Another caption for Lisbeth on Rachel's Haven, and this one had me going after making it:

I got some complaints from Lisbeth about how I tended to leave her original male body lying around - I mean, geez, I like pulp and brain transplants, there's gonna be some corpses! - so when I found a caption that offered a fun, sexy Westlake caper, I figured she'd enjoy that.  Hopefully someone there looks up the quotes and figures out what they have in common.  I think that's fun.

The trouble is, it's a good enough idea that I started outline another one of those larger works that I don't have any time for in my head - a version of this story that I'd retitle "Double Fake".

So, here's the idea, slightly tweaked:  Art History professor who used to do a little forgery in his undergrad days gets laid off, but the department head gives him a line on a bit of temp work for this rich guy.  He gets to the meeting, sees the girl unconscious, and finds out the job:  Walk into her boyfriend's apartment, make a copy of the masterwork hanging in the living room, and then exchange the pair.  He's away on business for a couple weeks, so that should be just enough time, and as for getting past security, well, the rich guy has this strange idol:  Put a lock of the girl's hair in it, stare into its eyes, and presto!, not only are you her double, but nobody else can open it up to get the hair out and change back.  That, by the way, is why this rich guy isn't using his magic thing to change people's identities as a service:  Aside from having it because he bought it as art, and liking art more than a business, its usage is really restrictive, although hopefully in a way that seems kind of logical as opposed to just a reason to not solve the problem with magic.

Anyway, when the warehouse she's in burns down (probably sinking the artifact), she escapes, grabbing the professor's coat and bonking her head, so that when she comes to, the memory of the professor transforming and seeing his ID in the pocket convinces her that she's really him.  She goes back to his apartment, starts reading the books he's written to try and remember "the real me", and winds up getting a job at the university's museum despite not previously knowing much about art, after convincing the dean who referred the professor that she's really him.  The dean finds the idea that this sexy young lady used to be his friend kind of hot; maybe they start dating.

The fake girlfriend basically decides she likes her new life, and while she's nervous when the boyfriend returns home, it's surprisingly easy to play this new part.  He's surprised to see his girlfriend working at the museum during a fundraiser, so the amnesiac girl pretends to be herself, but kind of finds she doesn't like the way this guy is talking down to her.  The two eventually meet, the rich guy wants his painting, and the amnesiac girl doesn't know what to do when her memory comes back.

I think the "what it's about as opposed to what happens" is that it's very easy to fall into what you think you're supposed to do, as opposed to what you really want.  It ends with the girl taking her life back, but also noting that the fake has painted his original self, the man that hired him, and a lot of other details that will lead the police to capture him into the picture, before landing in some European seaside town where she paints portraits while living off her ill-gotten gains.

Is there a novel-length thing here?  I'm not sure, and I'm really not sure there's enough screwball to keep things going or that I can make the amnesiac girl more funny than tragic.

Labels: caption, exorcism, pulp cover