The man stood by the magazine rack, pretending to be selecting something to read. Several times he cast a glance towad the prescription department while the woman behind the counter finished waiting on a customer. His hands shook a little as he turned the pages of the magazine. He could have been a hold-up man waiting for the right opportunity to strike, but the woman nodded her head with a sly smile on her face while ringing up the last customer's sale.
A young girl in her early teens passed the man and spoke with a friendly greeting.
Quickly stealing another glance at the clerk, he asked:
"Why aren't you in your class, Patsy?"
"Miss Comer gave me a pass to come to the drug store for some notebook paper since the school's supply store was out and I had physical ed this period."
The man removed his glasses and wiped them with his handkerchief while he watched the young girl pick up a pad of paper from the stationery counter. Dropping the magazine back on the rack, he picked up another and flipped through the pages, paying no attention to the contents.
The girl laid her money on the counter, then with a smile toward her principal, left the store.
Looking around to be sure no other customer would hear his conversation with the clerk, he laid the magazine down and approached the prescription counter.
"Good morning, Mr. Jernigan," she greeted with her usual smile. "I'll have your medicine in a moment."
The man looked around cautiously before replying:
"Mrs. Compton, I was wondering if I could-er-that is, could you double the prescription to take care of this evening?"
The woman carefully studied for a moment, then nodded her head approvingly. She returned several minutes later with two small bottles in a sack.
Handing him the package, she informed him:
"That'll be a dollar and a half."
"A dollar and a half? Why, Mrs. Compton, only yesterday I paid a dollar, and that's more than the standard price, but a dollar and a half for just two ounces of paregoric is outrageous."
The smile left the woman's face as she leaned over the counter and whispered:
"You know I'm taking a risky chance letting you have more than the law allows, so naturally I must have a little extra compensation. The narcotics agent was here yesterday checking over my book and I didn't like the questions he asked. I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do. You'll just have to accept it or find another place that will sell you more," she replied, holding out her hand.
The man reached into his wallet and extracted two crisp bills, handing them to the woman.
After making the change, she watched him leave the drug store as an elderly lady walked up to the counter, smiling at the clerk.
Laying a bill on the counter, she said:
"I'd like to have two ounces this morning, please."
"It'll take another fifty cents, Miss Moore," the clerk said when she returned with the small bottles. "The rising cost of living is affecting everything, you know."
The woman nodded her head in agreement and dropped two quarters on the counter, then picked up her package and walked quickly from the store.
The clerk opened the book under the counter and began writing several names down. She grinned to herself when she looked down at the name of a woman who had moved from Florida six months before.
Ambling down the street, the man looked at the long line of palm trees standing stately on both sides of the thoroughfare. The tall trunks of the trees swayed contentedly as the cool tradewinds blew through their leaves. How strong they stood, defying one hurricane after another until their shapes were bent in several directions. Now and then large oaks could be seen with their branches hanging low over the street, gray Spanish moss streaming gracefully from their limbs. On each side of the street were modern business houses with their window displays attracting the tourists who sat along the edge of the sidewalks on wooden benches provided by the Parks Department. Wealthy, elderly men lounged around in their Bermuda shorts as their wives knitted and kept up one-sided conversations while their husbands kept their eyes and thoughts on shapely housewives in brief garments busily about the tasks of their daily activities. Here, money could buy anything from a carefree, lazy life to the bottles that are limited by the government laws.
Closing the door to his office, he quickly opened the package and drank the two bottles down, followed by a glass of water. Reaching into his desk drawer, he took a bottle of mouth wash and began gargling, spitting the mouth wash into the commode in his private toilet. Leaving his office, he walked down the hall and left the building by the end door. He crossed the cement walkway connecting the school and the gym and stood in the doorway letting his eyes rove over the shapely legs of the young girls practicing basketball in their gym suits.
The noise of the girls as well as the thumping of the ball over the floor didn't add anything to his aching head, but there was excitement in his lustful eyes as he watched a young girl race for the ball, bending over and causing her gym suit to tighten over her round butt, showing the outline of the pants underneath.
Glancing at his watch, he left the gym and returned to his private office. He cursed himself several times as his thoughts took him back several years to when his stomach first started to give him so much trouble. Often he had attempted to teach his class of sixth graders when an agonizing pain would begin to tear at his stomach. Each visit to the doctor meant another shot of morphine. Test after test proved worthless in an effort to find the cause of the spasms.
After several months of attacks and being constantly stuck with the needle, he had formed a habit that had not only cost him his position as a teacher, but the home he had inherited from his parents. Resigning his position was the only thing left to do before the principal and school board found out that their sixth-grade teacher was addicted to narcotics. Paregoric was the substitute he now used to satisfy his craving for the stuff.
After leaving the teaching field for a while, he finally returned and made his way up the ladder of success, which found him now as principal of Alhambra High School. His salary still failed to keep him supplied and take care of living expenses too. He knew he was a good principal and wanted to be dedicated to his work, but the aches in his back and the pain in his legs kept him in torment until he could receive the medication that would calm his tingling nerves.
He sat at his desk thinking of the shapely legs the young girls were exposing in the gym. Nothing was more tantalizing to him than to look at a pair of beautiful legs. Several times he had visited houses of ill fame and attempted to enjoy running his hands up and down the legs of the prostitutes, but fat, flabby legs were disgusting and he now looked forward to his daily visits to the gym.
He smiled to himself as he remembered the young girl in his class when he was teaching the grammar school class. She was barely thirteen, but possessed the body of a sixteen-year-old. He arranged for her to sit at the front and often his attention was distracted when she changed her position and crossed her sexy legs. The student was well aware her teacher was admiring her and it caused her to tempt him all the more. It was well that he quit when he did before further trouble developed.
He had caught rumors around the high school that the students had given him the nickname of "worm" because of his small stature. This he deeply resented, but was unable to stop it since no one knew where it originated. He had thought often of resigning and turning himself in at the Federal Hospital for treatment, but the dreaded ordeal of the withdrawal period prevented him from making a definite move about it.
A light tap on the door brought him back to reality, then the door opened and Miss Sharp, one of the counselors, entered with a forced smile on her face. She had been deeply disappointed when the promotion to principal had been given to Mr. Jernigan and not her.
"Mr. Jernigan, I have a problem I feel should be brought to your attention," she said, walking swiftly to his desk. "Since it's of such a serious nature, I would appreciate a few minutes of your time."
"Your job seems to create a great many problems of late, Miss Sharp. What is it this time?"
Adjusting herself more comfortably on the chair, she faced him in a serious manner.
"It has come to my attention that there's a club operating in the school, and that there's more than meets the eye. If my information is correct, this so-called club is nothing more than a private organization for immorality."
The principal adjusted his glasses and leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk.
"That's a pretty serious charge, Miss Sharp.
Just what club are you referring to? The Key Club, Dramatic Club?"
"No, by all means, it isn't either one of those, it's called the Fiddlers."
The man brought his eyebrows together with a frown.
"You mean like a violin or something like that?"
"No, the name of the club is taken from the fiddler crab that we find on the local beaches. The members all wear a pin in the shape of a fiddler and it's very exclusive, I hear. I understand a student is investigated very closely before being accepted.
"Somewhere in Alhambra, there's a house the club has leased for the purpose of having socials and other forms of entertainment, but it's my belief that the house is used for immoral purposes. I've been doing a little research on my own and the place must be one of two houses."
She lowered her voice and continued:
"On Crockett Street, there's a furnished house with the blinds closed all the time and in checking at the courthouse, I find it's owned by a party living in the North and is supposed to be leased to a couple who comes down and spends the winter months.
"The other house is a two-story affair just outside of town on the highway to Leesburg. I pretended to be searching for an unknown family I had known years ago and went up to the house and you'd never believe who answered my knock. I really didn't think anything about it until a car drove up in the driveway and upon seeing me, left at a great speed. I'm not sure, but I believe the driver of the car was Paul Hathaway and some girl was seated beside him."
"What causes you to believe that if this house on the highway is the meeting place for the club, it's for immoral purposes?"
The woman folded her arms and looked straight at the principal.
"I've a girl waiting in the outer office who has a story that will cause your hair to stand on end. Wait, I'll call her in," she said, leaving her chair abruptly and opening the door.
"Audrey, will you step in here a moment?"
The principal glanced down at the girl's legs immediately, then up at the blue gym suit she was still wearing. Her dark auburn hair glistened as the sunlight touched it through the side window. Walking slowly over to a chair beside the counselor, she sat down, picking at her fingernails.
"Now, Audrey, I want you to tell Mr. Jernigan exactly what you told me in my office," the woman coaxed, laying her hand on the girl's arm.
"I don't know what to tell, Miss Sharp," she answered, looking at the woman.
"Don't be nervous, my dear; just repeat what you told me a few minutes ago."
Picking at her nails, she looked up and said:
"Well, it's just that I was invited to join the Fiddlers' Club, and what I had to do to become a member caused me to not want to join."
"Tell him about the house, Audrey," the counselor urged.
The principal watched the girl a few moments and then stood and walked from behind his desk.
"Perhaps Audrey could think more clearly if a third party weren't present. Suppose you leave Audrey for a few minutes and I'm sure we can clear this matter up in no time," the man said, walking over to the door and opening it.
The counselor looked disappointed, then rose, laying her hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Now don't be afraid to tell Mr. Jernigan everything," she prompted, then left the two alone, "Audrey," he began, sitting back down at his desk, "when I was a young man in high school, I was very much afraid of my principal. Some of the boys had been bringing beer to school and drinking it behind the boiler room. He called me in one day and attempted to get me to tell on the other boys, but I wouldn't open my mouth because I had no confidence in him. I've tried not to be that type of principal, and I want my young people to feel free to discuss anything with me. About a month ago, a young girl came to see me because she was in serious trouble. I worked with the girl and her parents and to this day no one knows why she left school. I appreciate the fact she had confidence enough in me and came to me when she needed help. I hope you feel the same way, because I want to be your friend."
The girl looked up as she wet her lips with her tongue.
"I had a date with David Basehart the other night and he asked me if I wanted to join the Fiddlers' Club. He built it up about what wonderful times the members had, so naturally I said yes. When I attended a meeting, I found out it was nothing but a safe place for dates to go and do ugly things. David told me that a doctor over at Orlando would take care of a girl if she got into trouble and the club paid the doctor. I told Miss Sharp about it and she insisted I tell you."
The principal sat tapping a pencil on the desk, then stood and walked around the room several times in deep study. Standing in front of the girl, he looked down at her with a serious expression on his face.
"Audrey, did you tell Miss Sharp where this house is?"
The girl shook her head.
"No, sir, I don't know where the house is because the meetings are held at the Community House down on Elm Street."
"Let me ask you a question and I want you to give it serious thought before you answer. Let's say what you told Miss Sharp and me is the truth. If word leaked out that you spilled the beans on the club, what would your standing be in school?"
The girl looked up at the man sharply with her mouth partly open, then gazed down at her trembling fingers.
"I don't understand, Mr. Jernigan. You don't mean you'd tell who reported what the club was doing?"
"Certainly not, but a thing like this would be bard to keep quiet without the students finding out who ratted on them. Your life here at Alhambra High would be intolerable, and we can't let that happen, can we?"
The girl sat shocked as she watched her principal walk slowly back and forth.
"If you think it best, I won't say any more about it. I'm sorry I mentioned it to Miss Sharp, but I thought she should know."
The principal went back to his seat and sat down, staring at the young girl before him.
"Come over here, Audrey," he said, crooking is finger at the girl.
The girl pushed herself up from the chair and walked obediently over to the man.
"I'm going to have to get to the bottom of this someway and I need your help.
"The young girl I mentioned a few minutes ago was a member of this club. She became pregnant and refused to have an abortion so she came to me as her friend and told me the story about the club, but until now I haven't been able to make a move. I need more evidence so that I can not only disband the club, but take legal action against the organizers.
"Will you be willing to help me clean this mess up without the students being hurt?"
The young girl stood on one foot and then the other.
"What could I do, Mr. Jernigan?" she asked, looking puzzled.
"If you work with me and keep quiet, even to Miss Sharp, you'll be a great help in saving some girl from serious trouble. I want you to go ahead and join this club and report to me everything that goes on there. Then when I have enough evidence, no one will know where I received my information."
The girl studied for a few moments, then walked over to the window and looked out across the green lawn.
Turning back to the principal, she said:
"You can't realize what you're asking me to do, Mr. Jernigan. If I join the club, I'll have to give myself to some boy, and I couldn't do that."
The principal reached into one of the desk drawers and took out several papers.
"I notice here, Audrey, that there are two subjects you're failing in. That means you'll have to go to summer school or take the courses over again next year. It seems a shame not to graduate with your classmates when a little alterations on these papers would give you your diploma. You do want to graduate, don't you?"
The girl walked over to the desk and stared down at the papers.
"Yes, sir, I've got to graduate. I can't go to summer school because Daddy promised to take me to Europe with them as a graduation present and I've had my heart set on going."
Mr. Jernigan folded the papers carefully and dropped them back in the drawer. Reaching up, he took the girl by the arm and pulled her down on his lap.
Sliding his hand up and down on the girl's soft leg, he asked:
"You don't have to worry about graduation, do you?"
Audrey bit her lips as the man pressed his lips against her mouth. Giving her a tap on the rear end, he pushed her from his lap.
"Tell Miss Sharp you'd rather not discuss the matter any further and bring me enough evidence to support your charge and I'll do the rest."
"Even if it takes meer-doing things I don't want to?"
"You do your job well and you have nothing to worry about graduating. Tell anyone else about this and your name is mud anywhere you go," he warned.
"All right, Mr. Jernigan, if I can help some other girl and I'll graduate in June, I'll do what I can."
"You do just that. By the way, you have gorgeous legs, honey," he whispered, as the girl opened the door and left the office.
The principal picked up a nameplate on his desk and studied it for a moment. L. Jerry Jernigan, the sign read, as he turned it over in his hand several times. Reaching for the telephone, he dialed a number and waited a moment until a female voice answered.
"Flora, Jerry Jernigan. I didn't appreciate being overcharged this morning. What I called you about, though, has caused me to become extremely nervous and I need a little stimulant. Suppose I meet you at the house this evening to discuss a young girl who is not overly anxious to join the club. Be sure and bring me a little medication," he said, as he replaced the receiver on the hook.
CHAPTER TWO
Alhambra High School was only three years old, and was built to relieve Jefferson County High School of the overcrowded conditions. The Board of Public Instruction had gone overboard in their planning to make the school modern in every respect, with carpeted rooms and air conditioning throughout.
L. Jerry Jernigan always felt a sense of pride as he stood on the steps each afternoon and watched the students leave for the day. Often he would lick his lips attempting to visualize the shapely legs that were hidden under the different length skirts of the girls. He was tempted several times when a teacher's aid would come to his office and give him a come-on smile to return it, but would control his inner feelings as he handled the business that had brought her.
Opening the door to his car parked back of the school, he got in and sat for a few minutes meditating. Some men were afflicted with some type of weakness or other, but he had been cursed with two. The sight of a good-looking pair of legs often caused his pulse to beat rapidly, and his craving for the relief that only paregoric could give would overcome him.
A chill crossed his body as he thought of Audrey sitting on his lap and the warm, smooth flesh he had caressed early that day. He knew he was gambling that the girl wouldn't speak of his uninvited attention on her, but if all went well, she wouldn't be in a position to mention anything.
Looking through the window of the car, he saw Miss Sharp walking toward him and waited until she approached the car before starting the motor.
"Mr. Jernigan, Audrey didn't return to my office. I'd like to know just what she told you and what action you intend to take."
Jerry Jernigan patted her hand understandingly as it rested on the open window of his car.
"I questioned Audrey closely on the matter and I believe the girl is angry with her boy friend for making an uncomplimentary remark to her. Naturally I'm going to investigate the matter further."
As an afterthought, he added:
"Oh, by the way, I understand the elementary school over at Taveres will be losing their principal next year and as much as I'd hate to lose your valuable services, I was wondering if you'd be interested in the position. I know it isn't like being principal of a high school, but you know we must walk before we run."
Miss Sharp attempted to suppress the eagerness in her voice, as she said:
"Well, Mr. Jernigan, I don't know if I'm qualified for the position."
"Nonsense, Miss Sharp, that's the very reason I've spoken to our State Superintendent about you as a possibility. Since coming to Alhambra I've heard rumors that you were mentioned for the position I now hold. You must admit that in everything, it takes a little pull sometimes to get what we really want."
Giving the woman another pat on her hand, he continued:
"Why, Miss Sharp, for a woman with the experience you've had in school work, the job would be a natural for you. I'll admit you'll be one of the youngest principals in our district. At thirty-five a young woman is really just getting her feet on the ground in education work."
The woman giggled several times, then said:
"Now, Mr. Jernigan, you know very well that I'm pushing forty."
"Let's not breathe a word about this, because I heard about the position on the quiet. Remember now, not a word," he said, starting the engine and backing the car from his private parking place. "Why, you old worn-out bitch, you're pushing fifty if you're a day," he said to himself, grinning politely at the woman who stood smiling back at him.
Driving out the Leesburg Highway, he thought of Evelyn, his childhood sweetheart. It was Evelyn who gave him encouragement when he failed to make the football team because of his size. Good old Evelyn was always there when he needed her most. It would've been a good marriage, everyone was so sure of that. If he'd only waited, but he couldn't wait and when she refused his demands, he forced himself on the pleading girl. He shook his head, trying to drive from his thoughts how hurt she was when he took what she would have given so freely after their marriage. Evelyn didn't tell, she wouldn't, not little Evelyn. She continued having dates with him, perhaps because she loved him, and again because she didn't want anyone to know what a beast she had chosen for a lover. He never kissed her again and his pleading for her forgiveness played on deaf ears. She had not married, the last time he visited his home town, and he often guessed it was because she felt she had nothing to offer a husband.
Evelyn was very much like Audrey, except she had golden-blonde hair. His uncontrolable desire for her came when she sneaked off into the woods and put on her bathing suit so they could swim in the river together. He tried so hard not to touch the tantalizing legs as she lay before him on the soft carpet of pine needles after their swim, but the growing desire for her was more than he could control. Evelyn pleaded and cried while he forced the bathing suit from her body and devoured her. After graduation, he left for college and that ended it all for her.
Turning the car from the highway, he drove down the long, sandy driveway and parked the car in front of the two-story house. Two porches ran from one side of the house to the other with their dirty white banisters hiding the rocking chairs from the road.
Flora Compton lived alone in the old house after the death of her husband. Often she would invite the young people out for a weiner roast in order to take their business from the drug store that was down the street from hers. It was while watching the boys and girls roast weiners in the back yard and sneak off into the woods behind the house she conceived the idea of forming an entertainment club.
Jerry had been informed of the evils of the club when a pupil became pregnant and confided in him the secrets of the Fiddlers' Club. His first thoughts were to call the authorities in, but an investigation of his own activities at the drug store held him back. He soon became a partner in the business and the profits helped to pay for the medication he required so badly.
Leaving the car, he walked up on the porch, glancing at a hot rod parked beside the house. He grinned to himself when he recognized the car that belonged to one of the star football players at the school.
"What hot-pants bitch does he have out today?" he mumbled to himself as Flora Compton opened the screen door and walked out on the porch.
"We don't call our guests hot-pants bitches," she said, sitting down on one of the large, green rocking chairs. "Well, Jerry, what's the situation that caused your jumpy nerves to act up so?"
Jerry repeated the story Audrey had related to him while the woman sat listening intently.
"This is the second time that David Basehart has invited a girl to join the club and nearly got us into trouble. He knows that no one is to be invited until all have agreed that they would accept the new member. I'll have to speak to that squirt about this. If he can't wait until a girl has been invited to join, then he'll have to get his pleasures in the back seat of his car."
The principal listened to the woman take her anger out on the boy, then asked:
"Flora, what do you get out of opening your home to a group of kids to make out in? The five bucks they pay you each time they bring a girl doesn't justify taking the risk involved."
The woman gave a chuckle and replied:
"Jerry, if the skeleton in everyone's closet were exposed, it would turn the state of Florida upside down and under the water. You have your weakness, and I help to supply that weakness not only at the store, but the profits you receive from here should keep you well supplied. Oh, yes, there's a little matter I want to discuss with you.
"A friend who had a drug store in another state lost his butt and sold his stock and equipment. He poured four gallons of paregoric in other bottles and accidentally knocked a case off on the floor. Naturally they broke and spilled all the stuff, so he sold me the four gallons. I had to pay him a pretty high price, but it will ease off the demand for the stuff at the store and the narcotics inspector won't be suspicious of my re-orders. That I sold you this morning was legitimate stuff, but this bottle will come a little higher. I've got to get at least a dollar an ounce to make anything on it."
Jerry reached for the small bottle and downed it without taking the bottle from his mouth.
"I can't pay a dollar an ounce, Flora. You know that," he said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.
"That's a hell of a note, drink my bottle down like it was water and tell me you can't pay for it. I'll just take it from your part of the profits from the kids. After all, you haven't put one dime into this setup. I'm paying for your silence, but I've got plans to enlarge this enterprise of ours where we both will make a good profit."
Looking across the banister, Jerry watched a car with two couples pull in the drive beside the house and park. The girls jumped from the car and ran toward the porch as the boys pretended to chase them.
"Isn't that sweet, Jerry? Those innocent little girls pretending to be running to keep the boys from kissing them, when in a few minutes they'll have their hot little tails turned up, groaning as if in labor."
"Hello, Mrs. Compton," one of the girls greeted, running up the steps.
"You girls seem to be running away from the boys. When I was a youngster, we couldn't take a chance of some other girl taking our boy friend."
"Aw, they told us the last one on the porch was a wormer-I didn't mean that, Mr. Jernigan," she stammered, looking over at the principal.
Flora bit her lips to keep from laughing as Jerry's face turned crimson.
"We're going to play some badminton," one of the boys said, laughing as he entered the house.
"Go right ahead, you know where the game room is."
She winked at him, then whispered to Jerry: "Very few games are ever played in the game room. The big sport takes place upstairs in rooms two and three."
An hour later, Jerry Jernigan, seated in the front upstairs bedroom with Flora, was sipping coffee. The woman had a sinister grin on her face as she related to the school principal her plans to increase their revenue from the social club.
"Jerry, in all walks of life there are people who would shudder at the thought of these kids enjoying each other in those bedrooms, yet for a price they'd allow the same thing in their home if they could get away with it. Now take the preacher of the church down the street from my store. He gets a charge out of slipping his arms around the young girls under the pretense of being friendly and a good sport, when if the truth were known, he gets worked up and takes it out on his poor wife when he gets home. He would raise holy hell if he knew about what goes on here, but accidentally touching a girl's rear end or allowing his arm to press down on her breasts is all right. I could have spit on the old bastard the other day when I saw him pick a kid about ten years old up to see how heavy she was, when all the time his old hand was sliding up and down her skinny legs. If he wanted to know how much the little girl weighed, there was a scale not three feet away and for a penny he could have had her exact weight.
