There was a light sheen on the black asphalt streets, proof that it had been raining hard. The night time sky of downtown Buffalo were still overcast, but the rain had stopped, and the bright city lights added a gaiety to the general gloom. People who had thought that the rain would make things dull and slow were wrong. The rain had stopped early enough to make going out on the town worthwhile, and the various bars and night clubs were doing their usual decent business. Some, in fact, were doing better, as though the people living in the suburbs had decided that they would come into the city and celebrate the up-turn in weather. It was Indian Summer, and people knew from experience that soon, the cold winds of winter would be settling in. There was still time to take advantage of the mild temperatures, and everyone seemed to realize that there was not a moment to waste.
Steve Blish was sitting in the Four Roses Club, a very small, but very exclusive bar on the Near East Side. Sipping slowly on the gin and tonic he had ordered, he glanced at the clock every thirty seconds or so, the way a person usually does when he is waiting for something and time is passing slowly. Steve had established himself as a regular in the bar as soon as he found out that it was nearby the major heroin drop in the Downtown area. He was waiting to meet his connection, one out of many that would take him to the top of the North-East drug ring he had been hired to break up. Thus far, his luck had been pretty good. By making several buys, he had gained the confidence of several small time pushers, and when he had indicated that he wanted to make larger purchases, his major supplier told him that he would try and arrange a meeting with Frederico Barnez. As far as Steve knew, Frederico was the second from the top in the whole Western New York area. From Frederico, Steve could work his way up to the top, and then toss the whole fucking lot of them in prison, where they belonged.
But the meeting wasn't to take place for another three hours. Steve had placed himself in the club this early to make sure that he wasn't being set up. Even though he was working for the Buffalo police department, he didn't want to take any more chances than were necessary. There was money involved ... big money. And where there was big money, there were people who wanted a piece of it. Steve preferred to work alone. When it comes down to the bottom line, there is only one person to trust then. He'd learned enough about the drug ring so far to know that it included several judges, at least two other policemen and a myriad of so called "respectable" citizens ... church-going men who would give hundreds of dollars to the March of Dimes with one hand while the other hand was busy slitting someone's throat. No, Steve had learned that the only help he could count on when things got rough was that of Colonel, the massive German shepherd he'd had for the last four years.
Downing the last of his drink, he gazed lovingly at the loyal dog, lying on his belly next to the table leg. Again he glanced at the wall clock. Nine-fifteen. Shit ... a good three hours before his contact was to come in. What the hell was there to do in three hours? The thought of getting drunk was something that just didn't occur to him. He would have to keep a clear head for the meeting, and he would have to make sure that his act of being a junkie in bad need of a big buy was perfect.
Frederico wouldn't be fooled by anything less than perfection.
The club was filling up slowly. Because he had come in so many times, Steve could pick out the people who were also regulars. He knew none of them, preferring to keep to himself as much as possible with strangers. One never knew. He'd seen too many bodies of people he knew fished out of the Niagara River.
But not knowing the people didn't stop him from looking ... and admiring some of the well dressed women who occasionally came in for a night-cap and conversation. One in particular caught his eye ... a voluptuous blonde woman who was obviously well off. She had come into the club alone, a sure sign that she was on the make. As Steve watched her from behind his dark glasses, he noticed that she was revolving on her bar stool in a way that could only be interpreted as a come-on to some stray loner. Too bad for her, he thought. As far as Steve could tell, he was the only loner in the bar, and the last thing he wanted to do at the moment was try and put the make on her. Maybe another time, he thought. Right now, I'll just sit tight and wait.
He couldn't take his eyes off her, though. Each time she made a three-quarter turn to one side or the other the front of her low-cut dress came into view, revealing a deep, sensual cleavage. Her long tapered legs were crossed, showing off a good deal of her firm, shapely thighs. Damn, but she was a fine looking woman. Her lush, golden hair was parted in the middle and cascaded down to her shoulders in casual, careful waves. She looked around the room as she revolved, her deep azure-blue eyes sparking as she eyed the scene over the top of her glass. Her small, pert mouth was smiling in a teasing manner as she would spot a likely male, and would frown little-girl like when she would see that he was not alone.
Finally, she turned fully and faced Steve. Their eyes met, though Steve knew she couldn't tell the expression of his behind his dark glasses. No, he screamed mentally. Don't come over here. Tomorrow maybe. Later tonight maybe. Now ... just don't do it. . .
She watched him for several long moments, and, deciding that he was alone, dropped from her stool and walked casually to his table, her full hips swaying from side to side with every step she took. She stood behind the empty chair in front of Steve, an obvious smile of seduction on her lips. When she spoke, her voice was soft and more alluring than any Steve had heard in a long time.
"Hello. Mind if I sit here?"
Before Steve could answer, she pulled out the chair and sat down. Then she leaned forward, showing him the fullness of her firm, round breasts. From behind his dark glasses, Steve's eyes zeroed in on them. Shit, her dress was tight enough for him to see her nipples straining against her bra. They were already hard with desire, and that thought alone made Steve's cock spasm in his pants.
"Uh ... no ... I don't mind at all," he said, quickly glancing at the clock before returning his eyes to her breasts.
"I'm generally not this forward," she said with a teasing smile, "but this is not a night when a poor girl should be alone."
In spite of himself, Steve smiled. Hell ... being with her would make the time go fester, if nothing else.
"My name's Judith Anderson," she said. "I generally don't come here, but I thought a change would be kind of nice."
"I'm Steve Blish," he said, motioning to the waitress to come over to his table. "Would you like a little something to drink?"
"Thanks ... I'd like that very much."
When the waitress came over, he ordered a beer for himself and another gin and tonic for Judith.
"A beer?" she said laughing as their drinks arrived. "You look more like a Scotch and water man to me.
Again he smiled, slightly amazed at her perception. Generally his drink was Scotch and water. "Yeah, well ... not tonight."
"Oooooohhhh ... aren't we being mysterious," she said as she shifted her legs under the table. One foot hit lightly against the sleeping Colonel, and the dog gave a little yelp.
"Wha ... oh, you have a dog under there. I didn't even see him."
"His name's Colonel," Steve said proudly. "He and I have been together for some time now. Where I go, so goes Colonel."
"He's a beautiful dog," she said in a soothing tone that calmed Steve's jagged nerves down more than he would have liked. Things being the way they were with the drug ring, he wanted to remain alert and as tight as he could. To let his guard slip...
"Yes ... he's full blooded. I have the papers to prove it."
Conversation passed quickly and easily. Steve found that, against his will, he was being drawn into this woman. She finished her second drink and set it down sharply on the table.
"Suppose the two of us leave this place," she said with the same air she would have used if she were telling him that the sky were blue. "Unless you're waiting for something better to come along."
Looking at the clock, Steve saw that he had more than two hours to wait. Spending them with Judith made a lot more sense than hanging out at the bar. Nothing had happened to indicate that he was being set up, and Judith was a fine looking woman ... and eager! Shit. His tracks had been covered well enough for him to go with her. Actually, he rationalized, sitting around in the bar could arouse more suspicion than it was worth.
He paid the tab and ushered her out the front door into her car parked half way down the block. "My place?" she asked, raising one eyebrow, "It's less than a mile from here."
"I'd like that," he said, "as long as you don't mind dogs."
"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine," she said, slipping into the driver's seat and sped off through the darkened street.
Her place was on the ground floor of Buffalo's most fashionable apartment house. Stately and well over fifty years old, it towered majestically fifteen stories, and looked as solid and sturdy as the day it had been opened. Class, wealth and taste were its trademarks, and many times, as Steve had passed it, he wondered what type of people could afford living in it. Now that he knew, he was very impressed. Judith opened her apartment door and turned on the lights as she entered. Steve could see that Judith not only had money, but knew how to use it as well. The five room apartment was decorated with a strange combination of the ultra-modern and very old, but where they should have clashed, they blended and complimented each other. Two antique over-stuffed chairs were placed on either end of a casual sofa. The lights from hanging lamps accented the soft lighting from old floor lamps. The wall to wall carpeting could be either very old or very new. It was hard to tell.
"I'm going to change out of these clothes," she said as he took a seat on the couch. "I've been wearing them all day. Suppose you put something on the record player."
Looking through her collection of music, Steve saw that her taste there was just as varied as the rest of her apartment. Classical mixed with the latest rock and jazz. Her "record player" was actually a stereo component system, but had been built into one wall, making it possible for her to make it look as though it were both old and new at the same time. He found a soft jazz album and put it on. He couldn't find the speakers, but as soon as the needle touched the platter, the whole apartment was bathed in perfectly balanced sound.
"Looks like we've really found one hell of a woman," Steve said to his dog. "A woman the-likes of which you don't see every day."
Colonel found a secluded corner in the living room, and Steve sat down on the couch again, looking through one of Judith's many books. In a very short time, the lovely blonde woman came from her bedroom, no longer wearing her dress. She had changed into a sheer, flowing gown. As she casually entered the room, Steve stood. The gown she was wearing looked as though she should be wearing it over a nightie, but Steve could see that she was wearing nothing underneath, even though he was still wearing his dark glasses. The light of the room filtered through her robe and made her luscious skin appear almost naked. He could see her dark brown breast nipples staring back at him as though they were another set of eyes. Her narrow, nipped in waist flared out into full, sensual hips, and as she walked toward the couch, her gown clung to her body in a way that accented her golden yellow fluffy cuntal mound between her legs. She gave her head a toss, and pushed her hair in back of her rounded shoulders.
"I see you're a gentleman," she said as she stood in front of him. The smell of her skin wafted against his nostrils, and he could see her full, melony breast quivering beneath her robe. "Not many men still stand when a lady enters the room."
All thoughts of what Steve had to do later on in the evening began to vanish from his mind like smoke in the wind. The sensuality of the woman standing before him was overpowering, and his cock began to swell in his pants. "I should think that you would want to take those glasses off," she said, not waiting for him to move, but bringing her hands up to his face and taking them off herself. For the first time that evening, she could see his dark, nearly coal-black eyes, sparkling slightly with the reflection of her apartment lights. Once his glasses were removed, his whole face looked different. Instead of deep and mysterious, he looked rugged and strong ... the type of man who could really take care of himself when the going got tough. She guessed at his age ... somewhere around thirty-five. His frame was only an inch higher than her own five feet six inches, but he was far more solid with muscle.
She tossed his glasses onto one of the chairs, and returned her hands to the sides of his face, lightly stroking his rugged features. She smiled invitingly at Steve, and without a word, he brought his arms to her waist and drew her against him, pulling her soft, warm body against his, pressing his pelvis against hers so she could feel the massiveness of his cock through the cloth of his pants. He felt her shiver as his penis pressed through her sheer gown, and he smiled to himself. He had never thought of getting married, though there were many women in his life who would have jumped at the chance. He had never heard once of a complaint against his love making, and he was certain that he wouldn't hear one now.
Their lips met, mouths open as their tongues mashed against one another. His was the more forceful, and it pushed hers deep into her mouth. Her hands left his face and trailed down his hard muscled body to the juncture of his thighs, where she opened her fingers and pressed the palm of her hand against the tented fabric of his pants, rubbing lightly at first, and then with more and more urgency. He pulled away from her enough to reach inside her gown and pull it open.
The front of her was naked now, and he looked down to see her creamy, apple-hard breasts appear, totally unfettered and shameless. The large firm globes moved sensually as she removed her gown for him, and then she was pulling him gently to the floor, sitting casually as their lips met again.
Then she pushed him away and laid on her back, a teasing female smile playing over her pert lips as she opened her smooth voluptuous thighs to Steve's excited gaze. It was obvious that she was aroused. The tiny dewdrops of moisture rising softly in the fluffy hair-fringed crevice between her legs were clearly apparent and glistened in the bright lights as she exposed her nakedly waiting vagina to his hotly piercing eyes. Steve didn't care then if he were late for his appointment or not! Hell ... this was the most arousing woman he had met in ages, and he wasn't going to let her just slip through his fingers like water.
His breath began to grow harsh as he quickly stripped out of his clothes. When he was as naked as she was, he reached over and dragged her closer to him with the strength of his arms, sliding one hand down to the taut softness of her buttocks and cupping them. Her full, luscious body was warm and soft against his, and again she raised her face to his mouth, locking her lips hungrily to his as her hands searched down between them for his heavily throbbing cock. He moaned softly as her fingers closed hotly around his throbbing length, barely able to encircle the thick shaft. Breathing more urgently, she crushed the full length of her naked body against his powerful frame and ground her hungrily moving pelvis tightly into him before suddenly twisting her torso and pulling him over on top of her. Her long, graceful legs were open wide to receive him.
Beads of sweat began to glimmer lightly on the exposed flesh of their entwined forms, the brilliant light beating down on them from the overhanging lights, casting a myriad of shadows in the curves and hollows of their writhing limbs.
Judith pulled the rugged man even more tightly to her and ran her hands searchingly down over his hard buttocks. His huge cock was resting hard against her sensitive inner thighs, pressed tightly into the narrow pink slit of her moistly spread pussy. The blonde girl's mind began to wander slightly. There was something about this man that was different from any other man she had met. Ooohh, she could tell that he would be a fantastic lover. Generally, when she went to a bar to be picked up, she would find an accountant out for a little fun away from his plump wife. Steve was certainly nothing like that. Even though he had made virtually no moves to her, he nevertheless commanded her. She couldn't understand it, but she loved it. She loved the mysterious quality she had first seen in him when she'd seen him sitting all alone in the bar. Perhaps, she thought in a flash, the search is over. Steve, in the short while that she had known him, exhibited everything she had been looking for all her life. She wasn't sure how he felt about her. Things like this were generally different for a man. But she could sense that she would talk to him about it. This looked like it could be only the beginning ... instead of an end.
She curved up for a moment, levering them both off the thick carpet on the floor. Then, reaching down under her nakedly up-thrust buttocks with both hands, he parted her desire-swollen vaginal lips slowly, giving his rampant penis better contact with the wet tingling flesh. Then she relaxed and fell back to the cushiony rug, his cock trapped tightly in the hot, softly yielding crevice between her slippery thighs. Inflamed by the movement, Steve wormed his hands between her shoulders and the softness of the carpet, pulling his palms down over the soft curves of her back and hips. His powerful fingers felt the raised edges of her spine moving almost imperceptibly as she undulated her aroused young body up against him in a slow, teasing motion, a rhythm that made the sinews of her female muscles ripple lightly like small fish just below the surface of her skin.
Steve couldn't believe the feelings she was creating within him. He'd had a lot of affairs. Most of them lasted a matter of days at the longest. Once, he had lived with a woman for a full six months, but that hadn't worked out any better than the rest of them. This woman, though ... damn ... he wished for the first time in his life that he didn't have to leave How could he tell her that he was on the verge of breaking up a major drug ring? He couldn't! He wondered if she would understand that he had to leave when this was finished. Shit ... making this connection was something he had been working a full five months for. He was almost where he wanted to be. He couldn't stop now, and he couldn't tell her why he would have to leave. All he could do was fuck her in a way that would let her know he would be back ... sooner or later.
She lifted her head to once more smash her soft lips against his, writhing the flat surface of her stomach up against him. She left welts, small trails of red across his back where she raked her long nails. Then, losing all control, the aroused undercover police agent pushed his hands farther down beneath her, squeezing the roundness of her milk-white buttocks in the palms of his hands, pulling her ready loins up tighter against his own. He moved up and down slowly, teasing her in return, running the rigidity of his full length up and down in the wide-spread vaginal slit, sensing it become even more saturated by the second with the wetness of her passion. Her smooth, satin-white ass-cheeks began a more frantic rotation up against him until suddenly, without warning, her legs shot out wide on either side of him, her calves locking against the backs of his thighs and trapping him tightly to her.
"Now ... Steve ... put it in me now..." she hissed pleadingly, her eyes shut as her pelvis ground away at him like a pelt of softly curling down with a mind of its own.
As soon as she relaxed a little, Steve started to move, but she moved faster. Her hands came down between them and circled greedily around his stiff throbbing cock, "guiding it desperately between the lips of her hot, desire-drenched pussy. He groaned above her as he felt her slide it up and down between her legs, parting the soft moistened hair of her cunt with the pulsating blood-engorged head. The fleshy lips nibbled hungrily at it, causing it to spring to greater hardness until he felt certain that the aching pressure of the blood would burst it along its vein-thickened length. He could hold back no longer and crashed his hips forward with a sudden deep thrust.
He drove himself with a flesh-rending passion into the gaping hot mouth of her cunt.
"AAAAHHHH. . . !" Judith groaned beneath him in pained surprise. He felt the warm elastic inner tissue slip smoothly over his sensitive male flesh as he entered her deeply. It was as though she were a country virgin being taken for the first time, except that he knew better. No country virgin could fuck back the way she was.
Steve's long heavy cock slammed up into her hot wet cunt almost to the full depths of her heaving belly, warm and tight at first, squeezing the hard length of his shaft and then easing as the wetness surrounded him, lubricating the way.
Suddenly, he hit bottom, his balls slamming hard against the rounded cheeks of her tightly clenching buttocks. Judith moaned like an animal in heat beneath him, twisting away momentarily to escape the sudden unexpected pain, but he lunged harder, ramming his pelvis more solidly into her cringing loins so that there was no escape for her ... not that she wanted any! Steve was filled with masculine pride, delighted that he now had the upper hand ... even though it had been she that seduced him. He was going to give her a fucking that she would never forget. He would have to. He wanted her to think that even though he would be leaving, he would come back.
Steve squirmed and ground his loins heavily down onto the writhing velvety flesh beneath him as she strained back under him, arching her hips off the floor with the strength of her hungry upward thrusts. She groaned ceaselessly beneath him, receiving his pounding thrusts, opening and closing her trembling legs around his hips as she worked up and down in the primitive rhythm of mating, her moist lips gaping open wide and her head flailing from side to side on the floor in crazed wantonness.
"I kinda thought you'd like that," he panted, the words spaced between breathless grunts as he labored over her, showing her that he could be the most incredible lover she would ever know.
"Uuuuummm ... please ... put a finger in my ass ... please ... in my ass..." she implored him, her dazed azure eyes flashing, unseeing, looking up at him ... through him.
He was as aroused as she was now, and her request did not take him aback, not even for a moment. In fact, he would have been surprised if she had not made the request. A woman like Judith would certainly love all forms of fucking. He quickly reached under her, between her hotly clenching buttocks as he hammered rhythmically into the eagerly working wetness of her cunt. She lifted her quivering ass a little to help him as he stretched wide the crevice between the softly yielding cheeks, probing with the tip of his middle finger for the tight puckered opening. Then he found it. There was a small rivulet of warm moisture running down into the widespread cleft from where he could feel his hard rod of flesh fucking into her. It wetted the tiny elastic hole, lubricating it slightly as he nudged experimentally for a moment with the end of his finger. Feeling it give a little, he pushed harder and then suddenly the tight hairless nether ring gave way completely and his finger popped in up to the second knuckle. She leapt upwards, delighting in the sensation of being filled nearly to the brim.
"More ... more!" she pleaded. "Oh ... GOD! Stick it in deeper!" He pushed in farther, worming his finger in until it was buried all the way up to the palm of his hand. She winced, and he felt her begin to screw her ass back hard down on his invading finger. Steve moved it around inside, rotating it deeper and deeper up into the fleshy depths of her rectum, until at last, through the thin wall of flesh that separated the two passages, he could feel the underside of his penis sliding rhythmically in and out of her. He began to skewer her between them, maintaining the same rhythm for both as she moaned and twisted ceaselessly below him. His finger nail caught slightly on the tender membrane of her inner walls, scraping them, and she jerked but then caught up the cadence again, splaying her legs wider to allow him the fullest access to the ravishment of her wide-stretched anal passage.
Steve could feel his huge penis throbbing and seething inside her, growing and expanding in her spread-open vagina from the exquisite pressure damming up in his sperm-laden testicles as they slapped with dull heavy thuds against her desperately straining buttocks beneath. He began to ram his finger into her tiny anus with long hard strokes in time to the deep plunging of his cock in her pussy, trying to bring her over the crest to her climax. He could tell that she was almost there as she gripped his pounding body tightly between her up-thrust thighs, contracting them around him to the savage tempo of his merciless thrusts into her. He could hear her gasping beneath him, the sounds coming from deep in her throat as though she had no control over them. He fucked into her then, exerting all his strength to bring the luscious blonde to orgasm as well as himself.
"Yes ... yes ... yes ... yessss ... ffuuuuuccckkkk mmmeeeee ... harrrrrd!" she chanted, uttering all the obscene words that she could think of to excite him more. She drove her slender ankles and heels into his driving buttocks, spurring him on, jack-knifing her legs back and up tightly against her firm white breasts, flattening them hard back into her chest. Her eyes rolled like shiny dice in her desire-contorted face.
Her mouth was wide open in ecstatic abandon as she repeated the almost incoherent statement over and over again to herself until the sounds coming from her throat were a mass of jumbled syllables whose meaning might be anything. She stretched back her thighs tighter against her writhing upper torso until the entirety of her pink, wide-stretched vaginal slit was presented up to him to fuck at will. Her ankles were wedged under his shoulders, locked behind his neck, her groin squirming beneath him in a kind of insane dance of wild raw ecstasy.
Her movements were too much for him. He could no longer hold back the seething churning in his balls. His eyes shut tightly, and he could feel the first rumblings in his cum-filled balls. He fucked into her deeply, holding himself tight against her cervix...
And then his semen burst from his bulbous rubbery cockhead, washing against her flowing lust-fluids as they waved through her cuntal sluce. His cum and hers mingled in her cunt then, as a sign that each person had found in the other what they had been searching for all their lives!
They collapsed then, he falling on top of her, and she opening her legs and allowing them to fall to the floor. The room was filled with the sound of their heavy breathing. Steve was trying to think of a way he could tell he had to leave, while at the same time not telling her why. He was certain that she would think he was nothing more than a one-night stand, good for a quickie and nothing more. He had to show her that he thought much more of her than that.
"I have to go," he said softly, opening his eyes and looking at her face. "I have to go, but I'd like to do this again ... soon ... often..." .
"Got to get home to the wife?" she asked, her voice totally without emotion.
"I'm not married," he told her, getting up and starting to dress.
"That's too bad," she said, remaining motionless on the floor. "You would make some woman a wonderful husband."
"Are you married?"
"Does it look it?"
"You would make some man a wonderful wife," he said, using the same tone of voice she was using. "We might talk about that some more. I'll give you my phone number."
"But you really do have to leave."
"I really have to leave. I hope I can tell you why ... soon..."
She was still lying on the floor, her eyes closed, when he called for Colonel, who had been sleeping in another part of the room. "Come on, boy ... let's go."
