After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he reached for his telephone. There were a lot of people to call and share the news with. Danny would stand beside him as best man, along with Louie and Paul, his previous partner. He would need six more to form the honour guard.
Marcie was ready on time and got in the car as soon as Natasha arrived. They went to a mall and shopped for about an hour before having lunch. Marcie was polite and seemed appreciative that Natasha bought her some clothes, but she was not overly friendly.
Natasha took a second bite out of her shrimp croissant before realizing that Marcie was staring at her without eating. “Something wrong with your lunch?” she asked.
“What's going on?”
“Can't I buy you lunch?”
“I feel like somethin' is going on. Like you're not telling me something.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I know you're back with Jack. Where is he? You're not breakin' up with him again, are you? Is that it? Is that why you brought me here? To tell me that?”
Natasha put down her fork, smiled, and said, “Quite the contrary. You're right, something is going on. I invited you here to ask you something that's really important and very special to me.”
“What is it?” asked Marcie seriously.
“I wanted to ask you if you would be my bridesmaid.”
It took Marcie a couple of seconds to grasp the situation, then she squealed and said, “You're getting married!”
“Jack proposed to me yesterday ⦠well, sort of proposed.”
Marcie bounced around in her seat as she said, “And, and ⦠you want me to be your bridesmaid?”
“It was you who brought Jack and I together. After playing such an important role in my life â our lives â of course I would like you to be my bridesmaid. If you don't mind?”
“Don't mind! You bet I will! Oh, Natasha, this is great!”
An hour later, Natasha and Marcie were loading parcels into the trunk of Natasha's car when Natasha heard the door of a van parked next to her slide open. She glanced up as three men moved in behind them and stuck guns in their backs.
A voice hissed, “If either one of you talks, screams, or tries to run, we'll kill the other one.”
Seconds later, Natasha and Marcie lay face down on the floor of a van as it silently drove out of the parking lot.
Natasha felt the tears roll down her face. She had never been so afraid in her life. She stared into Marcie's face. She had a look of resignation about her. It was as if she had already resigned herself to her fate.
Jack was making a list of the people who would be in the honour guard at his wedding when his cellphone rang.
“Taggart! This is Sid Bishop! I need to see you and O'Reilly now!”
“What is it, Sid? If you're still concerned about bikers, I'm sure you're not in any danger.”
“It's about the wiretap application for Homicide. I just received an interesting phone call from someone about the
real
identity of a person identified in the application as an Edward Trimble!”
Jack felt his heart sink. “I don't understand. Who called you? What does â”
“I believe you understand fully! I haven't mentioned this to anyone else yet, but I will not allow justice to be put into disrepute! I suggest that you and Mister O'Reilly come to my house immediately and start telling me what is going on!”
“I'll pick up Danny and we'll be there as soon as we can,” said Jack quietly. “It will probably take about an hour and a half.”
Moments later, Jack called Danny and then left his apartment. He was barely a block away when Wizard and Booger entered his suite.
Forty-five minutes passed before the van came to a stop and the side door slid open. Natasha heard the roar of the ocean. She looked up and saw three bikers standing at the door, looking down at her. Then another face appeared, someone who didn't look like a biker but was definitely in charge.
“Taggart and O'Reilly took the bait. Should happen within the hour,” he said.
Natasha's panic increased. None of the men had bothered to hide their faces. She also saw that at the sound of the man's voice Marcie squeezed her eyes shut and began to shake.
“Put them in the boat,” he ordered. “Thumper, you stay with them, then the rest of you set up around the house.” He looked at Thumper and added, “Remember the plan. Don't leave any marks on them. With the sound
of the waves, even if they yell they won't be heard, but if they do try to cause any problems, snap their necks, or, if need be, slash their throats immediately. We're not taking any chances!”
“Not a problem,” said Thumper, stepping from the van.
Moments later, Natasha and Marcie found themselves face down on the bunk of a cabin cruiser. The bunk was covered in plastic sheeting.
Natasha heard the men leave, except for one. She could hear his breathing and knew that he was standing close, watching over her.
