Blood and Rain Page 8

Tor moved his Queen's Knight in front of his Bishop's Pawn.

  He smiled and looked at me intently trying to read my face expression.

  “There you are,” I told him, meeting his gaze. “Acting like my bitch again.”

  The smile left his face.

  I moved my Queen's Bishop Pawn forward one square.

  Tor’s lips curled back into a sneer.

  “I’m tired of your jokes,” he snarled.

  Tor moved his King Bishop's Pawn forward two squares.

  “I don't give a fuck what you like,” I told him and moved my black square Bishop diagonally three squares so it was three squares in front of my other Bishop.

  “And there ain’t shit you can do about anything I say or do.”

  Tor looked like he was going to jump up out of his chair and attack me. He was so pissed off his eyes were bulging out of his head and the veins on his neck stood out.

  “Go ahead,” I told him. “I ain’t liked you since the first minute I saw you.” I put my right hand inside my jacket right where my gun was holstered and curled my fingers around the grip of my Thirty-Eight.

  “You're like shit with perfume poured on it,” I said, our eyes locked. “The fine clothes, the smooth talk might fool some people, but I know what you are. Just shit.”

  Someone pulled my hat off and I jerk to the side and see Dallas rubbing my hat on her breasts. “Oooh,” she said, “Your head is warm. You need to cool off.” She laughed and put my hat back on me.

  I smiled at her then look back at Tor.

  “Move, Tar baby,” I tell him.

  Tor smiled slyly then captures my Pawn with his King Bishop's Pawn.

  “It matters not what you do tonight,” Tor said studying the board. “I will come for you tomorrow. For at midnight, I drink the blood of the lamb and I will gain more power than you can imagine exists.”

  “Yeah, I heard you think you're some kind of voodoo Joe or something,” I told Tor. “Well, talk that shit to someone else.”

  Dallas leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Are you really a Private Detective? I always thought those guys were so cool.” Her breathing sounded like she had just run a mile, uphill all the way.

  Just another dizzy chic, I thought. Well, nobody comes here for intellectual enlightenment now do they?

  “Yeah,” I told her, “That's what I do. I detect all the girl's privates.”

  Dallas giggled a dizzy little girl's giggle and leaned close again. “I'll be back,” she breathed into my ear. She pranced away trying to look perky.

  Tor moved and I immediately moved. I was looking around the room hardly looking at the board when I did move.

  What I was trying to do was make Tor think that I held him in so much contempt that I wasn't even paying attention. In reality, I was watching the board very closely. I was making plans and was preparing to execute. I just wanted Tor to think he was playing an idiot who didn't care if he won or lost.

  I hadn't been lying when I'd told Tor that I couldn't stand him at first sight. I didn't know what, but something about his guy just reeked.

  Johnny came up to the table. He pulled up a chair and sat down.

  Tor gave him a mean look. “Can you not see I am trying to concentrate,” he told Johnny.

  “You look like you're trying to take a shit,” Johnny said and we slap palms.

  “Damn,” Johnny said. “All this hot pussy here, gettin me hornier that a motherfucker. I'm gonna have to fuck me something tonight.”

  Tor moved again and I immediately move again. I was thinking, I did have him rattled. He looked like he was trying to see something happening on the board that wasn't actually there.

  “I tell you what,” I said to Johnny. “I've been seeing a dancer watching you all night. Everywhere you go she's got her eyes on you.”

  “You're full of shit,” Johnny said.

  “No man, I ain’t bullshittin,” I told him. “Hell, you're a good lookin guy. If I was a bitch, I'd fuck you myself.” I put my hand on Johnny's leg and he slapped it off.

  “Back up Jack,” he said.

  “I was almost overwhelmed,” I told Johnny and laughed.

  Tor interrupted us. “We have a game to play,” he said through tight lips.

  “I'll get to you, Mogombo,” I told Tor.

  Tor was seething in menacing silence. He was breathing heavy again and almost shaking in fury.

