Black Wolf Rising (Prequel to the Bernadette Callahan Mystery Series)

by Lyle Nicholson

  She stripped off her gi and folded the clothing items neatly and with reverence into the small gym bag she’d brought. Standing there looking at the clothes she was about to get into, a small shudder went through her. These were actor’s clothes; they required her to assume a different identity the moment she put them on.

  She wiggled into the skirt and realized just how short it was. She was taller than her aunt. It exposed her thighs. Then, she saw to her horror the black lace bra was missing. It must have fallen out of pack. She had a sports bra, but it wouldn’t go with the sexy look.

  She pulled off her sports bra and put the deep cut blouse over her bare skin. She felt exposed. “Yeah, you look sexy. Too sexy,” she whispered to herself looking in the mirror.

  “What was that?” a voice asked from outside the change room.

  “Oh, nothing, I was just talking to myself…about…nothing in particular. Sorry,” Bernadette muttered back in confusion.

  Her face had gone red with embarrassment staring at herself in the mirror. The skirt hardly covered her legs, and the blouse was showing her breasts as if they were in a contest. How was she going to pull this off?

  All the times she’d been sent to Catholic schools, cleavage was a sin for girls. The nuns had admonished any girl who’d walked the hallways with even one button undone, and God forbid the girl who wore a tight blouse who presumed to show she had breasts. Their blouses were supposed to billow in front to hide their breasts from prying eyes. They were the next best things to a nun’s habit.

  Here was Bernadette in her full bloom of youth showing off her breasts to the world in this outfit. Were there enough Hail Marys to get out of the hell she’d be in for this?

  She sighed, pulled on her aunt’s boots that were too tight and hurt like hell, and then threw her parka overtop. She walked from the change room with the other girls staring at her.

  “Wow,” one girl exclaimed. “You must be on one hot date tonight.”

  Bernadette smiled at the girl. “No, I’m trying out for a part in a hooker movie.”

  “I think you’ll nail the part,” the girl said.

  Bernadette shot out the door as fast as she could. God help her if sensei saw her wearing this outfit. The van was half a block down the street. By the time she got to it her legs were almost frozen.

  A side door opened. She was greeted by a blast of welcoming warm air. Jason pulled her in and motioned her to sit in one of the big captain’s chairs. The van had plush leather seats with thick carpet and wood paneling. This thing must have cost Melinda’s mother a pile of dough, Bernadette thought.

  Craig was sitting in the driver’s seat; Melinda was in the last seat, and Chad was in the center hunched over an expanse of electronic equipment with impressive blinking lights.

  “What’s all this?” Bernadette asked.

  Chad looked up from his console. “Consider this high tech as the command deck of the star ship Enterprise.” He swept his hand over the console. “Here is the latest in GPS tracking technology as provided by the university engineering department, the latest in listening devices from our computer lab, and voila…” He produced a big round wad of brown one hundred dollar bills. “We have your walking around money, courtesy of the faculty of business administration and their high-tech laser printer.”

  Bernadette looked into the back row. “Melinda, you didn’t have to come on this.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m just as pumped as these guys. I couldn’t let you go out there without being at your back,” Melinda said. “And besides, I brought a makeup bag I borrowed from my mother.”

  “Makeup? What am I going to do with makeup? I thought the sexy clothes would do the job.”

  “Oh, goodness no, girl, we’re going to glam you up a bit tonight, throw on some perfume and make you and your cash look irresistible,” Melinda said.

  “Okay, “ Bernadette said, “I’m in your hands.” The van was hot, so Bernadette pulled off her parka, revealing her aunt’s outfit.

  Craig was about to pull the van away from the curb. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Bernadette. “Oh, my god.”

  Jason looked at Craig and then back at Bernadette. “Wow…I’d say you’ve got the look.” Jason turned to face the road. he lifted his head and said, “Hey, Melinda, your girlfriend is going to rock tonight.”

  Melinda came forward to the chair beside Bernadette. “Ah, you don’t think it’s maybe a little too sexy? I’d say your bordering on provocative. You think he might want to try something?”

