The Silver Lake Murder

by Gregg Matthews

  Simultaneously dismounting from his motorcycle and taking his black, half-shell motorcycle helmet, with a sticker on the back reading, Massachusetts Helmet Laws Suck, off his head. He removed the clear glasses he wore at night and put them and the helmet into one of the hard case saddlebags straddling the back of his motorcycle. He took a minute to gather himself and looked around the parking lot. His body was thick with muscle mass from years of working out at the gym. The tattoos covering his body and pale white, Irish skin seemed to make him glow in the dark. She saw Shawn looking up at her, which made her nervous.

  From the porch, she saw Shawn was wearing black leather riding boots, jeans with a wide black leather belt, a black leather vest, and no T-shirt because of the hot, humid summer night. The black leather vest was covered with green and white embroidered patches. Across the shoulders on the back of the black leather vest, the letters spelled out Southie Saints. In the middle of the vest in the back, there is a patch with a four-leaf

  clover. To the right of the clover, the two letters, MC. Down the bottom of the black leather vest, the letters spelled out, Massachusetts. A 1% patch was on the front right chest of the black leather vest. SSFL, Southie Saints for life, was also a mandatory patch for gang members and goes on the front left chest. The Captain patch is on the front left side.

  Taking the piece of paper out of her pocket again, she read the four names, Shawn, Pierre, Caleb, and Dylan. Continuing to watch from the porch, she saw, and heard three more motorcycles, coming from different directions one at a time. The motorcycles pulled in behind the building. Pierre, Caleb, and Dylan all dismounted from their motorcycles. The bikers knew there was a truce in place between the motorcycle gangs for that night's meeting.

  Cindy watched Luke greet the four leaders of the largest motorcycle gangs in Massachusetts. Luke shook hands and exchanged a few words with the men, one at a time. The four men did not acknowledge each other; they waited their turn to be greeted by Luke. She watched the five men walk towards the back entrance in the alley of the Lakeview Lounge. She heard the echoing footsteps and voices of the four bikers. Luke also stepped inside the Lakeview Lounge.

  The bikers and Luke walked up the stairs to The Devil’s Den. Her heart was racing, and she began to sweat, wondering if she was doing the right thing. She knew it was too late. She could not leave now. The echoing sounds were getting louder with every step they took. She nervously gathered herself, Megan, Shannon, and Tracy to stand at the front door of The Devil’s Den to greet the guests. From inside The Devil’s Den, Cindy looked at me, took a deep breath and opened the door. She saw Shawn, Pierre, Caleb, and Dylan standing there. Luke was behind them; everyone was taller than Luke. The four men faced Cindy, Tracy, Shannon, and Megan. Cindy saw the look in the men’s eyes brighten as they took in the view of what was standing in front of them. The girls greeted the men.

  “Hey guys, come on in,” Cindy said.

  “Well, alright,” Pierre howls in a dry voice.

  She and the other girls stepped back awkwardly as the men walk through the crowded doorway one at a time. Pierre quickly stepped in first. The men looked the women up and down hungrily. Each man reached his hand out to the woman he liked.

  Cindy was wearing light tan, work boots, tight-fitting jeans with a two-inch wide black leather belt, and a thin white Lakeview Lounge T-shirt. In the front of the T-shirt’s right corner, where a player would wear the captain’s logo, there was a crude outline drawing of a Jackal. The T-shirt revealed the blue bra she was wearing underneath. She could see Pierre looking her up and down. Her blond hair and attractive features drew him into her. She braced herself for the impact as he closed the gap quickly. Pierre leaned into her and breathed in her scent. She was young; Pierre was older, taller, leaner, stronger, and overpowered her. She knew right away she was in trouble. Cindy was roughly grabbed around her arm by Pierre, forcing her to follow him awkwardly.

