Storiesonline.net
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                                 Tripin
                              by carniegirl

Copyright© 2012 by carniegirl


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Description: A forty six year old female lawyer take to the road after a divorce. It is a kind of journal of her adventures on the road.

Codes: MF mF FF cons rape les bi het fant mother son grand Mdom rough gang group oral anal mastrb pett voy violent
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Chapter 1


"It's Wednesday for God's sake. Who starts a trip like this on a Wednesday," my husband asked. Before my road trip ended Jeff would be my ex-husband. the papers were filed and only one of us needed to go to court. He wanted the divorce, so let him be the one. That was my thinking. Since our kids were more or less grown, there was nothing holding me in town.

I had read two or three books about road trips and I wanted to do it before I died. So what if I was 46 years old. People much older had done the easy rider thing. Okay, they usually were on big ass Harley or Triumph choppers, and I was leaving town on a Tomos Sprint 50cc moped. I would even be dragging a trailer, made by a man who smoked weed all day, to add to my stupid looking quotient. Yes he smoked weed as he made his bicycle trailers, they were supposed to be the best though. I had paid two hundred bucks for the stars and stripes decals which covered the little bike. I looked like a wanna be hippy nerd but I was still looking forward to the trip.

The trip was to be financed by my half of the house. Jeff was forced to buy it from me at market value. It would have been two hundred thousand before the housing bubble burst, but the hundred and twenty five grand would work. I was in fact doing it on a debit card with twenty thousand dollars in the account. I had purchased a tiny one bedroom downtown condo with the other hundred thousand. I planned a fold out sofa just in case one of the kids visited. That seemed most unlikely since their dad had had all the goodies.

I made the road trip decision after a lot of soul searching, but what the hell? I knew that it was my last chance. Once I returned I was going to be forced to settle down and earn a living. Not an impossible task for the former junior partner of my ex-husband's sleazy criminal law practice. It was a true family business since his dad had started it.

My share of the law practice would pay for the start up of my own business, whatever I decided that it would be. I had to leave the BMW in the parking lot of the Jeff's practice since it was a lease. Leasing in the company name made a lot of sense, when I was married to the senior partner. It made much less sense at that moment.

Jeff cringed as I worked the moped from the trunk of the car, where it had hung over the edge of the trunk It had probably scratched the paint as I drove from my new condo to the practice's parking lot to deliver the BMW. From the back seat I removed the Weed smokers's trailer.

Since the chances of damaging the car were greater with the trailer, Jeff rushed to help me unload it. "Are you sure this is safe?" he asked.

"No, but it's a blast to ride. I figure with a tail wind I can do a hundred and fifty miles a day. The coast to coast road mileage is 4500 so it would seem that I am going to be gone pretty close to two months give or take. That is one way of course. I might just decide to turn around and come back the same way."

"At least you are leaving with lots of good weather in the forecast, " practical Jeff stated.

"Fair skies right up till it rains on me," I said laughing. I hooked the trailer up to the non chain side of the Sprint. I was ready to go by 10AM.

"Do the kids know you are doing this crazy road trip?" he asked.

"They have my Phone number and yes they know I'm going on the road. Charlie thinks I'm nuts, but his friends on face book think it is just the coolest thing they ever heard of a mom doing. I think I could get a date with one of them when I get back. As for Cindy, she asked if I would buy her a Tomas, so that she could come along. Of course, I would have to wait till school was out and take her boy friend as well. So the short answer is yes they know." I said.

"Please be careful. I will feel terrible if anything happens to you," Jeff said.

"Not terrible enough to put our life back the way it was," I suggested.

"No, we have gone too far now," he said.

"No Jeff, you have gone too far," I said I was ready so I slipped on the lightweight bicycle helmet, that at a glance looked like a motorcycle helmet. I kicked the easy to turn kick start and the 49cc engine caught immediately. I revved it up, smiled and waved goodbye to Jeff, then off I went, roaring along at about twenty miles an hour.

I got out of town in about ten minutes. The GPS thingie directed me to a county road, which in turn connected to a state highway. That state highway was one of those which was also the main street of half a dozen small town. Probably more, but there were only three of any interest to me. I made it through all three before I was tired enough to stop for the evening. The GPS thingie listed restaurants and motels, but they were only ones that were new enough or large enough to be of interest to most travelers. The ones I wanted were not in the GPS.

It turned out not to be a problem. Those small towns along the highway had at least one hometown cafe. I had my very late lunch in one that was so old the grease on the wall had changed the color of the paint significantly.

"So sweetie, what you gonna have," the chubby blond waitress asked.

"What's good?" I asked.

"Most anything, if you want a dinner the beef stew is good. If you want a burger, I'd go with the beer joint cheese burger," she said.

"Then make it sweetened iced tea and the beer joint burger. I haven't had sweetened ice tead in years, or a beer joint style burger since I was a kid traveling with my dad," I said.

"You got it," she said with a smile. then after noticing my bike helmet. "You on a motorcycle?"

"No a moped," I said.

"Ah my boyfriend rides a Harley," she said smugly.

"Cool," I replied. I wanted to ask her about a place to stay, so I didn't let the small bit of condescension bother me.

The burger was exactly what it was billed to be. A quarter pound of beef cooked fresh and served in it's own grease. It was topped with cheese, coleslaw and chilli. It even came with home made potato chips. It was better than any burger I had since I left for college.

"So how was it honey," the chubby blond asked.

"Best I have had in years." I replied honestly. She almost had the table cleared when I asked. "Do you have any idea where a girl can lay her head?"

"You looking for a cheap motel, a campground, or a man to take you in?" she asked smiling. She didn't appear to be kidding.

"Motel or campground, which ever is closer," I replied. I hated that she seemed to miss the reference to the old hippie song.

"The town has a park that allows camping. Mostly it RVs though. I think they will let you flop there," she said.

"Cool could I get directions?" I asked. She gave them to me in detail. The GPS verified the directions once I got the name of the road where the campground was located.

It took me only ten minutes to manage the trip on the slow Sprint. Mostly it was because of the trailer following along behind. When I arrived I went to the very small office which obviously doubled as a storage shed. The note on the door said to pick a space the ranger would be around later to collect the fee.

I was very apprehensive, since it was my first night camping. I had no idea how it would all work out. I felt remarkably safe thanks to my dad, who had taught me to shoot as a little girl. I had bought myself a lightweight .357 magnum revolver made by Taurus of Brazil. Since I had no desire to shoot anyone who wasn't standing right in front of me, I had it loaded with .38 special ammunition.

I wore cut off jeans, but not short ones. Mine would never make it to TV. They were real jeans I had worn out then chopped off. Under the jeans I wore bikini style cotton panties. Over the shorts I wore a large slightly heavy tee shirt. Under the tee I wore a bra and the .357 in an inside the waist band of my jeans holster. In other words I was dressed utilitarian and not at all sexy.

Considering my age, the extra thirty pounds, and the small boobs under a baggy shirt, I didn't feel that I was going to have a problem with sexual predators. Also as a last resort there was the .357. Okay as the very, very last resort there was the 'If you can't avoid it, lay back and enjoy it, ' school of thought. With all that going for me, I wasn't at all worried when I began my search for a space to crash.

As the blond waitress chick had suggested there were mostly trailers parked in the spaces. I found a sign which read primitive spaces only. Even I, who had never camped, knew that they had to be the ones with the least amount of services provided. Just right for a old chick with a camo plastic tarp for her only camping gear.

I was thrilled to see that the bathhouse sat on the improved side of the campground, but at the edge of the primitive area. It would be possible for me to take a shower the next day. Even better, I could get water for coffee.

I had given lots of thought to what I would take on the trip. The space in the tiny trailer was at a premium. One of the items was a small electric teapot. All campground had electricity, so I wasn't worried. I might have to steal power, but I would be able to boil water. I also had a bag of loose coffee grounds.

I had experimented with coffee, while I was deciding to go on the trip. A teaspoon of the coffee grinds poured into the kettle of boiling water and left boiling another three minutes made great coffee. Yes it had to be strained through a piece of an old white cotton shirt, but it did work great. After two cups of coffee I would be ready to ride the Sprite to a cafe for real coffee and food. I never said I planned to rough it.

I parked the Tomos In the middle of five empty spaces in the primitive site. It seemed that the trailers spaces were filled but not the old school area. From the trailer I removed the 8'x10' camo tarp. Actually it was two 5' x 8' tarps by the time it made its was into my trailer.There was also a small baby blanket which folded very small but held in body heat. I had tested the two tarps and blanket at 40 degrees and it wasn't toasty but it was bearable. The whole thing would fit in a large shoe box with room left over. Not really but it was very small.

I laid it all out and checked the weather on my smart phone. I had a message from my son. It read, "Good luck mom and have a great time. All my friends on Face book are demanding updates, so let me know how it is going.

The weather was supposed to be clear and down to fifty degrees that night. I felt that it was a good sign to start out with a little luck. There was a man and his son who came into the primitive side of the park after 9pm. It had been dark for half an hour when they showed up. It was obvious that they had hiked into the park. I spoke to them while they worked on setting up there tent. Each of them carried half of the pup tent. I watched them and realized that I could do the same with my two tarps. Even so it was my plan was to stay in a motel if it rained.

I was tired but not exhausted. I did some web surfing but in the end I turned in early. I knew that I would be up and moving early the next day, so it was an easy decision.

It was sometime later, how much later I didn't know, I heard loud voices from the trailer section of the park.



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Chapter 2


The loud voices woke me. After listening to the shouting for several minutes I still had no idea what was happening. I wanted desperately to ignore it, but I had to pee. That's what happens when a 46 year old woman gets awakened in the middle of the night.

The bathhouse was in the trailer part of the campsite. So like it or not, I was going to be near the shouting. I was sleeping in my clothes, so the .357 was near me, but not inside my jeans. Before I left the space the pistol was back under my sloppy tee and inside the waist band of my jeans.

The bathhouse should have been the only puddle of light in the dark night, but the trailers were all lit. I noticed the small group standing outside shouting at each other. Even dumb ass me could tell it was escalating quickly. I went inside the bathroom to pee before I even considered anything else. I seated myself on the last toilet inside a small cubicle. I really was in a hurry to get it over with and get the hell away from the loud voices. Of course my nerves made it harder to start the flow.

I finally got the flow going. It felt wonderful even on just a physical level. Emotionally, I was thrilled to think I might be gone before it went too rank. Alas it was not to be. On my very first night on the road I heard what was the unmistakable blast of a shotgun. I was pretty sure someone had just been shot and likely killed. I had absolutely no intention of getting involved.

I knew two things for sure. I was not going to call 911 and I was going to go hide my .357. With a little luck none of the participants in the shooting had seen me enter the bathhouse. I was pretty sure they were going to be too busy to see me leave it.

Once I got back to my space I lay on top of the tarp and waited. As I expected the sirens began within a minute of my arrival. It was a minute or two later that they entered the park. It was also about the time I decided that I could kill for a cup of black coffee, even the terrible shit they call coffee in a restaurant would do.

It was hard for me to believe but the Sheriff's deputy woke me. I had somehow fallen asleep clutching the inflatable pillow. I should have bought the inflatable Ken doll pillow, but I went with the plain olive drab pillow. If I tried to sleep without a pillow I would lay awake all night with clogged sinus cavities. The blow up pillow was my best possible solution.

"Excuse me miss have you seen or heard anything?" the slightly more than half my age deputy asked.

"Something woke me earlier, but I'm not sure what it was." I was just about to continue lying but I remembered the father and son beside me. Most likely one of them heard or saw me leave the site for the bathhouse. Since that revelation came to me in the middle of the interview I improvised.

"When I got awake, I needed to pee, so I went to the bathhouse. I heard a gunshot, so I hightailed it back here. I must have fallen asleep waiting for you to arrive," I said.

"So you didn't actually see what happened," he asked again.

'No, I just heard loud voices. I would have went somewhere else, but I had to pee badly. So I was in the bathroom when the shot startled me. I thought it was just a domestic argument," I said.

"Could I get your name and address? So that we can have the detectives follow up with you, if they need more information," the deputy asked.

"If you really need it sure, but I have to warn you I'm on vacation and will be on the road for more than a month. I do have a cell with me. I can give you that number as well." He was agreeable so I gave him the new address back home, and the number to the smart phone.

The deputy left and I went back to sleep. Even though I sleep until 8AM I was still tired when I awoke. I didn't even bother with the coffee making. Instead I packed the trailer and then headed for the cafe where I had eaten the day before. I noted that the trailer, which had been very neatly packed the day before, was running over on day 2. The tarp took up more space than before. Even the thin cotton blanket seemed to be thicker. I had expected some difficulties, but I wasn't quite prepared for the growing trailer load.

Before I stopped at the cafe, I made a stop at a convenience store a block from it. I pumped exactly .5 of a gallon of regular gas into the tank. Then I found my plastic quart bottle of 2cycle engine oil. Next I used my calculator function on the smart phone to determine the proper amount of oil to add to the tank. the proper amount of oil I determined to be 1.28 oz. With the child's needle less drug syringe, I measured 1.25oz then just a smidgen over. The joys of a two cycle engine, I thought.

Most women wouldn't try mixing gas and oil but I used the gasoline weedeater at home most of the time. Jeff just wasn't the yard man type. Even with a yard service, I did most of the weedeating. I guess I am a little anal myself. I did a little reading to find the easy way to do it on the road, and I had to admit that it worked pretty darn well.

Inside the cafe I found that the talk was all about the murder at the campground. It was the first I had heard about it being a murder. "Damn strangers," seemed to be the consensus of opinion.

"Ain't even no mystery, just and inconvenience," and older farmer type said.

"Yeah, but so senseless. He told them to shut up and the man should have just shut up." His companion also a farmer type agreed.

"Man standing there looking down the barrel of a shotgun says, 'Make me shut up old man, ' is just plain stupid." the first one said.

"Course we don't know any of them hon," a different waitress said. "Could have been more to it." she said. "What'll you have miss?"

"Coffee for sure, then I'll decide," I replied.

"Man had a fucking death wish if you ask me," The second man said.

"Suicide by bystander," I suggested.

"What, the younger of the farmers asked.

"What if the victim wanted to die and grabbed the shotgun barrel and pulled. That would have forced the gun to go off against the shooters will. Therefore it would be suicide," I suggested.

"Sounds like something out of a book," the waitress said.

"It would be easy enough to prove, if the victim's prints are on the gun barrel," I suggested.

After my strawberry pancakes I left the restaurant. On the way out of town I stopped by the sheriff's office to talk to the deputy on duty. It was a different one but I only wanted to leave a message for the detectives.

Since I was named in the report I had to speak to the detective. It was a very attractive Hispanic woman about thirty.

"So you are an attorney?" she asked.

"Yes and I'm not ambulance chasing. Just thought I would suggest you check the shotgun barrel for the victim's finger prints. I know you have a confession but you shooter might not even realize what happened." I suggested.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The victim might have just been upset enough to pull the shotgun and that is what caused the gun to discharge. It might not have been intentional or even an accident. The victim might have known exactly what he was doing. You might want to get ahead of some smart ass lawyer, who will try to plead this out with that information," I suggested. "I am also going to make this known to the shooter's wife in a text message. I can get her cell phone number from the police report, which is a public record."

"You are a criminal defense lawyer aren't you?" the detective asked.

"One of the sleaziest," I admitted.

"Okay, I'll check it out but no guarantees. If there is anything to it, I will make it part of the information I give the ADA," she said.

"Fair enough," I replied.

She waited a second then asked, "Are you really going cross country on a moped?"

"Yes it is," I said.

"Lady you got balls," she said smiling.

"Glad you noticed," I replied headed for the door.

I got 62 Miles farther down the road by 2PM. It was at that time that the pancakes wore off. Since I was on an empty road I just put off stopping until I hit a truck stop. It was more a commercial area all geared toward the drivers down from the interstate, which crossed over my little state road.

Off and on I had met those little Chinese scooters, so I wasn't surprised to see two of them at the gas pumps. I pulling in at the empty pump across from the yellow scooter. I put a half gallon of gas into the bike which did't quite fill it. I a little extra oil just as I had in the morning. I did the extra not only because I needed a .03 of an oz more but because I actually needed just a little more in my after market mechanic's opinion.

"Just a drop more," he had said. The reason was because he had changed out the head on the motor for me. I had read on line that there was a recessed head that would add 15cc more or less to the engine. That would increase the speed by about 10mph which was no big deal but it would also increase the up hill climbing torque. That was a huge deal, since it was possible to burn out a clutch trying to climb a hill with too little power from the engine. Yeah it was illegal but what wasn't.

He looked at me with his greasy hands and said, "It is like adultery. It's only a bad thing if you get caught."

"I wouldn't know," had been my reply.

"Never been caught?" he asked.

"Never tried adultery," I replied.

"Then take my word for it and have fun," with that he just laughed. "I'm only going to charge you fifty bucks for the labor. I can sell your head for more than the new one cost. Yours is original factory equip."

"Then you shouldn't charge me any labor." I said trying to bargain.

"Then I'll charge you the price I quoted $150 and you can try to find a buyer on craigs list." he suggested.

"Okay fifty bucks and you can have the head," I agreed.

"I do love head," he commented. It was strange that I should think about that while standing at a gas pump.

"That's a great paint job on that bike," the scooter owner said.

"Thanks, it a knockoff of the easy rider bikes. I couldn't do the bike so I did the paint job. I know you guys haven't been on the highway with those things, do you live around here?"

"About ten miles out of town. We both work for a patio furniture manufacturer. Our shift ended a few minutes ago," the owner of the yellow scooter said.

So I am headed on down the road. How far is it to the next town south of here?" I asked.

It's about two hours on one of these things," he informed me.

"That's okay, I got lots of time," I replied.

"Well I wish you luck, we need to get a move on," he said.

"Me to, thanks for the information," I said as I kicked the Sprint to life.



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Chapter 3


I stopped at a roadside mom and pop motel left over from the days when the secondary road was the main road carrying traffic north and south. The motel was on the outskirts of a small town called Chester in South Carolina.

My plan was to make the trip on less than $500 a week. The campground had cost me $7 but the motel was $38 for a shower and a comfortable bed. I'm pretty sure it was worth it.

With any luck at all day three would end with me at least in Georgia, I thought. I left on day three in a clean new tee shirt from the five tee shirts. Each had a different colors but were the exact same design. They came in a bundle from Walmart. I had also purchased two, three packs of panties, so I had one extra of those. Yes I could have brought my old ones and save the ten bucks, but I was just in a starting over mood. The trip was supposed to clear my mind.

I stopped for breakfast in one of those small town restaurants just one step above a greasy spoon. I parked the Sprint outside in the gravel parking lot, near the front door, before I entered the building which was covered with house siding. I chose it because I saw two pedal bikes out front. They were both painted with what looked like a racing team's design. There was also a small Toyota with the same color scheme in the parking lot.

I carried my helmet in to prevent it being stolen, but also to help introduce me to the bike riders. I nodded as I passed their booth. I slipping into the booth behind them.

The waitress was younger than any other I had seen on my trip thus far. "What you having today?" she asked cheerfully.

"I think I would like a bacon egg and cheese biscuit and lots of black coffee," I replied.

After she had gone the older pedal biker asked, "You from around here?"

"No, and I don't think you are either," I suggested.

"No, we are from New Jersey," the younger of the two riders said.

"You guys have pedaled a long way," I commented.

"Yes and my legs know it," the younger one continued.

"I could never handle that. I am on a Sprint Moped," I said.

"Oh it must be rough to be hated by everyone on the road," The female Toyota driver said. She was obviously the older man's wife. "Damn that didn't sound right. I meant the car driver hate us and we hear a lot of them cursing us. Bicycle riders think Moped riders are even farther down the hierarchy of road users."

"That didn't sound much better," I said laughing. "I'm a lawyer, so I'm used to everybody hating me, till they get to know me. When they do, they still pretty much hate me."

"She didn't mean anything," the older man said. "Marg, had no filters. She just says whatever she is thinking at that moment."

"I like that," I said. "Makes it easier to use her words against her, if I ever need to." I did smile to lighten the load.

"So where you headed?" the younger one asked to break the tension.

"Eventually I plan to make it to California, but it's along ride on the Tomos. I have only been about two hundred miles so far," I admitted. "I have no idea when or if I will finish the trip."

"You all alone?" Marg asked.

"Yeah, just me," I replied.

"Are you camping along the way?" the younger man asked.

"Some, the plan is to camp a couple of nights, then stay in a motel one night."

"So how in the world do you manage without anybody to bring your equipment?" the older man asked.

"I have a trailer with a milk crate full of stuff," I replied.

"How in the world do you get enough supplies in a milk crate," Marge continued. She had obviously decided to put me in my place. She shouldn't have bothered. I already knew that I was an ill prepared rookie at this sort of thing.

"By a pros standards, I don't have enough I'm sure. I'm just out to have some fun and clear my mind. I'm not working on any records or trying to prove anything. It's all about the sights, sounds, and the people I meet along the way.

"Well we need to get on the road," the older guy said to break the tension again. I watched as he pulled something from his pocket. On closer inspection I saw that it was a driver's license, a credit card, and a few bills all held together by an couple of inch wide loop of bicycle inner tube. Now that sure as hell beat my wallet. Even though the wallet was purchased especially for the trip it was headed for the trash as soon as I found some bicycle inner tube.

"I really like your money clip," I said with a laugh. "You don't sell those do you?"

"Hell no, but I'm sure we have a piece of an old inner tube you can have. I'll bring you a piece before we leave," the younger of the two riders said smiling. Marge looked rather unhappy at the thought. "We use them for everything. Bits of inner tubes are like big ass rubber bands," he added.

"I really would appreciate it. Anything to make my life easier would be appreciated," I said.

My food came as they walked to the register. I was half finished when the young man came in with the three inch wide piece of tube. You are going to have to cut it yourself Mom is insisting we get moving."

"Well good luck to you guys," I said. "And thanks."

He smiled and nodded as he headed for the door. I watched the two bikes head off in the direction I planned to go myself. After I finished my food, I sat at the table and cleaned out my wallet. I put the five twenty dollar bills and the wad of ones into a pile on the table. Then I went through the junk in my wallet. I didn't need the insurance cards in my pocket or the other bits and pieces of my old life. I put them in storage both mentally and physically. I planned to put them into the trailers somewhere.

I paid the bill and returned the change to my pile of money which I had transfered to my pocket. I needed to cut the tube to about half the width of a credit card.

"Sweetie, since you guys aren't busy, do you have scissors I can borrow to cut this?" I held the inner tube up for her to see. How big you need? We have kitchen shears that will do that no problem," she suggested.

Cut it in half for me please, I sure will appreciate it." I said. When she came back I assembled the packet just like the biker had his.

The waitress watched me do it and said, "What a great idea. You can just stick that in your jeans pocket and go for a run, or to a kid's ballgame and then out for pizza and have your money and ID."

"That's what I thought when I saw that biker with his," I agreed. "Here since you helped me out, why don't you take this other half." I handed her the second bit of bike inner tube then I headed out.

The sprint fired right up and I took off following the trail of the bikes. I passed them within fifteen minutes. I was doing about twenty five miles and hour when I passed them and they were moving right along as well.

I found a campground in a town a few miles from Athens Georgia to spend that third night. I was very pleased with my progress. It wasn't dark when I found my little space. I was surrounded by campers and even a tent or two so I didn't think security would be a problem. All the spaces had an electrical outlet, which meant, for a change. I would have coffee that didn't taste like dirt.

In my little trailer I had a twenty foot roll of heavy nylon cord. It wasn't anywhere near a rope, but I thought it might do to make a tent of sorts if it decided to rain on me. If not, my plan was to sleep on the ground again.

I left the trailer on my space to mark my intention to return, then I rode the Sprint out to find food. I love fast food. It is my one great weakness. That being the case I was thrilled to find the Taco Take Out restaurant in the small shopping area on the very edge of Athens.

I passed it so that I could fill up my gas tank first. That came from a convenience store, where I also purchased a cold Coke in a can. Then it was Taco Take Out. Back at the park I sat at my picnic table to enjoy the food. It was a little disconcerting to have neighbors close enough to watch me eat, but I could ignore them I decided.

"I love that bike," the man next door said. He was in a motor home of course.

"Thanks, so far I do as well," I agreed.

"So where are you going to sleep tonight?" he asked quickly adding, "If you don't mind me asking."

"On the ground probably under the picnic table." I said.

"What if it rains?" he asked. He appeared to be a nice man who was just trying to do a good deed. Even as a lawyer I believed in Santa sometimes.

"Then it will be a miserable night," I admitted with a smile.

"If it rains you can come knock on my door. Since the family decided to skip the fishing, I have enough room for one more." he suggested.

"I'll keep it in mind," I agreed.

"My name is Edward," he said.

"Nice to meet you Edward. They call me Amber," I said making the name up on the spot. I decided right then that I would never give anyone I met on the trip my real name. I hadn't decided who I was going to be when I got home anyway.

"It nice to meet you Amber," he said. "You are welcome to come over anytime."

"Like I said, I'll keep that in mind, if it rains," I replied.

I surfed the web then went to bed on my plastic tarp covered by a thin cotton blanket and the other half of the tarp. I slept well until, you guessed it, it started to rain in the middle of the night. I heard the storm before I felt the first drop of water. I managed to get awake enough to be ready for the water. When it began, I had my plan ready. I quickly and not so carefully folded the blanket. I put it inside the trailer, then covered the while thing with half of the tarp. I was trying to decide whether I could sit under the other half of the tarp and wait for morning, when the downpour started. I was soaked and chilled in less than five minutes.

I knocked on the door of the motor home where Edward was sleeping. "Hi is that offer of shelter me from the rain still good?" I asked.

"Of course, come on in," he said. I was surprised that he looked younger than I had remembered. He was also very handsome in a redneck kind of way. He was the kind of guy I had grown up around. He was certainly not the kind of man I had known since college.

"You are soaked, why don't you get a towel and dry off while I try to find you something dry to wear," he suggested.

It sounded like a really good idea. I know that in movies the soaking wet girl, once she is dry and half naked, is all grateful and ready to get laid, but not me. I was all about getting back to sleep. I put on the tee shirt he handed me through the half open door. He most likely got a glimpse of my soft old body. I hung my wet clothes over the shower rod to dry. They weren't going to dry much but at least they would dry some maybe.

I walked out of the bathroom in just his tee shirt which covered me pretty well. "You go on back to sleep, I'll just lay on the sofa till morning," I suggested.

"You know there is room in my bed for two," he said.



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Chapter 4


"I don't think so Edward, I'm tired and I still feel pretty yuckie from the rain," I had the .357 wrapped in my panties. He might have been able to figure it out, if his mind hadn't been on my fat ass.

"I really think you should show your appreciation," he said getting a little more serious.

"If that is the way you feel, I will just get my clothes and leave. I can sit in the bathhouse till the rain stops," I said.

"Or you could stay here and be a little more friendly," Ed suggested.

"I'm going to get my things and leave Ed. Let's just leave it at that." I said standing to walk past him to the bathroom for my wet clothes.

"What if I insist you stay," he said.

"Then you get to meet my friend Pedro. Pedro is a .357 five shot revolver. I won't need but one at this distance." I showed him the Taurus pistol. He reacted in one of the usual ways. He smiled as if to say you don't have the balls.

Let me add this Edward. I am a defense attorney back home. My story is going to be you lured me here by offering me shelter from the storm. Then you tried to rape me and I shot you to save my virtue. If you die, then mine is the only version of the story, so they pretty much have to believe me, since I will take a polygraph. It's close enough to the truth for me to pass it.

If you live, I cry all over the media until you are charged with attempted rape and off you go to prison. Now you think my fat ass is worth all that?"

"You ain't fat, but no ass is worth all that. Take your shit and get out," he said.

"Edward, just so you know, I didn't buy that fishing story at all, I think it is graduation weekend at Georgia State and you are here for your daughter's graduation. So tell her hey for me." I said that just before I opened the door to leave.

The rain had slacked off but I still went to the bathroom to wait out the rain. I put my wet panties back on under Ed's tee shirt which I planned to keep.

When the rain stopped, just after sunrise, I quickly recovered my nylon athletic shorts from the trailer and a dry tee shirt. I rode the Tomos to a convenience store at the edge of Athens. After I topped off the gas tank. I found the address of a laundromat in the phone book. The GPS thingie gave me directions to it. Once there I washed and dried my clothes. I tried to nap sitting up but had terrible luck.

I had been pretty miserable on the ride to the laundromat since my hair was still wet. I had that long thick hair that lots of men really dig. I saw a walk in beauty shop in the same center as the laundromat. I am not sure to this day if it was that men loved my hair and I was sick of men, or just the general misery I had been feeling all morning, whatever the reason I walked in. An hour later I walked out without my hair. Well without most of it. Almost all of it was gone to be honest. I told her to take a clipper to it and give me a haircut that men wear.

Of course she styled it and left it about an inch and a half long. I decided when I gave her the thirty bucks that next time I was going to a man's barber.

I got back on the road so late in the day, that I made it most of the way to Macon Ga but no farther. Most of the time I kept an eye out for the cops. I thought Edward might have decided to go for the preemptive strike. Accuse me of stealing something or maybe accuse me of raping him. I got a good laugh at that thought. Seriously who knew what crap men could come up with.

I checked the weather before I pulled into the campground run by the county outside of Macon. The weather gave a zero chance of rain, so I decided to take a chance. Plus I had a plan for the next time I got wet. Go to the bathhouse and wait with pedro till the rain stopped and I could go to a laundromat to dry out.

That night was an uneventful and I was glad, since I was exhausted. I awoke very stiff from sleeping on the ground. I began to think I might be too old for the trip after all. I decided not to make any decisions while I felt all stiff and sore. It might pass, I thought. I boiled water in the electric tea pot for coffee that next morning. I hadn't done used the teapot before that morning. Things had previously conspired against me. The two cups of coffee make cowboy style, as my dad had called it, when he did it over a campfire in my youth, were the best I ever had. I decided that as I sat under a tree on my camp space and sipped the not too hot coffee.

For the first time it seemed that I was on the road with nothing to do but ride and look at the passing scenery. It was wonderful. It only took me four days to find the peace in the trip.

It was about lunch time when Georgia turned into Alabama. I found myself outside a small town, concrete block motel from the forties or fifties. It was still a couple of hours before dark, but I checked in anyway.

I had promised myself a good dinner and a drink before I enjoyed a good night sleep in a soft bed. I knew that the motel offered all that without moving the Sprint.

I had seen the restaurant and bar sitting inside the motel parking lot. I had no idea who ran the restaurant and bar but I doubted it was the same people who ran the pink motel.

"Hello there," the attractive young waitress asked. I was surprised by her very warm smile. Then I realized it was the haircut and I smiled back but not quite the same. "So what can I get for you honey?" She asked.

"How about I start with a glass of Chablis and a menu. I am starved," I said it with a smile. Trying to stay friendly but not too friendly. She nodded then disappeared without another word.

When she returned she had a large wineglass with way too much Chablis. It was pretty obvious that the place wasn't an upscale restaurant and bar. I wasn't looking for that, so I felt that I was in the right place.

I ordered the sirloin steak with a salad and of all thing french fries. So much for my constant diet, I thought. To be honest I had eaten a lot less the last couple of days than I had in years. Not to mention that now and then I actually pedaled the bike. So I figured I was okay with an order of french fried potatoes.

When the food came, the waitress was the same attractive but younger woman. "Do you need anything else?" she asked with that slightly too warm smile.

"I think I'm fine for now. I will be having a second glass of wine later," I suggested.

"Sure, but be careful there are people here who would take advantage of an adventurous woman like you," she said.

"Now what make you think I'm adventurous?" I asked.

"The motel manager came in a while ago and said you were on a cross country trip alone and on a moped. I would say that is pretty damn adventurous," the young woman said.

"More like trying to capture the childhood I never had," I said smiling.

"You don't seem childish to me. I have to go back to work. I'll check back with the wine in a bit," she said as she turned to leave the table.

If I had been home and a manager talked about me to his employees, I would probably be upset. Then again at home no one would give crap about me. I am so ordinary when I am there, or maybe I was just too ordinary everywhere, I thought.

The steak was not a fillet, but it was good in it's own way. The lettuce for the salad had been cut with a machine to shred it, but I really didn't mind since it was fresh. The french fries were to die for. Cooked in real grease probably in an iron pan. Whatever they did to them they were wonderful. Of course it might just have been that I never eat french fries at home. It might also have been the large amount of wine I was consuming. Then of all things the waitress put a small bowl of something in front of me along with the second glass of wine.

"The cook wanted you to taste this. He would like your opinion," the waitress informed me.

The small bowl contained banana pudding. I last had banana pudding when I was living at home before I went away to college. I had never had any as good as the one I tried that night. "Please quote me when you tell him I said, holy shit that it the best banana pudding I have ever had." I said it with a smile.

"He will be glad to hear it. Benny the cook is my Boyfriend," she said.

"How nice I guess," I said.

"You don't have to look so disappointed," She didn't explain she just walked away. For one so young she did know how to be mysterious, I thought.

There was a connecting door from the restaurant to the small lounge. I finished the second glass of wine before I moved to the lounge. I wasn't sure if taking the wine from one place to another was permitted, and I didn't really care since I planned to have at least one more glass anyway.

I debated sitting at the bar, but decided that I wasn't really in the mood to be that social. I was still chaffing a bit from Edward. I wondered if I really would have shot him. Probably not, I decided.

I picked up the glass of wine at the bar, then walked to a table in the rear. I was perfectly happy to sit and watch the crowd. I had a two more glasses before anyone approached me. "Hi would you like to dance?" the truck driver type asked.

"Absolutely," I replied.

The first song was fast and we did white people dances to it. Then the music got slow and romantic and I had him pressed tight against me. I could feel his erect penis pressed against my belly. I got weak in the knees quickly. It had been a long time since I was with a man. Longer than it should have been for a woman with a husband for sure. Since I had also been absolutely faithful, it had been a very long time. The cowboy trucker invited me to his table. Since I had no idea he shared the table and everything else with his brother, I went. His brother made it obvious what they shared everything.

"So what do you say?" The one I had danced with asked. I was a little surprised how up front they were. I thought about it for a minute before I came to my decision.

"You know if you had romanced me a little, like at least told me your names first, I might have gone to bed with you. Then if your brother walked in on us, I might have gone along. I just can't sit here in a bar mildly turned on and agree to that kind of thing. Sorry, it just isn't something I'm ready for just yet," I lifted my wine glass and walked back to my own table.

"Your loss," I heard the brother say.

"It won't be the first loss in my life hon, but thanks for reaffirming what I thought," I said it because I am a smart ass and also since we were in a public place, so I felt safe.

The waitress from the restaurant came in after midnight. She sat down at my table without an invitation. "Damn, I hate cleaning the dining room. I don't mind running all over hell for the customers, but I hate filling salt shakers after a night like this one."

"Tough night huh?" I said just to make conversation.

"Yeah, the bartender tells me you met Roy and his brother Ray," she said with a smile/

"Damn this place is worse than Payton Place," I said.

"What is Payton Place?" she asked.

"Damn, now I just feel old. Payton Place was the first gossip novel of my time. In Payton Place there were no secrets, everyone told everyone else, everything," I said it with a grin.

"Yeah, it is like that here. We are our own little world here. Most of the people who work here live in the motel. I guess we are all just temporary employees." she paused a moment then went on, "I'm Misty by the way."

"You can call me Dixie, but then you probably know my real name," I said.

"I do and it ain't Dixie, but you can be anyone you want here. We just got so many problems of our own, we don't go looking for more," she said.

"Now that sounds like a hell of a good idea," I replied. "How old are you Misty about twenty?"

"Nineteen, it's why I can't work in here. I can only work in the restaurant until I'm 21," she informed me.

"So how old is your chef boyfriend?" I asked.

"He is old, thirty something," she replied with a smile. She waited a couple of minutes sipping what should have been a cola drink of some kind. Then she suggested, "I know you said no to Roy and Ray, but how about me and Jed?"

"You mean sex with you two?" I asked shocked.

"Sure," she said.

"Honey, I'm going to be honest with you. I haven't been with another man in over twenty years and I have never been with a woman," I admitted.

"Yeah, I thought so. It's time you did both." she paused then asked, "Don't you think."

I took a long pull at my wine glass, then as I looked down at the glass I said, "Yes, I guess I do."

"You don't mind me being young enough to be your daughter?" she asked.

"I do mind, but isn't that part of the thrill?" I asked.

"It is for me," she replied smiling again. She did have a beautiful smile.



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Chapter 5


I had no idea what her motivation might be. Hell I wasn't really sure why I was doing it. I had said no to Roy and Ray because there was no romantic foreplay, or so I had rationalized. There had been none with Misty either, still I had agreed to have sex with her and her boyfriend. I realized then that she had called him Benny in the restaurant and Jed in the bar. I wondered what that was all about, but I didn't ask. I decided that I would just call him whatever she did. Honey would most likely be his name to me.

The tall thin middle eastern looking man came to the table. It was then that I realized he was most likely Jewish, which would explain the name Benjamin. Jed was most likely a redneck name he used to make it easier to get along with a lkitchen staff of good old boys. Everything in life had a rational explanation, if you looked deeply enough. Even the most heinous crime made sense on some level, even if only to the perpetrator.

"I invited Dixie back to our place to party," Misty said to her boyfriend.

"Good I do love a woman my own age. You children are beautiful, but you get tedious after a while." He said it with a great smile to match hers. He also leaned toward her and kissed her very gently. It was easy to see that they were in love, how long it would last was anyone's guess.

I do need to stop by my room for a moment," I suggested. I needed to leave Pedro in he room. In the heat of passion I didn't want to risk shooting Benny's Weinny off.

"Sure just don't change your mind," Misty said. She seemed to be the one driving the meeting.

"I promise not to change my mind," I said honestly. I was looking forward to the meeting. Why I didn't really understand. I had never even had a kinky thought. Okay I had them, but I had never expressed one let alone acted on it. All that aside, I was excited to be on my way to their room.

Unlike my room, I realized that Misty and Benny shared a room with a tiny kitchenette. The area where my dressing area was located, had been converted to a tiny kitchen. It had a sink and microwave, with a tiny two burner cook top. It would be enough for the construction of an egg or cereal, but not a lot more. Of course Benny had access to the commercial kitchen of the restaurant.

Just a quick glance had led to all those thoughts. A quick glance was all I had time for, because once inside the room Misty kissed me. She kissed me just like my husband kissed me before we made love. I could remember it, even thought it had been a while.

Misty kissed me like a man, but something was missing. Even I knew what it was, there was no hard penis pushing against my belly. I hadn't realized that I even felt it let alone how large a part of the whole experience it was. When she was replaced by Benny, it was all there. It was also erotic to have have gone from one to the other. Also while I kissed Benny, Misty had gone behind my and reach around me. Her hands covered my breasts as Benny's tongue filled my mouth. It was hugely erotic. I gasped and they both heard it. I'm sure it spurred them on to even more action.

For the first time in my life, I could feel a slippery sensation between my thighs as my body moved without a conscious thought from me. It was the most amazing feeling. When the kiss broke, I was gasping for air. I was light headed from the lack of oxygen, I think.

I can't even remember how I got to the bed. I can remember Misty whispering in my ear. "Remove your top honey," she said.

I crossed my arms and raised the Tee over my head. When it came away. I was left standing there in my soft cloth brassiere. I didn't feel any shame at all. I was far past any feeling except lust. I watched Misty and Benny kissing and felt my temperature rise even higher. She was young and very attractive but even more she was so excited. It was hard for me to believe that she was only nineteen. She obviously knew more than I did, but far from being embarrassed, I wanted to learn it all.

T removed my bra and cut off jeans. I stood in my panties watching the two of them undress each other. It was almost a dance it seemed so graceful. I watched Benny take Misty's nipple into his mouth and nurse on her like a baby would. Misty moaned and pulled his head even tighter to her breast. I removed my panties for easier access to my clit.

She looked into my eyes and said, "Help me."

"How?" I asked in a voice even I didn't recognize.

"Touch me like you are touching yourself" Misty moaned.

I put my hand between her legs and found her soaked. My finger became lubricated without me doing anything. I opened the hood over her clit, Then I began to massage it gently. I did it the way I liked to have it done. I was rewarded by her hips pumping against my hand. Her movements made me even more anxious to please her.

There I was rubbing a nineteen year old's clit and feeling an overpowering need to make her happy. Okay, my urge was to have her cum till her muscles ached.

Benny moved from sucking on Misty's nipple to sucking on mine. My breasts were smaller but I was just as responsive as Misty had been. I wanted to moan even louder it felt so good. Then he pushed me onto the bed and lay beside me to suck on my nipple. I felt soft hands spread my legs. While Benny sucked on my nipple I felt a rough tongue massage my clit. Just the thought of who was licking my clit made me explode into an orgasm. I wanted to her to stop for about a minute, then I felt the pressure start to build again.

I found myself begging Misty to stop but she ignored me. I began to orgasm and it just kept going and going. When the pressure dissipated, it began to climb again immediately. I thought I was going to lose my mind before they gave me a break.

She stopped just long enough for Benny to move so that his penis was beside my face. I opened my mouth to capture it just as Misty slipper her tongue inside me. I was lost in the sensation. So lost that Benny had to force my mouth down onto his cock.

"God yes suck my cock," he said gently. I loved hearing him say it. I realized that I was doing just what they wanted. I found to my surprise that I was pleased with myself.

It didn't take long until I felt Benny's cum in my mouth. I had never been so anxious for that feeling before. That night I could hardly wait it was so exhilarating to have that thick herbal taste in my mouth. Not to mention the gritty feeling as it covered my teeth an tongue. It was a nasty feeling and I reveled in it. It wasn't me doing all those things it was someone else but I liked her as well as I did myself.

Suddenly the sensations of Misty at my pussy was interrupted for s few second then the feelings began again. It felt different but just as erotic. Then I felt Misty lower herself over my face. I had never had anyone sit on my face before, but there she was. All I could do was kiss and lick her just as she had done for me. I was going crazy so I ignored Benny and concentrated on what I was doing to Misty. I couldn't concentrate on anything after a few minutes with her covering my mouth. The taste was familiar sure, but it was overwhelming in so large an amount. I couldn't orgasm I had done it so much that evening but I could roll with Misty as she did. The emotional release was almost as good as the feeling of the giant orgasms the two of them had provided for me.

When Misty finally stopped rocking her hips, I closed my eyes and rested. "God that is one hot bitch," Benny said. I was smiling inside at the description. No one had ever said that about me before. I probably shouldn't have been a source of pride, but it was nonetheless.

"Can I pick them or what?" Misty asked.

"You can definitely pick them," Benny agreed.

"Do you think she will stay with us," Misty asked.

"You will have to ask her that. Are you sure she hasn't done this before?" he asked.

"I'm sure that she is a tight ass bitch," Misty said.

"You mean was a tight ass bitch," he said.

"Yeah was, so you gonna fuck her or what?" Misty asked.

"Of course I am, just as soon as she comes around again," Benny replied.

"Not to mention, you need to time to recover," Misty said.

"Okay, I'm a guy it is a little harder for us to get off the second time," Benny said. "It takes longer and I have to work at it, but the ladies all love it."

"I better be there when the ladies love it," Misty said playfully.

I opened my eyes to see Misty slip to her knees. She took Benny's cock into her mouth and sucked on it. "You know I love when you suck my dick," Benny said.

He noticed that my eyes were open. "Enough, our bitch is back in the world again. Come here bitch and get on your hands and knees. I'm gonna fuck you like the bitch you are."

I had absolutely not problem getting on my hands and knees for him. He moved me to a chair so that Misty could sit with my face between her legs while he fucked me. Yes I was thinking just like that. All the classy rich white chick shit was gone. I was just an animal being fucked. Not to mention that my face was covered with Misty's pussy lubricants. The smell of her body was overpowering. When I orgasmed that last time I felt my body try to rip itself apart. Benny got as stiff as a board then he moaned louder than he had before. I knew that he had filled me with his sperm. For no reason at all I began to cry.

I was a total wreck all the way back to my own unit. They had asked me to spend the night, but I couldn't. I just had to get away. I couldn't face them again especially after I had embarrassed myself by crying like a baby. I just wanted to get away. Plus I had no idea that I was capable of what I had done, so I had no idea of what else I was capable. I needed to get away and think.



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Chapter 6


I awoke early after my night with Misty and Benny. I took one look outside my window at the sunlight, but couldn't get myself motivated to get back on the road. Maybe I wanted a replay of the night before, or maybe I was just worn out from it. Either way, I rolled over and went back to sleep. It was almost noon, when I finally managed to close the door of the motel room behind me.

With it, I also closed the door on Misty and Benny. I had no idea whether I would be welcome in their world for a second night or not. What I did know was that I could easily get lost in that world. That being the case, I had to get away. Getting away for me was unlocking the chain that held the Tomos to the sign post in the parking lot.

Since the trailer had been inside my room, I rolled it to the bike and hooked it up. With everything in place I left without even saying goodbye to my two lovers from the night before. Since I had no idea how I would look them in the eye and find my voice, I would be far too embarrassed, it seemed to be the ideal plan.

I rode the Sprint to a Mcdonald's restaurant. I bought the lowest fat meal I could think of, then sat on one of their picnic table to consume it. After I finished the meal I noticed that like most times I stopped the Captain America Moped, it got a lot of attention. Teenagers and even smaller kids loved the bike. The trailer told them all that I was on a road trip, so I was an instant hit.

"So where you headed?" the older man asked. He was tall and straight with gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He reminded me of a retired soldier of some variety.

"California, no particular place there. I'm going to be going," I explained not expecting him to understand. I was very surprised when he answered.

"You will most likely find yourself before you get there. It's a small bike, if don't eat too many meals in places like this, you should be really thin by the time you reach California." He smiled as he spoke.

"Well, I'm going to do the best I can. I have been dawdling this morning, so I really have to get on the road," I informed him.

"You be careful out there, and good luck," he said.

Other than his age, there was nothing about him to remind me of my father, yet he did. To bad I couldn't stay and explore those feelings. I had miles to go before I next slept.

The ride from Alabama to Gulfport Mississippi was beautiful. The weather was warm with a small souther breeze created by the bike moving my ass through the afternoon heat. Whenever I stopped, I was quickly soaked with sweat, but I didn't mind at all. It was a magical ride for me. Even the occasional bug that slapped me in the face was forgivable.

I arrived at the commercial campground outside Gulfport after I stopped for dinner. I had been in a great mood until I found that there were no undeveloped spaces in the campground. I knew that was always a risk with camping. The campground did have a few spaces with only electrical hookups, so I took one of those for the night. Rather than the $30 to $50 motel rental fee, the space rental was only $12. It would help me keep to my budget for sure.

I plugged in the power strip first thing and began charging my smart phone. and the extra batteries. The second battery charger had been a sacrifice in space and money, but it had proved to be a good investment. The battery in the phone could be switched out, when it got low. Since I used that phone for so many things, the extra power was a really good idea.

I was exhausted, even so I managed to go take a look at the Gulf of Mexico. I do love all large bodies of water. They draw me to them, like steel to a magnet. I left the beach just in time to get back to the campground before dead dark. I rolled out my bedroll then fell on it. I spent some time removing rocks from under the tarp. I swore then that I would do something about that before next I rolled the thing out.

I slept like the dead, but only after I got all the small pebbles from under the bedroll. The sun was barely clear of the small trees surrounding the campground when I sat myself up on the bedroll. It is the same with every man or woman I know, first thing in the morning we have pee. I took time to find my tooth brush and small tube of paste before I went to the bathhouse.

When I returned I used a bottle of water from the nigh before to make my coffee. I had no idea what was in the local water supply in the towns I traveled through, so I alway drank bottled water. I managed to get the tiny tea kettle going enough to boil the coffee grounds for a couple of minutes. Once they were done, I strained them through the bit of no longer white tee shirt. The coffee it made was still delicious. I wished that I had picked up a bagel the night before. It would have been stale but still it would have been better than the empty feeling in my stomach. I was mildly uncomfortable while I packed up my sleeping items before I rode off to breakfast.

I was happy to note, while sitting in the restaurant, that I seemed to have recovered completely from my exhaustion of the day before. I was more than ready to hit the road. Of course I was traveling much too slowly for the coastal highway. The couple of miles I had gone along it on my way to breakfast had convinced me of that. More than once I had cars pass me while trying to stay in the same lane. It was way too dangerous for a moped. Not only that there was a minimum posted speed limit, which I could not routinely meet. There were some bridges with humps that slowed me well below that speed.

I rode the whole day on back roads but in beautiful weather and along dinner plate flat roads, I made it through Mississippi and into Louisiana before I thought of stopping. I made well over a hundred miles that day. I got all the way to a small town outside Baton Rouge.

I found a campground with a very large convenience store across the street. I went shopping more to kill a little time after dinner than anything else. I found a plastic brush thing that was close to a foot high with plastic bristles six to eight inches wide at the bottom. It was supposed to be a clothes brush. I could remember one like it made of corn straw my mom called a whisk broom. It should work well clearing trash from under my bedroll.

I took a look at the small counter with hot dogs and other food items for sale. It was all take out, but there was a young woman there serving up sandwiches and taking the money for them. I decided that I would be having my breakfast at the convenience store the next morning. They might serve the horrid standard restaurant coffee there, but it would be hot and for sure much easier to manage first thing in the morning.

That night there was a party a few spaces down. At first I was concerned since it reminded me of my first night on the road. It was loud but it was also family members, so it didn't get nasty like the one on my first night camping. They also shut it down by 11PM. They had even invited me to the party, but since almost all of them were ten or more years younger, I refused. Still it was a gesture that made complaints even harder to make. The old couple who obviously were the matriarch and patriarch of the family kept it tightly under control. I was grateful to them for that.

My back was stiff again the next morning, but fifteen minutes under the hot shower seemed to fix it. Well that and an Aleve tablet I swallowed before the shower. If it really got bad, I had a small bottle of Vicodin tablets. I had not had to use any of them so far, and for that I was grateful. They had a tendency to make me spacey.

After the hot shower and clean clothes, I was ready for the road. I stopped at the convenience store for a giant cinnamon roll and coffee. It was very good even if it did have that packaged taste. The girl behind the counter obviously just reheated commercially prepared food for the customers. I didn't mind so much, since the trip was about the trip, not the food. I didn't work for the food network or anything, so the food was just fuel to me. Just as with the bike, I had no brand loyalty. Whatever worked was fine with me, as long as it didn't make me or the bike sick.

As I whipped along the road headed toward the Mississippi river I realized that I had been on the road almost a full week. It would be a week the next day. Sometime on that momentous day I should be deep in the heart of Texas as they say.

I pushed hard that day so that I could make it across the Louisiana and into Texas before I stopped. I wanted to stay in a motel, so I pushed on until I reached Beaumont.

I paid $50 for a not quite as old a motel as I would have liked. If I hadn't been exhausted, and in a little pain, I probably wouldn't have. Nonetheless I did check into a motel near a major highway. I figured that I wouldn't have the criminal element to worry about in a newer busier motel.

After I checked in I rolled the trailer into the room, then rode the bike out to a very close breakfast house restaurant. The menu had a dozen different packaged breakfast meals and another dozen sandwich combination meals. There was also a steak and eggs special which did not appeal to me at all.

I finally went with a corn beef hash and scrambled egg combination plate. It looked better on the menu than in real life, but then don't they always. The taste was bland but adequate. Best of all it seemed to be filling.

Since I had messages from both my children, I couldn't wait to get back to the motel to call them. My nightly email to them were being reposted on their social media accounts, so I had to be careful what I wrote. The phone calls were not recorded, so I could say whatever I wanted.

I paid ten bucks for the only adequate dinner, but that was okay. I had been going on the cheap side for the previous two days. After I paid my bill, I cranked the Tomos up and off I went for the short ride back to the motel. I saw the six men standing in the parking lot. Even as I pulled in I could see that they were in the middle of a confrontation. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

I immediately tried to get the Tomos as far from them as possible. I got off the bike used the chain and lock from the handlebars to lock it to a light post in the parking lot. I managed to finish that chore before the gunfire broke out. I could clearly see that all the men were either on the ground or engaged in trying to put the other men down. It was what my cop friends would call a 'cluster fuck'. I was never going to be able to describe what was going on.

There were three men still standing, who turned to run away. Not all of them seemed to be on the same side and none of them had a stomach for more fighting it seemed. One of them ran toward me gun in hand. His gun was an automatic pistol with which he had sprayed the parking lot. I was terrified.

He pointed the pistol at me and said, "Take me to your room right now."

I had a feeling that he had emptied his pistol, and that was why he ran. So I took the chance and said, "No.'

"Lady if you don't I am going to kill you," he said.

"As opposed to hiding in my room, then killing me on your way out. I think I'll take my chances right here in front of God and everyone looking out their windows."

As I expected he switched his gaze to the motel to see who was looking out of the windows. When he did I pulled the ever present pistol from the belt holster inside my jeans over my ass. Then I went into the cop's ten yard drill. It was what the firearms instruction called it, where I took my concealed carry permit course.

In the ten yard drill, you pull your pistol, crouch to about half your normal height and empty your gun at whatever is standing in front of you. You don't say shit to them, you just empty the fucking gun and hope you hit something vital.

So that's what I did. I pulled the piece and I fired all five shots at his body mass. He went down and his pistol never went off. He might have pulled the trigger on an empty chamber, or he might have just been in shock. I hoped that he realized, he had picked the wrong little old lady to try to kidnap.



-------

Chapter 7


I had to take about five steps to reach a large square stucco covered column. The column most likely supported the upstairs balconies. The was large enough to provide me some place to hide. That wasn't my intention. My intention was to just slide down it and sit on the nasty concrete walkway. I could hear the sirens even as I slid down with my back to the post.

Once I was in a seated position, I sat the Taurus knock off of a Smith and Wesson chief special, down beside me very carefully. I knew for a fact that it wasn't loaded with anything but empty casing. Still, I didn't want to damage it

.It took the screaming police cars a couple of minutes to get to the parking lot. When they arrived, it took them several more minutes to get around to me. The patrol officers who approached me were pretty typical of every police force in the country I expect. The one who had two stripes on his sleeve was in his thirties and the one with a single stripe was in his twenties.

They approached me with guns drawn. I would have expected no less. "Ma'am please leave the pistol on the ground and stand up," the older one said.

"Very well," I said moving my legs so that I used the column as a back brace and walked backwards up it. In effect I levered myself into a standing position.

"Please step away from the weapon," the older one added.

I took a side step to my left, since the .357 was at my feet on the right side. When I was two steps away, the younger officer retrieved my pistol. While holding it gently by the trigger guard, he slipped it into a plastic bag/

"Nicely done," I said in a soft voice.

They looked at each other then at me curiously. "So what happened?" the older officer asked.

"If you don't mind, I'll wait for the detectives. I really only want to say this once." I said.

"Then we need to go downtown," he suggested.

"Only if you are placing me under arrest. I will be more than happy to wait here for the detectives. I will gladly tell them everything I know, which isn't much." I said it and then saw the confusion on the face of the younger officer. I guessed that there were not too many people who refused to cooperate in a civil tone. "Just so you know, I am a member of the Bar in North Carolina. My specialty is criminal defense law."

"So Bobby, I guess you need to just babysit the nice lady till the detectives arrive." He smiled at the younger officer then turned his attention back to me. "Would you mind emptying your pockets. Just to make sure you don't have anything to harm either of us?" he asked me

"Absolutely not," I replied. From my right front pocket I removed the bit of bicycle inner tube with my North Carolina Driver's License, a couple of business cards and my visa debit card along with a few loose bills. I also removed the smart phone from my left front pocket. I had nothing else.

"You certainly travel light," he said making small talk.

"Officer, I know you are doing your job and I so appreciate the job policemen do for us, but I think I will hold off on the good cop, bad cop thing till I can do it just once." I replied.

"Yeah, I can understand that. Why bother with the peons?" he suggested.

"I didn't make the rules, I just play by them," I suggested. "Why don't you search me, then let me sit down somewhere."

I might have enjoyed the hands of a younger man on my body, but they called in a female officer somewhere in her late twenties to do the job. I couldn't help it I thought of Misty as she ran her hands over me. I saw her nod to the older officer.

"If we go to my room, the detectives will have a quiet place to talk and I will have access to my other papers," I suggested.

"I think we will let you sit in our car while we wait," he suggested.

"That's fine, I just need to sit," I said. It took the detectives another twenty minutes to arrive on the scene. It was after midnight before they got around to me.

"I understand you would rather not go to the station," the female detective said.

"Not unless you wish to arrest me for something," I replied. "I have no problem being cooperative. Right up to and including taking a polygraph, but only if you do it at my convenience."

"Alright tell me what happened here?" she asked firmly.

"You want the background first or just the facts Ma'am?" I asked.\

"Sure start at the beginning," she said.

"My marriage ended probably a couple of days ago. Before it did, I left on this cross country mid life crises adventure. The traveling around coming into contact with a bunch of strangers accounts for why I have a firearm. I have a carry permit, because back home I'm a sleazy criminal defense attorney. I'm also a very good one.

So tonight I was coming home from a dinner of corn beef hash and eggs. I ate at that breakfast house about a mile down the road. When I pulled into the parking lot, I notice six men, who I had never seen before, involved in what appeared to be a verbal confrontation of some kind, I do know what those look like. Since I was on an open moped, I tried to get as far away from them as possible...

I was locking up the moped, when the shooting started. I heard one hell of a lot of gunfire, then this one man ran up to me. He still had his gun in his hand and it was pointed at me. He demanded that I take him to my room. Most likely he planned to hide out there until you left. I feared at that point that he would kill me, so as not to leave anyone who could identify him, so I refused.

When he took his eye off me to check out the witnesses, I pulled my pistol and fired. He was looking at me and was trying to shoot me. I am not sure if he actually got a shot off or not. The sound of my own pistol filled my ears."

"So that's your statement," the detective asked.

"It is and I am glad you recorded it, because I'm not telling it again." I said. "Unless we go to trial for some reason."

"So you never saw these men before tonight?" she asked trying to get me to talk.

"When you replay the tape you find that I answered that already," I replied. I had been sitting in the squad car working on the statement in my head. I wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible.

She simply nodded. "So how has your trip been up till now?"

"Is that like, 'Other then that how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?" I asked.

"I guess it is something like that," she admitted.

"I has mostly been fun. I have been exhausted some of the time. Would do me a favor detective?" I asked.

"If I can," she said. "Would you make the calls back to North Carolina, and do your criminal checks as soon as possible, I want to get back on the road.

It is also going to be inconvenient staying here. I know you need to get those check all done and talk to the DA. I would just appreciate you putting a rush on it. I know you are going to be tempted to drag your feet, because you don't feel I am cooperating. I'm sure that it will be tempting to punish me for it, but it would really be a bad idea." I informed her.

I can be reached on my cell phone at anytime. Since I can add nothing to your investigation, there is no reason to keep me here. I obviously acted in self defense. Now I am going into the motel room, for which I am overpaying, and then I am going to sleep. I will probably sleep until noon. Unless you have an arrest warrant for me by then, I will be on my way. Call me if you need me for anything more. Oh let me know when my weapon can be released, I do want it back.

The moment of truth came when I stood up from the police car and tried to walk away. I knew that she was forced with making a decision. She didn't really have a reason to arrest me, but I hadn't really been vetted so I might be a flight risk. How would she handle it, I wondered.

"How about I put an officer in your room. Just to keep you safe while you sleep. You know the dead man had friends, and I have your weapon," she suggested.

"Pick one who can keep quiet, I need sleep badly," I said.

She picked the officer who had searched me. "My name is Rosanne," she said.

"Well Rosy you can call me Dixie," I said smiling to myself at least. "Would you like to check the trailer over there before I get some clean clothes from it. I plan to take a shower then try to sleep. I am not sure that I will be able to sleep, but I plan to try."

It sounded good but it didn't play out quite that way. I showered all right, and I dressed in clean panties and a tee shirt. After that the plan went all to hell. I lay awake making plans for the next day. What would I do if they refused to allow me to leave. The only way they could stop me was to arrest me. I had provided enough information to suggest that I would return should they need me. At least in my opinion I was cooperating. When I was still unable to sleep at 4AM, Rosy began to look really good to me. I laughed and forced my mind to other things.

It was 5AM when I said, "That's it, I can't sleep and I'm starved. Maybe some food would make me sleepy. We are not really in any danger, so let's go to breakfast."

"Let me call my sergeant?" she asked.

"Go for it," I said. I rummaged through the trailer and found the single long sleeve tee shirt I had brought. I would have to live with the cutoff jeans, but the shirt would be good in the cool morning air.

By the time she got clearance from the sergeant, who had to get it from the detective on the case, it was 6AM and the sun was beginning to rise. I rode the Tomos since I did not want to arrive anywhere in a cop car. It was nice having an escort though.

Over breakfast, I found out all about Rosy's rocky marriage, and her three year old son. "She found out about my breakup and my kids who were in college."

"So you are a criminal lawyer. You do know I'm supposed to hate you."

"I know and I'm supposed to think all cops cook the evidence," I said with a smile. "At least the eggs are good. Some places overcook the scrambled eggs, but these are fine."

I paid for both breakfasts even though she tried not to allow it. "Consider it a date. Would you pay for your own dinner on a date?" I asked.

"I have never dated a woman," she replied.

"Neither have I," I said smiling.

Since Rosy left at the end of her shift, and there was no replacement, I managed to get a few hours sleep I didn't leave town until 1PM, but I did leave. I hated that I left without my pistol, but I wanted to be gone. When I got home, I would petition the court for pedro's release. In the meantime I felt naked without a weapon.

When I called the police station at 1PM, I left a message for the detective in charge of the case. "Detective, I have left town. I can be reached on my cell phone. I check the messages several times a day, so just leave one and I'll bet back to you. Have a nice day. PS. I want my pistol back asap."

I was standing beside my Sprint and trailer when I left that message. I immediately headed out of town. Before I left town I made one stop. I found an army and navy store not too far from the Motel. Inside the store I met Saul. Saul was a hell of a nice guy with a high volumn Brooklyn accented voice.

"How in the world did you get to Texas?" I asked.

"I was here in the military. I came back after my discharge and bought this place.

"How did you manage to keep that accent?" I asked.

"My wife is from Brooklyn and she went back off and on while I was deployed. She never lost hers and mine just came back after I retired. So what can I do for you?" he asked.

"The cops took my pistol last night and they aren't going to give it back for a while. I need something legal for self defense," I suggested.

"How squeamish are you?" he asked.

"I'm not into blood and gore, if that's what you mean," I said.

"Which is it, pepper spray or a stun gun that you are thinking?" he asked.

"Pepper spray just pisses a guy on drugs off. I'm thinking tazer." I said.

"Do you want to shoot it at someone, or wait till you can press it against him?" Saul asked.

"Since it is a one shot weapon, I think I want to be sure I get him the first time." I replied.

"Good choice, hand held with long needle probes. For that you want one with a cover so it doen't zap you by accident." Saul informed me. "You also want one that is dependable and is going to put the fucker on the ground."

"That sounds about right," I said.

"I have two that will work for you. One is the size of a cell phone and you can recharge it in an hour. The other is a pen flashlight. It comes with a little belt holder."

"What kind of price are we talking about here?" I asked.

"The phone looking one is fifty bucks the light is seventy five." he informed me.

"Saul, you know I can do better on line," I said.

"Yeah, but you want it today," he said.

"Saul I lugged that pistol around three years, before I needed it. I can wait a week for the stun gun."

"Buy the light for seventy five and I'll throw in a can of pepper spray and an Air Force Pilot's Survival knife," Saul suggested.

"Who's Air Force, China?" I asked.

"Sixty five bucks for the light only," he said.

"I think I would just spray myself anyway, but I want one of those camo tee shirts," I proposed. Since he might have paid a dollar apiece for them from Malaysia or somewhere like that, he nodded.

It was almost 3PM when I left the small town on the outskirts of Beaumont Tx I knew I was going to have to push hard to get anywhere. I made it 75 miles to the outskirts of Houston before I had to stop for the night. Since my experience with motels hadn't been all that good, I chose a campground for the night.



-------

Chapter 8


The next morning it was a really bad breakfast burrito from the microwave oven of a convenience store. I left the convenience store with the Tomos Gassed up as well as my body.

I headed for Austin but it was too far to make in one day. Especially on the light in the ass Tomos. Even though the speeds were terrible, I had to admit that the lightweight bike was doing very well at holding together. I road the flat Texas roads all day, there were plenty of potholes but not a lot of engine strain. The land was beautiful for a while, but then the sameness of it got very boring.

When I pulled into Brenham after 5PM, I decided to stop. I could have made a few more miles but didn't want to risk it. If there was anything between Brenham an Austin it just wasn't in the gps app I used on my smart phone. I did not want to get caught in the middle of nowhere, when it got dark.

I was surprised by the number of campgrounds the waitress recommended to me. One of them even had a laundromat. It however had only RV spaces. I did find one with tent spaces which suited me better. I pulled my little trailer to it and settled in well before dark.

"Hi there," I love your bike. My son wanted to take a look will that be okay?" the woman asked.

"Absolutely, though there isn't much to see," I admitted.

"So where are you from?" the preteen boy asked.

"I'm from North Carolina," I replied.

"Is that far?" he asked.

"The way I have been traveling it's pretty much over a thousand miles," I suggested.

"Wow," the boy's mom said. "How long have you been on the road?"

"Well it's been almost ten days but it seems longer. I could have done the same distance easily in two days in a car." I admitted.

"I bet you have some great stories," the boy said.

"Actually it's been mostly about the people and the things I have seen. I saw ten shrimp boats leaving the dock at sunrise in Gulfport Ms. That was a pretty awesome sight. Then a day or two later I saw an old man on a rusty tractor plowing a field. He was so damn beautiful, I wanted to cry," I said. I could tell by looking that I had charmed not only the boy but his mother as well.

"My dad loved motorcycles," the boy said.

"Well, that isn't really a motorcycle. It more a bicycle for lazy people," I admitted. "One thing it has done though is make me lose weight. You really can't snack while you are riding." I laughed as I said it. The woman was really impressed.

"My dad was a soldier, he was killed in Iraq," the boy said.

"I am so sorry, I am sure that he loved you guys very much," I said.

"He won a medal over there," he went on.

"I bet you are very proud of him. If you were a little older, I would let you ride the bike." I looked at the mom who shook her head telling me to stop encouraging him.

"That would be awesome," he said.

"Do you have children," the younger woman asked.

"I have a son and daughter. They are both in college now. They are probably home for the summer about now. I really do miss them. I send them an Email everyday." I was a little sad and also ready for the mother and son to leave, so I could answer my messages. "As a matter of fact, I should be doing that now."

"Well, we should go fix dinner. If you don't have plans you could stop by in an hour and have dinner with us. It won't be much, but there will be plenty to go around." the woman said.

"Please do," the boy added

"I'll see you in an hour. How will I find you?" I asked.

"I'll come get you Dixie, I know the way." he was all proud that he could find me again.

"Fair enough," I replied. I wrote the kids emails, then I checked messages. I found that I had a voice message from the detective.

