3503 words (14 minute read)

Chapter 7

The forty minute ride out to Queens on the “A” train didn’t dampen her spirits in spite of being in the same subway car as a singing wino and one only slightly smelly homeless person.  Even though Jennifer had to try five train cars before finding one that was free from the cheesy-moldy-garbage-y-stink-funk that is the hallmark of New York City’s homelessness smell, the ride gave her some time to think.  There was so much else for her to think about other than the Barnes case.  But, at the moment, hurtling through the train tunnels at 45 miles an hour, all Jennifer could do was dwell on the details of work. 

Jennifer knew she was on to something with the other copycat murders.  What she didn’t know was how to go about digging into those investigations without ruffling feathers.  In her experience, cops were like divas — they didn’t want people rooting around behind the scenes trying to unearth their secrets.  Jennifer wondered if that was because everyone in law enforcement was worried about things left undone.  Or, was it simply they were all territorial navy blue-clad beasts?

***

The dings, bells and electronic sounds of money falling into greedy sweaty hands greeted Jennifer as she walked onto the main floor of Resorts World Casino. 

Squaring her shoulders, Jennifer shook herself out of the reverie that had settled upon her during the train ride.  She trained her cop instincts outward as her eyes roamed over the crowd while simultaneously scanning the layout and identifying each exit. 

In her visual sweep, she noticed a man who did not want to be noticed.  Naturally, she focused on him as she drifted towards his general vicinity.  Jennifer noted that his dark shades hid his eyes but not his expression. 

He was losing.  Badly.  His body language betrayed it. 

Jennifer smirked as she sauntered past him and noticed that his hair was appeared odd.  It was a wig, or hairpiece of some kind.  The dark jogging pants with its matching zippered velour jacket had no designer’s label in sight.  However, the set screamed money.  It was in the tailoring.  The seams were perfectly invisible in the dark emerald green fabric.  The soft-looking velour flowed into the wide-ribbed cuffs around the man’s wrists and ankles. 

The only giveaway was the pair of gold cufflinks, pinned to the ribbed cuffs.  Each cufflink had a moon etched into the precious yellow metal along with a couple of good sized diamonds which were placed as if they were stars.

Who the hell wears diamond cufflinks on a velour jogging suit?  Nut job!

She was already on the other side of the room and looking elsewhere with her head and eyes.  However, in her mind’s eye, she was reviewing her glimpse of Mr. Incognito Moneybags.  Jennifer wondered who he was, but in a casino, anyone could be someone with a pull of a lever.  Moneybags could have just won it big and bought the expensive jogging suit in one of the casino several high-end shops.  A small smile tugged at her lips while she indulged in her little mental Who’s Who guessing game.  Risking another look, Jennifer casually turned around as if she was checking out the most recent winner and stilled. 

A woman had come up to Moneybags and kissed him on the cheek. 

He squeezed the striking brunette and smiled up at her.  Her clothes oozed of money even more than his.  But it was her hair that slid the bar above way too high.  Her sleek mane was in the latest blunt bob style and was trimmed to absolute perfection.  The tiny mole, on the left, above her thin lips seemed real from this distance but Jennifer couldn’t be sure.

Focusing next on the huge rock on the woman’s right hand, Jennifer was impressed with not just its size, but also, by its color.  It was the palest shade of yellow.  Jennifer wished she was more like Babs.  The teeny diva could eyeball something and tell one designer nick-knack from another. 

Jennifer knew the rock was a diamond.  Only diamonds could shimmer and shine like that under the myriad of casino lights.  In a cop thought drift, Jennifer wondered if the rock and the cufflinks came from the same jeweler. 

Mr. Moneybags withdrew his player’s card from the machine and walked off with the pampered woman who looked as if she were purring up at him.  The man lapped up the attention like a cat with fresh cream.   

Within moments, Jennifer lost sight of the couple in the crowded casino.

Realizing she was there for a reason other than being a voyeur, Jennifer sought out the one thing for which she had come.  It was found in the form of a few well-lit booths in the corridor just beyond the main casino floor which was on the second level.

