Private Detective: BENNINGTON P.I.: A thrilling four-novel political murder mystery private detective series...

by D. W. Ulsterman

  12.

  Kat had called Colin’s assignment “babysitting”. Colin O’Shea on the other hand considered it the most fascinating thing he had ever done in his still relatively young life. Certainly he had never met anyone like Katalina Brezhnev. Though even younger than him in years, she exuded an unmistakable world-weariness that Colin found both intimidating, and irresistibly attractive – a face so young, containing a mind, and body, so experienced.

  Kat was certainly beautiful. Her mixture of blonde hair, large blue eyes, full, seemingly always inviting lips, and lean athletic body was an intoxicating mix of natural beauty and more seemingly endless physical possibility. Colin quickly found himself utterly obsessed with her.

  It had been three weeks since Congressman Latner determined Colin’s job was to watch over Kat, making certain she saw no other men as the congressman worked to convince the Governor Mendez campaign that he was in fact, vice presidential material. The congressman made his feelings quite clear on the subject of Colin’s new job description.

  “You get her the money each week. If she needs to go anywhere, you pick her up. Go rent a car, get a cab, whatever. Or you walk her. I don’t give a shit about how you do it, just be there when she calls. And no other men, you understand? She’s mine, I’m paying for her. Your job is to watch and make sure my money is buying what it’s supposed to.

  Oh – and if you touch her, I’ll kill you myself.”

  The congressman had flown back to his home state of Ohio to meet with his wife, her family, and a bevy of potential political donors, all of them planning for his hoped for selection as Governor Mendez’s presidential running mate. Mendez had not yet even indicated his intention to run for president, but Colin soon discovered that all of the groundwork for a national campaign began many months before any such announcement came, including the creation of a short list of potential running mates to join the ticket.

  Stephen Sparks, a staff member of Governor Mendez, had already interviewed Colin twice, regarding Congressman Latner. Bennington had repeatedly told Colin not to worry about any of it. Such interviews were just part of the vetting process, and as long as they all kept the congressman’s obsession with young prostitutes hidden, all would be fine.

  As for Kat, she seemed to quite enjoy no longer having to work for her money, taking the two grand that came from the congressman each week, and then happily informing Colin of what she would like to do next. Some nights it was a movie, other times a dinner out, more than a few times she simply wanted to go shopping.

  Tonight though, she decided she wanted to attend an opening of a new K Street nightclub called Ambrosia. She had spent hundreds of dollars on a new dress, and demanded Colin pick her up at 10:00 p.m. outside Ivanka’s multi-roomed residence where all of the girls stayed. Her only other instructions to Colin were to “dress cool”.

  Fortunately, Colin had taken a few hours to use some of the money Bennington had given him to update the rather sad and tired wardrobe he had arrived to Washington D.C. wearing. He looked at his image in the mirror of the small room he began renting from Tracy two weeks ago. His fellow congressional staff member came from a family of money, and the spacious three bedroom H Street apartment exemplified that privilege.

  Despite the wardrobe money from Bennington, Colin O’Shea’s penchant for finding deals remained a fixture of his personality, and though his new wardrobe was a vast improvement, not one item of just purchased clothing was new. He had scanned the area thrift stores, finding entire suits not more than a few years old, a few quality dress shirts, high end dress shoes with just a bit of scuffing, and an assortment of ties. He took each of his used clothing items and had them professionally dry cleaned, and now looked in admiration at the assortment of high end clothing that hung from his closet.

  He was finally starting to look the part of an up and coming Washington D.C. political operative.

  While she appreciated his new threads, Kat had insisted last week that Colin also improve his haircut, telling him the bargain priced cuts he had long used as a college student were simply not going to work for him anymore.

  “You are a handsome man, Colin not a college boy anymore. It is time you start looking like one.”

  She had him drive them to a salon located inside a small strip mall off of Florida Avenue where inside, Colin found himself being introduced to a very fat and very flamboyant middle aged Russian man.

  “Well hello beautiful kitty, and what delicious little morsel of young man have you brought for me today?”

  Kat smiled at the stylist and then held her left hand up toward me.

  “Viktor, this is my friend, Colin O’Shea. He needs a more professional look. He’s working in congress.”

  Viktor’s eyes grew wide as he clapped his fleshy fingered hands together as he bounced up and down. His multiple chinned face was framed by a short cropped, pink hair and matching mustache, and both ears contained multiple, small- hooped earrings.

  “Well does he now? Ok! He’s a handsome one, so this will be so easy! Come here, Mr. O’Shea and take a seat. This won’t hurt one bit!”

  For the next thirty minutes, Colin endured the never ending chatter of Viktor as Kat sat in one of the waiting chairs near the salon entrance. Every so often she would look up from her magazine to see how the haircut was coming along, giving her approval with another big smile.