CC and Charlie Wells were in the Homicide office when CC received a call. It took her a few minutes to calm Mr. Burnside down.
“I got another warning from the bikers! Told me to get out of the city now! This time I'm doin' it!”
“Why? What did they say? Did this guy meet you in person?”
“Yeah. Same guy as before. Big guy with a goatee. He said that the pervert has really gone berserk. Thinks he's murderin' people right now!”
“Who?”
“I don't know. The biker just told me that after this guy molested one of the girls, he buddied up to her later without her knowin' it was him. You know, like I told ya, he wore a mask.”
“You told me.”
“Yeah, well anyway, I guess he gave this girl a place to live with his sister someplace.”
“Why did he do that?”
“I don't know, but now he's going to kill 'em.”
“He's going to murder this girl and his sister?”
“Not quite. I guess the girl is meetin' with the pervert's lady friend. Got him paranoid that the girl has clued in and is talkin'.”
“You don't have any idea who? Anything at all to help?”
“Remember I told ya I once got this creep's licence plate number?”
“Yes.”
Well, I found it.”
She motioned for Charlie Wells to come over to her desk. “Quick, run this! It's the pervert's plate from the motel.”
Moments later, Charlie walked back into the office as CC hung up the telephone. She noticed he looked ill and appeared to be at a loss for words. “What is it?” she asked.
Charlie shook his head and waved a printout of the registration in front of him. “You're not going to believe it. The plate. You're not going to believe it.”
“Damn it, Charlie! Out with it!”
“It's registered to Jack Taggart!”
“Bullshit!” CC looked at the registration, then quickly looked through her notebook.
“What are you doing?”
“I'll tell you in a sec. I'm calling the Anderson parents.”
CC's worst fears were realized moments later, when she spoke with Elizabeth and learned that they were looking after a girl by the name of Marcie. A girl who was having lunch with Jack's girlfriend, Dr. Natasha Trovinski. Elizabeth didn't know the name of the restaurant, but she did know the name of the mall. CC told her that she had some routine questions. Nothing urgent. No need to bother Jack on his cellphone.
CC hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. “Oh, God! No!”
“What is it?”
“The sick bastard felt guilty for killing his sister's kids so he found some street kid to live with them. Now he's going to kill her and some doctor that the kid's talking to!”
“So we come clean with him?” asked Danny.
“Wait to see what Sid has to say,” replied Jack. “One guess as to who called him!”
“Turn right,” said Danny, as he studied the map.
“Depending on what he says, I might admit that I was Trimble. He told me that he hadn't told anyone, so that's a good sign.”
“You feel you can trust him?”
“I don't know,” said Jack, “but how much could Wigmore really tell him without divulging stuff about himself?”
Jack parked the car in front of a triple-car garage that protruded from one end of Bishop's estate, and then he followed Danny on the slate-stone path that meandered alongside the garage and up to the main entrance. Plastic sheeting was draped over the porch and onto the steps leading up. Bishop stepped out the front door carrying a can of paint and set it down. He looked startled when he saw them approach and said, “I didn't expect you this soon. Come on in!”
Natasha turned on her side and looked at Thumper when he sat on the edge of the bunk. He leered down at her and said, “I have to admit, your pig boyfriend has good taste in women.”
“You won't get away with this,” replied Natasha. “Jack will find you. You hurt either one of us and I can guarantee that it will be nothing compared to what he will do to you,” she said, matter-of-factly.
Thumper chuckled, then said, “I hate to break it to you, lady, but your pig boyfriend is a pussy. I kicked the shit out of him last Sunday. Took me all of about twenty seconds, and that was without really trying.”
“You're the one who did that?”
“The pussy told ya? Of course! He'd go crying to you to fix him up.”
“You know something? As a doctor, I've discovered that men like you, who like to fight, are really compensating for the fact that they have a penis about the size of a peanut. Jack is much more of a man than you could ever dream of being.”
Thumper stood up, and his voice was menacing. “Talk like that, bitch, and you'll find out how big my peanut is!”