"I say this to introduce my idea to bring in more money for our club. In every city this size there are women who love their husbands, but receive no satisfaction from them whatsoever. As an example, my pharmacist laughed and told me the other day that Mrs. Boatwright had asked for some kind of pill that she could put in her husband's coffee to give him a little extra zip in his sex life.
"We have some pills that will do just that, but will eventually cause a person to lose their mind, so naturally he refused to sell her any. I've been sneaking a bottle or two now and then to several of the football players. It sells for five-ninety-five a bottle and is very little profit for the store. However, a few pennies here and a few there will someday make old Flora a rich old buzzard," she said, laughing as if enjoying a private joke.
"Get to the point, Flora. I can't sit here all night listening to you gossip about your customers. What's this big plan you have that will increase our income from the Fiddlers' Club?"
Jerry glanced out the window and watched the young people climb back into their car and drive away.
"Well, that's ten bucks just like picking it up off the floor, only I'll pick it up from the box in each room," she reflected, as the headlights of another car turned down the sandy road toward the house.
"Hey, that's Audrey MacAbee and David Basehart," Jerry exclaimed, watching the young couple leave the car and walk up the steps in the moonlight. He continued:
"She's the one who reported the club to Miss Sharp, the counselor. She thinks she's helping me to gather evidence on the club, but this'll give us an out when we walk in on the two and catch them red-handed. She'll be afraid to open her mouth when we have the goods on her."
Flora shook her head and sighed.
"Jerry, we're playing for keeps in this racket and we must stay one step ahead of the law. Now just how far would your word go when that young prosecuting attorney starts an investigation of our operations? Use your head, man. You're supposed to have common sense as well as book sense. We don't walk in on any of our members, because they pay for privacy and that's what we're giving them. There are other ways of insuring silence without disturbing their little romance. David called me this evening and I assigned him to room four, so slip on these earphones and learn something," she said, reaching under the bed for a box and withdrawing a set of earphones.
Opening the door quietly, David switched on the overhead lights; then, after closing the door, took the girl in his arms.
"Please, David, I don't want to do this," she begged, pushing the boy aside.
Walking over to the bed, the young boy sat down and looked over at the girl.
"You're my girl, aren't you?"
Nodding her head, she replied:
"Can't I be your girl without doing things like this?"
"Oh, boy, if you aren't a prude. You want me to ride you around in my car and then kiss your hand good night? Now listen, honey, I'm not going to waste a perfectly good evening pleading with you to do what I can get fifty girls in school to do willingly. I want you for my girl, but if your precious body is too good for me, then I'm looking elsewhere to go steady. I dropped Agnes Colton because she had the same crazy idea about waiting until she was married. I ain't waiting, baby, so either come over here and let's exchange me for you or I'll show you how fast I can drive a car to your doorstep."
The girl hesitated a moment, then walked over and sat by the boy on the bed.
"I don't mind making out with you, David, but not here in a bedroom. Why couldn't we just go somewhere and park?"
David slid his arm around the girl and buried his lips against her mouth while his hand sought anxiously for the opening in her dress. The girl grabbed his hand, then let her hand drop suddenly to her lap as she felt her breast being lifted out of the dress. She bit her lips as his mouth gently caressed her breast and then closed her eyes as she felt the warmness of his mouth circle the now hard, small nipple. She took several deep breaths when he forced her back down on the bed and smothered her with kisses.
"Please, let me at least remove my panties," she pleaded, as his eager hands tore at the elastic.
Jerry looked over at the woman and grinned.
"That kid doesn't waste time."
Several times Jerry licked his lips as he listened to the couple in the room down the hall.
"It isn't necessary to take my dress off," Audrey whispered, as the boy tugged at her dress and slipped it over her head.
"I want to see if my imagination has been working overtime," he replied, throwing the slip over on a chair.
Taking the girl in his arms, again he pulled her against his nude body and began kissing her down over her shoulders and in the crease of her neck.
"Oh, you're beautiful, Audrey. You're going to be my steady from now on," he said, loving over the sinewy body he held in his arms.
Audrey wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and fought back a tear as she cried out in pain once, then eased her body against him as his manly strength engulfed her.
Jerry removed the earphones and chuckled a little.
"If I listen to any more of that, it's going to take more medication than you could ever furnish to calm my nerves," he said, laying the instruments on the bed.
Flora laughed heartily, then walked over to the closet and cut off the recording machine.
"We have every word of their conversation down on tape for future use, if necessary. Now to get down to business about our little entertainment house. These kids would do anything to keep their parents from receiving a record of their activities here. Let me read off several names and see if you recognize any of them. There's Mr. James Randolph, English teacher, Alhambra High; William Barnett, clerk in Dawson's Department Store; Joan Bailey, science teacher at the school. I could go on and on reading from my little red book, but it isn't necessary. All of these people in this book have one thing in common; they're homosexuals. They have no way of satisfying their desires except by going to some of the bigger cities like Jacksonville, Tampa, or Miami. Now, if we provide a little entertainment for them this close to home, I'm sure they'd be willing to pay dearly."
Jerry laughed at the realization of the words he had just heard.
"I had my suspicions of Jim Randolph the first time I saw him. He has those thick lips and smack of his mouth like homos have. Tell me one thing, Flora, where are you going to get the entertainment for all these people?"
Gazing over at the recording machine, she replied:
"What could be more tantalizing to our customers than the young, tender bodies of our club members? Take David and Audrey as an example. David's father would kick him out of the house if he heard this recording, and you know little Audrey would die of shame if Mama heard her little innocent baby groaning and crying for more. So, rather than face that humiliation, how could they refuse us?"
Jerry frowned as he reached for his pipe.
"I don't know, Flora. We're taking a chance allowing this vulgarity to go on, but something like you propose could get us tossed in jail if it ever leaked out."
"You just wait in that closet and watch how I operate," she said, quickly going to the door and looking out. Glancing back at the man, she motioned for him to close the door.
For several minutes she waited until the boy and girl left the room and started down the stairs.
"Audrey, my dear, will you come here a moment?"
The girl paused and looked at the boy, puzzled, then walked back up the steps toward the woman.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked, glancing back at David.
"Yes, my dear, I'm in a terrible fix and I need your help badly."
Looking past the girl at David, she continued:
"If you won't mind, David, I'll drive Audrey home. I'd like her to help me decide on the decorations for our party next Saturday night."
The boy shrugged his shoulders.
"It's okay by me if Audrey doesn't mind."
"I'm sure she won't," Flora answered, taking the protesting girl by the arm.
"I should get home, Mrs. Compton. You see, I'm not supposed to date on school nights," she protested, as the woman pulled her gently into the room.
Flora sat down on a chair and looked up at the worried girl.
"I'm surprised that a nice girl such as you would allow a young boy to do the things you were doing there," she said, nodding her head toward the door.
"We didn't do anything wrong; we just made out a little."
"Well, let's see if you did anything wrong," Flora replied, going to the closet and turning on the recording machine.
Jerry stepped back so the girl wouldn't see him as Flora returned to her chair.
Audrey's face turned a deep red when she heard herself on the tape. She burst into tears listening to her voice plead with David to let her remove her panties before he tore them.
"How could you do this to us? David said it would be a safe place to go and no one would ever know what we did," she cried, burying her face in her hands.
The woman took the girl in her arms.
"Now, don't cry, my dear. There's no need for anyone to know if you just cooperate with me."
"What do you want me to do?" she questioned, as Flora led the girl over to the bed.
"Just sit down, Audrey, and answer some questions. I don't think it will be necessary to mail your parents a phonograph record of this tape. Now, has anyone questioned you about our club?"
"Yes, ma'am. Miss Sharp the counselor wanted to know where the house was."
"Did you tell her?"
"No, ma'am, I didn't know where it was until tonight when David drove me here."
"Have you discussed this house with anyone else?" Flora asked, glancing toward the closet door.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Audrey looked longingly toward the door, shaking her head.
"No, I haven't. May I go home now?"
Flora took the girl by the hand and started toward the door.
"Certainly you can, my dear, but first there's a little help I need from you."
Leaving the room, she led the girl down the hall into an adjoining bedroom. Turning to the girl, she said:
"Audrey, there's one thing I won't tolerate from anyone, and that's lying to me. I'm going to ask you a question and either answer you give will not hurt you or help you, but lying to me will send a copy of that recording to your parents. A few minutes ago when David had an intercourse with you, you cried out as if in pain. Was that the first time a boy has done that with you?"
The girl studied for a moment before answering: "No, ma'am, but it was the first time in over three years. I guess the reason he hurt me was because he was so rough. I don't enjoy doing things like that and haven't since the first time, because all a boy thinks about is himself. The girls at school are all crazy about David. He's so big and handsome, any girl would jump at the chance to date him. I tried to talk him out of bringing me here, but he said I would be proving my love for him if I did. I don't know why I did this. I didn't like it."
Flora led the girl over to the bed and sat down, pulling her down beside her.
"I have never understood why a woman will permit a man to tear her insides out just to satisfy his lust. Now for real, genuine pleasure, there's nothing like the sweet embrace of another woman. I'm going to kiss you, Audrey, and I want you to close your eyes and forget that I'm a woman."
"I don't want you to kiss me, Mrs. Compton," the girl replied, pulling away from her.
"Oh, but you do, my dear. I know you'd rather let me kiss and fondle this pretty little body than to have Daddy kick you out of his house, now wouldn't you?"
The girl was struck numb as she answered meekly:
"Yes, ma'am." She closed her eyes and let the woman take her in her arms.
Pressing her mouth down on the girl's lips, she kissed her gently at first, then smothered her face with kisses while her hand began to roam down the inside of the girl's dress and clasp the large, round breast. For several moments, she held Audrey in her arms, then a sudden wave of passion overwhelmed the woman, causing her to squeeze the girl's breast harder and harder.
"Please, Mrs. Compton, you're hurting me!" Audrey cried out, pushing herself away from the woman.
"Yes, my dear, it was a pain, but a thrilling one. I want you to stand and slip that lovely dress over your head."
"Why?"
"You don't ask Flora Compton 'why' when she does anything. You just do as she says. So that there'll be no misunderstanding, I intend to strip you naked and feast my eyes on this lovely body, so you just do as I tell you to."
Audrey hesitated a moment, then stood and pulled the dress over her head. Flora's eyes lit up with eagerness, and reaching down, she pulled the girl's slip off.
"I only wish I had a movie camera to catch the passion in that boy's eyes when he looked at these lovely things," she said, taking the girl's bra off.
Audrey stood and watched the woman remove her panties and drop them on a nearby table.
"I can't understand why a woman wants to kiss another girl and take her clothes off," she said, watching Flora remove her own clothing.
"You will, dearest, you will," the woman insisted, slipping out of her pants.
Again she slipped her arms around the girl and buried her anticipating lips against Audrey's mouth while she fondled the girl's breast, then pushed her down on the bed. Audrey lay looking up at the woman while she sat beside the girl stroking her breast. A peculiar feeling came over the girl watching the woman's hand make circles down her stomach, then bit her lips as Flora's hand slipped between her legs.
"Oh, Mrs. Compton, please don't do things like this to me," the almost helpless girl pleaded, attempting to control the tremble in her voice.
She felt her body stiffen and her feet seemed to be pulling her legs down toward the foot of the bed as the woman's mouth kissed her navel, then made its way slowly over her stomach.
"Oh, no, not that! I won't let you do that! It's nasty, filthy. Oh, why can't I stop you?" she moaned, taking hold of the bedpost and stretching every muscle in her body.
Later Audrey relaxed her body as the woman slid up beside her, taking her in her arms again.
"That is step one, sweetheart, and now for step two," Flora whispered, easing her body down on top of the trembling girl.
"I've never heard of such things in my life," she whimpered, as Flora's mouth covered hers with a breathtaking kiss.
She felt as if their kiss would last forever, then the woman released her and smiled down into her face.
"You like me, don't you?" Flora asked, giving the girl several quick pecks on her lips.
"I don't know. I don't know anything except I'm lying here naked with a woman on me as if she were a man. What good can you possibly get out of this?"
Flora slid her hands under the girl and brought their bodies tightly together.
"Just relax and follow my every movement, my dear, and that will answer your question."
She felt sick; she knew she was going to throw up all over the woman and herself. Every organ inside her seemed to want to respond to the woman's movements, but she was sick enough to want to scream for the woman to get off of her and let her run into the bathroom. Suddenly the nausea left her and she found herself following the woman's every move in unison. Now she wanted to laugh, scream, and shout, all at the same time. Never had she had such feelings in all her young life. She tried to think of David and what they had done in the next bedroom, but the vision of David was wiped out as she threw her arms around the woman and cried:
"I knew there was a way to enjoy sex, but never as wonderful as this."
A few moments later, the two lay wiping the perspiration from their bodies.
"Do we have to go now?" Audrey asked, disappointed, watching Flora reach for her clothes.
"There will be other times, my dear, many more enjoyable moments. Now slip that lovely body from the bed and get dressed before I lose control of myself again."
A while later, Flora walked into the room where Jerry was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Laughing, she nodded her head toward the earphones and said:
"I forgot to turn that fool thing off before I left the room. I guess you kept switching the buttons until you heard the room we were in."
He quickly zipped his trousers up and looked sheepishly at the woman.
"What in the hell could you two have been doing in there?" he asked, looking down at the earphones.
Flora winked at the man as she replied:
"That, my dear Jerry, is something the male population will never understand. I'm going to drive Audrey home now, so after we're gone, you slip out and we'll get together tomorrow and make our plans for an enjoyable profit from our little business. You know what that kid said
CHAPTER THREE
James Randolph had been one of the first teachers at Alhambra High. The year before he came to the high school, he, along with his sister Peggy, had taught in the elementary school for several years. They had purchased their first home the year before and had hopes of teaching in or around Alhambra until they retired. At forty-two, James was still a bachelor, for obvious reasons.
The students at Alhambra enjoyed his class because he was an acrobatic teacher. One minute he would be sitting on the edge of his desk, then without warning, swinging his feet high in to me in there? She said when she used to buy things from me at the drug store that she didn't realize there was so much pleasure under the white uniform I wore. She's number one on our list of growing junior Lesbians. By the way, Jerry, I'll fix it up for you to have a little pleasure with Audrey if you quit playing with yourself long enough."
"That's a lie and you know it. I'll admit I did become a little excited when I heard you fool females taking on so. Never mind fixing me up with Audrey. I'd rather beat down her resistance myself. As you no doubt know, that's half the pleasure of being a school principal. Over four hundred beautiful girls in my school to choose from," he mused, walking over to the window and staring down at Audrey standing in the driveway. the air, he would leap across the room and throw his bottom up on the windowsill. This always amused the students. But most of all, they liked him because he very seldom raised his voice.
His walk was anything but manly, and often he'd been accused of being a little on the queer side-that is, when the male students congregated behind the gym for a quick drag off of a cigarette before school. It was a fifty-fifty toss up among them whether he was queer or just a little on the feminine side.
Once he overheard one of their discussions, but instead of becoming indignant, he smiled to himself and walked the other way.
It was Saturday morning and he felt the urge to drive to Tampa or up to Orlando and visit one of the lounges and enjoy a few hours of relaxation drinking beer with the boys. Peggy became angry because she had counted on him helping her paint the bathroom.
"That's what they have professional painters for. They're used to all that mess and odor, so why not hire one of them to do the job?" he mumbled toward his sister as he left the house.
Backing the car out the driveway, he shifted gears and turned the automobile north toward Orlando.
His thoughts wandered back to his schoolroom as he thought of the girl in his class he had eyed recently, and had felt the uncontrolable urge to have her remain after class for a friendly discussion on anything that came to mind. Once he had yielded to the impulse and requested her to remain for a few minutes. After talking a while about the theater and TV shows, he brought the subject around to boys. This girl was too crazy over the opposite sex her own age to indulge in a little friendly sport with him. He soon dismissed her and from then on never bent over backward to give her a grade she hadn't earned.
Standing on the side of the road, evidently waiting for a bus, was a girl smiling at him. He applied his brakes after passing her and backed the car to where she was waiting.
"Where are you going, young lady?" he asked politely, opening the door.
She started to ignore him, but suddenly changed her mind and replied:
"Just over to Barksdale. That's about twenty miles west of Kissimmee. My sister lives there and I'm going to stay with her until Sunday evening, then my folks are coming over and bring me back."
"I'm going right through Kissimmee, if you aren't afraid to ride with me."
She hesitated-a moment, then smiled and got into the car.
"I guess you're taking as much chance as I am by stopping. I don't know the type person you are and you don't know if I'm a hold-up girl or not."
Putting the car in motion, James looked over at the girl for a second. He figured she must be in her early twenties. With a head of dark black hair and brown eyes, she made him think of a girl he once dated in college.
Then to make conversation, he asked:
"Are you interested in sports?"
"No, tennis is about all I know how to play. My hobby is music. I hope to someday be a professional musician."
He thought to himself, You will, girl, you have everything it takes. Then aloud, he said:
"To be great takes a lot of practice. I play the piano myself."
Several times he glanced at the girl, then stared down at the dress riding well above her knees as she sat with her legs gracefully crossed.
"You say you don't take part in many sports, but you certainly have beautiful legs, if I may say so. Do you take dancing lessons?"
The girl nodded.
"I used to take dancing, but Daddy made me quit because he said it was too expensive."
James took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, then offered her one.
"No, thanks, I don't smoke."
He thought to himself, What does this kid do?
"Aw, come on, one little cigarette never hurt anyone," he urged, pushing the pack toward her.
"Well, I don't guess it will."
He watched her puff awkwardly, trying hard not to inhale. She tried to cough silently several times so her inexperience wouldn't show.
As they approached a side road, he slowed the car down. Turning into the road, the girl gave him a puzzled look.
"I see by that sign back there, a person can get a good seafood dinner down by Tohopekaliga Lake. I feel fish hungry and I do hate to eat alone. Will you join me?" he asked, attempting to suppress her look of anxiety.
The girl was relieved as she noticed a small sign at the forks of the road directing customers to the Lake Inn.
"I've never been down here before, but heard that they do give you your money's worth. Suppose we go dutch, then I'll feel free to order what I like."
"Nonsense, I feel you're doing me a favor by keeping me company and I won't have to eat alone. Since I'm not married and you won't be taking food from my eight children, I insist that you be my guest," he said, laughing.
Parking the car in a space lined off with ground seashells, he quickly walked around and opened the door for the girl.
"By the way, since we're lunching together, perhaps it would be nicer if we introduced ourselves. I'm James Randolph. I teach English over at Alhambra High School."
The girl extended her hand and replied:
"My name is Sarah, but nearly everyone who knows me calls me Sally. I hate the name of Sally and wish people would call me by my right name."
James grinned a little as he opened the restaurant door and followed the girl into the dining room. A large picturesque window overlooked the lake and as he held the chair, he looked out over the water at several motorboats.
"Speaking of not liking the name Sally, I don't enjoy being called Jimmy when my name is James. How would it sound for a preacher to stand in his pulpit and call the Apostle James, Jimmy; or the Kings of England, Jimmy the First, Second, and so on? Personally, I like the name Sally. It sounds like an old-fashioned girl, and the good Lord knows we need more old-fashioned girls in this country."
The waiter walked up and laid a large menu before them. For a few minutes they studied it and twice the girl sucked in her breath at the prices.
"I thought I wanted a lobster, but not at these ridiculous prices. The idea, charging four dollars and seventy-five cents for a lobster, one potato, and a salad," Sally said, looking over the top of the menu at him. "Even the drinks and desserts are extra."
James laid the menu down and took a sip of water.
"Now, what would that poor little lobster have thought while swimming around in the ocean if he had known people didn't think his life was worth four dollars? If it's a lobster you want, then a nice, large lobster it'll be. Personally, I'm going to have a dozen fried oysters. I see they have the Cape Canaveral oyster as a specialty. One thing I've found in eating, when you want chicken, go to a place that specializes in chicken. I wanted seafood, so I've come to a place that specializes in seafoods. If you do that, you'll usually get what you pay for."
Later, wiping his mouth with a napkin, he pushed his empty plate back and smacked his lips.
"You see how I mean by patronizing a place with a specialty? When I just drop in any restaurant, I usually get cheated on my meats. You order a steak well done and it's either burned to a crisp or blood pops out the minute you cut it with a knife."
"You should be another Duncan Hines; you seem to be well informed on the subject of food," Sally commented, smiling over at him.
James caught several glimpses of the firm, round breasts as the girl leaned over a trifle to eat. She was a pretty girl who could become a model with the proper training and the right clothes. Unlike the natives of Florida, she re tained her light complexion. Leaving the restaurant, they walked leisurely down to the lakeside and for a while watched several children wade in the cool water. Making their way back to the car, they drove up the sand road toward the highway.
"I could spend the day hiking through those woods. It's so lovely around here," she said, breaking the silence between them.
Stopping the car on the side of the road, he got out and stretched his arms over his head.
"There's one thing I like about Florida. It matters not where you travel, there's always beauty. Look around you at the beautiful oak trees mingled in with the tall pines. You gave me an idea when you said you'd enjoy a hike through the woods. Let's forget who we are and do just that. We're kids again and we'll pretend that I'm Robin Hood and you're a damsel in distress. I've just saved you from the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham and together we'll explore Sherwood Forest."
Sally attempted to smother the laughter she felt was coming when she saw her new-found friend was dead serious.
"Don't you men ever grow up? My brother and I played that when I was only twelve years old. I guess it's like I've always heard-men are just grown-up baby boys. All right, Robin, take me to your band of men; but, mind you, Friar Tuck can't perform any marriage because I'm already spoken for by a short, fat man nearly sixty. My father is in debt to him and rather than see dear Father in prison for his debts, I've agreed to marry the fat ugly merchant."
James took the girl's hand and started walking down a path into the woods. Several times a rabbit ran across their path, causing them to jump backwards.
"I don't seem to be as brave as Robin Hood, because there's one thing that gives me the creeps and that's a snake."
They walked a good distance from the road and stood looking up at a large tree.
"What do you say we rest a few minutes under this large oak?" James said, sitting down and leaning back against the wide trunk of the tree.
The girl sat down beside him, pulling her finger along in the soft green moss. Looking at the girl's exposed legs, he laid his hand on her thigh.