"Just wanted to let you know I talked to the DA. They are not going to charge you with anything. He might want you to come back and testify against the others. I know you can't recognize any of them, but you could give the case a different feel. It wouldn't be just one drug gang shooting another drug gang, if you testify. Give it some thought. Call me about your pistol in a week or so." Then the message just ended.

I needed nowhere near the full hour to send messages. Once I had finished, I just sat with my back to one of the trees on my camp space. That's why I liked the primitive or tent spaces. They hadn't been scraped flat for a trailer or bus to pull through. I sat on the ground in my jeans with so much dirt ground into them that washing had very little effect. Somehow for the first time in my life, I just didn't care.

"So I never did ask your name," I said to the youngster who came to show me the way to dinner,

"Jed," he said. "My dad said I was named for a great mountain man, Jedediah Smith. My last name is Smith as well."

"Well Mister Jedediah Smith, will you be my dinner date for tonight?" I asked seriously.

"Of course, you are kind of an explorer." he said.

"Well maybe a little bit of an adventurer," I suggested.

The Smith trailer was a small one. It looked to have been custom made rather than out of a factory somewhere. "I really like this trailer," I said. If I ever do this again, I might get something like this and a big old dodge pickup." I suggested to Jed's mother.

"My husband built this. I guess he really converted it from a lineman trailer the army sold as surplus. He turned it into a camper for us. He really wanted Jed to learn about the outdoors," she said tearing up.

"He sounds like one hell of a man," I suggested.

"Oh he was," she agreed.

"Well, I got so excited to have him for a dinner date that I forgot to ask Jed your name." I admitted.

"Lucille, but folks call me Lucy," the average height and weight woman informed me. She wasn't beautiful, and she wasn't really plain, She was more just average all over. Not someone who would stand out in the mall, but definitely someone who would be hit on in a bar.

"Well Lucy, it's great to have dinner with you two," I said.

"We are excited to have you. I never met a woman with so many things going on at once," Lucy said.

Lucy had wine with her dinner, but I had cola. Dinner was a pinto bean dish with ground beef, onions, and cheese. I have no idea to this day what it is called, but served with the flat bread, it was delicious. Jed and I chatted over dinner about his school and sports. Lucy just sat smiling. She was also getting a little high on the wine. I didn't mind.

"Jed do you like movies?" I asked.

"Sure everybody likes movies," he said.

"Well they have WiFi here and I have an online movie service on my smart phone. Have you ever seen a movie on a tiny little screen?" I asked.

"No, can I watch a Harry Potter movie?" he asked.

"If it's okay with your mom, and you can find one on the service, be my guest," I said. Fifteen minutes later he was sitting on the small sofa watching something with wizards and other weird things.

Lucy and I talked about raising kids. We also talked about being on our own. She talked about how hard it was for her, but how much easier it would be for me with grown kids. She told me that she would like to remarry, but dates were scarce with a child Jed's age. Not to mention that no man would be able to live up to his dad.

"I can understand that. It always amazes me that when people die they instantly achieve sainthood status." I realized how that sounded and quickly tried to cover my ass. "Of course I don't know anything about your situation, I am just talking about people I come into contact with."

"Oh I know and you are right. Jed thinks his dad was a saint, but his dad slapped me around some. So he wasn't a saint at all. Maybe someday I will tell him about those bruises I had when he was a toddler," Lucy suggested.

"That's up to you," I suggested.

"Would you like to sleep here tonight? It would be more comfortable than sleeping on the ground." Lucy was very shy about asking. "The sofa was built for Jed and he will sleep there regardless. The bed, we would share, is a 3/4 size so there is room."

"To be honest Lucy, I had my first bisexual experience a few nights ago and I haven't really worked that out in my head yet. Have you ever tried it?" I asked.

"Just once and not oral or anything. We just cuddled and touched each other," she said. "Could we just cuddle then?"

"Actually I was going to say I'm a little loud and Jed might hear," I smiled at her.

"Then I will have to stuff something into your mouth won't I?" she asked.

"I certainly hope so," I said smiling. By the time Jed got to bed and sound asleep. I was just as exhausted as he was. I didn't really care if Lucy and I held each other or tasted each other. I was ready to get it over with, so I could just fall asleep.

Lucy and I moved to the bed at the very back of the trailer. I slipped off my nasty jeans then moved onto the bed in my tank top and panties. I was under the covers when Lucy joined me. I didn't kiss her instead I just hugged her. It felt nice to feel a warm body against mine even if the body did have boobs.

"God I love the way you smell," I said inhaling her flowery smell.

"I love your smell as well, it is so earthy." Lucy commented.

"That's the smell of a woman who needs a shower," I said.

"Whatever else it is, it is a turn on," Lucy whispered.

I should have been the aggressor, since I was older and came fresh from my experience with Misty. It wasn't that way at all. Lucy had my top off and one of my smaller breasts in her mouth almost immediately. In response to my first gentle moan, Lucy forced her thumb into my mouth.

I instinctively began to nurse on her thumb. Her response was to bite down on my nipple. That caused a daisy chain effect, as I nursed harder on her thumb. I felt her begin to stroke the inside of my mouth with her thumb as she switched to the unused breast.

I was more than a little surprised when she sat up, then moved to lower her well lubricated vagina onto my mouth. I had no choice but to lick and suck on her. I felt her lean forward but not to apply her mouth to me but to reach for me with her fingers.

First she massaged my clit until I was on the verge of orgasm, then she forced her thumb into my aching pussy. When I got hot I changed how I thought of my body. I also felt that Lucy might smother me with her pussy, but I didn't care.

She fingered me to orgasm after orgasm. I worked her pussy with no real pattern or organization. She was working her pussy hard over my mouth fighting for her own orgasm. When she came she filled my mouth with her lubricating fluids. I had heard of women who squirt like a man but I had never known one. Why would I, they were rare and I had been with only one other woman.

I came several times but she came only once. When she did cum it was huge and she was instantly ashamed and exhausted. I am not sure which was worse, but she fell instantly asleep.

I awoke early and slipped out of the trailer. I took a shower and was dressed for the road by the time the sun came up. I didn't even say goodbye to Lucy or Jed. I was sorry I didn't say goodbye to Jed, Lucy not so much.



-------

Chapter 9


I was on the bike for what seemed like forever. I usually stopped every couple of hours to walk about and have a cup of coffee, or a coke. On the back roads of Texas the convenience stores were few and far between. I did manage a late lunch twenty or so miles from Austin. From that point on there were plenty of places to stop. My plan was to have the Sprint serviced while I took a couple of days off the road. With that in mind I looked for a motel near the local Honda motorcycle dealer. The best I could do was about ten blocks from the dealer.

I checked into the motel first. I didn't plan to cook or store anything in the room, other than the junk from my trailer, so I got the most economical room they had.

Before I turned the bike over to the shop, I stopped at a thrift store to purchase a pair of jeans. It was my plan to cut them off and just junk the ones I had worn so far. I paid five bucks for a pair of faded jeans which would cost twenty in a retail store. Even though I had lost a few pounds, I still bought the same size that I had worn previously. I didn't want to be running around in tight uncomfortable jeans.

With the one plastic bag hanging from the handlebars of my bike, I pulled into the Honda motorcycle shop's parking lot. I walked into the service department. "Good afternoon," I said to the younger man behind the desk. "I have a 2012 Tomos Sprint, I would like to get checked over."

"We are going to be tied up the rest of the afternoon," he said. "It's almost closing time."

"I know, I planned to leave it over night and come back for it tomorrow," I said in agreement.

"In that case sure. Let me just get some information." he said putting a work order onto his desk.

I spent a few minutes explaining why I was giving him a motel address and a long distance phone number. In the end we agreed that I would call him around noon the next day, if he didn't call me first.

"Do it right please, I won't be able to bring it back," I said that as a parting shot. He already knew that I was on the road. I had explained it when I asked that his men check the welds on the trailer as well. I also explained that the trailer builder was a pot smoker.

I called a cab to take me back to the motel. I even remembered to take the plastic bag with me. The cab dropped me and my newly purchased of old, but restyled, jeans in the parking lot. I had used the scissors at the thrift store to cut off the jeans, so didn't need to run around finding scissors before dinner.

I got inside the room and took my second shower of the day. I really did feel better in the new to me jeans. Especially since they came without the ground in dirt from a half dozen campgrounds. I took a look at myself in the mirror. What I saw was a not so bad looking woman, who was getting way too close to fifty for comfort.

I had chosen that particular motel because it was not only close to the Honda shop, but also close to a family style steakhouse. I knew that I could never pass the dress code in a fancy place. I really didn't mind, since it was all about the food. I wasn't looking for wine or atmosphere, just good food.

The family steak house proved to be adequate at best. However after all the convenience store food, adequate was wonderful. I didn't meet anyone in the restaurant and that was fine as well. I went back to the room to answer my messages. I sent the kids emails with details of my day's travel. I did leave out the last few hours with Lucy, but I covered about everything else.

Since I couldn't do anything until I got the Sprint back, I slept in. After I was completely slept out, I stayed in the bed anyway. I did answer my phone when it rang. The call was from the Honda dealer. My bike was ready for pickup.

Since the Tomos was ready an hour earlier than I expected, I told the office that I would be back in time for the 1PM checkout. I had not planned to travel that day but I thought I might just get the hell out of Austin at least. Even twenty miles should get me out of the urban sprawl of the place. In just a week or so I had learned to hate the crowded feel of major cities.

I got a cab to the motorcycle dealership, where I paid the cashier over a hundred and twenty bucks to bail out the Tomos. I wasn't surprised, the first hundred was for filling out the bill work order, the other twenty appeared to be for a new spark plug and re-welding a spot or two on the trailer. It had been towed along for a lot of miles, so I wasn't surprised that a weld had pulled loose.

I made it back to the motel just in time to avoid having to pay for a second day. I had the bike's trailer loaded and ready to leave before I signed out of the room at 12:45 PM. Just under the wire, I thought.

I made it all the way to Cedar Park about ten miles from the outskirts of Austin. I found a family campground there and settled in for the night. I even managed to bring a bag from McDonalds into the park. I had not had a Big Mac in ten years. Since I had been pedaling and skipping snacks, I had lost ten pounds in ten days, so I treated myself. Even with the Big Mac, I had a diet soda, so I didn't feel totally ashamed of myself.

I found it hard to believe, but I couldn't finish the Big Mac. I did love it, but I just couldn't finish it and the fries as well. I chose the fries to finish and tossed the Big Mac remains into the woods behind the site. I probably shouldn't have be I expected some small animal to find it rather than a bear or whatever the Texas equivalent was.

I did my messages and my email to the kids. After reading their emails, I commented on them moving in with their Dad for the summer. Mostly they apologized for not waiting for me to get home. I explained that I completely understood. They needed a place to go and a place where they could spread out. I was able to provide neither at that moment in time.

I turned in at 10PM. Since it was quiet, I knew that it was a weeknight. I spent a quiet night the night before, and an equally quiet night passed just outside of Austin. I was definitely not complaining.

I showered and left the campground in my camo tee and cut off jeans. I had been skipping the bra, since I seemed to have a heat rash from it. On me the braless look just looked old, not at all sexy. At least that was my opinion.

Just after 1PM I pulled into a convenience store for gas. I hoped for a refrigerated sandwich and a microwave at least. What I got was a lunch counter straight out of a 1950 movie, little round bar stools and all.

"What will you have?" the woman my age, more or less, asked.

"How is your grilled cheese?" I asked.

"Good, but better with bacon," she suggested.

"Then I'll have that and french fries," I suggested.

She nodded as an acknowledgement then walked away. "Hey lady is that your toy motorcycle outside?" the slimmer of the two bikers who entered asked.

"Yes it is, did you want to work out a trade?" I asked.

"Probably get a lot better gas mileage," the heavier one said.

"Not to mention live longer," I suggested.

"So you pulling a trailer out there, you headed somewhere?" the thin one asked.

"Headed to California," I suggested.

"Oh thats a long haul," one of them said.

"Not as long as it has been. I left North Carolina almost two weeks ago."

"What you averaging a hundred miles a day?" the heavier one asked.

"A little more than that according to the odometer, but about that if you work it out on gps program," I admitted.

"Yeah, I guess you are staying off the main roads with that toy," the thin on suggested.

"As much as I can," I admitted. Just then the waitress brought my sandwich, so I excused myself and began to eat.

"What do you two want now?" she asked shortly.

"Two buds," the heavy one said.

"You give me any trouble and you know I'm going to have you locked up?" she asked.

"Yeah, we done had this talk," the heavy one said.

"You were right it was better with bacon," I said as I stood to leave. I left a three dollar tip and then paid her at the register.

"You be care those two are trouble," she whispered.

"So am I," I said it and then I winked at her.

She burst into laughter then said, "I just bet you are."

I got on the Tomos and high tailed it out of there. I figured I could handle one of them, but two worried me. I really didn't care for the thoughts of how much damage they could do to me. The stungun would only work once, since the second one would know I had it. Unless of course I could get them to hold hands for me while I zapped themt. Not a big chance with Bikers. Maybe with a gay couple, but with a gay couple I most likely would not need to defend myself.

I got maybe ten more miles down the road before they caught up with me. I wasn't at all surprised when they boxed me in, then forced me over to the side of the road. I had a hard time deciding what to do, but in the end I decided that unless it got dangerous, I would try to talk my way out of it. It sounded like a lousy idea even then, but it was all I had.

Once I stopped they pulled in around me. There was thin biker in front and heavy biker behind me.

"Hey lady, you never did tell us your name." the heavy one said.

"You can call me Liz," I said. "So why did you pull me over?"

"I figured we could go somewhere and party," the heavy one suggested.

"I really would love to some other time, but right now I'm on my way to meet the Texas State Police." I said.

"Oh why is that?' The thin one asked.

"They want to interview me. They have this strange idea that I know something about some killings. You know black widow stuff," I suggested. Yes it sounds silly and it did even then, but it was all I could think to say.

"Well I think you are going to be late for that meeting," The heavy one said.

"Guys I have less than fifty bucks. I should remind you that the waitress saw us together. If I turn up dead you guys are going to be in the jackpot."

"We aren't after your money, and we ain't gonna hurt you none. Okay maybe a little bit of pain, but not enough to cause you to die," the thin one said. "We just like to party."

"If I say no, then it ain't a party hon, it's rape. I think rape in Texas is a capitol offense," I said. I had no idea what it was.

"How old are you Ma'ma," the heavy one asked.

"I'm 46," I replied.

"Then this ain't gonna be your first rodeo and it ain;t no rape. You are gonna want it. I'm sure of that." With that he unzipped his pants. He worked his penis out. It was larger than my ex-husband's for sure. "Now why don't you just get on your knees like a good little whore and suck it?"

"Well for one thing I am not in the mood. For another we are on the side of a road. Someone may drive by any moment."

"That's what makes it even more special," the thin one said.



-------

Chapter 10


"Look this trip is my last big adventure. I have aids and I start treatment when I get to California. With your life style, Aids is a death sentence. I really don't want to spread this, but if you insist, I can't think of anyone more deserving." I said it with a nasty smile.

"You are a lying bitch," the chubby one said.

"Whatever," I said giving them my best, I don't give a shit look. It was my last non violent move. After that it was going to be getting raped or at least one of them get a jolt of couple of million volts. I could try a second shot on the other one, if I got the chance. Without the element of surprise, it was more likely to get my head bashed.

I figured I had two choices neither seemed to be promising, I could go along and try to enjoy it, or I could resist. To resist I needed to disable one of them, before I used the stun gun on the other one. The second plan still left me with having to get away before they came around. Not a realistic plan since disabling them was pretty unlikely, and the idea of getting away on a moped was just plain ludicrous. I could not believe how clinical my thinking was, I was terrified all those years as a sleazy lawyer kept me from losing it completely.

"The blow job on the side of the road is out of the question. Trust me, I'm in no mood to be cooperative. Do you want a passing motorist to see you forcing me. Everybody has a cell phone with 911 on speed dial. We are all on motor bikes this is a really bad idea logistically." I said it hoping logic would prevail. I didn't have a lot of hope that it would, but who knew.

"How about I just kill you and move on down the road," the heavy one said showing me his knife.

"There are two of you and you are bigger, but I have no idea why you would want to go to prison, or worse for the thrill of killing an old lady." I was fighting hard not to show how terrified I was. I had studied enough victims to know that weakness emboldens a killer. Of course defiance also got people killed. In that case it was the 'Oh yeah, take this bitch' mentality that got you killed. All in all it was just a throw of the dice as to how one should act when confronted with a possible violent situation.

That was all very philosophical but it didn't prepare me for what happened next. Not that I'm quite sure what happened. I know the heavier one walked the couple of steps to me. Then the lights just went out. I didn't feel anything and didn't have a clue that it was coming. Time just stopped for me.

The next thing I remember I was waking up in some tall grass. The Tomos was parked near me and so were the two motorcycles. I had a head ache that was a pure mother. My guess was that the heavier one of the bikers hit me with his fist. Probably hard enough to shake my brain and cause unconsciousness.

"See I told you she would come around," the heavy said to the light in the ass one.

"Yeah, how you feeling Liz?" the light one asked.

It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. "To be honest I have felt better."

Being a defense attorney, I had interviewed lots of criminal teams. There was always a leader. Usually it was an alfa male type, unless it was two women. I had decided that my odds were about be same whether I fought them or not. That being the case, it was my intention to make sure that chubby biker knew he had been in a fight.

He came to me holding a hunting knife. "Now little lady me and you are going to party," he said menacingly.

"Well I have always told me daughter, if it is give it up, or get hurt, then just lay back and try to enjoy it. How about I take my clothes off, so I don't get them messed up?" I suggested.

"Sure strip for me baby," he said.

I removed my top and he put the knife away so that he could put his hands on my small breasts. It was then that I pulled the flashlight stun gun from my belt. I stuck into his neck where I knew it would be a clean hit. I didn't feel a thing but he went into a jerky dance, then fell down.

My daddy always said when in doubt attack. I ran toward the skinny one with the stun gun leading my way. I should not have had the element of surprise, but thin guy was slow to process what he had seen. His first reaction was to get away from the attack. He jumped on his bike and took off. I had a pretty good Idea that the heavy set one was not going to be happy when he came to.

The next thing I did was to take his knife. He should be glad that it was me instead of my dad. I could hear my dad now saying, 'You get the bastard down and got the chance, then you gut him like a fish. If you can use his own knife, that is even better.

I took his knife alright and I used it to cut the spark plug wires on his two cylinder bike. Just to add to his misery, I removed a water bottle from the Tomos and emptied it into his gas tank. He was not going to be a happy camper at all.

I had a chance to take off while he was still shaking his head. But instead I walked over while he was groggy and hit him with the stun gun again. He didn't shake as violently as before but he did some to lose it all over again, so that's when I hopped on the Tomos and road away. I could have tossed the knife on the ground, as I roared away at about fifteen miles an hour. Instead I kept it as a souvenir.

Next time I went to see my dad, I would have to tell him about it. I would give the knife to him, but they frown on that in the state penitentiary. Yeah I became a lawyer because my dad was in prison. Deep down I probably thought I could do something to get him out.

Of course, I was sure that when I told him about it, he would say "You should have gone along, or cut his heart out. Those are the only two things that make any sense in a case like that."

I rode the little Tomos harder than I ever had. I knew I had to get away from that area. I toyed with the idea of changing directions, but decided not to bother. I spent the night in a motel near Kerryville. I stayed where I had a door just in case. I also charged the stun gun. It probably wouldn't do me any good against the biker, since he knew I had it. However the world is full of his type. I should know, a bunch of them were clients of mine, my husband, or my father in law.

I sent the nightly emails, but didn't mention the bikers. I played it just as my dad had after he killed the child molester, who had moved into our neighborhood. My husband would have had him arrested, if it had been Cindy, but it was me at 13. So my daddy, did what he did. He castrated my molester, then sat calmly watching him bleed to death. The prosecutor called it the most vicious act of murder he had ever seen. My dad took the verdict without ever giving a reason for his actions. He did it so that I wouldn't have to testify in open court.

I turned the knife over in my hands thinking of daddy. Trust me, he was no saint. He was a bad man long before I got molested. The man who did it, should have asked around before forcing me to give him my first blow job.

I spent the next three days on the back roads of Texas pushing the Tomos and looking over my shoulder. I was terrified the day I ran away and to the Motel outside Kerryville. Over the next three days the terror was diluted by time. I pretty much forgot the two bikers by the time I got to New Mexico. However, I was sure they had not forgotten me. By the time I crossed into New Mexico I had been on the road. just over three weeks. I was sore and just plain worn out. I flirted with the Idea of going to Las Vegas and take a week off just to hang out in the casinos. In the end I just took a day off to sleep in a nice bed in a town called Lordsburg or something similar.

The food at the local diner was a bit spicy for my taste, but once I got over my reluctance to ask for special orders, it was delicious.

It was my second night in Lordsburg that I met Marvin Tatum. Marvin helped me explain to a waitress that I didn't want it even a little spicy. I wanted my chili bland.

"Thank you sir, I know that it sacrilegious, but I just can't handle another night in the bathroom," I laughed when I said it.

"It is a bit out of the ordinary, but I expect you aren't the first to ask for it that way." he said. "I'm Marvin, I own a ranch outside of town a few miles."

"What do you raise on your ranch?" I asked hoping that he wouldn't misinterpret my curiosity. I really didn't care all that much what he raised.

"Last couple of years mostly we been raising even more debt. But when we ain't missing payments, we raise Goats." he said smiling.

"I never met anyone who admitted raising goats," I said honestly.

"I see you have a bike helmet, is that your moped out side?" he asked after giving me a second to think I had angered him.

"Yes sir, that is t my set of wheels," I admitted.

"Well, there are a lot of them around here these days, so you won't be lonesome for people to ride with you." he said.

"Oh I'm just passing through. On my way to California, I am," I replied light heartedly.

Chili and beer seemed the right combination, After four beers I decided that it had been long enough since the Texas bikers. I almost invited Marvin back to my room, but he invited me to his range before I had the chance.

"You do know I'm a little older than you," he suggested.

"I do indeed. Is there anything significant about that?" I asked thinking that since he was twenty years older at least, he might need a few minutes with the pill bottle.

"Nothing I can't handle with a little help from you," he said with a grin.

"Then I think we are going to be just fine." I admitted.

In the parking lot Marvin kissed me passionately and I helped him crank it up a bit. I sucked on his tongue while he kissed me. He liked that for sure.

I locked the Tomos to a post outside my motel room. I also left the light on in the room. Then I climbed into the front seat of Marvin's oversize pickup truck. Yes there was a back seat and a full sized pickup bed. It was one of those things that require two parking spaces, but they have to be end to end not side by side.

There was a lot of touching as he drove through the night. I have to admit I did love that kind of thing. It was my first time with the night breeze blowing through the windows, my jeans open and Marvin's hand in my panties. It was all quite exciting and somehow comforting.

"God that feels so good," I said.

"Then why don't you do the same thing for me?" he asked.

"Because I'm a selfish bitch." I said bending to open his belt and the button of his faded jeans. I had the zipper open and my hand inside his shorts. His cock was flaccid but still damp. "Oh do we need a little extra help there?" I asked.

"Just a little," He replied.



-------

Chapter 11


You don't have to tell me, I know how dangerous it is to suck the cock of a man driving a huge pickup truck. I really just meant to kiss it. Strictly as an experiment. I wanted to see if that would make his cock hard. When it didn't, I moved on to the real thing. It still did not get rock hard, more like a roll of summer sausage, sort of flexible though firm. He definitely wasn't going to get it into me, unless it was harder. I was still a bit tight from the fact Jeff and I hadn't had sex in many months and not often at that.

I wasn't virgin tight of course, but I was tight enough so that it was going to difficult for a simi hard cock to work it's way inside. I had a feeling that Marvin had a plan. It was just a matter of time before I knew the details of the plan.

I followed Marvin into the small frame house. It was quite clean and well organized. He obviously had done something else before becoming a goat herder. Military or cop maybe, I had to know/

"So Marvin, what did you do before goat herding?" I asked.

"Twenty five years as a Las Vegas Firefighter," he explained.

"This has to be a big change from that," I suggested spreading my arms.

"Not so much inside here. I'm afraid it looks a little like a fire station. You know austere. I bought a one story house so I wouldn't be tempted to add a brass fire pole," he was smiling.

"And where to you keep the goats?" I asked.

"During the day I either turn them loose in the fields or I take them to work. My goats eat grass and clear brush for cities and industries. It is much more environmentally friendly to have them eat the brush than to have someone running a chainsaw. At night I bring them to the shelters. We have very little bad weather here, so they sleep under sheds just to get them out of any rain we might have. It seems to make them feel safe as well.

"So if I decide to raise goats, I know enough now to get started," I said.

"You were just asking to be nice, you really don't care about goats?" he asked.

"Sure I do they are cute, but I don't need all the details I think," I said.

"I think you should go back to what you do best," he said smiling. As he stood smiling he also unzipped his trousers. I moved to stand in front of him. Then I lowered myself to my knees and I took his much less than hard penis in my mouth. I sucked it, then removed it so that I could lick it. I was totally lost in his only marginally erect penis. There was something hypnotic about the failing effort to make it hard enough to screw.

"That's right baby, stay with it," Marvin demanded. "You just make love to my dick till the pill kicks in. When it gets hard, I'm going to fuck you like you never been fucked before." Considering how conservative Marvin had seemed in the restaurant, it appeared that my work on his cock was having a positive effect.

As I sucked, it finally began to come to life. It must have been fifteen minutes or more that I worked on it. Then like magic it began getting hard and moving. I was surprised by how proud I was of myself.

"God you, you are such a beautiful cock sucker," Marvin said to me. He pushed my mouth off his cock, then moved me to the sofa. He spread my legs, so that he could work his recently hard cock into me. I was more than ready for him and cooperated completely.

I had lubricated and had dilated while I sucked his cock. It was easy for him to start his cock into me. It was a bit thicker than the average size penis. At least the ones I had previously felt inside me. There was a little pain involved, but not enough to stop me from responding. I felt his cock bull it's way inside me. The farther and fast he screwed me the higher I climbed. Before I could stop it I came hard and long.

I thrilled at his cock still moving hard and fast inside me. I realized that he was having difficulty reaching orgasm. I should have felt bad for him, but I didn't. I just loved the feel of his cock in me. I couldn't get enough of it bludgeoning me. Some of it was a celebration of being alive, I'm sure. Whatever the reason it was a thrill beyond good sex, it was the best sex I ever had, or I thought at that moment.

It wasn't until he pulled out then flipped my droopy ass over, that I even tried to resist. I knew what was coming and I begged, "Please Marvin don't do this."

"Shut up bitch, you are going to love it," he said.

I knew it was more about him. He was looking for something to push him over the edge. Obviously he thought my ass was the cure. I knew that it was going to hurt like hell and it was going to feel weird long after he removed his penis from my ass. Still I was willing to go along. It would not have been my first choice, but it was something I could live with.

Sure enough there was pain, when he entered me. Even though he tried to lubricate me with my vaginal lube, it was not enough. It hurt like hell going in. It also hurt when he began to stroke me. He went slowly and somewhere along the way the pain was masked by other sensations. I admit that it turned me on, the really nasty feeling, even knowing what we were doing could get us imprisoned in some countries was a turn on.

When Marvin finally came in me it was a relief. I know sex is supposed to be great fun and it was mostly. However some of it was just plain painful. When it was over, my ass felt like it was on fire. i also knew that tomorrow I would feel as though I had to defecate all day long. I hated that feeling as much as the pain that I would feel. Even worse than both of those, I would hate that those same feeling kept me turned on all day.

Marvin took me to breakfast and the prick smiled as I squirmed trying to find a position which didn't cause me at least a mild pain. I wondered how his over easy eggs would taste after 2 million volts. I said nothing but I could imagine zapping his ass.

In the end he drove me back to the motel. I had planned to leave New Mexico in my rear view that day. I decided to spend the day close to a toilet instead. It was not my best day, but I did catch up with my kids. Well at least Cindy who was hanging out around the house and bitching about how boring it was with her father at work all day. He had actually hired a housekeeper/nanny for the two of them.

Cindy and I both found that humorous in the extreme. The kids probably needed the housekeeper, but they didn't need a nanny. What he really hired was a spy, who could mop the floor.

"You know the housekeeper is probably some addict working off the balance of her account," I suggested.

"Eww," was Cindy's answer.

I also spent the day ignoring Marvin. He called me several times, but I didn't pick up. He had served his purpose. I also found him a bit too enthusiastic. I had a string of rough lovers recently, and no idea why all of a sudden I looked like a victim to them.

The evening ended early for me. I was in bed by 11PM. I managed to get a good night's sleep for a change. The next morning I still had a pain in my ass and the desire to use the toilet, but I took an Aleve and and aspirin before I left the room, Breakfast was two eggs with bacon and toast at a chrome and glass chain restaurant near a major highway. After the good meal I headed off on atop the Tomos. I also squirmed but knew I would not be going far. Just a few back roads to clear the populated area.

I made it only as far as San Simon Arizona before my ass was just too uncomfortable to continue. It was only 3PM, but I called it a day. I realized that I probably should celebrate. I had been on the road three weeks exactly. I decided to check into a motel again. Since I had been doing well on my expenses, even though I didn't really have to economize, I felt no guilt in a third night sleeping on a real bed.

I was even feeling well enough to think about sex. Not well enough to do anything, just well enough to think about it. Since the pain was in my ass, I was able to massage my clit and slipped fingers inside myself until I came, like the good girl I had become. I did it while remembering the sex with Marvin. He hurt me, but there had been lots of orgasms before and even a couple while he pounded my ass. I did not want a repeat by any means, but that didn't change the fact that I cum harder than ever.

I fell asleep exhausted after my little bit of self indulgence. Finally when I awoke the next morning, I felt like myself again. I had a strong breakfast, then I hit the open road. The GPS guided me along the back roads to the outskirts of Tucson before I found a suitable camp space. I rolled out my sleeping cloth then settled in for the night.

I did my messages while laying on top of my bed. The message I got was that the police department, which held my pistol, had mailed it to the local police department back home. A detective Gregg Morris would be holding if for me. I knew who Morris was alright. I had faced him at trial more than once. I was sure that he would be thrilled to hold the pistol, just so he could comment on me needing a lawyer. I didn't of course, but he would pick on me anyway. It's what cops do to defense lawyers in expensive suits. Yes I did wear a fancy tailored suit to trial.

I rode through Tucson the next morning and was back on the road. I spent most of the day on the back roads of Arizona from Tucson to a campground several miles west of Casa Grande. I checked in and found a site to my liking. It was a state run campsite, so it was pretty minimal. That fact suited me just fine, I didn't need many services. A place to shower and a warm dry place to try to crap. I was not having real good luck with the later those last couple of days, but I expected it to end that night.

I was tired and expected to sleep really well. I probably would have, if it had not been for the kids in the site a few yards from me. "Hey there, I'm Mike. a bunch of us from the University of Arizona are camping up the road a little way, You know celebrating the end of term."

"Hello Mike, you can call me Dixie. So how long are you guys planning to stay up drinking and hell raising?" I asked.

"A while longer, that's why I came to invite you to the party." he commented.

I knew that I might as well go, since their noise was going to keep me awake anyway. "Sure why not, let me get my things and I'll be up in a minute," I said. My things consisted of a bottle of Canadian Club Whiskey and a large bottle of water. I sure hoped that they had Ice.



-------

Chapter 12


I danced, I drank, and did some mild flirting with the eight college boys. It was quite an experience. The road trip was all about new experiences. Having that many boys all hot for my body was a really nice one. I knew that it was a combination of alcohol and being the only female at the party that did it even so it was flattering. I got back to my campsite after midnight. The bedroll was hard, but I had gotten used to that. It was also empty as hell, which I should have gotten used to by that time. but hadn't.

I had felt hands on my still sensitive ass while I danced with the boys. I was surprised that the feelings had been pleasurable. I should have been upset that I could still feel the pain and the internal pressures.

Their timing could not have been better or worse depending on whose point of view you viewed it from. I was masturbating in my bedroll, when the two boys showed up. My cut off jeans were beside the bedroll which left me in only my tee and panties.

I didn't need any threats or persuasion to allow them access to my body. One of the boys just pulled back the top cover of my bedroll. "God you are beautiful for an old lady," he said. He was smiling, it was pretty dark, but I could tell from his voice. I doubted that he could tell I was well on my way to an orgasm, so he was likely apprehensive about being at my side looking down at me.

"I could tell while we danced that you wanted this," he said. I couldn't see but I just knew he was holding himself as he spoke. The second one said nothing. The boy who was doing all the talking reached down and pulled off my already wet panties. I couldn't have done much to stop him, even if I had wanted to do something. I might have found the stun gun, but it was unlikely that I could have found it in time. To be honest I didn't mind his hands on me. I didn't mind his hard cock working its way into me even without foreplay. I didn't need it since my mind and body was ready. I also didn't mind, when after a few strokes he pulled out and turned me so that he could put me in the K9 position. I should have been upset, when I felt the wet cock on my lips. Instead of pulling away in disgust, I opened my mouth to it.

I was taking cock in my vagina from the first one and a cock in my mouth from the quiet one. I loved the feeling of the cock inside me and I sucked hungrily the one in my mouth. The one in my mouth required that I think at least a little. That slowed down my orgasm from the one inside me. I continued to work at it even though the one behind me stiffened and emptied his sperm into me. I continued to suck on the boy in my mouth. I had yet to orgasm.

I was about to reach for my clit when I felt the boy in my vagina remove his wilting cock. I wanted to cry but it was quickly replaced by a hard cock. He had either revived in a second, or some other kid had joined the party. I didn't care, I just needed the release. At that moment I would have settled for my own finger on my clit to do it. But it was glorious to feel cocks in my vagina and my mouth.

"I'm going to cum bitch, you better not pull away," the boy in front of me said. For some reason when my mouth filled with his warm cum the feelings in side me just went wild. I exploded with a mind blowing orgasm.

"Oh shit, I am going to cum in your pussy," the one behind me said as I rolled on with orgasm after orgasm fogging my mind completely. I felt the one behind me stiffen then relax. When he did, I fell forward,

I felt someone cover me with my bedroll. The next thing I remember was an unpleasant sensation on my face. I realized that it was morning and that it was also misting rain. It hadn't been misting too long since the concrete drive was barely covered. I forced myself from my sleep induced stupor long enough to slip into my panties and jeans. Then I slipped into my leather moccasins. I managed to quickly determine what I needed to do. There was a picnic shelter with two full sized picnic table about twenty five yards away. I quickly rolled the bedroll up then move everything to the trailer, which was still attached to the Tomos. I rolled the Sprint the several yards downhill to the shelter. I managed to get everything between the two tables.

I found that the shelter had electricity so I made coffee. The coffee and my emergency rations of Nekot crackers was my breakfast. It looked as though it had set in to rain for a while. I had read that Arizona was a very dry state so I was more than a little surprised. Not to mention pissed at myself for not checking the weather before I checked into a campground rather than a motel.

Still the experience of the night before might be worth a little discomfort. I sat on the table sipping my coffee while I pulled up the local weather on my smart phone. It appeared that it was going to rain all day but be clear and hot the next day. So I was going to spend the day in a picnic shelter it appeared.

Fortunately I had seen a camp store across the street from the park entrance. The park at a reasonable amount of boaters, so the store catered to the recreation market. I hoped that meant some kind of food available.

I spent the time until noon checking on how to get the Tomas from California back to NC. I had a few more days till I made it to California. I hated to wait till the last minute for anything, so I began checking. Everything I looked at seemed way too much money. Most of them were more than the bike had cost me. Or at least damn near it.

I could feel fluids still running from my vagina for a couple of hours after I sat on the table. It was an unpleasant sensation mostly, but not completely because that feeling tended to remind me how I got them in the first place.

At 1PM I was hungry and needed to pee, so I detached the trailer, Then I chained it to the leg of a table. I rode the bike to the bathhouse first. I left it on the covered walk as I went inside to pee. I considered a shower but decided that I would just be uncomfortable again in a matter of minutes.

After I peed I headed to the camp store. I found a fast food section with microwave oven. I paid for the plastic can of stew, and a small box of crackers. I ate the stew and the crackers seated on the covered patio. I was damp and chilled but not so much that I wanted to stand inside to eat. I needed to get back to the campground and wrap myself in the blanket and wait for dark.

When I got back to the site, I brought snacks with me. I had things that wouldn't need heating to be edible. A lot of them were high in calories and fat but I didn't care. I did not want to go out again.

An hour after I returned, the park ranger's truck pulled up. "Hello," I said as the slightly less than middle aged woman approached. I noticed that she had a wide ass like I had before the trip.

"Hi, I remember you. You were in a space up the hill last night. I see you got rained on a bit." she said.

"Yes Ma'am I did," I said.

"You do know you can't camp in a shelter?" she asked.

"Since I don't have anything spread out, I didn't think I was camping," I said.

"I guess not but you will be once you roll out your blankets, and then I'll have to ask you to leave. It will most likely be dark by then, so leaving now would seem a better option for us both." she said.

"That's easy for you to say, you don't have to ride an open bike in the rain," I suggested. "So how far to the nearest motel?"

"About ten miles," she said.

"That is going to be miserable even in the mist," I said.

"You could go door to door offering to trade sex for a dry place to sleep," she said.

"What?" I asked sharply.

"The college kids were talking as they checked out," she replied.

"Very well, I guess I'll ride off into the misty sunset," I replied.

"Good choice," was her only comment.

The ten mile ride took me forty minutes, since I was afraid the bike would skid out from under me at any moment. The motel was one of the older ones I would have chosen given the chance. At least that was a break. They also let me store the trailer in my room and the Sprint in their outside utility room.

When I went to get ice a few minutes later, I found a coin washer and dryer in the storage room beside the ice machine. The washer was in use, but I gathered up all my wet and simply damp clothes, and they all were all one or the other from the ride in the rain. I got them into the dryer before the person washing could get hers into it.

I got my messages and sent emails to the kids. I planned to make up for the sleep I had missed due to the rain and the college boys. For one of the few times on the trip things went just as I had planned. I awoke the next morning, then showered and hit the road by 9AM. I was thrilled to be on the road. By the time I got a booth, in the diner a few miles down the road, the pain in my ass was gone completely it seemed.

"So what will you have?" the young blond waitress asked.

"I would like eggs and corn beef hash," I said it since I saw hash on the menu.

"What kind of potatoes," she asked.

"Hell, let's go with those shoe string hash browns," I suggested.

The eggs were too done, but the hash was from a can so it was okay. They did crisp the edges of the almost patty like concoction.

With breakfast behind me, I headed for the California line. It took me two more days to cross the border into California. When I did I checked my odometer. I had covered over 5,000 miles just to make the 3000 mile trip. Blame it on having to travel smaller less traveled roads. It didn't matter I was just plain proud of myself.

Once in California I found a private campground for my last night outdoors. I spent the first part of the night checking on ways to get me and the bike home. I had two reasonable options. One was to sell the Tomos to a dealer somewhere for about half what I paid, which would still be a better deal than shipping it home most of the ways at which I looked. The other option was to rent a van and drive it back the same way I came. With the van I got to get us both home for the same price. That one looked mighty good to me.

Then I decided to try the forum option. I posted notices online. It was on a couple of those independent carrier sites. I looked for a shipper to haul the moped and allow me to ride along with it. I offered to share the driving, if I could manage the vehicle. I gave my address and hoped for the best. My backup plan was to rent the van and head out on my own.

It wasn't an urgent issue. I had a couple of more days on the road before I reached the California coast. After I made the decision and placed the online notices I answered my messages and then emailed the kids. After that I began to reflect on what was to come. I had to go home for one thing. Being back home would lead me to a brand new set of problems.

I had to make a living and I hated the practice of criminal law. I thought about that over a cup of cowboy coffee and decided that I didn't really hate the law. I hated criminal law. Maybe i could get a job as a corporate lawyer.

After the next cup of coffee with a little Canadian Club in it, I decided that I didn't hate criminal law, I hated my Father in Law and My husband's Law firm. I hated rich clients trying to buy their way out of jail.

Two more drinks and I admitted that I hated those fucking tailored suits that made me look like a Dyke with good hair. Of course now that the hair was gone, I would really look like a Dyke. I laughed at myself for finally admitting that even to myself.

So if not that kind of law, what kind? It was all I knew and I didn't really want to run a consignment shop in some warehouse. Yes, I thought of that as one of my options. The realization that it wasn't the law, or even criminal law, but rather the clients and my partners that I hated, was a revelation. Realizing that those issues were already resolved made me feel like a weight had been lifted from my soul.

I was free to do the thing that made me want to go into the law in the first place. To help people like my dad. People might have been poor, but deserved equal justice. I was no Pollyanna, I that most of them were guilty, just like most of the rich men who got arrested. It was more about seeing that their side got considered in the best possible light. Those revelations made me almost anxious to get back and start my new life.

I figured I would be on the road 31 days by the time I was ready to end the road trip. Just three days from that evening should be the end of it. Suddenly I was ready for it to end. I had accomplished everything I set out to do. Well I would have in three or four days. The distance wasn't all that far but the California roads were notorious for their traffic and nut cases. I figured it would take me a while on the Sprint.



-------

Chapter 13


"So, how was the water," the young man asked me. He saw my curious look. "I saw you pull up on the Captain America bike. I watched you go down to the the surf and walk in. Obviously it was the end of a journey. Of course I don't know how far the journey was." The young man sitting on the bench suggested.

"All the way from the east coast, and the water was fine." I said it smiling over the top of my coffee cup. I was finished and happy to be done with the road trip. 33 days is a long time to be on the road. I was ready to check into a motel and begin making plans to head home. It was probably past time, but I was okay with the amount of time I had been gone from home.

"Wow you came all the way across country on that little thing?" he asked.

"I did indeed. It was an interesting though long trip. They don't travel very fast and I didn't push all that hard but I make it in 33 days," I said.

"Wow that is really something. I would have expected that of a teenager, not a grown up woman," he said.

"I know, It doesn't seem like something a grownup would do," I said in agreement.

"Honestly, it doesn't seem like anything any of my friend's moms would do," he said with a smile.

"It probably isn't," I agreed.

"You wouldn't happen to know a Tomos dealer around here would you?" I asked.

"No, but there is a dealer in new and used scooters about five blocks that way," he said pointing south.

"Good, I need to get a move on.nice to have met you." As I rode down the street I was also looking at the neighborhood. I was hoping for good quiet area because I had a few details to take care of before I headed for home."

First on my list was to find a place to sell the Tomos, then get on my smart phone and book a flight home. It was 10AM when I pulled into scooter world. One of the salesmen came out. "You ready to trade up?" he asked.

"No, I'm ready to sell this moped," I said. "You do buy them don't you?"

"Sure, let me have my service manager take a look at it," he said.

"That's fine, I have a little time." I walked around the parking lot while they rolled my bike into the shop.

It took them about twenty minutes but the sales manager came back to me himself. "I like your little bike. What kind of money are you expecting to get for it."

"I want a fair price, but I also know you are not in business to be a charity. Tell me what you can do and I'll tell you what I think," I suggested.

"Well it has a story and it is in good shape. You didn't seem to have pushed it too hard. I'd say I could give you about five hundred for it," he said it with an oily smile.

"Ouch," I said. "You saw my bill of sale for it."

"I know but it has served your purpose. I do have to make some money on it," he said.

"Tell you what, I'll take five hundred and a ride to the airport," I said smiling.

"Done," he said extending his hand to me.

I took care of the paperwork and was at the airport by 2pm. I couldn't get straight home, but I did get a red eye flight to Charlotte which was 75 miles from home. I figured one of the kids would come for me. After traveling all night I would be home at 9AM, so surely one of them would be available. I made that decision sitting in the lobby before the plane left. I had decided to fly out that same night.

I mean hell I didn't know anyone in California, so I might as well head home. I booked the overnight flight to Charlotte even though it wasn't perfect. I did have one stop in Atlanta but it was only two hours.

The plane left LAX at 6PM so I had a lot of time to kill. I watched delayed TV on my smart phone. I had thrown away all my clothes except for the Cutoff jeans I wore, the Camo Tee shirt, the panties, and bra I wore. I did keep one extra pair of panties and a tee folded and packed into my large purse type bag. It actually was a gym bag. In addition it had my smart phone's extra batteries, and charger in it, but not much else. I still carried my money and cards in the bit of bicycle inner tube. I removed the stun gun and slipped it into a cardboard box, which I mailed from the small post office substation at the terminal.

I went through security with the least hassle of anyone. I had nothing for them to search. I was miserable all the way home but I made it by 9AM. When I looked out over the crowd I finally say Cindy standing by the gate. She looked far more asleep than awake.

"Hello Baby, it is good to see you." I said.

"Good to see you too mom. Tell me all about your trip," she demanded.

"I'm not sure I want you to know everything." I said laughing. I sure as hell didn't want her to know everything.

"I know some of it. You made the papers," she said.

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yes when you killed the gangster," she said smiling.

"That is nothing to be pleased about," I said.

"I understand it was him or you, so damn right I'm pleased," she informed me.

"Well put it like that I guess I am too but not proud of it. It was just something that needed to be done," I informed her. We traveled most of the way home in silence.

"So Mom, did you get laid?" she asked.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" I asked.

"The kind that everyone wants to ask, but very few will ask," she said.

"I am not going to answer that," I said.

"Okay, then was it good. Come on, the only reason you said that is so you would not have to lie or admit it." she said. "For god's sakes mom, we are both grown."

"Well one of us is and the other thinks she is," I said laughing. "I am not going to discuss my sex life, or lack there of one with you. Now move the conversation along."

"So what is your next plan?" Cindy asked.

"My next plan it to find a way to make a living," I suggested.

"Dad says you are an okay lawyer, you should do okay," she replied.

"Oh really how wonderful of him," I suggested sarcastically.

"I don't think he meant it like I made it sound," she said trying to reinvent it.

"Of course he did and that's alright. I was part of their big firm so what I did got lost among all the other people trying to make a name for themselves. I am not going back to that kind of law, so I should be judged on my own merits very soon." I admitted. "There won't be anywhere to hide this time."

After Cindy left for the day I began to call around. I needed to call in a few favors but first I had to have a place to call home. I channeled my mind back to the days before I left on my trip. I had heard a rumor that James Fredrickson was about to retire and close his office. That hat been three months before.

Since I had no idea what his status would be at the time, I caught a cab to his office. When I left the cab I said to Michael Sams, the driver, "Michael wait for me please. I won't be long." Michael nodded I expected no less after all he was a former clients I found a note on James's door. "If you need a lawyer, try the yellow pages. If you are looking for a fishing partner call me. James Fredrickson."

I laughed when I read it. I called the number listed. "James, it's Me, Lucille. We need to talk. Call me," I said, then I left my number.

When I got back to the cab I said, "Michael drop me at that artist colony downtown. I'll call a cab when I am finished there."

At the artist colony I found the metal worker named Seth busy making bicycles. Seth also made bicycle trailers. His trailer ended up along with the Tomas at the scooter dealer's lot. It was what Seth did, he built custom bicycles and trailers for people. He also entered them into shows around the country. He was getting quite a reputation as well as a following of customers.

"Seth, I'm back," I said

"Lucille it's good that you survived that trip. It was a bear, I'm sure." he said.

"Oh, it wasn't too bad. I sold the Tomos and trailer in California and flew home, so now I need wheels," I said.

"I have three sets of wheels in the showroom. If they won't do, I'll build you one," he said grinning.

"Let's see," I said.

The three bicycles were each different from your standard Walmart bike. The one I liked was actually a three wheeler. It had a 20" front wheel and two 16" rear wheels. It also had a hub motor and a lithium battery pack way bigger than a commuter would need. The damn thing was $1400 bucks, but I loved it. I loved it enough to ride it home. The bike hit thirty miles an hour on the way home without any problem, and it rode very smooth. That was a good thing, because sometimes Seth forgot his bikes were to be used.

I rode my new bike back to my apartment and parked it in the underground space that went with my condo. I waited until ten before James called. "Lucille, so you are back from your road trip?" he asked.

"Yes James I am back. Have you finished closing your office?" I asked.

"Yes closed up tight. So why in the world are you calling me?" he asked the curiosity in his voice.

"I have decided to go back into criminal law and I'm looking for a place to practice. I always liked your office. Would you consider renting or selling it to me?" I asked.

"I would need to clear it with my son but he is a real estate developer not a lawyer. I am sure he won't mind. I'll get with him tomorrow and then give you a call." James said.

"Thank you so much James," I said smiling.

"Not only that, but if you need any help, just call me. I wouldn't mind working a day or two now and then." James said.

"Well James, I plan mostly to do court appointed work. I really got sick of the other kind of criminal law while working with Jeff and his dad."

"Yeah, I can understand that. It's okay, I figure I have enough money. Why don't you meet me at the office tomorrow around ten and I'll give you the key and we can catch up a little.

"I can do that James, do you know anyone in the court aministration system, I need to get on the list of attorneys willing to work for the court system," I said.

"Yeah you don't want to do it pro bono let the state pay you. I do know some people since I was in business forever. I'll make some calls for you tomorrow, you should be hearing from them soon." he said



-------

Chapter 14


Michael the taxi driver was back around 8PM. I met him in the courtyard area outside the building. There was still some daylight even though the night lights had fired up. We sat on a concrete bench under a tree that was way out of place in what had once been a parking lot for the department store which had once occupied the space beside us. Most of the small towns in the south were changing and Avery was no different.

The building with my studio condo had once been a radio station's office building. My two rooms had been an office for a textile broker. A local developer thought that old ladies needed a safe and cozy place to hang out. Hell the developer might have been James Frederickson's son for all I knew.

"What is it you wanted with me Michael?" I asked.

"You know I'm working the program?" he asked me.

"I know you have worked it off and on. Like most junkies you have relapses," I said honestly.

"Not for a while, but yeah I have had those. That's kinda what I need you to do for me. My girlfriend Jane is in jail and I need you to get her out," he said.

"Michael you know better than that. One can't just walk up and walk away with a prisoner. You have to have to her request to see me. Then I have to stroke the system. It doesn't happen right away." I informed him.

"I will have her request you, if I know you will represent her," he insisted.

"I will represent her, if she requests me and cooperates," I meant it. I needed clients, I didn't care what she had done, I would take her as a client. I needed to work more than I needed the money. Of course money is always a good thing.

It was hard sleeping that night, since I was so excited. I tried to call the kids, but they were both out with friends. I did not envy Jeff dealing with that. I did trust him though, so I pretty much decided to let him deal with it. He and I might be at each other's throat, but we did both love the kids.

At nine I walked across the street and used my key card to access the rear door of the building there. I walked down the stairway and into a very private club. There was a very high level of mystery and intrigue surrounding the club. Most of the big shots in town, from every profession, were members. There was no telling who you might see in the place on any given night.

I chose it, since I could have a drink and not have to drive anywhere. That and yes I wanted to remind people that I was still around. I didn't even bother to look for a table to share, I simply went to the bar.

"Canadian and coke," I said quietly.

When the young blond woman brought the drink she smiled at me. Everyone flirted, it was the grease that lubricated the wheels of the service industry. I had come to that conclusion long before that night.

I was ten minutes into the drink when I heard my name, "Lucy?" I thought that was you. When did you get back?" the man who had once shared my bed asked.

"Jeff, I'm a little surprised to see you out so late on a weeknight," I said.

"I know, I have a witness I needed to entertain," he said. "Please come join us."

"No thanks Jeff, I don't entertain your witnesses anymore. That was the old me," I said.

"Oh come on, I want to hear how you shot that gang banger in Texas."

"Another time," I said.

"So what are you going to do now. Cindy said you are thinking about going into practice on your own?" he asked.

"Most likely yes," I replied. "It's all I know Jeff."

"Me too," he said. I think I would rather be a doctor."

"I would rather be a hooker," I said smiling.

"You don't need any special training for that," he said.

"Like hell," I replied smiling. "You better get back."

"At least you came to the counter country club, I'm glad to see you still have a sense of who you are?" he said as he left the table.

The counter country club was really a clubhouse for characters of all kind. It was in the basement of one of the downtown house condominiums. I personally loved it because it was across the street and down a half dozen doors. I could have several drinks and walk home. Several of us downtown professionals were regulars not just members.

The spies and assassins who founded the place had moved on leaving the place to us scavengers. I hated it, but the really fun people had been gone for sometime. Oh the town was still full of cold war heroes, but they were all in walkers and nursing homes. It was most likely their children's world by that time. Still there were some great stories set in our little town.

I had three drinks then went home. I went to bed around midnight and slept like someone with a very clear conscience. When I awoke the next morning, I was ready to find a place to settle. I was tired of things being up in the air.

I planned to have breakfast at the marina. It was something I liked to do when I had time. I planned to stop by the local Hardee's for take out for biscuits. Unfortunately I couldn't go through the drive thru on my bike. I had to go in for my biscuit.

I always carried my own coffee. I learned to like it the way I had fixed it on the trail, so that's how I made coffee those days.

"Ma'am did you know your little trike is drawing a crowd?" the young man asked as he stood behind me in line.

"Sometimes it does that for no good reason," I suggested. "People seem to be fascinated."

"Does it have lithium batteries?" he asked.

"Yes, right now that is cutting edge. I'm not sure that I won't switch to something else eventually," I informed him.

"I like the design it looks as though it would be stable at high speed," a different man suggested.

"I have only had it a full day, but it seemed to be stable on the way out here this morning. I'm headed for the marina, so that trip should be a good test. There are lots of big hills to test it." I admitted.

"Yes there are, you should have a pretty good idea how it is going to perform. Where did you get it," someone asked.

"Custom builder named Seth. I have no idea what his last name is, but he is located in the old Heritage Mill. You know the one that got turned into artists studios. Seth is a first class artist with metal and a welder." I said it quite seriously.

I rode to the marina on the three wheeler averaging thirty miles per hour. It was more than enough speed for me on those roads. If I wanted to go anywhere serious, I was going to have to buy a car. In the meantime I could go anywhere I wanted as long as I didn't want to go too far or too fast. The three wheeler would do pretty close to the speed of the Tomos.

After breakfast at the lake, and a half hour of watching the sail boats glide around the reservoir, I headed for Fredrickson's office. I arrived just after 10AM. I decided I would rather have him wait for me, than me wait for him. I knocked on the door since there was one car in the parking lot.

The door was opened by what could only be James's Son. "Well I was expecting James Fredrickson," I said.

"I know. I Todd Fredrickson. Dad asked me to stop by and talk to you about the office," the man who was very close to my age suggested.

"Okay, so Todd are you interested in selling or renting the place to me?" I asked.

"Frankly I have been thinking about getting rid of it. Dad isn't going to need it again and I have no use for it. I also never played under his desk, so it has no emotional ties for me."

"Good then let's negotiate," I suggested.

"Fair enough, I have an evaluation prepared or you. Why don't you look around then take the evaluation back to your place and give a thorough going over. Then we can try to come to an agreement price wise," he suggested.

"That's an excellent idea." I said that as I began walking through the room where he had greeted me. Then I passed through a doorway on the right of the main room, I entered into what was the private office no doubt. It wasn't very large, but it would do. I went back into the entrance room, then through the doorway on the left. That doorway let to a hallway with a bath and the entrance to the largest room as well. The larger room was divided into three spaces by glass and steel bank partitions. It appeared to be more space than I would ever use. However I was pretty sure that given the chance I would fill it with something even if it was storage for the kid's toys.

'So tell me Todd what are you hoping to get for this place?" I asked.

"One fifty," he said with a straight face.

"I am assuming that is a full blow retail in a good market price. So are you willing to listen to a reasonable offer?" I asked.

"I have to tell you Mrs. Avery, the price is based on all the market variables and the office building will sell for that no doubt," he informed me.

"If you are willing to wait for the right buyer to come along I'm sure it will. How much will it have cost you to hold it though. Not out of pocket, but the loss of use fee. That hundred Grand you can get right now would make you a lot more, if you invested it in options on real estate," I suggested.

"If you are offering me a hundred grand I'm not interested. We should probably both sleep on this deal and talk about it again tomorrow," he suggested.

"Sounds fair," I said in agreement. I gave him one of the new cards I had made. on my first day home. I only had a hundred done and they only had my smart phone number and attorney's license number on it.

When I got back home. I found I had a message from Michael's girlfriend Jane. She wanted me to represent her. I had no idea what she was changed with, but I had the authority to find out.

I made the call to the clerk of court. I had a reasonably good source of information there. It was one I had developed on my own. Ginger was not an informant for Avery and Avery Attorneies at law. Instead she was my friend. I had handled a couple of small things for her.

"Ginger, what you been up to girl?" I asked.

"Damn Lucy, I was sorry to hear about the divorce, but I was thrilled with your road trip. We heard you shot a gangster in Texas," she said all in one breath.

"The divorce sucked, the road trip was a hell of a lot of fun, and it sucked to kill that guy, even if he was going to kill me." I said it trying to sound like a grownup.

"Yeah I bet, so what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Could you take a quick look in your computer and tell me what charges Jane Sutton is being held on?" I asked.

"Sure hold on," she said. It took her just a minute. "Jane Sutton possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit murder. Do you represent her?" Ginger asked.

"I will just as soon as I get the documents signed. I have to go before a judge as well to get court approval since she is indigent." I said.

"Stop by when you get all the paperwork and I will try to get you pointed in the right direction." she informed me.



-------

Chapter 15


"Lucille Avery?" the male voice on the phone asked.

"Yes, how may I help you?" I asked.

"Actually I can help you. I am looking at a package which I have for you. It's from the Texas State Police. If you stop by and do the paper work I will be happy to return your .38 Saturday night special to you," he said.

I had expected a detective with whom I had previous contact to make the delivery. Instead it was a patrolman who was assigned to the property room. My guess is that the pistol was in some kind of area safer than a detectives desk drawer while it awaited my arrival.

"Fair enough, I will get down there this morning," I said into the smart phone.

Once he was off the line, I finished my morning routine. That routine included a shower and a quick hair brush. Just enough make up so that I didn't look like a corpse. With those two items completed, I rode the trike to the police station where I picked up the pistol.

Since I wasn't on the road, I rode the trike to the mall so that I could walk. I decided that forty five minutes was a minimum amount of walking for a woman my age. I could walk all day, but I doubted that more was all that much better. I had been a downtown walker at lunchtime now and then, but never a mall walker. The place and the people were new to me.

Probably because I wasn't in any hurry, I made only two miles in forty five minutes. I was walking for flexibility not cardio. That being the case I figured the two miles was fine. Besides I decided that I would get some exercise messin' around with a bike, even one without pedals.

I was on my way back to the office when the phone rang. I had to pull the trike over since I was expecting a call from Todd, the realtor. Sure as hell it was him.

"So are you ready to go the $150k?" he asked without even a good morning.

"Good morning Todd, no I'm afraid not. I would still like to make a deal at 100 k though." I said.

"I just can't do that. How about we make a compromise at 125k?" he asked.

"Not in this economy, I just can't justify it. Tell you what I will do, I ill give you 110K in nice new hundred dollar bills. You won't have to deal with a week of jumping through hoops only to have someone's credit be bad. I would still want all the same checks and balances a mortgage company would ask." I said.

"Oh hell with the economy like this Cash is worth the discount," he said in agreement.

I spent the morning getting the money into my safety deposit box at the bank. I wanted the money ready whenever Todd got the paperwork ready. I sat down at an old laptop and prepared a check list of things I needed before I handed over the money.

I got around to seeing Jane Sutton at 2PM. It was in the visiting room at the jail. The room I met her was supposed to be free of cameras and audio recorders. My digital audio recorder would be the only one allowed.

Jane had that hollow junkie look about her. She would probably get healthy again while she was in jail. Then most likely she would rush out and get high again. Once people fell into that life style, they seldom got clean just from a few months away from the junk. It was always rattling around on the edge of their consciousness, I am told.

"Well Jane you look like shit,"I said as a greeting. I had no intention of pulling any punches with her.

"I know," I been coming down for the whole tree days that I have been inside. I think I am at baseline now." she said.

"Where did you hear baseline?" I asked.

"One of the Doctors at the rehab clinic used it a lot. You know, have to get you to baseline before we can do any real work. That kind of thing." she said. She was also biting her nails between tortured sentences.

"You do know he meant you can't work on kicking the habit unless you are totally clean?" I asked. It could easily have been a case of the doctor and the patient speaking different languages.

"Yeah I knew, I'm not a complete idiot," she said.

"There are those who would disagree." I had picked up a copy of the police report on the way inside. I looked down at it then said, "Felony possession of heroin and conspiracy to commit murder. So tell me about it." I demanded.

"I turned a trick and needed to get well, so I went to Lowball's crib," she said.

"Lowball is the street name of the murder victim?" I asked.

First she nodded then said, "I was at the door knocking when I heard an explosion, A minute or two later the door burst open and a man with a shotgun pushed past me. He pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger. I was terrified, but the gun was empty."

"You told this to the police?" I asked.

"Hell no Mrs. Avery, I have to go back to live on that street. That little animal will finish the job on me if I talk."

"If you don't. you are going to take the weight for this killing. You don't want to do that, do you?" I asked, "So what did you do after he ran past you?"

"I went inside and found his drug stash. I took it all and ran from the house. The cops found me high that same afternoon." she said.

There was one big question, what turned the cops on to my client. That was the first question I had for the detectives. Instead of talking to the detectives, I settled for the police incident report.

According to the report a neighbor saw Jane leaving the house after the shot. If the story was true the neighbor heard the shot went to the window but the killer had gone. Jane was already in the house stealing the drugs. The neighbor saw her leave.

When the cops found her in possession of the drugs they charged her with conspiracy, since they had no idea who the shooter was. He might well have been a friend. Technically if she was withholding information it was a kind of conspiracy.

"Okay Jane, is there anyone who will post your bond?" I asked.

"Michael might, but he has very little money," she said.

"I'll check with him then see what I can do. You are in a jam for the dope, but I think if you agree to finger the shooter, the rest will go away." I saw her look of concern. " You might need to leave town for a while, but it's better than doing twenty years inside." I informed her. "If they make the conspiracy stick, it is as much as twenty."

"I can't go to jail for twenty years," Jane said.

"Then you better wrap your head around identifying the killer, if they bring him in." I said.

"Alright," Jane agreed. "I will think hard about it and try to make the best decision for me."

"Good," In the meantime I need you to sign these forms. They are so that I can represent you going forward." I didn't bother to tell her that it was how I would be paid, since she was a destitute junkie.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I researched James and Todd's building. The deed was a clean as they both had represented it to be. There were no liens, not back taxes due, and no judgments against the property. Whatever I paid for it would be more or less the total price of the buy.

It was after five when Todd called me. "Alright Lucille, I have decided to take the 110K. You want to meet tomorrow at my attorney's office to do the paperwork?"

"We can, but you might want to check to see if he can have it ready that quickly?" I asked.

"He went to work on it this afternoon. It will be ready by noon, so what time do you want to meet?" Todd asked.

"Let's just make it 1PM and get it over with," I suggested.

"Good, I can work it into my lunch and still be back on my job site in time to raise hell before end of day." I had no doubt at all that he meant exactly what he was saying.

The night passed quickly for me since the kids came over to visit. Charlie was itching to get going, since he had a date. At 18 he was making up for lost time. Charlie had been a chubby kid till he got to college. In college snacks weren't as easy to find laying around so he lost 30 pounds that first year. When he returned home, he went to the mall and was Mr. Popularity.

Charlie left at seven after only an hours visit, but Cindy stayed the night. She slept on the sofa which converted to a bed. She swore that it was comfortable, but I didn't believe it for a minute.

Since she had the car, she drove me around. We walked at the mall, then went to breakfast. After the bacon and eggs I took her to see the office.

"Mom, you never worked in a small law office, can you handle it? I mean making all the decisions yourself." Cindy asked.

"There are lots of people who love to give advice, I should be fine," I said quietly. Inside I wondered the same thing. "Besides it isn't hard to make a living as a lawyer. If worse comes to worse, I will just go into real estate law or personal injury. Lots of stuff out there for lawyers to do."

"I guess," Cindy said in agreement. She dropped me at the trike after breakfast. She kissed me on the cheek and off she went. She was headed for home I supposed.

"Todd, don't give up on me, I'm on the way to the meeting now," I said to his voice mail. It was already 1PM and I had a fifteen minute drive to make the connection.

We had the papers signed by two fifteen and I was on my trike and headed for my new office to make a list of things. Todd said, " Anything left in the building belongs to you, our business is complete."

"That is fair enough, thanks Todd. I can't say it has been a pleasure, but it has been harmless." I said.

Once back at the office I went inside to look around. We had always agreed that he would leave it furnished. If not then I would have just rented in a modern building and bought furniture. James had good taste, that was for sure. The furniture was all heavy leather stuff.

The reception room furniture was classic leather and in good shape. The only furniture that showed it's age were some of the dest chairs. There were four disks and chairs only two of them were in really bad shape. Obviously James and the receptionist/secretary were the only regular employees.

I used the smart phone to call Seth. "Hey Seth, it's Lucy. I need some information. Do you know anyone from your world who recovers chairs. I have a couple of classic ones that need a new covers. Call me please."

Since he didn't call right away, I forgot about it until he did. I used the smart phone to call the power and gas companies. I had those guys come out just as soon as possible. I did not have to meet with either of them to have the utilities turned on. Even the land line could be connected from the outside.

The first hold up came with the water. The city required access to the bathrooms just in case something leaked. There was a minor drought in progress, so I arranged to be in the whole next day. I had to be for the hookups. They wanted to do it with me present.

When I checked my messages on the smart phone there was one from Jane. She had agreed to identify the shooter. It was too late to call the detective that night, at least that was my opinion. I decided I would give him a call the next day. I had plenty to do that day as well.



-------

Chapter 16


I awoke early on my first day with an office of my own. I was an over forty school girl it seemed. Since the little town of Avery was close enough to Tryon to share a business park and shopping area, we had far more restaurants available to us than was reasonable for our size town. Even so I was one of the few people in town who at that moment couldn't take advantage of them.

Since I owned only the three wheeler at that moment, I was in effect operating without a car. I lived downtown, and my new office was also downtown. Even in the small downtown I had my two biggest needs filled. The rest of life might prove impossible without an auto, but I had made the decision to find out if it were possible.

After my morning shower I rode the trike two miles to the mall. Once there I parked it and began to walk. I did plug the battery pack's quick charger into a mall circuit designed for just that purpose. In the 45 minutes I walked around in circles, the battery recharged. It was only one of the better things about the new batteries. They lasted longer, weighted less, and recharged much faster. That very expensive battery pack was what made the trike experiment possible.

After the mall, I rode it back to the downtown office. My new office was on the outskirts of downtown so it was just outside a comfortable walking distance. It also skirted a fairly rough section known for drugs, alcohol, and violence. Such being the case, I was happy to have the .38 returned to me.

Once inside the office I made myself as comfortable as possible while I waited for the various vendors to arrive. The first to pull into my small parking lot was an unmarked van. The man who removed himself did so with some difficulty since he was at leave a hundred pounds over his ideal fighting weight.

