“It’s sensitive, Dan. I think you ought to do it.”
He sighed. “Fine. What is it?”
After he’d typed it in, there was a long silence on the other end.
“Well?” I asked.
“I’m not showing anything.”
“Is that normal?”
“No, it’s not. If it’d been assigned before, I’d see something in the records… and if it hadn’t been assigned yet, I’d see THAT in the records, too. But… I don’t see anything.”
“Huh. Call the number for me, Dan.”
“Why?”
“I want to satisfy my curiosity. If they answer, tell ‘em who you are and that you want to speak to Robert Smith. Tell ‘em you got the number from a stripper named Venus, and she said to get word to them that she’s in serious danger. If they don’t answer, and you gotta leave a message… tell ‘em the exact same thing.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Why don’t YOU do it?”
“I think it might have a little more weight coming from the Chief of Police.”
“Oh. Alright. Hold on.”
I got switched to some godawful elevator music for about 30 seconds, and then Dan came back on the line. “Disconnected.”
“What?”
“It said the number’s been disconnected.”
Huh.
If Venus gave Jack a bogus number, I was going to enjoy beating the real number out of her. But if she gave him the right one –
“Curiouser and curiouser,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Nothin’, Dan. Thanks for the help.”
I didn’t wait for him to say anything back. I just hung up.
I called the number myself.
“The number you have reached has been disconnected. Please check the number or try again later.”
Huh.
Apparently the DEA could move pretty goddamn fast when it wanted to.
If it was even the DEA at all.
96
I called Benjy and had him come down to the Veils that evening before business picked up.
“Did you find out where her ex-boyfriend is, Lou?” he asked as soon as he walked through the door.
“I’m still working on it, kid. I’m close, just not quite there yet. But in the meantime, I had an idea: I think you should be around her when she’s not working here. Protecting her in case he shows up, you know?”
His eyes lit up like a pinball machine. “Oh – yeah. That’s a real good idea, Lou. Yeah, I think that’s a great idea.”
Yeah. I’ll bet you do.
“Jack’s gonna have a little talk with her, set her up at the Ridgeway in a motel room so her ex can’t find her. I want you with her in the same room makin’ sure she’s okay. You good with that?”
He about peed himself, he was so over the moon about it. “Yeah – sure, Lou, sure!”
“I also need you to listen in on her for me. She won’t tell me about this ex-boyfriend of hers because she knows I’d send you after him to kick his ass.”
“I would – I’d kick his ass so hard!” Benjy swore.
The only way you could kick his ass, kid, is ‘cause he don’t exist.
“I know – which is why she’s trying to protect him. She’s a little mixed up in the head about this guy. She knows he’s bad news, but… I think she still has some feelings for him. She might even try to call him again.”
The one nice thing about dealing with a dimwit is you can tell exactly what they’re thinking. Their emotions just play right over their face like a movie on a screen – and Benjy was showing me a full-on double feature of jealousy.
Perfect.
“I need you to listen in and tell me if she calls him and what she says, so I can try to track this fucker down.”
“Okay, Lou, okay,” he agreed, his face still scrunched up like a furious toddler’s.
“Great. Now, there’s one last thing we gotta talk about man to man. You know she has a coke problem, right?”
His face fell a little, and his voice turned defensive. “Lots of guys in the Midnight Riders do it, Lou – ”
I threw up my hands like it was a stickup. “Hey man, I’m not judgin’. I’ve been known to do a little toot now and again. I just want to make sure you’re cool with it, that’s all.”
He hemmed and hawed. “I mean, I wish she didn’t… but… you know… she’s a stripper. It’s a tough job…”
More like it’s tough to be a cokehead without any coke, which is why she strips in the first place, dumbass.
I didn’t tell him that, though. Instead, I laid the bullshit on reeeaal thick. “You hit the nail on the head, my man. Lots of stress. And she’s a hot chick – hot chicks like to party. No big deal.”
“Yeah, no big deal,” he said, though he didn’t sound entirely convinced.
“In fact, when you got somebody who’s addicted like that, it can be real dangerous if they get off the sauce too quick, you know?”
He looked confused. “Sauce?”
Jesus. “Cocaine, Benjy. If she goes off cocaine too fast, she could die.”
“Oh.” Now he looked worried. “Really?”
“Really. Which is why I need you to give her these.”
I pulled a couple of tiny baggies filled with white powder out of my jacket and slid them across the desk.
Peanut had gotten ‘em for me a couple hours earlier. Supposedly only stepped on once or twice with baking soda, so it was fairly premium shit for Richards.
Benjy stared at the baggies. “You… you think that’s a good idea, Lou?”
“I think it’s a very good idea, Benjy. This is basically like medicine for her. You don’t want her to die, do you?”
“No – no, I don’t!”
“Don’t tell Jack about it, then, because he and I don’t see exactly eye-to-eye on this… but I’m more worried about Venus’s health than he is.”
“Ali,” Benjy said.
“What?”
