by Gerald Lopez
“How would she ruin Julia’s business?” Bart said.
“She could make sure that people knew about some of the more unusual ways Simon made money, and she’d say that he worked for Julia,” Reese said. “Once I heard her threaten Julia. Rachel said she’d tell all the women at ‘some ladies business meeting’ that Julia was a female pimp, and Simon and I were her whores.”
“Would they believe her?” Bart said.
“It wouldn’t matter whether they did or not,” Reese said. “The scandal alone would ruin Julia’s business. And it’d be easy enough for Rachel to find proof of her allegations. Simon and I never worked as whores for Julia, but I’ve told you that we did things. And Mr. Orion has pictures. Rachel may not like the guy, but if push came to shove, she’d get those pictures from him and use them to her advantage.”
“Maybe,” Bart said. “But it would also make this resort look like a whorehouse. The Resort’s reputation could be irreparably ruined.”
“Rachel wouldn’t care,” Reese said. “The resort has been going downhill anyway, since Mr. Orion has been showing off his activities more, and Rachel’s been getting worse with her behavior.”
Bart stood and walked to the window. He moved the curtain and peeked outside, then shielded his eyes. “There’s lots of sunshine out there today,” Bart said.
“Lots of sunshine means lots of hope in the world,” Reese said. “That’s what my mom always tells me.”
“That’s nice,” Bart said. “I like that.” He walked to Reese and hugged him.
Reese pulled down Bart’s boxers and smiled. “I’m feeling like some cock with my cereal this morning.”
AFTER A quick round of morning sex, Reese went back to his apartment to get ready for lifeguard duty; and Bart showered and dressed in khaki shorts, Birkenstock sandals, and a blue Polo shirt to meet with James.
When he walked into James’s office, Bart couldn’t help but smile. After one quick look up at him, James started blushing, and put his head down.
“Good morning!” Bart said, gleefully. He walked up to James, gave him a big hug, and kissed his cheek. “Don’t you look pretty today?”
James looked at him, and they both laughed.
“Good morning, Jeremy,” James said, and chuckled nervously. “Are you ready for another round today?”
Bart laughed. “Is Gabriel hiding somewhere, because I thought he had to be included for a full round?”
“Oh God,” James said. “That wasn’t what I meant. Are you ready to go around… as in around the resort.”
James was getting flustered, and Bart couldn’t help but laugh. Putting an arm around James, Bart gave him a friendly squeeze and another kiss on the cheek.
“You are absolutely adorable, James,” Bart said. “I can see why Gabriel is so taken with you. Now, why don’t you show me around the place?”
“Alright… sounds good,” James said.
The two went around the resort checking on maintenance and housekeeping, and they went by the large pool where Bart was able to see Reese at work. After a quick lunch in the restaurant, they passed the tennis courts where Simon and Jenna were giving lessons. Their last stop was the beach.
“There aren’t many people out here,” Bart said.
“That’s because there’s no public access to it,” James said. “The only access is from our resort. It’s also not the high season right now.”
“There’s not much out here,” Bart said. “No cabanas or bar.”
“Lisa prefers leaving it more natural… at least for now,” James said. “I think she may be thinking about changes to attract a younger clientele.”
“But it’s the older clientele that has the most disposable income to spare,” Bart said.
“True,” James said, removing his Birkenstocks. “How about a walk on the beach?”
Bart removed his sandals and followed James as he walked to the water’s edge.
“You’re anxious to go home, aren’t you?” Bart said. “To your island resort with Gabriel.”
“Yes, but there are things to do here first. The main one of which is to make sure you’re ready to take over running the resort.”
Bart looked forward and spotted a familiar female in the distance building a sandcastle. “Is that Rachel I see, James?”
“It’s her, alright,” James said.
“Tell me something,” Bart said. “What exactly does she do around the resort? She stays in the employee apartments instead of a guest room, and it seems like she has some sort of job here.”