  Bernadette shook her head. “It’s all I could get on short notice.” She leaned forward to Melinda. “I couldn’t find the bra that went with this. I lost it somewhere.”

  Melinda rolled her eyes. She looked up front. “Hey, Craig, you mind watching the road? There’s nothing to see back here.”

  “Sorry,” Craig said, and he glued his eyes back to the road that had been fixed on Bernadette, his face turning red.

  Jason laughed from the front. “If you can get Craig’s attention, Ace shouldn’t be a problem. I think you’ve passed the first test.”

  “Are we heading to the tavern to see Ace?” Bernadette asked.

  Chad raised his head from his computer. “Yes, we’ve had a tracking device on Ace’s car since last night. We have him arriving at the tavern about a half hour ago.”

  Jason turned in his seat. “Here are the talking points. You want to buy eight balls, nothing smaller. The buy is ten large and you flash him your wad, understand?”

  “Yeah…I understand…ten large,” Bernadette said. She looked at Melinda; she looked back and crossed her fingers. It was her sign for good luck. They did it before math tests. This was beyond anything she’d experienced. A new level of anxiety. She swallowed hard. There was no saliva. She gulped some water from a bottle. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  “You okay?” Melinda asked, reaching over and taking her hand.

  Bernadette managed a smile. “Just a bit nervous. You know, the stage lights and all.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Melinda said and then looked away.

  The van pulled up in front of the tavern. Melinda pulled out a bag and began to apply make up to Bernadette.

  “I didn’t know you were into makeup,” Bernadette said.

  “I’m not really, I used to do the make up for school plays for the actors,” Melinda said.

  “Which plays?”

  “I did The Wizard of Oz. The audience loved my Wicked Witch of the West,” Melinda said.

  “Great,” Bernadette said. “Just don’t make me look like Dorothy…or Toto.”

  “Do you know what you’re going to do when you enter the tavern?” Jason asked.

  Bernadette looked at Jason with her now heavy-lined eyes and well rouged cheeks and full lips. “I’m going to take control and kick his ass. Now, what about the tape recorder I’m going to wear. The wire thing…how do we attach it to me?”

  Chad smiled. “Oh, god, so nineties technology. You’re talking with the guys who do future-tech. When Craig and I were there last night we saw which table the big Ace likes. When he was busy hassling your aunt, we attached a radio transmitter under his table.”

  Craig looked from the driver’s seat. “He can frisk you all he wants, he’s gonna find nothing.” He raised his eyebrows, looking at Bernadette. She stared back at him, her eyes squinting to pull him into full target range. He turned back around.

  “I want you to take your phone and place it on the table in front of you. It’s going to be on,” Jason said. “We’ll have dialed you into my phone so we have instant communication and know if anything’s happening we need to know about.”

  “So you can come running to my aide or call the cops?” Bernadette asked. Her eyes searched Jason’s handsome face. He looked away. She knew the second answer was correct. These three guys wouldn’t be able to do much to defend her against Ace. She was on her own in there.

  Melinda gave Bernadette a small handbag and a weak smile.
“Go get him, girl.”

  Bernadette stuffed the fake one hundred dollars bills into a gold handbag Melinda provided for a prop and took her phone from Jason once he’d dialed in his number. She climbed out of the van, careful not to fall on the ice on the road making her way across the street.

  She smelled the tavern from a distance as she walked up to it. It smelled like stale beer and cigarettes. It brought back memories of her parents and their singing gigs in places even more run down than this one.

  She stood before the doors. The low murmur of male voices soaked in alcohol came from the other side. Taking one last deep breath, she pushed the doors open.

  The tavern was dark; it took a moment to let her eyes grow accustomed to the low light. The mass of men took on form. She felt his presence before she saw him. Ace was staring at her from a table a few metres away.

  24

  Show time, Bernadette thought to herself. She unzipped her parka, took four long strides to Ace’s table, and threw her parka over a chair. She pulled a chair out from the table, moved it close to him, and sat down.

  “Hello, Ace,” she said, leaning forward and making sure he could catch an eyeful of her best features.

