Maxine's New Life

“Fair enough,” Price said as he handed me the check, “This card,” he added handing me an index card with an address. “Has the address of the Gym where Al was working out.”

“Will they talk to me?”

“I’ll have Al call them right now.”

I left his office right away and headed for Tryon. I made it out of town before my cell phone rang. Since I always wear a jacket with pockets, the cell phone was easy to reach, even as I drove.

“At Your Service, Stone,” I said into the phone.

“Stone, this is Detective Sergeant Blevins.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Nothing really, I’m calling to give you a heads up. Your third thug is out on bail. Your friend Ed posted his bail and we cut him loose.”

“I’m sure it was just business,” I said knowing I was going to have a talk with Ed about that one.

“Who knows, but watch yourself. He might want to get rid of the only witness.”

“Did you find out what his gang affiliations are?”

“Best we can tell he doesn’t have any. He and his two dead cousins seemed to have been working alone.”

“Really, well I will be damned. Dress like a banger and talk like and banger and everyone is afraid of you, I suppose that would work.”

“It seems to have worked pretty well. We found drugs and money in his place.”

“Well, I’ll keep an eye out for him. I’m not sure he wants to find me though.”

“Me either, you seemed to have scared the shit out of him.” He paused a few seconds then went on. “I did some checking on you. If you need anything let me know, but stay out of trouble.”

I had a pretty good idea what he knew. There was very little about me that couldn’t be learned from a quick records check. “Who me? I never get into trouble. Speaking of trouble is the DA going to file on me,”

“Not a chance, the press has made you a hero,” he replied. “By the way if you stop by the Cop Out some night, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“What the hell is the Cop Out?”

“It’s an old beer bar downtown. You’ll be able to find it, just go to the courthouse on main street then drive north two blocks.”

“I’ll stop bye one night.” I promised.

“Good, well bad guys wait for no man, I got things to do,” Blevins said.

“Me too, by the way are you working on that killing over in Crestview last week?”

“No, that is the Sheriff,” he replied.

“You know anyone over there I can talk to?”

“Try Brenda Williams, she a tough old bird, but she might help you, if you smile sweetly at her.” I could hear the insinuation in his voice. I had heard it often enough. Not only did I swing both ways, but for some reason both teams thought I played for them exclusively. I guess people saw what they wanted to see.

“Oh hell, I can do that no problem,” I replied with a smile in my voice.

“I bet you can. You strike me as the kind of woman who knows how to get things done.”

“I like to think so. Okay I’m getting into traffic, I’ll catch you at the bar.” With that I turned my attention to the GPS. The gym turned out to be a storefront that could have been a five and dime in the sixties. It had been converted to a brightly lit gym. It just wasn’t right to see a gym without a boxing ring. Not only that, it just didn’t smell like a gym. Way too many brands of fancy perfume and cologne stank the place up.

The manager was also a personal trainer. He really was a cutie, but I really didn’t relate to cute boys all that well.

“I’m the manager, you wanted to see me?” he asked.

“You should have gotten a call from Al Porter or maybe Milton Stone his lawyer.”

“Yeah Al called. He said to show you anything you wanted to see.”

“Let’s do this the easy way. Are you satisfied that Al Porter was in your gym at 10AM that Friday.”

“I’d testify to it,” he replied.

“That’s not what I asked you. So tell me how do you know for sure.”

“I saw him.”

“How do you know what time it was.”

“I just know.”

“That won’t do. Did he do anything to make the time stand out in your mind.”

“Just that he doesn’t usually come in before lunch. He is usually in around two.”

“Okay, so it was unusual for him to be in at that time of day. So did he seek you out or did you just notice him.”

“He stopped by the office when he first came in to ask about some running shoes. We special order that kind of thing.”

“So you would say that coming to your office made sure that you would notice him. Did he mention the time or anything like that.”

“He said he came in early because he had a meeting after lunch.”

