Toni grinned.
“It was nice to see you earlier... all of you.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Sure you do, while you were peeping on Kimberly, I was watching you, and I filmed it too, right up until the exciting conclusion, or should I say climax?”
“You filmed it?”
Toni took out her phone, fiddled with it for a second and held it out for Steve to see. The video wasn’t very good and was filled with shadows, but it did show a male figure slightly hunched over, face pressed against a wall and one hand firmly grasping its... well, it was plain to see what it was grasping.
Steve studied it carefully and realized that his face could not be seen, and the unfinished attic space in the background looked like a thousand others. But as the film reached what Toni called its climax, the figure at the wall straightened and its face became visible, his face became visible, and was contorted in a look of intense pleasure.
“That was the only time I ever spied on her, I swear it,” Steve said.
Toni gave a hearty laugh.
“Please, I’m not stupid, and hell, sixteen or sixty, the girl is hot. Of course, I doubt your wife or the police would be so understanding.”
“What do you want, Toni?”
“Does your wife still do the food shopping on Saturdays?”
“Yeah, she’s in there now going through her coupons.”
“Greg’s doing the same thing, but what about the object of your desire?”
“The object... you mean Kimberly? I don’t know, but I’m sure she’s got plans of some type. We rarely see her on the weekends.”
“That’s good and once everyone leaves, I want you to come and see me, and use the back door.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
“I... you want to blackmail me, but I’m not rich, you know that.”
“Just come see me, or later on I’ll drop by and show your wife the little film I made.”
“All right, Donna should be going out shortly, what about Greg?”
“The same, and I’ll see you soon.”
Toni fired up the hedge trimmer and Steve knew that he had just been dismissed. He suddenly had no energy to climb back over the fence and so he trudged out to the front of the house, and through the wooden gate on the white picket fence.
As he walked towards his house, Kimberly came out and waved at him as she climbed into a sports car parked at the curb. The kid driving it was young and muscular and no doubt having sex with his stepdaughter, who was wearing a short skirt. Steve had to force himself not to stare at her legs.
“Where are you headed today?” Steve called out, but Kimberly only sent him another wave as the car rocketed away from the curb.
For a moment, Steve remembered the skinny ten-year-old child she was when he and Donna married. He had gotten along well with that girl, but as she blossomed, they seemed to grow apart, and now, at sixteen, Steve barely rated a wave from her.
Why did she have to grow up to be so hot? Steve thought, as if his perversion of spying on Kimberly was her fault.
Twenty minutes later, Donna was ready to go shopping.
“I’ll be awhile; I’ve other errands to run first.”
“Alright,”
“Are you going to clean out the garage today? I can barely fit the car in there anymore.”
“I know and I’ll get to it, but half of that junk is Tyler’s. He sat it in there when he moved out.”
“Well, separate it and we’ll place it in the attic, there’s room up there, isn’t there?”
“I’ll have to look,” Steve said, although he had spent a lot of time up there lately.
Donna pecked him on the cheek and headed out the door. As she drove off, he saw Greg Hogan head to his car with his son and back out of his driveway.
It was time to go see Toni and learn what she had in store. Whatever it was, Steve knew he wouldn’t like it.
CHAPTER 6
Joe Venta entered the home of a professional cat burglar named Michael Collins, and smiled at the irony of breaking into the home of a thief.
Although, in truth, Venta didn’t need to break in, because Collins had neglected to lock one of his bedroom windows,
Venta had been watching the home since daybreak, and knew that Collins had gone out for a run.
Collins was thirty, and married with two kids, a boy and a girl, and after the children climbed into the car, Collins’ wife headed off to her parents’ house for a visit.
Collins’ wife, Tracy, worked for a security company that installed many high-end security systems.
She wasn’t there for the 401K; she was there to obtain inside information that would help her husband in his profession, such as the robbery that occurred several days ago, wherein Collins stole over sixty-thousand dollars in jewelry.
Like Brady and his crew, Collins has always paid a percentage to the mob boss Quinn, because, well, that’s just the price of doing business in Boston.
However, Joe Venta had come to inform Collins that the city has a new CEO.
***
Michael Collins returned home forty minutes later drenched in sweat and aching to take a shower. With his wife and kids away visiting his in-laws, he was looking forward to taking a nap and spending the day watching football.
Collins hated running, but did it religiously while also watching his diet. In his line of work, he occasionally needed to slip into tight spaces and it also didn’t hurt to be fast on your feet.
He also kept his blond hair cut short, but would often grow a beard before a big heist, because if he were spotted or caught on film, shaving the beard off would be a quick way to change his appearance, and luckily, he could grow a full beard in just two weeks.
Contact lenses were also used to change the color of his blue eyes to brown, and those could also be removed and drastically change his appearance.
Before heading to the bathroom, Collins decided to slake his thirst and when he walked into his kitchen, he found Joe Venta sitting in the breakfast nook and sipping on coffee.
