Robbie wondered what Benny had in store for them. He was sure whatever it was, it was going to be dreadfully painful. Robbie smiled at the thought. Maybe it would even be deadly.
“Forget the animals,” he said. “They shoulda kept their asses in Del Toray.”
In addition to being completely petrified, Tori was also flabbergasted. She was nearly in shock. She could hardly fathom what was about to happen. She looked at Simone, who was in equal shock.
The two had been gagged with handkerchiefs. They lay on their sides on the pebbly, rocky, cut-up asphalt of the school parking lot. Tori and Simone’s hands were both handcuffed to the rear bumper of the large black van. All of the guys, except Benny, were inside the van. Most of them were crowded at the back window, taunting and jeering the two women. Benny had gleefully informed those two women of what was going to happen. They were going to get a free ride around the portion of the parking lot that was blocked by the shrubbery-covered fence. It wasn’t a real big area, and Benny would have to do a lot of turning around, but he would be able to swing it. He had boasted that he was a real good driver.
Benny stood at the feet of the two women.
“I picked this place, ‘cause it’s got the sharpest pavement I know of in this whole city. At least where we can hide ourselves. And as tempting as it is, I’d like to drive you two losers around this lot till ain’t nothing left of ya.”
Tori took a deep gulp at the thought of those words.
“But I got problems with the cops,” Benny continued. “So I gotta kinda take it easy. A couple minutes on this stuff’ll make my point real good, though. Then, me and my friends will see what other fun we can have.”
Tori tried her best to break free from the handcuffs. She wasted her time. Benny pointed a finger directly at her.
“But let me make something clear. This here’s gone be a warning. If you don’t get outta here and leave Robbie off, then I might just stop giving a damn what my cop troubles is, and take you two sluts out.”
Benny boldly raised a fist in the air.
“When you mess with one of my boys, you mess with me,” he proudly proclaimed.
Then, sarcastically, “Boy, I sure am glad I’m not in yall’s shoes right now.”
Tori saw Benny leave her feet and disappear around the side of the truck. She again looked at Simone. They both had eyes that were about to explode from their sockets.
As the cheering from above got even louder, Tori heard the van door slam. A second later, the van’s motor started. Then, just moments after, the unbelievable nightmare started. Tori, as well as Simone, fell flat on their stomachs as the van jerked forward with a screeching sound. Tori instantly saw she was going to have serious problems keeping her chin and mouth from scraping against the pavement with the rest of her body. She felt the pavement scraping into her skin; her ribcage started feeling as if hands were pressing it deeply into her body. The skin on her torso got extremely hot and began to sting.
The van made another screeching sound and began to swerve. It was making a sharp turn. Tori and Simone slammed against one another, and then fell flat on their stomachs again, as the van drove back in the direction from where it had come. Tori’s bottom lip scraped against a huge rock; blood spewed out. She felt her pant leg rip open at the knee.
Once they reached the other end again, yet more screeching and another swift turn. Tori and Simone slammed again, this time fiercely butting heads. Tori knew that her investigation had already come to a sudden end. She realized that by the time these jerks finished with she and Simone, the only leads they would have would lead straight to a hospital – if they were lucky. She was sure this maniac was going to spend a lot more than two minutes with she and Simone.
Down to the opposite end. The laughing and cheering from above rang in Tori’s ears nearly as much as the sound of the van. It stung her almost as much as the pavement. How was she going to get out of this? She had not a clue. She could only hope for the tormentors to take a little mercy. And she didn’t hold out much prospect for that. Back to the other end once more, she and Simone went. Tori felt completely hopeless.
However, it did come, much to Tori’s shocking surprise. Relief. The van screeched to a sudden stop. Tori thought she heard screaming. She was sure it was Simone. But then, she knew that thought had to be stupid, since Simone was gagged like her. She looked to Simone, who looked as though she were about to go unconscious. Tori raised up a little. She looked to the corner of the building from which they had been led to the van. A small Volkswagen was there, and on the passenger’s side, a teenage girl screamed her lungs out. Tori could tell there was someone behind the wheel as well.
The car immediately backed away, disappearing behind the corner. But the damage had apparently been done, as the laughter above had turned to anger and cursing. Tori heard the van door open and Benny’s footsteps rushing back to she and Simone.
“Damn it all!” Benny shouted. “Damn teenage kids.”
Benny regretfully ripped a key out of his pocket. He stepped between the two women and quickly began unlocking Simone’s cuffs. Some of the guys in the van were pleading for Benny to give the two women a couple more rides. Benny ignored them. He freed Simone’s hands and then stuffed the cuffs in his pants pockets. He did the same to Tori, jerking her hands as he took off the cuffs. The side of Tori’s face fell hard against the pavement. She felt a pebble cut into her cheek. Benny kicked her in the legs and she rolled over on her back.
“Look here, slut,” he yelled, jutting a finger at her again. “You get the hell outta this city. ‘Cause if you don’t, next time there ain’t gone be no witnesses. I’m gone make sure!”
