Twice as Fatal: A Jarvis Mann Detective Novel

by R Weir

  All of the ladies did as they were told, some more enthusiastically than others. Roland marched back and forth watching, his tongue sticking out ever so slightly. A couple of them leaned their backsides towards him and he grabbed and rubbed some flesh. Each squealed excitedly to add to the show. Roland stopped for a minute to check over everyone and turned to Marquis.

  “There is someone I don’t see here,” he said. “She was in one of the pictures. Wildly pretty, all dressed in leather and older, maybe in her later thirties. I generally don’t like them older but she interested me. Is she here too?”

  “I will check,” said Marquis. “For now, why don’t you pick one of your favorites and she can dance for you.” He walked to the back room.

  “You,” said Roland, pointing to one of the girls, while taking a seat.

  She was one I wasn’t familiar with. She appeared Hispanic, barely eighteen, with long black hair, plump firm rear end, long legs and deep brown complexion. She stepped down off the stage and started dancing, moving round and round, shaking her butt, twisting and rubbing up against him. He grabbed at her and yanked her onto his lap, as she was facing away from him. I tensed when he pulled out a knife, but he used it to cut her G-string so now she was completely naked. She grounded herself into him and he seemed to release himself so he could penetrate her. She moaned as she slipped up and down on him. I was watching the worst of a porn movie.

  “I thought you were interested in me,” came the voice of Leather walking into the room. “You should save the hard-on for the playroom.”

  “Plenty more where it came from,” said Roland. “I have an instant on switch.”

  Leather had her black leather outfit on, covering her midsection and little else. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she had a riding crop in her hand that she rubbed between her legs. She took her finger and began to suck on it, as if he needed any additional teasing to arouse him.

  “Maybe you should try all the girls and see if you can keep up. If you can make it through them all, you can have me. Save the best for last. Come, Juanita, you can continue in the playroom and see what his stamina is like. The rest of you line up and wait your turn.”

  Juanita stood up and started walking towards the back room, her ass wiggling in excitement. Roland zipped himself up and followed her, like an animal in heat. The stage cleared and the rest of us sat. A waitress came to each of us asking if we wanted any food or drink. I had no appetite and declined. Standing, I moved to leave. Dirk motioned for Rocky to stop me and we faced eye-to-eye. His stare was unnerving, but I stood firm and wasn’t about to back down.

  “I believe I’ve held up my end of the bargain,” I said. “No reason for me to hang around. Your boss will be busy for some time. If he needs me, he knows where I’ll be.” I pulled out a business card and handed it to him.

  Rocky looked at Dirk, and he waved to let me pass. I walked out, glad to be out of the lion’s den. I’d need to shower to remove the stench of what I saw. Like the video, it would be a long time before I could forget it. I’d accomplished what I wanted, knowing it would be a matter of time before the two criminal elements collided and would come looking for me, unless they killed each other first. If only I was so lucky.

  Chapter 42

  When I returned home Melissa was waiting, sitting on the sofa reading a book. The title appeared to be law-related, which I was happy to see. She closed it up, bookmark in place and smiled.

  “Finished with your PI duties for the day?” Melissa asked.

  “Yes. I’m yours to do with as you please,” I replied.

  “Come here,” she stated with a sultry smile.

  Excitedly, I did.

  It felt refreshing to have someone there for me, to forget the future troubles brewing. Since she had Monday off, our next day-and-a-half was wonderful. Try as I might, I couldn’t stay in bed with her the whole time. Snow had fallen in the afternoon, so we remained inside, talked about life and made love as much as my body would allow. In her arms, linked physically as only two in love can be, it all didn’t matter anymore. No dead bodies, no threats, no twisted sex games for money. Night turned to day, leading to shopping and a pleasant drive in the snowy foothills, dinner out and movie. It was a wonderful relaxing time together. If I’d ever felt more alive in my life, I couldn’t remember when.