  Johnny looked at me and said, “John, you really should take it easy on the spook.”

  We both laughed and slapped palms.

  I point at Candi Divine who is still on the stage and tell Johnny, “That's the one that wants you.”

  CHAPTER 19

  DOGGIN’ DALLAS

  The moment that I pointed at Candi Divine, Johnny and Candi locked eyes.

  Candi had been doing some body building poses when it happened. The music that Candi was flexing to was Body Language by Queen. Candi’s whole body writhed and Candi looked oddly like a tensing boa constrictor.

  Tor looked from me to Johnny and said, “You are both going to die.”

  “No shit,” Johnny said absently, with his eyes still locked to Candi’s. He pushed his chair back and got up. He said, “I think I'll make my death by fucking.” Johnny walked to where Candi was.

  He's got more guts than I have, I thought as I watched him approach Candi. Within two minutes they were at a table making goo-goo eyes at each other. Boy was Johnny in for a surprise.

  Tor moves again and I move again instantly and see a plan developing. I'm going to sacrifice my Knight and within three moves, he'll have to give me his Queen or be checkmated.

  I watch as Johnny leads Candi to the dance floor and they start slow dancing. I take the photo of Felicia playing chess out of my pocket and sit it down beside the chessboard facing Tor.

  “Have you seen this girl?” I ask him.

  Tor’s eyes flash to the picture, then his eyes flash back up to mine filled with rage.

  He says, “I am tired of your children's games. You are trying to distract me. It is the only way you could ever hope to win.”

  Tor stands up and I stand up.

  “Well, make your move bad boy,” I tell him. “I want to bust you upside your head so bad I can taste it.”

  At that moment Johnny yells from the dance floor, “What the fuck is this?”

  He pushes Candi away from him.

  “Jesus.” Johnny yells. “You got a dick bigger than I do.”

  Candi has her hands on her hips and her head rocking side to side. At that moment she, or he, was a big beautiful muscular African Amazon Queen and he, or she, was as scary as hell.

  “That's right,” Candi barked at Johnny with her head rocking. “I'm more woman than you can ever handle and more man than you'll ever be.”

  “Fuck this,” Johnny yelled and came stomping back to the table.

  I couldn't help but grin.

  “And you think this is funny,” he said to me. “Fuck you too!”

  Johnny bumps into the table and some chess pieces fall over.

  “You stupid idiot,” Tor yells.

  “That's redundant dummy,” I yell back at Tor.

  “That's telling him,” Johnny says.

  Someone has curled their fingers around my arms and was turning me to face them. I turned and saw Dallas looking up at me with wide eyes and pouty lips.

  “Mr. Detective man,” she slid her hands down my arm, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me across the floor. “You big sexy Mr. Detective man,” she said exaggerating each word, each word flowing off her tongue like liquid. “I need you to investigate something.” She led me across the floor then pulled me through the door to the dressing rooms. “Oooh yeah,” Dallas cooed as she pulled me down a short hall to a room where a piece of paper tacked to a door identified the dressing room as being hers.

  “I need to investigate you too,” she said breathlessly and pulled me through the door and latched it behind me.

  Dallas unzipped my fly
and pulled my dick out. “Oh what a big boy,” she breathed as she stroked me hard. Then she went down on her knees and made my dick disappear between her parted lips. She sucked me hard making wet squishing noises as her head went forward and back from my crotch.

  With a smack of her lips, Dallas pulled her face away from my dick, stood up, and turned her back to me. With one motion, she bent over, dropped her panties to the floor and kicked them away from her.

  “Oooh,” she said. “I need an in-depth probe. You got to fuck me from behind. You need to investigate me.”

  This dizzy chic was really getting into this detective stuff. But what the hell, I could play along.

  “All right doll face,” I told her. “I'll get to the root of the problem.”

  I got behind her. She stuck her ass in the air and I slid all the way into her. I lost my balance and we both pushed forward. Dallas's head rammed into the wall.

