by Keith Trimm
“Get down!” she heard from behind the checkout desk. It was a female voice.
Cindy walked over to the desk and leaned over looking for whoever was hiding. She found a clerk cowering in the corner with a phone in her hand. “I think the coast is clear, I don’t see anyone else around,” Cindy said.
The clerk looked at Cindy like she was a freak with her huge pendulous breasts resting on the countertop. “He might come back, get down and hide.”
Cindy shook her head and headed for the front glass doors. She opened them and stepped out into the warm summer evening breeze. She thought nothing that she was standing almost nude in front of a hundred spectators and the police. She loved the attention.
Over the loudspeaker from one of the police cars, an officer said, “Please get away from the hotel.” Cindy smiled and waddled across the carport and into the parking lot. She saw a news van and headed in that direction.
Once at the news van, she was approached by a reporter and a camera person. It was obvious they were either live or recording her as she approached. “Ma’am,” the female reporter said. “Are you alright?” The camera was now very close and pointed at her face.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Cindy said faking the fear in her eyes.
“Can you tell us what’s going on? What have you seen?”
This is what Cindy was waiting for. “There was a gunman, he was going up and down the halls shooting all the cheaters.”
“The cheaters?” the reporter asked.
“Yeah, this is a huge cheating convention, there are people from all over the country here cheating on their husbands and wives.”
“Do you think the man shooting was one of the spouses of someone cheating?”
Cindy didn’t think of that, but she liked it and decided to go with it. “Might have been, it’s possible the shooter found out his wife was here as part of the program and decided to take matters into his own hands.”
“Do you have any evidence of this?”
“No,” Cindy said.
The reporter felt like a fool. “Did you see the man with the gun?”
“Yes,” Cindy said.
“Can you describe him?”
“He was about five foot eight, one eighty, brown hair, regular built. Pretty average looking.”
“About how old?”
“Forties I’d guess.”
“Did you see what kind of gun he was using?” the reporter asked.
“No, I don’t know guns. It was a pistol of some sort.”
“Any injured or dead?”
“I personally didn’t see any, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of dead bodies in the rooms.”
“Why didn’t you get dressed?” the reporter asked looking down at Cindy’s fat bloated body.
“I feared for my life,” Cindy said lying. “I’m just happy to be alive.”
Chapter 15
Late night waffles
Somewhere between dusk and dawn the three found themselves at the Waffle house three blocks from the hotel. The place they agreed to meet. Only Bob expected Cindy to be dressed and had to keep her hidden in the car.
“Why are you only wearing underwear?” Bob asked.
“I wanted to make sure the news people saw me,” Cindy replied.
“Did you think about hiding some clothes out where you could get them later? Obviously not or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Chad broke in, “Why don’t we just go to some twenty four hour department store and get her some clothes?”
“Unless you are planning on paying for it,” Bob said.
“I have money,” Cindy said from the back seat. “But I’m hungry, can you go in and get me something to eat?” looking through the windows of the waffle house.
“We can get something at a department store, I’m sure they have candy and chips.”
“I don’t want candy and chips, I want pancakes and sausage.”
“I’m not letting you eat in my car, you’ll get syrup all over my seats and make a mess, its chips or nothing.”
Cindy was pissed, she went to all the trouble to do exactly what Bob wanted and get her story to the reporters, but one simple request for pancakes and sausage and he fucks her over. “No, I did what you asked, not do what I ask.”
Bob was taken aback by her brashness. “You’re really in no position to negotiate,” Bob said.
Now more pissed, and realizing she left her purse back at the hotel, she grabbed Bob by the back of his head and pulled his hair yanking him backwards. Bob grabbed her hands and tried to pull her hand loose. Cindy took this opportunity to lean over the seat and grab Bob’s wallet from his back pocket. Once she had it in her hand. She let go of his hair and got out of the car as fast as she could.
Bob jumped out of the driver’s seat and followed her but it was too late, she was already to the doors of the waffle house and was well within view of the few customers that were inside eating at this late hour. Bob didn’t want to make a scene and let her walk inside, dressed only in her panties.
Once inside, Cindy walked over to the counter and sat down. She let her huge breasts rest on the countertop. The waitress, an older woman dressed in something out of the past, hobbled over to Cindy with a menu and took a long look at her. Bob was sitting down next to Cindy and the waitress didn’t realize he was there. It was as if the waitress was in a trance.
“What can I get you to drink?” the waitress said not skipping a beat.
“Large diet Coke,” Cindy said. “Bob, do you want anything to drink?”
“Coffee, cream and sweeter please,” Bob said.
The waitress then saw Bob and wrote down his drink order.
“Make this fast,” Bob said, “If she calls you in for indecent exposure we’re fucked.”
“I’d give you your wallet back if I thought you’d bring me my order, but you don’t seem overly concerned with me right now. Sit tight honey, she won’t say anything.”
