by R Weir
“I’m not good at lying,” said Elaine.
“I’ll do it,” said Serena. “I lie all the time in bed with a man. How is this any different?”
“Call or text?”
“Call.”
“This is what you will say. Don’t make a mistake or Bill here will take it out on you.”
I gave her exactly what to say, while I listened. Leather was questioning what she heard and said she’d call back. The phone in my pocket started ringing as she was trying to find Mack and Grady. After she rang both numbers she called Serena back saying she’d be over in about fifteen minutes.
I waited outside out of sight until she arrived. I wanted to make sure she didn’t have reinforcements with her. Pulling in, she appeared to be alone. She went in the front door and I was a couple steps behind her. I placed my gun in her back and told her to join the others. Her first look when she saw me was of anger, but turned on a dime to fear. I wasn’t sure if she was acting or not but I didn’t take any chances. I removed her long coat to make sure she wasn’t carrying anything. Underneath, she wore skin-tight leather pants with openings on the rear to show her butt cheeks and the crotch area. Her leather top was open below the navel and at the chest, revealing her firm breasts. Apparently she came ready for action, if necessary.
“I know you,” she said, looking at me. “Who is this?”
“I’m Ray’s father.”
“Yeah, I see the resemblance. I wonder if you are as good as he is in the sack!”
“Lady you’ll never know!” Bill grabbed a blanket sitting on one of the chairs and tossed it to her. “Cover up. I’ve seen enough of you naked and I don’t need to see anymore.”
“Leather, we’ve come to make a proposition,” I said.
“OK.”
“What will it take to leave Ray alone?”
“Not my decision.”
“Surely you have some idea. You seem to be the go-to girl in all of the extortion shenanigans.”
“The boss wants his money. Let someone walk and it gives the others hope. He is going to have to pay up.”
“Not an option.”
“Then he is screwed!”
“What if we release the videos we have?”
“What do we care?”
It was interesting she said “we.”
“So what if we replace Ray with someone else? He stated The Hustle was searching for more clients. How about finding someone with deeper pockets, with a sexual appetite to match. Would this be a fair exchange?”
She hesitated, not certain how to answer.
“I don’t think the girls should hear this.”
“Ladies, why don’t you head to the bathroom while we talk? Don’t come out or Bill here is likely to shoot.”
He led them to the room down the hall and closed the door. He stood at the end so he could still see them while listening to our conversation.
“What do you propose?” Leather asked.
“I have someone who is looking for young ladies, twenty-five or younger. Experienced in the ways of the world and who will provide him all the pleasure he desires; and he requires a great deal. We can arrange to have him come by your club for a private demo, where he can check them over and get a taste so he can make a decision. With the right girls he would jump at the chance to be member, and he has other clients he may bring at a later date to entertain. He would be a much better prize than Ray—a possible revenue goldmine for The Hustle.”
“Tempting for certain. What is in it for you?”
“All we want is Ray to be free. Isn’t that correct, Bill?”
Bill nodded.
“And if the boss says no?”
“Bill here is likely to kill all of you and walk away, sending him a message. Mack and Grady will do some hard time. They are in jail right now, soon to be charged with several counts. Your boss won’t have much of a business left. Hell, Bill here might even go in and burn the place to the ground. You’ve messed with his family and he doesn’t take kindly to it.”
She turned to look at Bill. Again he nodded showing his gun for her to see, the barrel pointed at her mid-section. He was playing a part right now, but it wasn’t too far removed from the truth. He was at the point where he would do anything to make this go away. He was no longer a cop and would step outside the law, if necessary.
“So what will you need from us?”
“Pictures of your girls for me to show the prospect—the sexier and more explicit, the better. I will take it to him and let you know in a couple of days if he is interested.”
“And if he’s not?”
“Let’s hope he is.”
She waited for a minute, thinking over her options.
“I’ll have to call and see what he says.”
“Please do. No funny business, though. Bill is not the most patient man.”
“My cell is in my jacket.”
I grabbed it and handed it to her. She pulled up the number and dialed. I listened closely to the conversation. It didn’t reveal much other than the person on the other end seemed upset. Leather did her best to convince them and after several minutes they agreed.
“When do you want the photos?” she asked.
“Now; I have a flash drive and you have a computer. I’m sure there is something on there you can use. If not, I’m sure you can get to it.”
We both walked back to the second room and she searched for various pictures and a couple of videos. She showed them to me and they were highly explicit, so much so I probably was blushing when viewing them. She copied the files and we left them, with a warning to stay away from Ray or all hell would break loose. Once in the car we headed back to Denver.
“Came out OK,” said Bill.
“It’s a start. Now we need to get the second part to work. Hopefully Roland likes what he sees.”
From the pictures and video, I had there was little doubt he would.
Chapter 38
The call went out to meet with Roland Langer, using Dona’s main cell phone, which I’d pieced back together. When he answered, I got an earful.
“Where the hell have you been?” I got several four-letter words in a row.
“So elegant,” I said as he finished his tirade.
“Who the fuck is this?”
“As you can tell, Roland, this is not Dona,” I stated. “I’m calling to see if we can get together and talk. I’m representing her, hoping we can come to an understanding.”
