NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (8 page)

Karla had a way of staring into a man’s eyes when she was taking their money. It seemed to ease their minds, or at least that was her intention. Maybe she didn’t realize that as the twenty-dollar bill slid into her garter, her eyes were the last things this guy was looking at. She was on the stage, he was on the floor. From his angle he could take in everything, meaning everything that he was paying for.

She smiled and gave him about a minute of the song in exchange for his generosity, and then as smoothly as possible worked her way around the stage collecting various tips from the other fans who were waiting to pay tribute to her body and the way she made them feel when she moved the way she did.

When things were slow, she always asked the DJ to play a dance remix song, usually at least five to eight minutes long. This one was seven minutes and forty-six seconds and she knew by the guitar riff that she was about four and half minutes into it. She had collected almost a hundred bucks in that short time, and now she was ready for the grand finale.

She grabbed the snap on one side of what could barely be referred to as her panties and released it. Then, holding on to the clasp, she used her other hand to unsnap the other side. Now she could slowly, seductively reveal the glory of her perfectly trimmed treasure in one smooth motion. She held up the fancy bit of fabric and lace for a few seconds before dropping it to the floor behind her.

By now Karla had worked her way back to Eddie and she swayed in front of him, letting him drink from her naked beauty.  Then she knelt down while leaning back and put her hands on the floor behind her, arching high and slowly spreading her long supple legs. Eddie felt the hormonal rush he had been waiting for. This was the feeling, a kind of high, that kept him coming back to this place night after night to give away his money… to her!

Sooner than Eddie was ready for and before Karla had the opportunity to extract all of the cash from the wallets of the fools scattered around the stage, the song came to an end. The DJ cut in for a moment as he led up to the next song.

“That was Destiny, Gentlemen. She is available for private dances and VIP. And remember, gentlemen, these beautiful ladies work for tips only, so be sure to take care of them. Keep in mind your tips bring out that ‘special smile.’ Next up, Tiffany.”

Destiny, as Karla was known here in the club, grabbed her scant clothes from the floor of the stage and dressed herself as she walked to the steps. By the time she got off the stage, Tiffany was already swinging on the pole.

Eddie did as expected and moved to a table in a corner of the room. A waitress met him at the table, “Can I get you something, baby?” she cooed as best she could, almost drowned out by the loud music.

“I’ll have a tall glass of beer, and it doesn’t matter what kind.” She nodded and started to walk away. Just then he thought of Karla, “Make that two.” He shouted after her.

Karla had motioned to Eddie to give her a minute and had disappeared into the back where the dressing room was located. Minutes later she reappeared and walked over to the DJ. She stood in the booth talking to him, then handed him something as he nodded his head. Karla strolled over to Eddie’s table and sat down.

“What’s up baby? Is this mine?” She pointed at one of the beers that had been delivered by the waitress. He had been so busy watching Karla’s coming and goings, he hadn’t even noticed that the drinks had been delivered.

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” He raised his glass as if initiating a toast. “Here to us, to the adventure we are about to take together, and the completion of this class so we can get back to a normal life.”

She touched her glass to his and began to drink as he continued, “I got the rest of the gear today, and I think we’re ready for this trip. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m excited, baby. This trip is going to help me finish the class and then maybe I can finally get out of this place. Like Macy said, we can’t fail this final exam. As long as we’re there, it’s a guaranteed A!” She giggled. “I can’t remember if I ever got an A in anything before!”

“Maybe we should celebrate that. Your first A!” He reached over and grabbed the front of the seat on her chair with both hands and slid it closer to him.

“Champagne?” she asked as she raised her hand to summon the waitress.

Eddie gently pulled her arm down to stop the call, “No, baby, not that hundred and fifty dollar a bottle crap in the VIP room. I meant let’s go out for a nice dinner later and really celebrate.” He looked into her eyes, “After all we’re gonna be in the woods for two weeks after tomorrow. It might be nice to have a going away dinner – with real food.”

“Oh, you mean like that.” Some of her enthusiasm faded as she saw her cut of the hundred and fifty bucks disappearing in a puff of smoke. “I guess so.”

Karla had enrolled in the Paranormal Investigation class in an attempt to get out of the exotic dancer business. Sure, she loved the money she made here, and the power she seemed to wield when she was on stage, but she also was well aware that as women in this profession got older their attraction faded and she could be left without work.

Someday the gravy train would pull into the station and she’d have to get off. When that day arrived, she’d have to find some other source of income. Exotic dancing didn’t necessarily qualify as solid employment experience. So unless she wanted to end up in a mobile home park up in the woods with some guy named Zipper or Bubba, she’d better have a backup plan.

Originally, she had intended to take some classes to get certified as a paralegal or medical assistant. Then she discovered that those courses took up to two years to complete, and she’d have to meet the prerequisites. Instead she opted for the class with no special requirements. One of the best reasons for choosing the PI class, as it was called, was that it could be completed in less than a year.

Eddie, on the other hand, had a great job and made tons of money, which was Karla’s only attraction to him. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, he barely qualified as more than just another wallet full of cash. She had invited him into her world even so, and now that he was there, a mutual addiction held them together. Her addiction to money was fed by Eddie’s addiction to her body.

When Eddie had discovered that she was going to take the PI class, he signed up as well. He figured it would be a chance to spend time with her away from the club. She seemed to work all the time and, if she wasn’t working, he often had no way of knowing where she was. That made it difficult for him to pretend to have some kind of normal relationship with her, which is what he really wanted. 