“Her name is Ali.”
“…right. Oh, and don’t tell her I gave these to you, either. Tell her it came from one of the other girls. Who likes to do blow with Ve– uh, Ali?”
“Jasmine, sometimes. And Cherry and – ”
“Tell her you stole it offa Jasmine. You saw it and you took it out of her bag.”
“But I didn’t!”
“I know you didn’t – just tell her that.”
He looked butt-hurt again. “I don’t like lyin’, Lou.”
“You didn’t mind lyin’ to her the other night when you crossed your fingers and then came and told me, did you?” I said accusingly.
He dropped his eyes to the floor, guilty as hell. “I was worried about her.”
“Well, I’m worried about her now. If it makes you feel better, just cross your fingers when you tell her where you got it. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said, relieved. “Even if I pinky swear?”
“Even if you pinky swear.”
Jesus Christ. Here I was talking to a halfwit about pinky swears and crossing fingers.
The things I had to do these days to keep the MC out of jail.
“Anyway, you go ahead and take those… go on.”
He reluctantly took the two bags and put them in his jacket.
“Good boy.” I smiled. “Let me know when she needs more medicine. I’ll get her whatever she needs.”
I’d get that bitch whatever she wanted, as long as I found out the truth about the DEA. It was annoying to have to go to these lengths, yeah… but that was business in the age of Jack Pollari.
Fuck it. It wouldn’t be too long before I’d put her in the ground.
97
Venus eventually went ahead with the plan, although she put up a little resistance at first.
“She actually asked if she could stay with me,” Jack told me later. “Several times.”
“Perfect opportunity to fuck her,” I taunted him. “Nobody would blame
you.”
“Lou,” Jack warned.
“Alright, alright.”
“The important thing is she promised me she’s going to stay off drugs.”
Ha.
We’d see how that went once she got offered some ‘medicine.’
Venus holed up at the Ridgeway with Benjy in the next room. Apparently she never disabused him of the notion that a psycho ex-boyfriend was after her, because he kept prattling on about how he was going to kick the guy’s ass every time he talked to me.
While they were at the motel, they ate Chinese delivery together. They watched crappy TV together. They played ‘Go Fish’ and ‘Old Maid’ together – mostly because those were the two card games Benjy could remember how to play.
Mostly they were drunk, which helps pass the time. I made sure to keep Benjy stocked up on Jack Daniels and wine.
In fact, the only time she got away from Benjy was when she was up on stage dancing. He escorted her to work every evening and took her home every night.
She went out of her way to avoid me, though. Every time I saw her look in my direction, I could see the fear in her eyes.
Goddamn straight, you little whore. Just wait till I’m finished with you.
As far as Benjy was concerned, though, suddenly the tables were turned. I was the one who was bugging him every night for news. Did she take the medicine yet? What’s going on? Have you heard her on the phone with her boyfriend?
The little fucker actually started getting annoyed with me. No, Lou, she hasn’t called anybody. No, Lou, she didn’t want the medicine. She got mad at me for stealin’ it from Jasmine, too, even though I didn’t really.
I was shocked at first – about the cocaine, anyway. Passing up blow? Maybe she really was trying to keep her promise to Jack.
But like New Year’s Resolutions, hers didn’t stick too long.
98
Benjy came to me on the fourth night and asked, “You got anymore medicine, Lou?”
“Did she take it?” I asked excitedly.
“Yeah… I think you were right. She wasn’t doin’ too good, and then when she took the medicine, she did a whole lot better. She was a whole lot happier and talked a lot more. And she said she wanted to get some more, but she couldn’t get it from Jasmine or the other girls, so she asked if I could maybe get her some.”
That made sense. Before Venus came back to work, Jack had officially put word out that anybody who gave her blow – strippers or Riders – would be answering to him personally.
Luckily for her, I was ignoring the order.
“Great,” I said, and pulled a few baggies out of my inside jacket pocket. “I want you to leave the club for an hour, and when you get back, tell her you got some medicine from a guy you know.”
“Why do I gotta leave?” he asked, confused.
“To make it look like you got it from somebody out in Richards somewhere.”
“But I got it from you.”
JESUS H. CHRIST. “Just do what I tell you, and if she asks where you got it, you say a friend of yours named John.”
“Can I say Barney? I have a friend named Barney. He’s not in the Midnight Riders, but – ”
“Tell her Charlie fuckin’ Chan for all I care. But don’t tell her – or anybody else – that you got it from me, you hear?”
“Okay…”
“When she uses that, come back and see me. Did she talk to anybody on the phone yet?”
“No.”
“Alright… let me know when she does.”
99
So began the long, slow decline of Venus the stripper.
I can’t say I blame her. She was an addict to begin with, and now she was cooped up in a shitty motel room all day with a retard. It’d drive anybody to drugs.
She gave Benjy money first, since she was under the impression that he was having to pay for the shit.
I gladly took the cash. It was the least she could do to compensate me for all my trouble.
