Private Deceptions

by Glenn, Roy

  "What about LaShawn? Were her and Pamela close?"

  "Yes, unfortunately. She met her at one of those parties and they became instant friends. LaShawn was nothing but poison. But Pamela seemed fascinated by that whole lifestyle. Not that she was a part of it or wanted to be. But she just liked being around them. She had never been around people like that and she just got caught up."

  "Hmm. Growing up in LA, I would think she met plenty of people in the game."

  "Pam’s mom didn’t play that. She kept a pretty tight reign on her kids. They weren’t on lock down or nothing, they did stuff, but they did it as a family and her moms was always around."

  "What about Mrs. Childers?"

  "Her and Gee were close. Pamela looked out for Gee when they worked at the bank in Kansas City together. She said Gee was pretty helpless when she first got there. She’d never had a job before and she was a nervous wreck."

  "By the way, you said those pictures were taken the same day."

  "And?" Felicia leaned forward and smiled.

  "Who took the pictures?"

  "I was wondering if you had picked up on that. I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t."

  "Well?"

  "Pamela did. Taking pictures was sort of her hobby."

  "You think she took those pictures of Jake and LaShawn?"

  "Maybe."

  "You wanna tell me now?"

  "Tell you what?"

  "Why you left?"

  "How long are you goin’ to be here?"

  "I’d like to say until you tell me why you left. But it’ll probably be more like a couple of days."

  "I don’t know if I can trust you."

  "Well, Felicia, you can tell me about it and I can go back to New York and do something about it. Or you can stay on the run until whoever it is you’re running from, catches up with you."

  "There in lies my problem, Nick. Even if I tell you, they still may come. I ain’t trying to testify against nobody and live my life in witness protection. No, no, not a life for me."

  I looked at my watch.

  "What are you gonna do now?"

  "That depends on you, Ms Hardy. What are you doin’ the rest of the day?"

  "Since you’re out here, and it’s your first time and all, I was gonna show you around. Maybe you’ll like it enough to come back. Look in on me every now and then. Make sure I’m still alive."

  "I’d like that."

  She caught me a little off guard with that one.

  Maybe we did have a moment.

  We talked about a little bit of everything while Felicia drove me around to all the tourist spots in LA. I felt comfortable talking to her. So for once, I let my guard down and opened up to her. "Listen, I know a quiet little spot on the beach."

  "I’m not dressed for the beach."

  "That’s why they made malls."

  Felicia and I spent the rest of the afternoon and the early evening at the beach. Laughing and talking like neither of us had a care in the world. She sat with her head on my shoulder and watched the sun set. We drove to a Chinese restaurant in Torrance called Szechwan. I had Kung Pao. She ordered the Sweet and Spicy Shrimp. The food was excellent. After dinner, Felicia drove quietly back to her house. "I had a nice day, Nick," she said and got out of the car.

  "I did too," I said as I walked her to her door. "But it’s early, I was hoping you’d show me some of that famous LA night life."

  "Not tonight, Nick. I’m tired. I got a lot on my mind and I wouldn’t be good company. Will you come see me tomorrow?" she asked, as she got to the door and unlocked it.

  "Sure." I was disappointed for more than the obvious reason.

  "Then I’ll see you in the morning." Felicia kissed me on the cheek and went inside. I had just turned to walk away when I heard the door opened.

  "Nick."

  "Yes, Felicia," I said excitedly.

  "Here are your guns." She handed them to me, one at a time. "Good night, Nick." And once again the door closed. I walked away thinking of my bad luck. I had just spent the day, a great day, with a woman I was really interested in, who seemed to be interested in me. The problem is she may be involved in a murder, not to mention that I lived six thousand miles away.

  * * *

  Chapter Fifteen

  Saturday July 18: 10:59 AM

  The following morning I picked up Felicia around eleven. A bright red sundress and pumps was her attire for the day. "Not that I’m complaining or anything, but its kind of hard to hide your gun isn’t it?" Felicia rolled her eyes at me, and without hesitation, pulled up her dress. Just enough to show me that she had a .25 strapped to each thigh.