“When I first came here on a visit, Rachel was working at the front desk and doing some guest relations work,” James said. “She was good, but I don’t think her heart was in it. In my opinion, it seemed like she was working hard to prove a point, and maybe to gain her father and stepmother’s approval. According to Lisa, Rachel started slacking off. At this point, she just walks around all day claiming to be supervising.”
“Not good,” Bart said. He looked at the sun’s rays on the water and turned to James. “Is there any hope for someone like Rachel?”
“There’s always hope,” James said. “Unless the person has totally and completely given up. Most people still have a bit of hope inside their hearts.”
“James, I want to talk to Rachel for a few minutes,” Bart said.
“I’ll wait here for you,” James said. “Unless you’d rather meet me back at the office.”
“Here’s fine,” Bart said. “I won’t be that long.”
Bart walked toward Rachel, who was wearing a short, floral print spaghetti-strap sundress, and sitting on her knees working on a sandcastle. She was using a Styrofoam cup to scoop up sand. After patting the sand down tightly so it would stick together, she carefully released it from the cup to make a tower. Bart stopped next to her and clapped.
“Hi there, that’s some great tower,” Bart said.
Rachel moved some long stray strands of hair away from her eyes, looked up at Bart and smiled. Her pupils looked strange to Bart, but he wasn’t immediately certain if it was due to the glare from the sun or something else.
“Someone told me that lots of sunshine means lots of hope… and today’s a sunny day,” Bart said.
“I don’t need hope,” Rachel said. “I have money.”
“Hmm,” Bart said. “I guess it beats being poor. So, what’ya doing out here all by yourself?”
“You look so good now, Jeremy,” Rachel said. “These days you know what it means to have people looking at you, admiring you… wanting you.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Bart said.
“That wasn’t a compliment,” Rachel said. “Merely an observation. I’m pretty too, and I have money, so I know how all that feels. What I don’t know… and it’s something you probably knew from when you were fat,” She was babbling now. “What I don’t know is why… even with my looks, all my money, and connections… what I really don’t know is why I’m alone out here right now? Why am I always alone? Even when I’m surrounded by people… I always feel like I’m by myself.”
“I don’t know,” Bart said. “But things can change,” he smiled. “There’s always hope.”
“Yeah, geez,” Rachel said. “It only took you getting your drink spiked with God only knows what, and being hit by a car to change your life for the better.”
“I’d love to thank the person who spiked my drink personally for so profoundly changing my life,” Bart said. “Do you happen to know who that might be?”
“Of course, I do,” Rachel said. “The same people who deliver me my surprise chupa cocktails to sell. You asked too many questions about the drugs and the chupa. God, nobody cares about the marijuana, or even ecstasy anymore. But the chupa mixes are hot right now, and you threatened the flow. I didn’t know what those bastards had planned for you, and I didn’t see it coming, but it shouldn’t really have been that much of a surprise.”
“Why are you even involved with those people, Rachel?” Bart said. “There’
s so much more to you than selling that junk.”
“The really sad thing, Jeremy, is there really isn’t more to me,” Rachel said. “I’m an empty, hollow person inside… and I don’t even know why.” She chuckled. “But it’s fun to have the latest things and be the life of the party. Chupa puts me in the limelight, and I’m so tired of being in the dark by myself.” She chuckled again.
Bart looked down at Rachel, and couldn’t even feel sorry for her. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
He walked away and noticed that Rachel had gone back to her sandcastle without even a glance his way.
“You look bothered,” James said to Bart, once he was next to him again.
“Let’s head back,” Bart said. He walked next to James in silence for a few minutes before speaking. “Rachel’s pupils looked funny. I can’t swear to it, but it looked like she was high or something.”
“These days, that’s her normal state of being,” James said. “It’s sad.”
“I feel nothing for her, James,” Bart said. “No sadness or sympathy, just apathy.” He shivered and felt James put his arms around him. “Am I losing my humanity?”
