He nodded and left them alone.
Mercedes turned to Ralph. “You seem very distant today. Is it because of our discussion about what you did at my apartment?”
“You made it clear I was out of line. I’m giving you the space you want.”
“Thank you.” She wanted to say more to him, but hesitated.
“Are you worried that I didn’t notice how beautiful you look and also how sexy you look in that damp outfit. And, if I might ask…why a black bra?”
“There’s my Ralph.” She thought about those words for a moment too long. “Max thought wearing an outfit to get the authorities’ interest would be in our best interest. It worked. The captain was about to cop a feel if we spent any additional time together. In fact, he suggested he come to my hotel to work on the case some more. I know what he had in mind.”
“Your Ralph, huh?”
“That was a bad choice of words. I wasn’t used to your not paying attention to me.”
“So, are you saying you like my attention?”
“Let’s just say I am used to it.”
He turned in the seat to face her. “Do you know how hard it is to work close to a beautiful woman like you? You move in a certain way, and it takes my breath away.”
“I think we better stop this discussion right now.”
“No, you brought this up, and you have to know my side of the story. It was all I could do not to make love to you the night you had too much to drink and didn’t remember what had happened. The next morning your expression was priceless when you thought we had indeed shared each other. But, we didn’t. Mercy, its hard working with you, but it would be worse if we weren’t together.”
“Thank you for respecting me that night.”
“Now you know why I sabotaged your apartment. I had hoped it would open the door for us, but I’m sorry. It was stupid of me. I also never thanked you for not filing paperwork of my harassment…so thank you again.”
“Wow. I didn’t expect all of that. I can tell how much you like me. I think you’re an excellent agent and I enjoy working with you. I’ll try to make it easier on you to work with me.” She pulled at the front of her shirt, and buttoned the second button.
“Mercy, we’re still trying to do our investigation here.” He reached over and undid her shirt button. “Like I said its hard working with you, but you’re right about how we need to get information from these locals. Leave the buttons the way they need to be, and I’ll just try not to get hard…I mean, deal with it.”
“I guess now we understand each other, and it’s nice to know how you feel. However, my heart is with Scott.” She smiled and closed her fist over her heart. She watched his eyes and his expression and knew what he was thinking without him saying it. She pushed him. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
It was plain as the nose on her face that when they approached their driver he had only seen her walking his way. I guess the outfit will do the trick.
*.*.*
“Miss, it is not good you go into cantina. Mr. Ralph and I go, and you stay in car,” the police driver advised.
Mercedes studied the man, and knew he was just trying to be helpful and to protect her. He was dressed in civilian clothes to hide his identity. However, anyone looking at Ralph or her would know they were not from this country. Especially, since Jose was their interpreter.
“That’s okay. I appreciate your advice, but I have to participate.”
“Mercedes, maybe he is making a good point. If we find someone who wants to share information with us, then we can get you…to keep his interest.”
“No. I don’t think that makes any sense. I’ll go with you.”
“Then we’re not going to go in there. Jose has told me privately that several women have gone missing in these three joints. They have never been seen again. Why don’t we do this? I’ll go in with Jose and if things look promising, I will come get you to join us. I promise.”
“Okay, but you promised.” She said the words, but she didn’t feel comfortable about saying them. She grabbed the keys to the car and headed back.
It was an hour later when Ralph and Jose returned to the car. The broken glass next to the car immediately gave Ralph a feeling that something terrible had happened.
They both ran to the car and found it empty and Mercedes gone. There was no sign of any struggle, but obviously she hadn’t left on her own.
Chapter 27
It wasn’t a cold night, but a chill went up my spine. I checked the car mirrors to make sure I wasn’t in danger. There was nothing, but I still had the strange feeling.
Despite my concern about Ralph, I couldn’t help thinking about Mercedes doing a murder investigation in a dangerous place. I hope he’s keeping an eye on her, but not too close an eye.
Mercedes would make a perfect target for a slave trade scenario. She would command a very high price and given the fact she might have had only one lover, she would be the cream of the crop. Why the hell am I even considering this scenario? If something awful were to happen to her I would never get over it. Do your job Ralph, and just your job. Have I been her only lover?
I know I had to get used to her being in dangerous investigations…that’s her job and she’s good at it. If we got married would she continue working for the FBI? Would she alter her assignments if we had children? Would we even have children?
I thought of our conversation about my seeing Maggie dance, and what she might have thought happened between us. She did hang up on me. Maybe that would give her an excuse to be with Ralph. No, she would be mad at him too. What if they separated and did their own investigations. As much as I didn’t like the thoughts of them working closely together, I didn’t like the thoughts of her doing her own investigation.
Speaking of investigations…what the hell am I doing?
The bright headlights shining on my rearview mirror and racing up behind my parked car made me wonder if this was the blackmailer. The car stopped right behind my car and the blue lights lit up the neighborhood.