I guessed that he was the telephone installer. It was a pretty reasonable guess since the buildings power was a simple transfer of the bill to my name, and I wasn't going to install cablevision. The full tool belt pretty much ruled out the city's water worker. That and the extension ladder he brought with him.

"Miss Avery?" he asked at my front door.

"Yes that's me and which one of my installers are you?" I asked.

"I work for Wilson Utilities, but we install for Ma Bell," he said grinning. "I'm going to have your phone and Internet on in a jiffy."

"Good, I can at least be entertained while I wait for the city. Unless they have changed a lot over the years, they are the slowest."

"I think they would call it the most laid back," he said grinning. "Well let me get to it." I worried for him on that ladder but he got it handled much quicker than I would have expected.

When he left twenty minutes later, I had a wireless network as well as a land line with four extensions. Yes I went for all the hookups. One just never knew what the next day would bring, I decided.

I put a note on the door at ten and walked across the street to the hospital waiting room to use the bathroom. When I returned. I felt much better so I called the detective in charge of Jane's case.

"Detective Hammond," I said when I had him on the phone.

"Yes, and who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Lucy Avery, I represent Jane Sutton, in the drug possession and conspiracy case." I said.

"I see and what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well if you charged her with conspiracy to force her to cooperate, you may have succeeded. If you have the district attorney call me, we can probably work out a deal."

"Why would I want a deal?" he asked.

"Oh you have the shooter all wrapped up in a bow then?" I asked. I wasn't one bit worried.

"Can she pick him out of a lineup?" he asked.

"And a photo array, if her memory returns." I suggested.

"I'll have Marco call you," he said.

"Dear god. how did Lowball rate Marco?" I asked.

"I think it was more how did Marco rate Lowball. The murder was most horrific. You were gone when it went down. It got tons of press. Marco might be planning a run for something."

"Could be he is looking to join the new regional defense team," I suggested. Jeff and his dad were always talking about expanding into Charlotte. Maybe they finally had started recruiting.

"I keep hearing rumors about that. but nothing ever happens," Max said.

"Well now that I'm gone maybe they can afford to do it. I was their big drain I think," I said with a laugh.

"They have seemed happier the last few court dates," Max said.

"You truly are a prick Max. I tried to keep this professional but you insist on getting personal." I said with a laugh.

"It's just how I am Lucy. So are you ready to start dating yet?" he asked.

"Oh course I'm dating now, I'm just not dating cops," I said.

"Oh it might help our working relationship," he said with a light hearted voice.

"God I wish I had taped this call," I said.

"Do you want a copy of my tape?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he were serious or not.

"Okay have Marco call. if he wants to deal. Let me give you the new number. Max was the first to get the new office number. With that taken care of, I had nothing to do. It was an interesting feeling not to have half a dozen active folders on my desk.

While I waited for Marco, I went to Walmart's online computer sales store. Walmart had begun to sell refurbished computers online and deliver them to the store. I figured I could get one of the kids to pick up the computers for me. I quickly ordered two laptop computers for under $600. From my use at home I knew that the laptop would do anything the desk models would. They weren't always exactly the same. but I just love puzzles, so it was a no brainer.

Like most young men, my son Charlie was a bit of a nerd. I figured I would have him setup the wireless network. I lived pretty close, but I didn't think the network would reach to my condo, but that was okay because the homeowners had a wireless network for the residents use as part o th homeowner association fees.

"Lucille Avery, =?" the voice on the phone asked.

"That's me, assistant district attorney Marco?" I asked.

"It is, so what can I do for you counselor?" he asked.

"I'm representing Jane Sutton, if we can make some accommodations, we would like to help you catch the dealer named Low Ball's real killer," I said.

"Oh and what did you want in return?" he asked.

We know you can't make the conspiracy charge hold up even with good braces, so that's going away is obviously. We would like to plead to simple possession and receive court ordered rehab like thirty days."

?That works for me but only if you bring me the name of the shooter.?

"You are going to force me to hire an investigator that will cost the state more," I admitted.

"That's somebody else's budget, not mine," he said.

"Okay, I'll bring you the doer gift wrapped, but you have to get Jane bail and protection." I suggested.

"If we protect her, she won't need bail. We will have her released to you and you hire the protections and the state will pay. Just in case your protection is weak, I'm not taking a hit for her." Marco said.

"Crap Marco that is a lot more trouble than is in my contract with the state justice system," I said.

"I know but these days if you want to play, you have to get your hands dirty. Way too many lawyers coming out of law school. You are lucky you have connections," Marco said.

"Marco, if I were really connected, I wouldn have to deal with assholes like you," I said with a smile he couldn't see.

"I know and just for that I'm going to let you but me a drink at Club tonight," he said.

"I was there last night. Two night in a row would make me a regular and I'm not ready for that yet. Next time I see you there I'll buy, but only if this works out." I informed him.

"Lucy do you know any investigator bodyguard types?" he asked.

"No but I know a couple of cops who probably do," I admitted.

"Be careful most of those are pretty sleazy," he suggested.

"Yeah I can imagine. I'll try for the best of the lot," I said.

"Do that there are a few ex cops who aren't dirty, but not ones young enough or hard enough to do what you need. That is if you really intend to do the court appointed thing." Marco said.

"That's what I intend, so I guess I better start looking," I suggested.

"I wish I knew someone to recommend. Since I don't. before you make any commitments call me."

"I don't have much time. I want to get Jane out of jail to do that I need to get her to ID the dude who killed her dealer." I replied.

"I know but be as careful as you can," Marco suggested. "We like to outsource, but not if it gets our attorneys killed," he said.

"Not my favorite outcome either," I agreed.

He had been off the line over an hour when my dad called from prison. "Lucy, I am glad to hear that you are home."

"Have you turned over a new leaf?" I asked.

"What the phone call?" he asked.

"Yes, you never get to make calls to me," I suggested.

"Let's say one of the new guy's wife wanted him to stay healthy. She smuggled us a cell phone. It's just my turn honey," he said.

"Ah I see, so what is it you want me to do for you now daddy?" I asked.

"Give an ex con a job," he said.

"Daddy, I'm an officer of the court," I reminded him.

"Nothing dark in this honey. I got a friend getting out and he needs a job to stay out." he informed me.

"Why was he inside?" I asked.

"Drugs same as most of us, but he is going to stay clean I know it." Daddy said.

"Daddy, trust me nobody knows what a former drug addict will do. Besides I'm not the best employer for a reformed dealer." I said.

"He wasn't a dealer. He was a cop. Supposedly he was a damn good one till he got hooked on the dope."

"Daddy this is just too large a coincidence, How did you know I'm looking for an investigator and errand boy?" I asked.

"You got a new client over on the women's side. This place has better communications than you do on the outside. Not to mention the fact that we know exactly how the court system works, maybe better than you. To defend her you are going to have to get her to plead and that means she has to cooperate. If she cooperates you both need protection, and a first class errant boy, as you said."

"You are way to smart to be in prison," I said it with a smile only I could see.

"Yeah stop by tomorrow and I'll introduce him, All you have to do is sign off with the parole people and is yours. He has already been approved, just waiting for a sponsor."

"This is way too dangerous, but alright. I will come meet your man but only because I need help quick." I agreed.



-------

Chapter 17


How it got to be Saturday so quickly I had no idea. It also didn't matter. I had worked out a deal on the phone with McThrift auto rentals. I could rent any car they had on the lot for $20 a day plus gas. I didn't plan to rent a car except as a last resort. It should not come to that often. The kids loved to drive, their dad bought their cars, and I could go anywhere for a tank of gasoline, almost everybody won when they drove me around on the weekends.

Cindy loved to visit her Grandfather. Even with their families present inside visitors area, the men all loved to look at Cindy. It was also good for her ego. I had therefore not been at all surprised, when she volunteered to drive me to visit her grandfather. We arrived at the visiting area of the state prison closest to Avery at 10AM. We arrived actually ten minutes before the start of the 10AM visiting hours.

If my father had behaved the last week, he could stay until 2PM. Cindy and I had stopped along the way for a Fried Chicken Picnic lunch. Every restaurant in the area had their take out ready at 9AM. There was a large demand for it on visiting days at the prison. Having the state prison in the area was good for some businesses at least. Plus it provided a lot of jobs to would have been an even more depressed rural area without it.

The cardboard picnic basket was a cute touch that one restaurant added. Of course since they did Cindy and I stopped there for our takeout lunch. "I wonder if Grandpa really likes fried chicken, or would be happier with something else?" Cindy asked.

"Jack Daniels and a burrito," I suggested.

"You are kidding?" she asked.

"Honey your grandfather is all about image. He will tell you that illusion in prison is more important than reality." I suggested.

"Is that why he treats you like a girlfriend, rather than his daughter?" she asked.

"Yes, but he doesn't cross the line. He just plays to the crowd," I suggested hoping that she would believe me.

"And you let him french kiss you and massage you?" she asked.

"Yes, it mean nothing to me and it gives him status. I know it sounds nuts honey, but all that stuff is important in there. Prison has completely different rules from real life."

"What if he wanted to kiss me like that would you let him?" she asked.

"At your present age my job is to advise you and support your decisions, but in the end you have to make your own decisions now. You and I both know that you are going to do what you want regardless of what you dad and I want you to do."

"Did daddy even know that grandpa touched you like a lover?" Cindy asked.

"Wow that's quite a conclusion to jump to, Honey, since your dad and I split, I have had lovers, who were were less exciting than your father or your grandfather.

Your grand father wasn't a lover at all, and still he was better than some of those who thought they were." I said vaguely.

"Has grandpa ever made you orgasm, either himself or thinking about him while you masturbated?" Cindy asked.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Cindy. How dare you as me that, but the answer is of course not." I said angrily.

"Everyone says mothers and daughters need to be more honest. I was just trying to get us there," she informed me.

"I think I'll pass on that trip," I said. "You know I'm not a big believer in all that touchy feely shit," I said.

"Yeah, but we do need to talk about sex someday," she said.

"How about holding off till we are sitting around my house with a glass of wine. I will be happy to answer any question at the right time. This is not the right time honey."

"I don't know you always seem so serious when we are here," Cindy said.

This is kind of serious stuff. We are visiting my father in prison honey. It's pretty much as serious as it gets," I suggested.

"More than that, you are here to interview someone for a job," Cindy commented.

"True but I'm mostly doing it for daddy. I have no reason to expect that I will hire an ex con as an investigator. He is going to have way too many things going wrong in his life."

"You never know mom, you might just love him," she suggested.

"Yeah well I think I'll just keep my expectations low," I suggested. By that time we were passing into the dining hall that was used as a reception area. We would have to be outside before they began serving the prison's midday meal.

Once we were inside the room I recognized my dad sitting at a table with a couple of other men. The fact that he was sitting with other inmates meant nothing. Well, maybe it meant that he would feel me up to keep his reputation in tact.

Sure enough as soon as he saw me he kissed me with tongue. At first I was shocked and really upset by his kissing me so passionately. That had been several years before, but I probably should still be upset. However over the last few years I had come to accept it. I had accepted it even while I was still living with Cindy and Charlie's dad. It wasn't always just acting as I had told Cindy. I could tell that it was having and effect, as I felt his erection press against my belly while he kissed me. Just goes to show that biology is not to be denied. I'm not sure that he was so philosophical about it, but he surely came to the same conclusion as he ran his hands over my ass.

Cindy of course watched the whole things, as did his friend Marshall. "Lucy, this is Royce Marshall," daddy said it as he broke the passionate kiss. "You and Royce need to talk. Cindy and I can take a walk."

As you might expect taking a walk was difficult in a prison. Walking consisted of about a quarter mile around inside the chain link fence. The fence held the prisoners and their visitors in place while they chatted. Daddy and Cindy walked off leaving me alone with, the not at all what I expected, Royce Marshall.

"So Royce Daddy tells me you were a cop?" I asked. The very serious looking red haired man.

"Yes Ma'am, before I got involved with the dark side," he admitted. Confession was part of the 12 steps I was pretty sure.

"Would you mind telling me how that happened?" I asked.

"It was a temporary weakness on my part. I was working Narcotics undercover at the time. It happens to a lot more cops than you ever hear about. Most dope cops drift over the line, I just went too far over it. I got to be too much of a player on the other side. I'm not here because I took drugs, I'm here because I sold drugs and kept the money. I was living two lives for a while. It just caught up to me."

"Royce, I know my dad. I love him and he loves me, but we both know he will take advantage of everyone. So what's his angle here?" I asked.

"He said when you asked that, I was to say, 'Your dad promises it won't bite you on the ass, and to add that you owe him'." He looked at me and smiled. "I promise you that what I do won't bite you on the ass either. Not only that I will do the things you need done ahead of anything I do for anyone else."

"That's good and I promise you and you can pass this along to daddy. If I find you doing anything illegal, I will turn your ass in. If I find you doing anything putting me or my family in danger, I will kill your ass if I have to." That's when I smiled at him.

"Yes Ma'am, I had already heard that about you," he said.

"Do you have a place to live?" I asked.

"I'm going to live with my sister, but I am open to better offers," he said. Royce might not have been when he checked into the prison, but at that moment he was a trim man in his early thirties or late twenties. He was healthy looking, which he most likely would not have been after any time working undercover. So he was attractive enough, but I was not interested in any employee lovers. Even if they seemed to be the most serene person I had ever come into contact with.

"No better offers, but I will investigate her as well as your case files before I make a decision," I explained.

"I know you have a lot to consider. I just hope you decide to give me a chance. I need a job to get out of here, and working for you would be better than stocking shelves at Walmart."

"I'm not so sure but we will see. You do know I can't pay a lot right now. I promise the pay will improve as my business improves," I informed him. "That is if I even hire you." I looked up to see daddy and Cindy being let into the fenced in area. They had been somewhere else on the prison campus while Royce and I talked.

While Royce and I talked, daddy approached one of the younger guards. Daddy had some pull inside, because he still had pull outside. He had a network of people like me who did him favors. He just moved those players around until he got what he needed to encourage a guard to cooperate with him. That morning he wanted some alone time with his granddaughter.

The guard passed them through the gate by the prison laundry. Since it did not operate on weekends the building would be empty except for the walking guards rounds every hour. Daddy knew the walking guards schedule, of course, every con did.

As soon as he closed the door behind them he turned Cindy to him. "Are you sure you want to do this," he asked her.

She could only nod, she did not trust herself to speak. Instead of any words she slipped to her knees in front of him. Cindy opened her grandfather's zipper and took his semi erect penis in her hand. She stroked it lovingly, then when it began to rise, she kissed the head of his cock.

After several kisses he moaned and she instinctively knew that it was time for her suck it. She opened her mouth fully to it. In reply her grandfather pushed his penis firmly into her young tender mouth.

Her mouth was hot and wet and more active than any pussy would be. She used her tongue and the suction of her mouth to create feeling that were impossible for any other body part to duplicate. Her grandfather stroked her mouth knowing exactly who's mouth he was fucking. He tried to insert his cock into her throat but she gagged. It was not unexpected for her to do that. If it truly was her first time as she said it was.

It was at that point when her grandfather had to choose. He could either back off and be a gentle and appreciative lover, or he could force her to take him into her throat and become something entirely different. As was his nature he held her head and forced his penis deep into her throat in one strong move. She choked and gagged and even threw up when he removed his cock from her throat.

What she did after she threw up would tell a lot about Cindy, he knew. "Are you ready?" he asked her even before she finished completely.

Her answer was to turn back to him and take his cock into her mouth again. He stroked the inside of her mouth until he was on the verge of an orgasm, then forced his cock into her throat just enough to force her to swallow his cum. "Good girl," he said as he recovered.

They left the prison laundry quickly since the guard was due any minute. Lucy caught his eye when he entered the visitor's picnic area. He knew that she knew what he had just done. What she would do about it he didn't have any idea.

I had no idea what my father had planned for Cindy and I was pissed. I had no intention of reporting them, since it was not only him but also Cindy at risk. I was pissed and I intended that he know.

"How could you fucking do that," I asked.

"Lucy you know who and what I am. You had to know that someday it would happen or something like it. She had the opportunity to say no just as you did," he said as he turned and walked away.



-------

Chapter 18


"Do we need to talk about what happened?" I asked as Cindy drove us home.

"Mom, he isn't the first man to take me into the laundry," she said.

"I hope he is the first relative," I suggested.

"He is, but he really isn't a relative in the sense you think of a father daughter kind of thing. There was no way he could pressure me or anything, so in that sense he was just an older man." She paused a long moment with her eyes still on the road, then continued. "He was the oldest and the one who cared the least about how I felt about it all," she informed me.

"Yeah," I said. I figured that explained it all. Grandpa Charlie was just Grandpa Charlie. He was kind of like that 'You knowed I was a snake when you too me in thing.'

When we got back to my place Cindy took another shower. I had kept plenty of her clothes. Even if she didn't have her own room, she had her own portion of my walk in closet.

"So you want to hang out and go to dinner later?" I asked.

"I can't I have a date," she informed me.

"Oh I see, do you need anything?" I asked. I was a little disappointed and it showed.

"Nope, dad is taking care of all our money needs and stuff." She noticed my disappointment again. "Don't let it bother you, he can afford it and you can't right now. We both understand that, it doesn't mean we love you any less. We both still want to spend time with you, but we are growing up."

"Yeah, I know you are growing up. Just don't leave me out completely. Tell Charlie that I said that as well," I demanded.

"Right, and he is going to stop dating so he can spend time with you. Men are so selfish, that isn't going to happen, That is unless you want to join a threesome," she said.

"When did you get such a potty mouth?" I asked.

"College does that, even if you are upper middle class and cute," she said grinning.

"Well I don't like it," I replied. After a moment I added, "but it isn't the end of the world."

"Neither was giving a powerful older man a little head," she informed me smiling.

"Neither was that," I admitted. We did hang out for a couple of more hours before her date came to pick her up. The kid was more or less her own age. For some reason they left her car in my parking lot. I expect it was because she was spending the night with him somewhere and didn't want her dad to know. Hell I didn't really want to know either. I was learning far more about Cindy than I wanted to know.

I forced Cindy from my mind, while I went to work on a records check of Royce Marshall's sister Loretta. It took me an hour to find out the most rudimentary things about her.

Loretta lived in the small house that seemed to have belonged to their parents, who had both recently passed away. That seemed most likely since they were both named on the deed. There was a small mortgage on the house. The deed of trust was for only a few thousand dollars. Most likely they had inherited some debt along with the house.

The best I could tell without slippers on the ground asking, Loretta was a single mom who may or may not have ever been married. Her one child was a registered first grader in the public school system. On her facebook profile she listed herself as a hairstylist. That could give her anything from a minimum wage, to a six figure income. Most likely somewhere in the lower end of that range.

I couldn't get her bank statement but I could get her dept load. Her debt ratio wasn't catastrophic, but she could use her brother Royce's income for sure. In order for me to qualify as a sponsor for Royce, I had to provide him with a steady job. I could not simply hire him on an as needed basis. I was going to have to find a way to manage him profitably like it or not. As a matter of fact I didn't like it, but that didn't make much difference.

I wrote the employment offer to the parole board in a letter form. My offer to Royce was based on his working forty hours a week at ten dollars an hour and a two week unpaid vacation. It was a take or leave it offer. I did not plan to negotiate with him in anyway.

I picked up my ringing smart phone. "Hello Jeff," I said into it.

"Cindy tells me you are going back into practice, good for you. She also tells me it is criminal, but not in competition to me and dad." he said.

"Jeff, I don't plan to compete with you guys. I doubt that I could anyway. My plan is to run a one lawyer office, but with a paralegal staff to handle the shit work."

"An ex-con for an investigator doesn't sound like a good start at staffing," he said.

"Thank you so much for the unsolicited advice," I suggested lightly.

"Come on Lucy don't be like that," he said.

"Jeff you make it hard to be any other way. I know you didn't call to chat about my future what can I do for you?" I asked. I really expected it to be about Cindy or Charlie.

"You do remember my assistant Sam," Jeff asked.

"You mean your legal secretary Sam the homosexual male?" I asked. I loved that Jeff had hired a homosexual without knowing it. After he had him on board he couldn't seem to get rid of him.

"Yeah well Sam's little boy crush on me has gotten to be a problem," he said.

"So you have a new girlfriend and Sam doesn't approve. You probably should listen to him," I suggested happily. Okay I admit, I can be a bitch given the chance.

"Look if I pay half his salary will you hire him. He can do a hell of a job for you and as a start up you could never afford anyone as competent."

"What about his contacts?" I asked.

"I will be paying half his salary to keep him from raiding our clients. If he books new ones from his contacts here, that's fair game, but he can't bring any." Jeff said firmly.

"Jeff some of your clients may just prefer to deal with me," I suggested.

"Yeah, as long as it isn't to flagrant, I can convince daddy not to sweat it," he said.

"If its too obvious, I will give you the profit and just take it for the expenses and a small salary kind of fee. How is that?" I asked.

"Like you are going to do with the state anyway?" he asked.

"Trust me anyone that comes from your office won't be indigent, but I will take it for a small fee yes plus expenses. We don't even know Sam wants to come work for me."

"Are you kidding? Sam loves you and right now he is pissed at me. Call and make him an offer on Monday, and I would bet that I have his resignation in an hour."

"Sam already has it ready. He had one typed and ready to hand in while I was working there," I suggested.

"And you think I didn't know that. So you up for it?" he asked.

"Of course where else am I going to get that kind of experience for that kind of money. You work out the accounting." I demanded.

"If you use our old firm, I can do that no sweat," he suggested.

"I don't have anyone so that works for me." I admitted.

For the next two weeks people worked out notices or waited for release from prison on parole. I cleaned the office and bought office supplies. I expected the place to be ready to run on day one.

I didn't even have the staff a few days later, when the Avery police agreed to the Jane deal. I explained that my investigator wouldn't be on board until the Monday nearly a week away. It didn't help much. They wanted Jane on the street right away.

With the cops and the DA on my ass, I agreed to babysit her myself. I could have Sam do it, if I could get him away from the Avery clan. There shouldn't be a problem except that the old man was being a prick.

"Harold it's me Lucy," I said when I got him on his private line.

"Lucy, I have been hearing terrifying things about you," he said honestly.

"Don't believe them Harold. Harold I have a real problem. I am sure Jeff explained about Sam?" I asked.

"Yes he did and I approved. He could go to some other law firm and steal lots of our clients. He knows where lots of bodies are buried." Harold was being pretty honest for a change.

"I have a problem and I need him to start right away. He is on a two week notice and I need him now," I said.

"Lucy, you know I'm a stickler for people keeping their word. Sam told us he would stay two weeks and I expect him to do just that." he said.

"So you are telling me there is no price I can pay for his freedom?" I asked.

"Since you and Jeff are no longer married, we could have dinner together," he suggested.

"And you think Jeff wouldn't mind that?" I asked.

"Well honestly Lucy, I didn't plan to tell him. I don't know the names of the women he dates," Harold informed me.

"I have serious doubts that he is going to date his mother," I said.

"There is always Edith," Harold said.

"You are still married to Edith, who is young enough for Jeff I might add," I said.

"She might be a little too young for Jeff," Harold said with a laugh.

"Then why date me? I'm ten years older than Edith at least."

"True, but you know you always want the things that you are not supposed to have," he said.

"Harold, only people like you think that way," I said but I thought, You and my own father. He didn't realize how much he and my dad had in common.

"Well it's up to you dear," he said. He didn't realize how over a barrel I was. I had to take custody of Jane Marshal on Monday of the next week. It was one full week sooner than I had anticipated. My bad ass body guard wouldn't be free for another week, so I had to have someone to help me manage the situation.

"If I agree to this ridiculous date, tell me what you have in mind." I demanded.

"I heard that you weren't driving these days, so we will have to meet somewhere close to your condo. You know the one we paid for," he suggested.

"Harold, being a prick isn't going to help you get what you want," I suggested to him.

"Right, you can leave your toy in the parking lot of a supermarket. From there we can go to dinner and the next morning I will drop you at the bike." he suggested.

"Do I at least get take out before and breakfast after?" I asked angrily.

"Sure, but don't get snippy this is business. You were always one of my best negotiators," he said.

"Alright but I need Sam on Monday. I'll work out the details with him and you work out the 'date' details." I suggested.



-------

Chapter 19


I thought about Harold and his attempt to force me to prostitute myself and decided that there were things I could do to fight back. It would not be like me at all to just lay down and spread my legs. Then he had to know that and be expecting something more from me. More not in a good way.

It was so simple to record an intimate encounter, even if only with a cell phone, I expected Harold to take precautions. In his circle screwing your son's ex-wife was probably considered a coup, but it wouldn't be with all his clients. Me accusing him was one thing, me producing a sex tape, was something different all together.

Simple normal precautions would suggest he not plan to do it at my place. There were way too many things that could happen totally randomly. Everything from Jeff dropping off the kids, to me recording the encounter in living color and HD. I had to laugh at the HD recording idea. It was by far my preference. and also the hardest to arrange.

With that in mind, I rode my trike to the local hometown radio shack type store. I figured I would need one eventually for the business, so I bought the small audio/video recording studio, in a shoe box. Literally, it was housed in a shoe box disguised package.

It was a modular unit. Home base was the recording unit itself. It either ran on the car's battery system, an ac adapter, or a self contained battery for short term use. The recording unit could pick up the signal from the wireless camera or microphone about a city block, the salesman informed me. To prove the point he set it up with me watching, then handed me the camera to walk to the corner. The wireless camera was disguised as a cell phone. It had a much better lens and microphone, I had been told, and it was not tied to any wireless system except the one from the base unit.

While on my walk about I taped the traffic mostly, but also some of the other pedestrians. I shot a couple of license plates just to test the camera's detail.

When I got back to the store we reviewed the digital file. To save recording space on the disk the camera shot in a series of still frame with a tenth of a second between them. That seemed satisfactory. It was also my first choice, because in that mode I could operate the base unit from the built in lithium battery option. In that mode I just left the base unit somewhere turned an and it would operate on its own internal power for a couple of hours. That seemed like enough time. The base unit was no larger than a Kleenex box. That seemed like a good disguise for it, if I needed to take it along in an over sized handbag. I bought the whole outfit and a couple of spare shells for the wireless camera. I had one that looked like a belt buckle. That one had all kinds of possibilities. More likely things for Royce than me, but one never knows.

I played with it all a full day before I heard from Harold. "I have decided to have our little date on the pontoon boot. You know where I keep it, so you can just meet me there.

"Since I don't want to ride the trike after dark, I think I'll rent a car. So don't be surprised to see me pull up in a strange car." I said.

"Do you want me to pick you up somewhere?" he asked.

"No as soon as you feel you got your bribe, I want to leave. Harold this is not love, it's a business transaction." I said.

"Don't be so clinical it might blossom," he suggested.

"God I hope you believe that," I said laughing at him not so kindly.

"Well there was hope till you laughed," he said with a laugh of his own. "Not much, even then, I admit."

As soon as we got off the phone, I called Sam. "Sam it's me Lucy. I have a huge favor to ask of you. I mean it is huge."

"With this build up it better come with a raise," he said laughing.

"No raise just fun, I hope. Remember me telling you I had an investigator/gopher on the way to join us. He was supposed to start a week from Monday, just like you. Well he is on time but Jane our ward is a week early. I have to take possession of her this Monday not the next one.

So I got Harold and Jeff to let me have you a week early, if you are willing. You will have her in the office all day, and I will have her at my house after work. At least until she testifies. Do you think, you could do that for me?"

"Do I get a gun and all that?" he asked.

Sam, I'll get you a grenade launcher, if you want," I said.

"Lucy you got a deal honey. I am so pissed at these guys, I might just leave now." he said.

"That's up to you guys. It sure as hell would be okay with me," I admitted.

After I broke the connection with Sam, I called the local hometown car rental agency and largest used car dealer. "Hey is the boss there," I asked the receptionist.

"One moment please," she said putting me on hold. For a couple of minutes I listened to music that was before my time even.

"This is Danny can I help you?" he asked.

"Danny it's Lucy Avery. You and I have a deal for me to rent cars from you. I need one tomorrow." I said it curious to see how it was really going to work, since it had all been theoretical up to that point.

"Sure Lucy it's our standard contract business rental. The rental is in your company name for both our accountant's convenience Just come down and pick out anything you take a fancy to, with the exception of a super cars. We have never had one used on the lot anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. We can have it serviced and ready for pick up first thing in the morning."

"I prefer a noon to noon rental," I admitted.

"That's fine it's any 24hours of your choice," he said. It all sounded the same as when we made the deal the previous week.

I managed to keep busy around the office ordering things on line until 3PM. At three I went down to the car lot to choose my ride for the next day.

"Hi I'm Terry," the clerk behind the counter explained.

"I'm Lucy and here to pick out a rental car for tomorrow," I informed her.

"Yes Danny said you would be in this afternoon. So do you need a guide or do you want to just wander around?" she asked.

"I can pick out something alone and come tell you which one," I suggested. That's how I happened to find myself standing beside a one year old medium blue Chrysler PT cruiser. I liked the size. I liked the color. I didn't want to own it, but I thought it might do for the one night stand meeting with Harold. They agreed to remove the rear seat and store it at the dealership over night, so that I could haul some trash to Goodwill Saturday afternoon. It wasn't really trash, as much as clothes that I no longer wore. Some were things the kids didn't want anymore as well.

It seemed like a good time to get their junk out of my condo as well I could always use the extra space. If I picked the car up at none tomorrow, I would have time to install the base for my video system as well. Installing it was no more than plugging it up and making sure that it was powered up with the car not running. Then I just needed to toss a jacket or something similar over it.

Friday night Charlie came over to the condo for the evening. We took his car and went for pizza. We were sitting at a table with a large junk pizza in the middle of the table. There was a bottle of wine for me and a big cola for Charlie as well, when a young man approached.

"Charlie hows it going man. You home for the summer?" the young man asked.

"Yeah, got in last week. How about you James, you still at the community college?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, you know me trying to keep the debt load down. Times are a little tough at home right now." the young man said. "So who's the hot chick?"

"Sorry, James this is Lucy she is a friend," Charlie said.

"Hi Lucy, I had no idea Charlie could score such a hot Milf," he commented.

I was a little surprised, but I decided to go along anyway. "You would be surprised at all the things Charlie can score," I said with a big smile.

"It sure seems that way, well I need to be moving on. Just stopped to pick up take out for my mom and aunt." James said.

After he had gone I said to Charlie, "Should I ask why you didn't introduce me as your mother?"

"No, you are better for my reputation as my date," he replied. "Not to mention it is a nice illusion for me."

"Then Charlie, I will be your date anytime you like," I agreed.

"Good," he said happily.

Maybe it was because my date with Harold was weighing heavily on my mind, or because I knew that soon I would be forced to stay completely sober and totally in control for a while. Whatever the reason, I drank the half bottle of cheap pizza pit wine before the pizza was finished.

"You are a bit tipsy mom," Charlie said to me on the way to the car.

"Then it is a good thing that you are driving instead of me," I suggested/

"I have never seen you even a little drunk," he suggested.

"Well honey, a little drunk is all you are seeing me now," I admitted

We were back in the condo when he decided that he might want to spend the night after all. I would have been thrilled even sober. I was just fuzzy enough to be elated.

"So you want to watch this new fangled tv thing you guys conned me into buying. I have no idea how it works," I said not really all that concerned. I was really just trying to keep him entertained. Yeah I wanted to make a good impression on my son. God that sounds so pathetic.

"Mom these things are so simple," With that he began a lesson in how to use one of those streaming web sites on my medium sized flat screen. I only let them talk me into it because it was a small monthly tv fee and a direct debit for any movies I downloaded. The movies I was pretty sure would be solely for the kids.

I could stream real time tv shows and download or stream them from the site's archives. It worked pretty well for the streaming and tv shows from the day or so before. I usually streamed those from the site of the show not bothering with the download site.

"Okay, do you have it now?" he asked.

"I think so," I suggested.

"Why don't you download something for us to watch?"

"You pick it," I demanded.

"Bobby and Family," he suggested.

"Charlie that is x rated," I said flatly.

"Mom, I'm old enough. Tonight you are my date, not my mom, remember." he said smiling.

"Only to a point, but I guess we can stretch the point a little," I agreed. "But Charlie only a little okay?" I asked.

"Okay mom, just a little at a time," with that we both laughed and I instantly regretted it.



-------

Chapter 20


I went to the kitchen to make coffee while Charlie cued the movie. When I got back, I was glad to see that low budget movies had not improved. Bobby was a pot smoking and selling kid, who got kicked out of college. When he got home, he found that he had a source for the pot, but no customers.

For the next 90 or so minutes I watched his mother, who was the owner of more silicone products than a tire store, and his sister try to help Charlie find his way in the world. I would comment on how bad the actors were, if I didn't feel really bad calling those people actors.

The woman who played the fifty year old mother had a bad cosmetic surgery addiction, in addiction to her supposed pot addiction. The pot could be faked, but not those pumped up boobs, and a faced stretched tighter than a bicycle inner tube.

When Bobby's mom caught him smoking pot, he agreed to give her some to try. After all, if she was going to lecture him on the evils of smoke, she should at least know what she was talking about. It was at that point that I saw Mom's boobs for the first time. They were truly something men might lust after, but no sane woman would.

"Well her boobs aren't too bad for an old lady I guess," Charlie said.

"Charlie honey, those are not boobs. Those are jelly filled balloons under her skin." I said.

"So, do all natural women your age have saggy boobs?" he asked.

"Some more than others but all women show the effects of gravity, even those with implants do eventually." I said.

"So why don't you sag?" he asked.

"I do sag Charlie. I wear strong bras to hide it. Sometimes push up bras help as well, but I don't sag as badly as some women. That's because my breasts are small." I explained.

"How small?" he asked.

"36B, it's not terribly small but far from the size desired most by men in surveys." I said,

"Are you wearing a bra now?" he asked

"Of course I am honey," I replied.

"What kind?" he asked

"A strong rear hook model. They are the most common. At least the most purchased and worn in this country, I think." I explained. I really was trying to school him.

"So show me," he demanded.

"Show you what?" I asked honestly feeling a little lost in the conversation suddenly.

"Show me the world's most common bra please. Just so I will recognizes it when I see it again," he said smiling broadly.

"You are totally insane," I said with my eyes on the old movie actress's pumped up boobs. She wasn't just a fake, she was a bad fake in every way it seemed...

"Come on mom, do you want me to think all you older women look like Bobby's mom?" he asked it all smarmy.

"Of course not," I suggested.

"Then just show me your industrial strength bra," he said. "What's the harm in that?"

"There is no harm," I answered. I leaned forward and lifted the knit top over my head. It left me sitting in jeans and a strong white rear clasp bra. I had more on than I had most of the nights I was on the road so I didn't see anything wrong in it. I would consider the exchange of a soft thin tee for the bra a fairly even swap, but the jeans for panties was a definite exposure of more skin in panties.

"Well you are right your boobs are smaller than most of the girls at school. Some of them might be enhancing them one way or another though," Charlie suggested.

"Some might, be but I really am small honey," I said.

"This conversation is a lot more interesting than the movie, but I do like having the movie running in the background," Charlie suggested.

"I can understand you feeling that way, porn and a real woman with her top off sounds like a college boy's dream date," I suggested.

"Well you did say you would be my date," he laughed again.

"Yes, but I didn't say I would be a good date," I admitted.

"You are promising date," he said laughing.

"Are you saying I'm a tease?" I asked faking indigence.

"That remains to be seen." When he looked at me he was smiling but not with any humor. I had just enough to drink, so that I missed the look of the predator in his eye. It wasn't the kind of look to send me running anyway. It was just the kind of look that would have told me to stop drinking and pay more attention to the vibe I was giving off. In short it was more my dad's look than his dad's.

"So, I see you have lost some weight on your road trip," he commented.

"Yes, I lost over twenty pounds and even a couple more since I got home," I suggested.

"Good, you needed it," he said without anything to soften his words.

"Well thanks for noticing anyway," I suggested in a somewhat disappointed tone.

"So do men stare at you more now?" he asked.

"Frankly no more than usual, which wasn't much," I replied.

"I would stare at you, if I met you out in a bar," he said.

"Charlie you are too young for clubs," I informed him.

"Sure," he replied. The sarcasm was dripping from his voice.

"At least tell me you don't hit on women my age," I demanded.

"Wouldn't you rather have the truth?" he asked with that grownup look he had been flashing at me.

"Ordinarily yes, but in this case, I not sure," I suggested.

"One of my friends told me that women your age were harder to pick up cold, but they were much easier to score," he informed me.

"You are going to have to explain that one," I said.

If I met a woman like you at say a wedding, I would expect it to be very hard or impossible to pick you up. But if I did, the chances of having sex with her would be twice those of a stranger my own age," he explained.

"Now explain how you know those figures are true," I demanded.

"Can we agree there is no such thing as an average woman?" he asked smiling dangerously at me.

"Not an average anything I think," I agreed.

"Let's see if we can agree that a 40 year old woman in a college bar is more likely to be into college men, than say that mythical wedding guest?" he asked.

"Okay that part of your equation I can go along with," I admitted.

"I call it situational selection. If I am in a college bar, and I see a middle aged woman, the odds are she is looking for someone like me, so I give it a try. Odds are also sex is less dramatic, but just as pleasurable," he inserted.

"Okay I can see your point, even if I'm not sure of the numbers. So how about the wedding guest?"

"Now don't freak out, but I see her as you. You go to a wedding, and for one reason or another you are insecure. You have been kicked around some so you are the wounded bird. If I can convince you that I'm genuine, and worth the effort, you will be a great lover I'm sure."

He made me a little uncomfortable, but I tried not to show it. "Well that was quite educational," I admitted.

"Would you fall for something like that?" he asked.

"I don't know," I answered honestly.

"Sure you do, you just don't want to answer me. It's okay I under stand." He paused a long moment then asked, "Would you ever consider doing something special just for me."

"Whoa," I said readying myself for the worst case scenario. I had been having a sort of adult chat with my college age son. Which meant a sex chat with my horny son, which would surely offend some people. It would have offended me a couple of hours before probably, I thought.

"Nothing like that," he said no doubt picking up on my concern. "What I was wondering is if you would prove to me that you see me as an adult, not a child. I am an adult you know."

"Charlie, I don't know why but this conversation is turning a little worrisome," I admitted. "I will make you a deal. I will not be offended by what you ask, if you promise to not be offended by my answer."

"There is no reason that either of us would be upset. All I was wondering was if you would dress for me like you would a date. I mean around the house not outside." He asked it with a boyish smile.

"That depends on how your dates dress for you around the house," I said.

"The last woman like you, that I dated, wore a lot of soft knit tops. Pretty much like you do, but, when I came over, she didn't wear brassieres. She also did not wear much else. The knit top and small panties were pretty much all she wore." he informed me. Then he waited for my response.

"Charlie, that is a little to close to that line for me," I said. "I am truly sorry." I found that I was sorry,

"I understand. It is just something that would make me happy. Knowing that you saw me as an adult, an intellectual equal of sorts, and that you loved me so much that you were willing to be a little embarrassed to make me happy would be quite a pleasant thing." He added.

He paused a long moment and believe it or not I felt guilty. Now that was truly stupid of me. Then he looked at me again and added, "Please."

"Charlie, if I do this, there is nothing more, you do understand that?" I demanded.

"Yes mom, I do understand," he replied.

I stood and walked to the walk in closet, I know it was sick, and crazy as well, but I pulled a red soft tee shirt from one of my drawers. Then I removed my jeans and bra. I stood in my panties to take a look at myself in the mirror. I found that my panties were wet and see through. I had felt all along that it was too exciting and it seemed that I had the proof. I knew that I needed to redress and get rid of Charlie, but I didn't. Instead I went back outside in a red tee and a dry, white pair of panties.

"Very sexy," he said.

"I'm not sure that is the kind of thing we should be saying to each other," I suggested,

"It's just words, and words can't really hurt you. You and I both know that we can take them back anytime we want. Words work differently for people who are lawyers or the children of lawyers," he informed me.

"Alright then just words," I replied fixing myself another glass of wine. "What words do you have in mind?"

"Do you shave your pussy?" he asked.

I had to give it a lot of thought before I answered, "No I don't."

"You should, I would like that," he said seriously.

"This isn't supposed to get this serious," I said.

"I never agreed to that," he said. Then he just stood there staring at me. After some time passed he moved to sit on the sofa then asked, "Did you realize that your nipples are hard and you have a wet spot."

"I'm not surprised," I answered quietly.

:I'm a little surprised, that you aren't surprised," he said,

"So am I," I replied.

He paused a few moments then said, "Why don't you move over and sit beside me?"

"Bad idea Charlie, I'm good right here," I said.

"But I'm not good with you way over there, You need to be here, so that I can reach you, and you can reach me. If it goes that way. One never knows." He said,

It took me a long time but in the end I went to my bedroom and locked the door, I was reasonably sure that I had made a mistake and that I would not be able to just say do over.



-------

Chapter 21


"So why are you renting a car?" Charlie asked.

"I want to carry some things to Goodwill, and I think I want to go out to a club tonight," I said enjoying the look of loss on his face. No one, not even my son, was going to get away with thinking me predictable. He would just have to figure how to deal with me, if he wanted to play in the adult arena.

After he left me at the rental/dealership's showroom, I went inside to find my cruiser waiting for me. They had even remembered to take the rear seat out. It was a good thing, since I had things to do. I made quick work of installing the base station for my audio video production unit.

Since I was pretty sure that I would be naked a lot of the time, I skipped right over trying to hide the camera in my outfit. I used one of the covers to make it a very gaudy clasp for the purse that came with it. I planned to hang it over something in the bedroom. I had been in the house boat a few times with Jeff, so I had an idea what to expect.

After I had the car rigged, I took it for a spin. I dropped the items at Goodwill, then went home to watch the people who took them from me. I also went to the grocery store in the rental car, so I got a view of the inside of a chain grocery store.

The days were getting much longer and Harold didn't want me to be recognized, so I was told to show up at 9PM. I decided to have dinner alone before I showed up at his door. There had been no mention of dinner when he called me. I assumed he didn't want to be seen with me, so it was pizza delivery or nothing. Ah the life of a cheap whore, I thought with a giggle.

Harold's house boat was his total fantasy world. He told himself that he was an outdoors man. That he hunted from it in the winter and fished in the summer. The truth was that if he went there at all, it was to get drunk and try to get laid. The boat did have a cool name though. It was registered as 'Take the Fifth." All things considered it was an appropriate name.

When I arrived in the rented blue cruiser, Harold's Mercedes was already parked at the end of the dirt driveway which lead from the quiet road to the even more quiet river landing. The wooden river landing was the only thing on the property. I was surprised that in the twenty or more years he owned the place, Harold hadn't gone for a little more classy toy. If I was going to trap lovers, I would at least build something with a little character. 'Take the Fifth' had been a dump as long as I had known Harold and Jeff. The toilet was even a chemical thing setup on shore so that it would be serviced by some contractor without having access to the boat.

I parked my car then walked out onto the dock. I had not been able to avoid noticing that the lights in the boat were on. That pretty much made it a certainty that Harold was on board and expected to get laid. Since I was there, it was pretty obvious that I was part of the plan. How far I went along with it was another issue completely.

"Ahoy on board," I shouted from the pier. I always wanted to say that. I told myself quietly.

"Hello, so come aboard," Harold said quietly. I was pretty sure there would be no one for a lot of miles, but Harold was almost whispering. Harold was nervous and that played right into my hands.

"I would like to check you for microphones," he insisted. Harold might be a smart lawyer but he was way behind the times. He could search all he wanted, but he was very unlikely to find the button audio and video transmitter on my purse. There were no recorders of any kind on me. Just the microphone and camera that were extremely well hidden.

After he finished looking me over he asked, "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure Harold why not?" I replied. "I thought you and Jeff had discussed t his and he was cool with it."

"What makes you think we didn't and he isn't?" Harold asked.

"Harold I have known you almost twenty years. This is not cool Harold. This is Harold the little boy with his hand in the cookie jar." I said,

"You always could read us all. It's why you were the best negotiator I ever had," he said.

"So Jeff has no idea you plan to screw him, as well as his wife, all in one move?" I asked.

"Ex wife," he admitted. "I never discussed it with Jeff, because I assumed that since he has a new lady in his life he won't mind you doing the same."

"Except he isn't screwing my mom," I said smiling.

"Technicality," Harold said.

"Right, That's why we are on this dump instead of a first rate hotel," I said.

"Got me again, Since I seem to have no secrets from you, are you ready?" He asked.

"Harold it's your party, I'm just the entertainment," I said it smiling,

"Just to see if you are going to play or have some other agenda, how about taking your clothes off," Harold suggested.

"No problem," I said as I began to remove the white cotton button up blouse. I did it ever so slowly. It wasn't about being a tease, it was about being careful that Harold didn't catch on to any of it. Under the white cotton blouse I wore another industrial strength bra. I did not have large breast but I didn't like them sagging any more than was necessary.

After the blouse I removed my fifty dollar jeans. Once they were gone I stood in the same kind of panties as the night before, also a similar brazier, but in addition I wore white crew socks like a teenage girl. Just part of my style, I told myself.

"Do you like to suck cock." Harold asked without any buildup.

"Obviously Jeff never discussed our sex life with you. If he had you would know that I never did that while we were married. To be honest I have done it a few times since the separation, but I really do not like it. But then this isn't about me is it?" I asked.

"I guess not," he admitted. " I guess what I'm really asking is will you suck my dick?"

"At least you were able to come right out with it. These days I am willing yes," I replied.

"Then let's see how good you are at it," he said looking down at himself.

I completed the removal of my clothes before I went to my knees in front of him. I was able to position my purse so that my back was to it. Harold however was a full face view. It had no closeup but I was sure that everyone who saw the picture could pick him out of a lineup,

I licked and sucked on his herbal tasting penis until I felt it begin to get rock hard. I continued to suck on it and he finally began to move in my mouth. He helped me by stroking my mouth like he would my vagina given the chance. I could feel him stiffen and pick up speed and knew what to expect. Just before he flooded my mouth with warm gritty cum, he got completely stiff. However when he began to ejaculate his knees got weak I think.

"So how was fucking your daughter in law's mouth?" I asked. If he had his lawyer radar on, he would have known that it was not something I would ordinarily ask. But he had his horny old man radar turned on instead.

"You might not be experienced, but it was the best damn blowjob I ever had," he said.

"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you feel that you got fair compensation for your continued co operation with my new practice. Including the recommendation of clients to me." I said. I planned to hold the reason for that statement until I reviewed the file. Just in case I needed more evidence.

"You certainly don't think one blow job is payment for an ongoing relationship?" he asked.

"I don't know is it?" I asked.

"Oh no my dear, this is just the beginning," he informed me.

"Well it is the payment I promised for allowing Sam to start early and thats all I need right now, so I will be leaving. I do hope you enjoyed it Harold, because I didn't," With those words I turned and picked up my clothes and began to dress with my back to him. Once I had all my clothes on, I walked out the door.

I didn't stop the recording until I got home. Since my purse sat on the floor pointed at the back of the driver's seat, the last twenty minutes was that single image. There were however 22 minutes of me on my knees ministering to Harold's cock. Harold wasn't very large but even so it could be reasonably classified senior citizen pornography. I didn't even have to blank out my face or enhance his face, it was all perfect. He could cry altered all he wanted, it was him and we both knew it. The audio track made it obvious that it was coerced. The audio also made it obvious that he had more plans for me going forward. All in all it was one damning file. Actually it wouldn't do either of our reputations any good. He just had more to lose than me.

Once I got through with my review, I added the electronic lock. Once that lock was installed at the end of the thumb drive it was supposed to be impossible to reenter it. Not only did I do that I took the thumb drive and put it into an envelope and dropped it at the box intside the United States Post Office. Those seals an dates were impressive to juries.

You wanted to show a jury not that it was impossible to alter the file just that it was very unlikely to have happened. I had gone to enough trouble to make it appear unlikely that I had done so. The chain of custody was this. From me a lawyer not a computer geek. The locked file made on Saturday night, when it was unlikely that I had a computer expert standing by to alter the file, to my home where it was locked. The the electronically locked thumb drive was put into a heavy envelope and sealed. That envelope was dropped into a post office box inside the local post office where it sat until Monday morning. It would then be processed stamped and returned to me. I would put it in the company's bank box Where it would reside until I needed it. When I did, I would have it opened in front of a court appointed monitor. We would then give physical custody of it to the monitor.

In other words the idea was to have the asshole's balls in a vice. Harold had pressured me for the last time. He was going to cooperate with me or he was going to explain to the world why he broke up his own son's marriage because even though it was bullshit the law community would assume it was an ongoing thing with us. They would also assume that I just got tired of it and decided to get some proof before I ended the affair. Just to keep the old pirate in line.

Harold might not have physically attacked me before, but there had been a hostile work environment for years. It was the reason I was not at all surprised when Harold proposed the quid pro quo arrangement. We both got what we wanted, but it was just not going to happen again. Harold was going to stay on the giving end, because I would use the file and destroy him, if possible. It was unlikely, but he would at the very least be doing some serious damage control for years. Even that would be a victory.



-------

Chapter 22


It was after midnight when I got home from Harold's house boat. I took a shower and gargled with some heavy alcohol based mouth wash. Actually I gargled in the shower and spit the rinse into the water where I stood. I wanted to get it all done as quickly as possible, and heck it might kill any foot odor not that I noticed any.

I was in bed and even asleep by 2AM. I reviewed my plan for Harold should he make any more demands. When I felt as though I had everything worked out, I flipped the switch in my brain and fell quickly asleep. Harold was gone completely.

I called Cindy's cell phone Sunday afternoon. I figured she and her brother would be up and moving by 1PM. "So Cindy do you want to meet me for dinner?" I asked.

"I'm sorry mom, but I have a date." She said it but didn't really sounds sorry at all. It was probably a date with someone she really wanted to go out with. Then again I am sure that to a college girl, most any boy was more fun to have dinner with than your mother.

"I guess, I could call Charlie," I commented.

"He has a date as well. Believe it or not she is the mother of a teenager in his summer camp program. You did know he was day camp councilor didn't you?" Cindy asked.

"Sure, he told me Friday night. When he told me I couldn't figure out why he would waste any of his summer being a camp councilor, since his dad would supply him with all the money he wanted. The reason was even more basic than money. His dad could not supply him with all the ass he wanted. Charlie will be in heaven, I told myself. He will be hunting in the land of the single parents. Those YMCA camps were filled with one parent kids.

I just braced myself for complaints which I expected to come rolling in. Charlie wasn't as mature as he thought. Those women were going to be calling the YMCA and complaining, so I made ready for it. I didn't expect Jeff had any idea why Charlie took the job.

I had nothing else to do so I took the electric trike out for a ride. I loaded both my battery packs onto the trike. With them in place I had a 25mile range. I had absolutely no idea how far twenty five miles was at 5 to 7 miles an hour. I had one hell of a good time. I stopped at a walk up ice cream shop. I sat at one of their picnic tables. while I ate my fresh strawberry sundae.

After the sundae, I rode and pedaled to one of those dollar stores. I had been in them but never really looked around. That Sunday I took time to really see what was there. I was surprised to see how many neat things there were hanging on their displays. I found everything from reading glasses to day old pastry from the grocery store.

I stopped at the almost empty mall to walk a couple of miles, then picked up a burger from the rainbow steakhouse and rode to the Marina. No it was not where Harold parked his boat It was the city reservoir and recreational area. I sat on the patio with my canned coke and drive thru burger while the sail boats moved back and forth. I didn't stay till the sail boats to dock, since that would most likely put me on the road after dark.

Even so I stayed until 7:30PM and the little boats were still moving around on the lake. When I got home I managed to fix myself a drink and sit down with a small pack of peanut butter on very tasteless crackers, before the phone rang. I bought several cases at the dollar store, even though I knew they were tasteless. That fact make it much easier for me to stop at one pack with a single glass of alcohol.

"Hello," I said into the phone.

"Lucy it's me Sam. I was calling to see if 8:30 was a good time to open the office?" he asked.

"Sam you can pick the time. Just stick to it, so that people know when we will be in the office." I suggested.

"Then 8:30 till 5," he suggested.

"I can do that no problem, ' I said.

"Good then I will see you in the morning, and Lucy thank you for this chance." I said almost in tears.

"Well let's see how it goes, I don't want to put anyone out of business. I just want to make a difference while making a good living for us both," I said.

"Here, here," he said in agreement. Then he was just gone.

I had another drink before the phone rang again. "Lucy Avery?" the female voice asked a little louder than she needed it to be.

"Yes, can I help you?" I asked.

"I'm Loretta, Royce is my brother," she said.

"Of course, how are you?" I asked.

"I hope I'm going to be okay. Ms Avery I know Royce hasn't actually done any work for you yet, but I need money to get the place ready for him," she said.

"It's Another week Loretta before Royce goes to work. Why don't you have him call me and I'll try to explain it to him." I said.

"Never fucking mind. I'll figure out something before he gets out." Loretta said.

"That's up to you, but if you have your brother call, maybe we can work something out. Otherwise good luck," I added in closing. Loretta made a lot of noise closing the connection. By the time she hung up I was way past ready for a third drink.

I had it almost finished when the phone rang again. Damn I had more calls on Sunday night that I had all the rest of the weekend combined. "Hello," I said into the phone.

"So what are you wearing?" the male voice asked.

"Who the hell is asking?" I replied.

"How many men do you know who would call to ask that?" the voice answered.

"At least half a dozen," I replied. I also laughed.

"Then you shouldn't mind answering one more," the voice suggested. I recognized my son Charlie's voice by that time.

"Whoever you are, you are going to have to wait while I fix a drink," I suggested.

"How many have you had?" the voice asked.

"This is going to be one too many," I replied honestly. But I went to the kitchen area anyway

I poured the ounce and a half of Canadian Club over ice. Then I filled the glass with Coke. The drink was a little stronger than the ones before it had been, but it was going to be the last for sure. I should have hung the phone up, but I answered it instead.

"I thought you were on a date with a grownup lady," I suggested.

"Yeah, when you seduce someone twice you age you have to go slowly. You should know, since you have been on the female side of that I'm sure." He suggested.

"Not too many young men hit on me," I replied.

"But some have, haven't they?" he asked.

"Yes some have," I replied remembering the road trip.

"So what are you wearing?" he asked.

"Jeans and a cotton golf shirt," I said.

"Bra and panties?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied.

"Lose the top, bra, and jeans," he suggested.

"Why in the world would I do that?" I asked.

"Because it would make me happy," he replied.

"But it wouldn't make me happy," I replied.

"Would it make you unhappy?" he asked.

"I guess not," I replied.

"So if it would make me happy and it wouldn't make you unhappy, then why wouldn't you do it?" he asked.

"Because it seems wrong. You are my son you know," I replied.

"Sure I know that, but I'm not there and there is no damage going to be done to either of our psyches," he suggested.

"I hate when people twist things so that wrong sounds almost okay," I said.

"So take off your top and the jeans," he suggested.

'Very well, it's just silly not dangerous," I replied. Since I didn't really have to do it, I have no idea why I did. I removed the white knit golf type shirt, then the industrial strength bra, and finally the designer jeans. I found myself sitting on the sofa in my white cotton bikini panties.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered quietly.

"Doesn 't that feel better?" he asked.

"I suppose so," I replied.

"Yes or no Mom?" he asked.

"Yes." I replied. "I'm ashamed to admit it."

"You should be, you are proving to be a dirty girl. Aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I suppose I am," I replied.

"Is your cunt wet?" he asked.

"Charlie do not talk to me like that," I demanded.

"Bullshit, just answer the question save the indignation for someone who doesn't know you," he demanded. "Now are you wet?"

I felt the stiffness leave my spine and I just folded up. "Yes," I whispered.

"You love being turned on, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, most of the time." I said.

"You love it all the time, don't you mean?" he asked.

"I guess I do," I replied.

"You love that slippery feeling between your thighs don't you?" he asked/

I forgot who I was talking to so I answered, "Yes I love that feeling."

"You love how I make you feel don't you?" he asked.

"I love how I feel right now," I replied trying to evade an answer.

"If I was there and asked, would you show me your cunt," he asked.

"God no," I replied.

Just because you showed me your cunt doesn't mean I would expect to do anything else. Just look and see how it shines with moisture. That would really turn me on. Wouldn't it turn you on Mom?"

"Yes it would," I admitted in a small voice.

"Have you shaved your cunt for me yet?" he asked.

'No, of course not," I replied.

"You know it isn't going to change anything, so why not?" he asked.

"Charlie none of this is right," I replied trying to muster up my strength to resist him.

"Mom take the phone and go into the bathroom," he demanded.

"Why," I demanded to know.

"Because we are going to shave your pussy," he said. "Now go fill the sink with warm water and tell me when you are ready to begin."

I filled the sink with hot water and got a wash cloth. I lathered the cloth then washed my pubic hair over and over. It softened it as well as lubricated the area. I almost went to bed without answering him, but I said, "I'm ready."

"Are you sitting on the toilet?"

"Yes I am sitting down," I replied.

Have you spread your legs?" he asked.

"Yes I have spread my legs and lathered my pubic hair," I admitted.

"Should you take scissors and trim the hair or can you cut it the way it is now," he asked.

"My hair is very thin. I am sure that I can razor it," I replied.

Mom I want to be the one to shave you. So imagine me rubbing your pubic hair with the wash cloth. Can you feel me tubbing your mound and stretching your pussy lips. Feel your clit being push and pulled as I scrub your pubic hair. Can you feel me Mom?"

"Yes I feel it," I said.

"Get your razor and shave that hair as if it were me doing it. Me staring at your cunt and loving every movement and moan coming from you. Feeling you so hot and turned on begging me with your eyes to finger your cunt."

It was at that point that I hung up the phone. I was shaking and angry, but I did finish shaving my pubic hair before I went to bed.



-------

Chapter 23


Monday morning I felt really strange for a few minutes. I wasn't at all accustomed to the bare feeling of my pubic mound. It was more than a little disconcerting. Still I managed to shower and dress for the day. Since I had court appearances, I wore tailored slacks and a very nice blouse. I was very respectable looking even if it was only the shell. It was probably a good thing that no one knew what I had been up too the last few weeks. I expect I had done something to get me investigated if not jailed.

After I was suitably and conservatively dressed, I drove to the drive through window at the Krispy Kreme donut store. I loaded up on compact, empty carbs, and sugary bombs. Sam had worked for Jeff for almost twenty years. In that time he had come out of the closet, and gotten even more gay, if that were possible. He had also gained a minimum of thirty pounds. I was one of the few people who supported him in both changes. Unlike the others I felt that if something made him happy, it was none of my fucking business what did.

I got to the office a half hour before our agreed time. I used the extra few minutes to make some coffee the way I had learned on the road. First I boiled water in the electric tea kettle, then I pured it into a second pot of coffee grounds and let them sit for fifteen minutes. At the end to that time I strained the coffee back into the tea kettle to reheat it which took only an additional few seconds.

The resulting coffee was full flavored and just a little strong. It was also bitter which made it ideal to serve with the heavily sugared pastries. It was a lot of trouble, but it was, after all, day one of our new endeavor.

Sam wasn't as old as me,. but he wasn't far behind either. He was living alone at that time, same as me. It seemed we had more in common at that moment, than we had previously and we got along fine even then.

"I come bearing gifts," Sam said smiling.

"Damn Sam, so did I. I have Krispy Kreme donuts," I said.

"Oh God my favorites, I have bacon egg and cheese biscuits from Hardee's restaurant," he said. "Those are your favorites."

"Damn let's try to avoid doing this again," I said laughing.

"You mean stepping on our dicks?" he asked.

"Or whatever the equivalent is in our case," I said in agreement and while laughing.

"Fair enough, and this is the best coffee I have ever had," he said sipping my special brew. After a moment to contemplate the coffee he added. "How do we start stealing clients from Avery and Avery?"

"Just let people know the Avery with tits has opened an office and see what happens, I think," was my reply.

"Well you do that, and I will call the people I know in the system, and try to drum up business that way. If I understand you, we want people who need us more than they need the public defender," he suggested.

"Yes a guy with six felony convictions is just as well off with the public defender. We can help the guy with no pull but a decent shot at justice with fair representation," I replied.

"God I love idealism. I am also jaded enough to make damn sure we get paid by someone," he said.

"That's why I wanted you. If anyone can keep my nose to the grindstone, it is you," I said it and I meant it.

"Tell me, who is paying us for this chick we are working on now?" he asked.

"It's a state assigned case, of course I lobbied for it. We once represented her boyfriend. His version is, 'Yes she stole the dope, but she did not shoot the dope dealer, '" I said.

"She knows who did I think," Sam said.

"She does whether she know that she does or not. Once they spring her, we need to keep her alive and willing to testify just to get her clear of the murder charge at all. I have no idea what her involvement was, but we want to do the best we can by her.

"Fair enough, so you are going to run her around on the back of your tricycle?" Sam asked with a huge laugh.

"God I hope not. For the first week we are going to use her boyfriend's taxi and your car, if I can rent it and you agree to help. After that we will have an Investigator and errand boy, name Royce Marshall. I am going to buy a car for the company and assign it to Royce," I said.

"You are doing this because Royce is an ex con and has nothing right?" he asked.

"I'm doing it because he is an ex-con and I think he has nothing. We haven't really had that conversation yet." I explained.

"Well let's see how all this works out for us as we go along," Sam suggested.

"Exactly, we are going to have to think on our feet," I agreed.

Sam and I stumbled around putting the office together while waiting for Marco of the DA's office to call. It was after lunch before he finally called. Worst of all he gave us instructions to be at the county Jail at 4PM to pick up Jane. Sam shook his head when I looked to see if he would be available. He was my second choice but it was still good to know.

My first choice, Michael the taxi driver, was available. I learned that shortly after the call. I didn't really want to put Sam at risk so soon, and he really wouldn't inspire much confidence on first meeting. Sam was a pure flamer.

"So you ready?" Michael asked me as he stood just inside our reception area.

"As ready as I will ever be. Sam it is so late that if you will lock up, I will take Jane on home with me," I said.

"Oh, I thought she would be going home with me?" Michael suggested.

"Let me see. I'm the killer and I know Jane got out of jail and is likely going to pick me out of a lineup. I need to cut her throat, so where do I start looking. Oh yeah her boyfriend." I suggested.

"I see what you mean. Okay so we are going to your place?" he asked.

"Only for a couple of days. Now you will be at my door every morning at 8AM until I tell you different." I demanded.

"Okay I get it. So are you ready to get Jane?" he asked.

"Yes, I am ready, let's do it," I suggested. The drive was only a few blocks but I needed a car not a tricycle to transport Jane safely.

The younger assistant DA met us at the jail. He sat in the visiting room with us while we waited for Jane. "You do know that she has to cooperate fully from this point on?" he asked.

"Give her tonight to settle in and I'll bring her by you office tomorrow. You can even pick the time." I suggested.

"Fair enough be in my office at 10AM and I will have the Hammond there. We can go over her story together. I would love to have your input," he suggested.

"Wonderful," I said.

"You also know that if she brakes one appointment, she is back inside and there will be no deal and no leniency?" he asked.

"Yes we are aware of that. I explained it to Jane from day one. This is a one time and one time only offer," I agreed.

"Good, then I will leave you to her or her to you. Whichever the case may be," Marco said as he stood to pack his case. He was almost ready when Jane came into the room. He re explained what he had told me. "Break even one little rule and you are going inside for life," he informed her. Then he snapped his case closed and walk out.

"God you are beautiful." Michael said to her. She went to him and kissed him passionately.

Jane was far from beautiful. She was a drug ravaged hooker. Michael didn't seem to see that. Love is truly blind, I decided again. After several minutes of them playing suck face I had enough.

"Michael you need to drive us to my condo and do it now," I suggested.

"Alright but please Ms Avery, we need some time together," he replied.

"You need to talk to her, then if she is agreeable you can come by tonight to visit. What you can not do is tell anyone that she is out, or where she is. You do understand that, right?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am I realize you are just trying to keep her safe," he said.

"Actually I'm trying to keep all of us safe," I said.

The drive to my condo took only fifteen minutes. After we arrived Michael left to take his Taxi back to the garage. I had convinced him that it was way too dangerous to hang around, as himself. He left and came back on his scooter. I couldn't follow along, so I just kept an eye out from the balcony of my condo.

He brought a pizza which was good cover. "Come on in, but so help me if you get me killed, I'm going to murder you." I did not laugh at all as I said it.

I ate pizza while the two of them kissed and got reacquainted. I felt seriously like demanding that he leave. I was enjoying the pizza, so I hated to run him off. I figured, I was showing my appreciation by letting him feel the junkie up.

I had the TV turned to that online service Charlie hooked me up with. It wasn't a classic movie I had on the player, but it was trash either. It was a grown up flick without being graphic. I was able to keep my mind off the two of them as they worked their toward some serious sexual moves. I did it but it was an effort. The were pretty vocal.

"Could we have some privacy?" Michael asked.

"No," I said. "Michael, you love Jane and she is a junkie. She will have you talked into making a call and having someone deliver her something to give her a buzz. Then an hour later someone will come to murder us all in our sleep. If it's all the same to you, I would just as soon we all come through this alive. Now if that isn't okay with with you, I still don't give a fuck." I said.

"But we can't stand it. We are in love and want to make love," he said.

"Listen to me, these are the rules or her ass goes right back into police custody right fucking now. She is never alone with the door closed. She never puts a cell phone in her hands. She never answers the phone, mine or yours. Anything you can''t do with the doors open, you just can't do, period. I plan to keep her alive because if someone comes to kill her they probably won't be leaving any witnesses. Even if I did survive the attack the DA and Police would make my life a living hell for years. So no Michael she is going to follow my rules or she is going back inside and then do the twenty or so years. If she can't cooperate then we can't trust her testimony. If we can't trust her testimony, she is of no use to any of us. Do you understand?" I asked.

"Yes Ma'am I get it, but we can't help how we feel," he said.

"Then pretend I'm a statue, that's the best I can do." I replied.

That how I came watch a drug ravaged con making it with a fresh out of rehab junkie. Trust me it was not a sight to be photographed for playboy. More like something to use on scared straight.



-------

Chapter 24


I threw Michael out at 2AM, then forced Jane into my bedroom with a chair tilted against the door. I explained that if she opened the door, it would set off a ruckus and I would immediately call the cops to come get her. She didn't like it, but she seemed to understand. I opened the sofa for myself and tried to sleep.

I was up and showered by 7AM the next morning. There is nothing like sleeping with a .38 revolver under your pillow to make for a uneasy night's sleep. Since I had no desire to show up in public with Jane in tow, I fixed breakfast. I had planned for Jane, since I had some advance warning that she was coming. I had two kinds of cereal and dried fruit in three varieties from which she could choose.

She chose a bran cereal known for it's healthy fiber content. Who would have expected a burned out junky to be a nuts and twigs kind of girl. I guess that fell under life is filled contradictions, I told myself.

Michael showed up right on time, so we arrived just a couple of minutes before Sam. When he entered, I had already installed Jane at the empty desk, which would be occupied by Royce when he finally got out of prison. "Sam, this is Jane," I said it smiling.

"Hello Jane, sweetie I have heard so much about you," Sam said sweetly. To be honest it was far too sweet, I saw through it and could not believe that Jane didn't. If she did, she planned to go toe to toe with him.