The huge black and white German shepherd walked briskly to his side, and gave a last parting glance to the woman his master had just fucked.
"Judith," Steve said softly, "I'll expect you to use that number ... soon."
"You know where I live," she called as she heard him open the door. As it closed, she wondered if he were just playing with her to see how far she would go, or if he really meant what he said. He had been mysterious all evening, holding something back, as though he were afraid ... but of what? Certainly not sex. She hadn't been fucked like that in a long time ... if ever. But he had acted detached. She reasoned that he was telling her the truth when he said that he wasn't married. She'd spent some time with one or two married men, and he had acted nothing at all like them.
She decided that she would take a chance. She had nothing to lose but a little pride, if she were wrong. And if she were right, she had a great deal to gain.
CHAPTER TWO
The streets of downtown Buffalo were dark, for the most part, when Steve returned. He had walked from Judith's apartment, as much to loosen himself up as to clear his head and get in the proper mood. He timed his walking so that he would reach the meeting place at exactly midnight. It would be a good showing if he did not appear too anxious. He knew he was dealing with some pretty rough people. One false move and it would be all over.
He stood under a broken street lamp as he had been instructed. He looked around him, trying to see if there were any people around. He was in an empty part of the city, mostly rail yards and empty lots. There were some buildings in the yards, but no lights. Aside from those buildings, there was nothing else.
No witnesses for anything, he mused to himself, thinking that if he were going to be killed, this would be a perfect place for it. But, he thought, I've covered my tracks pretty well. The only people who know I'm a cop are two other undercover police.
Time passed slowly. Steve stood as calmly as he could, knowing that he was being watched. He'd been told to come alone, and that's exactly what he had done. He hadn't even finished in his report where he was supposed to meet his contact, Sid Murphy. He was going this one on his own. He had to prove that he was who he said he was, a major buyer from Central New York. He'd found out through some of his contacts that a big shipment of "snow" was coming in. "Snow" was a double code word used by the major dealers. "Snow" meant Canada, "Dust" meant Mexico. "Junk" meant New York City, and all three of them meant heroin. And he'd heard just a little later that there was going to be an early blizzard from Canada. That meant that a lot of the drug was coming ... and soon. He had to find out where, though. The U.S. Canadian border is over three thousand miles long. It was thought that the shipment would come through Buffalo, but Steve had to be sure.
A far away clock chimed twelve-thirty, and as soon as the sound of the bells faded in the night, Steve saw some movement in the field between him and the empty buildings. As the shadow figure came closer, Steve recognized the distinctive walk ... It was Sid Murphy coming to make the connection. So far ... so good.
Sid stopped some ten feet from Steve. The two men looked at each other for a short while. Steve had no liking whatever for the small-time junkie. The wiry pusher looked as though he always needed a fix, and his slightly off-set face was pot-marked with infections from dirty needles. His rangy frame looked emaciated, and his clothes hung loosely on his body. His thinning dark hair whipped about with the wind, and his thin-lipped mouth was set expressionless.
Without a word, Sid turned and began walking to the buildings in the rail-yards. Steve knew that he was to follow. He started up behind Sid, Colonel following, not understanding what was happening, and feeling a little uncomfortable. He knew that something was afoot. His animal instincts could sense it!
The smell of mold wafted against Steve's nostrils as he followed Sid into the abandoned building. It was dark as pitch, and as soon as Steve was in, he heard the door closing behind him. The banging echoed through the room, and Steve could judge its size. It was huge ... very huge, and almost empty. He stood calmly in the darkness, hearing a slight ruffling noise in front of him.
Suddenly, he was bathed in light. He squinted and brought his hands up as a light shield. In a moment, his eyes adjusted to the light, and he could see that there were three grim-faced men staring at him. He recognized all of them, either from pictures or from dealing with them. Sid Murphy walked away from the other two and approached Steve.
"You were wise to come alone," he said, bouncing nervously as he spoke. Steve looked down at him, taking his dark glasses off so Sid could see his eyes.
"Thanks for the compliment," Steve said, staring the ugly little man down.
"You better watch it, Sid," Marty Helm jeered. "You might need him someday. Your current source could dry up suddenly."
Steve knew that Marty was Sid's supplier. Sid used Marty, not only as a source for what he sold in his neighborhood, but for what he used on himself. Sid had a bad habit, and Marty never let him forget it.
"You wouldn't do that to me ... would you Marty? ... huh ... would you...? "
Sid was visibly shaken. It looked to Steve as though Sid were starting to go through withdrawal. Marty was toying with him for some reason. The businessman-looking supplier merely gazed blankly at Sid. The small junkie started to grip at Marty's lapel, when the sound of the empty room was filled with "click" of twelve inches of cold steel. Ripper Bova, Marty's bodyguard, smiled sadistically at Sid as he turned the blade slowly less than an inch from his face. The well-oiled, razor-sharp knife glistened with the reflected light, and Sid froze in terror. He'd seen Ripper gut people with that knife ... gut them so slowly that they would be screaming for a full hour before they either passed out or died from bleeding to death.
"Suppose you calm down, Sid," Marty said softly. "If this guy checks out, your source is no problem."
"He checks ... he checks..." Sid said quickly, trying to convince Marty enough for a fix.
"Oooooo...I believe you, Sid. But The Man ... he just wants to make sure, you know?"
"Where is The Man?" Steve said, exerting himself. "I've got a lot of people waiting. This man is costing me money."
Steve and Marty stared at each other. If it weren't for Ripper, Steve knew he could take care of Marty. The man was all mind and money. He was already showing a paunch. Ripper, though, was built like a tank. Short ... and solid. In a fistfight, he could take a lot of beating without even breathing hard.
"He'll be here. Don't you worry none," Marty said finally. "I'm losing a lot of money waiting myself."
"I'm sorry my favorite people are so unhappy," a voice said in the shadows. Everyone looked to its source, and a man Steve recognized as Frederico Barnez emerged from the darkness. He was a tall, slightly slender man, richly tanned and very well dressed. Steve ran through what he knew about him in his mind. He was a shrewd businessman who had made remarkable contacts in a very short time. The deal he could make on this shipment would net him close to a million and a half. People will do strange things for that kind of money, Steve thought. Frederico had built up a tiny empire with his connections, and as soon as the shipment was made, Steve knew that the empire would vaporize. This was a one shot deal ... an effort to grab all the dealers who would take advantage of the lower price being charged by an independent supplier.
"You are here, I am sure, to sample what you are buying," Frederico said slowly, his accent betraying the fact that he had spent several years at Oxford University. "I like that in business men. Never buy anything before testing it. Do you operate like that, Sid?"
The blonde-haired dealer turned to the cowering junkie, and Steve's mind raced with a million different thoughts. Something was wrong! Frederico was obviously angry with Sid for something.
"I ... me? Oh ... sure, Fred," Sid said quickly. "I test things first. Yeah ... sure..."
"Don't like to rip off those who depend on you, is that right?"
Steve noticed that Ripper had moved a little closer to Sid, and the junkie could begin to see that something was going to happen to him. He looked around, pleading in his eyes and his face contorted in a terrified mask. Steve could feel his own palms sweating. He remained calm and looked to see if he were going to be included in what was happening.
"You see, Sid," Frederico began, "you should really check on the people you bring to me."
Steve knew that somehow, his cover had been found out. He looked around to see if there could be some escape, and he heard the click of a revolver hammer being cocked.
"You just hold it right there, Blish," Marty smiled, levering the pistol at the policeman's waist. "You got some talking to do."
"Not right yet," Frederico said. "At the moment, I'm more interested in why Sid brought him to me."
The little junkie tried to make a break for the door, but as soon as he took his first step, Ripper circled him with his thick, powerful arms and lifted him off the ground. Steve stiffened, but made no motion while Marty covered him. Sid was kicking vainly in the air while Ripper was effortlessly holding him off the ground.
"I had to do my own checking," the dealer said to Sid. "I didn't get where I am by not having some informants on the inside. I found out about our friend from Central New York. Seems that he's really an undercover agent. Now Sid," he said with contention, "if I could do it, then you could have. I think you were just a little too eager to make a fast buck to support that habit of yours. You should really be more careful."
Without even taking a breath, Frederico suddenly lashed out with his foot and caught Sid squarely in the groin with a well-placed kick. The little junkie wailed in agony as Ripper tightened his hold around the man.
Steve glanced at Marty, who was merely smiling at him, the pistol still leveled at his chest. Beads of sweat formed on Steve's forehead. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to be killed, and from the little bit he had seen of Frederico, he thought that he would be tortured as well. With both Ripper and the dealer occupied, Steve decided that he had nothing to lose by dealing with Marty.
He lunged at the man with the gun, but Marty seemed to know in advance what he was going to do. Being more calm than Steve, he deftly moved out of the way and pistol-whipped Steve across his jaw, breaking a tooth and filling Steve's mouth with blood.
Seeing that his master was hurt, Colonel growled and advanced toward Marty, his fangs bared and saliva dripping from his jowls.
"Fucking dog," Marty hissed, and he caught the huge German shepherd under his jaw with a kick that sent the dog flying through the air. The loyal beast lay on his side panting, and Steve brought his hand to his own mouth, looking at Colonel.
"If you've hurt that dog..."
"I have hurt the dog," Marty said with pride. "Now you just sit pretty and watch."
Steve felt utterly helpless. With Marty's eyes fixed on him, he knew that there was nothing he could do. The sound of flesh slapping hard against flesh brought his attention back to Sid, and he nearly vomited at what he saw.
Ripper had hurled the small man against a wall, where Sid was cowering, both his hands at his groin in an effort to relieve the searing pain caused by Frederico's kick.
"Please ... please, Fred ... Mr. Barnez ... ya gotta believe me. I didn't know he was the fuzz ... " Sid's voice was pitiful, and Steve couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was shaking and trembling from the pain in his balls and the agony of withdrawal. Barnez was unmoved, however, and he brought out a small caliber pistol from inside his coat.
"I know you didn't realize he was a cop," Barnez said with a cruel smile on his lips. "That was a mistake. I don't like people who make mistakes."
He was pointing the pistol at Sid, holding it lightly in his hand and waving it as he spoke. "People who make mistakes offend me. I suppose I should let Ripper take care of you, but I'd rather do it myself. I have to stay in practice too."
As soon as he finished his statement, the room was filled with the sharp sound of a shot, followed by the agonizing scream of the cowering junkie. Steve narrowed his eyes as he saw blood spurting from Sid's right kneecap. Sid was no longer standing, but writhing on the floor in a pool of his own blood, clutching his knee and moaning. A second shot rang out, and Sid's left knee exploded as the small bullet shattered it. Sid rolled over on his back, twitching with pain, screaming incoherently, his useless legs spasming, his pants and shirt covered with his spattered blood. His legs were outstretched, one hand on each in a vain effort to reduce the intense concentrated pain.
"Now, Sid, you've really been a naughty boy ... and after all the powder I've let you have on credit. You owe me a lot of money, Sid, and you don't look in any condition to repay me. What do you have to say to that?"
Sid looked at Barnez with a strange mixture of hatred and pleading in his eyes, his breath hissing from between his grimacing teeth. A third shot rang out, catching Sid's left arm at the elbow joint. The junkie twitched and screamed in a yell that made it impossible for Steve not to throw up. Lowering his head, Steve's puke covered his pants as Sid's other elbow was shattered.
The smell of blood wafted against Colonel's nostrils, and he raised his head slightly to see the small man writhing in strange circles on the floor.
"Would you like me to kill you, Sid?" Barnez asked casually. "I don't know why I should waste any more time with you, but you have been fun these last few moments."
Sid's answer was impossible to decipher. His moaning echoed through the room, and was broken occasionally by whimpering and sobbing.
"You've made a mistake, Sid, and now you must beg my forgiveness. Crawl over to me and kiss my foot."
Sid made an effort to push himself with his useless legs, but as soon as he bent them at his shattered knees, he screamed in agony and collapsed to the blood-covered floor, breathing heavily.
"That's not good enough, Sid," Marty offered. "When the boss says for you to kiss his foot, that's what he means."
Sid's eyes were wide open in pain, and he rolled slowly to Barnez's foot, placing his lips on the toe of his torturer's shoe. With a grant, Barnez drew back his foot and kicked Sid's face as hard as he could. Before Sid's screaming echo died down, Barnez shot him between the eyes, spattering bits of his skull against a wall. With a sigh of exhaled wind, Sid fell to a bloody heap. Steve knew his turn was next. He thought quickly! There was only one way he could save himself the torture Sid had gone through. It would result in his own death, he knew, but he had already accepted the fact that he was going to be killed. The cavalry coming at the last second was something reserved for fairy tales.
Taking a deep breath he jumped from the floor and raced to the door, weaving as much as he could so Marty could not get a good shot.
It worked! Marty fired to wound Steve and slow him down, but instead shot him just below his shoulder blades, hitting his heart. Steve was dead before he hit the floor.
"Damn," Marty said with a small amount of disappointment. "He looked like we could have had a lot of fun with him."
"No real harm done," Barnez said, brushing some stray dust from his tailored pants. "Ripper will work him over and make it look good anyway." Then, as an afterthought ... "No ... I don't want Blish found. There's a shipment going to Cleveland tonight. I want Blish on it. Tell the people you know in Cleveland that I don't want Blish found. Sid, though ... I think it would make certain people think seriously about fucking things up if he were found, Ripper..."
They had forgotten all about Colonel. As the knife-wielding bodyguard bent down over Sid's body, Barnez and Marty moved away from the scene to discuss business. Colonel got to his feet and walked silently into the shadows of the abandoned building, the only thought on his mind being the revenge he knew had to come to the people who had killed his master. Their faces burned in his memory as he found an opened window near the back of the building and slipped off into the night.
CHAPTER THREE
Eric Simpson was certain that it was the sound of his alarm clock that had woken him, and he pulled his arm out from under his sheets and blankets to hit the stupid thing. His head felt like it was big enough to fill the whole of City Hall, and it was throbbing. His mouth tasted like salty cotton, and his chest hurt from all the cigarettes he had smoked the night before. Jesus ... what a fucking party. Cindy knew some incredible people.
He opened his eyes a tiny bit and saw that the second half of his bed was empty. He really didn't expect Cindy to still be there, not at ... oooohhhh ... after nine in the morning. There was a note pinned to the pillow she had been using.
"THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL NIGHT. SOME OF US HAVE TO WORK FOR A LIVING, OTHERWISE I WOULD STAY IN BED ALL DAY LIKE YOU. SEE YOU LATER IN THE WEEK ... LOVE Cindy."
"Yeah, I'll see you later in the week," he said to the pillow. Cindy was like that. She came and went as she pleased, and lately, she had been spending a great deal of time with Eric. Not that the private detective minded. Shit ... Cindy was one hell of a woman. She's been thinking of settling down soon, even though she didn't want to admit it. Eric wanted to make sure that he would be available for her. He was getting just a little tired of living alone.
He tossed his naked body once around and closed his eyes, determined that the best way to cure his hangover was to just sleep the day away. There was a little leg-work yet to do on the Barnet case, but that could wait.
Again Eric heard a bell, and this time he knew it wasn't his alarm. It was his door. His first thought was to just ignore it. Hell, he really didn't need the money another client might bring in. He'd been thinking about taking off for a couple of days with Cindy when she went to see her mother in New York City. Another case could fuck that trip up.
A third time the bell sounded, this time followed by a loud knocking. Eric knew he would never get back to sleep now. He might as well see what they wanted.
"Hold on ... hold on ... I'm coming," he called as he pulled himself from the bed and fished through his messy closet for his bathrobe. He found it, and winced slightly at its odor. Fucking clothes only make life miserable. He had them only when he had to look "nice" for some clients. He generally liked denim pants and shirts. Easy to take care of, never wear out, good out in the field. He sure as hell wasn't going to worry about what he looked like now, though.
Walking from his bedroom to his small kitchenette, he unchained and unbolted his door and opened it. His bloodshot eyes widened as he saw a lovely, voluptuous woman in her mid-twenties standing there. Her dress indicated that she was rather well-off, and she carried herself with dignity and style ... and desperation, which she was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to hide.
"Yes?" he said, running his calloused hand through his messy, light brown hair.
"I'm sorry to get you out of bed," she said in an apologetic tone, "but I have to talk to you."
Eric rolled his eyes and felt his body reacting to his drinking bout. "I don't know, Miss..."
"Anderson ... Judith Anderson. Please?"
Eric knew he was a soft touch, especially for a blonde as lovely as this one. With a sigh, he opened his door fully and motioned her in. "You'll have to excuse the mess," he said, not really giving a damn whether she did or not. "I'm going to have some coffee. Would you like some?"
Uh ... no thank you, she said, looking around for a place to sit. "I know I should have come to your office, but I couldn't wait, Mr. Simpson."
"Eric, please," he corrected her. "Now, what can I do for you?"
He set water to boil and dropped into a chair across the table from her, his eyes lingering on the generous swell of her breasts, looking as though they were ready to spill from the top. Then, catching himself, he looked into her classically sculptured face.
"I want you to find someone for me," she said. "A man."
"Won't I fit the bill?" he joked. When he saw that she was not the least bit amused, he decided that he would hear her out.
"This is someone I met a couple of days ago ... last Saturday. I picked him up in the Four Roses bar, and he said he would come back. He hasn't, I think something's happened to him."
He looked at her face, and could see her brow furrowed with worry.
"You're really serious, aren't you?" he said, just as his water came to boil. He left the table and made a cup of instant coffee. "Now let me get this straight," he said, returning to his seat. "You pick up a man at a bar, you fuck, he leaves telling you that hell come back, and you believe him. Then, when he doesn't show, you get worried, right?"
"It's a little ... crude, but yes."
"Maybe his wife told him he couldn't leave the house for a week," Eric said. Jesus, she didn't really look that dumb.
"He told me he wasn't married."
"They always say that."
"He was telling me the truth."
"Yeah ... yeah ... have you gone to his house?"
"I ... I don't know where he lives. I have his phone number, but there's no answer."
"Probably a phone booth number," he suggested halfheartedly.
"No, it's not. I checked."
"Hummmmm, so it belongs to a friend of his. There are a million things it could be."
"His dog showed up at my apartment Sunday morning," she told him, leaning forward slightly. Her face was still worried-looking, and her voice was pleading. Eric knew come ons of all sorts, including cons. This didn't seem like one.
"Why would his dog come to you?" he asked her, sipping loudly on his coffee.
"When he came to ... my place from the Four Roses, his dog came with him."
"He took his dog to the bar?" Eric said. That meant something. Not everyone takes a dog with him to a bar.
"He told me he and Colonel ... his dog ... had been through a lot together."
"Yeah ... and his dog comes to you instead of going home. I don't know," he said. He could feel himself getting interested, and just as he was thinking of taking some time off. Damn that fucking soft spot. "Have you been to the police?"
"Yes. They said they would look into it, but they don't think I'm serious. I told them about the dog, but it didn't make any difference to them."
"Yeah, well ... police ... what do you do for a living, Judith?"
"I'm the senior vice-president for a New York City-based bank here in Buffalo."
"Very impressive," Eric said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm sure you're not one to just fly off the handle about something."
"Then will you help me?"
"What's this guy's name."
"He told me it was Steve Blish. Here's the phone number he gave me."
She handed him a slip of paper and he looked at it casually.
"Have you tried other detectives?" he asked her. He was getting interested all right, but not that interested.
"You were recommended by some people at my bank. They'd heard about you. They said you were crude but effective. They were right about the first part."
Eric smiled. A compliment and a dig in the same breath. She's got balls ... so to speak.
"All right, I'll take a look and see what I can do. I'm not making promises. Where can I get in touch with you?"
She gave him a phone number. "About your fee ... I'll pay in cash."
"From your bank?"
"I have money," she said very defensively. "And we both know you won't have to declare, then. Sort of a nice little bonus."
You'd be a nice little bonus, he thought to himself.
"I'll call you later today and let you know," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to make myself presentable to the outside world. Unless you'd like to stay and watch."
"Thank you, no," she said coldly. "I have to go to work."
With that, she left, closing the door just a little too hard behind her. Eric smiled to himself as he downed the last of his coffee. Strange woman. With a body like that, she picks up some guy, and then gets all hyper because he dumps her. The fury of a woman scorned. But there was that dog ... that fucking dog. Eric didn't like it. He could feel his stomach starting to tie in knots. He knew dogs. They would stay with anyone who feeds them, no matter how badly they're treated. If Judith was telling the truth, then something had happened to Steve.
"Fuck!" he whispered, knowing that he was getting into a case. This could take some time. Walking to his phone, he dialed a number from memory.
"Hello?" a woman's voice on the other end said. "Cindy? This is Eric. Listen, about that trip to New York..."
* * *
Eric stood in front of Steve Blish's house. He had found the address by checking the phone company's computers. He now owed dinner and a real fine evening to a cute little red-head at the main office. At least that part of what Steve had said was true.
He checked the house and found that it was both locked and deserted. It looked as though someone had been living in there until just recently. Glancing around to make sure he wasn't seen, he slipped a plastic card through the door jamb and let himself in. The four room flat had a musty, stale odor. It had been closed like this for some time, Eric noted. It was fairly neat, and there were all the trappings of a man who owns a dog ... water dish, food dish, dog hair ... German shepherd, it looked like. Checking through the house to make sure it was empty, he looked for a place to keep papers and files.
He found one. There was a small writing desk in his bedroom, and it was filled with papers in a loose pile. Eric glanced through them, and after reading the first few on the top, his blood ran cold. Steve Blish was an undercover cop working on a big drug deal of some sort. Eric had connections of all sorts all over the city, and he recognized some of the names in the report. They were pretty tough characters.
Now that was pretty interesting. Generally, if there was a cop missing, Eric would have heard about it when he talked to his contact at police headquarters ... unless he didn't know about it. And that could only mean that his death was being hushed up.
"Listen to me," he said to himself. "I'm already thinking that he's dead. Fucking woman. All I wanted to do was sleep."
He folded the report and stuffed it in his pocket. He wanted to check it over a little more to see if it would make any sense. Then he thought he would pay a visit to a girl he knew who could tell him what he wanted to know about the current drug traffic. It had been a while since he'd hit the streets, and things can change every day. There might be something in it.
* * *
Standing against a building on the fringe line of Buffalo's ghetto, Eric smoked slowly on his cigarette as he watched the people walk back and forth in the crowd. The weather was still pretty good. Indian Summer was carrying on later this year than it usually does. People getting out to take advantage of it as much as they can, he thought. This would be a perfect time to be in New York City. And where was he ... stuck on a case because of a really lovely woman and his fucking big heart.