“So he made sure you would remember the time.” I didn’t say it but he was acting very much like a man setting up his alibi. That made him suspect number one in my mind and probably the sheriff’s detectives as well. The money trail was going to be the thing that nailed his ass.

I dialed Price from my cell phone before I started the van. “Price please, this is Maxine Stone.”

“Yes ma’am Ms Stone. By the way I saw you on TV. Did you really shoot those two men.”

The bubbly little thing sounded like a groupie. “Yes I had to shoot them. But I need to talk to your boss about something else.” I said it to remind her that I was making a business call, and not just hunting ass.

“Oh course hold please.” She sounded like I had hurt her feelings. Rejection is a bitch, I thought. Especially if you are cute and bubbly. I might be the first one to say no, even if I hadn’t really said no to anything. She didn’t exactly come on to me. “Wishful thinking I mumbled to myself.”

“Okay Max, what do you have?”

“He did it. He was doing the, man setting up an alibi, dance. You should suggest he plead out the first chance he gets.”

“Can you prove he did it. If not, he will probably think he is smarter than the cops.”

“Of course he thinks that. No, I can’t prove it just a gut feeling at the moment. Do you want to waste more money?”

“Hell Max it’s his money, go for it.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know, if I can find it. Have your assistant get a list of all his financial dealings.” What I didn’t tell him, was that his client wouldn’t give up the real information, but I had an idea how I could find it.

When I got back to the office, I had a long talk with Ed. Since I had solved his son’s problem, Ed was willing to share a source with me. His source was inside one of the major credit reporting companies. Nobody realizes how much power those people have. You can’t buy a piece of gum with a credit, or even debit card, that they don’t know about. If you have a bank account in Sri Lanka they know it.

I got the real list of Al’s accounts. It was just a matter of matching it up with the accounts from Price. Once I had the list, if there were any discrepancies it meant Al was a murderer. Al provided the list that afternoon and I matched the lists. Al had a brokerage account he didn’t bother to list.

“Mr. Price, tell Al to make a deal. There is a brokerage account in his name from which he withdrew 5k two weeks ago. Your client is guilty as sin. If he gives up the shooter he can probably avoid riding the needle home.”

“Thanks Max, it’s nice to know. I’ll do what I can for him. You won’t be telling anyone else about this will you.”

“Only if someone knows enough to ask me directly. If they do, I won’t lie and you knew that going in.”

“Yes, it was our agreement.”

Things got boring after that. Nothing at all happened other than I delivered court orders to mostly rich people. I hadn’t been laid since I left New Jersey. While waiting for the papers to get processed for my discharge, I met a trucker from Alabama, I met him in a bar just a few miles from the base. Instead of drinking on base or near it, I chose to ride along with another female NCO to a club out on the turnpike.

There I met the somewhat younger man. He was cute and well educated for a truck driver. Jobs were hard to come by for a country boy, he explained. We hit it off well enough for me to windup in the sleeper of his truck. I can only describe the sex as cramped.

He was good enough to touch all the right places and to do a lot of kissing and other things with his mouth. In the end I had a beautiful orgasm. It was more the result of too long celibate I expect, than anything he did. Still I remembered it fondly.

Since I arrived in Aster, I hadn’t had all that many offers. I had met plenty of people who I would have slept with, both men and women, but it just hadn’t worked out. I am attractive enough, but I just hadn’t made the connection that screamed, screw me. My body had finally gotten to the point where it had stopped aching for the touch of another human being. As often happens that is when I met the one who made me melt.

It all started with my trip to the Cop Out club. I was there just to hang out. I hadn’t told Blevins that I was going to visit, because he just didn’t do it for me. Still I wanted to get away from Jen and her husband for an evening. The Cop Out seemed as good a place to do so as any other. I have never really been inside a cop bar. I had seen a few on TV but the real thing is never like TV. The Cop Out was no exception.

