With a Tilt of My Hat
Page 15
“Fuck you. I don’t do anything with Sal anymore! I just work and sleep and party and eat. I’m a good person,” Beth told him, near tears.
“Sorry, Beth, but you’re far from good. The three of you pick up men and women for violent sex and call it games. Rough times, ropes, toys, knifes, and abusive behaviors. I don’t think that’s being a good person.”
“How do you know, cop, you haven’t made it with us yet. Maybe you would like the roughness too,” she yelled back.
Fike sipped his coffee while he observed her outrageous behavior and noted her immaturity and lack of brain matter. “Let me put it this way, have you or Jacob ever accidentally knocked anyone out while playing your games?”
“No, we don’t get that rough. Sal, a few times, beat this guy when we were in the woods by a stream. He just went crazy for a few minutes. He kept banging the guy with a chain of split links, which scraped the guy’s chest until the guy bled. It was awful. Sal moved a few feet away from him and watched the blood ooze. It was really gross. Jacob and I were a bit scared because Sal seemed dazed, like in a druggy kind of stupor.”
“Did Sal always act that way, I mean angered and violent?” Fike asked.
“Not really. He was angry and sad most of the time, but seemed to like it when I held him close and caressed his face, like a mother might do. There was one guy in particular he wanted us to get for him, but he never had sex with him, he just watched,” Beth explained.
“Where did you find your sex partners, did you abduct them, lure them, or what? Fike asked.
“Come on man, they all wanted it from us, we didn’t abduct no one. Can I go now? I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know where Sal is, he just disappeared one day,” she said.
Fike got up from the interrogation table and left Beth with the door opened enough so she could see Jacob sitting with his father in another room.
“Hello, I’m Detective Donna Jones, one of the lead investigator’s on this case.”
“What is the deal here with my boy, Jones? I’m a criminal lawyer and I’ll be representing my son. He simply knew a guy the police stated murdered four people in another state. Is that what I’m hearing from you, Miss Jones?”
“It’s Detective Jones. You will address me as Detective, got it? So, hold off, counselor! At this point of time Jacob is not accused of a crime. He is merely here for questioning. We need his input to find his friend, Sal, who is the prime suspect linked to four murders.”
“Well, Jacob already told you everything he knows, and then you arrested him. Pretty slick right after he had been traumatized from the robbery.”
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Jones shouted, “Enter.”
An officer handed her a piece of paper. She read it to herself. A large amount of sexual paraphernalia found in Jacob’s car along with yellow rope and a jagged blade six-inch knife.
“Excuse me Jacob, what kind of activity did you say you enjoy partaking?” Jones spoke in a slow manner to increase dominance in her voice.
“I told you, man, that we only had fun sex. Everyone liked it. I never killed anyone or hurt anyone. It wasn’t about that kind of shit,” Jacob replied.
“Okay, Detective Jones, I think we’re done for today,” the lawyer responded.
“Just one more thing—please hear me out. This so-called friend of yours, Sal, is a sexual killer. He has become more aggressive with each killing. He ties the victim with yellow rope and finishes them off with long-bladed knife. Does any of that sound familiar to you Jacob?”
“Don’t answer, son.”
“Did you know we obtained a warrant to search your car, and in our search, we discovered yellow rope and a long jagged knife? I’d bet they match the tools the killer used.”
“That’s enough, Jones! Don’t start accusing my son.”
“Let him answer the questions, counselor, help us trail this sick bastard before he kills again,” Jones said.
His father pulled Jacob’s head close to his, whispered something while his hand blocked his lips so Jones could not see.
“Well,” Jacob said, “I do use those items, and when you check them you’ll discover body fluids only, no blood. My intentions are purely sexual pleasure. Some of us just need it differently. Sal liked it really rough, but honest, I never heard him talk about killing people. I never saw him torture any man or woman. From what I gathered, Sal seemed to be tortured deep within his own self,” Jacob continued with more ease. “Sal loved being in the woods and got euphoric pleasure there. He enjoyed being alone too; nature was his solace. He was my master in teaching me how to tie someone up the right way to gain the most orgasm. He used his knife to scratch them, but never cut anyone. When he did speak of normal things, he talked of camping and music. We met at the XXXLadies Club one night, down in the basement and he was so full of fire I couldn’t wait to get down on him. The second night there, Beth joined us and it sent me through the roof, ya know what I mean? From that time on, we did it in different places. We were like this grand fucking sex trio.”
“Okay, son, that’s enough. As you can hear Jacob’s actions are not criminal. We are both leaving now.”
“Not so fast, mister,” Jones ordered. “The evidence discovered in Jacob’s trunk strongly links him to these murders. Jacob will be incarcerated for twenty-four hours based on this. Officer, take Jacob and place him in a holding cell.”
Chapter 47
When I entered the club, John walked over to me excitedly shaking a piece of paper. “Do you know what this is, Steven? This paper I’m holding in my hand?”
“Don’t know John, but it must be awesome, considering your excitement.”
“Damn right, it is. This is a contract to perform in Seattle’s busiest jazz club Blue Waterfront. It’s for a one-month engagement, which begins in two weeks, for twice the money we receive here. Bo Bo and I would like to accept the offer,” John said.