"Youuuuuu ... lover ... !" he heard a woman's voice calling him from the other side of the street. It was Maggie Season, the girl waiting here to meet. If there was anyone who would know what was happening on the street, she would. She worked with addicts on the street, and they trusted her. Besides, she made it a point to know as much as she could. She was well respected by dealers and users alike. She never turned anyone into the police, and as a result, people would talk to her. He waved and crossed the street, putting his arm around her in a friendly fashion as they walked to her nearby apartment.
"Long time no see, lover," she said. "Where you been keeping yourself?"
"Oooohhh ... you know ... things. I'm just getting off a case today ... gonna wrap it up and file a report."
"And you decided that you wanted to celebrate? Honey, you should know that you don't need an excuse."
"No ... I'm not celebrating ... but it's a thought."
"Good. Now, you look as though you could use a drink ... hair-of-the-dog style."
"I could."
They entered her flat and he helped himself to Bourbon, neat. She poured herself a glass of white wine and sat on the couch next to him. He knew she was starting to tease him, and he didn't really mind. It was nice to know she still liked him after he'd ignored her for nearly a month. Unintentionally, of course.
"Sooooo..." she said after a long sip, "if this isn't a celebration, then it must be business. Need me to finish your case?"
"No ... I'm about to start another one ... maybe. Involves drugs. A woman came to my home and wants me to find someone for her. An undercover cop she thinks is dead."
"A woman ... uuummm ... and you just couldn't resist." She smiled coyly and pressed her petite buttocks a little tighter against his. He smiled as he felt his cock give a little lurch in his pants.
"Yeah ... this cop was hot on the trail of some big shipment, from what I could gather. From Canada."
"Is that so?" she said, reaching up to him and lightly trailing her finger across his cheek.
"Come on, will you be serious?" Damn her anyway. Couldn't she see that this was no game?
"I'm sorry," she said in a little girl voice, lowering her head and pouting her luscious lips. She had the type of body that could look so innocent ... so lovely ... so alluring, and she knew it. She knew how to use it as well, and Eric could see that he was being asked to pay a price for what she might know. Not that he would be all that unhappy to pay it. He knew that fucking Maggie was fun just for the sheer hell of it.
"Do you know something worth paying for?" he asked, sipping on his Bourbon.
"Would it really make all that much difference?
like I say, it's been a long time. Unless, of course, you think your client might not approve. We wouldn't want to get her mad, now would we. After all, she is paying you. In money, I would imagine."
"Yes ... and a bonus, also in money. Though I wouldn't mind getting her in the sack."
"No, I'm sure you wouldn't. Maybe I should hire you, if that's what it takes."
"All it takes is just the two of us alone with each other," he answered. "You should know that by now."
"You haven't been around to see me," she said.
"And you haven't been around to see me. Now, what have you got for me?"
"I don't feel just like talking now," she said, moving close to him again. "Right now, I feel like having a little fun."
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and then Eric bent forward and kissed her. What the hell, he thought. It had been a long time, and she was still as attractive as the last time he'd seen her. As their lips met, she tried to force her tongue into his mouth, but Eric wasn't going to let her command him any longer. Using his strength, he forced her tongue back into her mouth and then followed it with his own. Maggie gave a low, throaty chuckle and wrapped her arms up around his neck, pulling him on top of her on the couch. She shivered as his big hand moved with an amazing tenderness along the smooth tanned flesh of her inner thighs, reaching up under her knee-length dress. He could feel her tremble as it moved ever upward toward her dark-fringed loins where it finally brushed tantalizingly and pressed against the fleshy lips of her panty-covered cunt, causing a moan to escape from her lips into his mouth.
"I thought you would come around sooner or later," she said with a breathy tone as she pulled her mouth gently away from his, delighting in the wild sensations that were racing through her quivering little belly and rapidly moistening.
Eric chuckled, while his free hand raced to her blouse and began pulling the buttons open, his breath catching lustfully in his throat as he revealed the rounded mounds of soft, resilient flesh standing proud and firmly erect, their small pinkish nipples hardening from his gentle pinching on them and his big, warmly perspiring hand between her spread, quivering thighs.
She reached down and opened the side zipper of her dress and opened it for him, and he pulled his face away from hers for a closer look at the thin ribbon of pink flesh running the length of her nearly exposed loins, her motions pulling her passion-soaked panties away so that he could see the flushed, hair-lined lips of her cunt. Without waiting for him to move, Maggie lifted her buttocks up off the couch and rolled her panties down over her smooth slender thighs and calves, dropping the passion-moistened garment over the side to the floor.
Eric's eyes widened as he gazed at the ovaled, satin-like spheres of her lush ass-cheeks, and he sucked in his breath at the lust-inciting spectacle. God! It had been a long time. How could he ever forget the passion this woman could bring about when she wanted to? Damn! The sound of her sensual whimpers was making his cock become hard and rigid already. He could feel the blood pounding almost painfully into its expanded head. He had to get his pants off. There would be no stopping him now! The thick wet drops of seminal fluid seeping from the sensitive tip were smearing hotly against his thigh.
As though she could read his mind, she reached her hand down between them and found the zipper of his fly. She pulled it down, the pressure of his lust-inflated penis causing his shaft to spring out from his crotch.
"It's about time one of us did what was on our minds," she cooed. Eric chuckled, and then inched his body a little lower on the couch. Using his thumbs pressed to either side of her pouting hair-fringed vaginal lips, he teasingly spread the vertical crevice until its moist pinkness flowered open to him and he panted lustfully at its sparkling, jewel-like delicacy. He felt her warm, soft inner thighs quivering against the backs of his hot trembling hands, and heard her breath hitch deep down in her throat, followed by a moan that could mean only that he had accidently touched her erected clitoris.
Maggie was swept with emotions she thought had long since been dead. When Eric had stopped coming to see her, just to take her out every now and then to dinner or a play, she was convinced that he didn't care about her one way or the other anymore. True, she had been busy with her work with the addicts of Buffalo, and she knew that Eric was working on a case of one sort or another. There were probably other women in his life as well. That was a foregone conclusion. There were other men in her own life. But none of them meant as much to her as Eric did. She was determined that she would prove that to him. He had told her when they'd first met over a year ago that the woman hadn't been made who could hold him down. Well, she thought as she felt her reason being flushed from her body, we'll just have to see about that!
She moaned, caught up in the wave of rapidly mounting desire washing through her. Tiny electric-like shocks of intensive arousal began to ripple along the satiny tanned flesh of her thighs, and again she squirmed her buttocks down into the softness of her over-stuffed couch, her moans mixed with whimpers of submissive passion as his lust-provoking fingers taunted the ever-moistening crevice of her willingly splayed open cunt.
Oh God ... why did I stay away from him for so long? It was a mistake. I should have come to him, just like I wanted him to come to me. Someone has to make the first move ... ooooo ... I love it ... I love it ... Ooooohhhh ... oooohhhh ... he's going to lick me ... I just know it ... he's going to...
Knowingly, Eric moved still lower along her body, closer to the widespread "vee" of her naked tanned loins. Maggie lowered one foot to the floor and brought the other one over the back of the couch, offering him as much of her vagina as was possible. With the tip of his thick wet tongue, he sliced hotly through the softly fringing curls enshrining her tiny erect clitoris. Then, grinning between her open pussy lips, he felt the erotic shock of his hot moist tongue on her passion bud surge through her.
"Oooooooohhhhh ... oooohhhh..."
"Ready to talk?" he teases, removing his mouth from her vagina for a moment, gazing at her eyes as she raised her head to stare down between her full, nipple-hardened breasts so she could better watch. His hazel colored eyes sparkled with a sensual teasing over the silken curls of her pubic mound. "Oooooohhhhh ... Goooooddddd..." she said unrestrainably gasping again, twitching and writhing as his hot, wet lips closed over her dark curls again at the base of her quaking, soft belly to suck and nibble teasingly while she watched wide-eyed in ever-mounting desire. She saw his face disappear once more further down into the dampened furrow between her trembling thighs which he was raising upward and pressing back relentlessly toward her full rounded breasts, while he planted sizzling kisses on the thin pink ribbon of her wet cuntal flesh, his tongue now flicking with serpent-like stabs at the palpitating opening.
Maggie gasped with a shuddering, hissing sound beneath his assault, her elbows pressed tightly against her ribs and her head tossing from side to side as she allowed the waves of lust searing through her body to take complete control. It had been so long since Eric had done this to her that she had truly forgotten how he could make her feel! His experienced lips sucked wetly, drawing the soft folds of raw flesh into the cavern of his gently nibbling mouth, while his hot thick tongue continued its maddening licking against the urgent pink smoothness of her flowered-open pussy.
Whatever small anger she had felt at his staying away from her was melting ... melting quickly in the seething heat of her wildly growing passion. She sensed the hot gushes of his breath graze her sensitively inflamed cuntal lips and she couldn't keep from moaning aloud in a gasping tempo. Again she raised her head, catching her breath as she heard him grunt lustfully, then felt the full length of his long tongue thrust wetly, hotly, up into the clasping velvety sheath of her palpitating vagina.
"Oooooohhhhh ... Gooooodddd ... yyyeeesss ... YYYEEESSS ...!!" she choked, hearing her plea, her body responding automatically, jerking with spasmodic lurches as his tongue slithered in and out of her moistly clutching pussy with a beast-like fury ... the same beast like fury she had come to expect and love in him so long ago...
Eric slavered hungrily, feeling the silky curls of her pubic hair brushing his cheeks with a lust-taunting delight. He had completely opened the front of his pants, pushing them down along with his shorts, and now he slowly stroked the heavy foreskin of his long, thickly hardened cock back and forth, while he continued to spear his hot, flicking tongue deep into her searing cuntal passage. He smoothed his big hands up over her satin-skinned, flat belly to the resilient, desire-swollen flesh of her full, warmly trembling breasts, pinching and rolling the pebble-hardened nipples between his loving fingers, cupping and squeezing the soft, yielding mounds, while his rampaging tongue performed lustfully at the widespread crevice between her trembling thighs.
Salacious wet sucking sounds seemed to fill the whole apartment, and her groans of building rapture drove his lascivious tongue faster and faster as it worked its way up and down between the now pulsing lips of her wildly palpitating cunt. Yeah ... Jesus, what a fool he had been not to have come to her sooner than this. He quickly searched through his mind to find a reason why. He couldn't find one. That was absurd. He shouldn't have waited until he was on a case to pay a visit to Maggie Season ... not when he knew all along that she could bring out from him more passion and sheer lust than any three other women he could think of. She was hotter than any woman he could think of, and if he could read her signs properly, she was just minutes away from begging for his cock. And he knew he was going to give it to her without hesitation.
He gasped himself as suddenly her small hands began toying about his head, her long fingers running caressingly through his thick, full hair while moans unceasingly emitted from her. Finally she was clutching, the moans tumbling from her petulant lips in a rhythmic chant, her beautiful head flailing from side to side ... until finally the soft little hands were trying to guide his hotly working mouth to the small nibbling hole of her cunt. He complied, pressing his wet lips to the desire-moistened vaginal opening, plunging his stiffened lingual member once more up into the raw, velvety-smooth flesh, then quickly withdrawing it to tantalize the ragged, hair-fringed edges of her flushed pussy lips.
She cried out in her lust-infused passion, wildly writhing her smoothly rounded hips and ovaled buttocks beneath his incredible oral-fucking. Again and again he thrust his slicing, cock-like tongue wetly up into her seething channel. His hot moist lips were glued to the clasping, viscous opening, bringing a continual series of guttural groans from petite naked woman whose warm full thighs were closing spasmodically around both sides of his almost submerged head.
The aroused private detective could feel the sleek, rubbery cuntal flesh slip moistly around his long extended tongue. The delicately ribbed walls of her dilated vagina opened and closed in unmistakable hungry sucking actions, attempting to draw his tongue deeper and deeper into it. Christ, it seemed that her clasping pussy throat was suddenly trying with a separate lust of its own to extract his tongue by the roots and omnivorously devour it. Her heels began to push down against the muscles of his back, pressing his big, powerful body into the hot quivering flesh trap between her widely spread legs. His nose was tight against her tiny quivering clitoris and with every inhalation he sensed the arousing, poignant aroma of her lustfully growing passion. Shit! Its delicate piquancy was driving his throbbing cock into an impossible hardness, a swollen, blood-filled erection that had begun to ache with the agony of an exposed nerve in a tooth. He had to do something with it soon or his sperm-bloated balls were going to blow apart!
Maggie's petite naked body was completely swept up in the breathtaking, sensual rapture overwhelming her. Her brain whirled in a wild vortex of intense desire, realizing that she had lost all control ... willingly ... to the lascivious oral fucking her handsome, long-time friend was giving her. Hardly anything made sense to her ... nothing mattered but the maddeningly delicious sensations his hot tongue and sucking mouth were causing to saturate her entire passion-inflamed body. Every muscle of her erotically fired being was tense as she strained her soft, tanned hips and tautly rounded buttocks upward in unhidden wantonness toward the earth-shattering ecstasy he was building there between her legs.
Her long, drawn-back legs opened and closed around the lustfully working mouth, controlling the ravenous, pleasureful tongue that was licking and spiraling into her passion-seared cunt channel. The cords of her neck stood out in strained relief as she clawed and pulled at his head, frantically splaying her limbs out wider and wider to the sides, allowing him deeper access into her seething hole.
She wanted to be his again ... wanted him to know that he could do with her as he pleased ... that she knew he would bring to her an orgasm she would never forget.
"Oh God!" she whimpered almost pitifully, her thought-train severed as he slipped his big hands beneath her quivering, firm buttocks and pulled them up to him with passionate desire. They spasmed and trembled of their own volition beneath the plunging hot tongue, sending wild erotic charges of unprecedented sensation screaming through her insanely aroused body. And then, suddenly, she felt his searing tongue flick from her wildly tingling vagina downward between the ovaled spheres of her fully rounded ass-cheeks toward the tiny raised ring of her puckered anus. Responsively, she stiffened, moaning in lustful delight at the wet delicious contact of his burning tongue with its little sensitive anal lips. She closed her eyes in steeped passion as the licentious fermentations the act added to her already overwhelmingly excited young flesh. Oh God ... it was too much ... too much, she sensually reasoned, rolling her naked rounded hips and trying to screw her excited rectum back onto his stiffly probing tongue. She had to do something for him ... something that would show him how wonderful she thought he was ... how much she loved him for the delicious ecstasy he was bringing
"Turn around! Oh God, turn around, lover. Quick, so I can have your cock! I want to suck it, lover! Please ... hurry!" she pleased salaciously.
Her words were like a charge of electricity bolting through him. He knew she would suck his cock like no other woman could. Without hesitation, the big man knelt up and tore the clothes from his muscular frame, while she lay on the couch with half-closed eyes in her petite nakedness, tossing her head as little mewls and whimpers erupted from her slender tanned throat in sensual anticipation. His cock jerked and throbbed insanely as he eagerly turned around on all fours above her, then buried his face in her dampened, hair-fringed loins once more. As his hot, wet tongue lashed out to lave through the moist, velvety flesh between her blood-swollen cunt lips, Eric felt her small hand and fingers curling around the throbbing hardness of his long thick cock that he knew was hanging down like a stallion's between his heavy thighs, and he grunted out his guttural delight, thrusting his stiffened tongue deeply into her clasping cunt channel once more.
The lizard-like reinvasion only served to personify what Maggie already knew; he was the most fulfilling lover she had ever known and she wanted to prove it to him ... had to! But even as the fantastic sensations of erotic rapture immediately began to churn madly again within her nakedly positioned body, the actual sight and feel of his huge, hard cock in her tiny hand telegraphed momentary spasms of unwanted fright in her brain. Dear God, she had forgotten how large it was. Her slender fingers could barely encircle it, and his heavy, sperm-bloated balls encased in their loose, hairy sac hanging down above her face were a bull-like phenomenon in themselves. Yet the very hugeness of their unique and virile masculinity fired a loving warmth inside her and she raised her head excitedly. With mouth ovaled wide, she let her moistened, lush lips slip warmly and wetly over the sheathed cockhead, while she held to its heavy base with both thumbs and forefingers to pull back its thick foreskin, then tried anxiously to take more than she was capable of into her salivating mouth.
In her unbridled desire, she sucked it so deeply into the hot wet cavity that it nearly choked her, but she twisted her head enough to catch her breath, then began to feverishly run her tongue up and down the soft, sensitive underside, feeling it throb and pulse to her oral touch and ardently tasting the heady spice of its seeping seminal fluid. While her tiny tongue worked in slavish passion, she cupped and deliciously caressed his heavy, cum-inflated balls with deep-felt affection, tiny explosions of scintillating lust bursting in her sensually blinded brain, and he began to move up and down ... gently in and out of her mouth with his thick, hardened cock in a licentious rhythm to his own lashing, probing tongue thrusting and swirling deeply in her wet, searing cunt.
Oh God ... she would have to have him do this to her every day from now on. There would never be another man like Eric. She would go to his home and have him lick and suck her cunt while she took his penis into her mouth and milked him dry with her tongue ... She knew that there wasn't another cock like his in Buffalo ... in the whole world! She would go to his home and just kneel down between his legs and gently take it out for him, then suck it, even when he didn't do anything to her! She would ... she would ... and nothing would stop her. It was magnificent ... his handsome, throbbing, delicious cock ... and she would suck it right down into her throat for him, even as big as it was!
These thoughts flashed through Maggie's lust-crazed mind intermittently as she sucked with fury and passion at his hardened rod of white-hot flesh, its smooth rubbery tip brushing at her palate, while Eric, with loud wet sucking sounds, worked hungrily at her impassioned, naked loins, his big hands beneath and clutching the resiliently tanned rounded cheeks of her writhing ass, his hot tongue burrowing deeper and deeper into her moist, wantonly accepting pussy.
Then another sensation of sheer lust registered in her desire-incited brain! She felt his long thick finger suddenly working at the tiny puckered mouth of her exposed anus! Her breath quickened and she momentarily forgot all else. She sensed the finger stiffening ... abruptly, pushing into the snugly resisting mouth with a quick, unpainful challenge, and the long invader slid right up the warm, spongy confines of her rectal passage like another cock, all the way to the palm of his big, cupping hand against the rounded, yielding spheres of her widespread buttocks.
"Aaaaaaggggghhhhh..." she grunted around his expanded penis in her sucking mouth, but in ecstasy and delightful sweet pain as her lips and tongue slowed momentarily in their lust-bringing swirling motion, his sudden intrusion into her tightly clenched ass-hole causing an immediate twinge of orgasm to start building in her soft belly and fervid loins. She felt his mouth fixed against the round, elasticized vaginal hole of her sensually inflamed cunt, his deeply thrusting tongue swirling and lashing the moistened, sensitive-fleshed walls in lust-spiraling cadence to his long, thick finger fucking delightfully into her wantonly presented ass-hole. Frantically, she began to nurse and suck the hot, hard thickness of his huge cock with all her inherent, feminine ability, her cheeks hollowing and swelling almost painfully, while her soft, tanned belly rose and fell hungrily as she pulled at him.
God, how she wanted him to cum when she did! He had to, she thought passionately ... desperately ... him squirting his hot, thick cum into her mouth while the same maddening sensations burst inside her! But ... but he'd have to hurry, she reasoned, her lips clasped tightly around the thick, pulsing, blood-filled head of his long, hard cock, and at that very moment, deep in her seething belly and passion-inflamed young loins, the first violent spasms of ecstasy were beginning. She squeezed with lust-controlled affection as his swinging, sperm-bloated balls above her face, then raked her nails with inbred knowledge beneath them, as simultaneously, she strained to her heatedly rising climax!
Eric Simpson was well aware that the naked, luscious woman writhing and straining beneath him was going to cum! Every muscle and cord, each squirming movement and response of her perspiring, voluptuously impassioned body telegraphed the event to his brain. Shit ... Jesus fucking Christ ... he wasn't going to stay away from her again. The way she was sucking his throbbing hard cock while he tongued and bit at the hot, quivering flesh of her salaciously grinding cunt was enough to make him blow his mind! Fuck ... she was going to cum all right ... and again and again and again, so that she would never forget ... !
Maggie half-screamed. She couldn't do more. Her breath caught somewhere between her lungs and throat. The overwhelming explosion inside her caused her entire naked body to shudder enrapturously. Her mind played no part. She was mentally swept up in its thundering cataclysm ... and then a second time ... and a third! Dear God! She was cumming again ... and she did! His magnificent, wild tongue played skillfully around the outer perimeter of her tiny, palpitating clitoris, taunting her to climax after climax, and she never wanted him to stop!
Gaspingly, she slipped her mouth off his penis and cried: "Oh damn, lover ... lover! Keep doing it! I'm cumming and cumming! Oh God ... I love you, darling! Please ... squirt your hot cum in my mouth so I can taste and swallow it! Oooooohhhhh ... don't stop! Lick my cunt while I suck you off ... !"
Eric felt her hot mouth eagerly absorbing his thick hardness once more. Her demanding plea was too much for him. He felt the sperm building so hotly down in his balls rumble and ferment at the peaking lewdness of her words. Christ, he wished it could go on and on ... but he knew he would have to get down to business soon...
Maggie had no conception of space, time or individuals. Her series of climaxes had completely destroyed relativity ... and she was cumming again! Oooooohhhhh ... dear God! Her soft, sensuous body felt as if it had been impregnated with a million needles! Her wet, seething cunt drifted on a cloud of its own! She could cum a million times ... but then, she felt the big man's loins jerk above her face, the massive rubbery head of his long, heavy cock swelling in her voraciously sucking mouth ... and suddenly it came!
She wasn't quite ready when with a spontaneous burst it shot down into the back of her throat in wild, powerful spurts of teeming, creamy liquid, gush after gush of the hot, sweet, male-tasting sperm, joined by the convulsive tremors of her own nakedly lurching hips and loins as her umpteenth climax erupted in a wild explosion of blinding, lustful bliss. Again and again, he spewed his virile jets of thick, boiling cum deep into her throat, and she groaned while she continued swallowing and sucking almost fiendishly, her Adam's apple bobbing, frothy remnants bubbling out around her tightly locked lips, as she swallowed and swallowed the flood of nectarous semen squirting into the warm, receptive shelter of her mouth.
It was a long time before they could say anything to each other. Maggie's apartment was filled with the sound of their heavy breathing, added to by her occasional mewls of pleasureful after-orgasmic spasms. Finally, though, Eric remembered the underlying reason why he had wanted to see Maggie.