"One thing about you, you're really pretty. Somehow you remind me of a student in my class. I realize a teacher shouldn't have such thoughts, but I catch myself wishing I were twenty years younger so I could ask her for a date. I've missed a lot in life and guess it's too late to try and capture some of the romance I let go by."
Picking up the girl's hand, he looked at the long fingernails which bore no polish, though neatly trimmed. The palm of her hand felt rough as if she had labored in the field.
"It isn't too late for anyone to fall in love if the right person should come along. I guess I've had my fill of romance in my lifetime. My father was a deacon in the church and very strict on his children. The cigarette I smoked a while back was the first I've ever had in my mouth. He used to tell us that sucking cigarettes was evil and yet back in South Carolina, he'd grow tobacco for the market. I never could see the difference in supplying tobacco for the manufacture of cigarettes and smoking them, but we were never permitted to question anything my father did or said. If he said that Jonah swallowed the whale, then that was the gospel truth because he couldn't be wrong. The only time I'd disobey my father was when I wanted to have a date. I'd sneak off and pretend to spend the night with a girl friend who was a member of our church. As long as they belonged to the church, as far as my father was concerned, they were all right."
The girl laughed a little to herself and continued:
"He could have never been any farther from the truth. I remember when I was sixteen; we were living on a farm near Orangeburg, South Carolina. A. girl friend and I had a double date with two boys from Bamburg; that's not far from Orangeburg. When this girl and I went to bed later that night, boy, did she give me the shock of my life! I guess that boy must have got her all shook up, because she attempted to take her frustrations out on me. Would you believe me when I say that she actually tried to make love to me? I tried to ignore her roaming hands over me, but when she tried to force her mouth against my lips, I jumped from the bed and threatened to dress and walk home. She promised to leave me alone before I'd get back in bed with her. Do you know what she cried and told me? She said that God made her that way and she couldn't help herself. The idea, blaming God for such nasty goings-on."
James watched the girl, then stood and walked over to a bush and stood picking the leaves.
Sally watched him, bewildered at the expression on his face.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked, rising and walking over to him.
""Perhaps we better go back to the car, Sally."
"Why? What have I done wrong? If I strayed from being a lady by telling you about that girl, I'm sorry."
James took the girl's arms and stared down into her worried face.
"You're a sweet kid, and I'm sorry our game of Robin Hood can't continue. It wasn't the fact you said anything you shouldn't, but what you told me could cause me to lose control of myself. Here I am out in the woods alone and with a beautiful girl so near it's impossible for me to remember I'm an old man and you're a sweet, young kid."
The girl's hands trembled as she slipped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. The warmness of her body began to stir him from within.
"You aren't an old man or any such thing, and I'm not a kid. You aren't the only one with emotions. If you want to make love to me, I see nothing wrong in that. You won't be the first boy to kiss me, and I don't guess you'll be the last."
James grabbed the girl hungrily in his arms and their lips clung together as his hands slid up and down her back, causing a peculiar feeling to spread over her. They stood locked in the embrace as their tongues met with delight. Together they allowed their bodies to slide to the ground while still clinging to each other. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, then nibbled gently on her earlobe, sending waves of fire over her young body.
She had felt this way many times before, but usually she stopped a boy before going beyond the point of no return. She didn't want to stop him; she wanted this moment to last until all resistance had left her. Somehow being in his arms was different from the young boys she had allowed to caress her. The way he held her, their bodies pressing close, the kisses that sent tingling waves flowing through her body, weakening all resistance.
She offered no protest when his hand clasped her breast for a moment, and then slowly worked its way down the front of her dress and held the naked breast so tenderly. She felt her breast suddenly harden as his finger circled the nipple. She wanted him to possess her quickly and the rougher he was the more tantalizing she knew it would be. If he would just tear the clothes right off of her, it would give an added sensation she had never before experienced.
Her body quivered as his hand slid up her leg and rested on her thigh, then she felt his large hand slowly tug at the elastic on her panties.
She shook her head, now hoping to regain the strength to resist, but clung to him as he slipped the pants down her legs. She closed her eyes when he rolled her over on her back and raised the print dress, lifting her body to get the garment high under her arms. She knew her body was now exposed to this man as his lips slid from one breast to the other, devouring them. Down on her stomach he kissed, probing around her navel with his tongue while his hand slid up and down her shapely leg several times, touching her with electrifying sensations. She wanted to stop him when she felt his mouth kiss down on her stomach, but she writhed beneath him as she knew the next move would be what she had heard so much about but declared would never happen to her.
His lips paused for a few seconds on her stomach, then he lay down beside her and again took her in his arms. No words passed between them as his weight became glued to the now responsive body beneath him.
She wanted to cry in protest that she was a virgin and be gentle, but no sound came from her throat, only the murmur of one sensation after another. She winced a little, then clung tightly to him as the movement of their bodies became as one.
A few moments later, his body remained, as his lips again sought the yielding tongue of the girl. She could feel his heart beating faster against her, then the same agonizing torment their bodies sought to relieve returned. Again their lips became sealed together and for several minutes the outside world was left behind.
Finally returning to reality, he pushed himself from the girl and sat gazing down at the lovely body. Sally opened her eyes and smiled up at him, then sat up, pulling her dress down.
"You have a sad expression in your eyes. Is it because you were the first to completely devour me? Don't be sorry, because I have no regrets. If I never see you again, this moment will live with me forever."
He laid his hand over on her shoulder.
"I didn't know that this would be your first; but if I'd known, I couldn't have resisted you. I must see you again, because for the first time in my life I'm in love. Oh, I know what you're thinking-because we had an affair, I think I've fallen in love with you. It's not very simple to explain, but I've been with girls before and I know the difference between lust and love."
Sally slipped her arm around him and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm not thinking that, because I knew when you took me in your arms that I loved you too. You don't believe that I gave myself to you because I just wanted a little excitement, do you? If having you against my body isn't part of love, then I don't want to be in love with anyone. We do love each other and whether it's love at first sight, I don't know. I just know that I'm in love with you."
James again took the girl in his arms and held her against him as he kissed her hair, then her forehead and again on her lips, "This has to be the end for us, Sally," he said suddenly. "There's something you don't know about me. I'm not like other men. You told me about that girl in bed with you, then looked so disgusted when you said she tried to feel of your body. I'm like that girl, Sally. I too am a homosexual. I've fought against it all my life, but there's no hope for me. I was on my way to Orlando when I picked you up and the purpose of my visit there was to pick up a man and have a relationship with him. I want to be like other men and have a home and kids, but what girl will accept a husband, knowing he enjoys playing around with other men?"
Sally listened dumbfoundedly as this man beside her, that she had readily given her body to, now confessed he was a homosexual. Then a faint smile came over her face and again she kissed him on his lips.
"I don't know why a person does those things, but I do know one thing. I love you and I know you love me or you wouldn't chance losing me by confessing that you have something wrong with you. Want to know something funny? When you kissed down on my stomach, I just knew that was what you were going to do to me. I guess I was a little disappointed that you didn't because I've been told it's a wonderful feeling. I accidentally walked in on my sister and her husband one afternoon and they were doing that. I was sick and disgusted and later told my sister off for doing such an awful thing with her husband. She told me that a lot of married couples enjoy each other that way, but I wouldn't believe it.
"When I thought you were going to do that to me, I really wanted you to do it. Please, James, don't feel badly because you have a weakness you can't control. I want to be with you now more than ever. With me, perhaps you'll find the strength to overcome your weakness."
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stood and pulled the girl to her feet.
"If you're willing to take a chance on me, then together we'll fight the world and all its prejudices. Maybe someday our love will grow so strong we'll be married and have a home and children."
A few minutes later, James started the car and they drove back to the highway. Turning to the right, he pressed the accelerator and the car gained speed. They rode in silence while the girl snuggled up close to him. He wanted to think he had picked up this girl, fed her, then enjoyed her body and that would be the end. Only once before had he thought he was in love and that was when he was about sixteen. A woman had lured him to her home on the pretense of letting him have her body. Time and again he would sneak into the woman's house and enjoy her after her husband had left for the night shift in the mill. He thought he loved this woman in spite of the fact she was married and had two children. The little girls would look at him puzzled when he came to her house, but later would scoot off to bed so Mommy could entertain her boy friend. Later he found out she was using him so that her husband could come home unexpectedly and threaten his life. He had consented to the man's advances and was forced to come to the man whenever he called. After several visits with the woman's husband, he no longer wanted girls but looked forward to the love sessions he had with the man.
He wanted to think this girl was the same as the other, but his heart overruled his judgment. He knew the girl beside him was his first and only love.
Sally agreed to meet him at the Alhambra Drug Store Monday after school and he was already counting the hours when he would again be with her.
Instead of driving on to Orlando, he drove to Barksdale and let the girl out at her sister's house.
As he drove back toward Alhambra, he said a prayer over and over again:
"If there is any help for people like me, please, God, drive this hideous desire for other men from my body."
CHAPTER FOUR
Alhambra High was scheduled to play Sherriton High School the next Saturday evening. The students were excited over this football game since the Sherriton Turtles were leading, and the coveted Fruit Bowl game would decide what team would be the state champions. Sherriton High had won five and lost two while Alhambra had tied two and won five games. This placed Alhambra in the lead to play opposite the Tampa Gators three weeks from next Saturday.
Mr. Jernigan fully shared the students' enthusiasm over their prospects of becoming state champions this year.
That afternoon, after school was dismissed for the day, a large number of students staged a pep rally in preparation for the game. Sherriton High School was fifteen miles south of Orlando and was Alhambra's rival in every sport.
The principal entered the gym and peered over his glasses as the cheer leaders went through their routine of jumping up and turning themselves in the air, exposing their pretty legs. Taking a seat next to James Randolph, he nodded to the English teacher and sat for a while as the band played their fight song. Glancing across the gym, he spied Audrey walking toward them, watching the cheer leaders. Her face turned a crimson color upon seeing the principal. The English teacher was puzzled as the girl started to go in another direction, then changed her mind and continued on toward them, taking a seat directly below. Glancing around, Audrey smiled and nodded her head toward Mr. Jernigan.
"She's a smart girl," James commented, looking down at Audrey.
"Yes, James, she's a very smart girl, although her marks in several classes could be better. But with the right kind of help, I'm sure she'll make the grade all right."
James sat watching the girl, thinking of Sally which caused a feeling of impatience for his date with her at the drug store two hours from then. He was surprised when the principal left his seat and whispered something in Audrey's ear.
The girl again turned red in the face and nodded her head as the principal continued on out the gym door. A few minutes later she left her seat and walked out the same door.
Watching the girl leave, he sat studying the actions of the girl and principal, wondering what it was all about. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned his attention back to the activities below him.
"One, two, three, four, we beat the Turtles once before-seven, eight, nine, ten, now we'll drive them back again," the students shouted, as the band struck up their fight song again, causing cheers to echo over the gym.
In his office, Mr. Jernigan listened to the shouts of the students as he waited for the girl to get there. The staff had left for the day, and he felt a peculiar feeling as he waited for Audrey to gently rap on his door. Leaving his chair, he crossed the room to the window and closed the blinds, then returned to his desk. A light knock caused his heart to skip several beats.
"Come in, Audrey," he called.
The door opened and the girl entered, closing it behind her.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Jernigan?" she asked, walking up to the desk.
The principal left his chair and walked over to a sofa in the comer of the large office and sat down.
"Come over and sit by me, Audrey, I want to talk with you about this club you spoke to me about. Have you learned anything new since our last talk together?"
The girl walked slowly over to the sofa and propped herself on the edge.
"No, sir, I haven't anything to report, but when I do, I'll let you know," she answered, and started to stand when the principal reached up and pulled her back down on the seat.
"You're quite fond of David Basehart, aren't you?"
The girl looked down at the floor, then put her finger to her mouth and began chewing her nail.
"No, sir, not especially. I thought I was, but I guess it was because he is a football player and all girls enjoy dating a player. He promised that I would be his sponsor at the home-coming game next Saturday, but that's all off."
The principal gave the girl several pats on her knee.
"That's a shame. Just because you two had a little spat is no reason why you shouldn't be his sponsor. You don't know the thrill of walking out on the field at half time and hearing the announcer call your name as David's sponsor before all those people."
Audrey glanced down at the principal's hand on her leg, then looked up at him again.
"I guess he'll have Lana Burson for his sponsor since I told him I didn't want to see him again."
Mr. Jernigan slowly allowed his hand to slide an inch or two up and down the girl's leg, when an impulse came over him. He slipped his arm around the surprised girl, burying his lips against her mouth as she attempted to free herself from his tight grip. Pushing him away, she stood and demanded angrily:
"Mr. Jernigan, what right have you to do that to me?"
The principal again caught her by her arm and pulled her down beside him.
"Every right in the world, Audrey. When a young girl gives herself to a boy, she takes the chance of others finding out about it and using their knowledge for their own satisfaction. I know things, Audrey, and there's no use trying to fool me with your innocent indignation. I happen to know that you do know where the house is located and that you were there naked in the room with David Basehart. There's no need to look so horrified, because no one will know of your little indiscreetness-that is, if you cooperate with me."
"That's not true, Mr. Jernigan, and you have no right to make such an accusation against me. I've never been naked anywhere with a boy," she cried, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Would you be willing for me to confront your father with what I know and let him decide if I know what I'm talking about?"
"My father wouldn't believe a word you said about me," the girl said, with a defiant look in her eyes.
He rose and walked over to his desk and opened a ledger. Picking up the telephone, he began dialing a number.
"No, please wait!" Audrey cried, rushing to the principal, grabbing his arm. "Don't call my father. I didn't want to go there, but David insisted, so I went. Why are you doing this to me, Mr. Jernigan?" she pleaded, as the man dropped the receiver back in place.
Taking the girl by her hand, he led her back to the sofa and again pulled her down beside him. Slipping his arm around her, he kissed her on the lips while his hand slid under her dress, feeling of her leg. Audrey offered no resistance when his hand crawled up her leg, touching her panties. His hand trembled a little as a thrill went over him that developed into a flaming desire. The girl was terrified and sat motionless while her principal's hand forced its way under her pants and his thick lips kissed over her face, down on her neck. Withdrawing his hand from under the skirt, he unbuttoned the front of her white blouse and opened it, exposing the pink bra. She bit her lips and closed her eyes when she felt his hand slide down her blouse and clasp her breast.
For several moments, she sat enduring the humiliation she felt while he forced her breast from under the bra and placed his lips over the small nipple. Then standing, he pulled the girl to her feet and demanded:
"Take off your blouse and bra, Audrey!"
"Please, Mr., Jernigan, don't force me to do this," she cried, feeling helpless, as a tear ran down her cheek. She slowly removed her blouse and unfastened the brassiere.
The man's eyes blazed looking at the large, round breasts. He again took them in his hands, kissing first one and then the other.
"I've wanted to do this for a long time," he said, taking several deep breaths. "Take off your skirt. I want to let my eyes feast upon those lovely legs."
The girl hung her head and unfastened her skirt and let it fall to the floor.
Gently pushing her down on the sofa, he knelt beside her and slid his hand up and down her legs. Leaning over, he kissed her thigh, then over her knees to the calf. Succumbing to his overly passionate, beastly desires, his teeth bit down on the girl's tender leg.
"Please, Mr. Jernigan, that hurts," she cried out in pain, pushing his head away.
The print of his teeth could be seen on her leg as he continued the path down to her foot. Removing the shoes and white socks, he kissed her foot, then inserted her big toe in his mouth.
She watched him and couldn't understand the strange feeling that came over her. A cold chill seemed to rise from her stomach to her chest as she lay, bewildered at the man's actions.
Again his mouth kissed up her leg, over her knee to the edge of her pants. Reaching up, he pulled the panties down her legs and again pressed his quivering lips on her. She started twisting her body in an attempt to free herself from his tight grip while he held her with his hands and devoured the defenseless girl.
Rising from his knees, he looked down at the girl's frightened expression. A new sensation engulfed him when he realized there wasn't anything he couldn't do to this helpless bundle of loveliness.
"Stand up," he ordered, then sat on the sofa as the girl stood before him. He reached over and pulled her close to him and ran his hands up and down her slender legs.
"I've watched those girls in the gym and wanted to touch them so much. Oh, my dear, you don't know how wonderful it is to feel the muscles of these gorgeous legs. When I was just a young man, I enjoyed picking small girls up in my arms pretending I wanted to see how heavy they were just to run my hands over their little legs."
His eyes blazed as they feasted on the girl's stomach.
"Lie down on the floor, Audrey, I'm going to prove that I'm not the worm the students say I am," he said, standing up and removing his clothes.
The girl stood and watched the man slip his trousers off, then her hand went to her mouth in horror as she stared at his nude body.
"Please, Mr. Jernigan, let me put my clothes on," she wailed.
"In due time, my dear, but first I want to give you a real man, not just a hot-pants boy who hops on and then off again," he boasted, pushing the frightened girl down on the carpeted floor.
Kneeling down before her, he again took her breast in his mouth while he gently caressed her legs. She tried to hold back the tears when he bruised her lips.
"You're hurting me. Please don't, Mr. Jernigan, I can't do it, I can't," she cried out, attempting to push the man from her.
"Shut up, you little devil," he hissed, "do you want the custodian to hear you and catch us?" as he clamped his hand over her mouth. "I'm not such a little worm naked, now am I?"
The girl again bit her lips to keep from screaming from the pain he was inflicting on her. Without realizing her movements, she suddenly brought her knee up, striking the man a vital blow. Gritting his teeth, he rolled over on the floor, attempting to regain his breath. Audrey pushed herself up from the floor and quickly took advantage of the situation by grabbing her clothes and dressing. She hurried to the door and looked back at the principal attempting to force himself up.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Jernigan, but I couldn't do what you wanted. Please don't tell anyone about me. I'd rather be dead than to face my father if he ever found out."
Opening the door, she quickly left the office and walked down the hall.
Jerry Jernigan crawled over to the sofa and pulled himself up and lay for a while. A few minutes later, he stood and walked over to where his clothes lay on a chair.
"You'll pay for this, you dirty little bitch," he swore aloud, while dressing.
James Randolph left the gym and drove his car to the drug store. Each block he prayed Sally would really be waiting for him.
He entered the store and his heart seemed to stop beating when he saw the store empty except for two clerks.
"Waiting for someone?" Sally asked, walking up behind him.
Turning around, he smiled down into her glowing face, then took her arm and led her to his car.
"Don't ever scare me like that again. When I didn't see you in the store, I just knew I would never see you again," he said, driving away from the curb.
Sliding over against him and laying her hand on his leg, she replied:
"It's been years since Saturday. I told my sister about us, but naturally I didn't tell her everything."
"I hope not," he replied, grinning over at her.
"You want to know what my sister said?"
"All right, I'll bite. What did your sister say?"
"She said it didn't matter how old you were, that I'd better grab you because I made you sound like a wonderful person."
"You're just about right, I am a wonderful person. If I weren't, I wouldn't have a wonderful girl next to me now. Where shall we go? You name it and it's yours."
Laying her head on his shoulder, she whispered:
"Do you know a cozy little place where two cozy little people could get used to the idea of being married someday?"
Slipping his arm around her, he replied:
"I know a cozy little house, that has a cozy little bedroom and my cozy little sister will be away with her cozy little boy friend until nearly midnight."
"If you really think it's safe. I've waited all week end and pretended every minute that I was asleep in your arms. Let's go to that cozy little house and let me hear you tell me over and over again that you do love me."
As he pressed his foot down harder on the gas feed, Sally looked at the speedometer as it climbed.
"What will you tell the judge when you get arrested for speeding?"
"When that bald-headed judge sees you, he'll sentence the cop for delaying two people in love," he replied, stepping on the brakes and turning into a driveway.
"I hope your cozy little sister isn't home by accident," she said, looking at the white stucco house.
"Who knows? She may be in her bedroom with her boy friend. If so, we'll make it a foursome," he teased, leading her up the steps into the house.
CHAPTER FIVE
Three men in serious meditation sat before a large desk waiting for the young county prosecutor to return from the courtroom after finishing his arguments to the jury.
Seated in the middle of the semicircle, the pastor of the church looked to his right and addressed the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
"Gentlemen, I appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to meet with me today, but as I said when requesting your presence, this is a very serious matter.
"The young lady I spoke to you about was a member of my church and very active in young people's work. I couldn't believe it when her parents came to my study and informed me that their daughter had gotten pregnant and was a member of a so-called club that sponsors sexual cults. The parents have taken their daughter back north to have her baby out of wedlock.
"I did some investigation on my own, and questioned my daughter Audrey, but haven't come up with anything. I dismissed it from my mind thinking perhaps it was a wild tale the young lady gave her parents because she didn't know who the father of her child was. The other day, I received an anonymous call in my study saying that there is such a club and it involves some of our young people."
The conversation was interrupted as the door opened and the prosecutor entered his office.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen, but I was delayed a little longer in court than I thought I would be. What's on your mind, and how may I be of service?"
The president of the Chamber of Commerce shifted himself on his chair.
"Reverend MacAbee has given us some startling information and we feel it should be brought to your attention. Suppose we let the Reverend give you what he has as of now."
The prosecutor sat quietly as the minister repeated the information he had on the club's activities. Sitting back in his swivel chair, the prosecutor kept picking at his chin and waited patiently until the minister finished. Then he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk.
"I'm always open for any information on a crime committed in my jurisdiction. In the case I have just prosecuted, I'm afraid the People will lose. The police rushed this case and arrested a man without sufficient evidence for a conviction. The charge was molesting a minor child.
"Years ago it would have been easy to convince a jury a man was guilty. Today, it's a different story because of the number of cases that have been proven to be without foundation. Two women have a squabble and for revenge one woman accuses another woman's husband of bothering her five-or six-year-old daughter. The easiest thing in the world to do is frame a person. A small child can be led to believe a certain thing happened and the story firmly planted in her mind, then it isn't difficult to have the child believing something happened when it didn't.
"This case involved families who live next door to each other, they've been friends with the child's family for years. Their squabble resulted over a piece of land each claimed possession of. The father of the child took a warrant out against the other man, charging him with molesting his little four-year-old stepdaughter. The police arrested the man and the father demanded an immediate trial. I felt sure we had an ironclad case against this man and gave the court everything I had for a conviction. Was I dumbfounded when the defense attorney called a surprise witness! In fact, he called three witnesses who testified that the stepfather was himself a homosexual, and had boasted in a beer joint and also to a young boy that he was really getting even with this man for cheating him out or some land.
"Frankly, I believe the man is as guilty as sin itself, but that jury will never return a verdict against him because the police failed to investigate the stepfather and find out if there was a motive behind the charge or if it was ligitimate. Now you tell me that there is a club for teen-age boys and girls where they may go for immoral purposes, yet you can't say who operates this club, what young people are members, or if there is definitely such a club.