  “Oh God,” she panted.

  I went to pull her away from the wall as she grabbed my legs and pulled me deep into her again and banged her head against the wall again.

  “Oh God, I love it,” she wailed. “It makes me see stars.”

  This chic really does want her brains fucked out, I thought.

  “Oh God, bang me through the wall,” Dallas yelled.

  So I tried to do exactly that. I was slamming into her from behind and her head was slamming into the wall. Thank God I don't have to talk to this chic later, I thought. She probably won't have enough brains left to say shit.

  I was banging her against the wall so much that at first I didn't hear that banging that was coming through the door. I could hear yelling too. It was Johnny.

  “Open the door,” he was yelling, “Open the door.” And he kept beating on the door.

  “Shut the fuck up,” I yelled at Johnny and I swear to God, I didn't even miss a stroke.

  Dallas was Oohing and Aaaawing and Johnny was banging on the door so much that I had a hard time getting my nut. But like the hardworking man that I am, I kept at it until I did cum. And I made damn sure I pulled out just before I came and shot my cum all over Dallas's ass.

  No way in hell did I want to take the chance of having any rug rat with this dizzy chic. The world has enough problems right now without that.

  I zipped myself up, blew Dallas a kiss, and went out into the hallway where Johnny waited.

  CHAPTER 20

  TOR AMBROSE

  What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked Johnny. “Couldn't you tell I was on the job in there?”

  Back here where the music was muffled, I could hear the rain beating down on the roof. It must be pouring buckets down outside, I thought.

  “I know who's got your little girl,” Johnny says.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “The instant you left the table Tor picked up the picture,” Johnny showed me the photo of Felicia playing chess that I had left on the table. “He threw it back down and told me he's going to kill us all and he slapped the chess pieces over.”

  “I told him, he ain’t gonna kill shit and that was a forfeit so he stomped his ass out the front door. I picked up the picture and looked at it and look!” Johnny pointed to a figure in the background. Even though he was blurred, the figure was Tor.

  It hit me then all at once. Tor fit the description I had worked up to a tee. I had been sitting there staring at him all night and hadn't even realized it. Tor was tall, thin, had coal black skin, penetrating eyes, looked to be around thirty, wore really nice clothes, and he definitely had the attitude to refer to himself as the King in cheesy poetry to a little girl.

  I could of kicked the crap out of myself for being so stupid. And something else hit me too.

  “You know about voodoo, right?” I asked Johnny.

  “Yeah, some,” he said.

  “Well, what does it mean if you say you're going to drink the blood of the lamb at midnight and gain great power?” I asked.

  “If Tor told you that,” Johnny said. “Then he's going to sacrifice an innocent child at midnight to a dark God so he gains some kind of magical powers.”

  I looked at my watch. It read nine thirty.

  I looked at Johnny, “I got two and a half hours to find this bastard and stop him from killing Felicia.”

  “We have two and a half hours!” Johnny said. “I know who this guy is and how to find him and I ain’t letting you do this by yourself.”

  PART III

  END GAME!

  Go ahead punk,

  Make my day!

  - Dirty Harry

  Sometimes the good guys

  And the bad guys

  Both

  Wear Black Hats

  - The Walker in Darkness

  Mercy ain't

  A part of the Game

  - - Sonny Liston

  CHAPTER 21

  BLACK BLADE IN THE NIGHT

  While we were walking out of the dressing rooms hallway, Johnny told me that Tor was the supplier of these Jamaican dealers that had been around the area for about eight months now. He knew this because Tor offered him money to be able to sell crack out of his bar.

  Johnny told him to leave or die and that ended that conversation.

  “All we got to do to find Tor,” Johnny told me. “Let’s go make his dealer at the Barbary Coast tell us where he lives. That's where Tor would do any sacrificing too. These voodoo people cast spells in their homes. That's where their center of power always is.”

