Gigolo Murder

by Hadley Knox

  “I know it’s not right,” Kirk said. “But your mind thinks differently when you’re on meth and when you’re clean.”

  I turned to Adam. “So Kirk called you that night?”

  “Yeah,” Adam nodded. “He called me because he had just killed Hugh, and he was upset. I went over to Hugh’s place and found the body. I helped get rid of fingerprints, found the Madam phone, and then Kirk and I left.”

  “Why did you help him cover it up?”

  “Because of the phone,” he said.

  “Why would the phone matter? You could have just taken the phone.”

  “It’s more than the phone. I was afraid that if I got Kirk in trouble, he would rat your business out.”

  “I would never have done that,” Kirk said. “I may be an asshole sometimes, but I would never be a snitch.”

  “But at the time, I didn’t know it,” Adam said.

  “So you helped him cover up a murder to protect me?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he said flatly.

  “You covered up a murder? Did you think that I would be okay with that?”

  “I hoped that you would never know,” he said.

  At least Adam was not the one who committed the murder. It was bad enough to have to handle the fact that he lied about it and covered up such a heinous act, but at least he hadn’t been the one to commit it. That small token was something I could be thankful for.

  But one thing was clear to me as I looked at Adam. There was no way that we could stay together after this. I would never be able to look at him the same way ever again. Greg stood a better chance with me.

  “What are you going to do?” Kirk asked. “Are you going to call the police?”

  I asked myself what I could do, and the different answers that ran through my mind weren’t the best. Turning him in seemed like the obvious choice, but I wanted time to think about what would happen if I did turn him in. If I didn’t turn him in, then I would be guilty of the same thing that I was upset with Adam for.

  Turning back to Kirk, I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to turn you in. Like you, I’m not a snitch.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “But you need to turn yourself in,” I said. “I know it sounds awful now, but Hugh was your friend. If you don’t turn yourself in, you will live with this guilt for the rest of your life. Hell, even if you turn yourself in, you will still live with the guilt, but at least you’ll know that you’re paying for what you did.”

  “I don’t know if I can do it,” he said. “Erica is pregnant, and she and the baby will need me.”

  “I talked to her earlier,” I said. “I went back to your apartment, and the two of us sat down and talked. She’s going to give the baby up for adoption. The family that she’s talking to this weekend is a really great couple who wanted children more than anything.”

  The tears started flowing down his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but his voice choked. Adam was there at his side, putting an arm around him for support. Even though he was close to me, I didn’t move. I wanted to be there for Kirk, too.

  “That’s good,” he finally managed. “As long as the baby is in a good home, that’s all that matters.”

  “I agree,” I said. “I’m sure Hugh would be happy to know that the baby will be okay. It will probably have a better home than any of us here had.”

  “What about Erica?” he asked. “She needs me, too.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on her,” I said. “I’m sure the couple that wants to adopt the baby will be more than happy to help Erica with the expenses for the baby. I can help her find work that’s more conducive to someone in her condition.”

  “You would do that?”

  “Yes. But Kirk, you have to turn yourself in. I promise that this will be for the best.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll go down to the station tonight and tell them.”

  “The road will be hard, but you’re doing the right thing.”

  He looked up and his gaze bored into my head. It was hard to read him. His emotions looked somewhere between upset and relieved.

  “Thank you, Lana,” he said.

  “You’ll get through this,” Adam said to him.

  “I should thank you, too,” Kirk said to his mentor.

  “Don’t thank me. I’m the one that told you to cover it up.”

  “I won’t turn either of you in,” Kirk said. “I won’t say anything about the Madam or that someone was there the night I murdered Hugh.”

  “Thank you,” I nodded.

  As it turned out, I didn’t need my backup after all. But it was nice to have them there knowing that I was confronting a murderer.

  By time we had said our final statements to each other, we made our way to the front of the club as a group. Kirk left first, with more promises that he was on his way to turn himself in. I had no proof that was where he intended to go, but I was sure of his sincerity.

  At some point in the locker room, Adam had dressed himself, and he was hanging back as we moved to the club exit. I was about to leave when he took my hand.

  “What?” I asked him.

  “Do you want to talk?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “What about us?”

  I had never broken up with anyone in my life. He was only the second relationship that I had ever been in, if I didn’t count Greg. I didn’t count Greg, because I refused to label our dysfunctional back and forth a relationship.

  “There is no more us,” I said. “After all this, there’s no way that we can be together.”

  “You don’t mean that. Let’s talk it out.”

  “I’m sick of talking to you about this,” I said. “You lied to me about this whole thing, and you told me repeatedly that it had nothing to do with me. But it did have something to do with me. If you couldn’t confide in me, then we’ve lost something between us.”

  “I did it to protect you.”

  “Then you should have told me. But I suspect the reason you didn’t tell me is that you were ashamed of what you had done.”