  We discussed our immediate futures, planning a trip over the holiday. She always had the two weeks off over Christmas and New Year’s. I didn’t care for flying much, but with her with me, the fear didn’t seem so bad. We talked about a vacation to Acapulco, Cancun, Jamaica or Hawaii; anyplace warm, in the sun and away from the cold and snow. She was going to research some costs, but I didn’t care, and would pay what it took to get lost with her for a while.

  Her work week ahead was going to be light, so we planned to see each other every night. I stayed at her place one night, the next at mine. The rest of my time was spent putting together bills for my two cases, with hopes for another case to show up at my door. I followed up with all parties to see how everyone was doing. First call was to Dona.

  “I’m getting stir crazy,” she said.

  “It will be over soon. Give it another week.”

  “There is only so much TV I can take. I need to shop, go out to eat, meet someone. There is only so much a girl can do to satisfy herself without a man.”

  I let it go.

  “Be patient. Once it’s all over you can come and go as you please. May even get a bonus from Roland to move away and start over. You need to decide what you’re going to do to make a living. Screwing for pay isn’t a way of life.”

  “I’m thinking about it. Finding what else I’m good at isn’t easy.”

  I told her to work on it, stay hidden and said goodbye. Next call was to Kate.

  “How is your place?” she asked. “Did they do a good job?”

  “It’s great,” I responded, “though it’s a bit loud during the day when they are working upstairs. I’m certain it won’t be much longer.”

  “Two weeks is what they are predicting, earlier if we’re lucky. I’m trying to keep busy but it’s hard. School is ending and we are going to take a trip to see my mother.”

  “It will do you good. Stay through the holidays.” I explained to her why.

  “Oh my! It sounds dangerous!”

  “Could be. That’s why it’s best for you to be out of town. Once you return, it should be all over.”

  “How is Melissa?”

  “Never been better, thanks for asking.”

  “I’m pleased for you both. You deserve to be happy.”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  “Enjoy your time at your mother’s. Don’t worry about a thing here. I’ll make sure they finish up the salon and have it ready for the New Year. I want to be at the ribbon cutting and be your first customer.”

  Kate laughed and we said our goodbyes. Next it was Bill, but we agreed to meet at Boone’s for an afternoon beer when his shift ended. When I arrived he was sitting at the bar, a mug in front and another waiting for me.

  “So where are we at?” he asked.

  “No news yet,” I said. “I got them all together on Sunday and it was a veritable festival of horniness. Roland was busting at the seams to get at those girls. I felt like a sex broker hooking him up with them.”

  “They are likely lost already, doing whatever they can to make a buck. If it wasn’t you, it would be someone else. Your job is to save us and not them.” Bill stopped to take a long drink of his favorite local beer. “The question is, when will it all come to a head?”

  “Soon—when it boils over and whoever comes out of it alive.”

  “With any luck none of them, though I doubt it. Someone will remain standing and they will come after you; come after all of us.”

  I knew the possibility existed when the plan was put into place, and I was ready for when it happened. The waiting was the hard part, along with watching for the ensuing storm.

  “Everyth
ing in place on your end?” I asked.

  “Yes, we are prepared,” Bill replied. “I’m not completely happy Ray is sticking around, though I’m glad he is willing to face up to the mess he is responsible for. He’ll learn from it. Hopefully he lives to take advantage of the education.”

  “Let’s hope we all live through it.”

  Bill picked up the tab for the beer and I headed to Melissa’s to spend the night. Her place was much larger and nicer than mine, and I’d grown accustomed to it, feeling more at home with each evening spent there. The following day I met her at Bristol & Bristol for lunch with some of her work comrades, including Janet the receptionist, to whom I had flowers delivered as promised. It was a fun meal on the Sixteenth Street Mall, where I became acquainted with them for the first time. While walking back to the office this Friday afternoon, my cell phone rang. I recognized the number and asked if I could call them back. When we arrived I requested privacy and Melissa took me to one of the smaller conference rooms, which was still the size of Rhode Island.

  “So is it good news or bad?” I said after hitting redial.

