by M. Z. Kelly
“Me too.” He extends a hand. “I’m Zach.”
She lets her hand linger in his for a long moment. “I’m Loretta.” His hand is warm, a bit rough. Thoughts of Jason skitter through her mind again.
“So, what’s in Los Angeles?”
He’s smiling again. She senses his attraction. It sends a wave of excitement through her. “I’m…an art student. There’s going to be an exhibit there.” She meets his eyes, then looks away brushing a hand through her blonde hair.
“Really?” His smile plays again. “I’m a photographer. Mostly landscapes.” He pauses, maybe out of nervousness she thinks. “Where’s the exhibit going to be held?”
“It hasn’t been decided yet.” She sees his confusion. “It’s a work in progress. We’re looking for a location.”
He nods, probably more out of politeness than understanding. “Maybe we could go to the exhibit together if you’re free. I’ve got…”
The young man’s voice is crushed by the roaring scream in Loretta Martin’s ears. “WHORE…SLUT…TELL HIM TO LEAVE…NOW!”
Loretta covers her ears, rocking back and forth. The keening wail continues until she wants to scream. Finally, mercifully Ellian’s voice grows softer.
Zach’s voice comes back to her. “Are you okay?”
She brings her hands down, controls the tremors in her body, and meets his eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just a bad headache. Would you mind sitting somewhere else?”
The young man expresses his sympathy, says something about checking on her later, and moves to the back of the bus again.
When she’s alone again, Loretta covers her ears, rocks, and waits for what she knows is coming. Several minutes pass before Ellian’s voice comes back to her, screaming like a jet engine swooping down on her. “YOU MUST BE CAREFUL, SLUT. EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON YOU NOW.” The roar of hateful comments continues, growing louder with every passing minute. The blast is so overpowering that she covers her ears again, moaning.
“NO,” Loretta finally screams, clawing at her ears and begging. “No more. PLEASE.”
“Are you okay?”
She looks up and sees that it’s Zach again. He’s leaning over to her. There’s something about the way his features are knitted together that reminds her of Jason. She pulls him down until he’s in the seat next to her again. She leans her head against his shoulder.
“Can you stay with me, Zach?” she asks, clutching his arm.
“Of course.”
After a moment, Zach’s body shifts. Loretta lifts her head, sensing that he knows, even as the screaming in her ears continues. She sees him examining her more closely, trying to understand what’s happening.
“What’s that noise?” he asks.
Loretta Martin looks at him for a long moment. She then does something for the first time in almost a decade. She reaches up and removes the wireless communication device from her ears. Ellian’s shattering voice is mercifully silenced.
“It’s nothing,” Loretta says, snuggling against him again. “Just a voice from the past.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
After we left Bratton State Hospital I called Damien Lofton and then got Joe Dawson on the line. I filled him in on what I’d learned both at the hospital and from Lofton.
“Not only did daddy molest his own sons and the neighborhood kids,” I said, “One of the psych techs remembered that he painted the victim’s faces. I called Damien Lofton and he confirmed that, telling me that his father painted both his and Ellian’s faces and put wigs on them before sodomizing them.”
“Sounds like crazy daddy wanted a little girl,” Dawson said. “It also sounds like James aka Loretta Martin somehow picked up on his teacher’s insanity. Maybe Ellian molested Martin and taught him or her everything he knows.”
“Maybe…” I paused, thinking about Loretta Martin, what we knew about the crimes and the victims. “Do you think we’ve got the right guy, Joe? Maybe we’re missing something.”
“Like?”
“I don’t know. Everything seems to tie back to Robert Lofton and then his son, Ellian. Maybe there’s something we’ve overlooked.”
“Figure it out. In the meantime, I’ll get a court order and subpoena the hospital’s records on Loonybin Lofton, see how many other skeletons are in the crazy closet.”
I gave him the name of the hospital administrator. “When will I see you, Joe?”
“I’ll be in La La Land with the taskforce, the day after tomorrow. We’re running out of time, Buttercup.”