"Ah ... HEMMMM..." he said, pulling himself away from her cum-soaked loins. "Now that I've ... uh ... paid the bill of fare, so to speak, suppose you tell me what you know that could help me."
"What if I told you I didn't know a thing?"
"I wouldn't believe you. I can tell when you're pretty sure of yourself. Now come on. I wouldn't mind if it were just my time, but ... "
"Yeah ... yeah ... your client. I'll bet she wouldn't like your ways of getting information from a contact."
"I don't give a shit what she-likes, I didn't want to take the case anyway."
"But she smiled and melted that big heart of yours, right?"
Eric shrugged his shoulders, and sat upright in the couch. Still naked, Maggie reached into a small drawer and fished out a pack of cigarettes and lit two, giving one to Eric.
"There's something big coming down, all right," she said after exhaling a deep lungful of smoke, "and it's the strangest thing I've ever heard. A lot of small time dealers were caught with the goods in Canada, and they're being sent back to Buffalo for trial ... along with the heroin that was taken with them."
"I haven't read anything about that in the papers," he said thoughtfully. "I would think that something like that would make front-page news."
"It would, but the police put the wraps on it. They wanted it hushed up."
"Why?"
"Who knows. The thing is, everything is going to be shipped across the border all at once. Individually, the amount of snow doesn't amount to very much. All together, though ... it's something like three million dollars worth."
Eric whistled. He could see the implications right away. There weren't very many people who could pass up a slice of what they could get for letting the drugs fall into the wrong hands. The whole thing reeked of an inside job. Eric could see the general plan ... a couple of crooked cops in the right place at the right time, a little shooting, a fast move ... all the evidence against the small time dealers vanishes into the street and a few people are close to three million dollars richer. "How did you find out about this?" he asked her, winking slightly.
"I have my ways. I wouldn't want you to think you could get along without me."
"Hummmmm ... what do you know about a small time junkie by the name of Sid Murphy?" he asked. He furrowed his brow in thought as he saw that his question completely changed Maggie's generally teasing smile into a sick-looking whince.
"More than I would like," she said, bringing her hands around her full, still-naked breasts and shivering. "The police found what was left of his body in an abandoned warehouse in the rail-yards. He'd been worked over pretty good. In fact, the only way he could be identified was by his two thumb prints. They were the only things that hadn't been slashed to ribbons."
"Sounds like the person knew what he was doing," Eric mused, getting off the couch and starting to dress. "Any ideas?"
"Lots of ideas, Lover," she said. "The first one is that you tell your client that you don't want the case."
"I don't know i.. maybe. When is this shipment supposed to come in?"
"No one knows ... no one I know anyway. The trial is set for a week from yesterday. I would imagine that the drugs would be here then, or a little after."
"Yeah..." Eric said as though he were a million miles away. "Well ... I got some work to do. Something I know I'm not going to like."
"Eric ... be careful," she called to him as he opened her door and walked out. "I'd like a repeat performance of this afternoon real soon."
He smiled at her and headed out into the street.
CHAPTER FOUR
All through dinner at Buffalo's most expensive restaurant, Eric was trying to think of a nice way he could tell Judith what he believed. The beautiful blonde woman was full of surprises. One moment she could be sweet and demure, and the very next instant she could act like a hard-boiled bitch who wouldn't give a damn if the whole city burned down in a flash fire. He had impressed her this time with his ability to be charming ... certainly more in control than he had been when she came to his house that morning.
"I must confess," she said smiling as she sipped at the last of her after-dinner wine, "I like this Eric Simpson a lot more than the one I met this morning."
"So do I," he answered, forcing a smile. "This one won't have a hangover."
"And he's cleaner, shaven, handsome ... almost seductive."
"Almost."
"Now ... shall we get down to business," she said, abruptly changing the mood. "What have you found out?"
Eric wondered just how much he should tell her. It was obvious from Steve's report, which he had yet to turn over to the Buffalo police, that the undercover policeman wanted his activities kept a secret. Without proof, all Eric had to go on was a hunch. Steve could very well still be alive, and telling Judith the wrong thing might blow his cover.
"I don't have anything definite," he told her, fishing for her reactions.
"He's dead. The fact that his dog is still at my place is proof enough for me."
"Ahhhhh ... the dog. I wonder if I could see him. He might have something on him."
"I told you, he doesn't have a collar."
"Yeah ... well ... no harm in looking," Eric said.
Judith assented, and they rode to her apartment in silence. Eric began wondering if it were possible that he were being set up himself. He wished he had checked out this woman some. It might help to know if she were telling the truth about where she got her money from. She could be in on the drug heist, planted to get Steve off the trail. Damn, he thought to himself. He could almost feel what Steve had felt when he first met her. There was something about this woman that instilled total trust right away ... something about her alluring breasts, her constantly seductive smile, the eye-pleasing curves of her body ... Eric knew she would be hell on wheels in bed, that she would take a cock for a ride that would really blow a man's mind. Maybe Steve had gotten careless with her. Maybe he forgot that a woman could be in a drug ring just the same as a man. Eric pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as Judith pulled into her apartment parking lot. He was really getting too tired for this shit. He needed a vacation. To think that right now he could be planning a stay in New York City instead of going to look at a dog! Fucking soft heart. This was the last case he was going to take in a long time ... no matter how fucking much money was offered him. There are just some things all the money in the world can't buy.
"His name is Colonel," Judith said as she entered her apartment. "He seems to like me, as though he knows I'll help him find Steve ... his master."
"Yeah," Eric grunted, following her into her place. He pursed his lips as he looked around. Nice, he thought. Very nice. Lots of money, and she knows how to spend it. She has taste, class ... looks ... Steve really hit the jackpot. This woman would be worth leaving any wife for. He still could not put out of his mind that there was a simple answer. It would make things a whole lot easier if Steve was just going under a different cover.
"Colonel!" Judith called through the apartment. "Come here boy, Colonel!"
At the ,sound of her voice, the huge German shepherd bounded from another room, his face carrying the happy expression dogs do when they hear someone they like returning from somewhere. As soon as he saw Eric standing next to her though, he stopped and growled softly, threateningly, bearing his teeth and lowering his head.
Eric froze. He would hate to try and fight with this massive beast. He had no fear of dogs generally, but when they looked like they were going to attack ... Shit.
But Colonel didn't attack. Once he saw that this new man was not one of the people who had killed his master, and that he was with the kind woman who had taken him in, he crept forward slowly, cautiously. Eric squatted down and held out his hand as a gesture of friendship.
"I don't understand," Judith said puzzled. "I've never seen him act like that with strangers on the street when I take him for walks."
Eric didn't hear her as Colonel finally sniffed at his hand and allowed the private detective to pet him. Eric ran his hands over the smooth sleek fur of the beast, feeling with his skilled fingers to see if there were any tell-tale marks from a collar. There were none, but suddenly the dog yelped as if in pain, and Eric knew he had touched a sensitive spot.
"Oooooohhhhh ... Hey, come on, boy. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on and let me take a look at that again."
"Did you find something?" Judith asked with concern in her voice.
Eric ignored her as he felt under the dog's chin. Yes ... there was something there. The skin felt slightly bruised, and he could feel the raised bump of a scab, as though the dog had been hit ... or kicked. And kicked hard! Colonel lifted his head and allowed Eric to run his fingers over the sensitive area where Marty's foot had kicked him. It seemed to Colonel that the woman his master had been with had finally brought someone who could avenge the brutal death of his master, and he lashed out with his tongue across Eric's face to show his appreciation.
"Well ... that's more like it," Eric said as he came to a standing position.
"Did you find something?" Judith asked, moving close enough to Eric so he could see clearly her deep, full-fleshed cleavage. The faint scent of her light perfume wafted against his nostrils, and for a long moment, he found that he was staring at her luscious breast mound, wondering what it would be like to knead and massage the dough-like flesh in his hands. He could feel his penis ballooning in his pants, and the slight uncomfortableness brought him back to the situation at hand.
"You say Steve never mistreated this dog?"
"When I met Steve, Colonel looked like he was Steve's only friend."
"Yeah, well, someone mistreated Colonel. Someone gave him a boot right under the chin. My guess is that Colonel was knocked out. I'll bet he's got a couple of chipped teeth."
"Who would do that?"
"Someone who wanted Steve dead ... very dead." Eric began telling her as much as he dared about Sid and Steve, about how Sid's body was found in an abandoned warehouse, about how Steve was on the trail of a crime ring, keeping back the essential details, just in case she was part of what had happened to Steve. All the while, Judith remained silent, almost stoic, though Eric could see a tear forming in one eye. It finally rolled down her cheek, though her face remained expressionless. It was too much for Eric. He knew then and there that he could trust her, and he told her everything then, including the fact that Steve was an undercover police agent.
"No wonder he was so mysterious," she said without any emotion in her voice. The control she had impressed Eric. Damn, he thought, Steve had found a woman that some men search their lives for, only to be killed as soon as he had her. Yes, Steve had been killed. From what Judith had said, Steve would take his dog with him if he were going under another cover.
Judith was looking at Colonel ... or rather through him. She stared blankly down at the smiling animal, the only tear she had shed still resting lightly on her cheek. The stillness of the room was unnerving. Eric had been a cop for a while a long time ago, and several times, he had had to tell wives that their husbands had been killed in the line of duty. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done, the feelings he got turning his stomach into knots. How does someone tell a person that a loved one is dead? There is no easy way, and Eric's soft touch for people made it all the harder for him. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it though. This woman had known Steve for less than an evening. How does a person fall in love so quickly?
"Judith ... I wish I could say that I thought he was still alive," he said, bringing out his handkerchief to wipe away the tear. "I wish I had some proof one way or the other."
"His dog is all the proof I need," she said softly. "I never thought I could feel about a man the way I felt about him."
"Be reasonable," he said. "You only knew him for a couple of hours. For all you know, he could have been a real son of a bitch. Maybe he had a lot of other women."
"No ... no, a woman can tell. Sometimes a man can tell too. Two people just hit it off ... the chemistry works and both people know it ... call it what you want."
Eric didn't know what he should do now. The thought of going to the police didn't appeal to him. Steve had been set-up, and that meant that someone in the police department had known what he was up to. He couldn't really trust the police in that case.
Then he had an idea. If he couldn't go to the police, he could go to the newspapers. With a good enough story, he could blow this case wide open by making it so public that no one would dare make a move against the shipment that was coming in from Canada. It was obviously being kept quiet so people wouldn't start asking questions. Steve had asked too many already, but he was working alone. It would be hard for whoever was behind this to take on a whole fucking city police department.
"Listen ... I'm going to leave," he said quietly. "I've done what you wanted, and I'm going to do a little more. I'll ... I'll send you my bill." God ... he hated taking money from her, especially after what he'd told her. "Tell you what I'll do ... I'll forget about that bonus you promised. I didn't really do..."
"Aren't you going to try and find who did this to him?" she asked, breathing deeply to control herself. "I'll hire you for that. You find the people who killed Steve and I'll pay double your fee."
Eric's mouth nearly dropped to the floor. For a moment he thought of just jumping in the air and kicking his heels for joy. That was a lot of money she was offering him. Then he remembered Maggie's description of what Sid's body had looked like, and all he could picture was himself in the same situation.
"Judith ... these aren't children we're talking about. These are desperate men out for a lot of money. They aren't going to let anything stand in their way. They've already killed at least two people. I don't want to be a third."
"I'll triple your fee." It was spoken automatically.
Eric could feel his will dissolving with her words. It wasn't so much what she said, though. It was the way she said it. Her determination was something Eric didn't see in very many people. And her loyalty ... Jesus. She would probably put her life on the line for someone she really cared about. The thing was, she was asking Eric to put his life on the line. Some things aren't worth any amount of money.
His hazel eyes met her azure blue. He could see the pleading in her eyes, the desperation ... But he could see something else as well. She didn't have to speak it with words. Her whole facial expression was like a fucking book. She was telling him that he wouldn't be alone ... that she would be with him, and that he could count on her to go through hell with him if necessary. It was something Steve should have done, Eric could see now. He must have felt the same way, but he couldn't find it in his heart to tell her where he was going the night he disappeared. If he had, she would have been able to avenge his death. Eric remembered that everything about Steve's house had pointed to him being a loner. He and Colonel were a team ... and the rest of the world be damned. For the brief moment he'd been with Judith, he'd almost felt the urge to reach out to her, but he held back the small amount that now made all the difference in the world. Judith was offering the same promise of loyalty to Eric that she had offered to Steve.
He could see the love in her eyes, the compassion, the warm understanding that came from within her being. God only knew how she'd come by it. A woman with money, looks ... youth ... She could have turned out a whole lot different.
As they faced each other for that moment, Eric's eyes drank in her budding beauty. She wore her tight fitting dress like a second skin. The low cut top revealed much of her pouting, up-turned breast-mounds. The garment followed her tiny, nipped-in waist as it swelled out into curving, lusciously full hips. Her flat belly pulled in slightly, forming a little hollow.
A sigh escaped his lips as he took half a step toward her, his mouth coming down slowly to claim her rosy pouting lips. He crushed her delicately feminine body close into the circle he made with his arms, his lips seeking hers and finding them, soft, pliant and ready.
Eric kissed her hard then, his throat making little animal sounds as her mouth parted and her tongue darted hungrily into his mouth, the honeyed taste of her driving through him to produce an involuntary jerking of his hardening penis in his pants. He smoothed his hands over the dress covered softness of her smooth back and allowed them to drift down to fondle and massage the swelling mounds of her buttocks.
Then the handsome private detective pulled her tight against his loins, the lithe muscles of her buttocks working in his hands as she undulated gently up against him. For long moments, he savored the erotic probing of her tongue in his mouth, and the smooth silkiness of her grinding buttocks, before he felt her pull gently away from him. With a fluid motion, she reached for the side zipper of her dress and pulled it open, allowing her one-piece to flow like water from her body and rest in a cloth puddle at her feet. He gasped as he saw that she wore neither a bra or panties.
She re-entered the circle of his arms, allowing him to draw the golden triangle of her pelvis to him. His tongue snaked out to pressure deep into the warm wet cavern of her mouth. He heard her moan of desire and felt her hips flexing as she pressured herself in tight to him. Her body softly shuddered when his tongue made electrifying contact with hers deep in her mouth.
Judith Anderson stood naked, looking at the overhead light of her apartment while Eric's tongue stabbed keenly erotic sensations coursing through her ... She had felt like this only once before in her life ... the night she had met Steve. Could it be that she had once again found what she had been looking for that fateful night? God ... she hoped so ... She could love this man the way she had loved Steve ... if he had only given her a chance. She brought her hands up to push several strands of loose blonde hair behind her ears.
Gently, then, she backed away from Eric. "Please ... let's get your clothes off, too..."
He opened up his mouth to say. something, but there were no words. He knew she was not buying him with her body. She was not trying to seduce him into taking the case. If it were that, he would have told her to go to hell! No, she wanted him the way she had wanted Steve. Eric knew he would be a fool if he didn't take her. He smiled at her and she turned around and pressed her back against his chest. He slipped his arms under hers, from behind, and cupped her breasts in his hands. Nuzzling into her neck through the cloud of golden curls, his hands smoothed down across the flat plane of her belly, caressingly, to play over her abdomen, one sliding down to the silken triangle where he used the tip of his middle finger to titillate the short length of her fully hardened clitoris. Her eyes closed and her breath came through half-parted lips. The sparks of sexual excitement in her were being fanned into locking flames of desire.
"I want you, Eric," she moaned softly. "I want you more than anything I can think of. . . "
She turned in the circle of his arms, raw passion flushing her face, her eyes glazing as he held her close. Eric couldn't understand the fate that had brought her to him ... the twisted turn of events that had brought he and Judith together. He knew what Steve had felt for her, because he was feeling it now himself as her hips moved up against him, the warmth of her transmitted clearly through the cloth of his pants. She tilted her head up to be kissed ... and her hips, undulatingly urgent, told him to hurry.
Eric accepted the invitation of her lips. Their mouths met, welded and tongues thrust and parried, probing, tasting and ravaging, as a riotous welter of sensations slashed and seared their anticipating genitals.
His hands went exploring, moving down her back to the rounded moons of her buttocks to feel them squirm in his palms again ... and he noted that she was as passionate a woman as he had ever found.
Judith's hands slid down between them to feel the pulsing hardened shaft of his cock. She delighted at the massive adequacy of it as she found the prominent bulge in his pants and outlined it with his fingers, an extra little thrill stabbing her deep inside when she made the electric contact. She moved her hand along its rock-hard length ... God! he felt so huge ... so much larger than she would have thought just from looking at his frame. She had to have him then ... had to feel his penis inside her. Twisting her head aside, she gasped, "God ... Eric ... I want you to fuck me ... quick!" Steve was not on her mind as she spoke. All she could think about now was that she had found a man who could love her the way she wanted to be loved. Swiftly, her hands went to work. She undid the buckle of his belt, her fingers zipping down his fly, her knowing hand reaching in to find and free his eagerly throbbing cock, bringing its massive hardened presence out into the cool air to fondle and tease to complete readiness. The lovely young woman gasped as she felt the surprising size of it again, its blood-heated warmth sensually, erotically, penetrating the palm of her slender hand which could not encompass it. Her touch brought it pulsing to even greater hardness, jerking involuntarily, and with a heightened feeling of awe, she began to explore it. She used her nails to scrape gently along its rigid length, knowing that it would give him a violent erotic charge. Her reward came almost instantly. She felt its lustful, expanding throb, accompanied by his low moan of pleasure. Yes ... YES! This was right. This was another man she could love! She knew it!
While she played there, below, Eric began tearing off his clothing, ridding himself of jacket and shirt. Bare to the waist now, he felt one of her hands snake down between his legs to cup his semen-filled testicles. Again she used her nails to taunt and titillate, and he gasped aloud, the sensations sparking his massive penis to jerk involuntarily, and exclude a vicous tear of heated pre-cum.
Feeling the pulsing, blood-swollen length hot in her hand, Judith suddenly shifted both hands to the shaft of his cock. She squeezed hard and held it for a couple of beats of his pulse. Again, Eric moaned, then gripped the waistband of his pants and shorts to pull them over his hips and expose his naked loins to her completely. Then, using both hands, she began to twist the loose folds of skin along its hardened length, her hands rotating in opposite directions, as though she were wringing out a freshly laundered garment.
The exquisitely erotic sensations stabbed through his lust-engorged cock like a thousand prickling needles of fire, bringing yet another groan and a short gasp to his lips, God! He had to get her cock into her fast! He stepped back, away from her, leaning over to rid himself of his shoes, so he could get his pants off. The damned clothes were getting in the way.
Quickly, the handsome private detective shed his remaining clothes, tossing them carelessly aside in his rush, and he turned back to the eager young woman, who had been reluctant to release him even for a moment.
"God ... lover ... Judith ... that's it!" he groaned. "Stop ... before it's too late! I want to ... I want to fuck you ... fuck you ... fuck you . .
His voice trailed off as he reached down and grasped her under the arms, and she was forced, reluctantly, to let his jerking cock slide from her hungrily clasping hands. His arms went around her, his hands dropping down to the supple smoothness of her buttocks to feel the silky, lithe flesh under his salacious hands. His fingers kneaded, caressingly, the tender young firmness that was so warm and pliant. Shit! She was wonderful ... wonderful.
Then pulling her tight against him, he forced his hardened rod between her thighs, pushing it into the golden curls of pubic hair lining her pulsating cuntal passage. He thrust it back and forth there, against her naked pussy-flesh, feeling the smooth moisture of her warmly throbbing vagina flow over his lust-heated hardness.
The firmly pointed buds of her erected nipples thrust into his chest as her arms went around him. Then parting her thighs slightly, Judith dropped her hands to grasp his slim hard-muscled buttocks, pulling him in until their loins met, golden pubic hair against brown, and his cock-head nestled solidly all the way up between her legs in the moist warmth of her pussy. The huge bulbous head of his shaft was taunting the tightly puckered lips of her anus.
Eric rasped through his passion-dry throat as he sawed the massive shaft back and forth in the tender flesh of her slickly moistened cuntal mouth. "You want me to fuck you, don't you?" he asked, knowing all along what her answer would be.
But he was wrong! The tip of his penis touching the lips of her ass-hole had given her an idea. She had been wondering how she could best show this man what she felt for him. She understood that he was putting his life on the line for her, and she wanted to make this fuck better than he would have imagined.
"Yes ... I want you to fuck me," she told him. "I want you to fuck me in the ass!"
She leaned back away from him and lowered herself to the floor, a teasing smile on her lips as she spread her thighs wide, enticing him to sodomize her. Her hands flitted narcissistically over her breasts, fondling them and cupping them in obvious anticipation and invitation. Then she slid them down over her flat belly, down the outside of her thighs and back up the inner softness to her sparsely hair-lined pussy which she rubbed while she waited for him to join her on the floor.
Eric stared at her, at first not believing what he had heard. Could she actually be asking him to fuck his cock in her tight nether passage? Yes ... YES! It would all make sense. It would be the perfect way of her showing-him that he had read her motives correctly. She was willing to experience the pain his massiveness in her anus would cause for the pleasures she knew he would bring her. It was amazing. Even Maggie, in her most passionate moments, had never made a request like that.
For a moment, he wanted only to look at her. He felt as though he should be slightly embarrassed to be 'gazing so openly at this woman's sexual treasures. But there was only the feeling of incredible warmth and desire that burned painfully now in his cock, a gnawing passion for her ... a hunger like he'd never felt before!
Judith could sense that he understood ... and liked what he saw. She responded with a wider spread of her thighs, and then she turned over onto her belly, presenting him with an unobstructed view of her trembling buttocks. A closer look told him what he wanted to know ... she was excited all right, "turned on" by just the sensual pleasure of being naked like this before him. There was a thin line of tell-tale moisture along the rim of her slightly parted vaginal flanges visible under her shapely ass-cheeks, a narrow trial of warm moistness as she exposed herself, unashamed, to him.
Eric felt like an inexperienced adolescent. The madly excited private investigator tried to restrain himself, though he would have liked nothing better than to drop down and ram his penis into her ass right then and there. There was no doubt that Judith was more ready for him than any other woman had ever been, Judith turned her head and looked up at him coyly, measuring his response as she moistened her pink lips with the wet tip of her pointed tongue, rolling it slowly, tantalizingly from side to side.
Eric stood there watching for a moment, his long thick cock jutting out from his hairy loins at an acute angle. Judith's eyes zeroed in on it, a smile of wild anticipation creasing her face. God, she wanted it.... How badly she needed it right then.