  “I’m not ashamed of helping Kirk. I would do anything for my guys.”

  “But what about Hugh?”

  “What about him?”

  “This whole time you were so worried about Kirk, but you forgot about Hugh. When you say your ‘guys’, you don’t include Hugh in that. Therein lies the difference between us. I feel the same way about my guys, but I felt that for Hugh even after his death.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “If you still cared about Hugh, then you would have wanted him to receive justice for his death.”

  “There was nothing more that I could do for Hugh.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I think you claim to care about the guys, but I wonder if you only care about them so long as they are helpful to you and your show.”

  “That’s not fair, Lana.”

  I threw up my hands. “I don’t care what’s fair any more, Adam. That’s the thing now. I don’t need a man in my life, and I certainly don’t need this. I can say whatever I want to you, and go home tonight with a clear conscious. You will have to live with what you’ve made here.”

  “You can’t just walk away from us like that. Let’s talk tomorrow after you’ve had a chance to calm down.”

  “No, there will be no more discussions. I’m going to mail you all of your stuff that is still at my house. Do not call me, text me, and certainly don’t ever come by my house.”

  “Please, Lana. Just talk to me.”

  Again, we looped around and back to the same pleading as before. It would be an endless cycle until I either accepted him back or walked away.

  So I walked away.

  Chapter Thirty

  The next day, I woke up just in time to take the kids to school, and then came back and went to sleep. Other than Pearl coming over to answer phones, I didn’t want any human contact from anyone else. I didn’t eve
n come out of my room to talk to Pearl much, and even then, it was strictly about business.

  There were so many thoughts swirling around in my mind, and I couldn’t find a way to control them. Hugh’s murder, Erica’s baby, Leighton’s cheating, and most especially, Adam’s lying. First, my husband vanished with no explanation, then Jeremy Towers had blackmailed me, and even a neighbor tried the same trick. How would I ever clean my life back up, and rid myself of all this garbage that had accumulated around me.

  Of course, I didn’t consider my guys as part of the ‘garbage’. Other than my children and Ryan, they were among the most positive people that I had ever had in my life. By ‘garbage’, I meant all of the crazy situations I had somehow gotten involved in.

  The only exception I made to my no human contact rule was a text message to Erica and another to Ryan to confirm our meeting time on Saturday. No matter how depressed I sunk, my brother’s desire to have children was important to me. If I could do something to help him out, I would certainly do so.

  I’m sure the children could tell something was wrong. What made it painfully obvious was the fact that they didn’t ask me a single question about why I looked the way that I did. I knew that my appearance left much to be desired, but I didn’t really care.

  Friday afternoon, something strange happened though. I didn’t put it together until it finally happened, but if I had been paying attention, I should have seen the clues beforehand.

  Pearl went and picked up the children for me without me even having to ask. They came home and went straight up to their rooms. I was lying in my bed, wallowing in my foul mood, when Pearl barged into my room.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Get your ass up,” she said.

  “I don’t want to,” I said. “Just leave me alone.”

  She walked over to the side of the bed and leaned down. Her face was only inches from mine. “I’m not going to ask you again, you whiny little bitch. Get out of the bed before I pull you out of it.”

  “Go away Pearl.”

  She didn’t respond with words. Instead, she reached down, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled hard. I would have fallen to the floor on my side if I hadn’t have slung my legs around to catch myself.

  “What are you doing?” I shrieked.

  She didn’t give me time to fight back. The next thing I knew, she was ripping my housecoat off me and pushing me into the shower. I was still in my bra and panties, but I’m sure she didn’t care.

  “Now wash that nasty ass,” Pearl said as she slammed the door to the shower.

  I waited a few seconds for her to leave, but she stayed right there at the door to the bathroom. Her back was to me, but I could tell by her stance that she meant business.

  Slipping my now-wet bra and panties off, I started washing myself. The shower felt good, especially washing and conditioning my hair. When I finished, she threw me a fresh towel.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “No problem, honey,” Pearl said.

  “What was that for?”

  “I just think you needed a good scrubbing. The kids and I were starting to wretch having to eat meals with you smelling like that.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  “Let’s put it this way. Mallory was going to get clothes pins to put on our noses for dinner tonight.”

  “Thank you for helping me with them.”

  “It’s nothing. You’re my best friend, and you’ve done more for me than I can ever repay.”

  Walking into my closet, I found a simple t-shirt and a pair of running shorts. I didn’t plan on going anywhere, so there was no need to dress up.

  When I went into the kitchen, Pearl had just thrown her purse over her arm, and the kids were coming down the stairs and looked like they were ready to leave.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We’re going to dinner,” Pearl said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. “I’m not dressed appropriately.”

  “You’re not going,” she said.

  “I don’t mind,” I said. “It might be good if I got out of the house.”

  But Pearl didn’t acknowledge my statement at all. Instead, she ushered the kids towards the front door.