“About what?” His voice was calmer but I still could feel the tension.
“To see what can be done to release her from her contract with you.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“In time. When and where can we meet?”
He would only see me at his place. I agreed, but only if we were outside on his front patio in plain sight. We had an understanding and now I was parked in his driveway about to get out. I was wearing my brown leather coat over a long-sleeve flannel shirt, with blue jeans, hiking boots, and my black and purple Rockies ball cap on, all to keep my six-foot frame warm. Under the jacket in my shoulder holster was my Beretta for insurance, and a bulletproof vest Bill had given to me for protection. The weather was cold but reasonable for December, with sun and temps close to fifty degrees. There was a pretty good wind making it feel colder, but there was no way I was going inside his home. I had no desire to experience his torture chamber.
Walking up, I was met by the steely glare of Dirk; I kept my distance. The brute had a good fifty pounds on me and most of it appeared to be muscle under his black leather bomber jacket. I pointed for him to lead the way and found the table and chairs on the brick patio about twenty-five yards from the front. I took a seat so I was facing the house, one eye always watching Dirk, whose anger was obvious when he first saw me. Not only had I gotten him arrested but I’d killed his partner.
In few minutes out lumbered Roland. He was tall and skinny, with a shaved head and goatee. He walked stiffly in his tight beige slacks,
black winter boots and heavy brown parka one would wear in a blizzard of below-zero weather. His hands were in his pockets, which made me nervous, but Dirk was the trigger man and his hands were in plain sight for now. Roland plopped into a chair and Dirk came over and whispered in his ear.
“So you are the detective,” said Roland. “Jarvis Mann, from what I’m told.”
“Guilty as charged.
“You are the one responsible for killing one of my men,” Roland stated.
“In my defense, I was fired upon first. I was merely defending myself. A felony was being committed and after firing at me and injuring me, I returned fire.” I reached for the area on my arm where I was stuck, the wound healing nicely.
“He was struck in the neck—a rather nasty way for him to die.”
“Lucky shot.”
“Not for him.”
All I could do was nod.
“Let’s be clear, my man Dirk here is anxious to put you down. Sometime and somewhere, he wants a piece of you.”
“I understand.”
“Also know if you are wearing a wire, it won’t work. We have sophisticated electronic jamming equipment on our entire properly. I can admit to many things and no one would hear it, even with a boom microphone pointed at us. Nothing but static will be recorded.”
“I’m not here to register a confession. I’m here for Dona.”
“Brave of you to come here.”
“Not brave, but prudent. If you look out there you see a plain-clothes police car. In it sits a Detective Mallard, whom you may have heard of. He is there as my insurance; I walk out of here after we talk. Any threat to me will bring more trouble for you.”
I was lying. It was actually Bill sitting in the car, but a desk duty officer didn’t carry the weight of a Detective. And I knew Mallard wouldn’t go along with the plan.
“I’ve met Mallard and I have no fear of him.”
Apparently name dropping wouldn’t scare Roland.
“Maybe, but he still is the police and they love bad guys like you. He will make your life a living hell. All when you could have listened to what I have to say. It may prove to be fruitful to your libido.”
“OK, so you want to discuss Dona. What about her? You apparently know where she is.”
“I do. She is hiding from you because she fears you. She is under the impression you are about to replace her with someone younger, which means one last deadly trip to your basement.”
Roland smiled. “Why does she believe this?”
“I didn’t get complete details but she seemed pretty convinced. You have a past record of dumping your toys when they get to a certain age or no longer can satisfy your needs.”
“Perhaps. But why is it any of your business?”
“I feel sorry for her. She has had a tough life and I figured she deserves better.”
Roland chuckled.
“Did she fuck you into feeling pity for her?”
“She offered and I declined.”
“A shame; she is highly skilled sexually. One of the reasons why I’ve kept for so long. She is adept at providing the variety of pleasure I require.”
“So why replace her?”
“Because I can. I grow weary of the same pussy and ass each day and night. Even if I sprinkle in some other female flesh here and there, it becomes boring. Also, she betrayed me.”
“Really. How?”
“Oh come now, Jarvis Mann, PI. I know and you know how. You were working for Jack’s ex-wife trying to catch him cheating. You knew he and Dona had a side thing going on.”
“So why didn’t you end it?”
“We didn’t learn of it until the fateful night.”
“When you shot Jack dead and burned the salon down.”
“Perhaps. Or the situation got out of hand and he was killed accidentally. All I know is he owed me money and we were trying to collect. My men were pushing him around and defiant Jack blurted out he was fucking Dona to show he was better than me. Merrick got upset, pulled his gun and he and Jack fought. It went off and Jack was dead. They torched the place to cover their tracks.”
Stupid. I wanted to say it out loud, but resisted.
“Dona left out of fear,” I stated. “You don’t want her anymore and probably want to take out your anger on her. Why not let her go and get on with your life? I may be able to hook you up with some sweet tail making you forget her.”
“Maybe I’ve already got a replacement.”
Time to stroke his ego.
