Spellbound: a Tale of Magic, Mystery & Murder

by Louise Ann Barton

CHAPTER 13 - THE GIRL

  Goldie pretended not to notice their passage as they staggered out of the lounge and across the lobby. The two men exited by the main entrance and scampered down the porch steps. She kept watch from the window until they went down to the river and out of sight.

  Ramon led Joseph down around the river bend and through the woods, laughing as they stumbled along the path. When Ramon finally announced they were almost at their destination, Joseph broke out in song. Try as he would, Ramon couldn't silence his companion and they arrived at the run-down structure, which housed the cockfight, with Joseph singing at the top of his lungs.

  A battle was already in progress when they entered. The noise made by the ring of spectators mercifully drowned out Joseph's drunken howls.

  Ramon pushed into the crowd surrounding the combatants. He pulled the remainder of his small funds from his pocket and bet the full amount on the smaller, scrappier rooster. To Joseph's amazement, their chosen champion emerged the victor after a brief, but bloody battle. The loser's still quivering remains were removed from the ring and Ramon happily collected his winnings.

  He bought two cigars, one of which he gave to Joseph. Joseph borrowed matches from the man standing beside him and he and Ramon lit their cigars. They stood there, puffing smoke, and sized up the next contestants. Ramon made his choice and, once again, bet the entire bankroll on the next fight. Joseph looked at the spectators on the other side of the ring. He smiled and nudged Ramon, whispering, "Some promising girls, sir." Ramon followed his gaze.

  Three young girls, obviously shapely despite inexpensive, ill-fitting, cotton shifts, watched the fight. They shouted encouragement to one of the roosters, their dark eyes shining with excitement, small, firm breasts straining against their bodices. Ramon gripped his friend's arm. "Most promising," he agreed.

  It has been such a long time, Ramon thought, as he exhaled a great cloud of cigar smoke, and imagined the smooth roundness of their young thighs. Joseph strained forward and the movement brought Ramon back to reality. "What are you doing?" Ramon hissed.

  Joseph looked down at him in surprise. "I would talk to the girls, sir," he answered.

  "No!" Ramon spat out. "The Baka gave me this," he said holding out the money, "not the women."

  Joseph's expression crumbled. "We are not to have the women, sir?" He whined in disappointment.

  "Yes, we will have the women," Ramon hissed fiercely, "but you must not talk to them first!" He pulled the taller man down until they were face to face and whispered, "If we talk to them, they will run from us, like the stupid, foreign women at the hotel."

  "What then, sir?" Joseph whispered back. "If we do not talk to them, how will we make our needs known?"

  Ramon smiled. "We will not talk to them. We will take them!" The little man laughed. "They will learn of our needs soon enough."

  Joseph grinned in agreement. "What then shall I do, sir?" he asked.

  Ramon shifted his gaze to a discarded, dusty sack on the ground. "Take that," he commanded, "and wait outside. I will get one of the girls to leave. You will know what to do." Joseph nodded.

  As soon as Joseph had taken up his post, Ramon tucked away his winnings. He strolled over and bought a beer. Popping it open, he took a healthy swallow and went to the other side of the ring. He stationed himself behind the smallest of the three girls and whispered in her ear.

  "They are giving away free beer. Just outside the entrance. Hurry before it is gone!"

  The girl turned to thank the speaker, but Ramon was no longer there. He hurried to the entrance and waited just inside the door until the girl arrived. She was followed closely by her companions. He shielded his face with his beer, permitting his prey to go past him. She went out the door and took a few steps, searching for the free beer. As soon as she had passed him, Ramon whirled back inside.

  His body blocked her companions' passage. He staggered drunkenly against the girls and splashed his beer onto them. The ensuing confusion blocked their view of the first girl, who by now, to her great surprise, had encountered Joseph. Joseph towered above her, then crashed his fist against her jaw. The girl collapsed in a tiny heap at his feet. Her unsuspecting companions scolded Ramon, who continued to stagger in the doorway, effectively keeping them inside the structure.

  By now, Joseph had stuffed the unconscious girl into the sack. He hefted the weight onto his shoulder and started back through the woods. Ramon sensed it was time to take his leave and exited the structure, weaving dangerously across the grass.

  The group of girls burst through the door and stopped short. They looked about for their friend. One went around the back of the structure, calling the girl's name. By now, Ramon had passed from their line of vision. He abandoned his pretense and raced quickly along the forest path. Presently, he drew abreast of his accomplice. Joseph shifted his burden and looked down at the small man.

  "I have the woman, sir," he announced happily.

  After a moment's thought, he added, "Will one small woman be enough?"