"Gentlemen, I've stuck my neck out for the last time. When you have some facts to present to me-names, places, who operates this club-I'll crack down so fast it will make your head swim.
"I appreciate your position-you as pastor of a church, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and also you representing the Businessmen's Association. Give me something to work on and I'll crack it wide open, but I don't have the men to spare to run down rumors without facts. Forgive me, gentlemen, if I sound indifferent, but my office operates on facts and not rumors."
The three men stood and looked at each other for a moment, then the heavy-set man extended his hand and said:
"All right, Mr. Burnside, if it's facts you want, then we'll find the facts-if there are any-and if we don't and I pray we don't, then no one has been hurt."
The prosecutor watched the three men leave his office, then pressed a button under his desk. A moment later, a man in his early thirties entered and grinned at his boss.
"What was that, a committee from an organization requesting their prosecutor to speak at a luncheon?" he asked, taking a seat next to the desk.
"Just the opposite. Clark, several weeks ago didn't we receive an anonymous letter about a club catering to sexual parties? Someone is either pulling our leg or they're trying to get revenge on a club because they weren't invited to join.
Those three men have the same information that letter contained and came here demanding our department run it down and break up the club. I told them we couldn't do anything without more information, and I don't think they appreciated my answer. People are prone to speak before they think, and if word got out that we were investigating this so-called club, we wouldn't have a dog's chance of getting to the bottom of it. There could be something to these letters and calls, and I want you to drop everything and find out if it is just a rumor or if a club such as this does exist. We don't want another smart defense attorney to make asses out of us again, so bring me some real facts or don't bring me anything."
He paused, looked at his watch, then said: "I'm due back in court now on that burglary case. I'll buy you a steak dinner if that jury brings in a guilty verdict on that molesting case, but don't miss your dinner expecting one out of me." He picked up his briefcase and hurried out.
Leaving the courthouse, Clark grinned and said aloud to himself.
"Why, you eager-beaver jackass, you'd mess your britches if you knew it was I who tipped off the defense attorney that the stepfather was a homo."
Leaving the parking lot, he drove directly to the Alhambra Drug Store and parked down the street from it. Entering the store, he sat down at a back booth and ordered a chocolate malt.
Flora Compton finished waiting on a customer, then walked smilingly over to the booth and sat opposite the man.
"Well, son, how did things go in court today?"
"Just as I planned, Mother. The defense made an ass out of our dear prosecuting attorney. Several more cases like this and he wouldn't have the gall to run for reelection, so your bright boy will step into the prosecutor's chair."
"You keep following Mother's advice, son, and there's no telling how high you may go. I didn't slave to put you through law school just so you could defend some man for raping a girl who tripped him up and beat him to the floor. You're going places, son, just you wait and see."
"Oh, yes, some busybody keeps calling on the telephone and sending letters all over town about a club being used as a whorehouse. A preacher and two other men were in the office demanding that our prosecuting attorney do something about it. The nut didn't have the sense to promise them anything. He sent them away mad as wet hens because he didn't jump when they spoke. That's another strike in my favor. Now he wants me to drop everything I'm doing and find out if there's anything to these calls. Hell, let him find out himself. I'm too busy making an ass out of him to do his leg work."
Flora looked suspiciously at the man and asked:
"Is there such a club, son?"
"Yes, I think there is, but I'll wait until I'm the prosecuting attorney, then prove to the county they didn't make a mistake electing me. That will give the club nearly a year to operate before I close in on them. I wish I knew who the leader was so I could tip him off in case that smart prosecutor starts a real investigation on his own."
Flora smiled cunningly.
"You just keep me informed on how much he knows and let Mother do the rest. I'll guarantee you'll be the first to crack the case. By the way, how are Bess and the kids?"
"Well as can be expected. I wish you and Bess could get along, Mother. There's no reason why my wife and mother shouldn't be on speaking terms."
The woman sighed, then smiled at her son.
"I don't want to ever come between you and your wife. She resents me, so the best thing to do is keep us separated. I do miss my grandchildren, but perhaps some day things will be different. Now, drink your malt and come by the drug store and see me as often as you can."
Flora frowned a bit when she noticed Audrey MacAbee sitting at the counter eating a dish of ice cream. Leaving the booth, she walked behind the counter and stopped before the young girl.
"I've been wanting to see you, Audrey, but I'm afraid you've been avoiding me. I wouldn't want you to feel that you couldn't come into my store because you enjoyed playing around with your boy friend. I want you at the house promptly at eight o'clock tonight, so I'll pick you up at seven-forty-five in front of the library."
"Oh, Mrs. Compton, I can't be there tonight. It's Wednesday night and Daddy expects me to be at prayer meeting," the girl replied, looking distressed at the woman.
"I'm sorry you aren't feeling well, Audrey, and must miss prayer meeting, but there are things we can't help. I'll expect you at seven-forty-five," she insisted, then turned and walked to the back of the prescription counter.
A little before eight, Flora Compton sat parked in front of the library waiting impatiently for the girl. Watching through the rear-view mirror, she saw the girl walking hurriedly toward the car. Opening the door, Flora put the car in motion before Audrey had time to completely close it.
"I said seven-forty-five," she flared angrily, after they were driving out the highway toward her house.
"I couldn't make it any sooner. I didn't think I was going to get to come at all, because Daddy looked suspicious when I told him I wasn't feeling well enough to go to prayer meeting. Mrs. Compton, won't you please destory that recording? I can't continue coming to your house. Sooner or later Daddy'll really get suspicious and find out what I've done," she pleaded, looking over at the woman.
Flora stopped the car in back of her house and led the way through the back door into the living room. Dropping her purse on the dining room table as she passed, she sat down on a large chair and looked up the the young girl.
"We haven't much time to talk since you were late. Audrey, I'm going to instruct you what is expected of you and I don't want any back talk, crying, or refusals. There is a lady due here any minute and I want you to entertain her."
"All right, Mrs. Compton. What do you want me to do?" Audrey agreed innocently, feeling relieved that the woman wasn't going to repeat the torture she was forced to submit to last week.
"It may surprise you that there are women in this world who don't enjoy sexual relationships with men. I happen to be one of those women. Although I suffered submitting to my husband, rest his hot old soul, I find no satis faction except with one of my own sex. I want you to go upstairs to the first bedroom on the left and wait for this lady. If she tells me you gave her one ounce of trouble, the tape I have of you and young David will be sent the first thing in the morning to your parents."
The girl stood shocked as she listened to the instructions Flora gave her.
"You certainly don't mean this woman is to use me the way you did? No, I won't do that!" she screamed out at the woman. "Go on and send the tape to my father, but you can't make me let a dirty old woman paw over me."
Flora sneered at the girl, then gave her a slap across her cheek, causing the girl to reel and fall backwards on the sofa.
"You listen to me, you hot-pants little bitch. If you think I'm bluffing, just get your butt out that door and go home. But remember, your father isn't the only one who will have a copy of the tape. I can see the expression on your father's sanctified face when he hears his daughter pleading with her boy friend to wait until she could remove her pants so the boy could drop one in his little innocent daughter. Go on and get out of here, or get your fanny up those stairs, and I'd better not hear a complaint from my friend who'll be visiting you in a few minutes."
Rubbing her burning cheek, Audrey pushed herself from the sofa and walked slowly up the steps as tears rolled down her cheek.
"Oh, David, why did you talk me into coming to this awful place?" she cried aloud, opening the door to the bedroom.
For a short while which seemed like an eternity, she sat on the edge of the bed watching the door, hoping it wouldn't open. Several times she was tempted to leave the room and take the chance that Mrs. Compton was bluffing and wouldn't send the tape to her father. She buried her face in the pillow and sobbed. Then hearing footsteps on the stairs, she quickly dried her eyes with her hands and sat watching the door as it slowly opened.
Audrey sat with her mouth partly open, staring at the woman who stood smiling before her.
"Not you? It couldn't be you, Miss Hunter!" she gasped, looking up into the face of her science teacher.
Kathleen Hunter walked over to the bed and sat down next to the startled girl. Taking Audrey's hand, she held it for a moment, then leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.
"Yes, Audrey, I've longed for this moment ever since you first entered my class at the beginning of school. When my good friend informed me that I had my pick out of seven girls she had working for her, my first choice was you."
"I can't believe that you'd do such a thing, Miss Hunter. You've always been so nice to the students, and everyone loves you as a teacher."
Taking the girl in her arms, Miss Hunter gently kissed her at first, then kissed her passionately for several moments, forcing her mouth open to receive her kiss. Audrey sat motionless allowing her teacher to caress her. The woman stood and started unfastening her blouse and slipped it off, then removed her skirt.
"Suppose we get rid of these clothes before we really start our love session," she suggested, still smiling at the girl.
"Miss Hunter, please don't force me to do this. Tell Mrs. Compton that I did everything you told me to," she pleaded, taking the teacher by her arms.
Pushing the sobbing girl from her, the teacher removed her bra and panties.
"I paid Flora Compton fifty dollars for you when I could have had six other girls for half that. I wanted the thrill of breaking down your resistance, and your pleas add to the pleasure I'm receiving, knowing that in a few moments that body I've lusted after so long will be mine, all mine," she answered, with a wild expression on her face.
Audrey knew any plea she made to her teacher would be fruitless, so she stood and pulled her dress over her head.
The woman's eyes shone as she watched the young girl disrobe. Dropping to her knees, Kathleen Hunter threw her arms around the girl's legs and began kissing up and down her thigh.
"Oh, you doll," she murmured, clasping a handful of flesh on the girl's buttocks.
Audrey stood, feeling sick, looking down at the teacher she had felt so close to in school. Like an animal, the woman bit the girl's leg, then reached up and jerked her panties off. Audrey stood petrified watching the woman devour her as the room seemed to be turning around and around.
"Please let me lie down," she cried weakly, pulling away from the woman and dropping down on the bed.
Kathleen stood, then sat down on the bed, running her hands over the girl's breasts.
"You don't know how many times I've looked at these beautiful things and dreamed of the time I could kiss these pretty nipples," she whispered, taking the girl's breast in her mouth.
"You're worth anybody's fifty dollars, and tonight you belong to me, all of you."
Taking the girl in her arms again, she kissed her lips, then her cheek, following a path down her body over her stomach.
Audrey lay thinking of the pain she suffered at the hands of the boy she loved, then her principal ravished her young body, now her teacher was gnawing over her. She wanted to scream when the woman's body pressed down on her.
There was no feeling as she permitted the woman to use her the way two men had taken advantage of her. A strange feeling soon began to creep over her and unconsciously she found herself following the teacher's every movement. She wanted to tear her insides out when she discovered her arms wrapped around the woman and her lips returning the kisses.
"What's happening to me?" she moaned, pushing her body up to meet the woman above her.
"We'll be together often, won't we, darling?" Kathleen whispered, looking down into the burning eyes of the young girl.
"I don't know, I just don't want this to ever be over with."
"There never was a truer saying; don't knock something If you haven't tried it," the teacher answered, as their bodies became glued together as one.
CHAPTER SIX
Thursday afternoon James Randolph waited for over an hour for Sally, then walked slowly from the drug store and sat in his parked car for a while, keeping his eyes glued to the front of the store. She had promised to wear the same white dress she was wearing on Monday when he had taken her to his home for a few hours. The short time he had known her was the happiest time of his life. It was true they had yielded to the temptations of their inner feelings, but this was love, deep true love, he felt for this girl.
In spite of his uncontrollable desire for another man, he had sworn time and again that when they were married, never would he look at a man or young boy with lust. Some people are born with a speech defect and overcome it, then why shouldn't he overcome the desire that had been with him for years?
Another hour passed. Then he started his car and drove slowly down the street toward the local theater. He felt that perhaps Sally's father had learned of the romance between his daughter and the English teacher and prevented her from coming to town to meet him. It was too early to go home, so he decided to while away the time in the movie. He parked the car, then purchased a ticket and walked down the dark aisle and found an end seat. The picture was nearly over, but he attempted to concentrate on what the characters were saying on the screen. Two young girls behind him kept whispering to each other, preventing him from hearing the picture. Several things one of the girls said caused him to lean back in his seat and listen in on their conversation.
"I'm not lying to you, Mabel, she made a tape recording of Arthur and me in the bedroom and to keep her from sending it to my father, I had to go to her house and let an old fat woman kiss over my body. I told Arthur about it and he said I was making it all up, that she hadn't made any such recording. He said all she wanted was the five bucks he paid her to use the bedroom."
"Why don't you go to the police and have her arrested? She can't make you get naked and let a dirty woman do those things. She better not pull anything like that on me because the first thing I'd do would be to tell my mother the entire story. Then what could she do?"
"Yeah, but your mother doesn't care if you give it to a boy. You told me so yourself, but my folks would scream bloody Mary if they thought that I let a boy do a thing like that to me,"
"How do you know my mother wouldn't care?" the other girl asked indignantly.
"You told me yourself that she caught you and Courtney doing it on the front porch and didn't say anything."
"I didn't say she caught us doing anything. She walked out on the porch while Courtney had me backed up against the banister, and we just stood still until she went back into the house."
"You were doing it standing up, weren't you?" the first girl reaffirmed.
"Yes, but she thought we were just making out, and too, her boy friend was probably getting ready to do it with her is the reason she came out to see where we were."
James bit his lips to keep from laughing out loud at the girls, then the laughter left his face as the conversation shifted.
"I believe the Worm has something to do with the club, because when Arthur and I went to the house the last time, he was on the porch talking to Mrs. Compton and smiled at us as we entered. If he isn't a member, then he's part owner; and if he isn't, what was he doing out there?"
"Do you know what old Mrs. Bennett forced me to let her do? Now don't you breathe a word to anyone, but she actually got on top the way Arthur does and did it to me like a man."
"You don't mean Dr. Bennett's wife is that way too? Why, the whole town has gone nuts! Courtney said the boys think Mr. Randolph is a queer because of his actions. He said that Thomas Lowery is going to find out if he is or not."
"How will he find out?" the first girl asked, giggling.
James turned in his seat and looked at the girls.
"Perhaps he'll tickle me between the legs," he said, glaring at the girls, then left his seat and walked out of the theater, leaving the two girls speechless.
He sat in his car trying to analyze the conversation he had just heard, then drove back to the drug store. A broad smile came over his face when he saw Sally standing on the comer. Blowing his horn, he stopped and opened the door.
"I'd given up hope that you'd come," he said frankly, after starting the car.
Turning to the right, he circled the block and drove slowly out the Leesburg Highway.
"I'm sorry, honey, but I missed the bus. I wouldn't be here now if a neighbor hadn't passed and given me a lift into town."
Slipping his arm around the girl, they drove for a while in silence.
"I told you I was sorry; and if I wounded your feelings, I couldn't help it," she said, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
He quickly looked at her several times, then pulled the car over to the side of the road and took her in his arms.
"You haven't wounded my feelings, darling; it's something I overheard a while back. I thought you weren't coming so I went to the theater to keep from being lonesome all by myself. I heard something that doesn't make sense, from two high school girls sitting directly behind me in the show. They were talking about being forced to let a woman get on top of them like a man because someone made a tape recording of their boy friends fooling with them. They called the name of Mrs. Compton and the Worm. The only woman named Compton that I know owns the Alhambra Drug Store, and the kids have given Mr. Jernigan, the principal of the school, the nickname of the Worm, but a thing like that couldn't be farther from the truth. Our principal is a very dedicated man to his work and the owner of the drug store certainly wouldn't take a chance being mixed up in any kind of lewd racket."
The girl thought a moment, then kissed him on the cheek again.
"They were probably talking about someone you never heard of before. Yet, it was an awful accusation they were making about whoever they were discussing."
"They didn't mean someone else when they said that the boys suspected that Mr. Randolph was a queer. I don't know why they think that about me. I haven't said or done anything to give them a reason to know anything about myself."
Turning toward the girl, he took her in his arms, then continued:
"I told you that was my weakness; but after we're married, I'll die before I ever yield to that again."
"What about before we're married? Is it necessary for you to yield?" she asked, pushing him from her.
"I'll give you my word of honor that never again will I do anything with a man or woman except you from this moment on."
Throwing her arms wildly around him, she whispered in his ear:
"From now on, darling, I'm going to keep you so gilflirted you won't give a lustful thought to anyone."
"Now what in the world does gilflirted mean?" he asked, laughing a little.
"It's an old South Carolina expression that means when a person is gilflirted they are too weak to turn over, let alone have an intercourse."
"That sounds wonderful, darling, let's go somewhere and get gilflirted," he suggested, starting the car and driving back onto the road.
The motel was built back in '24 during the Florida real-estate boom; however, the broken pieces of stucco had been repaired and painted, giving the appearance of an up-to-date place. The dark-green lawn with tropical shrubbery growing abundantly along the side of the long building gave proof that interest and attention had been given to the place, making it a tropical haven for the northern tourists who delight in taking pictures of the many different plants as well as the tall date palms.
A young man sat behind the desk reading a paperback novel, but quickly laid it down when James and Sally entered the office.
"Good afternoon, sir. May I serve you?" he asked, giving forth his best smile.
"Yes, the wife and I would like a room just for the night," James answered, reaching for the registration card the man pushed toward him.
While he registered, the young man cast a gleaming eye at Sally, then laid a key on the desk Looking down at the card, he nodded his head approvingly.
"That'll be nine-twenty-seven, Mr. Brown."
James handed him a bill and as the young man gave him his change, the old familiar feeling came over him for a moment. He shook the desire off, thinking of the gorgeous girl who would be in his arms again in a few short minutes. How well he knew this feeling that had been with him since he was a young man. He didn't want it, yet it did give him a pleasure he couldn't describe.
Leaving the office, he drove his car down to the last room. He felt the cool breeze from the air-conditioning unit hit him in the face as he opened the door. The early morning had been chilly, but as the sun warmed the earth, the temperature had risen from a comfortable seventy-five into the nineties before school had dismissed for the day.
The clerk had not taken them to the room since, from experience, he had learned a man and woman checking in with a local tag number weren't interested in whether the bed was comfortable, because usually the room would be occupied by several couples before the night was over. Looking over at an elderly man, he winked and commented:
"A queer if I ever saw one. Did you notice the way that bastard looked at me, and with a beautiful doll like her to go to bed with. Boy, she had table-grade stuff that didn't need seasoning. "
The older man laughed a little and continued reading the paper.
"I'd give him what I have any time if he'd share that with me," the clerk continued, licking his lips.
"Maybe he's gonna eat a little of that," the old man replied, turning the page of his paper.
"Certainly, he'll eat it. You don't think he'd violate the pure food act by dropping anything unsanitary in that, do you?"
The two men enjoyed a good laugh, then the younger man returned to the novel he'd been reading.
Sally felt uncomfortable while standing in the lobby. This was her first experience of being in a motel with a man. She would have refused anyone else, but this was the man she was going to marry, and what difference did it make if they enjoyed their love now or after they were married? She thought of the time her sister sang in the choir in South Carolina and the young preacher had seduced her, then justified his action by reading her a scripture about "If a girl passes the flower of her age, let them do what they may; they sinneth not." She and her sister had found the passage in the Bible, then giggled when they found the preacher had failed to finish the verse where it said, "Let them marry."
Well, she'd passed the flower of her age and she really did need; each time James kissed her, she wanted to lie down then and enjoy that which was natural.
They remained locked in each other's arms for a while, then stepping back, he said:
"I want to undress you, sweetheart. I want to enjoy every inch of your delicious body a little at a time."
His words were sweet, his movements gentle as he slipped each garment from her. The tight brassiere was now loose and his large hands were caressing under her breasts as she swooned back and forth, thrilling to his every touch. She ran her hands over her stomach, up under her breasts, holding them high in the air as he slowly lowered her panties down around her ankles, lifting one foot and then the other to remove the pants. She felt naked; she wanted to be naked, feeling the thrill in the knowledge that the man she loved was enjoying the fullness of her body.
"Now it's my turn," she whispered, when he started to remove his shirt. "I want to undress my big baby boy and tuck him in bed with me."
She gently kissed his chest after dropping the shirt on the floor, enjoying her first experience in removing a man's clothing. There was an electrifying effect in the manly odor he had as she knelt and removed his trousers. Her eyes danced with excitement, pulling the shorts down a little at a time, then a desire she had never had before engulfed her. Remaining on her knees, her eyes glued to his body, fighting the urge to do something that seemed horrible, she kept thinking to herself that she mustn't seem cheap to him; she had to keep control and not allow this strong desire to dominate her. It was then she realized the fight her beloved James would have to endure and she wouldn't be helping him if she lost all sense of decency within herself. Forcing herself to her feet, she looked at him and felt ashamed. She knew he had recognized the fight she had over this desire and hung her head.
Lifting her chin, he smiled down into her face.
"I know, darling, don't be ashamed that you were tempted. I've had the same feeling time and again. There's nothing wrong in two people enjoying that which they were born with. If it were wrong, do you think we would have been created with explosive feelings for one another? I want you to promise me one thing-that from this minute on you'll do what your inner self tells you to do."
Throwing her arms around him, she sobbed on his chest.
"I don't know what came over me. I've never wanted to do anything like that in my life before. It's true, I've wanted to find out what it was like to have a man do it the natural way, but never such a thing as this."
Leading her over to the bed, he gently lay her down and slipped his arm over her, running his hand up and down her back.
"What is the natural way? Custom really makes it right for a man and wife to have an intercourse, but does custom really make it wrong to want to kiss the one you love from her head to her toes? You told me yourself that you became very angry because you caught your sister doing that with her husband. If some of these people who live off of welfare would change their positions in bed, they wouldn't have a baby every nine months for the state to take care of. Just keep this in mind, and don't ever forget it. It's all according to who does it whether it's wrong or not. If we do it, then it's all right; but let someone else do the same thing, then it's wrong. That's the way society looks at it. I have thirty-eight students in my class-twenty girls and eighteen boys. I've watched those girls squirm around on their seats, not realizing they were rubbing their sex glands against a plain piece of wood. They were nervous and couldn't understand why, and it was all because they were just plain out human beings and their bodies were crying for an outlet that was building up in them.
"I guess it's wrong to practice free love; but when the body screams for it, I think it's downright unhealthy to be forced to fight it because it's the custom to wait until after marriage."
Sally smiled and kissed him twice on his lips, then slid her hand down over his body. Suddenly an explosion erupted within her and she hungrily devoured his lips, his chest, and kissed over his stomach, dropping to her knees.
"Don't let me! Don't let me!" she cried, throwing her arms around his legs and burying her tear-stained cheeks against his body.