"Hello Sam, I am so glad to meet someone who seems normal," she said scowling at me. Sam normal I thought. I wondered where the hell she had gotten that morning fix. She hadn't of course, and I was just being unkind, I told myself.

"So Sam did that chick at the cheap-o car rental and dealership call after we left yesterday," I asked.

"Yes the message is on your desk. It on that post it thingie," he said smiling not as sweetly as he did for Jane.

The note read the salesman from the car dealer called. She said to tell you $7500 and it was yours I wadded up the paper then picked up the phone. I dialed the number.

"Seven thousand cash, when I get to the bank after a meeting this morning. I need a car now, so make up your mind," I demanded.

"I'll drop it off in fifteen minutes and get the papers ready for you. There will be tax and transfer fees," the salesman insisted.

"Make the car appear in my parking lot in thirty minutes maximum and we are dealing. Otherwise I am moving to someone else."

"It will be there," the salesman said breaking the connection.

"You are more of a hard ass than I remember," Sam commented.

"You just worked for Jeff, you were never divorced by him." I replied with a laugh. "It changes one."

"I also never rode a toy all the way to California, nor shot man man in Texas, just to watch him die," Sam said laughing. I noticed Jane was paying very close attention.

"Sam, I shot the man in Texas, so he wouldn't shoot me. The Tomas was a toy for sure, but I also had a debit card as well, so it isn't quite so adventuresome that way.

I spent some time making calls to bail bondsmen I knew. It was just to kill time waiting for the cruiser to arrive. It was almost 9:30 when the car arrived. I gave the delivery man a nasty look as I said, "Ten more minutes and I would have been looking for another car."

"Sorry, I got tied up," he said not a bit sorry.

"Can you drop me back at the shop?" he asked.

"Nope, I got things to do. If you had gotten here fifteen minutes earlier, I could have but not now." I pointed Jane toward the door.

"Is she always like this," I heard the delivery man ask Sam.

"She is usually worse, you are lucky that you still have your balls," he said laughing. "I can't help you, she would fire me if I closed the office to give you a ride back to your shop." I wouldn't have fired him, and he knew it. It was just his way of joining in the national, 'I'm a Bitch' Movement.

When we walked into the interview room at the DA's office, there was Marco and Max Hammond. "How the hell did I get so lucky," Max asked Marco.

"How are you lucky," I asked because it was obvious that the comment was for me.

"If I had to meet with an Avery first thing in the morning, I would rather it be the smartest one," he said.

"Bullshit, you just prefer the one with the better tits," I said.

"I don't know that. I never seen you or Jeff topless," he replied.

"That's a fair point," I replied. "So Max, how you been?"

"To be honest councilor I have missed you," he lied.

"And I have missed the shingles, but I expect we both can survive. Now I need you to sign off on the deal with Jane, so that I can get her out of the system." I explained.

Max turned his attention to Jane, "So Miss Sutton, what is your version of the events of that day?" Max smiled at me showing me that he was trying to be civil. It wasn't really going to play, but I decided to let him try.

"I went to Lowball's flop to score some product," Jane said.

"By product you mean Heroine?" Marco asked.

"Yes Lowball always had product," she answered. "Even when the others are having trouble connecting, Lowball always had the stuff."

"So what happened when you got there?" Max asked.

"I'm standing on the porch ready to knock on the door when I hear two shots. I wanted to run, but before I could the door busted open and the dude ran by me," she said.

"What did this dude look like?" Max asked.

Jane looked at me and I nodded. "He was white not too old but not a kid either."

"What color was his hair?" Max asked.

"Nasty stringy brown, he looked like he needed a bath. He was wearing one of those hoodies, but the hood was down. It had something written on it like a sports team or something. I didn't get much time to see him. He was booking it hard," she said.

"So what did you do next?" Marco asked.

"Whoa, before she answers that, are we dealing here or is this all bullshit?" I asked.

"Could you pick him out of a lineup?" Max asked.

"Do I have to?" she asked.

"Yes you have to," I admitted.

"Then yeah, but I seen him around on the streets some," she said.

"What's his name then," Max asked.

"He was with one of my tricks once. The trick called him Ansel or something like that," she said.

"Yeah, we can deal," Max said with a really shaken look. I didn't care for his reaction at all.

"So what did you do after this Ansel booked?" Marco asked.

"I went inside and took Lowball's stash. I don't understand why ya'll are acting like I done something wrong. Lowball didn't need it no more. It ain't like I sold it or nothin'," She said.

It was at that point that I expected Max to take custody of Jane. Not to put her back inside, but to put her into a motel and protective custody while they picked up Ansel. Max knew exactly what I expected.

"Lucy could you and I have a talk. Jane can sit here while we talk outside," he suggested.

"What the fuck is the problem. She had given you everything except what your perp has for breakfast," I said.

"I expect he has donuts most of the time," he said. It was code, but I didn't know what he meant.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ansel is an under cover cop, who dropped off the radar. He was working Lowball. We were afraid someone had iced him It looks like he might be in the wind instead of in the river. Problem is I have no idea what the fuck is going on and who else is involved."

"Max that falls under, not my problem," I suggested.

"It will be, if someone ices your client and decides to take you out for good measure," he said.

"Now you aren't going to let that happen," I said to both Max and Marco.

"Look what we need to do here is to find a way to keep her safe until we pick up our wayward cop." Max said.

"And if You can't, it will look a hell of a lot better, if someone else was in charge of her. No thanks Max, I'm not going to be your fall guy here," I said.

"Keeping her alive is the most important thing," Marco said. "But we can't just shove her off on an attorney, to get them both killed. I heard you were going to hire Royce Marshall, when he gets out in a week. What if I get him sprung today? Would that do it for you?" he asked me.

"Well Royce could probably do a bitter job of keeping her safe than me and Sam," I agreed.

"I wouldn't trust Royce Marshal as far as I can throw him. He is a fucking junkie," Max said.

"But you want to throw an eye witness to a killing by a cop, into the lap of a female lawyer. Whose side are you on anyway?" Marco asked. It appeared that he had lost his patience.

"You can not trust a junkie," he said. Looking at me as if I was the dumbest thing on earth.

"You are going to give Jane a chance to help you, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," I replied.

"You are trusting him because your fucking daddy sent him to you," Max said. "The cons aren't the only ones who know what is going on inside."

"You know Max, I don't think I ever heard of a con planting evidence. Or putting someone inside just to cover his own ass. I'm sure they would given the chance. See cons are no better than cops, given the right set of circumstances. It might just be that the same trolley runs both ways." Yeah I was pissed. One thing I could tell him for sure, Royce would not want to disappoint me. The same can't be said for some retired cop, who worked as an investigator.

"So are you agreeable?" Marco asked.

"Get me Royce and I'll try to keep her alive and cooperating," I said. There was one other thing that convinced me that they would bust their ass to bring in Ansel. If anything happened to Jane. they would be answering why they felt they needed to bring her to an outsider. That tells everyone they don't have a lot of trust in the department.

"Okay Jane let's go. we are through for now. I'm taking you back with me for a while. Everything is the same as before," I said to try to ease her mind.

The drive back to the office kept my mind racing. I had no idea how or when they would get Royce to me, but I knew I had to keep Jane safe till then. I was not a trained policeman or military person, so it was going to be play it by ear till the pro arrived.

"Sam, call Jarvis lock and key for me," I said just as soon as I entered the office. I wished I had the time and money to completely bullet proof the place. but I didn't. The best I could do was to make it harder for the bad guys to get inside.



-------

Chapter 25


Marty Jarvis was another of my dad friends. He had never been inside but he tended to build innovative security systems for men who had. His dark systems, as he called them, tended not to call the cops, but to get rival bad guys killed.

"Lucy, my god it has been too long," the old man said. Mr. Jarvis seldom went on a job personally by that time. Now days it was one of his sons.

"What the hell did I do to rate you personally Mr. Jarvis?" I asked.

"You got born to one of the few honorable men in his profession," he said. "Your daddy has more sand and more honor than any of the so called righteous assholes who put him in prison. This town was a whole lot safer with your dad outside. than it is with him inside." He paused a long moment then went on, "So what can I do for his beautiful daughter?"

"Mr. Jarvis this little lady here is going to identify a man who killed another man. Ordinarily the cops would protect her. but I was told the cops weren't sure which cops they could trust right now. So they dumped her on me for a while. I have a pro coming to help, but he won't be here for a day or so. I need this office and my house secure."

"How much security do you need?" Jarvis asked.

"Well, if someone wants to break in here at night, a lot of noise would do the trick. We can't stop the pros, but a horn would work for the kids. To be honest Mr. Jay, I'm really worried about a couple of guys walking in and just gunning us all. We aren't gun thugs, we are lawyers."

Let me walk around here a couple of minutes, and don't sell yourself short, I hear you do alright with a gun. I wouldn't want to be the man who walks in here. After today it is going to be a death trap," he said with a lot more confidence than I felt.

"It has to be done quick and the price has to be reasonable, I'm starting over," I said.

"Your daddy knows people, if you and the kids are on that asshole's insurance policy?" Jarvis asked smiling.

"I'm not quite that broke, and I never heard you suggest that," I said with a honest laugh.

I went back to the phone and promising the bondsmen almost anything to get recommendations. The problem was that their clients, who didn't already have lawyers, would be few. I knew it, but even one was better than none. The court appointed business was still going to be my best bet at first.

"You got a call on line one," Sam said.

"This is Lucy Avery, can I help you?" I said into the phone.

"This is Tomas Ortega, I got an associate in county lockup. He is coming up for a bond hearing tomorrow. I would like for you to speak for him."

I began the usual questioning, since I didn't have an investigator, and barely had time to interview him before the hearing. When I was finished, I told Ortega that I charged a hundred bucks an hour, but he got a first rate defense even though I could not work miracles.

"You get him the best deal he can get, and I will be satisfied. Even better your daddy will be satisfied," he said.

"Let me tell you something, and you can pass this on to my dad. I will do the same for your client and any others you guys send me, as I would do for the mayor's son. I can do no more and no less," I said it all self righteous.

"I will pass it on and as for Cheech, he is guilty as sin. He is guilty of being caught in the act. If you can to keep his time inside down to a minimum, we will be satisfied."

I could probably get a body guard from this Tomas character, but I didn't want to get into bed with these guys. I just needed work and it looked as though daddy was going to help. I knew it would be a fine line that I would be required to walk.

"Miss Lucy, I looked around the place. Number one thing we need to do is get a guy with a chainsaw to cut down those bushes around the place. Don't worry I know a guy, then I'm going to put a dirtbag execution chamber on the front." Jarvis said grinning like a schoolboy.

"You know I have to ask what is that?" I asked.

"You got an entry way on the front door. So we rig door one with an electric lock. In ordinary mode it will let you open it and walk in, but once you are in it can be electronically locked behind you. On door number two, which opens into the office area, my boys will take out the glass part. They are going to replace it with shatter proof Lexan. Then they are going to coat it with one was see through film. The door there will always be electronically locked. So dirtbag can get through door one but unless Sam trips the switch, his ass is trapped in the space between the doors.

The bad guy has no idea who is on the other side of that glass, or how you are armed. He just knows that you can get to him easily, but he is going to play hell getting to you. I would hate to be in that position.

You are going to get a dummy security camera on the post in the parking lot. It will do just as much good. Anyone who would be run off by a real one, will be run off by the dummy. Then I'm going to install a local alarm system inside the place. Sound detector set for glass break and a motion detector. All of it wired to a siren that makes a hell of a noise. Like you said, it will run the kids off but the pros will come on in and help themselves. If you want, I can have it wired to your cell phone, if you promise not to come down here yourself."

"I appreciate the explanation but you are my daddy's friend. If you tell me I am going to do it and not worry about the details, I would not have even asked." It wasn't true of course, but it did show respect and that was important in the old world.

"I know you need it now, so Bobby and his crew are on the way over," He said.

"Mr Jarvis, you know I trust you completely, and when my investigator gets here he will be sweeping the office for microphones every week. If you wouldn't mind, would you sweep it for me the first time. I really would appreciate it." We both knew that it was my respectful way of telling him I was going to be checking behind him.

"You are a smart, careful girl, just like your daddy said you were. Not to worry it will be as if The Orkin man has visited after we leave," he informed me with a smile.

"So, how much?" I asked.

"The new electronic door locks for the front, the heavy duty dead bolt double cylinder for the rear, glass change on the front, and the full alarm system should run about $1300 but we got a history. I will do it all for a grand and get it in before we leave for the day. Someone might have to stay a little late while we finish up," he informed me.

"I can handle all of that," I said in agreement.

"It's up to you to arrange their welcome if they bust that door. My job is just to keep the amateurs out. The real pros have to be greeted and thats up to you," Mr Jarvis said again.

"I'll see what I can do," I said

After he had gone and his son Bobby and his men were working all over the place lake a swarm of bees, I spoke to Sam. "Sam tell me now, how are you going to be if someone forces their way inside?"

"Are you asking me if a queer can shoot a man?" he asked.

"I guess so," I said.

"If it comes to that, I can shoot a man just fine." he said.

"Do you have a weapon?' I asked.

"No and I am never going to be a marksman," he admitted. Most men would never admit that, even if it were true.

"If I get you a shotgun, where the hell are we going to hide it?" I asked myself out loud.

"Can't we just gas them inside the little holding area," Sam asked seriously.

"I think that might be hard to arrange quickly, not to mention that it might require a lot of permits. More than for a firearm even," I said.

"I have lots of bad ass guys around to look after Jane, so you get in your car and drive to the Army-Navy Surplus and Gun Shop. Tell them to fit you up with something, and I will be down to pick it up and pay for it later. Do not let them sell you a pistol. You want something we can pay for and bring back today," I demanded. "Don't feel bad about explaining all the problems we are going to encounter concealing it, as well as getting it into the game if push comes to shove."

"I got it boss, shit working for you is a hell of a lot more fun than your ex. I'll go to lunch after the gun shop.," Sam said standing to leave. We had got all that done so far by 2PM. There had to be a glitch on the way for sure.

The glitch was Jane. "Lucy I'm hungry," she said after Sam left.

"What do you want? I will have it delivered or call Sam and have him pick it up," I demanded.

"I want to get out of this office and have a meal in a real restaurant," she demanded.

"What exactly would you like to eat bad enough to die for. Would that be a heroine burger that you have in mind. Get over it Jane. You have three choices as far as I can tell, behind door one you have the slammer for conspiracy to commit murder, behind door two you have executed by the man who shot Lowball, or behind door number three you shut the fuck up and go along with the program," I had lost my patience with her.

"Could you get Sam to stop by Marie's for a barbecue sandwich and fries," she asked. "Could you have him tell her they are for me, so she will put extra sauce on it."

"I will have Sam stop by and get the sandwich with extra sauce on the side. I will also have him tell her it is for the cops," I suggested viciously. Then I whispered. inaudibly "Stupid Bitch." But I did call Sam and ask him to get two of the sandwiches with fries. Marie might have been on the fringes of the bad crowd, but she did make killer barbecue.

"Lucy Ayers attorney at law," I said into the phone I had answered myself to shut it up.

"Ms Ayers this is Royce Marshal, I am going to be processed out after five tonight, what you want me to do?"

"I guess there is nothing you can do tonight. I am going to hole up at my place till tomorrow. Come to my office at 8:30 AM." I had tried to think of something on the fly.

"I would come by your place tonight and sit with our friend, but frankly your daddy has that covered," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ms Ayers, only a complete fool would try anything in your building right now. Your dad has a couple of guys watching the doors. Once I take over security it will ease off a bit. How much I'm not sure."



-------

Chapter 26


After talking to Royce I realized that the rush for a secure office was a bit premature. If daddy had a crew on my house, then he had men watching the office as well. Most likely he had been in contact with Jarvis. Jarvis had said something that lead me to believe that my dad trusted me. After talking to Royce, I had a feeling he was also checking to be sure, I did the right things.

Sam called me shortly after Royce. He immediately handed the phone to the owner of the gun store. "Ms Ayers, Sam is here and we are trying to decide on a weapon to protect your office. I think Mr Sams said he doesn't have time to learn to shoot a pistol well enough to hit an armed intruder. I am thinking shotgun, but then there is the concealment problem." the owner said.

"So what do you think of a small gauge over and under shotgun cut down some?" I asked.

"That was one of my thoughts. I have a few over and under guns, but but are way expensive to be chopping up. I would cry when I did it. I would do it of course, but a thousand dollars for a cut down shotgun is way too much."

"Yeah I would just go buy a cheap pump gun and get it cut down. It's just that they are so cumbersome," I said. "Sam is not exactly the gun lover type."

"Not like we think of gun lover. Tell you what I have. I have a trade in gun. It's not in very good shape. It is a twenty gauge over and under used by the wife of a real sportsman. She didn't take very good care of it, I'm afraid. It cost him eight hundred bucks, but I could only give her two hundred on trade. It has some rust and stock damage, but I believe I can cut off most of the damage for you."

"So how much you asking me for?" I asked.

"I can do a rough chop on the shotgun for fifty bucks. You will have to have the stock finished yourself. That's what takes the most time ... A grinder and a chop saw and the barrels are off. The stock I can shape quickly with a power sander and a saw. But stripping and finishing the stock will take a couple of days and you are in a hurry I understand." he replied.

"Yeah, so you are talking two fifty?" I asked.

"A little more than that," he suggested.

"At two fifty you get your trade in out of a weapon that you know a gun nut would never touch. Once they have been neglected, you never get all the pitting out. In my case I don't care resale has nothing to do with my decision, but how many like me are you going to find?" I asked.

"Three hundred and we can deal," he suggested.

"I can't believe I am going to do this with a man I have over a barrel, but two seventy five," I said.

"Alright but you have tax and some fees associated with this. Also I'm going to insist that you buy the first box of shell from me. Twenty gauge 2 3/4 long and number two shot should do the trick. I expect that he will have help before he needs to fire more than twice."

"I certainly hope so. So I'll bring three 100 dollar bills and assume that will cover everything thing?" I asked the store owner.

"Plus sales tax maybe bring Three and a half and that will for sure be enough," he said.

"Alright, you don't close early do you?" I asked

"We close at 9PM tonight," he said.

"Then I should be there no problem." Since I promised him cash, I would have to go to the ATM machine, but even that was doable. "Could I speak to Sam please?" I asked.

"Sure," I heard from the owner, then "Yeah," from Sam.

"Sam stop by Marie's and get Jane and I a barbecue sandwich and fries each. If you want the same, make it three and I'll buy." I suggested.

"Fuck it's like Christmas already," Sam said.

"Hurry home in time to put out the milk and cookies," I suggested.

"Yes Mommy," Sam said with a laugh.

It was almost an hour later when Sam walked in with the bag from Marie's. Of course there was no way to tell it was from there. Marie's was not a chain restaurant with special bags. The bags from here place were just a white plastic film number that could have been from anywhere and contained anything. What they did contain was barbecue sandwiches and french fries. The fries might have come from any southern restaurant which still hand cut their potatoes by hand.

The Barbecue would be recognizable to any half ass expert as heavily spiced Lexington style barbecue. Pork shoulder cooked to death over an open fire and seasoned with a vinegar sauce with almost no sugar added. The slaw which also filled the bun was almost bitter but it was still to die for.

"Beware of sissies bearing gifts," Sam said with a laugh.

"God, I love that barbecue," I said as Sam unpacked it on what would soon be Royce's desk.

The security was all in place shortly after 5PM. Since it was close to closing time I just stayed behind with Jane and allowed Sam to leave. Michael didn't come for us since I had the cruiser.

Jane and I made a stop for cash from the ATM then we went home to await the passing of time. While we waited Jane watched television. I was on the computer trying to keep my mind from turning to Television induced silly putty.

I was a little surprised by the Email from my son Charlie.

Mom ... Take off your panties and go shave your cunt for me ... Charlie.

I was shocked even though we had played at it before something about the terseness of the message was jolting. Yes I admit that it was also arousing. I knew that I should refuse, and tell Charlie that he needed therapy, but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to do it just yet.

What I did do, was to go into the bathroom lock the door and very quickly shave. I did it quickly so that Jane wouldn't have time to bolt and go dope shopping. She was pretty antsy when I got back into the living room. Even so I didn't made it back in time to take her mind off the rats running over her grave, as one of my junkie friends described life after the worst of the withdrawal was over.

"Do you want a soda or some coffee?" I asked her.

"No, to be honest I want to get high and get laid. Have you ever been laid while you were high?" she asked.

"No, I can't say that I have," I admitted.

"There is no other sex like it. It is so mellow and the orgasms just roll on and on, It is just unfucking believable," she said.

"I'll have to take your word for it, cause it ain't gonna happen for either of us," I said.

"It could, I know where we can score," she said.

"You really are a complete idiot, to even imagine a thing like that could ever happen," I said. "What we are going to do is go to 'Pizza Joe's To Go' for a take out pizza of your choice, then we are going to the Army Navy Surplus and gun store, where I am going to pick up a shotgun. The shotgun is to give same a chance top maybe stay alive while guarding your junkie ass. After that we are coming back here where you are going to watch tv then go to bed. I am sorry as hell you don't find that exciting, but life will go on with or without you being amused.

There was never a line at Pizza Joe's because you didn't have a choice. Unless you wanted to sit for half an hour while some snot nosed teenager with attitude cooked one to order for you. Joe was a hometown boy who had his very own business plan. His plan was what he felt was an improvement on Godfathers. His plan wasn't just to get yo u in and out in a hurry it was to make you want to walk in and turn around ane walk out immediately. Everything was designed to get you in and out and make you want to do just that. People in a hurry went to Joe's for cheap pizza.

Joe's Pizza was hot, reasonably tasty and most of all ready to carry out when you walked in. There were three kinds made up and ready to go. You had your cheese, your pepperoni and you had sausage all ready to walk out the door. You had tiny bags of add on shit, if you just had to have it. Those you put on yourself, when you got it home. So what happened to pizza that had been sitting too long. Why Joe's snot nosed teenagers put it in the fridge and you bought it cold. Some of us love cold pizza.

The 12" sausage pizza and the bag of finely chopped onions was almost $7. I was tempted to add a quart of their home made iced tea for another buck but it was loaded with sugar. So instead when i got home, I planned to make some god awful sugar free tea from a mix.

"Hello Lucy nice to see you again. I heard the little .38 I sold you make a long trip," the owner said to me.

"It didn't make all of it. The last part I think it made by US mail." I said.

"Yeah those cops are funny about guns that get used to kill people, even if they need killing. You were lucky though, you were in Texas, where they still understand self defense." he said.

"Yeah, so what you got for me?" I asked. He reached under the counter unlocked a door of his small gun safe. There was a whole room that was a gun vault behind him.

"This turned out pretty good. I got almost all the rust off it with the sawing of the barrels. There is just a little in the chambers but not much. Keep it oiled and it will never be a problem." he said. "You will probably need to check behind your man Sam. He doesn't strike me as the gun lover type."

"He don't have to love the gun, he just need to love living, for it to do what we need," I said.

"Good point, but you don't have to be a such hard ass all the time," he said.

"Why not I'm a poor little girl all alone in the world. I also have to get going I have the reason for all this security over there looking at tee shirts with gun mottos. In just a few minutes she is going to find the one that says, 'Clean the Gene pool- Cull a Junkie'," I said.

"I think I sold that one last week." he said. "By the way how's your daddy?"

"Just as big a prick as ever," I said.

"Glad to hear that some things never change. You do know if he ever gets out there is going to be a very long line of us who plan to kill him. There will be so many suspects the cops will never have time to question us all."

"Who know I might be in the line myself. We have a difficult relationship he and I," I explained.

"Yeah," he took the money off the counter, made my changed and watched me and Jane leave.

She and I went home to spend a quiet evening and that is just what we did. The only call I made was to tell Michael not to pick us up the next morning.



-------

Chapter 27


Since I had the cruiser anyway, I drove to a Hardee's for take out biscuits. If nothing else Jane, the Junkie, was going to put on some weight while she was with me.

That might not last long since Royce, her new keeper, was convict thin. You know the ones who eat their meals and nothing else. Nobody brings them candy and their canteen fund is empty. They are the ones who run and lift weights every day. At least that is how he looked to me during our short visit.

Of course he was in one of those prison jumpsuits, anything could be hiding inside one of those. Possibly even Jimmy Hoffa.

When I reached the office at 8:15AM, Sam and Royce were drinking coffee and chatting like old friends. I did hope Royce's time in prison didn't mean he and Sam had things in Common.

"Good morning all," I said smiling at them. I was trying to be cheerful, even if I didn't feel it. I was lost with the Jane thing and I didn't have near enough clients to cover my growing overhead ... In other words I was faking cheerful and doing a damn good job I might add.

"Good Morning Ms Ayers," Royce said. "I suppose that is Jane with you?"

"It is and as of this minute she is your responsibility keep her alive until she identifies a killer." I said.

"Word is that the killer is an undercover gone wrong," he said.

"I don't know that, but Jane says his name is Ansel. Max Hammond said he was a cop. That's all I know." I replied.

"You have kept her alive past the point where killing her will prevent an ID. Now it is just keeping her alive long enough to testify. That is usually the cop's job to handle," he said.

"Royce you know they don't have a clue how many or who is dirty. They could be putting the fox in charge of protecting the hens," I suggested.

"True so they have you doing it. That could be so that they can get you both killed. Two birds one stone kind of thing," he said.

"And exactly what is my dad's dog in the fight?" I asked.

"Why do you think he has one?" Royce asked.

"I know my dad that should be enough, he does nothing that doesn't benefit him. You are here because he got you an early release. and now you owe him, so what is the payoff?" I asked.

"You really are suspicious," he said with a laugh. "Your daddy's advice to me was to keep you alive and well. If Jane got killed by the cops, too fucking bad, but you better not get a scratch. So that's my plan, to do whatever it takes to keep you healthy."

"Well right now keep Jane alive and well and that will make me happy," I said.

"Happy wasn't part of the deal, but I can try a little extra service for my pay," he said.

"Here is the deal Royce, I have three clients I need to go to the jail to interview. You need to stay here and keep Sam and Jane healthy. What I have in this large plastic bag does not belong to you. It is just to be used by Sam in case of an imminent threat. I guess if worse came to worse you could defend yourself with Sam's weapon, but I has to be in his desk, not yours."

"I got it counselor. It's a numbers game. Judged by 12 or carried by 6, not to worry I don't want to go back inside, so it will be absolutely necessary, if I do it."

"I am an officer of the court. You do not have my permission to use that weapon," I suggested.

"Stop beating the dead horse Ms. Ayers, I got it." he admitted.

"It was nice to leave Jane and not worry about her running from Sam or having someone show up with a bag of junk for her. Of course I should be worried about Royce. According to some folks he was a stone Junkie himself. Since my dad vouched for him, I was willing to give him a try. I just was not willing to take him on faith.

"I am going to jail, but I'll be back by lunch and we can make plans," I said as I walked out the door. The clients were nickel and dime criminals, but they still had to be defended. I didn't mind The one truly innocent client was still out there somewhere just waiting for me. In the meantime I would deal with the burglary suspect, the guy who tried to rob a convenience store with a knife, only to find that the owner had a Glock and of course the drug dealer who got busted with felony weight in his pocket.

When I finally worked my way through to the drug dealer, on a purely wild possibility that he might be able to help himself some, I asked. "Do you know a junkie named Ansel?"

"You mean the cop who shot LowBall?" he asked.

"Did everybody know he was a cop?" I asked.

"No, but just as soon as one knew we all knew. The street is alive with people who have tales to tell," he said.

"Well if you can tell me where Ansel is, I might can work a deal with the DA for you," I suggested.

"If I knew I would definitely have told you already. I got no use for cops and I kind liked old LowBall," he said.

"Too bad Cheech, you got caught holding way more than felony weight. You are most likely going in for a while. With your record a long while, unless you got something I can deal," I suggested.

"I can't deal any of our people and I don't know nobody else," he said.

"Are you sure you don't know where to look for Ansel?" I asked.

"I done some things for Ansel. You know delivered him some dope to his place. I know the cops done been there. He had a junkie chick for a while she might know something. She was living in the welfare motel out by the highway. But she probably ain't no more. You know how junkies move around."

"Actually I don't, but I will take your word for it," I said. I could have turned that vague maybe this girl who's name we don't know was screwing Ansel and maybe she is still at the motel where Cheech saw her a couple of months ago, and maybe Ansel is still screwing her. Even I thought that might be pushing my credibility a little to far. "Tell you what I will do. If you want to pay the investigator fee, I will have my man check to see if the chick is there and if she can put the cops onto Ansel's trail. If she can do that and is will maybe we can sell it, but first I have to know that we have something to sell."

"Hell yeah," cheech said. "Check her out, I don't want to do no more time than I have to do. I'm good for the money, my boss will advance it to you and I'll pay him," he said.

"Here is my cell phone, use it to call Tomas and make sure he is willing to front the fees. If so I will have my man on it immediately," I suggested. The call was made and I had my assurance that I would be paid.

I got back to the office before lunch. I called Royce into my private office and explained it all to him. "So you willing to try to track down a cop?" I asked.

"Cops are just more guys with guns. I have sure as hell seen my share of guys who once carried guns lately, some were legal and some were not so legal. So yeah, as long as I can do it without violating my parole, I'm in." he said.

"First thing we need to find out is the name of the woman Ansel was keepings company with. We can't track her down till we know her name." I suggested. "Try Jane she might know who she saw him with on the street. Someone has to know something. If not her name the name of someone who does know."

"I appreciate the advice but I know how to do what you want done. Just tell me what you want, and I'll do it or tell you why I can't. Then you can give me all the advice you want," Royce suggested.

"Sorry Royce, we are still new to each other and it's important that we find this Ansel or at least put the cops onto him," I said.

"Yeah, I do know how it goes," he said. "So let's bring Jane in and sweat her first thing."

"Sweat her gently please, I still have to have her around for a while longer." I said it and meant it as well. Then I opened the door and called out. "Jane come in please, we need to talk."

Once she was inside Royce began, "So Jane how well did you know Ansel?"

"I just saw him on the street a few times before I saw him coming out of LowBall's flop," she answered.

"Who did you see him hangin with?" Royce asked her.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

"When you saw him on the street, who was he with?" he repeated.

"I don't remember," she said.

"You remember him, but you don't remember who he was with," he asked even I could tell he didn't believe her and he wanted her to know it.

"That's right," she said.

"Bullshit, maybe you were more than just another junkie to him. Did you and Ansel go to LowBall's house together. Were you Ansel's whore?" he asked.

"I'm with Michael the lawyer knows," she said.

"You wouldn't be the first junkie to whore for more than one dude," Royce said almost viciously. "If it wasn't you, who was whoring for Ansel? And don't tell me you don't know. If you don't know, then you know who does know."

I could tell Jane was trying to decide what she could get away with saying. "Jane, right now we are all that is standing between you and the guys who want you dead. So you need to start talking to us," I said.

"You don't get it lawyer lady, but he should," she said pointing to Royce. "There is more than just Ansel doing and dealing. Some of them moving the big weight are either cops, or protected by cops."

"How do you know," Royce asked.

"Because we see their badges, when we give them blow jobs," she said to Royce. "The ones on the street don't show their badges but the others do. Some of the local drug dealers will tell you.'Don't even thing about fucking with me I got protection.' We all know who the protection is." she said.

"That's all fine and good but who was Ansel hanging out with?" Royce asked again.

"Sarah, I don't know her real name. They just call her Sarah cause she is so plain looking." she said.

"So what does this Sarah look like,?" I asked.

For the next several minutes Royce and I worked Jane to squeeze all the information possible from her. She didn't have much, but she finally shared anything we asked for.

"So now we have enough to start. So do I sit with Jane, or do I go looking for Sarah?" Royce asked me.

"Which do you think would be the best use of your time?" I asked.



-------

Chapter 28


"Well I expect that inside this office you and Sam can hold off anyone till the cops get here. The police station is only three blocks away. So, I guess I would do better interviewing the people at the welfare hotel, and then the street friends of Ansel. Maybe I can at least get a lead on him," Royce suggested.

"Sounds good to me," I agreed, "but I want you to record every interview. I know it sounds like I don't trust you, but I don't trust you." I did smile when I said it.

"Ms. Avery, if you want me to wear pink shirts to work, I will wear pink shirts to work. I plan to go along with whatever you want, and to do whatever you need. I do not want to go back inside period."

"Yeah, that might be inconvenient," I agreed.

"You have no idea how inconvenient," he said looking very unhappy. I had a feeling my father might have something to do with that dread as much as his actual loss of freedom.

"I want you to call be between interviews so that we can discuss our next move. I might not be in the car, but I plan to be involved in the interviews as much as possible. You do understand?" I asked.

"I got it," he said unemotionally. He honestly didn't seem to care. That was fine with me, just as long as he did what I said.

"Well I think I will hit the motel first. If that doesn't work out I will give some of the street people, who knew them both, a try. I expect that I still know a couple of them," Royce informed me.

"Jane and I will wait for you hear, so don't forget you are our taxi," I informed him.

"Right, I'll give you a call and you can decide, when I call it a day," he suggested.

I talked to clients, potential clients and people who knew potential clients for the rest of the afternoon. Between those calls I spoke with Royce twice. The Welfare hotel knew the girl named Sarah, but she was gone. Also, the cops were running the same trail according to Royce.

"That's not good for Cheech, he has nothing new to bring to the table," I suggested.

"So do I stop looking?" Royce asked.

"Who were you planning to see next?" I asked.

"My plan was to head over to the construction site on Terrell street. I am told one of Sarah's friends had a pimp I knew from back in the day," Royce said.

"Do I need to tell you to just say no?" I asked.

"Geeze that is so cornie, but thanks," he suggested. "So do I come back now or go on to the construction site where the girls are working?"

"Go on over to the site, but stay out of trouble," I demanded.

"How much trouble can I get into, I'm unarmed," he said.

"My dad says the only unarmed man it the on who has had them amputated. It you have your arms, there are always weapons available," I suggested.

"Yeah so I have heard from him," he said.

He called again after the interview all out of breath. "I'm on my way back to the office and I think we are going to be getting a visit from the cops. I want to get your car back to you just in case. Plus of course it would be better to be with my lawyer, when they come to interview me," Royce said.

"What did you do now?" I asked.

"Hold on for ten minutes and I'll be there to fill you in," he informed me.

I was nervous, so I went to stand in the office occupied by Sam and the shotgun. I had no idea that I would need it, but I did like the idea of being close to it while I waited for Royce.

Royce entered the outside door and Sam buzzed him in. He looked agitated, but not terrified. "Judging from you calm, I would expect that you have not killed anyone?" I made it a question.

"He wasn't dead when I left," he said.

"So what happened," Sam asked all excited.

"Lavern's pimp didn't like the idea of her talking to me without being paid. He threatened her and I suggested that he back off, so he threatened me. Honest I had to put him down."

"Oh my god, how did you do it?" Sam asked all excited.

"Sam stop fawning, it does not look good on you," I suggested. "However if I am going to have cops running through the door any minute, I need to know what you did.

"He drew back like he was going to bitch slap me like one of his whores, so I jabbed him in the throat. He fell and it was pretty much over," Royce said.

"Royce honey, it's that 'pretty much' that bothers me. What else is he going to tell the cops, if he decides to talk to them?" I asked.

"He might tell them I kicked him in the ribs, while I asked him if he knew where Ansel was hiding out," Royce suggested.

"And what did this pimp tell you? Yes, I am assuming he talked to you," I said.

"He told me that he didn't know, but he knew where I could find Sarah. Sarah has moved to Tryon to ply her trade for an on line dating service," Royce said.

"And did he tell you how to contact her?" I asked.

"Of course he did. When you get a pimp talking, you can't shut him up," Royce said.

"Is he going to call a cop?" I asked.

"I have no idea, but since they aren't here yet that is a good sign. I called my sister and she hasn't hear from, or seen any cops around, but its only been a few minutes," Royce said.

"Well you have been out one day and are already in the middle of a shit storm," I suggested.

"Yeah working for you might be fun, but it's like walking on a razors edge," he said grinning.

"You can spend the night with Jane and me. If the cops look for you, at least we should be able to get a heads up so that we can figure something out," I said.

"Okay, but whose bed do I sleep in," he asked.

"Not mine for sure," I admitted.

"I got a man," Jane said.

"So it looks like the floor for you. Probably ever less comfortable than the prison cot."

"Well if this becomes habit, I know where I can buy a really nice foam pad," he informed me,

"Sam we will see you in the morning. I guess I need to hide Royce. Any as for you Royce, if you are going to sleep with me for god's sake call me Lucy," I said,

"Right," Royce replied.

"So Lucy do I bring donuts tomorrow or do you get biscuits?" Sam asked.

"If all goes well, we will all be here for donuts, if not you can save our share for about twenty years," I suggested to Sam.

We spent a quiet evening at home. I was on the computer most of the night. Since Royce had a brand new laptop, I gave him my wireless access code. Yes when he moved out he would be able to sit in our parking lot and use the web free. How bad could that be, I thought,

I sat on the bed inside my tiny bedroom behind a locked door, while Royce sat at the equally tiny dining table on his new laptop. "So where did you get the money for the laptop?" I asked as I pass through the space between the bedroom and the bathroom. That space also opened into the studio part of the apartment.

"Well I didn't steal it and it wasn't from any other criminal enterprise," he admitted.

"Your sister was looking for money, so I know she didn't give it to you," I said. I had a feeling I should probably be concerned and stay on top of Royce for a while.

"I went to a pawn shop and made a purchase based on my new job with you. I will pay it off within 90 days same as cash. It is about the only way I can keep in touch with people inside," he said.

"Yeah, my dad emails me now and then. I'm not sure what the rules are, but he somehow gets access to a computer." I admitted.

"Lucy your daddy's power comes from the fact that he has a huge amount of money out on the street working. He is the only one who knows where it all is and how to make the various parts work together. In his case knowledge really is worth millions."

"I still don't know how it works," I suggested.

"If anyone really knew how it all worked, your dad would most likely get shanked within the next hour. He isn't loved or feared, he can just make your life better or worse by throwing the power of his money around."

"Okay, I will have to just accept that you know what you are talking about," I suggested.

"I'm supposed to show you something," he said as he turned the computer to me.

I looked at the monitor with four smaller screens displayed at once. "What am I looking at?" I asked.

"The top left is the hallway outside your condo. The top right is the lobby downstairs, the lower left is the parking lot and the lower right is the front door of you office," he informed me.

"What the hell is that all about?" I asked.

"That's about a small addition to your security contract that I arranged for your father. You and I both know that if the pros come for you, a few seconds warning could be the difference between life and death. If nothing else, they will know who to go talk to afterward," he said it while grinning at me.

"There are six units on this floor, do I get some kind of warning when all those people come and go?" I asked.

"If you are apprehensive you turn on the beeper. It alerts you when the elevator door or the fire door opens. If that happens, you can look to be sure they are friends, if not you can have your own surprise ready for them," he said.

"Tell me the truth Royce, how much shit have I stirred up?" I asked.

"Your dad says that the cops run a very lucrative protection racket. If you bust it, the bad ones stand to lose a lot of money, as well as go to jail. If it weren't for you, it might all just go away. So there is a big incentive for you and Jane to disappear. Yes I included you in that. If anything happens to her, you are going after the people responsible," he said it as if he knew it as a fact. Yes, it was true, but there was no way he could know.

"Like I said earlier my dad never does anything that doesn't benefit him directly. So what's in this for him?" I ask.

"For your dad it is a chance to impress you, and it is also good for business. That is all I'm going to say about that. Except, I am not involved in his business. What you have in our relationship, is what you get. I work for you first and foremost. I will have to answer to your dad. if I can't take care of you. That's as far as it goes between your dad and me," he explained.

"I have no idea whether I believe you or not," I replied.

"I never expected you to trust me coming out of the gate. But whether you do or not, my task is to protect both of you. If I don't, I might as well put your little .38 in my mouth and pull the trigger," he said.

"Is it that serious really?" I asked.

"It is," he said softly.



-------

Chapter 29


"Well try to get some sleep," I suggested. "If the cops come for you, I'll go to the station with you."

"I would say, that since I haven't heard anything in three hours, the pimp decided that he had nothing to gain by going to the cops," Royce said.

"Or the pimp was under the cops protection and they are going to settle this outside the system," I suggested.

"You mean beat my ass?" he asked.

"Well that is the lesser of the evils that might befall you," I suggested.

"Yeah, I guess there are worse things than getting my butt beat," Royce admitted.

"For now just try to relax and let's just let it unfold," I suggested.

"Tomorrow after I drop you two at work, I'm going to Tryon to talk to Sarah," Royce informed me.

"And how did you arrange that?" I asked.

"That's what I have been doing on line. I have a 'date' with her," he admitted.

"Well you do know that your expense account is not going to cover getting laid," I informed him.

"Fair enough, how much is finding Ansel worth to your client. If she gives me Ansel for a price, then I think paying would be worth it," Royce informed me.

"You bring me Ansel and I'll pay for the information. If her information isn't good and you pay her, then it's on you," I explained. "So make sure the information is good, if you pay for it."

"I got it boss, but I pretty much knew that. I'll see what she has to say," he said.

"I wonder if Ansel is living with her, since she moved out of town?" I asked. "Even if he wasn't before he shot Lowball, maybe that's where he ran."

"So what are you saying to me," he asked.

"What I'm saying to you Royce, is be damn careful," I suggested.

"Ansel ain't with Sarah," Jane said,

"Why you say that?" Royce asked.

"Because, if he was she wouldn't be turnin no tricks. Ansel was way pissed, when she turned tricks. He made her stop. If she is back turning tricks, then they ain't together no more."

"Or Ansel is desperate for money. If he is desperate, then you better be very, very careful," I suggested.

"You do know that finding him is not part of a lawyer's job description?" Royce asked.

"I know that but know this, we can help two clients by finding Ansel. I don't really care much about who did what to how, that is the cop's problem not ours. Our's is to come up with information worth trading," I informed Royce.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind and try not to put cuffs on Ansel, if I see him," Royce suggested.

"Good, now I'm going to make an ice cream sundae and go to bed," I admitted.

I found the ice cream and the chocolate sauce in the refrigerator. Then I found the plastic storage carton with the dried crushed pineapple. It was one of my favorite sundaes. I headed toward my bedroom with it in hand.

"Lucy would you leave the .38 in the living room please?" Royce asked.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Anyone who wants to get to you will have to come through this room. It only makes sense for me to have access," Royce informed me.

"I am not leaving this weapon for you. I am just going to store it on the kitchen table. If it becomes necessary to use it, then that is on you." I said. Royce nodded as I headed toward the bedroom again. Since it took only a second to remove the pistol from my belt, the ice cream was still solid when I reached my room. I ate it while reading the news of the day on the computer. It was interesting, but it was national news and I was more interested in the local news at that moment.

I finished the ice cream and checked my email before I called it a day. I was a little disappointed when I found no email from my son Charlie. I felt pretty guilty about feeling bad. God, I am so fucked up, I thought.

I got into my warm bed more than a little disappointed in myself. It was warm because I did not have a lot of use for air conditioning. I was one of those rare Americans who can deal with the heat. I kept the AC on at work, so that I didn't sweat up my clothes, but even then it was mostly for the clients and Sam. At home I didn't mind the heat at all.

Once in the bed I tried forget everything and drift off to sleep. I was almost asleep, when I heard the unmistakable sound of Jane giving Royce a blow job. I knew the sound for several reasons, not the least of which was having done the same thing myself, but not with Royce of course. I had also heard her with Michael so I recognized the sounds she made.

Even though I found it rather disgusting, I also got turned on imagining the scene going on in my living room at that moment. Jane would most likely be on her knees between Royce's spread legs. Her head would be bobbing up and down as she stroked his cock with her warm soft mouth. It was also very likely that her nose would be running and her eyes watering. I know that isn't so glamorous, it is just a fact. I knew that because those things always happened when I choked on cock.

I could hear her gagging while she tried to work his cock into her throat. That was the sound that should have been disgusting, but it wasn't at all disgusting to me at that moment. I felt the slippery feeling between my thighs and knew that I was lubricating as if my body expected someone to come slip a cock into me. My body was trying to make itself accommodating to the strange cock it expected.

Since no one was going to come slip a cock into me, I slipped first two, then three fingers inside myself. I moved them in and out while I imaged Royce's cock in me. It was a slow and steady building of pressure inside me that I felt. I was on the verge of an orgasm when I opened my mind's eye to see the man who was driving his cock deep inside me. The man was not Royce at all, but my son Charlie. I had a huge orgasm and I also began to cry because I was so obviously out of control.

Sleep was hard for me to manage even though I had orgasmed and was physically exhausted, I should have also been helped by the fact that the two people in my living room had stopped their activities. I was more than a little surprised by the whole episode. I knew, from how I felt listening to them, that I needed a lover or something like it badly. If I didn't find a way to release the tension something bad might happen, and it might happen soon. It wasn't just that I constantly seemed to need to get off. I told myself that I also needed someone I felt comfortable talking with, and maybe sitting around in my ratty old tee and panties while we did it.

I had no idea what time it was when I finally fell asleep, but I did sleep well and I suppose long enough. When I awoke the next morning I went to the bathroom to do my morning things. When I finished Royce had moved from the sofa bed to a seat at the kitchen table.

While I made coffee, Royce showered. Since he hadn't brought any clothes and he came out with a plastic bag with his shorts, I had to assume he was not wearing any underwear. That was kind of a sexy thought.

Jane moved to the bathroom after Royce finished. He and I sat drinking coffee while she did. "So Lucy, we need to decide, do I come back here tonight, or do I go home?" he asked.

"What do you think?" I asked. I was pretty sure that he was asking, whether I felt safer with him in the house, or so pissed, since he had screwed Jane the night before, that I didn't want him around.

"Do you feel like you need me around or are you two safe enough alone?" he asked.

"I'm going to say this just once Royce. I think we are fine, but you have to answer to my dad. If you feel you need to be here to feel secure, then I have no objection, but if you feel I can handle it, then I have no problem with that either.

"Then I will swing by the house for clean clothes," he said.

"Whatever you need let me know. I am aware that you just got out, if you need money or time to go shopping just say so," I suggested.

"Thanks, Sissy kept all my old clothes and I still fit in them. I didn't even have to cut a new hole in my belt. It still had an extra one or two holes," he said laughing.

I handed Jane a cup of coffee. "You might want to just carry that with you, so that we can get moving," I suggested.

"Not a problem," she said shortly.

"You two go to the front door and I'll bring the car around. Don't come outside until you see the car stop in front," Royce said. "Here take this and keep it handy." It was the light weight .38 special that he handed me. I nodded my agreement.

So Jane and I stood at the front door waiting for the cruiser to pull up. "You know Royce and I did it?" she asked

"Yes, I know." I said.

"You won't tell Michael will you?" she asked.

"No, that isn't my problem. My problem is keeping you clean, sober and alive," I got that out just as Royce drove up.

We stopped for donuts on the way to the office. When we arrived Sam was already there with coffee. I had taught Sam how to make coffee, so it was delicious with the overly sweet donuts.

"I do love donuts, I just need to stop eating them after today," I said.

"Yeah, you should have been a cop," Sam said.

"Yes she should, I personally learning to avoid sugar the last three years," Royce said.

"Okay we will switch to bran cereal," I suggested.

"You switch, I'm sticking with donuts and breakfast biscuits," Sam said.

"Me too," Jane agreed.

"Well then Royce and I will be the healthy ones," I said with a smile. I had no idea that I could maintain my resolve but it was a start.

"Well I'm off for Tryon," Royce said. "Any final instructions?"

"If you do find him do not confront him. We are just trying to locate him not arrest him," I explained.

"Fair enough," Royce agreed. "I don't suppose I could borrow your toy?"

"You want to borrow my vibrator?" I asked seriously,

"Okay. I get your point. I promise that I will be careful," he said.

"Call me before you head back. There might be something more we can do in Tryon," I said.

"Yes you never know what might come up while I'm gone," he agreed.

"Or what you might find out that would help resolve our issues," I suggested.

"You got it boss." he said. "If I find anything at all, I will call before I follow up." he said.

"That's a good idea." I agreed.



-------

Chapter 30


It was another day of searching for clients and making minor progress. I managed to get some new blood into the office for consultations. To be honest criminal law is a lot of negotiations and very little trial work. There are some trials however, and I wasn't nearly as good in a courtroom as I was sitting across from a DA playing let's make a deal.

It looked as though Jane and I might be going to court, if we couldn't come up with Ansel. I could get her off the conspiracy, but not the theft of the drugs with intent to sell what she didn't shoot up.

When lunch time came and I hadn't heard from Royce, I got Sam to pick up Chinese food for us all. He got thirty five bucks worth of cardboard cartons and a bag of paper plates from the Dollar Tree. By 2PM the office reeked. I was tempted to open the windows and put a fan up to blow that soy sauce smell out of the office and into the neighborhood.

"We got big trouble Lucy," Royce's voice said over the phone. I knew that he had spent the morning and early afternoon doing things not related to the search for Ansel, so I expected nothing like what he told me next.

"I got Ansel in the car with me and we have to do something with him," Royce said to me.

"What's this we shit, I don't have the most wanted man in six states in my car. You, my ex con friend, are the one with the big problem. You called to see, if I could bail your ass out. So tell me how bad is it raining shit in my car," I said angrily.

"I got to my date with Sarah. it was supposed to be a blow job at noon type meeting. Instead I asked her about Ansel. I explained who I was and why I was trying to find him. Sarah could not wait to give his ass up. so guess why?" Royce demanded.

"Ansel wanted to give himself up. He was tired of running and couldn't get a bag of H since the shooting," I said.

"I'm shocked you have it exactly right," he said. "He didn't know how to come in and stay alive. Since you have Jane, he figures you can bring him in as well."

"Wonderful, just fucking wonderful," I said. "Can he give us the cops in the protection business?"

"Not only can he, but he knows that's what it is going to take for you to get him in alive," Royce knew the score for sure. "So I'm on the way to the office, when I think I should call you to be sure."

"That was nice of you and a damn good idea, I might add. The cops know I have Jane, who some of them want to kill already, so it won't be a big leap to figure I am the one who has Ansel, if we try to get him a deal. We are going to need a fucking army," I said still angry as hell. Not with Royce, probably I was pissed at god.

"So do I bring him to the office, or the condo?" Royce asked.

"Are you out of your fucking mind. You need to take him to Smith Brothers convenience store on Riverbend Road ... Get enough food for a couple of days because are going to hide out till you hear from me.

When you leave the convenience store, drive past a paved road on your right then just past it you will see a mailbox beside a dirt drive. The box has a big 5th written on it. Turn down that drive and at the end you will see a small house boat The house boat has 'Take the 5th' written on it. Just break the lock and wait for me there. You guys are both supposed to be tough, so just watch yourself and tell the fuckup to sober up and do it today."

"You know it ain't that easy," I heard Ansel say.

"Hand cuff his ass to the boat rail and leave him outside to go cold turkey. If he has the stones of a killer, he should have the stones to go cold turkey." I was serious and they both knew it.

"Royce ask him if the DA's office is clean or do I need to go all the way to the FBI to get an honest man?" I demanded.

"He says they always said the DAs had to be finessed, because they couldn't be bought," Royce informed me.

"Then I will try to finesse them myself. He is going to have to name names ect," I said to make sure he knew what he was selling.

"He knows," Royce admitted.

"Then get him undercover. Take the battery out of his cell phone, just in case Sarah give it up. These bad guys have a lot of resources most thugs don't have," I explained. "But keep your ass under cover because a gun thug is a gun thug no matter what he is wearing," I suggested.

"Geeze, she has been watching too much TV," I heard Ansel say to Royce.

"Man, if you want to get this done, you better fucking listen to her. I work for her, not you," Royce informed him. "Now get the battery out of that phone. Do not call your chick on that phone or my phone." Royce sounded more than a little pissed.

"You Okay Royce?" I asked.

"Yeah, he is just high. I expect he shot up everything in their place before he gave himself up."

"Well if he starts to die, let his ass go, just call 911 while he is out so they can try to save him," I said.

"Yeah, but don't lose no sleep over his junkie ass," Royce said.

"Exactly," and I hope he heard that exchange as well as the others. "He is just a piece of meat to me, and we will keep him alive as long as he cooperates. If he give us shit turn his ass goes over to the cops." I wasn't sure that I would really do it, but it didn't hurt for Ansel to think I would.

"So what we gonna do?" Sam asked after I turned off the phone.

"Sam, I have no idea at this moment. I need a cup of coffee and some quiet time to scheme," I admitted. It was almost 5PM when I made my first move.

"Marco, how about meeting me for a cup of coffee," I said when I finally got him on the phone."

"Are you getting tired of Jane?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, but we need to talk in general. It's worth your time," I suggested.

"Make you a deal Ayers, if the chat is worth my time, I'll buy. If not you pay the check," he suggested.

Fair enough, How about we do it now, so I can leave Jane with Sam." I said.

"You have to be kidding me, You are going to leave our star witness with Sam?" he asked.

"Yeah Sam and the two men my dad has sitting in a car in my parking lot," I said it even though I wasn't sure that they were still out there. It never hurt to make the competition worry a little. Just in case they were listening.

"Come on over and we can do it here since you have Sam guarding the merchandise," he said.

"Royce should be here in five minutes as well. So make it fifteen minutes and I'll be sitting across from you and I will bring the coffee myself," I said it and knew the he could tell that I was smiling even over the phone.

Of course Royce wasn't on the way so I lied. Imagine that a defense attorney lying to a DA, what was the world coming to anyway. So fifteen minutes later I was sitting across the table from Marco with to very large cups of my coffee in front of us. I had carried them both on my short walk over.

"Good coffee, so what do we need to talk about?" he asked.

"It looks as though I am representing Ansel at least temporarily. He want's to turn himself in and I can make that happen. First of course, I need you to get me officially appointed by the court." I said.

"You are worried about being paid for something you are going to want done anyway," he said.

"Absolutely I am," I said with a smile.

Instead of answering he picked up the phone and made a call to the judges clerk. He explained to her the situation and asked for a temporary court order appointing me to represent the suspect in a murder case. He explained why it was in the best interest of justice. I had a feeling that the hoopla was for my benefit.

"Okay give the clerk the information," Marco said handing me the phone. I answered her questions and it was a done deal.

"Okay Ansel wants to come in, but he fears for his life. There is a criminal conspiracy inside the police department and murder is not unheard of to the members. Ansel is afraid they will off him before he can make a deal for protection. So lets make a deal right now," I suggested.

"He doesn't trust the local police to protect him, so who would he trust?" Marco asked.

"The Federal Marshall service," I replied with a straight face.

"You know that ain't going to happen, I am not bringing the federals into this thing in any way. If Ansel has something this volatile to trade, we need to know what it is then I can work out the appropriate people to watch over him."

"He is going to give you all of it. How it works and what he was personally involved with. Also the names of the higher ups who are directing the street operations," I said.

"Does he have any proof?" Marco asked.

It was at that point that I got a little nervous. "What kind of proof?' I asked.

"Tapes, books, emails anything on paper or computer," Marco asked.

There was something wrong Marco was a little too intense. "I will have a meeting with him and find out what he has. So who is going to do the protection."

"Lucy, you need to just bring him in," Marco said with a serious look.

"Who do I turn him in to, would you like to personally take control of him in front of the press. If I am forced to, I plan to turn him over to anyone from around here in public and on camera." I gave Marco my best sugary smile.

"I need to work out who should take control of Ansel," he said.

"Yes, you probably do." I had a whole lot of really bad feelings by that time. When I left Marco's office, I didn't know a single person that I felt I could trust. I had a feeling that I was going to be glad I had the .38 and probably could use a rocket launcher before this ended.

I called Royce's cell phone from the office. "Do you guys have anything to use for self defense?" I asked.

"Shit is it that bad?" Royce asked.

"Maybe not, but it wouldn't hurt," I said.

"There were no guns here, but there are some other things. I took a piece off Ansel, but it is just the one and it has seven rounds."

"I'm going to bring Jane, and everything I own and head that way. I am going to try to arrange something but the DA seems a little less than enthusiastic about a deal right now."

"You mean he don't want to trade a half dozen dirty cops, for keeping a drug dealer's killer alive. Sounds like a no brainer to me." Royce said.

"Unless when the shits start rolling down hill, your fancy shoes are sure to be covered," I said.

"Crap how big is this?" Royce asked.

"I don't know Royce but I know we have to cover our asses, I am going to make some calls and see what I can do."



-------

Chapter 31


I made the dreaded call to my ex-father in law. "Look Harold I need to use 'Take The Fifth'. I will pay for any damages, but it's really important. Now when this is over we can discuss what a bitch I am, but at the moment this is urgent. So like it or not I am going to use it." You just got to love voice mail. I locked my copy of the voice mail recording and filed the small memory cart with the one of Harold blackmailing me for sex. I thought they made for a nice set though not quite a balance yet.

I made more calls, then I walked from my office into the reception area. "Sam you probably need to take a few days, and go visit one of your out of town friends," I said.

"What I need to do is stay home and work from there. I had things set up so the phone will ring at my home, if need be and it seems that it needs to be. Nobody is going to bother me hon," he said. "From what I hear, this is going to be over really quickly."

"Yes, how it ends is anyone's guess," I said.

"You are a lot smarter than a bunch of cops, so it will end the way you want. I would bet on you any day." he said.

"Jane we aren't going back to the house for our things. We are just going to put it in the wind," with those words I turned to look out the door. I was keeping an eye out for the salesman a the car dealer where I rented cars. He should be driving up in an econo box at any second.

"What can I do to help," Sam asked.

"Tell anyone who isn't a client who calls that I am out of the office hunting big horn sheep in Florida," I said.

Sam burst into laughter. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Absolutely, if they answer with, but there are no big horn sheep in Florida, just say really and hang up. Got to go, our ride is here." Since I didn't have time to buy any weapons I removed the shotgun from Sam's desk. I pulled Jane out the door. The little Toyota was more than adequate for my needs.

I dropped the salesman off at his office, then drove to the donut shop. Hell, if we were going to have a party with a bunch of cops as guest, then I had to have donuts. I bought two dozen in various flavors. I also stopped at an ATM outside my bank. I withdrew five grand. I knew that what I was about to do was very dangerous and that I would likely need cash for mad money.

One of those calls I made before I left the office was to the Tryon Daily News, and then the local Fox TV affiliate. I put them both on alert that I was going to be turning a dangerous felon into the police, and I was worried that there might be an incident.

I had called the state attorney general after the press, which shows what I think of him. He was making the arrangement for the handover of Ansel. I was waiting to hear back before I could give the press a time and place. When we got to the driveway for Take The Fifth, there was a black SUV parked there. The SUV had the drive blocked preventing me and the econo box from entering.

It was at that moment that I realized that even though I could trust Jane exactly zero, I had put her life in grave danger bringing her along. I could have left her with Sam, but that would put him in danger. When this ended, if the bad guys won, they would be cleaning up no matter what the danger, so there were no good options.

I stopped in the convenience store parking lot to think of some ruse to get into the drive without a shoot out. I saw the black Ford pull up beside me and moved the .20 gauge closer. It didn't seem like much of a tactic to have a shoot out in front of a convenience store, but it depended on how desperate the bad guys were.

"Ms. Ayers," the slightly Latino young man in the Ford said. I simply nodded, I didn't trust myself to speak. "If you drive up and keep their attention focused on you, we can slip through the woods and surprise them."

"You realize they may be cops?" I asked.

"There are worse things than killing bad cops," he said smiling.

"Fair enough, Jane and I will go back and have a talk with them," I agreed.

"Give me and Raul ten minutes then do it," he suggested.

That is how fifteen minutes later I came to be standing in front of the SUV. "Gentlemen, I need to get down to my boat. The Alarm company called to tell me someone had broken in." It was a plausible story even if we all knew it was bullshit.

"How do you know that we aren't the ones?" the chubby one asked.

"You could be, but I somehow don't think you would break into my boat then come block my drive. I have no idea what is going on, but I need to get down there. Should I call the police?" I asked holding my cell phone.

"We are the police. We have a couple of dangerous men trapped on the boat," he explained. I saw the two Latino men suddenly appear with what could easily have been Mac 10 pistols in their hands.

"You might want to rethink that," I said waving to the men.

"Who the fuck are they?" the chubby one asked.

"I have no idea, but they are here now, so get out of the car."

The one not called Raul said to me, "You know, we should kill them. It would be easier logistically,"

"Yeah but it's too nice a day to die," I said it as I opened the door to the suv. I drove it into the woods over some small bushes. It wasn't hidden but I didn't care I just wanted it out of the way. Their job had been to block my guys in till help arrived.

"Royce get in the cruiser and get your ass up to the road. Be careful there might be a sniper down there." I didn't think there would be. These guys were not tactical cops. They were more like desk riders, I thought.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"I have no idea, but we will all be together," I said thinking how romantic that might sound at another time and place. When Royce and Ansel arrived at the end of the drive I had Royce hand cuff the two cops together and put them in the cruiser. I had never replaced the rear seat just for such a use. Okay, it was more to carry shit to the Goodwill, but still it worked just as well for carrying cops to the drop.

Royce and the Latino gentlemen nodded to each other then the two Latinos disappeared back into the woods. "I thought we were going to be on the boat for days?" Royce asked.

"Well it wasn't exactly my boat, and you are who you are. It seemed like a good idea to get this deal done right the fuck now," I said. "Besides I didn't break your cover so one of you leaked it. If I hadn't showed up when I did, there would have been a shoot out,"

"When you put it like that, it does sound like a better plan. So what is the plan?" he asked.

"I'm working on that right this minute," I explained.

"By the way do you know who those two Gang Bangers were?" he asked.

"Not a clue," I replied.

"The translation is Devil's Brood or something like that. They are the gang worlds equivalent of the French Foreign Legion. They will go anywhere and do any job for a price. I would say your daddy is still looking out for you."

"He is looking out for himself. He wants the cops gone and he knows with some help we can do it," I said. "I expect he doesn't like the competition."

"I am not working for your dad, except to keep you alive," Royce said.

"You said that before, and i'm all in favor of it. So let's keep that as priority one. Now drive the cruiser to the boat ramp about two miles up river. Sit in the parking lot with those two and wait for me to call." Since I was standing by the car and the two cops could easily hear what I said. "It they give you any shit, you can either take their clothes and cuff them holding hands around a tree, or you can cuff them together and throw them into the river. It might be interesting to see if they can cooperate enough to swim like that. If you do that make me a video." I wanted them to think they were dealing with someone as ruthless as they were. Hell maybe they were.

While they headed off to the boat ramp, I made another call to the Attorney general. By that time for sure the cops had my cell phone gps, but I had no idea how many of them would be willing to hit an attorney in contact with the state AG and the press.

"I figure job one is to keep everyone alive, then we can negotiate," I said to the State's Assistant Attorney General.

"That sounds like a great plan to me," she said. I want you to send some highway patrol cars to seal off the location and a couple of SBI cars to take these guys into custody. Right now I have four people in various stages of cooperation. Two I am sure will go along willingly two are cops who threatened my life." That last might not play out so well, but it might get them a little worried. Especially when they saw what was about to happen to them. "We will be coming into the exchange site in two cars. I am also alerting the press just in case there is a shoot out. I want a record of who does what. Oh and you should know that I recorded this call."

"You really don't trust anyone do you?" she asked.

"Let's see the cops are trying to kill my clients and don't mind sending me to hell along with them. I think I probably am justified," I said.

"Yeah maybe so," she said. "So how about one hour for the exchange."

"You got it," I agreed.

"Royce listen up you have one hour to keep everyone alive, then we hand them off. During that one hour the bad guys might send a team for us, but they don't have the manpower to seal us off. If they are any good they probably know we are in touch with the AG. They should be on the run, but who knows for sure."

"So what do we do?" he asked.

"We get on the move and keep on the move until we meet the SBI at the park. I am about half a mile away and moving to you now."

Five minutes later when I pulled into the boat landing parking lot, there was a second car parked beside the cruiser. There were two of them in plain clothes. One stood in front and one in the rear with their pistols drawn. I knew Royce had one pistol with limited ammunition, so I did the only think I could do. "Get down," I said to Jane. Then I drove toward the one in the back at a high rate of speed and with my horn blasting. We were on a collision course but even better I was one huge distraction. I figured if Royce didn't get the one in front, I would give him a try with the .20 gauge.

I got the one at the rear. I would have to plead guilty to assault with a Toyota. Well I would, if I survived because I saw the world go totally black. I never felt any pain, but my face did feel sticky just before the Toyota with a dirty cop on the hood went airborne and into the water.



-------

Chapter 32


"Who are you again?" I asked the man in the muscle tee shirt, standing at the foot of my bed, calling what I presumed to be my name. I had sort of gotten used to not knowing for sure what was happening around me.

"I'm Royce and you are Lucy Ayers. Now if you pick up that laptop beside your bed and open the file marked 'This is your life, you can find out almost everything that has happened to you since you lost your memory," he said.

I knew how to open the file, which surprised me. "It says here I was shot in the head and almost drowned?" I asked.

"That's right, and you ask me that every morning and next you are going to ask if your hair has grown back. The answer is yes and no. It covers the scars from all the surgery, but you haven't had it styled."

"I looked you up and it says you are my body guard, are you also my friend. I seem to think that you are," I commented.

"I am anything you want me to be Lucy, but if nothing else, I am your friend," the man said.

"From the fact sheet I know how old I am, but how old are you?" I asked.

"I'm twenty-seven and unmarried. Before you ask again I am not gay, I have been tied up for a while." he said.

"Then you should go out and find yourself a nice girl and get married. It says in the bio that I have a daughter named Cindy who is twenty-one and in college maybe she would do." I suggested.

"I don't think that is a good idea," he said.

I shrugged and moved on. Tell me Royce am I getting any better or am I just one step up from a radish?" I asked.

"The doctors have explained it to you many times, but since you cant remember shit, I am the one now who has to do it and I'm no doctor," he said.

"Before you go on, tell me what you are, besides my bodyguard," I asked.

"I'm and ex con you turned into a hero," he said with a strange look on his face.

"I see, so now tell me who I am," I said.

"I can tell you who you were and I can tell you what your condition is, but that is not nearly enough to explain who you are. You should read your biography to get all that. You always want to know what happened to your brain since you don't remember much." he said.

"Yeah Royce, tell me that," I said dreading the answers.

"For one thing your memory is gone for the most part. I have heard this so many times I know the story as good as any doctor," he said.

"Will my memory come back?" I asked.

"It is possible that bits and pieces will return but not a great deal and not much at a time. Consider yourself lucky, since you have enough of your brain working to know when you are hungry and how to eat.

The tell you every time they come in that the brain is like a computer. More truthful would be the computer is modeled on our brain. We actually have three kinds of memory. It's like when your computer comes on. There are something that are almost hardwired into it. It's all that shit that happens in order for the computer to start.

Your hard wired memory works fine. Your problem is how to make your life work with big ass gaps in your memory and the fact that your memory isn't exactly what it should be.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. How do you make toast? What are the steps?" He asked.

"I put bread on a baking pan and put it under the broiler till it is brown," I said beginning to understand.

