“You did really well on your last test, Lena,” Delia said during the next lunch period they shared together.
“Thanks.” Lena stared at her thumbs and wouldn’t make eye contact with Delia. “I guess the extra help you’ve given me has really … um … helped.”
Delia wished that were true, but they had only met twice. There was no way she had given Lena enough help to raise her grades so drastically.
“And, um, C.J. has been helping me,” Lena added.
“C.J., huh?”
Delia wasn’t buying this explanation either. She decided to do a little more investigation. She went to the registrar’s office and pulled his file, looking for some sort of pattern for excellence in math. There wasn’t any. He was a consistent D student across the board. But, somehow, he had gotten accepted to private school after private school.
Next, she went to the admissions office and spoke with Cindy Cooper. She was a recent graduate of Saxon Arms who worked there during her days off from American University.
“So, Cindy, what can you tell me about C.J. Mitchell?” Delia asked after making small talk for a few minutes.
“Well, what do you wanna know?” Cindy tossed her shoulder length blond hair, blew a bubble with her gum then started typing on her computer.
“Why did he leave his last school? Why did we accept him? Why —”
“ — is he so darn cute?” Cindy interrupted with a chuckle. Delia didn’t crack a smile. Cindy cleared her throat, straightened her face and continued typing. “Huh, that’s odd.”
“What?” Delia tried to lean over the desk and get a glimpse of the computer screen.
“Well, usually all that information just pops up. But it seems as though Principal Howard has restricted my access. C.J.’s admission file is sealed.”
Delia had a computer science degree. Given twenty minutes, she could probably get around an access restriction, but she would need to do it from Principal Howard’s computer. Or, at least, Cindy’s computer. She didn’t know how she could accomplish either feat without arousing suspicion.
On the way back to her classroom, she passed Locke, the tech genius. She didn’t know whether Locke was his real name or a nickname based on that unfortunate hairstyle. White people should really stop wearing dreadlocks. Anyway, she knew he would have access to the entire Saxon Arms system from his computer. And she knew just how to lure him away from his office.
Locke never even tried to hide his attraction for Donna Lee. On the first day of school, he had nearly broken his neck to get a better look at her when she came to pick up Delia from work. Since then, a day didn’t go by when he didn’t ask about Donna Lee or the next time he could possibly see her again.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Donna Lee said the next day as she adjusted her black miniskirt. “This guy is so not my type. He looks like a mop and smells like bad marijuana. I know I said I owed you one for going to the doctor with me to get my test results, but I never thought you’d take me up on it.”
“Well, trust me, if you turned out to be sick I wouldn’t be asking you to do this. But since you’re well and everything’s okay, I don’t mind cashing in the I.O.U. Now let’s get started. Just walk past his office and pretend you’re looking for me. I’m sure that’ll be enough to get his attention. Then, when you’re alone with him, find out as much as you can about him so you can help me figure out his password.”
Donna Lee cringed. “I have to be alone with him? Ugh. If he touches me we are beyond even.”
She swung her waist length jet black hair over her shoulder, pushed together her boobs in the silver halter top, and walked past Locke’s open door. Nothing happened. She stood on the other side of the doorway, gesturing to Delia that she didn’t know what to do. Delia pointed towards the door signaling that she should go in. Donna Lee rolled her eyes, took a deep breath and stepped into Locke’s office.
“Hi, Locke, I was wondering if you’ve seen my sister anywhere?”
Locke stuttered for a few seconds then said, “No, no I haven’t.” Then came the awkward silence. Delia could practically see Locke gawking at her sister, probably complete with an open mouth and drool.
“Oh, well. Maybe she left without me. We were supposed to go out for a drink though.” Donna Lee sighed dramatically. “I was really looking forward to a night out. I’ve had a rough day.”
“I—I’ll go out with you. I mean … I don’t mean to invite myself, but I’m almost done here and I’d love to … to … what was I saying?”
“Oh, Locke you’re so funny,” she said after an uncharacteristic girlish giggle.
“Just let me send a couple of emails and I’ll be ready.”
Moments later, they stepped out of the office arm in arm.
The first thing Delia noticed when she sat down at Locke’s computer was all the Japanese anime art. He also had one of those Chinese Zen sand gardens and a picture of Jackie Chan. He was obviously obsessed with anything Asian. She felt bad for putting Donna Lee in this situation and momentarily forgot what she was so determined to accomplish. Then her cell phone rang. It was a text message from Donna Lee.