  "So, Ms Hardy, tell me what’s going on."

  "Well, since you’re leaving in the morning, I was hoping we could spend the rest of the day together."

  "That wasn’t what I was asking and you know this."

  "I know that, Nick. But trust me."

  "Okay."

  I didn’t really want to leave her and I didn’t want to leave without hearing her story. What else could I do? I put on my seatbelt and relaxed. We did a long lunch at a place called Killer Shrimp, on Colfax Ave and Ventura Boulevard. After lunch, Felicia drove around for a while before driving out of LA on the 101 for a little over an hour until we got to the Town Center Drive exit. "Where are we going?"

  "Back to LA," she said, and got on California State Route 1. "I wanted to share one of my favorite places with you."

  "Where is that?"

  "Shhh. You just trust me. I trusted you. You’re not afraid, are you?"

  "No," I said louder than I needed to. "I just like to know where I’m goin’ that’s all." My sixth sense was kicking in. For all I knew, she could be taking me some place secluded so she could kill me. Wasn’t like she couldn’t do it. After all, she was an ex-cop on the run. But on the run from what?

  "I’ve never taken anybody here before." She smiled a very soft and satisfied smile. It caused my apprehension to subside, but just a little. Apprehension. The rush. Something else we shared.

  We had driven a short while when Felicia said, "This is part of what I wanted to show you."

  I looked and saw what was probably one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. The Pacific Ocean on one side of the highway, and the mountains on the other. Felicia tapped me on my thigh. "How do you like it?" she asked me, as she drove down the curvy stretch of highway.

  "It’s breathtaking." I replied, thinking that she either needed to slow down or drive with two hands.

  "No, breathtaking comes a little later."

  "Well are we in a hurry to get there?"

  "Kinda, well yeah, we are in a hurry. Why, you a nervous passenger? I mean you’re not scared or anything?"

  "No. I just want to enjoy the view. You did want me to see this, didn’t you?"

  "Yes. But there’s more. You just gotta trust me."

  "That’s funny coming from the woman who had me in handcuffs first thing yesterday morning."

  "Stop being such a punk. I gave you back your guns. You’ll be all right."

  Felicia slowed down, but only a little. We drove for awhile longer until she got into Malibu. She made a left off the highway and started to drive up into the hills.

  "Excuse me, that sign says private property."

  "And?"

  "Where you takin’ me?"

  "Trust me, Nick. If it makes you more comfortable —" Felicia let go of the wheel, reached between her legs and handed me her guns. "There, that should help."

  It did.

  "Thank you. But I still want to know where we’re goin’?"

  "Some place breathtaking."

  I decided to relax and roll with it. If I couldn’t take her, and whatever she had waiting, I deserved whatever I got. Before too much longer we passed a sign that read, SERRA; A Franciscan Retreat.

  I was more curious now. She parked the car and led me by the hand toward the building. As we walked past the building, I followed her up a small hill, Fe
licia said, "Now this is breathtaking."

  And she was breathtaking.

  She walked ahead of me and sat down on a bench at the edge of the mountain. "I used to come here all the time. Get away from it all. Gives me a chance to think."

  From where we were, high in the mountains, the view was spectacular. Surrounded on three sides by mountains and the ocean was dead ahead. It was breathtaking. The only sound was the sound of her voice. And to top it off, the sun was just starting to set. "I’ve been out here every night since I’ve been back."

  "Guess you got a lot to think about?"

  Felicia smiled that smile I was getting fond of seeing.

  I lost track of time as we sat there in silence until the summer sun dropped out of sight. I don’t know what she was thinking about, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what she knew. I played out several scenarios while I took turns admiring Felicia’s profile, painted with a backdrop of sunset. Then she got up abruptly. "You ready to go, Nick?"

  "No." I stood up and faced her. "I could stay out here and look at you all night."

