Inner Circle (2 page)

From the table next to her, Madam Khe picked up a small bell and rang it. “I assume you are still wearing Abul’s iron ring through your nipple?” she asked.

“Yes, Abul said it can never be removed.”

“Abul lied to torment you.” Madam Khe gestured to Mi Jong who had entered silently. “Did you bring it?”

Mi Jong Held up a small silver tool. “Yes, Madam.”

“Hold out your bare breast to Mi Jong,” Madam Khe directed.

Mi Jong found a pin on the ring, inserted the tool and the ring sprung open.

“Oh, thank you, Madam Khe,” Kathy whispered. “Thank you, Mi Jong”

Madam Khe waved them toward to door. Mi Jong accompanied Kathy home. Later that night, Kathy, imagining Mary Margaret’s screams as the black dwarf whipped her, cried herself into a troubled sleep.

The next morning after receiving telephone instructions from Madam Khe, Kathy selected a black skirt and matching jacket, a white transparent blouse, and the familiar black leather pumps with the five inch heel. After applying her make-up, she sat on the edge of the bed, her head bowed, while Mi Jong packed a small suitcase. “Maybe you not need this stuff,” she muttered. “Maybe old man have different stuff for you.”

Kathy looked up. “Mi Jong, please, please call the Facility. Find out how Mary Margaret is.”

“You must be crazy. Can’t do.”

She zippered the bag shut. A car horn blew outside. Mi Jong handed Kathy the bag. “Taxi here. Better do what old man say or Swart gonna have more fun with your sister-in-law.”

The prospect of meeting Simon Ruben filled her with dread. Not only that he was old, and fat, and repulsive, and had a reputation for cruelty, there was something else. A shadowy memory from her childhood, from seeing him at the country club pool when she was a teenager. Something about the way he’d stared at her, openly, directly. He frightened her, but there was this other dark thing she didn’t understand. It made her blush and quickly turn away. Occasionally, after a hot day at the pool, she would think of the way his pig eyes had burned into her. When that happened she felt a wave of heat wash over her before falling into a restless sleep.

Ruben lived in an exclusive estate area five miles from Kathy’s. A long paved drive circled up to his huge Georgian house. Kathy’s heart sank as she hesitated before the ornate oak front door. It was opened by a skinny old black woman wearing a maid’s uniform. “I am Jane,” she said unsmiling, “I’ll take you to your room.” Kathy followed her up a grand circular stairway and along a thickly carpeted hall.

The maid unlocked a door at the end of the hall and ushered Kathy in. She flicked a wall switch lighting a single bulb that hung on its wire from the ceiling. Kathy was shocked to see that the room resembled a cell more than anything else. There were no windows. A single bed with an iron frame stood against the far wall. Against the side wall were a toilet, a shower stall, and a small sink. On the other wall stood a make-up table, mirror, and bench. The dark walls were made of thick plaster. The cold stone floor was bare. In a corner Kathy noticed a wire cage about the size of a small steamer trunk. There was something moving in the cage. A thin smile crossed the maid’s lips, “Rats,” she said.

Kathy backed away, horrified. Jane watched her, “You do everything Master says and rats stay where they are. You refuse or even complain, Master will tell me to let rats out at night. They hungry. Not good to try to sleep in room with hungry rats. Nowhere for you to hide.” There was a closet along one wall but the doors had been removed.

The rats, aware that someone was in the room, scurried about squeaking, their claws scraping against the floor of the cage, their red eyes seeming almost to glow. “Oh, my God!” Kathy cried. “He wouldn’t.”

“You know better,” Jane said. “You know he would.”

“Yes,” Kathy said more to herself than to the maid, “the man has no conscience, he’s cruel and he hates me.”

“Master will see you in three hours. For interview you wear things you come here in. Other things you need are in make-up table drawer. Be ready at six o’clock. I come to get you.” She turned and left, locking the door behind her.

Kathy flung herself down on the hard bed and burying her head in her arms wept until she drifted off into a restless sleep. Two hours later she woke, hearing the high-pitched squeak of the rats in their cage. Quickly, she showered and rubbed her body with the perfumed oil.

