Blood Money Read online

  “Besides,” she said. “I could use a little break from the road, and I’m sure you could too.”

  Kelton sighed. Now that Jessica thought she could get something out of Earl, leaving before she had a chance to probe him for information was going to be impossible.

  “Oh, what the hell,” Kelton said, figuring he was screwed no matter what. There was no reason to fight the inevitable.

  “Great,” Earl said. “If you guys are hungry, I could whip up something to eat.”

  “I would love some food,” Jessica said. She offered Kelton a sweet smile. “How about you?”

  “I could use something to eat,” Kelton said. “But I’m sure as hell not going to let Earl whip anything up. His idea of gourmet food is Spam and crackers.”

  “Then get your ass in the kitchen and make us something, Chef,” Jessica said, waving him away. She slid along the couch towards Earl. “So, Kelton tells me you taught him the ropes?”

  “That’s right,” Walter said. “I ran my own business down in San Diego for twenty years—”

  Kelton shook his head and left the room. Although he was uneasy with leaving Jessica alone with Earl, he knew all he could do was make the food as quickly as possible and hope that Earl stuck to stories that Jessica couldn’t give him grief about later.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Kelton’s worst fears were realized upon returning to the living room ten minutes later with a plate-full of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.

  Jessica was laughing heartily and looked as though she had been for some time. Her face was bright red and she was gasping for air and holding her stomach. Across from her, Earl was smiling profusely. He had always loved playing to an audience.

  “Having a good time?” Kelton said. He set the sandwiches down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

  Jessica nodded her head. Her hysterics had died down, but apparently she was still unable to speak.

  “Oh, you know,” Earl said. “Just sharing a few stories about you.”

  “I’m sure you are,” Kelton said. Then, to Jessica, “I hope you don’t believe everything he says. Earl is known to embellish just a hair.”

  “Bullshit,” the old man said. “I just tell the truth. I’m too old to do anything else.”

  “Yeah, but whose version of the truth?”

  Earl waved him off. “Don’t start up with your relativity crap, Kelton. The truth is the truth, regardless of whether or not it actually happened. Besides, I’ve gone easy on you. I haven’t even told her about the time you got pissed on by that bum while you were hiding in the bushes outside the Tijuana whorehouse, trying to get pictures of Senator Whathisname.”

  Jessica started laughing again.

  “Oops,” Earl said, feigning surprise. “I guess I just told her. My bad.”

  Kelton tried to stifle his smile but was unsuccessful.

  “You have to stop,” Jessica said, nearly breathless from exertion. “I’m dying over here.”

  “All right,” Earl said. He grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. “Hey, this is pretty good. But then again, you could always cook.”

  “Where did that come from, by the way?” Jessica said.

  “Beats me,” Earl said. “Cooking sure as hell wasn’t part of my training regimen.”

  “Self-taught,” Kelton said. “After college I got sick of eating out all the time, so I learned how to cook. It’s not hard.”

  “He’s always been a quick learner,” Earl said. “I remember when I first starting teaching him the ropes, I was skeptical at first, because unlike 99% of the other people in the business, he didn’t have any kind of a military or law enforcement background. But he took to the job like a camel to sand. Just like everything else I threw in his path. Even when I deliberately set him up to fail, he’d somehow figure a way out of the situation. I’ve never been around someone able to assimilate information and alter a plan as rapidly as he could. He’s quite the specimen over there.”

  Kelton felt his face beginning to flush. He’d never taken compliments well. “I’ve always been that way,” he said. “I have no idea where it comes from.”

  “What about your parents?” Jessica said. “What were they like?”

  “I don’t really remember,” Kelton said. “They died when I was nine. Car accident.”

  Jessica cringed. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I would have never—”

  “That’s all right,” Kelton said. “You couldn’t know.”

  “Still—”

  Kelton put his hand up and she fell silent. “It’s fine. Just forget you even mentioned it. I already have.” He took a bite of his sandwich and let his eyes wander over to the blank television.

  The room fell silent as everyone ate their sandwiches.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Jessica said after finishing hers. “Earl, do you mind if I use your restroom?”

  “Not at all, honey. It’s down the hall, first door to your right.”

  “Thanks.” She stood up and started towards the hallway.

  Kelton caught himself again watching her as she walked down the hall.

  “That is one interesting girl,” Earl said after she had disappeared into the bathroom.

  “You can say that again.”

  “Quite a looker, too.”

  Kelton raised his eyebrows.

  “Come on, Kelton. I may be old, but I ain’t dead yet. Some things you just can’t peel your eyes from, no matter what your age.”

  “I hear you there,” Kelton said.

  “You know, she’s really smitten with you.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that crap.”

  “I’m serious,” Earl said. “She couldn’t stop asking questions about you while you were in the kitchen. She wanted to know everything about you.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “Just the basics.”

  “Nothing personal?”

  “Come on, Kelton, give me a little bit of credit. I told her if she really wanted to know that sort of stuff, she’d have to get it out of you herself.”

