All Queers Must Die

by Gerald Lopez

  “No,” James said. “There’s so much going on that we really haven’t had time to take everything in. The officer sent to investigate the murder is on the Kristoffs’s payroll. He’s paid to make sure no damaging news comes out about this resort.”

  “And what’s the official story regarding this murder,” Bart said.

  “The ‘official story’ is the woman wasn’t killed here. Officially, her body was found in a dumpster behind the Happy Laundromat in town.”

  “It must be nice to have enough money to be able to call the shots,” Simon said. “I bet that cover up cost the Kristoffs a pretty penny.”

  “And it was worth it,” James said. “News about murders at this resort could kill business here.”

  After leaving the meeting, Bart checked his cell phone to see if he’d missed any calls. He was in the resort lobby when Julia walked quickly toward him. She had changed into a tan sleeveless pantsuit, and was wearing a black jacket. Her hands were full with a computer bag in one hand and manila folders in the other.

  “Hi, walk me outside a minute, please, Jeremy.”

  He walked her outside, and saw a limo parked there. Joe was still working, and opened the back door of the limo when Julia approached.

  Julia got into the limo at the same time Lisa Kristoff leaned out of it.

  “Get in, Jeremy, we’re expected,” Lisa said.

  Bart looked at Joe, who responded by shrugging his shoulders.

  “What the hell,” Bart said, nonchalantly, and got into the limo.

  The limo pulled away from the resort entrance, and Julia, who was sitting next to Lisa, retrieved a bottled water from her purse and drank some. Bart just looked at both women, who suddenly seemed more chummy than usual.

  “Would you like something to drink, Jeremy?” Lisa said.

  Thinking about how Jeremy’s drink had been spiked with the chupa cocktail, Bart shook his head and refused the offer.

  “You look nervous, Jeremy,” Julia said.

  “I think he believes we’ve absconded with him, Julia,” Lisa said. “I think it’s high time we all introduced ourselves.”

  A thoroughly confused Bart looked at Lisa with a poker face.

  “Very good,” Lisa said. “You play your part well, Jeremy. But I think it’s time you introduced your real self.”

  “He doesn’t trust us, Lisa,” Julia said. “Maybe he’s right not to.”

  “Where are we going?” Bart said.

  “I’m not sure we should talk to someone, who’s too rude to introduce himself,” Lisa said.

  “It would be sort of like making new introductions to old acquaintances,” Bart said. “Alright, I’ll bite, since you already seem to know the truth. I’m Bart Farrow, pleased to meet you ladies. You certainly have your hands full, Julia. ”

  “Yes, well I brought my laptop, which has all the information regarding the chemicals used in my salons, plus folders filled with additional data, and details about the products that seem to have gone missing—the ones we suspect someone has been stealing.”

  “Getting rid of all the evidence, huh.” Bart said.

  “Hardly,” Julia said. “If the police looked over the lists, they’d find nothing except what any beauty salon or spa would carry.”

  Remembering something, Bart looked at his cell phone. There was still no message from his mother. He turned his attention back to the women seated across from him. “Why didn’t you take my cell phone?”

  “Why should we have?” Lisa said. “Don’t you want to know where we’re going?”

  “I would never have pictured you two as the ones running the whole chupa business,” Bart said.

  Chapter 60

  Catching Up

  “DON’T YOU care about what that product is doing to people?”

  The limo stopped, and Lisa spoke. “The only thing Julia and I run together is the salon and spa business. We’re not running the chupa business—that’s someone else. And here I thought I was being kind giving you a ride to meet—”

  “Meet who?” Bart said. “Your bosses?” He looked at Lisa, who was dressed in a short-sleeved ankle-length pale green dress and wedges. “If you’d given me notice, I would’ve dressed up more. Hell, I would’ve at least put on shoes instead of flip-flops.”

  “That’s OK,” Julia said. “I don’t think your mother will care how you look. She’s the one who told us who you really are. That was once we’d agreed to work together. I was really shocked when I first heard everything. But it was a clever idea.”

