After the van left Carlton told Paul and Rob that he’d call the members. “There’s no reason for you to stay around,” he said.
“You sure?” Paul asked. “We’d be glad to stay just to see you’re okay.”
Carlton already had his phone out and waved them away.
“What if the killer comes while you’re here alone?” Rob asked.
“I don’t think that’s likely.”
“But you never know.”
“Tell you what? I am pretty shook up by all of this. And it’s probably not a good idea for me to be here where the two murders occurred. I’ll call when I get home.”
“We’ll be glad to come with you,” Paul said.
Carlton gave them a wan smile. “Not necessary, though I appreciate the offer.”
There was an intensity in their sex that surprised Rob, even considering what had happened to Sam.
Later, Carlton called to tell them he hadn’t been able to get in touch with Luke Henley, the TV producer. “Maybe he’s on a shoot somewhere or having a meeting or something. I tried five or six times, but there was no answer.”
“I’m certain he’ll be back later.”
“I’m sure you’re concerned about being at the gym with him tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there, same as before. I won’t let anything happen,” Paul said.
Chapter 16
Neither Carlton nor Rob and Paul was able to get in touch with Luke Henley, so the only thing to do was to go to the gym and hope he showed up without running into any problems. It was about 7:20 the following evening when Rob and Paul got there.
“You know I don’t want to do this,” Rob told Paul. “I don’t want ever to do this sort of thing again.”
“Maybe this will be the last time. At least we can hope so.”
“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait and see what happens.” Rob walked back to the middle of the gym to wait while Paul, as usual, hid behind the lockers. Not long afterwards, Rob heard a key turning the lock. The door opened.
“Anyone here?” a voice called.
Rob was a little tense. He didn’t know Luke well enough to recognize if it was his voice that had called. He had to assume it was. But if it wasn’t, Paul was there to ward off any problems.
“It’s Rob, and I’m back here by the massage table.”
“Rob, I hoped you’d be here already. I had a hectic couple of days. Lots of problems with an upcoming series.” There was a pause. “Sorry for complaining. I trust you’re fine.”
“I am, Luke. But I have bad news.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Sam Peyton.”
“ Sam? What about him?”
“He’s been murdered.”
“Oh, Jesus. I didn’t know.”
“We’ve been trying to call you. Paul and I and Mr. Carlton.”
“Like I said… But Sam. How was he killed? I hope it wasn’t like Harvey.”
“I’m very sorry.”
“Oh, my God.” He sat on the edge of the table and then looked up at Rob. “I suppose you’d better tell me.”
“The murderer, whoever he is, has to be completely out of his mind.”
“Why do you say that?”
“What he did to Sam. Poured hot wax on him, enough to make him suffocate. He also cut his rectum so bad he may have bled to death.”
“I don’t know how to react or even what to say.”
“It was horrible. Something I never want to see again.”
“And you don’t know who did this?”
“No. Though Mr. Carlton has warned all the members to stay away from the gym till the murderer is arrested.”
“That’s why you wanted to call me then.”
“Right. But since we couldn’t reach you, I decided the best thing to do was to meet you, as intended.”
“Isn’t that taking a chance? The murderer could be lurking here, or…well, of course, I’m not. But I could be the murderer.”
“We felt we had to take the chance.”
“I’m certainly glad you did.” He sighed. “After such devastating news I’m certainly not in the mood for sex.”
“I’m sorry.”
“But I think we could both do with a little cuddling. What do you say?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Mind if we get undressed.”
Rob hesitated for a fraction of a second. He thought of the two murders that had taken place in that same location, right on the table, and it made him hesitate. The first time, he supposed, when he was with Mr. Yamaguchi, it must have been the shock that blocked out what had happened there. Besides, though Luke was a nice man and very attractive—hairier than anyone Rob had ever seen in person or in pictures and videos—Rob was no longer interested.
“If you’d rather not…”
“No, it’s all right.” He met Luke’s gaze. “It’s just that I was thinking what took place here.”
“The two murders.”
“It does seem ghoulish,” Rob answered
“So what would you like to do. Wait a minute. There’s a mattress and linens in the storeroom. What if we brought those out?”
Rob smiled. “I’ll help you.”
In minutes the double mattress lay on the floor covered in a freshly-laundered sheet.
“This is much better.”
“It is,” Rob admitted.
Luke quickly undressed, folded his clothes, and placed them on a chair. He was an extremely handsome man, Rob thought. One of the sexiest men he’d seen. He quickly shucked off his own clothes. Despite himself, he felt his cock respond. He didn’t want this to happen, particularly with Paul watching. But it was as if his dick had a mind of its own.
Rob lay on his back. “Turn over on your side, if you don’t mind,” Luke said lying down beside him. He snuggled up against Rob, his hairy stomach and chest against Rob’s back. Rob’s cock stiffened even more till it stuck straight out.
“Well,” Luke said, “from just planning to cuddle, we go to this.” He touched Rob’s cock, which jerked up and down.
“Sorry, I seem to have little control.”
“No problem,” Luke answered. “No problem at all.”
