No Place for Marriage

by Jaden Skye

  Marvin threw a strange glance at Olivia. “Really? Like who?”

  “I understand you’ve seen the video of Bella yelling at Tyron?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, we’ve seen it.” Gallant stepped in. “It’s definitely troubling, but Bella doesn’t have motive to do something so heinous.”

  “How about the first wife, Alice?” Megan went on.

  Gallant shook his head strongly. “There’s absolutely no evidence against Alice at all. In fact, she just remarried. She’s been out and about a great deal. Her life had grown better.”

  “You don’t know that for sure,” Olivia snapped. “Seems Alice’s husband, Clay, and Megan have a close relationship.”

  Marvin wasn’t interested. “We can’t go there, it doesn’t amount to anything. We’ve checked it out. Alice and Clay have a good relationship. She’s part of Clay’s group of friends. Alice and Clay often go to Club Seeward together. It’s full of younger folks.”

  Olivia was surprised that they’d checked it so fully. “Megan’s relationship with Clay could still be troubling for Alice, couldn’t it?” Olivia insisted.

  Marvin looked irritated. “It doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant,” he insisted, before turning to Wayne. “How about you?” he continued. “Do you agree with Olivia? Do you also feel it’s a bad idea to encourage Megan to take a plea deal?”

  “Actually I do,” Wayne said slowly. “I agree that a plea deal is premature. But I also feel that you’ve gathered a lot of important information. We have to follow the trail and see where it leads. I’ll go immediately to speak to the escort service Tyron used and see what they have to tell me.”

  “Okay, go ahead,” Marvin replied haughtily, “but we don’t want to keep this case in the spotlight forever. And remember, the offer of a plea deal won’t last forever either.”

  *

  Once out on the street Olivia couldn’t settle down for a moment. “They’re ganging up on Megan from every angle,” she breathed.

  “They have just cause for being concerned.” Wayne tried to calm Olivia.

  “I don’t see just cause,” Olivia answered.

  “Because you’re too involved,” Wayne breathed. “Even though Megan hired us, and we’re working for her, if you look from their perspective, there is just cause.”

  “There are plenty other people who seek to gain a great deal from Tyron’s death as well,” said Olivia.

  “Yes, there are,” Wayne slowly agreed. “But first we have to dispel the suspicions that are directed at Megan. I’ll go to the escort service and find out more. Did they know Megan? Was she involved with the women who visited Tyron?”

  “You go,” Olivia agreed, “and I’ll talk to Megan’s close friends. She can’t be a total monster. We need to see all sides of the picture.”

  “We certainly do,” Wayne agreed.

  Wayne left to speak to the escort service. Olivia chose to spend a little while alone before visiting with Andrea, the friend of Megan’s that Bella mentioned.

  *

  Rather than call Andrea immediately, Olivia decided to take some time to herself down at the beach to sort everything out. To Olivia’s delight it was high tide when she arrived and the sand was practically empty. It was wonderful to watch the waves breaking loudly, splashing up against the jetties.

  Olivia took off her shoes and walked barefoot over the sand to the large rocks and climbed onto one of them easily. She let the sounds of the ocean and salty fresh air soothe and cleanse her. Being a detective was more grueling than she’d imagined, even with a wonderful partner like Wayne. Every day Olivia faced what could turn into a life-and-death decision. Every day she had to unravel layers of lies, innuendos, and deceit. How had she gotten herself into this position? she wondered, as a large seagull swooped down and perched on the jetty beside her.

  Olivia turned to the seagull and smiled. He was big, proud, and seemed perfectly content to be sitting here beside her. How simple the seagull’s life seemed, without a care in the world. How content he was just to be planted on a beautiful rock. For a moment Olivia longed to return to a life of simplicity and ease. Suddenly she wished she’d never met Todd, or had to go through the horror of his murder. That had been the start of a chain of events that had taken her into a totally different world. It was as if an undertow that she’d had no control over had gripped her, whirled her around, and landed her in an underworld she couldn’t get out of. The undertow had actually brought her here now, trying to understand why someone had wanted to throw an old man in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs to his sudden death.

