The grim business like expressions didn’t change on either men’s faces as Gerry got up.
“I guess I couldn’t just swear that I didn’t take they guy’s jewelry and you would believe me, would you?” Gerry said teasingly. “I sure the real Laurel and Hardy would believe me.”
“Smart ass. Just for that I’m cuffing you,” the chubby one said as he pulled a set of handcuffs from a leather holster on his belt. “Another smart comment and you just might trip on the way to the car.”
Cool it. These two aren’t the fun loving types.
It was the chubby one that grabbed Gerry’s arm and lead him out on to the gallery floor.
Matilda’s face was ashen. “Don’t tell me you’ve back slid, Gerry? You have been robbing homes again!”
“It’s a mistake, Matilda. I haven’t stolen anything.”
“And I trusted you?” Matilda said shaking her head. “You really have disappointed me?”
She’s not listening to me! Nobody is.
“I’ll have this straighten out in a little while and be back,” Gerry said as the chubby officer pulled him toward the entrance.
“No, no. Please don’t come back. I can’t have you here anymore. Please don’t come back. Just tell me where to send your sketches,” Matilda called out.
“Am I being arrested?” Gerry demanded.
“No, just taking you to the station to ask you a few questions?” the tall one said as they reached the black Crown Victoria.
“Then why the handcuffs?”
“Because you are a smart ass,” the chubby detective said as he put his hand on the top of Gerry’s head and forced his head down as he shoved him in the back seat.
“The handcuffs probably cost me my job at the art gallery,” Gerry called out from the back seat.
“Good,” the tall one said. “Maybe someone that deserve a job will get it.”
The cement walled room with the long metal table and chairs looked like something out of Dragnet show, Gerry found himself thinking as he set in a metal chair bolted to the floor facing the door and a big mirror.
Get serious. Stop antagonizing them! You might be in deep shit. You don’t want to go through the hell you went through in prison again!
Having been through the same situation in a police station in Atlanta, Gerry knew that it was a waiting game. They were watching him through the one way mirror and letting him simmer before coming in to question him.
He relaxed and let his head fall forward until his chin was resting on his chest. He closed his eyes. And wished he hadn’t. An image of Dan appeared. I’ve got to just think of him as being dead! That’s the only way!
“Wake up sleeping beauty,” the chubby detective called out as both he and the tall one entered.
“It is time for a bedtime story?” Gerry asked before he could censor his thoughts.
“Still with the smart mouth?” the tall detective said.
“Are you guys going to tell me your names or am I going to just have to keep referring to you as Laurel and Hardy?”
The tall one glanced at the mirror.
“I’m detective Dennis Moor,” the tall one finally said. “My partner name is Tony Blaze. Satisfied?”
“No, I liked Laurel and Hardy better.”
“You want to tell us where you were on the night of March 19th,” Tony asked.
Gerry shrugged. “What day was it?”
“A Friday.” Dennis said.
“Shooting pool at Daddy’s Boys. There is a pool tournament on Friday nights.”
“And later,” Tony asked.
“Don’t remember. Either I went back to my apartment or got picked up by some older man and went home with him to fuck. But more than likely I just went home.”
“Do you know a man named Dieter Kessel?” Dennis asked.
“If you are talking about the rich German that has a fabulous beach house in La Jolla, then yes. I dated him once. Do you want a blow by blow description of the sex we had?”
“Did you know he had been robbed of two valuable paintings?”
“Yes, he told me.”
“And do you know Jack Givens?” Tony asked.
“Yes, and to save you more questions. I have been in his beach house. We had sex and I stayed all night and yes, I know he was robbed of some painting. And that the thief left some god awful crayon sketches of naked boys in their place.”
“You are an artist aren’t you and you do sketches of naked boys also, correct.” Dennis asked.
“I am but I haven’t use crayon at not since the four grade. And I hope my sketches aren’t considered God awful!” Gerry took a deep breath. “Okay, officers. That’s all the questions. Either read me my rights and get me a lawyer or let me go.”