It was a well lit diner, more than a bar. No one met me at the door to ask for my ID, so being a cop wasn’t necessary for admission. The bar was far too low for a beer bar. If I didn’t want to sit at a table for four, which I didn’t, then it was sit on a low bar stool. I hated that thing, it made me feel like a child, but I sat down. I ordered a Bud. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it came in a long neck glass bottle. I shook my head at the offer of a glass.

It was 9PM when I made it to the Cop Out, so people were using the postage stamp dance floor. I watched and listened to the music from the jukebox. Mostly it was playing 1960 rock music. Nostalgic to people older than me. To me it was just old folks music. Still there were lots of people. No cops in uniform but women in scrubs, men in jeans, and even a sprinkling of paramedics in uniform. I supposed that the nurses and me were the only none government employees in the place. I guessed that it would be safe to date any of the men or women in the Cop Out, since they probably wouldn’t put up with any real deadbeats or thugs.

A paramedic with the Tryon EMS was the first to ask me to dance. I gladly danced with the man. The man was probably thirty pounds overweight but I didn’t mind. He was thin enough for me to feel his erection laying against my stomach. The feel of it and the knowledge that I was the cause made my knees weak. If women had a penis, mine would have been erect as well.

“Come sit with us,” he suggested after the dance.” As he spoke he looked over to a table of Men and Women. Most of them were in Ems uniforms. There were exactly half a dozen of them, four men and two women.

“What the hell, why not?” I followed him to the table.

“These are my friends,” he said just before he reeled off a handful of names which I promptly forgot. I did remember that he said his name was Tim.

“I’m Maxine,” I said.

“My God, you are that Maxine, I remember you from TV last week.” One of the women said gushing at me.

“I knew I should not have done that stupid interview,” I suggested.

“Oh hell, it was a great story, very inspiring,” the second woman suggested.

“No, what you guys do is inspiring,” I suggested trying to move things along.

“Regardless, I am so happy to meet you. Wait till I tell my dad. He is your biggest fan,” the younger of the two females said. She saw my reaction and added, “That didn’t come out like I meant it.”

“Not to worry, I know how old I’m getting.” I said it with a huge laugh. I wanted them to know that I was a good sport.

“The paper said you were wounded in Afghanistan is that true?” Tim asked.

“Let’s talk about you guys,” I suggested. “What’s it like being a paramedic?”

“The hours are long and the pay stinks, but otherwise it is great,” the younger woman replied. She was trying to make up for her earlier comment.

“I think that’s true of most real jobs,” I replied. “Only bank presidents and the like have good hours and great pay.”

“So Max are you having a good time?” a voice behind me asked.

I looked back and there was Sgt Blevins. “Well Blevins, I’m trying not to stand out like a sore thumb. I mean everyone here works for the city or county. I think I might be the only civilian here.”

“Nah, we let nurses in and now I guess we let PI’s in as well.”

“I’m no PI. More like a low rent PS.”

“What is a PS?” the young paramedic chick asked.

“Process server, I probably have the worst job of anyone in here.”

“Oh I doubt that,” a woman at the next table demanded. Since she was in green scrubs, I didn’t argue.

“So sit down Blevins. I think these guys will let a cop join us.”

“Sure detective have a seat,” One of the guys said.

“Tell me Max, were you planning to kill those gang bangers all along?” Blevins asked. I knew it wasn’t the time or place for the question, but I also know he hoped to get an honest answer.

“No not at all,” I answered.

“Then how the hell did you get that rifle up before they shot you with those pistols. It takes longer to raise a rifle than a pistol.”

“I was ready for them, not because I wanted to kill them, but because I didn’t want them to kill me. They came through the door like old ladies and I went hot the minute the door knob turned.”

“I see,” Blevins replied. The others just stared silently.

“It’s the same thing I told you at the police station, why do you seem surprised.”

“I’m surprised because its the same thing you told me then. Most folks add or forget something in the retelling.”

“Ah yes the old revision of the story trick. Sorry, I just told the truth both times.”

“Or you are telling the same rehearsed story again.”