  “We’ll be back in a few hours,” she said. “I’m thinking we may catch a movie or something after dinner.”

  “You guys have fun,” I said.

  Jake stopped in front of me and gave me a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. Mallory’s hug didn’t last near as long nor was it as enthusiastic.

  When the front door closed behind the trio, I sat down on the couch. Why had Pearl just taken the kids off as if trying to get them out of the house? Was I being that much of a downer? I could only imagine how depressed I was making the kids.

  They hadn’t been gone but five minutes when the doorbell rang. For some reason, I didn’t check the peep-hole to see who it was before answering. One would think that after all I had been through, that would become instinctual, but I think I was just too out of it.

  When I threw the door open, I was greeted with the reluctantly wonderful site of Greg. He stood there, wearing his usual jeans and v-neck t-shirt, looking as gorgeous as ever.

  “Hey, Lana,” he said.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Just came by to see you,” he said.

  “I told everyone that I didn’t want to see people right now,” I said. I’m sure the guys were worried about me after I had sent them all cryptic texts, but it was the truth.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  “Why?”

  “So we can just talk.”

  “About what?”

  “Why are you being difficult?” he asked.

  “I’m not.”

  “Do you have beer?”

  “I’m sure I do in the garage refrigerator.”

  “Can I have one?”

  “Oh my god,” I muttered as I took a step back, signaling that it was okay for him to come in the house. What the hell was he doing here? I just wanted to be alone.

  “I’ll grab us each a beer,” he said. “Want to go hang out on the patio?”

  “Whatever,” I said.

  I left him and walked through the kitchen. I heard the door to the garage open and shut before I closed the back door to the patio.

  He appeared out of the other garage door leading onto the patio just as I sat in one of the lounge chairs. He popped both beer tops off and handed me one.

  I took a long drink and let my head fall back against the chair. As much as I hated to admit it, relaxation was just what I needed.

  “So what’s going on in your head?” he asked.

  “What’s not going on in my head?” I rolled my eyes.

  “Have you talked to Adam?”

  “Nope. He’s called fourteen times, but I haven’t picked up. I delete his voicemails and text messages without reading them.

  “Well, I talked to Lucas. Kirk turned himself in, and he’s in custody right now. You did well with him.”

  How do you respond to something like that? How did I ‘do well’ when I convinced the man to turn himself in so that he could spend a lifetime in prison? Sure, I knew that it was necessary and the right thing to do, but I certainly couldn’t feel good about my part in convincing him.

  “You know that night we found out about Kirk, I immediately regretted letting Adam come home with you that night?”

  “What night?”

  “The night you first met,” Greg said. “I knew that he was a good guy, but I hated to see you moving into his arms and out of mine. I knew the moment you started to get to know him, you would fall for him. I had no idea that he was capable of covering up a murder.”

  “You had no way of knowing,” I said.

  “But you do realize that it doesn’t necessarily make him a bad guy either, right?”

  “He covered up a murder.”

  “Right,” Greg nodded. “But he wasn’t the murderer
. He made a really bad choice, but who can say how we would act in that situation.”

  “Are you trying to get me to take him back?” I asked.

  “Of course not,” Greg said. He took a drink of his beer. “That’s the last thing I want.”

  “Well, I’m not taking him back. Ever. There’s too much baggage between us, not to mention, I’ve seen how he handles conflict.”

  “No, I get it,” he said. “You don’t have to explain that to me.”

  “Why are you so concerned with me and Adam?”

  “Because I care about you Lana,” he said softly.

  “I’ve told you time and again that you and I don’t have a future together,” I said. “I can’t handle dating someone that’s an escort.”

  “But you will always be special to me.”

  “Great, but I have to move on with my life, which may or may not include dating. What about Chloe? You can’t talk this way to me when she’s in your life, too.”

  “She’s not in my life anymore,” he said.

  “What? Since when?”

  “Remember that first day I came over to comfort you? Well she wasn’t very happy about it, and we ended up getting into a huge fight. She could tell that I had feelings for you from the beginning. Then the next time you needed my help, which was the last straw for her, she made me choose.”

  “Oh no,” I said. “I’m sorry, but Greg, you know I didn’t make you choose. You could have told me.”

  “But you needed me.”

  “I had Mike, Betsy, Pearl, and I could have called any of the other guys.”

  “There’s no way I would not have been there for you. You’re too damn special to me.”

  He set his empty beer bottle down on the ground and then stood up. He went into the garage and grabbed us two more beers. I sat back in the chair, pondering what he just said. Sure, I had very strong feelings for Greg, but I was persistent that the two of us would never get serious as long as he stayed in that line of work.

  When he returned with our beer, he skipped the chair that he had been sitting in and sat down in the one right next to me. He undid the top of the beer and handed it to me. I chugged down the little I had left in the first one and then took the second one from him.