“Okay, I get that, but you haven’t answered my question. What about the taboo stuff?”
Robert sighed. “I know you think I’m a bad guy. I can see it in all of your eyes.” He scanned Peter, Jack and Janie. “I’ve been up front with you. Most of my stuff has a Latin flavor: big-assed Puerto Rican bitch—”
“We got it, Robert!” Peter cut him off.
“So, every now and then, this stuff slips through. I’m very surprised they let it get to me. It’s not my thing. Really. It must have been a mistake. Most of the ugly, highly illegal stuff goes to smaller, boutique badasses in the far and Middle East. There are no filters in those places and they like seeing Westerners abuse the kids. I think it’s a sadistic form of retribution—jihad. There is no excuse, though. Look, I have two kids. I don’t live with them anymore but would cut the balls off anyone who touched them. Just the thought of something happening to them is off limits for me. Same with snuff. Most of what I do ends up on Porn Hub, those kinds of sites. Nothing taboo.”
Jack asked, “Where does this leave us?”
Peter put his hand up. “From what I can see, we have the vestiges of a case. We’ll have to follow up with what you’ve given us.” He looked to Jack and Janie.
Robert sighed in relief. “You’ll take this on?”
Peter hesitated.
“First, I’ll call the DA and see if she’s willing to investigate the Tampa strip club. Without that, we’re stuck in the mud.”
Lopez offered, “These guys are not just in Tampa. There’s clubs right on through Tallahassee and I think New Orleans.”
“Yes. You told us that,” Peter answered. Turning to Jack and Janie, he looked both in the eyes.
Jack smiled. “I’m for it!”
Robert jumped in, “Once we get my computers back, there will be enough incriminating evidence to do these guys in for life. I’d check out Eli and all of his locations. He’s not stupid. He won’t have anything incriminating on any of the strip club computers. You will have to get to his personal stuff. I hear he spends most of his time in New Orleans.”
Janie shook her head, not willing to commit.
Peter nodded. “We’ll need another ten grand on the retainer.”
Robert looked willing and said, “Fine!”
Jack couldn’t hold back. “So, who are your friends—the ones who referred you?”
At first, Robert looked down. Smiling, he raised his eyes. “It’s not as big a deal as you might think. Ross Finklestein.”
“I don’t know that name.”
“He’s a bookie in Orlando. I know him from way back. He said you’re a solid bet. Said he was a big fan of yours when you played in Gainesville. His wife’s name is Lori. Says she was a playmate. Swingers.”
The light went on in Jack’s memory. He blushed, trying to spit out his words. “Oh. Dark days! That’s when I’d hit a real low point. Spent a weekend at their place, real swank. It’s a bit fuzzy.”
Robert Lopez smiled but would not let it go. “Says he paid you some cash to fuck his wife. Said she got off doing it with athletic celebrities. So did he, I would suspect.”
“I don’t remember anything about that!”
Lopez showed his wicked smile and stared down at Jack. “Okay, so now we’re on an equal playing field. Isn’t that right, Jackson? ’Cause that would be prostitution in my books!”
Jack sat up straight, his cheeks flushing. “What’s your fucking point?” He shook his head, trying to deny the remark. “And I told you, I don’t remember any of that.”
“My point is that if you are going to represent me, stop looking at me like I’m some low-life asshole. No one can hide every last one of their skeletons.”
Janie chuckled, still frowning. “Got you there, Jack!”
Peter stood. “I think we can see your point, Robert, and it’s well taken. Steff will see to the retainer. I’ll file with the court tomorrow to have your equipment returned. I’m sure they’ve sufficiently hacked everything and anything that’s necessary at this point. I think we should see the files in question and I’d like to get our own diagnostics performed so we can verify the timelines, etcetera.”
Robert nodded, extending his hand to the three one at a time, leaving Walker for last. Jack eyed him, still not happy with the pornographer’s accusation.