Later, after the two nude men took showers, Luke dressed quickly, gave Rob a quick kiss, and left. Rob started to pull on his clothes, feeling very guilty about what had happened. As he was stepping into his underwear, Paul came from behind the lockers.
“It seems it wasn’t Luke,” Paul said, his face vacant of emotions.
“Oh, my God, Paul, I’m sorry. I never intended to have an erection, let alone anything else. I just wanted to cuddle.”
“I understand, Rob, it’s the chance we took. We decided you had to keep on with the meetings.”
“I don’t know if I can forgive myself. It’s like… well, like a part of me took over, a not very nice part.”
“I admit it bothered me to see you with someone else. And I was jealous and a little angry too, but it was at my urging too that we both agreed to this. It’s over and done with. So let’s just get past it.”
“I don’t know, Paul.”
“Please.”
“If you can accept it. Man, if it had been anyone except Luke…”
“I know you’re attracted to him. I am too, for heaven’s sake. And if the situations were reversed, I don’t know that I could have done anything about it.”
“That’s a generous thing to say.”
“I love you, Rob, and I know you love me.”
“I do.”
Paul smiled. “I know. So we can get beyond this. Just as if it didn’t happen.”
Rob threw his arms around Paul’s waist and gave him a kiss.
Paul chuckled. “Just wait till we get home, Mr. McKenzie, and you’re going to have to pay for that kiss. And pay very well.”
“I certainly hope so.”
As the two of them stepped outside, a homeless man handed Paul a piece of paper on which someone had scrawled an
obviously hurried note. Before either could say anything the man walked around the corner and out of sight. Rob ran around the corner to ask who’d give the man the note. He’d already disappeared. Paul came up behind him. “Nothing?”
“It’s like he totally disappeared.”
“Well, let’s look at what the note says.” They walked back to the gym and went inside where the light was better.
Dear Sirs:
Well, I haven’t called anyone ‘sir’ in ever so long and probably will never do it again.
This is an invitation via an old homeless man who was glad to deliver it after I treated him to a nice steak dinner. Oh, yes, I can be kind and generous—but often I’m not, as you’ve seen. It’s more fun that way.
Well, back to the subject at hand. The invitation—if you two have the balls to accept it. Pardon the use of the slang vernacular, but I find it often works better to get a point across—the point being that I wonder if you two are men enough to come face to face with—chuckle, chuckle—pure evil.
I flatter myself. I’m not like Lucifer, now am I? At heart I’m a really nice man. Yet being mean and nasty is much more fulfilling.
Ah, I see, I’ve strayed from the subject again, the subject being, of course, the invitation. And here’s what it is. The event is scheduled at exactly three hours from the time you finish reading this note.
Why three hours, you may be wondering. Well, that’s easy to answer. I do need my beauty sleep, you know. I always try to be in bed no later than midnight, even when I attend the sex club meetings.
Ah, yes, as you’ve probably already decided, I am a member in good standing. How funny because all the rest of the members are in bad standing—at least in my estimation.
Oh, I do keep straying, but it’s so much fun to build suspense and tension—ah, yes, tension, which is at the root of all good storytelling. And I will tell the story again and again. Particularly the denouement when the two of you are lying dead on the gym floor, your brain matter scattered here and there. And your blood spread across a wide area. Yes, as you have seen, I do enjoy blood. Why in an alternate reality, I might have become a vampire. Kidding. Just kidding.
All right. Let’s get to the point. I’m inviting the two of you to meet me here in three hours sharp. And yes, I will know you finish reading the note. I do have my electronic spy. See the camera mounted atop the lockers. Bet you never noticed it before, eh? Love that Canadian ‘eh,’ don’t you? Two little letters that can express so many different emotions.
Okay, okay, I’m straying again. But that was just the subtlest little clue, you know, meant to tell you I was born in Canada. Bred there, who knows? Daddy was a wandering man, mama…well, she was just a stick-in-the-mud mama with no ambitions. Not me though. Oh, no, not me.
Show up again at the gym in exactly three hours, and no cheating. I won’t tolerate cheating, and I will know if you arrive early. I’ll be here already, but I promise I won’t ambush you. I want to give you a fighting chance. And it is the two of you against little old me. Let’s see who ends up bloody and dead, shall we? If either of you, as I said, is man enough.
Ta ta for now.
Guess who.
“Wow, this man is totally off his rocker,” Rob said.
“I certainly agree. But the question is, what are we going to do?”
“We have to be here, Paul. No matter what, all this has to stop.”
“It does, Rob. But I can put you in danger like the crazy man asks.”
“And I can’t leave you to face him alone.”
Suddenly, there was a voice seemingly out of nowhere. “Naughty, naughty. Let’s play ‘find the hidden mikes and speakers. Won’t that be fun? No, instead, let’s go plan our strategy since it’s now only two hours and fifty-seven minutes till deadline. Got that, I hope. Deadline! Dead liners, plural. No heart rate, no brain wave activity.
“The thing is it’s not fair if only one of you comes. And don’t even think of bringing reinforcements or the silly old police commissioner and his…little boys. Why not? Well, sports fans, because I will ambush anyone who tries to protect the two of you.