"What is your best friend's name?" he asked.

"I have no idea," I admitted.

"How do you load your .38 revolver?" he asked.

"Do I own a .38 revolver?" I asked.

"Yes, how do you load it?" he asked.

I explained how to load a revolver in detail. "So somethings are gone and some aren't," I suggested.

"Yes, but almost nothing new gets written into your long term memory. You are like a computer without a hard drive. You short term memory works pretty well. If you asked for pizza in a restaurant, you would know if they brought you a donut by mistake. The next day you probably wouldn't remember that you had pizza the day before." I said.

"So, everyday is a blank slate for me?" I asked.

"Yes," Royce said.

I lay there quietly for a moment then asked, "I can't afford this place can I?" I asked looking around the facility.

"I have no idea what your finances were before, but your ex husband Jeff stepped up and took care of things for a while. That is until he managed to seize the assets of every person involved in the criminal conspiracy that put you here. That man is a genius at finding hidden assets or maybe it's Sam who is the genius," Royce said.

"Who's Sam," I asked.

"Your legal secretary," Royce said.

"So, I was a lawyer?" I asked.

"Technically you still are, or so says Jeff your ex, who is also a lawyer," Royce said.

"Ah okay, so am I always going to have to live here?" I asked.

"Actually no, you can leave anytime you feel ready, or so I'm told. Now read your file and then we can start the day." Royce said.

The file was a combination of an index of names an big events in my life, and a kind of biography. Most likely written by my children. I seemed to have two kids, so that would be interesting. Theoretically I could open the file read the bio every morning and then keep it handy for the index. If I did that the doctors thought I might manage on my own. Well some thought so and some didn't it seemed on a closer reading of the file. I had my doubts as well but I wanted to try. The file informed me that I had be working toward this for six months. Why I felt ready to face the world that day and not the day before I had no idea. I doubt that anyone else would either. Like the file said I could still think and be rational, I just forgot everything I had done once I went to sleep.

"So can we do a day pass or whatever they call it these days," I said. "Hey that's good that I know what this is isn't it."

"Of course it is Lucy, everything is good." Royce said.

'That isn't an improvement is it?' I asked.

"No, it's one of those things we all learn as kids. Your vocabulary is much better than mine, but I knew what that meant as a teenager. It's like making toast." Royce reminded me.

"So, we go out and explore and see how this works," I suggested.

"Good idea, take your I phone so that you can add things to your file, Things that you want to remember," He suggested,

"Cool idea," I admitted. I stripped off the tee shirt I had slept in and peeled down my panties. I was standing naked while I looked through the small closet for clothes to wear. I noticed Royce obviously forcing himself to look away. "Is there something wrong with taking my clothes off?" I asked. "I don't think I'm suppose to shower with them on."

"People don't usually get undressed in front of other people," Royce said.

"They do if they are nudist. I do remember that." I said all proud of myself.

"Are you a nudist?" Royce asked.

"I guess not," I said that with a smile. I was flattered that I had flustered a younger and obviously great looking younger man. I did remember that it was alright to do that.

"So where do you want to go on your first day out?" Royce asked.

"Is it really my first day out?" I asked.

"Well you did try a month ago but you got a little frustrated and wanted to go back. That was when the file thing got started," Royce said.

"Who thought that up?" I asked.

"Well the doctors did the computer analogy over and over, so it was not a brilliant idea. It was actually just the next step." Royce said.

"It was Jeff's wasn't it?" I suggested.

"Why would you ask that?" Royce asked.

"I have no idea, just a feeling," I admitted.

"Yes it was Jeff's idea. He spent three days working on it." Royce said.

"Maybe he still loves me?" I suggested.

"Sure maybe you can go live with him and his new wife?" Royce said angrily. I might not have had a good mental thing going, but sometimes I did know when to shut up.

"Okay, do I still have a house?" I asked.

"Yes you do and Jeff arranged a cleaning service so the place is livable at a moment's notice."

"Jeff just thinks of everything," I said to stick a pin in Royce. I was beginning to enjoy it. I wondered if the old me was that evil. Considering I took a cop into the river with me, according to the file, odds were that I was that evil.

"The cruiser belongs to you, I suppose to the company, but the company is you," Royce said.

"I'm pretty sure they are not going to let me drive for a while, so why don't you just keep it till I need it for something," I said.

"Yeah, that's what Jeff said as well." Royce admitted.

"Sounds like Jeff is a controlling type guy. I bet that is a bitch, when you two alpha males get together," I said. "Hey me knowing that has to be an improvement."

"You have memory loss you aren't stupid. You know what an alpha male is because it isn't anything personal. It's part of that hardwire shit. I bet you can't tell me one thing the Jeff has done to convince you he is an alpha male. It has to be something I haven't told you."

"You are right, I just don't remember." I paused while Royce drove back into town. "Hey I remember this place. I know where we are going," I said.

"Now that is progress," Royce said. "At least I think it is."

"I live on the fifth floor of the old Jefferson Family Bank building," I said all proud of myself. "Shit, I don't remember the unit number."

"Do you remember the color of the paint in the living room?" Royce asked.

"No, but I remember the color of my bedroom paint, when I was a kid. Do I get points for that?" I asked.

"Of course you do," he replied. "So do you want to do a drive by or go inside."

"Fuck it, lets tour the building then go out to eat. I'm sure I have money somewhere," I suggested.

"Lucy, I can buy you lunch," Royce said.

"Oh no this is on me. You are my savior as well as my knight in shinning armor," I said.

"Not hardly, actually you saved my ass three times. Lunch is the least I can do," he said.

"Then let's go look at my place. Then I want to go to Marie's for barbeque. That has to be another good sign."

"It's all good. Now write it in the file what you did today and lets see if you remember it tomorrow." Royce suggested.

"That's a hell of an idea. Why do I feel like you have told me to do that before?" I asked.

"I'm not the only one, Cindy and Charlie both have. There was also Jeff's input."



-------

Chapter 33


I woke up to see the note written in marker on the palm of my hand. 'Read file this is your life on the computer.' So of course being totally lost in space, I opened the laptop and began to read. Actually I carried the laptop into the bathroom and read it on the toilet.

I had always been able to speed read. The file was scary, but also represented a lot of work. I was able to skip over a lot of things, since I just didn't care at that moment who my grandmother had been. I looked at the picture gallery and tried to remember the most important ones. The last entry in the file was see folder JOURNAL.

Journal had one file titled 'day one, ' which appeared to be a recount of a day in my life. Presumably yesterday, I understood that it was in fact my first real day outside the facility since the incident. I had copied what the man Royce had said, "You ain't stupid just because you can't remember. Something had changed since I went out for a day. I accepted that I could function outside, even if I couldn't remember it, somethings had obviously managed to find their way into my brain. Maybe it was more a different way of looking at things. Maybe I had somehow managed to keep the confidence I was building, even without a memory of it.

I drew one more conclusion from the 'day one' file, I was definitely no author or English scholar. Even I had to struggle to understand it. Somehow I seemed to understand a lot of mechanical things. I suppose it was possible that those memories were stored in a different part of my brain. It was hard to believe I needed a picture to recognize Charlie and Cindy, but I could operate the computer unassisted.

That kind of information seemed to piggyback into my short term memory. For instance I could barely turn on the laptop when I first woke up, but once I began moving around in it, I was able to find and understand things on Google. I could probably find porn, if I was a mind to do that. What I did pull up on Google was a map of the area showing the facility and it's relationship to Ayers.

Without a car it was going to be hard to ease myself back into my old life. It appeared that it was going to be all or nothing. So I chose all. I was already packed to go when Royce showed up.

"Holy shit," were the first words out of his mouth. "What in the world happened to you?"

"I have no idea. As far as I know I could have been the same yesterday," I said truthfully. "I know that today we are going to be busy."

"Oh, what's the plan?" Royce asked.

"I'm going to sign myself out of here even if I have to go work the street to pay the bill. Then you and I are moving me back into my apartment on the 6th floor of the Jefferson Family Bank Building Condos. Yes I had to read that in the journal from yesterday. It was yesterday wasn't it?" I asked.

"Yes Ma'am, it was just yesterday," he said. "So what are we doing right now?"

"Right now we are waiting for a doctor to come sign the release," I said.

"Well in the meantime tell me what I should do to get things ready," Royce said.

"Like what, I'm kind of winding it up here," I admitted.

"Well do you want me to tell Sam you are coming home. If so, should I open the office. You know I have to tell your dad." Royce informed me.

"Who is my dad?" I asked.

"It's in the file along with the narrative about how I came to work for you. You might want to read that part of your bio before you get me to involved in your life."

"Okay, but you are here and you are my link to the world. I think that unless you chopped your last employer up and mailed him or her to California, you are in it to stay a while. Well at least as long as I can afford to pay you," I admitted.

"Sam had some thoughts on that. You want to hear them?" Royce asked.

"Sure why not, it looks like we are going to have a while," I replied.

"Your law license is not affected by this, at least not without a 'for cause' hearing. It's how all those ninety year old senile fools keep showing up in court. So until you do something to force a hearing, your practice is good to go. Understand?" Royce asked.

"As a brilliant man once said, losing my memory did not make me an idiot. I am paraphrasing there. What you are saying is that I can still work and earn money, I just have to make damn sure nobody calls for a 'For Cause' Hearing before the Bar Association."

"Exactly, Sam has twenty years experience and he knows everyone of the clerks and secretaries in town. He swears he can do everything, but go to court, while you sit at your desk and sip iced tea."

"There is no way we can pull criminal law off. I can remember or look up most of the procedures, but there is just too much thinking on your feet involved," I advised him.

"Oh Sam knows that. What he suggested is that you switch to doing much less specialized law. You really need to talk to him about all this. Let me know when you are ready, and I will set it up. You will also find a file in your list of files called check me out. Jeff said they were websites with information you might find useful in your day to day life."

"Jeff seems to have become very helpful," I said remembering the message in my journal to prick Royce about Jeff now and then. Before I said it, I could only guess why I made the note. Once I did say it, I knew by his expression why I made the note. Royce was jealous on some level. I also knew that I was flattered.

"Okay, will you arrange a meeting with Sam. Make it somewhere casual and private, someplace different. I can check out the websites after we finish the day." I knew that I was trying to get too much into the first day. What the hell. I thought, I will go till I get tired, then I will just stop.

"There is one more thing you should know, I didn't write it in your index because I didn't think you would want it there unless you put it there yourself," Royce said.

"Okay, what is it. Am I some kind of serial killer, or child molester and you are hiding it?" I asked.

"No, you are under the protection of a gang. The one that showed up to help you capture the bad cops. That does not look good for a criminal lawyer."

"Then I will just call them off, we do know how to do that don't we?" I asked.

"You can try, but it means nothing, it is a blood thing." Royce said. "Besides they will not always be around. I am your day to day security, but if they hear rumors, they will be back."

"So who is paying them?" I asked.

"I don't know for sure. Your dad did for a while, but these days I just don't know. They have this really strange sense of honor. They can walk into a room and kill the mother, father and every child old enough to recognize them, then carry an infant five hundred miles and leave it on the doorstep of a church."

"I see, well let's just worry about that another day. I'm not paying or requesting their help, so it's not my problem right now." I would have gone on but the doctor walked into the room.

"So you think you are ready to leave? I have to admit that you do seem to be adjusting to the new you." The doctor said.

"Well I might have stayed, if you have a decent hair stylist," I replied.

"One thing about you Lucy, nothing beats you down. You will do just fine. I might be checking back with you from time to time. I'm not sure anyone ever recovered so well from your kind of brain injury."

"I get half of anything you make writing about me, or I will not sign a release." I informed him. I know it was the lawyer in me.

He said, "Fair enough, the girls from the administration office will be up just as soon as I call them. It shouldn't take long." With those words he was out the door.

"So when do you want me to make the meeting with Sam. He is bugging the hell out of me to get started," Royce said.

"Royce, I haven't even met Sam yet," I said.

"Lucy I knew you for a short time before the incident and I have to tell you that you were and still are the most level headed and genuinely bright woman I ever met. What I am trying to say is don't second guess either the old or the new you."

"Thank you Royce I will try to trust myself and my past as long as I know it is my past and not just what someone tells me was my past." I said hoping it wouldn't upset him. He was my link to the other world and I needed him.

"First of all I could never do the things you do, but if I were you, I would meed Sam and trust my first impression of him, then decide from that what I wanted to do. Listen to him but remember you didn't lose your smarts, just your memory."

"I know, but you keep right on reminding me." I must have been reading from the city's website, because I bookmarked a page about the Marina. "How about we set the meet for a picnic table at the marina? We can watch the sailboats and make all kinds of wicked plans." I suggested.

"That sounds like a perfect plan. We can take your things by the condo, then head out to the Marina for lunch with Sam. We can stop to pick up food along the way." Royce suggested.

"How about barbecue from Marie's?" I asked.

"We had that for lunch yesterday. I know you don't remember, so you wouldn't get tired of the food from there, but I do remember. How about we stop by the dog house and get a bag of hot dogs and some fries," he suggested.

"Hold on a second," I looked in the index and found no mention of the dog house. "I guess I will just have to try it to see how I like it."

The woman from the office came in to tell me that I needed to sign the insurance forms so they could finalize the bill. Even if I came back the next day, they still had to close the account out before they could bill in the middle of the month.

"I had no idea I had insurance," I commented. "There is a policy with Ayers, Ayers and associates and a second private policy that your husband has on you and the kids," she said.

"I looked at Royce. "Ex-husband," he informed us both.

"Right the woman said there was some initial extra hoops to jump through since there are two Mrs. Jeffery Ayers at the moment."

"If you say so," I said. Just tell me where to sign, but be forewarned people will be checking these papers with a fine tooth comb."

The woman looked at Royce for help. "She is a lawyer, so is her father in law, and her ex husband, they all have a vested interest in Lucy to different degrees."

The clerk from the administration office smile but looked confused. So did I actually.



-------

Chapter 34


The drive into town was pleasant even though it was hot outside the car. The car's AC worked flawlessly. "So tell my Royce, you gettin' any?" I asked it wanting to see his face. You have to remember my memory was gone, so I had no idea what the basic me was like. So if something entered my head I said it. I was still here just Lucy 2.0. I'm not sure how I was before, but I had absolutely no inhibitions. At least none imposed on me by others my morals were strictly my own. So I made them up as I went along. I had no taboos from my past, since I couldn't even remember my past.

I also admit that I had been watching porn on the computer. It was so easy to find. Of course I was probably watching the same show over and over, since I couldn't remember which ones I had seen before. I knew about the porn because I saw the history in the computer every morning when I started it. At least I hadn't made the porno site my home page. The idea did have some appeal, shock value at least.

We got into town in time to go to my condo, which was all new to me again that morning. I found where I kept my clothes and put away the hospital clothes. I dressed in clothes from my closet and chest of drawers. When I went into the living room to show, Royce he was visibly shaken.

"What?" I asked.

"Lucy, you were thin before, now you are way too thin. You need to eat. Put that in your computer file. Eat more calories for a while. You should also go back into your bedroom and find a brassiere." he suggested.

"My boobs do not sag that much," I said sharply.

"No, but it is the middle of the day and we are going to be talking to people who are important to you, You do not need your nipples poking through that soft cloth," Royce said.

"Oh you did notice then," I replied as I turned and went back into the bedroom. Instead of doing as he suggested, I found a white mens dress shirt that was way too large. I wore it as an over shirt. "Better?" I asked when I returned.

"Beautiful," he replied.

"I think since I have no memories of how people react to me, I am going to have to rely on you to tell me when I fuck up," I said.

"Well. you know I don't have the most conservative views of life," he admitted.

"Well in that case, I will have to get more than just your opinion. Then if I do that I might wind up working the streets or at least looking like I do." I suggested.

"Okay, I will keep telling you when you look like a twenty year old slut," Royce said. "You mentioned money yesterday. The cops are holding your personal effects from the car. I am told there is a wad of cash and all you have to do is call the detective and he will clear you to pick it up."

"Now that sounds like something I should do before I meet with Sam. You never know I might owe him money," I replied.

I exchange my signature for a stinking purse and a brown paper envelope of the contents. The cash in the envelope amounted to $5200 and change. There was also a debit card and my drivers license along with a few other licenses. The debit card was going to be useless without a new password written into the file.

"If we don't want to be late for lunch with Sam, we are going to have to hold off on the bank thing," Royce suggested. "We will have time after the meeting, I think."

They recognized me at the Dog House Restaurant. "What would you like Miss Lucy," the owner asked, after he had been summoned by the young chick. He obviously had some customers who got special treatment.

"I would like eight dogs the way I usually have them, three diet cokes, and three fries," I suggested.

"You will want cheese on those fries of course?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied. "I'm sure you know my memory is screwed up, so would you tell me your name sir?"

"My name is Gino, and my son Martino operates the food truck you helped us get," Gino said.

"Then I will try to remember you both and find the truck now and then. You do have a daily address on you website?" I asked. Where that came from I had no idea.

"Of course that was one of the requirements for the lender. Even after we paid the note off, we operate the same way. We figured you guys knew what you were doing. My son is also very good with that Internet thing."

"Good we will look for it, when we our out. Thanks Gino," I said when the dogs arrived in a greasy brown paper sack. Royce walked out with two brown paper sacks inside one white plastic bag.

"That fucking smell is maddening," I said as we drove toward the marina. I knew I had been there before but nothing looked familiar.

"Is that a good or a bad maddening?" Royce asked.

"It's a good smell. I can't wait to see if these things taste as good as they smell," I replied.

We arrive before Sam, which left me smelling hot dog chili smells for another then minutes. If I had not read in the file that Sam was gay, I would have known after ten seconds with him. Sam was more feminine than me. He did have a great attitude about it. He seemed to totally accept who he was and to rejoice in his difference.

"Sam, I know you have been told that I can't remember shit, so let's just start there. You will have to forgive me if I ask the same things over and over," I said. "The file says you have been a legal secretary for 18 years most of those with Ayers?"

"That's right. Actually for that bitch of a ex-husband of yours. He sort of divorced us both after all those years," he said.

"Well Sam tell me what is your idea for the practice. I mean considering I'm going to be a lot less useful than I might have been before," I was tempted to ask how good I had been, but I managed to keep my need for reassurance in check.

"Well there are lots of things that legal secretaries and law clerks do now. If you were to close a loan for a house, I would do all the work you would just review it and do the actually paper signing. That is mostly PR work," he said. It was Sam's chance to explain to the boss how little she actually did and he was enjoying the hell out of it. I recognized it because I was forgetful not stupid.

"It sounds like that would work, if both you and Royce were involved," I said. "You to do the detailed work, and Royce to make sure the clients weren't fucking with us." I saw that Sam cringed at me using the word fuck. He was far to sophisticated for that kind of gutter talk. That was his attitude, if not his words. Well one of us would have to be the bigger man and it was going to have to be Sam, since I didn't have the right plumbing to be the man at all.

"So we are going to do real estate, wills, and that kind of thing," Sam suggested.

"I think we can give it a try, if it works out we can get a little more structure to the business. For now how about you working freelance for me. We will work out a generous fee split. Can you handle that or do you need a salary to stay afloat." Now that was a bit of dirty pool. What forty year old man wanted to admit he couldn't handle his living expenses for a few months while he got a business going. Plus I could give him a smaller commission, if he took the salary, but for him to be satisfied, it needed to be his idea." I found right then, that I didn't need a good memory to understand how business and people worked.

"How about a draw against commission, instead of a salary?" Sam asked.

"Sam, I want you to know I will put systems in place to be sure I don't forget that I paid you your draw. I am sure you would never take advantage of my memory problem, but I intend to be sure we don't have any mistakes or questions. Every penny that comes and goes through that office will leave a paper trail that I can check at anytime." I said it knowing that was how any good business operated. I could not tell you at any given moment how much money I had in the bank, but I could look up the CPA, who Jeff had set me up with, in the index of the file and he could tell me. We ironed out more details as we ate the hot dogs and cheese fries.

"You know Royce," I said after Sam left. "Those hot dogs were great. Thanks for suggesting them."

"You liked them before, I figured you still would," he said.

"I knew what a hot dog was but not where to buy one. I find that strange don't you?" I asked.

"Not really and you would be better off, if you were to just accept it as the way things are going to be from now on and work around it. One thing you should know. It is in the file somewhere, but you can't be reading the whole thing everyday. The doctors say that somethings will probably work their way into your memory without you knowing it. For instance, tomorrow you might remember Sam's special friend's name, and not even realize that you didn't remember it the day before." Royce said.

"In other words I will just remember the things I don't remember not the ones that I have picked up?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Royce replied.

"I remember what pizza is. How about you call the best damn Pizza Take Out place in town and order us one for dinner after we get finished at the bank?" I asked.

"Geeze you are a bottomless pit," Royce said approvingly.

The bank required that I produce ID even though my personal banker recognized me and knew my story. "So Lucy what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Sarah," I said reading the sign on her desk, "I need to figure a way to get access to my dept card. As you probably know I don't remember much of anything and the pin number is one of the things I don't remember."

"Well I can give you the password no problem but if your memory is so bad, you will probably forget it again. That would leave you trying to carry it around with you which is really a recipe for identity theft." Sarah informed me.

"Well I think what I will do is to keep it hidden in my online files. I can access it from the smart phone, if I need it while I'm out,"

"That's a good idea as long as you can remember your online password," she said.

"I can work that out," I suggested.

"Okay your password is Deacon." She informed me.

"Thank you," I said. Once I was outside I entered it into my online files.

My days would work like this, when I awoke I would see the note on my hand which I wrote before going to bed every night. I would turn on the computer which needed no password. Then I would open the file to find out who I am. One of the bits of information in the file was the password to my online files. Those I would download to the laptop, if I hadn't already done so. During the day I planned to update the online files then use them to update the laptop. It looked like an elegant system. Of course it would be, since Jeff was the one who set it up for me.



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Chapter 35


When we finished the Pizza dinner it was after 7PM. I wanted to go out alone, so I said to Royce. "Royce I have been in that hospital, or whatever the fancy term is for that place for 6 months. I want to go party."

"My haven't you gotten brave," he said with a grin.

"I suppose I have. Royce do not take offense at this, but I want to go out alone. I know you are my bodyguard and everything, but I'm pretty sure the danger has passed," I said.

"I'm not sure at all, so let's make a deal. I will take you where ever you want to go. I will stay out of your way, but I will also make sure you are safe. If you find a ride home with someone, I will follow behind just to make sure you get home safe. If everything looks cool, I will leave you alone.

However if at anytime you decide you have had enough, just give me a sign and I will come rescue you. If guys don't want an old lady with bad hair, then I'm your man," he said smiling, so I wouldn't be too offended.

"Okay, that's a good plan for the first night out, after that we can play it by ear." I suggested. Royce just nodded his agreement.

"Now you tell me why you feel you need to go out on your first night home?" Royce asked.

"Royce, I have been masturbating for months. It was one of those hardwire things you all talk about. I found some online sites for pornography almost from day one. I forget about it overnight until I see the address in my history or the biological pressure gets to be too much for me, then I Google it. That is the point where I am back in the game, so to speak." I explained.

"You know that you can really embarrass me," he said. "Your vocabulary is first rate, but the ideas you express are fit for a teenage slut,"

"So I'm a teenage slut with a good vocabulary. I'm sure that somewhere at sometime I have been called worse." I said. I paused a moment then asked, "Can I wear the tee shirt without the over shirt now?" I asked.

"Yes, so do you have any idea where you want to go?" he asked.

"I have no idea what is available," I said.

"Drinking too much would be a bad idea right now, I think. How about a dance club, You want to be a teenage slut, so why not go all the way. There is a college bar across town. Like I said I can drop you there give you fifteen minute, then come inside to watch over you," Royce suggested.

That's how I happened to be sitting in the Rock88 beer bar and dance club. I wanted coffee, but I drank a cola drink, while I listened to the music and watched the people dance. I had been watching the kids for about fifteen minutes when Royce came into the club. To be honest I was happy to see him, The noise in the club and even the kids were a little intimidating.

"Hi there, my name is Robbie," the young man no older than Charlie said. Of course I noticed that he was young, but it did not bother me at all. Nothing was off limits to me at that moment.

"Hi Robbie, I'm Lucie," I replied.

"So do you dance Lucy?" he asked.

"Why don't we go out there and find out?" I suggested. He thought it was a joke but I knew better. As we passed Royce I noticed that he was giving me a curious look. I looked back as if to say, it's just a dance.

I found that dancing was part of the hardwire stuff. I might forget where to dance, but I didn't need to remember how to dance. It was great fun to be honest. After the dance we went back to my table.

Robbie had surfer blond hair and green eyes. He was also gym fit. Not sure you would understand, but he was trim and seemed to be in good shape. He was also very clean looking. I had seen guys all day long, who were also fit but had dirt under their nails. I noticed a lot of small things. Actually I just realized, that I noticed a lot of small things. Hell I might not remember them when I awoke tomorrow, but tonight I knew Robbie was a student and got his hard body lifting weights or running on the track at school. Of course I didn't mind, I just found it interesting that I noticed.

He and I danced again to a slower number and of course I felt his erection pressing into my belly. His hands slipped to my ass and I felt sure that I should have moved them. That is if I wanted to be a proper lady. I must not have wanted to be a proper lady, because instead I pressed my hips tighter against him. As a reward for playing along he whispered in my ear, "God you are one hot mama."

You have no idea, I thought, but I said nothing. When the music ended, he sat beside me. I felt him take my hand and guide it to his rock hard penis. I have to admit that it was thrilling. I had no idea how it should feel, Nor did I know how I should feel with it filling my hand, but I was having trouble breathing. I also felt my vaginal lips get slippery. I knew that feeling was familiar even if I couldn't remember when or where I felt it previously.

"Do you want to kiss it," Robbie asked me.

"Oh yes but not here," I replied.

"Why not here, nobody will mind," he demanded.

"Are you crazy? I'm not going to do that in front of all these people," I said.

"Then let's take a walk into the parking lot. You can suck it out there, no one will see us there," Robbie said.

"Bullshit, people are coming and going all the time," I said smiling.

"Yeah, but you will be on your knees. Besides, you should be grateful that I would even let you do it," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"There are lots of girls, who are younger and prettier, who would love to wrap their lips around this," he said getting just a little belligerent.

"Then son, that is where you should be not here dancing with an old lady." I was just about to signal Royce to come save me, when Robbie stood,

"Damn right I should be. I thought you would be my pity fuck this month, but I guess not," I have no idea what he expected, but I do know he looked angry as hell, when I just laughed. He had a hard time letting go, but he finally walked away. He had no idea what a good decision he had made. I had seen Royce and he was getting ready to come save the damsel in distress. I had no idea what that would mean, but I was pretty sure that it would be a short and violent confrontation.

I was just about to leave, when a slightly older boy came over. "Don't leave. We are not all arrogant pricks like Robbie. My name is Edward and I'm a terrible dancer, but if you would like to dance, I would be honored to dance with you." he explained.

Edward was about twenty five pounds overweight and looked a lot like a nerd with the thick glasses with the thick black plastic frames. Since I really wasn't anywhere near perfect, I didn't mind. My hair was long enough, so that I no longer looked like Frankenstein or the bride of Frankenstein, but I felt it still. Not the pain or anything like it, but I knew that I was no beauty with the straw hair, the cadaver thin body, and I did have this memory thing going on.

"So Edward, let's dance," I said. The number was fast and Edward was even less coordinated than me. At least I had the brain damage to blame for being a little jerky in my movements. Edward was just plain clumsy. I still enjoyed the music and the kids around me dancing.

After the dance Edward returned to the table. "You seem a bit older than the other kids. Not much just a bit," I said.

"I'm a grad student," he replied which was supposed to explain everything. I looked it up on my smart phone.

"Ah to be really trite, what's your major?" I asked.

"Mathematics with a concentration in computer science," he said.

"Sounds interesting, so hows your love life?' I asked

"To be honest it could be a whole lot better. The jocks get all the cool girls, us geeks tend to spend a lot of time alone," he admitted.

"Imagine being a 40 year old geek," I suggested.

"You aren't a geek," he said not really all that sincere, but it was okay. I had a mirror.

"Sure I am, I'm just not the grateful type like your friend there thought I would be," I said.

"Yeah Robbie and his type can be pretty cruel I'm told," he had slipped from nice guy to smarmy predator. I had no idea how I recognized it, but Eward was running a game on me. The game was just like Robbie only a different version. Edward was using his troubles to play on my motherly instincts. The problem was, if I ever had any they were long forgotten.

'Edward honey would you do me a favor and go to someone else," I said.

"What?" he asked genuinely surprised.

"I think I would rather just sit back and watch the kids dance," I suggested.

"We can do that," he said.

'No, I mean I would rather do that alone," I smiled to ease the blow. I'm sure that it wasn't much of a blow, I thought.

"Bitch," he said as he left the table. It seems men in bars got upset, if you didn't do exactly what they thought you should do. Oh well, I thought, I wouldn't even remember them after a good nights sleep. "So fuck them, if they can't take a joke," I said aloud.

"Hi there, would you dance with a girl?" the young woman dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt asked. Her hair was shorter than mine even. It was at that moment that I flashed on how I must look to her, Under her plaid shirt was a tee like the one I wore. She was most likely wearing a bra since she had much larger breasts than me. She also had a bit of belly fat and just slightly too large hips.

"I would be happy to dance with you, if that is what you are asking," I answered.

"Very good, by the way I love older women," she said.

"It seems as though we have our fans for sure," I said remembering Edward and Robbie. We went onto the dance floor and tried to dance. Neither of us had great rhythm, but we did try. When the music switched to something slow she turned me so that I was facing away from her and then she just rubbed up against my butt in time to the music.

"You are incredibly sexy," she said as she pulled me back so that she could whisper into my ear. "Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"No girlfriends and no boyfriends just friends at the moment," I replied.

"Do you need a ride home?" she asked.

"Actually I do, but I'm not ready to leave just now," I admitted.

"Then could I sit with you until you are ready?" she asked.

"How about we sit together, but take it slow," I suggested.

"How slow do I have to take it?" she asked.

"What if I told you I never kiss on the first date?" I asked.

"Okay then we won't kiss just go right to fucking," she said.

"You talked me into it," I said giggling like a teenage girl.



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Chapter 36


Several dances later, I was sure that Royce followed behind, as I rode home in my new friend's compact car. "Since I am going to take you to where I live, don't you think I should know your name," I asked.

"Rosie Nixon," she said boldly. She seemed to dare me to make a comment.

"Well Rosie Nixon, my name is Lucille but everyone calls me Lucy." I tried to be as gracious, as Rosie was combative.

"Tell me Lucy, do you have children?" she asked in that same challenging tone.

"Yes, I have a son who is in college and a daughter." I said.

"What does your daughter do," she asked.

"If it is important, I can look it up for you. To be honest I forget right now." I said it honestly. I did not expect the discussion that followed.

"How could you forget that?" she asked almost angrily.

"Rosie I forget a lot of things. I had a little head trauma recently, and it effected my memory. To be honest honey, tomorrow when I wake up, I won't remember any of this." I said truthfully.

"No matter how many times I make you cum, you won't remember?" she asked.

"No, but most likely I will make a note in my journal. That is so that I can look it up. I need that just in case I see you again." I replied honestly.

"Holy shit, I don't know what to say about all that," she replied.

"Memories are really over rated I think now that I work from a laptop's memory." I suggested.

"You are really joking aren't you?" she said still not accepting the situation.

"Not at all, does it really matter that much?" I asked.

"I guess not," she finally said as she finally seemed to accept how things wee going to be with us. "So you live in this old people's home?"

"I live in an all adult condominium building, if that is what you mean. I can have my children visit, so don't worry they won't call the police," I said with a smile.

"Have you ever done it with a girl?" she asked with that combative tone again.

"I have no idea," I replied. My own memory was wiped out as I said before. My substitute memory was filled in by my ex husband and my kids. I am trying to fill the gaps as I go along. My problem is every morning I have to start all over."

"Obviously if you had been closet gay your kids would not have known. Your husband probably wouldn't tell you, even if you left him for a chick." Rosie was laughing at that point. She seemed to be accepting it and getting into it.

"So even if you were a lez slut, I will still have to seduce you?" she suggested.

"Exactly, I still have to be convinced to do it, even if I have done it a thousand times previously," I said.

"Okay, I can get into this," she said as we entered the condo. It was really quite nice I suppose if you compare it to a dorm room.

"So would you like a drink," I asked.

"What I would like Miss Lucy is for you to come sit with me," she said not so gently. She was back to that challenging tone of hers.

"Sure I am going to reheat a cup of coffee first then I will be right there," I said. I really needed the coffee, What I wanted was to go to sleep. I thought that I had over done it for a first day on my own. I knew I should stay awake at least a while longer.

When I sat down, Rosie move to me, and at the same time she pulled me to her. She kissed me with a lot of tongue. I might have been shocked if I knew for sure that I hadn't done the same thing a thousand times before. Since I didn't know, I just enjoyed the sensation and tried to forget who was providing it. I began to have difficulty breathing. Rosie noticed I was sure.

"You like kissing don't you Miss Lucy?" she asked.

"I am finding out just how much I like it. It has obviously been awhile at least I think it has. Hell, I don't know," I said it just as Rosie pulled me to her to shut me up. To do that she kissed me while she covered my right breast with her left hand. I felt her manipulate my nipple and it felt wonderful.

When I covered her breast it was much softer and larger then mine. "I do love that feeling," I said as I massaged her breast and pinched her nipple.

"Which feeling? Me playing with your tits, or you playing with mine?" she asked.

"Both, but I do like the your reactions. I love to hear you gasp and moan." I suggested.

"Oh yes, I love it when you do that," she said.

Without any warning she slipped from the sofa and spread my legs. She opened my shorts and pulled the cotton fabric along with my cotton panties down just enough to get inside them.

Before she could do anything, I pushed her away. She looked disappointed until I wiggled out of my shorts and panties to give her complete access. "Oh yes baby, this is definitely not your first rodeo," she said as she spread my clit hood so that she could reach the butter bean sized ball of nerve endings. She used her tongue to move it back and forth and then right and left. When she spread my hood the little button popped right out for her, so she obviously knew what she was doing. Her hot wet tongue released a huge amount of sensations which had been locked inside it. So strong were the sensations that I began to orgasm immediately and couldn't stop the spasms until long after she finished her manipulations.

Rosie held me while I wound down from the strange place she had pushed me. When I finally returned to the world occupied by normal people, she kiss me again more roughly than the first time. After her kisses I was hot and not sure why she started on me again. I did understand when she pushed me to the floor. Before I knew it, she had me positioned in the same way she had been earlier.

I knew exactly what she expected me to do, Since she removed her jeans and panties for me, I went right to forcing her clit to expose itself just as she had done. Then I licked and sucked it until I felt her begin to spasm.

Long before she came my face was soaked with a slippery film from her vaginal opening. I mostly tasted my own saliva, but there was some taste that had to be her. It was herbal and tangy not at all salty, as I had been led to believe that it would be.

Well that was interesting, I thought. Why did I think her fluid would be salty. I could think of nothing anyone had said, or that I had read to make me think that. For some reason I had just expected it to be. Instead it had a more earthy flavor, and not even a lot of that.

The big trill for me was in experiencing her orgasm from the provider's point of view. I loved to feel her hips rise to meet me. I even loved when she tried to force my face deeper into her pussy. I knew where that word came from. It had to be all that on line porn, no doubt. I had viewed a small amount while she drove me home. Just to know what was expected of me, pure research.

I thought that I had done reasonably well when she forcefully pulled my head into her lap. Ti was obviously to give her a break from my amateur pussy eating.

"My god that was wonderful," she said to me in a quiet almost fragile voice.

"Thank you I tried, Something just seemed to take over after I got started. Maybe you are right and I have done that enough times for it to be a hardwire memory," I suggested. Fortunately she was so dopey that she just accepted it and didn't require an explanation from me.

"I hate to be the one to do this, but you need to go now," I said.

She seemed resigned to leave but then she asked, "When can I see you again?"

I gave her one of my old business cards. "Wait a couple of days, then call me." I said as I hurried her out the door. I was about to pass out, and I wanted to be alone. I heard the phone ring while I was in the shower. I did a return call thing and said into the phone, "Don't break in, I'm fine I just came out of the shower."

The phone rang again before I could get into bed. "Be careful of that chick Lucy. I asked around after you left. She is a real bad ass butch lez," he said.

"I know, but my god can she eat pussy," I said it just before I added, "nite."

The next thing I knew I woke up in my own bed. I didn't even remember the hospital, so I was just totally lost till I saw the note on my hand. Then I went to the bathroom with the computer and began to catch up with my life. Shit, I do this every morning, I thought.

I found my recipe for coffee on the first page of my file. After I finished my morning prep work, I made a pot and sat drinking it while I finished reviewing the smaller details that weren't really a big deal.

One of those details that Jeff put in for me to review, when I had nothing else to do, was the police report covering the incident at the boat ramp parking lot. While I was flying through the air with the dirty cop on my equally dirty hood, Royce was using the distraction to take careful aim and shoot the dirty cop standing in front of my cruiser. I could imagine him thinking, I have really fucked up now.

The only person to get out of it without any more shit covering him was Ansel the other bad cop. Geese the bad cops were everywhere. It made me wonder if I would ever stop for a traffic cop again.

The report also said that when they drove up they found a soaked Chick named Jane who had been in the car with me. There was no explanation as to who Jane was or why she was in the car with me. I had to just assume that she was unimportant and forget her till someone else brought her up. I could try to find her in the index but I didn't care enough.

Royce's voice came over my phone. "I'm on the way up with biscuits and I sure as hell hope you haven't thrown out yesterday's coffee yet."

Too late, I thought. When he knocked I hit the new electric lock to let him inside. Yes I had checked his image from the hall camera with the gallery in my laptop before I popped the lock for him. "If you want me to save the old coffee for some reason, make a note and put it on the counter," I suggested.

"Good idea, I remember from the old days that your coffee after sitting overnight is the best coffee in the fucking world, bar none," he said.

Then for sure write me a note," I said. I waited just a moment, before I changed the subject. I have nothing on my calendar do you have anything.

"Sam left me a message and I forgot to tell you. Some chick from the DA's office wants to talk to you," Royce said.

"Do you have any idea why?" I asked.

"I expect so. Every time there is a change in your condition, they want to repeat there demand that you testify, when you are able. They can't seem to accept that you are never going to be able to testify."

"Sweetie lawyers hear only what they want to hear. Whoever this chick is, she doesn't want to hear the truth, so she keeps asking and hoping for a better outcome."

"Very insightful," Royce said.

"I'm forgetful not stupid," I said yet again.

"Yes you are forgetful, and no you are not stupid." Royce said in agreement.



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Chapter 37


Royce and I were having lunch on the patio of the Marina's Clubhouse. It wasn't nearly as fancy as it sounded. The facility was owned by the city, and the clubhouse was actually the office, It's function was to collect the owner's fees to launch their boats. Also the fishermen paid a fee to fish in the reservoir. If there had been a charge for eating Dog House hot dogs, I would not have been on the patio. Actually I was surprised that there was not a fee of some kind.

"Well you have been out thirty days, how do you think it is going?" Royce asked over his hot dog.

"How is what part of it going?" I asked.

"Well how is your memory?" he asked.

"About the same, you know that. I have to admit, there has been some slight improvement. The main thing I notice, is that I don't need to write a note on my hand to remind me to check the file every morning. I also know where I keep the coffee now. I don't have to search for it as I did when I first came out of the hospital. So here is what I think so far," I said. "I think things I do everyday tend to stay with me. What would happen if I didn't make coffee for a month is anybody's guess."

"Well the thing about waking up and knowing that you have to check the file is a huge improvement in my book. Do you know where you are when you wake up?" he asked.

"Yes, but I still have no idea how I got there. I mean did I go out the night before and kill kittens before you rescued me. For that I have to check the journal," I explained.

"Well you might never get it all back, but every little bit helps. Maybe it's like building a brick walkway. You have to do it one brick at a time." he suggested.

"Well aren't you Mary Sunshine today?" I asked. I had no idea where the Mary Sunshine came from, but I knew that it was appropriate. Many times what I said was not appropriate at all.

"Be positive that's what I have learned," Royce said.

"Good for you. So what is on the afternoon schedule?" I asked. Royce and Sam kept me on track. I had too many things to try to work on and I had no memory of my next move most of the time.

"You are closing a loan for a couple who are expanding their thrift store at 2PM. After that you are pretty much free to do anything you want," Royce said.

"Didn't you tell me this morning you had a meeting with your P.O. today?" I asked,

"It's not a scheduled thing, I just have to go by and tell him everything is the same," he said.

"Would you like for me to go along and tell him what a hell of a job you are doing?" I asked.

"Coming from the woman who took a cop for a drive in the river, it might not help much," he suggested.

"Let me kill one fucking cop and I never hear the end of it," I said in my fake whiny voice.

"So okay you leave me at the office and head on to your meeting with the P.O." I had a feeling there was more to it than a parole officer hearing. Royce often left me at the office while he went out to do something on his own. Since life without Royce was almost unimaginable, I let him have all the time off he wanted.

I had resurrected the electric tricycle I had purchased months ago. When I made the purchase I just planned to go green a little. By the time I had thirty days out of the hospital, I realized that the trike was my best bet for transportation. I could con Royce or one of the kids into a ride, if I needed to go somewhere the trike wouldn't handle. My life was pretty well in hand, when the couple came into my office after lunch for their loan closing.

The man was at least fifty years old maybe even sixty. The woman was in her early thirties. I would have been upset, if I had remembered that Jeff's new wife was a beauty shop blond of about the same age. I didn't have his new wife in my gallery of photos, which I reviewed everyday. One thing I found interesting, was that from waking until I went to sleep the same night, nothing I saw of heard was forgotten. It was just overnight when I lost it all.

The couple was Jason and Marie Williams, I found by reading the documents which had been prepared by Sam. "So Mr and Mrs Williams you are planning to expand your business." I found that from the summary Sam always prepared for me. It was done so that it appeared to the client as if I did the work myself.

"Yes," the older man said. "We are planning to double our space and double our inventory. You will have to come see us sometime."

"Yes you will," the blond said flashing me a different kind of smile.

"Sure, I love to shop," I said.

"I bet that isn't all you love," the man said getting into his wife's game.

"I love lots of things. Some are more fun that others, but most things can be fun on some level." I replied.

"Thy most certainly can," the little blond said. I call her little because she was petite. She couldn't have been even five feet tall. She was gorgeous but she most likely would not age well. Little old ladies just can't seem to pull it off like average sized ones. None of that mattered at the moment because she was still a beauty.

"So Ms. Avery are you open minded?" The gorgeous blond asked.

"Everyone likes to think they are open minded," I suggested.

She looked at her husband and he nodded. "We have friends over on Saturday nights, would you like to be one of our friends?" Jason asked me, but he was looking at Marie for her approval.

"I'm always looking for new friends," I said. I wasn't sure what all was involved in being their friend, but it did look interesting.

"Then come to our place at 10PM Saturday night," Marie suggested.

"And how should I dress?" I asked.

"Basically, we all start out dressed casually," Jason said with an evil smile.

"That is fair enough," I admitted.

"So, let's get this taken care of first, then we can work out the details," I suggested.

Marie seemed to have more interest in me than Jason did. Since my experience with Rosie, which had been several dates according to my journal, I was a lot more attuned to woman and how they responded to me. Marie wasn't just curious, she had some experience with women of that I was sure.

Since Jason seemed to almost be the enabler for her, I asked Marie, "So tell me what is likely to happen to me?"

"You are likely to have a great time and also to provide a great time for one or more of the other guests," she said quite frankly.

"Oh I see, well it is nice to know that kind of thing going in," I said.

"Is that a problem for you?" she asked.

"Not if all you guests are as nice as you two," I suggested. "So how many people are likely to be at the party?"

"I would say no more than a dozen and that is not really likely. Probably more like half that," Jason added.

"You are bi sexual aren't you?" Marie asked.

"I am flexible for sure," I admitted.

"That's a good thing to be at one of our parties," Jason said with that evil smile again.

From out of the blue Marie said, "Show us your boobs."

"Right now?" I asked.

"Yes, we want to be sure you are up for this, and not just full of bullshit," Jason added.

I looked him in the eye when I lifted my tee shirt to expose my bra. Then I lifted the bra exposing my breasts. "You mean like that," I said.

"Not large enough for my taste, but there are all kinds of people who show up at the party," Marie said.

I put my boobs back into the bra then lowered my tee shirt. "So where is this party?" I asked.

Marie gave me the address which I wrote down in my online journal. "I better not see that show up on twitter or facebook," she demanded.

"Not to worry, I just needed to make a note," I replied.

After they had gone, I made the appropriate entry into my journal. I also make an entry into my calendar. With a little luck I would find it on Saturday and make it to the party. I looked up the address and found that it was too far for the trike, even if it had been daylight.

"I thought about inviting Royce but decided against it. What I did was to call Michael and his car service. "Michael, it's me Lucy. I am going to need to contract you for a ride on Saturday night at about 9:30 PM. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not at all, I'll make a note right now," he suggested.

"Good, I will call you again to be sure you don't forget me," I said.

"Call if it will make you feel better, but I won't forget you," he promised.

It was almost 5PM when Royce returned to the office. He came into the reception area that we all shared. "We need to talk Lucy," he said.

I stood then led him into the conference room, which had once been my private office. Once the door was closed, I asked, "So what is it Royce."

"I have made some calls, it's what I do you know," he said.

"Yes I know you are a first rate investigator," I said.

"Look, even if the Internal Affairs guys missed a couple of the bad apples, they all know by now that you are no threat. Your dad has arranged a listening post, so if anyone else were curious about you it would have shown up."

"Royce what are you saying," I asked.

"I'm saying you don't need a bodyguard any more. You might need an investigator, but you can hire one job by job. You don't need one on the staff," he informed me.

"So you are telling me you have a better offer?" I asked.

"No offer, it's just time I moved on," he said. "I spoke with my parole officer and it's okay for me to quit my job with you."

"Royce you really have to give me a better reason than this," I suggested.

"It's personal Lucy. Honestly it is nothing that you have done, it's just time for me to move on," he informed me.

"So what do you plan to do next?" I asked.

"I got a friend who works for one of those mega banks. He said they always need investigators of one kind or another, I expect I will give that a shot."

"And there is nothing I can do to change your mind?" I asked.

"Nothing at all," he admitted.

"I will miss you," I said.

"No you won't," he replied smiling.

"Sure I will, I might not know what I am missing, but I'm going to know something is different and I will feel a sense of loss," I said. I didn't know that but it sounded good.

"That is sweet of you to say, but I think you will do just fine," Royce said. "Sam will love keeping you straight. He has always wanted you all to himself."



-------

Chapter 38


When I awoke the next morning, there was no call from Royce and no one to share my morning coffee. Of course, I didn't know that it was supposed to be any other way. I read the file and there was a mention of my daily schedule, which included Royce's name, but there was also a note that Royce was no longer available. The note was from me, telling myself that I needed to start my usual schedule. I was to disregard any mention of Royce, and find other ways to do things.

I drank the fresh coffee, which I had brewed as I showered. Then I entered transportation into my index search. A picture of my red trike showed up. It stated that according to the gps tracker on the trike it was in the storage room of my building. The insert also gave me all the specifications on the trike.

Armed with that information, I rode the trike to the office, but only after I rode it through the drive thru window of the local Biscuitville. I would have preferred Hardee's, but it was much farther out of the way. I slipped my paper bag containing my one biscuit into the canvas bag tied to the handle bars of the trike and off I went headed to my office.

I made it to the office before Sam, so I made the coffee. I recognized Sam from the photo gallery and I knew what he did from the popup when I clicked on the picture. I was getting to be one hell of a computer nerd. I did realize that once I got started on some chores, things seemed to fall into place. That meant that some information stayed in my unconscious memory, the so called hardwired memory. I suppose it was a good sign that I was able to do more, but I still needed the file for the basic intellectual memory, the day to day stuff other people pulled out of their ass.

"Good morning Sam," I said when he walked through the door.

"You remembered me?" he asked.

"You popped up on my file under Thursday morning routine. So how are you today?" I asked.

"I am good. I do have a few things on for today. We are going to be working on a condo project for that old mill complex. If I can land that, we will be rolling for sure," he said.

"Good, then if we need it, I hope we get it. Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"No, nothing at all. The keeper of the keys at the Jefferson Hosiery Plant Project is an old friend of mine. If I haven't pissed him off too badly, we should be in the running."

"Cool, so how do I usually spend my time at the office?" I asked. The file had told me to ask Royce whenever I felt lost, but then it also told me to ignore any mention of Royce, since he was not available.

"You and Royce tended to be gone a lot. I would call you on the phone and you two came back to handled anything that needed handling." Sam said.

"You did know Royce is gone?" I asked. "Do you know why?"

"Do you want my gossip version," he asked.

"Of course," I replied.

"Royce had a thing for you, but you never showed any interest in him that way, While he was guarding you, he saw you with other men and women. That seemed to bother him."

"Lord, why didn't he say something?" I asked.

"I think he was concerned that you wouldn't be interested. That and he also felt eventually he would do the wrong thing, and your father would have him killed. Frankly that concerns me as well." Sam informed me.

"Why would my dad have you killed?" I asked.

"Does he need a serious reason. He is already doing life without parole." Sam did have a point.

"Well, I promise I won't ask daddy to kill either of you. So what can I do to help around here?" I asked.

"Frankly as long as we stay with real estate law, I can handle most everything. I just need you to sign off on the paperwork and do the PR at the signing," Sam said.

"Well it seems like I am a slacker, but I'll see if I can't stay out of your way," I said. I lasted over two hours before I was totally bored out of my mind. When I could stand it no longer I walked two blocks to the courthouse. I didn't recognize anyone, but I knew from the file that the ADA handling my case was named Marco. I was sorely tempted to stop in to see him, but I resisted the urge. I could remember a saying from someone in my foggy past. It went, the person who volunteers information to the justice system, loads the gun that is used to murder him." Okay it sounds better in the original version I'm sure.

Since that trip was a bust, I just walked down the streets window shopping. I stopped in the Downtown Cafe for lunch. I found the soup of the day was white bean southern style soup. I had no idea what it was so I tried it. I found that it was delicious with the fried cornbread cakes. I made a note in my journal and inserted the raw information into the index so I would have easy access to it.

From the Downtown Cafe I walked to the train station. There were no trains of course and no activity of any kind. It was just a very historic looking place. I missed that part of my memory most. The ability to have a feeling for what it had been like in the days when trains rolled all over the country carrying people as well as coal. Without that, I had to look it up on line and review an hour of old film to get a sense of what the place had been like. If I still had my memory I could have had that in ten seconds or less.

"Hello," the young man in a red knit shirt and jeans said to me. "Would you mind if I sketched you."

"Why," I asked.

"You are quite striking sitting on that bench," he said. "Honest, I'm an art student at the community college. This is not a scam."

"In that case be my guest," I replied. I spent an hour letting him move me around on the bench as he drew me in several positions. He got a few cheap feels as he manipulated his model. He must have been an artist, because he spoke to me very little while he drew me.

"You do know that you have a spectacular body," he said. I thought that he was hitting on me until I saw his face. He was dead serious.

"I am way to skinny hon, my boobs are too small, and my hair is a disaster. I know what I look like son," I said.

"Oh you aren't that kind of beauty, you have the kind of body that an artist can do so much with. Please tell me how I can find you again," he begged.

"Here is my card. If you really want to draw me again, call me and say mercury to me," I demanded. Then I made a note in my journal file and in the index as to what Mercury meant. "So what is your name son, so I will know you the next time?" I asked.

"Bobby Ashe," he replied handing me one of the drawings he had made. "This is my least favorite, but it is the most commercial," he informed me. I took the drawing and his picture with my cell phone.

The drawing was absolutely haunting. There was something about it that was almost memorable, but of course it wasn't. I mean, I did recognize myself, so I guess that would be memorable on some level.

I took the drawing to the frame shop, which I passed earlier on my walk about town. The woman behind the counter took a long thoughtful look at it, then she just went on and on about it. Funny but I felt the same way. The drawing wasn't me as much as it was the kid Bobby. At least that is how it felt to me. They did the frame while I waited, since I bought a stock frame for the drawing. The mat was the only real work.

When I got back to the office, I showed it to Sam. "My god that is gorgeous." he said. I swear it is you, but it is so much more as well. You could be anyone or anything the viewer wanted you to be. I mean you could be a forties woman waiting for her husband to come back from the war."

"As thin as I am, I could be a death camp survivor. At least that is what the man in the frame shop saw. He wanted to buy the drawing from me." I laughed as I said it.

"I can understand that. I would love to h ave it myself," Sam said. "You need to be sure to take it home, or it might disappear," Sam was joking, but I made a note in my journal to take it home the first chance I got.

That evening I did nothing at all. I mean I watched TV, but it was kind of hard to start with episode seven and try to make an sense of it at all. I ended the evening back on the computer trying to find something to waste time until I was exhausted enough to sleep.

I fought sleep because I knew I would wake up to an almost blank slate. I did it every morning. I watched porn until midnight, when I switched to adult chat room visits. Every time I went into one of them, I made up a new name and a new me for the evening. Sometimes I made some of it based on my past according to the file. Then some of the time I made up people based on nothing more than my warped imagination fueled by TV drama and porno movies. Kind of housewives of mobile meets Debbie does small town usa.

I kept the smart phone beside me and lots of windows open so that I could quickly research anything I was asked. I also used my excellent short term memory not to get caught in fabrications. Usually by 2AM I was exhausted and ready for bed. It seemed as though most of the men in the chat rooms didn't really want to chat. They wanted to masturbate to an illusion. I was totally down with that, if I hooked up with the right guy. I drew the line at meeting men from chat rooms or giving them any possible information that might be used to find me.

As usual I ran into a man in the chat room who asked about my kids. That was another popular topic of conversation. They seemed to especially enjoy a conversation about my daughter Cindy. That night I told the man I was chatting with that Cindy was 16 and having her first grownup relationship with a young man. I could tell the mental images were a real turn on for him, so I kept it up.

"So have you ever seen her getting fucked?" he asked.

"God no," I replied.

"So they have never done it in your house?" he asked.

"I didn't say that. I said I never saw them doing it."

"So if you didn't see them, did you at least hear them?" he asked.

"I have heard noises coming from her room, when he is visiting her," I admitted.

"Did it make you wet?" he asked.

"I admit that it was erotic, but I'm not proud that I listened," I said.

"Did you get off while you listened," he asked.

"That's more than enough on this subject," I said then clicked on the little x in the upper right corner. It was definitely time for bed, so I stumbled off to my less than comfortable bed.



-------

Chapter 39


I managed to get as far as the bathroom with my computer before I was totally lost. That was pretty good, since in the hospital I wasn't even sure I was a human being. Now I could wake up to the buzz of the clock, and know that I had to make coffee and take the computer to the bathroom. After that it was try to figure out who the hell I was, and what I should be doing.

On my Friday schedule I had a note. meeting with Cindy about finances. I should have been a little more detailed in the note I wrote to myself. I had no idea what finances the note meant. I wondered, if I ever knew. It could be that the note was in reference to a phone message or something like that. I knew that I needed a better system.

Hell, I thought. Maybe I already had a system. I went to the index and looked for schedule codes. Sure as hell there was a code system in place. I had no idea whose system it was, but I found that the small 'p' after the message meant phone message.

So obviously Cindy had called to request a meeting about someone's finances. I decided to check if I had copied the message. Sure enough I had. Cindy it seemed was my daughter. I switched to the index to find that she was also a brand new college grad. Maybe she wanted money as a present. Surely I would have bought her a present when she finished college. Oh shit I was in a coma when she graduated. Hell I woke up as her present.

The phone message said she wanted to talk about my finances. So there it was she was worried that I wasn't going to be able to take care of myself. Probably worried that she would have to support me in my old age.

I went through the drill of finding out how I would get to work and then where the trike was located. I checked the weather forecast to be sure I could ride the trike before I committed to it. Once I was sure, I went looking for the trike in the basement storeroom. When the building had been a bank, the basement was obviously where the armored cars entered to pick up and drop off money. So I had a cool storage area for my trike with access to the parking lot.

When I got to the office. with my biscuit in the little canvas bag, Sam was already seated and on the phone. He waved toward the coffee pot. It was full and I was happy to see it. Sam made coffee the same way I did, so it was just like drinking my own coffee.

"So Sam. what can I do to help?" I asked.

"Nothing hon, I got it covered," he said. Even I knew something was wrong with the arrangement. I was signing off on paperwork I had nothing to do with. I had my reputation on the line. of course I really didn't give a crap, except that it just didn't feel right.

I nodded then went to my cubical to check the file and then check on line for things I might have an interest in one day. I might have checked the same things twenty times for all I knew. I read the file to give me some idea what to research. It was almost impossible to find anything specific in the file. All those generalities led me nowhere.

Instead of doing research, I just read about the old me. There were lots of mentions of me online. Everything from my old blog, to my case history as part of a research study published by my Doctor. I didn't get a cut, so he better not have gotten paid for that study.

"I think your daughter, Cindy, is in the airlock," Sam said.

"You can let her in, I'm expecting her," I said.

"Do you know the man with her?" he asked.

"I'm sure I don't, if you don't," I replied. I heard the buzz of the solenoid and then the click of the lock.

"Good morning Cindy," Sam said.

"Hello Sam, is mom around?" she asked calmly.

"Sure, she is back in the conference room. Would like coffee?" he asked. I know that killed him. since Sam hated to get coffee for anyone. He found it demeaning.

"No we are good," Cindy said as she moved to stand in the doorway of the conference room. She turned her attention to me. "Hello mom. how are you?" she asked.

There were no hugs or anything like it. It would have been hard, since I didn't recognize her at all. "I am doing just fine. How about you?" I asked.

"I'm getting ready for medical school in the fall," she informed me. I quickly made a note of that for my file.

"Which school?" I asked.

"Duke University," she admitted. I found out after she left what a prestigious school it was, but at the time I had never heard of it, to my knowledge.

"It's a fine school I'm sure. I am also very proud of you honey," I said meaning every word of it.

"I thought we should have this meeting, since I am going to be a hundred miles away and busy as hell when school starts.

"Sure, I can understand. What is on your mind?" I asked.

"You don't remember that I'm your conservator?" she asked.

"No, why do I need a conservator?" I asked mystified. I knew what a conservator was, why I didn't know, but I did know.

"With your memory mom someone could rob you blind and you wouldn't ever know it. Dad had me and him designated as conservators of you estate. Since I am going to be gone, and you are more in touch with yourself, I thought it was time we decided some things."

"I'm not sure that I understand all this, but go ahead," I said. "Who are you sir?" I said turning my attention to the man.

"I'm Milo from your accounting firm. Your account is in my files," he said it as if I should understand.

"Well, if you give me a few minutes, I can pull up the bank's online files and I'll know what I have," I suggested.

"No mom you won't know much just from the bank files. That is your operating account. Money flows from your investment account into your operating account. Of course this is all explained in the file, but I don't expect you to read it everyday." Cindy said.

"Where did the money in the investment account come from?" I asked.

"Some of it came from the divorce settlement. Additionally some came from the buy out at Avery, Avery, and Avery, your old law practice, finally there is the settlement money from the incident at the boat ramp. That has a long term payout since daddy keeps finding assets to attach. It has become a game with him. They try to hide it, and he hunts it down in his spare time."

"Okay, I just added all that to the journal file," I said.

"I'm sure it was in there somewhere, but okay. So we need to get you more involved." Cindy said. "To do that Milo needs to be in touch with you. I am going to have him call you every Friday for an update on your account. So how do you suggest we do that?" she asked me.

It took me a moment of thought to come up with a plan. "If when you call me Milo, you tell me it is about project bluebird, I will quickly review all the information I have on the accounts from our last contact." I quickly added his name and labeled the file bluebird. I also made a note in the index, 'Need big money, see the bluebird'. By doing that I would have access to the information if I needed big money between Milo's updates.

"Very good, now dad also has access to the information but can not make any changes without your approval." Cindy informed me.

"That sounds like a good idea," I said.

"So now I can leave you on your on and not worry too much about you?" she asked.

"You can indeed," I suggested.

"Is that you?" she asked as she stood to leave. She had finally noticed the drawing.

"Hold on," I did a quick check on the drawing and said, "Yes that is me. It appears that a young college kid drew it at the train station yesterday."

"I'm sure there is a great story in there, but I think I'm going to leave it for another time," Cindy replied.

"So can you find time for lunch with your mom before you go off to med school?" I asked.

"Sure how about I call and leave you a message when my boyfriend can make it as well," she suggested.

"That would be wonderful," I said.

"Mom, is that drawing an original?" she asked.

"It is the only one like it," I said. "He handed it to me from his sketch pad when he was done. Why?"

"I would love one, if he ever does any more," she said.

"I might remember it," I said.

"There is one more thing," Cindy said walking to close the door. "Daddy and I think you need to close the practice completely and sell this building."

"Why," I asked in a very calm voice.

"It got back to dad that Sam was telling everyone that he did all the work and you just robo signed the papers. He said you attended the closing but he had to provide you a fact sheet, so that you didn't make a fool of yourself. He also said there were lots of other attorneys after him."

Cindy knew that the last two bits would light me up. "Oh really, I obviously can not handle this alone, so you are right. If I can't trust Sam, then I have no choice. There will be an investigation soon, if that get back to the bar association."

"Yes and that would not be good for anyone," Cindy said.

"True my name is still Avery," I said. That bit of sniping I didn't need to look up. There were some things that just seemed to stay with me. "Milo would you wait for Cindy in the car?"

After Milo had been gone a couple of minutes, I called Sam into the room. "Sam, I am not doing anything around the office. I am sure you can find other places to go, Places where you can get help and be part of a team. So I have decided to close the office. I will stay up to a week, just to take care of anything you have agreed to close in that time. I am sure you can find some where to go that will appreciate the business contacts you have made."

"You are really closing the office on me. No wonder Royce left. You really are a bitch," Sam, said.

"Well Sam, you are entitled to your opinion and I am sure it is the majority one these days. So, if you can move the signing dates, or if you want to just close the office today, we can do that as well."

"I'll let you know," he said.

"Sam I'm making a notation in the file, so I will not forget this conversation." I said.

"I'm going to have a lot to say," Sam snapped.

"Do we need to call Royce?" Cindy asked.

Sam suddenly got very quiet. I could tell he was seething, but he wasn't threatening me anymore. Cindy wrote a number on a message pad I kept on the conference room. The name above the phone number was Royce. "Call him, if this gets nasty," Cindy said it in front of Sam. "Grand Daddy will take care of it."

"Are you sure you don't want to go into law," I said smiling.

"Hell no, I'm going to be the one to find a way to help you," she said. Next think I knew I was alone in the conference room.

I hung around the office the rest of the day playing on the Internet. I wanted to be around, if anything went sideways.

"Lucy, I want you to know I was in shock. I did not mean any of those things I said." Sam confided to me.

"I understand and I don't hold it against you, that you talk too much. Now go home and enjoy your weekend."



-------

Chapter 40


Friday night passed with me sitting on the computer watching the a season of Project Runway. Totally by accident I found that I could watch a full season at once, and not be lost at all. It was by far the best way for me to watch TV. I could handle the daily news, but for entertainment, all at once on line was ideal. I might watch the same show over and over but so what, it was alway new to me.

I awoke on Saturday morning with enough memory to check the schedule on my computer. That is how I found out about the party at Jason and Marie's house. It didn't begin until 10PM that's part of how I knew that it wasn't your typical wine tasting event.

I found out again that morning that my background memory was coming back. I could always hope that my brain made even more new connections to tap into it's own filing system.

Meanwhile I read my journal entry from the day before, and rediscovered that I was out of business. Since I bored easily before the boat ramp incident, it was no surprise that it was even worse after. I read a little of my bike trip blog to discover that I was really quite adventurous. I guess I did get a few things from my dad after all.

On a whim I decided to go fishing. Once my memory got tweaked, I remembered that they sold licenses at the marina. They also charged a fee to fish there, but I didn't care. I spent my morning at Walmart buying equipment, since it was on the way to the lake.

For the next four hours I pretended to fish. It was very therapeutic. I watched the float bob up and down while I just relaxed and tried not to think about all those empty days ahead of me. All my days had really been empty since my rented car went into the river. I would really like for that to change, I thought.

I finally got hungry enough to pack up the fishing equipment and head home. I stopped at the downtown cafe for a meal of soup and a cheese sandwich. It was one of my favorite meals. Since I was too screwed up to know how often I had it, I ordered the soup an sandwich for lunch most every day I'm sure.

I passed the variety store belonging to my host for the evening, so I stopped in to browse and to verify the evening plan. "Well hello there, remember me?" I asked.

"Of course," Marie said. "So are you coming to the party tonight?"

"I am, if the invitation is still good," I replied.

"It most definitely is. Try to get to the house between 9 and 10 if you can. It is easier if everyone shows up around the same time." Marie suggested.

I had no idea why that would be important but I said, "If the car shows up on time, I will be there no problem."

"Would you like for me to have one of the other guests stop by for you?" she asked.

"That won't be necessary, but thanks for the offer. Since I am here, I think I will brows, if that is okay?" I said.

"Of course, it's how you become a customer. First you look then you buy," she said smiling. "If you are a real bargain hunter, the proceeds of an estate sale just came in the back door. Go on back and have a look. Anything you buy before we sort it, is half price."

"Of course you decide what the price is," I suggested. "But I trust you to do the right thing."

What I found in the boxes, which I helped to unpack, was a very old cook book of sorts. It was from American's colonial days. It was hand written and really just a bundle of papers. Still I found it of interest, not as a collector thing, but as something I might want to try. I could imagine a dish made from a two hundred and fifty year old recipe.

"So how much?" I asked.

"How about a dollar?" she asked.

"That sounds totally fair to me," I said handing her the money.

When I arrived home, I found the hand written pages fascinating. I stopped reading only long enough to microwave a frozen pot pie. Otherwise I read the recipes and the little stories that went along with each.

Among all the food recipes there were four very detailed recipes for making brandy from fruit and liquor from corn. I used the computer and google to check out the recipes and the equipment mentioned.

"Hello," I said into the phone.

"It's me Michael and I'm downstairs in the lobby." the voice said.

"Michael I will be down in a minute," I replied. I had gotten lost in the book. I made a quick note to myself and then an entry into the index before I rushed down the stairs.

"Hello there Lucy, I have really missed driving you around," he said.

"That's nice to hear. I'm headed to this address," I said handing him the note with the William's address.

"Won't take more than ten minutes," Michael said. "You know even after all that you and Jane went through, she still got three years for possession with intent."

"I'm sorry to hear that Michael. It could have been worse though," I said that even though I had no idea what he was talking about, and I didn't want to waste time looking it up.

When we arrived at the brick two story house, I gave Michale twenty dollars for the ride and a five dollar tip. He seemed satisfied, so I left the car in a good mood.

When I rang the bell, Jason answered dressed in a track suit. "Come on in Lucy the party is just getting started. I do hope you are as adventuresome and I have heard."

"Oh really and who has been talking about me?" I asked.