  “My mother,” Bart said. “What have you done with my mother?” He got scared, when he remembered that he hadn’t received a reply from the message he’d sent his mother.

  “We need to cover his face, in case anyone sees him, Lisa,” Julia said.

  Lisa grabbed a long shawl she had, and put it over Bart’s face. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you walk. Think of us as your two guide dogs.”

  Forcing himself to be calm, Bart allowed himself to be guided by the two women. They’d entered a brightly lit space and passed through two doors, before he heard a familiar voice.

  “Thanks so much for giving him a ride over here,” Dr. Farrow said.

  The shawl was removed from Bart’s head, and he found himself in a hospital corridor facing his mother, who was dressed in her doctor’s uniform, consisting of a white jacket, black pants, and a white top. Her shoulder-length, streaked and layered blonde hair was worn loose. She looked tired, but smiled and hugged Bart.

  “I almost made him walk over here, after he accused us of being the masterminds behind the chupa cocktail trade,” Lisa said.

  Bart looked at Julia, then Lisa and smiled. “Sorry.”

  “That’s alright,” Julia said, before turning to Bart’s mother. “Doctor Farrow, I’ve brought all the information you asked for, and cleared the rest of my day and evening to stick around here and answer any questions you or your staff might have regarding the products from my salons.”

  “You didn’t call or message me to let me know anything,” Bart said to his mother.

  “There wasn’t time,” Dr. Farrow said, before she turned toward a woman working at the desk behind her. “Jilly, can you please take these ladies to the lounge; I’ll join them there in a few minutes.”

  “Yes, Dr. Farrow,” the woman said.

  “Lisa and Julia, I can’t thank you two enough,” Dr. Farrow said, then turned to Bart and put her arm around his. “Walk with me.”

  “The last time someone told me that, I thought I was being kidnaped by limo.” He waved goodbye to Julia and Lisa, then walked with his mother down the hall, through double doors, and into another hall. “How’s Jenna?”

  “We’ve kept her busy,” Dr. Farrow said. “Too busy for her to deal with any residual guilt over what happened with Rachel Kristoff.”

  “Will Jenna be OK?” Bart said. “Will any of us ever be OK again?”

  “Yes,” Dr. Farrow said, giving her son’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “You both have appointments with Dr. Tandor, when this is over.”

  “She’s a psychologist,” Bart said.

  “And a counselor,” Dr. Farrow said. “Anyway, Rachel’s blood contained more than 90 percent of the chemicals we were looking for. Her death wasn’t in vain. Ten people, who were on the brink of death are now alive and significantly better.”

  They walked into a large room with multiple beds in it surrounded by curtains. Bart recognized three of the patients as the three people from Rachel’s party. The male model Bo Grant was there, in the bed next to him was Lori, and next to her in another bed was Bo’s boyfriend Max.

  “Bo and Max… the two men,” Bart said. “They’re boyfriends and should be together. It may help them get better, knowing they’re close to one another.”

  “Then I’ll make sure they’re moved closer together,” Dr. Farrow said.

  Tara walked out from behind one of the curtains, went to Bart, and gave him a hug. “Thank you so much for helping us get
a big breakthrough,” Tara said. “We were on the verge of losing a lot of them. Now the majority of them are in the clear.” Her cell phone rang, she opened it, and walked away.

  “How’s George?” Bart said.

  “There were some unknown substances used in what he took,” Dr. Farrow said. “That’s why I asked Julia to bring me more information.”

  “You might want to check and see if there are any signs of attempted murder rather than attempted suicide.”

  “I’ll do that,” Dr. Farrow said, then turned the corner.

  “Why are there so many patients here?” Bart said.

  “To put it bluntly, some of our patients in Georgia were at death’s door. We had them moved back here, so they’d be close in case you found something that might help them. It was good that we did, because as soon as we analyzed Rachel’s blood, we were able to help our worst cases.” She stopped in front of a door and opened it. Bart walked inside, and his mother had to keep him from falling back.

  “HI, SEXY,” Jeremy said from his hospital bed.

  It took all of Bart’s strength to fight back tears.

  “Come and give me a hug,” Jeremy said. “I won’t break.”