  Finally, Viktor stepped back from the chair Colin sat in and opened his arms wide in a comically dramatic gesture.

  “I do declare you one hot piece of Washington D.C. political ass, Mr. Colin O’Shea!”

  Colin had to admit quietly to himself it was a dramatic improvement. His red-brown hair had been trimmed and then combed neatly to the sides. The new haircut somehow managed to make him look older, more serious and perhaps even more formidable.

  Kat stood by Viktor and looked at Colin looking at himself.

  “He looks very good, Viktor. You are a genius!”

  Colin’s body tensed as Kat’s fingers ran gently along the right side of his head just above his ear. Her face then leaned down and whispered to him, the warmth of her breath fluttering over Colin’s skin.

  “Mmmmm…I like what I see, Colin. I like it a lot.”

  As Kat spoke those words, Colin O’Shea heard the voice of the congressman hissing from inside of his mind:

  You touch her, I’ll kill you myself.

  13.

  “Are you keeping an eye on him, Frank?”

  Frank Bennington closed his eyes as he held the cell phone to his ear.

  “Who?”

  The congressman’s voice rose to a near shout.

  “The new kid! The one watching Kat! Who do you think?”

  Bennington sensed the congressman’s obsession with the Russian whore was reaching the point of imminent danger. He had a chance to be the next Vice President of the United States and yet all he could seemingly think about was what was going on with Kat.

  “Everything is fine, Congressman. She’s getting the money on time, Colin is taking her where she wants to go, and I’ve made it clear that she’s off limits. You know, he’s not exactly the kind of guy you would need to worry about. He’s quiet, does his job, and goes home.”

  There was a prolonged pause before the congressman spoke again.

  “And what about you, Frank? Are you keeping away from her?”

  Bennington felt his own anger beginning to emerge. This was getting ridiculous.

  “Congressman, I’m not really into girls that young, ok? Actually, it kind of creeps me out. You know better than to make that kind of accusation. Pull yourself together.”

  The congressman pushed forward with the subject, undeterred with his chief of staff’s criticism.

  “What the hell does that mean, Frank? She’s legal. She’s a lot older than her years. A LOT older. I don’t need a screw up like you judging me. I can’t…I can’t get her out of my mind. I have to see her. I will see her - soon. Make it happen.”

 
; Frank Bennington’s jaw clenched as he silently forced himself to remain calm.

  “Congressman, we have people crawling all over this office, interviewing staff, your donors, so if you want a shot at being a part of that ticket, you can’t be running around with that girl anymore, ok? There’s too much at stake here. You’re already paying thousands of dollars to keep her quiet and safe, so why risk it? Just let things be like we agreed to. Hell, if the voters back in Ohio get word of just how young she is, you might not even be able to win re-election let alone be considered as a running mate on a presidential ticket!”

  Congressman Latner barked out his disagreement.

  “Bullshit! As long as my name’s on the ballot, I’m getting re-elected. I own my district in Ohio. You know that. It’s why you’ve kept your job Frank. You know as long as I run, you have job security and you don’t even have to work to keep it. I’m due back in D.C. next week. I’m gonna see Kat then, and I don’t give a shit if you think it’s a good idea or not. We can be careful about it, keep it hidden. I have to see her though – it’s not open to discussion.”

  The congressman ended the call, leaving Bennington to sit in the darkness of his Capitol Hill office marveling at just how far over the edge the congressman now was over his increasingly out of control feelings for a nineteen year old prostitute. The entire premise was inconceivable to him, and yet, here they all were, working overtime to accommodate the demands of a sixty year old member of Congress and his sexual obsession with a girl young enough to be his granddaughter.

  Welcome to Washington D.C.

  Bennington decided he better check in with Colin. The phone rang twice before the voice of the new staff member answered.

  “Yeah, Mr. Bennington – what’s up?”

  Frank Bennington smiled when he heard the younger man still address him with a title of implied respect. Not too many people around here called him “Mr. Bennington” anymore.

  “Colin, I just got off the phone with the congressman. He’s bugging out about Kat. Needed me to assure him everything was going well. So…things are going well, right? She’s not seeing anyone else is she?”

  “No sir, it’s just like the congressman asked. I take her where she wants to go, and that’s it. She’s not working, if that’s what you mean.”

  Bennington sensed, and appreciated, the growing confidence now evident in Colin O’Shea’s voice. The young man was going to do well in this business, and might even be strong enough to keep his soul intact while doing it.

  “So are you going to be watching her tonight?”

  “Yes sir, she wants to go to a club. A dance club I think.”

  A faint warning bell sounded in Bennington’s head.

  “A club? Where at?”

  “It’s supposed to be a new one on K Street called Ambrosia.”

  Bennington recognized the name. Silia had mentioned it to him last week. She was planning on checking it out herself.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard of it. Maybe I’ll see you there and we can talk.”

