by A. A. Dark
Darla adjusted her clothing and stepped away from them to fix her hair, and reapply her red lipstick. Jasper looked at Whitey with a questioning look in his eye. Whitey waved a hand dismissively. It was primarily none of Jasper’s , but Whitey always had a motive for the people around him.
“Like I said, don’t worry about Lucas. I’ll take care of it. Everything will be fine in the morning. Hey do me a favor, hand me my knife.”
Whitey stood up to buckle his pants while Jasper went to get the knife. Once Whitey buckled his pants, he moved over to Darla and squeezed her ass, “She’ll let me do anything to her, as long as I take off the knife.”
Whitey was known for carrying a bowie knife on his belt. It had been in his family for generations. It had an intricate handle, hand carved of ivory and at the very base of the handle, the letters “WWS” were carved discreetly into the design. Whitey was rarely seen without it.
Jasper picked up the knife on the table by the handle and brought it around to Whitey. He didn’t examine it, just a straight pick up and hand off. Whitey sheathed it into the blade holder on his belt, then put his hands on Jasper’s shoulders.
“Now … go on home. Get rested up. If Lucas contacts you about this Misty mess, tell him I’m ready to meet. I guarantee , once he hears that, he won’t think twice about you banging Misty.” He patted Jasper on the back and saw him out.
CHAPTER 13
Chief Wilkes strolled into the Brass Monkey at lunch time. Whitey wasn’t around, but Paul St. John, one of the senior members, was working the bar.
“Evening Chief. Looking for a liquid lunch?” Paul’s hand moved for a beer glass, ready to pour one for the chief.
Chief idled up to the bar and set his elbow down on it.
“You know, Paul, I’d love one … if I were off duty. This isn’t a social visit. Is Whitey around?” The Chief’s eyes darted around the club behind his Aviator sunglasses. Paul poured the beer anyway, and set it down in front of the Chief.
“I won’t tell, if you don’t, and no, Whitey ain’t around at the moment. Can I do something for you?” He went back to wiping glasses.
“Well, it would appear that my niece, Misty, has misplaced her fiancé, Lucas Jackson. Rumor has it, the last place he was seen was right in this here bar. I heard Mr. Jackson was pretty fired up about finding one of your boys inside his woman. Is that true?” He pushed the beer a few inches away from him as he smiled to Paul.
Paul thought some, “Not that I recall, sir.” He kept on wiping the glasses that were already clean. “I wasn’t working that night, as rumor has it, of course.” Paul smiled helpfully.
The Chief nodded, “Well then. Tell Whitey I’d like to talk to him before I come back with a warrant to search the place. Maybe we can help each other out. I’m looking for one thing, but you know how it is when I get a warrant. I just get to flip all kinds of furniture, and pull drawers and look at well … everything I can get my hands on.” Now it was the Chief’s turn to smile wide.
Paul set the towel down and held his hand out to the Chief to shake his hand, “You got it, sir. I’m sure the proprietor of the Brass Monkey would be more than accommodating.” The Chief just looked at Paul’s hand and walked back toward the door, “I’ll just have a look around outside.”
Paul waited for the cop to be outside before he picked up his phone and called Whitey, “Yeah, he’s here. Yep, he’s looking around. Nope, not inside. He’ll find what he needs outside anyway.”
Outside, Chief Wilkes walked around with a few other officers. No cop ventured into the Brass Monkey without some assistance. They were searching the adjacent lot for any sign of Lucas Jackson, since that area was open to the public. One of his guys was searching the far end with a dog that started going ballistic, barking and yelping.
“Chief! I think we got something!”
The men moved to the area and Paul, the bartender, watched from the grimy window. He had Whitey on the phone.
“Yep, brought a dog with them. This one was almost too easy, boss.” Paul could hear Whitey laughing on the other side of the phone. The men all gathered around the weeded area. One was doing some light digging while the damn dog barked his head off.