  “Mostly bad,” said Trey, the Greeley cop. “There was a disturbance at The Hustle this morning. Seems a private party got out of hand. A few people got hurt and several arrested. Apparently your man Roland was not happy about something. I have a feeling he discovered he was being recorded doing the deed.”

  “So no luck them all killing each other off?”

  “No. One guy got stabbed, a few scuffles, some blood and bruises. We arrived in full force before any shooting. All the major parties were arrested.”

  “Are they still in jail?”

  “For now. They should all be out late today, early tomorrow at the latest. So you better watch your back. You know they will be gunning for you.”

  All I could say was “yes” and “thanks.” I proceeded to type out several text messages of warnings to those involved, hitting send and waiting for a response. Once I got them I walked out of the room and found Melissa in her office, a bouquet of roses sitting on one corner I had sent to her. I came in and closed the door, went around the desk and kissed her.

  “Wow, what was that about?” she said.

  “Wanted to show you how I felt,” I answered. “I enjoyed lunch with your friends. They are a lovely group of people.”

  “They like you, too.”

  “I need to do something for the next couple of days, so I won’t be able to see you. I wanted to make sure you understood. It’s related to these last two cases and I need to keep you at a distance for your own safety.”

  “So, you are in danger?”

  “I’m not certain. It’s best to keep you out of the crossfire.”

  It wasn’t totally true, for I was in danger, but I didn’t want to alarm her. She looked concerned, as I wasn’t the best at lying when it came to women. Transparency with the ladies was one of my biggest failings.

  “Can we at least be together tonight?”

  I thought long and hard about it. I doubted they knew Melissa or where she lived, so one additional night at her place probably wasn’t dangerous.

  “If we go straight to your place and stay in, it should be OK.”

  “Can we pick up some takeout? You know me, I don’t have much food in the house other than something to nuke.”

  I smiled. “Sure. I’ll hang around here if it’s alright. Get done early and we can get home all the sooner.”

  “Somebody appears anxious. Did you have something in mind?”

  “I did, but if I told you now I think we’d have to do it right here on your desk.”

  A sexy smile launched across Melissa’s face when hearing my statement. She stood up, walked over to her door and pressed the button to lock it, turned and started unbuttoning her top.

  “Tell me what you had in mind…”

  Chapter 43

  The next day, she convinced me to drive her to the mall against my better wishes, but it was hard not to spend time with Melissa, as her will was strong. One of my other failings with women was being easily talked into things against my better judgment. I had to go to my place first to get my gun. I didn’t have it with me and I wasn’t about to be unarmed. Once retrieved, we drove out heading for Park Meadows. We got a mile or so down the road when I noticed a tail. It was the black BMW driven by Dirk. I cursed myself for taking Melissa with me; I hadn’t expected them to come after me so quickly. I now needed to get her to someplace safe.

  “Be prepared to do what I tell you,” I said with as much seriousness as I could.

  “What?”

  “Listen. We are being followed. You need to do what I ask and not hesitate. I tell you to run, please run and don’t look back. I tell you to duck, then duck. Don’t question me or think you should do something different. OK?”

  Melissa hesitated in responding, but finally said, “yes.”

  It was early enough in the morning so traffic wasn’t horrible yet on Evans. My plan was to get on the highway and go as fast as possible, trying to create some distance. I cut down University and hopped on the I-25 and quickly got up to speed. The BMW was on my tail and now a second smaller sports car with lots of horsepower had joined them. It pulled up and was in front of me. I tried to switch lanes and pass but they continued to blanket me, the rear car squeezing me from the back. There was enough traffic on the highway so I was trapped. We neared the Hampden exit so I steered off at the last second, exiting at full speed, my fresh tires moaning while holding the road. The car in front had to brake and back up to catch the off ramp, while the rear car was still on my tail. I approached the intersection, the light red, but I ran it going right and barely missing a car. I began blowing my horn to warn them, the BMW still following, weaving to miss the traffic. I roared the Mustang to high speed and pulled away. Soon on the left was a small shopping center and I plowed through, crossing over and up the ramp quickly, making a left into the parking lot. Pulling up in front of a Starbucks, I slammed the brakes to stop near the entrance.