"Okay your clerk Sam said we should invite you to a party. You did know that we are swingers?" he asked.

"No, but that's okay," I said it as I went into the entry hallway. I also pulled out my cell phone to find out that swinging meant casual sex, with people other than your life partner. I figured I could do that well enough.

In the very large family room I saw exactly a dozen people wandering around. It was not six couples I decided since there were more men than women. I had no idea how that was going to work out. There were seven men and only five women not counting me. The one extra man would be interesting I was quite sure.

Without warning the music changed from soft rock to a hard core version of the stripper. I only knew that because I overheard one of the men laugh and comment on it. People began to take their clothes off. I had never done that in front of a group before, but what the hell, I didn't really know any of the people and they wouldn't know me either. Tomorrow I wouldn't even remember having done it.

I stood very still to remove my tee shirt, then my shorts and panties. I was naked just that quickly. Someone handed me a drink, I took it gratefully. I hadn't done any drinking since before the ramp incident. I had no idea how I would react.

Jason was naked when he came to me. "So how do you like the party so far?" he asked.

"I seems to be very nice, so far," I admitted. The words were just out of my mouth, when he put his hands on my ass and pulled me to him. I felt his penis press against my tummy and my boobs flatten against his chest. I also felt one of his fingers press against my rectum. It was uncomfortable but it did get inside me.

"We are going to need to grease that," he said with a smile. "If you were a regular you would have already done that before you showed up."

"Sorry, I had no idea," I admitted.

"It's no big deal. Since you are new here, we won't hold it against you.

"I'm glad," it was the only thing I could think of to say.

"Are you a good cocksucker?" Jason asked.

"I don't know, isn't that for the receiving person to judge?" What I didn't tell him was that I had read all my notes on every possible sex act before I came to the party.

"Since you are new, you should show us all how you do it," he said.

"Very well," I answer in agreement. Jason nodded, then took me by the hand to lead me to the middle of the large room. Everyone circled around me. Yes, I was terrified and not sure I could remember what to do. Fortunately Jason already had a raging erection.

I simply kiss the head of his wet cock. Then I allowed him to slip it inside my mouth. I sucked on it and stroked it with my mouth much as he would have with his hand I was sure. In the end I push down hard until I choked on his cock. The crowd seemed to approve. I worked on his cock for what seemed like an hour but probably wasn't even near that. I felt him stiffen as he drove his cock into my throat and came. He poured his semen down my throat and into my mouth. I also felt it slip out the corners of my mouth.

After he got control of himself he patted me on the head like a dog, then said, "That was beautiful. You are indeed a great cocksucker."

"And that is a good thing?" I asked.

"That is a very good thing," Marie explained. "We love women who are good at everything women are supposed to be good at."

"Well, I'm a lousy cook," I explained.

"Fair enough, I'll make breakfast, if you are still here." Marie said quietly.

"Good," I said. "What was obviously a married couple approached me while I stood in a corner trying to wash the taste of semen from my mouth using a very smooth Canadian Whiskey. I had almost succeeded when the woman said to me, "Don't bother just enjoy the liquor, you are going to have a lot more of that tonight."

"I suppose you are right," I said. I was still determined to go along with anything that came my way.

"Why don't you take a break and come with us." the woman suggested. I nodded and followed after her. She went to a quiet corner of the room, then sat on a black leather sofa. With so many sex acts in the room, leather was the only practical covering for the sofa.

She was as naked as me but much healthier looking than me. Maybe she was twenty or twenty five pounds over weight. That was being charitable. In her case it was spread evenly over her body. From her boobs to her butt everything was just a little soft. Once she was seated she opened her legs and just pointed to her vagina. Of course I knew what she wanted.

I got down on my knees, rested my elbows on her thighs, then I used the tips of my fingers to stretch the hood over her clit unit the clit popped out. I began to use the tip of my rough tongue to massage her clit. She accepted my manipulations with quiets moans. I was surprised that she didn't turn on more and much faster.

Her first real moan came when her husband lifted me to my knees and repositioned me so that my butt was to him. I felt his finger slip inside me and I thrilled at his touch. When I stiffened in response his wife moaned for the first time. When I felt his heavily greased finger penetrate my rectum, she jerked, as I said, "Don't." He didn't listen.

He began to finger fuck my ass. It was a totally new sensation for me. I felt my body respond to the slight pain and yet the stimulation was sexually charged. It took a few seconds for him to remove his finger and insert his well greased cock into my ass. His wife held my head in place while he penetrated me. I am sure he tried to be gentle but it hurt like hell anyway.

I forced my head back and begged, "Please stop it hurts," I said. His response was to go faster and deeper. His wife forced my face back to her pussy. I was choking on both ends it seemed. The more I whined the more the woman turned on. She came all over my face more than once. Finally her husband shot a load deep into my ass. When he removed his cock, I could tell that my ass stayed open. I felt empty and cold without either of them.

"Slut," I heard the woman say as she approached another couple.



-------

Chapter 41


When I awoke Sunday, I had an urgent need to sit on the toilet. I did that off and on all day. Most of the time nothing happened. I had no memory of what caused my problem, but I did know that I had gone to a party for broad minded people. My guess was that it had something to do with that.

I knew that only because I had an entry in my journal, explaining that I was planning to attend the party. I had no memory of having done so. I had a pretty good idea that if I kept my mind open to it, someone would give me enough hints to figure it all out. I had learned a lot about figuring out what happened by other people's reaction to events.

Since I knew that it wasn't anything serious, and I had nothing planned for the day, none of the secondary effects of the party were of any real significance. I did a lot of thinking and research. I was trying hard to find something to occupy my mind without the office. The office, since the boat ramp thing, hadn't really been mine. Sam was really the one who did everything, I just parachuted in to put a rubber stamp on things. I wanted more than that. I wanted to look back at what I had done the day before, and know that it was something real. It was well after lunch before I picked up the sheath of papers from the 2nd Chance Thrift store, I took them into the bathroom for something to do, rather than just sit and wonder if I had fun the previous night.

I found a section of the hand written book that was more worn than the rest of it. It was all about how to make homemade liquors. There were instructions and recipes. I got up long enough to find my laptop, so that I could do Internet searches of related information. I found that if I wanted to test the antique recipes, I could but it was illegal. I also found that the penalty would be minor, as long as the output was minimal.

I gave serious thought to becoming a moonshiner. The war on drugs and tobacco seemed to be the most important items on the government's list in those days, so it sounded like a fun thing for me to do. Even on the small scale it could be easy to get caught, so I needed to be careful.

First of all I needed to buy or make a distilling machine. A water distiller could be used to distill anything. It was my first choice, but it was also easier for the ABC agents to track. So My second choice was to build a small still. A still seemed to be basically a large pot in which to boil the ingredients. The vapor from the boiling contained alcohol and water. The trick was to capture the vapor and let it condense. The condensed vapor would be both alcohol and water.

If I understood it correctly the first vapor contained the highest percentage of alcohol. It became less and less alcohol and more water as it boiled. It was going to require some trial and error to figure out exactly how to do it. I could really use the advice of a real moonshiner. The notes were fine, but talking to someone would be much better.

I couldn't leave the house all day. Every ten minutes I had the urge to sit on the toilet and it was undeniable. Since that was the case I ordered pizza and stayed in doing my homework. I drew a plan for a still then put it into a folder called, Moonglow. I know not very original but there you go I'm pretty boring.

My design called for an pressure cooker. I planned to use an electric hotplate for heat at first. The whole idea was to experiment, not produce enough liquor to sell. The pressure cooker I chose was a small home canning type that held up to two gallons. I placed the order on line through one of those shopping sites. It would arrive before the end of the week for sure.

The mad mechanic, who built my trike would be my first field trip, just as soon as it arrived, I needed the pressure valve on top removed. That needed to be replaced with something to condense the vapor from the boiling mash. I decided that I would call it my canning mixture.

Sam was definitely cool and not friendly at all, but he was pleasant enough. I continued to check out the things I would need to substitute for things no longer available. Well they might be, if I were living on a Virginia plantation. Sam left the cruiser in the parking lot, since he had already decided that he was no longer part of the firm, At the moment the firm didn't need it either. I didn't want to sell it since anything was possible.

I got a call from an unfamiliar voice that said he had been told to say Mercury first thing. I quickly did a search for a folder called Mercury. The folder had one file, so far, and it was a summary of the encounter with Bobby Ashe the artist.

"Sure Bobby, how are you?" I asked.

"I am fine, I wondered if you would let me draw you again?" he asked.

"If you do me a favor in return," I suggested.

"I don't see why not, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"I'll explain later. Trust me it is all legal. You won't get into any trouble," I admitted.

"So would you come meet me somewhere?" he asked.

"You are the boss, I'm just the model," I replied.

"Then why don't you meet me at the Avery Theater lobby? They have some beautiful spaces there," he suggested.

"When and what should I wear?' I asked.

"How about 5 PM and wear a dress," he requested.

"That's fine," I said in agreement. It was a short ride on the trike from the office to the downtown theater. When we finished it would be only two blocks back to my condo.

"Since we don't have anything that I need to be present to handle, I am going to leave at four. I wanted to stop for dinner before I met with Bobby. I chose to grab a quick bowl of soup at the downtown cafe. The soup of the day that afternoon was a cream potato soup. I had never heard of it, but it was possible that it was the most popular soup in the country and I still wouldn't know what it was.

I arrived at the theater at exactly 5pm. The door was locked, so I knocked. When the security guard came to the door, there was a young man behind him. I didn't remember, but I guessed that it was Bobby. "Hello Bobby?" I asked.

"Yes," he said to me. "See officer, I told you she was on the way. So follow me Mrs. Ayers." He turned and walked away. I followed him into the theater then onto the stage.

"Bobby what the heck is going on here?" I asked.

"I'm going to draw you here," with that he gave a signal. Bright lights came on to illuminate the stage. On center stage there was a large packing create with several travel stickers.

"Oh we have props," I said laughing.

"Not for long," he said spreading a black cloth over the box. "I hope you don't mind, I have invited my classmates to draw you as well. Everyone was fascinated by your look."

"I guess not, but this is going to require more than on favor," I suggested.

"That is fair enough," he said smiling.

"So is this outfit alright," I asked. "I didn't get a chance to go home to change."

An older man came onto the stage. "I'm professor Phelps. I couldn't help overhearing. I need to ask you, would you consider posing nude. Nude models are impossible to find around here. Especially ones with any special look about them. They all want to look like Heidi Klum."

"Hell I want to look like her myself," I said. "To answer your questions I don't model for a living, so I don't have a reputation to tarnish by posing nude." With those words I removed the knit top and then my jeans. When the jeans went to the floor, my panties went with them. I was standing naked.

"Well Bobby, she is your model," the professor said.

"Would you please sit on the box for us?" Bobby asked.

"Of course," I replied sitting very primly. My legs were pressed close together. My small breast were sagging slightly. My nipples were hard which might have compensated for the sag. I could not see the audience, which was probably a good thing. When Bobby and the professor left the stage it was as if I was alone in the room.

"Would you cross your legs, and lean back propping yourself up with your arms please," Bobby said.

"You know, I do want one of the drawings. The professor can choose which one." I said.

"I will select one from each artist and you can choose," the older man's voice informed me.

"Since I am no art critic, don't make it the best from them anything will do," I replied almost in a whisper.

"In that case let's allow them to choose and you choose the one you want," he suggested.

"Fair enough," I said. I had no idea how many sketches they made but I posed for two hours. I know that I was exhausted when the sketching was finished. Even though I was ready to leave, I had to choose my drawing.

The professor spread seven drawings on the box where I had sat. From them I chose the most haunted looking sketch. My face was not clear in any of the images but one of them stood out as almost ghostlike. I could not believe how much I liked it. "This one," I said.

"Of course," he agreed.

"Bobby," I said, "Be at my office tomorrow after lunch. I have a chore for you," I said as I wrote corn into my journal of things to do the next day. Beside it, I wrote Bobby.

When I got home, I looked at the TV news and found that it was already Wednesday. I had lost a couple of days. Since I had no memory of the day before, I wasn't surprised. I lay in bed later that night, and realized how much I had enjoyed posing for the kids. I knew at that moment that I was an exhibitionist. I did not know if I had always been one or if it was new. It would explain the party thing. I seemed to also have no inhibitions judging from the condition of my body on Sunday. as noted in the journal.

I found the note about Bobby and corn in my journal, so I was expecting him when he showed up in my office door. I had retained the memory of how the security chamber worked so I was indeed building new memories, but they seemed to require some mechanical manipulations and lots of repetitions Even so there was hope that it was coming along.

"So what exactly is this chore?" he asked as he drove me to the farmers exchange in the Cruiser.

"We are going to buy some feed corn." I suggested.

"Why?" he asked.

"I am going to feed the ducks in the park with it." Bobby seemed to accept that.

We bought a fifty pound bag of deer corn for five bucks. I didn't press my luck by having him buy sugar for me. That and the yeast, I could pick up on the trike,

Bobby left the cruiser in my parking lot and I left the corn locked in the back. After he left I found that the UPS man had come while we were gone. I had the pressure cooker, so I opened it and removed the top. I loaded the lid onto the top of the trike's batteries, and tied it down good. I rode off to my mad mechanic to do some conversions.

When I left the mad mechanic's lair, I had the pressure valve removed from the lid of the cooker, I had twenty feet of heat resistant plastic tubing rolled around a two foot long wooden post. All of that was made just from crap the MM had laying around his shop.



-------

Chapter 42


When I woke up first thing I did was my 'Who the fuck am I' routine while sitting on the toilet. Then it was shower before I started the day. I knew where the trike was without hunting it down with the GPS. Not so much that I remembered putting it there, I just remembered that there was an underground storage room and that my trike was usually there. Sure enough it was there that Friday morning as well. Another bit of memory had returned. I was thankful for every little bit.

In the review of the file, I found that I had a cooker, a condenser coil, and fifty pounds of deer feed in the cruiser. It was stored there so that Sam wouldn't get suspicious. I might not have a good memory, but I could still read people and Sam was pissed. I didn't want him to have any information at all.

I almost decided to stop by the Home Depot for more materials, but I chose breakfast biscuits instead. I didn't really want to risk Sam seeing me messing around the parking lot with buckets. Besides I needed Someone to drive the Cruiser for me, when I got the buckets. Someone who wouldn't ask any questions.

"So Sam, the file says we have a closing at 10AM is that the end of it?" I asked.

"It is, I moved all my other pending closings to Michael Tate's office. You told me I could take them with me."

"I did and that's fine," I said. He had used the closings and probably the new accounts he was courting as his ticket into Tate's office. Tate was a successful firm, I was sure. No I didn't remember, but I knew Sam and he wasn't going to start over again. He told me often enough that he had his fill of struggling. So there it was a 10AM closing to suffer through, then I was free.

The clients were on time, but the Realtor was late. Nonetheless we finished by 11am, so I was satisfied. When everyone was finished, I asked Sam, "So are you going to take care of the papers?"

"Yes, I am going to file them now. I think I will go on home from there, if you don't have any parties planned. No I don't have anything planned, except to take the list of clients and double check that all the papers have been filed with the clerk of court." I saw the look on his face. "I'm just going to make sure for both our sakes, that all the I's are dotted ect."

I called a friend, from the list Jeff had put in my index and had her check everything. I didn't want or need someone from the clerk of court coming to see me in a moonshine operation. I laughed at the thought, since I didn't really consider the little operation moonshining. I considered what I was doing as simply preserving corn. Just as the notes, I had from the colonial times, referred to it.

I walked out to the sign just to see how it was built. I needed to know what I wanted to do with it. I found that it was a simple pole with a cross bar at the top. From the top hung a plaque with my information on it. Removing the plaque was simple. I didn't have any tools or really know how to use them, if I did. I also did not want anyone snooping around, so I made pictures of the hardware with my cellphone camera.

I passed Marie's barbecue restaurant on my way to home depot, so of course I had lunch there. I couldn't get the five gallon buckets on the trike, but I did manage the set of wrenches, the set screw drivers, and the gallon of spring water. Those I bungeed to the top of the battery box.

With Sam gone I began to mentally set things up. I made a list of things I still needed to buy. I needed a hot plate, with continuous temperature control. Not some push button thing, but one with an oven type controller. When I opened the bag of grain, I found that it was whole kernels. I checked my recipe again, and it called for ground corn or corn meal. Some quick research and I found for my tests purposes I could grind enough in a coffee bean grinder to do the job. The coffee grinder was designed for that kind of grinding.

The office had a little kitchenette break room, complete with a sink, small refrigerator/freezer and microwave oven. I had running water to cool the condenser, I had ice if it really needed a quick cooling. I added plastic ice trays to my list of things to purchase. It wouldn't hurt to have a few more in the freezer. I could quickly boil water in the microwave, if I needed to raise the temperature of the mash to dissolve the sugar or mix the cracked corn.

The next thing I needed was a driver to take me and the cruiser to Walmart. I chose Walmart more for the fact that no one there was ever going to remember me. I needed a friend to drive not a car service. It was a bitch to realize that I didn't have anyone I could call on short notice. No one I could trust anyway.

Who I called was the mad mechanic. He informed me that if I brought the trike to him after 3PM, he would have a trailer ready to attach to it. With the trailer I should be able to carry anything I needed, as long as I didn't need anything to large, he informed me...

While I waited for 3PM I rode the trike to Walmart. I left Walmart with the coffee grinder, and hot plate bungeed to the top of my battery box. I took both back to the office before I headed off to the mad mechanic's lair.

The mad mechanic had done it again. He built me a replica of an old school child's toy freight wagon. It was only a foot and a half wide and three feet long but it had four wheels and could be pulled like a child's wagon. It also had a hitch on the end of the short tongue which hooked to the hitch which had always been attached to the rear of the trike. Yes the mad mechanic had built in a trailer hitch just in case I wanted to carry something larger than a bread box. It wasn't cheap, but then nothing the mad mechanic built ever was.

I swung by the house to switch the battery packs, so that I wouldn't run out of power while I went to the home depot again for the buckets. I also bought a case of sprint water in 8oz plastic bottles. On the way back to the office I passed the $1 store. I had no idea what was inside one of them, but I thought surely there must be something I can use in there.

I found a two cup glass measuring device. They also had aluminum bike water bottles, so I bought two of them as well. I found a box of coffee filters which seemed like a good idea as well as a set of three funnels to use with them. So when I left the $1 store, I had spent $5 plus tax. It seemed like a pretty good deal to me.

Making the mash isn't too important, most of the time. I mean the yeast just does its thing in pure corn liquor, but I was trying to modify the recipe of an old time Virginia Plantation version.

I decided to let everything sit until the next day. I wanted to eat a decent meal and go home and just do nothing but watch some silly TV reality show on line. I didn't want or need to socialize. What I needed was to get my plans into the file before I forgot them. I also needed to get the trike and the trailer back to my storage space under the condo building.

I was just about to walk out the door when the phone rang. "Hello," I said.

"Hello, this is Professor Phelps," the voice said. He sounded as though I should know him, so I entered the name into my index search and came up dry.

"How can I help you professor?' I asked thinking it might be business.

"Frankly, calling might have been a bad idea. You don't seem to remember me," he said.

"To be honest I don't, but it isn't because you aren't memorable. I have a little brain damage from an accident. My memory is shit these days," I replied.

"I am Bobby's instructor. You do remember Bobby? He is the young man who made the drawings of you." It took me only a second to find bobby in the file.

"Yes Bobby, So professor what can I do for you?" I asked.

"Frankly, I was wondering if you would have dinner with me?" he asked. It sounded as if he really meant dinner. Sometimes dinner was code for let's fuck. He didn't sound that way at all.

"Professor, if you mean dinner and then home, I'm in. If you mean dinner then playing grownup games, then not right now. I'm not up to it right now to be honest. So if you just want dinner, I'm good with it. If you want more, call me in a week and we will discuss it," I said.

"It's just dinner for god's sake," he said.

"Then I'm in the Old Family Bank Condominiums. You can find me on the directory in the lobby. Meet me there at eight, if that's ok," I said.

"That's fine," he replied in agreement.

I decided that I would start the mash the next morning, so I left myself a note. The first batch of moonshine would be made with a modern recipe, so that I could judge the difference, if there was any.

I made lots of notes in the file before I went home. I had coffee and killed time changing my clothes five times before eight. I kept an eye on the hallway camera until the professor showed up. I could only assume that the man at my door was the professor, since I had no real memory of him.

"Hello," he said when I opened the door.

"Professor Phelps, I presume?" I asked.

"Yes indeed and you are the beautiful Lucy Ayers," he said.

"Well maybe not the beautiful, but the Lucy Ayers for sure," I admitted.

"So, are you ready to go?" he asked.

"If this dress is acceptable, I am ready," I admitted.

"It is beautiful and so are you no matter what you think." He smiled broadly at me.

"I do like the way you think," I replied.

"Do you h ave a preference for dinner?" he asked.

"I don't know a single restaurant except those I ate in today. Tomorrow, I will have forgotten them," I admitted.

"Wow, you really do have memory problems," he said.

"I told you going in. If we had sex and I orgasmed twenty times, I would not remember it. Except I might guess that I was having pain from too much sex. The details, however, would be gone." I didn't tell him how I knew that. If I did, it would explain why I was not interested in sex at the moment.

"In that case how about my favorite Italian restaurant?" he suggested.

"I'm sure I can find something on the menu." I said it with a smile.

"Good then let's head on out," he suggested. "You are serious, you won't remember the details of this date tomorrow?"

"No but I know what is going on in the hear and now. I can call a cop, or can kick your ass, if you try to rape me. I just won't remember tomorrow. Trust me, bad things can happen to you without going to court."

"Not to worry, I don't do rape," he said.



-------

Chapter 43


The professor took me to a small Italian restaurant where he was obviously known, if not well known. "So tell me what is good her?" I asked.

"Everything is wonderful. I know that sounds like a commercial, but it really is. What do you like to eat?" he asked.

"I'm not sure to be honest. I like things with beef and cheese in them for sure. Other than that, I have no real idea," I said. "I don't think I like chicken."

"Then try the Lasagna, it is excellent and god knows you can't go wrong with Lasagna," he said.

"Then that's what I'll have with a small salad, no bread. I have been eating like a horse lately," I explained.

"Fair enough," he said. He studied the menu while waiting for our waitress. After the waitress came and left he asked me. "What did you think of the modeling session?"

"I really have no memory of it at all. Hold on." I used the smart phone to pull up my on line entry. "At the time, I said that it was fun and harmless. I also said that I loved the drawing I took as payment."

"Would you be willing to do it again?" he asked.

"You didn't have to buy me dinner to ask that," I said smiling. "Sure why not, it was fun and like I said harmless."

"Would you be willing to model for me. I would like to do my version of the Mona Lisa with you playing Mona," he admitted.

"Is your Mona going to be nude?" I asked.

"Most likely yes," he admitted.

"Good," I said with a smile.

"Would you be willing to start after dinner?" he asked.

"You do remember no hanky panky," I said.

"Right no hanky, and certainly no panky," he agreed.

"Good, then I will pose for you," I said. "But after dinner. I'm hungry now that I smell the food."

An hour later I was in Phelps' apartment sitting cowboy style on a metal chair. The chair back covered my breasts but it was obvious that I was very naked behind that chair back. Phelps was sketching like crazy, while I smiled for him. I had no idea what he was looking for, so I just sat there being bored. Funny thing about not having many memories, the ones I had were on a loop and ran over and over. My dad was in some of them, others were of my childhood pets of all things. I suppose it would make a psychic crazy to read my mind.

I tried to remain quiet and not move, but I'm sure my boredom showed. Phelps finally decided to take a break. I slipped the black dress over my body but didn't put my underwear or bra back.

"So are you tired?" he asked.

"To be honest I'm bored more than anything," I replied.

"Well since sex is out of the question, what would you like to do?" he asked.

"Actually it is getting late, I probably should be leaving," I said.

"Even if we can't have sex, you could spend the night. I'm a first rate cuddler," the professor said.

"I really need to wake up in my own bed. It's that memory thing," I said.

"Okay, it's just that you are so sexy, it is hard for me to let you go," he said.

"It's sweet of you to try to BS me Professor, but I know I'm no sexpot. I might get laid because I'm easy, but I'm certainly not going to be anyone's first choice," I admitted.

"Oh, how easy are you?" he asked.

"When I am not sore from too much sex, I'm pretty easy to turn on and when I'm turned on, I just want to be liked," I said. It was the best I could do to explain myself.

"So, what turns you on?" he asked.

"Men who don't need to ask that are a start," I said with a laugh. I had been standing while drinking a Coke from a small bottle at the time. The professor kissed me and at the same time pushed me against the wall.

He broke the kiss and whispered to me, "So your pussy hurts. What did you do to cause that?"

"To be honest," I answered breathlessly, "I really don't remember."

"It must have really been something, since I'm sure that pussy isn't tight." he said.

"I doubt that it is, since I'm over forty," I replied.

"Is your ass sore as well," he asked.

"Yes," I answered timidly.

"So somebody used and or abused you?" he asked.

"It seems so," I replied. "To be honest I didn't make a note, so I'm not sure what happened."

"So how is your mouth?" the professor asked.

"That is fine, but to be honest my stomach muscles still hurt. I can't get turned on because of them," I said.

"Well how about a mercy blowjob then?" he asked.

I didn't even answer, I just slipped to my knees in front of him. I unzipped his yuppie trousers, then worked his semi hard cock out. I could actually smell the precum as I began to lick it. I felt his heart beat through his cock as I licked. He was moaning and I just kept licking him. It wasn't sexual, but I was enjoying his discomfort as I worked on him slowly. "Please suck me," he said. I ignored him as I continued to lick him with my wet tongue. He was dripping cum but not anywhere near the amount that would follow.

"For god's sake suck it," he demanded. He was actually begging me to suck his cock so I did. I took it into my wet warm mouth. I got the full stale taste of cock and it almost took my breath away. I could tell his knees were weak as I sucked on it. I also moved my mouth back and forth on his cock. "Yes mouth fuck me. I am going to cum for you."

If I had my memory I would have expected what happened next. He tried to drive his cock down my throat when he came. I choked on cock and cum as he forcefully stroked my throat as he came. I had no idea if I took it like that often, or if he was the first, but it scared the hell out of me. Even so it felt good to see what it had done to him. He was absolutely pussy whipped as my daddy had said when I was a teenager. Funny the things I remembered.

"Please make a note of this," he said as he left me at my door. I told him not to come up. I just wanted to get into bed alone.

Saturday morning after I checked the file and my list of last minute items for the experiment, I headed off to the store. Actually I had to stop at three stores to get everything I needed. I bought the most expensive thing last, since I couldn't lock any of them onto the bike.

I didn't get into the office until 10AM since I was in no hurry to get started. I began by grinding corn in the coffee grinder. When I had six pounds ground, I began mixing the mash. The mash had no smell at that point, but when it started to ferment I had read that it would have a very strong and distinct smell.

One of the last minute things I bought was a digital postage scale from Office Depot. With it, I could get accurate measurements. I planned to mix mash in two buckets. I put three pounds of ground corn in a bucket, I added three pounds of sugar, and then I added one gallon of very hot tap water.

I had purchased a paint mixer and the small drill from the home depot so mixing the mash was slow, but not back breaking work. I followed with two gallons of cooler water as the mash got better mixed and easier to work. When it was finished, I laid the side piece of a cardboard box over the top. I had managed to cut a more or less square hole in the center. Over that I put a paper towel. After I had that done, I move it into the bathroom. The bucket was about 3/4 full so it was heavy, so I had to be careful. I repeated the same procedure with the second bucket.

By 3PM I had what seemed to be over 6 gallons of mash. Before I added the final ingredient I checked to make sure the temperature of the mash was around 80 degrees. When I was satisfied I added a couple of ounces of brewer's yeast to each barrel, then I turned on the exhaust fan and closed the door. Before I rode the trike home I made a note on my schedule to come by every two days to stir the mash, check the bubbling, and evaluate the smell.

The smell thing worried me some, but I figured I wasn't running a thousand gallons of mash, so the smell should not be over whelming. The exhaust vent was not huge but it should get the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a steady flow. I hoped that would minimize the volume to be diluted into the air at any one time.

I found out something very interesting. Waiting for the mash to work off gave my days purpose. I mean it had something to do with there being a definite schedule. Something was going to happen on day three, so I could point myself toward day three. I'm sure that makes no sense, but I felt better because I didn't feel so adrift.

I went home and tried to find something to do. I turned down an invitation to join a party at Jason and Marie's house. I didn't remember the last one, I did know that my notes told me I was very uncomfortable after the last one. It was obvious that I had a lot of sex and a great deal of it was rough sex.

"Lucy, this is Professor Phelps, I was calling to see if you would pose for me again?" The phone message said. "Please give me a call." The again part told me that I had done it before. That and the note in my journal. I was tempted to call him but decided not to bother. If it was important to him, he would call again.

I went through the history on my computer and found a site I visited often. The site was a collection of adult movie clips. Most like trailers, they were the best parts of the whole movie, I suppose since they were taking orders for downloads of the full picture, they had to be. I just watched the clips I didn't care what the story line was. I was pretty far into it when I realized the pain was gone. The urgent need to sit on the toilet had been gone a couple of days as well.

I felt so much better that I decided to masturbate while watching the video clips. I had no idea how rough and intense my last orgasms had been. I could not believe that I had watched so many clips featuring anal intercourse. I found that a little disconcerting. I couldn't imagine that I enjoyed it. In my index of the file I found a reference to anal intercourse and the note was, 'it hurts'. Still there I was watching women who obviously didn't find it painful at all.

I decided to try it again under controlled circumstances. I found my vibrator. It was shaped sort of like a penis, more like a bullet I think. Anyway I lubricated it and my rectum well. I slipped it inside and was surprised at how little it hurt going in. It hurt some, but not so much that I would mention it in my notation this time. It gave me a full feeling that I couldn't remember feeling before. I began to work it deeper inside me and realized that I was breathing very hard. The pain was there but it was a deep pain and almost pleasurable. I couldn't help it, I came to the video image of a girl taking a cock twice the size of the vibrator in my ass. The vibrator was all I could manage, but when I came it was gut wrenching. I almost came again at the feeling of relief when I removed the vibrator.

When I managed to recover, I made a note in my journal.



-------

Chapter 44


I had learned how to handle my memory problems and still have a fairly normal life. As usual on Sunday, I read the file before I started my day. After my morning shower I rode the trike out to breakfast. I had no idea where I should eat, since I had no real memory of ever eating out before. I saw a hometown restaurant with a really catchy sign like a movie theater. The sign said, 'breakfast special every day ... even today.'

I found that a very witty idea, so I stopped the trike. I sat at the counter, since the place was full and I didn't want to take up a whole table just for me.

"What'll it be?' the young black woman asked.

"I think I'll just have your breakfast special," I answered.

"You want bacon or sausage?" she asked.

"Sausage sounds good," and it did sound good. I actually knew what both of them were.

"Grits or hash browns?" she asked.

"Hash browns," I said.

"Pancakes, toast, or biscuit," she asked.

"Biscuit, and coffee black," I suggested without being asked.

"Fair enough, how do you want your eggs?" she asked.

"Scrambled with cheese," I said hoping that the Q &A was over. It was over and I was glad since I had run out of answers. When the food came quickly, and was very good, I made a note in my journal to come back to the restaurant again.

Since the bill was under five bucks, I expected that it was a popular place during the work week. Being Sunday it was full, but I expected the clientèle would be different on a weekday. I doubted that so many kids would be around then.

When I finished, I rode the trike to the lake. While loading the trike with batteries, I had found the pocket fisherman, So I loaded it. I was on my way to the lake to try to catch a fish to give away or throw back. I just wanted to stand in the shade and think of nothing but the heat, the water, and the sunshine. I did it for about three hours.

After not having seen a fish, either caught by me or anyone near me, I loaded the pocket fisherman back into the storage container and headed back to town. I tried to avoid it but I couldn't keep myself from riding by the office. I didn't go in. I was interested in the smell, so I pulled the trike into the parking lot to check it out. It didn't smell any different than any of the parking lots of other buildings in the area.

I rode back to the condo to watch TV. It was pretty boring but then most everything I did was boring. I felt better about myself since I had plans for the next day that were my own.

"Lucy it's Professor Phelps, I don't know if you remember me. but you posed for me. I need you to do it again, so that I can finish my painting. A couple of more hours should do it," the message said.

I had to assume he meant that he wanted to do it that very day. He would be teaching for the next five days I assumed. I called the number he left. "Professor, I don't actually remember you, but I did look you up in the file and now I remember. So what is you would like?" I asked.

"I would like for you to come to my place to finish what we started," he suggested.

"And are you talking about the modeling or the sex?" I asked.

"The modeling for sure, the other we can see how it goes," he suggested.

"Well at least you got the answer right. Give me your address." I did the gps directions and distance and found that it was within my range. "Okay if I leave now I can probably make it in twenty minutes, give or take ten more."

The trip put me on some busy roads, which was a bit frightening, but I managed.

"Hello Professor," I said when he opened the door.

"Hello, I see you are wearing jean this time," he said.

"My notes said it was a nude job," I replied.

"So, what difference does it make what I take off?" I asked.

"None, So it's going to be all business?" he asked.

"I expect it to be all business until you finish what you planned to do to the painting yes. After that who knows," I said.

No matter what they tell you modeling is boring work. I sat in that stupid metal chair again. I tried to stay still and keep the same expression for an hour then I just had enough. "How about a break?" I asked.

"Of course, I'm sorry I should have thought of that earlier." he admitted. "Would you like a drink?"

"Do you have coffee?" I asked.

"Sure one coffee coming up," he said hurrying off to his small galley kitchen to fix it. I noticed that he had one of those single serving coffee machines. I doubted that I had ever tried coffee from one of those.

The coffee wasn't nearly as good as mine. but it was better than restaurant coffee. He touched up his painting while I relaxed on his sofa. I did slip on my top while I sat on the sofa. The top was almost long enough to cover my pubic hair, when I was seated.

"I have really done enough work for today. We could go out to dinner or order something delivered and watch TV." he suggested.

"I need to get home before dark. I have a long way to go on a trike," I admitted.

"So you are saying no sex," he suggested.

"No that wasn't what I was saying, but I think it is what I'm saying now. You are just too tentative professor. I'm sorry, but I really don't respond well to tentative men. I think we are finished here. The good news is that I will have forgotten all about this next time I see you. Hopefully you won't have forgotten.

"Last time you were here you couldn't have sex with me, but you did suck my dick. How about at least doing that again?" he asked.

"Last time I didn't have any notes on you. I have a little note in my memory file about you professor, so consider yourself lucky that I will even pose for you. Now I'm going home." By that time I had dressed.

"What if I say, no you are not going home," he said.

"Then one of us is going to get hurt. Since I can't depend on the law to take care of me with this memory of mine, I have learned to do it myself." It was more bluff that tough, but he didn't know that. I didn't remember killing the man in Texas, but I had a feeling that I would defend myself whatever it took.

"I was only joking," he said backing down.

"I wasn't but like I said I will probably forget all about it." Odds were real good that it would make it into my file. I might consider carrying the .38 again. Yes, I knew that I had one. I passed it every morning on my way to the bathroom. Someone had put into the file that I was licensed to carry. If I asked the index of the file, I knew that. I usually didn't bother, but I might, if I started to get threatened.

When I got home, I found that I was tired so I watched a little reality TV. It suited me since t here was no story line to follow. Then I went to bed early and alone. I actually enjoyed that almost as much as if I had been with someone. Okay not quite as much but it was nice for a change.

Monday morning I had stir the mash on my list of things to do. I went to breakfast first, since I passed the restaurant with the cute sign, The food was good. I knew it would be, the restaurant was in my file.

After breakfast I went to the office. I walked around the parking lot first. I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary. I went in through the rear door. It had some serious locks on that door, but the front door was almost impossible to enter from the outside. You really needed someone inside to trip the second door.

Once inside there was a faint smell of rotting fruit. It wasn't very powerful, but if you sat around the office all day, it would be annoying at the very least. The smell, once I opened the bathroom door, was very intense but it dissipated quickly. Once this batch was over I needed a handy man to increase the size of the vent fan and maybe the vent as well.

Once I removed the top of the first mash bucket, I saw that it was working away, I did a very quick stir then put the top back on it. I moved on to the second one it was in the same condition. I stirred it and then closed the bucket. I put them both back into the room and closed the door. It was just after 10AM and I was finished for at least two more days.

I went to the lake to fish again. It gave me an excuse for being outdoors and plenty of time to scheme. I loved that I had found something at least a little constructive to occupy my mind. Sure it was a little illegal, but that was okay. I figured I would get Jeff to parade a few doctors into the courtroom and I'd walk. Of course I never expected to get caught.

I was home by 3PM and trying to find something else to occupy my time. I had been home at least an hour more when the phone rang. The call was from a local photographer.

"I heard about you and wondered if you would do some work for me?" he asked.

"What kind of work?" I asked. I didn't have a lot of faith in strangers.

"Right now I need a woman your age with your looks to pose for a billboard shot. The client is taking proposals from two photographers, so mine has to be exceptional. I think you can make it that."

"I see, how did you hear of me?" I asked.

"I saw one of your drawings in the Main Line Frame Shop," he informed me.

It was the place I had my two images framed. I knew that because I looked them up quickly. "Ah okay, so what does the gig pay?" I asked.

"Well I can pay you a hundred bucks and a promise to use you on any real paying work I get from them, if they approve you."

"For a hundred bucks you get exactly one hour so you had better be ready to shoot quickly," I said.

"Oh I am very quick," he suggested.

"So when do I show up for work?" I asked.

"How about this evening at 8PM?" he asked.

"Could we make it 6PM?" I asked.

"I suppose so," he agreed.

"So what am I modeling?" I asked.

"Jeans," he advised me. "The client is the last of the Jean makers in this area."

I quickly looked up my sizes in the file. "If you are going to pick up a pair for me get a size 00," I said.

"I thought you were small from when I looked at your drawing. I have three pairs of various sizes and a belt as well."

"Then I will see you at 6PM at your downtown studio," I said to confirm it all. I didn't even take time for dinner. I just ate half a donut stick and drank two cups of black coffee. Those two with a spoonful of peanut butter was a lot of my meals. At five thirty I started to walk the five blocks to the photographers downtown studio.



-------

Chapter 45


When I arrive at the Avery Photo Studio on main street, it was almost 6pm, so I walked into the front door. I heard the buzzer sound even though there was a woman my age sitting behind a vintage desk looking at a computer screen. The woman was about 30 pounds past the perfect weight. Very little of it was in her breasts most was in her stomach with a little in her ass. She also had very red hair way too red to be natural and I think that was the point. She wasn't trying to seem natural but rather to stand out.

"Hello, I'm Lucy Avery, I'm here to do some modeling." I said it mostly to get her attention. She surely had been told to expect me.

"Yes, dad told me you were coming. You do have the right kind of look for the job. Even that god awful hair will work," she said.

"So you are the fashion expert," I said with a big smile. It was a bit demeaning I know.

"Dear, I will be shooting your images. Dad is semi retired these days. He takes care of the clients mostly." she said. "By the way my name is Wilma."

"So it's a family thing. That's always good," I admitted.

"Well let's get to it. Dad said I only had an hour to make a billboard style image," she said.

"I'm here to work, so tell me what you want," I suggested.

"Let's go back to the studio and get started then," with those words she led me from the reception area to a larger room behind it. Inside that room were several backdrops. On a folding table were the three pairs of jeans just as her father had promised.

"Pick the pair you think will fit best then put them on. I'm told you won't be shy," she said.

"I haven't been shy for a long time, if ever," I agreed. "What about the length?"

"Don't worry I can fix that with the computer. I would rather not, but we can if necessary." Wilma informed me.

The smallest pair was marked 00. Those should have been the best fit so I started with them. They fit well in the waist and ass. but were about an inch too short.

"What about a top?" I asked.

"Take off your top and let's see how that looks," Wilma demanded.

I did as she said. She directed me to move in different ways. I did as she said and as I moved around lights flashed. I had been moving for fifteen minutes when she said, "Okay, we need to do something for a top. I'm not great at this, but I can do body paint pretty well. It will wear off after a couple of showers. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't think I have ever done it, but sure why not," I admitted.

She painted the lower part of my small breasts with red a white paint. The top was a star over my nipple and a blue background. Then a black line to simulate a bikini strap. It took about ten minutes to do and looked like a ten minute job, but it was her shoot not mine.

"How about giving me a little extra time. If we can make this work it, will mean more work for you down the road. The exposure will be at least regional, if not national, as well as local of course."

"You take me to dinner and I'll stay till you are finished," I vaguely remembered someone saying never give anything away. If you give it away, it has no value to the receiver.

"I will have to call the sitter, but I can do that," she said.

"Oh you have children that young?" I asked.

"Yes a son seven," she said. "My husband and I hoped another child would keep the marriage together. It didn't."

"I'm sorry, I am divorced as well. My kids are almost grown. I have a son 19 and a daughter over 21," I admitted.

"Let's finish this, I'm ready to get through here." she said.

I did the move around thing for several more minutes. Some of the moves were not going to make it into any advertising. Unless it was for some porno magazine. I didn't mind, I had no real inhibitions by that time.

"Tell me Lucy, what are your measurements?" she asked.

"32a 22 33," I admitted.

"Just for the hell of it, put on the next larger sized jeans and a belt," Wilma demanded.

"My you are so forceful," I know it was flirty, but I was really enjoying her company.

I was pretty sure that I looked a little like a street urchin, but I didn't mind. She even had me put on one of her sweaters, which just swallowed me whole. After I pulled my own clothes on again. I waited to be paid.

"Here you go," she said handing me the $100 bill. "Do you like Mexican food?"

"I have no idea, but I'm willing to try it," I admitted.

"I'm not sure I understand but that's fine. Come on you are my last appointment of the day."

Once we arrive at Los Pueblo it was obvious that Wilma was well known there. Everyone made a big fuss over her. We got a quiet booth in the back away from everyone.

"You must eat here a lot. You certainly have pull," I suggested.

"I do, but I also work with the owner now and then. He does wedding catering and I do wedding photography, so our paths cross now and then."

"That is always a good thing," I suggested. "Would you order for me. I have no idea what to order."

"You really never had Mexican before?" she asked.

"Not since I can remember." I went on to explain everything. "If I ate Mexican since I was released from the hospital, I didn't make a note of it. I will tonight though."

"Marie, bring this lady a sample of everything good," she directed the waitress. "Just a spoonful on a big plate will be fine."

"Yes Ma'am Miss Wilma," she replied.

"So what's your story Miss Wilma?" I asked.

"Not nearly as interesting as yours," she said. "I worked for my dad growing up. I swore when I got old enough I would never touch a camera again. Too much pressure, I told myself. I married and I didn't have to work.

When my husband decided that he wanted a younger thinner woman, it all just collapsed."

"Men can be such assholes," I said seriously.

"I couldn't count on his child support, and I knew how to do nothing but make photographs. I swallowed my pride and asked my dad for a job. So here I am five years later.

The funny thing is my family rallied around me and showed me a whole new side of people," she informed me.

"Oh how so?" I asked.

"For one thing I needed a place to live, since the ex was going to sell the house. His new chick wouldn't live there. My grand mother had died suddenly the year before, so her house was empty. My dad owned a forth of it and none of his brothers and sisters could decide what to do with it. His sister Lois absolutely refused to allow it to be sold, so it sat empty.

When he approached them, it was unanimous. They gave me the place, if I agreed to renovate it and not to sell it while any of them was still living. It was called a land transfer not a sale or something like that. If I broke the agreement, I could be sued. Plus I'm not sure their names were ever really removed from the deed. I should check that out one day."

"My dad is like that too. I am the only daughter so the whole family tends to take care of me, or so I'm told," I admitted.

"Yeah they all took part in the renovations. Some things they helped me do. Some they let me have done, some they refused me permission to do. It was my money, but they had a say in the planning. I was good with that, since I got a updated house practically free."

"I'm living in a downtown condo. Do you know the old Family Bank Condominiums?" I asked.

"Very nice," she said. "I am going to Google your ass, when I get home."

I knew from her demeanor that she was not at all bi, nor was she interested in me that way. She did seem to have fun during the dinner though. When she dropped me at the Family Bank Condo, she said, "I really did have a nice time. Maybe we can do this again whether we get the job or not."

"I know, I had a great time and I kept my clothes on. Well I did for the most part." I looked to see if she was shocked. She wasn't shocked, just not interested. I handed her a card. "Let me know how the images work out and just email me to say hi now and then."

I slept very well that night for someone who should have been sexually frustrated. Instead I slipped back into my old habit of making plans for the next day even though I knew I would forget them.

When I awoke I checked the file. It was time to stir the Mash again so after breakfast at the same restaurant as before, I stopped by the office.

In the parking lot I caught a mild scent of fruit. It was very mild, but it was there. Inside the office it was more noticeable for sure but still not enough to be overpowering. The intense scent came when I opened the bathroom door.

I stirred the mash and checked on the fermenting, then left the bathroom. The mash seemed to be pretty much at the height of it's fermentation cycle. I wouldn't know till it stopped but it seemed to be at the peak. I closed everything down and left the office.

I rode the trike to the park where I sat watching the kids play on the large jungle jim with slides and swings attached. It was one of those magical places for kids under five. There were moms and nannies galore. There was even a couple of men there. It was a good place to sit and think about project moonglow, as I called it, I learned that from the the smart phone. I had converted the plantation recipes from the hand written notes to digital files. First the files were word for word, then a second version had modern updates and measurements attached. I hadn't even decided which recipe I would cook next. I was determined that the first batch would be modern moonshine to use as a benchmark. I was just considering what batch two would be like.

When I got very thirsty, I went home. At the condo I was drinking a diet soda with lots of ice, when the knock on the door shook me. No one ever came to the condo unannounced. I checked the closed circuit picture. I saw a man a little more than half my age looking into the camera. I scanned the photo gallery on my smart phone and found him. It was Royce. My quick read told me who he was to me. At least who he had been.

I opened the door. "Hello Royce, it is good to see you." It sounded wooden even to me.

"I have missed you too," he said with a laugh. "Your personality will take a little getting used to again."



-------

Chapter 46


"I have a bit of a problem," Royce said to me.

"Oh what kind of problem?" I asked.

"I know how your memory is, so let me do a quick recap of our relationship," he said. He had obviously been practicing his speech. I read my files, while he talked. Between the two of them, I felt like I had a pretty good idea what there had and had not been between us.

"So what is it you need?" I asked without any emotions showing in my voice.

"I need my old job back. To be honest I need it at least on paper. It seems the old cop buddy of mine was working contract for the bank. When they found out he was hiring an ex-con they told him to get rid of me, or they would drop him. I guess he needed the business. Anyway I'm on the street, and without a job, I'm headed back inside."

"You know I'm still a lawyer, I can't make false representation to the court system. If I do that I can be disbarred. I doubt that I would ever get my license back." I said it again, I hoped, without any emotion.

"You can hire me to help with whatever you are planning now. You need a driver, if nothing else. That trike won't take you to Tryon, should you need to go," he suggested.

I had an idea at that point. As Royce said before, being brain damaged didn't make me stupid. "Royce if you can keep your mouth shut, and not ask too many questions, maybe we can help each other out."

"I assure you that if you help me out here, I can do that," he said.

"The idea just struck me, so we are going to need some time and effort to make it a reality. You are going to have to really work this time, not just entertain me." I said it to let him know, that I knew what we had done before.

"Whatever it takes," he said.

"One more thing, some of the things I will ask you to do might seem a little risky. We will have to be very careful, or you might wind up back inside anyway," I admitted.

"If that is the case, maybe I need to know more about it?" he said.

"Not till we get to the point that it becomes risky, at first it is just going to be a new business venture for me. Are you still living with your sister?" I asked.

"Yes I am," he said simply.

"Okay try to keep your overhead down. There is no telling what kind of income you are going to have for a while. I can't afford a dead loss, so we need to generate income in order to keep you employed," I said.

"How do you plan to do that?" he asked.

"You said it yourself, I can't ride my trike to Tryon. There have to other people who need things they can't handle themselves. We just need to make enough money to pay the expenses including your salary."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We are going into the pick up and delivery business. It shouldn't cost too much to get started. I already have a mini delivery vehicle which is doing me no good since I can't drive it. If you come into this, it has to be for the long haul. I am not going to make you a partner, since you walked out on me, but I will pay you a bonus. After we start making a profit, I will give you a percentage of it," I explained.

"Sure, I can go for that, how about a small salary. Just like you did for Sam, and a larger percentage of the profits?" he suggested.

"Since there are no profits, I will agree to that. $200 a week against 35% of the net profit to be paid monthly.

"I can live with that, if the figures are not carved in stone," he suggested.

"Fair enough, You know you are going to have to do all the real work. I'm more or less just the money person. I can give you a few startup ideas, then you are pretty much on your on with the day to day operation."

"I can do that," Royce said with a big smile.

"Then let's go buy a simple cell phone for the business first thing," I finished the soda before I followed him to his sister's car. "Why don't you get her to drop you at the office. I can give you the keys to the Cruiser now," I suggested. "Since you will be working from a cell phone where ever you happen to be, you can take the cruiser home with you."

"Sure she is home today. I can get her to drive me there now. I should be back here within the hour," he informed me.

"Good when you get back, we can buy the cell phone. I can make some calls. while you are gone." What I didn't tell him was that by picking up the Cruiser from the parking lot of the office, I would find out how noticeable the fermenting smell was. If he mentioned it, I would need to make other arrangements. If not, then I would just keep on with my plan as it was.

When he returned an hour later, I was well prepared for the rest of the day's activities, and even the next days. I had made a note on the schedule to meet with a car wrap company to design the cruiser signs. The meeting was set for the next day at 10AM.

"Royce this is what I want you to do. We are going to go buy a simple basic cellphone for the company. Then tomorrow we are going to design the signs for the cruiser. They will be the beginning of our advertising. We might get work from them immediately, so we need to set up the system now." I paused to give him a chance to respond.

"Knowing you, it is going to be a bullet proof system," he said.

"Pretty much," I agreed. "When the calls come in, you need to get them to commit. You are a smart guy, if I give you the estimator tools you can do the pricing. If you sell it, collect a check or credit card information, when you pick up the package. Take cash if you must, but we would prefer checks and credit cards. We are not going to front any money for pickups. If the item has been paid, then we will pick it up, and deliver it," I suggested.

"You mean like if granny buys a lawnmower from Lowe's and gives us the pickup authorization, we pick it up and take it to her for a price?" he asked.

"Exactly," I admitted.

"It sounds like a deal to me," he said.

"Do not knowingly accept any illegal items. You will be getting a contract signed with every delivery or pickup. It was state that there is nothing illegal in the shipment," I said.

"I can pretty much keep us out of trouble there," he said.

"Good, then lets go get your phone and the contracts and schedule sheets printed," I suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, to me," he said. "Then maybe we can go to dinner?"

"Royce, this is strictly business. I don't think dinners are part of the compensation package," I informed him.

"I get it, no problem," he said smiling weakly.

The cell phone proved to be a bit more difficult than I expected. We had to listen to the salesman go on and on about all the package deals available. It was necessary in the end to raise my voice. "Look we need a simple cell phone with a simple plan. We don't need text or web service we just need a damn phone with a reasonable number of minutes."

"Yes ma'am, I think the basic plan at $50 a month will work for you," he said.

"Is there a time limit?" I asked.

"No ma'am its unlimited phone minutes," he said. There is a limit on data but you said you didn't need data so it won't be an issue," the slick teenage salesman suggested.

"Fair enough," I said as I looked at the contract. I signed the contract, but had the phone assigned to, 'Door 2 Door Delivery." I just made the name up standing there.

From the cell phone store Royce drove me to Office Depot. There we met with another teenager. "Hello," I said.

"Yes Ma'am, can I help you?" she asked.

"We need to get some printing done. Could I use your computer to draft a quick contract and schedule form?" I asked.

"We don't usually let customers do that here, but since we are not busy, if you are going to be quick, I guess I can make an exception." She said smiling at Royce.

I didn't mind at all. "Thanks."

It took me about five minutes to draft a simple pick and delivery agreement. The schedule was nothing more than a bunch of columns with boxes set by the hours. "Here you go all ready," I said to the girl behind the counter. I gave her a good look while she printed the forms. She was definitely a bottle blond. She was thin and had a very slick hairdo. I liked the way she looked. Even if she was flirting with Royce.

I had no idea why she would do that. He was about twenty six or seven and reasonably attractive. I guess I just knew too much about him to find him a sex symbol.

"Royce how about you find a clipboard you like for your paperwork. I'll take care of this so when you get back, we can pay the lady and leave," I demanded.

"Right," he said.

"Are you two together or is he married?" she asked.

"No, we are not a couple and he is not married," I said it cheerfully. Maybe I should tell her I had a suspicion that he was screwing his sister. I decided that it would be a bad idea to make that kind of comment.

"So do you have all the papers?" Royce asked, when he rejoined me at the counter.

"Yes we are good to go," I said as I swiped my card through the machine. I only had one debit card, so it was up to Milo the money man to figure which were personal, and which were business purchases. I'm sure I paid him well, so let him earn it, I thought.

"I'm going to be in court most of tomorrow afternoon," Royce informed me. "Ansel is going on trial and the DA wants me to tell about the parking lot encounter. Would you like to come to hear the details from someone who was there?" he asked.

"No thanks, if I need to know anything, I'll just ask you," I said. I paused a few minutes then added. "It's after five, lets call it a day. Just drop me in front of the building," I said.

"I really should go up with you," he said.

"I don't think so. You didn't think it necessary to babysit me yesterday, so I don't think we need to do it tonight," I replied.

On the way home my cell phone rang. "Hello this is Lucy," I said into it.

"Lucy this is Wilma at the Avery Photo Studio," the female voice said. I quickly looked her up and found that I liked her.

"Sure Wilma, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"Could you stop by the studio, either tonight, or in the morning?" she asked.

"Are you working late?" I asked.

"I can, if you are planning to stop by," she suggested.

I looked at the time on my cell phone then asked, "Will 7PM be too late?"

"That will be fine," she said.

"Should I stop for pizza?" I asked.

"Sure I have some dynamite iced tea," Wilma informed me. It was sorta a date even though I knew she had no interest in me sexually. The note in my journal told me that.



-------

Chapter 47


After searching the Internet to find the closest take out pizza place, I called ahead from the cruiser. The medium pepperoni pizza was waiting, when I walked into the chain type pizza takeout restaurant. I was on the trike at the time, so I tied it onto the trailer created by the mad mechanic Seth.

I made it to the studio a few minutes before 7PM. I caught Wilma talking with a much older man. I figured him for the father she had mentioned. The fact that I actually remembered that without looking it up was another good sign.

I did check Wilma's picture in my Gallery, so that I wouldn't get the wrong woman in case she had a customer. "Hello Wilma, I hope I'm not too early," I said once I was close enough to talk.

"You are fine Lucy. Lucy meet my dad. Dad this is Lucy Avery our new model." She said it confidently.

"Hello Lucy, my name is Dennis. I have seen your processed images, and they are quite striking. Maybe not classically beautiful, but absolutely unforgettable."

"Thank you Sir," I said smiling. "Every woman loves a compliment. Even us old women love it."

"You aren't old my dear, I have a daughter almost your age. Don't I Wilma," he said smiling. "I also have a beautiful grandson."

"Daddy boys are handsome, not beautiful," Wilma said.

"Alright he is handsome," Dennis said. "Well you two do your consultation while this old man picks up his handsome grandson for a boys night out."

"God I hope it's not bar hopping," I said smiling.

"Not tonight, tonight it's lazer tag or something equally fun," he said making a face. Then he walked out the door.

"So, are you ready to see the images," she asked.

"Can we see them while we eat? I really am starved," I suggested.

"Sure I have them on my laptop. I can project them on the big screen in the sales office," she said.

"Good, bring that ice tea you promised me," I demanded.

"God tell me that skinny bitch with the straw for hair is not me," I said as the first image hit the screen.

"Not only that, these are the best of them," she said with a girlish giggle.

I ate pizza while I made fun of my images. The critique from both of us was merciless until a shot of me in the over sized jean and sweater. "Holy shit, I love that," I said.

"You know that's why I like you," Wilma said. "It isn't all about the glamor with you. You recognize the art. Most models would cringe at that image, but you embrace it."

"Is that a good thing in a model?" I asked.

"Probably not, but it is a great thing for someone in a pair of the client's jeans," she said.

"Well if you can caption it, beautiful jeans even when you feel like shit, it should work," I said with a giggle of my own.

"Well we should know something in a week or so. I sent them the two best of all the different looks so their art director would feel like she had a hand in it," Wilma said between bites of pizza. I ate the smallest piece and contented myself with the ice tea after that.

"Who knows what these people what to see," I said in agreement. In my heart I was absolutely sure that it wasn't me they would want wearing their jeans. Still meeting Wilma had been fun.

"I have a present for you," she said once we had reviewed all the images. "They are all on this." This was a CD with everyone of the shots on it. There is also a release that allows you to use them for any non commercial purpose. In other words you can't sell them to any other person, but you can show them or give them away," she added.

"That sounds fair," I replied. After a moment's hesitation I said, "Even though I bought you dinner, I suppose sex is out of the question?"

"You mean with you?" she asked.

"Yes with me," I replied seriously.

"Out of the question for now. I can't say how I will feel in a month," she said with a wicked smile.

"Well Grandpa has the kid for a while at least, why don't we go to a bar and get picked up by two men," I said.

"You are insane." She waited a second then asked, "Do you really swing both ways?"

"Yes I do. It is why they make Mounds and Almond Joy," I said.

"So, sometimes you feel like a nut?" she asked.

"Actually, I either feel like sex or I don't. When I do, it doesn't matter if it is Jack or Jill," I replied. I was thrilled that I could pull the names out of the muck of my mind.

"Alright I will go clubbing with you, but I will not screw you, or allow you to screw me," Wilma said with another giggle.

"Can we at least share a room with two men," I asked.

"If we don't find two men, one might do," Wilma said. "Well if I have enough to drink."

"How about if we don't find any men, can we at least cuddle." I said.

"If I completely trusted you I might, but I'm not sure I can trust you. After all you are a lawyer." she informed me.

"I used to be a lawyer, and I used to be a Baptist, neither seems to have taken all that well." I said.

"Well in spite of the fact that I do not want to sleep with you, I do love your company and dad has Shawn till Friday, so let me close this place down and we can party," she said.

"I'll make a deal with you, if you drive I will buy all the drinks. I only have a motor tricycle, remember?"

"Yes, and it's a deal," she said.

"So where shall we go, do you know a good biker bar?" I asked.

"Biker bar my ass. Let's go to the Hilton. Lots of out of town businessmen in there. If worse comes to worse, we can walk to your condo, even drunk."

"You certainly want to play it safe for a girl on the loose," I said. "Since I don't drive a car, I guess I will tag along to get you into as much trouble as possible at the Hilton." I made a face that said how pitiful I found the whole thing.

"You are so fucking evil," Wilma said.

"Now you are getting it," I replied.

We had been in the Hilton's Underground Bar for about a half hour when the first man offered to buy us a drink. He was well dressed but also about the age of Wilma's father. She told him, "No thanks," then turned to me and said, "I knew I should have taken that course in CPR."

"Now who is fucking evil?" I asked.

It was at that point that the bartender set a round on the bar and said, "From the man at the end of the bar. Watch him he is a player."

"And you think we aren't?" I asked.

"Yeah," Wilma said. "We will drink his liquor, then go home alone."

The man who bought the drink moved in on us. He asked us to join him at a table.

"Sure, why not?" I asked.

"Because he might be a serial killer," Wilma whispered.

"So what someone is going to get you tonight. It's just a matter of who." I suggested.

We sat with him about an hour. When I went to the ladies room, I left Wilma alone with the sales man from New York City. "He invited me to his room," Wilma said when I returned.

"So are you going to go?" I asked.

"I don't know, you need a ride home," She said obviously looking for a reason not to do it.

"Oh no you don't. I can walk home from here, if worse comes to worse, remember?" I asked.

"Alright let me go to the bathroom and you see what he has to say. Remember I'm trusting you." Wilma said. She left for the restroom once he returned from paying his tab.

"I think my friend is going to take you up on your offer," I replied.

"Very good," he said. "What about you? Would you like to come along?"

"Sure, but she isn't ready for anything like that. You two have fun, but be careful, I am a lawyer and if you do anything out of the way, I will get your ass." I smiled and he smiled back.

"Well Wilma, I think I need some air, so call me." With those words I walked out into the night air. It was before midnight, but I still kept my hand on the Taurus five shot revolver. Yes I had picked it up, when I took the Trike home before we left for the night club. I didn't need it, but better to have it and not need it. Than to need it and not have it. I had heard that somewhere in my past. The quote came from my brain not the file. So there was another bit of memory recovered.

When I got home, I turned on the computer then slipped into an adult chatroom. I signed in as Wilma from WV. I gave my age as 38 and described her body as if it were mine. In short I became Wilma in chat that night. It was easy to pretend to be her. I just imagined that I was in her skin. I realize how easy it was because I had no real life of my own. With the proper information, I could be anyone. That was a hell of a thought.

I began chatting with the father of a teenage girl. Since I had a daughter myself I began struggling to remember her at the same age, but it was all a blank, so I just made it up as I went along. Since I had an excellent short term memory, It seemed to work just fine.

The questions he asked me effected my mental state, I fitted the image I had of Wilma into my answers. In the back of my mind Wilma's present actions were also running. Not what she was doing reallym but images of her doing what I would be doing if I were in her position.

It was hugely difficult to balance all those thoughts at once, and try not to go insane. In the morning I would have forgotten it all. but at that moment my body was lubricating like mad. I was sure that my cotton blend underwear was wet enough for my black pubic hair to show up as a shadow at least. I massaged my breasts as I was sure the salesman was massaging Wilma's at that moment. I slipped my hand inside my panties as I chatted with a minor league baseball player, yeah right.

I was in the chatroom maybe half and hour, when I had my first orgasm. It was far from being as satisfying as the real thing, but I do love to masturbate, I thought. I sat at that computer for an hour talking to different men in different chatrooms. It was almost always the same.

It was very late, I was very tired and more than a little drunk when I met the man who started the conversation with, "I know what you want kiss my dick."

Since I was Wilma I said, "No."

"I know who you are and what you want," he wrote.

"Oh and what is it I want?" I asked.

"You want to be a woman and take my black dick in your ass," He said.

"Well good luck with that approach and good night," with that I closed the computer. It was time for bed anyway.



-------

Chapter 48


When I woke that next morning, I went to the bathroom with the laptop. I thought at the end of the update, that it was getting easier to update my brain. Since most things at least seemed familiar, even if new things were being added very slowly and most of the old seemed gone forever.

I just went to the storage room to pick up my trike without ever thinking about where it was. That was ingrained in my memory at least. I had eaten in the breakfast house enough times, so that I didn't need to look up the directions to it or to my office. Neither was an intellectual memory, but more a rote memory.

I pulled into the parking lot of the business two doors down from the office. I sat there sniffing the air. I could smell nothing but grass that had been recently mowed. I tried the parking lot beside my building. There was a very, very faint sweet smell, I was pretty sure that only someone really paying attention would notice. Maybe a revenuer but probably not the employees of a medical device sales center. The medical device showroom was for doctors and retailer to shop, not people with broken bones. I wondered if they still considered vibrators as medical devices.

The smell in my parking lot and even close to the back door was no worse than it had been next door. I did see a couple of bees and a fly or two hanging out at my door. I ignored them as I went inside the office.

I noticed the smell was a bit stronger and would be annoying, if I stayed in the office every day. I went into the bathroom and noticed the smell was very strong in there. So I had learned that the smell could be contained in a more or less sealed area, if properly vented. The volume of carbon dioxide released into the air had to be minimal for that to work in an urban setting.

I also learned that morning that the mash had almost finished 'working off', as they said in the business. It would be time to cook at almost any moment. I had other things to do but cooking would have to begin that evening or the next day for sure.

I left the office for my meeting with Royce. I was back in the apartment at 9:30AM and he was right on time. It was a short drive since the sign company was inside an older shopping center near the downtown.

"If we are going to be serious about this, we probably need a second vehicle to cover in case of breakdowns. It doesn't need to be fancy or signed up just available for use," Royce said.

"I have a rental arrangement with a used car dealer. I expect they will still honor it. I will be cheaper just to pick up a car for a day or two while the cruiser is out of commission," I informed him. His suggestion did show that he was taking the business seriously.

We met with a young woman in her thirties at least. She knew graphic design and was even familiar with the cruiser. She pulled up a computer graphic to demonstrate different designs. I picked one that was bold with striking color combination. Also one with large lettering and a phone number that seemed almost 3D on the computer.

"We will need the car for two or three hours," she informed me.

"Royce can you bring the car and either wait for it or find a place to hang out till it is done?" I asked.

"I'm sure I can do that, but not today. Remember I have to be in court this afternoon," he reminded me.

"Sure," I said of course I had totally forgotten it. "So can you have the signs ready for tomorrow morning?" I asked the saleslady/designer.

"If you pay me today, I can have it done tomorrow morning," she informed me.

"So that leaves only the big question how much?" I asked.

"Well design and install would be no more than $1500," she said.

"Hold on we need to discuss this," I said it so that she would leave the room.

I turned my attention to Royce, "If I commit this kind of money, you can not bail on me. I sure as hell can't run this kind of thing on my own. So decide right this fucking minute are you in it for the long haul?" I asked.

"I need something and my options are not exactly coming out of the woodwork. I'm in for the duration, whatever that is," he said.

"Let me check to see if there is a procedure for me to get this kind of money from the bank." I looked up in the index of my file. It gave me the accountants number. I called my money man and explained my plan to purchase the wrap.

"I don't need to approve your purchase, I just need to know that it is you doing the purchase not some third party. Now that I know, when I see the charge to your account, I will just ignore it. Thanks for the heads up though," he said.

I called the lady back in and gave her my debit card, "Let's do this tomorrow," I said.

"We can be ready anytime after 9AM. Just call and set up an installation time," she advised me.

"Now that is up to you Royce," I informed him. You call her to arrange it and when it is done, call me on the phone. I will be busy for a couple of days I think but nothing I need for you to do."

Royce dropped me at the condo on his way to Tryon for the trial. I had no idea what it was about and I could only vaguely remember anything about Ansel and the dirty cops. I had to be reminded every time he brought it up.

I checked my journal one more time before I rode back to the office. I found an entry for me to call Wilma at work. I needed to ask how her 'date' had gone.

"It was really strange to be with a man again after a year of abstinence. He had no idea what turned me on. Hell I had no idea myself, but we managed to work it out. I also had no idea men were so heavy into oral sex. I must have had his penis in my mouth a half hour," she said.

"There are worse places to have it," I said with a laugh. I found that I actually remember anal sex without looking it up.

"Oh yeah, he tried to do that but I put my foot down. Well metaphorically at least," She said giggling.

"So Shawn is going to be gone again tonight. Do you want to do something?" she asked.

"I would, but I have a chore I have to take care of tonight. I'm not sure how long it will last. Give me a call in a day or so. Since I called you this time you call me the next time you want to talk."