After I ended the call, I said to Pearl, “The FBI will be in Los Angeles in the next forty-eight hours. I think I’m going to have to talk to the chief directly about working the case.”
Pearl glanced over at me. “Want some company?”
My lips turned up, maybe for the first time in days. “Thanks, Pearl. I know I’ve said it before but you’re the best.”
***
After dropping Pearl off to get his car at Jack’s apartment he was replaced by Arnold Murphy, my assigned nighttime protection.
“I’m going to spend a few hours visiting some friends,” I told Murphy. “I don’t think you’re ready for them. You might just want to hang out in your car in front of the residence.”
Murphy reminded me of a guy out of one of those cop shows from the 1940’s. He was about forty, solid with short brown hair and a nose that looked like it had more than a few close encounters with some knuckles. He grunted and said that he’d follow me.
On my way home, I called Jack and told him about visiting my roommates and that I’d see him later. He told me to have a good time and we exchanged “I love yous,” something I was still getting used to.
When Bernie and I got home and walked into the family room I saw that my roommates were all dressed for an evening out. Natalie and Mo were wearing what I call tight and short; outfits that were body-hugging with skirts that started somewhere north of mid-thigh.
Then Nana appeared and the term tight and short took on a whole new meaning. Our landlord’s tight yellow blouse and short red skirt made her look like she was ready for teen dress-up day at the retirement home. Her great grandson was also something to behold. Prissy’s six-five frame was swathed in black and white material that made him look like he was ready for a zombie street festival.
“What’s going on?” I asked, as I put my purse on the kitchen counter and Bernie did the happy dance. Since we’d been gone for a week, we both got lots of attention. I then realized why they were dressed up.
“Glad you could make it, Kate,” Mo said after hugging me. “Wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Make what?”
Natalie came over, fixing a mini bridal veil to her hair. “It’s me bleepin’ bachelorette party tonight. Don’t tell me you forgot?”
“Of course not,” I lied. She’d texted me a couple of times about the party but, given my mental state, I’d forgotten all about it. “I’ve just been busy with everything that’s been happening lately.”
“You’d better change then,” Mo said. “I gotta feeling tonight’s action at Club ForePlay is the only foreplay baby sis is gonna get after she marries Tex.”
“We’re expected at the club in half an hour,” Nana said, trying to hurry me along. “We rented a limo.”
“What about the dogs?” I asked as Bernie and Bubba chased after one another, sharing a chew toy.
“Elvis is upstairs still recovering from his groin pull,” Nana said. “I’ll be sure he checks on them.”
I had a feeling that Elvis was a malingerer but couldn’t blame him. I excused myself and went to my room to change. I showered and then dragged a brush through hair that seemed to stick out in every direction before I finally gave up on it. After a couple of tries, I settled on a black lace top dress, something that wasn’t too tight or too short but was the best I could pull off on short notice.
Going to Natalie’s bachelorette party was the last thing I wanted to do but I felt like I had no choice.
An hour later I was laughing so hard, I forgot my problems, if only for a few minutes.
***
When we got to Club ForePlay a dozen of Natalie’s other closest female friends joined us. The group was loud and ready to party. Arnold Murphy had followed our limo and I glanced over, seeing him walk into the establishment.
“You might want to just hang out by the door,” I said to Murphy after I went over. I saw the big cop was taking in a group of women dancing on the top of a bar in the corner of the establishment. A moment later some half-nude male dancers joined them.
“What the hell is this place?” Murphy growled.
“It’s basically a bar for bachelorette parties.”
Murphy scratched his big head, shuffled his feet, and looked like he was going to be ill. He nodded to a chair near the club’s entrance. “You need anything, I’ll be over there.” He glanced at the dancing women again, back to me. “Try not to pull something.”
I had no intention of pulling anything. I’d told my friends as much when we were in the limo on the way over. “I’m just going as a spectator tonight,” I’d said. “I’m still recovering from everything that happened and I’m not doing anything embarrassing.”