In return, I gave Benjy the best stuff I could find. And plenty of it, too. I had Peanut making massive supply runs for me every week to LA.
But then I started cutting her night hours and putting her on daytime – which was a graveyard for business. I was starving her for cash.
The next couple of days, Benjy only had half the normal amount of money… so I only gave him half the normal amount of coke.
She didn’t say shit the first week, but the second, she finally got over her fear of me and came into my office. She was looking rough around the edges. Twitchy and haggard.
“Why are you knocking me off the schedule?” she demanded.
I fixed her with a cold stare. “You mean, why am I running my business the way I want to run it?”
“This is bullshit, Lou – I’m not making anything on the day shift!”
I stood up from my desk and walked around to her. She actually shrank back, her eyes full of terror, as I leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“No, what’s bullshit is that I find out you were trying to fuck me behind my back, but because of Jack Pollari, I don’t get to have Eyeball and the boys pull a train on your ass before I slit your fuckin’ throat. So next time you want to whine about being treated unfairly, go bitch about it to somebody you didn’t try to narc on, you goddamn fucking whore.”
She left the office without saying another word, her face as white as a sheet.
Excellent.
100
Fifteen minutes later, Benjy came into my office, spoiling to fight. “Ali said you were really mean to her, Lou! You made her cry!”
Huh. She’s weaker than I thought.
“It’s all part of the plan, my boy,” I said, and poured out two tumblers of my second-best scotch.
“What plan?” Benjy snapped.
I gave him one, and clinked my glass against his. “To get you to be her boyfriend.”
He stared at me slack-jawed as I drained my drink. “…w…what?”
I pulled out a handful of baggies and tucked them into his denim jacket pocket. “You’re going to leave here and go out for an hour again. When you get back to the Ridgeway, you’re going to give her this medicine. She’s going to ask where you got it, and you’re going to tell her John, and then – ”
“Barney – ”
“What?”
“I told her I got it from Barney.”
“Fine, Barney, whatever. She’s going to ask how you paid for it, and you’re going to tell her not to worry about it, that you’re gonna take care of her.”
Benjy’s brow was as wrinkled as a shar-pei’s. “I am?”
“Yes, you are. And when she says no, I want you to tell her this exactly – are you listening?”
“Yeah.”
“I want you to tell her that you love her, and you know that she doesn’t feel the same, but that’s alright – you know that, and you love her anyway. You’ve always loved her, and you’re going to make sure she’s okay. Can you remember that?”
He was blushing bright red. “You want me to say that?!”
“Yeah – it’s true, ain’t it?”
“Well… I thought… maybe I got a shot with her…”
“If you do what I say, kid, then you will, and real soon. Now – repeat what I just told you.”
It took about five minutes of coaching, but he finally got it.
101
She didn’t fuck him the first night, or the second, or even the third. But I knew it was coming.
Benjy kept dropping by for more blow, and every time I increased the amount I gave him. And every time I coached him on what to say: You’re the nicest, prettiest girl I ever met. Someday I wanna marry a girl like you. I know a girl like you could never love me, but that don’t change how I feel about you. I’ll always love you.
Yadda yadda yadda. Fuckin’ Disney bullshit.
At first he was reluctant, but as the shit started gettin’ results he got more and more excited, even if he wasn’t even making it to firs
t base yet.
“She started cryin’ last night, Lou. She said I was the sweetest guy she ever met… she said I was too good for her.” He lowered his voice like he was telling me a secret. “I even got to hug her while she cried. She smelled real pretty.”
I’ll bet she did, kid. Bet she smelled like desperation.
I told him to start doing the blow with her. He didn’t want to at first, until I assured him that it’d help him get in her pants quicker.
“I don’t wanna get in her pants, Lou,” he said, his dumbass sense of propriety greatly offended. “I mean, I do, but – ”
“All I meant was, it’ll make her fall in love with you quicker,” I said soothingly.
He was on board after that.
The first night he tried coke for the first time, they apparently had a little party and ended up sucking face. I thought he’d be over the moon when he told me, but he was fuckin’ morose instead.
“She said it was a mistake, Lou,” he whined. “She said we can’t ever do that again… that was the happiest I ever been in my whole life, and she don’t want to do it again…”
“They all say that, kid,” I said as I stuffed more baggies in his jacket. “Just keep tryin’ till the panties come off.”
I’d been impressed how long she’d held out. One thing about coke is it makes chicks horny as hell. I know banging an idiot wasn’t her idea of a great lay, but seeing as her options were currently limited, I figured it was only a matter of time.
He closed the deal that evening.
Apparently once he broke the seal, she didn’t bother with trying to keep up appearances. From the way Benjy talked, after that first time, they started fucking like bunny rabbits. Which was good, because I doubted he lasted longer than a couple minutes in the sack.
Benjy was on cloud nine. I’ve never seen a human being so happy before.
Too bad it wasn’t going to last.
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Midnight Obsession: A Midnight Riders Motorcycle Club Romance Part 4 Page 24