Robert held on tight and shook while trying to cajole him. “Don’t take it personally, Jackson. There are many who’d have paid good money. Consider yourself fortunate.” He leaned in to whisper, “I’m sure she was a hot fuck, being a playmate and all.”
****
Boris and Leo watched Robert Lopez leave the building wearing a satisfied expression. He unlocked and slipped into a black A6 Audi.
“Slowly, Leo. Don’t move the car until he’s well on his way down 41. We don’t want to arouse any suspicion.”
They gave Lopez the lead before following his car south toward Naples, eventually turning left on Wiggins Pass Road. Within a couple of miles, they turned into a fairly high-end subdivision. After a few zigs and zags, Lopez turned into the driveway of a nondescript but classy bungalow, fairly standard for the area.
“We watch, Leo. We watch until Eli lets us off the leash.”
****
Lopez stepped into the nearly empty house, which held only a few cheap, rudimentary pieces of furniture. His one decent possession was the forty-two-inch LCD television sitting on the floor against a blank wall. He walked into the large master bedroom, where there was a rollaway cot and a table with three laptops. He rolled his suitcase out of the closet and put it on the cot. Robert spent the next twenty minutes packing up what little clothing he had lying around. The laptops were placed into their hard-shell cases.
When his cell rang, he didn’t recognize the number but seldom did in his line of business. He answered and waited to hear a voice he recognized.
“Mr. Lopez?” asked a female with a strong Asian inflection.
“Yes.”
“Have you completed the transaction?”
“All has gone to plan.”
The woman hung up.
Robert sighed. He’d enjoyed the past two Floridian winters. Still, it was time to move on. He’d collect a sizable paycheck and wait for his next assignment.
****
Janie, Jack and Josh relaxed in the lanai behind Jack’s house. Sitting around a low wooden table, Janie tapped away at her laptop as the other two passed around the bottom end of a joint. The night was warm and lights from the surrounding homes flickered on the calm water of Estero Bay.
Jack offered a drag to Janie.
“Nope. I know you two can think when you’ve smoked that stuff, but I can’t. I’m fine with my cigs and Miller Lite.”
“You’re getting right-hooked again, Janie. That’s two in the past half hour.”
She looked at the Marlboro in her hand, then doused it in the wooden ashtray and sighed, “Yep. I know. Still love’ em, though. Wish they could come up with something that emulated smoking. I mean, I’ve tried the electronic bullshit things. It’s just not the same.”
Jack hacked away after taking a harsh hit. “You got that voice. It don’t sound good.”
“Are you kidding, Jack Walker? If I did half the shit you’ve done, I’d be dead by now. Stop being Mister Know-It-All. And really, I’ve read one hit is worse than twenty cigs.”
Jack hacked again after his last toke. “Can’t argue.”
Josh jumped back in to ask, “So you guys took on the case. What now?”
“We get warrants on all locations of the Russian guy. We fully search Eli, personally and professionally.” Jack shook his head. “We don’t just get a search warrant. We need to talk with the DA. And organize this properly. Even then, I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Lopez stated Eli spends time up in Louisiana and Mississippi. We’re crossing state lines. We need to get some solid facts before we make those kinds of accusations.”
“True,” Janie agreed. “We’re not the police
.”
Jack quizzed her. “Do you think Lopez is for real?”
“Not sure. Some aspects of his story jive while some don’t. Ultimately, we have to remember we’re his representatives. We’re supposed to be helping him.”
“True. I don’t intend to lose the case. Still, we need to know more about him before we can help him. Did you find anything on his background?”
Janie nodded. “I did some digging after we all met today. He has an address in North Naples. It’s rented and it looks like he’s been there around two years.”
“Two years, hmmm. It was also two years ago the invoicing began. You have the log?”
“Made copies. I can’t find anything else on him except for his arrest a few weeks back.”
“Who put up his bond?”
“Someone named Edward Mann, who also lives in Naples. Ten grand. I can’t find anything on him either. Lopez doesn’t appear to have kids or a wife, nothing.” Janie looked up at Jack, a grin forming. “What about that couple Lopez mentioned? Shouldn’t we check them out?”