"Very well, I will be the man in this relationship," she said laughing at me.

"Yeah, you be the take charge person," I said. "Now I have to go business calls."

"You can't be driving a delivery van with your memory like it is?" she asked.

"No, but I'm doing a ride along for a while," I lied.

I had been collecting odds and ends while the mash worked off, so I pretty much had everything I needed to cook. I poured the canning pressure cooker about 3/4 full. I didn't put the top on until I had the mash nice and hot. I got the cooker up to 177 degrees at which point the alcohol was supposed to start evaporating. I had the top and condenser coil to catch it. The cooking hot plate and cooker were sitting on the counter by the sink of the kitchenette. If I had not had the break area kitchen, I would have cooked it in the bathroom.

So the plastic coil wound loosely around the wooden post was submerged in a big thermal water cooler. The spout at the bottom had been removed and the drain end of the condenser coil ran through the hole. It had been a tight fit, but even so I sealing it with high temperature gasket seal. The cooler sat on a plastic box from the dollar store. I had a piece of hose which ran water from the sink faucet to the cooler. When the water felt warm to the touch, I planned to try changing it first. If that didn't work I would try Ice. I had more than one option for ice. My little apartment size fridge had ice trays in the freezer and nothing else. There was a self service ice machine a few blocks away in a shopping center parking lot.

I lost track of time while I waited for the mash to cook. I remembered to dump the first two ounces since everyone said they could be deadly. I got less than a quart of shine from the first 1.5 gallon run.

When it stopped dripping, I opened the lid. I scooped out eight cups of the cooked mash, then I added eight cups of uncooked mash and started it cooking again. I started the hot plate again and repeated every thing.

When all six gallons of mash had cooked, I had just under a gallon of alcohol. Each run netted me just over a pint of liquor. It wasn't about the amount, it was about the liquor and the making of it.

When it was all done, I cleaned up the cooker and the condenser before I poured all the different batches of liquor into one plastic two gallon ice tea pitcher. I scooped out a cup of the liquor then put a hydrometer into the cup. I proofed the liquor that way. It proofed out a 160 proof.

I cut the liquor with natural spring water from eight ounce plastic bottles, yeah right. I used 6 of them. The liquor was under 100 proof so I was satisfied. I still hadn't tasted it. The pitcher of blended liquor was bottled in those 8 oz water bottles. I put them into the overhead cabinet once they had cooled a bit. When the bottling was finished I had two ounces or so left over so it was the moment of truth. I tried it straight first and found it was too strong for me. It was strong but not raw, if you know the difference.

I cut my next drink with a commercial juice drink from Walmart. It was actually quite good, I was more than a little surprised. I took one 8 oz bottle and left the box fan near an open window to clear out the smell of cooking mash as I headed for home. I had been cooking for almost 16 hours. I had fought to stay awake all night, I did not want to lose my memory right in the middle of the cook. So I was headed home and to bed for at least a nap.

It was very early in the morning. Even though it was 6AM on a Sunday morning the breakfast house restaurant was open. That being the case, I slipped the trike in and found a parking space near the door. I tried to park near the door or window so that I could keep an eye on it. I got home by 8 AM, so I called Wilma.

"I sure hope I woke you," I said when I got her on the phone.

"Like I said, you are an evil bitch. I had a wedding last night and it ran a little late," she informed me.

"I thought you were headed out to have some fun?" I suggested.

"Actually I was going to take you along to the wedding, If you hadn't been busy."

"In that case I am glad that I was busy," I said light heartedly. "I have been up over 24 hours so I'm going to slip into bed. I don't suppose I could interest you in joining me."

"Another time maybe, I'm just going to slip back into the arms of Morpheus," she said.

"Well tell him hey for me," I said.



-------

Chapter 49


I awoke at 2PM and I was really lost. It took a couple of seconds for whatever memory I had to kick in. I was in a state of panic for those couple of seconds. After I remembered about the computer, I was fine.

After my morning shower I sat on the toilet to read my life file. When I got back to the kitchen area, I found the small bottle of liquor. Instead of sitting down to get roaring drunk, I called Wilma.

"Hey Wilma how are you?" I asked.

"I'm just fine Lucy. Dad brought Shawn home. We are trying to find something to do and I'm going insane. He is always so hyper after being the center of their world for a weekend."

"So does he have any hobbies?" I asked.

"Sure he loves video games, but I can't play them worth a crap. I don't suppose you are a master ninja or whatever is popular these days?" she asked.

"With this brain, hardly. So what is a ninja?" I asked serious. I could have looked it up but she needed to know how I rolled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." she said.

"I was furiously looking in my index and then daily log. I found several entries in the daily log for fishing. "Have you ever taken Shawn fishing?" I asked.

"No, I never thought of that. It's something a guy would take his son to do," she said.

"Bullshit, if you will drive we can go fishing, but we have to hurry." I informed her honestly.

"Just a minute," she said that to me. Then I heard her asking Shawn. He agreed less than enthusiastically. "We will be there in half an hour. I am bringing a picnic. Everything is cooked and ready to go.

While I waited, I did some furious research. I found the easiest fishing for a beginner is with a cane pole. So then I had to find out who would have a cane pole for sale on a Sunday afternoon. What I found was a tackle shop a half mile outside the gates of the marina. He was open according to the man who answered the phone.

"Sure I got cane poles and all the stuff you need to fish. I get lots of people just like you. Don't worry I can fix you up," he advised me.

"Very cool," I replied as I killed the connection. I really lucked out there, I thought.

When Wilma and Shawn were in the parking lot, she called me. I rushed down to meet them. "Shawn this is Lucy. She is a new friend of mine."

"Hello Shawn," I said.

"Hello Lucy, you are really skinny," he said being brutally honest.

"Yes I am Shawn," I said it smiling. I enjoyed seeing the look of panic on Wilma's face. "And you are really observant. So tell me have you ever been fishing?"

"No, but I have seen people on TV fishing," he said.

"Well today we are going to be fishing old school," I said. The whole conversation took longer to happen than to repeat.

"What is old school?" he asked interested.

"Old school, is with a 12' cane pole and worms," I said. I had learned that from Utube while I waited. My pocket fisherman with the plugs wouldn't be in use that day.

We pulled into Ed's Bait and Tackle Shop about twenty minutes later. "Well Ed, I can't get a 12' cane pole in that econo box we drive," I informed him.

"Ed don't own the shop no more. I'm Roy and what you need is the break down model. It comes in three four foot sections. How many you need?" he asked.

"Are you going to fish Miss Priss," I asked Wilma. Shawn found that hilarious.

"I think, this first time, I will just watch," she said.

"Then we need two poles and the line and stuff," I said. I would have loved to be more technical, but I had no idea what went on a cane pole.

"I can sell you an already setup outfit, then you can just tied it on the end of the pole," he knew I was lost. He just didn't know how lost I was.

"Good and then sell me all the little individual pieces to replace things that get lost." I just knew that hooks and stuff got lost. Don't ask me how I knew, I just did.

It was almost 5PM when we made it to a bench at the edge of the water. I quickly tied on the lines then baited the hooks with worms. I showed Shawn how to get his rig into the water.

The fishing gods were with Shawn from the start. His line hit the water and within a few seconds he was pulling in a fish. It was a small one but to him it was a whale.

"His attention span is about two minutes, so don't be surprised if he wants to leave before we even get to the picnic," Wilma said.

"Hey Shawn, you want to split a Pepsi with me?" I asked.

"Sure," he said with his eyes focused on the cork floating on the water.

I pulled a Pepsi from the cooler and took a long drink then handed it to Shawn. I did not want it back. Damn seven year olds have a completely different set of germs. I have no idea where that thought came from, but I was sure of it. Probably a myth, I thought.

There was a couple down the bank from us fishing. I went down to talk to them. "Would guys be interested in any fish we catch. I'm just trying to entertain the kid over there," I said.

"Sure, we clean them and freeze them till we get enough to have a fish fry at our church," the woman informed me.

"Good, I will bring them down. Shawn needs to learn that fish are part of the food chain," I said.

We stayed at the lake fishing until 9pm. The sun had pretty much set and the dark was closing in when we packed up the car and left. It was a short drive back to my condo.

They dropped me about 9:30, so by 10PM I was deep in though about the liquor business, and even the delivery business. I made a few notes in the journal then went to sleep.

Royce came by around 10AM to show me the cruiser. It was gorgeous and just as I had demanded. The name and phone number was visible from any angle. "I have already made a hundred bucks," Royce informed me proudly. "I got a call while sitting at a red light, the woman was behind me in a sports car. She was on her was to purchase a bunch of cleaning supplies for her new office. She wanted me to follow her to the store and deliver them. After that it was a woman who needed me to take her and her dog to the Vet. Her daughter had seen me. The daughter refused to allow the dog in her car. I also had calls from people to make pickups at the airport of special delivery items. Even a woman who wanted me to take her to the airport."

"You have been busy," I suggested.

"It is actually fun. I am more than a little surprised," he admitted.

"Good for you, now tell me do you know anyone who has tried corn liquor. Someone we can trust." I said.

"You are talking untaxed corn liquor?" he asked.

"Yes, I just want to know if the stuff I have is any good. I know it's safe, but that doesn't mean it is any good to drink," I suggested.

"I don't know anyone, but I know someone who will," Royce said.

"Then set it up so that I can meet with the person who knows, but you are to stay in the car. You are not to know anything about this, understand?" I asked.

"Yes, I understand. I am just making a delivery like the woman to the airport," he said.

"Exactly," I replied.

Royce got a call and off he went to the next pickup. He was taking some business documents from one office to another. Most likely the documents could have already been faxed over, but the sender needed a signature. So Royce had a delivery. I was more than a little surprised that the business had customers so soon.

I called Wilma at the studio around lunch. "Hey girl want to grab a burger fries and a coke?" I asked.

"Can't way too much work. The Saturday wedding was a mother. I have to get the bride ten pounds lighter by close of business," Wilma informed me."

"Well ain't that a bitch. Want me to bring you an egg roll?" I asked.

"If you come here, I will just whine and never get anything done. But thanks and by the way Shawn loves you. Good thing you are not a pervert," she said.

"Well, not that kind of pervert anyway," I replied.

I went back to the Internet and on line TV shows for a few hours. "Can you be ready to leave in ten minutes?" Royce asked, when he finally called.

"Sure, so we are meeting the man?" I asked.

"You are, No we are not. He won't see me and he doesn't know your name. He is just doing a friend of a friend kind of favor." In that world everyone is paranoid these days," he admitted.

"To be honest I approve of paranoia," I said.

"Good, so be ready," with that he hung up on me.

"So how far is the meeting?" I asked Royce once I was in his sister's car.

"Not far it's in the middle of a shopping center parking lot."

I was dressed in shorts and a thick tee shirt, so I hadn't bothered with a bra. A bra with an a cup is uncomfortably tight and a b cup is too loose, which is why I seldom wear one. I tell anyone who asks that story and I'm sticking to it.

When I got out of Royce's sister's car, I slipped into a beat up old pickup truck. The old lady at the wheel had to be sixty years old at least.

"I hear you got some shine, you want me to taste?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," I said handing her the little bottle.

"You first honey, I'm not much into poison shine," she said waiting for me to take a drink.

I took a pull and made a sound but I had no idea what kind of sound. Then she took a long pull on the little bottle. Well it's clean shine for sure." she said. Nothing special but good enough to sell.

"That's all it's supposed to be. Thanks." I said.

"That will be a hundred bucks," she said to me. "Nothing in this world is free. You just got an expert opinion."

"I only have your word for that, but it's worth fifty bucks to have someone who has tasted good corn liquor tell me that this is passable," I said as I handed her fifty dollars. "Tell me where I can leave a message, if I need another opinion."

She looked at the two twenties and the ten all folded together. "Cheap bitch," she whispered. But she said, "Call this number and leave a message for Mark. Be sure to say it's for Mark. Then a date a time nothing else. If I can make it, I will. If not, I won't." That how we left it.

When I got back in the car, in spite of his promise Royce asked, "Where did you get the liquor?"

"Royce listen to me, I am still your lawyer. The less you know about this the better for all of us." I said. "Anytime you feel too uncomfortable, you can split again, but next time you can not come back." I knew it sounded like a threat and that was just fine because it was a threat. I planned to keep him out of the business, except as an employee with plausible deniability.

"Okay, that's fair enough. If it gets to a point where I feel my freedom is in danger, I will be out of here." he said.

"That's fair only you can judge when the risk becomes too great."



-------

Chapter 50


I pulled up my list of recipes for liquor from the 1700s to check them out again. Some were no more than flavorings for after the liquor was produced. A few were manufacturing recipes and those were where my interest lay. I decided on the next one to make, then I made a journal entry and went to bed.

When I awoke the next morning, I did my morning ritual before I left the house. I had two stops to make before breakfast. First was the local big box store. From them I bought four pints of molasses. From there it was just across the street to a chain grocery store where I bought exactly the same thing. Then I headed off to breakfast.

"Good morning Lucy," the waitress said as I seated myself. "You want your usual?"

"Sure why not," I said I had no idea what the usual might be, so it didn't matter. When the food came, I found that my regular was scrambled eggs with sausage. It was very good, so I knew why it was my regular. It was delicious.

When I passed a small discount store in one of those strip shopping centers, I bought the final four pints of molasses. With my new ingredient in hand, I made for the office. I found my recipe in the journal along with the explanation for the recipe.

It seems that late 1700's in Georgia refined sugar was not easy to come by, but the plantations could boil their on sugar cane to make molasses. So when the growing season ended the plantations had a surplus of molasses and corn. The plantation owners, who wrote the recipe, used the surplus corn and molasses to make a liquor to sell to the pubs as far north as Massachusetts.

It was that recipe I planned to use for my second batch of liquor. I was reasonably sure that I had the proportions right, so I began to make the mash. I added three pounds of corn, to three gallons of bottled water and 6 pints of molasses to each of my five gallon buckets of mash. The combination made about four gallons in each bucket. Once I added the two onces of yeast to each of the mash buckets I closed them into the bathroom and turned the exhaust fan on high.

Since I had used the coffee grinder to grind my own meal from the corn I bought as deer feed, there was no one to be suspicious. The fermenting smell was my biggest concern. If the last time was any indication, the smell was not so great as to be a real problem. At least I hoped not. In the back of my mind I was wondering about making bigger batches of liquor, but first I had to find out if it was worthwhile.

The plan was to make this batch and compare the two. If I couldn't make a better liquor than the moonshiners, then there was no need to continue. The risk and rewards were just not balanced in my favor with ordinary moonshine.

I had turned the phone off while I mixed the mash so for most of the day I was out of touch. The mash was in the buckets and tucked safely into the bathroom when I turned the phone on again. I did not expect the number of messages in my message box.

Since half at least were from Royce, I checked the computer to be sure, then called. "So partner, what's up?" I asked.

"I thought you were going to take the calls this week?" he asked.

"Not today, today I have been taking care of my personal issues. I can probably help you tomorrow, but we only have one phone with that number, you will have to drop it off at my place."

"At the condo or the office?" he asked.

"At the condo, I might be selling the office."

"Geese Lucy, you just bought it a few months ago." he suggested.

"Actually it was more like a year ago. To be honest it's just in the maybe stage right now," I admitted. "So meet me at the condo in an hour. Stop by and pick up another cell phone and activate it. I can keep a schedule for you and call you with the pick up and delivery information as you need it. You did find a cheap GPS thing didn't you?" I asked.

"Yes and those things are really worth every penny you spent on it," he said with a laugh.

"Right, get back to work. I will see you at the condo," I said. I called a couple of other people who seemed to be important, but weren't. Finally I found the message from Jason. It took me a few minutes to find him in the index. When I did, I wasn't sure how I felt about calling him back. I decided that I should call him.

"2nd Chance Consignment and Thrift shop," the female voice said.

"Hello, this is Lucy Avery, Jason called me," I said. I hoped that the voice on the phone belonged to his wife Marie.

"Oh yes Lucy, do you have any idea how popular you were at our party?" she asked.

"Since I haven't heard from anyone I thought I must not have been popular at all," I admitted.

"Oh no, the contrary was the case. We didn't call, so that you would have time to process the events of that night," she said.

"And for my body to heal," I suggested. I was madly checking my notes while she talked.

"That too I admit," she said.

"So what can I do for you?" I asked.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't see it as doing it for us. There is another party, but it isn't at our house. We were all hoping that you would come," Marie said.

"When is it?" I asked.

"Saturday evening," she said simply.

"I will let you know before then," I said.

"Very well, and by the way it's a pool party but you won't need a bikini," she said.

"Good, because I don't own one," I admitted. "Email me the address and whatever else I need to get there."

"I'll send it right over before I forget. See you Saturday, I hope," she said.

When I got the trike home, I pulled into the downstairs storage area. I left the trike inside my chain link fenced in area. I found that Royce had walked down the ramp behind me. The homeowners association would be pissed, but that's life, I thought. I had no idea how, or if, I really knew that they would be pissed.

"Here is the phone and a copy of the schedule. I have a copy of this part so just call me with the new stuff," he said. "Most of what I get is people who want it done right now."

"I got it, remember I'm the one who set it up. I also know I have to make notes, and communicate because I can't remember shit," I said.

"Okay, by the way I think I have landed a reoccurring account. A mom and pop auto parts store took my card and promised to call, if they had a customer who needed a part delivered. That happened to me once, so I am familiar with the problem," Royce said.

"Good, just be careful that we don't carry anything illegal," I said to him.

His voice dripped sarcasm as he responded with a bitter, "Right."

"Now be nice," I said with a smile. "I'm going up and fix a TV dinner, then answer your phone till bedtime. I'll be your answering machine tomorrow as well.

"Call me if you have any questions about size of the loads," Royce suggested.

"Right now get the hell out of here and let me go eat," I demanded.

I really did plan to fix a TV dinner, but I decided to have something delivered. If worse came to worse, I could always farm Royce out as a pizza delivery guy. I had to smile at that thought.

While I tried to decide what to have for dinner the phone rang. Not the business phone my personal phone. "Lucy Ayers," I said.

"Lucy it's me Wilma, what are you up to?" she asked.

"I'm trying to decide which pizza take out to order," I replied.

"Forget that, Shawn and I are going to grill out in the backyard. He was adamant that we invite Aunt Lucy,"

"See what a little fishing will do," I said.

"Yeah you are the father, he never had," she laughed.

"I'm really not butch," I said only a little offended. It was her second gender bender comment.

"I know honey, I'm just joking," she said to ease the comment's impact.

"Okay, speaking of that kind of thing, what is your weekend looking like?" I asked. I was smiling to myself already.

"I have a 2pm wedding. It should be over by 7PM at the latest probably earlier. Why?" she asked,

I have been invited to a pool party. I thought you might like to come along," I said still smiling even though she couldn't see me.

Well Shawn is going to be visiting his father from Saturday morning till Sunday morning," she said.

"Then you should give it some thought. Since you went to that stranger's room I assume you are on the pill?"

"Damn Lucy, what kind of party is it anyway?" she asked.

"It's party filled with very open minded people," I suggested.

"Swingers?" she asked.

"Some of that I suppose, but also just single people out to have some fun, I expect."

"I don't know Lucy, I have never done anything like that," Wilma said.

"It is totally up to you. I am not pressuring you to do anything," I said. "I just wanted to let you know that you have the option."

"Well thanks, so how about the burgers in the backyard?" she asked.

"If you swing by for me, otherwise I really can't do it. It would too late to be out on the trike," I explained.

"Sure I'll be by your place in about an hour," Wilma informed me.

"See you then." I suggested.

Before Wilma arrived, I scheduled two pickups for the next morning. One was for a little old lady. She wanted Royce to pick up a Computer at Walmart and deliver it to her at the nursing center. She had paid for the computer and explained to them that Door To Door delivery would be picking it up for her. I still added two bucks to the ten dollar fee for the extra time spent on the pickup. Twelve bucks was still cheap.

The second delivery was for a pickup at the drugstore and then deliver it to a different nursing home. I knew that all drugs were supposed to go through the home, but if the drugstore would give us the script and the old man there would pay for it, then the rest was up to the nursing home to sort out. When he explained that the script was for Viagra I choked to keep from laughing in his face.

I carried the phone with me to Wilma's cookout but nobody else called. While Wilma burned the hamburger, I called the number on the burn phone to give Royce a heads up on the two morning deliveries.

"Was that your boyfriend," Shawn asked loud enough for his mom to hear.

"No, but he is a very good friend. Royce and I did some things together a while ago," I said.

"So do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

"Well, I don't have one right now. How about it, would you like to be my boyfriend?" I asked.

"You are too old for me Lucy. I'm just a kid," he said very seriously.

"Well, I'll just have to wait till you grown up then," I said.



-------

Chapter 51


I got dropped at my place around 10PM. It had to be after dinner but before Shawn passed out from exhaustion. There were always lots of complications with Wilma, but she was also my link to reality. All the rest of my life was living out a fantasy.

After I made it to my condo, without being kissed I might add, I dressed for bed. I checked my mail and answered the ones that needed answering, before I fell into bed. I just turned off once I laid my head on that pillow.

One minute it was Monday night the next it was Wednesday morning. The journal entries for Tuesday were more or less nothing at all. It appeared that I just took messages for Royce, and went fishing at the marina. Neither of those required that detailed information be entered into the journal.

My schedule required me to check the smells in the office parking lot, and to stir the mash. So of course I went to breakfast first. Sure I kept a couple of bagels in the freezer, just in case, but I preferred eggs with all the trimmings. I had no desire for a DIY breakfast, not that morning or any other morning. Some days I didn't eat until dinner in the evenings, but Wednesday morning wasn't one of them.

"The usual Hon," the waitress asked.

As usual, I had no idea what the usual was, but since I had no entries in the index labeled 'The Usual' it must have been passable so I said, "Sure why not, I am obviously a creature of habit."

The Eggs and Sausage was delicious as it must have always been, since the breakfast house was the only restaurant listed under the meal breakfast.

After the meal I rode the trike over to the office. It was only a few blocks to the office. I checked the smell from the parking lot and found it almost nonexistent. I am pretty sure unless you knew it was there, it wouldn't even be noticed. Especially in one of the parking lots on either side of my office.

I went inside and there was more of a smell, but again not really powerful. It was just strong enough to know that it was there. When I opened the bathroom door. the smell was very strong and surely that much smell would not have gone unnoticed. It was obvious that the office could never be used to cook off more than test batches of liquor. It was also obvious that I needed to do more research and then find a place to at least work off the mash. If not do the total brewing.

I made quick work of stirring the mash, then I closed the bathroom door. I made damn sure the vent fan was running. I also cracked all the windows in the office. I had the place locked up and was back on the trike in less than twenty minutes from the time of my arrival.

I was at the edge of the parking lot when my smart phone rang. I was surprised that it wasn't the 'Door to Door' phone. It seemed that for a start up business we got a hell of a lot of calls. The were mostly all different as well.

But the smart phone was ringing with Wilma on the other end of the line. I wondered why she was calling at 10AM. I did remember who she was, which was an improvement. The memory was coming back in spots and at it's own speed. "So photo slut, what can I do for you, so early in the morning?" I asked.

"You can not call me that during working hours for one thing. For another you can come down here and let me shoot some more images of you," Wilma said.

"Why do you need more images," I asked.

"Because the boutique jean company chose us for the billboard. Now they want more images for their other media. I have a list of five new projects. The stipulation was that I use you for the model."

"So when do I have to run around naked for you?" I asked.

"This afternoon would be great and only half naked. I am prepared to pay you five hundred dollars for the afternoon," she said.

"It's either $1000 or $500 and you go to the swingers party with me after your wedding on Saturday," I demanded.

"Let me think about it until you get here at 1PM," she said.

"That's fair," I agreed.

I immediately called Royce's burn phone. "Royce?" I asked when he answered.

"Of course it's me," he replied.

"I have to do some work for Wilma this afternoon and won't be able to answer the phone. How about you coming by to get all your shit?" I asked.

"How long do I have before you report for work with her?" he asked.

"You need to get up with me before noon," I demanded.

"So where are you going to be in the next hour?" he asked.

"I'm going to the downtown park. I will be at the kids play area," I suggested.

"Fair enough I'll meet you there in about half an hour or so." he suggested.

I stopped by the small in and out discount store on the way to the park. I bought a coke and a box of black licorice sticks. From the discount store I went to the park where I watched the kids and answered the phone for Royce. That job was going to get old in a hurry. Royce was going to have to step up and take the calls and do the deliveries or the service would not work. I didn't mind helping out, but it was too much to do it all day and then at night as well. I could image that Royce had me do it, just to show me what a monster I had created.

"Well if it isn't my favorite pervert," he said quietly so as not to be overheard.

"Right," I said sarcastically. "So take this damn phone." I handed him the phone and paper work. "That thing is a pain in the ass."

"Tell me about it. So what are we going to do about it?" Royce asked.

"We are not making enough money for an answering service, and we already have the phone number all over the cruiser," I said logically.

"We can have the number on the cruiser changed with a simple bit of cover up work. I checked when they were installing the signs. Not a big deal at all, but I'm thinking I'll answer it till I shut down for the day, then leave a message in the voice mail box. Either call back tomorrow or call your number."

"That would work, if it is a number that doesn't post a notation, then I will assume it is a new customer of Door To Door."

"That should work. So I'll give you a call on your cell when I am going to stop answering," I sure hope we don't lose any business. We are breaking even now I think. I would hate to go backwards."

"Wow Royce aren't you the businessman," I said laughing.

"Yeah, I really want this to work," he said.

"It will or it won't, there is not much more we can do now but just wait it out," I suggested.

"I know, well I'm off to pick up a bunch of food for a home caterer. I have to take it to the Smith Brothers Insurance office. It's somebody's birthday."

"Well be careful that sounds like a pretty good source of business. It's a damn site cheaper to hire us than pay for a truck. At least at first."

"Oh yeah we need to put a trailer hitch on the cruiser. I had a man call about moving a hot dog trailer for him. His car is in the shop. We also need a nice bicycle rack for it. I got a call from a guy on his cell phone. He was in the middle of a ten mile ride and his bike fell apart."

"Well I'll do some research and see what I can come up with," I suggested.

"Okay, I really have to go," he said turning to leave. Royce was a good looking guy, I wondered why I didn't feel anything for him. I decided that one day I would read the complete file on our past, just to see if there was a clue in it.

I passed on lunch, choosing a bad cup of convenience store coffee instead. I had it in my hand when I walked into Wilma and her father's studio. "Good afternoon sir," I said to Wilma's father whose name I could not remember.

"Well aren't you the well mannered one," he said with a gentle laugh.

"I try, but the truth is I have a terrible memory for names," I said.

"So I heard, maybe we should all wear name tags," he was having a little harmless fun at my expense.

"Well just the rest of you, I do remember who I am. It took a while but it finally stuck." With those words I smiled warmly. Wilma also walked from the studio with a middle-aged man following. He was very formally attired.

"Lucy is that you?" he asked me.

"My name is Lucy, yes sir," I said.

"Oh yeah Jeff told me about the accident. I am glad to see you are well enough to get out of the hospital. I am a friend of Jeff's father. We met several times at the club."

"I really don't remember, but I hope I wasn't too evil back then," I said with a smile.

"No you have always been charming." He looked at his gold Rolex, then said. "We should get together. My wife would love to see you again."

"Sure maybe we could get Jeff and his wife to come along as well," I said it with a laugh.

"Now that might be interesting," I really have to go but it was wonderful to see you again."

"Thanks tell your wife I said hello," I suggested as he left the studio.

"I had forgotten you weren't always a model," Wilma said.

"I don't think I am a model now. But if we are going to fake it again, let's get started." I suggested.

For the next two hours I was in and out of jeans, shorts, and all kinds of tops. I even posed in a tiny tiny bikini. Toward the end of the shoot, I posed topless and completely naked. One thing for sure, Wilma had plenty of images to choose from. She also got an eye full of my skinny body and lousy hair.

For the hair she had me wet it completely before several of the shots. I liked it plastered flat against my head. I got a look at most of the images and there were some terrible ones, but then there were some that didn't see too awful to me.

"If you come to dinner tonight, I will have your check and your decision about the party," she said.

"If I ride the trike, it will be early in and early out," I said.

"Yes I know, I think that would be best," she demanded. I noticed that she was breathing shallow. I had no idea what her decision would be, but I was getting a little tired of the cat and mouse game.

"Fair enough, besides Shawn will love the trike," I said. When I got to the condo, I made some notes on my computer before I had to dress for dinner with Wilma. Since I was going to be on the trike, I wore long jeans and a tee, but with a heavy shirt over it. Partially because it might be cool coming home and partially to cover my skin in case I went down. I debated on a helmet but chose not to take it.



-------

Chapter 52


When I got to her house at six, I found Shawn excited to see my trike. At seven years old of course he wanted to ride it. I had to explain that he was a hair too young. "You have to shave to ride a trike with a motor, It's the law," I explained rather glibly.

"So what do you shave?" he asked innocently.

"Shawn, you know women shave their legs and under their arms. You have seen me do that," Wilma said. sure I wanted to ask if that was all she shaved but I kept quiet.

"You will have to wait until you shave your face the way grown up men do. Then I will let you take it around the block." I said

"Do you promise?" he asked.

"I promise. So what's for dinner?" I asked.

"Lasagna," Shown informed me. "Do you like lasagna?"

"To be honest, I think so. Your mom and I have had dinner before and she knows most of what I like to eat. I am going to trust her on this one." I replied.

"Mom told me that sometimes you forget things. She said you were a hero and got hurt saving someone's life." Shawn said.

"To be honest Shawn, that is one of the things I forgot," I replied.

"Well, I don't think you have to remember, as long as we do," he said all serious.

"That sounds good, you can be my memory. If I ask you, do I like lasagna. Next time you can tell me whether I do or not." I suggested.

"I can do that," he said. "We are also going to have that fancy toast stuff."

"Cool," I said with no idea what he was talking about.

"Here this is for you, do not open it until you get home," Wilma said handing me the white envelope. It was the right size for a check to be inside, so I assumed that the size of the check was her party answer.

"Good, I love a mystery," I said to her smiling. "So you came home and slaved over a hot stove. How long are we going have to wait for dinner?" I asked worrying a little about the ride home in the dark.

"It's made in the crock pot, so it has been cooking since I came home for lunch. It is done now, and I'm about to put the garlic toast into the oven. So go fix yourself some iced tea and have a seat at the table." she demanded.

The dinner was excellent. Not only that I found the conversation with Wilma and Shawn to be fun and informative. I wouldn't remember it the next day, but it was still fun and informative as it happened.

When I left at 8 pm, Shawn and Wilma both came out to watch me ride away. I enjoyed showing off for them. I suppose there was at least a little bit of exhibitionist as well as voyeur in me. The ride home too about twenty minutes putting me in my condo a little after 8:30PM. It took a few minutes to secure the trike in the storage area of the building.

When I finally got to my apartment, I put some of my slightly old coffee into the Microwave. Since I was curious, but also cautious, I made a big deal out of opening the envelope. The check inside was for five hundred dollars and a hand written not which said. "I will pick you up sometime after 8PM on Saturday night.

I awoke on the next Friday morning with no memory of Thursday at all. It wasn't unusual for that to be the case. A real memory of the day before would have been unusual. My schedule advised me that I would be headed to the office to stir the mash. Since I didn't have to look up mash or my office, I considered it a good day. I did look up breakfast to find out what I usually did for breakfast. I decided to do something different that morning.

I remembered what pancakes were and knew that I liked them. What I had to look up was where to get good ones. Since I didn't have a note in my life file, I went to the Internet. I found a local chain with only three locations. It was highly rated, but not so high as to frighten me away. I also found a map to the place, so that I knew where to head. I had a great short term memory which held up a until I went to sleep, so I didn't bother with GPS on the trike.

I found 'Texas Mike's Pancake House' without any problem. It was also inside my power zone.

"What can I get you?" the young black waitress asked.

"I would like a big stack of pancakes with greasy sausage," I informed her.

"You want the five cake stack or more than that?" she asked.

"Let's start with the five stack and see how it goes," I suggested.

I got through half the of the five stack before I realized, I had over estimated my ability to eat in that kind of volume. I returned home to be miserable for a couple of hours. I long stay in the bathroom solved most of my problems. I hadn't had more than a teaspoon of sugar a day for many months. That morning I had about a pound, I think.

It took till noon for me to be sure that I was back to normal. That being the case I planned my trip to the office. It was after 1PM before I got the trike out for a second try at the office. I managed it and even managed to stir both buckets of mash before I headed back to the condo. Once I got home I didn't leave again that day. I was too afraid of an emergency bathroom need, and no place to find one.

I made a note under breakfast in the computer file. 'Do not eat pancakes and greasy sausage ever again.' It seemed like the right thing to do. After that message I fell into bed and then to sleep. As usual, if I dreamed, I didn't remember it.

Royce called me on Saturday to fill me in on the weeks numbers for the delivery service. Royce had hit the ground running for sure. It was a small profit that he made on week one, but it was a profit. We both found it hard to believe.

The customers came from the advertising on the cruiser, and the customers spreading the word to friends, and there there were Royce's friends. "Royce tell me these aren't any of your old drug friends." Yes I had looked Royce up while he talked on and on about the business.

"The people who are calling are absolutely not from my drug addict days," he informed me. He seemed a little hurt, but he shouldn't be. I had a lot at stake in the business, probably more than even I realized.

It was still before noon when I broke the connection on my conversation with Royce. I got the trike out of storage then headed to the marina. I decided that I wanted to go fishing. I had loved the bamboo pole fishing with Shawn so much that I bought a simple plastic telescoping pole. One that I could actually carry on the bike.

When it arrived from Hong Kong, I found that it went from 15 inches closed to 8 feet open with just a few manipulations. I had none of the parts to use with it. Sure I had bought some extra hooks and weights but those stayed in the trunk of Wilma's car. The break down poles Shawn and I used and all the extra parts were left with Wilma, because her car's trunk could handle them.

So I bought a roll of kite string to use on the new plastic pole. Since I had also left all the spare parts with Wilma, I picked up a six pack of plastic floats in addition to the hooks and weights. Since I had no desire to really catch fish, I also bought a half dozen plastic worms. I just wanted an excuse to sit on the bank and quietly assess the slowly approaching evening.

Since it wasn't a real bamboo pole, the fake one had one line guide on the tip and one at the end of the first 15" section. I had a full spool of kite string, so I rigged the pole with about four extra feet of line. I have no idea where I learned to do it, but I could use it almost like a fly rod to bait cast. With the 8" pole and the 12" line, I could cover a pretty good area. The float kept the plastic worm from falling to the bottom. When I move the pole, the worm appeared to swim. I caught and released two small fish, I have no idea to this day what type fish they were. I was pretty sure they were not Tuna, otherwise I was lost.

On the way home in the late afternoon I stopped for a plain cheese pizza. It seemed like a pretty sensible meal before a night of debauchery. I watched old TV shows on my computer, while I ate the pizza.

"Hello Wilma," I said into the phone. I had no idea if she was in the parking lot of calling from home to cancel.

"Hi, is it too early to leave?" she asked.

"Probably a little come on up. I have some cold pizza," I informed her.

"Sure why not," she answered.

When I opened the door for her, I realized how unbelievably nervous she was. She was much more nervous than I had been my first time. "I'm not sure I can go through with this," she said.

I went to the cabinet where I kept the white liquor. I used it to fix her a drink. For her I cut it was coke. "Drink this it will relax you," I suggested.

She took a drink then said to me, "That is good, what's in it?"

"No idea, and old client gave it to me. I made him drink some first to be sure it was okay. Since he didn't choke and fall over dead, I have been drinking it now and then when I need to relax."

"It is going to take more than this, but it is a start," she said.

"As I remember, it doesn't take a great deal to relax you," I said.

"Seriously Lucy, I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise to stay with me and take care of me." she said

"Oh course, if that is what you want," I replied.

"I have thought about this and I want to do it, but I want to be sure I don't get into too much trouble," she said.

"Let me tell you this, I will be sure no one forces you to do anything you don't want to do. However, you have to say no forcefully, so that I know your no isn't really maybe." I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Lots of women, me included, sometime say no. when then don't want to be seen as easy or too kinky. So if you really don't want to do something, say no very forcefully. You do that and if I have to, I'll cut their balls off to keep you safe," I said. I didn't need to remember anything, to know that I was capable of doing just that.

"Alright, I will whimper no, if I just don't want to be seen agreeing to something, but I will shout no, if I want your help. Is that okay?" she asked.

"That's just perfect," I said that as I made myself a drink using the moonshine. Mine was even weaker than Wilma's. I had no idea how the babysitting gig would work out, but I was going to do my best.



-------

Chapter 53


"I'm not sure I want to do this," Wilma said. Before I could responds she went on. "I mean, I do want to do this obviously, but I don't know if I can live with the consequences."

"If it helps any, I won't remember the details tomorrow, so I don't see how it can effect out friendship." I explained.

"Don't think I didn't take that into consideration," she informed me. She pulled into the long wooded drive of the house at the end of the road.

"So sweetie, its time to fish or cut bait," I said.

"Okay, I'm going to be a fisher person damn it," she said. "I have played it safe way too long."

"Yes you have," I replied having no idea how safe she had played it. "So let's go get a drink."

"Yes a drink at the very least," Wilma agreed as she opened her car door. I led the way to the brick split level house. Not only was it a dated design, it was occupied by a man about sixty years old or more."

"Hi there are you here for the party?" he asked.

"Yes, Jason invited us," I replied.

"Then I will have to say thank you to him and compliment him on his taste." he said trying to be cool. It didn't come of cool. It came off cheesy. "The party is in the basement and out at the pool. You get to the pool through the basement."

"Cool, you do have a bar down there?" I asked.

"Oh yes," he said.

"Well I brought a few bottle of moonshine if you have any party goers courageous enough to try it. Just so you know, we have already had a drink made with it." I explained.

"So is it good?" he asked.

I was surprised when Wilma said, "I think it's great."

"So what does it taste like," he asked.

"Nothing else compares to it. You will just have to try it to know," I admitted. What I didn't tell him was that it wasn't even the good stuff yet. Tomorrow I would start cooking the good stuff, I thought.

"So I'll just put the bottles down in the bar," I said.

"Before you do that, let me check with Jason," he said getting cautious.

"Sure, here you hold on to them. If you don't want to use them, just trash them it's all the same to me," I said. It really was all the same to me. I had four 8oz bottles left to use for comparison.

Wilma and I went down to the basement. It was very cool on a warm night even with the patio doors open. Most of the guests were naked, it was a good thing the sun was almost completely down. It would probably save some of them a trip to the emergency room. Some of them were pretty pale.

"Geese, surely there are better looking men than these?" Wilma asked.

"These are the better looking men, when they have their clothes on," I suggested with a laugh.

"I certainly hope so," Wilma said.

"Jason vouched for you Lucy, and he said if you brought Wilma, she must be okay as well. I tried the booze you brought and it definitely is moonshine. It reminds me of my misspent youth," the older man suggested. "So anyway welcome and thanks for the booze, I'll pass it around."

"Thanks for the welcome and like I said pass it around or throw it out it' s all the same to me." I said.

The woman I recognized from my photo gallery as Marie, Jason's wife, came over. "Hello Lucy, who is your friend?" she asked.

"This is Wilma, if I remember right we don't use last names here," I suggested.

"True but we all know yours. It's okay Wilma, if you have a good time leave me your address and I might send you an invitation to the next one. So you too are way over dressed." Marie didn't have a problem coming right out with it.

I knew what to expect, so I had worn only my cut off jeans, bikini panties and a tee shirt. That made it much easier to get naked. Wilma had on a skirt and blouse with bra and panties. She only had one more item than me, but it seemed like much more. Probably because it took her longer to undress.

A red headed man was the first to come over to us. He had a belly but it wasn't the biggest one in the place. "My god Lucy you are as skinny as I remember," he said.

"Well I haven't gained any weight in the last two weeks," I replied.

"No you definitely have not. So let's all go have some fun," he suggested.

"This is Wilma's first time at one of these parties. I'm not sure what she is up for, but you can always ask. She can speak for herself." I explained.

"So Wilma, are you up for a little fun with Bill and Lucy?" he asked.

"I don't think I'm ready for girl on girl yet," she said.

"Well then my son is here how about us. Just to keep it in the family?" he asked with a laugh at this own joke.

Wilma looked at me and I nodded. "As long as Lucy comes along to watch," she said.

"Kinky, would you like to watch Lucy?" he asked.

"Sure who knows what might come from that," I admitted. Also everyone was free to watch it was part of the protocol.

While Bill went to find his son, who he had called Devon, Wilma asked, "You don't mind do you?"

"You have seen me naked, now I get to not only see you naked, which by the was is quite a treat, but also I get to see you screw. Life is really good sometimes." I said as an answer.

"You are so fucking evil," Wilma said with a laugh.

"Not to worry I am perverted sometimes, but I'm not a pervert there is a difference."

"I know, if I thought you were a pervert, I wouldn't let you within a mile of Shawn."

"Good, because I like him. Now let's go mingle. That is if the league of red headed men doesn't make it back soon."

"I think they are here," Wilma said.

"Hi, I'm Devon and you have to be Lucy. I have heard a lot about you from my dad. I don't understand why you are just watching though?" he said making it a question. "Dad said you were the best."

"Thanks but I am Wilma's body guard tonight," I suggested.

"Well at least have a drink," Devon suggested. He handed me a glass of dark liquor. I knew that it wasn't mine. I took the glass sipped on it while he led Wilma to a quiet corner of the patio. Once they arrived he kissed her. He didn't waste any time, and I mentally complimented him for that. Romance was going to be wasted in a party like the one were I found myself.

I moved over to watch him. He had his hands covering her ass while he kissed her. I was pretty sure that if she needed rescuing it would be about that moment. Lucy had refused to have anal intercourse with the man from the club. I would never have remembered that, so it was in her mini biography on my computer. I was expecting her to resist, but she didn't seem to be upset at all. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I couldn't remember what I had done or what was done to me at the last party. I had a feeling that things could get rough.

One thing I had learned from my dad, which I did remember, it is not always about who was biggest or best armed. Fighting often came down to who is most motivated to win. If it came down to it, I figured I was more motivated than Devon.

At that moment I felt hands reach around me and cover my small breasts. The fingers manipulated my nipples and that felt very good. My knees got a little weak and I got a lot warmer.

"I could see that it was turning you on watching you girlfriend get felt up. My son is really quite good at that. He will have her begging for his cock any second now. You are in for a treat." With that he walked away. He went to join Wilma and his son.

When he arrived at their corner of the patio, he stood behind Wilma and did to her exactly what he had done to me. I could see her knees get weak as well. Within moments I saw him stoop a little so that his hands would read her vagina.

Devon was fingering her ass and daddy was fingering her clit. Without a doubt she would be fighting not to give up to the orgasm growing inside her. She would be wanting to make it last. I knew what she was feeling even if I couldn't actually remember doing that exact thing.

Devon began to pack her rectum with lubricant which his father had somehow brought with him. Bill kept working her pussy while Devon worked his slippery fingers deep inside her ass. As if they had rehearsed it a hundred times, Devon lifted Wilma then lowered her onto the tip of his fathers cock. I watched Bill work his cock into her butt. Wilma never said no, she simply whined and moaned,

Devon waited until his father's cock was deep in her ass, then he forced her legs apart which would have caused her muscles to tighten on Bills cock. It also opened a path for Devon to slip his cock into her pussy. Wilma found herself filled with cock from both sides. She was pinned between father and son but she did not complain. I could not remember it, but I was sure that I knew the feelings she was having. Pain, pressure, and a growing need for release. At that point nothing else would matter but the need to release her orgasm. It would be like an addict with the needle in his hand waiting to shoot up. Wilma needed to cum and thats all she could think of at that moment.

"Fuck me," she shouted. "Fuck me please don't stop."

"You need that cock up your ass to really cum hard don't you slut?" Devon whose cock was in her pussy asked.

"Yes god fuck my ass," she said. "Please fuck me. I need to cum."

"Are you going to come to me when you need your ass fucked again." Bill asked.

"Yes anything just fuck me. I need to cum now," she said almost screaming. People stopped talking and drinking to watch her. There was no way that anyone could ignore her. Wilma was the woman of the moment. She was setting the tone for the evening.

Wilma was in bad shape when they released her. Her ass would be wide open as would her vagina. She would be open and needing to be filled again. I could recognize the whimper even though I could not remember having felt it. I just knew that I had felt the same things before.

They placed her on the sofa inside the house and went to gloat or lick their wounds. I wasn't quite sure which.

"Are you okay," I asked sitting beside her.

"I am wonderful. I am so glad that you brought me." She took my hand and laid it on her vagina. I began to lazily rub her clit.

"In me please put it in me," she begged. I slipped two of my fingers inside her and began to stroke her from the inside. God it is so nice to come down to that. You are a gorgeous woman," she added.

"Thank you, would you like to feel my tongue on you?" I asked.



-------

Chapter 54


"Are you going to be upset if I say no, then someone else does it?" she asked.

"No Wilma, like I said, either way I will have forgotten by morning," I replied.

"I know, but I will remember. I know it probably sounds strange after what just happened, but I am shy and I would rather have you as a friend. I'm afraid it would change how I feel about you forever," she said.

"Well I don't know how I feel about that, but like I said tomorrow it be as if this never happened." I said it but I didn't mean it. I planned to make an entry into my journal. Something to remind me that Wilma was a strange chick. Much less up tight than I thought. Also that she and I still hadn't gotten it done. I entered it all because, I wanted to be sure that I knew why.

Even though I knew she could take care of herself, I asked, "Do you still feel you need a babysitter?"

"No, I think I have this figured out. I do want to leave soon though," she said.

"So you didn't enjoy your two for the price of one sale?" I asked.

"Oh I enjoyed it that may be the problem. This could become a habit way easier than I imagined."

"I see," I replied.

The husband and wife couple came up to Wilma and I. "Hello Lucy," the wife said. "Are you two a couple?"

"No, it doesn't appear that we are," I said. I might forget it all tomorrow but I remembered at the moment.

"In that case which one of us gets you first?" the husband asked.

"Which one of you needs what I do the most?" I asked. The order didn't matter to me. I didn't remember them, even though they obviously remembered me.

"I think Ed here probably needs your mouth more than I do. Why don't you show your friend how you can make him cum." she suggested.

I didn't even look for a more private spot. I just slipped to my knees and lifted his cock. I could smell his sexy smell. He had obviously been turned on for some time. He might even have had a woman, I admit that it did something to me. I was anxious to feel him in my mouth. I didn't remember it exactly, but I knew deep down inside that I loved it on at least some level. I sucked him deep into my throat. Soon I felt him begin to pump my wet mouth. I loved the feeling of his smooth probe working inside my mouth. It was something about the feeling of it running over my tongue that make me a little foggy. His cock began to pound me and I began to lose the control that I had. I sucked wildly and forced it into my throat even as I choked on it. Usually that scared the hell out of me, but I reveled in the feeling of the near death experience.

"See why we love her," the man's wife said to Wilma. "She is a natural cock lover. She loves to eat me just as well. Best of all we don't have to do anything for her. She is just a beautiful slut."

"Really, she doesn't expect anything in return?" Wilma asked.

"No, she just loves the experience. I think she gets off just doing it." the man's wife added. "Doesn't it make you hot seeing my husband working his cock in your friend's mouth,"

"Actually, yes it does," Wilma said.

"The let me help you really enjoy it." It really wasn't a request or a question. The man's wife moved behind Wilma. She covered Wilma's medium sized slightly saggy breast with her hands. She also manipulated her nipples as they both watched me working wildly on Ed's cock. He had obviously gotten off earlier because it took him a while and his ejaculation ended quickly.

"Trade," his wife demanded as she moved to sit on the folding aluminum outdoor chair. It was most uncomfortable I was sure, but she didn't seem to mind she opened her legs for me and I moved between them. I licked and sucked on her vagina so Wilma could see what she was missing. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ed standing behind Wilma and rubbing her clit. Wilma was climbing toward and orgasm as she watched me eat another woman. I knew that it turned her on, so I went back to work on Ed's wife.

"Your friend is quite the slut," Ed said to Wilma.

"Yes, I had no idea. She is beautiful doing it though." she said.

"I will grant you that she is a beautiful cocksucker. She also loved to take it up the ass. I can tell from the slippery spot between your cheeks that you do as well."

"I never liked it before, but I did tonight," Wilma said.

"You and Lucy need to get a couple of butt plugs. It will help you stay turned on all day." he said.

"Really?" Wilma asked. "I have seen the ads online, but I was never even curious before."

"Bend over," he said to her. Wilma didn't resist at all. "Now spread your ass cheeks for me,"

She reached behind her and spread her own ass cheeks. He worked his cock into her already dilated ass. "Lucy will be jealous. I butt fucked her last time while she was eating my wife. She loved it."

"She is so beautiful. I would love to see her being fucked," Wilma said.

"Stay a while and I'm sure you will see her. You will also be fucked more than one more time. Just as long as you stay someone will want to fuck you somewhere. All you have to do is not refuse and you will get all you want."

"Then fuck my ass, I'm going to cum. Don't stop." Wilma demanded.

I woke up Sunday morning with a wet spot in my bed. I checked my journal and read about the party. The wet spot was from semen draining from me. I had no memory of it, except that I was exhausted and very relaxed.

My journal also told me that it was the day to cook. Even though it was Sunday I was able to do one of the things on my chore list. I stopped at the heath food store for ground Licorices root. I paid three bucks for a few onces. It was just enough I thought.

I had corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. It was a change from my usual. I felt like I should have something different all things considered. "Thank you very much." I said to the cashier/waitress. Why not, I thought. I felt great.

When I got to the office, it was almost noon. I got a late start after the last party I attended as well. I still didn't remember what I did, but it did seem as though I had a good time.

I read the recipe and the story again. I found that in addition to molasses, the plantation liquor also had licorice root. They had a large herb garden the notes explained. They considered the brew more a medicine than a liquor. I wondered how the odd mixture would taste.

The recipe warned me to add the root after the mash had finished working but before I started to cook it. I put half of the small bottle into each of the buckets of mash. Then I began to cook it. The routine was the same as for the ordinary white liquor. I checked to make sure the cooling coil had the little wooden spacers in place. The mad mechanic told me to do that, so I wrote it in the instructions. I checked to be sure there was a good water cover around the coil. If it had been copper it wouldn't have needed the spacers, but I didn't want to have one made, and I didn't feel comfortable trying a do it myself version.

The pressure cooker reached 176 degrees so I adjusted the setting to keep it from rising much higher. Then I sat down to watch 'Project Runway Canada' on the computer. It was nice to know that they had the same bitchy homosexuals in Canada as well.

It was 1PM when Wilma called. "Hello Lucy are you okay?"

"Just peachy, I would be better, if you told me what I did last night," I suggested.

"I made a promise to myself, not to tell you anything about last night. Not what you did and certainly not what I did," she said with a strange laugh.

"So I guess I should ask, did we at least have fun?" I asked.

"I'm sure I did and pretty sure you did as well," she replied.

"That at least sounds promising," I suggested.

"I have been on line this morning," she informed me.

"And what have you been doing on line?" I asked.

"Shopping, I wanted to get you a present. One of the guest made a great suggestion, so I ordered one. Actually I ordered two," Wilma said.

"That sounds promising at least," I replied.

"We will see. So do you want to come to dinner tonight," Wilma asked.

"I wish I could, but I'm going to be busy recuperating," I replied. Sure it was a lie, but it was a harmless one.

"Okay, then I will take Shawn to the lake alone. I think I can figure out how to use the poles you bought. He and I will give it a try." Wilma said.

"That sounds like a good plan. Call me sometime later to let me know how you did," I said.

"It's a good thing that the Marina has a bathroom. I really don't want to be too far from one." She said.

"Must have been something we ate. I feel the same way," I admitted. I knew that it was because I had anal sex at the party. I didn't want to say that since obviously she had as well.

Royce called after 4PM. "Lucy, I just wanted to let you know that the weekend went well. I think we are on the way to having a very good month. I can't believe our first month and we are going to make a profit. What a great business," he said.

"Well don't get to confident. Anything can happen," I suggested. "You know that,"

After that call I cooked and just ignore the rest of the world. It was attention intensive to cook liquor off. Lots to do even working with such small volume. Then after a short intense few minutes, it was back to waiting for something to happen.

That went on way into the night. I ran six batches before I decided that I had enough product and the yield had slowed considerably. I didn't even taste it. I used the hydrometer to test the proof. I had to use six bottle of water to get it down to 90 proof. Once I had it bottled, I had almost two dozen bottles. The last one had one maybe six ounces. I took it home for myself. The others I left in the office.

I was tempted to call Wilma in the middle of the night, since she didn't call me back. I didn't bother to call or to even make a note of it. I fell into bed Tuesday morning at 9AM. I slept like the dead and woke up not at all sure that I wasn't dead. Once I remembered to check the computer I was back to normal.

Since it was 3PM, I took a chance and called Wilma's studio. "So how was the fishing?" I asked when she answered.



-------

Chapter 55


"Shawn informed me that I'm not near as much fun as Aunt Lucy. So thanks for that. I spent $15 for a fishing license just to hear that. We didn't catch anything, but we mostly likely did catch yellow fever from the mosquitoes." Wilma explained. I could not help it, I laughed at her story.

"Well, I'm all rested up now, so next time Aunt Lucy will take him fishing," I said.

"Before you see it on the Internet, I should tell you that the Jeans Joint has your ads running online now." Wilma informed me.

"Very cool, I bet that is why I have messages from the painters at the college." I said it, then I burst into song, "Fame, I'm gonna live forever people gonna remember my name."

"So which one of the teenagers do you think you are," Wilma asked.

"I know. I'm the nerdy girl with the gay boyfriends. You know the faghag," I said seriously.

"How did you remember that?" she asked.

"Shit, I have no idea where it came from. I can just see the kids dancing in the street for some reason," I answered honestly.

"That was the first time I ever heard techno music," Wilma said. "So you might get calls from other photographers and advertising agencies. You might want to consider a manager." Wilma suggested.

"Geese you are so damn practical. Give me a chance to enjoy the moment, without real life interfering," I explained. I paused then went on quickly. Okay enough basking in the moment of fame, how about I take you and Shawn to dinner. Of course you will have to drive." I said

"What did you have in mind?" Wilma asked.

"I'm thinking dog house to celebrate. It sounds like the kind of thing that only a hot dog could do justice," I said.

"Lucy, I know you think this is a joke, but it could lead to some serious money," she said.

"Wilma, do I look like the type to go through all that model bullshit, I mean some college kid wanted to draw me and then draw me nude. Then I did some things for you, but that's not New York runway stuff."

"Okay make light of it, but mark my words you will get offers," she said. "As for the dogs of course Shawn would have a fit, if he found out you offered and I even considered turning you down."

Good can you make it here by 7PM?" I asked.

"Sure but is there any particular reason for the time?" Wilma asked.

"Truth is I want to sit by the phone waiting for the model agency to call," I said. If we leave any earlier, I might miss it.

"Bitch," she said hanging up on me.

I laughed a little, then I called Royce. "So Royce, we had a good week huh?" I asked.

"Considering how new we are, we did really good I think," he informed me.

"I think you are doing great. Just keep it up and you will be rich before you know it," I suggested.

"Hardly rich but at least I am my own boss doing this. Well I guess you are the boss, but I don't feel like I have a boss," he said.

"You don't really," I paused a moment then said, "I just wanted to call and say good job. I am going to dinner with a photographer friend and her son. We are going to the doghouse at 7PM. Why don't you stop by. Accidental meetings are so much fun," I suggested.

"If nothing comes up, I might just do that," he said.

"Do not tell either of them that I invited you. This is just an accidental meeting, right?" I asked.

He was off the phone in just a couple of minutes. I stumbled around the apartment pretending to clean it. My mother would be ashamed of me. I didn't actually remember her, but I just had a feeling about it.

After only twenty minutes the phone rang and I was grateful. "Lucy Ayers," I said.

"Lucy this is Jason," My memory was getting some better, but not much. I quickly looking him up in the file. Ah Jason, does your wife know you are calling me?" I asked with a laugh.

"This is nothing she needs to know about. Your friend, the one who gave you the stuff you brought to the party, do you think he would sell me some?" he asked.

"I'm sure that is why he gave me the bottle. To make it known to the right people that he has some available," I said. "He gets $25 a quart for it. You can buy ABC store stuff cheaper."

"Yeah but it ain't the same. It's part of the outlaw mystique. How much can you get me/"

"Just one quart of the plain and there won't be any more. The last he brought me was a special colonial plantation recipe. For now that is all he has. If you buy a quart, I will get him to include an ounce of the Plantation Shine so you can sample it."

"How do you like it?" he asked.

"To be honest, I haven't tried it yet. I have it on my list of things to do before the week ends," I said.

"Fair enough, So do I pick up the product?" he asked.

"The twenty five includes a delivery. Just give me an address where you will be tomorrow afternoon, and have the cash ready." I said.

"Fair enough, we are going to be going to another party in a couple of weeks. I'll send you the location. Invite your little friend for me. You two were a big hit." He clicked off before I could say thanks a lot. I did get his address. I packed him up four of the 8oz water bottles filled with my the standard recipe white liquor. I made an address label for Royce. I made sure the package was well sealed. If Royce got caught it would be just another delivery for him. Yes that was my plan all along for starting the delivery service. I did not plan to become a player in the game, but I did plan to do it as a hobby. That being the case, I had some decisions to make and damn soon.

I sat with a glass of iced tea as I read my history with Royce and Wilma. I did it so that I would have an idea what to say to them. I hadn't really decided what to do about the two of them, but I felt like my only two friends these days should at least meet.

I was downstairs waiting in our beautiful lounge, when I saw Wilma and Shawn drive into the parking lot. I walked out to meet them. "Hey there guys. You look great Wilma and Shawn aren't you all dolled up?" I asked.

"Yes grandpa is taking me to a play at the college. I would rather go to the Dog House with you," he said.

"I'm sorry, but you can go next time. Have you ever been there," I asked.

"No but my friends from school say it is great," he said.

"Your seven year old friends do restaurant critiques?" I asked.

"Sure, McDonalds has the best Chicken nuggets, and fries. Wendys has the best burgers. Except maybe Burger King if you like them messy."

"Oh I love my burgers all sloppy like that," I said.

"Me too, mom hates to eat there. I get the stuff all over my clothes," he laughed. Even at seven the idea of tormenting his mother had an appeal. He was gonna be hell, when he got to be a teenager. That was my prediction.

"If we aren't going to have Shawn, is it still the dog house," Wilma asked.

"Absolutely, I love a good hot dog. My file tells me the dog house has the best," I said it smiling. She probably found that hard to believe. but then she didn't know about Royce either.

We dropped Shawn at the downtown studio, so that his grandfather could take him to the play at the college. Then we rode to the doghouse. "So tell me, why the Doghouse?" Wilma asked.

"You are going to accidentally meet the man who helped me out back when I was a lawyer. He and I are in business together now." I said it and waited for her reaction.

"Why are you doing this? Is it because I wouldn't screw you at the party. Did you decide that I needed a good man in my life, rather than you?" she asked.

"What the fuck are you talking about. I thought you and Royce should meet. He is likely to be around more in the next few months. So you should at least know who he is. I also figured Shawn could use a man in his life. Someone to take him fishing. If you and Royce hit if off fine, if not nothing lost. It isn't like he is a paid escort and I have to pay for him to meet you." I said angrily. "So get over yourself."

"Fuck you Lucy," she said.

"Now?" I asked. She did laugh at that point.

"You are so fucking evil. I swear you are," she said that to me just as we arrived in the parking lot of the Dog House.

"Miss Lucy where you been so long?" the man behind the register asked me. I knew that I should know him, but of course I didn't have a clue.

"Can't you tell I've been dieting, so now it's time to break bad," I said with a giant laugh. So how you been hon?" I asked.

"I have been good Miss Lucy, so has my son. We are all doing well, He has a web thing telling people where the Hot Dog truck is parked and people drive to it. I can't believe how well it is doing," he said.

"I am glad could we have a table in a quiet spot, if there is such a thing?" I asked.

"It is dinner time everything is quiet. Mostly this time of night it is take out," He talked while he led us to a table in a corner of the restaurant's small dining room.

Wilma and I were at the table not even long enough to start another conversation when Royce walked up. "Well hello there Lucy," he said.

"No need to pretend Royce, she knows. Shawn had a previous engagement and I had to tell her, so that she wouldn't insist on some fancy restaurant." I explained. "So Royce this is my friend Wilma and Wilma this is my friend Royce," I said making the appropriate hand signals as I spoke.

"I do hope you will forgive me Royce, I had no idea I was meeting one of Lucy's real friends. If I had known, I would have dressed better," Wilma said.

"You are absolutely perfect. You never have to dress for me. I am a pretty casual type guy. They tell me I didn't look to bad in a tux at my brother's wedding. Otherwise, it's most jeans for me."

"You and Lucy, I don't think I have ever seen her in anything but jeans of one kind or another. Long jeans, jean shorts, and of course that little blue jean mini skirt," she said it with a laugh.

"Well I have long jeans and cut off jeans but no shorts or mini skirts," Royce said.

We ordered and the conversation was very light an almost bubbly while we waited. Then out of nowhere Wilma said, "Oh my God, you are Lucy's body guard."

"Not any more but yes I was for a while," Royce said.



-------

Chapter 56


"What really happened at that boat ramp?" Wilma asked suspiciously.

Royce looked at me. It appeared he wanted to know, if I was behind the questions. "I can't help you Royce, I don't remember," was my answer and My excuse.

"Wilma I have told that story so many time, I really don't want to tell it again." he said.

"Listen Royce, Lucy is my friend, if she is your friend, then tell me so we can all be friends. Otherwise you and I are never going to be more than people who are very cautious about the other one and their interest in our mutual friend." Wilma was not a happy camper, and she was making Royce's evening a lot worse than anyone had expected.

I certainly had no idea that she could get up in anyone's face like that. She was all over Royce. I had hoped that it would die down after the initial confrontation, but it just got worse.

"From the way the TV played it everyone thinks Lucy saved your ass, not the other way around," Wilma said.

"Yeah she did distract them so that Ansel and I had a chance," he said.

"Didn't She also take one of the bad guys out for you?" Wilma asked all defensive.

"Yeah she did that. Took him into the river plastered to the front of her car. Her passenger Jane bailed, so Lucy went into the water with a dead cop across the hood of her car. Before you attack me again, she took a shot to the head, as well a serious case of oxygen deprivation, so her brain was compromised. She got this way saving my ass, so there is nothing I won't do for her, nothing," he said.

"Fair enough, now don't you feel better?" Wilma asked.

"I don't feel one fucking bit better. You are really a bitch," Royce said.

"And that's my best quality," Wilma answered. I knew Wilma enough to know that it was not her playful joking mood. She had been dead serious, when she went after Royce.

"So the SBI came in and took over the police force for a while," she commented for me.

"Ah and how many policemen left the force?" I asked.

"Over twenty five percent, I'm told," she said.

"Yes it was over a quarter, and the ones who stayed are under a cloud and not at all pleased with me or your friend Lucy. I drive very carefully, so as not to get noticed and Lucy should do the same.

"I suppose you did the best you could," Wilma said.

"I was doing exactly as Lucy wanted," Royce replied. "I didn't really want to be involved, but I did what I had to do. I killed a cop, so it wasn't my proudest moment.

"Okay, you sound like you are telling the truth. So what are you two doing together now?" Wilma asked.

"Lucy bankrolled a delivery service and I do the day to day thing,"

"And he is doing a damn fine job of it, so back off and leave him alone." I said.

"No Lucy, she needs to know. When I pulled her ass from the river, I didn't even know she had been shot. I thought she had just drowned. I kept doing CPR till the Paramedics arrived. I went into that river after her only because if I hadn't, her father would have would have arranged a very slow and painful death for me. I am no hero, and I know that. They found the bullet fragments in her brain sometime later in the ER.

She went from the Lucy, who rode a moped from here to California, to Lucy who hovered between life and death, That was just the first month. Then she was somewhere between life and something almost like life, but not quite. Then she was awake, but had no idea who she was. Then she was able to remember things till she fell asleep, While she slept they all got lost again.

All that time I sat outside her door. I sat outside her door, because someone arranged for me to be paid. I also did it because her father got word to me. Either I kept her alive or there would be a reunion in hell shortly after she died. He also had a talk with her doctors and nurses, I'm sure convincing them to go that extra mile for her.

The computer for a memory was her ex husband's idea. Once she learned how to make it work, she adapted to it quickly. She knows that our present concerns are about how little she eats."

Wilma was finished with her attack just yet "You are on parole how were you going to defend her?" Wilma asked. She was more curious than angry at least.

"Plastic box opener with a razor blade. It is actually a trick I learned from Lucy back when she was Lucy. It is just an improved version of a prison shank. Not the ideal weapon, but it will get the job done."

"So you knew her before the boat ramp thing as well, was she always this thin?" Wilma asked.

"Not at all, when she went into the river she had maybe ten pounds of extra ass. But after six months on IVs she was down to this cadaver look. Now she won't eat. She orders real food, then tastes it, but nothing more." Royce answered.

"Yes, I noticed that as well," Wilma agreed.

"Hey guys, I'm sitting right here. Please don't talk about me like I was home watching TV." I suggested.

Wilma ignored me, "So did you and Lucy ever do it?" she asked. I noticed something close to jealousy in her voice.

"No of course not, but I would have for sure. It just never seemed to be the right time." Royce said.

"Too bad Shawn will be home in an hour or so, this might have been the right time," Wilma informed us both.

"Well we have had dinner and you pretty much informed me that you don't want to go back to my place for a drink," I said.

"Of course I do, but I can't. I better not find out you two did either," she said. "There is something about you two that tells me it wouldn't be just for giggles. If it's going to be serious, I want to be there. If nothing else, as a friend to keep you two out of trouble."

"Bullshit you just want to watch," I said laughing.

"That two," she agreed.

"I'm not sure I could do it in front of an audience," Royce suggested.

'Not to worry Royce, I'm pretty sure we can convince you. Sorry to bring alls this up and then tell you not tonight, but not tonight," Wilma informed us both.

"I can wait for sure," I said. "It will not be for love, I assure you. Royce is like my brother, but hey 'Incest is best," I said.

Wilma dropped me at home alone. I spent my evening playing games on my computer and watching another full season of Top Chef. It was quite interesting.

When I woke up next, three days had passed with nothing worth mentioning in my journal obviously. I didn't even have any vague memories, so it was just three days gone that I could not get back.

According to my schedule I was set to make a new batch of mash that day. It certainly wasn't carved in stone, but I could do it for sure. It was very early in the morning, but I went to the cabinet over the sink and took down the straight corn liquor. I took some into my mouth then spit it out.

I found it to be a bit raw. I don't think I ever drank liquor straight from the bottle before. Either way it was still okay but a little rough for me.