  Seeing the bloodshot eyes of Pierre coupled with his coffee, cigarette-stained, and crooked teeth scared her immediately. His face was weathered from the sun and long road trips on the motorcycle. His skin was the texture of leather. His hair was long, black, with gray curls going down his back. She could smell his breath was sour. She breathed in his body odor and noticed it was at an emergency level. She thought he was used to the smell, and no one had the balls to tell him he smelled. She thought Pierre had not showered in weeks. Pierre’s T-shirt was black, ripped, and dirty. His jeans were ripped, torn, and tattered. His motorcycle boots have seen years of riding. Manners and etiquette are void from Pierre. Her beautiful face cringed more intensely as he moved in closer to her. Her body language was trying to push Pierre away from her.

  Cindy looked over at me as I took in the scene. Pierre didn’t care what Cindy wanted. She watched the other women pairing off with the other men walking through the front door. Tracy went with Shawn. Shannon went with Caleb. Megan went with Dylan. Those three groups looked happy to be with each other.

  Walking with Pierre over to one of the side rooms, she was pushed down onto a couch; she quickly stood up. She wondered how she was going to survive Pierre. He kissed her, and she turned her head away. He ran his hands down the front of her body. He moved his hands around the back of her body, feeling every inch of her lower half. He moved his hands to the top half of her body again. She noticed the lights in The Devil's Den were flashing on and off. He took a break from groping her. She was relieved.

  “Can I have your attention, please? The meeting is about to start,” Luke shouted across The Devil’s Den.

  Cindy watched as Luke gathered Pierre, Shawn, Caleb, and Dylan. And Tracy, Shannon, Megan from the side rooms. They all walk to the center of the room where Luke was standing. The four men sat down on the circle of couches in the center of the room. Luke motioned for the four women to stand behind the men and the couches.

  “Please feel free to sample my Jackal cocaine,” Luke said, pointing to the coffee table with small mounds of cocaine, mirrors, straws, and razors on it.

  The four men leaned over in concert and took a long, slow snort of the Jackal cocaine. The four men sat back on the couch. Cindy looked up and saw Pierre pointing to her with a wide smile. The smile was showing his brown-stained teeth. She stepped up and over the side of the couch, picked up a straw, leaned into the cocaine, and also took a long, slow snort. The other three women followed Cindy’s lead and did the same thing hurriedly. Cindy noticed a razor blade used to chop the cocaine up was on the table; she slid the razor into her right back pocket. The razor will be used in case of an emergency; the way tonight is going; an emergency is imminent.

  “Pierre, please feel free to sample my Jackal Methamphetamine,” Luke said, pointing to the coffee table with a pile of Jackal Methamphetamine on it.

  Pierre took a long, slow snort of the Jackal Methamphetamine. He sat back on the couch. She saw Pierre’s eyes rolling around in the back of his head. He was pointing to her with a dangerous smile. She shook her head no. The smile on Pierre’s face quickly turned into a frown.

  Cindy, Tracy, Shannon, and Megan watched as Luke and the four bikers made arrangements for the amount of Jackal cocaine, they were purchasing that night. In total, they all had at least one kilo of cocaine. Some of the bikers had two kilos, and Pierre purchased three kilos of cocaine and a large amount of the Jackal Methamphetamine. Some of the bikers also purchased cases of Jackal Moonshine, Beer, and Marijuana to be delivered to them by the Lakeview Lounge delivery trucks later in the week. Luke wrote the orders down sloppily on a piece of paper. Cindy watched Luke and realized the disorganization of the orders was Luke’s fault. That’s why she had to do the inventories now.

  Cindy, Tracy, Shannon, and Megan stood in a line in front of the men. Luke stood behind them and raised a hand over Cindy’s head. Pierre raised his hand first. Luke leans into Cindy.

  “Cindy, I will take two hundred fifty dollars off of your tab if you go with Pierre and treat him good,” Luke whispers into Cindy’s
ear.

  “No way, Luke,” Cindy said.

  “Cindy, I will take five hundred dollars off of your tab if you go with Pierre.”

  “No, Luke!”

  “I will take one thousand dollars off your tab if you go with Pierre.”

  “One thousand dollars?”

  “Yes, one thousand dollars.”

  “OK, Luke,” Cindy says, knowing she is putting herself at risk, but also knowing she needed to pay her tab down to be out from under Luke for good.

  She knew Pierre was a bad guy and was also out of his mind right now. But the thought of wiping one thousand dollars off her tab was too good to pass up.