  Olivia breathed the wonderful, salty air deeply as a huge wave whirled in front of her. It reminded her of the great force that made high tide and low tide, arranged all things in its own way. As the wind blew up, the seagull suddenly flew away , leaving Olivia perched on the rock alone. She sat there hoping for the wisdom and guidance to know how to protect those who were innocent and help bring to justice those who were sources of harm.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  After Olivia left, Wayne headed straight to the escort service that had serviced Tyron. Not surprisingly it was located down near the clubs and pier in a small building covered with a large awning. The police had found out which agency Tyron had used and had put in a call letting the owner, Salty Radding, know Wayne was on the way. It seemed Salty offered no objection or seemed in the least bit nonplussed.

  When Wayne arrived, Salty greeted him immediately and welcomed him into the back room. Salty was a gruff, stocky good-looking guy in his early fifties. With thick dark hair and somewhat unshaven, he seemed ready for whatever life had to throw at him.

  “Nice to meet you.” Salty extended a big hand.

  “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.” Wayne looked around at the dimly lit surroundings.

  “Okay, let me have it. Hold nothing back,” Salty started. “Nobody here was happy when they heard about what happened to Tyron.”

  Wayne realized that this entire agency must have known him very well. “What happened to him, Salty?” Wayne decided to start in a low-key manner.

  “Your guess is as good as mine, isn’t it?” Salty rubbed his face. “All I can tell you is Tyron was a good customer for a long time. He was good to the girls and they were good to him, too.”

  Wayne wondered if that was unusual. “Tyron had lots of different escorts? There was no one special?” he asked.

  “Every one of our girls is special,” Salty countered, grinning. “And Tyron liked variety. He liked them all. We had lots of different women visiting his home and taking care of him, if you know what I mean?”

  Wayne nodded. Seemed this was an open secret and no one was trying to keep it under wraps. “Tyron didn’t tell you guys to keep it secret?” Wayne asked just to be certain.

  Salty laughed. “This isn’t exactly the crime of the century, is it?” he asked.

  Wayne smiled along with him.

  “Didn’t seem as if he were covering it up,” Salty went on. “Some of our customers do, of course. They’re scared someone will find out. Tyron wasn’t. His wife, Megan, knew all about it.”

  Wayne lurched forward in his chair. “How long did Megan know about it? How long had it been going on?” he asked intently.

  Salty shrugged and grimaced. “It was a couple of years at least. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “So it definitely wasn’t something recent,” Wayne murmured.

  “Heck, no,” Salty said. “Why? You think Megan just found out?”

  “That’s crossed our minds,” Wayne responded as Salty shook his head.

  “We also wondered if this was the agency Megan worked for when she was in the business?” Wayne plunged ahead.

  “No, it wasn’t,” said Salty solemnly. “We have quite a few escort services in Florida. This wasn’t hers.”

  “She doesn’t have friends in this service?” Wayne zeroed in.

  “Not that I know of,” Salty assured him.

  That inform
ation was good for Megan, thought Wayne. It made her seem less implicated.

  “How did Megan feel about what was going on?” Wayne continued, needing to understand this completely.

  “If you asked me, it was a relief for her,” said Salty confidentially. “Lots of times it’s a big relief for the wives, though few of them will admit it. Basically, Megan hated Tyron, she couldn’t stand the guy.”

  Wayne perked up. “What makes you say that?”

  “Everyone knew that, it was common knowledge.” Salty’s voice dropped. “When a guy starts calling for girls all the time, it not only means the marriage is over. It means the guy’s lonely, going crazy on his own.”

  “Tyron called for girls all the time?” asked Wayne.

  “Yeah,” Salty went on. “No one was surprised about it either.”

  “Why did Megan hate him so much?” Wayne asked urgently. “What did he do to her?”

  Salty rubbed his swarthy face. “Who knows what goes on behind closed doors, but most of the time the guys don’t do anything so terrible. They just keep living too long. The wives get sick of them. They start to feel trapped and unappreciated. You ever hear of black widows?” Salty assumed a confidential tone.

