James Ross - A Character-Based Collection (Prairie Winds Golf Course)

by James Ross

  J Dub was at a loss for words. Lew chastised J Dub some more and asked, “When are you going to win some of these battles?”

  “It’s all about control with you, isn’t it?” J Dub retaliated. “Why did you get the cops? We could have handled this in-house.”

  Lew’s matter-of-fact reply was menacing. “There comes a point in life where you need some back-up. Even Hitler needed the Nazi army.”

  The comment caught J Dub off-guard. He was taken aback and dazed at the reference to Hitler. The remark scared J Dub. He had to pinch himself and wonder what motivated his business partner. “What are you talking about?” J Dub asked as he tried to redirect the conversation.

  Lew’s eyes were in an icy stare as his lips curled slightly into a sinister smirk. The moment was frozen in a surreal atmosphere. It was as if the comment about Hitler turned Lew on.

  After a momentary pause, J Dub continued in a mild manner. “We need to keep customers around . . . and the first tee box still needs to be fixed.” He walked off as Bogey barked at Lew. J Dub continued to the pro shop and was immediately quizzed by Julie.

  “What did he do this time?” Julie asked.

  “He kicked those kids off the course for bringing their own beer. Not only that, it looks like they have to go down to the police station.”

  “Is he pressing charges?”

  “I guess. The cops wouldn’t bother coming out here unless he was serious about having them arrested.” J Dub shook his head. It was as if the business would take one step forward and two steps back. “But that’s only half of the problem.”

  “What else did he do?” Julie inquired.

  “He made some perverse reference to Hitler,” J Dub stated.

  “Hitler? What did he say?” Julie pried.

  “He said something about needing backup like Hitler had the Nazi army.”

  “Does he think that he is some sort of power freak that is the reincarnation of Hitler?” Julie wondered out loud.

  “I hope not . . . but the way that he controls and intimidates, he must think that way.”

  “Hitler slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people,” Julie uttered. “That’s disgusting.”

  J Dub nodded and had a resolved look in his eyes. “I better learn a little more about my partner. If I don’t watch out, then he might slaughter me after he gets done slaughtering this business.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Lois was settling in at Lew’s home. In a strange and twisted way she was a nice complement for him. It was hard to tell if she was a passive person or just acquiesced to his every whim and wish. Lew’s insecurities came to the forefront in their relationship but she allowed him to dominate.

  She had learned to live resourcefully. It was easier for her to make her way by letting the men in her life tell her what to do. That was how she had survived. By allowing men to dictate what she could or could not do, Lois had been exposed to a lot of situations that had made her develop into a full-fledged woman.

  To say that she was bi-curious would have been a misnomer. Lois was not curious anymore; she had crossed over a long time ago. In fact, Lois had grown to prefer women. To her, they were much more passionate, gentle and soothing than a man. However, she was wise enough to know that a man could provide her with the means to make her liaisons with other women possible.

  And so, Lew and Lois found each other. She needed him to survive and thrive. He needed her to act out his kinkiness and to balance his insecurities.

  Lew was a demented, perverted, controlling person. Those traits carried over to the bedroom. One of his fetishes was sniffing panties. In his younger days when he was trying to get a lot of notches on his bed post, he had developed a passion for collecting souvenirs.

  One of his conquests had left a pair of panties behind and Lew was forever hooked after that. He had placed that pair of underwear in a Tupperware container and visited it repeatedly when the sensors went off on his sexual appetite. When his libido would get the best of him, Lew would visit the container, take out the panties, smell their crotch and masturbate to the memory the panties provided.

  Over the years he had the opportunity to collect many panties. Lew had gotten so meticulous with his collection that he had purchased a separate container for each pair of underwear. Each container was labeled so that he could associate a name with the scent. He had even gotten to the point where he dated the occasion. The souvenirs were mementos of his most pleasurable achievements.

  To take his passions to the next level, Lew built a shrine in the lower level of his home. Not only did the room house his immense collection of women’s underwear, but he furnished it with bondage equipment and sado-masochistic devices. It was in this self-anointed shrine where Lew discovered that wearing a pair of silk women’s panties gave him an out-of-control erection.