“Anyhow, time is awastin’.
“Hasta la vista, baby.”
Paul motioned for Rob to follow him outside.
“How precious,” the voice said. “You think if you don’t talk, I won’t know what’s going on. Not true though, believe me.”
Rob nodded as he and Paul left, closing the door behind them. They hurried to Paul’s car.
“Think it’s safe to talk?” Rob asked.
“I assume so, but with this person, who knows?”
Paul started the car, and they pulled from the curb.
“So what are we going to do?” Rob asked as Paul eased into the street.
“I don’t think we have any choice…if we want the killings to stop. And they do have to stop.”
Chapter 17
The first thing Paul and Rob did back at the condo was to look up the members on the internet. Obviously, Kenta Yamaguchi came from Japan. Carlton came from Philadelphia, Victor Ramsey was from a small town in Pennsylvania, and Smithton from Buffalo. Luke Henley and Lyle Thompson both were listed as natives of New York City. And Bill Cooper from Nutley, New Jersey. So that was no help.
“Have you ever noticed any of the members using terms indicative of Canadians.”
“Like what?” Paul asked.
“Well, ‘eh’ to begin with. And bonnet for hood of a car—”
“And ‘boot’ for trunk?” Rob suggested.
“And what about ‘ought’ for zero,” Paul said.
“My great-grandpa used to say that, and he certainly wasn’t from Canada. He was an Ohioan, born and bred,” Rob said.
“I agree that Americans used to use it. But that was years ago. But no, I can’t remember anyone’s using those terms… Wait a minute, I do remember, but I can’t think who it was. Maybe if I look at the list again…”
“You know what, Paul?”
Paul looked at him.
“It doesn’t really matter, does it? What good is it to know ahead of time who the killer is.”
“Catch him at home maybe?”
“And if we do, so what? I mean if he’s there, he’d probably act as if everything were normal.”
“But what if one of the members isn’t home? Of course, that won’t work either, Paul said. “They could be out almost anywhere. Anyhow, something’s nagging at me…just under the surface. I want to check the list again. Maybe that will spark something.”
“Okay.”
“Other than that, I guess we just have to take it as it comes.” He exhaled a sharp breath. “Damn, this could be—”
“Don’t even think that, Paul. We can’t go to the gym with a defeatist attitude. Learned that lesson through martial arts. If you think you don’t have a chance, you probably don’t.”
“Paul smiled. “You’re a pretty intelligent young whippersnapper, aren’t you?”
“If you say so, Grandpa.”
“So what do we do till it’s time to leave?”
“What’s a customary thing to do when you’re facing certain danger?” Paul said.
“Not sure, but I have an idea.”.”
All the talk about attitude, Rob thought. Staying positive, thinking you’ll win. Well, maybe it worked well for some things. The fact was, Rob felt apprehensive as hell. More than that, actually. He felt as if he were carrying a boulder in the pit of his stomach. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t let Paul know how he felt. Didn’t want to take the chance of affecting the way Paul felt.
He gave his lover an assuring smile.
“Guess this is it,” Paul said.
“I suppose. If we’re going to be there on time.”
The streets were quiet, rarely a car or taxi passed. And it was drizzling, not enough to turn the wipers on full, but just enough to be annoying.
The curbside by the gym was empty. Highly unusual, Rob thought. Maybe it was the rain added to the
time of night. He and Paul slipped out of the car and hurried to the entrance to be out of the drizzle. Paul inserted his key into the lock and opened the door.
“Welcome, welcome. I had my doubts. But I see you’re both braver than I gave you credit for. Oh, yes, in case you’re wondering, I’m not here. At least in sight. At least where I can reveal myself. But I will be soon.
“I really must compliment the two of you, not only on being here, but for your promptness.”
“Can’t compliment you though, Bill. You brag about how damned smart you are, but yet you revealed the identity you tried to keep secret.”
“You figured it out! I didn’t think you would. I didn’t think anyone could.”
“Too many slipups, Bill—if that’s even your real name.”
“Slipups! I don’t slip up.”
“Well, you did. First, we looked you up. There’s nothing about you on the internet before you moved to Nutley and then New York. And your accent isn’t quite right to be an Easterner.”
“Well, fuck you. I’m going to put an end to this right now. I’m sure you and McKenzie are the only ones who figured out my identity, and you aren’t going to live to tell the tale.”
Suddenly, Thompson slammed open a locker door and stepped out. In his hand was a Smith and Wesson. Immediately, Paul drew his own weapon. Thompson’s first shot went wild, but Paul’s didn’t. It hit Thompson in the right shoulder, causing him to drop the gun.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “I must be getting sloppy. I research everyone’s background, including yours, and I didn’t see anything about weaponry.”
“Not important, Bill. But I was trained to be a sniper. Couldn’t do it. Couldn’t make myself kill anyone else, no matter what the circumstances. I quit right then and there. Requested transfer.
“So I take it then you’re not going to kill me.”
“Like I said.”
“Then you’re never going to catch me. If I can establish one new identity, I can establish two.”
The Old Men's Sex Club Murders Page 10