Jack frowned. “I suppose.”
“Who are they?” Josh looked eager to know.
“I’ll let Jack explain.”
“It’s not important, Josh, but yes I’ll give them a call. Janie, can you get a number?”
“I’ll get it for you tomorrow.” Janie added, “It’s not in your Rolodex?”
Jack couldn’t find any humor in the comment. “You know what you can do, Janie?”
“Testy testy!” she whistled below her breath.
“Well, what do you expect? And who the hell uses a Rolodex anymore? Old people?”
Josh belly laughed. “You two are fucking hilarious. If you want, I can leave. It’s like you’re a couple.” He continued to kill himself laughing. “Who are these people?”
Jack stood up. “I’m not into wild cougars, thanks. It’s not fucking funny. I’ll just say . . . it wasn’t one of my finer moments.” He looked at Janie. “And don’t you say a word!” He walked into the house and slammed the door to his bedroom behind him.
Janie chuckled, “Oh, he’s got a temper!”
Josh nodded. “Pretty bad, but it takes a while for it to build. It used to be really ugly when we were kids. His mom used to lock him in his room. Maybe that’s why he ran in there like that. We won’t see him till the morning. One thing about Jack: once he’s cooled down, he’s fine.”
“So, you gonna give me a ride home?”
“Sorry, girl, not after smoking that shit.” He pointed to the small roach in the ashtray. “You can have the small bedroom. I’m fine on the couch. Prefer it, actually.”
“Well, if that’s the case, maybe I’ll have a quick puff.”
A few minutes later, she stared at Josh. “What’s your story, Josh? I mean, what happens if someone comes after Jack? That’s if we all believe in the paranormal religious crap that’s being thrown around.”
He cleared his throat and thought about her comment before he reached under his chair and pulled a large-caliber pistol out of his gym bag. “I’ll not hesitate to shoot anyone who threatens either of you. Gramps told me to shoot and ask questions later.”
“Is that wise? There needs to be some form of intent.”
“Florida law states you only need to feel threatened. You should know that, Janie. Anyway, I can always blend back into the swamp, never to be seen for years. I’m fine with that.”
After a few long minutes of silence Janie asked, “Your family reveres Jack; why is that?”
He smiled. “That’s easy. He’s our only hero. When he played for the Gators, there wasn’t one of us that missed a game. He gave us something to look up to and look forward to, being in the stands. He’s my brother. I love the guy. Someone touches him? He’s a dead man or woman.”
Janie smiled. “You think he can’t look after himself? He took on the Church of Set.”
“We all know he was shit lucky. If we hadn’t been there to help, he’d be alligator bait—long gone.” He paused to perfect his next statement. “Jack’s fragile; he bares himself to the world and expects everyone will play along nicely. He’s apathetic. He's naive. Gramps says he has a purpose. That he’s a magnet attracting bad things . . . things that need to be gotten rid of. Jack’s the bait, and we schleps clean up the mess behind him.” Josh stopped before he asked, “Why are you helping him?”
Janie had never really pondered the thought philosophically. She’d subconsciously thought her connection was purely about the money. But then why did I risk my life those years ago in the Everglades? Why am I here now? She didn’t need the job that badly. The truth was that she, too, felt drawn to the man. It wasn’t a sensual thing. Can it be a motherly thing?
She nodded. “I suppose you have something there, Josh. I’m drawn to him at a certain level. I felt really happy to see him again when Peter asked me to help with this case.” Now that Janie thought about it, she basically hadn’t left his side for nearly a week. Do I truly fear leaving him to his own devices?
The answer left the skin of her arms and scalp tingling. Yes.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SOLOMON PACKED UP HIS buggy to head out for the morning. He’d been edgy for the past few days. It had been hot. He needed to be busy, outside, not inside.