*.*.*
They didn’t buy my story that I pulled over to rest for a minute. I should have thought about my answer before I said I just pulled over. Someone in the neighborhood spotted my white convertible and my checking out the care facility. I just hoped nobody at the care facility noticed the police action.
In a way, I was glad the Belmont neighborhood is where my car was left. If it was Roxbury who knows what would be left of it. I had never been in a police station before, so I was very uncomfortable. The metal chair in the small office was uncomfortable, and nobody has come in to talk with me for over an hour.
I gave them my license and registration, which they have not yet returned. My trump card was Mike Miller. I heard a key in the lock and turned to see a familiar face. It was one of the detectives on the task force.
“Well, Scott, what a surprise to have you in our precinct. What the fuck were you doing?” He threw the door shut and took a seat in the swivel chair.
“Hi Paul. I didn’t expect to see you.” Paul was our receptionist’s boyfriend, Paul Brosque.
“You stole my line. Scott, you have to level with me. You were seen parked for almost two hours and at one point you were spotted in the parking lot of the…Lighthouse Manor. There have been some burglaries in that neighborhood and you are the first candidate we’ve seen. I know you’re not up to something bad, what’s going on?”
I was happy it was Paul. “I really can’t say.”
He smiled at my answer. “Okay, you give me no choice. I guess we’re going to keep you for a lineup in the morning. We have a few witnesses to one of the break-ins and we’ll get them down here to see if they can pick you out.” He let that scenario sink in.
“Can I call Mike Miller?”
“Sure. Come on Scott, you can tell me what’s going on. I know you’re not a second-story man. Talk to me. Besides, Colleen will kill me if she knows I hassled you. It’s a good thing I overheard your name and to
ld the Captain I knew you and could vouch for you. I’m out on a limb here and you have to help me.”
“I can’t really say…that’s why I would like to talk with Mike.”
“Scott, let’s play twenty questions.”
I remember my ride up to Waterville with Lisa. That’s the last time I played twenty questions and what followed that game was a lot of fun. “Okay, but can I ask that what I’m going to tell you be kept a secret?”
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best. Are you doing an investigation?” I immediately reacted to his question. “Okay, so now that we have determined that, what does it involve?”
“I’m always impressed with how you detectives quickly put pieces together.” He smiled at my comment. “Mike knows I’m doing an investigation. Someone I know is being extorted. That person wants me to find out who is doing it.”
“Extortion is a serious felony. Maybe we need to know more about this.”
“Paul, if this gets out…well it needs to be kept under wraps. Can you help me out here, please?”
“Scott, your butt was saved twice already. Haven’t you learned to focus on other things? Why do you keep getting yourself involved where you don’t belong?” He closed the folder on the desk. “Do you have Mike’s number?”
“Do you want it?”
“Give me the number and maybe Mike can help me where you can’t.”
*.*.*
An hour later Paul came back into the room. “Okay Mr. Tucker,” he said with a wink. “You’re free to go. My Captain knows Mike very well, and I shared with him that you were doing some undercover work for Mike.”
I wondered what Mike had shared with him, but I was happy I could leave.
“A piece of personal advice to you. I would let Mike take over this investigation. It sounds like this could be life threatening, and unless you’re a cat with nine lives, I would keep your distance.”
“Thanks Paul. I appreciate the input.” I stood to leave. “Can I get a ride to my car?”
“What car?”
*.*.*
It took Paul a few phone calls, but they located my car. I hadn’t realized I parked it in a no parking after 10 PM zone and found out the car was towed.
Since Belmont contracts with private towing companies, there’s an incentive for the towing companies to actively seek violators. Once they find them, they call the police and they issue a ticket and away the vehicle goes. Everyone wins, except the car owner.
It was midnight and I was tired, but glad I wasn’t being held any longer, and found my car.
It cost me $75 for the tow, and the cost of the ticket another $40. I was lucky someone was at the impound lot to take my money, or I would have had to wait until 7 the next morning.
I was just leaving when I spotted Mike’s car pulling into the entry area.
Chapter 28
She had no way to protect herself. When the men with hoods over their heads smashed the car window, they quickly dragged her out, covered her head with a hood, put her hands behind her back and cuffed her.
She was going to scream for help, but realized there was a gun being held against the back of her head. She was dragged a short distance and then thrown in the back of a van. Several men climbed in with her and slammed the van doors. They were talking in Spanish, laughing and pulling at her clothes. She heard her shirt rip as it was pulled off her. Then she felt someone grab her bra straps and she kicked out.
Someone up front yelled something to the men and then yelled again. Slowly the person removed his hands from her bra straps but she was being fondled. The same voice yelled out again, and the man next to her let her go. He said something in her ear, and although she didn’t understand what he said, knew it couldn’t be good.