“Well, will you look at that … maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with Lucas, but maybe it sure as shit does!” The Chief bent over the find as the men circled around it, and the dog panted happily. Down in the center of their circle, in a shallow hole, lay a bowie knife covered in blood. It looked just like Whitey’s knife, but slightly different in color. Later, it would be pointed out by Whitey himself, that it was missing the unique letters of WWS on the base of the handle. “Call it in. Let’s get started.”
CHAPTER 14
Jasper’s phone buzzed while he was inking one of the members of a neighboring chapter. They were close allies, and many of their guys got inked by Jasper. Today, he had Tony Mazzoni in the chair, and Tony wanted a pink heart with the word ‘mom’, in honor of his mother who had recently died of breast cancer. He saw Misty was calling and stopped the tattoo gun, got up and took the call at the back end of the shop.
“Misty?”
“Jasper! What happened?” She was sobbing into the phone, and he could barely make out what she was saying.
“Misty, calm down. I can’t understand you. What has happened?” He was plugging one ear with a finger to try to hear her better over the sirens that were blaring in the background.
“Jas-man, you may want to get outta here.” Tony called from the front of the shop. He was looking out of the window as the cops lined up outside the tattoo parlor. “In fact, I’m getting out of here.” Tony grabbed his gear and headed out the back, ducking into a small camouflaged alley off to the side.
Jasper held the phone to his ear as he turned to look out the front shop windows. Sure as he could see it, the cops were lining up outside the shop. Now there were some on foot, making their way to the back
“Holy shit. Misty, I got to go now.” Misty was wailing into the phone.
“Jasper! They found the knife used on Lucas at the bar …”, but a cop already was taking the phone from Jasper’s hand, while another was grabbing his wrists and cuffing them behind his back.
“You have the right to remain silent …” One of the cops started reciting the Fifth Amendment right as declared by the U.S. Supreme Court, Miranda v. Arizona. The cop that cuffed him walked him to the front of the shop and out the door toward a police car. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” The cop opened the police car door and guided Jasper into the car, “You have the right to an attorney.” The cop opened the passenger door and he and the driver slipped inside. “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you so acknowledge you have been read your rights?” The cop turned to look at Jasper.
Jasper nodded, “Yeah, now bring me to jail so I can call my attorney, Darla Lovell.”
CHAPTER 15
TODAY
Lauren had been listening intently. In fact, she could barely believe what she was hearing. How did this get so far away from a simple case of a crime of passion? Why had Darla picked her to get involved in such a cluster fuck of a disaster waiting to happen? Lauren was a first-year attorney. She lived a simple life and was about to marry the perfect man, and now she was stuck in the middle of all of this. It was time to get some answers.
“Darla Lovell is a witness to your conversation with Whitey Smith. Why was she allowed to be on the case?” Lauren questioned Jasper.
“Because no one but the three of us and, now you, knows about that meeting. We kept it quiet so that Darla could actually work the case, and besides, what did she really witness? The color of Whitey’s Balls?”
Lauren frowned. Jasper pressed his hands to his face and rubbed the sleep away. He was tired. Telling the story was making his head hurt.
“Jasper. She saw you hand the knife back to Whitey. That’s how your fingerprints got on the knife.” Lauren’s voice was raise
d high and Georgie peeked in from the window glaring at her.
Jasper saw it and motioned to him that he’d calm her down.
“Lauren, calm down and listen. The knife they found my fingerprints on was a different knife. It looked like Whitey’s, but it wasn’t his knife. I know the guy set me up. I know it, but I still can’t prove it, and even if I do prove it, I’m just going to end up dead one way or another – either in here or out there.” He reached for her hand and held it.
Her eyes moved to his hand as it took hers and she didn’t pull away. Instead she wrapped her hand around his and stayed still for a moment. She liked the feel of his skin. His hand was very warm. She thought about how he described Misty’s sexuality and it made her mind wander to think about how Jasper’s hands would feel on her own skin. Her cheeks flushed for a moment and then internally she shamed herself for thinking about sex with Jasper at a time like this, plus there was the matter of her fiancé, Peter.