  Bart looked at his mother, who wiped tears from his eyes with her fingers. “He’s skinny, but it’s OK to hug him.”

  Bart slowly walked to Jeremy and hugged him.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Dr. Farrow said, before leaving and closing the door behind her.

  Even though Bart wanted to squeeze Jeremy tightly, he was afraid to do so.

  “Thank you for saving my life,” Jeremy said.

  Bart gave Jeremy a kiss on the lips. “Jenna helped too, so did Frank, and others.” They kissed again for several minutes.

  “I love you so much,” Bart said.

  “I know, babe, I know,” Jeremy said. “That’s why I fought so hard to stay alive.”

  “Thank you, thank you,” Bart said, then kissed Jeremy again.

  “You two might want to come up for some air,” a female said.

  Turning, Bart saw the curtain to the right of him had been opened and Delia was speaking to them from where she sat up in bed.

  “At least I got some acknowledgment,” Jenna said, then she got up from the chair, where she was sitting next to Delia’s bed.

  “You’re both well, thank God!” Bart said, then he thought a minute, and turned to Jenna. “They are well, right, Jenna?”

  “It’ll take them a while to recover their full strength, but they will. And they’re well enough to leave the hospital, once things are safe for them to do so. But Bart, it’s not over. The mixture of the cocktails keeps changing. We were lucky to be able to find all the substances used in the cocktails the earliest of our patients ingested, but the three kids from the party and George’s cocktails had a few different substances that were used in them. These cocktail makers have got to be stopped.

  “WHY DON’T you catch me up on what’s been going on with you and the resort, Bart?” Jeremy said. “I do know that you’ve been impersonating me to get information about the chupa cocktails, but how anyone could think you’re me is beyond me.”

  “You two are going to be talking a very long time,” Jenna said. “I’m going to visit some of the other patients.” She turned to Delia and gave her a hug. “Bye, Delia, keep these boys in line.” Smiling, she walked to Bart and Jeremy, and gave each one a hug. “Be merciful to poor Bart, Jeremy. He did what he felt he had to do. And it wasn’t all fun.”

  “OK, lie down here next to me and start talking,” Jeremy said to Bart.

  Bart slipped off his flip-flops and carefully lay down to the left of Jeremy, with Delia’s bed to his left.

  “Do you mind if I keep the curtain between us open and listen in?” Delia said. “You know how much I love juicy stories and gossip.”

  “You’d be listening in, even if I closed the curtain, so what the hell,” Bart said. “And if I didn’t say so before, Delia, it’s good to have you back.”

  Delia and Jeremy were a captive audience, and hung onto every detail Bart imparted to them… and there was nothing Bart left out. When he was done, everyone was silent.

  “Well, that Reese is really hot,” Delia said. “And that makes you and Jeremy even.”

  “Not hardly,” Jeremy said. “A hand job hardly compares to what Bart and Reese did. And I can’t believe you mentioned all that in front of Delia, Bart.”

  “That’s true,” Delia said, then giggled. “My poor virgin ears are burning.”

  “It’s so good to hear you laugh, after all this time,” Bart said, before turning to Jeremy. “You did ask for every little detail, love of my life.” He tickled Jeremy’s stomach. “You’ve gotten so skinny.”

  “Not that skinny,” Jeremy said.

  “So, do you have any clue at all who’s behind the whole chupa mess?” Delia said, brushing back her long brown hair with her hand.

  “I was going to ask the two of you that question,” Bart said. “You must’ve gotten too close for comfort to someone. Otherwise, why would they have slipped the chupa cocktails into your drinks.”

  “Jenna already questioned us, and we told her that we honestly don’t know who’d want to hurt or kill us,” Delia said. “That’s what you’re trying to find out while bedding down with everyone.” She laughed. “Oh, Bart, I hope you don’t get too mad at me, because I’m definitely going to have to tease you about everything for a while.”

  “I’m just glad you can see the humor in the situation,” Bart said. “And ‘it wasn’t all fun’, like Jenna said before she left the room. I’ll admit my time with Reese was enjoyable, and allowed me to escape from reality for a while, but being with Mr. Orion was depressing, to say the least.”