  Ramon clapped him on the back. "One woman will be enough for tonight. And, my friend, there will be more women. Many women, later on." He hurried to keep pace with the taller man. "This I promise you." As they went, Joseph thought of what it would be like to have that many women and was soon grinning again.

  By the time they reached the path beside the river, it was time for the evening meal. The hotel's guests would either be inside the dining room or seated at tables on the open terrace. The staff would be dancing attention to the guests as each decided, after great deliberation, how to fill his or her stomach. There would be no one to see the two men and their burden leave the shelter of the riverside trees and approach the rear of the hotel.

  They moved quickly across the lawn and, after brief consideration, Ramon decided which of Room 107's windows faced the river. Joseph secretly marveled at Ramon's sureness in making decisions, choosing Joseph so quickly as a companion in the cane field, knowing which rooster would be the champion, and knowing how to take the woman without being seen!

  This small man with the strange, glittering eyes had freed him from a life of backbreaking poverty and given him the luxury of a real bed with soft pillows. The food and drink had been of the finest quality. Joseph patted the limp form in the sack reassuringly. This was the first installment on Ramon's promise of women . . . many, many women. And now, the little man knew unerringly which window to choose.

  Joseph smiled admiringly down at Ramon and dropped the sack to the grass. He helped Ramon climb up to the window and held his friend steady until the ornamental security gate was pried open. Ramon scrambled inside. He stuck his head back out through the opening and reached down for the sack.

  Joseph lifted the burden and Ramon began to drag the clumsy shape over the windowsill and into the room. As soon as the sack and its contents had been deposited on the floor, Ramon dragged it to one side so Joseph would have room to enter. Once inside, Joseph repositioned the gate, closed the window behind him, and carefully drew the drapes against prying eyes. Ramon made sure the door to the hall was locked against unwanted intrusion and switched on the air conditioner.

  The two men broke into smiles and, with cries of joy, fell on their knees beside their prize. Working together, without a sound, they quickly undid the fastening at the top of the sack and turned it upside down. They shook it until the still-unconscious girl tumbled onto the floor. Ramon dragged the sack clear of her body while Joseph stripped off her cotton shift and panties. He found it a simple matter to undress her since the girl wore no bra or slip.

  Ramon turned back to the pair and gazed down at her naked flesh. A gasp of appreciation escaped his lips. He put one hand on her breast. Joseph caught his arm.

  "No, sir, not here. Not yet," he pleaded. "What if she wakes up? She will be able to identify us! She will scream!" Ramon stared at him with strange eyes and Joseph shook him gently. "The bed, sir, the real bed." He picked up the girl and laid her in the middle of the bed, ar
ranging her head on the pillows. "Let me prepare her for you, sir," he begged. Apologetically, he added, "It will only take a minute."

  Joseph took the top sheet and began tearing it into strips. Ramon realized what his friend was about and grabbed at the sheet in a frenzy. They quickly produced a series of strips. Joseph carefully gagged her mouth and bandaged her eyes, knotting the ends of the strips, catching up tangles of her long, dark hair. Ramon knotted the other strips together for strength and bound her wrists and ankles to the bedposts.

  Their victim slowly regained consciousness and realized hands were touching her. She tried to see, to speak. Raising her head from the pillows, she found she couldn't move. She tried to struggle, but quickly lost consciousness again, only to awaken with a jolt.

  Fingers were pinching her nipples! Fingers probing between her thighs. She wanted to jump up and run, but met the resistance of the braided restraints. Then she realized that she was securely tied down, blindfolded, and gagged. Lying spread-eagled on a bed.

  There was a man, more than one man, here with her. She could hear them panting, one here and one over there. She twisted about in a frantic effort to break free, but the strips held her fast and made the bonds cut painfully into her wrists and ankles. Although she couldn't see the men, it seemed they enjoyed her attempts to escape. She stopped struggling, trying to breathe despite the gag which now threatened to smother her. Mercifully, hands adjusted the gag, allowing her to gasp for air.

  But her relief was short-lived as the man who had been poking about between her legs threw himself on top of her. He forced himself painfully inside and began pounding with great force. She writhed under him, whimpering audibly despite the gag.

  Joseph watched for a moment, then switched on the television set. He turned the volume high enough to cover the noise of their activities. Joseph remained beside the television in case of a complaint that they were disturbing the other guests, in which case he planned to apologize profusely and lower the volume.

  He watched Ramon until the small man moaned in release and rolled off his victim. While the little man lay on his back beside the girl, eyes closed, trying to catch his breath, Joseph crept to the bed. Now that his benefactor and companion was obviously finished, it must, at last, be his turn. Grinning with pleasure, he assumed Ramon's recently vacated post, entering the girl with sure, quick thrusts. The pitiful creature was obviously in shock, or injured from Ramon's savage assault, because she no longer struggled.