Mercedes felt the cool air on her almost naked chest and realized the cool air was also on her thighs. There was no way she could pull her skirt down and just kept her legs tightly closed. She now knew what Scott must have felt like being held a prisoner by her sister. She wondered if she would ever see Scott again.
She could tell by the whispers the men were enjoying her condition. Periodically, one would whisper something and the others would laugh. She felt a hand slide up the inside of her thigh and a finger slide into the top of her bra cup. She knew it was dark in the back of the van and the men were being careful not to be discovered.
She was about to scream at what was happening, but felt the gun barrel press against her head again. If this was bad, she knew it would only get worse. If these were the same men who killed one woman being held, they had nothing to lose.
She was not going to let them know she was crying. Strange she thought to herself, all my adult life my features were an asset…now, it is obvious they are a liability. There were only two ways she would get out of this alive. The police would find a way to rescue her, or Ralph might.
She felt the hand grab the crotch of her panties and heard the sound as they ripped away. The next thing she felt was the back of a knife sliding between her breasts and then lift off her to cut her bra off. The cool air against her body told her they could now see what only Scott ever saw.
For some strange reason she was thinking of Scott going to see Maggie perform. Her mind was reeling, she remembered putting the small towel on in the cabin, which she removed to give Scott his unwrapped Christmas present.
She was trying to ignore what they were doing, but she was sobbing now. Then the vehicle came to a sudden stop, and the luxury of hands no longer touching her body. The metal click of the doors opening signaled the men to drag her from the van. She felt the only thing still covering her nakedness, what was left of her skirt, and her bra hanging in two pieces from her shoulders.
The rough wood hurt her bare feet. Despite all of the confusing banter, she heard the waves hitting the shore and then the heavy metal door clunk open, and smelled the moisture laden air. She was being taken to a building on the waterfront.
“Help me,” she screamed. For a brief instant she felt something hit the back of her head, then sharp pain, and then a sense she was falling.
Chapter 29
“Mike, I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said.
“I could say that about you too, Scott. Are you going to give this charade up now?”
“Thanks for helping get me out.”
“You, my man, are very lucky that Paul was there. You could have been locked up for quite a while.”
“You’re right, but can we get out of here now?”
“Let’s go get a coffee and talk about some things.”
I could tell it wasn’t a suggestion.
We were on our second refill when Mike finally brought up what I was doing tonight. “Scott, what the hell were you doing?”
I took a deep breath before answering. “I wanted to see if I could get a look at the care facility and the people who worked there.”
“Okay, so what did you discover?”
“Actually, not much.” Then I remembered the license plate numbers. “I did write down two plate numbers.” I reached for the paper and handed it to Mike. “One of these was a Cadillac and the other for a Pontiac.”
“I see that. What do you want with these plate numbers?”
“Well, do you think you can run a plate search and find out who owns these vehicles?”
“I could, but why? What is going on?”
“One of these cars might be the guy who is blackmailing Stephen.”
Mike looked at the numbers. “Okay Scott. I think it’s now time for us to help you with this case…in fact, I think it is time we took over this case.”
I started to open my mouth.
“Scott, you’re not trained to do this shit. You’re going to get in trouble, if not killed.”
I thought about what he said, and part of me wanted to give up this investigation. However, it wouldn’t be fair to Stephen to drop it, and certainly not acceptable to turn it over to Mike. “How about I keep you informed about what I’m doi
ng?”
“Scott, this whole thing is getting out of control. You have no idea what you might be getting into. Okay, let’s say you continue with this…what is your next step?”
“Does that mean you will run the plates for me?”
“Regardless of who is doing the investigation, the plates are a good starting point. So, yes, I will run the plate numbers for you. What are you going to do next?”
“Well, the next money pickup is scheduled for tonight. I plan on being there.”
Chapter 30
He stood at the entry to the room which was a hotbed of passion just a few hours ago. He wanted Alexis to be with him for the entire holiday weekend. However, she was complaining of cramps from her period.
All he had now were the memories and the Polaroid pictures. The pictures she took of him were missing. She took them with her. He really didn’t want to see them, especially the last two shots she took.
He went through the pictures he had taken of her. She was an incredible sight. Even though the pictures were black and white, the contrast of her white body against the black sheets immediately caused his body to react. He could tell his breathing was rushed and he adjusted himself. The absence of pubic hair brought the memory of her shaving him, and his fear she could do so much more damage.
The ropes were calling to him. A few minutes later he was naked on the bed. His ankles were tied by the ropes and one wrist was. He had one free hand and was studying each photo. He recalled being totally tied up and Alexis in control.
The welts were just faint red marks now, but he remembered each strike. It was painful then, but grand now. The interesting thing was the look in her eyes when she was delivering the blows. She got very much into it, and at one point he feared she would cause some permanent damage to his special parts.
Her twin sister had kidnapped men, tortured them and killed some of them. Even though he knew Alexis for all these years, was she capable of doing those things?
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