“Possibly. You are a man of quality. I doubt you’d pick someone quickly. Why not search the field and make sure what you have will be as tasty as Dona was when you first found her. She was sweet, wasn’t she?”
“Undoubtedly,” Roland replied sheepishly. “So you have someone in mind.”
“Actually some place, with a broad (so to speak) spectrum to choose from. Do you have a computer?”
Roland had Dirk bring him a notebook. I placed the USB drive on the table and he plugged it in. Under the folder “Hustle” I told him to begin opening files. With each he opened his eyes lit up and his breathing increased, blood rushing to his lower regions.
“Like what you see?” I asked.
“Who is this?” he said.
“She calls herself Leather. I’ve experienced her pleasures and she is highly skilled, too. Though, she is probably a little old for your taste. Nevertheless, she is extraordinary.”
“Oh, I’d still enjoy her. She’d love my dungeon.”
“There are a couple of videos, too.”
He viewed those, the volume high to hear the moans and groans, in between the sex talk. Each video was played to its conclusion. As riled up as he was, I was expecting him to be smoking a cigarette after the climax.
“So where is this place?” Roland asked.
“In Greeley—it’s called The Hustle.”
“Why would I want to go all the way up there?”
“Take a trip up and see what you find. They will even arrange a private demo for you. If you don’t care for what you find, you’ve only lost a few hours. From your reaction to the pictures and video, I would say you’ll get an afternoon to remember. Leather and her friends are quite good at their craft. I speak from experience.”
“Why do this? What is in it for you?”
“I’m a good Samaritan helping a poor woman out.”
“Bullshit. We know some about you—barely making a living working from case-to-case. Scraping to pay the bills. How much do you get for this?”
“Enough to make it worth my while. Is this a problem?”
Roland sat back smiling, as if we’d found a common ground. He went through the pictures again, studying them like a surgeon examining the x-rays on his next patient. He licked his lips when he was finished. He appeared to be hooked.
“Organize a time for me to go up for a private demo and when I mean demo I want some skin-on-skin time with several ladies. If you can arrange it, I will go. No guarantees, but if I’m satisfied, I may see it in my heart to release Dona from her obligations, so long as she keeps her mouth shut. Hell, I’d even give her some traveling money to leave the state where we’ll never cross paths again.”
“Sounds fair. What day and time?”
He told me, and I pulled out my cell phone and called Leather. She said she’d call me back after speaking with her boss.
“Jarvis, you’ve shared with me,” said Roland. “Now I’m going to share with you.”
He clicked the buttons on the large fifteen-inch notebook, turned the screen around so I could see the image. It was a video with a young woman in it, tied to a table completely nude, her mouth gagged. Her legs were spread wide apart and one after another naked men would climb on top and rape her. Then she was rolled over and attacked from behind. Finally, the last man came to her, stood her up, her body limp from the torture, removed the gag and grabbed her arm, and begin hitting her until she fell to the ground. Picking her up again, he smashed her face first on
the table, slid himself inside of her and with a knife began stabbing her slowly with each thrust, her screaming getting louder, until finally with one last stab of the blade and his manhood, killed her in a bloody climatic conclusion, nearly making me physically sick.
“You see Jarvis, when someone betrays me, they suffer. Keep this in mind if you are scheming to double-cross me.”
The threat was clear, though I had to ask one other thing.
“It’s probably stupid, but I have to ask,” I said. “What did you pay Dona’s boyfriend for her?”
Roland laughed out loud, a laugh that would ice over Florida.
“Five hundred dollars. Of course, after we took her, my men returned, took the money from him and killed him. Couldn’t have him blabbing to everyone about selling his girlfriend.”
“What happened to the body?”
“Who knows? Probably used it to make canned Spam,” Roland answered with a grim smirk.
No surprise. The man was a cold-blooded killer; there was no other way to say it. I would have to watch my back for the rest of my life with him around.
My cell phone rang, and it was a call from Leather confirming the time for the private demo. All were in agreement, so I left in my car. I couldn’t shake the images of what I’d seen in the horrific video, violence beyond imagination. Once outside the security gate, I pulled over and threw up, the disgust overwhelming me.
Chapter 39
I was spent, needing some rest—and dammit, escape! Wanting to see Melissa was deep in my soul, resting high above, the agony was lurking. She was my outlet and release point. I wanted to run over to her place and wait for her to get home, hold on tight and sleep up close. Either via text or call I had not heard from her in days. I didn’t want to push it, for I knew she had her own serious work to deal with. Sitting patiently wasn’t easy.
Not feeling much like food, I returned to my temporary home and headed straight to the basement and plopped on the bed, doing my best to close my eyes. I fell asleep dreaming of being near Melissa, but not being able to touch her. Reaching, but not finding her. It scared me as I saw her getting further and further from me. In the distance, I saw someone grab her, a scary macabre face looking a whole lot like Roland’s. He was about to do ungodly and unspeakable acts to her and I couldn’t stop him. I was running towards her with long strides, though getting no closer to her, as if slipping on ice. I had to save her from the horrible evil. I was the only one who could. I tried to call out but couldn’t speak, the terror paralyzing my vocal chords. I sat bolt upright in bed yelling, No!