  Ramon recovered quickly and had the wit to lower the volume as the television was no longer needed. Then he left the couple on the bed and decided to take a shower. When he emerged from the bathroom, he found Joseph had finished with the girl. Ramon paused on the threshold, a clean towel draped around his hips. He laughed aloud.

  "The real bed, the food and drink, and the first of many women."

  Joseph grinned. "Yes, sir!" Then his face became serious. "But now I am hungry again, sir."

  Ramon nodded. "Yes, we have worked so hard that we are now hungry again." He crossed the room to the telephone. "No problem, Joseph. We will order food to our room." Joseph grinned with delight. "After all," the small man continued, gesturing to the bed, "we have our task to complete and would not like to leave it for long." Joseph's grin grew broader still. "Just enough time for you to shower," Ramon began before Goldie answered his call from the reception desk.

  While Joseph was still in the shower, Ramon heard the rattling wheels of the maintenance cart stopping in the corridor just outside his door. He watched through the peephole while the maid stepped up to Room 106, directly across the hall, and rattled her key in the lock. She opened the door and replaced the keys in her pocket. Then she took a set of sheets from the cart and some cleaning materials, and stepped inside the room.

  Ramon waited until the maid was out of sight, apparently cleaning the bathroom in Room 106. Finding the hall empty, he unlocked his door and crept stealthily out into the corridor. Keeping an eye open for the maid's sudden return, he reached out and plucked a fresh set of sheets from the cart. Then he slipped back into Room 107.

  He'd no sooner shut and locked the door when Joseph emerged from the bathroom. The tall Haitian's return was none too soon as he heard the room service cart entering the corridor. There was no mistaking the sound as one wheel squeaked alarmingly, stubbornly refusing to give up its voice despite frequent oilings. Joseph listened as the cart made its noisy way down the hall, becoming silent in front of Room 107. The Haitian held his breath, and waited.

  Presently, a knock sounded at the door. Joseph glanced sharply at the rumpled form on the bed. He moved toward the door, unlocked it deftly, and slowly opened it just enough to see into the hall. A young, slightly built lad wearing a hotel waiter's uniform stood outside.

  "I will handle this, sir," he assured Ramon.

  Joseph opened the door a few more inches, managing to block the waiter's view with his damp, towel-clad body. Joseph signed the tab, charging everything to Room 107, and waved the boy away without a word. The tall man had a strange look to him and the boy was anxious to leave. Once dismissed, the waiter fairly sprinted back to the lobby.

  Joseph looked up and down the corridor. No guests in sight and, by now, the maid had moved far down the hall. He took hold of the food cart and maneuvered it into the room. Once inside, he shut and bolted the door.

  Joseph turned to smile at Ramon. The men pulled the cart over to the dining set near the heavily shrouded window. Ramon sank regally into the nearest chair and allowed his companion to serve the meal. Joseph removed the domed covers and viewed the heaping contents of the serving platters with appreciation. As the aroma of food permeated the room, Joseph placed the dishes on the table and set out the wineglasses. Then he opened the wine bottle and sniffed the contents as he had seen Ramon do.

  Very good! his expression reported.

  Ramon grabbed at the bottle and sloshed the contents into the nearest glass. Raising the glass, he began gulping the wine. "Ahhhhh," he began, "I shall miss this service." Joseph's face fell. "But, Joseph," Ramon said patiently, "you knew we could not stay at this hotel forever." He patted his friend's shoulder. "Soon we must leave."

  Joseph's sank into his chair with a sad expression. "I would like to stay forever, sir. I would like to live in a place just like this."

  Ramon smiled. "Perhaps, Joseph, perhaps someday. In the meanwhile, there will be enough work to occupy your time." Joseph glanced at his present work lying unattended on the bed and brightened visibly. "Eat now, my friend," urged Ramon, "we must keep up our strength."

  Joseph reached hungrily for one of the delicately roasted chickens. Taking the bird onto his plate, he began tearing off chunks with his teeth and fingers. Ramon laughed and decided to attack his dinner in the same manner. Joseph found his way into the stuffing with its creamy, raisin sauce.

  "Ah! Delicious, sir," announced Joseph, his mouth full. "How did you think to order this?"

  Ramon smiled wryly. "The women at the bar, the tourists. They were talking about ordering this for dinner when we tried to talk to them."

  The thought of the women rejecting him earlier in the day was spoiling his meal. Especially the foreign woman in the blue dress. Ramon recalled having found her most promising, but she had fled from him before he'd barely opened his mouth. Ramon's face twisted with hate. He wanted her to pay for rejecting him!

  He wanted to punish her!

  He wanted her!