Pswrd short starts with s
It took a moment for Delia to realize what this meant, but then she figured out that Donna Lee must have been looking over Locke’s shoulder as he worked at his computer. She had been able to see him punch in his password and was now trying to help Delia break into the system.
Okay, short word that starts with S, Delia thought. What were his likes and passions? Asians, marijuana. She typed in Szechuan. Nothing. Samurai. Shinto. Nothing. She decided to focus on marijuana for a while. What were some nicknames for Marijuana? She typed in ‘spliff’ and voilà. How predictable.
Her phone rang again with another text from Donna Lee.
Hes spkng Japanese help!
She closed the phone and continued.
After a few wrong turns landed her into Locke’s Asian porn stash, Delia found a way to enter the school’s network. She quickly made her way through the system files, not knowing exactly what she was looking for. She knew she wanted to find out more about Principal Howard and C.J. Mitchell. Then something caught her attention. A red flagged file marked Jason James. What did her husband have to do with this?
Delia scanned the documents in the file, pulling out key words. Promise Stone client, high paying, sex addiction. Tears came to her eyes when she saw Marital Status: inconsequential. Was that really what the last four years of her life were? She wiped a tear from her cheek and continued searching. She had to figure out how everything was connected.
In Jason’s file, she found a document about herself.
New Teacher: Delia Clark (formerly James)
Race: Unknown
Mental: Highly intelligent, insecure, predictable
Prognosis: Easy target
Then there were pictures of her with Donna Lee, with Jason, and through the window of her apartment. They knew everything about her. Now she just had to figure out who ‘they’ were.
The phone rang again. Another text.
Get out coming back.
Delia closed all the files she’d opened and tried to leave Locke’s workstation exactly as it had been.
“What happened? Why are you back so soon?” she asked when Donna Lee met her in her classroom.
“I don’t know. We were at the Black Cat and Locke had just finished his first drink when he hopped up and said he had to go. He said he forgot to do something at work so we came back.”
Delia closed the door and eyed her classroom suspiciously. She wondered if there were perhaps hidden cameras or wire taps in her classroom. If they had pictures of her in her apartment, anything was possible.
“Good thing too. That guy gives me the creeps. So did you find out anything?” Donna Lee continued.
“Only that somehow Jason is involved.”
“Jason? Your dirty dog of an ex-husband? How is that even possible? And why are you whispering?”
“Now that’s weird. I thought you were crazy at first, but there is no reason for your school to know about your husband’s sex life. And why would they have pictures of you in your apartment?”
“And not just me. Pictures of me and Jason and pictures of you and me.”
“Me? Good God, Dee, what have you gotten us into?”
“I don’t know.”
Chapter 17
He didn’t know where she came from, but she was perfect. Short, thin, fragile looking with long brown hair that she nervously tucked behind her ears every few seconds. She was new to the program and he could tell immediately that she would need some coercing.
He wore only a towel around his waist as he took her coat and led her to the bed. He introduced himself and hoped that the power of his name would excite her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. She began trembling with fear. He put an arm around her to comfort her.
“It’s all right. Don’t be afraid. We’re going to have such a good time tonight.” His voice was reassuring, almost parental.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she practically whimpered, which excited him even more. He had to be sure not to rush this. He wanted to enjoy her fully.
He sat there stroking her hair, whispering words of reassurance for a full ten minutes before he made his move. Slowly, he reached for her hand and placed it inside the towel between his legs. She clumsily caressed him. He was making progress. Then he unbuttoned the shirt to her school uniform and slid his hand under her bra. She jerked away and covered herself. This was going to take more work than he was used to.
He stood and secured the towel around his waist. “Okay, maybe I’m moving too fast.” He tried to hide the anger in his voice and appear nonchalant about the matter. The truth was, he was frustrated. He went to the fully stocked bar of the hotel room and prepared drinks for the both of them.
“What’s your poison?” he called to her from across the deluxe suite.
She shrugged. “I don’t really drink so I’m not sure.”
“No problem. I’ll mix you something sweet. Something you can’t resist.”
He made sure to add a special concoction of drugs he’d tried out a couple nights ago before handing her the drink. Then he sat a few feet away from her and made polite conversation as he waited for the medicine to take hold.
It worked quickly. This girl obviously couldn’t hold her liquor. Within moments, she had removed her sweater, shoes, and tights after complaining about how hot it was in the room. He had gotten a glimpse of her pink panties when she took off her tights and didn’t know how much longer he could wait.
“How would you like to take a bath with me? It will help you relax.”
“Okay,” she giggled.
He stood and went to the bathroom to run the water. This would work out perfectly. They would sit together naked in a warm bath, becoming more and more aroused by the touch of each other’s skin, then make love repeatedly in every room of the suite.