Venta held up his cup.
“Hazelnut coffee, very good,”
Collins looked around for a moment and then spoke.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Venta, perhaps you’ve heard of me?”
Collins had heard of him, and thought that he was exactly as described, especially the eyes, which were like twin pools of ink.
He assumed that Venta was armed; he had to be, because he was certainly not physically intimidating.
Collins walked farther into the room, reached into the refrigerator, and took out a carton of orange juice.
“I heard that you work for Carlito and that he’s looking to be paid tribute, but that’s a little premature, isn’t it? I mean, the city still belongs to Sean Quinn.”
“That will be changing any day now, and by paying early, you’ll avoid having to pay an increased percentage later,”
“I’d still be paying double now.”
“That’s simple,” Venta said. “Stop paying Quinn.”
“He’d have my legs broken.”
Venta showed his teeth, it was not a smile.
“I will do far worse things to you if I don’t leave here with money.”
Collins stared at him for a moment and then turned towards the stove.
“I feel like some eggs.”
He reached out as if he were going to grip the frying pan atop the stove, but reached beyond it and behind it. When he turned back around a second later, he had a gun gripped in his hand.
Venta was no longer at the table, Collins looked around the room and saw that the slim man in the expensive suit was standing on the other side of the refrigerator, and was pointing a gun at him.
“Drop it, Collins; it’s not loaded anyway.”
Collins flicked his eyes down to the gun and saw that Venta had removed the magazine. He opened his hand and let the weapon fall to the til
e floor.
“If you found my gun, then you must have also found my safe.”
“It’s beneath a blanket in a corner of the bedroom closet, not very original, but unlike you, I don’t have the skills to open it without the combination.”
“I suppose you want every cent I have?”
“That’s the price of pulling a gun on me,” Venta said.
They walked to the rear of the ranch-style home and into the master bedroom, where Collins opened the safe and handed Venta a bundle of bills with one hand while reaching for a knife with the other.
***
Venta had been ready for Collins to make a move, because the man had been acting just a little too cooperative all of a sudden. He backed away from the knife and slammed the butt of his gun against the top of Collins skull, then watched as the blond man fell to the floor.
Venta crouched down and spoke to him.
“I could kill you right now and have your wife and kiddies come home and find your body, or, you and I could go into business together.”
Collins rolled over onto his side as he felt his head with one hand. When he looked at his fingers, he saw that he was bleeding.
“You cracked my skull open.”
“It’s just a cut; don’t be a baby.”
Collins saw that Venta was pointing the gun at his face.
“What sort of business are you talking about?”
“You’ll simply keep doing what you do. Only sometimes you’ll do it for me.”
“And what do I get out of it?”
“You get to keep breathing, and maybe I’ll cut you in for a share too.”
Collins fear began to subside, as he grew curious.
“What have you got in mind?”
Venta smiled.
“Smart man,”
CHAPTER 7
“Come in!”
Steve Beck entered Toni’s home through the back door in her kitchen, and found her standing in the doorway that led to the hall. She was wearing a red satin robe and a smile.
She said, “Follow me,” and walked off before Steve could respond or even get a good look at her.
He found her in the living room. She was seated on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, causing the robe to slide back and reveal her legs to mid-thigh.
Steve felt his breath catch in his throat. Toni had very nice legs, larger than the average female leg because of her size, but very shapely and smooth. When he raised his eyes to take in the rest of her, he noticed that she was wearing make-up and that her hair was hanging down past her shoulders.
Toni’s tresses were midnight black and curly, Steve had never before seen her with her hair down, and between the new hairstyle and the make-up, she looked like a different woman.
Toni pointed to the bar in the corner.
“Make us some drinks; I’ll have a vodka on the rocks.”
Steve did as she said, and as he poured the drinks, he began to rethink his ideas about Toni’s motivations. If she was going to blackmail him for money, then why dress so enticingly?
Also, if the rumors were true, Toni had more money than Steve did, since it was said that she owned an apartment complex in Burlington. Steve did well for himself with his auto body shop, but he still had a mortgage, along with Tyler’s college tuition, since his stepchildren’s real father was a deadbeat.
Steve walked over and handed Toni her drink, and as she took it from him, she leaned forward and he caught a flash of her breasts. Toni knew that he had seen them, and she sent him a smile as he sat across from her on a loveseat.
“So, Steve, you like looking at little girls, but what about women?”
“I swear that was the one and only time I did that.”
“Does she know that you watch her?”
“What?”
“She might, you know, I was an exhibitionist at that age, maybe she is too.”
Steve had been listening to her but was looking at her legs as she spoke, Toni was much better looking than he had ever given her credit for.
“What do you want for the film you took?”
“Oh, I’ll be keeping that. I’ve watched it many times and it arouses me.”
Steve swallowed before speaking.