“I guess you want to go back to jail?” Tony said as he played with the knot of his tie.
“Lawyer.”
“We can hold you for forty-eight hours.”
“Then feed me. I’m hungry,” Gerry said reverting back to the persona he had used in prison. “Lawyer and feed me our let me go to Hot Dog Heaven, I’m hungry?”
Suddenly Tony stuck his face inches from Gerry’s face. “That’s not funny. We have a cell full of tough guys that would love some nice white tender meat.”
Gerry stared into Tony’ eyes. “Then you better have a medic standing by to put them back together. I am not as easy going as I look. I’ve done time . . .” he let the statement hang.
“Lucky for you your parole office swears by you. He seems to think you walk on water. What with you and him. Are tou giving him blow jobs?” Tony said. His face was turning red as his voice grew louder and louder.
“Tony,” Dennis called out softly. “We are finished here.”
“You know what I hate . . .”
“Tony!” Dennis raised his voice an octave. “We are done!”
“Yeah, right,” the chubby detective said as he turned and walked to the door. He stopped as he grabbed the doorknob. “If you are guilty, I’ll hang your ass out to dry.”
“He’s under a lot of stress from the chief,” Dennis said.
“Yeah, I would think the rich old men in La Jolla are all over the chief of police’s ass and as we know, shit rolls downhill!”
Dennis opened the door and held it open. “You can go. But I suspect we will see you again.”
“I certainly hope not,” Gerry said.
He didn’t start trembling until he was in the taxi heading to Daddy’s Boys. He had put on a good show, but it was just a show. He was frightened of the prospect of going back to prison and finishing his ten-year sentence. God, I need a few beers!
Chapter 11
Dan watched Mathew getting out of the taxi. He is so handsome, beach bum handsome. And very intelligent. So why was he always thinking of Gerry? I have to get Gerry out of my mind! It’s over. There can be no reconciliation between us unless he admits to stealing my rings.
“Good evening, Mathew. I’ve been wondering why you and Gerry don’t have cars?”
Mathew smiled showing is perfect white teeth. “For me it’s easy. I don’t know how to drive. Never learned and don’t want to. I prefer to be chauffeured in a taxi. There no parking hassle. And I avoid all that cumbersome legal stuff that goes with owner a car. I am free to go anywhere in the world with the drop of a dime . . . well make that a few thousands of dollars. And thanks for choosing Riccione’s is one of the few restaurants I haven’t eaten at in La Jolla. And I love Italian food,” Mathew added.
“The pleasure is mine, Mathew. You always look so nice in your blue blazer.”
“Thanks. I heard about Gerry stealing your rings. I’m not surprised he stole, but I am surprised he stole from you. I thought he had a thing for you?” Mathew said as he followed Dan into the restaurant.
“Yeah, so did I,” Dan said with a deep sigh. Dan nodded at the maître d, “Reservation for two under the name Dan Murphy.”
The maître d’ glanced at his reservation book.
“Yes, right this way, Mr. Murphy.”
“Could you tell the waiter to bring us a bottle of Piedmont’s Barolo,” Dan added.
“Certainly Sir.”
“Wow you know your wine. That’s one of the best Italian reds. If I could afford it I would buy it by the case,” Mathew said as they sat down at a table with a simple white table cloth.
“With what you charge, I would think you could afford most any kind of wine . . . sorry, that was uncalled for,” Dan said. “I’m usually not so boorish.”
“I understand, Dan. You thought you and Gerry had chemistry. And then he steals from you. It was a shock.”
“It still is,” Dan admits.
The waiter brought the wine. They remained silent as he uncorked the bottle and handed the cork to Dan.
Dan sniffed it and nodded his head. The waiter poured wine in Mathew’s glass first.
“You know, I don’t think I can tell if the wine is bad just by smelling the cork,” Dan said. “But I’m a shame to admit it to the waiters in these fancy restaurants.”
“La Jolla is a lot of show,” Mathew said as he took a big sip of the wine. “Wonderful. You want to make a friend for life, you should take a bottle to Bucky. One taste of this and you’ll have him eating out of your hand.”
