by Aven Jayce
He stops mid-sentence and sighs then grabs his wallet from the dresser. I know exactly what he was about to say. His kids are only a few years younger than he was when my father raped him.
I place my hand on his back for comfort as we make our way out of the suite, but he does his usual brush off and steps away.
“They’re still little boys,” he whispers. “And as long as I’m alive, my children will remain untainted and unaware of Paul Jameson’s disgusting life as well as your present gruesome way of living.”
I’m silent as he locks the door. I should remind him that they sprouted from a Jameson. They’re already infected with Jameson blood, but I’d rather not get into it with him before breakfast.
“I’ll meet you down there. Say you’re with me and my staff will put you in one of the private eating areas overlooking the lake.”
I turn and see Jules coming out of her room as Cove walks away.
I bet she’s tired of waiting. She sashays toward me and is already dressed for work, looking radiant as always, wearing the new heels and short tight skirt I just bought her, carrying her Jameson sport jacket, and flaunting dark red lipstick. It’s my favorite ‘bend her over the desk, grip her hair, and fuck her doggy style’ type of outfit. And when we meet in the corridor, my eyes drop immediately to the cleavage emerging from her blouse before gifting her a kiss on the cheek.
“I love how your eyes devour me like I’m a piece of chocolate cake,” she says.
“You’re more like a mouthwatering steak dinner and a flavorsome glass of red wine. Meat that expands my cock and alcohol that warms my heart.”
She laughs and follows me to the restaurant. “That was one of the nastiest and yet most romantic things you’ve ever said to me.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“I meant, thank you for everything this morning. I’m still amazed that you did all that shit for me.”
“No problem,” she says again before changing the subject. “Do you have French toast on the menu?”
“It’s a breakfast buffet, so yes... Jules?”
“Hmm?” She locks her arm around mine as we walk side-by-side.
I want to tell her that I think we were made for one another, but it comes out all wrong. “I think you’re a bit fucked in the head.”
She sighs and passes along a scornful look. “Speaking of fucked in the head, I think I’ll start calling you pie face.”
“Well, speaking of pie face, I want you to meet my sister.”
“Really?” She seems genuinely excited as I hold open the door to the restaurant.
“Yes, all of her, not just her head baked into a pie.”
“The pie face comment was just a joke.” She grins.
“I know.”
The hostess leads us to one of the private dining areas where a pitcher of juice and a carafe of coffee are already on the table. Sophia is spreading jam on a piece of toast while her kids are using the butter knives to have a mini sword fight.
“Who’s the ho, Uncle Mark?” Daxton asks.
“Dax,” Sophia says. “That’s impolite. How do you know that word?”
“It’s in the video game you gave us. Bitches and hos, bitches and hos!” he says as my sister closes her eyes and shakes her head.
“Looks like you’re the one who fucked up this time,” I laugh at her.
“Mark, watch the language,” she says hypocritically.
“Just let it go. You can’t keep your kids from swearing. It’s unrealistic,” I say. “And if you just let them say whatever the hell they want, they’ll eventually tire of using those words.”
“Like you?” Jules cuts in.
Sophia puts out her hand with a smirk and says, “I like you. I’m Sophia, Mark’s sister.”
“Jules,” she responds as they shake.
“These are my sons, Daxton and Xavier.” She wipes their wavy dark hair from their foreheads and the two flash exaggerated smiles, showing dimples and white teeth. Fuck, they look so much like Cove. However, they do have my sister’s eyes, the eyes of my father.
We sit and I ask the boys to get us each a plate of French toast and a hardboiled egg. They dash happily toward the buffet table, shirtless, with dripping wet shorts and only socks on their feet. Kids that age don’t understand seasonal changes.
“Dad! You shaved the vagina off your face,” Xavier shouts from a distance as Cove enters the room carrying the local newspaper. He nods toward his son and smiles apologetically to the guests before joining us in the back room at the table.