Overwhelmed by the reality and speed in which all of this has taken place, I paced the floor in a circle before I asked, “What about our commitment to BYGONE ERA?”
“We’re working that out right now. I don’t want to leave BYGONE, either,” John said, “but it’s just temporary, and it’ll be great exposure for you, Steven.”
“I’d like to see Washington, again, and maybe have a luncheon with my mom. I don’t know if she’ll want to see me though. Suppose that’s my fault. I stopped sending emails to her, and as far as I know she never tried to find me. But if both of you want this deal, I am completely for it, too.”
Nostalgia hit me as I played my guitar and strummed softly, with heightened emotion about returning to Washington.
“Listen man, we’re doing this mainly for you and for our recording,” Bo Bo said. “You were aware that John doesn’t perform at other clubs regularly anymore. But he recognized the gift you have, and that’s beyond something special. You’re truly a gifted composer, and man we want to see you succeed.”
“Hey, I just want all of us to be happy. Honestly, I’m nervous, but the truth of it is, I think it would be awesome to have a gig at the Blue Waterfront. I recall my dad talking about how he frequented the great jazz club when he was in his twenties. I’ve heard the stories most of my young life. Mom and Dad went often; they even took my brother and me once. We thought it was awesome—two little kids sitting on the high barstools. I swear I still feel my dad’s love flow through me. So, yes, give me the contract. I’ll sign it. But hey, you understand why I hesitated and got emotional.”
Bo Bo hugged me, grabbed my head, ruffled my hair, and gave me the impression that I was his boy. John’s enthusiasm amazed me; he even kicked up his legs and clicked his heels together. From that moment on, the days became crazier and crazier for us. The drum beat loud and Bo Bo played a solo as we finalized the signing of our contract. John and I jumped in on rhythm. My heart melted with tremendous emotion, for I knew I now belonged and was amazed at my love for them.
A couple hours had passed when Ry
an charged through the door shouting, “What’s the answer, boys?”
“Contract’s on the table,” we yelled in unison, and continued our music session.
Ryan’s face beamed. He picked up the paper, waved bye to us; the door slammed behind him. It flew open as fast as it just shut, it hit the back wall and the crazy psychic lady with the three birds in her hat rushed in. “I wanted to welcome the band home. We missed you. I heard your music from my storefront and there was no way I could wait until Thursday night to see you all. Spirits surround all of you. Bye for now.”
The last strum hung in the air like lingering smoke. I leaned over my guitar and paused for a moment. Unimaginable sensations burned inside of me like clusters of bumblebees buzzed through my body. Funny how the circle of life really does have meaning, paths do cross over again.
I took the long route home, pondering today’s events. Billowy white clouds hung in the seldom seen blue skies of Portland, while the sun glistened above.
My life had grown in such a grand direction since I left Washington; the emotional strength I have gained surprises me every day. To have a full life, one in which I created myself through compositions of my own music and love with others, overwhelmed me.
Chapter 48
Fike and Jones pulled the car into a parking space just a few yards behind Captain Michaels’ car. “Fike, we’re all set to go, the men have been instructed with our plan. I have two plainclothes officers at the basement door, one officer at the front door, one at the back, and two outside the owner’s office door. Now Peters and I will approach the bar first, order club sodas and observe the crowd,” Michaels explained.
“Good,” replied Fike. “Jones and I will hold back in the parking lot; two officers will stand guard outside the front entrance. You alert us when you have anyone who recognizes the suspect’s photo, and then have an officer escort him outside to my car for questioning. Michaels, it’s important to tell them that we will be taking photographs of their sexual situations, if they don’t cooperate.”
“That won’t be problem for me,” Michaels joked.
The German shepherds were on the floor outside the owner’s office. They did not make a sound. Two in the morning and the place reeked of alcohol and body fluids.
“What the hell is going on in here? Is this a raid?” yelled one of the patrons when he noticed the officer at the exit door.
Peters motioned for everyone to sit and quiet down. He tried to explain that this wasn’t a raid but it could become a situation where many people could be hauled off to the station if they didn’t cooperate.
“Please, if anyone could tell me the identity of this guy in the photo I’m holding up. Here, I’ll pass a couple around. Please come forward and help us identify him. He has raped and murdered two men and two women so far. He’s been seen at this club over the past year participating in your so-called sexual games. We have confirmation from one participant. But we need more information to capture him,” Officer Pete said.
Shouts and screams from people at the back table, “Go home cops, leave the innocent alone.”
A tall guy in blue jeans and a red tank shirt approached me. “My name is Chuck. I know this bastard. I’ve been with him and it wasn’t pleasant.”
“Okay, thank you. That’s great you came forward. Would you mind going outside and speaking with our lead detective?” Michaels motioned for one of the officer to escort him out.
Chuck entered the backseat of the car, accidently scraping his head on the door rail.
“Sorry about that. I’m Detective Fike, and this is Detective Jones, we really appreciate you help in this matter.”