“God, him with his acne scars and pirate ear rings eating out of my hand is a frightening thought,” Dan said and laughed. I think that is the first time I have laughed since Gerry stole my rings!
“Their Lasagna is to die for,” Mathew declared as he held the driver’s door open for Dan.
“The risotto was also wonderful,” Dan said. “God, I hope we don’t get stopped. I think I may have drank a little too much wine.”
“You will be fine. Daddy’s Boys isn’t far from here. Just concentrate on the road,” Mathew said as he reached over and put his hand on Dan’s leg. He gave it a light squeeze. “I must say I enjoyed dinner with you tonight.”
“I too enjoy your company,” Dan said. For a while I stopped thinking about Gerry.
“Gerry’s going to be at the bar tonight. There’s a pool tournament,” Mathew said as though reading Dan’s thoughts. “If you want, we can just go to your place. I never win the pool tournaments. I just enter them because Spike and Terry play. Sometimes I can beat one of them.”
Dan pursed his lips. “No that’s all right. It will not bother me to see him,” he lied.
“Good, I just didn’t want to see you upset.”
Is he just saying that because he thinks I want to hear it or doesn’t he really mean it? I can’t get it out of my mind that I am paying him to have sex with me.
The bar was crowded with the usual early Friday night mix of sixty percent men over fifty and the rest mostly between the age of twenty-one and thirty.
“Where do all these old men come from?” Dan said. “I shouldn’t say that because I’m one of the old men.”
“Yeah, but a very handsome old man,” Mathew said. “Most of the older men are from La Jolla. They look upon Daddy’s Boy as their private preserve of young flesh to deflower.”
“Wow, that’s a thought, I mean deflowering a hustler,” Dan said as he pushed his way through the chattering crowd. He told himself that he wasn’t going to glance at the pool table, but he did.
His eyes locked momentarily with Gerry.
Damn it! Dan thought as he glanced away. Mathew was right. We should have gone home and had sex. I think I drank too much wine.
“What do you want to drink, Dan?” Mathew question broke in on Dan’s thoughts.
“Club soda. I think I’ve had enough to drink.”
“Club soda and a shot of Jägermeister,” Mathew shouted to Bucky who was moving around behind the bar like a four handed dust devil. “Looks like there’s a new player in town. That Latino with the slicked back hair is running the table almost every game. Gerry might have meet his match at the pool table.”
“Go . . . Go. . . Good, it will do him good to lose for a change,” Terry, who had just walked up to the bar, said. “H . . . H. . . He’ll know how it feels to loss.”
“Yeah,” Dan said.
“Dan,” Bucky leaned over and said. “Did the kid really steal your rings?”
“I wish I could say no. But unfortunately, he did,” Dan said. “I hate it. I really liked him.”
“That’s a shame,” Bucky said before he hurried down to the other end of the bar to get beers for two of the pool plays that were already out of the tournament.
“M . . . M . . . My turn to go against the L.A. greaser,” Terry said as he picked up his cue stick that he had leaned against the bar.
“Go get him!” Dan said patting Terry on the butt and was surprised to feel how muscular he was. “He looks sort of weak but his muscles are very dense,” Dan turned to tell Mathew.
“I once saw him at Sports Heaven climbing their rock cliff. He was like a gecko scooting up the wall. I could have done it. Well, maybe not as fast as he did. I’ve don’t a little rock climbing with Spike.”
“I don’t think there’s much you can’t do, Mathew,” Dan said and reached over and squeezed the blonde’s leg. When Dan glanced toward the pool table he saw Gerry glance away like a young boy who has been caught staring at a cripple.
“Looks like the L.A. hustler is wiping the floor with Terry. He’s had one shot and now the guy is running the table.”
“I don’t think Terry will ever be a good enough of a pool player to win the tournament,” Dan said with a chuckle.
“Oh, please never tell him that. He thinks he’s just a shot away from displacing Gerry as the best pool play at Daddy’s Boys.”