“My handsome husband’s back,” Sophia says dotingly. “Looking good, Babe.”
He takes one of the Mariposa Lilies from the middle of the table and sets it in front of his wife. “Thanks, Dove,” he responds with his favorite nickname for her before looking questionably over at Jules.
“I’m Jules.”
“Cove,” he says while glancing at his kids. “Soph, we’re leaving this afternoon. My parents are getting back from their cruise in two days and our managers can’t run our bar forever. Besides, the kids need to get their asses back in school.”
“No they don’t. I’m going to continue homeschooling them until December. They can go back after the holidays. And you know we probably won’t be able to get a flight for a day or two.”
I laugh, unaware my sister was teaching her kids at home.
“What, Mark?” she says defensively. “I graduated from Temple University, remember? I know a thing or two about fourth grade math and science and other things.”
“I don’t care about your degree. They still need to be in school for peer interaction, if nothing else.”
“Anyway,” Cove cuts in. “If there’s anything left to discuss....” He pauses and looks at Jules.
“It’s okay,” I say. “We can talk in front of her. She knows.”
“Knows what?” Cove raises his voice.
“Mark, what did you do?” Sophia sets her fork down with an evil eye. “What did you tell her?”
“I overheard everything last night,” she explains. “I’m fine with it.”
“Fine with what?” My sister questions with distrust.
“You know... the Dayne situation. It’s okay. I understand.”
“You don’t understand jackshit,” Cove snaps. “Mark, you asshole. What the fuck’s going on with you? This is yet another thing we need to deal with.”
I pull out my blade and slam it into the middle of the wooden table, demanding silence in the room. Startled and on guard, they straighten their backs and tighten their lips. “Stop bitching. I’m tired of it,” I seethe. “Nothing needs fixing. Not me, or this situation. If I trust the woman sitting next to me then that should be good enough for the two of you. Fuck. You know me better than that. For Christ’s sake, she cleaned up the blood in the garage.”
Jules laughs as she pulls my blade from the table and places it in front of me. “What are you going to do, knife your family?” She smiles. “They just met me, Mark. Give them some time. There’s no need to exaggerate your tough guy attitude just to impress me.”
“Holy shit,” Cove whispers, waiting for me to strike.
“Wow.” Sophia covers her ears, knowing full well I’m not going to let another person dominate this table.
But I say nothing.
“Mark?” My sister prods me to respond.
“As I was saying...” I continue and ignore what just occurred. Jules will be punished in private for that one later.
“The two of you can trust her and we’ll leave it at that.”
“You mean we can trust her for as long as you do.” Cove shakes his head. “And what happens when you get tired of her? Are you gonna take her for a ride in your boat? How many bodies do you have in that Lake anyway?”
“Did you put Dayne in the Lake?” Jules whispers.
“Some friendly advice,” Cove stands and looks for the boys then turns back to Jules, “get out now. Take off on a bus and st
art over. Don’t look back, just get as far away from this fucker as you can.” He pauses and searches the room with his eyes. “Where the hell are Dax and Xav?”
Sophia looks around then points toward the opposite end of the restaurant at the back window. “Ug, they’re swimming in the pool again. Bring them inside, please. They need to eat.”
Cove tosses the newspaper on the table then takes the towel from the back of the chair and walks away.
“What blood in the garage and what bodies?” Sophia leans closer to me. “What the hell, Mark? I wish someone would fill me in. I’m the only one who doesn’t know what happened.”
“Oh, you should’ve seen it,” Jules says in an animated tone. “There was a whole bunch of blood from Dayne on the garage floor and more leading to Mark’s truck, not to mention the smears in his truck bed.”
“Stop,” I raise my hand, “that’s enough.”
“Fine, I’ll just ask Cove for the details later,” Sophia sighs, picking at her food before she turns to Jules. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
Twenty-two? Sophia mouths to me.
“It’s not like she can’t see you doing that, Sophia.”
“Sorry,” she exhales. “I was a drunken fool at that age, but that was a long time ago.”