The drive back to town was silent as Sally kept her eyes away from him. She watched the white orange blossoms mingled in among the green fruit as they passed a grove.
How many times had she wrestled with a boy to keep him from seducing her when she lived in South Carolina? Yet now, not only had she given herself freely to a man she had known only a short while, but also committed an act that should be revolting. Yet she was not ashamed. Was she homosexual and didn't know it until the opportunity came to release something within her and made her do what she knew wasn't right? These thoughts kept running through her mind when she felt his hand on hers.
"When are we going to get married?" he asked.
She turned her head and faced him for the first time since they left the motel.
"I don't guess we will now. Two homosexuals in one family will be too much. If we have children they would probably be doing that with each other."
James pulled the girl over against him and rested his hand over her shoulder on her breast.
"That's silly to even think about. Just because we did something that came naturally, you're branding yourself as a homosexual character. Your sister has children, but they aren't chasing each other around the house to commit sodomy. If every woman who did that with her husband were lined up, the line would probably extend from one end of the state to the other, and I mean lengthwise. We're going to get married and I don't intend to wait ten years to see if you turn out to be a homo or not. School will be out for the holidays December 18th, then we'll drive up to Folkston, Georgia, and get married."
"Why Folkston, Georgia?" she asked, puzzled.
"It just so happens that the little town of Folkston operates a marriage mill and you can get a blood test and be married within a matter of hours. Then we'll take a trip through your home state and on into Virginia. I enjoy looking at the trees and mountains covered with a blanket of snow."
"Won't it be awfully cold up there?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Two people on a honeymoon being cold? Woman, where is your sense of romance?" he asked, stopping the car at the bus station.
Sitting on the bus, Sally looked across at a young man who couldn't keep his eyes away from her.
She grinned to herself and thought, you would really have hot pants, buddy, if you knew what I did an hour ago.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Colin Burnside, the young prosecutor, sat at his desk dictating to his secretary. Several times he paused and looked at the middle-aged woman who had been with the office through four different prosecutors. He had thought when he first took office that he would replace her with one who was younger and more efficient, but sympathy for the woman kept him from doing so. Her hands were drawn with arthritis to the extent it prevented her from having the speed she once had with shorthand.
"Mrs. Lake, that'll be all the dictating for just now, but before you go, I'd like to have a talk with you."
The woman glanced up from her notebook and waited for him to continue.
"You've been with this office about thirteen years, and before that, I understand you worked in the County Commissioner's office. I remember my uncle, when he held the job I now have, saying that you were not only efficient, but trustworthy.
"Since I was elected to this post, there seems to be an undercurrent that I can't put my finger on. I campaigned on the promise to the people that I would clean up this county and drive all forms of prostitution and curruption out.
"I've tried to keep my promise, but something is wrong. I know the Red Barn on the Orlando Highway is selling mixed drinks to minors, but every time I send Clark out there to investigate, he draws a blank It seems that every move I make to clean this county of corruption, the perpetrators know what move I'm making before I do."
He leaned back and took a cigarette from the pack laying on his desk and slowly lit it.
"Week before last, I took a search warrant and personally led a raid on a nightclub near Vineland. As you know, we didn't get to use the warrant. The manager welcomed us with open arms. The place was swarming with teen-agers sipping soft drinks and dancing. I felt like a fool when I knew they have a floor show there that isn't fit for adults, let alone young kids. You would have thought the show was staged for a group of kindergarten children, and I could see the smirk on those young people's faces when we left empty handed.
"There has to be a leak somewhere, but the question is where, and for what reason? The places around here aren't making enough profit to hand out payoff to some crooked officer, so it must be for another reason."
The woman gave a deep sigh before replying:
"Mr. Burnside, I've kept my job all these years because I knew when to keep my eyes closed. I remember your uncle telling me that someday you would make a fine lawyer. That was when you were over at St. Petersburg in law school. Two years of law practice wasn't enough experience for a young man to take over a job like this.
"I don't mean that you don't have the knowledge and the know-how, but you're too sincere to be a public servant. Just because you meant what you promised the people doesn't mean they expect you to ruin your health trying to live up to your word.
"You've worried all week because you lost that case against the man accused of molesting the little four-year-old girl. Then when the jury turned that man loose for burglarizing a store, it kept you awake at night because you felt both men were guilty as sin.
"I was in the courtroom with you and I watched how you prosecuted both cases, and no one could have done a better job. You hit them with everything you had and still lost to the defense. So what does that prove? It doesn't mean that both defense attorneys gave a better argument before the jury; it just means that the people are indifferent to crime as long as it doesn't happen to them, "Before I came to Florida, there was a woman in my home town who had three small children and had never been married. She lived with one man after another, and one night in a drunken rage, her supposedly common-law husband beat the three-year-old daughter to such an extent she died the next day. The courts sent the man to prison, but nothing was done with the woman and she continued living with men and kept her other two children. I'm fifty-two years old and my husband is two years older than I am. We tried to adopt a child several years ago, but were denied because of our age, yet this woman was permitted to keep two helpless children to witness filth and evilness. Some movie stars change husbands every half-moon and live like drunken sots, but it's no trouble for them to adopt not one, but several children."
The prosecutor turned around several times in his swivel chair, then said:
"I won't argue that you aren't right, but because some people have no moral sense of obligation doesn't mean an elected official shouldn't do his best to keep his area as clean as possible. Now take these complaints-no, I won't use the word complaint because no one has complained. These are rumors that keep coming to my attention that a club is in operation for the purpose of allowing teen-agers to commit immoral acts. I'm not a fool, Mrs. Lake. I know something is going on behind my back, and yet, I can't put my finger on it."
The woman shifted her position, then stood up and walked to the door.
"Mr. Burnside, when I was a little girl, I started to tell our colored maid a secret and asked her not to tell anyone. She said something to me then that I've never forgotten. She looked at me and said, 'Child, a secret is not a secret if it's told, and how can you expect me to keep the secret if you can't keep it yourself?'."
The prosecutor sat staring after the woman wondering what she was talking about as she softly closed the door and returned to her desk.
"How can you expect me to keep a secret if you can't keep it yourself?" he repeated aloud. "That's the answer I've been seeking! Someone in this organization can't keep a secret because I told them."
Pressing a buzzer under his desk, he waited until his assistant was seated beside him before speaking:
"Clark, I received a phone call this morning that I believe we should follow up right away. That nightclub over near Vineland thinks they're pulling a fast one on us, but I believe this time we'll catch them red-handed. I want you to take every man we have and hit them about nine o' clock tonight. I'd go with you, but I'm speaking before the Women's Club and you know how influential they are. I'll call Judge Gumley and request a search warrant for you. When you get there, take several men in with you and leave the others at the back and side door to catch anyone trying to do away with any evidence."
Clark nodded approvingly at his boss, then said:
"What are we searching for this time, Chief?"
"Anything that's a violation of the law. Selling mixed drinks to minors, indecent performance of the floor show, and we want no one spared. Lock the entire establishment up so tight it'll take a court order to break the lock."
The assistant prosecutor winked at his boss.
"Sounds like we're in business again, Chief. I'll get right on it."
"Oh, yes, Clark, this is very important; don't mention to the boys about where the raid is to take place until you're on your way. If any of our men are customers of a place like that, I don't want them feeling obligated to tip off the management."
The prosecutor watched his assistant leave, then picked up the telephone and dialed.
"Judge Gumley, Colin Burnside ... Fine, thank you. I want you to do something for me that may sound a little off-beat, but I assure you it's to the best interest of the county. I need two search warrants, one made out in the name of the Vineland Recreational Club and the other for the Red Barn Night Spot on the Orlando Highway. I'll send my assistant Clark Compton down for the Vineland warrant, but I'd appreciate it if you would keep the other warrant confidential. I have reasons to believe the raid on the Vineland establishment will draw a dud, but it'll clear the way for bigger game on the Red Barn....Thanks, Judge, I appreciate the help you've given me."
Walking through the courthouse corridor, Clark stepped into a public telephone booth and dropped a coin in the slot. For several seconds he waited until the man answered the phone.
"Vineland Rec Center."
"Listen carefully, because I won't repeat this but once. The prosecuting attorney's office will be making a raid on your place about nine tonight."
Hanging up the receiver, he grinned and walked over to the concession stand and ordered a soft drink.
At exactly eight-fifteen, the prosecutor concluded his address at the Women's Club and hurriedly excused himself, going directly to the office of the Sheriff.
Sheriff Townley nodded as he entered and took a seat.
"Well, Colin, what's the mystery all about? You said you wanted me to meet you here at eight-thirty, but wouldn't tell me why."
"Sheriff, I have a search warrant for the Red Barn and I need some help in staging a raid," he replied, laying the warrant on the desk.
"Oh, no, Colin, not again. Every time we assist you in a raid, we walk away feeling like asses."
"I don't think this time will be like the others.
A smart woman told me something today that's going to change our raids from waterhauls to payloads."
The Sheriff put on his large Stetson hat as he replied:
"All right, Colin. If you have something to go on this time, my boys and I will be glad to assist."
Two green and white automobiles pulled into the parking lot of the Red Barn and unloaded. For several minutes they stood in the darkness and listened to the jazz band pounding out a dance routine.
"We're just in time for the floor show, boys. Sheriff, send several of your men to guard the back door and the rest of you come with me and we'll give the customers a show they aren't expecting," the prosecutor directed, leading the way from the darkness into the bright neon lights.
Opening the door quickly, the men pushed the doorman aside and stood in the back looking over the tables.
Six women, with their breasts exposed, formed a chorus line while a strip artist danced around dropping the few garments left.
Half of the customers were young people, eighteen and under. Walking up to the prosecutor, the manager demanded to know what was going on.
"Just keep your shirt on, Mr. Thompson. We want to see the rest of the show, and don't give any buzzer signals. By the way, in case you're interested, here's a search warrant," Colin said coolly, as a deputy blocked the manager's move toward a bell button on the wall.
Burnside couldn't help but grin as two comedians walked out on the floor dressed like hillbillies and said:
"I'm the prosecutor in this here county and one indecent move and I'll have you all arrested."
The customers raised their voices in laughter, then the other man asked:
"Did you see anything wrong with the last act, Mr. Prosecutor?"
"No, there shore wasn't nothing wrong except them dang blue lights kept me from seeing."
"I have a question I want to ask you, Mr. Prosecutor. I think a woman's face and breasts are the prettiest part of her body. What part of a woman's body do you prefer?"
Suddenly another man came on the floor dressed as a hobo with a large sheriff's badge on and said:
"If that damn fool tells the truth, I'll raid this joint."
"That does it, boys," the prosecutor whispered, then walking out on the dance floor, he announced:
"This joint is raided and don't anyone move."
The lights were turned off quickly as the customers began to scream, running for each exit. The Sheriff's men moved expertly, blocking each door and escorted the customers back to the tables. Walking to the back of the building, the Sheriff and prosecutor escorted the chorus girls out onto the floor, then began checking the private dining rooms. Opening one door, the prosecutor jerked a middle-aged man from a young girl of seventeen, who had both breasts hanging out of her glittering evening gown.
"What's going on here?" the man demanded in a drunken manner.
"You're going to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Grandpa," the Sheriff said, pushing the man from the room.
Several other rooms were inspected as older men were found with teen-age girls in their arms.
The Sheriff radioed for his patrol wagon and an hour later the county jail was buzzing with excited voices attempting to make bond.
"Look, Colin, you've known me all your life. Give me a break, boy. If this gets out, I'll be ruined," a man pleaded, walking alongside the prosecutor.
Colin took the man by his arm and led him into a private office.
"Doctor Bennett, I was shocked when I opened that door and saw your hand down that kid's dress. Your youngest daughter is older than that kid, and yet you would kill a man for doing the same thing you were doing."
"I know, Colin, and I don't understand why I did such a thing. I went to the place for a little relaxation and this kid asked me to buy her a drink. Something came over me and I took her to the private dining room and we had several. She rubbed herself all over me and said I did things to her, and I just lost my head. This will ruin my wife and the girls unless you give me a break. What good will it do to ruin my name? It won't serve any useful purpose."
The prosecutor looked at the man, shaking his head.
"All right, Doctor, I guess turning you loose won't hurt anyone. Follow me through this side door, but let me tell you one thing and don't you ever forget it. You saved my sister's life one time; now my debt to you is paid. If I ever catch you in another raid, I'll crucify you, so help me God," he said, pushing the man out the side door.
The Sheriff sat at his desk and grinned over at the prosecutor.
"All right, Colin, now that it's all over, what smart woman gave you the tip on the Red Barn?" he asked, biting down on a long cigar.
"No one gave me a tip on the Red Barn, Sheriff, but this smart lady gave me a secret, and if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret," he replied, winking at the older man as he left the office.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Flora Compton was delighted with the news that the young prosecutor had staged a raid on the nightclub, arresting not only the manager and employees, but over fifteen boys and girls who were present during the raid. For several days indignant parents flooded the prosecutor's office with demands that he have all charges against their innocent children dropped at once. The requests for membership into the Fiddlers' Club skyrocketed overnight when the newspaper carried the story that the determined young prosecutor would continue raiding every night spot in the county that allowed minors to frequent their establishments.
The assistant prosecutor, bitterly disappointed over the success of the raid, gave a good performance in congratulating his boss, disspelling any doubt that he was the leakage in the department.
The newly formed club prospered. As new girls were recruited, with the evidence gained against them, they were now threatened that the prosecutor would also receive a copy of the tapes.
Flora sat behind her desk in her upstairs bedroom and watched a young girl squirm as she played the recording of the conversation made of the girl with her boy friend the week before. With light-blonde hair and a little on the stout side, her pretty face and overly large breasts were very enticing to the teen-age boys. . "I'm sure, Mabel, your mother would feel badly if she heard her little daughter plead with her boy friend for another round of sexual relationship."
The girl grinned at the woman, then stood and looked out the window at the green lawn below. Turning back, she laughed in her face.
"You may pull crap like this on some girls, Mrs. Compton, but I don't give one holy damn what you send my mother. You want to know what I'll tell her when she hears the recording? I'll say that sure, I let Tommy have a little. So what? Don't you let your boy friend do the same thing? You see, Mrs. Compton, my mother enjoys a little sex life the same as I do.
"Cora Jenkins told me how you forced her to permit an old fat bitch to straddle her like a man. Well, you hit the wrong girl this time, fatty, because I'm going to tear your little playhouse right down the middle. When Mr. Burnside hears how you frame young girls, he'll tear your insides out and send you straight to prison just like he did the Red Barn out on the highway. So long, fat woman. I'll see you in Mr. Burnside's office," she said, marching toward the door.
Flora watched the girl leave the room, then stood and started pacing back and forth. A sinister grin came over her face when she noticed the girl's purse on the floor beside the chair. Walking quickly into her bathroom, she opened the medicine chest and hurriedly prepared a hypodermic needle and waited until the girl re turned, as she was sure she would.
"Did you change your mind?" Flora asked, watching the girl enter the room and pick up her purse.
"No, fatty, I haven't changed my mind, but there is something I'd like to know. You have a tape recording of the girls in bed with their boy friends, but just how do you intend for their parents to play the tape without a recording machine?"
Walking cautiously toward the girl, the woman replied:
"That's very simple, Mabel. I also have a machine I can transfer your voices from the tape onto a blank phonograph record, and nearly everyone with a teen-ager nowadays has a record player in the house."
She reached out quickly and grabbed the unsuspecting girl, throwing her to the floor. Sitting on top of the startled girl, she began laughing, a little at first, then her laughter became hysterical as she held the needle over Mabel.
"So you're going to expose my little racket to the good-looking prosecuting attorney, are you? You're going to send the fat woman to prison, eh? Why, you little bitch, I wouldn't be in this business if I didn't know how to take care of sluts like you. You forget that I own a drug store and have had experience with all types of drugs. This, my little loud mouth, is what we call a main liner," she screamed, as the girl squirmed beneath her.
Holding the now petrified girl's arms down with her knees, she located a vein and stuck her with the needle, sending the drug quickly into her blood stream. For several minutes she kept the girl pinned to the floor, then stood and motioned for her to rise.
"You dirty, fat bitch! What did you shoot in my arm?" Mabel screeched at the woman.
Flora leisurely sat down at her desk and continued snickering at the angry girl.
"It won't take long, my child, then you'll be out as cool as a cucumber. I never thought I'd have to sink to this level, but desperate situations call for desperate action. Go ahead home, honey, you won't get to the front door. You better lie down on the fat woman's bed and sleep it off," she advised, as drowsiness overcame the girl and she stumbled toward the door.
Flora laughed again, watching the girl slowly sink to the floor into unconsciousness. Taking Mabel by the arm, she drug her out the door, down the hall and into another bedroom. Exerting all of her strength, she pushed the girl up on the bed and returned to her own bedroom. Taking a rope from the dresser drawer, she returned and tied the girl's hands and feet to the bed.
She was a pretty thing, a little on the coarse side, but how sweet and innocent she looked as if she were in a sound sleep.
Flora sat on the edge of the bed laying her hand over the girl's large breasts. She opened the dress and pulled one of them from the tight brassiere. A feeling of triumph swept over her.
How long she could hold the girl without an investigation was something vital to consider. She had no thought of causing her to become addicted to the drug, because she knew it would be impossible to supply the demands her body would make. A cold chill covered her body as she contemplated the only course she could take to silence the one person who could destroy a business that was making her wealthy.
As a thought crossed her mind, she leaped from the bed and began untying the girl's hands and feet. Grabbing her wrists, she pulled the unconscious body off the bed, out into the hall again. Night was closing in as she used all her strength to drag the girl out of the house and deposit her in the car Mabel had borrowed from her mother. Pushing the girl's feet into the front seat, she closed the door and ran around and entered the other side.
Flora sped down the sand road, swerving onto the highway and heading south. Several miles down the road, she stopped on a slope in the road and pulled the girl's body under the steering wheel. Standing on the pavement with one foot, she held the brake down with the other foot, watching the traffic light at the bottom of the hill. When the light turned from green to red, she released the brake and pushed the lever into drive position and ran alongside the vehicle, guiding the steering wheel until the car began to gain speed.
She stood in the middle of the road and watched the now speeding car careen from side to side. Her heart missed a beat when the car headed for a ditch, but the guard rail threw it back onto the road. A large tractor trailer struck the automobile as it went through the intersection, knocking it into another car, causing the runaway car to turn over on its side.
Flora beamed with fiendish satisfaction as she briskly made her way up the road toward home. She could hear the excitement from the wreckage as passing cars stopped and the drivers looked on in horror at the gruesome wreckage of the girl's car. She hurriedly left the highway and made her way across a field as automobile lights could be seen approaching the rise.
Sitting peacefully in her bedroom window, she watched several police cars and an ambulance rush to the scene of the nearby accident.
"That must have been an awful accident down the road. I heard the ambulance going out that way, and a few minutes later it returned at breakneck speed taking whoever was injured to the hospital," Mrs. Bennett commented, glancing out the window.
"Yes, I heard the ambulance too. The way people drive these days, it's a wonder there aren't more accidents. I see your little date coming up the drive now, so if you'll wait in room three, I'll send her right in," Flora said, smiling at her client.
A few minutes later the door opened and a young girl in a modest dress walked timidly into the room. Mrs. Bennett, a short stout woman in her early fifties, reclined in an overstuffed chair, grinning at the girl, admiring her long black hair.
"Mrs. Bennett, I didn't know it would be you," the girl exclaimed.
"Yes, my dear, your date tonight is me. My, how sweet you look in that pretty blue dress. It gives me butterflies way down in my tummy," the woman exclaimed, rising and taking the girl by the hand.
"You aren't going to make me do what that other woman did; you're not that kind," the girl pleaded, as the woman led her over to the bed.
"What did the other lady have you do, Mary Lou? Perhaps I wouldn't enjoy the same thing she enjoys."
The girl hung her head and said disgustingly:
"I had to put my mouth between her legs, and let her do the same to me."
The woman slipped her arms about the girl, kissing her on the neck.
"We don't want to do ugly things like that; we just want to enjoy the sweetness of our bodies."
Reaching down, the woman raised the girl's dress over her head.
"My, what a pretty slip, Mary Lou. You do have beautiful clothes, but we can't enjoy a lovely body all covered with clothes."
The girl obediently removed her slip and allowed the woman to unfasten her small brassiere.
"Mrs. Bennett, why do women enjoy fooling with young girls?" she asked, as the woman removed the bra and began slipping the girl's pants down her comely legs.
The older woman removed her clothes and stood nude before she answered:
"If you let yourself go, you'll understand that to enjoy a woman's body is the sweetest feeling you'll have. I was like you too when I was a young girl, afraid of men, not realizing that complete satisfaction could be had only with one of my own sex. You wouldn't believe it, but there have been times I was tempted to introduce the art of being a Lesbian to my own daughters," she said, pushing the girl down on the bed.
For a while the woman lay with her arms about the girl, allowing her tongue to search frantically for its mate, while her hands roamed over Mary Lou's body.
"You like this, don't you, sweet?" she whispered, resting her hand between the girl's legs.
"Mrs. Bennett, I don't like any of this because it's not right for us to lay in each other's arms. It makes me sick when you put your tongue in my mouth," Mary Lou answered frankly, watching the woman's mouth slide down over her small pointed breasts. "I didn't like it when Paul-he's my boy friend-did that to me."
Taking her lips off the girl's young breast, the woman smiled up at her.
"Too much talking spoils the sweetness of your body."
She watched the woman violate her body, kissing down on her navel, then over her legs. Slipping her arms about the girl, Mrs. Bennett forced her on her back and lay down on top of her.
"You'll enjoy this, sweet one. Just hold me tight and I'll do the rest."
Mary Lou slipped her arms around the woman obediently and pulled her body up to meet hers. For a while she clung to the woman, fighting off the flaming fire that was now tantalizing her body. Reaching up, she pulled the woman's head down, pressing her mouth against the waiting lips of the woman above. She could feel the large breasts press against her young body and forced her hand between them and clasped the soft round breast. She could hear groans coming from her own mouth as she pushed her tongue into the woman's mouth and tightened her grasp on the handful of molded, firm flesh.
Several minutes later, Mary Lou lay exhausted looking over at the panting woman and laid her hand on her cheek.
"You aren't at all like the other lady, Mrs. Bennett. You give a girl the most wonderful feelings, but all she wanted to do was keep my head down on her legs. I like what you do; let's do it again."
Mrs. Bennett took the girl's hand and laid it on her pounding breast.
"Squeeze it like you were doing a few minutes ago, my dear," she said, rubbing her hand over the girl's stomach.
"Can't we do this again sometime without my having to come here?"