  Colin’s voice betrayed his uncertainty over the prospect of running into Frank Bennington at the nightclub, though his words attempted to hide that uncertainty.

  “Oh…yeah. That’ll be great, Mr. Bennington.”

  With the call ended, Bennington’s world inside of his office returned to silent darkness.

  14.

  The front of the Ambrosia nightclub was a flurry of activity as a throng of nearly a hundred people stood outside wanting to get in. Colin, sitting in the back of the taxi with Kat, shook his head.

  “Looks like it’s already filled to capacity, Kat. I don’t think we’ll be able to get in.”

  Kat put both of her hands on the front of Colin’s navy blue dress jacket and pushed him gently on the chest.

  “Don’t be so negative, Colin. Let’s just see what happens!”

  Once outside the taxi, Kat removed her long jacket and handed it to Colin to hold. He in turn found himself fixated on the skin tight black dress that clung to every curve of Kat’s lean, athletic body. Her eyes caught him looking, causing her to smile as she stood in front of him.

  “You like?”

  Colin forced himself to look up into Kat’s eyes.

  “You look great.”

  Kat leaned into Colin and wrapped her arms around his right forearm as they walked toward the red bricked entrance to the club.

  “Let’s have some fun tonight.”

  The doorman was a tall, thick necked man in his late twenties, who glowered back at Colin before his eyes settled hungrily over the scantily dressed Kat.

  “I am a friend of Ivanka’s.”

  The doorman’s eyes widened slightly before he stepped to the side and motioned for Kat and Colin to enter the nightclub.

  Once inside, both Colin and Kat found themselves inundated by the deep, booming bass beat of the music that was matched by a multitude of flashing and twirling lights. The entire area was no more than a few thousand square feet, half of which was given over to a dance floor where a mass of bodies moved in unison to the music.

  A row of small circular tables sat against the wall that ran the entire length of the left side of the club, while a circular bar dominated the right side wall. Colin couldn’t see any available seats either to the left, or around the bar.

  Kat grabbed his right hand and propelled herself forward toward the dance floor, her long blonde hair flowing behind her.

  “C’mon, let’s party!”

  Colin O’Shea had never considered himself much of a dancer, and those few girls he had done so with would likely readily concur with that assessment. Still, he found himself on this night determined to do his best to keep up with the twirling, gyrating form of Kat as her body matched the pulsating rhythm, sights, and sounds of the nightclub. Colin soon realized he was far from the only one admiring Kat, as he noted a multitude of eyes following her movements as well.

  Kat’s dancing, and Colin’s rather feeble attempts to keep up with her, continued for another thirty minutes before she finally grabbed his hand again and motioned toward the bar.

  “Let’s get something to drink!”

  The area around the bar remained crowded, making it difficult for Colin to work his way to the bar itself. Kat paused and then leaned up to Colin to speak directly into his ear so he could hear her over the music.

  “You have to order for the both of us. I’m not old enough! Just get me something with vodka!”

  Colin had forgotten Kat was not yet twenty. He nodded and told her to wait.

  It took nearly ten minutes for him to get the drinks and return to where he had left her. She was no longer there. A mass of bodies moved by him, as Colin’s eyes scanned the club to try and locate her.

  “Colin! Over here!”

  Kat had found one of the round tables along the left wall of the nightclub. Two young, well muscled men dressed in tight fitting t-shirts and blue jeans were attempting to talk to her. They looked Colin up and down as he approached the table and sat down next to Kat, handing a drink to her.

  “You see, boys I’m already here with someone, so please leave us alone now.”

  The two men glared down at the seated Colin, before the one on the right sneered his disbelief that Kat would choose Colin over either him or his friend. When he spoke, his thick Russian accent made the words somewhat difficult for Colin to follow.

  “When you get tired of this little shit, you come see me at the bar. I’ll make you feel real good.”

  Kat rolled her eyes and then turned to Colin, ignoring both men who remained looming over them for several seconds more before finally receding into the crowd.

  “Yuck, Russian men are always such assholes. They dress like thugs and act like children. And worst of all – they’re cheap.”

  Colin offered a small smile to Kat as he watched her drink half of the vodka from its glass.

  “Is that why you prefer older men, because they have more money?”

  Kat’ fac
e winced for a moment, clearly not happy with the question.

  “Older men? Why do you think I prefer older men?”

  Colin could feel his face reddening in embarrassment, his words stumbling out of his mouth in an attempt to remedy the mistake.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it I just…you know…the congressman and you.”

  Kat waved her hand dismissively in the air as she shook her head.

  “That’s business, Colin. He pays me, and quite a bit. That means I don’t have to work or see other men. But that doesn’t mean I prefer older men, or younger ones. At this point I don’t even know what I like. I’m young. I just want to have some fun!”