“Yep, now you’re just a fool.” I smirk while pouring a cup of coffee.
“My brother has a thing for two’s so twenty-two is a good age, I suppose. Do you have a job?”
“I work the front desk.”
“You mean here?”
“Uh, yeah, I mean here.” She sounds somewhat annoyed by my sister’s dumbass questions. “I’ll spare you having to ask. My full name is Julia Alison Barringer. I come from a middle class family and was born and raised here. I’m not much of an outdoors person, but I like to read and have a good time.”
“Meaning what?” Sophia asks.
“Go to bars with my friends, hang out, drink, socialize, that type of stuff.” She shrugs. “I’ve also never broken a bone or had a cavity. I enjoy Thai food, pretzels, and soda water. And I’ve been working at Mark’s hotel for six weeks. Before that I worked in a grocery store and at a bread company. I have a degree in Art History which has proven to be useless, and I would like to start over and go to cosmetology school.”
“You want to study space?” my sister says. “Talk about a useless degree.”
Julia looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Soph, it’s beauty school, you idiot,” I laugh. “See, you shouldn’t be homeschooling your kids.”
“Oh.” She blushes and waves a hand to continue.
“But I’m broke,” Jules says. “Mark just gave me more hours and once I get back on my feet and save a little money maybe I’ll be able to afford school again, but for now a roof over my head and food are my main priorities.”
I place my hand on her leg, rubbing her upper thigh in devotion. “Why don’t you get breakfast so I can discuss something with my sister.”
“Thanks. I’ll get you that egg you wanted.” She kisses my cheek and as soon as she leaves the table, Sophia’s hand is on mine and I’m yanked by her side.
“Holy assballs, Mark! You love her don’t you? I’ve never seen you under anyone’s control before.”
“No, fuck that. This woman isn’t ruling me in any way,” I lie. “Trust me. Her little stunt with my knife didn’t go unnoticed. I’m just waiting until we’re alone to bitch her out, that’s all.”
“Okay, keep telling yourself that... hell, what’s wrong with being in love? She’s beautiful, smart, sassy, and she’s got balls. This woman is your dream girl.”
“I know she’s young... you don’t have to exaggerate the word girl, but for her age she seems more mature than you... and me for that matter.” I look around then lean in. “New subject. I need to ask you something about Dayne. Or maybe I should ask Cove.”
“Mom! You should see the floater Daxton left in the pool. It’s his biggest one yet!”
The boys run to their chairs and begin eating as Cove towels their hair. Sophia looks to Cove and he nods that it’s true.
“You shit in the pool?” I groan. “What the fuck? There’s a bathroom twenty feet away from the water.”
“Yeah but there were too many people in the water. Once I did it they all took off and Xav and I had the whole pool to ourselves.”
“So your plan was to clear the pool?” I ask.
He nods.
“Unbelievable.” I shake my head and bring up the front desk’s number on my watch. “A ten-year-old is going to drive my guests away... hey, Chloe?” I speak into the watch.
“Yes, Mr. Jameson,” she responds.
“Contact whichever pool attendant is here and ask him to take care of the brown gift in the water.”
“Brown gift?” There’s a pause. “Oh... will do,” she laughs.
I end the call and point my finger at my nephew. “Next time I’ll make you clean it up yourself.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Cove says, giving his son a stern look.
Jules returns and sets two plates of food on the table, much more than an egg and French toast. Her caring gesture generates a massive grin on my sister’s face.
“She loves you too,” she whispers.
“Yeah, she’s sitting right next to me, Soph. I’m pretty sure she can hear you.”
“Fine, I’ll let it go. So what did you want to ask about Dayne?”
“Not now,” Cove says, pouring juice for his kids and a coffee for himself.
“See, that right there is the problem,” I say.
He scowls back at me. “Not with the kids around. I just told you that, you can talk to us in private.”
