And Along Came Spider - The Entire Series, page 48
part #0 of And Along Came Spider Series
“I’m in the process of calling in some old markers now. I should hear something back by the end of the day.”
“Why us? Can you tell me that?”
“There’s only one answer to that,” Slade said. “We may presently be the only casinos in town that have no Mafia affiliation. Without that, we are pretty much sitting ducks.”
“Oh my God!” Martina glared. “What have I gotten myself into?” She grabbed a pen and paper from Slade’s desk and jotted down the names mentioned by him.
“What are you going to do, Martina?”
“I’m not taking this anymore,” she said. “I’m tired of sitting on my thumbs.”
With that a smile came over Slade’s face. “And when have you ever done that?”
“You’re sure relaxed for a guy that near got his head blown off a while ago.”
“But I didn’t. I’m still alive, thanks to you.”
“I was worried for Gloria, too.”
“So was I. But unfortunately I didn’t see either of them in time to draw my gun. I guess I’m getting old.” He smiled again.
“Soft from regular sex, maybe … but not old. Speaking of that, I’m going in to check on Gloria.”
“You do that,” Slade said and watched her go.
In the apartment, Martina went directly to Gloria’s room. Finding her sleeping soundly she went to her own room. Taking one look at the round bed she knew instantly Jillian and Tom had not been in that bathroom all this time. Listening at the closed door, she heard the two of them talking, and tapped lightly.
“Who is it?” Jillian said through the door, and giggled.
“How’s it going in there?”
“Just peachy,” Jillian returned. “We’re doing the prints now. What do you want?”
“I got a name for Tom.”
“Martina,” Tom Taylor said. “What do you have?”
“One of their names is Nello Savoca. He was a lieutenant in the Padalino crime family.”
“I’ve never heard of them.”
“They’re out of New Jersey.”
“Where at in Jersey?”
“That’s all I know for now.”
“Okay. Which of these men is that Savoca?”
“To make it simple for you, he’s the one Jillian gave the crabs.”
“What!” Tom Taylor shouted.
Martina laughed. “She’ll explain if you don’t remember.”
“Oh, yeah, now I remember,” Taylor said.
“Good,” Martina said, smiling to herself. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
Martina took the gun she had bought for Jillian and put it on her rumpled bed, along with an extra clip and two boxes of ammo. She then went back to Gloria’s room to sit with her for a while. From there she planned to take money down to Scotty, to be handed off to Kate Benson, when she brought the first batch of tapes. She was anxious to know what would be discovered on them. Enough to put the Koffees away for a good long time, she hoped.
CHAPTER TWENTY
When Martina got to room 120 in the motor court at six fifteen with the tapes, Delaney was busy setting up the tape players.
“How’d it go?” he said when she entered the room.
“Everything went well. Kate said they agreed to share that space in the mechanical room with her. She asked me to pass on a thank you for the idea.”
“Good. Now we’ll see if all our efforts eventually pay off. But, before we do any of that, I’ve got to get something off my mind.”
“Oh? What?”
“Just this,” he said, and pulled her in for a sensuous kiss. Releasing her moments later, he sat down and went back to doing what he was doing with the tape players.
Glaring at him, Martina said. “Is that it? That’s all I get? You crank my engine after a very traumatic day, and now you leave me here to idle until you’re damn good and ready to take me for a little spin? What kind of a man does that?”
“A little spin?” He stood again. “I’ll show you a little spin.” He scooped her up, tossed her on the bed, dived to beside her and felt for her underwear. Finding to his pleasant surprise none was there, he opened his pants, slipped atop her and found her lips again.
Twenty minutes later, Martina raised her head from the pillow to see him back at work on the tape players. “That was a little spin?” she said, still feeling the sweet sting of pleasure. “Kinda makes me wonder what a long drive in the country may be like, in Montana.”
“Just stick around, Spider. After what I saw today, you may be surprised by what I have in store for you tonight. A woman like you needs special treatment.”
“Oh … well, then I can hardly wait,” she came to him with a kiss, then went off toward the bathroom. “Thanks, Walter. I needed that.”
“My pleasure.”
Coming from a cold shower twenty minutes later, dressed in a robe provided by the motor court, Martina saw Delaney do a double take. “I’m sorry. It just dawned on me, you have never seen the real me.” She teasingly whipped open the robe.
“You’re beautiful,” he stood slowly. “So young … and almost innocent, but not really. Frankly, Martina, I’ve been a bit concerned what may be under all that makeup. I had no idea you looked like this. Now I know what God had in mind when he invented Eve. Jeez, you’re sinful …”
“Oh, Walter, stop!” She laughed and went to him with a kiss.
Finding he could not resist a second longer, he scooped her up and laid her on the bed.
Putting up no argument, Martina watched him undress. When he boarded her, she lifted to take him in. She then threw her arms tightly around him and whispered into his ear. “Hold me? Just for a little while, okay?” Then silently the tears began to roll down her face.
Delaney felt her convulsing beneath him. So she wasn’t the rock he’d originally thought. It was evident now the woman had a heart. And that pleased him as he patiently waited for her to get it all out.