Eric lowered himself down to the floor behind her then. Pulling her hips up gently, doubling her. Then he rested his palms lightly on the curved arcs of her buttery smooth buttocks. He caressed the pear-shaped cheeks, and his eyes fell to the space where just a tuft or two of her golden pubic fleece was visible below a furrow of delicate moist pinkness. He kneaded the soft mounds, digging his fingers into the soft flesh, his eyes fastened as if mesmerized on the smooth golden skin. He knew that fucking her like this, in the ass, was going to be something he would never forget for as long as he lived.
He flattened his palms against the smooth satiny surface, bending his fingers so that the tips grabbed at the tender flesh, and he eagerly drew them apart, revealing to his inflamed gaze the dark narrow split of her willingly offered backside. His eyes were riveted on her tight brown anal hole nestled between the warm fleshy cheeks and he watched as the crinkled skin cringed from the unusual exposure to the open air.
His lustful gaze seemed to burn right through Judith, and she closed her eyes as she tried to imagine what the thickness of his cock would feel like back there. She had only been fucked in the ass once before, and she remembered that it had hurt. He seemed to sense that she would instinctively try to get away, and he made up her mind for her by holding her in a vise-like grip. Slowly, Eric lowered his head, and with a deliberate movement, swiped his tongue along the full length of her widespread split.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh ... oooooohhhhhh..." Judith cried, a blush of passion creeping over her from Eric's incredible licking. The private detective grinned to himself as he pulled her straining mounds even further apart, causing a spasm of passion to ripple convulsively through Judith's prostrate body. Eric was now in a ferment of lust. He was like a man possessed, determined to savor every last second of this woman. With a groan he reached down and grasped his thick cock. The head was now purplish and distended and hard, and the burning ache in his balls increased with every breath he took.
Grasping his engorged cock in one hand, his fingers circling the thick palpitating base, he guided it towards the enticing crevice of her ass, laying it along the tight crack, stretching it even further.
Judith gasped as she felt the hot hardness of his cock against her tender flesh, and a new wave of lust swept through her. The bulging penis was like a red-hot poker searing her soft flesh and incredibly it seemed to grow and expand as it lay there, cradled in warm nest. Eric shifted slightly and ran his penis up and down the tight dark split, lubricating it from the drop of pre-cum which had seeped from the glans tip.
With a sigh of frustration, Judith felt the leaden weight remove from her widespread buttocks. God. What was he doing? Why wasn't he fucking her back there? She wanted him to. She had begged him to. She had been bracing herself for what she knew would be a rush of pain ,but it wasn't happening. Could she have been wrong about him? Could it be that he didn't like fucking women in the ass? That would be something she had never heard of. Generally, men liked ass-fucking, and she had been so sure. How could she have been wrong ... ?
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH ... OOOOOOHHHHHH..." Her scream rang out like a siren as she felt an unbelievable pain in her rectum ... a searing, shooting stab which sent her hurtling into realms of agony completely unknown to her. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to move. She understood what was happening then. He was testing her anal passage, making sure that it would accommodate the massiveness of his throbbing penis.
"Jesus ... your ass is tight as hell," he hissed, gritting his teeth. His words sent a shudder of fear passing through Judith. Could it actually be possible that he couldn't get into her ass? After she had become so aroused...
Eric was astonished at how tight her anus was and he could barely rotate his finger inside the hotly clinging passage. Her scream made him wonder if she really knew what was happening to her. Her tight dry passage finally yielded slightly and he scoured his finger around inside her, determined that he would make it possible for her nether chamber to accept his cock. He was glad that he had first tried her ass with his finger. The thought of stretching her ass with his penis sent a wave of near-nausea shuddering through him. Something like that would have hurt like hell! His cock had grown to enormous proportions, and as he steered the burgeoning head glinting a faint purple, towards the minuscule opening, he wondered how he would be able to insert it inside the tiny aperture. Eagerly he began to grind against the tiny puckered mouth, his rock-hard cock like a jack-hammer pounding at the tender membrane.
Judith began to grit her teeth. It had been a long time since she had felt anything so large against the tense hole of her ass, and she began to wonder if she would be able to stand the initial rush of pain she knew to be coming. She hoped that she would. She wanted to prove to this wonderful man that she could be the type of woman he would want ... and want forever!
"Aaaahhh ... aaaahhhh...!" she couldn't resist sobbing aloud, the knowledge that,she was about to be hurt almost making her wish that she could change her mind. She was all alone now, and not even Eric could help her through the pain she was submitting herself to willingly. He was going to put his penis in her rectum, and she wanted to do nothing to stop him, even though she just knew it would split her in two. She didn't know how she would be able to take it inside her, but she would find a way!
She held her breath as she felt the constant pressure probing against her little back passage ... and then...
"AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH ... OOOOO..."
A blinding wave of pain engulfed her and her breath caught in her throat. For a brief moment she wondered if she would ever breathe properly again. Her spinal column felt on fire and her throat was dry and arid. Her mouth was open and she thought that she was screaming. But no more sound came out. She willed her rectal muscles to relax, and to her relief, she could feel the pain diminishing, being replaced by the incredible feeling of being filled to capacity by Eric's massive cock. The handsome private detective's fingers held her still and she was left with the mounting pleasure that came from knowing that she had survived the very worst of what was happening to her. There would be nothing now but the pleasure of his throbbing shaft in the tight depths of her nether passage.
Eric had succeeded in imbedding just the head of his hardened rod into Judith's slightly yielding hole, and he marveled again at how tight and clasping it was. It was like a rubber band locked painfully around the column of his cock just below the lust-inflated head, and he had to gasp for breath for a moment, just before trying to ram forward again.
"Ooooooohhhhhhhhh..." Judith moaned again, this time reflecting her mounting passion and desire as Eric lunged forward, sinking another inch of his cock into her tiny anus.
"Uuuuuuggggggnnnnnn..." she moaned as he ground with deliberation again. Grasping her firmly by the hips, Eric surged once more, and with superhuman strength, managed to sink every last inch of his penis in the bent over woman's now completely cock-filled rectum.
"Oooohhh ... aaahhh ... I ... I love it ... I love it ... " Judith managed to say, as much for her own benefit as for his. She reasoned that if she could hear herself say those words, the pleasure she knew to be coming would arrive all the sooner. Her voice was hardly more than a croak, but she could feel her natural passions taking over. Blissfully, she could feel the first throes of her gathering orgasm, and the sensations blotted all else from her mind. She wanted nothing more now but to give herself to him completely, to offer her body up to him for him to use as he wished. It was her way of telling him that she trusted him without hesitation.
Straining, Eric pulled back and began the long, slow journey out of her shored-up back passage. He was mesmerized by the fact of what he was doing ... actually fucking this wonderful woman in the ass ... at her own request, no less, and by her moans he knew that she had come to enjoy what he was doing to her. He experienced a feeling of power, knowing that she was delivering herself to his control, that he could bend her entirely to his will, and this knowledge engendered him with a sense of virility which he hadn't known he possessed. He withdrew his long, rangy cock until just the hard mushrooming head was still encased in the tightly circling rectum, and then rammed forward again, scraping her inner membrane and making her squeal with cries of mixed pain and delight as he rushed headlong on his passionate journey.
"Oh God! Eric ... I ... I ... fuck me hard ... hard...!" she cried, feeling her rectal muscles relax even more. She could feel him quicken his pace, and it seemed as though his cock tore right up through her stomach walls, ending up somewhere deep in her bowels. It was heaven ... sheer, total, raw heaven, and she was overcome by a state of semi-consciousness, the only thoughts running through her mind was that she was going to cum soon, and her cumming was being brought about by this man's cock plunging so deeply into her anus. She allowed her mind to drift into a kind of limbo. There was no more pain, only happiness and ecstasy that she had once again found the answer to all her prayers in a lover.
Eric's breath was coming in sharp, panting gasps, and his entire body was covered in perspiration as he labored behind the bent-over woman's blissfully fucking-back body. He fucked into her with deeper and harder strokes. He sensed that she was about to cum, and that thought excited him. He could feel the gathering storm of semen in his balls beginning to make their surging rush along the tube of his deeply thrusting cock, and he pumped into her harder and faster. His own head was spinning from the force of his impending eruption.
Jets of lava-like sperm, buoyant in their release, gushed from the depths of his freely-swinging testicles and shot into Judith's now wide-stretched little rectum, washing against the rubbery straining walls. But she didn't care. She hardly even felt it. She was lost in the blazing explosion of her own orgasm, knowing only that her searing passion-fluids were waving from her cuntal lips and pooling on the floor beneath her. She was aware of her breath leaving her body completely as Eric fucked into her back there in a last wild thrust, emptying his balls of the last of their burning semen deep up into her lustfully stretched rectum. After that she was aware of nothing else, not even Eric pulling out of her and falling next to her on the floor.
CHAPTER FIVE
If there was one thing Eric didn't like, it was working alone. He could see what had happened to Steve because the police agent had not told anyone what he was doing, and the handsome detective decided that he would make at least one person aware of what he would be doing. He'd decided that he could not go to the newspapers with his story. That would blow what secrecy he felt he needed. But he could go to Maggie. In addition to having someone he trusted know of his whereabouts, Eric was pretty certain that she might be able to give him a little more information ... something he hadn't thought to ask her about before ... a name ... anything.
The morning after his incredible night with Judith, he called his contact from his office. Even though it was fairly late in the morning, Maggie answered her phone with sleepiness in her voice.
"Mmmmmmm ... hello?"
"Morning, beautiful," Eric said in a chipper voice. "Sounds like you had a heavy night last night."
"Who is ... Oooooohhh ... Eric. What the hell are you calling me at this hour for?"
"Lover, it's after ten. Some of us have to get some work done."
"Don't talk to me about work," she said, a slight annoyance in her voice. "I was up until four this morning getting a report together. I have to give a little talk on Buffalo's drug program in Cleveland. I'm flying out of Buffalo in something like six hours."
"Damn," Eric swore. "I've just gotten involved in a new case, and I could really use the people you know."
"Sorry Lover," she said in a tone that made Eric visualize her as smiling. "This is going to be something of a vacation for me. Maybe I can help you before I go, but I have a million things to do. I never thought I'd sleep so late. I'm already behind in . .
"Yeah ... yeah ... listen. What else can you tell me about that shipment that's coming in from Canada? Something like names and places of entry ... things like that."
"Can't tell you anything," she said, inhaling deeply. Eric imagined she was lighting her first morning cigarette. "If there is something coming down with it, it's strictly an independent job."
"Well ... have you heard anything at all ... a name you've never heard before, maybe a lot of activity where there shouldn't be any..."
"Now that I think about it, there was a name that I started hearing a lot ... Frederico Barnez. I never gave it much thought, but other than that, I haven't heard anything different than what I was used to. I didn't even mention him in my report."
"How did you hear his name?" Eric asked, jotting down the name. So far, it was the only lead he had. He'd have to do some checking on his own ... quietly, of course. He didn't want to end up like Sid and Steve.
"I overheard a couple of local dealers talking about how things were going to be a piece of cake now that Frederico Barnez was at the Bridge. I assume they were talking about one of the bridges to Canada, but as soon as they saw me there, they clamed right up. I shrugged it off. That was something like a week ago. I didn't hear any more so I ... "
"Thanks Maggie," Eric cut her off. I'm going to check this guy out. You have a nice time in Cleveland. See you when you get back."
He heard her kissing at him over the phone, and then the click. Eric didn't like being abrupt, but as soon as he heard the name, he could feel his stomach tying in knots. It was the only thing he had to go on, and while it wasn't much, something in the back of his mind told him that it was what he was looking for. As a private detective, he'd learned long ago that he should go with his feelings when he had nothing else. If this was a dead end, then he would be wasting his time. There just wasn't anything else, though, and if he was going to be wasting his time, he might as well do it looking around instead of sitting on his ass trying to put a puzzle together when he had too few pieces.
The next few hours were spent doing things Eric really didn't like to do. He hit the streets and started asking questions. The reason he didn't like it was because it was a lot of work and wouldn't produce anything until he could put all the bits of information together. He did find out one thing though. He was on the right track. Every time he mentioned the name that Maggie had given him, people would shudder a little and pretend that they didn't know what he was talking about. That was a dead give-away in itself. The few people who said they didn't know who he was talking about were lying so obviously that Eric didn't even have to push it. After a couple of hours he decided that he would check on this Barnez man a little more. He certainly isn't covering his tracks all that well, Eric thought. He must feel that he's in a position where no one can hurt him.
From several people he knew at United States Customs, he learned that there was a F. Barnez working as a minor official at the busiest bridge between Canada and the United States. He also learned that he was a rather wealthy man, and secretive enough so that no one really knew much else about him. He'd come out of no where with decent credentials, and the job was open, so he was hired without much checking. Eric knew that, after only three hours of leg work, he had found his man. Looking up the address of F. Barnez in the phone book, he found that the strange man lived in Buffalo's most fashionable area. Taking a taxi to the address, he tipped fairly heavily and stood in front of the house as the cab drove away.
The house looked as though it had been built near the turn of the century. Tall and stately, it also had a sinister forbidding look about it. The skies of Buffalo, which had been clear all day up to this point, were clouding up, as though Nature were telling the people of the city that Indian Summer was about to come to an end. With the darkening sky as a background, Eric thought that the house would have been a perfect place for some mad scientist to be working on some sinister experiment. All that was necessary was a thunderstorm, and the gathering clouds were evidence that such a storm was brewing.
There didn't seem to be anyone around, at least on the outside. Eric would have thought that the house would have had some people guarding the place. Perhaps Barnez didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention to his house. The thought that Frederico was not his man never occurred to Eric after he found out that the man worked at the Customs agency. Things were beginning to come together in his mind. All he needed now was something to give him something more of a lead.
There were few people on the street, and Eric could feel his heart pounding as he walked quickly through the driveway to the back of the house. The sun was just beginning to set, and in the relative darkness, the private detective was fairly certain that he would not be noticed if he just kept his eyes open.
There was a garage in the back, and after a little looking around, Eric noticed that a painted over window had been carelessly left unlocked. He opened it, looking over his shoulders to make sure that there was no one watching him from the house. There wasn't. Either Barnez was totally innocent, or he had never thought that someone would be coming around and looking for him.
The garage was neat, and appeared to be used as a storage for storing boxes. Eric lifted one of them, a little too hard for its weight. It was amazingly light, though he could tell that there was something in it. His heart was pounding a mile a minute as he pulled open the cardboard flaps. What little light was left in the rapidly darkening skies streamed in through the window and sparkled on the contents of the box. It took Eric a while to recognize the contents, but when he did, he knew that all his assumptions had been right.
The box was filled to the brim with small plastic bags ... just the right size to hold enough heroin for a regular street sale. The private detective could see what was happening now. This Barnez person was going to somehow get hold of the drug shipment coming in from Canada and bag it right in his own home. Since he was a minor official at the customs agency, he himself would never be suspected. Any investigation would start with the more important people. By the time Barnez would come under suspect, all the "snow" would be out in the streets. Without any evidence, nothing could be proven. The worst that could happen would be that Barnez would lose his job ... something that wouldn't make any difference with the money he was bound to bring in on this deal, even after he paid all the people who would have to help him pull a job this big off.
An almost imperceptible noise suddenly brought his attention away from the stack of boxes against one wall and the one he was looking at. He turned around quickly, silently cursing himself for having left his gun in his office. He hadn't really thought he would get this far so quickly. He could see right away, though, that having his gun with him would have made no difference. What was happening in the garage was enough to make his heart stop. A small section of the floor had lifted up, and a man wearing a gas mask appeared from the trap door like a monster from the depths. There was a silenced thud, and almost instantly the garage was filled with a acid-smelling, thick white smoke. Eric covered his mouth in vain, recognizing the odor as that of a sleep-gas that was fast-acting with short term effects. He would be out for only several moments, but for that time, he would be completely at the mercy of a murdering drug dealer. Anything could happen to him in the twenty minutes or so he would be unconscious.
He could feel his head spinning as he tried to run to the front door of the trap he had carelessly placed himself in. He never made it. Just the motion of his feet made the whole room seem to whirl around his head, and he sank to the floor, reaching uselessly toward the window he had used to come in. His muscles felt like lead, and he could barely keep himself in a kneeling position. He fought against closing his eyes, and lost, hitting his head on the floor with a dull bang. The last thing he remembered were several pairs of hands groping for him, locking around his wrists and ankles in a tight, blood-stoping grip as he was dragged to the opening in the floor.
* * *
Judith Anderson was just coming home from work. She noticed that the weather was changing ... that the mild, sunny skies were clouding up and the generally dry air was becoming more and more muggy. It had been a hard day at work, and the female executive was feeling the effects of a great deal of pressure. As she walked through the hall of her apartment house fumbling through her purse for the key to her apartment, she began to think of Eric and the incredible night she had spent with him less than twenty four hours ago. It would be nice to give him a call just to see what he was doing in addition to learning how he was coming along with her case. Even though in her mind Eric had replaced Steve, she still wanted vengeance and justice for the people who had hurt, not only the first man she had ever loved, but herself as well. She hoped that the whole bunch of them were sent to prison for the rest of their lives.
But, she thought, she wouldn't call Eric until after a small cocktail ... something to give her the physical strength that had been drained from her at work, the change in the weather, all the tension she had been under for the past week ... A drink was something she knew she would never be able to do without right now. Just the thought of a nice dry Martini flowing through her body made her close her eyes and smile with anticipation as she stood in front of her door, still looking with her fingers through her purse for her key.
And then her eyes opened wide and her heart stopped as she felt a huge sweaty hand covering her mouth and nose!
She instinctively tried to struggle against the unseen person behind her when she heard a loud metallic click and looked down to see a razor-sharp knife blade gently laid against her throat. A man's unshaven face was pressed against her cheek and she heard the hoarse, near-whisper of his command right up against her ear.
"You just relax, bitch, or this knife is going to go a lot deeper."
Judith couldn't relax, but she ceased her fighting. Her first thought was that she was going to be raped, and she tried to think of what she should do. The fact was, though, there was nothing she could do except try and enjoy it. Thank God she wasn't a virgin!
"Open up this door," she heard the man say. "I don't like standing out in the hall where everyone can see us."
Offering him no further resistance, she found her key and opened the door. The man pushed her in, his powerful hand still covering her mouth and nose, making breathing more and more difficult. She heard the closing of the door behind him, and then she dropped her purse as the man gripped her wrist and put her in a hammer-lock, twisting her arm at the shoulder and elbow as he brought her tightly against his hard-muscled form. She could feel the incredible strength of this man and knew, even though she hadn't seen him, that it didn't make any difference that she was alone. He felt as though he could crush any man she knew with one hand.
Hearing his new owner coming in, Colonel rushed to the front door, then stopped in his tracks. He recognized the man behind the kind woman as one of those who had killed his last master, and his first thought was to attack. But he could see that if he did anything like that, the man behind the woman might hurt her. Colonel lowered his head a little and growled, but did nothing else.
"That's a smart dog," the man behind Judith said gruffly. "A lot smarter this time than the last time I saw him."
His words cut through Judith like icy daggers! She knew then that she was being held by one of the men who had killed Steve! Her heart sank as she realized that her own life was in danger. God! She would rather be raped than killed! What could he possibly want with her? Did this mean that Eric was dead now? Were they looking for him and going to use her to help them find him?
"You and me and that dog are going for a little ride," she heard the husky voice of the man whisper in her ear. "We have a friend of yours at our place, and something tells me that he would be anxious to see you."
His hand was pressing tightly against her full luscious lips, forcing them against her even teeth. She could taste the first droplets of blood from where the edges of her teeth were cutting into the inside of her mouth. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she thought it would surely explode, and she had to fight for every breath she took. Her eyes were wide open but unfocusing ... unseeing. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the glistening sparkle of the knife that was never once removed from her throat.
"I have a car waiting outside, and if you know what's good for you, you won't try anything brave or heroic. If something happens to me, a certain Eric Simpson is going to be very unhappy ... not that he's exactly kicking his heels for joy at the moment."
Judith closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in terror. Her worst suspicions had just been confirmed. The people who had killed Steve were now holding Eric ... and herself. Even though she was a strong, brave woman, she could see the utter hopelessness of her situation. And the thing that made it worst of all was that she didn't have any idea why all this was happening. There had to be something more to this than just the death of Steve. Eric must have found out something he shouldn't have ... and been caught! Now Judith was trapped in a web of intrigue that could very well cost her her life ... and Eric's as well.
The man behind the lovely blonde removed his hand and closed his knife. "Now ... I trust you won't scream out or talk to anyone, I don't have a lot of time ... and neither does Eric." He ended his sentence with a chuckle that turned Judith's blood to ice water. She could feel her knees giving way beneath her, and she started to sink to the floor. The man gripped her under her arms with one hand, his huge fingers wrapping around her full, pliant breast and squeezing it as he held her up. "No ... that won't do," he said in an emotionless voice. "You had better be able to walk out of here ... and smile. I'd like people to think that you were happy to be with me."
Judith felt a surge of intense anger flowing through her body, and for a brief moment, her strength returned. She took a deep breath and spoke before she thought.
"You pig! What have you done with Eric? I'll see to it that you rot in jail, you fucking..."
She was silenced by the back of the man's hand slapping across her face with enough force to twist her head painfully to one side. A thin trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth, and she reeled back away from the man, falling to the floor next to Colonel.
"I told you not to try anything stupid, and I meant it," the man said calmly. "Now suppose the two of us go for a little ride. And you'd better make sure that your dog doesn't try anything either. I would like nothing better than to gut him right here and now."
Judith glowered at him and pulled herself to her feet. Walking past the man without looking at him again, she motioned for Colonel to follow her out the door and into the hall.
"That's much better," the man teased. "The three of us going for a little ride on a nice day. Just remember one thing ... Eric is waiting for you. If you ever want to see him again ... well, I'm sure that a smart girl like you will know how to act."
He came up behind her, pressing his body lightly against her as a constant reminder that he was watching her every move. Colonel came to her left side and the three of them sauntered through the hall of her apartment building. They were almost out the door when one of the other tenants in the building came walking towards them.
"Good evening, Judith," the middle-aged black-haired woman nodded. "Going for a little ride with your dog?"
Judith took a deep breath to steady her voice. Her first instinct was to just run for it right then and there, but she knew that she would be putting another person's life in danger. She had already done that to Eric. She would never forgive herself if she somehow caused the death of an innocent person.
"Uh ... yes ... I thought it would be nice to get out while the weather was still good. Winter's coming and..."
"What happened to you?" the other woman said as she peered at the now-dried blood at the side of her mouth. "You look as though you walked into a door or something."
Judith's mind raced for an answer. She could feel the hotly burning eyes of the man behind her, waiting to hear what type of an answer she gave.