  “And what did she say to that?”

  Earl shrugged. “She said she’d been trying, but you’d stonewalled her so far. She also said she wasn’t going to give up.”

  “She’s been trying to get inside my head from the very beginning. She even admitted to me that she’s just trying to make me feel uncomfortable because she wants to feel like she has some control over the situation.”

  “Yeah, she told me that too,” Earl said. “About how she regretted saying it, because even though it was true at the time, things have changed. She was worried that you were still holding that first couple of hours against her.”

  “She actually said that?”

  Earl nodded.

  “Damn,” Kelton said. “I wonder if she meant it?”

  He didn’t realize he had asked the question aloud until Earl answered it.

  “It seemed sincere enough to me,” the old man said. “But what do I know about that kind of stuff?”

  More than me, Kelton thought, and this time, he was pretty sure he kept it to himself.

  The toilet flushed, the water ran, and a few seconds later Jessica was walking back into the room. “You boys miss me?”

  “I know I did,” Earl said. He climbed to his feet. Turning towards Jessica, he said, “And as much as I have enjoyed talking to you, Milady, I’m afraid it’s time for you guys to get back on the road. This old man needs his sleep.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It was a little after midnight when they pulled into a run-down motel in one of the seedier areas of Riverside. The area had a Bourbon Street smell to it, like alcohol had soaked into the pavement. They were parked out of view of the front entrance, near the middle of the building. The lot was nearly empty.

  Kelton said, “How are we going to work this?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Jessica said. She let her hair down and shook her head, brushed some of it in front of her face. Then she bundle
d the bottom of her shirt in a knot, exposing her copper-skinned, rock-hard belly. Finally, she slid her pants down so they were riding low on her hips, exposing the top of her panties in the process.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Kelton said in as lewd a voice as he could muster.

  “Shut up and give me some cash.”

  “Yes mistress,” Kelton said. “Whatever you say.”

  He pulled the money out of his pocket, unfurled ten 20 dollar bills and handed them to her.

  Jessica folded the bills in half and stuck them in her back pocket. “Just wait here,” she said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with keys to our room.”

  She climbed out of the car and started walking towards the lobby, her hips swinging in an exaggerated fashion. Although Kelton was laughing, his eyes were firmly fixed on her backside and his mouth was turned up in an unconscious grin.

  A short time later, Jessica exited the lobby with a wide smile on her face. She came to his window and leaned over, her elbows resting on the ledge, giving Kelton a good look down the front of her shirt. She was holding an electronic key in her right hand, waving it in front of Kelton’s face.

  “Any problems?” Kelton said.

  Jessica shook her head. “The kid at the counter couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. I played him like a banjo. He would’ve licked my feet clean if I would’ve told him to.”

  “I don’t blame him.”

  “Of course you don’t. You’d do the same, if I told you to.”

  “Is that right?” Kelton said.

  “Absolutely. And not only would you do it, but you’d thank me for the opportunity afterwards.”

  “You sure are something, you know that?”

  “You’re damn right I know it.”

  Kelton laughed. “What room are we in?”

  “Sixty-nine,” Jessica said. “I asked for it specifically.”

  “Pushing a little hard now, aren’t you?”

  “I have not yet even begun to push,” she said. “Believe me, when I do, you’ll know.”

  “You mind if I hop in the shower?” Jessica said after they’d entered the room. “I’ve felt dirty for days, since those assholes first picked me up.”

  “Not at all,” Kelton said.

  Jessica turned and headed towards the bathroom, stretching her arms over her head as she walked. Kelton’s eyes were fixed on her and she seemed to sense his gaze. After opening the bathroom door, she paused to look over her shoulder. “You need to grab anything before I hop in the shower? Toothpaste? Soap? Some skin lotion perhaps?”

  “No thanks. I think I’ll be fine.”

  “Your loss,” she said. “I’ll leave the door unlocked. Just in case you change your mind.”

  Kelton shook his head and laughed under his breath as she disappeared into the bathroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, Jessica came out with only a towel wrapped around her chest. She stood in the doorway for a moment, her wet hair hanging just above her shoulders. The bottom of the towel hung to the middle of her thighs.

  Kelton tried to maintain a neutral expression but failed miserably. There was a slight rustle in his groin that he attempted to ignore but was unsuccessful. Trying to look natural, he adjusted his position on the bed to hide the tent that was growing in his pants.

  Jessica wasn’t fooled. Her mouth twitched in a brief smile. She didn’t say anything but Kelton knew she had gotten the reaction she wanted.

  “You can’t tell me you’re not pushing right now,” Kelton said, trying lamely to diffuse the situation.

  “Oh, I might be just nudging you a little,” Jessica said.

  “Well, it’s not going to work, so you might as well put some clothes on.”

  “If you insist,” Jessica said. She walked over toward the suitcase and opened it. “I don’t suppose you have any woman’s clothes in here.”

  “Nope. Sorry.”