  Ace was stunned. He looked at her face, then her breasts, back to her face, and then he focused on her breasts. “Who the hell are you?” he asked.

  “I’m up here, Ace.” Bernadette motioned with her hands for Ace to focus on her eyes.

  “Well…yeah, but I’m just checking your assets.”

  “I’m glad I impress you, but I’m here to talk business, not to give you a peep show.”

  Ace looked up at Bernadette, stared hard at her for a minute. “Wait a minute, ain’t I seen you before?”

  “Maybe, where you been hanging out?”

  “No, I don’t forget pretty little things like you…I know where…” Ace said. His eyes narrowed, and his fist clenched. “You’re the little bitch threw me out of Mary’s apartment.”

  Panic swept over her. She needed to distract him now or her game was up. “Yeah, that was me, you think I wanted to share you with my aunt? What kinda jerk are you?” She moved a hand across the table. “Ace, you have me, you won’t have the time or energy for any one else. You catch my drift?”

  “What kind a game you playing at?”

  Bernadette sat back for a second. He was fading; she needed pull him back in, get his interest. “Look, Ace, I hear you’ve got some serious weight in eight balls. I got serious cash. I think it makes us compatible. Don’t you?”

  “What kind a cash?”

  Bernadette put her purse on the table and opened it enough for him to see. “I got five large in here, and another ten large for later this week. Serious enough for you?”

  “Where you get that kinda cash?”

  “None of your business. You want to do serious business or do little gram shit with the dumb ass Susie? Is she the one you’re humping right now? She’s a fat little bitch, bet she can’t make the moves like I can. You ain’t never had it, mister, ‘til you had an athletic girl like me ride you like a stallion. Know what I mean?”

  Ace leaned back in his chair. His legs were spread wide. His posture showed control—no fear. He wore grey sweat pants stuffed into big black boots. A thick plaid shirt flopped over the pants that looked like it had never seen a washing machine.

  “How you going to move the stuff? I never saw you dealing around the school. You got some kinda distribution?”

  Bernadette snapped the purse shut and threw it beside her parka. “I got the best distribution in town. You know all those big wrestling boys, well, they distribute for me, and they go from one school to another to do matches. Best cover in the whole damn city.”

  “How come I’m hearing this now? Why hasn’t Susie heard of all this crystal hitting your school? I ain’t heard of any competitors,” Ace said.

  Bernadette shook her head. “Well, one thing you gotta know, Ace, Susie is pretty stupid. She only sees what’s in front of her—no, I’m wrong, she don’t even see that most of the time.” Bernadette placed her hands on the table. “I’m not interested in my high school, I’m interested in all the high schools, and then I’ll move on to the colleges and the university. I can lock up this town in the next month if you can supply me.”

  “I think you’re bullshitting me. You’re probably wearing a wire, and here to get me back for slapping your aunt around,” Ace said. “Yeah, you just some little axe you wanna grind and I’m the one you wanna grind it on.”

  “Ace, I couldn’t give a shit about my aunt, she’s a dumb ass, been working in this shit hole for too long. She gave me a couch to sleep one while I got my act together, and it’s good cover. You think I gotta wire, you can frisk me, but if you run one hand up my dress and try to grab my crotch or grab a boob I’ll break your fucking hand so fast you’ll think you been kicked by a mule.”

  Ace leaned forward. “If you’re screwing with me, I’ll make sure you die slowly—you hear me?”

  “Yeah, I hear you’re a tough guy, but a poor tough guy. You want to shift serious merchandise, I can make it happen. You want to sit in this shit hole all day drinking cheap rum and coke all day, knock yourself out.”

  Ace pushed his rum and coke away from him. Suddenly the drink was offensive. He stood up from the table, towering over Bernadette.

  “You think I gotta take this crap from you, little bitch?”

  Bernadette didn’t move. She sat back in her chair, letting her breathing relax. She crossed her legs and let her eyes move slowly up his large frame, letting him know she saw him there but he wasn’t a threat.

