“So, you don’t think she was abused?” Hank spat out his question as if he was disgusted by my indifference—or ignorance—or both.
“When did I say that?” I shot back. “I’m not saying that I’m not totally disgusted by what that girl went through, and I’m certainly not saying that her father didn’t molest or abuse her. Hell, this kind of shit happens all the time, so the motherfucker probably did it! If so, I hope they nail him to the wall and cut his nuts off! All I’m saying is that there is no way for us to be sure of the truth and, frankly, it’s not up to us to investigate it or to punish him if he’s guilty. By the way, I have two patients who are CPS workers in Rockwall, and they are not useless bureaucrats. Those chicks are dedicated. They work long hours and they give one hundred percent of themselves to protect those kids. There is no way the caseworkers here in Paris are any less devoted or that they are going to turn a blind eye to what happened to that girl.”
“Well, I don’t want to just wait around and see if justice is done when I know I can deliver justice for her.” Hank said.
“You’ve got to get this through your head, dude!” I replied. “It’s only justice if the guy is guilty. Even then, I’m not sure you can claim that you are acting in a just way if you are breaking the law by taking it into you own hands. What you need to keep in mind is that the authorities are on the case. Nobody is sweeping this incident under the rug, and, like I said, CPS does not shy away from investigating whether kids are safe at home. If anything, I think they are criticized more for intervening too much, not the opposite.”
It really seemed like I was getting through to him this time. I could tell he was listening and actually thinking about what I was saying, and I was a little less scared about him doing something stupid.
“Alright, then,” he said, “I still think the asshole did it, but I’ll give it some time to see what the authorities are able to figure out. I’m going to figure out how to keep an eye on the case, though.”
“Fair enough. Just promise me you won’t do anything without talking it over with me first, okay?” I implored him. The fact that he was going to ‘keep his eye’ on the case, I thought was good news. I thought if he made inquiries regarding Suzie’s case through CPS or the police, his interest would get noticed. If he later came to me and told me he was planning some act of retribution on Suzie’s father, I’d be able to point out that he would almost certainly be a person of interest in any investigation. I’d point out to him that he’d already blown his chance to commit a crime that couldn’t be traced back to him. I believed this, if nothing else, would prevent him from moving forward with any violent plans.
Hank looked me in the eyes and said, “Otay Papa, Hanky pwomises. Pwease don’t be angwy.”
“You idiot!” I said. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you stay in the car while I go buy some booze, so we can get home to our ladies. We’ve been gone so long they probably think you talked me into letting you give me road head. Now, I don’t want you coming in the store and going ape shit on that guy, so please stay out here. Oh, and I know it’s up to you to fight crime and keep the streets clean, but please try your best to avoid fucking up any litterbugs or loiterers you might see in the parking lot while I’m gone, Mr. Tattoo’ed Avenger.”
“Hey, that’s pretty good, but it should be the ‘Invisible, Spider-like, Tattoo’ed, Super Marine Avenger. Yeah, that’s got a nice ring to it!”
“On second thought, how about just Super Dick?” I said, as I climbed out of the car.
“On third thought,” Hank replied, “how about just go fuck yourself!”
I closed the door and walked into the liquor store, leaving my best friend in the car to consider what we’d talked about. I hoped to hell I’d gotten through to him and that I’d be able to keep him from going over the edge of the current cliff he was walking along. I knew if he went completely over, he’d fall into an obsession there would be no coming back from.
Chapter 48
“Man, Mandy and I have got to stop teaming up when we play games with other people,” I said. “We both suck balls at pretty much any game involving trivia, drawing, wordplay, playing cards and—hell, I don’t know, what else is there?” We were standing in the kitchen at Hank’s house refreshing everyone’s drinks while Mandy and the two other couples Hank and Jodi had invited over for game night sat in the living room getting to know each other. Mandy and I had been, as per usual, stinking it up and making our opponents look like geniuses as we came in last game after game.
Jodi and Hank laughed, and Jodi said, “Y’all aren’t that bad.” She looked almost sympathetic at first, but then she met Hank’s eyes and cracked up. “Actually, well yeah, you guys do suck balls! I was just trying to be nice.”
“Oh, I see how it is. I confide in my best friend and his woman about my insecurity and you just kick me while I’m already down. Right in the ‘nads, in fact,” I replied, feigning hurt. “I need to go find the number for suicide prevention, before I fucking slit my wrists. I’m not kidding, dude, I’m going to get blood all over your fucking bathroom. Maybe then you’ll see what happens when someone on the edge reaches out and his friends don’t take him seriously.”
“Waa, waa, waa, Marky-Mark. Cry me a river! You can’t be good at everything, you know,” Hank said, smiling broadly.
“I know, I’m just kidding. If the biggest handicap of our marriage is that we can’t guess what the other is describing, or drawing, or acting out, I think we’re going to make it across the finish line.” I replied.