“I’m referring to you pampering them. They can dry their own hair and pour their own damn juice. At ten, they shouldn’t be shitting in the pool. That’s what two-year-olds do. It’s fucking ridiculous. They’ll never be real men if you keep babying their asses.”
“My dad does stuff for us because he loves us,” Daxton says. “We’re not babies, you asshole.”
“We’re badasses,” Xavier chimes in.
Those words send shivers down my spine like they where just spoken by my father. I stare into Xavier’s dark eyes and swear my dad’s hiding inside of that child.
“Leave them alone,” my sister says. “Boys, eat your breakfast, please.”
I pull out my wallet and place a hundred dollar bill on the table. “Well, I have a question for you badasses. Who was playing games with the flashlight on the deck, and why?”
“Mark, I said stop. We told them about the hunter in the woods. The gunshot was an accident.” She winks.
“I wasn’t playing games. I was warning you about the man,” Dax says.
Cove crosses his arms and listens, totally perturbed by what he’s hearing. “You didn’t tell us that. You said you heard a shot and that was it.”
“You didn’t ask me what happened before the shot,” he says. “I was just shining my flashlight in the water of the pool when a red light started fighting with mine. I saw the big guy in the woods. His light went all the way up to my stomach then disappeared.”
“Jesus Christ,” Cove mumbles.
“Then, Uncle Mark came outside and I flashed him because I saw the red light under his deck. Those red sights are in our video games. I knew the man was going to shoot.”
“He saved your ass,” Xavier says while leaning back in his chair. “You gonna pay him?”
“No,” Cove says in a stern voice.
“You’re a good bodyguard, Dax.” I hand him the hundred-dollar bill.
“Fuckin’ A.” Cove tosses the money back in my face. “Daxton and Xavier, take your plates, we’re going upstairs.”
“Dad, I want to stay down here.”
“Now!”
The boys scramble off their chairs, grabbing their plates and walking out of the room.
“Don’t you ever give my kids money and call them bodyguards. You fuck. I�
�ve had enough.” He takes his coffee and paper then motions for Sophia to follow.
She ignores me, but says goodbye to Jules before following Cove out of the room.
“So that’s your family?”
“Yeah, but don’t be fooled by what you just witnessed. We really do love each other.”
POMPOUS
The front page of the local newspaper has a brilliant story about Jules’ ex-boyfriend, Roland, along with information on the bum that’s been arrested for the crime. I caught a glimpse of it in Cove’s hand before he took off from the breakfast table. I was finally able to read it on my own when Jules started her shift.
Two killings in one week and I got off scot-free on both. The homeless guy was covered in evidence and Dayne’s disappearance will go unnoticed for eternity. His brother and sister don’t give two shits about... but damn it, I keep forgetting about the woman at the motel.
She’ll need to be dealt with at some point.
Dayne’s murder can be ignored, but who knows if this woman has family and friends who care. This is when things can get tricky. It’s a problem my father often ran into. If you kill someone, you have to make sure there’s not a group of people lining up to find out what the fuck happened or why their son or daughter disappeared. And if a problem arises, make sure you can pin the crime on someone else. My dad taught me that the older the person, the fewer problems you’re likely to have. Kill an eighteen-year-old and the entire town is on a manhunt, kill someone in their thirties or forties and it’s the immediate family who are concerned, but kill a sixty-year-old with no wife or kids and you’re pretty much in the clear.
I’d say by the size, shape, and hang of that women’s tits, she’s in her thirties, which means her parents are probably still alive and she may have siblings. That sucks. I also noticed she had a flabby stomach, but no stretch marks, so no kids.
I’m wondering if she’s still at the motel or if she took off when Dayne didn’t return. I’ll check to see if the Datsun’s in the lot, maybe even knock on the door and introduce myself if she’s still around.
But that will have to wait ‘til I finish cleaning and covering my boat. There’s still some blood on the stern and the quicker that’s taken care of, the better. It will take part of the morning, and will give me plenty of time to think...