“Really? You think you could get it up enough for me to quit laughing!”
Thumper stared down at her for a moment, then sneered and said, “Naw, I know your little game. You figure if I drop my strides and fuck you, it will give you a chance to escape.”
Natasha stared sullenly back, shrugged, and said, “Something like that.”
Thumper chuckled, then considered her for a moment and said, “Maybe you're in luck. I like games.” He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a hunting knife. “There is a little thing that The Suit has about DNA ⦠but you know something?”
Natasha stared back without responding.
Thumper reached into a pocket and held out a condom. “I'm not too worried about DNA!”
Natasha edged farther back on the bunk, pulling her knees close to her chest.
“No, don't, mister,” said Marcie. “Leave us alone.”
Thumper looked at Marcie and said, “I'm not talking to you, you little whore.” He opened the bathroom door beside the bunk and said, “Get in there and wait. If you speak again or try to open this door, I'll kill the doc immediately and you right after!”
“Do it, Marcie. Do what he says,” said Natasha quietly.
Natasha saw the tears running down Marcie's face. She slowly eased herself down off the bunk and went inside the bathroom.
“I've already searched in there, so you might as well sit quietly until I tell you to come out,” said Thumper, closing the door.
Natasha sized up the situation. Even if Marcie did decide to run, she couldn't open the door without it banging into Thumper ⦠unless she got him completely up on the bunk with her.
Thumper looked at the bathroom door and then back at Natasha. He smiled and said, “I'll tell you how this little game will be played. I'll give ya a chance to escape. A real good chance. But if you take that chance and lose, then you fuck me and you fuck me hard. Understood?”
“You've got the knife,” Natasha said. “Is that what you call giving me a chance?”
“I said I'll give ya a good chance. Here it is!” said Thumper, tossing the knife down beside Natasha's hand and stepping back.
Natasha grabbed the knife and pushed herself back on the bunk, expecting him to attack. He stood where he was, then faked a yawn and turned his back toward her and gazed toward the exit.
Natasha leapt from the bunk in a flash, lunging toward his kidneys. Thumper sidestepped with ease and grabbed Natasha. Her scream was muffled as her face hit the floor and the sudden pain in her bent wrist caused the knife to clatter onto the floor.
Thumper kicked the knife away, then picked her up and tossed her back onto the bunk. “Guess you just lost your chance, bitch. Time to see if your peanut theory is all that funny!”
Natasha got her breathing under control, then begged, “Please ⦠don't hurt us.”
“You don't wanna get hurt? Then fulfill your end of the bargain. Or should I take it out on her?” said Thumper, gesturing toward the bathroom door.
“No ⦠not her. I'll ⦠I'll do it.”
Natasha sat on the bunk, took off her jacket, and laid it beside her. Then she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and slipped it off. Thumper ogled her breasts, which were only partially concealed by her lacy black bra. Natasha used her hands to push herself slightly back on the bunk before undoing the top of her slacks. She stared at Thumper as she slowly pulled the zipper partway down, then stopped and gestured for him to come up on the bunk with her.
Thumper smiled and gave a nod toward the bathroom while taking hold of Natasha's ankles. “Not up there, sweetheart.” He pulled her legs down off the bunk so that she was straddling his waist, then he undid his jeans and let them drop to the floor.
“I'll be good,” whispered Natasha. “Just let us go after.”
“Yeah ⦠sure. If you're real good, maybe I will.”
Natasha sat up and slowly undid the buttons on Thumper's shirt. When he tossed his jacket and shirt on the floor, she placed her hand on the back of his head and guided his face into her cleavage as she fell
back down onto the bed. Thumper felt her clutching his hair while slowly pushing his head toward her stomach.
He watched her face as he kissed and licked her navel, while pulling down the rest of her zipper before sliding off her slacks and panties. He continued to lick and taste the salt from her body, slowly working his way down to her thighs. He felt her fingers massage and scratch his head and shoulders. She took her hands off him briefly as her body twisted and she moaned. He glimpsed her fingers as she clawed and raked the bunk beside herself like a cat in heat.