  “OK,” I told Johnny as we passed through the door and back into the nightclub. “We go get that dealer right now and he will tell us where Tor’s home is or I'll cut his fingers and toes off one by one.”

  A table of drunken guys cheered me when they saw me emerge from the dressing room area.

  I checked my fly. It was up. As I passed their table I gave them a victory salute with an upraised fist and told them, “It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.”

  We walked across the floor to the sound of their raucous laughter.

  About halfway across the room Johnny told me, “You know man that was pretty fucking sorry what you pulled on me with Candi Divine.”

  “Yeah,” I told him. “But you got to admit, it was pretty damn funny.”

  “Well, tomorrow I might laugh,” he said. “But tonight I'm kinda pissed off. Hell, I've felt funny before, but that was the first time I've ever felt nuts, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” I said.

  “Pay backs a bitch,” Johnny said. “I'm gonna get you back for this one.”

  “Be my guest,” I told him as we went out the front door, “If you can do it.”

  * * *

  The rain came down in torrents. We were both soaked to the bone before we even made it to the car. Then Johnny had me standing there in the pouring rain while he fiddled around for the right key to open the door. I was wondering if he had about a hundred keys on that ring when he finally popped his door open.

  When we were both inside but far from dry Johnny turned to me and asked, “You got your gun on ya?”

  “Yeah,” I told him. “I always do.”

  “I gotta get my baby,” Johnny said and got out and went toward the blackness of the alley to the trunk of the car.

  There was a bump against the car like Johnny had slipped and fallen onto the trunk. Then I heard Johnny shout a stream of obscenities and I came out of my door into the blinding rain drawing my thirty-eight.

  At the rear of the car Johnny was on the ground on his back. He was shouting defiantly at a dark figure that stood over him.

  I saw the knife in the figure's hand, a long gleaming black blade. I saw him reverse his grip from a slashing grip to a stabbing grip.

  “Tor,” I yelled and the figure froze and the face turned towards me. His eyes blazed into my eyes with purest evil hate.

  I squeezed the trigger of my thirty-eight twice and sent two shots blasting into Tor’s chest. The shots jerked him like h
e had been punched twice in the chest and he staggered back three steps. Then his feet went out from under him and he fairly flew off the cement and landed with a splash in a puddle on the pavement. The soles of his shoes went up into the air then came back down and he lay there.

  I went to where Johnny lay and knelt down by him. He was wiping the rain out of his eyes.

  “The bastard cut me,” Johnny yelled.

  “How bad is it?” I asked him and I could see his shirt sliced open over his chest in a long straight line.

  “I'm bleeding like a bitch on her worst day but I'll live,” he answered.

  Mocking deep laughter came to me through the rain from out of the darkness. I looked up and saw Tor on his feet.

  “You can't kill me,” his voice thundered at me.

  I took aim and my .38 roared three more times till I was pulling the trigger and clicking on empty chambers.

  Each shot knocked Tor back like they were mule kicks. He staggered backwards into the darkness and I saw him no more.

  I quickly reloaded the five chambers of my Undercover Special Thirty-Eight. The mocking laughter came again out of the darkness.

  “You can't kill me!” Tor yelled again and his laughter receded away from us, and then was gone altogether.

  People were coming out of Roxie’s now drawn by the gunshots. I walked back into the darkness of the alley and saw how Tor had vanished so quickly. There was a manhole cover that was half slid off of the hole. I knew he went down there.

  When I went back to Johnny, Sushi was there. She had Johnny's head on her lap and she was stroking his forehead.

  A crowd was gathered now around Roxie’s entrance and I yelled for one of them to call an ambulance. One of the dancers said she would and went back inside.

  Sushi kissed Johnny on the forehead and wailed, “Oh Johnny, please, please don't die. I like you so much.” She bawled. “Your head is like one big beautiful raisin,” she told him.

  “If you stay with me” Johnny told Sushi. “I might just pull through.”

  After hearing that line of bullshit, I knew Johnny was gonna be just fine.