Benny stepped back over her, and Tori rolled over on her stomach. As he rushed back past her, she considered reaching out and grabbing his leg, but then, thought better. She lay there in anger and shock, as she heard Benny get back into the van. The van sped away with all of its angry men. It disappeared around the opposite corner of the school.
Tori looked to Simone, who despite being in a daze, and bobbing her head from side to side, was slowly trying to pull the handkerchief out of her mouth. Tori saw Simone's crushed phone beside her waist. So far, her own still felt intact.
Tori seethed. She didn’t even care about her gag right now. She just angrily banged the pavement with her fist. Gradually, she lowered her forehead against it.
Sara lay on the bed in her tiny one-room apartment. She had her arms crossed over her chest like a corpse. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t asleep. She was in deep thought – something she did quite a bit. The reason was because she stayed depressed quite a bit. She was grateful it was Saturday, otherwise, she would have taken the day off from work. She didn’t have much Leave time. Why hadn’t she listened to her mom and dad? she thought remorsefully. She had been a bright student in school; her parents had wanted to send her to college. They had begged her to go. But no, she had fallen in love with Rex. They were going to get married and build a life together. He was all she needed.
However, not too long after Rex’s original proposal of marriage, it had then turned into a proposition of living together. Sara had agreed. They didn’t need a piece of paper; they were in love. So right after graduation from high school, she and Rex had moved into a small apartment together.
Well Rex had turned out to be a bum. He had had no ambition. He wouldn’t work much, and when he did work, he would spend the money on drink, and other women. He beat Sara as well. And he stayed drunk a good deal of the time. After four years, Sara had been grateful he had left. She hadn’t seen him since.
But Rex had left something behind – a then three-year-old daughter. He had also left behind a woman of many regrets. Sara’s parents had gone on to another life. The bulk of the money and property they’d had, they’d left to her sister Eve – the one who hadn’t disappointed them. Sara had been left a couple of thousand dollars, which she had spent in no time making ends meet.
So there Sara was, twe
nty-nine years old. She had no skills, and no way to learn any. Her job paid her just enough money to barely survive. She didn’t want to work second or third jobs, because she had a ten-year-old daughter whom she desperately needed to spend time with. And she needed to do a much better job with that time quality-wise. Little Tina was already out of control. She would return home from a special reformatory for children twelve and under on next Saturday. Sara wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.
Sara felt trapped. She thought maybe if she could get her hands on a decent amount of money, maybe she could attend the local community college, and still have her job to make a living. Maybe she’d even be able to pay someone a small sum to keep an eye on Tina, while she herself was away in class.
Sara opened her eyes. She stared shiftily at the ceiling. She had heard about the two detectives who wanted this Riley guy. She had a photo of Riley in her dresser drawer – a photo that the detectives had distributed throughout the area.
A short ways down the hallway, living in that musty little room was all the money she would need. She knew it was him. The reward was ten thousand dollars. But she’d also heard, though it was supposed to be a secret, that the police were to be kept out of it. Sara knew that problem could get her in trouble with the law. However, she was becoming desperate in her situation. The police weren’t offering a reward. She needed money – to hell with police.
There was also another problem, though. Those women-hating fags, as she called them. Many were big-time drug dealers. They wielded a lot of power in this area, and they were dangerous. She had seen a number of them go into Riley’s room on several occasions. They apparently were quite tight with him. If they found out she was the one who had led the detectives to Riley, she might not would get to enjoy any of the reward.
Sara was going to have to think things over a little longer, though she knew she couldn’t take too long and get beaten to the punch. She had to decide if the risks were worth it. However, she had to admit to herself, she was definitely leaning towards turning the fag in.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Tori was in Simone’s hospital room. It had been a long night. Tori herself was a bit battered and bruised, but for the most part she was okay. She had a big bottom lip, and she had a bruise and scratch on her left cheeks. She also had a right knee that had been skinned some, as was her stomach. But the doctor had told her everything would heal just fine. She was well aware that she and Simone had been quite lucky. However, Simone still hadn’t fared quite as well as her.
Tori and police officer Gavitt sat next to each other beside Simone’s bed. Simone had her assortments of cuts and bruises as well. There was a deep cut over her right eye, though her wounds were also expected to heal with no problem. Simone’s biggest problem had been the concussion the doctor had diagnosed her as having suffered. Simone had a bad headache right now. The concussion wasn’t severe, but bad enough, such that the doctor had needed to keep her overnight for observation. Simone had suffered a little bit of a memory lapse.
As Tori looked at her friend lying there, who looked back at her rather groggily, she couldn’t help but feel deep remorse for what had happened. She felt responsible. She had apologized more than once in the past few hours since their arrival there. She had assured Simone that the health insurance carried by the agency would cover everything. As for Simone, she had assured her friend that there was no need for guilt; she had chosen to work in this business, therefore, she had to take the risks. As for the insurance, she had eagerly agreed with Tori on that matter.