“If Darla is sleeping with Whitey, why do you think she’s having an affair with my fiancé?” Lauren looked up into Jasper’s eyes, but still didn’t let go of his hand. Now his thumb was caressing hers. He shook his head confused.
“I’m not sure. Knowing Darla, my guess is that she needs something from Peter. Darla is very strategic. I think the only man she’s ever been in love with is Whitey. She uses her body as a tool to get what Whitey wants, and maybe Peter has something that Whitey wants.”
Lauren thought for a moment, and then it was like a light went on behind her eyes.
“The Triumph Towers. Peter is the attorney for the Board of Directors. But what does Whitey want with the Triumph Towers as it is? It’s not like it’s his kind of work. Does he fancy himself a real estate tycoon?”
“I have no idea what he wants with it. I mean, he’s got that money and now Lucas is dead. I’m not sure if Lucas kept track of the money. If it was in his name, then no one will know he actually gave the money to Whitey. Someone else has to know what’s going on with all of this.”
Lauren nodded.
“Yeah … her name is Darla Lovell. I bet she knows exactly how Lucas handed off the money to Whitey. I’m going to find out, and then we’re going to prove that Whitey had Lucas killed. For now, I’m going to have to play dumb though. I’m not sure when I can come back to see you. Right now, I don’t know if I even still have a job, and I will need access to her files.”
Lauren’s wheels were turning. She needed to make sure she kept her job, so she could help Jasper. Jasper tugged her hand.
“Lauren. What about Darla and Peter? I know I live in a world where relationships are different than in the white collar world but …” He thought about how to put it, “… You could lose everything. The white knight, the palace in the sky, the whole fairytale ending.”
Lauren looked up at him and squeezed his hand.
“You know, Jasper … for some reason, I’m not that fazed by it. Besides, I think I’d rather ride off into the sunset – on a Harley.” She grinned at him, holding his eyes with hers.
Jasper looked at the door and seeing the coast was clear, he leaned across the desk and stole a kiss from her. His lips touched hers ever so softly. Lauren didn’t resist. She slid a hand up to the side of his face and caressed his stubble-covered cheek with her thumb. Her touch was gentle and Jasper needed that right now. He needed affection, tenderness, something more intimate. He spoke to her softly, his warm breath tickling her lips.
“Make no mistake, Lauren, I want to throw you down on this table right now, and rip your clothes off, but this kissing … well this is nice too.” He let his lips play with hers again, the tip of his tongue parting them and tracing the slit of her mouth from corner to corner.
Lauren touched her tongue to his, feeling a fire in her belly rise. He was very different than Peter and she wanted to know more about him. She could see that deep down, Jasper Connor, was a good man. She would go as far as to even say “honest” in that he knew who he was, and how he was handling being locked up for a murder he said he didn’t commit. He never denied beating Lucas Jackson. His story of what happened seemed truthful from what she could tell. It was sincere and now for the first time, they both felt hope.
Jasper felt hope with Lauren by his side, and he wanted to be with her more intimately. There was something in her that was a fighter. She wasn’t the Ivy League princess he thought she might was when he first met her. She was fiery and adventurous, and she believed him. He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger and pulled it wanting to keep her there while he kissed her again and again. He could feel himself growing hard beneath the table and he growled against her lips, partly because he wanted her so badly, and partly because he couldn’t have her right now.
Lauren licked her lips while he growled.
“You want me, Jasper, don’t you?” She kissed him again, but he was trying to break the kiss.
“Lauren, please stop. I can’t have you right now, but I do want you. It’s not even about being inside you. I want you in my arms, lying in bed, watching old movies and hearing the rain fall on the roof. Instead, this is just going to drive me crazy. Help me get out of here. Please. I want to get out of here and be with you. You are so strong and beautiful and I don’t know, but I can’t help but feel you’re so much smarter than Darla Lovell. I have so much hope in you.”
Lauren pulled back from him and looked into his eyes. She hadn’t expected him to say half of what he did, but she felt connected to him too.