The line was short.  Jennifer’s winning lottery ticket was quickly converted into greenbacks.  With the money tucked away in her now overfull clutch, Jennifer roamed the large bustling beeping, dinging cavernous room seeking a video slot machine that would make her happy and spit out more money.  She didn’t notice him until he was right next to her.

“Casing the joint?  Or, just looking for me?”

Jennifer stiffened as she swiveled her cop eyes to assess her safety this close to the man.

Simultaneously, the Fury came forward only to sniff his scent. 

Yet, neither of them felt threatened by the man.

Jennifer answered with a slight drawl, “If I was looking for you, I’d have found you already.”

She turned and walked off with her pants swaying in the climate-controlled chilled air while trying to keep her eyes averted from the dizzying carpet. 

Abatu infused Jennifer with a burst of sensuality as it knew the man was following and watching the host’s hips move.  The demon began working on Jennifer’s long-dead libido trying to revive it before the night grew too old.

“Let me buy you a drink,” he said, when she stopped at a promising looking machine.

Jennifer took another quick glance at him.  However, this time, she looked at him with her woman eyes.  She blinked and went coquettish.  He was Matthew McConaughey gorgeous. 

Two burly blondes in as many days?  What are the chances?

“If I let you, what will you let me do?”

A wide mischievous smile enlivened his already perfect heart-shaped face.

“Hmm…what would you like for me to do is the real question.”

Jennifer realized she was flirting and standing dangerously close to a complete and total stranger. 

Her panic crackled.

The demon went to work immediately and blocked the emotion’s path.  Abatu ignored its earlier decision to go slow and manipulated the host mercilessly because it wanted this man!

Almost as soon as Jennifer realized she was frightened, the emotion dissipated. All that was left was a rise in her body temperature, a wetness that she hadn’t felt in years and a great big lump in her throat.  Jennifer batted her eyes at him, pursed her lips and asked him to bring her a drink.

“A Lemon Gingerini will partially quench my thirst… I’ll be right here when you get back.”  She slid into the chair in front of her chosen video slot machine.  As delicately as she could, she wrestled a twenty out of her overfull clutch and slid it into the machine.  Looking up, she caught sight of him as he hurried through the crowd towards Bar 3600. 

Jennifer felt like bolting for the door.  She had done what she came for and was now wasting time — and money.  Being in the casino flush with cash was making her hot and twitchy.  Simultaneously, she wanted to put all of the money in the nearest machine which warred with the urge to put it all in her bank account and allow it to accrue interest at a regular predictable rate.  This tidy sum would take her savings balance over $100,000.  The very thought made her giddy.  Each dollar brought her ever closer to permanent stability and the capacity to carry a mortgage on her own.  She shivered from the thrum of excitement.  But, she was still sitting in front of a slot machine and there was $15 left on the machine to play.

Jennifer wanted the wanton desire for easy money to go away.  However, her cardinal sin was tempered by frugality.  She only shopped when her clothing had at least one gaping hole.     The war within Jennifer escalated but the beeping and dinging was too strong — she pulled the lever and watched the reels spin.

Trying not to breathe until the reels came to a full stop she vaguely realized her predicament.  Here she was dressed in her best finery, had a man on the hook, yet she was still battling her addiction.  She was still looking for an escape into something that was no longer comforting, or nourishing.  Jennifer knew she should try and be happy but at her age, having never had sex of her own free will was a major stumbling block.

‘Hey Chad.  Sorry, no-can-do on the whole sex thing.’

She grimaced at the thought as the right reel stopped on a heart.  The left reel was slowing down and the middle reel was still spinning at a good clip.

Never having had a boyfriend was also a tad peculiar for a heterosexual woman of her age.  But now, having two manly prospects in forty-eight hours?  She couldn’t help but grin as both of them made her think of doing the unthinkable and engaging in an act whose name she had long banished from her memory.

The left reel stopped on a nine and the middle reel slowed down and stopped in between a heart and a deuce.

She bit her lip and wondered if she dared.  Taking a deep breath she pressed the maximum bet button then watched the video reels spin.

Would I dare to sleep with a man I just met?  What if he gives me some STD and I break out in hives, or something, for the rest of my life when I stress out?!

The Fury stepped in and sent a mind link thought to the host.         