Once more she put on the white transparent blouse, the short black skirt, and her black pumps with five-inch heels. She applied her make-up, selecting bright red lipstick and dark eye shadow. She thought of the number of times in the past few months she had done this...had deliberately and carefully used oils and perfumes, and cosmetics, and provocative clothes to make herself look desirable and available for men she hated. How often had she knelt before them and parted her lips or spread her ass cheeks to accept their repulsive cocks. Bowing her head, she prayed this might be the last time. She brushed her hair, then sat on the edge of the bed facing away from the rat cage. The sound of the rats filled her with dread.

Of all the men in the world, the one she despised as much as Abul was Simon Ruben. He had become very rich by cheating destitute people in need of housing. With the wealth came political power. He associated with a number of the town leaders, but only with those whose reputations were as suspect as his own. Thinking back, she again recalled how he always managed to be near her at the country club social gatherings, always grinning as if they shared a secret. He’d brush up against her. He seemed to sweat profusely, even in winter. His body odor was almost palpable. At the pool he would go out of his way to plop his fat perspiring ass in a chaise close to hers. She often caught him staring at her, his eyes bright, his thick lips slobbering. Usually, she went out of her way to avoid him, but there were times when she deliberately chose to sit where he could see her. She didn’t know why. She remembered he frightened her but somehow excited her, too. When she knew he was staring at her she often felt compelled to look back at him. His pig eyes would bore into her until she had to look away. She would feel herself tremble and her cheeks burn. Now, here in his house, immaculately made-up, wearing nothing but the black stilettos, the short skirt, and the revealing blouse, she waited fearfully to be summoned by the old degenerate. Why had Satomi done this? How could he have sold part of her contract to Simon Ruben?

After five minutes, a key turned in the lock. Jane appeared in the doorway and motioned for Kathy to follow her. They descended the stairs and passed several rooms before arriving at Ruben’s study. Kathy felt the warmth coming from a raging fire in the massive fireplace. Near it, comfortably seated in a large leather wing back chair was Simon Ruben. The huge expanse of his stomach was greater now than it had been when she’d last seen him. His greasy, slicked-back hair was grayer and his jowls heavier. He was sipping from a wine glass. His pendulous lips were wet. She could smell him from across the room. As she came closer, she noticed beads of sweat on his forehead and heavy cheeks. His shirt was damp and discolored under his arms. Directly across from him stood a plain wooden chair. He motioned Kathy toward it.

Trembling, she sat down, keeping her knees together and folding her hands in her lap. He smiled at her, exposing teeth she knew to be false. “Ah, Mrs. Ryan, we meet again. It’s good of you to pay me a visit, a very long visit.” He looked at her steadily for several moments. “I remember in the past inviting you and your husband to my house. In fact I extended the invitation several times but you never accepted.” He paused, frowning, “I imagine you felt superior, morally and socially superior to Simon Ruben. Was that it?”

Kathy wanted to say,
‘Of course, you lecherous old fool. You and your politically connected friends got rich at the expense of poorest and most helpless people in town. Just before his death, Jeff was preparing to take you to court. We both hated the sight of you at the club. We’d never consider coming to your house.’
Instead of saying what she felt, she looked across at him and lied, “No...no not at all. I don’t remember, but surely it must have been because we’d made other commitments.”

“We know that is not true,” he said evenly. They sat in silence. She lowered her eyes staring at her folded hands. He coughed, startling her. “I’m puzzled as to why you would wish to see me now.” He peered at her over the rim of his wine glass. “Don’t you recall, I once tried, unsuccessfully I’m afraid, to ruin your fine husband’s reputation before he got a chance to ruin mine. In addition, I touched one of your delightful breasts in a public place in front of your friends. Any reasonable person would assume you’d despise me. So, let me ask Mrs. Ryan why are you here?”

Kathy didn’t know how to answer. Before thinking she blurted, “I’m sure you know, Mr. Ruben. You’ve managed somehow to purchase six months of my contract with Mr. Satomi. You know I’m here because I’ve been forced.”