“No,” James said. “Your instincts seem to have served you well while you’ve been here this time. Pay attention to them. Sometimes, there are people that even you can’t help.”
“It sounds like you may have told me that last thing before,” Bart said.
“Yes,” James said. He turned, so he was facing Bart directly. “This time around, I hope you heed my words. You’re a very good friend, and I don’t want to see you get hurt again.” He hugged Bart and kissed his cheek, then held him for a moment before speaking again. “You’re battling giants here, Jeremy, and it’s easy to get trampled by them.”
“Was I trampled by them before?” Bart said.
“Yes, you were,” James said, before he and Bart started walking again. “Lisa tried to help Rachel in the beginning, but nothing she did had any effect. She did her best to be a mother to Rachel, but it didn’t work. Neither did counseling.”
“The giant in her life didn’t even care enough to trample her, did he?” Bart said.
“No, he didn’t,” James said. “Be careful in trying to take down the giants in Maynard Shores, Jeremy, they have some big feet to be wary of.”
Chapter 45
Sweet Dreams
IT HAD been a long day, and Bart had just gotten comfortably seated in his living room, when there was a knock on his door. He got up, opened the door, and let Simon inside.
“Have a seat, Simon,” Bart said. “What brings you around?”
Simon, who was dressed in shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops, sat in a chair across from the sofa. Bart took a long look at him as he walked back to the sofa. Days playing tennis in the sun had given Simon a nice tan, and was probably also responsible for the golden highlights in his light brown hair. His green eyes sparkled, and gave a hint at the mischievous nature of the man. All in all, Bart could see how people could be attracted to Simon.
“I won’t keep you long, Jeremy,” Simon said. “I just wanted to let you know that everything’s ready to go in regard to the Mr. Orion plan.” He took a piece of paper out of his pocket, walked to Bart, and handed it to him. “These are the numbers, including Baby Face Mac’s fee, bribes to the cops, et cetera.”
“Thanks,” Bart said. “I ran into Rachel earlier today, when I was on the beach.”
“My condolences,” Simon said. “How bad was she?”
“Not all that bad,” Bart said. “She was rather civil as a matter of fact—for her. But she was clearly on something.”
“Yeah,” Simon said. “It’s a tragic situation, actually. And as much as I hate to say this, I really think she’s beyond help at this point. Nowadays, we’re all just trying to minimize the trouble she starts.”
“Speaking of ‘the trouble she starts’,” Bart said. “What can I expect at her delivery party tomorrow night?”
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Simon said. “In my opinion, her deliveryman sends her whatever he can find, which is scary.”
“And is that what ends up being mixed with the chupa?” Bart said. “I remember someone saying chupa is usually mixed or combined with other drugs. The doctors who treated me never did find out what else was in my system.”
“It sounds like you’re lucky to have survived, Jeremy. I always assumed that whatever was delivered to Rachel was the same crap that was being put into the chupa. It’s a pretty good assumption—but it’s only a guess on my part. Are you worried about side effects from what you went through?”
“Something like that,” Bart said.
“Hmm, I’d really like to help you more, then; but it never seemed like there was much consistency in the chupa cocktails. Rachel always has some in her necklace, when she goes out to find new customers, but I’ve never seen her suffer really bad effects from it. On the other hand….”
“On the other hand, what?”
“I shouldn’t be saying anything, but….” Simon said, nervously. “Can I trust you, Jeremy? Lately, I’ve been getting nervous about things, and I need an outstanding citizen who’ll have my back.”
“Tell me what you know, Simon. You can count on me.”
Simon stood, walked to Bart, then sat next to him and spoke in a low voice. “I think… I think this chupa stuff may be getting people seriously sick. Maybe even killed. The side effects people are suffering from the chupa cocktails seem to be all over the place. That’s why I think there’s no consistency to the stuff being mixed in with the chupa. I’ve also been hearing stories on the street, and they don’t have happy endings.”
“How deeply involved in this are you?” Bart said.