He slipped off his towel then walked to the bed to find her passed out. He lifted her arm and tapped her cheek, but she was out cold. This wouldn’t do. He wanted a willing participant, not this. He was too good for rape.
He sighed then reached for his cell phone. “Amanda, you’re going to need to send over a replacement.”
“Oh, God, what did she do?”
“It was probably my fault. I think I gave her too much to drink. Just get another girl over here, one with experience, to hold me over until this one comes to.”
“You got it. Someone will be there in ten minutes.”
The replacement pleasured him quickly and efficiently in the adjoining room. But it wasn’t enough. He still wanted the fresh meat that lay waiting for him in the bed. Two hours passed and the girl still hadn’t awakened.
He had another run with the replacement, gave her a few dollars for her trouble then sent her on her way. Really, he wasn’t obligated to pay the girls at all. Amanda took care of their reimbursement, something to do with educational costs, but he always gave them something extra. The money, the control he had with his money, aroused him.
He sat next to the passed out teenager on his bed, stroked her hair and whispered in her ear hoping to awaken her, but she didn’t move.
It was getting late. He needed to get home.
He felt her pulse. It was really weak. Too weak. What if he had given her too much of the concoction? His pulse quickened. He couldn’t deal with a dead girl. He picked up his phone and called his bodyguard. He would know how to handle this situation discreetly.
***
At three o’clock in the morning, the phone rang. At first, Delia thought she was dreaming. Who would be calling her at three o’clock in the morning? But then again, a phone call in the middle of the night was the least of the strange things in her life recently.
“Ms. Clark?”
“Yes.”
“Can you come get me? I … I’m in trouble. I need your help.”
“Who is this?”
“It’s Lena.”
Delia cringed when Lena gave her the address to where she was. That part of D.C. scared her to death. She didn’t even like looking at it on a map, let alone going there at three in the morning. But she had to. It was Lena.
She thought about calling Donna Lee to go with her, but she lived twenty minutes away and was a very deep sleeper. By the time she went to her apartment, woke her up, and made it down to where Lena was, it would be over an hour. Delia didn’t know what was going on, but from the tone in Lena’s voice she knew an hour would be too long. So, she slipped some jeans on under her nightgown, grabbed the stun gun Chase had given her and headed out.
She found Lena shivering on a street corner in Southeast D.C. Lena had on her Saxon Arms uniform and no coat. Tears had streaked her overly made up face.
“I’m s … sorry to get you out offff bed this early in the mmm … morning, Ms. Clark.” Lena was shivering so badly she could barely speak clearly. Delia didn’t know whether the shaking came from the cold or from the fear she noted in Lena’s eyes.
“It’s all right. I’m just glad you’re okay.” She reached out and wrapped an arm around her while simultaneously locking the car door. “What are you doing out here?”
“I … I had a date … and, um, it didn’t turn out too well … and he just left me,” Lena said after a few minutes of silence.
“You had a date? Here?”
Lena nodded absently then stared out the window. Delia knew she wouldn’t be able to get any information out of her. Something had really shaken her up. “So, where do you live?”
Lena’s eyes expanded. “I can’t go home right now, Ms. Clark. I can’t let Levi see me like this. He’ll worry. Can I go to your place?”
“Yeah, sure. But I have to at least call your parents to let them know where you are.”
“My dad is in Atlanta on business and my mom went shopping in France six years ago and never came back. No one cares about me except Levi and he thinks I’m at Angie’s house.” Lena stared out of the window as she said this so it was difficult for Delia to read her emotions. One thing was for certain, though. Whatever Lena had been through was added to a long list of heartache.
Chapter 18
Amanda Landgren, daughter of real estate developer Irving Landgren and sister of Saxon Arms student Ian Landgren, wasn’t always a ruthless, greedy bitch. It just worked out that way. She was the youngest of five girls born to her mother, Margaret. Then, when Amanda was fourteen, Irving divorced her mother and married the much younger and much dumber, Elizabeth. T
heir unholy union spawned Ian. Ian Landgren may have been her brother, but he definitely hadn’t inherited any genes of intelligence. He was too much like his blond bimbo of a mother.
Amanda excelled in school, but never found the approval she needed from her father. She was virtually ignored, as were the rest of her sisters while Ian was lavished with attention. It was like Ian was more worthy of love just because he was born a boy. Ian was even promised the family business. Amanda was determined to be successful in her own right and prove to her father that he had misjudged his children. She wanted to prove that she was the worthy one, not Ian.
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