  “Can I borrow some of yours then? I don’t want to sleep in what I was wearing earlier.”

  “Be my guest,” Kelton said. “I don’t think you’ll be able to find anything that fits, though.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I can make something work,” Jessica said. She opened the suitcase and started digging through the clothes. She eventually came out with a pair of plaid boxers and a plain white T-shirt.

  Sensing what was coming, Kelton turned back towards the television. He kept his eyes firmly fixed to the screen as she dropped her towel and slipped into his clothes, only to realize that he could see her reflection in the television. He didn’t look away.

  After getting dressed, Jessica walked over and sat down next to him. “See, you can be a gentleman when you want to.”

  “And you can be pretty damn bold when you want to,” Kelton said. “Which seems to be all the time, the more I think about it.”

  She smiled knowingly and turned her attention to the TV. “What are you watching?”

  “The news,” Kelton said. “I’m been waiting for something about our little situation back at my house, but I haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “That’s no surprise,” Jessica said. “You’re watching national news. Our situation was just another murder. They happen every day. It would be on a local station if anything.”

  “Not this one. It should be plastered all over the national media by now.”

  “Why? What makes it so special?”

  “The piece of trash I shot in my driveway, his name was Jason Preston. Son of international banking mogul—”

  “William Preston the Third,” Jessica said. “Holy crap.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And there’s been nothing on the news?”

  “Nope,” Kelton said. “Not so much as a peep on any of the channels. Not even a mention on the ticker, and I’ve been watching non-stop since you got in the shower.”

  Jessica fell quiet for a moment, then said, “What do you think that means?”

  “That the Feds are trying to keep this thing as quiet as possible.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “It’s impossible to say for sure,” Kelton said. “But I’m guessing it’s because they’ve already put everything together and they don’t want any local yokels picking us up on the murder rap. They want to bring us into custody themselves so they can control the flow of information.”

  “So what does that mean for us?”

  “Probably nothing,” Kelton said. “They’ll still be focusing their search in the San Diego area, which means we should have no problem hooking up with Walter tomorrow, as long as we meet him up north.”

  “And if we do have a problem?”

  “Then we’ll just try again at a later time,” Kelton said. “At this point, we don’t have many other options.”

  He turned the television off, stood up, and walked over to the closet. Inside was an extra pillow and blanket. He pulled them off the shelf and tossed them on the floor.

  Jessica shot him an amused look. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What’s it look like?” Kelton said. “I’m getting the floor ready so I can sleep on it.”

  “Are you kidding me? I got us a room with a king-sized bed on purpose. You know, so we could both fit in it easily.”

  “I appreciate the sentiment, but no thanks.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Jessica climbed under the covers, put one of the pillows under her head, patted the one next to her. “See, there’s plenty of room for both of us.”

  “Seriously, I’m fine. I smell like crap anyway.”

  “Oh, stop making excuses and get your ass up here,” she said.

  “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt and climbed into the bed, pulling the covers up to his chest.

  Jessica was turned on her side, facing him. “See, that wasn’t so difficult.”

  “I guess not,” Kelton said. He was lying on his back, his body stiff as a board, his eyes probing the ceiling for in
consistencies.

  “You can relax,” Jessica said. “I won’t bite. I promise.” She smiled ruefully. “Unless you’re into that sort of thing, of course.”

  Kelton started to blush. He couldn’t help it.

  Jessica laughed at him. “I’m just kidding, Kelton. Chill out.” She took a moment to gather herself, then said, “What’s your deal anyway? I wouldn’t have guessed you to be such a prude.”

  Kelton shrugged.

  “Come on,” Jessica said. “You can tell me. I won’t say anything to anyone. I promise.”

  He turned to look at her. Their faces were less than a foot apart. “Do you really want to know?”

  Jessica eyes were dancing. “Absolutely.”

  Kelton caught her stare for a moment, then looked away. “I can’t. It’s too embarrassing.” He shook his head. “I just can’t.”

  “Come on,” Jessica said. “You have to tell me now.”

  “All right,” Kelton said. “But you have to promise not to give me grief about it.”

  “I swear I won’t,” Jessica said.

  Kelton took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then said, “I’m a virgin.”

  “Get the hell out of here.”

  “I’m serious,” Kelton said. “I’ve never had sex before.”

  “Yeah, right. I don’t buy it.”

  “Whatever,” Kelton said. “You asked, so I told you.”

  She used her elbow to prop herself up. “You’re just messing with me, right?”

  Kelton shook his head, his expression still somber.

  Jessica fell back into her pillow. She closed her eyes and said something unintelligible under her breath before sitting up again and facing him. Then she opened her mouth but shut it before she said anything, opened it again a few moments later, only to close it for good this time. She seemed genuinely confused.

  Watching her suffer fractured Kelton’s façade; he cracked a smile, then started laughing.

  “You asshole,” Jessica said. “You were just messing with me all along?”

  “Of course.”

  She reached out, punched him in the shoulder. “You really had me going.”