  “Now Melissa, out of the car and run inside,” I yelled. “And don’t look back.”

  She reached out to touch me, but I hollered again for her to go. She got out of the car right when the BMW pulled up in front at an angle to block the Mustang. I tried to back up but the other car spun right behind to cut me off from the rear. I got out of the car with my gun drawn and fired once into the BMW, missing my target, rushing the shot. Screams came from all around me, patrons in the parking lot bolting in fear from what was happening before them. From behind, someone grabbed me and knocked the Beretta out of my hand. I was grabbed around the neck and shoulders, try as I might I couldn’t get loose. I heard a scream, which sounded like Melissa hollering to leave me alone. My head grew heavy from the sleeper hold. I tried to yell at Melissa to run inside, but only saw blackness with no sense of what else was happening.

  Later, I sensed movement but couldn’t tell where I was. It was dark and there wasn’t much air. My head still was murky and I was out again. Sometime later I felt the car come to a stop; I noticed there was sunlight, and I was pulled from where I was and dragged across the ground, tossed unceremoniously into the dirt and gravel by Rocky. My eyes started to focus and I felt someone on top of me. I recognized the perfume and when I could see again realized it was Melissa. I had hoped she had escaped, but she hadn’t. She was a wild card I hadn’t counted on in my scenario.

  “You didn’t get away,” I said, my voice cracking.

  “I’m sorry, Jarvis,” Melissa answered. “I thought they were going to kill you and I couldn’t run away. The other one grabbed me and tossed me in the back of his car—said he’d shoot you if I resisted.”

  I didn’t want to tell her they were going to kill us anyway.

  “It’s OK,” I said. “Help me up.”

  “You may want to stay down for now, asshole,” said Dirk, “at least until everyone else shows up.”

  Doing as I was told, since I was trying to get my wits an
d strength back, I glanced around to see where I was. It appeared to be an old work zone of some kind, obviously no longer in use. The ground was cold but dry, the recent snow having melted in the warm daytime December temps, which hovered in the fifties. We were in an open area devoid of trees, a couple of beat-up mobile buildings nearby. I had no idea where we were or how far we had traveled. Using stealth, I removed some fingerless gloves from my pockets and covered my hands.

  “Do you know where we are?” I asked of Melissa.

  “Somewhere south and east,” she said. “I was so scared at first I wasn’t paying attention. Once I settled down, I made some mental notes. I think we are somewhere east of Parker.”

  Absorbing my surroundings, it did appear we were in prairie land, with no other structures nearby. It may have been an old rock quarry site where they pulled minerals from the earth and processed them via equipment I had spotted. No one else was around—no vehicles and no other people. Why they picked this spot was hard to say, but it would be pretty easy to hide our bodies in one of the holes where the product had been removed and replaced with fresh dirt. Not the type of burial I had hoped for, and way sooner.

  In a few minutes, Mack and Grady’s Cadillac arrived. They forcefully pulled out Ray and Raven, walking them over to us. Grady dragged Bill from the trunk, looking a little worse for the wear, with a swelling lip and bloody nose. I knew he wouldn’t go easily and had paid the price. There was a welt under Grady’s eye too, so he’d at least landed one punch. The three of them came over and I got to my feet, giving them the impression I was hobbled, using the illusion to my advantage.

  “Appears you put up a struggle, Bill,” I stated.

  “Difficult to fight fair when there are two of them and each armed. I did my best.”

  “Old man, you need to shut up or I’ll knock you down again,” said Grady.

  Bill gave him a hard stare, but remained silent. Ray seemed scared, but Raven appeared defiant, her face showing anger. I had warned them this might be coming and made sure they understood what to do if taken. Don’t let them feed on your fear. Hopefully I heeded my own advice.