“Or that,” I said with a smile. We both knew it didn’t matter he wasn’t going to break me and mine was the only version of what happened before the thugs opened the door. After that people started to die or run, so mine was still the only version that counted.

“How do you feel about killing two men?” Blevins asked.

“Not as bad as I would have felt, if they had killed me.” It sounded good but the truth is I replayed the day over and over in my mind. I knew it would go away eventually all the others had. Yes I had been in fire fights before and people had died.

The medics kept drinking while Blevins and I circled each other. “Hell let’s dance,” Blevins finally suggested.

Just like the paramedic Blevins got an erection. I decided that the Cop Out was great for my self esteem. Unlike the younger paramedic Blevins didn’t turn me on. I think before the night was up, I danced with all the guys at our table and three or four more. I love to dance, and I do know how to move my body, even if it isn’t perfect.

From nine till midnight I had exactly four beers, so I was the most sober one at the table. I was feeling high but it was not the alcohol. I was high on the sexual charge in the air. At that moment I would have slept with any of about ten men in the place. All the dancing and the penis on the belly had me hot for a man. Hell I was hot for almost any man.

It looked as thought I was headed home alone again as i walked to the parking lot. A hand suddenly came to rest on my shoulder. “Why don’t you come home with me?” a young man in green scrubs asked.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked.

“Andrew Pace, I’m an intern at County General. I have been watching you all night and I love what I see.”

“Andrew, I’m forty two years old and you are what twenty five?”

“Yes and I have a big dick and a lot of stamina. I haven’t had much to drink, so I can get it up easily and often.”

“Gee that is romantic,” I replied sounding snippy I’m sure. I definitely didn’t need him checking out my heart rate.

“Do you need romance?”

“Sometimes,” I replied

“Tonight?”

“No.” was my reply in a much softer voice.

Andrew lived in a small studio apartment across from the hospital. Once the door was closed he kissed me with his tongue in my mouth and his fingers buried in the cleft of my ass. I could tell he was trying to get his finger inside my anus. Thankfully my clothes prevented it.

I didn’t just allow his deep kiss I fought to get even closer. I tried to force his hard penis inside me through my clothes. I was gasping for air between bouts of choking on his tongue. My mind was not capable of thought. I had reverted to primitive brain functions. Those functions screamed reproduce, so I gave in to them.

I pulled on his shirt trying to get it off. He got the idea and pulled on my top. Mine was knit which was a little more difficult than his much too large green scrub top. I decided to help him with my top. It finally came off even though in my excitement I was as clumsy as he had been.

If my bra had been anything less than industrial strength it would have ripped. Since it was more functional than sexy, it took all my concentration to get the hook and eyes latches open. Once my smallish breasts were free he lifted them and bent his head so that he could reach my hard nipples. I felt the pressure of his sucking mouth and I went crazy. I tilted my head back and made a sound more shrill than a moan but it was still a sound unintelligible. It might have been closer to a howl than anything else.

I needed his cock in me and I wasn’t even able to beg for it. I was too far gone to do anything more than follow his lead. I had to trust him, even though he was barely half my age.

When he pulled back slightly I knew what I had to do. I hooked my fingers over the elastic waist band of his scrub bottoms. I knelt pulling them down as I went. I was on my knees with his cock at the same level as my chin. It was fully erect and just about average sized maybe a little smaller, but it was an ample amount for what I needed. I opened my mouth and sucked it inside. I held it in one spot and nursed on it, as he had done for my nipples. I didn’t move on his cock at all, I just ran my tongue under it and sucked gently on the head. I could feel him stiffen even more, but I did not increase or change my movements in the least.

When he began to push at my face with his hips, I released his cock then rose to kiss him again. I was mad with desire. He pushed me against the dinning room table, then turned me around to face it. I bent over the table not just because he was insistent, but because I needed his cock inside me.