  “I should think,” Delia said. “But you really helped him.”

  “And that’s what you focus on when you think back to your interactions with him,” Jeremy said. “I’m proud of what you’re doing here to help everyone. Even if you had to revert back to your sexy ways.” He tried to glare at Bart, but couldn’t keep up the charade, especially when Bart started to tickle him again.

  “You’re not really mad at me, are you?” Bart said, then kissed Jeremy.

  “I won’t be mad, if you fill me in on all the details of your times with Reese,” Jeremy said.

  “I think this is where I turn my head and take a nap,” Delia said. “Would you mind closing the curtain, Bart?”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Bart said. He got up from the bed, and walked over to Delia. “You know it’s been at least a few hours since I’ve had sex; and I’ve never been with a pretty girl before.”

  “Aaaa, save me, Jeremy,” Delia said, then began giggling as Bart tickled her stomach. She could hear Jeremy laughing as Bart kissed her cheek and hugged her.

  With a silly smile and a wave, Bart moved to the curtain and slowly began closing it. “Once you two get out of here, I’ll have to take you to the nearest buffet. You’ve both gotten too skinny.” After closing the side curtain completely, then the front curtain, he lay back next to Jeremy again. He put his arm around him, and lay his head against his chest. “I was scared I’d never see you again, Jer.”

  “I wouldn’t have left you all alone,” Jeremy said.

  Bart felt tears welling up in his eyes again, and tried to lighten the mood. “Well, I do have Reese to keep me company.” He chuckled.

  “What are we going to do about him?” Jeremy said. “He’s a sweet kid, but he tends to get himself into trouble.”

  “That’s for sure. Maybe we could move him into our quarters as our houseboy.” He chuckled again.

  “You laugh, but that might not be such a bad idea. I’m not going to be 100 percent when I leave here, B. I’ve lost weight and I still feel weak. It’ll take me time to build my strength back up, and you may have to help me.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Jer.”

  “I’m not worried, but you’ll have your hands full running the resort
.”

  “Excuse me?” Bart said.

  “I’m pretty sure Lisa will ask you to run things. At least, until I get back on my feet.”

  “I can say no, if you need me. Remember, I have my inheritance we can live on.”

  “Save that money to lean on when you’re ready to retire and work on your writing. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before I can take over the running of the resort, and you can be my kept man. I look forward to the day when I can take care of you and spoil you.”

  The sound of Delia snoring made both men laugh. Ever one to seize the moment, Bart got underneath Jeremy’s sheet, reached down and began slowly raising his hospital gown.

  “What’re you doing?” Jeremy said in a whisper.

  “I’m just checking to make sure you’re all there.” He cupped Jeremy’s balls and cock, then slowly began jacking him off. With his free hand, he lifted the hospital gown up to Jeremy’s neck, then ran his palm down his slim, flat chest. Turning to his nipples, he saw they were still large, but not as puffy. Unable to resist, he began to suck on one, then the other. “God, I’ve missed you, Jer.”

  “I’m skinny now, but flabby.”

  “Shh, we’ll work out together when you’re able to… except….”

  “Except, what,” Jeremy said.

  “Except now the guys are going be after you like bees on honey. I always knew you were beautiful, Jer; but others couldn’t get past your weight. Wait, that’s not true, Reese saw you—the real you.” He could feel Jeremy’s cock growing thicker and bigger in his hand.

  “He was just being sympathetic, and giving me a hand that day,” Jeremy said.

  “No, he wasn’t,” Bart said. He admitted to me he found you attractive from day one, and he would’ve done more, if you had let him.”

  Jeremy chuckled, then spoke. “Then he’s just as delusional as you are.”

  Bart could feel Jeremy getting harder, and realized he was getting turned on. “Reese was with me, because he thought he’d finally gotten you. Even when you were fat, you could’ve had your way with him.” He leaned his head back, and Jeremy began kissing his neck. “This talk is really turning you on, isn’t it, Jer. You bad boy, you.”