  She watched as the deals for Tracy, Shannon, and Megan were made. They will all reduce the amount of money they owe to Luke by a substantial amount tonight. Cindy and the other girls know, if not for this opportunity tonight, it would take them months, if not years, to pay off the money they owe Luke.

  She saw the wild look in Pierre’s eyes and knew she was in trouble. The internal storm from the concoction of cocaine, meth, and alcohol put Pierre in a violent mood. Her arm was quickly grabbed, and her body followed in the direction of the strength. He continues pulling her by the arm towards one of the side rooms. She tried to fight off the contact from him, but she was losing the battle quickly. She started to squirm.

  “Stop fighting. I paid good money for you,” Pierre said angrily.

  “Let me go, Pierre,” Cindy cries out.

  Receiving the strength, anger, and rage from the fist of Pierre. Her body contorted and moved backward as far away from his fist as she could. Her head and neck snapped back from the punch, causing her body to whiplash. Her right eye quickly swelled and showed the damage from the punch. She fell backward; the back of her head met the floor.

  Cindy never realized a man would punch a woman like he did. She understood she was in way over her head and wanted out of the deal she made with Luke. But she knew it was too late. She felt him picking her up off the floor and putting her on the couch. Her right hand went to the right back pocket of her jeans. But her arm was stuck under the weight of her body. She wiggled her fingers, trying to get at the razor in her right back pocket.

  Pierre stood over her and slapped her in the face, shouting at her. She was disoriented and not sure what was going on. The punch to her face has put her in a state of confusion. She reached up with her left hand and scratched him across his face. A couple of deep, desperate scratches were seeping blood across his face. He let out a painful moan. He backed off a little, trying to recover from the scratches. She managed to get her right arm out from under her body. She quickly retrieved the razor from her right back pocket.

  She swung her right hand with the razor in it and slashed Pierre across his right arm. He cried out in pain. She agreed to this deal but did not agree to let him beat her to death. She was ready to run. She tried to run out of the side room, but with his left arm, he stopped her. She tried again, and this time she slipped past him and ran for the door. As she ran across the room, she saw me, Tracy, Shannon, and Megan, all looking at her in horror. Shawn, Caleb, and Dylan all looked shocked at the sight of Cindy.

  “Pierre, what the hell is going on?” Luke said.

  “Stop her,” Pierre groans in pain.

  Cindy was out of The Devil’s Den, running down the stairs across the empty barroom floor towards the front door of the Lakeview Lounge. She remembers all the patrons of the Lakeview Lounge were at the fireworks display down by the water’s edge.

  The small fire Billy and Lester built smolders. Kelly explains, this is as far as she can go. She doesn’t have any more detail for them.

  “Cindy was out the door so fast no one knew what was going on,” Kelly says.

  “Right,” Blake says.

  “Luke and Pierre were in the Lakeview Lounge pickup truck chasing after her. They were close, right behind her.”

  “I understand,” Blake says with the thought of Luke and Pierre hitting and chasing Cindy makes his eyes roll back into his head like a shark. His temper flares.

  “The person who can finish the story of what happened to Cindy is Pete.”

  Kelly explains Pete is Cindy Flynn’s neighbor. Pete is an older construction worker with gray hair and a gray beard. He drives an old beat-up brown pickup truck.

  “Pete is a regular at the Worthen House Cafe in Lowell, MA,” Kelly says.

  “Right, I know the place,” Blake says.

  “I brought you to July 4th at midnight Blake, that’s all I know,” Kelly says through tears.

  “It's okay, thanks for everything,” Blake says, giving Kelly a strong hug.

  Blake looks out over the lake water and sees the sun has begun to rise. Looking at his smartphone, he can see it is 6:00 a.m. The water is smooth and calm. The long night on Little Rock Island with Kelly telling him, Billy, and Lester the true story of what happened to their friend and sister Cindy Flynn was long and emotionally draining for allof them. Hearing the details of what happened was painful but necessary.

  CHAPTER 13

  Hearing the rest of the story from the one person who was there when Cindy’s life was taken will help bring closure to Cindy’s death. Finding Pete is Blake's next task.

