by Bill Eidson
Chapter 21
They drove to Duxtable, on the South Shore. Geoff had never been there before, but even in the dark he could see it was a wealthy coastal town just a short distance from Jansten’s home in Sea Crest. The houses were large, with expansive lawns. “Gotta have a Benz to get in this town,” Strike said. “You should see them looking at us brothers in the daytime.”
They turned down a private drive of crushed sea shells and went about a quarter of a mile toward the shore before coming to an iron gate. Beyond it was a large, modern home. The grounds were lit with bright lamps. A tall metal fence surrounded the property on three sides, down to a small cove. Coils of razor wire shimmered atop the fence. Strike reached into the glove box and opened the front gate with a remote control.
Once inside, they started up a walkway to the front door. Midway there, an overgrown grape arbor formed a narrow path that would force them to go single file. Strike slowed so that Geoff and Jammer would go ahead. Geoff tensed, but continued on.
A gun was put to his head midway through the arbor.
Jammer yelped behind him.
Geoff held his coat open. The gunman took Geoff’s Beretta and patted him down. Behind him, Lee was checking Jammer out as well.
“This one is carrying, Strike,” said the gunman.
“Yeah, he the new hotdog coming to meet Raul. The man still up?”
The gunman grinned, white teeth showing. He was a strong-looking Hispanic man. “He’s got two chicks out on the boat, I’d say he’s still up.” He nodded to Jammer’s backpack. “You check that out? He doesn’t want a flake, you know that, man.”
“Yeah, they’s got cash. Nothing wrong with that.” Strike slapped Jammer’s head. “You tell me, man, you got any personal stash on you? You got so much as a stick of dope, you tell me now. The man don’t allow no drugs on his place.”
“Nothing,” Jammer said.
“Never touch the stuff,” Geoff said.
“He’s the fucking comedian.” Strike shoved Geoff. “Come on, Lee, I’ll be thinking the man’s looking for a laugh tonight.”
Strike opened up the big outboard on the Mako so they were flying along in the dark toward a power yacht anchored at the mouth of the small cove. “Yah!” he cried back at Lee. “Fucker’s fast!”
The yacht was about fifty feet long, with a high bow and wide beam. “Man, crime do pay, don’t it?” Strike said to Lee. “I want to cream in my jeans every time I see this thing.”
He shoved Jammer, in a not totally unfriendly way. “That what you dreaming about, man, you so hot to talk to Raul?”
They climbed the ladder off the yacht’s stern.
Sitting in the sportfishing chair was a young black woman wearing a man’s bathrobe. Even in the poor light, Geoff could see she was naked underneath. She held a handkerchief, dark with blood, up to her nose.
“The man be screwing your brains out, girl?” Strike said.
“Don’t bother him now,” she said, in a small voice. “He’s auditioning Cindy.”
Lee grinned. “What’s the matter, honey, you didn’t pass the screen test?”
“I went limp,” she said. “He just slapped me around, got bored.”
Strike said to Jammer, “Hey, maybe you bargain real good, Raul let you take her, huh? Put her on the street, the man figures she’s no good no more.”
Jammer nodded uncertainly. “Sure.”
Lee and Strike laughed.
They all waited.
Geoff looked over the boat. It was a big sportfisherman, with a tall flybridge. He figured the fifty thousand in the backpack truly wouldn’t mean that much to the man who owned this.
They heard a woman cry out.
“Shit,” the girl in the chair hissed. “That sick bastard.”
“That right?” Strike said. “I tell him you mad at him, girl. Tell him you got a problem with the director.”
“No.” She laughed, scared. “Don’t do that.”
“Why not? Give me a reason.” He tugged his balls. “Good reason.”
She sighed, then threw the handkerchief away. She knelt in front of Strike and he laughed, looking over his shoulder at the others. “Take me a pause that refreshes, guys.”
Jammer smiled and looked at Geoff. “Little different from where you come, huh?”
Inside the cabin, the woman’s voice cried out again, and Geoff could hear the slap of skin on skin.