Natalie said she understood, but Nana was having none of it. “You’re about as much fun as a nun in a strip club. Some of us are gonna get down and dirty tonight.”
The down and dirty began after several drinks when Nana took over the festivities, announcing the first game of the night.
“Okay ladies, we’re going to play something called, Go Down, Down Under. She pulled my friends and the other women out onto the dance floor. They all began gyrating to an Australian rock song that I’d heard somewhere before. My friends and the other women looked like they were having a good time. Nana and Prissy on the other hand looked like something out of a crazed slasher movie. Nana and the Zombie Slayer?
As they continued to dance, the group was soon joined by a half-dozen male dancers who were wearing cowboy hats, riding chaps, and not much else.
The music lowered for a moment and Nana tossed a party bag to each of the women. “Okay, everyone. It’s time to open your packages.”
I watched as Natalie, Mo, Prissy, and the other women each pulled a diaper out of their bag. Nana then blew a whistle and announced, “Okay, ladies. It’s time to diaper your baby.”
“Oh my god!” I said as the Aussie dancers began stripping. I soon realized the object of the game was to diaper the gyrating dancer’s “package.”
“Hold on, honey,” Mo yelled to her “baby”. “You wiggle that thing anymore and I’m gonna have to get me a rope and tie it down.”
Natalie and Prissy were also struggling to get the diapers on their dancing, thrusting Aussies. But it wasn’t my friends or the other women who stole the show. It was Nana.
“What are you doing?” I heard Nana’s dancer say. The young man had a horrified expression, like he was being circumcised without an anesthetic. “You gotta let me go, lady.”
Nana had a tight hold on that most sensitive part of her subject’s anatomy as she pushed her diaper between his legs.
“Just relax and go with it, baby boy,” Nana warbled, her Leo’s gleaming in the pulsing overhead lights. “This might take me awhile.”
Nana’s dancer continued to resist her diapering techniques, trying to pull away. After chasing him around the dance floor while still holding onto the guy’s “saddle horn,” Nana eventually grew tired of the chase. I watched in horror as she reached up and removed a pin that she’d used to keep her hair in place.
“Hold on,” Nana said, bringing the pin down to her diaper. “This is the way we did it in the olden days. You move and it might…”
“Arghh!” the dancer screamed. He reflexively pulled away as she poked his privates, before finally managing to break free of the Nana penis death grip. His once proud member appeared to be quickly deflating as he held onto himself and screamed for someone to get a first aid kit.
“Oh, suck it up,” Nana said, glowering at her “baby” and his withered assets. “It looks like you might have to start shopping in the boy’s department? Maybe it’ll save you a few bucks.”
Ten minutes later, order was finally restored. The drinks continued as Nana’s dancer was ushered away in a state of humiliation while Nana said something about them “putting his dick in a sling.” After a couple of more games, one involving Natalie and the girls trying to put condoms on bananas while blindfolded, Mo announced the final event of the night.
“We got us a jumbo piñata full of prizes,” Mo said to the gathering. “The thing’s filled to the brim with everything from dildos to raincoats to happy juice. You might even find a couple of things in there you can use tonight.” Mo walked over to me and announced to the others. “And just so she’s not left outta the night’s festivities, I’m gonna ask Kate to bust open Mr. Jumbo.”
I resisted, politely declining the offer. Then I tried to physically pull away from my friends who had grabbed me and were pushing me toward the stage. It was useless. Nana held onto me like a linebacker as Mo dragged me onto the stage, blindfolded me, and gave me a plastic baseball bat.
The women all started laughing hysterically as the piñata was apparently brought on stage while Mo twirled me around several times. By the time she finally let go of me I was dizzy and had no idea where the piñata was.
Mo said, “Okay Kate, whack Mr. Jumbo like it’s one of them killers you chase around.”
As the women all laughed and shouted their encouragement I did as instructed, only to swing and miss several times, hitting nothing but air.
