With Cruel Intent (50 page)

assistance taking a leak, and could she

hold it for him. Blanche suspected it

wasn’t the first time she’d been given that

offer.

“There you two are,” he said, as

they entered the room. “Was wondering if

you had deserted me.”

“Jaspa, me boy, how ya doin’? Ya

hurt bad?” his father asked, going to his

side and holding his large head against his

chest.

“No pops, mutha shot me in my

thickest muscle, right in my gluteus

maximus. Docs said didn’t hit anythin' but

USDA 100% ass, no bone or vessels.

Said surgery was a breeze, just had to

remove the slug. I’m feelin' pertty lucky.”

Blanche joined Rufus bedside,

leaned over and kissed Jasper on the

forehead, “I’m so glad to see that you’ll

be okay, we were so worried about you.

All that blood, and you were in so much

pain, it was pretty scary.”

“How long they be keepin’ ya

here, son?” Rufus asked.

Jasper motioned, pointing to the

tubes and bottles that were running liquids

into his veins, “They said they have ta

watch fer infections fer a couple of days,

but if I don’t run a fever I can go home if

I’m up to it. Just feelin’ really tired and

the painkiller is starting to wear off a little

bit. Feels like somebody took a bite out of

my butt. Hope the scar won’t affect my

posing, been told my ass is my second

best muscle,” he said, winking at Blanche,

causing her to blush.

“Well Jasper, I can see that you

need some rest, as do I. I think I’ll be able

to go home and get some sleep, now that I

know you’re going to be okay. I’ll stop by

in a day or two and check on you.”

“I’d like that. Bring a book from

the library and read to me,” he said, half

joking but quite serious.

“Okay,

bye

you

two.”

She

departed, but not without kissing each on

the cheek before finding her way to the

front of the hospital, and into the backseat

of a cab for the ride home.

* * *

Beverly Davis sat in the waiting

area of her realty office waiting for her

newest client to show up. The prospect of

showing the large parcel had energized the

depressed realtor and given her hope that

perhaps she’d still close on some kind of

deal soon. The bottom had certainly

dropped out of the market the past week

and nothing was moving. People had been

cancelling opportunities to explore what

was available, but the number of new

listings was up dramatically, and people

willing to take a fairly large hit on the

price, if it could just be sold quickly.

These were more the units and homes near

the base. Beverly had a hard time

understanding

the

whole

stalker

phenomena. She had a loaded 32 caliber

semi-automatic pistol that she kept with

her at all times, had a permit to carry it as

a concealed weapon and felt pretty

comfortable loading and firing it. At close

range she was deadly, killing multiple

silhouette targets on more than one

occasion from twenty to thirty feet.

Helped her sleep at night knowing it was

by her side.

A large black sedan pulled up out

front and a good-looking guy with dark

hair and stylish sunglasses got out. He was

tall, tanned, and wearing a nice silk shirt

and slacks.

“Oh baby, come to Mama,” she

said, licking her lips and checking her hair

in a pocket mirror she kept in her purse.

She greeted him just outside the

office and introduced herself, not hiding

the fact that she found him very attractive.

The attention was not lost on Felix. He

produced an authentic business card and

presented it to the woman, and she

reciprocated with one of her own. He

noted, when she opened her purse to

retrieve the card, that she was packing.

Felix hadn’t been sure if she carried the

32 with her all the time but was glad to

see that she did. The mobster breathed a

sigh of relief, knowing he wouldn’t have

to search her home for the weapon. Iggy

had previously found a gun registered in

her name, and the carry license, so they

knew she had it, but were unsure how she

treated it. The ride through the streets of

Valdosta and into the country was pleasant

enough. He found himself actually

enjoying her company. She was funny,

knew how to turn a phrase and in her day

was probably quite pretty. He even

envisioned himself being attracted to her

if she dropped forty pounds. Felix did not

hold back when it came to the flattery and

moves, he put on the unsuspecting widow,

working even more quickly than he

normally did to worm his way into her

bed.

Beverly could not believe her

good fortune. This guy was for real. The

development firm he was representing

was a limited corporation that had a

listing on the Internet, she’d never heard

of them before, but she didn’t pretend to

know everybody working the market. She

had phoned a couple of numbers that

afternoon, before they met, to confirm that

she wasn’t being conned, and was pleased

to finally reach the CEO. He confirmed

that Mr. Unger, was indeed, hired by them

on a temporary basis to look into this

specific property. She enjoyed the drive

and was taken by the easy charm of her

client. He seemed interested in her as

well, been a long time since she’d felt a

man alongside her in her bed, maybe she’d

get lucky.

“Mr. Unger, do you like what you

see?” she said, pointing to the flat stretch

of land that lay before them.

“Indeed I do,” he said, ignoring the

land and eyeing Bev up and down.