Before long, however, she appeared again to be herself.
“Okay. I’m good,” she said. Then with a stinging slap to his bare butt, she shouted out, “Ride ‘em cowboy! Yeehaw!” She giggled, and lifted into him.
Shocked by that, Delaney went ahead with what he had planned from the beginning: slow, gentle sex. But then when Martina suddenly dug her nails into his buttocks and began doing most of the work herself, he got the notion there were anxieties yet in her that needed some release. That became super evident when his thrusts became harder, and her powerful legs lifted her body even higher off the bed. Now near vertical, on his knees, she stayed with him as his pounding continued for several minutes. Then the animal noises started. At first it was a squeaking noise that progressed to a loud moan that soon became a scream. All the while her body bucked, convulsed and quivered violently. Finally then she collapsed. He followed her down and finished with gentle strokes that drained them both of remaining passion.
He stayed with her though, long afterward, as her body continued reflexively to twist and occasionally thrust. Then when stillness finally came, he rolled away and pulled her in tight. Surprisingly, though, she broke free of him and eased her body over his. The tears had returned. They were falling heavily on him as she gapingly roamed his face and found his lips.
Again she made sensuous movements, sliding about effortlessly, lubricated by the sweat between them. As hoped, minutes later she felt him grow beneath her again. Gracefully she moved her body atop his and ever so slowly took all of him in. Then with only the slightest of movements, letting her quivering, pulsating body provide the action, she made gentle love. Throughout, the sensation seemed as though it would never end. But when it did, it was crushing. She tossed herself about violently until eventually she completely collapsed on him. This time no animal noises came. Apparently the demons were gone.
Looking up at her there, sprawled over him, Delaney couldn’t help but wonder. Where in hell had this insatiable enigma of woman come from? She could kill without so much as a glimmer of remorse, make love like there would be no tomorrow, and cry and howl all the while doing it …
Now it was certain. No doubt he was in love. He wanted this woman to be his … forever. But he wasn’t so much of a fool to believe that would ever happen. She was a wolf. And as anybody knew who’d ever roamed the North Country, as he had for most of his life, a wolf like her cannot be owned. And he pitied the lobo who ever tried to tame her.
This woman danced to the beat of only one drummer, and she held the sticks. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to hang around. He would for as long as she let him. And feel blessed for every day he got. Of course there would be pain suffered on his part, when eventually he was sent packing. But being what she was, that was unavoidable. To be content with herself, she needed to be left as she presently was. There would be no domestication of this complicated woman. Nor did he want to try. She just wouldn’t be the woman he now loved any other way.
When the two of them awoke several hours later, they were still locked in each other’s arms. And together then, they went to the shower. There they frolicked and fondled and laughed for near half an hour before getting on with the business of listening to the tapes.
Delaney had rigged a system where as each tape was played it was added, first to one large spool recorder, and then if the call recorded seemed useful, it was added to the large spool of a second recorder. In other words, all calls were saved to a large spool, and certain calls selected were to be saved separately on another spool. This was done to make it less tedious to find certain more important phone conversations when the need arose.
Because she was chilled, Martina climbed into the fresh bed, while Delaney was left with the task of operating the machines. Several of the tapes collected by Kate were visibly blank, as was expected since many of the rooms were yet to be occupied. And then there were those that had little on them. For the purpose of elimination, those tapes were played first. Finding the calls on all of them generic in nature—calls to room service and such, at the hotel—they were erased and eliminated as well. That left only six tapes that had any sizable amount of phone conversation. And since the midget recorders were voice activated, there was up to ninety minutes of that on each of those.
The first tape started with a woman’s voice. Martina recognized the childish voice immediately and sat up in the bed. It was that of Sheela Koffee, Raym’s widow.
“Oh my God!” Sheela screamed into the phone. “You won’t believe what happened, James. Guns were fired. Bullets were flying everywhere …”
“At the Dunes?” James Koffee asked.
“Yes, at the Dunes! Where else would I be?”
“Are you there now?”
“No, of course not. I’m at a pay phone down the street. I wasn’t about to stick around there and take a chance on my head getting blown off.”
“Did you see Martina?”
“No. To tell you the truth, I don’t think she’s even around any longer. She’s probably back in Mexico.”
“Well, we know she will have to be back for the trial. She’s scheduled to testify.”
“Why do you want those pictures of her anyway?”
“You’re not getting paid to ask questions, Sheela. Just do your job, or I’ll find someone who will.”
“Good luck with that,” Sheela said. “I’m the only one in the family that knows what the bitch’s face looks like. That is except your mother … And if I wouldn’t have been there to point her out, she wouldn’t have found her then.”
“Stop!” Martina screamed from the bed. “Did you hear what she just said? My God, she just admitted to being an accessory to Virginia’s attempt on my life. She must have been traveling with her. That would even make her an accessory in the murder of Harry Dunbar, wouldn’t it, Walter?”