“Carly couldn’t walk for a week the time I sent her over to him,” Jammer said. “Starts shaking every time I mention his name.”
Geoff looked at him. “Have you ever sent her back?”
Jammer shook his head. “That was just a few weeks ago. He hasn’t called for her again.”
“But you would have?”
Jammer looked at Geoff as if he were stupid. “That’s what she’s for.”
Lee was chuckling, watching Strike with the woman. “Ooo, ooo,” Lee mimicked.
The kid climaxed minutes later. He patted the woman on the head and said, “Long’s you remember what I remember and service me good like that, you be okay.”
Geoff had begun trembling. He couldn’t figure it, his heart was pumping hard. He was angry, suddenly sick with fury that Carly had been used like that. That she couldn’t walk for a week afterward.
He didn’t think for a second how he was treating Lisa himself.
The emotion surprised him, as did all his feelings for Carly. He had never cared about anyone before and he certainly was under no illusions about Carly.
But Geoff could still see Carly splashing in that stream, thinking in her naive way that it made everything different. And the way she fought back at Jammer, that first time in the Boston Common. So strong on her own, yet so eager to be transformed by what Geoff could teach her. For the past day or so, Geoff had found himself considering following through on his promise and actually taking her along with him. For a while, anyhow.
At that moment, a man came out of the cabin. He had a blond woman by the hair and he dragged her out to Strike and Lee. “Hose this cow off before you send her home. She was boring.”
He was a big man, soft-looking. About forty. His face was pale, with a baby petulance about the mouth. When the first woman helped the blonde away, he grimaced. “Both of you, get out of my sight before I have you drowned. Waste of good skin.” He waved the men below.
The cabin was brightly lit with battery-powered camera lights. A video camera was mounted on a tripod and directed toward a big bed.
Geoff envisioned Carly damaged like the blonde was, with her pretty face ruined by a split lip, perhaps a broken cheekbone and nose. Obviously, Carly hadn’t suffered anything like that kind of damage. But why hadn’t she told him about Raul?
Geoff took a good look at the man. His clothes were casual, conservative. Good quality. His hair was black, short. He didn’t look Hispanic. If anything, he looked like a WASP Harvard Business School grad with about twenty years tacked on top. The shelves behind him were lined with videocassettes. By the titles, Geoff could see mainstream movies ranked alphabetically with hardcore porn interspersed throughout. The top shelf was smaller, with a dozen or more videos facing outward, on display. Cheap, hardcore porn with distinctly violent covers. Rapes, bondage. Several other cassettes were untitled but placed alongside. Geoff could only imagine what those held.
Raul saw him looking and smiled faintly.
“Yours?” Geoff asked.
“Mine. Having a creative outlet passes the time.”
“We brought something,” Jammer said, gesturing to the backpack. “First payment on that thing we talked about.”
Raul sighed and pulled the bag over to peer in. He closed it, puffed on his cigar, and said, “I’ve been looking at bags of cash all my life, and that’s not the amount.”
“No, not the full amount. It’s the first payment.”
“That’s not what I told you, Jammer.”
The pimp licked his lips. “Well, I got this new partner and he
wanted to meet you. We’ll get the rest of it in a few days, a week outside. We got something going to pull the rest of the cash in.”
“How much is this?”
“Fifty.”
Raul let his shoulders slump. “Fifty thousand,” he murmured. “I say come to me when you’ve got two hundred thousand dollars together, and you show up with a partner uninvited and a quarter of the money.”
“I told him you wouldn’t be smiling on that,” Strike said.
Raul sighed. “I’m a busy man.” He turned his attention to Geoff. “So, you wanted to meet me.” He spread his hands wide. “Here I am. You probably expected with a name like Raul to find some little spic, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t know what to expect.”
“Maybe you thought I was some easy, friendly guy? You could trip in here with this piddling amount of money and we’d negotiate some better contract?”
“That must be what he thought.” Strike stood behind Raul, grinning as he warmed up.
“You tell him about my degree from Cornell?”
“Uh-uh. Didn’t tell him nothing.”