His small eyes narrowed into slits, “That’s a wrong answer. I have been fully informed of your sister-in-law’s situation. She’s rather vulnerable. In fact, I took great pleasure in seeing a live video presentation last evening. An ugly black dwarf was expertly cutting her flawless white skin with his whip. Her screams were delightful.” Kathy gasped and felt the tears form. Ruben smiled at her distress, “It’s been suggested to me that in order to have you obey I need only mention your affection for M and M’s. I gather the reference was to Mary Margaret. That is her name, is it not?”

Kathy knew she should have realized Satomi would give Ruben the only weapon he needed. “Yes,” she said, “her name is Mary Margaret.”

“And there’s the matter of the rats. You haven’t forgotten them, have you?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten.”

“Very well, let me try again. Why have you chosen to visit such a perverse old reprobate as myself, Mrs. Ryan? And I might add why have you come to me wearing such provocative attire? I can see your bare breasts through the transparent blouse you’ve selected.” Kathy felt her cheeks flush. Ruben continued, “Could it be that the young and beautiful widow of Jeffery Ryan wishes to arouse me? Could it be that this is not simply a visit? Could it be that you’ve come to me hoping I might still be attracted to you? Could it be that you are hoping I’ll wish to fondle your breasts and perhaps even take you to bed? Tell me, Mrs. Ryan.”

Kathy understood what he expected. “I...I’ve come to apologize for...for what I did and said last year at the Country Club. I was wrong to have objected to your...your...touch.” She paused. He nodded and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. She continued, “I’ve chosen these clothes in the hope that you...that you will find me as...as attractive as you once seemed to.”

He waited for her to go on. She looked away from him, “I would like to...to...offer,” she was unable to finish.

“You would like to offer your lovely body to me. Is that it, Mrs. Ryan?”

Kathy felt her face redden, “Yes, yes, that’s it,” she whispered.

“And you want to stay here with me. You want to be my woman. Am I correct?”

The image of Mary Margaret tied to the whipping post flashed through her mind, “You have the contract. I’ve come here to…to…be your woman,” she said, her head bowed.

“It’s possible now that your husband is dead you’ve come to realize you no longer view me as you once did? Perhaps you are in need of a real man and thought I might be able to satisfy you in ways your husband never had?”

Her head still bowed, Kathy shook her head, “No, that’s not…” She stopped, then murmured, “I’m sorry. I...I...thought you might...might want me.”

“You would like me to fuck your ass. You’ve come here hoping I would shove my fat prick up your asshole? Isn’t that true?”

She glanced up at him angrily, then looked away, “Yes. That’s why I’ve come here to you.”

“Ah, what a sweet mouth you have, Mrs. Ryan. I’ve been told that you’ve become an expert at sucking cock. I’m told that you make the man last a long time and that you love the taste of cum. Is what I’ve been told accurate? Are you going to part your lovely warm lips for my cock?”

“What they said about me is true. I...I’ve been trained.” She continued to look down at the floor, “I...I’ll do what you want.”

“Oh, dear, Mrs. Ryan!” he exclaimed, “It’s not going to be that easy, not that easy at all. You humiliated me before my friends and yours. You and your husband tried to have me barred from the club. Oh, yes, you have much to atone for.” He leaned forward leering at her, “Of course, I’m going to fuck your ass and I’m going to have you suck my prick, but those will be treats compared to the other things I have planned for you.”

From a table at his side he took several photographs and handed them to her. She was startled to see that they were of herself and Jeff, snapshots of them in the garden of the Tankard Inn, their favorite bed and breakfast near New Hope, Pennsylvania. They’d asked the gardener to take the photographs. In one she was sitting on Jeff’s lap whispering something into his ear. The other was a close up of them next to a big oak tree. They were kissing. She smiled to herself, remembering that happy weekend. “Now two others,” Ruben said.

He handed her a similar set of prints. In these, however, Jeff remained while she had been replaced by Ruben’s niece, Sheila. The digital transposition had been done by experts. They were perfect. Now, a seventeen year old Sheila sat on Jeff’s lap and in the other photograph Sheila’s lips were pressed against Jeff’s.