Zoey's Place

by E M Bannock

She came first with pulsating waves of bliss, her body contorting as the pleasure shook her. The contractions of her cunny brought him to his climax. He exploded into her as it drained him of his strength.

  They lay spent, side by side, slowly coming back from the deep depths of their orgasms. Zoey reached over to the end table and grabbed the glass of water she’d put there earlier. “Oh my God,” she said, still breathing heavily. “That was powerful.”

  “Wow, woman,” he gasped in response. “I thought my heart was going to stop. What was in that cheesecake?”

  She laughed, grabbed a small pillow from the bed, and poofed him in the face.

  Chapter 28

  Zoey, James, Annette, and Fen flew to Vegas to meet with Dirk the next day. As they walked into his office, they were cautiously optimistic. Zoey explained her hunch and Dirk agreed that it was a sound theory. Now they had to prove it.

  “First we start with Jacob’s arrest record. If I can identify him as Jacob Johnson, and not Anderson, from the mug shot, we stand a better chance of getting the police to help us find him,” Zoey said authoritatively, automatically slipping into attorney mode. Dirk looked at her and she caught the look on his face. “Sorry, Counselor,” she said. “I sometimes think I’m still in practice.”

  Dirk smiled, and nodded approval. “By all means,” he said. “I’m always grateful for assistance. That’s precisely what I would suggest, but if he was charged with a misdemeanor they may not have taken a mug shot.”

  Zoey looked disappointed.

  Dirk pushed a button on his phone and a curt female voice responded. “Yes, Mr. Findley?”

  “Sarah, could you call the Storey County Sherriff’s Department and get a copy of the arrest record for Jacob Anderson, please?”

  “Yes, sir,” she responded in sharp military fashion.

  Dirk looked at the partners, who were staring at him, questioning the formality in her voice. “Sarah was in the army for a long time. Old habits die hard,” he explained, brushing it off.

  “Even if we don’t have his picture, we’ll get an address and go from there. It’s a good start,” he said to the group. “He still hasn’t returned my calls, but that’s not uncommon for transient people. They get a pay-as-you-go phone, and when their money runs out they throw it away or wait until they need it again before they add time to it.”

  “We have to establish a connection between Spider and Mrs. Boone,” Zoey interjected.

  “That’s going to require cooperation on one or the other’s part,” Dirk said. “It’s not likely that they’ll give up that information voluntarily unless they need it to save their skin. I know these types. They talk big, but threaten them with jail time and they usually cave.”

  “I doubt if Mrs. Boone wants to sit behind bars for any length of time. Not her style,” he added. “I think she’s the weak link.”

  “And how do we make her crack?” Fen asked.

  “You just leave that to me,” Dirk answered in a tone that let everyone know that they really didn’t want to know the details. The conversation was over.

  James picked up on the cue. “Well, if there’s nothing else you need from us,” he said as he stood up, “you know where to find us.” The ladies followed suit and stood as well.

  “I think I can handle it from here,” Dirk said with confident conviction. “I’m going to take a trip to Pennsylvania and speak with Mrs. Boone and her lawyer. I’ll keep in touch.” He shook their hands in turn as they filed past him.

  One week later, seven days before the court date, they were called back to Dirk’s office. He looked pleased with himself as they were seated around a large conference table, Dirk at the head. In front of each of them was a folder.

  Once they were served the beverage of their choice he spoke. “Ladies and gentleman, in front of you is a summary of my findings. Please follow along. Open to page one.”

  Page one was a picture of Mrs. Boone. “Mrs. Bertha Boone, plaintiff. Mrs. Boone claimed, in a written complaint, that, due to the negligence of the brothel known as Zoey’s Place, she was exposed to unsafe and illegal sex, causing her embarrassment and extreme mental stress. She states that the brothel is a public danger and requests that it be closed permanently.”

  There was a round of grunts and groans from the partners.