He took a deep breath. The smell of freshly-cut grass and rain permeated the air. Solomon, with great difficulty, mostly managed to behave himself. He followed his parole, not missing a call in twenty years. At some point during most weeks, he struggled. Hard to explain why. Really, he didn’t care; it didn’t matter. Yet, periodically, he wished for an explanation for why he was the way he was. His thoughts drifted back to his childhood. Funny how things could be traced back to one’s youth. Am I the bad person? Or am I the victim, and my behavior the result of a bad person’s abuse?
****
Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1960s was not an easy place to live as a young, gay Negro. Schools were still segregated and the city had yet to recover from a prolonged downturn in its fortunes. Solomon, a tall, gangly, thin teenager, stayed on the outside of things. He didn’t have many friends. His closest, a girl named Sophia, lived across the street. She was perhaps the only person who understood him, at least to a certain degree. She felt comfortable with him because he wasn’t a threat to her. In the Sixties, being gay wasn’t a subject anyone talked about openly. The same machoism running through the white community manifested in the black community.
Sophia found a strange pleasure in talking to Solomon about his sexual tendencies. One night in particular often replayed in his mind.
He and Sophia had finished school early. They were in the twelfth grade. Solomon remembered it being a cold night, and they huddled together in his family’s basement. They were poor, and the room, cold and damp, held only the basic necessities. They shared a cigarette and Sophia cuddled up to him. “You know, Solomon, you could have me if you wanted.” She put her hand on his crotch.
Solomon smiled. “That might be nice, Soph. If there was ever to be a girl in my life, it would be you, and you know it.”
Looking up at him she asked, “What is it about a man that turns you on? I could suck your cock better than any man does.” She batted his hand away and undid his jeans, pulling them down over his buttocks to expose his massive endowment in a state of semi-arousal. When Sophia gasped, Solomon tried to move away. She held him in place. “Can I touch it?”
“Hey, Soph, you know this isn’t my thing.”
“I know, but . . . I didn’t know that a . . . a—”
“Cock.”
“Yes, a cock could be this big.” She ran her finger down its length, stopping at its head, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger.
“Soph, stop it . . . really!”
“We’re just friends, Sol. Nothing more. I don’t want to change you.” She took him into her mouth, running her tongue down his shaft as far as she could.
He groaned. Her ministrations didn’t take long to ach
ieve the inevitable outcome. She looked up at him as she licked the last from his still erect manhood. “You still sure you’re into boys?”
“Listen, that can’t happen again. Honey, I cannot tell you how good that felt, but you know what the truth is. It won’t change.” He became quiet, lighting up another smoke. When he passed it to her she asked, “How did you know you didn’t like girls?”
“It’s not like that. I like girls! You’re soft and I can talk to you. I mean, you and some of the other girls at school. I’ve always known. I just have. I like it when a man’s rough with me.”
“What?” She took another drag. “I mean, rough? What do you mean, Sol?”
“Can I tell you something?”
“Course.”
“No, I mean something I’ve never told anyone.”
She nodded.
“Before my old man passed away, he used to hurt us.”
“Us?”
He sighed. “He was a drinker. He wouldn’t drink all the time, but when he did he flipped a switch. I used to hear him beating my mom. Real bad. My sister and I hid under the covers when we were little. We shared a bed in the small second bedroom.”
“Jeez.”
“When we were older, he used to come into our room and take my older sister down into the basement.”
“Where we are now?”
“Yep. She didn’t talk much after that. Soon enough, she hit the road and ran away. Momma and I haven’t seen her since. I hope she’s not dead. Then, he came for me.”
“Christ, Sol!”
“I’ve blocked most of it from my mind. Mom and I have an understanding. The day of his funeral wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant day for the two of us. Momma struggled to make ends meet, but at least it’s quiet, if you know what I mean.”
“Is that why you like boys?”
“Fuck no, girl. Don’t be pissin’ me off. I knew about that long before he came for me.”
She pulled Sol’s head to her shoulder. “You poor boy. You can be with me and I’ll look after you. You know I can. I can see it in your eyes. You’re not content here.”
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