“Yeah, no problem, the guy’s name is Sal. The son of a bitch cut me with his knife and had me hold m-my thing…ya know, while he tied a string around my hand. The jerk said it would increase arousal. It just freaked me out.”
“Shit, that’s plain crazy, sorry about that, Chuck. If it helps you feel any better, that seemed to be his ritual and that does piece some of our story together,” Fike told him.
“It got even worse when Sal spread my legs and pulled out a damn knife. That totally scared the shit out of me. We were in one of the private rooms at the time. Things were going great until he said, ‘I’m not going to cut you, this is going to feel just like a little tickle, something pleasurable I’ve discovered.’”
“Why didn’t you kick him away and get yourself the hell out of there?” Jones asked.
“I thought it might be cool. Why would he harm me, and he hadn’t hurt me yet, so I figured I might as well see what the pleasurable thing was. I was turned on, and also somewhat afraid, but that’s what this place is about, being uninhibited. Might sound sick and immoral, and you probably don’t believe me, but most of us are in love with our spouses. We don’t want to make them indulge in these weird acts of sex.”
Fike sighed and interrupted Chuck, “Alright man, that’s enough, I think I’m beginning to understand some of this shit.”
Chuck added, “I like it rough, to have ecstasy, and with a man or a lady prostitute I can achieve that. It’s all about selfishness and pleasing ourselves.”
Jones purposely coughed. “Pretty sick if you ask me.” She glared at him.
“Does that mean rough to the point of killing someone?” Fike asked, now pissed with the whole conversation.
“No never!” Chuck shouted. “Anyway, let me tell you everything. Sal lightly scraped my inner thighs with his knife, leaving scratch marks. He was so absorbed in his actions I thought he forgot about me. That’s when I told him it felt real good. I guess when I spoke, it startled him back to reality because he jolted and cut my fucking thing. Doc Wallace was sent in gave me medical attention. Sal ran out and I never saw him again until tonight in that photograph.”
“Wow, Chuck, you guys really do play at your own risk. Thanks for the information; you’ve been very helpful to our case. You can go back in or go home, or whatever,” Fike said, disgusted. “Remind me, Jones, to call Myrna in the morning and have her recheck the victim’s legs for scratches.”
“This case just keeps getting more and more disturbing. It seems to be way out of my league,” Jones told him.
Suddenly Michaels appeared in the parking lot with the owner Jim, who yelled at their car when he approached. “Come on, Fike, get your men out of my club. There’s nothing here for you, I’m trying to run a business.”
“Shut up,” Michaels told him, then yanked Jim’s arm up behind his back.
“Ah Jim, it’s so nice to see you again.” Jones smirked. “I understand you have your own medical doctor on the premises. Sounds like a pretty violent place you have here. I might have to shut it down for a while. Investigate things more. You know, Jim?”
Jim lifted his eyes to her. “It’s a clean joint; doctors like to party, too.”
Fike informed him about Chuck and Sal, and then told Jim he better start leveling.
Just when Jim was about to say something, two officers walked out with four other men. “Ahh, look what we have here, more of your clean partiers. It appears they have information for us. Excuse me, Jim,” Fike said sarcastically, and then moved back into the car.
Two in the morning quickly turned to four in the morning. Jones had documented their last witness statement. She was mortified at the behavior of these men and their lack of strength for not beating the shit out of Sal.
“Captain Michaels, I was wondering about something… How the hell did our officers persuade those four men to talk?” Jones asked.
“Funny how that happened,” Michaels answered. “Pete pointed his camera at these guys, which really pissed them off. The situation became worse when he went downstairs. He told everyone there that he was doing a documentary on different ways of sexually pleasing another and the underlying problems of married men. Then he got real close and personal with the zoom lens and talked about Sal, and the rapes and murders that were happening in two states.”
“I can see that doing the t
rick,” Jones said.
“You know it. And then everyone quieted down,” Michaels continued. “They started putting their clothes on, and begged officer Phillips to delete all the pictures. I told them if they were willing to divulge information to our detectives then perhaps we’d see about deleting the photographs.”
“Impressive work,” Fike said.
On their conclusion thus far, Sal ended his relationship with Jacob and Beth when he needed to take his desires a step further; he delved deeper into his psychotic mind. Perhaps one of the men turned him down or maybe threatened to expose him to the club owner, and that’s what sparked his first kill.
Chapter 49
What a great morning Kari and I had planned. First, we, along with two other couples on the pier, rented a sailboat. The skipper said he usually liked to board with six passengers, however it was a light day; not too many people were out. We were happy to have the extra space on board, as the other the couple, Jan and Matt, appeared to be, too. Jan told us they married six months ago and tried to keep freshness alive in their relationship by experiencing new adventures. From the way they spoke of their past outings, it sounded like never-ending fun and they seemed to be very much in love.
When I came back from the ocean in San Francisco, I discovered myself yearning to be on the water again. The motion of the sailboat rocked my muscles; my body felt so serene. We nestled together on the long seat pads, Kari’s body rested fully on my chest, we soon were encompassed by only water, as we drifted out and lost sight of the city.
The skipper bellowed to us in his deep throaty voice, just like an old sea captain would from a classic movie, “Dolphins, three of them arching upward!”