"I wish that were possible, dearest, but you see, I have two daughters at home and we wouldn't want them to know that we were lovers. I'd rather pay Mrs. Compton and feel free rather than be worried someone might walk in on us."
The girl's smile suddenly left her face.
"What do you mean, you'd rather pay Mrs. Compton? You didn't pay to do this with me, did you?"
"Of course I did, my dear. I thought you understood that. It costs me twenty-five dollars each time I come here."
Mary Lou jumped from the bed and looked daggers at the woman.
"I won't be bought! I'm not some common whore for her to sell to any woman for a price! She made me do it with that other woman and you too, but I thought it was for entertainment only. That's what she told me."
Tears rolled down the girl's cheeks as she quickly got into her clothes while Mrs. Bennett lay watching, too surprised to reply.
Mary Lou stormed into Flora's bedroom and stood facing the woman with her hands on her hips.
"Why didn't you tell me you were selling me like a dirty street whore? I'm not going to be made a whore for you or anyone else! I know I did wrong letting Paul do it to me, but that was because I was crazy about him. I'm leaving here and don't you ever call my house again!"
Flora sat quietly at her desk, listening to the girl run down.
"Mary Lou, you aren't a street whore; you're my private whore. I tell you who to go to bed with and you do it. Now come over here to me."
The girl stared at the woman, then walked over to the desk as Flora reached up and caught the girl's arm and began twisting it until she fell to her knees.
"Please stop; you're breaking my arm!" she cried.
"Now tell me what I want to hear, just what are you?" she demanded, giving the girl's arm a quick twist.
"Oh, don't, please! I'm a whore," Mary Lou cried out in pain.
"That's right, you're a whore. And just who's whore are you?"
Mary Lou bit her lips and cried again.
"I'm your whore. Please, I'll do what you say."
Flora released the girl and gave her a push back down on the floor.
"You stay on the floor until I return," she ordered, stalking out of the room.
A few moments later, she returned and looked down at the sobbing girl.
"Please let me get up," she pleaded.
"Yes, I want you to get up now. I apologized to Mrs. Bennett and assured her you would enjoy having her return soon. Now take off those clothes. I'm going to teach you once and for all just what you are," Flora said, removing her own clothes.
Mary Lou's hands trembled as she disrobed and stood glaring at the nude woman. Flora walked up to the girl and said:
"Nothing gives me more pleasure than for a pretty young girl to devour my body. I want you to start at my breasts and continue down until I tell you to stop "
Reluctantly the girl slipped her lips over the woman's breast as Flora's hand began exploring her young body. She closed her eyes and began kissing down the woman's body.
"Please, Mrs. Compton, not this. I'll do anything but don't make me," she pleaded, as Flora wrapped her arms around the girl's legs and buried her cheeks against her body.
"Who's whore are you?" Flora asked, as the girl lay with her eyes closed.
"I'm your whore, but don't make me do this. I'll come here every night, and any person you want me to go to bed with I'll do it," she sobbed, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"All right, you smart little bitch, come up here and love me," she ordered, pulling the girl close to her. "Kiss me as you've never kissed anyone before and put some feeling into it."
The girl threw her arms around the vile woman and bruised her lips as she pushed her tongue into the woman's mouth.
"You're going to make me rich with this lovely, tender body," she predicted, pressing her body down on the trembling girl.
CHAPTER NINE
Mabel sat up in her hospital bed listening to the church service on the radio. The pastor had changed the text of his sermon and was speaking on the duties of parents toward their children. Without calling her name, he mentioned the accident that put a young girl in the hospital. She knew he was talking about her when he said seventeen-year-old girls need the constant supervision of their parents.
"Why, you old four-eyed bastard, who are you to talk about supervising us? Everyone in school knows that David Basehart tears your daughter's butt up every Saturday night after the football game. Yet, she sits like a saint in the choir every Sunday singing 'Yield Not to Temptation.' I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't one of old fatty Compton's call girls," she muttered aloud to herself.
The door opened and a young intern entered. He reached over and snapped the radio off.
"Good morning, young lady. It's good to see you sitting up in bed. I'm not your physician, but I wanted to drop in on you and see how you were feeling. You and I had a wild ride last night, in the ambulance, not that you knew anything about it. You were out cold. That was some wreck you were in, by the way."
"Does my mother know where I am?"
"Yes, she was here soon after we brought you into the hospital. What made you drive through that red light? You must have known that Holopaw Road is heavily traveled and chances of being hit are terrific."
Mabel pondered for a moment, then looked up into the intern's kind face.
"I wasn't driving that car, Doctor. I can't remember what happened, but I do know I had no reason to be going in that direction."
The intern have her a pat on the hand.
"We won't argue about that now. Just get some rest and I'll drop in to see you again later."
"Doctor, before you go, may I ask a question?"
The man took her hand and smiled down into her face.
"You ask it and if I don't know the answer, I'll find out."
"If I told you someone was trying to kill me, would you believe it?"
The smile faded and for a moment he studied the girl seriously.
"Now who would want to kill a pretty thing like you? You haven't been sneaking around with some married man, have you?" he asked, with a grin.
She thought a moment, then laughed.
"Oh, forget it, Doctor. I was just talking to hear myself talk."
The intern gave the girl's hand a slight squeeze, then reached over and turned the radio back on.
"You listen to the church service and thank the good Lord you came out of this with only a broken collar bone instead of your neck. I'll see you later on this afternoon."
The intern left the room and walked down the corridor, then stopped. Looking back at the door he had just left, he thought for a moment, then went up to the supervising nurse and said:
"Miss Lockeman, I'm leaving the floor for a few minutes. If I'm needed, I'll be in Dr. Wainwright's office."
The nurse nodded her head and watched the doctor walk over to the elevator and push the down button.
Stopping before a door, he rapped softly and waited until the Chief of Staff invited him in.
"Well, Charles, what's on your mind this morning?" Dr. Wainwright asked, leaning back in his chair.
"I hope I'm not bothering you with something that I shouldn't be concerned with, but there's a patient up on three that has me disturbed. Last night I was on call to ride the ambulance and about seven o'clock we answered a call to Holopaw Road and Elm Street. A young girl driving through a red light was struck by a tractor trailer, then knocked into the path of another automobile.
"They had to use crowbars to force the car door open so we could get to the victim. At the time, I wondered how she came out alive instead of just a broken collar bone, and in the ambulance I became suspicious that she had been using some type of drug. I was busy giving her several shots and didn't pursue my suspicions any further.
"I dropped in on her a few minutes ago and she asked me a question that I laughed off at first, then I thought about the symptoms she had of being under the influence of narcotics. Casually, I looked at her arm and she has one needle puncture and the size of it points to the fact that someone either wasn't experienced with needles or it was administered hurriedly."
"What was the question that prompted you to become so concerned?"
The intern reached for a cigarette and asked:
"May I smoke?"
The Chief of Staff nodded his approval and waited until the man had lit up.
"The young lady very seriously asked me if I would believe that someone was trying to kill her. Oh, yes, I know young kids have strong imaginations, especially if they take their parents' car without permission and are looking for an escape hatch. But have you noticed, Doctor, out of all the accident victims brought into the hospital, usually a drunk is the least hurt? Perhaps it's because when a car turns over they are relaxed, preventing them from tensing up, thus roll limply and seldom are hurt. The young lady told me she was not driving that car, and yet she was alone when we arrived. Doctor, I don't know why, but I believe she was telling the truth when she said someone was trying to kill her."
The older man looked at his desk for several moments, turning a pencil over between his fingers. Reaching for the phone, he dialed the hospital operator.
"I believe Dr. Bennett is making his rounds. Please have him come to my office immediately."
The two physicians waited until the door opened and Dr. Bennett entered.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, John, but Dr. Irwin is upset over the patient in 307. You spoke to me about her this morning and said she was definitely under the influence of a drug. Now Dr. Irwin dropped in on her out of curiosity a few minutes ago and she not only denies being the driver of that car, but said someone is trying to kill her."
Dr. Bennett crossed his legs, then removed his glasses.
"Statements such as this are very common in a patient when the effects of a narcotic are leaving them. I understand how Dr. Irwin feels, because I had the same situation happen while I was interning. This patient, though, I believe gave herself a main liner, had a wreck, and now thinks someone wants to do away with her."
The intern dropped his head for a moment, then looked over at Dr. Bennett.
"Forgive me if I'm stepping out of line, sir. I don't mean to question your diagnosis, but I can't agree with you."
"Hold on a minute, Dr. Irwin. Remember who you are addressing," the Chief of Staff interrupted.
"On the contrary, Robert, let the young man speak freely. Sometimes we older doctors can learn from the young. I've worked with Dr. Irwin and I appreciate the fact he is dedicated to his work. Now, Doctor, just what is it that's troubling you?"
"Thank you for interceding for me. I apologize if I sounded disrespectful. I don't know what I want, but there's something within me that keeps crying out that the girl knows what she's talking about. I'd like to ask one thing and if I'm wrong, you both have my deepest apology. Will you talk with the patient? If she does have hallucinations, it'll clear my mind up once and for all."
Dr. Bennett nodded his head toward the Chief of Staff.
"All right, Doctor, we'll clear your mind of this trouble once and for all. Suppose we go to 307 and have a chat with the young lady," Dr. Wainwright agreed, rising to his feet.
Mabel had turned off the radio and lay looking out the window when the door opened and the three physicians entered.
"I'm getting to be a celebrity when three handsome doctors come to see me all at once," she said, sitting up in bed.
Dr. Bennett walked over to the side of the bed and examined the girl's shoulder.
"This is Dr. Wainwright, the Chief of Staff, and I believe you've met Dr. Irwin. Now let's look over your chart again, young lady, and see if we can't order you a big chicken dinner for lunch. Do you feel up to eating some goldenbrown fried chicken?"
Mabel laughed a little and replied:
"I do now, Doctor, but this morning early-oh, boy, was I sick at my stomach! I couldn't have eaten a poached egg, let alone fried chicken."
"Young lady, we're a little curious about your accident last night, so I'm going to quit beating about the bush and ask you some questions. What did you do all day yesterday?"
Mabel thought a moment before she spoke:
"Let's see, yesterday morning I went to the super market with Mother, had lunch downtown, and in the afternoon I took my bath and got ready to go to the football game. That completed my day until I awakened early this morning here in the hospital."
"That was a good game last night. Too bad the Sherriton Turtles made the final touchdown and nosed us out of the Fruit Bowl game."
The girl looked up at the physician suspiciously, then turned her attention toward the intern.
"You both know I wasn't at that game last night and it was Alhambra who made the touchdown that's going to send us to the Fruit Bowl game. You see, I heard it on my radio this morning."
"That's true, we do know you weren't at the game, because when the game started, your car was running a red light. Why didn't you go to the game since you dressed to go?"
Mabel looked over at Dr. Irwin and angrily said:
"You snitched to them and I thought I could trust you. I should have known better than to tell you anything. What do you want to know, Dr. Bennett, why I told him someone was trying to kill me? Why didn't you just ask me instead of trying to wiggle it out of me? You wasted your time patching up my shoulder, because my life won't be worth a plug nickel when I walk out of this hospital. I wasn't driving that car last night and I don't know how I became involved in the wreck."
The Chief of Staff walked slowly around the bed and stood next to Dr. Bennett.
"Young lady, Dr. Irwin didn't snitch, as you call it, on you. He came to my office disturbed because of the statement you just made. We know that you were under the influence of a drug last night. You say you weren't driving and yet you were the only one in that car. If you're telling us the truth, your life is-indeed in danger and we want to help you. You aren't a drug addict; we know that. Where did you get the needle and the drug?" he asked, picking up the girl's arm and examining it closely.
"If I tell you, will you promise to tell Mr. Burnside so he'll protect me?"
Dr. Wainwright nodded his gray head and forced a smile on his face.
"I personally promise that you'll have nothing to fear in the hospital and Mr. Burnside will give you all the protection you need."
"You won't believe this, but here goes. I was drugged last night because I refused to let a woman fool with me as if she were a man. Will you please give me the rest of my Coke over there on the table?"
Dr. Bennett handed the girl the half-filled soft drink. Taking several swallows, she continued:
"One of my boy friends brought me this Coke after you left, Dr. Irwin. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I had refused to get naked and let a woman fool with me. But first, let me start at the beginning. I joined the Fiddlers' Club because I was told they had a wonderful time and only a few kids could be members. My date and I went to this house and he paid five dollars so we could have a room. There's no use kidding you doctors; we went there to have an intercourse on a bed instead of the back seat of an automobile. Doctor, my stomach hurts," she complained.
Dr. Bennett laid his hand on the girl's stomach, then looked down at her eyes.
"Oh, I'm hurting," she cried, clasping her stomach with her hands.
"Dr. Irwin, quick! Get me three c.c.'s ... Never mind...." Dr. Bennett said softly, listening to the girl's heart, " ... she's dead."
Picking up the Coke bottle, he smelled the contents.
"Dr. Irwin, have this bottle analyzed and get me the floor supervisor. I want to know who brought this drink in here and how they got past the nurse's desk."
Later, Dr. Bennett followed the Chief of Staff back to his office and slouched down in a plush chair.
"She was telling the truth when she said she wasn't the driver of that car," Dr. Wainwright stated, reaching for the telephone.
"Cora, get me the police department."
"It's like I said, John, we older doctors can learn from the young," Dr. Bennett said, burying his face in his hands.
CHAPTER TEN
For several days Alhambra buzzed with talk over the death of Mabel. In spite of the fact her mother was employed and she was allowed to come and go as she wished, the young girl was very popular with the townspeople. Her golden-blonde hair with its natural wave attracted attention and she had often been told by the older movie goers that she looked very much like the movie actress Ann Harding.
Flora Compton attended the girl's funeral along with half of the community. She felt uneasy for a few days afterwards, since the homicide men were still questioning the girl's classmates in an attempt to uncover a possible lead in the case.
Flora was standing behind the drug counter when Jerry Jernigan entered and sat down in a back booth. He motioned for her to bring a bottle of his medication. The woman filled a paper cup with the contents from two bottles and set it before the school principal. With one quick swallow, he consumed the liquid and leaned across the table.
"I don't like it, Flora. Those detectives are snooping around asking questions. Perhaps we better dispense with the club until this thing blows over."
The woman grinned affectionately and gave his hand a pat.
"Things like this don't just blow over, Jerry. The cops never quit until they have someone to throw the rap at. Sooner or later I'll find them a patsy and no one will be the wiser. I knew when I conceived the idea of our little club there would be times when things would look dangerous, but all that goes along with any off-beat deal.
"Now you just run along back to your school and don't let this get you down. By the way, I understand that pretty new girl has been making eyes at Courtney Pollard. Isn't he the boy Mabel dated several times?"
The principal stood, taking a sip of water, and said as he started to leave:
"If you have plans to recruit that girl, forget it. We have enough girls as it is. Sooner or later you're going to strike the wrong kid and she won't be such easy prey.
"She enrolled at the school last Monday from a high school near Clewiston on Lake Okeechobee. I'll say one thing for that kid, she's got the prettiest pair of legs of any girl I've seen. I'd give a week's pay to spend one hour with her."
"So would several friends of mine," the woman answered, with a twinkle in her eye.
Later that afternoon, Flora was surprised to see the young prosecuting attorney walk into the drug store. Taking a stool at the counter, he ordered a banana split and nodded his head at Flora as she walked up to the front of the store.
"Good afternoon, Colin," she said, taking a rag and wiping the counter.
"Mrs. Compton, it's always nice to see you. I care not how miserable I feel, your friendly smile seems to cheer me up."
"That was a good thing you pulled, staging a raid on the Red Barn several weeks ago. A few more raids like that should really put you in the limelight, and who knows, the next stop could be the Attorney General's office in Tallahassee."
"I'm a long ways from the state capitol, Mrs. Compton. Just being a hick town prosecutor has enough headaches without looking toward a job like that."
"How are the police making out on that young girl's murder? Wasn't it awful? You know, that really hurt me when she died. Mabel used to come in here several times a week with young Courtney Pollard, but she hadn't been in for several weeks before that terrible thing happened to her."
Their conversation was interrupted when the English teacher came in the store and spoke to the prosecutor.
"You'll never get rid of that stomach eating banana splits," he said, laughing, as the clerk sat the large dish on the counter.
"I don't need to lose weight like you do. If anything, I need to gain a little. Let's go back to a booth and I'll treat you, James."
"I'll take a cup of coffee off of you. Son, how about a cup of coffee, black?" James called to the clerk as they made their way back to the booth.
"By the way, James, I saw you the other day with a gorgeous girl. Where did you recruit her, in your English class?" Colin asked, taking a big bite of cream.
James beamed with pride as he confessed:
"That, my dear Colin, is the future Mrs. James Randolph. That is, if I can keep her away from a good-looking young prosecutor until I can put the ring on her finger."
"Who is she? I've never seen her around here until I saw you two together."
"Her name is Sally Norton and she lives about twelve miles from here toward Orlando. I'm going to meet her parents this Sunday at dinner and do I dread it! I understand her father is one of those old-time deacons in the church and before I leave there, the old buzzard will know more about me than I know about myself."
The prosecutor laughed and continued eating the banana split. Looking up at the teacher, he said:
"James, you're a schoolteacher and deal with young people every day. This kid that was murdered at the hospital, what did you know about her?"
Taking a sip of coffee, he wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.
"Mabel was a good student-that is, in my class. Oh, she was a little rambunctious, but the majority of the kids are.
"It's funny you mentioned that to me, because I've been thinking for several days I'd drop by the police department and tell them what I overheard in the theater one afternoon several days before Mabel died. I don't want to make a fool out of myself, but at the time, it had me a little worried."
The prosecutor's eyes began to beam as he lowered his voice and said:
"James, sometimes just a word from a citizen has been the key that unlocked a case that perhaps never would have been solved. A murder case is very much like putting a puzzle together. It's easy to place the edge of the puzzle down, but you have to find just the right piece to really make progress with the picture you're putting together. Sometimes just one piece in that puzzle will make the rest all fall in place."
James took several swallows of the strong coffee.
"All right, here it is for whatever it's worth. I found a seat halfway down the aisle of the theater and unfortunately sat in front of two talkative girls. What attracted my attention was when one of the girls made the statement that a woman made her strip and allow another woman to get on top of her like a man. The other girl asked why she didn't go to the police, and she replied that the woman had a tape recording of her and Arthur doing it in the bedroom. When I looked around at the girls, I recognized Mabel and Corinne Griffith. Oh, yes, there is something else too, but I don't think I'd better mention it."
The prosecutor leaned across the table and laid his hand on the man's arm.
"Don't stop now, boy. You've got the key there somewhere. Give it to me, boy, give me that key," Colin urged, as if pleading.
"I don't want to bring anyone into this when there may be nothing to it."
"Oh, hell and damnation, James. A young girl has been murdered and the police can't get one foot off the ground while you sit there talking about bringing someone into it that may be innocent. What else did those kids say?" the prosecutor pressed, attempting to keep his voice down.
"All right, here's the whole story as I heard it:
"One of the girls, I don't know which, said the Worm was either a member of the club or was one of the owners because he was on the woman's porch when she and her boy friend went there to get a little. Then she mentioned a Mrs. Bennett."
"I don't know but one Bennett and that's Dr. Bennett's wife. It couldn't be her because she has two young daughters herself ... or could it?" he added, as an afterthought, then continued:
"What did they mean by the 'Worm'?"
James laughed.
"Oh, that's just a nickname the kids gave to Mr. Jernigan, our principal."
The prosecutor sat for a while in deep study, then looked across at the man.
"A club has been organized recently called the Fiddlers. Everyone knows there is such a club but no one seems to know where it is or who the members are. A bunch of teen-age kids couldn't mastermind a club for this purpose of immorality in such a secret manner. It must be an adult leading it and a mighty smart cookie at that."
James grinned at the prosecutor.
"Colin, the members aren't that secret. I could name a half dozen who belong. There's David Basehart and ... "
"Hold it there, James. That name David Basehart pops up everywhere I turn. Isn't he the one who dates the preacher's daughter Audrey?"
"Yes, I believe he does, but that doesn't prove anything against him. He's a darn nice student, a good football player, and seems to be an all around good fellow," James replied, with a distressed look on his face.
"I could ask him a thousand questions and get nowhere, but if someone he trusted could get to him, he may be the main key that unlocks all the doors. James, I need you," he said, pointing his finger.
"Wait a minute, Colin, I'm just an English teacher. I wouldn't know what to ask the boy." Impatiently, Colin replied:
"Ask him how many times a night he masturbates, or anything else, but get to that boy. He may not know who killed that girl, but if he's a member of this Fiddlers' Club, he knows something. I've got to know what it is. Help me, James, help me to crack this case wide open before someone else gets hurt," he pleaded, gripping the man's arm with his fingers.
The teacher thought a moment, then looked seriously at the prosecutor.
"Colin, that girl that was murdered was one of my best students. I thought of myself not only as her teacher, but her friend, the way I do all my students. I don't know how, but God being my witness, if David knows anything I'll get it out of him."
The prosecutor gave a big smile, then relaxed. He whispered as he was ready to leave:
"We're on our way, boy. We're going to find the skunk who murdered that poor girl."
The next afternoon, James stood in the doorway of his room watching the students rush past on their way home.
"What a rat race," a female teacher exclaimed as she passed.
James grinned and nodded his head, then reached out and touched a young man.
"What's your hurry, David?" he asked, holding onto the boy's arm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be running in the hall, Mr. Randolph," the boy apologized.
"You weren't running, David. I just asked what your hurry was. Step in my room a minute, will you? I want to talk to you," he said, opening the door for the boy.
"It can't be but a minute or I'll be late for practice," he said, looking annoyed.
"What are you practicing for, David?"
"What am I practicing for? Are you kidding, Mr. Randolph? You know the big game is coming up Saturday night."
"No, I'm not kidding, David. I never kid with my students. There's no use wasting your time going out on that field. You aren't playing Saturday night."
The boy stared at the teacher, refusing to believe what he had heard.
"What do you mean, I'm not playing? I'm the quarterback! I'm the star player!"
"I don't care if you're the eighth back or the whole team. You aren't playing Saturday. You failed that test I gave you yesterday and I'm recommending you be taken off the team."
The boy stood with his mouth gaping open as James walked to his desk and sat down. He followed the teacher as if the world had suddenly come to an end.
"I couldn't have failed it, Mr. Randolph. I studied for that test. I knew my grades were down and the coach warned me I had to bring them up, and I did bring them up. You said so yourself before the test."
Reaching into his desk, James withdrew a test paper and handed it to him.
For several seconds, David looked at the big red "F" at the top of the paper and slowly dropped in a chair next to the desk.