“What about the others?”
Cindy looked around the restaurant and counted three people in one booth who were gawking at her and Bob, “They won’t say anything.”
The waitress brought the drinks and sat them on the counter. Above the waitresses head was a television screen with a picture of a reporter and the hotel behind her.
“Could you turn that up?” Bob asked.
The waitress found the remote next to the coffee maker and turned up the sound. The reporter said that there were three confirmed dead and that the shooter was missing.
“You killed three?” Cindy said.
Bob elbowed Cindy in the fat of her ribs to get her to shut up.
“Sorry,” she said. “The shooter killed three?”
“Sounds like it,” Bob said.
The waitress stepped over and said, “I’m surprised it took this long for one of the husbands to find out what was going on and shoot up the place. I’ve been working here seventeen years and nobody ever got caught like this. This will be huge.”
Hearing the waitress say that put a smile on Bob’s face.
“They ran a pretty slick operation, I never figured out how they kept the husbands and wives in the dark, I bet they had help from the chamber of commerce, or the mayor’s office.”
“Why do you say that?” Bob asked.
“This town isn’t huge, when these people come in, they bring money. It’s simple economics, they bring in business and everyone looks the other way. It’s not like they’re selling drugs, that’s illegal, they just provide a place for cheating spouses to get away to get laid with an excuse.”
“Yeah, this must have been a pretty elaborate production,” Bob said.
“Did you two want to order food?”
Cindy spoke up first. “I want a large stack of pancakes, link sausage, hash browns, and toast.”
“And you?”
Bob looked outside at Chad and waved at him to come inside. “I’ll take two fried eggs, sausage patties and hash browns.”
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The waitress took the order and handed it to the cook. “Oh yeah, these guys ran this like a business, they had people to answer calls who could lie their asses off. They had bouncers, people to set up special events, all sorts of shit. I knew one of them, she’d come in here for supper. I don’t think she works for them anymore.”
“Well, I don’t think this will be going on anymore,” Bob said with a smirk.
“Oh yes it will, this is only one of their locations, they do this all over the country. If this one dries up, they’ll find another location, and this town will suffer for it.”
“It was only one weekend a year right?” Bob asked.
“No, they came three weekends a year, we’re talking millions of dollars in lost revenue. “
“No, they only charged a thousand a person, and there were only a hundred people, that’s a hundred thousand dollars, not a million.”
Chad sat down next to Bob, “What are you guys talking about?”
“Just listen, I don’t want to go back and start over,” Bob said.
The waitress asked, “Do you want to order any food honey?”
“Yeah, give me a western omelet and a large stack of pancakes, and a diet Coke,”
The waitress wrote down the order and handed it to the cook. “You have to realize that those hundred people also spend money in town.”
“Not that much, they’re too busy fucking each other, “Bob said.
“Well, I’m not going to argue with you, but I know there are a lot of business people in this town that look the other way when these guys come to town. If there wasn’t a lot of money involved, they wouldn’t be going.”
“No, I believe you, it’s the dollar amount I don’t agree with, people tend to exaggerate numbers.”
Just then one of the customers from the back of the restaurant walked over and chimed in. “It’s more than you think, I used to help do the books for these guys, she’s right, it’s in the millions.”
“But how?” Bob asked.
“Hush money, they call it a tip, but they make the customers nervous enough to get them to pay way more than a thousand. I’ve seen them squeeze as much as twenty thousand dollars out of one customer.”
“How do they keep getting more customers if they treat them like that? I would think that would kill repeat business.”
“The hundred that come each weekend are chosen from a list of applicants. That list usually a few thousand people. Mostly men, but they have more than enough suckers. Once they have them, they take pictures and blackmail them into whatever they want.”
“That makes no sense, once it was knows that these guys were blackmailing their customers, their customer base would dry up.”
“I’ve seen the list, I’ve seen the figures. Most of these cheaters think they are bulletproof.”
“Then why not cheat back home?” Bob asked. “They can cheat there without the risk.”
“And without the adventure. These are not your average cheater, these are people with money, and power. They’re not used to being fucked with, they’re used to doing the fucking.”
The waitress brought the food and set it on the counter.
“So I bet these guys are pretty pissed about what happened tonight, it probably cost them a lot of money.”
The stranger replied, “If they find the guy that did this, he’s dead. The guys that run this are like the mafia, all they see is dollar signs and anyone who separates them from their income is dealt with severely.”
Cindy turned to the stranger with a mouth full of pancakes. “You sound like you were the one taking care of these guys.”
“No, but I knew a few guys that had that job, and they liked their jobs a little too much if you ask me. Why are you naked?” the stranger asked.
“I had to escape and I didn’t have time to get dressed,” Cindy replied.
“If you need clothes, I can hook you up.”
“That’s very nice of you, but we were heading to get some clothes at some twenty four hour department store after we eat.”
“I can call my sister, she is about your size, it would save you some money and time.”