  Time after time, Lew would retreat to the room and pull a keepsake out of a Tupperware container. He would drown himself in the aroma, fondling, sniffing and jerking off until he came. In a sick and perverse way, his behavior was animalistic, like a male member of an animal species marking his territory.

  This ritual turned Lois on. She would come alive when he would mention the room and his wild intentions. In a way, they were both predators and they used each other to accomplish their own sick objectives. Lew gave Lois free reign to sleep with other men or women if she wanted. Because he wanted to control her, he let her do whatever she wanted to do sexually. His extra reward for giving her freedom came when she would bring other women back to share with him.

  The sexual relationship between Lew and Lois progressed. With each succeeding liaison the sexual pattern developed a familiar flavor. Lew would start out by donning a pair of women’s panties, and then he would sniff a pair from his collection and masturbate. He encouraged and persuaded Lois to recruit her women to the sex room where he could watch and be watched. All parties would participate in a ménage-a-trio and Lew could then add a pair of panties to his growing collection.

  Lew’s perversion probably grew from his intense hatred of women. He had been burned by two failed marriages. Neither ex-wife allowed the controlling nature and both got out of the union as quickly as they could. Lew carried the scar they left behind.

  So he took his anger out on the next batch of women that entered the picture. Lew had found a perfect match for his desires. Lois needed to be told what to do. She needed a dominant force in her life. When Lew suggested that she recruit women for his sexual pleasure, Lois was eager to jump at the opportunity.

  Together, they made a lewd and twisted pair.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Lew’s off-handed remark about Hitler continued to motivate J Dub’s cautious approach toward his partner. It never failed to amaze him that in spite of Lew’s antics, the course was still making money. He knew it was due to his conscious effort to keep Lew away from the course as much as possible. The guys and Jules trusted J Dub to do things by the book. No doubt about it, life in general would be so much easier with Lew out of the picture. As J Dub readied the course for the day’s golfing, he found himself releasing a heavy sigh as he thought about his partner. He walked inside the clubhouse, said his hellos to the fellas, and then poked his head in Julie’s office.

  “How are we looking this month?”

  Julie had just tallied a long list of numbers on her calculator and totaled it. “We’re looking great, J Dub! It was another great month, money-wise.”

  J Dub grinned from ear to ear and saw Lew walking toward him. “We had another great month, Lew,” J Dub announced.

  “So I hear, where’s Julie? I want to get your input on some ideas that I have.”

  “Knock, knock,” J Dub announced as he and Lew sat down in Julie’s office.

  “What’s up?” Julie was just as cautious as J Dub when it came to Lew sitting in her office unannounced.

  “With all of this money in the bank, what would you two think if we re-invested some more of it into land?” Lew asked. />
  “What did you have in mind this time?” J Dub countered.

  “We have an opportunity to acquire fifty acres of property that is adjacent to number thirteen,” Lew replied.

  “We’d be foolish not to buy that,” J Dub said. “It would fit in with our long-range plan. We’re going to need to acquire it sometime if we want to expand the business to thirty-six holes.”

  “As long as our cash-flow needs are met through the winter months and we have money left over for real estate taxes, then I don’t see any problem with that,” Julie added.

  “Let me put the deal together and I’ll get back with you,” Lew concluded.

  That quickly, Lew put his next plan into action. Like a chameleon he deftly applied his sales skills to his waiting prey and negotiated an attractive purchase price per acre. The contract was drawn up quickly, concessions were agreed upon, and the farmer signed without as much as a flinch.

  ~ ~ ~

  The next part of the plan necessitated a meeting with Walter Hancock. Lew rarely did anything without consulting his accountant. “Walter, it’s been a while. How has life been treating you?” Lew asked shortly after entering the accountant’s office.

  Walter was forever worried about the secret that the two of them had been keeping for several years. “I’d be feeling a whole lot better if we hadn’t gotten in that mess together,” he reminded Lew as he peered over his bifocals.