  “Please turn to page two,” Dirk continued. There, in full color, was a mug shot of none other than Jacob ‘Spider’ Johnson, aka Jacob Anderson. There was also a picture of the infamous spider tattoo. “Zoey, you were correct. Mr. Jacob Johnson used fake ID to get the job with Diego. He never planned on returning to Nevada to appear in court. You’ll be happy to know that, thanks to you, Zoey, Mr. Johnson is now behind bars awaiting trial for fraud. That picture there,” he pointed to the folders, “is his latest mug shot. By the way, he has a somewhat unimpressive record of petty crimes. This is not his first mug shot, just his latest.”

  “Very interesting, Dirk, but you’re killing me,” Zoey insisted.

  “Hang on, Zoey,” he said with a smile. “I spent a lot of your money getting this information. At least let me drag it out so you think you’re getting your money’s worth. I’m building up to the big finish here.” He cleared his throat.

  “Please turn the page,” he continued. He waited for everyone to glance at the small family tree-type diagram. “Here’s the connection between Spider and Mrs. Boone. You can see here that Jacob’s mother has a brother named David. David Boone, now divorced, was once married to none other than Mrs. Bertha Boone.” He gave the partners time to let this sink in.

  He went on. “Mr. and Mrs. David Boone were blessed with a daughter, Megan, who grew up to be a meth head. Her mug shot is above the pictures of her parents. Pretty, isn’t she?” This last comment was made in jest as Megan looked more like a walking zombie than a human being.

  “Megan was able to sucker some unlucky guy into marrying her and father a child. Needless to say, when the marriage fell apart the father was granted custody.”

  James and Fen looked at Zoey. “Don’t look at me,” she said. “I didn’t represent him.” She looked at Annette. “Did I?”

  Annette shook her head. “No, I’m sure of it. I would have remembered.”

  Zoey looked relieved. Dirk went on. “Well, Mrs. Boone does come from money, and she was able to put up a good fight for her daughter, but it wasn’t enough. Megan’s drug use and, get this, prostitution to get the money for the drugs, was more than enough to stack the deck against her. But Mrs. Boone had enough money to drag the divorce on for a couple of years. It was long and nasty. In the end Mrs. Boone and her family were shamed publicly.”

  “Cut and dried,” Zoey chimed in.

  “Correct, Counselor,” Dirk said. “It just so happened that the attorney representing Megan’s ex was a woman; a female attorney who specialized in representing men, and usually won them full custody. Sound familiar?”

  Zoey looked at Annette and they both nodded in agreement. Dirk continued, “Well, this gave her something in common with Jacob, who she always had a sexual thing for.”

  A collective “Ewww” came from the table.

  “Yea, I know, creepy,” Dirk said, shaking his head in disgust. “Anyway, she always had a sympathetic ear for Jacob when you, Zoey, represented your friend’s brother. Was it a brother?”

  Zoey nodded to confirm.

  “As I understand it, Jacob was the other man in the love triangle, and he took a lot of grief from his then girlfriend, now wife, Rhonda.”

  “Wait a minute,” Zoey broke in. “They got married?”

  “Yes, they did,” Dirk continued, “just last year. Turn to page four and you’ll see their wedding picture.”

  The partners did as they were told. After a few comments from the ladies about Rhonda’s dress and negative comments about the couple in general they looked up at Dirk.

  He took a drink from the cup in front of him. “Being the dutiful husband, or sap, that he is, when Rhonda realized that Zoey’s Pl
ace was such a huge success, she saw a way to get her revenge and cooked up this little scheme. She got fake ID and a throw away phone for Jacob and together they planned the bust, using Mrs. Boone as an accessory.”

  “Wait,” Fen said. “I still don’t see what Mrs. Boone gets out of this.”

  “Well, obviously she didn’t need the money. She hated Zoey for the misery she put Jacob through, and then when the same thing happened to her daughter she was game for anything to get back at the ‘kind of bitches,’ as she put it, ‘that go around taking kids away from their mothers.’ Plus, she got her fantasy wish. She finally got to have sex with Jacob.”

  Again a collective “Eww” came from the partners.

  “And Rhonda was okay with this?” Zoey asked.