“Oh, how sweet!” Hank said, “You and Mandy have such a wonderful life together! You two are just darling. Well, some of us may not have ‘finished the race’ with our first spouses,” he added, ”but we’re not into running marathons. My relationship with Jodi is more like—let’s see, yeah, that’s it—mud wrestling! Naked! And there ain’t no finish line to cross, baby—just round after round of nasty, messy, sexy, head to head body slamming fun! Ain’t that right, sugar?”
We both looked at Jodi, who actually shivered a bit as she pulled her sweater around her and over her breasts to hide the visible signs of excitement which had sprung up under her blouse.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself, Hanky-panky,” Jodi said, as she licked her lips sensually to let Hank know that he had gotten her engine running with his lewd metaphor.
“Jesus, y’all,” I said, “Go find an empty fucking room. You live here for Christ’s sake! By the way, Jodi, don’t you have a couple of kids? Where do you stash them on all of these nights that you have adult sleepovers with the Hankster?”
“Oh, don’t worry about them!” she said with disdain. “Their perfect father with his perfect, little wifey are happy to take them whenever I need to dump them off. They act like I’m some kind of a slut for not wanting to deal with them during my five designated days each week, but I don’t really care. They’re cute and everything, but motherhood sucks! Having to drag your little brats around with you wherever you go can really get in the way of having a good time. You know what I mean?”
I guess that Jodi thought I’d share her view of parenthood, but, as usual, her ignorant ranting just confirmed my previous opinions of her as a cold-hearted, gold-digging skank.
“Not really”, I said. “I always love being with my kids. In fact, I’d do anything for them. I understand, though. Not everyone has what Mandy and I have.”
“Actually, Broseph,” Hank said. “I need to show you something in my den.” He was obviously anxious to get some distance between me and his girlfriend.
“Dude, I don’t want to see your boner. I know, I know. It’s big. You don’t have to whip it out to try to intimidate me,” I jibed him.
“Listen, faggot, I know that you daydream about my cock all the time, but try to focus on something else for a change,” he shot back.
“Baby,” he said, as he turned to Jodi, “go ahead and run those drinks out to everyone. Mark and I will just be a few minutes. Don’t wo
rry, Hanky-panky’s going to take care of you tonight!”
“Are you two fucking serious? I just threw up in my mouth a little,” I said.
“You just wish Mandy was as hot for you as I am for Hank!” Jodi said, as she carried the tray of drinks across the kitchen and began backing through the swinging doors at the entrance. “I’d do anything for him! I mean anything—anytime!”
She licked her lips seductively again and shook her chest a few times to get the lapels of her sweater to fall past her generously augmented boobs. She glanced down at each of her breasts to make sure that her hard nipples were clearly visible to both of us. You boys don’t be too long, I’ll miss you!”
She finished backing through the doorway and the doors swung shut.
“Well, she certainly has become quite a seductress”, I said. What I didn’t say was that I found her theatrical, little ‘sex kitten’ act to be ostentatious and, frankly, ridiculous.
“What have I always told you about that bitch, Bro?” Hank bragged. “She is totally DTF and she thinks I hung the moon!”
“Well, Hanky-panky-wanky,” I said, in my best falsetto voice, “you certainly are a big stud!”
“Returning to my normal voice I pointed out, “You’ve got her trained just perfectly, don’t you? Now, what did you want to show me?”
*****
Hank and I walked out of the kitchen through the same swinging doors, but instead of turning to the left, toward the party in the living room, we turned right. We were each carrying crystal low ball glasses containing a generous portion of Captain Morgan’s spiced rum mixed with a much smaller portion of Diet Coke. Hank’s den was several doors down the hallway and was accessible through two beautifully crafted French doors, each with twelve panes of beveled glass, so any occupants of the den could be seen, but not heard. Hank had made sure the room was essentially soundproofed from the rest of the house when he designed it, which was back when he lived there with Patti and the kids. This allowed him to appear, through the glass, to be working at his desk when he was, actually, up to no good, like surfing porn, or, at the end of the relationship, corresponding to other women in—shall we say—inappropriate ways.
“So, what’s up?” I asked, as the door closed behind us.
“I just wanted to tell you that I’m planning on telling Jodi about my illicit activities,” he blurted out.
“What the—why?” I asked, with a sharp edge to my voice. “What the fuck does she need to know for?”
“Listen man, she’s totally cool!” he said. “Didn’t you just hear that? She’d do anything for me—anytime. And she’s serious, dude! That chick is smokin’ hot and she thinks that I’m like—a god or something. Telling her about this shit will just put her over the top. She’ll get off on it—I know she will, and that is going to be super fucking hot!”
“So, you mean that you’re going to tell her about killing people so the two of you can use it sexually? What? Are you going to fantasize about it together in bed? Don’t you think that’s a bit fucked up?” I asked him, not trying to hide my contempt for his thoughts.
“Hell yeah it’s fucked up!” he shouted out, “That’s one of the things that makes it such a thrill. Listen, I told you that I’ve never felt such a feeling of exhilaration as I did when I offed Carl, and when you and I got rid of Brandon. I want to embrace that feeling and use it, and I want Jodi to be able to share in it while we’re gettin’ it on. Then, I want to let her help me plan for the next time.”