His plan had worked out well so far, and he was looking forward to spending two whole weeks with her on this trip. Away from the club and other distractions, she may be able to finally see why he’s the right guy for her.

Wishful thinking it was, indeed. Karla’s intentions were more along the lines of turning her certification into a moneymaking enterprise. She figured as soon as she got her business going and her office set up with an investment from Eddie, of course, she could break the news to him that she was not interested in anything more than a business arrangement. Until then, she’d have to keep his hope alive, and continue to collect the benefits of her deception.

Things were going well, and they would graduate soon. They had been looking at affordable office spaces, researching marketing and advertising costs, and short of ordering the business cards, the plan was right on track.

“So we are all ready to go then? You got the rest of the supplies.” She tried to get a feel for his state of mind and forced a smile to put him at ease.

“Yes, I think I got everything on the list.”

“Did you get my sleeping pad, baby?”

“Honey, I got you the most expensive, top of the line sleeping pad they make. You could lay that thing on a bed of sharp rocks and it would feel like a feather mattress resting on a fluffy cloud.” He smiled back at her.

It always made her cringe when he called her honey. It wasn’t like a southern style ‘Honey’ or a casual kind of usage like ‘Dude’. It oozed over her like some kind of possessive tentacle when he said it. It just didn’t fit her idea of the nature of their relationship and gave her a chill.

“I am so lucky to have you, Eddie. You take such good care of me.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. She forced a girlish giggle and hugged him. Indeed she was lucky, and indeed he did take care good of her.

Thirteen

John was filling up the tea kettle over a sink full of dirty dishes. He usually cleaned his apartment once a week and it was three days since the last time. Emily was sitting at the dining table, staring out the window. Her thoughts kept running over and over the horror of what she had witnessed. She wasn’t paying attention to anything John was doing until he asked, “What kind of tea do you like? I have regular tea and green tea.”

Emily turned to look at him. “You’re joking, right? You don’t have something stronger?”

“Coffee?” He reached for the can of coffee he kept on the shelf above the sink.

“No, not coffee. I’m talking like Wild Turkey, or something from my uncle, Jack Daniels. Tea is not going to get it right now. I need something to numb my brain.”

“Sorry, I should have guessed you’d want something to calm your nerves.” He reached for the doors below the sink and, opening one of them, he pulled out a new bottle of Jack and set it on the table. He got out the last two clean water glasses from the cabinet and carried them over to the table.

“You got any Valium?”

“No, I don’t keep…” He paused as he cracked the seal on the bottle, poured himself a quarter glass, and then tipped the bottle over the second glass. “Uh… drugs in the house,” he finished.

When he reached a quarter glass, she stretched over the table and touched the neck of the bottle, pressing it down to keep him pouring. When it was almost half full, she let him set it upright as she sat back in her chair.

“Just kidding, John. Right now I don’t even know if that could help me relax.”

He slid the glass to her across the table like a bartender in an old western movie before lifting his glass. He took a big gulp and set the drink down, holding on to it as he watched her. He wanted to look her in the eyes as she told him her story.

“So, you were pretty quiet all the way here. You gonna tell me what happened?” He strained to get the words out as the fumes from the drink were catching in his throat.

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to get my shit together, John.” She shook her head. “I’m wondering if I was dreaming or something. Stuff like this just doesn’t happen to good people, does it? I’m so freaked out.”

“I was a detective for about four years, Emily, and that was after I got out of the military. You’d be surprised what happens to people. Shit, usually always good people. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you some of the things I’ve seen.”

“Well, when you say it that way, I can only imagine what you’ve experienced. You’ve probably seen the worst of people and all kinds of violence. And John, please call me Em. All my friends do.”

“Okay, Em. My friends call me John, or Hazard, depending on how pissed they are at the moment.” He laughed and took another sip from his glass. “So, if you want to call me something else, I guess you’ll have to make it up.”

“How about John then?” She was smiling.

“Good, suits me I guess. And a smile suits you. You feel like talking now?”

She nodded and took a long drink from her glass before starting. “Well… I left the interview this morning, you know, at the college, and headed over to a nightclub called the Players Lounge for another interview. You know, I need some permanent type work.”

“I’ve heard about that place. Caters to factory workers and gangbangers…” He rubbed an itch on his nose and crossed his eyes to try and see what was causing it.

“That’s the place.” She watched him for a second to see if he was really paying attention before continuing, “When I walked in the door no one was in the main area of the bar, but I heard voices in a room kind of off to the back. I didn’t think they were yelling. I just thought they were talking loudly, you know, how people do when they’re in a group. When I got to the doorway, it was like everything happened so fast but took so long to end.”

She rubbed her eyes and the bridge of her nose. The stress was taking its toll. “I saw maybe six or seven guys, several of them dressed in dark suits. One of them was on his knees on the floor and he was wailing and saying something like, ‘you don’t have to do this, I have kids, man, I’ll pay it back.’ ” She paused and swallowed hard.

“Then there was a loud cracking pop and his brains sprayed out the front of his head onto the floor and he fell forward into that mess. That’s when I saw the gun in the hand of one of the two guys standing behind him. Then, before I could stop myself, I screamed…”

“Oh shit!” John finished her sentence for her.

“Yeah. How did you know that’s what I said?”

“Well, I’ve been around death more times than I care to say. Not actually when it happens so much, but afterwards to investigate. I’ve always heard that the most common last words people say before they die in an accident, or a surprise encounter is ‘oh shit’ or something to that effect. But go on, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”