"I wanted to play in the Fruit Bowl so badly. I've been told there would be some scouts from the State University there and I was hoping to snag a football scholarship," he mumbled slowly.
"David, I've tried to be a good teacher. I don't know, perhaps this is a little my fault. Maybe I didn't get across what I was trying to teach, but the damage is done. I have just as much school spirit as any of my students, but football is played by the rules and you know the rule about a player failing in his schoolwork.
"However, there could be a way to bring your grade up to a passing mark, but no ... you would not want to do that," he said, watching the boy's face light up.
"Sure I would. I don't care what it is. I'll take the test over again and study all night if necessary."
"David, I could change that 'F' to a 'C and you could play Saturday night."
The boy looked at his teacher puzzled.
"You wouldn't do that, Mr. Randolph. You're too square a teacher for anything like that."
The teacher smiled as he stood up and laid his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Thank you, David, for your confidence, but we all have our price when we want something badly enough. As you know, I'm a bachelor and I get mighty lonesome at times for a little companionship. If we could get together socially, I believe I could take care of this test very easily."
The young man looked up at the teacher as a grin spread over his face.
"Oh, I get it now. You want us to go out and have a little fellowship together. I guess I'm the only guy you had fooled, Mr. Randolph. The other boys said you were that way, but I didn't believe it."
James laughed, then replied:
"Keep on believing I'm not, David, because that isn't the fellowship I'm after. You see, standing before some of these beautiful girls all day and watching them switch their butts back and forth sooner or later gets to a fellow. I thought perhaps if you could arrange a quiet date with one of them without taking a chance, I could show my appreciation."
"Oh, boy, now I've heard everything. You want me to fix you up with a date with one of the students? If that's all it takes for me to play Saturday night, man, eat your oysters and drink your malt, because I'll fix you up with a chick that'll turn your eyeballs inside out," David said gleefully as he slapped his teacher on the back.
"Now wait a minute, David. I may be a bachelor, but I'm not supposed to date my students, so we'll have to keep it on the quiet."
"Don't you worry, Mr. Randolph. The date I'll get you will be just as anxious to keep quiet as you are."
James walked back and forth, then said:
"There's another problem, and that's where to take her. I can't take her to my house because my sister will be home, and a motel is out because there's the chance the state patrol might come in on us."
The boy laughed again, slapping the teacher on his back again
"That's no problem, Mr. Randolph. I'm a member in good standing of the Fiddlers and I'll fix it so you'll be as safe as if you were diddling on the moon."
"Make it for tomorrow night, David. Now, if you're going to get any practice in, you'd better beat it out to the field. Tell Coach Burton I was helping you on a problem."
"I won't be lying, Mr. Randolph. You've helped solve a big one," David said, hurrying out the door.
The smile left the teacher's face as he walked over to his desk and sat down wearily. Drawing a line through the big "F", he shook his head and said aloud:
"That's the first time I've ever given a student an 'F' when he made a 98 on a test."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
That night, James met Sally at the bus station and after their usual greetings rode toward the town of Holopaw.
"Are you always serious, darling?" she said, snuggling close against him.
"Not always, honey. I used to laugh a lot, but lately there isn't much to laugh about."
"Well, I like that," she shouted indignantly.
Kissing the girl on her forehead, he whispered in her ear:
"I didn't say I wasn't happy with you, sweetheart. I was talking in general. The girl that was murdered at the hospital was one of my students and Pve been put in a position I don't like."
"You didn't kill her, did you?" Sally asked, trying to joke.
"Don't be silly, honey. Colin Burnside the county prosecutor and I have been friends for years. Yesterday afternoon I told him about the two girls discussing the woman who made them get naked. They were the ones in the theater I mentioned to you. Now he wants me to see if I can't find out about a sex club that seems to be connected with the murder."
"If you can help the authorities solve this awful thing, you should do it," she said, turning in the seat and looking at him.
"Suppose it meant I had to do something with a girl to get this information?"
Sally looked at him, then leaned over and kissed his lips.
"Ugly boy, you think I'd be jealous because you had to make love to another woman? When someone loves a person as deeply as I love you, there's no room in their heart for jealousy. "
"Okay, honey, that's what I was wanting you to say. I liked that girl who was killed, and nothing would give me more pleasure than to be instrumental in bringing her killer to justice. Now let's talk about something more pleasant. How are we going to approach the subject of our marriage to Papa, Sunday?"
"Don't you worry your sweet head about my papa. He'll be just as anxious to be rid of me as I will to leave. Mama's going to cook two fryers, and no one can fry chicken like Mama.
"There's just one little thing I'm worried about. I have a fourteen-year-old sister who is wild about anything who wears a pair of britches and calls himself a man. She's attending the junior high school near St. Cloud and I believe every boy in that school is her sweetheart. She may get through junior high a virgin, but she'll never make it through high school, so you keep your distance with her."
"Big sister must have been teaching her ugly things," James teased, stopping the car under an oak tree off the sand road.
"Big sister has been telling her how easy it is to get a baby in her tummy by dropping her panties, but I'm wasting my breath," she replied, lying back in his arms.
For a while, Sally lay in his arms talking over the plans they had for their coming marriage. Each time his hand gently massaged her breasts, she felt a burning desire to plead with her lover to take her and ease the suffering she felt.
The car door opened suddenly, causing the overhead light to come on.
"All right, buddy, out of the car," a voice barked from the darkness.
A cold chill ran over James as he looked down the barrel of a rifle.
"What are we going to do?" Sally whispered, clutching his arm.
"Just sit still and be quiet," he whispered.
Then he said aloud:
"All right, if you want what little money I have on me, here it is," reaching for his wallet.
"Hey, Mike, the guy wants to give us his dough," the man said, grabbing James by the arm and pulling him from the car.
"You, too, sister. Get out before my friend over there knocks you out."
Sally crawled from the car and stood by James, holding onto him as another man came from behind and looked at the girl, grinning.
"We want your money and the car too, mister. You see, my friend and I didn't like our last job because it was too confining, so we left without giving notice. Right, Mike?"
"That's right, Buck. We didn't like those screws breathing down our necks, but they liked us. They liked us so well they're still looking," the short man replied, looking up and down the girl.
"Hey, Buck, did you ever see anything as pretty as this? Look at the bubs on this chicken, man. Wouldn't the boys back at the road camp go wild just looking at her?"
"Look, fellow, you've had your joke. How about taking the car and leaving us alone?" James asked, turning toward the man with the rifle.
Pushing the gun into his ribs, the taller man replied:
"We haven't had any fun yet, buster, but we're gonna have right now. You just slip out of those clothes and let's let your girl friend see what you got."
James felt helpless as the man punched him with the gun.
Removing his clothes, he attempted to back out of the light, but the tall man pushed him against the automobile.
"Boy, look at that man. If I had what he's got, I wouldn't work the rest of my life. I'd have me a dozen females clammering to keep me in pocket change," the short man said, laughing. "Buck, let's see what the little lady has under all that dress."
"All right, girlie, so start stripping," the tall man demanded, pointing the gun at her.
Sally's hands trembled with fright as she slipped her dress over her head and let it fall to the ground.
Watching Sally step out of her slip, James pleaded:
"Listen, fellows, this girl and I are going to be married, please don't force her to disrobe."
"Wonderful, we'll have a wedding party right here. Instead of everyone kissing the bride, we'll all screw the bride for you, won't we, Mike?"
Removing her brassiere, Sally bit her lips as she dropped it at her feet.
Suddenly from the darkness, a stranger grabbed the man with the gun and held a large knife to his throat.
"All right, white man, drop the gun, and one move outta you and he's dead," the man ordered, looking over at the shorter man.
James grabbed the rifle and held it on the two escapees.
"Thank God for you, whoever you are," he said, pushing the taller man against the car.
The heavy-built man walked into the light of the car.
"My boy came into the house and said a car was parked over here and a man was making a lady take her clothes off, so I grabbed the first thing I saw and it was this here butcher knife," the Negro man said, reaching down and picking up the girl's clothes, then added:
"Here, miss, put your clothes back on and I sure hope they try to grab that gun. Nothing I'd like better than to do some carving on polecats like these. Maybe you better let me hold that rifle, mister. Your hands are shaking too much and I don't reckon it's from the night air, either."
A few minutes later, James and the Negro made the two men walk in front of the car until they came to a service station where they called the Sheriff.
Driving the man back to his house, James attempted to offer him a debt of gratitude.
"No, sir, I don't want no money for doing what's right. When it comes to downright decency, I don't care who a man is, there's not but one way to live and that's do plain right."
"This young lady and I are going to be married in December and we would feel it an honor if you'll come to the wedding. We were planning on going to Georgia and be married, but that looks too much like we've something to hide. We'll be married in Alhambra and nothing I'd like better than to see you my friend and your wife there."
"Gosh, I don't know, I ain't never been to a wedding. I wouldn't know how to act," the man replied.
"Just sit back there in the church and say to yourself that there's two people who found a real friend in you."
The colored man gave a laugh and rubbed his chin with his hand.
"We're going to be at that wedding and my heart will be filled when I see the happiness you'll be running over with. Take my advice, friend, under the cover of darkness is no place to tell your girl how much you love her."
James grinned and nodded his head.
"I'll remember, and how I'll remember," he repeated, as the man closed the door of the car and waved to them.
"LeRoy, what happened up there in the wood?" his wife called from the door.
"Shut your mouth, girl, and get back in that bed. I just saw the prettiest naked woman in the world," he replied, laughing as he entered the house. "Course she wasn't half as sweet as you, but just the same, I sure feel sorry for that poor old man when they do get married."
Flora Compton walked back and forth in her bedroom while the young man waited for her answer. Several times she glared angrily down at him.
"I don't know why you are so upset just because I'd like to bring my English teacher here for a little pleasure. You said yourself that sooner or later we'd be using some of the boys to satisfy several of the queers in town. Personally, I don't believe Mr. Randolph is a queer. He's just what we call a sissy."
Flora sat down behind her desk and looked over at him.
"David, when we talked about a safe place for the boys to bring their dates, I warned you then and I'm still warning you that no one joins the Fiddlers' Club until we investigate them thoroughly."
"What's there to investigate about Mr. Randolph? He's a darn nice guy that all the kids like. You get twenty-five bucks from old hens like Mrs. Bennett, then what's wrong with Mr. Randolph's twenty-five? If I'm willing to let him have my girl for one night, at least you should be willing to furnish him a bed to take her to. I tell you, Mr. Randolph is all right and there's nothing to worry about."
"How do you know Audrey won't hit the ceiling when you tell her she has to go to bed with her teacher?"
The young man stood and walked around the room, then returned to his seat.
"That comes under the head of your department. I agreed to lure the girls here and when we had them hooked, you would take over from there. Remember, Audrey can't take a chance of her father hearing that record now any more than she could the first time you took her on."
"All right, David, I'm going to take a chance on your Mr. Randolph. You bring him to the house personally, so if he isn't on the up and up, he can't notify the authorities where he's going. Once he's in the room with Audrey, he won't be in a position to tell anything. You tell him it'll be twenty-five dollars in advance. Oh, by the way, here's your part of the last week's business," she said, handing the boy an envelope.
David walked over to the door, then turned and faced the woman.
"There's a rumor going around that someone took Mabel a Coke with enough poison in it to kill three people. You didn't have anything to do with that, by any chance, or did you?"
"We threaten our girls, David. We don't kill them," Flora answered, then turned her attention back to some papers on her desk.
David drove back to town and pulled the car over to the curb when he saw his English teacher walking out of the bus station.
Sally felt it best to continue riding the bus until he could meet her people Sunday.
Blowing the horn, David called:
"Hey, Mr. Randolph."
Walking over to the boy's car, James got in and grinned at him.
"Well, it's all fixed, Mr. Randolph. Meet me in front of the Alhambra Drug Store about eight o'clock tomorrow night."
"I hope you got me a good-looking girl. Tell me, is she one of my students or did you get a baby from the elementary school? After all, I like my girls young and tender, but I don't want to have to change their diapers," he said jokingly, reaching in his shirt pocket for a cigarette.
"Don't worry about that, Mr. Randolph. I guarantee you'll have the time of your life with this chick. I should know because I've tapped it several times myself, and I wouldn't get anything but the best for my favorite teacher."
James rubbed his hands together as if in anticipation and grinned at the boy.
"It's going to be safe for me to go to this place, isn't it? Because I can't afford to have anyone find out that I took a high school girl's panties down," he said, forcing a laugh. "By the way, where am I to meet the girl?"
"I can't tell you that, Mr. Randolph, but I'll drive you there in my car tomorrow night."
"Why can't I go in my car?" he asked, trying not to sound suspicious.
"Well, we have our rules in the club, and only member's cars are allowed where you're going. Oh, yes, I tried to get you a girl for free, but it'll cost you twenty-five bucks."
"Twenty-five bucks? Look, son, I fixed your grades so you could play football Saturday for no charge, and now I'm being stuck for twenty-five dollars? Hell, no girl's worth that much for a piece of tail. Let's forget it!" he blurted angrily.
"Don't get sore. I did my best to get the girl to let you have a little for nothing, but she said she was taking a chance and had to have something out of it. I've gone to a lot of trouble to arrange this date for you; don't back out now," he said, with a worried sound to his voice.
"All right, David," he said, much calmer now. "But she better be good for that kind of money."
"She will be, Mr. Randolph. You'll thank me for getting you this date when I bring you back to town," the boy bragged, as James got out of the car.
"Okay, David, tomorrow night in front of the drug store at eight."
He watched the boy drive off, then returned to his car and drove home.
Parking in the drive, he walked up on the porch and nodded toward his sister and her boy friend.
"We don't see much of you lately, James," the man remarked.
"James has been too occupied with that new girl he's trying to hook into marriage," Peggy added, watching her brother enter the house.
The next day he stood in the hall of the school watching the students change classes. Each girl that passed made him wonder if she would be his date that night.
"Hi, Mr. Randolph," Audrey greeted, passing the teacher as she entered the door.
After everyone was in, he walked to his desk and waited until the students were seated.
"I've been very much surprised, and I will add happily surprised, at the grades you made on the last test. I realize that we all have been under a great strain over the death of your classmate, but nevertheless, there wasn't one of you who didn't receive a passing mark."
He looked over at David as a pleased murmur rippled over the room, then continued:
"Today we're going to take up the subject of old English drama, and before we start our discussion period, I want you to take your books and turn with me to page 245. The first fifteen minutes I want you to study the chapter and we'll discuss it together the remainder of this period. I'm going to be out of the room while you study and when I return, I'll expect an intelligent discussion."
Walking down the hall, he paused before the principal's office a moment, then entered.
"I'd like to see Mr. Jernigan for a few minutes if he isn't too busy," he said, as the secretary smiled sweetly.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Randolph, but Mr. Jernigan mentioned something about going to the drug store. Is there anything I may help you with?"
Shaking his head, James replied:
"No, thank you, I'll try to see him a little later on in the day. There was a matter I wanted to discuss with him, but it can wait."
As he turned to leave, the principal entered the door.
"Well, James, it looks as if you and I were about to collide," he said, smiling at the man. "Did you want to see me?"
"Yes, Mr. Jernigan, I wanted to talk with you about something rather important."
"Well, come on in. I'll be with you in a moment," the principal said, excusing himself as he went into his private toilet.
A few moments later, Jerry Jernigan returned and seated himself at his desk.
"Now, what's on your mind this beautiful morning?" he asked, reaching for his pipe.
"Mr. Jernigan, when something involving the students of a school happens, I've always felt the man in charge should know about it."
"Quite so, James, quite so," the principal agreed.
"I've been asked to do something that, as a teacher, isn't exactly up to the standard of the teaching profession, but I feel it's necessary in the interest of justice. Colin Burnside our prosecuting attorney is sure that a club called the Fiddlers is in someway connected with Mabel's murder and he wants me to work with him on the case. I didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize my position as a teacher, so thought it best to talk things over with you."
Jerry Jernigan turned a shade whiter as he brought his eyebrows together and thought for a moment.
"I've heard of this so-called Fiddlers' Club, but I don't believe there's anything to the rumor that it's for immoral purposes. A group of kids only wanting to have a secret society such as the colleges have, so right away some narrow-minded person starts a rumor it's for immoral purposes."
"I don't mean to disspell your confidence in our young people, but the club most certainly is operated for that purpose. In fact, I'm to visit the club tonight on the pretense of becoming a member, then I'm to report to the authorities where the house is located. I've been skeptical about going there tonight, but if I have your permission, it'll make me feel much better about it."
Jerry Jernigan tried to cover his concern by forcing a smile on his face.
"By all means, you go right ahead and I'll back you to the limit. If this so-called club is for immoral purposes, I want to be the first to know. I appreciate your confidence in me, James, in coming here about this matter. I want to know everything that goes on if it's connected with the students or the school."
"You don't know how relieved you've made me feel, sir. Sometimes even a teacher can stick his neck out and have it chopped off trying to do what is right."
"You're quite right, James, but I guarantee you'll have nothing to fear by doing your duty," he called, as the teacher was leaving the room.
Moving over to the window, the principal began beating his fist in the palm of his hand. Making a decision, he reached for his hat on the desk and hurriedly left the school, making his way down the street to the drug store.
His nervousness increased when the clerk informed him that Flora had just left the store for a while.
Motioning for the young man to follow him back to the drug department, he leaned over the counter and whispered:
"Young man, I need a bottle of paregoric."
"Why certainly, Mr. Jernigan, I can get that for you. Just sign this book and I'll be back in a moment," the clerk said, going into the back room.
Jerry took his pen and began to write in the book, "Wallace R. Brown, St. Cloud, Florida," then closed it and pushed it away from him.
"Here you are, Mr. Jernigan, that'll be thirty-six cents."
Jerry handed the boy a dollar and waited impatiently for his change.
A man standing behind him reached over, opened the book, and looked at the signature. Looking at Jerry, he asked:
"Your name Wallace R. Brown, mister?"
"If it's any concern of yours, sir, I am L. Jerry Jernigan," he replied indignantly.
The man grinned as he showed his credentials.
"It's very much my concern when someone buys narcotics and doesn't write his real name down. If I'm not mistaken, you were in this very store about forty-five minutes ago. Did you buy paregoric then?"
"I did not buy any then. I am subject to a stomach disorder and need this to ease my pain. I did make a mistake by not using my own name, but I'm the principal of the school and it would prove embarrassing if one of my students happened to see my name in this book."
"This may prove a little more embarrassing. Since you had the time to come down here for this bottle of paregoric, I'm sure you have the time to ride down to the courthouse to answer a few questions," the agent said, taking a firm grip on Jerry's arm.
"Well, glory be!" the clerk exclaimed, watching the two men leave the store.
CHAPTER TWELVE
It had been an unusually warm day and the cool evening trade winds blowing through the car window felt good to Audrey. Since there was a business meeting at the church, she had dropped her father off there, saying she was going to the school to practice for the senior play. Although the play was not to be held until May, Mr. Randolph had assigned the parts early for the students to study.
She was too early for her appointment with Flora Compton and drove slowly out the road toward St. Cloud.
Glancing down at her dress, she removed the small safety pin holding the low-neck dress together and allowed it to fall open exposing the round molds of her breasts in a brazen disclosure. As a child, Audrey had been quick to observe the glances she received when her breasts began to protrude at an early age. In the sixth year of school, she would look at the other girls' flat chests and feel preponderant. That was the word she came across while flipping through her father's synonym book. She used it often in the wrong place, but knew it meant physically she was superior to other girls her age. It had given her a warm feeling whenever she caught a young boy staring at her small knobs.
Turning the car off the highway, she drove down a seldom-used road and parked, turning off the ignition and lights. The full moon gave ample light and with the doors locked and windows closed, she felt safe to sit and meditate for a while.
She accepted the fact she was virtually a slave to Mrs. Compton and although she was unwilling to accept the degradation imposed upon her, it gave her an unexplainable sensation. Often over the years, she had thought of another time in her life her body had been used to satisfy the gratification of another.
She wanted to reminisce tonight and gently ran her fingers down the opening in her dress and felt the hard nipples. Leaning her head back on the seat, she closed her eyes and relived the days when a fourteen-year-old boy explored her body. It was shortly after her twelfth birthday and she had taken a stroll through the woods back of her house. Several boys had built a clubhouse nearby and nailed a sign on the door warning girls to keep out.
Looking through the crack of the boarded up window and seeing no one in the house, she went around to the front and forced the crudely built door open. The house had no floor and the only furnishings were several boxes the members sat on and an old canvas cot in the comer. Several pictures of nude women from outdated calendars lined the walls and Audrey stood fascinated, looking at the large breasts.
"What are you doing in our clubhouse?" a boy demanded, entering the door.
"I'm just looking around," she replied, turning around to face him.
"Girls ain't allowed in here! Now get out!"
Looking down at the short dress she was wearing, a sly grin came across his face, as he added:
"What color panties you wearing?"
"That's none of your business," she replied, walking toward the door.
The boy grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the cot.
"You ain't leaving here until you show me your panties."
Audrey made a face, sticking her tongue out at him.
A feeling he had not known before came over the boy as he reached down and pulled her dress up above her white panties. She didn't want him to do that, and yet, something within her prevented any resistance. He stood looking at her panties, then knelt down and jerked her pants down her legs.
"I'm gonna tell my mama on you," she protested, when he raised her dress and exposed her.
"Take off that dress," the boy demanded, his breath becoming shorter as his feeling of power over the helpless girl continued to grow.
"I don't have anything on under my dress," she explained, when he reached down and pulled the dress over her head.
She felt powerless as he pushed her down on the cot and took her small breast in his hand.
"I ain't never felt a girl's bubs before, I always thought they were soft and flabby like my mama's, but yours are nice and hard."
Audrey looked down at the boy's hand on her breasts as a geyser of fire burned through her veins. She watched his hand crawl down over her stomach, then he laid her down on the cot and satisfied his curiosity. Lowering his trousers, he sat down beside the girl, taking her hand and placing it on his body. She didn't like what he was forcing her to do, but the feel of his hand sliding over her prevented any rebellion. She had never seen beneath a boy's trousers before and the memory of that day would stay with her for years.
Before he allowed her to leave, he threatened to tell the other boys unless she would agree to come to the clubhouse the next afternoon. Several times a week she had gone to the shack, declaring each time she left she would not return.
It was raining one afternoon and she was wet to the skin when she got there. The boy removed her soggy dress, then forced her to lay on the cot. This time he removed all of his clothes and fear came over her when she realized what he was about to do as he kneeled over her. Her body trembled in terror and then she gritted her teeth as she endured the torture he inflicted. The agony she was suffering when she left the shack must have frightened him, because his parents reported him as a runaway the next day.