  “You know, Ace, we’ll take a lot a shit when someone’s providing us with a golden opportunity. Now, you either want to deal with me and my cash and take a little sass…” She raised one eyebrow and smiled. “Or you keep dealing grams from your car. It’s easy to stay small time.”

  Ace’s mind worked over her words and the money he could make. “Okay, kid, how about you and I go in the back for a quick stand up screw? You know, seal the deal and all.”

  Bernadette stood up; she was inches from him, she felt his body heat, smelled his offensive odor. “No thanks, Ace. You need a bath real bad, and I got better things to do.” She handed him a piece of paper. “Here’s my cell number. You call me when you got sixty eight balls put together, and I’ll meet you with the cash.”

  “Ah, c’mon, it’ll only take a minute,” Ace said, raising his hands towards Bernadette’s breast. His eyes looked mean, like the night he’d been in her aunt’s apartment.

  Bernadette threw up her forearms and deflected his hands. She kicked him hard in the shin. Ace’s face exploded in pain. She threw a punch into his solar plexus. He doubled over. She guided him back into his chair with her hands on his throat.

  “Now, Ace, I warned you, any advances on me without my permission would result in some serious injury.”

  He made three quick nods. His vocal cords were constricted by Bernadette’s hands.

  “You be a nice boy, bring me some good quality merchandise, no shit mind you, and I give you a little action as a reward. I like rough and kinky guys like you, but on my own terms. You catch my drift?” Bernadette said with a smile as she released his throat.

  “I got it,” Ace said in a hoarse whisper.

  Bernadette grabbed her parka, threw it over her shoulders, and surveyed the bar. The patrons were staring at her. The place had gone quiet. No one had ever taken on Ace or even thought to try. This pretty young lady had walked in and stepped on the big thug and made him heel.

  “Show’s over, guys,” Bernadette said with a wink to the other men in the bar. They looked uncomfortable, as if someone had just beaten their favorite prizefighter. She sauntered out slowly, knowing every male eye was riveted to her ass. She liked the feeling.

  The cold outside snapped her out of her act. She came crashing back down to reality, feeling nausea in her stomach and chills running up and down her body. Her forehead broke out
in a sweat. The reality of what she had done in the tavern was starting to sink in.

  The van door opened. Jason and Melinda pulled her into the van and sat her in a chair.

  “Wow. What a show you put on in there,” Jason said. “My god, girl, I’d give you an Oscar.”

  “You think he bought it?”

  “Bought it, are you kidding me?” Chad said. “You had me and Craig here with hard-ons. Damn, girl, you had it going on in there, you’d make a fortune doing phone sex.”

  “Chad, you’re an idiot,” Melinda said.

  Bernadette shrugged. “You told me to take control, so that’s what I went with…what’s our next move?”

  Chad held up a small cassette. “We take this and drop it off to Carl Hoffer, the Devil’s Undertakers big daddy.”

  “You think it’s incriminating enough?” Bernadette asked.

  “He said he’d never heard about any competitors. I’d say it’s pretty plain and simple. He also implicated Susie,” Chad said.

  Bernadette hugged her parka around her; suddenly she felt a chill. “So, we mail it to him, send it by courier? What’s the plan?”

  “I think we drop it off to him. The clubhouse for the Devil’s Undertakers is a twenty-minute drive from here. We put it in a small envelope, put it in their mailbox, and bingo, we make Ace disappear faster than a card trick,” Jason said.

  Melinda and Bernadette rolled their eyes at Jason’s bad humour. They sat next to each other as Craig started the van and drove towards the clubhouse.

  “Good job,” Melinda said, looking at Bernadette.

  Bernadette looked at Melinda and gave her thumbs up. Deep inside she knew this night wasn’t over. Nothing would be simple about tonight. There was a lingering tension in her gut telling her she’d set things in motion. The outcome wasn’t clear, but she felt like she had awakened the black wolf. She could hear a faint howling in the back of her mind. She broke into a sweat.

  25

  The van pulled into an alleyway off a residential street with houses that looked rundown or vacant. Bernadette looked out the window; this area made her place look good.