“You tell him about me being a bastard kid?”
“Not me,” Strike said.
Geoff watched the two of them carefully. All this had a singsong quality, a routine they had done before.
“Maybe that’s it,” Raul said. “Maybe Jammer found out somehow, told his new ‘partner’ that my venerable old papa nailed the maid down on a vacation in Puerto Rico and I’m the product. He was a good, responsible sort, though, so he made sure I went to the best schools, long as I stayed away from his family.” He gestured to his video on display behind him. “I send him an autographed copy of each one I do. I hear it sends him into a flying rage every time. One day, I figure his heart will give out. Is that the sort of thing you wanted to know, new partner?”
“No,” Geoff said. “Interesting, though. What I had in mind was speeding up the process a little. We’ll be coming through with the cash, but I simply wanted to meet you and be clear on the deal. Jammer and I are new partners, and I wanted to see myself where my money would be going.”
“It’s going right here,” Raul said, touching his chest. He leaned forward, speaking softly. “What you should know when it comes to my business dealings is that it’s very important to me that people do what I tell them. Now understand this. I’m going to show you the absolute limit of my patience by letting you walk out of here on both legs. Because maybe this time, I’ll believe that you didn’t know any better.”
He turned to the pimp. “But for you, Jammer, you know me. And you disregarded me. You think I’ve gotten soft? I’ve been traveling for weeks now. If you think I was just letting go of what happened, you are sadly mistaken.”
“What happened?” Jammer looked confused. “What?”
“Oh, shut up.” Raul took on a plaintive tone that Geoff didn’t believe. Geoff wondered how the man had ever survived in such a position. His whole manner had a theatrical quality, as if he were acting the way a drug lord was supposed to act. “What use to me is a man who can’t follow instructions?”
“No use, man, no use.” Strike winked at Jammer.
Raul looked over his shoulder at Strike and slapped him lightly in the belly with the back of his hand. “Stop clowning around behind me. Tell me, what good is a man who can’t follow instructions?”
“God damned if I know.” Strike shook his head, mock-solemn.
Jammer kept his mouth shut while Raul stared at him.
Finally, Raul said, “I let Strike wink and grin because he’s a good boy and he does what he’s told. I’m a reasonable man and I understand different people have different talents. Now maybe you’ll understand whores if you can’t understand the drug business. Whores are your business. I’m talking about the caliber of the woman I’m getting these days.”
Jammer gestured toward the stern. “I didn’t send those two!”
“I know you didn’t.” Raul exploded suddenly and cracked Jammer across the face and backhanded Geoff. Jammer sat back, rigid with fear.
Geoff could have stopped the blow, but he had decided to wait. The man’s ring had cut his cheek, and he let the blood trickle down to his collar. That’s two, Geoff thought. First Carly, now me.
Raul continued to rage. “The stupidity I have to deal with every day! If you had sent those two, I would have had you drowned right now!”
“Do it, man!” Strike laughed and Lee chuckled along.
“Limp bags of flesh, not a bit of life in them. They cower and shiver like dogs in the rain. I’m telling you that I’m not a happy customer, and if you want to come crawling in with your little bag of money, if you want that territory, then you have one skill and you better make me happy with that one little thing you can get right. Are you listening?”
“I’m listening.” Jammer’s voice shook.
Raul looked at Geoff briefly.
“You’ve got my full attention,” Geoff said, mildly.
Raul tossed the backpack to Strike. “Put this away.”
Strike pulled a big aluminum suitcase from a side locker and opened it. It was filled with cash, mostly hundreds. Strike began stacking the contents of the backpack.
“See that?” Raul said. “There’s over eight hundred thousand in there. That’s walking-around money for me. That’s my equal to your little jar of pennies you keep at home.” He gestured to Lee, and the big man hit Jammer in the ear with the back of his hand. “Coming here so far short with this ‘partner’ means you must not respect me. It means you think you’ve got something on me.”
He gestured again, and this time Lee came around in front of Jammer, set his considerable weight, and threw a hook deep into the pimp’s belly.