“Felix, you’re making me blush

like a schoolgirl,” she said, in an

exaggerated Southern accent.

“I’ll tell you what Bev, I think I

can talk my guys into having a good

HARD look at you...’re property here. I

need some time to do a proper analysis,

and could you get those statistics to me

that we talked about on the drive out here.

Once I get all that in hand, I’ll put together

a package for the corp., and then I know

we’ll have to get together for some more

questions. How’s that sound?” he said,

making sure to invade her personal space

every chance he got.

“I think that sounds great. When do

you think I’ll hear from you?” she asked.

“About the property or ….what?”

he coyly asked, testing the waters.

“You are a naughty one, aren't

you,” she said, tapping him on the

shoulder.

“That’s why I’m in the business

I’m in Bev, I have an eye for a good thing,

and I go after it till I’ve got it. That’s why

they pay me the big money.”

“I have no doubts about that, Mr.

Unger,” she replied, wishing that he’d just

take her right then and there on the hood of

her car.

“Okay, well let’s see where

tomorrow finds us and I’ll be in touch.”

The drive back was just as much

fun as the drive there. The two talked and

served sexually suggestive lines back and

forth like a couple of tennis pros for the

twenty-minute drive back to her office.

“Bev, let me ask you a rather

direct question,” he said, leaning in close

to her over the console of the BMW.

“Shoot.”

Her phrasing could not have been

more appropriate. “Do you ever do

business out of your home, or just here at

the office?”

Boy, he was a fast mover. “Well,

I’ll tell you Felix, it’s been awhile since

I’ve conducted any ‘business’ at home but

would certainly entertain your offer at my

place if and when, you have all the hard

data together.” She flicked her fingers in

the air like quotation marks when she said

the word business.

Even a boy scout would have

gotten her message. Felix knew he was

good to go whenever Iggy could make it

happen.

“That sounds more than promising

Bev, I’m sure I’ll be speaking with you

real soon. You’ve got my number if you

need to reach me and I’ve already got

yours programmed into my cell. Pleasure

was all mine this afternoon, good day.”

He exited the car and tipped his head

down for one last wave and goodbye.

Damn, it was just too easy.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Lester rolled out of bed early,

fixed himself some pancakes and eggs,

while thinking about the day ahead of him.

Monday mornings were no different for

him than any other day of the week, but for

most, it meant the beginning of a long

workweek and the grind of day-to-day

living. He suspected it might prove to be a

bad day for some, a very bad day indeed.

He sat before his television set and

watched the morning news while he ate

his breakfast. His thoughts wandered back

to yesterday and his encounter with the

officer and her mutt. After this morning he

hoped to no longer be a blip on their

radar. The newscaster talked of a few

national items before she turned her

attention to the unfortunate shooting at The

Dixie Diner. The police had not released

any information, other than a brief

statement, indicating the shooting was

most likely drug related, and the

department had assigned a couple of

senior detectives to the case.

“Maybe I’ll be able to give them a

hand,” he mused to himself.

He looked outside to see what the

weather had in store, overcast and a thick

layer of misty fog hung low to the ground.

The weather would certainly create

problems for him if it didn’t clear up

before he started shooting pictures. The

camera, with large lens, still went into the

backpack, as well as two old, textbooks

and lastly, the stolen .38 caliber pistol that

he’d used to shoot Jasper, the spent shell

casing still held within the cylinder of the

gun.

The perpetrator tried to remember

what students were wearing on campus

these days. He settled on a logo

emblazoned t-shirt, blue jeans, with an

appropriate number of holes in them,

sandals, and a windbreaker, in case some

rain blew in off the ocean. Lester stood in

front of the mirror, assuring himself that he

looked the part, pulled a ball cap from his

bedpost to complete the ensemble, and left

his home for Valdosta University.

“First things first,” he thought,

after arriving at the campus.

The university was already quite

busy with students hurriedly moving from

one building to the next. By the time he’d

arrived, the fog had all but lifted, burning

off with the arrival of the sun. He removed

his light jacket and stuffed it into the

backpack, trying to blend in as much as

possible. Over the years, he had spent

some time on the old campus, great place

to look at girls, but times had certainly

changed, most young women wore sheer

blouses or tight T’s, and in some cases a

swimsuit top instead of a shirt.

“I think I’m going to enjoy today,”

he said to himself, as he studied the layout

of the central grassy area outside the

library.

Some students, near the library,

were congregating on blankets spread out

on the dew-covered grass, eating donuts

and drinking coffee. Lester located a pay

phone just outside the library doors,

looked at his watch and the number he had

written across the palm of his left hand.

He dialed.

A familiar voice answered the

phone at the other end. “Good morning,

Valdosta Public Library, how can I help

you?” Blanche said.

“Hi, yeah, I was in there last week

and a really nice guy helped me find a

couple of books, and he said to call if I