I felt his cock work it’s way inside me. I opened as he pushed in as deep as he could. I could feel his ball sack against my vulva as he tried to force even more inside me. He held himself perfectly still for a few seconds then began to pump me. He moved slowly at first then increased his speed. He was pistoning inside me when I came. The need had been great but the release wasn’t nearly as much as I had expected. I came but it was not with a great intensity I seemed to just slip into it. Even so I felt my own lubricant pour from me.

Suddenly he withdrew from me then pushed is rock hard cock against my anus. I tried to object but I couldn’t find my voice. His cock tore its way inside me. I hadn’t been at all prepared for the pain it caused. He showed me no mercy as he drove deep inside me. My insides seem to be on fire as the pain spread. He was deep inside me when he stopped and whispered in my ear. “Clit, rub your clit.”

I did as he insisted and felt the world disappear into my sensory overload. I knew he came in me only after I calmed down and felt it leak out. I’m not sure whether I had an orgasm or a convulsion. It was a crazy moment, that I knew for sure. I was exhausted and in pain at the same time. I had no idea what my body was feeling. I thought I might want to kill the intern, but I wasn’t sure. In all my 42 years I had never felt anything like it.

My legs were wobbly as I staggered to the sofa. I almost collapsed onto it but he stopped me. “Wait, you are bleeding.” The son of a bitch was worried about me getting his semen and my blood on his sofa. What a prick, I thought. However, I did let him spread a towel on the sofa before I sat down. I was too exhausted to leave at that moment.

We didn’t speak for several minutes. I managed to stand and make my way to the bathroom, I sat on the toilet and tried to empty my bowels. Nothing happened, except I felt a burning sensation in my anus again. When I returned from the bathroom, I found my clothes, dressed, and left without even saying goodbye. All the way home I cursed Andrew and then myself for what had happened. 42 and I had taken it up the ass for the first time. Even worse a punk kid had been the one to do it. “I am a stupid bitch,” I said aloud as I pulled into the driveway of Jen’s house.

The next morning I rationalized the pain in my butt was the culmination of six months of things going wrong. Finding myself in a small town, with s small pension and a smaller business, then the shootout all set me up to fall. Add to that the fact that I hadn’t found anyone in my day to day life worth screwing, and what you got was a woman ready to lay down for anyone after a drink or two. It was a miracle I hadn’t run into a Ted Bundy type.

By afternoon I felt better about my lapse in judgment. Still I had to admit that Andrew had been exceptional. Well all except for the painful ending. I went into the office at lunch. I answered a few calls between trips to the bathroom to try to move my bowels. It seems that taking it up the ass is uncomfortable in many ways.

It was almost a week before all the uncomfortable side effects faded completely. After that it was another few days before I found the courage to return to the Cop Out. I again sat at the bar. The man who asked me to dance was someone I not previously met. It seemed that getting an erection was common with men. I enjoyed feeling his as much as any of the others.

After that dance ended I found myself seated at a table with two other men. I’m not sure what they had in mind but they weren’t happy when I left at midnight. “I turn into a pumpkin at midnight,” I said as I stood to leave.

Life had again become boring. I went to work and straight home for several nights then I went back to the club. Even I realized that I was hoping to see Andrew. I admitted it to myself but I wouldn’t to anyone else. I had no luck searching for Andrew so I just gave up after only few nights. I began to stop in the club for a little dancing and even flirting but I never forgot Andrew.

It was a few weeks after I was cleared in the shootout thing, when the call came. “Maxine Stone?” the voice on my cell phone asked.

“Yes I’m Maxine Stone.”

“Ms Stone I read about you in the paper, I wonder if I could get you to deliver a package for me?”

“I’m not UPS,” I replied shortly. I had been getting some strange calls since the newspaper and TV did bits on me. Local news was surely hard to come by, if they made such a big deal out of it.

“It isn’t the kind of package that I would trust to just anyone. Would you please come talk to me it is very important.”

“Alright, where are you?”

“The Sedgefield Club. I’m staying in their guest house. Ask at the desk for James Sidmore. Please come right away, it is very important.”

“I can be there in about an hour. I need to make a stop along the way.”