Then I heard Nana yell out, “Kate’s always had a problem with big dicks.”
I knew then that something was up. After several more tries, I finally made contact. I heard the piñata break open as the women all rushed in around me to claim their prizes. Then I made the mistake of pulling off my blindfold.
I realized I was standing in front of Mr. Jumbo, who was a giant smiling penis-shaped piñata that had burst open at the seam revealing a small mountain of prizes. I turned, glancing over at my laughing friends, the shock of what had happened registering on my face. That’s when Nana said, “I got the whole thing on video.”
A chase through Club ForePlay followed, me going after the elderly linebacker, trying to get to her phone before she downloaded the pictures to the Internet. After a lengthy pursuit, I finally tackled my opponent, wrestled her phone away, and deleted the video.
“Do you realized what you just did?” Nana said, snatching her phone back as we got off the floor.
“Saving myself from total humiliation again,” I said, remembering how she’d once videotaped me putting out a fire on Tex’s sex doll.
Nana shook her head. “I don’t understand you, Kate. You just deleted a video of you whacking off the world’s biggest penis. You coulda been an Internet sensation.”
I looked around, noticing the dozens of women who had gathered around us, laughing and watching the scrum. “Thanks, but I’m good with just the local humiliation.”
By the time the night finally, mercifully, ended I’d regained a little of my dignity, or maybe I was just too drunk to care about what had happened. I glanced up at Arnold Murphy as we were leaving.
The big cop shook his head at me. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff but I think I’m scarred for life now.”
I managed a weak smile, motioned to my friends. “Just imagine how I feel. I’ve gotta live with them.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
It was after midnight by the time we got home. I’d had too much to drink so I texted Jack, explaining my situation, and telling him that I was spending the night with my roommates.
I took a few moments to unwind in the family room after I let Bernie and Bubba out into the backyard. After Prissy went off to bed Nana came over to me, Natalie, and Mo, and said, “Tonight made me realize how much I miss having a baby to diaper.”
Mo yawned. “I’ll bet. I
never seen anyone take twenty minutes to put on a diaper.”
Nana became defensive. “Can I help it if my baby was nervous?”
Mo nodded at her. “Yeah, I guess there’s something ‘bout being chased around by an eighty-plus year old woman who has your dick in one hand and a needle in the other that will make a guy jumpy.”
Nana put her hands on her hips. “Give me a break, it was just a little prick.”
“It was after you got through with him,” Natalie agreed.
“Speaking of pricks,” Nana said, heading for the stairway, “I’m going to bed and check on Elvis.”
“You and the king try to keep it down tonight,” Mo said. “I hear any moaning and screaming and I’m coming up there with Kate’s baseball bat.”
After she was gone Natalie turned to me. “How are you feeling, sweet pea. I mean ‘bout everything that’s been going on lately?”
“I’m fine for someone who’s been drugged, almost murdered…” I was still a little drunk, laughed, and added, “and who just whacked a giant penis.”
“I’ve been giving me wedding plans some thought,” Natalie went on. “With everything that’s been going on maybe I should postpone it.”
“I can’t let you do that, Nat. I’m hoping things will settle down in the next few days.”
Mo took off her red wig, tossed it on the coffee table. “Only way that’s gonna happen is if we nail that Cooper bastard once and for all.”
“It’s so sad ‘bout what happened to your friend, Lacy,” Natalie agreed. “Mo and me are ready to throw a serious benny, put the big hurt on the ugly bampot.”
The mention of Lacy’s name made me sad but I also saw that conspiratorial look in their eyes. “All right. What gives?”
“Now that the cat’s outta the bag with the press and everything, me and Mo wanna talk to Dudley ‘bout the case, see if he has any thoughts about Cooper. He says he’s retiring from the talk show circuit, so I don’t think that should be a problem.”
I shrugged and yawned. Maybe I was too tired or too drunk to care. “Just be sure to leave me out of it.”