  Being closer to identifying and confirming Luke was responsible for the murder of Cindy Flynn reassures him he is moving in the right direction. He now knows what he, Billy, and Lester have to do.

  Luke has a stranglehold on the people, the drugs, and money in Silver Lake. Most of the waitresses who live in Silver Lake are lucky to have their job waitressing at the Lakeview Lounge. There are not many other opportunities to make decent money anywhere in the area. But the debt the waitresses accrue from the drugs and alcohol they consume null and voids making good money to begin with. It doesn’t make sense.

  He swears to himself he is going to change things for the better for the people who live here in Silver Lake.

  “We need to fix this, Billy.”

  “I know Blake,” Billy says to the ground.

  “Are you in, Lester?”

  “I am all in Blake. Tell me what you need me to do.”

  “One minute.”

  Walking away from Billy, and Lester, up to Kelly. She is staring out at the lake water, he puts his arm around her, startling her a little.

  “You okay, Kelly?”

  “Yes, I’m okay, Blake.”

  “I know telling the story of what happened to Cindy was not easy. But it was necessary, right?”

  “Right, Blake.”

  “I am going to take care of things now. I need to deliver some Silver Lake justice,” Blake says with a sly smile.

  “I hope you do,” Kelly says.

  Blake pour’s the water from the cooler onto the fire from last night. The black, sooty smoke rises up to the sky. Looking around, he sees one other small rowboat in the cove. It must be Kelly’s. There are no other small rowboats around the island. The locals from last night are gone. He is sure everyone from last night knows Kelly has told them what happened to Cindy.

  “Be careful, Blake. Luke is dangerous.”

  “Thanks, Kelly, you did the right thing by telling us what happened.”

  “Thanks, Blake.”

  “What are you going to do now, Kelly?”

  “Don’t worry about me. I have been saving my money and have a place up north, far away from here.”

  “Great, Kelly, all the best.”

  Kelly needs to move away from Silver Lake for good. Helping Kelly get into her small wooden rowboat. He gives her boat a good shove, sending her away from Little Rock Island back to the shore. He waves to Kelly as she begins to dip the oars into the water for her journey back home. Kelly slowly fades from his view.

  The three men get into their rowboat and start their journey back to shore with Blake rowing again. After twenty minutes his arms and back are tired from rowing, he takes a break. The boat glides smoothly across the top of the water. The boat is in the deepest part of the
lake. He, Billy, and Lester all look over the side of the boat and can see the water is clean and clear. The fish below the surface are swimming and jumping at the insects on top of the water.

  “Look, a turtle,” Billy says.

  “There he is,” Lester says, pointing at the turtle.

  Stretching his back, Blake leans over the boat and looks at the water. Looking at the water, the fish, turtle’s, and wildlife. He can hear the fish splashing in the water. A turtle occasionally rises to the top of the water, making a splash before diving back down for food. There are crickets chirping and birds singing. He is taking in the sounds from the lake they all make first thing in the morning. The sun is rising off in the distance. How can such a beautiful place be so messed up?

  Refocusing on rowing, he rows all the way back to land. The small wooden rowboat is tied off to the old wooden dock. The three of them step out of the boat one at a time. Walking back to the tattoo shop, none of them are ready to start their day. Opening the front door of the tattoo shop, he flips the Closed sign to Open. He turns to Lester.

  “I will go talk to Pete tomorrow night,” Blake says, staring Lester in the eyes.

  “Okay, Blake,” Lester says, walking down Shady Lane towards the barn.

  “Billy, get in here. We have a lot of work to do today.”

  “Okay, Blake.”

  The morning goes by fast. There is a small cloud of people in front of the shop. They have all called ahead and made appointments, he needs to stay focused and get through them today. He needs to do a quality job on each customer. He needs to grow his customer base here in Silver Lake if he wants to stay in business. Looking back, he sees Billy in the back of the shop, continuing to paint the walls and ceiling. Blake works on the customers one at a time. With the cash flow improving and the shop up and running, he thinks about calling in another tattoo artist. The buzzing sound of the tattoo needle stops. Wiping the blood and ink off the shoulder of the young woman he is tattooing.