>;>;What if I just let go of the past, since it can’t hurt me anymore, and let in someone new?  What if, I can protect myself now — ward off any bad things?  What if the men coming into my life simply want to bring me pleasure?

The foreign thought crept around Jennifer’s mind for many long moments.  She tried to pull it apart three ways from Sunday but the heavy truth of it wouldn’t leave her.  She knew it was time for the new.  Life didn’t have to be a protective cocoon that enveloped her in a false safe environment to be kept uninhabited and sterile.  One look around the casino showed her that there was more to life than scratch-off games, lottery systems and mind-numbing cop work.

Fury Abatu saw a chink in the host’s armor and pressed even more.

>;>;Sure the money from the job keeps me alive and in a decent neighborhood. But isn’t there more to life?

Jennifer glanced at the monitor.  The reels didn’t bring a win.  She tapped the max bet button again.  As she watched the reels spin, unbeknownst to her, the demon sent another intriguing thought.

>;>;What would happen if I actually had a boyfriend and we — got married?

The concept rocked Jennifer to the core.  Until this moment, the idea of marriage was not an option.  If she wouldn’t share her body with a man why would a man want to share his life with her?

Trembling, she glanced up and saw that her Matthew McConaughey look-alike was on his way back.

Abatu nudged Jennifer’s dulled pulse of excitement.  The demon pushed harder when it realized that the host was getting ready to bolt.  Abatu grunted with the effort of infusing an inordinate amount of excitement and sensuality into Jennifer.  When this was all done, Abatu knew it was going to need every drop of the big blonde’s blood.

“You look like you were about to leave,” he said, smiling.  “Glad you didn’t.  The line was long at the bar and I don’t think I could drink anything named Gingerini.”  He handed her the drink with a slight grimace.

Jennifer took the highball glass murmuring her thanks.  She began to sip as she scanned the room, conscious of her ankle holster.  In that moment, its proximity made her feel secure.

She noticed Mr. Moneybags was leaving the casino with the stunning woman.  They were headed towards the main entrance. 

Jennifer glanced at her watch.  Eleven-thirty.  It was still relatively early.  As she wondered where Moneybags and Miss Needless Markups were going, Jennifer noticed a shifty-eyed Goodfella following close behind the pair.  With a soft snort, Jennifer shook her head and wondered why she cared.

Jennifer glanced up at the man who was patiently waiting for her to reply.  had been tracking the wealthy man with lowered lids and peering through her lashes.  The handsome man hadn’t noticed, she hoped.

He cleared his throat.  She glanced up and smiled at him as she tapped the screen again.  They both watched the reels spin.  She glanced back at Mr. Moneybags and caught sight only of the woman elegantly stepping through the casino doors as she disappeared into the night.

“Hey, you won a thousand dollars!”

Jennifer swung her head back to stare at the screen.  Her eyes widened when she saw the flashing amount.  In that moment, it clicked that the dinging winning bells were on her machine! She gave him a winning smile then returned her focus to her machine.

Is this some kind of sign?

Tuckered out, the Fury managed a craggy toothy smile at the host’s thought.  Manipulating the video machine was much harder than turning mechanical wheels but with some finesse the Fury had been able to get the right combination lined up in time.  The Fury had hoped for a bigger amount but this would have to do.  Everything had gone off without a hitch tonight, including the budding seduction.  Abatu knew only a tiny bit more was needed.  With a final surge, the demon implanted its own burning passionate need into its host and watched as Jennifer’s reticence fell away.  In awe, Abatu watched as the dormant, undamaged, Jennifer emerged from its cocoon.

“You must be my lucky charm today.  So tell me, what’s my charm’s name?”

“Derrick Palmer.  Yours?”

Without hesitation, the Fury pushed a name into her mind.

“Theresa Sayge.”

“Unusual name…sage?  Like the herb?”

“No.  It’s spelled with a “y” in front of the “ge”.”

“Ah, S-a-y-g-e?  Beautiful, like its owner.  Where’s your family from?”

“Originally England, but you know the story, they ended up here.”

“England?  Hmphf.  You don’t have an accent.”

“I said my parents were from there.  Not me.  I was born here.”

