Part 2 (1/2)
”True. But I don't want to get you into any more trouble than you're already in.”
”Oh, believe me, Honey, I'm in just as much trouble as you are. Maybe more.”
”What do you mean?”
”I owed him money.”
”Big Bill? You borrowed money from Big Bill Smotherburn? Are you crazy? How much?”
”Twenty thousand.”
”Oh, Gabby.”
”And every time I made a payment, he told me it was just enough to cover the interest. Becca, I was going to be paying him for the rest of my life.”
”Gabby, what were you thinking? Borrowing money from a loan shark?”
”I didn't know he was a loan shark. I was three months behind on my lease. They were going to evict me. I was going to lose my shop. I couldn't let that happen.”
”So, you had a motive to kill him.”
”Doesn't look good, does it?”
”Is that why you were coming to see me?”
”Yeah. I thought maybe you would have some way to help me get out of the mess I was in.”
”Well...I did help you get out of it, I guess. Your loan has been paid in full-a.s.suming Big Bill kept no records. Of course, you may end up in prison. Did you sign a contract?”
”No. He said a handshake deal was good enough for him.”
”This is too coincidental, Gabby. For him to show up at my office right before you got there. Did anybody else know about your loan?”
”His son, Wiley, knew about it. He's the one who hooked me up with Big Bill.”
”What did you do with the money that was on my desk?”
”What money?”
”There was an envelope with fifty-thousand dollars in it. Big Bill tried to bribe me with it.”
”Why was he trying to bribe you?”
”One of my clients was about to file charges against him, and he thought he could buy his way out of it.”
”Well, I'm sorry, Becca. I don't know what happened to it, but believe me-there was no money on your desk. No envelope.”
Rebecca sighed. ”We've been framed, Gabby. Big time. I can imagine what the police are going to think after they talk to Wiley. They know Big Bill's a son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h. And they know about my hot temper.”
”Not a good combo, huh?”
”Let me lay it out for you. My best friend from high school owes Big Bill Smotherburn thousands of dollars. The three of us meet in my office to discuss the loan. Big Bill is being unreasonable, then verbally abusive. He waves his big fat finger in my face, and throws a few insults. He laughs at us. I lose it and shoot the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. We panic and run.”
”We're screwed.”
”You got that right.”
”But we'll figure this thing out together, Becca. Just like in high school when we used to map out your new basketball moves. That's how you won Most Valuable Player, three years in a row.”
”This ain't basketball, Gabby. This is life and death. Whoever framed us is not going to like it when we start snooping around.”
”I understand. But I don't care. I'm all in.”
Rebecca almost smiled.
”But, Honey, we've got to go incognito. We can't go prancing around Dallas as Rebecca Ranghorn and Gabby G'Blee.”
”That's for sure.”
”I've got a fine little outfit that's going to be fabulous on you. It'll give you a completely different look. And I'll let your hair down. Even I won't recognize you when I'm done.”
”What about you? What are you going to wear?”
”Well, the first question is whether I should go male or female.”
Rebecca hoped he was kidding.
He laughed. ”Not really. I've got lots of possibilities for me too. And all of them are male.”
”Good.”
CHAPTER 3 - Monday, 10:21 p.m.
The woman was a bit mature for this line of work. But n.o.body had ever complained. Her customers always walked away happy. She made sure of that, by giving them even more than they asked for.
This particular john had requested lights out. That was fine with her. She did her best work in the dark, knowing the little imperfections of her maturity could not be seen.
Newbies thought they could outperform the senior members of their profession through sheer physicality. Eventually they would learn that s.e.x is more mental than physical. If your brain thinks you're turned on, then Baby, you're turned on.
She was a magician of sorts-a wizard, practicing dark arts not easily mastered. Seasoned pract.i.tioners, such as herself, could cast a s.e.xual spell upon a man, gently ma.s.saging his brain with her words, slowly but surely leading him into mind-blowing, convulsive ecstasy.
Occasionally, a man would stop her, just as her magic began to envelope him, having been frightened by the power of the spell. But this rarely happened. And once the o.r.g.a.s.m became inevitable, he was beyond the point of no return.
The young wh.o.r.es didn't have a clue.
She was also smarter about money. Hers was a solo operation. No pimp to slap her around and take most of her earnings. A simple online ad, offering escort services brought in plenty of business. Two-hundred bucks for an hour's work. And she could handle two to three customers per night.