  “Quit worrying about that,” Lew followed. “That’s over and done with. No person on this earth even misses someone like that. As far as her next of kin are concerned, she just ran off and never returned.”

  “Yeah, okay Lew. It’s not easy for me to do. We ran over a person and it’s hard for me to forget,” Walter whined. “That’s especially so since I’m hearing through the grapevine that Monty is running into some trouble.”

  “I told you to forget about it. The body is buried on property that I own. It’s in the middle of the woods. Nobody will ever find it,” Lew said trying to calm him. “What trouble?” he asked as an afterthought.

  “Never mind,” Walter said. He was not entirely comforted by Lew’s words and was clearly upset and nervous about being forever connected to Lewferd E. Zerrmann.

  Lew felt the need to reiterate the point. “Look, it was an accident. She was just a hooker with no family. No one misses her. There haven’t even been any missing people notices,” Lew replied in his best hand-holding tone.

  Walter Hancock had a lot more of a conscience than Lew Zerrmann would ever have. “Do you have any remorse at all? God, Lew. You just amaze me sometimes.” It was times like these that made Walter uneasy about being in business with Lew. There were always strings attached which made things messy sometimes.

  “If we come out and admit to it now, then we’ll all go away for the rest of our lives. Let things be. Don’t turn over stones that don’t need to be turned over,” Lew persisted.

  Walter locked gazes with Lew. He knew he was fighting a losing battle and no amount of reassurances from Lew was going to ease his conscious. He decided to let it go.

  “Keep your mouth shut and nobody will ever know,” Lew demanded. He wanted to move on to a more pressing topic. “I need for you to help me out with something else.”

  “Good Lord, what now? What are you going to get me involved in this time?” He was agitated enough with Lew for one afternoon, but knew he would be convinced to participate.

  “I had an opportunity to buy fifty acres of ground from Buford Ludwig. He was farming the ground just to the east of the course,” Lew explained.

  “What do you need me for?” Walter was mystified.

  “George is gone. He used to do all of my title work,” Lew stated.

  “Is he still at your place in Tortola?” Walter queried.

  Lew nodded. “He and Mary Jean are watching the place for me. We’ve had quite a little offshore bookmaking operation going for a few years now.”

  “I don’t want to hear anything about that!” Walter shrieked in disbelief. “I didn’t hear you say that.”

  “Quit being such a puss.”

  Walter shrugged it off. His professional ethics knew better. “It sounds like the two of them are the ones that made out like bandits. It sure would be nice to get out of here and live the good life in that kind of climate,” Walter moaned. He was clearly miffed that Lew arranged for George to get out of town and had agreed to house him at his island retreat.

  “Don’t worry about that stuff. George was coming out of a divorce and was at a different stage in his life,” Lew reasoned.

  “And I’m stuck here, more or less at the mercy of you two. It’s not the best situation for me and my family to be in,” Walter sulked. The longer he mulled over the situation he was in, the angrier and more resentful he became.

  “Quit your whining. We all know what the deal is. I need for you to help me on this next deal.” Lew plainly wanted to move on to the new subject matter.

  “Tell me about it,” Walter said curtly.

  “I negotiated a favorable price per acre from Buford. The ground is probably worth twice as much as what I told him I would pay for it,” Lew explained. “I got a great buy on the contract.”

  “Something tells me that I shouldn’t be too surprised at that,” Walter replied with a touch of skepticism in his voice.

  “The golf course has the money to pay for it,” Lew continued.

  “That’s important,” Walter deadpanned, shaking his head.

  “Since I negotiated such a good deal, I want to have the golf course pay market price for the ground,” Lew reasoned.

  “And where are you going with all of this?” Walter asked.

  “I want half of the property titled in my own name,” Lew replied bluntly.

  “How are you going to get away with that, pray tell?” Walter asked not hiding his sarcasm. He was anxious to see what was working in Lew’s mind.

  “What I’d like to do is get the golf course to pay for the property. Then at closing have half of the property titled in my own name. That could be my commission, more-or-less, for putting the deal together,” Lew clarified.