"I ... uh ... you won't believe it," Judith said, forcing a smile. "I bit too hard on something and caught the inside of my cheek."
"Oooohhh ... poor dear. I know exactly how that feels. Why, I can remember a time when I did something like..."
"Judith, don't you think we had better get going? There are people waiting," the man behind her said. "I know you would love to chat a while, but we all have obligations."
Judith could feel her heart sinking once again. There was nothing she could say ... nothing she could do other than go along with the man's demands. She felt him coming against her from behind again, a sort of gentle yet insistent nudge bringing her back to the reality of her situation. With a sigh, she led the man through her apartment to the outside, where she could see a car waiting for her. There was a man sitting in the driver's seat, nervously smoking a cigarette. The man who had brought her out to the car opened one of the back doors and motioned her inside. She slid across the seat to give Colonel enough room to sit next to her. The huge dog was the only comfort she could find. Somehow, she knew that she would have totally fallen to pieces if she did not have the company of the beast. At least she was not totally alone, and she was convinced that if there were an opportunity to escape, it would be a lot easier with Colonel.
"Any problems, Ripper?" the driver asked as he tossed his cigarette out the window and entered the traffic pattern.
"Naw ... she started to get a little chatty with one of the other tenants, but I put an end to that. What have you heard from Barnez?"
"Nothing, other than Eric still refuses to talk. He'll talk now, though." Looking at her through the rear-view mirror, the driver gave Judith a wry smile. "You'd better hope he talks, lovely lady. I'd sure hate to be you if that stupid boy-friend decides that honor is the be all and end all."
"Can't you at least tell me what all this is about?" Judith pled. She could hear her own voice cracking as what courage she had left faded. She gripped tightly at Colonel's neck, drawing what little comfort she could from the strangely calm animal. The man called Ripper was sitting on the other side of the back seat, fumbling through the pocket in his jacket, apparently oblivious to Judith's pleading voice. He smiled as he pulled out a black hood, opened it and checked to make sure that it was light tight.
"Do you really think we'll be needing that?" the driver asked. "After all, she won't be going anywhere once she gets to the house."
"The boss said not to take any chances. I think she's a really spunky cunt."
Ripper grunted as he leaned over and put the hood over Judith's head. The beautiful blonde woman sat unresisting as she was suddenly blinded by the thick, black cloth. She could feel the first flowing of tears behind her eyes. Judging from the way these two men were talking, she was not going to be allowed to leave. She was going to be killed ... but for what? Something that had to do with Steve. Certainly, if Steve were still alive, these men would not be going through all this trouble to take her away. If they had killed Steve, they would certainly kill again. And they had Eric with them. If Eric was" refusing to talk, that could only mean that they were torturing him ... and that they would probably torture her as well. As she felt the car driving through the streets of the city, and then along a long stretch of road, she found that she could not collect her thoughts. She tried to think of something that Eric might have told her that would allow her to understand why all this was happening. But she couldn't think of anything, other than he had told her that Steve was probably dead. For what seemed like an eternity, the car drove at a fast, steady pace. The sound of on-coming cars was virtually non-existent, and Judith realized that they were taking her miles out of the city. She assumed that they were heading south, towards the wide open spaces to the dairy farms, places which were separated by miles of open field. There would be no people around to help her ... or see what was going to happen. Her thoughts were confirmed as she heard and felt the car turn off the paved road and drive on gravel. We must be way out in the farms by now, she thought with resignation. These people certainly aren't taking any chances.
Finally, the car stopped. The only sound Judith had heard for the whole trip was the hum of the engine, only twice broken by a grunt from either Ripper or the man driving. She thought it was a little strange that the two men hadn't tried to rape her while they had been coming out here, and then she remembered that they had been following a time schedule. Now that the schedule had been met, the worst was about to happen. Judith closed her eyes and braced herself as she felt Ripper's hand pulling the hood from her head. At first she couldn't be sure if he had taken it off or not. During the drive, the sun had set, and the clouds in the sky hid the stars and moon which would have been visible otherwise. Ripper pulled her from the car and she looked around in a vain attempt to get her bearings. It was useless. There was nothing to see other than the fuzzy shadows of the gently rolling hills off in the distance. There were no forests, virtually no trees at all ... nothing but what seemed like endless open fields.
Colonel too, seemed to sense that he were in danger. He looked around, a little jumpy from the long ride, but he realized in his dog mind that his new mistress depended on him. She had been so good to him that he couldn't desert her now, even though the two men weren't holding him.
Judith leaned back against the car and ran her hand through her hair, looking at the ground and wishing only that she could suddenly wake up and find that this whole thing had been just a bad dream. Reality was thrust upon her though as she noticed a light at the door of the small, weather-worn farm house next to the car. She narrowed her eyes against the comparatively bright light, and she saw the silhouette of a man walking towards her. He was well dressed, and he moved with a casual assuredness that let Judith know he must be "the boss" of this gang.
"I was beginning to get a little worried," he said to the two men, even though he was looking at
Judith. "That private-eye is one tough man. I'm hoping we can get what we want from him before we go into action tomorrow."
Gently, the new man took Judith by the arm and pulled her into the house. Once inside, Judith was nearly blinded by the lights of the place. It took her several seconds to get adjusted to the lights, and when she finally did, she could see that the house was virtually barren, though clean, as though the gang had been using it only for a resting place before moving on. The leader handed her over to the two men who had brought her to the place and spoke with an almost boring disconcern.
"Take her down stairs and tie her up. And the dog, too. You might render her even more defenseless. I think she'll make a lovely addition to the otherwise bland surroundings, I have a phone call to make, and then I'll join you."
The driver grunted a chuckle and pulled Judith toward the storm cellar. Hearing the dog growl as he opened the tilted door, he decided that he would release his tight grip on Judith's arm. Once that dog was tied ... yes. That would be really interesting!
The damp musky odor of the basement wafted against Judith's nostrils, and she winced at the smell of mold and human sweat that was becoming stronger and stronger as she descended the stairs to the cellar. Colonel took each step downward with reluctance, and occasionally, Ripper had to nudge the massive beast with his foot. The chunky, muscular man who had taken Judith from her apartment had once again brought out his switch-blade, and the click of the knife as it opened echoed against the stone walls, making Judith feel as though she was entering a dungeon. The light was not as bright as it had been upstairs, and it was easier for Judith to see where she was going. Finally, she was at the bottom of the stairs, and when she turned away from the wall of the stair case, she nearly fainted from the sight in the basement. She could feel her stomach tighten with nausea, and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and forget the horrible sight.
There was only one room in the basement, a huge empty room broken regularly with pillars supporting the ceiling. A huge beam had been nailed to the pillars and Eric was dangling from this beam, his hands tied behind his back with a thick rope and draped over the four-by-four. He was totally naked, and Judith could see dozens of cuts and bruises all over his body. Some of the cuts were open, and blood was still dripping from them, making a pool on the floor. Instinctively, Judith's eyes zeroed in on Eric's groin, her gaze resting on his penis. She remembered what pleasure having his wonderful cock in her ass had brought her, and she would have given anything at that point just to be alone with him ... away from all these men. If it was money they were after, she would give them everything she had. Her jewels, her stock, cash...
She started to run to Eric. He looked pale, and from the way his head was resting, Judith knew that he was unconscious. His feet were inches from the floor, and the frightened young woman wondered how he could breathe in that position.
A squeal from Colonel brought her to her senses, and she tore her eyes away from the grizzly sight of Eric's battered form to see that the two men had formed a slip-knot with a rope and were dragging the loyal dog to the wall. As Colonel resisted, the men pulled harder, forcing the loop tighter around the dog's neck. Again Judith wanted to be sick. These men weren't human at all. There was no telling what they would do, only that they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. They were heartless men. Surely, Eric could see that. He must have a reason for allowing himself to be tortured like this rather than tell these people what they wanted to know. If Judith knew what that, reason was, at least this would make some sense. But she didn't know!
Once the two men had finally tied Colonel to the wall, they returned to Judith, who was beginning to shiver from the combination of fear and dampness. She had dressed for the warm mugginess of the afternoon, and she was feeling the chill of the basement. One glance at Eric made her feel even worse. She knew, she just knew that what had happened to him would happen to her, and she could feel her body going limp as Ripper hooked his powerful lingers between her blouse and neck, pulling the thin garment from her body with several strong jerks. Tears came to her eyes as she heard the ripping of her clothing and felt the cool air blast against her exposed upper body.
"Sayyyyyy ... will you get a load of this," Ripper said in a mock-pleased tone. "This little cunt's not wearing a bra, I'll bet we got one of them liberated women on our hands."
"Yeah..." the driver commented as he made sure that the dog was tied securely. "And a real nice looking one at that. Come on ... get the rest of her clothes off. I want to see if she's a natural blonde, and the only way to do that is to look at her pussy."
Laughing, Ripper pulled down the zipper of Judith's skirt and opened it, revealing her skimpy nylon bikini panties. The blonde woman closed her eyes and fought to keep from crying as she heard the two men gasp at the sight of her nearly naked loins. While one man held her from behind, the other ran his hands lightly over the creamy smoothness of her goose pimpled-covered flesh. She could feel his hands massaging her full breasts in a strangely gentle manner, cupping them and tweaking her nipples to hardness. Then his hands trailed down the sides of her waist, following the sweepingly gentle outward flair of her hips to her buttocks. For several seconds, he kneaded the firmness of her ass-cheeks through the thin nylon of her panties, then hooked his thumbs and fingers under the elastic band and pulled her panties down slowly, revealing inch by inch the luscious splendor of her golden cuntal mound. She opened her eyes and saw that it was the driver who had been feeling her, and she bit her lower lip with determination. Acting without a thought, she brought her right knee up as hard as she could, catching the man squarely under his chin as he gazed enraptured at her eye-pleasing vagina. She had to show these men that she was not to be toyed with, and she felt the stinging pain in her knee as she connected.
The clicking of the man's teeth against each other filled the room, and the driver was sent flying backwards against a wall, where he hit with a dull thud. Everything had happened so quickly, that she really thought she had scored a point against these people. She smiled to herself as she saw the man shake his head quickly to regain his senses.
Then Judith's whole upper body was bathed in pain, the-likes of which she had never known before. Ripper moved quickly and brought her wrists together, and put one knee in the small of her back. He pulled back sharply, forcing all the air from Judith's lungs and twisting her shoulders brutally. Her deep blue eyes were wide open with shock and fear, and she was finally convinced that she was dealing with men who would torture her and get a vast amount of pleasure out of it. The dull throb in her shoulders pulsed with every beat of her heart, and she opened her mouth as wide as she could in a nearly vain effort to breathe. Ripper had pulled her so far back that she was now staring at the ceiling, and she could feel his knee pressing sharply into her back, increasing the amount of pain she was subjected to. The man behind her was not even breathing hard, and she wondered if he would just hold her like this until she died of suffocation.
Suddenly her pitiful view of the ceiling was blocked by the leering face of the man she had kicked. He was gazing down into her face with hatred burning in his eyes, and his totally menacing look filled the young woman with a dread she would never have thought possible.
"I told you she was one spunky cunt," Ripper said.
The man she had kicked didn't appear to have heard. Judith turned her eyes to his, silently pleading with him not to do anything to her. It was hopeless. Without a change of expression on his face to warn her that something was going to happen, Judith felt her left breast seem to explode in pain. She closed her eyes and threw her head back as she felt the man's open palm slap as hard as possible against her sensitive nipple. She tried to scream, but she could not take in enough air. Her legs started to give out from under her, but as she sank to the ground, Ripper hoisted her up, making it even harder for her to breathe.
She was panting as she finally opened her eyes, only to receive another punishing blow to her right breast, sending her once again into the mental catacombs of fear with the knowledge that there was no escape. She wished she could faint and somehow relieve the throbbing ache in her shoulders and the incredible stinging of both her breasts. She could feel her nipples hardening unwantedly from the excitement, and she knew that that would only increase their sensitiveness. The man she had kicked smiled as he saw her nipples budding to a cheery size, and he moved both his hands over her firm pliant mounds in a teasingly loving manner. When he came to her nipples, he surrounded them with his thumbs and forefingers, and then calmly pinched them as hard as he could, holding tightly as he twisted them first inwards, and then outwards as though he were trying to unscrew them from her body.
Judith's breasts felt as though molten lava had been poured on them. She tried to pull her body away from the man's hands, but Ripper held her tightly, and she could not move.
"Are you boys going to fool around all night?" she heard another voice say. "Ripper, you should know better than to let Johnson waste valuable time. Once we get what we want, you and he can have the girl. Now tie her up and bring this detective around. Things are already beginning to move. Marty is all set to pay up, and I'm all set to take his money. But not before I plug the leak that sent this ass-hole snooping around my house."
"She kicked me, boss," Johnson said in an almost hurt voice. "I wanna get her."
"You'll get her soon enough," the leader said sharply, "but after I'm through with her. And after you're done, Ripper will have his fun."
Ripper chuckled and removed his knee from Judith's back. Through her pain-fogged mind, she could feel her body being dragged toward the wall. The leader tossed the muscular man a length of rope, and Ripper pulled Judith to a sitting position, wrapped the rope several times around her wrists and then tied her to a pipe. The rope was chaffing skin away from her sweating arms and hands, and she could feel the pipe behind her jutting from the wall, make a small loop and then re-enter the wall. She was tied so tightly against the wall that the pipe pressed into her back right where Ripper had placed his knee. The pipe was icy cold, and she could feel water running through it.
"Miss Anderson, I believe, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Frederico Barnez. Your friend there on the ceiling has some information I want very much, but he won't tell me what it is. I'm hoping that you can help me make him see the light."
"I don't know anything. You have to believe me," Judith pleaded, her breath coming back to her now. She looked directly into the eyes of Barnez, trying to fight off the shame and humiliation of being totally naked and tied to the wall. From the corner of her eye, she could see the generous swell of her breasts heaving with every deep breath she took, and her body reacted naturally to being nude in front of two men. She could feel her vaginal fluids already flowing, making her whole body tingly with a strange anticipation.
"Oooooohhhhhh ... I believe you," Barnez said, shrugging his shoulders and turning away from her. "If I thought you knew what I wanted to know, I wouldn't have wasted my time with the detective you hired."
Judith watched with confusion as Barnez carried a small stool to where Eric was hanging. Putting it under his victim's feet, he then stepped away while Johnson and Ripper poured two buckets of water on Eric's nearly lifeless body. Judith held her breath as she watched Eric regain consciousness. He shook his head and lifted himself as high on the chair as he could, taking deep lungfuls of air into his chest. He lifted his head several times as though he were unable to hold it up. Barnez moved closer to him and spoke in a calm, even voice.
"I've brought someone to see you, Eric," Barnez teased, "I think you're showing bad manners."
Judith heard Eric groan as he finally lifted his head and opened his eyes. He blinked several times as though he couldn't see, and then he stared at the exhausted body of Judith tied to the wall. Instantly he found his strength, and he lifted his body as high as he could.
"If you've done anything to hurt her..." he threatened Barnez, pursing his lips and making fists.
"Really, now," Barnez taunted, "I haven't done anything to her. What I do do, though, all depends on you. I'm hoping that she'll be able to convince you that holding out from me is senseless, useless and a waste of time."
"Fuck you," Eric seethed, his eyes never once blinking as he stared at Barnez.
Smiling, Barnez removed a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it casually. "I would say that you were hardly in a position to tell me what to do," he said, rolling his cigarette between his thumb and forefinger. "But it seems that you need a little reminder."
Without hesitation, he jabbed the lit end of his cigarette into Eric's left ass-cheek, causing the tied-up man to twitch in agony and scream from between his tightly clenched teeth.
"That was your reminder," Barnez said, brushing his hands as though he were getting ready to do some hard work. "Now suppose we get down to the business at hand."
Judith watched with wide-eyed amazement as Barnez walked to the far side of the basement and picked up a long piece of rope. He then wrapped it several times around his hand and dangled the remaining three feet menacingly in front of him.
"You know what I want, Simpson. Now suppose you tell me where you got my name."
Eric braced himself for the blow he knew to be coming. He tried to mentally gage the passing time, as he had been ever since he had come to from the sleeping gas and found himself tied to the cross-beam. He hoped that he could hold out at least long enough to give Maggie a chance to get on her plane to Cleveland. Once that had happened, he was convinced that she would be out of danger. Until that time, though, Eric knew that if he mentioned her name, the goons who had captured him would go after her and kill her. He reasoned that he had something less than an hour left before her plane took off, and he was certain that he would be able to hold out at least that much longer.
And then he saw Judith tied to the wall and his heart sank. The look in her eyes told him that she wondered why all this was happening and what part she was expected to play. Eric knew that it would go better for her if she at least had an idea what was happening and why, and he opened his mouth to tell her.
But words did not come out. Instead, Barnez had chosen that moment to whip the rope across Eric's nakedly exposed buttocks, leaving fresh welts and opening up several of the older wounds. Eric hissed through his tightly clenched teeth and closed his eyes. His face was contorted in a mask of searing agony, and his body rocked with the force of Barnez's lash. Before he had a chance to allow the pain to subside in his ass, he felt a second stinging blow, this time across his freely-hanging testicles.
Judith closed her eyes and vomited in front of her naked body as the scream that came from Eric's throat echoed against the damp stone walls of the basement. It seemed to ring on forever, and Judith was certain she could hear it even after Eric had fainted once again. She finally found the courage to open her eyes and look at the man who was tied to the ceiling. He was once again limp and unconscious. As she looked at him, Judith tried to imagine how long he had been subjected to this punishment. It looked like it had been for several hours. His whole body was red, both with flushed skin and blood that was pouring from his deep gashes. The small area in the floor beneath him was thick with sticky blood that had dried and turned brown. His breathing was terribly labored and his head was as limp as possible, his chin resting on his neck.
Looking around the room, Judith watched the apparent disconcern of the other two people, Ripper and Johnson. They were acting as though their time would come later. Johnson was smiling at her, his eyes twinkling with an almost childish glee as he gave the tied-up woman a little wink.
When he saw that Eric had once again passed out, Barnez gave a little grunt and moved away. He rubbed his chin with his hand and smiled.
"I guess you'll have to bring him around again," he said, looking at his two men. "I'm going upstairs for a moment, so the four of you have fun. Get to know each other a little better."
As he walked passed the section of wall where Colonel was tied, the huge dog leaped at him. The rope was much shorter than the dog had thought, and he was caught in mid-leap by a tightening of the loop around his neck. He made a gagging howl and fell soundly to the floor. Barnez considered the dog's actions for a moment, and almost as an after thought, kicked the dog's side as hard as he could.
"I want that dog killed as soon as possible," he said to Ripper. "Maybe you can amuse the lovely lady with your skill on the knife while I go for my little toy. I'm sure that both she and her friend are not yet convinced that we are not here because we want to be here."
Judith looked at the leader of the gang with a hatred she had never known before. If she had ever loathed a person in her life, it was at that moment. She could see that Barnez was little more than a butcher. He was cold blooded and would stop at nothing to achieve his ends. When he had kicked
Colonel, Judith thought that he might have killed the dog right then and there, but she could see that Colonel was still breathing. Eric was breathing as well, his feet stretched as far as he could make them to get the maximum support for his breathing. A cold clammy sweat covered Judith's naked body, and she tried to calm her thoughts down enough to see if there were any way she could escape. There was none. The room in the basement was virtually empty. There were just the few essentials needed by the gang to carry out their plan of torture. There was an old sink next to Colonel, several chairs and various lengths of rope scattered about. Ripper and Johnson were each sitting on a chair, Ripper fumbling with his closed knife in a very nervous fashion. His eyes were moving quickly from Judith to Colonel, as though he were trying to decide just how he would cut them up with the shimmering blade. The naked blonde woman shivered as she remembered what that blade looked like. There was no doubt in her mind that Ripper was very good with that knife, and that he would take a great deal of pleasure in killing her as slowly as possible. The thought of what he could do with that razor-sharp blade made Judith sick again, and she dry-heaved painfully with fear.
"Are you going to take care of that dog like
Barnez said?" Johnson asked. "I don't think that you should do anything that would piss him off."
"Relax, will ya?" Ripper said slowly. "Now that we're all together, the boss is a good deal happier. I've been working with him for a long time. As long as no one can get away, he doesn't give a shit when I take care of the dog. Or the girl either. He shot a glance at Judith and smiled sadistically, clicking his knife open and turned it with loving ease, causing the light from the single bulb in the ceiling to reflect in Judith's face. She squinted her eyes and tried to draw her naked body up into some form of protection.
"Look at her cowering," Johnson teased as he lifted himself from his chair and re-filled a bucket with cold water. Moving as though he wished he were doing something else, he doused Eric with half the water. The battered private detective showed some meager signs of life, and Johnson emptied the rest of the water over the back of his head. Eric made several moans and finally opened his eyes, again shaking his head to clear it. This time, his glance went immediately to where Judith was tied. He opened his mouth as though he were trying to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he merely sighed loudly and tried to straighten his legs on the chair so he could breathe more easily.
"Eric ... how badly are you hurt?" Judith said, trying to sound much braver than she felt at that moment.
She could hear Eric struggling for breath, and when he finally spoke, his voice was thick and forced.
"I ... I have to keep quiet ... have to ... can't tell them yet," he said. His voice was barely above a whisper, and neither Ripper or Johnson seemed to hear him. Judith did, however, and she realized that he was protecting someone or something with his silence. It must be something very important, she thought to herself. No man would allow himself to go through what he had gone through for something that wasn't important. Eric was willing to risk his life and go through this torture to keep his secret, and Judith decided then and there that if it was this important to Eric, it was important to her as well. No matter what Barnez had in mind for her, she would show Eric the same bravery and strength he was showing her. She only hoped that she would be able to live up to her resolve. She knew that it was one thing to make a vow, and something totally different to live up to that vow ... especially when it involved torture. Judith had already had a sample of the pain that could be inflicted upon her, and she could see that things would get a lot worse. So far, the only things that had happened to her had been automatic responses of anger, and not the cold, methodical planning that Eric had received.
Johnson walked over to the naked Judith in an almost childish manner, carefully stepping over the pool of her vomit.
"Well, now, lovely lady. It seems that you and your detective friend are in dire straights. I really hope that you can convince Eric there that we will get what we want. And you should look a little more favorably at me." He reached out and gripped her hair, twisting her head so that she was forced to look at him. "What I'm going to do to you is something you might like. What Ripper has in mind ... well ... I don't think I'll want to be around to watch it. So enjoy that pretty body while there's something left to enjoy." He punctuated his sentence by removing one hand from her hair and running his forefinger between the deep clefted valley of her full breasts, along the hollow plane of her heaving belly to the top of her golden cuntal mound. Against her will, Judith could feel herself becoming sexually aroused. Her vaginal fluids were automatically lubricating her passion-flushed cuntal lips as Johnson's finger crept closer and closer to her slit. Instinctively, she parted her thighs, actually hoping that he would insert his wandering digit into her yearning cunt.