  “It would appear so,” Dirk answered. “Her desire for revenge knew no bounds. She told Bertha she could, and I quote, ‘fuck his brains out’ if it meant the brothel got closed down and it ruined you, Zoey.”

  “Okay,” Zoey said, “so how did you know Mrs. Boone and Jacob were related?”

  “Elementary,” Dirk stated. “I faked it.”

  “What?” they all exclaimed at the same time.

  “I went into the meeting pretending that I knew more than I did. I told Mrs. Boone that Jacob had confessed to the conspiracy. I suggested that if she collaborated his account of Rhonda being the mastermind, I could get her charges reduced. Once I pointed out to her that she was also facing jail time for conspiracy and fraud, she was more than willing to rat out Rhonda.”

  “She believed you?” Annette asked.

  “These old rich gals,” he stated, “they’re not cut out for prison. It scared the shit out of her. She admitted her part in the scheme and told me the whole story, including her family relationship and sexual desire for her nephew.”

  “So,” Annette questioned, “what happens to Rhonda?”

  “She’s been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, as they all are since they were in on it. Rhonda will be charged with something for getting the fake ID, and because she was the mastermind she’s facing a lot of jail time.”

  Zoey stepped in. “So now what? What about us? What happens to Zoey’s Place? Can we reopen?”

  “Well,” he said with hesitation, “I spoke with the DA and the Sheriff’s office, and I explained the situation, and in light of the new evidence. . .”

  “For fuck’s sake, Dirk,” Zoey pleaded.

  “Yes, you can reopen. Based on Mrs. Boone’s confession, the county is prepared to drop all the charges against you. The violations will be voided. It’s as if it never happened. Jacob is still in trouble for using a fake ID. He really wasn’t pretending to be a prostitute, because they were all in on it. It was all part of the plan, so there’s no crime there. For that anyway. He’s still being charged with conspiracy to commit fraud since he was a participant. There’s enough evidence to prove consciousness of guilt and willfulness to participate to get a guilty verdict on all three. I think they’re all willing to take plea deals and not go to court, so the press won’t get a hold of the story. Mrs. Boone was very adamant about keeping it quiet. If you want, we could take Rhonda, Jacob, and Mrs. Boone to court, drag them through the mud, and expose them for the pieces of shit that they are. Might bring the wrong kind of attention to the brothel, though. Town fathers might not like it either. I’d recommend against that. Just let Mrs. Boone and Jacob plea it out. Rhonda will still get jail time, even if she confesses; no way out of that. My friends at the DA’s office are willing to do what you want.”

  The partners agreed to accept the plea deal arrangement, erupting in hugs and cheers as they realized that the nightmarish events of the last couple of months were over.

  Zoey jumped up and hugged Dirk. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

  “Hey,” Dirk said, blushing. “I was happy to do it. You’re Mickey’s widow. I always liked him. He was a good guy, always treated me right. I felt like I owed him this one. Now, go get your brothel opened again. I’ll send you my bill.”

  On the way back to the brothel they all decided that Zoey’s Place would have a quiet reopening on January 15th. That way everyone could enjoy the holidays before getting back into the demands of running the brothel.

  Michelle greeted them as they walked through the lobby together. Annette hugged her tightly and planted a big kiss on her after telling her the good news. Zoey produced a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey and they all had a celebratory shot together.

  Then it was down to business. Fen started calling customer numbers off of the waiting list.

  James called the hookers and told them the good news. The ones he could reach were still available and eager to return. He left messages for the others.

  Zoey called Chef Marguerite to let her know about the reopening. She was thrilled and told Zoey she had a few new recipes that would surely be a hit with the ladies.

  Annette began calling the maintenance staff, housekeepers, and laundry staff from town.

  It felt good to be a team again.

  Chapter 29

  Around six they were all ready to call it a night. They decided to order Chinese and eat together in the dining room. By the time they wrapped up whatever it was they were working on, the food had arrived and everyone settled in to eat. Michelle joined them. The atmosphere was definitely more relaxed and jovial than it had been in quite a while, even though there was still a lot to do to get ready for the re-opening. They ate, making light conversation and pleasantries, just a group of friends having dinner together. It was comforting to all. After they cleaned up, they said their goodnights and parted.