“What... what exactly about it arouses you?”
Toni stared at his crotch.
“What do you think? Of course, they do say that the camera adds ten pounds, maybe it adds length too.”
Steve laughed, mostly because he didn’t know what else to do.
“Are you coming on to me?”
“Well, I should get some reward for not showing your wife that film, of course, I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable doing.”
“I’ve never cheated on my wife.”
“If you don’t count jerking off when you play peeping Tom with her daughter you mean?”
“She’s only my stepdaughter; we’re not really related.”
“I’m sure that will make all the difference in the world to your wife.”
Steve didn’t know what to say and so he said nothing.
Toni smiled and lay back on the sofa, and as she did, the robe parted, revealing even more of her legs, her surprisingly taut stomach, and the flat plane of flesh between her breasts.
Steve sat his drink on the coffee table and walked over to stare down at her. It was a large sofa and she was a large woman, a large sexy woman, and Steve marveled that he had ever thought of her as, “Butch.”
Toni reached out and unzipped the fly on his jeans with one hand.
“Get naked.”
Steve disrobed as if he were in a trance, and when he was standing before her in the nude, Toni pursed her lips and gave an admiring nod of her head.
“So, I see the camera didn’t lie.”
She undid the belt on her robe and let it fall open and then watched as Steve drank in her beauty.
“Well, don’t just stand there Stevie boy, get to work.”
Steve dropped to his knees and stuck his head between Toni’s thighs.
She patted him on the head.
“Good boy.”
CHAPTER 8
Brady arrived at Jake’s house to find that Mitch and Craig were already there.
He was met at the door by Lindy, Jake’s wife, who was forty-four and looked it, but not a day older.
Mitch’s wife, Roz, had passed away three months ago from complications caused by diabetes, and this was the first time that they had all gathered together in a party atmosphere since her death.
After closing the door, Lindy kissed Brady on the cheek.
“We’re out on the patio, it’s a little chilly, but between the fire pit and the grill we’re keeping warm.”
“The booze helps too,” Brady said and Lindy smiled.
Brady took a step towards the kitchen, but Lindy held him back by taking his hand.
“How are you doing, you know, in handling the dead guard?”
“I have to live with it.”
Lindy shook her head.
“This is me, tough guy, and I know that something like this will bother you more than you let on, so if you need to talk, I’m here, you know?”
Brady squeezed her hand.
“Thanks, and yeah, I feel shitty about killing that guy, but like I said, I’ll just have to live with it.”
Craig’s wife, Selina, met them as they entered the kitchen and she too kissed Brady on the cheek.
Selina was a natural redhead with a face full of freckles that made her look girlish, despite the fact that she was nearing fifty. It also didn’t hurt that she kept herself skinny by barely eating.
“Mitch was just asking about you,” Selina said.
“How is he holding up?”
“He’s good, but you can tell he misses Roz, hell, we all miss her.”
Brady nodded in agreement; Mitch’s late wife Roz had been like a surrogate mother to him in the same way that Mitch was like a father.
Selina moved close
r and stared into Brady’s eyes.
“You know who else misses you, my cousin, Shay. I think you broke that girl’s heart.”
Brady sighed.
“I don’t want to talk about this again. I met someone else, it happens. Would you rather that I lied about it and stayed with Shay?”
Selina patted his cheek.
“We’ll talk later, go say hi to everyone and get yourself a drink.”
The other members of the crew greeted Brady when he walked out onto the patio, where Jake was cooking steaks on a red brick grill, while Craig lay on a lounge chair, surfing the web on a laptop.
Brady poured a whiskey and settled beside Mitch at a round glass table.
Mitch patted him on the shoulder and then handed him a thick package covered in brown paper, which contained thirty-three-thousand dollars, his cut of the take from the robbery. Brady thanked him and sat it atop the table.
“What are you going to do with your share?” Mitch asked.
Brady shrugged.
“I’ll just put it away for now.”
“It wasn’t that long ago that you would have gone to Vegas for a weekend and blown it all.”
“Yeah, but I’m smarter than that now.”
“It was Shay who changed your ways; that girl was good for you.”
Brady laughed.
“Oh God, not you too, or did Selina put you up to that?”
“I speak my own mind, you know that, and I always said that Shay was as good as gold. In fact, she reminds me of Roz, and let me tell you, it was Roz who helped me get my act together. Without her, I would have stayed a two-bit stick-up artist.”
“Roz was one-of-a-kind and I miss her too.”
Just then, Jake shouted that the steaks were done and everyone gathered around the table to eat.
***
Once the food had been devoured, the six of them moved inside to the living room for drinks and talk.
They had business to discuss, both legal and illegal and Mitch had a proposition to place before the group.
“A new member?” Brady said.
“Yeah, this kid, Avery, this last score was the second time we needed his kind of help and I doubt it’ll be the last,” Mitch said.
Desolation Lake Page 3