“Oh, well we all have your delusions,” Dan said. Mine was that Gerry loved me.
“Okay, the showdown is here,” Spike said as he walked up. “Gerry and the L.A. hustler are head to head!”
“Aren’t you playing?” Dan asked.
“Yeah, but my tattooed butt got kicked in my first game . . . by Gerry. So much for friends, right.”
“There is a limit to friendship,” Dan said with a sigh.
Spike started to respond but glanced over at Mathew who shook his head.
“Gerry put a striped ball in on the break. Let see if he can run the table now,” Spike said nodding toward the pool table.
“If he wants to stay in the tournament, he better,” Mathew said.
Dan turned back to the bar. “Bucky?”
“Yeah?”
“I had an I Italian wine tonight at Riccione’s that you have got to order. The name is Piedmont’s Barolo,” Dan said.
“Okay, I’ll try a bottle,” Bucky said as he reached under the bar and produced a stubby pencil and a scrap piece of paper. “Let me write the name down before I forget it.”
“Wow, I don’t believe it,” Spike said. “Gerry scratched!”
“You don’t see that often,” Mathew said.
“I . . . I . . . I wished he would scratch more often,” Terry said smiling.
“Terry who are you rooting for? Gerry is our boy. The L. A. hustler is an invader,” Spike said shaking his head.
“Gee. . . Gee . .. Gerry needs to learn some humility.” Terry said as he stared at the pool table.
Mathew leaned his head toward Dan’s head. “You cringed when he scratched. I think you still carry the torch for him?” he said in a low voice.
“No!” Dan snapped. Oh God, do I?”
“I think you said that a little too quick, amigo.”
Dan turned back to face the bar. “I don’t care who wins.”
“I do,” Spike said after hearing the comment. “I’m rooting for our friend Gerry.”
“Lo . . .Lo . . .Look at the guy from L. A. he’s running the table.”
I don’t care. I don’t care,” Dan thought. He stole my rings and then lied about it. I don’t care.
“Gerry is out! Didn’t think I would see this day coming.” Mathew said as he turned back to the bar.
“Your boy finally lost at poo
l. Been a very bad no good week for him,” Mathew said jokingly.
“Let go to my place,” Dan said. “I had enough of the noise in where.”
“I’m at your command, Daddy,” Mathew leaned over to say.
Yeah, as long as I am paying, Dan couldn’t help but think.
“Are you happy now!”
Dan turned around at the sound of Gerry’s voice.
“I lost my job at the gallery because the police lead me out in handcuffs. All because you told the police I stole your stupid rings!”
“Gerry, your drunk,” Spike said. “Come on buddy, let me call you a cab,” he added taking Gerry by the arm and leading him away.
“No wonder he lost. He was drunk,” Mathew said. “I’m ready to leave when you are, Daddy.”
“There he goes home to sleep it off,” Mathew said pointing to taxi parked in front as he and Dan walk out of the bar. “Gerry can hardly walk he’s so drunk,” he adds as they watch Spike helping Gerry into the taxi.
Dan glanced away. He hands his ticket to the valet.
“You are quiet tonight,” Mathew said as he reached over and squeezed Dan’s leg as Dan drives down Interstate 5.
“Too much good wine, I guess,” Dan answers as he turned onto the off ramp. “That bed is going to feel good.”
Mathew moved his hand up Dan’s leg and grabs his cock. “And that is going to feel good to, Daddy.”
If I can get it up! Dan thought as he reminds himself that he is buying Mathew’s attention. This was a really bad idea. Damn it. Didn’t I learn anything the first time!
Chapter 12
The black clad thief surveyed the house for signs of occupancy. A couple nights ago he had finally seen his friend, Gerry lose at pool. His friend, yeah right! Let everyone think he was Gerry’s friend. The thief was shocked that the police hadn’t arrested Gerry for stealing Dan’s rings. He had felt sure that they would. This time he was almost one hundred percent sure that Gerry would get arrested.
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