  She turned and walked away, and I followed her back to the car. Once we were back on the highway I thanked her for bringing me. She didn’t answer. She turned onto Sunset Blvd. and took the scenic route back to her house. She invited me in this time and offered me a drink. "Johnnie Black, if you got it."

  "A glass of white wine will have to hold you."

  Felicia returned with two glasses. She handed me one and took a sip of hers. "When are you going to tell me what you know?"

  Felicia put her drink down and then she put her arms around my neck and kissed me. There was real passion in her kiss. More passion than I’d felt coming from any woman I’d kissed in a long time.

  "I will tell you everything you want to know," Felicia said then kissed me again. "In the morning."

  She kissed my lips and then down to my neck. I unzipped her dress and allowed it to fall to the floor. I paused to admire her body. Felicia was beautiful. I ran my tongue along the edge of her bra, while reaching behind her back and unhooking her bra at the same time. Her breasts were firm and her nipples grew harder when I ran my tongue across them. Felicia moaned quietly, wiggling her way out of her panties.

  We kissed our way into the bedroom and we fell on the bed. I kissed her calves. The closer I got, the more Felicia squirmed. I started working my way up to her thighs. I slid my tongue around the edges of her pubic hair, then spread her lips. Her back arched as I stuck my tongue inside of her. Her stomach muscles tightened, her thighs pressed together as her back arched, and she screamed in ecstasy.

  I stood up took off my pants, and laid down next to her bed. I rolled on top of her, and put the weight of my body on my arms. I entered her slowly. She arched her back slightly and began to rotate her hips. We began to move slowly, then faster and then slow again. Her body began to quiver again. I placed my hands gently on her face and kissed her. We continued to make love until we both passed out.

  * * *

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sunday July 19: 5:27 PM

  I was tired when I got off the plane. I was up all night with Felicia and I got up early again in the morning. But it was worth it. In more ways than just the obvious. I wanted to go home and get some rest, but I went to the stake house first. Things were quiet when I arrived at the house. Monika was sitting in front of the console, but not really looking. Jett was sitting on the floor, goin’ through the paper. It didn’t matter where in the world we were, or what language it was in, Jett always went through the paper, page by page. You never know what’s goin’ on unless you read the paper, he’d always say.

  "Evening, people." I said and made myself comfortable.

  "Where you been?" Monika asked excitedly.

  "California."

  "California?"

  "Yeah. Jett didn’t tell you?"

  "Oops," Jett said, and buried his head back in the Times.

  "What were you doin’ in Cali?"

  "I went to follow up on a lead I got on Pamela Hendricks. Why? Did something happen?" My first thought was for Mrs. Childers safety. "Is Mrs. Childers all right?"

  "Nick, take your head out that woman’s ass for a minute and take a look at this," Monika said, and handed me a piece of paper.

  I looked at it and shrugged my shoulders. "Is this supposed to mean something to me?"

  "I’ll say," Jett said. "That paper is the missing link. It puts it all together. It’s the answer we’ve been looking for."

  "Are you gonna let me in on it or do I have to guess?"

  Felicia was true to her word. She told me everything she knew once she got me up this morning. But they seemed so excited, why blow it for them.

  Monika smiled. "That is the formula for what appears to be some type of synthetic cocaine."

  "Synthetic crack to be exact," I said. "Jake developed it for Chilly."

  "How did you know?" Monika asked.

  "That’s what I was doin’ in California. Chilly got the formula from a chemist named Rodrigez who used to work for the Peruvians."

  "Used to? I didn’t know that was possible."

  "He was on the run. There was a bounty out for him. He had started a new life, quiet, and low profile. But Chilly spots him at some mall up state. Rodrigez gave Chilly the formula so he wouldn’t give him up. But it didn’t work."

  "Damn right, it didn’t work," Jett said. "It was killin’ people, and dead customers are bad for business."

  "After the first five died from smokin’ it, Chilly gives him up to the Peruvians. That’s what Diego Estabon was talking about when he said I took care of mine. Apparently, they agreed that everyone involved had to die."

