by Jonas Saul
There were things to do and people to hurt.
And Sarah was pissed.
Her phone vibrated. She looked down at.
Aaron. Oh, baby …
She didn’t answer it. When she could, she would call him back. Now wasn’t the time.
He was supposed to be letting her have her space until she was ready to come back, until she was ready to face him.
She wondered what had changed, what made him call.
When she got to her bike and donned the hat, thoughts of Aaron left her mind. All she could think of was Barry Ashford. She needed to take this to another level. Wasn’t she supposed to antagonize him until she found out his secrets? All the stuff Vivian still hadn’t told her?
She was starting to like her new job.
The Antagonizer might even work as a new name.
She crawled back up the embankment and went to meet the car rental employee with less than an hour to go before she would enter the Garden of Eden Massage Parlor.
“I’m coming, Barry.”
Chapter 14
The bike was exactly where it was supposed to be, but Sarah was gone. Only her helmet remained.
Barry checked the road but saw no sign of her.
Where the hell could she go?
His phone rang. He yanked it out.
The Garden of Eden.
“What’s up?”
“Trouble,” Nate said.
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“Lesley’s brother was just here.”
“And?”
“He wanted to take Lesley with him. He hassled Rebecca and Julie at the front until I came out. Then he kneed me in the balls.”
“He what!” Barry shouted. “How did he do that?”
“I didn’t see it coming. Julie pepper sprayed him, but he ran outside and disappeared. He may come back.”
Barry ran a hand through his hair. He had to fix this fast.
“Okay. I’m on my way. Don’t do anything else. Keep Lesley there no matter what. If you have to lock the doors and shut the fucking place down, keep her there.” He ran around his car and dropped in the front seat. “And watch the front doors. Don’t let Greg in again. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll make some calls. I’ll take care of Greg.”
“Good. And when you do, I want a shot at him. My fucking sac is bruised, man.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get yours.”
He threw the phone onto the passenger seat and smacked the accelerator to the floor, fishtailing off the shoulder as he squealed away.
After a kilometer, he grabbed his phone and called Colin, who answered right away.
“Yeah, Barry. What do you need?”
“You know a company called ReadyMaid Cleaners?”
“Yeah, weren’t they the company suspected of all those break-ins a while ago?”
“That’s them. I have proof that they were responsible for all those break-ins. But the proof is in their offices off of Rutland Road. And the owner, Greg Wright, just assaulted Nate at the Garden.”
“You looking for a warrant? Because if you are, I’m the wrong guy to call for that—”
“No, I just want Greg Wright, the owner of ReadyMaid picked up. Can you run over to their offices and grab him, or go to his house?”
“You can’t?”
“No. He just walked in to the Garden of Eden and kicked Nate in the balls. I’m heading there now, but he got away. I think he knows I’m looking for him. All this time and I never let it go. I’ve always believed Greg was responsible for those break-ins. Greg has harassed me before, keeping it legal, but going at me just the same.”
“Wow, you’re going for a record this week.”
“What do you mean?” Barry asked as he navigated the turn onto Harvey Avenue. Mid-afternoon traffic had thickened and he had to make a sharper turn to avoid hitting a Hummer pulling a long trailer.
“First the strange girl and now Greg Wright.”
“Maybe they’re related,” was all Barry could say.
“Possibly. Anyway, fine. I’ll head out right now. It’ll give me something to do.”
“You’re a pal.”
Barry hung up and hit the gas. He would be at the Garden of Eden in less than five minutes. He would have a talk with Lesley in front of the other girls about having friends or relatives show up at her workplace. It was not good for business and he wouldn’t tolerate it. Once Lesley apologized to Rebecca and Julie and gave Nate a nice blow-job on his wounded prick, Barry would allow Lesley to shoot up directly. There would be no flash blooding for her today. This incident was all the more reason for her to off herself. All Greg had done was add more proof that Lesley wanted to die by causing a disturbance. It would make her feel humiliated and embarrassed.
Before the evening’s light fled the sky, Lesley would have overdosed in a back room, all by herself, filled with his seed. Her brother would be locked up downtown, arrested on assault charges.
Today was still going to turn out to be a glorious day.
He smiled at himself in the rearview mirror.
He was beautiful and he knew it.
Chapter 15
The Enterprise car rental employee had shown up fifteen minutes after Sarah had called. The driver had picked her up and drove her to the office where Sarah had just finished with the paperwork.
She checked her phone. It was almost three in the afternoon. Then she checked the tracker on Barry’s unmarked cruiser. It was parked at the Garden of Eden Massage Parlor.