“What next time?” I shouted back. “Why does there have to be a next time? Just so you can get a nut off while you talk about it or reenact it somehow in your bedroom? Dude, you are fucking losing it! What is your plan here? Are you working on becoming a serial killer? Do you think that’s cool—or hot—or fucking awesome? Jesus Christ, I can’t even believe what I’m hearing.”
“Hey now, buddy,” he said. “You don’t have a lot of room to judge me. You came to me and asked for my help with your shithead son-in-law, and I never hesitated, not even for a second. I was there through the whole elaborate mission and I never wavered once.”
“You keep missing the point, dude! That was for my daughter—to keep her safe! We did what we had promised each other we would do if that type of situation developed. That’s all we did. We honored our fucking commitment, god dammit! It was not meant to be merely the first in a string of vigilante murders! You weren’t supposed to become some kind of ‘protector of the weak,’ and you certainly weren’t supposed to start thinking about finding new targets for the purpose of getting your girlfriend off as you told her about the ‘bad guys’ you snuffed!” I was yelling now as I tried to make him see how messed up his mind had become. I desperately didn’t want to lose my friend to some sick obsession. Beyond that, I didn’t want to accept the possibility that my own crime could come to light when he betrayed my confidence to his girlfriend—or to the authorities when he eventually got caught.
Hank had taken a seat in the leather executive style chair behind his desk. He sat there looking at me, with no real expression on his face. He seemed to be contemplating the situation. He didn’t seem mad at me, but his face certainly no longer displayed the joy and excitement that he had entered the room with. Did he really think that I was going to be on board with this bullshit? I wondered what he thought my eventual role would be. Did he expect to infect me with his enthusiasm for finding people who needed to be punished for their crimes against society and delivering whatever justice we thought was appropriate?
I turned to the French doors leading out into the hall and saw that Mandy and Jodi were staring into the room through the beveled glass.
“Are you guys coming out, or what?” Mandy shouted through the door. “Everyone is wondering if we’re going to keep playing.”
I went to the door and opened it partially.
“Hank and I are wrapping something up,” I said. “We’ll be right out.”
“Okay,” Jodi said, “but hurry up! You guys are the life of the party and it’s getting boring out here without you.”
“Just give us a couple of fucking minutes, Jodi!” Hank snarled. “Jesus Christ!”
“Like I said,” I calmly spoke, “we’re wrapping it up. We’ll be right out. Go ahead and get set up for Pictionary. I have a feeling that Mandy and I are just about to hit our stride, so tell everyone to be ready for our A-game.” I smiled and nodded my head toward the far end of the hall to indicate that I wanted them to head back to the guests and let Hank and I finish our conversation in private.
The girls walked away, and I closed the door to the den.
“Listen dude, I don’t think we are going to come to an agreement tonight,” I said to Hank, who was still seated behind the desk with a deliberately neutral look on his face and a stare that was focused about a mile behind my head. “Let’s agree to disagree on this for now and talk more about it next week when we fly out to Pike’s Peak to do our hike. There’s no urgency to settling this issue, is there?”
“Maybe there is and maybe there isn’t. The bottom line is that I don’t need your permission to do whatever the hell I want. I think you forget that sometimes. You’ve always been a good friend, Mark, but you’ve got to realize that I have a lot going on in my life and I definitely don’t feel the need to have you sign off on my decisions,” Hank remarked.
This last statement was the best indication Hank had ever given me that, although he liked me and liked hanging out with me, he didn’t truly respect me or feel that I should have any real influence over his thoughts and ideas—not to mention his behavior. I suddenly felt a shift in the fault line that existed between the two of us and I realized that the minor tremor that I was feeling foretold of the major quake that would eventually destroy our friendship.
“Fair enough,” I said, trying to defuse the situation for the time being. “You’re right, I know you’re right. I just think there is more that needs to be said. Let’s just get back to the party and have a good time.�
�
“Okay then,” he agreed. “Let’s go. I need to stop back through the kitchen for another refill, though. It looks like you drained your cocktail as well. You gonna try to keep up with me, or what?”
“What the fuck do you think, assbreath?” I replied. “I ain’t no bitch! I’ll drink your sorry ass right under the table. Remember, you’re a wine drinker, not a regular old boozehound like me. This shit is gonna kick your ass if you try to keep up with me.”
Hank laughed and said, “I guess we’ll see who’s lying naked on the bathroom tile crying for his momma at the end of the night, and who’s bumpin’ uglies with his horny ass girlfriend. You know, we might even see what Mandy is up to. She might want to come to our room and make a Hanky-pank sandwich with me and Jodi.”
“Tell you what,” I replied, “If I'm passed out drunk and you are good to go, you just go ahead and extend her that invitation. I’m pretty certain I know how she’ll answer.”
Hank and I had certainly joked around about taking care of each other’s women many times, but we both knew that there was no risk of either of us betraying the other through sexual impropriety with our mates. We did love to talk some shit to one another, though, and the girls never actually seemed to feel disrespected by our adolescent trash talk.
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