I tried a taste of the last batch I had made. It had the more buttery taste of rum. It was a little strong still and it had an after taste of liquorice. It was pretty much what my journal let me to believe it would be, Since I hadn't heard from any of the people to whom I gave it, I assumed it was not all that popular. In my mind when I had read the recipe from the cook book, I thought it sounded a little strange. I suppose the plantation liquor had a medicinal taste that was popular back then. It didn't seem to have time traveled well at all.

I stopped at the waffle and egg restaurant for breakfast. I had finally thought to write in my journal the two breakfast dishes with which I was consistently pleased. One egg, one piece of toast, and one link of sausage," I said to the waitress. "No potatoes, I added as she walked away. She seemed to already know what to do, so I must have had her before. Maybe a dozen times for all I knew.

As usual it was delicious. The second meal was corned beef hash with one egg and one biscuit. I ate about two large bites of the hash and egg, but I still enjoyed those two bites.

The mash I made that morning was molasses corn and water with yeast. When I had everything working I checked my messages. I had one from some advertising agency in New York City. I deleted it as I had the other five or six I had over the last few days. I did make a note in my journal that I had deleted another one. It would not have mattered even if I awoke without the journal, I knew I did not want to go to New York City for anything."

I played a second message after I determined that I knew who Jason was. "Hey Lucy it's Jason, I am calling to see, if I can get some more of your friends product. I also wanted to invite you to a party this weekend. It would really be nice, if you could bring your other friend along.

"Hello Jason," I said when I finally got him on the phone. "I only have half a gallon of the first one. I have a gallon of the second, if you want that one," I said.

"How about half a gallon of each.Marie liked the taste of the second product. I can take it or leave it," he said.

"Well that's fine I'll have it delivered. Remember the delivery guy has no idea what is in the box," I said.

"Right I will give him what a hundred bucks," he asked.

"One twenty five this time cause of the plantation stuff," I suggested.

"Okay, I got a friend who wanted to try that plantation mix. I think he will like it." he said,

"Jason, just be careful you know this isn't iced tea," I said.

"Oh my friends are going to have to come to me for this stuff. You are not tied to it at all. They think I'm buying it from the boot legger," he informed me. Well just don't forget loose lips sink ships," I said with a laugh.

"Hell no, loose lips are not nearly as good as tight lips," he said with a laugh.

I left the rum mash working, while I went for a ride to the lake. It was afternoon, but I managed to do some fishing. I used the time to thing about the note in my journal about Royce and Wilma meeting three days before and then no note since. It was pretty obvious to me that they were involved. Royce should have called me to report on the delivery business and Wilma seemed to call everyday till she met Royce. I laughed at her thinking I would be jealous, so she had to hide it from me.

I called her more to rattle her cage than to pry. "So," I said once I got her on the phone. "You were right. I have been getting a couple of calls a day from New York ad agencies."



-------

Chapter 57


"So when are you leaving," Wilma asked.

"I don't think I am going to New York. I'm brain damaged, not stupid," I said.

"Well you could be both for all I know," she suggested.

"So what's up?" I haven't heard from you or Royce in a couple of days." I remarked. My journal entry told me that, I couldn't remember of course.

"I can't answer for Royce but I have been busy touching up your images. You do know that you really aren't that gorgeous, don't yo?" she asked.

"Of course I do. I'm the one who told you.," I said.

"I knew I heard it somewhere," Wilma said lightly. "So what is going on with you?"

"I am waiting for Jason to call about a party this weekend. Are you interested?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I really need to give that some thought," she said.

"So you and Royce are seeing each other?" I asked.

"Not really seeing, but we did have dinner a couple of days ago. In a real restaurant with real table clothes," she explained. "He invited Shawn, so they had a great time talking about guy things."

"Royce is good with guy things." I did not say anything about how Royce could explain how to survive in prison. I guess that could be a guy thing. "Sure I was jealous, but I couldn't do that to Royce. What she knew and when she knew it was not up to me.

"So are you two going out tonight?" I asked.

"No, he didn't call after that first date. I don't know, maybe he is taking it slowly, or maybe he didn't enjoy the dinner as much as I did," she said.

"Or maybe he is in trouble," I suggested. "I'll find him and get back with you."

"Please do," Wilma said.

I called the pickup number. "Door to Door Deliver," Royce said.

"Hey Royce it's me Lucy, where the hell have you been?" I asked.

"Working my ass off, you have created a monster," he said.

"I have created nothing of the kind. If business is good, then it good for both of us."

"I was hoping for five or six deliveries a day, but hell I'm doing on average 10 a day. I have been all week. We have been at this two weeks and I'm working way harder than I want. People see this little van and call me on their cell phone. It's just a beautiful way to do business. Sometimes I get to the pick up point before they do," Royce said.

"In this economy you should be thrilled," I said.

"Half of them are for a taxi with cargo space. I swear we are probably cheaper than a taxi. Our average take on each trip is $13.50," he said.

"Sounds good to me, So tell me, what's the deal with Wilma?" I asked.

"Did she call you?" he asked in return.

"No Royce, I can add. I introduce you and don't hear from either of you for two days. I usually hear from both of you everyday. That sounds to me like a conspiracy." I couldn't help it I laughed my ass off.

"We had dinner the other night, that's all." He said.

"That's not how she tells it. You want to hear her version?" I asked.

"I can imagine her version, but I swear Lucy it meant nothing," Royce said.

"I hope Shawn didn't find out. By the way Wilma doesn't think it meant nothing. Call her and explain it to her. Do not fucking leave her hanging," I said angrily.

"Very well, I can do that. Also I have some money for you personally. That COD delivery paid me. I can't believe I made a COD delivery in the parking lot of a closed service station. That sounds a lot like you are doing something you shouldn't be doing." Royce observed.

"I'm not and I had no idea it was an abandoned service station. Trust me the package was harmless. It was not drugs, so it would pass the drug sniffing dogs, no problem," I laughed yet again.

It was mid afternoon when I got the call from Wilma's cell phone. "Can we talk?" Wilma asked.

"Sure where are you?" I asked.

"Just walked into your fancy lobby. I will be there in a couple of minutes," she said. I couldn't get a read on her mood, so I just waited for her to show up on my hallcam.

"Hello Wilma, is everything alright?" I asked when she walked into my sitting/guest room combo.

"No everything is not alright. Royce called me to explain that it was just for giggles," she said.

"Oh honey, I am so sorry," I said.

"Thank you, did you prod him into calling me?" she asked.

"Yes I did. It was just so you would know where you stood. I did not suggest what he should say," I informed her.

"You should not have called at all," Wilma said.

"I know, but you two are my only friends. We should not have secrets," I informed her.

"I know. I feel better now that I have told you." she said.

"Good for you Wilma." I said not quite sure if a smile would be appropriate.

"I have a present for you," she said handing me something that looked like a miniature Lava Lamp. I had no idea where I had heard the name Lava Lamp but I was pretty sure that I had it right.

"What the hell?" I asked.

"Of all things it is a butt plug. Now do not go all freaky on me, but you are supposed to wear it all day everyday from now till the party," she informed me.

"Wilma you have to be kidding me?" I asked.

"Oh no, I have it on good authority that if we do that, it will not be nearly as uncomfortable having sex there," she informed me.

"So you have one I presume?" I asked.

"Yes I went home after Royce called and inserted it. It felt really weird at first now it uncomfortable but in an erotic way, if that makes sense?"

"It makes no sense at all but if prissy you tried it, I will too," I said.

"Would you mind terribly if I put it in?" she asked.

"Not at all," I replied without even considering it for a second.

"You do need to lubricate it well," she suggested. "I brought my tube of KY lubricant."

"You are always prepared and I'm so flighty," I said.

"Pull down your shorts and panties, then bend over and spread your legs," she demanded

I did as she directed and then I felt her work the cold firm rubber device inside me. It was very uncomfortable on a couple of levels. There was pain when I moved but also the instant feeling of needing to evacuate my bowels. It was a pretty sick feeling.

"Is that okay," Wilma asked in a soft voice.

"It is more than okay. Since you did it, it feels wonderful," I admitted.

"I hate to admit it but I loved doing that to you. God I can't believe I said that let alone felt it," she confided.

"Don't worry it is beautiful just as are you," I said moving to kiss her gently.

"I can't," she said.

"I understand," I said sadly.

"No, I have an appointment at the studio in ten minutes. I could not stand it if you turned me on with this inside me and then I had to leave. I would be reminded every second of your touch. I will call you after the studio closes," she promised.

She left before I could corner her and make her late for her appointment. Wilma called to advise me that she had to go home right after work to be with Shawn. "Please don't come over tonight. I have no idea what I am feeling with the thing in, but it can't be a good thing." she did say it with a laugh.

"If it is what I am feeling I think I would screw a pony right now," I said.

"If you do that, don't tell me. I might want to borrow him," she said then laughed and added. "Shawn would never let me give him back."

I went out to eat pizza after the call. I bought a small cheese pizza for six bucks and took it home. I did that because there would be so much left over the waiter would think there was something wrong with the food. I had that happen more than once. I thought I was starved till I actually tasted the food. Besides I could have cold pizza in the frig for days. That is unless Wilma came over, she adored cold pizza. God I had her on my mind since she put that thing in my butt. Not only did I have her on my mind, I was having the most wicked thoughts about her.

I imagined kissing Wilma deeply with lots of tongue. I imagined my hands on her butt putting pressure in varying amounts on the plug located there. I could also imagine her doing the same to me. I wigged my ass in the chair to create a similar feeling.

Then I imagined that I unbuttoned her blouse and slipped it over her shoulders. Wilma would remove my tee shirt over my head. Breaking the kiss only at the last second. Wilma wore a sturdy bra since she was a business person. I wore none at all. My nipples would have gotten hard while I kissed her. As I felt the stiff fabric of her bra rubbing against my sensitive nipples I would ache for some release from the ever building tension.

Once her bra was gone I would feel the sensation of her soft smooth breasts against my small hard breasts. I would be so slippery that it would be dripping down my thighs. I could hope that her thighs would be equally slippery.

I would surely slip my hand between us while I massaged her clit. I might have to lower myself to reach her clit, if I did then I would nurse her breast. Feeling the nipple in my mouth would be a treat. It would be a pure programed sensory thing, since I could not remember ever having done it before. Even so I was sure I could do it well.

As I massaged her clit I know she would be rocking her hips to help me. Doing that would also work the plug inside her. That would create even more sensations. Even with my fucked up memory, I would know when she was close to orgasm. When she was rocking hard on my finger, I would slip to my knees and bury my face in her pussy. Yes that is how I thought of it when I was extremely turned on and I was at that moment.

I would lick and suck on her clit while she tried to force me to press even harder against her. After that I would be forced to tongue fuck her deeply. I would reach around and use the plug to gently excite her rectal canal as I sucked on her clit. When she was ready to cum, I would suck on the lips of her pussy helping her to pour lubricant from her pussy.

"God yes Lucy eat me. I love the feel of your mouth on my pussy and his cock in my ass." I had no idea why those words came to mind, but I accepted it and kept sucking on her pussy.

I quickly moved my finger to my own clit and began to work it. I didn't imagine Wilma doing anything, except to allow me to worship her beautiful body.



-------

Chapter 58


It was Friday morning and I was still wearing the butt plug. I had no idea why except maybe now and then I thought about how it got there. I could remembered Wilma's body smell, as she installed it for me.

After breakfast I went by the office to stir the mash. There was still nothing noticeable about the office. Well the grass needed to be cut, otherwise it was just like all the other offices. I wondered why the lawn maintenance people had not been around to cut the small patch of grass in the front and the two small strips beside the parking lot.

I checked the index in the file and found that I had dropped the service two weeks before. I suppose I had decided that I didn't want anyone to be hanging around on a regular basis. When a beat up old Ford pickup truck pulled into the parking lot, I had just about decided to buy a cheap lawn mower and do the job myself.

The man who got out of the truck appeared to be spaced out at, least a little. He was in his twenties, so he was about the right age to be a drug user. I definitely did not want him hanging around.

"Hey there, are you the owner of this building," he asked. "I saw you come out, so I thought you might be," he explained.

"Yes I'm the owner, but the office is closed sorry," I said.

"Yeah, it looks like you have walked away. If you don't want the city to be hassling you, then you need to keep the grass cut. I can do that for you, cheap."

"How cheap?" I asked the long haired young man in dirty jeans.

"My usual is $20 bucks and hour and a one hour minimum," he said.

"I can buy a cheap lawn mower for the price of a month's charges by you. I can cut the grass till the end of the season and have the mower for next year," I suggested "I figure I have about a half hours worth of grass work. Just mow no trimming. So I'll give you ten bucks every time you cut it. How's that sound?"

"Not even worth taking the mower off the truck for that," he said.

"I can understand how you feel, so thanks for stopping by," I said.

"Don't you at least want to negotiate?" he asked.

"That was me negotiating hon. My only concession is that I will pay you in cash. Nobody needs to report such a small expenditure."

"If I can cut it when I do the one across the street, you got a deal," he said.

"So you are here, your truck is here, the mower is here, and we have agreed on a price, so why are you just standing here?" I asked.

"That's fine for this week how do I get paid next week?" he asked.

"Give me a call when you start across the street. I will have your money delivered before you finish with my lawn. I have a deal with a local delivery service. They will drop off the money within an hour or two of your call. Of course he will also check the office before he hands over the money."

"You don't trust me?" he asked.

"Not a bit, but I am honest about it," I said.

"Fair enough," he replied.

"Just so you know, I have surveillance cameras on the inside and outside of the building. I just wanted to tell you, so that there isn't any problems about them down the line. If I want, I can watch you cut the grass from home," I informed him.

"I got it, so where's the ten?" he asked it knowing I wasn't going to pay him till he finished.

"When I see your work," I said. "I did show him the ten dollar bill." He was finished in about fifteen minutes but a deal was a deal, so I handed over the money.

As always I had charged the bike while I messed with the mash, so when the stoner finished the lawn, I rode to the lake. I was busy, not being busy, when the phone range.

"Lucy, the party is at 411 Crestview Rd. If you could bring at least a sample of the product your friend gave you, I think it would be a good thing." Jason said.

"Well that sounds perfectly reasonable to me," I suggested.

"Will your other friend be coming as well?" he asked,

"I'll have to ask her," I said. "So you really need to know?"

"Not at all, I just wanted to let you know she was a big hit last time."

"I'll tell her and see if that helps her decide, one way or the other," I said.

I actually was pretty sure what her answer was going to be. She had worn a butt plug like mine to please someone. I wasn't quite sure who though. When he broke the connection, I realized that I had known who he meant, without the computer check. I was quite proud of that.

I called the studio which I had to look up on my computer, since I wasn't sure of the name of number of it. I was pretty sure that Wilma would be working on

Saturday. I was pretty sure she worked every Saturday.

"So Wilma," I said when I had her on the phone. "You want to give me a lift to the party tomorrow night?"

"I have a full blown wedding tomorrow, it will be late when I finish," she informed me.

"I'll give my friend a heads up, but I doubt that he cares. If you remember these things run late." I reminded her.

"I'm sure I remember more than you. Now I have to go, work you know." she said.

"Ain't it a bitch being the adult in this relationship," I suggested. "I'm at the marina fishing. You want to do something tonight?" I asked,

"Damn it Lucy, girls don't fish," she said. "As for tonight Shawn and I are staying in. He will be gone all day tomorrow and over night. He spends every weekend with his dad. It's how I can even consider the party things," Wilma said.

"Shawn doesn't mind that I fish," I said before she hung up on me. I had an excellent short term memory, so I didn have to call Jason right away, but I did anyway. Marie answered the phone instead of Jason. "Marie, Jason invited me and Wilma to a party this weekend, but if we come at all, it is going to be late, maybe as late as midnight."

"Oh hell that's okay. Don't forget that sample of your friend's product." Marie said.

"Okay I have to go," I said quickly. I did have to go my bobber was running away from the bank. I obviously had something on the line. I gave the half pound bream to the black guy beside me. I had some kind of vague memory of a church fish fry, but it was too vague to pull out of the slime.

Since Wilma would be staying in with Shawn, I stayed at the lake until the sun went down. I still had time to make it home before dark. I found my best padded chair to sit with the laptop and chat. I was able to move my butt which moved the plug around inside me slightly. It was enough to bring back memories.

Earlier, while I was waiting to get onto the net, I remade my McDonald's hamburger. I opened it up and cut the burger in half, then I cut the bun in half. I put both pieces of meat on just half the bun. It probably didn't help much but I did love their burgers. What I really wanted was the French Fries, but I resisted. Some nights I just bought a small order of their fries. I had a jar of store brand salsa. It was what I covered them with. I could usually get about half of that concoction down. I did splurge calorie wise with a little mayonnaise on the burger.

I finished my burger before I got into the chatroom. It was a good thing I got busy immediately. I think the plug in my butt me less picky about the men I spoke with. It took about ten minutes to pare down the men to one who seemed to be interesting and sexy as well.

The first of the men who seemed to be cool, asked to call me on the phone after about twenty five words. Even with the fucked up memory I knew better than that. Then there were those who wanted pictures. To do that I had to reveal my web address, again something I didn't want to do with strangers.

In the end I found a man who didn't want to trade personal information or meet me in some sleazy motel for sex. Men seemed to be looking for dates in the chatrooms, If a woman wasn't interested then they really got upset. It was something I found odd. Once in a while I found someone worth talking with,

From the file I learned what my name in chat had been before the incident at the boat ramp. I had no way to know which of my family members knew that name, but I used it again in the chatrooms after the incident. I guess I did it because it was a connection to my past. I didn't have all that many.

Someone whose chat name was swampfox messaged me. "Hello Wanda. How have you been," He was obviously someone who remembered me. I had no idea when I had chatted with him last.

"I have been well," I typed.

"I am glad to hear that, I have missed you." he wrote.

"Oh, we have chatted before?" I asked.

"Oh yes, we should start over if possible. One never knows what the months have done to our relationship," he wrote.

"What was our relationship back then," I was looking forward to finding out more about me before the memory loss.

"We were just two friends with a very open relationship," he said.

'I see, yes we will need to start over for sure." I said.

"Yes, I have been expecting it. So tell me Lucy what are you wearing for me tonight?" he asked.

"I am more than a little shocked that you know my real name," I admitted.

"As I said earlier, we have a very open relationship," he wrote.

"You know my name, but I don't know yours," I said.

"My name is Charles." he said.

"That's my son's name," I said.

"Yes I know, you told me, when we spoke before. So when did you see your son last."

"It has been a while, he is busy with summer school." I replied.

"Well maybe you will see him soon," swampfox said. "So answer the question Mom, what are you wearing for me."

"I have on a white tee shirt and white panties." I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled to answer.

"Are your nipples hard for me," he asked.

There was something about his direct approach that compelled me to answer and to answer truthfully. "Hard but not for you," I said.

"That's okay, I love hard nippled no matter what he reason. If I were there, would you show them to me?" he asked.

"Yes, I think I would." I replied.

"Would you beg me to suck them," he asked.

"I honestly do not know." I replied.

"Of course you know, If you want me to chat with you ' again, then answer truthfully," he demanded

"Yes, I would beg," I said,"



-------

Chapter 59


When I woke up Saturday morning, I checked the computer to get the details of my life. I had been able to keep the broad strokes in my memory the last few days. I was thrilled. I felt that even waking up just knowing my name was an accomplishment. So knowing my name and the name of the woman who was driving me to a party later was great.

Okay, I did have to check the computer to know what she was doing before the party. I also had to check the computer to find out the details about the butt plug up my ass. God that sounds so stupid, but it was true. I tried but could not remember how, or why it was there. I was a little surprised that I knew what it was at all.

I called Wilma at home, while I had breakfast at the lake. I had a biscuit and coffee while I sat on the balcony watching the sailboats. The biscuit was very good. I realized that I had been on the patio watching the boats, during breakfast many times. I had just remembered it, so I was enjoying the food, the coffee and some of the memories.

I took a break long enough to make the call. "So are we still on for tonight?" I asked.

"Shawn just left, so you bet we are. I have no idea what time the bride will let me leave, but I am coming straight from the wedding to your house. Can I leave my cameras at your place? I can pick them up when I drop you off."

"Of course, it's the least I can do, since you are driving," I suggested.

"Good, I will also throw some shorts in the bag, so that I can change out of my wedding clothes," she suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. I can imagine that you wouldn't want to be dressed all that sexy at the wedding. I bet being sexier than the bride is not good for business." I said.

"So that's why business is down. All this time I thought it was the economy," she said. "So where are you at 10AM.

"10:30AM and I am at the lake having a biscuit and coffee. Once I sat down on the patio with the biscuit and coffee, I remembered that I had been here dozens of times. I even remember who I was with, and what we talked about. Lots of shit is coming back to me these days," I said.

"Good for you, did you eat the whole biscuit?" Wilma asked.

"Most of it," I said.

"How much?" she asked again.

"I ate the bottom half of the biscuit and all of the sausage and egg. By the way when did you become the food police?" I asked.

"When I put that thing inside your butt, bitch," she said laughing.

"There is nothing I can say to that," I replied.

"Good, then I'll see you sometime tonight," Wilma informed me.

After her call I went to the trike to remove my new fishing rig. It was the seven piece, telescoping fishing pole. Not rod but plastic pole which was the replacement for the poles I had used with Shawn. Mine would fit on the trike easily. I used a fake pole, kite string, a hook, and a fake worm to fish. I tried as hard as possible to not catch fish. I used the time to sit outside, work on my tan, and also to work on my plans.

The plat at the moment was to increase the production of illegal alcohol. I knew that me and the mad mechanic could come up with a still that didn't look like a still. One of the secrets to getting away with it, or so I thought, was to trip no automatic triggers.

I planned to buy the corn as feed for deer or other animals. Then I would grind it myself. I might need a better grinder than the coffee grinder, but I was sure that it would be easy to get a commercial coffee mill. Sugar might be a problem since it was hard to explain hundred pound bags of sugar. Water use would be a problem as well. It took a lot of water to cool the worm even if I made it from copper it would have still needed cooling water.

So first thing I needed was to decide how many gallons of capacity I wanted. Being safe was more important than money to me. I figured five gallons of product a run was more than enough, Roughly then I needed 25 gallons of mash, more or less anyway. 25 gallons would net me less than five gallons most likely, but that was okay as well.

I looked out on the water and saw one of my problem solved. I remembered Royce's statement. "Just because your memory is gone, it don't make you stupid. When I looked out I saw a pontoon boat putt by me. The boat was too small, but I would bet my ass there were onces big enough to handle my needs. Everybody who knew me, knew that I had taken up fishing. It would seem to be a natural next move. I had plenty of money surely I would want a boat.

I wondered if Jeff's dad wanted to sell, 'Take The Fifth'. Wouldn't that be cool to make liquor on that old jerks fuck pad. It wouldn't do, but it was fun to imagine it. The boat idea was fine, just not the house boat.

I pulled up google to research pontoon boats. I quickly found that it was feasible to buy the boat. The rest was going to require more thought. If I bought a boat. it would take care of the water problem and maybe even the mash smell. I could probably pull into some spot and tie up to the bank. The mad mechanic could make me a cook stove that I could fuel with something that isn't monitored like propane is monitored. Diesel fuel for instance, I could drive up to a self service and fill up a ten gallon container no problem. Of course I had no idea how much it would take to cook twenty five gallons of mash.

I would need twenty five gallons of drinking water as well. Twenty five one gallon jugs of water would get noticed out on the deck of a boat, but there might be a way to disguise it. Brand new five gallon paint buckets would do the trick. Something to put the fish in to keep them alive, I could say. A stack of empty buckets wouldn't be all that noticeable laying on the deck. I could fill them with water along the way. Truth is the Mad Mechanic would have more ideas than I did. I was just involved in mental masturbation.

So when afternoon came, I decided that I should go home and try to get some rest. At least get out of the sun for a while. One of the things the college kids liked about me was my real complexion. I was neither black like a lady of color or white like a porcelain doll. I was just ordinary with a little sun abuse showing in my complexion. I also had tan lines which appealed to the art students, they could take them out or leave them.

I wonder how the college artsy fartsy kids would feel about the butt plug. It struck me funny for some reason, so I broke out laughing. I could just see them trying to work that into a fancy black charcoal drawing. I had to admit the lime green piece of rubber would be quite a shocker for the average person.

I had a piece of the cold pizza for dinner along with a bit of pre-made lettuce and tomato salad from the store. After dinner I watched a little British Television on my computer. I could manage to understand only about sixty percent of the words, so it was a challenge. I did have the benefit of being able to go back and play some of it over again.

I was tempted to go back to the chatroom where I had been the night before, but I resisted. I didn't want to get started before I got to the party. Not that I would have refused to go to the party, even if I had orgasmed from the on line encounter with swampfox.

I decided that part of how the plug worked was simply that it caused one to have a those phantom urges to defecate. That being the case the damn thing needlessly went in an out several times a day. I knew one thing for sure, I couldn't wait to get it out of my ass.

The phone rang at ten fifteen more or less. "I am on my way," Wilma said.

"Well since I can't leave without you, I'll be waiting." I said.

"Good then keep a light in the window," Wilma said as she hung up the phone. It was still a half hour before Wilma made it to the condo. I rang her up and waited until she reached my door.

"So how did it go?" I asked.

"You would not believe these fucking idiots I deal with. The fucking bride is a worse cow than me. She had stuffed herself into a dress so small that she was in danger of a seam giving way with every movement. The DJ gets her out to dance and I swear she expects the pictures to be beautiful. I will be two days trying to give her the body she didn't want to work to get. The fucking cow," she said.

"So did anybody grope you?" I asked.

"When there is alcohol and I have to stay late someone always gropes me. Of course tonight I considered it foreplay for tonight." She did laugh at that. I laughed with her.

"So let me change and we will be ready to leave," Wilma said. Wilma removed her blouse slowly then looked at me. "Would you held me with the bra please?"

I moved behind her to unsnap her bra. When it fell away, I massaged her breasts slowly. I knew it was just foreplay, but I didn't mind a bit. She turned to me naked to the waist and kissed me, I kissed her back and it was every bit as good as I had imagined.

"God that was beautiful. Now bend over and let me remove that butt plug. I put it in, I want to be the one to take it out," she said.

I leaned over a kitchen counter while she removed it. It almost popped out. I was so turned on by then I felt empty. I wished she were a man and could put her cock in my ass. I just felt lost and so different, I just wanted cock anywhere and anyway. I needed to orgasm with a cock in me, It was an amazing feeling. I did not want to masturbate or do it with a woman. I wanted cock pure and simple. I was willing to do anything to feel a cock at that moment. Wilma who I love with my whole heart and soul, just would not do. I wanted a man and just any man with a cock would do at that moment.

She removed her skirt and panties. She kissed me while completely naked. Of course it turned me on. When she broke the kiss I went to my knees spread her vulva and licked her till she orgasmed.

"God I needed that. Let me dress and we can get to that party," she said. I stood to leave with the smell of her all over my face. I headed to the bathroom to wash it off, but she stopped me. So when I arrived at the party everyone would know.



-------

Chapter 60


The couples had paired off with other couples before we arrived. Wilma and I were standing by the makeshift bar, when Jason came up. "Lucy do you have the product?" he asked.

"Sure," I handed him 4ounces of the last batch. It half filled the 8 oz bottle. It was the same batch that he had tasted. It was the one with the slight licorices taste. When he had gone, I waited to see who would approach us next. I was a little surprised that we went as long as we did before one of the regulars approached.

"Have you been working on that ass?" a woman asked. I was surprised, but then again it was a strange crowd. "Yes,"Wilma answered.

"And how about you," the stranger asked.

"Yes I have been working on it as well," I replied.

"You are going to be glad that you did," she said with a laugh. Then she just walked away.

"What was that all about," I asked.

"How would I know, these are your friends," Wilma said.

"They might be my friends, but you seem to be right into it. I can't believe you wore your running clothes," I laughed at her as I had done in the apartment, when I first saw them. Wilma wore satin shorts, the style women wore to the gym. Simple shorts with an elastic waist. She also wore an almost sweat shirt. It was heavy enough to hide her saggy breasts even though she wore no bra.

When I looked up, I saw a naked black man coming our way. I realized why the stranger had commented that we would be glad that we had stretched our sphincter. He was not huge but he was larger than any man I could remember screwing. But to be honest I didn't remember any of them in great detail. But judging from the admiring glances he was the hit of the party. Most likely someone pointed him to us.

"You ever suck a cock like this?" he asked holding his penis.

"I never have, but I can't speak for my friend." I said.

"No, I can't say that I have either," Wilma said.

Then come with me and share," he said with a chuckle. He took me by the hand and led me into the center of the room. I went to my knees in front of everyone. I had no problem with it at all. I was holding his cock when I began to lick it. I also felt Wilma press against me. She was trying to get to his cock as well. She wanted to lick it as much as I did. There was a funky herbal taste to his cock.

I sucked his cock into my mouth but it hurt my jaws to open that wide. When I pulled back Wilma took over. She didn't seem to have the same problem as I did. She was even able to move on it. In effect she was fucking it with her mouth. It would have been far too painful for me to do that.

"Oh yes Bitch, if you keep doing that I am going to cum in your mouth for sure. When I cum, don't be selfish share with you little friend," he demanded.

Wilma kept mouth fucking him and I was absolutely enthralled by the sight. "You finger my asshole," the large black man demanded. "First get it lubricated with your pussy."

I did exactly as he directed and within a few seconds I had my skinny finger buried in his rectum. I finger fucked his ass and watched him get high from it. I'm going to cum in your white girl mouth, now you share it with your friend. Now bitch," he said as he moved in spasms. There was no doubt that he was ejaculating into Wilma's mouth.

She pulled me to her and kissed me. With that kiss she deposit an ounce or two of his cum. Kissing my best friend and then tasting cum in my mouth was crazy hot. I swallowed hard but did not break the kiss. I was running my hands over the black man standing between us while I kissed Wilma. I could feel her soft breasts against me as she inserted his whithering cock between our lips. We both covered sides of his cock with licks and kisses. I heard a groan from the sidelines. It sounded as though someone was enjoying the show.

"God Damn, those are two hot bitches," some one from the observers commented. Even I knew that it was an amazing hot show we were putting on. The black man finally gave up and left. He just couldn't do it again.

He was replaced by a young man and I mean really young. I had no idea how old he was, but I didn't care at that moment. Before I knew what was happening I had his cock in my mouth and sucking up and down on it. I also felt fingers rubbing lubricant into my asshole. I knew what was coming, so I braced myself for it.

I knew that it was a real cock. It was not a dildo or a vibrator it had a pulse I was sure I felt it. I most likely could not feel that, but I thought I did. Both cocks seemed to be driving as hard as they could into me. I was out of my mind with sensations. The young man in my mouth tried to drive his cock into my throat but I couldn't take it for some reason.

"Open your throat bitch, I'm going to fuck your throat." he said. He sounded much older at that moment.

I pulled back and said, "I'm trying I just cant take it."

He put his hands behind my head and forced his cock deeper into my throat. As I gagged on his cock, I could also feel the man in my ass driving toward an orgasm. Men tend to drive harder and deeper just before they cum. Both of the men were trying to cum in me and I was trying to help them. I needed cum anywhere and everywhere.

"My god you are the best cock sucker I have ever had," the young man said. "Much better than my mother." With that he laughed and pulled his shriveled cock from my mouth.

"Hold still bitch your ass is hot and ready for another cock," someone said. A few seconds later I felt his cock slide into my already dilated ass. As he pumped I began to breath hard and I knew I needed to cum finally. When I came, it would be monumental I knew. I fought the cock in my ass until I came as hard as I ever have in my life. I came without touching my clit. I had never cum from anal intercourse.

When my breathing returned to normal, I looked for Wilma but she was nowhere to be seen. I tried to get off my hands and knees but was having difficulty. Some one lifted me up then pressed me against the wall. His cock slipped easily into my vagina. I was dripping and he knew it. I felt him push into me deep, then pull back. I was crying it felt so good.

"Feels good don't it bitch?" he asked me. I tried not to answer but he insisted.

"Yes it feels wonderful," I finally said.

"You love my cock don't you bitch?" he asked.

"Yes, I love your cock," I said.

"Do you want me to cum inside you?" he asked.

"God yes, please cum in me," I begged

"You gonna let you slut friend eat it out of you?" he asked.

"She has never done that," I said whining it.

"Well it's time she did isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, it's time she ate me," I replied.

"She is going to eat you, while you suck my cock isn't she?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said honestly.

"It wasn't a question, she is just going to do it." he said. Only a small part of sex for him was about the orgasm, it was mostly about control. He needed to control us. I didn't mind. I had no idea how Wilma would feel about it.

He moved to sit on the sofa. Once seated he spread his legs and pointed to his soft penis. I moved to him then knelt. I began to work on his cock again. He was not as young as the one before but he got hard quickly anyway. He pulled me up then had me sit on his cock. I rocked my hips working his cock while he sat still and moaned. I could feel him getting hard. I looked at the crowd watching me and saw Wilma was part of it. Seeing her drove me even higher.

"Do you see your whore friend?" he asked me while still allowing me to work his cock by rocking my hips.

"Yes," I moaned.

"Tell her what to do," he demanded. I tried to resist but he insisted. "Tell her what she must do."

"Eat me after he cums. When I suck his cock. eat his cum out of me." I begged. I had no idea what her response would be. I was lost in the feeling of his cock inside me. It was moving as I moved. I was also filled with the image of Wilma eating me out in front of all the people watching.

"Tell her again what you want cocksucker," the man said to me.

Without any hesitation I said. "Eat my cunt you beautiful slut."

Wilma stood in silence watching showing no emotion at all. I imagined that she was trying to decide what to do. Without any warning I felt him stiffen and get very still. I knew that he was cuming in me.

"Suck my dick whore," he said while pushing me off his cock.

I turned returned to my knees and cleaned his cock. My butt was in the air and I felt her spread my legs and lay on her back. she pulled my hips down so that she could suck me clean. I came so hard I thought I would tear something inside me. One minute she was sucking me, and the next she was gone again. I had no idea what was happening, but I intended to just go with it.

I was led to a bedroom where I was left alone for a few minutes. It might have been a full five minutes before I was joined by a very young woman. I had no idea how young she was, but I assumed she was old enough/

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Joan," she said smiling at me. She was naked but wearing the brightest red lipstick I had ever seen, outside kids playing make up. She wasn't much more than a kid.

"So Joan, why did they send you to me?" I asked.

"I have never been with a woman and I need to do that. They told me you would be good for me to be with." She was very matter of fact about it.

"Joan do you have a boyfriend?" I asked.

"Yes, you did things with him earlier. Now it is my turn he said."

"Do you do everything he says?" I asked.

"Mostly I do yes. This is something that is not a big deal Lucy. You do it to me and then teach me how to do it to you and I will be gone."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Fourteen, don't you find that sexy? The men here all find it sexy." Joan said to me.

"Do you really want to be here?" I asked. I had no idea what I was going to do with her, if she said no.

"Of course, Tommy brought me so I want to be here," she said.

"I mean in this room with me?" I asked.

"It is what Tommy wants," she said. What she failed to say was that she wanted Tommy, so she would do it. I decided that I had finished for the evening.

I left the room and found Wilma in a room with two men. "Sorry guys the party is over. The lady and I are leaving. Wilma get your ass off that bed we are leaving right this fucking minute."



-------

Chapter 61


"So what the fuck was so important that we had to leave right in the middle of things?" Wilma asked when we were in her car.

"Just drive to my place. There was something screwy there. They sent a 14 year old girl for me to teach. You know what I was supposed to teach her don't you?" I asked.

"Fourteen are you sure?" Wilma asked.

"That's what she said, and she looked fourteen," I replied.

"Then why didn't we bring her out?" Wilma asked.

"Then what do we do with her, turn her over to social services. I'm sure the story she tells would be great reading for you father and ex husband," I said.

"Oh my god, you are right that would be a disaster," She said. So what are we going to do.

"We are going to let the boyfriend take care of her however he wants. She didn't asked to be saved. She could have, but she chose to follow him, so there is nothing we can do."

"You mean there is nothing we are willing to do," Wilma said.

"Well that is pretty much the same thing as far as I'm concerned." I informed her.

"You won't be upset if I drop you at your place and not come up?" she asked.

"Not at all, it's what I expected to happen," I replied.

"Good, then I will call you tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sure but not too early," I said smiling.

When I awoke on Sunday it was noon. The one night I wanted to forget, I remembered most of. I especially remembered the young man who said I sucked cock better than his mother. I wondered if he was the mysterious bf. Either way I was not happy with the memories of my actions from the night before. Being able to remember might not be all good," I decided.

Did I feel guilty about all the sucking and fucking from the night before, sure but that was part of the experience. It was the truly degenerate people that I did it with which bothered me. It was most likely never to be repeated. Since we stormed out, we most likely would not be invited again. I personally could live with that just fine. It had been a fun experience but it was wearing a little thin. Wilma might be a different story. She might not have burned out with them just yet. I had seen her slip Jason a card so she wouldn't need me to get an invitation.

I showered and checked the computer to see if there were other things I needed to know. One was a reminder to start the next cook that day. Also a note to see the mad mechanic later about a new larger cooker type operation.

I had no intention of cooking on an empty stomach since I might not get out for almost 24hours, I bought a pizza at that carry out place. That and a six pack of diet coke was my plan for the next three meals at least.

Once I got the mash cooking, I went onto the Internet to check things out. I researched pontoon boats and cook stoves. I did lots of checking of things some related to the liquor and some related to things in general.

On of the things I looked for was batteries for the trike, I was really getting a little tired of it to be honest. My balance had improved along with my memory. I was about 75 percent on the balance and 35 percent on the memory. Not clean thinking enough to drive a car, but maybe enough to drive a motor scooter. I found the address of my blog from the road trip. I seemed to have done really well with the Tomas motor bike. It was something to think about at least.

I had the first batch of mash cooked off by 6PM. I had been adding to the mash a bit at a time as I continued to cook it off. Wilma never did call but I didn't mind. Something about the night before didn't set well with me. I had no idea what it was, but something seemed off somehow. On the upside of a lousy memory was that I would totally forget the feeling soon.

I cooked most of the night but in the end I had over a gallon of a rum made with molasses and corn. It was smoother than pure corn liquor and not as buttery tasting as ordinary rum. It was nice and smooth with no after taste at all. It was just strong, since all my liquor was over 90 proof and often it was closer to 100 proof.

With the cook done and the liquor put away in the cabinets, I headed back to sleep. I made the computer notes before I fell into bed. Then things just went away. It was the thing I liked best about being brain damaged, I never had a bad night's sleep.

When next I awoke, it was 6AM. I didn't often wake up that early but there wasn't often a buzzing from my call box at the front door either.

"Who the fuck is buzzing me at 6AM," I asked.

"It's me Royce. You have a problem get your ass up and moving we have to get out of here now," he demanded.

"Royce I almost remember you and I know I trust you but what are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'll explain once we are out of town. Get dressed and bring your pistol," he said.

"Is it that serious?" I asked.

"It is that serious," he said.

I rang him in then I dressed. I did a quick check on the computer to be sure I wasn't mistaken about Royce. I didn't think I was but I was also never a 100 percent sure of anything. In that case I had been right Royce checked out. I was more or less naked when I opened the door for him.

"Get dress Lucy, we don't have time to talk. We maybe have five more minutes then it is going to be hell on earth around here." Royce said.

"I can't believe anything is that bad," I said as I slipping into a pair of shorts. I piked up the .38 and slipped it into the camera bag I used as a purse when I needed extra room.

"It's worse come on we need to move now," Royce said leading me from the building. Royce was driving his sisters's car. If he wasn't driving the company car something was for sure wrong.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Somewhere that we can talk," he said not looking like he had a plan.

"How about the city park where I meet you sometimes?" I asked.

"No where you go often. We need to go somewhere no one would look," He demanded.

"Then you will have to decide, since I am a creature of habit," I suggested.

I rode in silence for several minutes, then Royce pulled into a parking lot. The shy had lightened enough for me to see clearly. It was the boat ramp where I had been shot.

"No one would expect us to come back here," he said.

"Okay, not what the fuck is going on?" I asked.

"Do you remember what you did Saturday night?" he asked.

I looked it up to be sure then said, "Sure, Wilma and I went to a party."

"How did it end?" he asked.

"Wilma and I left early," I said.

"What happened to cause you to leave early?" Royce asked.

"Some 14 year old girl showed up in the room where I was resting. Her boyfriend had sent her in to get some experience. It freaked me out so I left."

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Yes that's all why?" I answered his question with a question.

"Because Wilma must have spent all day Sunday making phone calls. She stirred up a hornet's nest." he said then stopped to take a breath.

"How so?" I asked.

"It's really complicated. Do you remember screwing a guy who was very young?" he asked.

"Sure it didn't occur to me that he was too young to be there till after I met the 14 year old girl. I figured he must be her boyfriend. She said that was who sent her into the room."

"What did the boy say to you?" he asked.

"Something about me being a better cocksucker than his mother. I thought it was just immature humor."

"Lucy those people are all very, very dangerous. There is a contract out on you," he said.

"Royce what the fuck are you talking about?" I asked.

"You dad called me. He told me that you name came up through a friend of a friend. He told me to get my ass over and pick you up. That's what I just did. He assured me that there were multiple parties looking for you. He also explained that they are the shoot first, and then shoot again types." Royce explained.

"Who the fuck are you talking about?" I asked.

"Angelina Josephine Gomez, she is a Mexican national and operates one of the largest drug smuggling businesses in the Southeaster USA. It was her son who screwed you and Wilma. It was also her son who sent the girl to you."

"What the fuck was her son doing at a small time swingers party here," I asked.

"He is in the country on a student visa. He attends 'Our Lady of The Highway Academy'. We aren't sure of much else yet," Royce said.

"So why are they after me and Wilma?" I asked.

"The girl is 14 and it is rape. If it is Angel Jo's kid it is going to be a big deal period."

"Then we need to find Wilma and warn her," I said.

"Take a deep breath Lucy," Royce said. I could tell my his attitude that it was bad.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"Wilma and Shawn are dead," Royce said. If we hadn't been sitting in the car, I would have collapsed. He must have realized that I needed to hear it all. "They were shot then the house was burned. I thought you knew but then when I couldn't reach you I figured no one else could either. I finally got you this morning. They are coming for you now. Your dad is sure of it. There is a lot of bad blood between them and this is just more reason for Angel Jo to have you killed. Solves her security problem. and puts her finger in your father's eye for all the world to see."

"I am not going to let anyone get away with this," I said.

"Your dad and the cops are looking into it. You need to just hide out this time," Royce said.

"Royce, I am brain damaged but I am still my father's little girl. I need to send Angel Jo a message and I need to send her a strong one. It doesn't matter what I have to do." I said. I sat in the car and looked at the river. I realized that I hadn't cried for either of my friends. Instead of showing my emotions, I was planning revenge. It was my father's way not mine. It didn't matter at that moment whose way it was.

If you do this and I am involved I could go back inside. I just can not risk that." Royce said.

"I can understand. You have warned me it is more than enough. I can handle it from here I think." I said.

"Let me call your dad and see if we can work something out?" Royce suggested.



-------

Chapter 62


Calling a man, who is doing three life sentences, in a maximum security prison, should not be easier than calling a doctor's office, but it must have been. Royce was back in five minutes.

"I guess I'm in," he said.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked.

"Your dad convinced me that I would have a better chance to stay out prison by helping you stay out of prison," Royce said.

"I don't understand," I replied.

"If I bail on you, the cops get a tip and search my house, car, or gym bag, inside it they have a couple of ounces of junk. I get violated and I'm back inside with your pissed off old man. That makes it a death sentence. Your old man also thinks with me to help, we can do what needs to be done and keep you on the outside as well as me."

"So, is this Angel Jo here?" I asked.

"I don't know, but your dad gave me a man to contact. He is your dad's main man for this area," Royce said.

"You make it sound like a corporation of some kind," I suggested.

"It is just exactly that. When your old man went inside, he knew he was going in to do the maximum, so he set up a protection racket. It wasn't some half assed strong arm extortion thing. His was the real deal. So there were franchises. The franchise owner here is expecting us to drop by his office this afternoon."

"He will have the information we need?" I asked.

"I would bet your ass, that he is making calls and calling in favors right this minute. He should have all the background we can use by this afternoon." Royce said.

"Surely there is something we can do before we meet with dad's man," I suggested.

"We don't have the kinds of contacts who can shed any light on this," Royce informed me.

"Sure we do. We just don't know who they are right now, but we will." What Royce didn't know was that Jeff had transferred the index link to all my old cases to the file. I could look them up several different ways.

There was also a search engine that allowed me to pull up people from my past. At least ones that Jeff and the kids knew about. All that is to explain how I knew to call Michael, the kid whose girlfriend Jane got me shot.

"Michael," I said into the cell phone. "Tell me something about Angel Jo," I demanded.

"Nice to talk to you again Lucy," he said sarcastically. "She is one bad bitch. She smuggles dope and people here from Mexico. The people bring the drugs in as payment for their passage over the river. Hell the politicians help her with her business. They pols want to illegals to vote for them so they make sure we can't stop them.

The smugglers know that if they get to the US, the system will take care of them. So the mules are lined up on the Mexican side to take a backpack full of dope over the border. She has almost no overhead and collects the heads of the people who try to screw her. Fear, and the desire for a better life, drive the honest people to commit the one crime, then they are gone. If it goes bad, they just disappear."

"How do you know so much?" I asked.

"Every dealer out there has bought some of her product at one time or another. I used to be a dealer, remember?" he asked.

"So does she have a standing army here?" I asked.

"Most of her people are on the Mexican side of the border. She has a distribution network, but it's mostly non violent. It's better to keep a low profile on this side of the border," Michael informed me.

"Well, she fucked up. Someone killed a friend of mine and her son, then set fire to their house. I hear it was Angel Jo," I informed him.

"It wasn't Angel Jo. It was her bastard kid Angelo. The word was that the woman was calling cops and newspapers about Angelo running a child porno ring. I don't know if it was true on not, but word is Angelo did the killing himself."

"Michael, how much of that are you really sure about?" I asked.

"Well I didn't see it, but people tell me he was real proud of it. Wanted Ma'ma to know, and be proud of him. So they say on the street," he informed me.

"If he is that stupid, putting his business on the street, the cops should be all over him," I said.

"They will be for sure," Michael said. "The cop bosses are mostly state cops thanks to you two. They say they are honest, so if they are, Angelo will be in jail by tonight. If he isn't in jail, then they have been paid off again," Michael said.

"Now that should be interesting," I replied. We will just have to wait to form a plan."

"Then we are going to leave it to the cops?" Royce asked.

"Of course we are," I said. I knew, when I said it that I was lying, but I was going to do whatever was necessary to make all it right again.

A hamburger, from the 'talk into the clown place' eaten by the lake was my lunch. I had to wonder what would happen to the hit on me, if Angelo went down for Wilma and Shawn. I doubted that he knew I couldn't testify against him. I was a loose end. Then again so was he.

"So, if it is true that Angelo killed or had Wilma killed are you planning to murder him?" Royce asked.

"I plan to kill his young ass just as many times as I can. He gets to know who and why though, Wilma and Shawn probably didn't know. Angelo thinks he can operate by Mexican rules here. Well he can't." It was quite the speech for me.'

"Do you believe Michael?" Royce asked.

"If daddy's man verifies it, then you and I might need to part company. You don't want to be involved in what I do. I can plead brain damage as an extenuating circumstance, you can't," I said.

"Your dad is not going to see it that way. I'm with you to the end no exceptions," he said.

"Then you and I start with Jason." I said. I had struggled to remember every small detail from the night. I remembered that Wilma had given her card to Jason, so he could call her direct I suppose.

"So I get that Wilma gave him her address, and he must have provided it to Angelo, but he is never going to admit it," Royce said.

"Sure he is. He just needs the right incentive," I suggested.

"It's almost time for the meeting with the Russian," Royce said.

"What the fuck is my dad doing in bed with Russians?" I asked.

"Your dad was the master negotiator and alliance maker. It's why he can run things from prison. He has thousands of eyes and ears on the street. Now he just pushes a button and things happen. Your dad is a son of a bitch, but he is not someone who kills for fun. I can understand what he does. He will give a man a chance, then he might have him killed, if he doesn't take it"

"Royce, I have no respect for my dad, I just understand him and you can't make him sound better no matter how hard you try. If he helps us with this, it is because there is something in it for him. He never does anything that isn't selfish. That is the one thing I can always count on with daddy. Make it worth his while and he will help. Otherwise you are on your own."

"So why is he helping now?" Royce asked.

"Something to do with Angel Jo. Probably turf or something. They might have a 'you leave my kid alone and I'll leave yours alone' kind of thing going on. If Angelo has a hit on me, then all bets are off. Now there might well be a war. That's what your Russian can tell us. If there is going to be a war, then he and his crew are going to be knee deep in it."

"How come you know all this, but don't know what you had to eat last night?" Royce asked.

"Somethings never left me. Part of that motor memory the doctor was talking about. I grew up listening to him make deals. I know how all this shit works." I replied.

"Then tell me what we are going to do next?" Royce asked.

"We are going to find out from the Russian what is going on. They will have the best intelligence. Well except for my dad who will have theirs and ten others, who he has already vetted and pieced together into the picture on the puzzle box." I said.

"So why not just wait for your dad to explain it all," Royce asked.

"Because, what my dad knows and what he tells is never the same thing. He will filter all the intelligence before he passes it on. What is good for him is how it gets told. I want the truth."I explained.

"What makes you think the Russian will talk to you?" Royce asked.

"I'm going to make it irresistible," I said.

"So you are Martin's Daughter?" the middle aged man asked.

"I am, and you are his local associate. So let's talk about my friend and her son," I said.

"It was a terrible thing that happened to her, but she was making a lot of waves. It is not good to rock boats," The Russian said.

"Ivan let's just cut through the bullshit," I suggested.

"My name is not Ivan," he snapped.

"Do I look like I give a shit," I said angrily.

He move across the table toward me. I had choices most of them terrible. "Do you want to kill Martin's daughter, or fuck her in the ass?" I asked. He calmed down instantly. "I will not tell him, but you and I will always know. Your bodyguard took my gun, when I came in, so you are safe with me."

I lifted my skirt and pulled off my panties. "So which will it be have my dad as an enemy, or have me as a special friend?" I asked.

"Have her friend leave the room. I do not want any witnesses." the Russian said. After everyone had left the room he said. "Suck my dick first."

"No problem at all," I said. I was on my knees and had his cock in my hand when from out of the waist band of my skirt I produced a plastic handle with a box opener. It was the kind with the blade you snapped the tip off when it gets dull. The one I had was about two inches long and a quarter inch wide. It was just big enough to make a mess. "Take a look Ivan." I said holding his cock in one hand and the box opener in the other.

"Now you are going to tell me what you told my father, or I am going to cut your dick off. If I do that, you will bleed to death while your body guard come through the door. I will also shoot him with your gun, since you won't be needing it. So tell me what I want to know or prepare to go through the short time you have remaining dickless."

I wasn't at all surprised when he told me, then begged me not to tell his employees what had happened. "Ivan, I'm going to tell them how good I fucked you, but not how I did it." I smiled at him and he actually smiled back at me.



-------

Chapter 63


"Now listen to me real good Jason. Not only does your life depend on it, but so does Marie's. If you lie to me, I going to put this pistol in your hand and shoot Marie in the head with it, then I am going to put it in your mouth and pull the trigger. Since your business is not doing well, it will look like suicide. I'm still a lawyer, I know what evidence to leave here for the cops to find. Do you understand me?" I asked. "I know you can't speak with the barrel of the pistol in your mouth hun, but you can nod. Now do you understand?" Jason nodded his head.

The home invasion by Royce and I went off without a hitch. Why wouldn't it? Between the two of us we had been involved, one way or another, in scores of them. Hell, Maybe it was more like hundreds of them.

"Now Jason I am going to remove the pistol from your mouth and you are going to answer me. You are not going to say a single word that is not in response to a question by me. Do you understand?" I asked. He nodded again.

I removed the barrel from his mouth. "Now what did Wilma give you at that last party?" I asked.

"It was her business card. That's all I swear. I never called her." he added.

"Jason just shut the fuck up. You answer my questions do not elaborate, remember?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Who called you Sunday to get her address? I know that someone found out you were our sponsor. I also know they found out she was calling around to the papers and the cops about the underage boy and girl who were there. So who made the call?" I demanded. It was easy to tell he was terrified.

"Listen to me Jason. The man who called you might kill you, but he isn't here. I am and I am sure as hell am going to kill you, if you don't tell me who called." I said menacingly.

"Some kid named Angelo called. He wanted to talk to Wilma to convince her stop the calls. He said that he could clean up the mess and keep us all out of the press, if he could convince her to retract it all. So I gave him the information from her card. If he found her somehow, I don't really know." Jason explained.

"You do know what happened to her?" I asked.

"Yes I know. I swear I had no idea." he said.

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me. Angelo killed Wilma to be sure there was no one to testify. He has a contract on me for the same reason. Now, how long do you think it is going to be before he has a hit on you and Marie as well. Give it some thought, then do what you need to do." I suggested.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I am going to do what I have to do to stay alive," I replied. He did not need to know that it wasn't just about staying alive, it was about Wilma and Shawn. I had plans for Angelo and his mom, if she decided to join the fray.

I knew damn well that I was on my own, unless Angel Jo came to help out her whelp. If that happened, then there would be something in it for my dad. When that happened, it would be hell in the south till Angel Jo was dead or beaten into submission never to rise again. Her best move was to stay out of it. Just let the kids of two crime families do battle. But with mothers and sons, who knew.

"You need to call your cop friends. I want to know if they are looking for Angelo." I suggested it to Royce, when we were back at my old law office. With those words I handed him the burn phone. He just nodded then walked off to a corner of the waiting room.

I cleaned up the place. I never got to start the new mash so it was just wash out the buckets and cooker. The stuff did not look anything like a still. Especially when I unwound the plastic tube I used for a condenser.

"My friend tells me there are no leads yet in Wilma's death," he said.

"Come on, we know who did it, how can they not?" I asked.

"They can't ask every junkie in town like your dad's people can. They aren't keeping Angelo on the radar like the Russians are. He isn't potential competition for the cops. They also aren't going to put a gun in Jason's mouth and threaten to shoot him and his wife." Royce said.

"Those are fair points, so do we tell them?" I asked.

"If Angelo goes in for it, the pressure to have you killed increases. If you kill him,, Mama is going to increase the contract to have your head. You don't have a good option, Lucy."

"I'm not the only one who fucked up. Junior went from kiddie porn, and pimp to murderer in one night. That can't be good," I said.

"I would bet you a million bucks his mom had no idea what he was doing. The risk reward just isn't there. He made some kid type decisions, probably to prove to her that he was a man," Royce suggested.

"So how do we find him?" I asked as much for myself as Royce to answer.

"I guess we do it like the cops would. Start with the school where he is enrolled," Royce said. "The problem is that will make it easy for the head hunters to find you."

"They can find me, but they can't kill me till after I find Angelo. So does Angel Jo have a cop in her pocket?" I asked.

"Why would she bother with a local cop. The local cops would be more likely to be in the Russian's pocket," Royce suggested and I agreed.

I didn't even answer Royce. I just called the Russian. "Ivan, it's me Lucy. I need a local cop. So give me a name," I said.

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

"You get to stay alive, what did you think. I can also tell my dad you did me a favor," The two things should be incentive enough I thought. He must have agreed.

"Sergeant Burke, is your man. He knows or can find out anything you need to know. He keeps track of the gangs and all things related to them. He also collects from me and no one else," the Russian informed me.

"Fair enough," I said. "How do I contact him?"

"I will have to set it up. The meeting will be somewhere in the open I assure you. If he sets you up for a hit, his whole family will pay. He knows this."

"Good, nothing like a good reason to play by the rules," I suggested.

"So when do I really get to fuck your ass?" he asked.

"One day soon, maybe," I suggested.

"So Burke, where is Angelo?" I asked.

"Who?" he answered with a question.

"Angel Jo's son, Angelo," I replied.

"Oh the high school kid?" he asked.

"Yeah the high school kid who put a contract out for me. You do know who the fuck I am don't you?" I asked.

"Yeah you are Martin's kid. So Angel Jo's kid put a contract on you. Talk about poetic justice," he said.

He had pushed my patience too far. I put the tiny box opener against his throat while Royce looked the other way. "Now you list to me you cocksucker. Over half this police department is under investigation and so far you have stayed above it. I can throw the State Bureau of Investigation a fucking hint about the Russians. There goes your pension, and the Russians would have no more interest in you, except to be sure you never, ever testify in a trial. So now you slimy mother fucker, where is Angelo Gomez?"

"He is hiding out. He hasn't gone home or back to the school. I can give you his apartment address, but he ain't there. I made some calls to be sure after the Russian called. I can't find him." Burke said.

"So who would know? Somebody has to know." I asked.

"I can't figure out who his contacts are. At least none that he would need to get in touch with," Burke said.

"Does he do drugs?" I asked.

"If he does, he wouldn't let it be known. His Mama would kill his ass," Burke said.

"What kind of car does he drive?" I asked.

"A BMW convertible of course," he replied.

"Find it," I demanded.

"He has left town for sure," Burke said.

"Not till I'm dead. He is still doing damage control. Find him now," I demanded.

I watched him get back into his patrol car and drive away. "What now?" Royce asked.

"I guess we set a trap for the head hunters first. They might know how to collect. Angelo might want to do the job himself like he did with Wilma," I said.

"You don't know that he really pulled the trigger on Wilma. That may be just a story going around." Royce said.

"He is looking for his mother's respect. I would be willing to bet my life that he pulled the trigger after someone else had her subdued of course. So what if we let them find me?" I said.

"Then we turn the table on the head hunters and make them call Angelo. When he shows up, we call the cops," Royce said smiling. He knew the cops were a last resort.

"Of course," I replied.

"So how do we lure the head hunters here?" I asked.

"I'm sure they know we are here. They were bound to have someone watching your house and office. They are probably waiting for us to leave or for cover of dark," he suggested.

"Then order a pizza delivered. Let them know we aren't leaving. Then let's see what they do," I suggested. "Lets see if they hijack the pizza delivery guy."

"What kind?" Royce asked while shaking his head.

"Makes no difference order what you like and find out how much the bill is going to be." I demanded.

"The pizza is seventeen bucks," Royce said after the call.

"Good," I replied. I put twenty five dollars in an envelop, then put the envelop in the air lock between the front doors. I unlocked the outside door, but kept the electric lock of the inside door in place.

While all that was happening, Royce kept an eye on the cameras. He saw the pizza man drive up and said, "The pizza is here. Hold on someone is rushing up to his car. A man paid for the pizza and the driver left."

"So are they ripping off our pizza, or planning on delivering it themselves?" I asked.

"Surely they know we are watching them?" Royce asked.

"Not really the locksmith who installed the cameras put them behind solar panels for the parking lot lights ... The bad guys can't be sure there are cameras inside those panels," I said.

"Damn you had a first rate system built," Royce said.

"I had good reason to do it. There were crooked cops out to kill me, just like this kid is trying to do now." I admitted.

"A car is pulling up to the door. Here comes our pizza." Royce explained.

"I should have listened to Sam and had a gas chamber installed inside that doorway. Oh well too late now," I said. "How many?" I asked.

"At least three is my guess," Royce said.



-------

Chapter 64


"If they are smart they will come at us from the front and back. If they do they are going to get surprised. That rear door can withstand a direct hit by a 67 Ford F100 Truck. At least that is what the man who installed it promised. The front one will get them funneled into a kill zone," I explained to Royce, as I read it from the file. "Somebody really set this place up for defense."

"They have the numbers and the weapons," Royce said. "All we have is home field advantage and one piss ant .38 wheel gun."

"Not exactly," I said as I removed the 20guage over and under shotgun from Sam's old desk. "You will find a box of #4 duck shot in the bottom drawer of the desk." I had also read that in the file.

"Well it ain't an assault shotgun, but it is better than throwing spitballs at them," Royce said.

"Under the desk top is a piece of armored steel. So turn it over and get down behind it. We can keep an eye on them with the video cameras and know where to go next, if we have to chase them down. Remember Royce, I want one alive to make that call."

"The man we want will most likely come in last or not at all," Royce said.

"Then we go after him," I said. If they all come to the front, you go out the back and put that .38 in his mouth." I said. I can hold them off till you get back." I had no idea whether I could or not, but I knew I was damn well going to try.

A big black Mercedes pulled into the parking lot. The man who took delivery of our pizza was out of the car immediately, along with two other men. The driver however did not get out. So he was the crew leader. "See where he is Royce? He is going to have his attention on the front door. You slip out the back and around in a big ass circle and come up behind him."

"Yeah, that's how I figure it," he said not at all offended that I gave him the advice. "I do hate to leave you alone though."

"I'm going to keep them bottled up, but not for long, so get you ass moving now." I insisted.

Just as I expected everyone came to the front door. They thought they had the element of surprise. One man walked in with the pizza. I let him pass through the outside door then locked it behind him. He was cut off from his crew, even though he tried valiantly to open the outside door. Finally he dumped the pizza box and came through the second door with the 9mm full automatic pistol swinging around.

When he burst through the door, he was obviously looking to acquire a target. I already knew where my target was. I put a full load of #4 duck shot in his face. He pulled the trigger on the pistol as he went down. That would help with my self defense plea, even though I knew that I murdered him.

While I reloaded the shotgun, the two other members of the assault team were working on the front door. I had one shot for each of them, not very good odds, I thought. I did something that would cause most women to vomit, I dragged the body of the first man over to make an obstacle for the other two men to step over. It should be interesting to see their reaction, if the succeeded in breaching the door. I finally opened the front door, since I could not see any movement by Royce. Most likely he was waiting for a distraction.

The two men rushed inside the room and almost tripped over their friend. The half second of shock was what I needed to kill one more of them before they got off a shot. At that point the second one began to shoot into the overturned desk. I reloaded the shotgun again while he emptied his weapon. He didn't try to move around the desk probably because he was standing in his friend's blood. He most likely wanted to kill me through the desk to avoid exposing himself.

Unfortunately for him, I heard the sound of his empty magazine hit the floor. I took the chance and popped up over the desk to give him both barrels at pretty close range. Even though the threat was supposed to be finished I reloaded the chopped down shotgun again. I checked the video to see Royce standing by the driver's door of the car. He seemed to be in charge, but I couldn't be sure, so I went out the rear door. Sure enough there was a Latino male with both hands firmly on the steering wheel. Royce was looking at him hard while holding the .38 and a big ass automatic pistol.

I got into the back seat of the car, then I pressed the barrel of the 20 gauge against his skull. 'Get in Royce," I demanded. Then I turned my attention to the driver. "Get this thing moving mother fucker, or I'm going to splatter your brains all over the windshield."

"Where," he asked. "Royce give him directions to the Park. It's after dark there won't be anyone but gang bangers there. If a couple of them get caught in the cross fire, we might get a medal.

I stayed quiet until we got to the park. Once we were all stranding by a picnic table at least thirty yards from the parking lot, Royce used a couple of plastic zip tie to secure him to the table. Once he was sitting at the table and harmless, I said to the assassin, "For whom do you work?"

"Fuck you Puta," he replied. I had expected it. What I didn't expect was Royce hitting him across the nose with the barrel of his own gun.

"Easy Royce, never go at them when you are angry," I said it quietly, then I turned my attention back to the assassin. "I assume you are pretty good at your job, so you should recognize someone who is determined not to die today. I need to know who you are working for, because that information might keep me alive. So here is the deal. If you don't tell me, I am going to make a cripple of you. If I shoot you in the spine, it is worse than killing you. You will be sitting round for the rest of your life dependent on strangers to wipe your ass. So I am going to give you a moment to think about it. No one will ever know."

"In the meantime Royce give me the .38 and move away from us," I said I waited about five minutes then I moved to stand behind the assassin. I pressed the barrel of the .38 against his spine. "It's time to decide. You get only one chance, so make it a good decision," I suggested.

"I work for Miss Angel Gomez," he said. "You already knew that."

"Yes, but who do you report to?" I asked.

"Angel Gomez, she is here now. She is staying at the Brightwood Inn."

"And is Angelo with her?" I asked.

"Yes they are both there," he said.

"Now you will use my phone and you will call her. You will tell her that you are bringing Martin's daughter to her. Tell her that I have a minor injury but that I am alive and not likely to die before I get there. If you do this, I will tie you up like a Christmas turkey. Then I will call the police to come get you. If you do not, I will call an ambulance, because I do not want you to die. But you will never be a threat to anyone again. That I promise you. So decide how you wish to spend the rest of your life," I demanded.

The assassin decided to go along with me. He made the call, so Royce made a call to Burke. Then I called 911," There is a man sitting at a picnic table at the downtown park. He is holding a little girl who is struggling with him. Please send someone to help her."

From the park we drove to the Brightwood Inn. The Brightwood was a small bed and breakfast. It's claim to fame was that it started life as a tourist court in the 1940s. It had been renovated for the bed and breakfast within the last five years. "They have to feel secure," I said.

"Yes, probably celebrating the end of any threat to Angelo. Mommy most likely thinks she has it all taken care of again," Royce agreed.

When we arrived at the Brightwood, I parked outside the property. I was close enough to have line of sight to the cabin where they were supposed to be. I saw Angelo's BMW convertible and another car with two men sitting in it.

"Bodyguards," Royce said.

"Yes, now Royce climb into the back seat then roll out the back door," I said.

"Lucy, don't do this," he said quietly.

"Tell Daddy if I kill that bitch, he owes me when he gets to hell. If I don't, then it's up to him." I said it way too calm for someone about to commit suicide. The shotgun was loaded and on the seat beside me. The Glock from the Assassin was in my lap. "Get out Royce."

When I heard the door close, I put my foot down all the way to the floor and the big car took off toward the little wood frame cabin. As I passed the bodyguard car I emptied the shotgun into it. The heavy Mercedes continued on and rammed through the front door of the cabin. The airbag deployed and I got it full in the face. I was really in bad shape but I managed to free myself. I stood over the bed staring down at the two injured people. A middle aged Latino woman and a teenage boy also Latino. Both seemed to at least be in shock. Before the bodyguards could make it inside I shot them both in the head. I could smell gasoline. Somehow the fuel line of the car had ruptured, I thought then I realized that it was a plastic can of gas they planned to use on my body.

Angel Jo and Angelo were both very dead, but I had no way to ignite the gasoline. Well I guess you can't have everything. I looked into the eyes of the body guard who was obviously wounded. I heard him say, "Puta," then nothing.

"You know I can violate your parole for this," The state police captain said to Royce.

"I knew it all along, but tell me this, who should I have trusted? A police force still being investigated, or a woman I knew was as honest as Christ himself?" Royce asked.

"Well there are no witnesses to testify to anything, so it would be hard to get a conviction. Especially if your lawyer got the victim's records admitted into evidence. I have a feeling your lawyer would be Jeff Ayers and if he let you go to jail, I would be shocked." The captain said. "So Royce go and sin no more."

Royce got into his cruiser covered with signs, and drove away to deliver a gallon of liquorish flavored corn liquor.

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Stay tuned for Silvia Porter deputy sheriff in a rural mountain town.


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The End
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Posted:  2012-05-08
Last Modified: 2012-07-11 / 05:32:17 pm
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