He didn't, however. Instead of pushing his finger through the passion-flushed slit of her pussy, he merely stroked the outside of her vaginal lips lightly, causing her arousement without satisfaction, and making her whole body super-sensitive.
"You keep away from her," Eric said, his voice sounding much stronger than before.
Johnson stopped his playing and stood up, his eyes burning with hatred at the man who was tied to the ceiling.
"You better watch what you say, Mr. Big-cock," he said as he walked over to Eric. "You aren't in any position to be giving me orders."
Johnson stood in front of Eric and rubbed his own right fist into his left hand, as though he were building up power for a punch. "You've had your cracks at that nice cunt of hers, and I'm just getting my turn now. So you just watch it, huh?"
With that he lashed out with his fist and punched straight from his shoulder into the nakedly exposed testicles of Eric. The force of his blow caused Eric's feet to slip from the chair, and the muscular private detective dropped toward the floor, the air in his lungs rushing out in the form of a deep, nearly silent groan as his shoulders were pulled back and up. Again Johnson lashed out against Eric's balls, rendering the man nearly unconscious with the searing pain in his loins.
"STOP IT ... STOP IT ... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!" Judith screamed, twitching as though she could feel every punishing blow Eric was receiving.
"Yes, Johnson, we wouldn't want him dead just yet, now would we. After all, he hasn't told us what we want to know."
Barnez had re-entered the basement, and Judith could feel her heart sinking. Even though he had yet to make a move against her, the lovely naked blonde knew that it was now her turn to be tortured, and she could feel her body breaking out in a cold sweat as the handsome man walked slowly toward her. He was carrying something that looked like a flashlight with a long, thin metal rod attached to one end, and when he was standing within reach of her, he lit a cigarette and turned to Ripper.
"Bring Mr. Simpson around again," he ordered. "I wouldn't want him to miss one second of this. After all, this is for his benefit."
"Wha ... what are you ... you going to ... do to me?" Judith asked, fighting to keep her voice even and failing.
Barnez ignored her as he watched his muscular henchman douse Eric with a bucket of water. Ripper placed the chair back under Eric's feet, and then tossed another bucket of water on him.
"Well now, Mr. Simpson," Barnez said sarcastically. "Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?"
Eric simply glowered at him, his lips turning up in a sneer of hatred. Through his pain hazed eyes, he recognized the device Barnez was holding as a cattle prod, capable of generating a substantial number of volts through the thin metal rod at the end. His eyes moved along Barnez's wrist to his watch, and he could see that he had only a few more minutes to wait before Maggie was safely on the plane. If it were he being tortured instead of Judith, he knew that he would be able to hold out. He had reached the point where any more pain wouldn't make any difference to him now. But Judith was merely an innocent victim, and she was ripe for what Barnez had in mind.
"Still refuse to talk, do you?" Barnez said calmly. "Well, I hope this lovely lady can make you change your mind."
Without even looking at Judith, Barnez took another step to her and placed the tip of the metal rod against her right breast nipple. Judith braced for ... for what? She didn't know, but nothing seemed to happen. The tip was cold, and she was startled with Barnez's action, but. . .
Suddenly, she felt as though all the electricity in the world was flowing through her hardened nipple bud! Barnez had flipped the switch without a word and allowed the current to pass through the metal conductor. The pain was immense! Judith opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Instead, she stiffened her body and tried to writhe away from the torturing device. It was useless! Each time she moved her whole body, Barnez merely moved his wrist a little to keep the contact tight against her breast. Judith's whole mind was blanked with pain, and time seemed to stand still for her. Her whole upper body seemed to be on fire, an all-consuming flame that burned right to the very heart of her soul.
Finally, the pain was gone as instantly as it had begun, and Judith relaxed her body, panting and heaving as she fought to regain her breath.
"Need I tell the two of you that that was just a little sample of what can happen?" Barnez asked as he took a long drag on his cigarette.
Judith looked at both Barnez and Eric with pleading in her eyes. She tried to make herself believe that Eric's silence was saving another person from death, and that she was a part of saving that person. But the reality of the situation was such that she really didn't care about this total stranger Eric was protecting. And she found that she really couldn't care very much about the pain that Eric had gone through either. She had to admit the awful truth to herself. She knew that she couldn't stand another shock like the one she had just received. She looked long and hard at Eric, not saying anything with her mouth, but her eyes carrying the message that she wished Eric would tell Barnez what he wanted to know.
And she could see his answer in his eyes. His compassion and understanding was evident ... just as his duty to another person was evident. The few words he had spoken before returned to Judith's mind. He had to wait a little while longer. He had to! He had no other choice. And it was at that moment that Judith decided that she would trust this man more than she ever thought she would trust another. She could go through the pain of torture until he was certain that everything was safe and his information was useless. God only knew what Barnez would do if and when he found that the information was worthless. Certainly he would make things a nightmare for the two of them, but he was going to do that already. In the long run, it wouldn't make any difference.
"These batteries have a lot of power left in them," Barnez said almost gleefully as he touched the tip of the prod to Judith's other breast. "I really hope that I don't have to go up stairs and find new ones. That would be a dreadful waste of time."
As soon as he finished his sentence, he flipped the switch again, and turned it off almost immediately. Then he turned it on again. And then off. On again. Off again. Then he feigned a motion with his thumb. Then he pulled it away from her body and touched it to her again with the current running through it.
Judith was hurled into mental caverns of pain and anguish. She couldn't even allow her body to get used to the intense pain searing through her breast. She didn't know from one second to the next if the metal tip would be conducting the electricity or not. Each time she braced herself, she would find that there was no current, and as soon as she relaxed her form, Barnez would flip the switch.
Finally, as she was gasping for breath, Barnez removed the prod and dropped his cigarette on the floor. During all this time, Judith had been biting on her lower lip, determined that she would not scream out and add to the satisfaction Barnez was receiving from his ability to totally dominate her.
"She's one stubborn cunt," Ripper reflected from his seated position on the other side of the basement. All through the torment Judith had been receiving, Ripper had been playing with his switch-blade, jabbing at the tied-up Colonel and making the massive dog yelp in pain. He was careful not to break the skin of the handsome dog. His plan was to take care of Colonel before he worked on Judith. That way he could better mentally prepare her for what he was going to do to her.
"Yeah," Johnson added, "I think you ought to give her the full treatment. I haven't even heard her scream yet."
The words of the two men burned through Judith's mind. What could they be talking about? she wondered. How could they possibly hurt her more than they already had? Even though the pain she had already received was intense, she was determined that she could put up with it for as long as Eric thought necessary. She wished she could ask him how much longer it would be necessary, but she knew that would be impossible.
"I hate to admit it, but I think the two of you are right," Barnez conceded. "This isn't getting us anywhere at all."
He looked at Judith and smiled almost understandingly. Then he lit another cigarette and placed the tip of the metal rod between her full well-rounded breasts and flipped the switch again.
Judith's whole body began to twitch and writhe in agony, and she bit on her lower lip so hard that she drew blood. For what seemed like forever, Barnez held the tip there, pressing tighter and tighter against her soft skin. Then he squatted down in front of her and slowly began to move the metal rod down along her body, inching closer and closer to her cuntal mound. As he came near to Judith's sensitive vaginal slit, the pain grew more and more concentrated, and therefore more intense. She began to moan and writhe even more, and she pressed her back as tightly as she could against the wall in a futile effort to escape the pain-giving device. The looped pipe behind her was beginning to take the surface flesh away from the small in her back, and every time she moved, she felt as though she were being struck there. And all the while Barnez moved the tip of the cattle prod closer and closer to her vagina without removing it.
Everything was becoming a fuzzy blur for Judith. She squeezed her eyes as tight as she could, and she could taste the blood from her lip. It was flowing freely now, and she suddenly knew that she had bitten totally through the skin. Her warm salty blood poured into her mouth like hot water, and she could feel it trickling down her chin.
As Barnez inched the prod into the golden triangle of her cuntal mound, she stiffened her whole body, and in doing so, actually pressed the searing tip even harder against her sensitive pussy flesh. The brave woman could hold back no longer, and she mindlessly sobbed out a pitiful plea to Barnez and Eric both.
"Oooohhh ... GOD!! ! STOP!! ! PLEASE ... AAAAAHHHH ... I ... I CAN'T STAND IT ... ERIC!! ! ! EEEEEERRRRRRIIIIIIICCCCCC!! !"
Her body twitched and contorted, the ropes holding her wrist taking out huge chunks of her skin and making her hands bleed as freely as her lip. She pressed her knees together as tightly as she could, but it was no use. The tip of the metal rod was thin enough to slip easily between her tightly clasped thighs.
Judith's body was covered with a thick film of sweat, and this only helped her flesh to conduct the current being passed through her. Her full blonde hair whipped across her face as she flailed her head from side to side, banging it against the stone wall behind her. She could feel the rough edges of the wall cutting through her scalp, and her hair was plastered to her forehead with both perspiration and blood. Her eyes were open but unseeing as she stared at the ceiling. The whole room seemed to be spinning around her, and as she screamed again, her own voice echoed in her mind as though she were having a drug-induced nightmare ... one from which she knew she would never wake up.
Barnez inserted the explosive tip of the metal rod downward and rubbed the full length of it along her cuntal slit back and forth slowly in a teasing manner. Somehow, through the haze of agony that was fogging her mind, Judith could feel her clitoris becoming hard and aroused. There was nothing she could do against this unwanted arousement, and she knew that it would make her all the more susceptible to the torture Barnez was obviously planning. With the last vestige of her reason, she looked at Eric, standing helplessly off to one side, the expression on his face that of compassion without the means to do anything for her.
Finally, Barnez decided he would go all the way. Lifting the thin metal rod up so just the tip was resting painfully against her blood-flooded cuntal lips, he inserted the tip a full inch into her cuntal sluce, as though the prod was a metal dildo. The full current was now passing through Judith's super-sensitive clitoris, and she tried to will herself to pass out so she would no longer feel this torture.
It was useless, though. She never would have believed that the human body could withstand so much pain, but she couldn't think about that now. Her entire vagina felt as though a river of molten lava were being poured into it. She lost all sense of time and space. Barnez was working so slowly and carefully that had no current been passing through the rod, she would have cum again and again. As it was, though, her whole body was engulfed in a searing agony without end. She could not think, she could only feel, and she lost all control over her actions.
Everything seemed to end for her. Her body simply accepted the pain as it came. She would have thought that she might reach some sort of plateau where the pain would get no worse, but she found that as the metal rod fucked in and out of her vagina, going deeper and deeper with each casual thrust of Barnez's hand, the pain was added to. The agony got worse and worse with no end in sight. She knew that this could go on forever ... that she would never pass out for even a moment ... that she would never get used to the current of electricity flowing through her pussy. She could feel the tip of the rod pressing against her cervix with each fucking motion Barnez made. Again she screamed ... and again ... and again. Her mouth was open and her breath was coming from her lungs in a loud, ear-splitting wail that caused her own ears to ring painfully. She thought she could hear laughter coming from somewhere, and everything was becoming gray and spotted in front of her eyes. The room was tossing and turning, and her stomach dry heaved again and again. Her legs twitched and writhed, her back banged again and again against the pipe behind her. Her loins were exploding unceasingly as the electric rod seemed to fill her vagina completely. Her clitoris was throbbing so hard she thought it would burst, and she could feel the sensation of the electric current reaching all the way to her womb and belly. She could hear nothing but the sound of her own agonizing scream, and she was not even sure if what she heard was her own cry or the mental sound of what she thought she was doing.
And then the pain was suddenly over.
The sensations alone were remarkable in themselves. Apparently Eric had agreed to tell Barnez what he wanted to know, and Barnez, not wanting to waste any more time, merely removed the prod from Judith's cunt.
Every muscle in her body was throbbing from the strain she had placed on them. As instantly as the pain had come to her vagina, it was gone. But the end of the torture was a mixed blessing. As her sanity slowly returned, she was more and more aware of the other things that had happened to her. Her head seemed to fill the entire basement because of its pounding against the wall. She could taste the blood still flowing from the gash in her lower lip. Her wrists felt as though they were being eaten by an army of red ants, and both her thighs were cramped so tightly that she wondered if she would ever be able to walk again. With every breath she took, her upper thighs rubbed against her still-sensitive cuntal lips, and while the pain there diminished with each passing second, it was something she knew she would have to contend with for a long time.
"Well, now," Barnez said as he walked away, ignoring Judith as she struggled to regain her breath. His eyes were fixed on the broken, bleeding form of Eric suspended from the cross-beam. "I thought you would see the stupidity of your silence. You could have saved me a lot of time and this lovely woman a great deal of pain if you had agreed to tell me a long time ago."
Eric glowered at him, and then cast his eyes over to the panting body of Judith. He wanted to ask her if she was all right, but he could see that she was in no position to talk.
"Come on," Barnez taunted in a sing-song voice. "You made a promise, and you had better keep it."
Eric looked directly into Barnez's eyes and thought for a moment. He could see by the man's watch that there was about two minutes yet until Maggie's plane took off from Buffalo, but he couldn't stand to see Judith tortured a second longer. If he could stall just a little while longer ... make them torture him instead of Judith, he could have that little edge he needed.
"What are going to do to this person?" Eric asked as he grit his teeth.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Except you won't find out, will you? I'm just going to have her ... removed. I don't want people to know what I'm up to, and I intend on making sure that all my tracks are covered. I made one mistake, and I don't intend to pay for it. Now give me that name."
Eric looked at Barnez a little while longer, his eyes unblinking as though this were some show of strength.
"I think he's stalling," Johnson commented.
"I think you're right," Barnez answered. Without another word, he walked toward Judith again. Eric could see that he had run out of time. He would just have to trust to luck if Maggie was going to be flying to safety.
"Her name is Maggie Season," he mumbled.
Barnez perked his head up and walked to Eric.
"I'm sorry," he said smiling. "I didn't get that name.
"Maggie Season, Maggie Season, Maggie Season. Are you happy now?" he screamed as loudly as he could.
"Not quite," Barnez said, looking at his fingernails and brushing them on his shirt. "I would like to know where she lives."
Again Eric glanced at Barnez's watch. If Maggie's plane took off on time, she would just be getting air-born now. He had bought the life of another person at the expense of his own. He wished that " he could talk to Judith alone, make her understand how necessary his silence had been. But he knew that would be impossible. If Barnez found out too soon that Maggie would be away from the city, his anger would know no bounds.
Eric gave the drug dealer Maggie's address and shot a look at Judith, who was just now able to understand things again. The look in her face was one of total resignation. Now that Barnez had all the information he wanted, he would have no further use for either of them. Judith seemed to know this, and she could see that there was no way to escape from this death trap.
After Eric had finished telling Barnez Maggie's East Side address, talking as slowly as he could, Barnez turned to Ripper.
"Did you get all of that?" he asked the knife wielding man.
"Yeah ... I got it all. I'll get to her right away. No sense in taking the long route this time. I'll give you a call in about half an hour ... after I've taken care of her."
Barnez nodded and Ripper was on his way. Through the haze of her pain, Judith could hear' the heavy man climbing the stairs, getting into his car and driving away. Eric knew that he had half an hour before Barnez learned that he had been tricked, and his mind raced with desperation ... searching through the virtually empty basement for something he might have missed before ... anything that would allow him to take Judith away to safety...
CHAPTER SIX
Eric could almost count the seconds left to him after he heard Ripper drive away. Now that things seemed to be going Barnez's way, he relaxed a little. Both he and Johnson were staring at the naked Judith, both of them apparently unconcerned with either the pain-wracked private detective or Colonel, who had been excited by the painful screams of the woman, but who was now lying on his belly. The dog's eyes were alert and watching. He could sense that something was going to happen. Whether it would be good or bad he didn't know, but he wanted to be ready for anything. The man who had been tormenting him was gone, and neither of the two other men seemed to care that he was alive.
What bothered him almost as much as the pain of the woman who had been so good to him was the fact that he was tied up. Never in his entire life had he worn a leash, and though he had tried several times to remove it from him, Ripper had made that impossible by taking a strange glee in pricking him in the ribs. Now that that man was gone, Colonel decided with almost human intelligence that it would be possible for him to chew through the rope.
Eric too, began to see that there might be some hope. In the silence of the room, he hoped that Barnez would leave the chair under his feet. Eric knew that once he regained his breath, he might be able to do something. He wanted to do nothing that would attract attention to himself now. If Barnez and Johnson were going to do something to Judith, he would just have to allow that to happen. She might have to put up with something she didn't like, but if she could hold out just a little longer, things might turn out after all. If only he could breathe enough to think clearly instead of just wishing away the danger they were in.
Barnez and Johnson were silent for a moment, and then the drug dealer started a long, low chuckle.
"Well, Johnson," he said as he removed his sport-coat. "When Ripper comes back here, he's going to have blood fever."
"That's for sure," the dark, middle-aged man agreed. "What say we get what we want from the girl now, and then leave her to Ripper?"
"My thoughts exactly," Barnez said with a chuckle. "She's really one pretty little cunt. I'm sure she really knows how to please men."
Judith had finally returned to her senses fully now. The pain in her vagina was little more than a memory, and the cuts which covered the back of her body and her wrists had reached the point where it just didn't matter any more. Her breathing, while labored, was regular, and she could control her thoughts now, instead of letting them ramble in a pain-wracked maze.
"What do you men want?" she asked slowly. "Haven't you done enough already?"
"Hardly," Barnez laughed, casting a side-long glance to Johnson. "And you should be grateful for what we have in mind now. At least you'll have one last moment of pleasure before Ripper takes care of you. I told you I wouldn't want to be around when he gets started. I hope to be far enough away so I won't be able to hear you, either."
His words made Judith's blood run cold. If Ripper was going to be half as bad as Barnez had been when he fucked in and out of her cunt with the cattle prod, she knew that she would be screaming in sheer agony for a very long time ... and there was no reason to think that Ripper would be gentle with her.
Both Johnson and Barnez came up beside her, one on each side.
"So what do you say, cunty girl?" Barnez asked. "Johnson and I have nothing to do, so we're going to take you. Whether you like it or not is all up to you."
With a look of confusion in her eyes, Judith shot a quick glance to Eric. The battered private detective nodded as quickly as he could, hoping that she would be able to distract the two men long enough for him to put some form of plan into action. He realized that the whole thing was a long shot to begin with, but at least he would have a chance if he could move without the watchful eyes of his captures.
Judith knew then what she had to do. She would go along with the demands of the two men, even though she found them to be the lowest possible animals on earth. Perhaps this would be the last possible chance she had at pleasure. It would be senseless now to throw it away. The final cigarette before she was shot, she thought ruefully. Besides, these men were going to take her anyway. It would be senseless to resist them now. She would need her strength for later....
She started to open her mouth and say something, but she was silenced as she watched Barnez suddenly pulling at his clothes, his face taking on an animal-like grimace of impatient lust.
"I've been thinking about this ever since you came here," he told her. "I wanted to fuck the shit out of you with my cock, but first things first."
She tried to press herself into the wall, her fear now becoming an unbridled anger. The thoughts racing through her brain were those of a seething hatred toward the man who was going to rape her. But her hatred was diluted by a strange sense of awe as Barnez was suddenly naked. Her tired blue eyes automatically swept downward to the wildly throbbing thickness of his hardened flesh poling out from the man's hairy loins ... then downward still more to the heavy sperm-bloated sac of his balls hanging between his muscular thighs. Barnez grunted in anticipation and took a step closer to her.
"You're going to suck this cock, cunt," he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "You're going to suck me till I shoot right into your mouth. And if you even think of putting up a fight, I won't wait until Ripper gets back. I'll take care of things myself."
Barnez motioned Johnson to untie her. The torturing drug dealer knew that she would be better able to suck him if she had both hands free, and he also knew that there was nothing to fear from her. She was still exhausted from her ordeal, and with Johnson around, there would be nothing she could do.
Judith felt a sharp pain as the ropes behind her were removed and the blood was once again circulating to her hands. Barnez reached out and gripped her hair tightly with both his hands. Judith was amazed at the feelings that were running through her body as she stared at the huge cock in front of her. She began to actually want to suck this man's penis. She actually wanted to feel his sperm in her mouth. She reasoned it was because she knew this would be her last time. She would rather have Eric's cock in her mouth, but she knew that would be impossible. She would have to make the best she could with what she was offered.
"You try anything and I'll rip you apart ... understand?" Barnez demanded, shaking her head with his lingers still tangled in her hair. He was going to show this fucking bitch. Now that he had the information he wanted, he was really going to show her. He'd been pissed off when she wouldn't scream. He had been counting on those screams to make Eric come around. Well ... he'd hear her scream now.
"Yes ... I ... I understand," Judith whimpered, welcoming at least the fact that she would have a brief moment away from the searing pain she had been threatened with later.
"You high-stepping little cunt. I'll show you that you should keep your ass out of other people's business. You fucking rich bitches think you can just go around hiring people to spy on me. Well, cunt I'm going to show you that you should leave people alone. Not that the lesson will do you any good now."
The swaggering man straightened above her, his long thick cock with its moistened, purplish head visible now out of its sheathing foreskin, level with her face. It was huge, bigger than any cock she had ever seen before, as were his heavy, sperm-filled balls. As she gaped at it, one of his hands left her hair and came down to hold his penis, then pull the loose outer skin back away from its blunt, blood-filled tip.
"Kiss it!" Barnez ordered in a parched, almost breaking voice. "Kiss it and lick your tongue around the end."
Judith leaned forward slowly, every muscle in her body screaming for relief from motion. She placed her pursed lips to its pulsating tip and held them there before letting her tongue slip out between them, swiping away the little bubble of premature moisture that had oozed from its split. Then she wedged the tip of her tongue into the tiny opening, causing Barnez to shudder at the sensitive opening.
"Yeah ... yeah ... shit. . . " Barnez hissed, thrusting his loins harshly forward. "Hold it in your hand and take it in your mouth! Give it another suck or two!"
Barnez watched in mounting fascination as her hand reached out to wrap around his jutting penis, and crazy-wild jolts of lust went slashing through him when her mouth opened and her moistened lips slipped wetly over the tingling knob of his cock! Another knee-jellying tremor shook him from head to toe as her tongue began to swirl around it and work up and down its turgid shaft. This fucking little bitch ... taking his cock right into her mouth with her boy-friend watching and not being able to do a fucking thing!