What I didn’t tell him was that the stop was at my gun collection in the safe room in Ed’s office. From the collection I removed my .38 five shot concealed hammer pistol. It was not a pretty thing, but it also did not get hung in my clothes when I drew it from the holster at the small of my back. The pistol was small enough for good concealment.

After the shoot out the sheriff insisted that I purchase a carry permit. As far as I was concerned it was an imposition on my rights, but since I was likely to get checked after the incident, I bought it. Since I was completely legal, I found that I carried the pistol a lot less often. But I really didn’t like the idea of walking into a strange room, to meet a strange man.

Sedgefield is the oldest country club in Tryon. It dates back to pre-depression days. Somewhere along the line a few rooms for out of town guests were added. To be have been allowed to check into one of those room, he had to really be somebody. So from the start I assumed James Sidmore was somebody. A quick check on the computer before I left the office confirmed my assumption. James Sidmore, was something of a wall street whiz. He was far past the Whiz Kid tittle and his bank account showed it. Since he lived in New York, I had no idea what he was doing in Tryon.

The Sedgefield was so classy that when I asked for his room, they not only called ahead, but they escorted me to the room. I supposed that they didn’t want the riff or the raff rubbing elbows with the sweaty golfers.

The young man in the cheap suit knocked on a door with the number 8 attached. The number was brass and had to be original to the door. James Sidmore opened the door himself. He looked to be about my age or a little Older, but not much,

The young man stepped back after the door opened. “Mr Sidmore, I presume?” I asked in my special smart ass voice.

“I see you don’t care for my accommodations. To be honest I don’t either, but they are discrete here.”

“Well it is a little stuffy for my taste,” I replied.

“Yes, I can imagine. You don’t strike me as the country club type, and I mean that in a very good way.”

“Okay. so what exactly is it I can do for you?”

“You can have a seat for starters.”

I sat on the small sofa. The sitting portion of the room was small. “So where is the package?” I asked.

“I am the package,” he replied with a smile, but there was no humor in it.

“I think you need to call a hooker, I’m sure they know someone at the desk,” I replied standing to leave.

“I’m afraid those are not the talents I need. You see Ms. Stone in three hours my cell phone will ring. When it does a man will give me an address and I hope you will drive me there along with a briefcase filled with cash. At that address I will trade that brief case for another briefcase. Then we shall leave. When we arrive safely at the airport, I will hand you an envelope with one thousand dollars.”

“And what will be in briefcase number two, the one headed for the airport?”

“That is of no concern to you.”

“Actually it is. If it is drugs, then a thousand bucks it way too cheap. If it is stolen classified documents, there is no price high enough.”

“Sorry to tell you this, but nothing so glamorous. The briefcase contains the formula for a new cancer drug. What’s even less glamorous is that I already own it.”

“Somebody ripped it off and now they want to sell it back?”

“Something like that,” he replied.

“So you are sure that he has the only copy of the formula. It wouldn’t be hard to sell it to you, then sell it to someone else as well.”

“True, but I’m not buying it from the thief. I am buying it from the person the thief sold it to. That person assures me there are no other copies and he has no interest in selling it to anyone else. He is simply a recovery expert.”

“Ah like the insurance company that pays the thief to return the painting.”

“Exactly, the formula would make news if someone else tried to manufacture it. This way the recovery man gets his reward, and I secure the formula.”

“I see. So why do you need to pay a grand for a cab ride.”

“Let’s say, I’m not a trusting man.”

“I would say that in this case, it’s probably for the best. Now the big question is why me?”

“I think a woman would raise fewer eyebrows at the exchange. It is a proven fact that you are capable of defending yourself.”

“And of defending you and the money, should your expert prove to be a con man.”

“Yes that to,” he admitted.

“I’ll take my money in advance, and if this goes sideways, I will take a hell of a lot more than a thousand dollars for my trouble.”

“Sorry,I don’t pay in advance,” he replied seriously.

I didn’t answer I just stood to leave. “Don’t you trust me?” he asked.

