid singer. He had come from one of the rougher districts of London and if one were to believe the publicity biographies, his early life had been a hard one.
Only two years before Stark had been a construction worker living with his large family in a crowded and shabby apartment. His two years of success had apparently not yet softened him. He was still muscular and rugged, and the rough edges still showed through the veneer of polish he had acquired.
Stark was back quickly, his legs dripping water beneath the robe. “Now then,” he said, leaning against the dresser and folding his arms over his chest. “You said that you were in the business of protection and that this involved homosexuals. Can you be more specific about this business of yours?”
Jackie hesitated briefly. He did not, as a rule, discuss his work with strangers as, for all practical purposes, Stark was. On the other hand, Stark had hinted that he needed help, and if Jackie was going to supply that help, he owed some explanation.
“I’m an agent for an organization called C.A.M.P. It’s an international, underground organization dedicated to the advancement and protection of homosexuals.”
“Is there a demand for such an outfit?” Stark asked, interested.
Jackie nodded. “Most definitely. No one knows just how many homosexuals there are in the world, but it’s safe to say there are millions. Most of them pay a heavy price for being what they are. In most countries there are laws prohibiting homosexual acts, sometimes involving life imprisonment. Even where there are no laws there is a great deal of ignorance regarding the subject, with the resultant myths and prejudices. C.A.M.P. has numerous sections that deal with every aspect of homosexuality. Some of them work to improve the legal situation, others work in the medical and social fields, among others.”
“And the protection?”
“Unfortunately, it’s too often necessary. These homosexuals are frequently the victims of unscrupulous people, ranging from small time roughnecks who make a sport of queer hunting—cruising around looking for homosexuals to molest—to blackmailers and sometimes worse. There’s little police protection for the homosexual. Remember, he’s technically outside the law anyway. That’s where I come in. My section works as a police agency for homosexuals everywhere, whenever needed.”
“I see,” Stark said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his hand.
“But I’m not sure I see what your interest in all this is,” Jackie said frankly. “You were pretty blunt in stating that you weren’t, as you put it, a pansy.”
A slight blush tinged the angular face pink. “I’m not, of course,” Stark agreed. “But I think I can qualify for your services, Jackie.”
“In what way?” Jackie asked, puzzled.
Stark was becoming more embarrassed as he talked and his reluctance was apparent in the fact that he looked away from Jackie as he went on slowly.
“These blackmailers you mentioned,” he explained, stammering. “I know all about that aspect of the problem. You see, I’ve just found myself confronted with the same situation. To be brief about it, I’m being blackmailed. At least, someone is trying to blackmail me.”
Jackie leaned forward on the edge of the bed, definitely interested. Stark, so famous now as to be almost a household word and earning a phenomenal salary, would be a ripe target for any blackmailer.
“What are they blackmailing you for?” he asked, still curious about how this was connected with him and his work for C.A.M.P.
Stark’s face went from pink to a deep crimson red. “It’s over some homosexual incidents,” he managed to stammer.
CHAPTER TWO
Jackie’s interest and his curiosity were aroused still further by the statement. “Isn’t that a little contradictory,” he asked.
“I suppose I’d better tell you the whole story,” Stark agreed with obvious discomfort. “When I said I wasn’t homosexual I was being honest. But isn’t it true that most blokes go through a stage of that as children?”
“That’s true enough,” Jackie agreed. “Some experts think that the heterosexual person goes through a stage of homosexual development, which he outgrows as he grows older. According to that theory, the homosexual in a sense gets bogged down in that stage and never develops beyond it. Some people, of course, the ones they call bisexual, grow into adulthood capable of enjoying both sexes. In fact, many authorities think that everyone remains more or less bisexual, but that the conditioning in our society prohibits the average adult from practicing or even recognizing his homosexual urges.”
“That’s how I understood it,” Stark answered. Jackie’s matter-of-fact approach had eased his embarrassment somewhat. “Well, that’s what it was in my case. The incidents involved were childhood incidents. They took place when I was only sixteen and seventeen.”
Jackie did not interrupt to point out that the young man was not much older than that now.
“I grew up in a rough neighborhood,” Stark when on. “I was pretty much of a loner, until I met Steve. He was a different sort, out of place in the neighborhood, if you know what I mean.”
Jackie nodded his head. He knew how difficult life could be for the homosexual growing up in such an environment. He himself had fared better, coming from a family of vast wealth, but his work had often led him to the others.
“Steve was a nice-looking chap, but sort of delicate and fragile, if you can picture him. He was a pansy—excuse me, a homosexual—even then, and still is, so far as I know. Anyway, he had had quite a bit of experience at it, as I found out eventually.
“When I first met him, he was being worked over roundly by a bunch of ruffians. I pitched in and saved his skin. After that, he sort of attached himself to me. For me it was like