  Zoey was exhausted, changing into her nightie as soon as she and James got to their suite. When she walked out of the bedroom, she saw James pouring some Scotch for himself. He picked up a glass of wine he had poured and held it out to her. “To you, Zoey; a woman who never gives up. A woman who is so beautiful inside and out.” He paused as he looked her up and down. “To a woman who is sexy, smart, and loving; the woman I love and cannot live without. I love you, Zee.”

  They clinked glasses and took a sip.

  Then she held out her glass and made a toast in return. “And to you, James, the man who gave me the strength to carry on, who always has my back, who made me believe that you can fuck without love. But most importantly, the man who showed me that it was okay to love again. My life has meaning because of you. I love you with all my heart.”

  She tapped her glass to his and drank. He smiled at her and did likewise.

  Then James set down his glass and grabbed Zoey by the hand and said, “You look tired. Why don’t you let me give you a back rub to help you unwind?”

  “That sounds wonderful,” she replied, and let him lead her into the bedroom. James’ back rubs were delightful. He knew where her stress points were and firmly massaged the tightness away. After a while he got undressed and slipped into bed with her. As they spooned naked in bed, Zoey contemplated the events of her life. Her thoughts drifted to Mickey and the life they’d had together.

  James could sense that she was in a pensive mood. “You were awfully quiet at dinner. Zoey’s Place is going to open again. You should be happy, yet I know you’re not. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours? You thinking about Mickey?” he asked.

  She turned to look at him. “Yes,” she admitted. “I’m thinking about him and everything in my life.” She lifted herself up and sat against the pillows. “When Dirk mentioned Mickey today it made me feel guilty that I have another life. I thought Mickey and I would grow old together. We were so much in love. When he died, I thought my life was over. The pain was horrible.” She started to get weepy.

  “Hey, hey,” he consoled, stroking her hair. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

  “There’s so much we didn’t do; so much of our lives that we were cheated out of. He was going to quit his job. I was going to retire. We were going to live the rest of our lives skiing and traveling and
loving each other.” She started to cry and James held her close.

  “I’m sorry, James,” she said between sobs. “I love you, but I loved Mickey so deeply. He was my life for such a long time. I can’t just forget he ever existed. I miss him. I miss his love and the little things he did. It’s just not fair. And it’s not fair to you. Mickey will always be part of me. Are you sure you want to share me with him?”

  James held her as her sorrow overwhelmed her. “Yes,” he said with conviction, trying to comfort her. “It’s okay. I know you loved him. You still do. I’m okay with that. Living with him made you what you are today. I just hope I can live up to his high standard. I’ll take care of you, Zoey, forever. I promise.”

  “Oh, James,” she said, gaining control. She looked deep into his eyes. From the start they reminded her of a trip she and Mickey took to Cody, Wyoming. They had explored the surrounding Beartooth Mountains on horseback with one of his clients and stopped for lunch on a mountain peak. The sky was so clear and deep blue up there it was almost dark. It was the exact color of James’ eyes. “I don’t deserve you. You know, I didn’t want to fall in love again. I didn’t want to fall in love with you. I thought we were just going to be fuck buddies.”

  “Fuck buddies, eh? Well, do I thank you for that?” he asked, trying to lighten the conversation.

  “You know what I mean,” she retorted. “You admitted it; you didn’t want to fall in love with me either, did you?”

  “To be honest,” he confessed, “I thought you were hot the first time I saw you. I wanted to fuck you silly right there on the table at Keith’s Kitchen.”

  “Oh, that’s romantic,” she said, laughing through her tears.

  “I didn’t know what I felt for you was love. How could I? I’d never truly been in love before, didn’t really believe in it until I met you.”

  “Did you get me drunk on purpose that first night we fucked?”

  “Not really,” he chuckled, “just worked out that way. I wasn’t exactly sober myself if you recall.”