“About as much as you seem to trust me, but it’s more than that. If this goes sideways, you may not be able to pay me. I could wind up in a jail cell for a couple of days while the cops sort it out, and still end up with nothing.”

“I see, very well.” He opened the brief case. From it he removed a brown postal envelope. After he handed it to me, I looked inside. There were ten $100 bills.

“So what would you like to do for the next three hours?” I asked.

“Let’s go have a drink on the patio and watch the golfers coming in.”

“If that’s what you want?” I agreed.

I was on my forth diet coke when the call came in. As I had instructed he wrote the address down. He didn’t try to memorize it. The instructions were that we were to leave immediately. Sidmore settled the bill while I got the van.

He wasn’t impressed with the van, I could tell. It was pretty obvious when he said, “I figured you for a sports car.”

“A van is a lot more practical for changing clothes, than a two seater with a rag top.”

“Yes I can see that,” he agreed.

The address proved to be an abandoned auto sales lot. Not one of those fancy bankrupt dealer things, but a vacant lot with a small frame building used previously as the pressure cooker office. We arrived early so I gave it a quick once over. Then I moved my van to the center of the parking lot. It wasn’t a big lot and there was only one entrance from the street. Since my van had blacked out windows, it was going to make the recovery man nervous.

When the black Chrysler pulled into the parking lot, I said, “James get behind the wheel, when I get out. If this goes bad, just drive right over us and get the hell out of here.”

“He is expecting me.” James said.

“If he is straight up, he will be asked what the hell is going on. If he is not right, he will get hinky as hell. Like I said, if it goes wrong, get out and send the cops back.”

I stepped from the van and walked between it and the Chrysler. “Nice ride,” I said to the man who got out of the car.

“Are you carrying?” he asked.

“Of course, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, whose in the van?”

“Sidmore, whose in the car?”

“Mr. Issac, so you got the money?”

“Yeah, you got the merchandise?”

“Sure,” he replied

“Your boss shows me his case then my boss will show you his money.”

“We are making the rules,” the voice in the back of the car shouted.

“You are being careful, and so are we. I think you should respect that.”

“Okay, I’ll get out when your boss does,” he said.

I walked back to the minivan. “He says he will get out of the car when you get out of the van.”

“You seem to know what you are doing, should I?”

“Would you recognize the formula as real?” I asked.

“Hell no, I’m the money man not a scientist.”

“Shit you should have gotten one of the lab coats to come along. There is no need to risk yourself. Just give me the case and I’ll get his. When I come back you drive this thing the hell out of here. I don’t want to waste any time.”

“Fair enough,” he said handing me the case. “If you don’t do this right, I’m going to runyou over.”

“If it goes bad, trust me you are the least of my worries.”

Actually it went perfectly. I carried the case to the man in the back of the Chrysler. He took it opened it then opened his case for me to see. There was a thick book with a cover that looked scientific to me. We made the exchange. “You know if this isn’t legit, there is no where you can hide. Sidmore has more money than god.”

“Yeah, it’s legit,” he assured me.

It must have been I got Sidmore on the plane without any incidents and he didn’t call asking for his money back. So I considered it case closed. The formula things had been interesting, but it was only a tiny island in a sea of bullshit.

I had become a regular at the Cop Out. Most of the people in the club knew me or knew of me, so it didn’t require me to be on stage. I liked the laid back atmosphere. Too bad that Andrew the intern, as I began to think of him, never came back.

The men began to hit on me right after Andrew, but I said no while I waited to see if he would return. By the time I gave up on him, the men had given up on me. Since no one knew that I was bi, the women all wanted to be my friend. None of them had any interest in me sexually. Yes I could tell just by talking to them. So many straight women in one place. It was depressing.

I was in the Cop Out one night in the middle of the week. It was also in the middle of September, when a stranger came in. At least he was a stranger to me. Blevins knew him enough to speak, when the man walked in. The stranger nodded then moved to the bar. The stranger wasn’t real big but he was solid. I liked the way he looked.