The blow lifted Jammer out of the chair. He fell against Geoff, gasping for breath. Geoff pushed him back into his chair. While the pimp was doubled over, Raul said to Geoff, “I hope you’re paying attention. Maybe you can learn from his mistakes.”
“I’m learning.” And he was. He now understood how Raul had earned his position. His manner wasn’t just a posture; the man was a genuine sadist. His eyes practically sparkled.
“Notice how your partner can’t breathe, how he’s turning bright red?” Raul said conversationally to Geoff. “A good blow to the stomach will do that. It’s awful. You must have had the breath knocked out of you before? You feel like you’re dying, but you’re alive to watch it. See how he’s getting his breath in now, he just sipped a little in? Lee, do it again, same way.”
Lee followed through, swinging his big fist into Jammer’s stomach like a sledgehammer.
“All right, you think I’ve got his attention?” Raul asked.
“You know it,” Strike said.
Raul rested his elbows on his knees and said into Jammer’s ear, “I’ve had one woman in the past who has given me a fight, the potential for the type of action my viewers expect. A woman who will put a little enjoyment in my day filled with small, scared men like you. That Carly of yours. Maybe you thought I had turned soft. Maybe you thought I was forgetting.” He began rolling up his sleeve, putting his arm right under Jammer’s eyes. He revealed an ugly scar the length of his forearm. “Maybe you thought, ‘If Carly can get away with this, use that straight razor of hers, then maybe I can pay Raul fifty instead of two hundred thousand.’ ”
Jammer began shaking his head. A trail of saliva fell from his lips. He got his voice. “I didn’t know.”
Raul continued. “But it was far simpler than that. I’ve simply been traveling for the past few weeks. And while I surely could have sent Strike and Lee to kill her, you, and everyone you know, I thought I’d rather feature her in one of my special shows. So I’m going to buy her from you and give her an excellent role.”
“You should have told me,” Jammer croaked.
Raul patted his head in a friendly way. “Not to worry. I’m convinced now that you didn’t know. I’ll be leaving for L.A. tomorrow and I’ll be back by the e
nd of the week, so you have her here by Saturday, midnight. You give her to me, and the remaining balance, and I will forgive this intrusion on my time and you will have your territory and be behind the scale with your partner.” His lips curled on the last word. “Naturally, if she’s not here, I will have you both brought here and I will go to work on you. I’m not as interested, personally, but there’s a market for shows with boys. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, sure.” Jammer wiped his mouth as he looked over at Geoff. “She’s with him now.”
Raul turned to Geoff. “In that case, do you understand?” he asked, softly.
“She’ll be here,” Geoff lied. He looked Raul in the eye and even managed to look scared. All part of his boardroom repertoire.
But perhaps Raul was a sharper judge of such things than Geoff’s former competitors. Raul looked at him skeptically, then snapped his fingers. “Lee, I need to make an impression on this man.”
Geoff lunged off toward the galley, reaching for the knife he had seen earlier on the cutting board. He heard the big man behind him. Geoff grasped the knife and swung back with it, pivoting on the ball of his foot.
“Shit, shit,” Jammer was screaming.
Lee blocked the knife just in time and held on to Geoff’s hand.
Geoff didn’t try to overpower the big man. Instead, he let himself be pulled forward and then kneed Lee in the balls. That still didn’t put him down.
Strike appeared at Geoff’s shoulder and jammed a little gun right under his chin. “I’m gonna spread your brains.”
Geoff stopped.
“Not in the boat,” Raul said, casually. “Sit him down.”
Lee used his fist on Geoff like he had on Jammer, then slung him into a chair. “Motherfucker,” Lee said and hit him in the face. Strike kept the gun on Geoff and said, “Don’t do him yet, Lee, the man still wants to talk to him, hear?”
“I hear.” Lee stepped back around the chair to wrap a massive arm around Geoff’s neck.
Jammer was babbling apologies. “I didn’t know, I didn’t know he was going to do this shit, Raul, you’ve got to believe me.”