  Of course Wayne had heard of black widows, but he also wanted to hear what Salty had to say about them.

  “No, I haven’t,” Wayne lied. “Who are they? And what has it got to do with Megan?”

  “We got plenty of these black widows floating around down in Florida,” Salty continued. “These are young wives who marry old guys for their money. Most of them are just waiting for the guys to croak. Plenty of them have boyfriends on the side, too. Some of the old guys know about it, some don’t. It doesn’t matter. The guys are still proud to have young, pretty ladies on their arms. But lots of these guys call for our escorts. The young pretty wives are just arm candy. They’re not there for their husbands, rarely give them what they need.”

  Wayne listened to Salty’s graphic description of a sordid situation and thought of his sister again. Did she feel that way too now? It was awful to think of. Wayne instantly turned his thoughts back to the case at hand.

  “You’re saying Megan’s another black widow?” Wayne repeated.

  “No question about it.” Salty winked. “And I know for a fact, from what Tyron told the girls, that Megan hasn’t gone near him for the longest time.”

  Wayne took it all in. It was what he’d thought, too, but it was good to have it confirmed.

  “That old guy was one of the lucky ones to be able to afford our girls,” Salty added.

  Wayne stood up quickly. “I get the picture.” He wanted to get away.

  “It doesn’t mean Megan killed him though.” Salty stood up with him. “Listen, why don’t you talk to Fillippa?”

  “Who’s Fillippa?” Wayne spun around.

  “She one of the girls that Tyron spent a lot of time with. He asked for her the most. Fillippa’s beautiful and sultry, the guy had good taste.”

  “Where can I find her?” asked Wayne, fascinated.

  “Just be a little patient, and I’ll get her over here pronto.” Salty came up close beside Wayne. “These are good girls. They want to help out. Fillippa’s particularly upset that Tyron’s gone. You can talk to her down in the clubhouse, at the back of the building.”

  “Thank you,” said Wayne, “that would be wonderful.”

  “No problem, buddy,” Salty assured Wayne. “We’re all here to help.”

  While waiting to see Fillippa, Wayne put a quick call in to Olivia to let her know what was going on.

  “I’m at the escort service,” Wayne said as soon as Olivia picked up the phone. “There’s both good news and bad news. The good news is that this wasn’t the escort service Megan worked with. She doesn’t know the girls here closely. That’s good for her. Less likely that she arranged a hit.”

  Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.

  “The bad news is that Tyron had been using the escort service for almost two years.”

  “That’s a long time,” Olivia remarked.

  “Yeah, it is,” Wayne agreed. “It tells us two things. Tyron must have been addicted to the girls and there was clearly trouble in the marriage.”

  “Obviously,” Olivia remarked.

  “The owner here, Salty, claims Megan hated Tyron, didn’t go near him for the longest time. I’m waiting here now to talk to Fillippa next.”

  Olivia’s voice suddenly rose a notch. “Who’s Fillippa? One of the escorts?”

  “That’s right,” said Wayne. “Seems like she was the one Tyron called for before the others.”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone.

  “You there, Olivia?” asked Wayne, ill at ease.

  “I’m just thinking about it,” said Olivia in a now distant tone. “There are certainly perks to this job, I guess.”

  Wayne smiled. “You’re not upset, are you, that I’m going to see Fillippa?”

  “Of course I’m not upset,” Olivia answered, in a tight tone.

  “Yes, you are. You’re upset,” Wayne countered, surprised.

  “Do what you have to, see who you want!” Olivia responded.

  “This is business, Olivia, it’s part of the job.” Wayne was both startled and pleased by her response. It charmed him.

  “I know it’s business, of course,” Olivia replied. “But it might have been nice if you’d asked me to be there with you when you saw her.”

  Wayne paused a moment and thought about it. “Yes, you’re right, that would have been nicer,” he agreed.

  “Well, I’m glad you see that much, at least,” said Olivia.