“It would,” Delaney said. “If in fact it can be proven she was with her at the time. Who is she? Do you know?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Martina came from the bed. “I should have told you from the start. The woman talking is Sheela Koffee, the widow of Raym Koffee. You remember about him from the briefing, right? He’s the dead son of Virginia and Adolf. The other person on the tape is James … Raym’s brother. The one that came to the casino …”
“Yes. I remember,” Delaney said. “But what good does it do us to know she was with Virginia? This tape was acquired illegally. It can’t be used in a court of law, so you could never get a conviction from it.”
“If it comes down to that, I’ll find a way to prove it,” Martina said. “But what we did learn that was useful, is that they are looking for me, and they haven’t caught on to my disguises yet. Now the question is, why do they want to find me? Are they planning to finish what the mother started? Or are they planning to give me an award for killing their crazy son?”
“I think you already know the answer to that,” Delaney said, not wanting to think about it. He started the tape again.
“May I remind you,” James Koffee said, “you are talking on a telephone?”
“Ommigod!” Sheela said. “Okay, bye.”
As it turned out, the remainder of that tape was generic as well, and Delaney put on a different one.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
After seven more hours of listening to tapes, none of them revealing anything more of value, Martina dressed back into the getup of the day before and returned to the apartment, ready to be transformed into someone entirely new once again.
Jillian greeted her from the living room as she exited the elevator. “Thanks for the new gun,” Jillian said.
“I hope it isn’t too big for you,” Martina said.
“It’s a little heavier, however, I’ll get used to it,” Jillian said. “But if you want to talk about big! The man was practically in my throat.”
Martina laughed on instinct, “Oh, Jillian!” Then she went to her. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She chuckled. “But I do think, out of necessity, I’ve grown a few inches.”
“Should I talk to him about it?”
“Don’t you dare,” Jillian said. “I like him, Martina.”
“Oh.” Martina wondered what that was all about. A few hours in the dark room and they were serious already?
“He thinks the FBI can use me occasionally for doing disguises.”
“Well, that’s great, Jillian …”
“But I told him I couldn’t even consider it until the situation here improves. It would be fun. I guess it’s just good to be recognized for my talents…especially the FBI.”
“No doubt you’re the best,” Martina said, and she moved in for a hug. “I just found out from those tapes, the Koffees still don’t know what we’re up to. That Sheela is convinced I’m out of the country again. And that is funny because she has several pictures of me on that wall at the hotel.”
“I take that as a compliment,” Jillian said.
“It was meant to be,” Martina said. “So will you see Tom again?”
“He’s taking me to dinner tonight,” Jillian smiled.
“Well, that’s wonderful, Jillian.”
“I think it’s only right we start going together, since he’s ruined me for every other man on the planet,” Jillian laughed. “His wife left him two years ago. It was over him being gone so much of the time. I can tell he’s not over it yet.”
“He’s a nice guy,” Martina tossed in. “Just be careful, Jillian. I don’t want you hurt on my account.”
“What’s to hurt, Martina? He’ll end up being another chapter in my life, like all the others. That’s got to be better than no chapters at all.”
“Yes, I suppose it is,” Martina said. She feared a similar pattern was happening in her own life. And now she wondered if that would ever change.
“So how did you two happen to end up in bed so fast?” Martina asked.
“He must have liked what he saw when I was bending over the tub developing the film from the camera,” Jillian said, and laughed. “It’s kinda hard to miss an erection when it’s at eye level. Especially in a room as small as that bathroom.”
Martina laughed. “I’m just curious, but who instigated the sex?”
Jillian deviously raised a hand. “After a while I just came right out and asked him what he planned to do with that.”
“Oh my God!” Martina covered her mouth. “So what did he do?”
“Well, he was obviously embarrassed at first. But then when I insisted he get rid of the Siamese twin—there just wasn’t enough room in that little bathroom for the three of us—he finally listened to reason.”
“Jillian! You didn’t!”
“Well, actually I didn’t say anything,” she fessed up. “When we finally came out to cool off, it just kind of happened. After all, we were in our underwear anyway. I just couldn’t see letting a thing like that go to waste. I mean, that’s the way I was raised. You know … waste not, want not.”
With that, Martina laughed hysterically.
“The wigs are here,” Jillian said, as if she had just thought of it. “All one hundred of them … black, with Dutch boy cuts, just as you ordered. So do you want me to start passing them out first thing this morning?”
“Oh my God! I can’t wait to see Sheela Koffee’s face when she comes in. Yes, please do.”
On the catwalk at noon, Martina couldn’t believe all the lookalikes of herself as they began appearing on the floor. Even Delaney noticed. After seeing the real her last night, he couldn’t help but comment.
“Whose idea was that?” he asked. “No, don’t tell me. I think I already know.” He smiled to her. “Brilliant!”
“Oh, you’re just saying that,” Martina said, and chuckled.
“You know, Martina,” he said. “With your mind I don’t know why you’re here. You could be making millions working for a foreign government as a counterspy.”
“How do you know I’m not?”
“If you were you wouldn’t be wasting your time on me. I have nothing to offer along those lines.”
“Oh, yes, but the lines you do have to offer are superb,” she said, and picked up binoculars. She didn’t want to miss Sheela Koffee when she entered. “Last night was ... really something, Walter. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there to bring me through it.”