“Hey Blevins who is the kid?” Yes he was younger than me by about twenty years.

“Careful Max, you could be messin’ with a minor.”

“I don’t think so. He just bought a beer. So give Blevins who is he?”

“His name is Jerry something or other. He has been undercover with narcotics. Straight from the academy to buying coke and rock on the street.”

“Hell there ain’t enough drugs in Aster to keep anyone busy. I think the dealers come in on the bus.” I laughed.

“Sheriff has Aster and Tryon. Kid was on loan to the Sheriff’s department.”

“Then how do you know him?” I asked. “He ain’t family is he?”

“No Max, he isn’t family. I knew him from the academy. I teach out there.”

“Very good,” I said with a smile. “Introduce me.”

“I had no idea you were a cougar,” Blevins said.

“I am not really, I just don’t rule anything out. He is cute. What’s that old saying, waste not, want not.” I smiled at Blevins as I said it.

The kid stood at the low lunch counter with a long neck beer bottle. “Hey Jerry, come here a minute,” Blevins said.

When the kid arrived he went on, “I want you to meet Max Stone.”

“It’s Maxine and hi.”

“Hello Ms Stone, I have heard a lot about you.”

“I know, I’m even more beautiful in real life,” I laughed at the sarcasm.

“Well that wasn’t exactly what I heard. The word is that you need to buy a big life insurance policy.”

“Why is that?” Blevins asked.

“The three bangers she ambushed didn’t belong to the 5th Street Rollers, but they were relatives of a couple of them. Also that warning you gave Paco was taken seriously by the Rollers.”

“Oh really, well I’ll head on down to Wallymart for a vest.”

“Just thought I would pass that along. Kind of showing my goodwill.” Jerry suggested.

“I appreciate that. I can use all the goodwill and information I can get.”

“There was a lot of discussion about whether to take a woman seriously or not.”

“Too bad they decided to take me serious.”

“Yeah it is. Just keep your eyes open and your head down.” Jerry said as he turned to leave.

“Guess you don’t have to worry about me robbing the cradle.”

“No, now I have to worry about a gang hit in my town.”

“I think I’ll worry about it a little more than you,” I suggested. It looked like a good time to find a new place to live. I decided that Jen and her husband didn’t need to be in the line of fire. “Blevins, I need to find a new place to live. If the Rollers are going to play games, I need to get out of my friend’s house.”

“Probably a good idea, you can also make your own place more secure. If you don’t pass the address around, you can limit their ability to cause mischief.”

“So where can I find a little place?”

“Try the newspaper,” he suggested.

I went home alone. In all honesty I always went home alone, since I wouldn’t take a stranger into Jen’s house. The one time I went wild in town, I went to his place. I hadn’t been home long enough to go on weekend sex orgies to the beach. For that I wanted to know the guy better. Hell, I found it hard to believe I had only been laid once in seven months. I had also managed to stay away from women during that time, so my reputation was heterosexual. I had no idea if that was a good thing or not.

I waited until the end of business the next day before I talked to Jen. I asked her to come into my one room. “I found out last night that a street gang in Tryon plans to take a shot at me. I do not want you or Bob in the cross fire.”

“Oh my God you are such a drama queen,” Jen said. “One damn shootout and suddenly everything is life or death.”

“Jen, you have never been in a shoot out. The only gangs you know anything about are the ones you see on TV. When these yo yos do a drive by they just spray lead everywhere. Anyone can be killed. I will not be responsible.”

“Have it your way. You always do.” She said as she stood to leave. “But you better not let anything happen to you, or I will kill you.” I could see her eyes glistening.

I held her in my arms and said, “Don’t worry hon, I’m a lot badder than a bunch of kids.”

“Jesus Max, I know that.” She lifted her head pushed me back, then kissed me. It was not a mother, daughter or best friend’s kiss. It was a kiss with a lot of promise. “When you get your place you better invite us over for dinner.” She smiled as she left the room.