“I guess that would explain a lot.  Anywho, from which lot did your family stock spring?  Carpetbaggers?  Servants?  Religious fanatics?  Or, criminals?”

“How am I supposed to know?” she said with a grin.

“It’s your family, why wouldn’t you know?  No matter.  I think it’s the carpetbaggers.  You seem wily and have a pretty quick tongue.  Or, could I be wrong and they were…criminals?”  Derrick’s eyes lingered on her lips as he spoke before shifting his gaze to the video screen.  “You might want to collect your winnings and beat it out of dodge before you lose it all.  You know how casinos are; you’ll play harder if you think you can win a bigger pot.”

Smiling at him, Jennifer tapped the winnings button and listened as an electronic coins falling sound filled their ears for the next fifteen seconds.  She plucked out her $1,030 receipt and wedged it into her full clutch bag. She stood up with her drink in hand and leaned against him as she looked Derrick into his darkened blue eyes.

“What if my wiles are up to no good tonight?  What would you do?”

 “I guess I would have to spank you,” he said with a rakish smile. 

Jennifer grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him up out of his seat.  She pressed her lips to his and was surprised that his breath was sweet with only a hint of whiskey sour.  As her hands explored his torso, she realized his soft lips were yielding but the rest of him was hard and sculpted.  She gave herself over to the passionate kiss closing her eyes and letting the room fade from existence as she reveled in the pleasure of a man’s touch for the second time in well over a decade. 

His tongue came to dance playfully with hers but the heat flashed through both of them.  The kiss deepened.  Jennifer broke away when she felt the room tilt.  She pushed him back and took an unsteady breath.

“Whoa, cowboy, we just met.”

“Just following your lead, Ms. Sayge.  And my, what a fine lead it is...”

Jennifer gave him a side glance as she took an unsteady long sip of her drink.  It took two more sips to tamp down the flames licking at her belly making her want to do things with and to this man she barely knew.  She knew she was in trouble when she felt a big dollop of moisture slide out of her.  She licked her lips and decided she wanted Derrick Palmer come hell or high water.

“Know any good little place for us to stop in around here?”  Knowing full well that her request was a bad idea, Jennifer didn’t retract it.  She waited, praying he would pull back and do the honorable thing.

“The hotel here is definitely too conspicuous.” He drummed his hand on the top of the video slot machine.

Dragging her attention from his full bottom lip, Jennifer watched his nimble fingers prance up and down as he thought.  The cop in her took note of the pale telltale circle around the third finger of his left hand.  The Fury pushed the new knowledge deep down but Jennifer didn’t buy it so the Fury infused more desire and longing into the host to counteract the aversion Jennifer was feeling.

“Hmm…definitely for you,” she said with a wry grin as her eyes lingered on his left middle finger.

Derrick glanced down at his naked suntanned left ring finger.  Grinned a bit then took a long swig of his drink before lifting her chin.  “So, I’m married.  Does that change anything?”

Derrick stood up and pulled Jennifer close enough so she could feel his excitement which was a long full arousal.

Another fat drop moistened Jennifer’s undies.

He bent his head and nuzzled her neck letting his tongue elicit whimpers of pleasure from the now pliable woman in his arms.  His rugged 5’11” frame was not too big for her small stature.  Jennifer was not frightened in the least.

Abatu kept infusing Jennifer with its passion for the man who was more endowed than the demon expected.  It cackled with glee and pressed upon the Jennifer host’s sensuality a bit more to ensure the man would remain interested.

Jennifer angled her head and captured his mouth again.  Careful not to spill what was left of her drink on him she took a chance and plunged her tongue into his warm mouth pouring her desire into one searing kiss.

When Jennifer let him up for air several minutes later he said, “The Riviera, on Atlantic — that’s private enough.  Do you know it?”

“If it works for you, it works for me.”

“Meet you out front by the valet in twenty minutes?”

“What will I look for?”

“A black CL 250.”

She raised an eyebrow.

He just smiled more broadly as he dropped his hand from her waist.  He nodded to her, set his empty glass down and subtly adjusted himself before sauntering away.

Jennifer watched him until he disappeared into the crowd before taking quick long strides over to the cashier still aflutter from her financial and sensual good fortune.

***

Next Chapter: Chapter 8