“Jasper, I’m going to knock that bitch down a notch or two. I’m going to find out what we need to get you out of here, and then you are going to take me away, and fuck me on a beach somewhere. Do you trust me?” She grabbed his hands and kissed him hard, as if it would seal her promise to him.
Jasper put both his hands in her hair and kissed her furiously. He couldn’t get enough of her. He needed her. He needed her intensity in his life, and he needed her because he knew that she would be his anchor in life.
“Lauren … you gotta go now! Darla Lovell is on her way up and she wants to see Jasper. Let’s go!” Georgie banged on the glass for them to break it up as he swung the door open.
Lauren kissed Jasper one more time and with a renewed hop in her step. She followed Georgie’s lead out of the room and down the hall. Georgie would make sure she got out of the building unseen. He had his ways.
Meanwhile, Darla swung the door open and strode right in.
“Well, Jasper?”
His eyes lifted to meet hers, and he offered her an inviting smile as he sat back in his chair,
“She’s all in, Darla. It’s all under control - nothing to worry about.”
CHAPTER 16
Hours after she left the prison, Lauren Holden sat in her car as it idled. She was parked in the back of St. Mark’s Church. Her mind was racing about how she was going to get Jasper out of prison, and simultaneously destroy Darla Lovell. Lauren twirled that sapphire cocktail ring around her finger watching the light from the street lamp glint off of it through the windshield.
Lauren didn’t want to return home. Positive that her fiancé Peter was sleeping with Darla, Lauren didn’t want to be near him. She wasn’t ready to return to the office either. Instead, she sat there in the parking lot, reliving every detail Jasper told her regarding Whitey Smith, Darla Lovell, Lucas Jackson and the Triumph Towers. There was still a missing piece. Lauren needed to find it.
She stuffed the ring back in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Peter’s phone. After three rings he picked it up, “Lauren! Where are you? You have had me worried sick! You left here in such a huff. I called your office and Marta said you had left hours ago! Are you ok, princess? Come home and tell me what happened.” His voice was definitely overly concerned and Lauren immediately distrusted it. In fact, Lauren suspected Darla was standing right there with Peter.
“No, no. Peter I’m fine. Really. Everything is ok. I just had a little bit of a rough day but I’m fine now.” Sh
e bit her lip as she paused then added, “You really don’t have to worry. I just went to do some research at the law library. Still learning the ropes, you know!” She tried to sound cheery and convincing, dumbing down the fact that she could really be onto something much bigger. Perhaps, she was even onto a conspiracy that was completely out of her league.
“Ok, princess. Just come home. We’ll take a nice bath and I’ll pamper you just the way you like. You know what I mean.” He winked on the other end of the phone as if Lauren could see it. Peter was taught that in order to sell it, you had to believe it, so winking helped him, in his mind, sound more convincing.
“You know what, Peter, that sounds really great but … I have to prepare for a meeting with Darla, so I’m just going to stay here a bit longer. Don’t wait up. I’ll be home late.” Lauren hung up before he could say another word.
She stared at the phone. She was sure that if Darla wasn’t there, Darla had at least told him what was happening. The only thing Lauren wasn’t sure of was the degree of Peter’s involvement.
Lauren kept the car running, but moved to a shadowed part of the lot where she could cloak the car in darkness. Then, with her pen light, she opened the files and started studying them. She was sure she had overlooked something … just one thing was all she needed.
***
Peter McElroy stared at his cell phone as the line went dead, “Shit! She fucking knows something is up.” He turned angrily to face Darla Lovell, who was indeed standing in the apartment next to him. “What the fuck, Darla?” He threw the phone down on the couch and went to the bar to pour himself a scotch.
Darla shrugged her shoulders, “Everything is under control Peter. She doesn’t know anything at all. I went to visit Jasper after she did. He just fed her the story we discussed. Everything is lining up just as we planned.”
Darla started to unbutton her blouse as she walked toward Peter. It was a satin button down in cream and it went lovely with her pearls. “Aren’t you going to pour me one?” She batted her lashes at him as her hands moved over his arms.