Exactly where I’m heading.
“Okay,” the clerk said. “Let’s do a walk around the vehicle and then you’re set to go.”
She had to assume he hadn’t seen her picture in the news and didn’t know the police were looking for her. The entire time she was in his presence, the clerk acted normal. He hadn’t taken a second look at her or acted awkward in any way.
After the walk around, he handed her the keys and Sarah tore out of the parking lot with fifteen minutes to spare. Up the street, she pulled into a store called Canadian Tire, where she bought a baseball bat and thick plastic ties.
Back in the Jeep, the dash clock read 3:14 p.m.
She wouldn’t make it in three minutes.
“Shit!” she shouted in the front seat of the Jeep. “Please don’t be a murder I’m supposed to stop.”
She squealed out of the Canadian Tire parking lot, careful not to go more than ten kilometers over the speed limit.
Getting pulled over this close to the prophesied time would be a tragedy.
And Sarah hated to be late.
Chapter 16
Barry pulled up to the front entrance of the Garden of Eden, double-parked, and ran inside.
“What happened?” Barry asked.
Rebecca and Julie were on the couch watching TV. They looked calm, relaxed, as if waiting for a customer.
Rebecca spoke first. “Lesley’s brother—” she rolled a finger in a circle by her temple “—is a crazy mofo. Fucker comes in here demanding Lesley leave with him. Like, doesn’t he know who be running this place?” She pointed her finger at him.
Both girls were chewing gum. Most of the girls chewed gum to get rid of the last customer’s taste. Barry had considered bringing in a gum dispensing machine at one time, but eventually changed his mind. He made enough money off the girls that he didn’t need to nickel and dime them their gum chewing.
“That’s it?” Barry asked. “He demanded Lesley leave with him and then he walked out when she didn’t go?”
“He hit Nate, too. Ever since, Nate’s been watching for him. He just takes frequent bathroom runs to check his balls.” Rebecca giggled.
This wasn’t a time to giggle. He wanted to walk across the carpet and backhand that smile off her gum-chewing dirty mouth, but restrained himself for now. He would hurt Rebecca next time he brought her into his office for a heroin fix.
Nate stepped out of the bathroom.
“Tell me what happened,” Barry said. “I want to know everything.”
Nate shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Didn’t expect him to knee me. Guess I need to be more alert.”
“Has he come back? Have you seen him since he ran out?”
Nate shook his head. “Nope.”
“Okay, if you do, call me right away. I’ve got every RCMP officer in Kelowna looking for him as we speak. Not only did he assault you, but it looks like he’s tied to a series of break-ins around Kelowna. Greg Wright is going down.” He pulled his sleeve back and checked his watch. “It’s just after three. Where’s Lesley now?”
“In the back kitchen,” Rebecca offered. “She’s cool. No one told her about Greg’s little visit. Her last customer just left.”
He smiled. “Good thinking. Why tell her? It would only upset her and ruin her ability to make good money today.” He moved around the counter and looked at the appointment book. “She has no one else scheduled for this afternoon?”
“Only Julie has an appointment. That crazy hockey player. But that’s not for another half an hour. The rest of us are waiting around for walk-ins.”
“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. Lesley and I are going to have a talk. Then she’s going for a smack ride to calm her down after I tell her what her brother did. No one is to disturb us. We will take the last room at the end of the hall. Understood? I mean no one comes in for nothing. Even if Greg comes back,” he turned to Nate, “you deal with it. Take the man down. Then drag him outside and call the police. But no one comes in the room Lesley and I are in. Cool?”
Rebecca was already looking back at the TV. She nodded. As far as Barry could tell, Julie hadn’t heard a word he’d said.
“Can you handle Greg if he comes in?” Barry said as he tapped Nate’s chest with a finger. “Call the cops. I don’t want to be disturbed for at least an hour. Are we clear?”
Nate smiled as if he caught on to what Barry had in mind. One-on-one was always the hardest lesson for the girls. They’re all required to take part in flash blooding, or they don’t make it a week at the Garden of Eden. Their side of the deal was they got free heroin and sometimes Barry paid them for their personal attention to him. But one-on-one sessions were always brutal. Only a few girls ever had one-on-one sessions and none could walk straight for a week after. They usually quit after those meetings. Maxine Freeman was the last girl at the Garden of Eden to have a one-on-one with Barry.
Lesley Wright wouldn’t have the chance to quit. She was suicidal and wasn’t it convenient that, today of all days, her brother entered her place of employment, attacked her coworkers and made a scene, only to be arrested later in the day? Of course, it would be too much for Lesley to handle. No wonder she took that amount of heroin in the back room after her last customer.