  As he thought of her, he realized his body was prepared to return to the evening's entertainment. He pushed back his plate and rose from the table. Turning to the bed, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. His body pushed the towel free from his hips and it fell to the floor at his feet. Joseph jumped up, too. He owed everything to this man, but, in truth, he had no intention of waiting again to share the girl. He hurried after Ramon and they arrived at the bed together, each crawling onto the mattress from different sides.

  Realizing his accomplice was out
of control, Ramon hit on an alternate plan. He shook Joseph's shoulder, motioning for him to reach across and untie the girl's left wrist while Ramon untied her left ankle. Then Ramon maneuvered the girl on her side, facing Joseph. Ramon cupped her breasts with his hands and forced himself into her from behind. Joseph attempted to clutch her buttocks, pulling her closer, so he could enter her from the front. Unfortunately, Ramon seemed to be in the way.

  The men snarled at one another the way dogs would fight over a bone. Ramon wriggled about and managed to bury himself deep within her while Joseph fought for purchase. The smaller man began gyrating frantically, leaving Joseph growling in frustration. The girl flailed her free arm wildly at their efforts.

  Ramon found this strangely exciting and he had no intention of relinquishing possession to Joseph before he was ready. In the ensuing melee, their victim managed to scratch Joseph's face. He howled with pain and released her. All the while, Ramon continued his efforts, not missing a beat, closing quickly on his goal.

  The girl's free hand caught the edge of the blindfold. She ripped it free and Joseph stared into her large, terrified eyes. "She can see me, sir," he howled in despair, "and she has marked me!"

  Ramon lost the mood and jumped up in disgust. He struck the Haitian across the back with his fist. The large man threw up his hands to ward off the blows, but made no attempt to strike Ramon in return. Beating Joseph made Ramon feel better, so he struck Joseph again, and again, until he became exhausted and sat panting on the edge of the bed.

  "Don't you understand, Joseph?" he hissed. "That doesn't matter. This matters!" he added, pointing to his lap. Joseph lowered his hands and sat up. He stared at Ramon. "If you are finished, sir," he began respectfully.

  Ramon signaled his agreement with a casual wave of his hand. Joseph drew the girl to him, then pushed her away in horror. "She can see me!" he whispered, pointing to her terrified gaze. "I cannot while she stares at me like this." he complained. He stood there undecided, holding his own eagerness with both hands as if it could hardly be contained.

  Ramon sneered in disgust. "Then turn her over, you fool!"

  The Haitian grinned and flipped the weakly flailing girl face down, her head half-buried in the pillows. Joseph grabbed her slim hips and brought them up to meet him. Making contact, he collapsed on her with all the force he could muster, the burning pain of the scratches spurring him on. Ramon could no longer watch and went to fill the tub.

  When Joseph finally staggered from the bed, he found the girl's blood on him. He wrapped her bleeding parts with the rest of the torn sheet and arranged her carefully so the bed would not be spoiled.

  When the tub was half-full, Ramon shut off the tap. Joseph entered the bathroom and began splashing water on his face. Then he washed himself carefully with a soapy washcloth. When he was finished, he turned to look at Ramon. Ramon fixed him with those glittering eyes and nodded. Joseph knew what was expected of him.

  There was no other way.

  Joseph went to the bed and finished untying the girl. He carried her carefully into the bathroom and laid her unmoving form on the tiled floor. Ramon helped lift her and the two men deposited her, head first, into the water. Ramon paused and drew her back just long enough to remove the gag. "So the water will enter properly."

  Joseph nodded. It had to look like an accidental drowning. Their victim regained her senses just as she re-entered the tub. Her scream, which promised to be most piercing, was abruptly stifled as water filled her nose and mouth. She struggled weakly and Ramon, who was holding her over the rim of the tub, pressing her down, became aroused again. As she wriggled, he forced himself into her from behind. This time he would not be robbed of his due.

  Dimly, he heard Joseph remark, "Her lungs are empty of air, sir," but Ramon would not be unseated from his mount and rode her until his desire burst. The little man collapsed over the lifeless body, pinning it to the side of the tub. Joseph waited respectfully until Ramon withdrew and then he reached down and placed the girl completely under water. Bending to his task, he took up her left hand and began scrubbing his flesh from under her nails. Gently, almost reverently, he tried to wash the evidence of their passion from her tiny, childlike body.

  When this toilette was complete, he removed the girl from the tub and stuffed her back into the sack. He pulled the drawstring tight at the top and drained the tub. Ramon put the old sheets into one of the shopping bags from the hotel gift shop and arranged his and Joseph's old clothes on top.

  After cautioning Joseph not to dispose of the girl, the sheets, and the clothes in the same spot, he showered and dried himself carefully. Then he changed the linens and crept back between the clean sheets to wait for his friend's return.