The thoughts of how her body was used as a child sent flash after flash of burning waves over the girl. She looked around the dark woods wondering if she would offer resistance if a tramp forced the car door open and raped her.
Mrs. Compton had informed her that tonight her bed companion would be a man instead of the usual woman she had come to know so intimately. Any argument of protest would have been a waste of words, so she readily consented to the date.
Turning the car around, she drove slowly back to the highway but increased her speed when she glanced at her wristwatch and realized she had remained in the woods longer than she intended to.
After a few minutes with Mrs. Compton in her room, she waited in the back bedroom for her date. She dropped her head when the door opened and all she saw at first were a pair of brown shoes and trousers. Raising her head slowly, her hand went to her mouth in surprise as James stood looking down at her.
"Not you!" she cried, in disbelief.
He fought to gain his self-control as he too was shocked at seeing Audrey sitting on the edge of the bed before him.
"I didn't know it would be you, Audrey, but I'll have to admit that you're the prettiest of my students. Don't look so surprised; it's just as wrong for the daughter of our minister as it is for your teacher."
Audrey put her fingers to her lips, then pointed toward the front bedroom. Walking up to the man, she whispered in his ear:
"Mrs. Compton can hear every word we say. There's a microphone somewhere in this room."
"I've paid twenty-five bucks for an evening with you, Audrey, and I don't expect the time to be wasted on needless words," he said aloud, then softly:
"I'm not going to bother you, Audrey, but how did it happen to be you in this room?"
"Please, Mr. Randolph, I have to do what she tells me to. She has a tape recording of me that would ruin my father. At least let's take off our clothes in case she has a way of watching us," she suggested, pushing the man from her.
Slipping her dress off, her face turned crimson as she reached for the hem of her slip. Motioning for her teacher to undress, she threw the slip across the bed and removed her bra. James took his shirt and trousers off and attempted to cover his shorts with his hand when the girl looked down at him.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she slipped her arms around him and, trying to keep from laughing, whispered:
"You may not want to do anything with your student, but I'll bet you can't keep from it."
"This isn't any time to play cat and mouse with me, Audrey. Where does she keep those tapes? When I leave here and get back to the prosecuting attorney's office, this place will be taken apart. I can't destroy all of them, but I want to burn the one of you."
His arm was around her while she ran her fingers over his broad chest, "I can't see letting your twenty-five dollars go to waste, Mr. Randolph, and besides, I've often wondered how it would be to do it with you."
James became angry at the girl, but still tried to keep his voice down:
"I didn't come here to do anything with any girl, let alone you. I'll admit seeing you nearly nude did cause me to become a little upset, but that's past now. I'm going to turn off the light and if she is watching, she can't see if we're doing anything or not."
"I'll make a wager with you, Mr. Randolph-an 'A' on my report card the rest of the year if I can get you to do it with me," the girl teased, dropping her hand on his lap.
A consuming desire came over the man when the girl stood and removed her panties, exposing her nude body to him. Leaving the bed, he took the girl in his arms and pressed his mouth down against her lips, drawing the tantalizing body close against his. Reaching over, he flipped off the light and pushed the girl down on the bed.
"If it disrupts the church and the entire Board of Public Instruction, I've got to have you," he murmured, kissing down on the young girl's throbbing breasts.
Audrey held the man close against her and covered her mouth to keep from screaming as his mouth slid over her stomach.
"No woman can take the place of this," she whispered, throwing her arms over the man and drawing him to her.
Her hand dug into his back as his body pressed down on her.
"This is what she holds over all the girls who come here," she whispered, before his mouth froze their lips together.
A few minutes later, she lay watching the man dress by the light of the moon shining in the window.
"Do I get my straight 'A' the rest of the year?" she asked, rolling over on her stomach, looking up at him.
"Twenty-five dollars plus a fixed report card is pretty expensive for one night, but you were worth it all," he replied.
Suddenly, the overhead light came on and Flora stood in the doorway aiming a pistol at them.
"Well, Mr. Randolph, I thought I'd give you your twenty-five dollars' worth before we get rid of you. I'm sure the young lady was worth much more, but this time you won't live to remember. Get your clothes on, Audrey, because you too are going on a one-way trip."
"How did you find out, Mrs. Compton?" James asked, looking at the gun.
"I wanted to tell you to stick to your text books, James, but I was afraid you might become suspicious," Jerry Jernigan said, pushing the woman aside and entering the room.
Flora laughed a little, waving the gun at him as she explained:
"When my clerk at the store told me that Jerry had been arrested by a narcotics agent today, I had my attorney get him released on bond. He told me about your plan to come here and expose our neat little setup, but it was too late to do anything about it until now.
"Audrey, you made me a very good girl and I hate to lose you, but I just can't take the chance of allowing you to be free to run your little mouth off to the wrong person. We'll have to close down and it's a pity, because we had just begun to have a paying proposition."
Pushing the man and girl before them, Flora and the principal marched them down the back steps to Jerry's car and opened the back door.
"Jerry, you and Audrey get in the back seat and hold the gun on our schoolteacher," Flora directed, "while he sits beside me. You don't know, I may want him to feel of me and give me a charge, since I haven't had one from a man in years."
Flora drove down the long drive until she came to the paved road. Turning to the right, they rode until she was forced to stop at the red light.
"This is where Mabel had the wreck that sent her to the hospital, then the poor child couldn't take the Coca-Cola good old Flora sent her," Jerry informed, with a laugh in his throat.
James turned around and looked back at the principal.
"Which one of your brilliant minds thought up the idea of poisoning that poor kid?" Flora glanced over at him.
"It doesn't matter if you know the story now, because you aren't going to tell anyone what happened.
"Mabel was an obstinate girl who could have been a real asset to our little business. She threatened to go to the police, so I had to drug her to keep her quiet until I could dispose of her. My time was limited because I not only had several boys and girls coming for a little entertainment that night, but a very influential woman was also due. So I took her to the car and drove to the crest of the hill we just passed before we got to the red light. I pulled her under the wheel and started the car. Unfortunately, she survived the wreck so there was nothing else to do but send Jerry to the hospital with several Cokes."
Jerry laughed out loud in the back seat and added to the story:
"I was afraid to be seen taking a carton of Cokes in, so I slipped the one with the poison in my hip pocket and took the elevator to the third floor. Evidently the nurse on duty had left her desk, so I went to 307 and talked with Mabel for a few minutes. I explained it was against the rules to bring drinks into the hospital, but I wanted her to have at least one because the school missed her so. I would have made a good burglar, because I got in and out without anyone observing me."
For several miles they rode in silence, then Jerry leaned over to the girl and whispered:
"Pull up your dress, Audrey. I want to look at those gorgeous legs just once again."
The girl hesitated a moment, then when Jerry clasped her breast and clamped down on it, she raised her dress quickly up to her pants. She felt sick as the man's lustful hand slid up and down her leg, resting against her panties. Looking over at her principal, she forced a smile on her face and laid her head against his chest. The man took her chin in his hand and kissed her lips several times, then he buried his mouth down on the large breast he had extracted from the dress.
Audrey raised her foot carefully and tapped James on the back. Glancing around, he saw the man's hand that was holding the gun resting by his side. He quickly reached back and grabbed the weapon, pointing it at the woman beside him.
"All right, Mrs. Compton, just pull this car over to the side and stop," he ordered, as Audrey pushed Jerry away, slapping him across the face.
Flora started to apply the brakes as she glanced at the gun pointing her way, then jammed her foot down on the accelerator and the car lurched forward.
"Give the gun back to Jerry or we'll all be killed," she commanded, as the car's tires screamed rounding a curve.
"You were going to kill us anyway, so it's up to you. Either stop the car or I'm going to put a bullet right through you," James boasted, cocking the pistol.
"Look at the speedometer, Mr. Randolph. This car can't take the road at this speed," Flora screamed at him.
James glanced down at the dashboard as the needle reached ninety-five. Shaking his head, he laid the gun on the seat beside him and said above the roar of the motor:
"All right, you win. I don't care for myself, but I can't let Audrey be killed too."
Flora looked over at the man for a split second and the car suddenly left the road and bounced on the shoulder, then skidded back across to the other side. The left front tire exploded, throwing the car over and over, then down an embankment, coming to rest on its side. A dead silence followed after the car settled itself.
Wiping the blood from his forehead, James kicked at the door above him, then forced his tortured body through the broken window and fell to the ground. For several minutes he lay gasping for breath, then pulled himself up against the overturned car and peered down at the lifeless forms. He knew it would be impossible to pull anyone from the car and stood looking at Audrey with the principal's body lying across her. He started staggering up the hill as the ground seemed to be turning around. Several times he attempted to crawl, but dropped back to the ground, then darkness came over his aching body.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sally sat on her front porch watching the cars race by. She often wondered why everyone was in such a hurry to get nowhere. She enjoyed playing a game with herself, counting the automobiles with out-of-state tags. When a car with South Carolina license plates would pass, she became homesick for the farm near Orangeburg.
She had never liked this house because of the run-down appearance it gave. Each night she met James in town because she didn't want him to see the house her father had stuck his family in. Her vision of Florida had been completely shattered when they arrived at the empty house one evening after the long drive from Orangeburg two years ago.
Cultivating the ground had taken up most of his time and the dilapidated house was in no better condition now than the day they moved in.
The ride down to Florida on the back of the truck, with their few belongings stacked high, had been exciting because Sally had visualized a home among the orange trees with palms swaying in the breeze. Instead, an open field without a shade tree in sight had greeted the tired family late one afternoon. She could see the disappointed look on her mother's face as they all pitched in to unload the heavily ladened truck. Three coops of chickens came off first, then the soiled mattress her baby sister had saturated often. It had been a struggle with the entire family working from sunup till dusk in the field.
Two small citrus trees she had managed to purchase at the feed store in Alhambra were planted on each side of the house. She now wondered if she would get to enjoy the fruit from her trees since she would soon be married to her beloved James.
She watched her little sister Lacy comb her doll's stringy hair and talk to it as if the doll were a real baby.
She thought of the nice home she and James would have and perhaps several children to take to school in their car. Never would her children have to endure the embarrassment she had suffered because of their home. If it were only a two-room house, she would really keep it clean and nice looking if she had to paint it herself.
She felt lonely because tonight James would not be taking her in his arms as he had done each night she was with him.
She wanted to cry watching little Lacy attempt to breathe deeply because of the attack of asthma that came on her often. She wouldn't burden her new husband with her own family problems, but she felt if Lacy could live with them, perhaps without all the dust from the sand she wouldn't suffer with her asthma as often as she did.
Watching the little five-year-old child hug her doll to her breast, she looked down at her own protruding breasts and wondered if she would nurse the first baby or have to put it on a bottle as so many do today. She wanted to feel the warm bundle in her arms tugging at her breast, knowing that because of her a new life was in the world and the overly large breasts would be used not only for her husband's gratification, but to feed her baby.
The rusty screen door opened and her mother walked out on the porch wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her dress.
"You ain't gonna go into town to meet your fellow?" she asked, sitting on a rocker next to Sally.
"Not tonight, Mama. He's going to be busy. You'll really like him, Mama. I know you will."
The woman watched several cars fly past, then laid her hand over on the girl's arm.
"I wouldn't tolerate you going to town to meet a man, but I know how you feel about the house. I've wished time and again we had stayed back home and not come down here to all this sand and blistering sun. People who ain't never been to Florida picture it as nice, warm sunshine, green grass, and tropical trees. Shucks, if I'd seen this place before we moved here, I'd have made such a howl you could have heard me from Orangeburg to Bamburg and back.
" 'You say you and this fellow are gonna get married before Christmas? Let your old mother give you one piece of advice. It matters not where you are, if you're doing all right, stay there. This pulling up roots and settling down somewhere else just ain't what it's cracked up to be. Over the years we had accumulated some nice things, but gave them away when we moved down here, and for what? Poor little Lacy's asthma is worse and we ain't one bit better off than we were back home. I had my cow, a yard full of chickens and a smokehouse full of meats and canned foods. When I think of the jars of plum and blackberry preserves I gave away because there wasn't any room on the truck, I get sick all over. This darn milk we buy at the store has been boiled and everything else to take the flavor outta it."
Sally smiled over at her mother as the woman continued to release her feelings. She tried to keep her mind on what she was saying, but she kept thinking of James and what he must be doing at this very moment. She didn't want him to go through with his plans, but didn't want to be a nagging wife before they even married.
She knew he'd had contact with other women, and his desire for one of his own sex had branded him as a freak, such as a queer, fruit or fairy, but he wasn't any of those ugly names. He just had a weakness and it would be up to her to help him break himself away from that sickness. Why wasn't there some type of treatment he could take like an electric shock or something to rid him of a desire that was unnatural. It was true she had, in a weak moment, committed the same thing with him, but that was different. Married people were supposed to enjoy one another in any way their desires demanded. On the farm back in South Carolina she had often watched animals mating with each other, then why should humans confine their courtship to a hop-on and hop-off episode?
She was brought back to reality when her mother stood up, stretching her arms over her head.
"I'm going to turn in. Your paw's been in bed and I can hear him clearing his throat now waiting for me to get there. You'll recognize signals after you are married several years, Sally."
The girl smiled as she watched her fourteen-year-old sister open the screen door as her mother went in the house.
"Whatcha doing sitting out here in the dark?" she asked, occupying the chair her mother just vacated.
"If it were any brighter, it would be daylight," Sally responded, looking out across the yard, then added:
"Sand, sand, sand! Now ain't that one hell of a sight for people who are used to rich land to grow things on? Look at that rose bush I planted last month. It looks like it's had its last day before it ever got started."
For a while, the two girls sat looking off into space as a car now and then attracted their attention. Looking over at her sister, Sally asked:
"What's been wrong with you lately? You aren't pregnant by any chance?"
The girl laughed at her sister for a moment, then the expression changed on her face.
"Not so as you can tell it, but if it would break the monotony around here, I'd go out and offer myself to the first man I saw so I could get pregnant. Go to school, come home, help Mama in the house, go to bed and play with myself, get up in the morning and back to school. What kind of life is that anyway?"
"So that's what all that shaking the bed was," Sally said, laughing.
"Oh, crap no, I just threw that in. If I can't get anything better to play with than myself, I'll jump into a hole and die. By the way, what does that fellow you said was going to marry you look like? Do you think he'll have enough for you and me both?"
"Gladys, I'm ashamed of you talking like that. Lately all you can talk about is someone doing it to you."
"Why not? That's all we hear every night. After twenty-five years, it looks to me like they'd get enough," she retorted, nodding her head toward the front bedroom.
Sally stood and walked down the steps into the yard, motioning for her sister to follow. Walking out to the mail box, they stood looking up at the moon rising over the field.
"I saw that picture you have hid under the mattress-the one of you and some boy naked-and if Papa'd found it, he'd've broken every bone in your body. Haven't you got better sense than to let somebody take a picture of you naked? Don't tell me you're little 'Miss Virtuous' after getting naked with a boy and having your picture taken!"
Gladys grinned as she pulled her foot around in the sand, then said:
"Ain't that a knockout? That's Billy Watson-he goes to my school. Did you get a look at that boy naked? Boy, oh boy, what he doesn't know ain't worth knowing! Remember the weiner roast I went on three weeks ago? Well, after it was over, we and another couple got into Bill's car and rode down to that big lake and played strip poker. If anyone'd passed by, we sure would've been in trouble. Before the game was over, we all were buck naked. Molly took the picture of Billy and me, and I took one of her and Eugene, her boy friend."
"Murder, it looks as if parents can't trust kids in broad open daylight anymore. You better let me know if you miss your period, because Papa would really skin you alive if you turned up gaining weight all of a sudden."
Gladys shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't get her up because I did a little diddling. I'm nearly over my period now, so you won't be Aunt Sally any time soon. I sure am looking forward to Sunday when you give the family an introduction to your pride and joy. How about me inviting Billy Watson? Then after dinner we can all take a stroll across the watermelon patch to the canal and go swimming naked."
"That's all Pd need to lose him," Sally protested, as a car's headlights shone on them.
The girls watched the car slow down and stop, then a woman stuck her head out the window.
"Hello, Sally. I thought that was you when my lights brought you into view. Wasn't that an awful thing that happened on the Holopaw Road this evening?"
The girls walked up to the car, recognizing their neighbor down the road.
"I haven't heard anything about it. What happened?" Sally asked, leaning on the window of the car.
The woman stared out over the hood, shaking her head.
"It was just horrible. I passed by there a few minutes ago before the ambulance arrived and someone said the principal of Alhambra High and a teacher were in the wreck. They were bringing the bodies up the bank, but I couldn't look at them. A man told me that the preacher's daughter was in the car too, but I didn't see her."
A cold chill came over Sally and for a moment she hesitated to ask:
"Did you find out what teacher was in the wreck?"
The woman thought a moment while Sally held her breath.
"I believe someone said he was a Mr. Randolph. I couldn't be sure of the name."
Sally pushed herself away from the car and staggered toward the house. She fought off a feeling of faintness and walked over and sat down on the steps. For several moments she prayed in her heart, then stood and ran back to the car.
"Mrs. Amberline, will you please take me to the hospital?" she pleaded, opening the car door.
"Well, I guess I could. But why?" the woman asked, puzzled by the girl's actions.
"Mr. Randolph and Sally are going to be married," Gladys volunteered.
"Why, you poor thing! Of course I'll take you," the woman said, holding Sally's hand.
Gladys stood watching the woman turn the car around and head back toward town, then muttered:
"That's just our luck. We get something worth having and look what happens. Poor Sally! She was so happy that he was coming for dinner Sunday so she could proudly show him off."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The hospital grounds were crowded with people as word spread like wild fire that the principal of the high school had been killed instantly in an accident. Two policemen stood guard over the emergency room keeping reporters and spectators away while physicians worked feverishly on the rest of the victims. The minister and his wife walked anxiously back and forth in the waiting room, waiting for a report on Audrey.
Word had spread that a loaded gun was found in the wrecked car with the principal, a teacher, Mrs. Compton and the minister's daughter. Reporters crowded around the prosecutor as the officers opened a way through the crowd for him to enter the hospital.
"How about a story, Colin?" one of the reporters called.
Colin turned and stared angrily at the reporter.
"Look, fellows, death and broken bodies are in this hospital. Let's don't make a sideshow out of this awful tragedy."
"Hey, Colin, word has it that the preacher's daughter keeps crying for Mrs. Compton not to kill her," another man ventured, pushing his way toward the prosecutor.
"I haven't talked to anyone and don't know anymore than you. If I have any news to report, I'll call all of you together and give you what I have," Colin promised.
James raised his head slightly from the table and grinned over at the prosecutor leaning against the wall.
"I really goofed this one. I didn't realize I was signing my death warrant when I told Jernigan what I intended to do about the Fiddlers' Club."
He motioned with his hand for the man to come closer, then continued:
"Jernigan and Mrs. Compton killed Mabel because she wouldn't have any part of this racket. In Mrs. Compton's house are some tape recordings she was holding over the girls, forcing them to commit immoral acts with other women. I don't know how you can do it, Colin, but for God's sake don't expose those girls. They've suffered enough for the mistakes they made. Oh, by the way, Audrey was my date this evening, but it wasn't voluntary on her part. Please try to keep her out of this as much as possible."
The prosecutor looked down at James and winked.
"Now as I understand it, Audrey was helping you so we could clean out the Fiddlers' Club. She is a very heroic girl and did all she could to free her schoolmates of the chains this woman held over them. As for the tapes, I see no reason why anyone should ever know about them."
He patted the man on the shoulder, then continued:
"Well, James, I guess this just about winds up this case, thanks to you and Audrey. By the way, Mrs. Compton died a few minutes ago without regaining consciousness. And, oh, yes, James, that gorgeous creature you were telling me about is waiting for you in the corridor outside. If I were your doctor, I wouldn't release you because with that girl hanging on your arm, I know your blood pressure will jump sky high."
The prosecutor helped James off of the emergency table and steadied him for a moment. Then James walked out of the room into Sally's waiting arms.
Several weeks later, the church was full as all eyes strained toward the rear of the church as the organist started the first strains of the wedding march. Colin stood beside James as they waited for Sally to walk down the aisle on her father's arm.
Glancing over to the side of the church, James spied a Negro man and his wife grinning at the bridegroom. He gave a quick wink and smiled.
In another part of the church, Sally's sister squeezed her boy friend's arm as her older sister passed them on her way to the altar.
"Boy, oh, boy, ain't she a knockout?" the boy whispered, in awe.
"She's just a sample of what I'll look like when I get married," the girl bragged, in a hushed voice.
"I'll bet they'll really have a ball tonight," the young boy giggled.
"Not half the ball we're gonna have," Gladys assured, squeezing his arm again.
Several hours later, James drove the car into a driveway and looked over at his new bride beside him.
"We really shouldn't stop at a motel here in Gainesville. This is where the University of Florida is located and if I sign the register and put my business down as a teacher, they'll swear we aren't married."
Sally leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Let's act suspicious and pretend we aren't. I can't get used to the idea, anyway, that it's proper for us to go to bed together."
Closing the motel door behind them, he turned and gazed hungrily at his wife.
"Now I've got you where I want you, Mrs. James Randolph. Take off those clothes and be quick about it," he ordered, slipping his shirt off.
Sally looked down at her beige knit suit for a moment, then walked up and slipped her arms around his neck. Slowly she allowed her hands to slide over his chest, then reached down and opened his trousers. Pulling them down his legs, she unsnapped his shorts and let them fall to the floor, then quickly slipped off her own suit.
"I'm waiting for you to finish undressing me, darling," she said, taking his hand and laying it on her heaving breast.
James reached around the girl and unfastened her bra, throwing it over on the bed. He then buried his lips against her mouth as his hand gently stroked the full breast. Laying her down on the bed, he slipped his undershirt off and lay down, taking the waiting girl in his arms. He kissed her lips, then her eyes and smiled a little to himself as he felt her body respond. Following a path down her neck, he devoured her breast in a gluttonous manner. She squeezed her hands until her knuckles turned white as his lips slid over her stomach. Grabbing the girl's body in his arms, he kissed her navel, then continued the path downward.
She tried to speak, but no words would come from her lips. She could hear the groans in the distance at first, then they became louder and she realized it was she who was uttering the sounds.
Throwing her arms over the man, she cried aloud:
"Oh, my dearest, I'm supposed to help you conquer your weakness, but how can I help you when I want you so badly myself?"
"Don't fight something that comes naturally," James muttered weakly.
"I can't fight, darling. I must have you too," she whispered in ecstasy, pulling him close against her burning body.