Life can be hard for these stupid whores.
“I can handle it, boss. No one will disturb you.” Nate patted Barry on the shoulder. “Go talk to Lesley. Straighten her out. Doesn’t she need to make things good with the boss man?” He smiled at Barry as if he was in on some big conspiracy.
Barry headed toward the back of the building, already feeling his erection coming to life. At the kitchen door, he spotted her at the table, a cookie in her hand, crumbs on her lips.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
When she looked up, her eyes were bloodshot with bags under them. Normally he would chastise her for looking like shit, remind her to keep her weight down, and send her home. But today, he had other uses for her.
At least no other customers would have to be exposed to her. Ever again.
“I’m okay,” Lesley said, her voice sad and forlorn.
“We need to talk, Lesley. Please come into room four.”
She pushed her plastic container of cookies away and got up. He stepped into room four and waited for her to follow. Once inside, he locked the door and pocketed the key.
The room was the same as the others, complete with a shower and a massage table that doubled as a bed.
“Take your clothes off and get on the bed.”
Lesley turned around, tears in her eyes. “Barry, I’m sorry. I won’t try to kill myself again. I don’t even know why I jumped from that bridge.” She moved closer and touched his arm. “I’ll be good. Just give me a chance.”
He pulled out a needle. “All you need is a little more relaxation.”
“No, no, please, that’s why I jumped in the first place. No more smack. Please. I can’t handle the thought of sharing blood anymore.” Frantic, she rubbed his arm as she pleaded for him to understand. “Who knows what diseases we’re spreading around? I just can’t do it anymore.”
Without warning, he backhanded Lesley. All the pent-up anger of the past few days channeled through his hand. She dropped to the floor like a discarded doll. Her moans quickly turned into a scream.
He kicked her in the stomach with the toe of his boot. “Shut your fucking mouth.”
He dropped the needle back in his pocket, grabbed her arms and dragged her to the bed. After helping her up onto it, he leaned in close to her face. Blood spilled from the side of her mouth.
“Scream, protest, or try to escape, and I will kill you,” he whispered. “Got that?”
He pulled the needle out and then produced an arm strap from his other pocket. She rolled away from him and faced the wall, sobbing. He set her arm up and prepared to inject the heroin into a vein that was clearly ready.
Once she was under, getting her clothes off would be hard and take longer than he wanted.
“Remove what you are wearing before we get started.”
Reluctantly, Lesley did as she was told. It didn’t take long as she was only wearing a bra and panties and a small negligee. Now, naked on the bed but for the strap around her arm, he shot the first dose into her vein and waited a few seconds until she was under its spell.
He got the needle ready to go again, but first he wanted his fun with her. After all the trouble she had caused, he deserved this. She owed him. It was her fault Greg came running in earlier. It was probably her fault that that stupid girl was harassing him. Everything was Lesley’s fault. A little payback was due.
He rolled her onto her stomach. She smiled and writhed with the effects of the drug.
The lubricant was on the table. He grabbed it and poured a liberal amount onto her buttocks. Then he rubbed it between them and smeared it on her anus.
She was ready to receive him. No condom. No easing her into it. No nothing. This was her last fuck and he was going to do it his way.
After taking his shirt and pants off, he stood in his underwear, his member rock hard in anticipation. Then he prepared the needle for one more large dosage into her other arm.
There was a commotion at the front of the parlor.
Who could that be?
It was probably Greg. He would have returned and Nate was dealing with it. That’s why he’d hired Nate.
Footsteps pounded down the hall. It didn’t faze Barry. No one could get in with the door locked.
He undid the strap and applied it to the other arm.
“You doing okay, Lesley?” He ran a finger through her cheeks and squeezed it inside her anus. “We’re going to get a little higher and then I’m going to place things in here. That okay with you?”
She moaned.
“I thought so.”
He withdrew his finger and set the needle to her vein.
“Here we go.”
Chapter 17
Sarah pulled into the parking lot five minutes past the time Vivian told her to be there. Fearful for what she might have missed, she almost jumped out of the Jeep before it stopped moving.
She grabbed the baseball bat and jammed the twist ties into her back pocket. A quick swing of her arm and the door of the Jeep slammed shut.
“Hey!” someone yelled to her left.
She dropped close to the ground and spun toward the voice, the bat raised over her shoulder.
&nb
sp; Greg Wright?
She lowered the bat and straightened up. “Greg? What are you doing here?”
He looked harried, his eyes wild as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