“More deeply than I want to be… and I can’t seem to find a way to get out.”
“Have you talked to Rachel or Julia about any of this?”
“No,” Simon said. “Rachel has little to no grip on reality, and I don’t want to scare Julia. Damn it! When I think about all the times Julia told me to go straight, and we’d be alright—but, I wouldn’t listen because I wanted to prove to her I could be more. Heck, she’s never held the fact that she owns the spas and beauty salons, and I’m just a trainer and tennis pro, over my head. I do make decent enough money here, and it’s not like I hadn’t thought about going straight often enough. I guess I’ve waited too long.”
“Doesn’t anyone have any clue at all about the identities of the people providing the goods in this situation?” Bart said. “If we knew the source of the drugs, then we could find a way to stop them, and get you free.”
“I’ve thought of that myself,” Simon said. “I mean, I wouldn’t turn snitch—that’d get me killed. But there are other ways to drive people out of town.”
“If nobody’s talking, then they must be really afraid of whoever’s in charge of this operation,” Bart said. “So it would have to be someone powerful.”
“And with the connections to get the chupa into this country,” Simon said.
“Someone who may be looking to retire soon, and is setting up a business to keep himself in a lifestyle he’s grown accustomed to,” Bart said. “And someone who can get his hands on mountains of marijuana, which he can use to mix with the chupa.”
“I thought it might be Gabriel’s dad too, but I’m not 100 percent convinced yet,” Simon said. “With all that marijuana, why mess with chupa?”
“Because it’s cheap and can be mixed with a tiny amount of a more expensive drug,” Bart said. A thought suddenly popped into his mind.
“You look like you’ve hit upon something there, Jer, care to share?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Bart gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking. “What if it’s not Roberto Reyes, who has a hand in this chupa business?”
“I hear you,” Simon said. “What’re you thinking?”
“Gabriel said he thinks his dad is getting ready to retire and may be considering Maynard Shores,” Bart said. �
�We know that Roberto Reyes sent Gabriel to South Florida to show the people there that he has a presence in the area, then he told Gabriel to come here.”
“Wouldn’t that confirm that Mr. Reyes has a presence in this area too?” Simon said.
“Not necessarily,” Bart said. “You knew, and know about Mr. Reyes’s plans down south… correct?”
“Yeah,” Simon said. “I see what you’re getting at now. If Mr. Reyes has the same ideas for Maynard Shores, then I should’ve heard about them too. Which means, it could be someone else running things here.”
“Could that someone be Marcus or Mr. Orion?”
“No,” Simon said. “Not directly anyway… but maybe indirectly. Mr. Orion could’ve just pretended to be an investor in the chupa business to make people believe he’s not more directly involved. And it’d be easy for Marcus to have someone else doing his dirty business, while he rakes in the bucks.”
“None of the pieces fit together easily in this mystery, do they?” Bart said.
“No, they don’t,” Simon said.
“I did have one other thought—a more worrisome one,” Bart said. “If Mr. Reyes isn’t the man in charge with the chupa, then the situation changes a great deal. If he still wants to retire here and start a business of his own, the first thing he’s going to have to do is take out the competition.”
Simon gulped audibly. “People like Mr. Reyes, don’t believe in a middle ground. He would completely obliterate the competition… leaving no trace of the people in charge. Maybe he’d even get rid of their lackeys.”
“That’s a scary thought,” Bart said. “At some point, Roberto is going to have to come to town and show his hand. It’s only a matter of when.”
“Here’s another thought you’re not gonna like, Jer. If they take down the present operation, then they’ll leave no trace of the product. That means you won’t ever be able to find out what was put in the mix they slipped you.”
“There just went my chance of having sweet dreams tonight.”
“Give Reese a call. Hell, if you’re gonna be awake anyway, you might as well have fun,” Simon said. “Seriously, Jeremy, if you need to find out what’s actually in those chupa cocktails, your window of opportunity is getting smaller by the second.”