  “Then we’ll have to declare commission income on your tax return,” Walter replied, finishing Lew’s train of thought.

  “I don’t want to do that!” Lew shouted.

  “Will you please calm down? I have other clients in the waiting area! If you don’t want to do it that way, then your basis will be affected.”

  “What are you talking about . . . basis?” Lew wondered out loud.

  “You’re going to have an asset put in your name. No money will be paid for that. When it comes time for you to sell it, then your capital gains tax will be a lot higher,” explained Walter.

  “I don’t ever plan on selling it.”

  “You say that now, but there will come a day when you will have to pay the piper,” insisted Walter.

  “I’ll worry about that when the day comes,” Lew rationalized.

  “What about J Dub?” Walter was aware that Lew had a naïve business partner.

  “He’ll never know. For all I care, he can think that we’re buying fifty acres. There won’t be any way for him to find out otherwise unless he goes down to the Recorder’s office. He’s not that sharp,” Lew added. “Besides, he’s running the place and will be too busy with the day-to-day stuff to worry about what I’m doing.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  A smug and cunning grin spread over Lew’s face. “You’ve got to get ahead in the world someway.”

  Walter shoved his bifocals on top of his head and rubbed his face in frustration.

  “Now listen,” Lew continued, “I need for you to get the legal descriptions on the deed taken care of in George’s absence.”

  A look of disdain shrouded Walter upon the reminder that George was on a tropical island without any worries. “And you want me to do your dirty work again.”

  “You’re the licensed professional,” Lew said in an express
ionless tone. “I’m just being a good businessman. You want my account, don’t you?”

  Walter nodded. “I may admit to that, but sometimes I don’t.”

  “Then do as you’re told. I’m calling the shots on this thing.”

  Chapter Forty

  Whooosh-Crack! J Dub had a bucket of balls beside him and was pounding one ball after the other onto the driving range. Bogey took his place clear of J Dub’s swing and watched his master with his soulful eyes as they followed his swing from top to bottom.

  J Dub paused as he noticed that the last swing was not his best. He squinted toward the far end of the range to see how far he had driven the ball. Even on his worst day he was better than most golfers that came to the club.

  “Bogey, what am I supposed to do? If it isn’t Marcia being so angry with me at home, then it is Lew at work. It’s like you’re the only one that’s on my side.” Bogey cocked his head with interest at the sound of J Dub’s voice.

  Whoooosh-Crack! “Damn it!” J Dub cursed his lack of concentration and continued his conversation with Bogey. “As a businessman, I should be thrilled. The course is doing really well financially. But, I have a partner that has a fixation on Hitler and is driving customers away. And, here I am cleaning up his messes and he doesn’t even appreciate it.” J Dub looked at Bogey who walked up to him and nuzzled his leg.

  “Thank God for you, boy,” J Dub whispered to his dog as he scratched him behind the ears, much to Bogey’s delight. “Get back over there. Don’t want to hit you by mistake,” J Dub coaxed Bogey.

  Whoooosh-Crack! “Lew is just making things extremely tense around here, boy. He’s just always got to be in control.” Whooosh-Crack! “I hate that I am part owner and I have to walk on egg-shells around him. It’s driving me crazy!” The more J Dub ranted the harder and farther his club hit the balls.

  “Honest to God, I feel like if I make or say one cross word, I’ll be out of a job. One miscalculation and my career might be over in the blink of an eye! I can only imagine what the other employees must feel like. So, for the sake of my family’s future, I have to stay on his good side. I don’t know what it is, Bogey, but I get a feeling that Lew has his bases covered.” J Dub smiled at Bogey as he obediently stood out of range and wagged his tail at each swing. “You think every swing I do is great, don’t ya boy?” J Dub knelt down and played with Bogey for a while and decided to call it a day. “That’s the key, isn’t it? Just don’t make any waves with Lew. Thanks for being a good listener little buddy.” The dog licked J Dub’s face and hands in affirmation.