  "So what do we do now?" Jett asked.

  I looked at Jett and Monika. Jett dropped his head.

  Monika shook hers in semi disgust. "I told you that this wasn’t something we needed to be fuckin’ around in. I say we back all the way up off this. Shut all this down and go back to doin’ what we do. Jett hacks our way in, you kill them, and I blow it up so there’s no trace."

  "Jett?"

  "I think she’s right, Nick. The shit didn’t work, so if Jake ain’t dead, he’s gonna be."

  "How ‘bout it, Nick?" Monika asked.

  I didn’t want to admit it, but they were right. If Jake was still alive and he had any sense, he’d be so far away that Chilly would never find him and neither would we. "I’ll call Mrs. Childers and give her back her money."

  "Why?" Monika asked.

  "We earned our money," Jett said. "Her brother took off before her husband could kill him. Case closed."

  "You’re right, Jett, all this set up does cost money."

  "And our time." Monika added and she started helping Jett pack it up.

  "All right, case closed," I said and got up and started to help.

  "No, no, Nick, you just go on and tell Mrs. Childers what ever you need to tell her. We’ll take care of this. You give me a call when Felix has something for us."

  "So, like, what are you sayin’? I can’t call you until then?"

  "That’s not what I’m sayin’," Monika said, shaking her hands. Monika walked over and put her arm around me. "Don’t stand there lookin’ like we’re runnin’ out on you, ’cause we’re not. You can call me anytime, Boo. But this private eye stuff, ain’t for me."

  "She’s right, Nick. This is too much like work," Jett said. "But if you’re diggin’ it, hey, that’s cool too."

  "Okay. I’ll get with y’all later."

  What else could I do? I was diggin’ this. But I had to keep my prospective clearly in focus. Jake was gone, long gone. And if he had any sense, he would stay that way. The only thing left to do was to break it down for Mrs. Childers and move on. But there were still some things about all this that I couldn’t shake. Something about Pamela Hendricks, or maybe it was just the personal feelings I had developed for Felicia Hardy that was clouding my judgment. Either way, I knew it wasn’t over. At least not for me.


  So I drove to Rocky’s hang out. I wasn’t exactly sure why I was going there; much less what I would say when I got there. I walked in and got the same reception as the last time, it seemed like every eye in the house was on me. That’s when I saw him, Chilly, the man himself.

  He was standing at the bar enjoying the company of two very attractive young ladies. Rocky was seated in the back at what I assumed was his regular spot. As soon as he was alerted to my presence, he made a B-line straight to Chilly.

  I went and sat down at a table as far away from them as I could and still keep them in sight. A waitress came to take my order. "Johnnie Walker Black, straight up." I started to ask her if she would tell Rocky that I wanted to see him, but I kinda figured that he’d get around to it sooner or later. Chilly looked over his shoulder as Rocky pointed me out to him. I didn’t think he’d do that, but fuck it. It was time I got this over with. Chilly dismissed Rocky with one hand and patted one of the ladies he was with on the ass, then started for me.

  "Mind if I sit down?" Chilly asked.

  "Be my guest," I replied, as the waitress returned with my drink.

  "No check for this table. His money’s no good here." Chilly said, as he took a seat. "Nick Simmons. I haven’t seen you since the old days. I thought Bobby killed you and that army shit was just a cover."

  "No, Chilly, I’m still alive."

  "Rocky’s snitchin’ ass told me you’re a private investigator now. That’s a long way from where you came from. What’s the matter, Freeze and them ain’t got no spot for you, or is Bobby still tryin’ to kill you?" Chilly laughed. "Let me quit fuckin’ with you. Shit, if Bobby really wanted you dead, you’d be dead."

  "Good point."

  "So what brings you here?"

  "Stopped in to have a drink." I raised my glass and downed it. Chilly smiled and motioned for the waitress.

  "Ain’t too many of us old heads left in this game. Mutha fuckas now ain’t got no honor. No respect for the game. Niggas like you and me got to keep it real, you know what I’m sayin’?"