“I’m so sorry, Simone,” said Tori.
“Will you cut it out with that?” Simone replied. “I’m getting kind of sick of hearing it.”
“I just wish I could get my hands on those A-holes – in a fair situation.”
“Then, it wouldn’t be fair. We’d kick the crap out of them.”
“They deserve it.”
“We’ve been after those jerks for several years,” said Gavitt. He had a deep voice. He was a tall, slender man with blonde hair. He had a fair complexion, and he looked to be in his late twenties. If Tori hadn’t been so occupied with her current problems, she would have taken time to inquire of his personal life. He was rather attractive.
“They’ve grown quite a bit of power,” he went on. “They own a large portion of that section of town. Drugs and all.”
“What they did was despicable,” Tori answered. “I want justice for this.”
“A lot of people want justice. We’re working on it. We haven't been able to trap Benny and his drug operations. He’s amassed a good amount of money, which of course, helps him control things.”
“Why do he and his cronies hate women so much? Why can’t they just be gay and let that be it?”
“Don’t ask me. There are lots of kooks in this world. I’ve heard a story about Benny’s mother dying of cancer when he was eight. He blamed her and has hated women ever since.”
“That wasn’t her fault. What an idiot.”
“So true. But I must tell you, there’s a smaller branch of opposites to these guys.”
“Opposites? What do you mean?”
“There’s a Men-Hater’s club in that part of town too. A lot less powerful, though.”
Tori just shook her head in disgust. “Don’t take it personally, but your city’s a little weird.”
“No offence taken. I agree. And Benny and his jerks are very weird. You’d better be leery of them, if you’re going to continue your case.”
“I have every intention of continuing. Even if I have to do it alone.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Simone grouched. “You kicking me out?”
“Of course not. But I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to quit this case, after what’s happened.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m ready to quit. Besides, I want revenge on those jerks.”
“I can understand that,” said Gavitt. “But I’m sure you two can see, that these men are extremely dangerous.”
“I’m still not giving up my case,” Tori said defiantly. “And like I told you, I expect justice for this attack.”
“If the two teenagers who witnessed everything don’t live in that part of town, we may not be able to find them. Or they may not talk if we do. They’d probably be afraid of repercussions from Benny.”
“There’s got to be some way to crack this guy. He can’t be allowed to terrify people like this.”
“Right now, the best we can do is slow him down. A little before the incident with you two, we picked up a couple of his guys who are suspected of beating two men nearly to death. Whenever some of Benny’s people are in jail, he takes a low profile for a while.”
“He didn’t take a low profile with us.”
“He didn’t know the guys had been arrested. But usually, he’ll try not to risk adding any more trouble to his plate, because he doesn’t know what the guys in custody might do. They might squeal on him in order to save their own butts. He makes his other club members take it slow too.”
“Well then, that should help my case. They’ll be too scared to pull any more stunts like they did a few hours ago.”
“Maybe. But you never know with crazies. Besides, once he bails them out, he probably won’t have anything to worry about. He’ll convince them not to squeal. Hopefully, though, bailing will take a while. I heard it was set pretty high.”
“I’m not going to let this Benny jerk scare me off. I’ve got to do this for my sister. And for my peace-of-mind.”
“You know, Miss Edwards, we need to talk about how you’re handling this case.”
Tori looked at him rather suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“There are some rather unsavory things floating around on the streets.”
“Unsavory?
“That’s right. We know about your reward. That’s your right. But we’ve also been hearing things like – ’Come to us, not the police.’ Is that true?”
Tori looked b
riefly at Simone, who returned a rather sly look herself.
“Now, if it was,” Tori replied, “do you think I could really tell you that?”
“No. I guess you couldn’t. You know of course, it’s against the law. If you find Robbie Riley, you have to report it to us.”
“I never said, I wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, well, let’s not play games. I know you wouldn’t report him to us. And the fact that Benny went to the length he did to stop you, indicates that Riley is indeed here in New Port. We’re gonna have his photo on TV tomorrow.”
Tori cringed at that idea. It definitely was going to scare Robbie out of the city.
“Let’s not be enemies,” Gavitt said. “We can work together on this.”
“Work together? How?”
“The police don’t always follow the rules. We can’t. The criminals don’t follow any rules.
Me, and a select group of guys, whose numbers and names I can give you, sort of play by our own rules at times.”
Tori didn’t say anything. She just watched him, not sure she was going to like what she was about to hear.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Gavitt continued, “we don’t do anything real bad. We might rough a crook up a little bit, but nothing serious enough that’ll leave scars. Just enough to scare him. We might play con games on the scum. We might even lie to them. But as soon as we get what we want, we throw their asses in jail where they belong. And they can’t prove a thing.”
“Oh really? Well how is this supposed to affect me?”
“We’re not offering a reward, so cooperation for us may come slower than it does for you. You might get to Riley first. You might. If you notify me, or the guys whose names I can give you, then we can work together.”
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