Judith moaned as the lip-stretching size of his penis pulled at the hole she had bitten in her lip. She found herself reacting instinctively. She could feel the heated secretions seeping wetly from her still-sensitive vagina and flowing down between her thighs. Her legs began to open slowly as she took an unwanted delight at what she was doing ... and to whom. She could feel his hips begin a slow, pumping motion, and she found that her head was actually bobbing with more and more deliberateness in time to his oral fucking.
"Hey ... what about me?" Johnson asked, slightly annoyed that he was being forgotten. "I want some of her ass too,"
"So take some," Barnez told him, angry that Johnson couldn't think for himself on that account.
"Okay, cunt," the dark-haired Johnson ordered. "Get away from the wall and lift your legs up high! I want to see that cunt of yours a little better than I have been."
Judith did as she was told. She crab-walked away from the wall and lay on her back. Barnez followed her every motion, finally coming to his knees and straddling her with his legs as he kept his thick penis in her mouth. Judith lifted her legs around either side of Barnez and spread them wide to expose her rapidly moistening cunt to Johnson's fevered gaze.
The middle-aged Johnson quickly shucked out of his clothes and lowered his body to the floor, his eyes never once leaving the enticing sight of Judith's exposed tiny pink anus, all puckered and inviting. As he got a better view of her, he could see his goal ... the moistened pink ribbon of pussy-flesh dividing the snug, hair-fringed lips of her cunt. Shit ... Maybe Barnez wanted to fuck her mouth, but Johnson was definitely a cunt-hound. He wanted his penis in her vagina so bad he could almost taste it. His boss worked his way up a little along her body, giving Johnson an easy access to Judith's seething vaginal opening. He reached under her up-thrust thighs and inserted his thumbs between her blood-swollen flanges. Breathlessly, he parted the clasping cuntal flesh, his eyes fixed at the little recessed hole of her anus, working like a baby's mouth beneath his lewdly exploring fingers. Then he saw it ... her tiny cunt-hole, a damp coating of moisture glossing the palpitating opening as well as the petals of flesh above it. He spread them open to find her turgid clitoris. His brain was reeling with the headiness of the spectacle. Shit ... he was going to relieve himself of the pressure mounting in his aching balls and cock!
Judith's mind was torn with conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, she hated being raped like this. She could feel the massive cock in her mouth pulse with every heart-beat in Barnez's body, and the rummaging fingers of Johnson further down were painful on her sensitive vagina. But on the other hand, she began to enjoy the stimulation she was now getting. Surely it was better than the torture she had just gone through. And she was convinced that this would be the last time she would ever have a penis in her. How fitting that she would get as many as she could for her last chance at pleasure. The cruel subjugation of her was beginning to fire her whole body, making her aware of nothing but the sexual passions beginning to wash through her. She had to forget what would happen later. She had to concentrate every ounce of strength and reason on the cocks which were presented to her.
"Come on!" Barnez ordered suddenly. "Get down between my legs on your knees and suck me." His voice was brittle in its authority. "Hurry up! I want to watch you. I want to see those pretty lips wrapped around my penis and your head bobbing up and down."
Judith let her body go limp as Barnez pulled her to position, his cock slipping momentarily from her mouth. With one of his hands tightly wrapped in her long full blonde hair, he pulled her head down with a vicious tug, pressing his spongy knob up against her lips once again. Then with a powerful thrust of his hips, Barnez shoved his enormous penis between her widely ovaled lips, this time ramming it into her throat as far as he could until Judith thought she would gag.
His change of actions surprised her. Up to this point, he had been relatively gentle with her, but now he was actually trying to hurt her. She couldn't breathe! His cock was pressed tightly against the back of her throat, and she tossed her head to try and break free ... try and get a huge mouthful of clean pure air.
It was useless. Barnez rammed his iron hard rod even harder between the groaning woman's soft, moist lips, thrusting all the way to the hilt until it seemed to brush all the way back. Judith could feel the short, stiffly curling hairs of his pubis scrape against her lips and felt the harsh slap of his balls as they swung upward against her chin.
"Sayyyyy ... I like this a whole lot better," Johnson sneered as he took a position behind the kneeling Judith. He dropped to his knees behind her luscious ass-cheeks and pressed his head forward, covering her inner, upper thighs with hot, eager kisses. He could see why Barnez was the boss of the gang. This way, both of them could get what they wanted from the lovely naked woman, and they wouldn't get in each other's way. His hands were now more able to grope between her legs, and his fingers returned to their searching and probing between the slender columns of her pulsing pussy, caressing the velvety folds with passionate hunger, delighting in how moist her vagina was, her lubricants seeping out of her tantalizing cuntal mouth.
There was the hot, soft invitation of her delectable vagina, pink and fragile, the petal-shaped opening glistening a chiffony rose, surmounted by the reddish tip of her excited little clitoris and framed by the soft golden halo of her cuntal hair. He couldn't wait much longer. He wanted more than anything to ram his blood-laden penis home in her yearning little cunt, and nothing was going to stop him now.
As Barnez began to fuck in and out her mouth with an ever increasing rhythm, his motions caused her whole body to rock. Little thrills of unwanted desire were beginning to flow through her body as passion replaced the terror and fear she had been used to. She thought that if she could make her actions last as long as possible, she could put off the torture she knew would be coming soon. Barnez quickened his long, regular strokes up between her open lips, pulling her head down so he could enter her as deeply as possible. The thrills within her grew and increased, and with the cock in her mouth and the manipulations of Johnson behind her, her blood seemed to catch fire, and a strangely wonderful, warm feeling surged through her in crashing waves. She wished that she were not actually enjoying what was happening to her. But it was no use fighting the pleasure. It was as though her body seemed to know that she would never receive pleasure again, and was determined to take all that was offered.
She brushed aside all her thoughts as she continued to swirl her tongue around Barnez's deeply thrusting cock, and then she felt Johnson's hands kneading the pliant flesh of her ass, grasping her firmly by the hips and raising her up higher on her knees. She could feel his eyes burning at the tantalizing orbs, smooth and pear-shaped without flaw. She could feel him moving up against her, and then...
And then, the first contact of his lust-hardened cock with her eager vaginal flanges sent her reeling forward. She would have fallen on her face at the touch of his penis against her torture-sensitive cuntal lips, but Barnez below her held her hair tightly, and maintained his cock in her mouth.
With a little moan of joy, Judith abandoned herself completely to the pleasures of the moment ... the pleasures of being fucked in the mouth and her cunt at the same time. With increasing spasms of delight, she drove her tongue over the full length of Barnez's penis just as Johnson began to fuck his penis into her vagina. His hands were digging into the soft dough of her buttocks and with a heave, he slammed forward and planted his towering cock all the way up the wet, slippery channel of her naked pussy.
"Uuuuuuuuuugggggghhhhhh..." she moaned around the mouth-filling cock deep in her throat as she felt her cuntal passage open to accept the unwanted cock. She could feel him continuing to slide forward, her soft walls fitting around his penis like a velvet glove, until he finally hit bottom, the hard rubbery head of his cock touching the sensitive membrane of her cervix, and his balls wedging neatly beneath the rounded spheres of her backside.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmrammm..." Judith moaned again around the mouth-filling cock, feeling completely impaled on the two massive penises that engorged her from both front and back. She could feel the crisp curls of Johnson's pubic thatch against the soft skin of her ass, just as she could feel the tickling of Barnez's pubis on her chin. She knew that the man behind her had sunk every millimeter of his rod in her depths. It was a feeling she never thought she would like again but there was no denying the fact that she enjoyed these last moments of happiness left her.
Slowly, Johnson began to withdraw, easing his bloated shaft out of her soft depths in time to her own rhythmic tonguing on Barnez's cock, Judith found that she was torn mentally between the penis in her mouth and the cock in her vagina, and her mind was separating the two of them so that she could actually concentrate on each at the same time, thereby deriving the maximum enjoyment from both.
She teased the tip of her tongue at the tiny slit in the blood-engorged head, to lick and taste hungrily at the drops of warm, viscous pre-cum that oozed forth.
Her eyes closed now, her mouth ovaled wide and head bobbing up and down in insane, passionate hunger, Judith momentarily forgot that this would be the last time she would receive pleasure. She could think only that she was being double-fucked in a way she would never have dreamed. She groaned around Barnez's penis as Johnson began to move his heavy cock inside her, rotating it gently. She could feel the response of her inner walls as she flexed her supple interior muscles with automatic ease. Her cuntal walls began a contracting ... a rhythmic squeezing around the penis in her vagina, just as her cheeks were hollowing and tightening around the cock in her mouth, which was plunging in and out of her mouth like a well-oiled piston. She could tell that he was about to cum in her mouth, and she doubled her efforts to receive his sperm ... the last semen she would ever taste.
Behind her, Johnson began to fuck in and out of her with greater and greater, force. He pulled her hips as tightly against his body as he could, thrilling in the way her cunt tightened around his cock every time he pulled out. She was actually fucking him back, as though she didn't have a care in the world. His hands reached forward to squeeze the ripe melons of her breasts, hanging enticingly from her wildly undulating body. He rubbed the hardening buds of her nipples, running them between his fingers, making her moan again and again in pleasure.
The heated pressure in his body was building up to a feverish pitch, and his furious pumping increased in velocity. The three bodies were bumping against each other.
"God ... she's fucking back ... she's fucking back!" Johnson cried out, as though he couldn't believe it. Barnez merely moaned in approval. Both his hands were once again tangled in Judith's hair, as though he were trying to make her swallow his entire body.
Then, the leader of the gang began to jerk and buck wildly in his own spasm of intense pleasure, and his white hot sperm filled from his inflated balls to spurt the length of his thrusting, pulsing rod, gushing forth in a seething torrent into Judith's absorbing mouth. She had to swallow as fast as she could to keep from choking on the river of sperm that was flooding her mouth. Her tongue spiraled and swirled around the now deflating penis as she licked and sucked voraciously at the last vestiges of Barnez's heavily draining seminal fluid. Judith licked to drink in every last drop of this, the final sperm she would have in her mouth.
She could feel her vagina start to tingle with her own mounting climax ... the one Johnson was bringing her. Even as she swallowed the last of Barnez's semen, she felt her own orgasm sweeping through her. Her buttocks were waving back and forth, the force of her mindless spasms jerking Johnson's cock unbearably. Her mouth was still locked tightly around Barnez's cock, and her passionate moans were muffled by the penis which, even limp, filled her mouth. She heard a deep harsh moan escape Johnson's lips, and then the hot flooding of his cum in her vagina. He pounded his hips against her thrashing buttocks with the force of a jackhammer, and he moaned again and again in frenzied abandon as his sperm emptied into her accepting cunt. Stream after stream of his semen filled her vagina, and he fucked into her as though he thought it would end.
Even as she delighted in the after-shocks of her climax, she remembered that now she was no longer needed. She fucked back and sucked as hard as she could, praying that she could prolong this moment just a little longer.
But it was no use. She could feel her passion ebbing away and a tear came to her eye ... a tear caused by the knowledge of her certain death. She closed her eyes and braced herself for a blow of some sort from behind her. She had pegged the man who had fucked her from behind as the type who would take a delight in beating her around a little while they waited for Ripper to return.
It seemed to Judith that she was like that for a very long time ... kneeling over the deflating penis of Barnez with her eyes closed. Everything came to a halt in her mind, and the tension of waiting for a blow against her body was driving her insane.
But the blow never came. Instead she heard an ear-piercing scream. Her first thought was that they were once again torturing Eric, but the scream had come from behind. She felt fingers gripping her buttocks, then slip away, followed by a strange furry sensation brushing across her ass cheeks.
She turned around and stared wide-eyed at what was happening. She couldn't believe that it was true, but she had no time to think. Acting reflexively, she pulled her body away from Barnez, who had not yet realized that his whole plan was falling apart.
Colonel, the loyal dog whom everyone had forgotten, had somehow managed to chew through the rope which had held him to the wall. Every time the massive dog twisted his head to nibble at the hemp, the loop around his neck became tighter. He had been forced to nearly choke himself to death in his efforts to become free, but his determination had succeeded. He was finally able to use his incredible strength to break the last strands of the rope holding him against the wall, and when he knew that he had done so, he lept at Johnson without so much as a warning growl, aiming right for the man's exposed neck.
Judith froze momentarily as she watched dog and man grapple with each other, but it was obvious from the beginning that there would be no contest. On his first lunge, Colonel had sunk his teeth deeply into Johnson's throat, hitting several veins and covering the naked man's body with blood. Colonel was now growling and barking savagely, as though he had returned to the wild and was fighting for his life against the most dangerous animal possible. His furry body seemed to be all over the frightened man, and his white teeth flashed again and again at Johnson's fear-contorted face, tearing out huge hunks of flesh. Judith could see nothing of Johnson other than his hands working vainly in his efforts to push the massive beast away from him. She forgot all about Barnez beneath her as she watched Johnson's blood stained hands grope randomly at the dog's body, at first with strength, and then weaker and weaker. His legs were tensed as he tried to roll away from the attacking dog, and Colonel's furious growling filled the room, strangely mixed with the gurgling cries being emitted from Johnson's ripped-open throat. Judith was certain that she would be sick as she saw spattering blood squirt from beneath the beast, blood she knew to be coming from Johnson.
The lovely blonde woman stared as if hypnotized at the incredible sight. She could hear Johnson's cries becoming more and more faint as his body moved with less and less control. Finally, his body ceased to move at all, and Judith found that she was panting to prevent herself from throwing up. Colonel was not satisfied that Johnson was taken care of, however, and he continued to growl over the prostrate body of the man, his head bobbing up and down around the bloody pulp of the man's face and neck.
Then Judith's own head felt as though it was being torn off. She grasped as she felt a man's fingers tangle tightly in her blonde hair and pull her away from Colonel. Barnez had regained his senses before she had, and had gripped her from behind, using her as a shield to protect himself from any attack the dog might make on him. She could feel Barnez's face pressing against her cheek, and his breath was searing i . his whisper blasted in her ear.
"You call him off, cunt," he commanded, his voice betraying his own tension. "You call him off or I'll break your neck!"
Judith could barely breathe as her head was pulled back almost to the breaking point. She forced her eyes down to Colonel, and panted Barnez's wish.
"Stop . . .Colonel ... STOP!"
Hearing the command of his mistress, the huge beast lifted his head and looked at her. His first thought was to leap at the man who was holding her, but when he saw that Barnez was holding her in front of him, he merely crept forward slowly, his great head lowered threateningly, a long, low growl continually coming from his throat.
Judith looked at the bloody heap of the man who had fucked her from behind. His face was totally unrecognizable, and the blood still pouring from his open wounds told the woman that he was not yet dead. She could see huge gaping slashes in his neck and face, and she closed her eyes, both to prevent herself from getting sick, and out of frustration at the realization that she was once again trapped by a man who was going to kill her.
"I knew I should have killed that dog," Barnez seethed. "I should have killed him when I had the chance. I should have let Ripper gut him before he left, I should have...'
He never finished his sentence. Judith heard a loud cracking sound behind her, and suddenly, the tight grip of fingers in her hair was released, and she could feel the body of Barnez slump to the floor behind her. She turned around and saw Eric gazing almost mindlessly at the fallen gang leader, Barnez's head was twisted more than naturally possible, as though his neck had been brutally broken. His eyes were wide open in surprise, and there was a bone jutting through one side of his neck. Eric was panting, having used virtually all his strength to sway his wrists back and forth along the cross beam and cut through the ropes holding his wrists.
Neither Judith nor Eric could say anything. The grizzly scene in the basement was too much for either of them to comprehend at the moment. The smell of blood and sweat wafted at their nostrils, and finally, Judith could no longer hold her sickness. She vomited at her feet, and then fell forward into Eric's weak arms, her naked body heaving with her tension.
It was all Eric could do to hold her up. The pain in his shoulders was a constant throbbing reminder that he had been tied up for hours, and his labored breathing was throaty and rasping. Finally, he managed to summon up enough strength to speak.
"Ripper will be coming back soon," he breathed. "He's going to be pissed when he finds that Maggie isn't home."
Judith nodded automatically. Eric gently set her down onto the floor and fumbled through Barnez's clothing for the gun he knew the gang leader to have. As he took a sitting position directly in front of the door, Colonel sauntered over to sniff at Judith, who had collapsed in her exhaustion and tension.
Eric sat with his eyes glued to the door, never blinking as he waited for Ripper to return. He didn't have long. He could hear Ripper's car coming to a squealing halt in front of the house. Eric smiled as he imagined the expression on the killer's face. The disappointment Ripper would be feeling at this very moment must be intense, but the surprise he would receive when he came to the basement would be even greater. Eric could hear Ripper running through the house to the basement door, and then the heavy sounds of his body running down the stairs. Without a moment's hesitation, the huge man bounded into the basement, throwing open the door as he seethed his anger.
"The fucking bitch wasn't even there. She..." He stopped suddenly as he saw Eric smiling at him, Barnez's gun leveled at his body.
"Hello, Ripper," Eric said almost casually. "You were saying something about Maggie?"
The huge, muscular man stood in the door jam with his hands held loosely at his sides, his mouth open in shock. His eyes traveled about the room, stopping to rest at the fallen bodies of both Barnez and Johnson. Then he stared at Eric.
"You fucker," he hissed as he took a step toward the still-panting detective. "You goddamn mother fucker."
"You take another step and I'll shoot," Eric warned.
Ripper didn't appear to hear him, and he quickened his motion. Without even thinking, Eric fired, tearing away a large chunk of Ripper's right leg. The huge muscular man dropped to the floor, but continued to crawl to Eric, oblivious to the pain in his body. Again Eric fired, this time shattering Ripper's collar bone. The huge man writhed and twitched on the floor, his blood pooling around him, his breath hissing through his tightly clenched teeth. He stared at the detective with hatred in his eyes, and he stretched out one hand as though he were still trying to reach him. Eric wasn't fooled by this action. He watched calmly as Ripper reached with his other hand into his mindless agony. Taking careful aim, Eric shot at Ripper's knife-wielding hand, the bullet tearing through the man's wrist and removing several fingers. Ripper relaxed on the floor, his clothes soaking up the blood that was freely pouring from his wounds.
The sounds of gun shots brought Judith to her senses, and she looked at Eric, who was finally able to relax, now that everyone seemed to be taken care of. Tossing the gun to Judith, he stood up.
"You make sure that nothing happens," he told her. "I'm going upstairs to call the police."
Judith found that the gun was light in her hand, and she and Colonel moved to a position in the basement where all three men could be observed. Her full breasts heaved up and down as she took a deep breath, and her face was set in grim determination. She had made up her mind that should she see any movement from any of the men, she was going to shoot. Colonel sat next to her, his alert eyes running from one man to the other, an occasional growl coming from deep within his throat.
EPILOGUE
Judith stood patiently at the door to Eric's home. She could hear the sounds of someone coming to the door to answer her knocking, and as she waited, she reached down and petted Colonel, who seemed eager to once again see the man who had saved the life of his mistress. Judith had expected that the door would be opened by Eric, but she was surprised to see instead, a lovely, dark-haired petite woman.
For a moment, the two women stared at each other. Their eyes fixed on each other, almost as though they were two animals in the wild each wanting the same thing, and knowing that only one of them could get it. Judith was the first to speak.
"I'm here to see Eric," she told the woman in a friendly voice.
"I don't think he's up to ... wait a minute. Are you Judith Anderson?"
"Yes. I'll bet you're Maggie Season. You don't look anything at all like I would have expected."
Maggie smiled and opened the door fully, allowing both Judith and Colonel to enter. The lovely blonde woman followed Maggie through Eric's home, noting that the place was a good deal neater than when she had first come less than a week before. The two women and Colonel entered Eric's bedroom. At first sight, Eric looked like a sight to be pitied rather than admired, but when the detective saw Judith, he sat up in his bed, grunting as his motions brought on him several twinges of pain.
"It looks like you are being taken rather good care of," Judith observed. "I was a little worried about you, especially when the police doctor told you that if he heard that you were up and walking around, he would strap you in a hospital bed."
Eric smiled. "I was thinking about taking a vacation anyway. Maggie agreed to come over and take care of me."
"It's the least she could do, after what you did for her," Judith said, sitting on the edge of Eric's bed.
"Would you two like to be alone for a while?" Maggie asked. Eric nodded, and Maggie backed out of the room.
For a long while, Judith and Eric stared at each other. Then the blonde woman spoke.
"How did the report turn out?"
"It turned out very well," Eric answered. "Marty Helm was arrested, and Ripper did a lot of talking. Both of them are going to be behind bars for a long time ... Ripper a lot longer, I'm not sorry to say."
"I brought your fee with me." Judith said, placing a large envelope on the bed. "I wanted to give it to you personally. I'll be leaving Buffalo very shortly. I asked for a transfer to the New York office, and it came through this morning."
Eric nodded slowly, not even looking at the envelope. He knew without even asking that Judith would pay him more than she said she would.
"I guess this is good-bye," she said.
"Maybe. I have a lot of friends in New York. I could come down there in a little while."
Judith gave a little chuckle, then she had a thought.
"Did you ever find out why the police tried to hush everything up?"
"Yes I did," Eric said, lifting his body a little higher on the bed. "Steve was so secretive about what he was doing that everyone was certain that he had just taken another cover. No one wanted to take a chance on exposing him. They were dealing with virtual strangers, and no one knew what to expect."
Judith nodded, then stood up, gazing deeply at Eric.
"When are you leaving Buffalo?" he asked her.
"I have an early morning flight tomorrow," she answered. "I'd love to spend the night with you, but I can see that you're in good hands with Maggie. She must be something very special to you."
"She sure is," Eric said smiling. "Are you going to take Colonel to New York with you?"
"Oooooohhh ... I should say so," Judith said quickly, patting the handsome dog on the head. She wondered for a moment if she should tell Eric about Colonel's little talent. The morning after the frightful night in the basement, Judith learned that Colonel's tongue was as totally satisfying as any cock she had ever had. The huge dog had licked her to orgasm again and again, and she was determined that she would explore other possibilities. She decided against telling him though. The flings she would have with the last link between her and the first man she ever loved would be her little secret.
"Maybe I'll be seeing you in New York in the near future," Eric said as she walked out of the bedroom.
"Maybe. I'll be listed in the phone book."
She closed the door behind her, and Eric lowered his body back into his bed. The doctor had told him that he Would need at least a week of rest before he could ever think about getting out, and Eric wasn't going to go against that order. With the money Judith had given him, he could afford to take a year off from work. He heard Judith and Maggie say good-bye to each other, and then he fell into a blissful sleep.