Chad looked at Cindy who was chewing like she never ate before. “I’d rather do that than have me shopping in the women’s section for you while you sit in the car.”
Not wanting to make a scene, Cathy agreed.
“Good, what size are you ma’am?” the stranger asked.
“Twenty four,” Cindy replied.
“I’ll see what I can do,” the stranger said. He got out his phone and walked back to his booth.
“That was nice of him, “Chad said.
“Don’t be sure, “Bob said, “Something about him doesn’t seem right. I don’t feel too comfortable right now, maybe we should leave.”
“Not until I’m done eating,” Chad said.
“Hurry up, I’m not waiting for his sister, for some reason, I don’t think this guy has a sister, or at least one he’s talking about.”
“Why do you say that?” Chad asked.
“What are the odds that his sister just happens to be the same size as Cindy? What are the odds that he would be so helpful?”
“What are you getting at?”
“I think he’s here because the handlers want him here. I think he’s a lookout.”
“You are paranoid,” Cindy said spitting out some pancake.
Bob looked over at the stranger who was busy talking on his phone. Something was definitely not right about this guy or this situation. Was he a cop? Did he work for the group that put on the cheaters weekend or was he really a Good Samaritan? The stranger got up and walked over to Bob and the group and smiled. “She’ll be here in twenty minutes with a basket full of clothes to choose from.”
Cindy said thanks and the stranger went back to his seat.
“I’m not sticking around twenty minutes,” Bob said.
“You can’t leave me here alone!” Cindy replied.
“You can come with me, but I’m out of here as soon as I’m done eating.”
“I can’t be rude and walk out.”
“He’s counting on that.”
“Now I don’t know what to do?”
“Make up an excuse, tell him thanks but no thanks. You have about five minutes.”
Cindy was stuck now. She was forced to tell this nice strange man that she didn’t need the clothes his sister was bringing out of the kindness of her heart. What was she going to say? This was so embarrassing. She stood up and slid off the barstool at the counter. As she waddled over to the stranger she tried to think of a good excuse to leave.
“Hey,” she said getting the strangers attention, “I got to leave.”
“Really? What’s going on?”
“My ride is leaving and I have to go with them.”
“They can’t wait a few minutes until my sister gets here?”
“No, they want to head back home now,” Cindy lied
The stranger sat and thought for a moment, “Let me talk to them.” The stranger stood up and walked over to Bob followed by Cindy. “You’re friend here tells me you’re leaving.”
“Yeah, we gotta get going,” Bob replied.
“Can’t wait a few minutes?”
“No, it’s already past three in the morning.”
“You were going to go to a department store, this is faster.”
“We’re skipping the department store tonight, we can do that when we get back home. She can hide in the back of the car till then.
The strange man whipped out a pistol and placed the barrel against Bobs temple. “No, you won’t be going anywhere tonight.”
“Fuck! I knew it!” Bob yelled. “Are you a cop or do you work for the group?”
“The group, the cops don’t pay that well.”
Chapter 16
Into the Fire
Forty five minutes later, a truck with Bob, Chad and Cindy held captive in the back pulled up to an abandon bridge and stopped. The driver s
topped the engine and the stranger from the waffle house got out of the passenger's side with his gun in hand. “Get out,” he said to the three captives.
Bob, Chad and Cindy got out of the truck. The stranger motioned for them to step over to the pylon where the bridge used to anchor to the road. The bridge was long gone, but the pylons it sat on still protruded out of the ground across the span of the river. It was a good fifty foot drop straight down into the river and there was no safety measures in place to keep someone from driving off the edge.
“What are you going to do? Expect us to jump?” Chad asked.
“Hold on, I have to make a call first,” the stranger said. Poking at his phone, the stranger put it to his head and waited for an answer. “Yeah, I got the shooter,” the stranger said. Then a long pause. “At the waffle shop,” he added. “What?” he said in an angry tone, “You’re kidding right?”
Bob looked to Chad and Cindy and gave them the “What’s going on?” look.
The stranger continued, “I just spent an hour driving them to the.... Now wait!” Another long pause ensued as the person on the other end spoke. “Fine, what’s the point anyway,” the stranger finished and hung up the phone. “Let’s go” he said to the driver and headed back to the truck.
“What’s going on?” Chad asked.
“I’m leaving,” the stranger said.
“What about us?”
“I was told not to shoot you, nothing was said about giving you a ride back.” The stranger said, he got in the passenger’s seat and the driver spun off leaving in a cloud of dust.
Now the three of them were stuck in the middle of nowhere, next to an old abandon bridge at dawn. The sun was starting to come up and everyone was exhausted.
“Now what?” Cindy asked.
“We need to get a ride back,” Bob said. “Problem is, who do I call?”
“Call 911,” Chad said.
“I murdered three people less than eight hours ago and you want me to call 911?” Bob replied.