  “Me, too,” said Wayne, touched by Olivia’s reaction, though he had no intention of telling her so.

  *

  In a few minutes Salty texted Wayne to go down to the clubhouse in the back of the building. Fillippa had arrived. With a sense of apprehension, Wayne made his way to the private quarters of the escort service.

  When he arrived Wayne opened a large door which led to a dark room filled with leather sofas, a bar, and assorted chairs scattered about. Wayne looked around and suddenly saw a beautiful, sultry young woman with long, sandy hair at the bar.

  “Fillippa?” Wayne said as he walked up to her.

  “Yes.” Fillippa smiled seductively.

  “Thanks for seeing me,” Wayne responded.

  Fillippa closed her large, beautiful eyes. “Sit down here,” she said, patting the barstool beside her. “It’s good to be here with you.”

  Wayne fought a feeling of pride that arose as he sat down beside her. It was easy to see how Tyron had become lured in. These girls were real pros.

  “Tell me what you can about Tyron and Megan.” Wayne immediately focused on why he was here.

  “Tell you about Tyron and Megan?” Fillippa looked put out. “I thought you were going to ask about Tyron and me.”

  “You were close to Tyron, obviously,” Wayne commented.

  “I was there with him all the time.” Fillippa smiled. “Except when he wanted to make me jealous and purposely called for other girls.”

  Wayne couldn’t help but smile at that thought. “I can’t see why you would be jealous of anyone,” he said.

  “Why thank you,” said Fillippa, running her hands through her beautiful hair and along her shoulders and neck. “I really wasn’t jealous of the other girls, but it was a game Tyron loved to play.”

  “Not the nicest guy, I guess?” asked Wayne.

  “No, he was fine. He enjoyed playing games and that’s what I was there for. I played them with him for all I was worth. He paid well, gave me big bonuses,” Fillippa went on. “The arrangement suited me just fine.”

  Wayne was startled by her response. It jarred him back to the reality of Tyron’s life. An old, sick man confined to a wheelchair, playing games with an escort he paid handily.

  “Do you know anything about Tyron’s relationship with Megan?” Wayne continued, wondering if Fil
lippa had been jealous of that.

  “Not much.” Fillippa seemed to toss Megan aside as irrelevant. “We’re told not to talk to our customers about their wives or girlfriends, unless they bring it up.”

  “Tyron didn’t bring Megan up much, I guess?” asked Wayne.

  “Once in a while,” said Fillippa, “but he just said I was much better than her in every way. Once he even said he was sorry he hadn’t met me instead of Megan years ago. He would have had a better life.”

  “Was he kidding around?” asked Wayne.

  “I don’t think so,” Fillippa replied. “I think he meant it and I think he was right. I was always happy and satisfied with whatever he gave me. Megan was not. She wanted more and more from him. It was never enough.”

  The thought of it depressed Wayne instantly.

  “It’s a strain on a man when a woman isn’t satisfied with whatever he gives, isn’t it?” Fillippa purred.

  “It certainly is,” Wayne agreed. “So, did you hope Tyron would leave Megan for you one day?”

  “Not at all.” Fillippa looked strange. “I’m too smart for that. I don’t ever get involved with my customers or the games they play. “You can’t do the job if you get involved, can you?”

  Wayne felt a wave of sorrow as he listened to Fillippa talk. Her life was about playing games for money, living off men’s unfulfilled fantasies.

  “Who do you think killed Tyron, Fillippa?” Wayne got to the heart of the matter. “Was he set up by one of the girls?”

  At that Fillippa laughed out loud. “Ridiculous,” she insisted. “Tyron was killed by somebody close to him, I’m sure. Besides, he knew it would happen. One night he even told me he wouldn’t be around forever.”

  “No one is,” Wayne countered. “He was getting old.”

  “No, he was telling me something else,” Fillippa countered. “I asked him why not. He said that there were too many snakes in his garden. He couldn’t keep track of them.” Fillippa stopped and looked at Wayne. “Tyron was telling me there were too many people close to him that were filled with poison, wasn’t he?”