All in the Family (18 page)

Loretta pocketed the cutter and went on about her business. “Are you all dressed up with nowhere to go?”

Herman smiled again while he looked at her. “No Sweetheart, I have a meeting to go to today, a meeting with a lawyer about Frank leaving me in charge of all of his assets. Soon, we’ll never have to worry about money again.”

“Well, I hope that works out for ya’,” Loretta said, sarcastic overtones in her voice. She thought that going through with such a plan was ludicrous and dangerous. She didn’t voice that opinion, instead kept it bottled inside as she’d kept so many thoughts and worries. If it worked, they’d be set for life. If it didn’t, Herman would go to jail, and she’d have to argue her way out of a couple of deaths and blame them on Herman. She would do it too; she knew she could not face jail. She was too soft, though she was sure anyone would say that, she knew she was truly too soft for jail. What about the children, who would look after them and raise them? That was why she would confess that it had been all him, all his idea. She was just an innocent bystander; someone fearing for their own life, yet knowing good and well that Herman would never really harm her.

Herman made a piece of toast with some butter, ate it and then disappeared, the stale scent of the cigar still wafting through the air. The door opened, closed, and then the engine came to life outside, and he was gone.

Loretta went back to her daydreams about the young streetwalker. There had to be something she could do, but she’d probably never get the girl into the car or gain her trust without some cash to throw around. Herman had taken so much of it for the lawyer that she knew she couldn’t afford to seduce the girl right away. She would try, soon she would try.

* * * *

The days passed slowly; the weekdays usually did unless Loretta had things to see and people to do, or vice versa. Herman had begun to keep to himself, staying reclusively in the basement only coming up to eat or to go out when he received a call about a body. He had carried in some building material, though Loretta wasn’t sure how much or for what. As always, he went straight to the basement.

Finally she decided to investigate and find out what kind of project he had been working on. The basement was dimly lit, and it reeked of an earthy scent and the smell of cigar smoke. Herman was nowhere to be seen at first then he emerged from the old room where they had once kept home canned food. He didn’t acknowledge her when he came out, though he knew she was there. He was caked in dirt from head to toe.

After a moment of awkward silence he spoke. “What do you want?” He wiped his hands with a dingy cloth.

After another moment of silence she blurted out, “I was just wondering what you were up to. I just wanted to see what you were doing down here all the time.”

“Well,” he said, lighting another cigar, “I’ll tell you, I was thinking one day, what if this family continues to enjoy our newly found pastime? I mean, I killed Frank, you helped to kill Roy and stood idly by as I murdered that pizza boy. Bastard had that coming though. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had been enjoying what he was doing to you. Oh, I never really told you, but Bobby killed Robert. I helped him dispose of the corpse so he didn’t get caught. ” He stopped for a moment, taking a long draw from the cigar and then blowing ringlets of smoke into the air. The look on Loretta’s face was priceless. They had all had a hand in murder now; each one of them had taken part in someone’s murder. Perhaps Jessica didn’t have a direct hand in Roy’s murder, but a good prosecutor would have her locked away as an accomplice. She might have been a bit ditzy, but she knew right from wrong and hadn’t even tried to stop her mom.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I had to hide the pizza boy’s car and Frank’s car someplace, and the best place I could come up with was the woods behind the house and over the hill. No one ever goes back there, and I thought it would work fine for now.”

“What about people seeing you?” she asked.

“That’s what I was worried about as well, but not anymore. I used some of Frank’s money and bought all of that land back there. Also ... ”

“You used Frank’s money?” Loretta interrupted. “How?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you? We have control of his empire, all of his money. We can do pretty much anything we want.” Herman smiled. “Anyway, I was worried about people seeing me as well, not so much when I take the cars over the hill, but on the long walk back. I had figured I would be seen. The privacy fences block enough of the yard that no one would see the car until it was heading up and over the hill. Who’s to say it was me? However, if they see me walking back, they may want to know what happened to the car.” Herman moved back and held out an inviting hand. “Care to see?”

Though she was getting over the shock of the sudden riches that had been cast into her lap, she kept her composure and walked over to the root cellar door. Several work lights with extension cords were set up, lighting the room well. At the back wall, there was a square hole, the looks of a tunnel. She walked over and peered inside. It was large enough for her to fit in upright, but not much headroom. Herman would have to walk hunched over if he was to ever fit inside. The tunnel went on and around a bend until she couldn’t see any further.

Herman put his hand on the wall and leaned in to talk to her. “It will go on far past the hill and come out near where I dumped the cars. What do you think?”

“I think, good luck with that,” she was being sarcastic again. With that said she smiled and kissed his grimy face and went back upstairs.

She knew now that she had money, but no car. Barbra would let her borrow her car, she knew that for sure, but she wasn’t sure she could convince the girl to go with her. She had to try though; something about the girl was begging her to try.

She called Barbra the very next day; no one was home, and the kids were at school because it was a Friday. Barbra would want to go out though. She’d have to take the girl home and then have Barbra just walk over and get the car. She’d do that just for the chance to get out of the house.

“Barb, can I borrow your car today, just for a bit?” Loretta asked into the receiver, her painted lips parting slightly as she spoke.

Barbra sighed on the other end. “I guess, but you have to get it back to me by this evening. I have a date with a guy I met.”

“I was going to have you come by here and pick it up. I would drop it off, but this is important to me,” Loretta more or less begged into the phone.

Another sigh came through the earpiece. “Loretta, you know I love you?” Barbra’s tell-tale rhetorical question that meant she would give in. “I guess, but you know I don’t like walking, especially in the cold.”

“I know,” Loretta said solemnly. “Just think, you can get out of the house for a bit right after that.

She made Loretta walk to get the car, only fair she had argued and Loretta knew she was right. It felt cold out, a brisk wind picking up and scorching her bare legs occasionally. The walk was short though and worthwhile.

“Thanks,” Loretta said, snatching the keys from Barbra with a toothy smile.

“Take care of it, be careful and be back home before he gets home. He’ll string me up for sure if he sees I’ve lent you my car,” Barbra said as she walked Loretta to the garage.

She was on the road and scouring the downtown scene before it had time to register. It was like working on autopilot for her, she knew where she was going and knew what she needed to do and all before she even really thought about it. She drove down the street where the walkers usually stayed, but there was no one in sight. She knew how they worked though; they were like a shady business, when things got too hot in one location, move to another and start fresh. There was always fresh meat out there. Though Loretta wasn’t thinking about meat, she was thinking about that girl, the only thing she’d thought about for days.

Several streets away, she began to run into the streetwalkers again. There were a lot of them for it to be as cold as what it was, but a girl needed her money. Loretta understood that concept.

There were brunettes and redheads and bleached blondes, but she had yet to see the girl with the natural dirty blonde hair. Three street corners had gone by, and she was nowhere to be found. There was a hint of doubt in the pit of her belly. She worried that she was too late, that someone had already claimed her for the night. What would she do then? None of the other women appealed to her. Of course on a normal day, women didn’t appeal to her anyway, but she couldn’t help it now. The lust began to burn, and just the thought of the girl made her moist between her legs.

Finally, on a dead end avenue, she saw a group of women standing huddled together. One of them waved, even in the fading daylight, she could tell it was the girl she searched for.

She rolled the window down as the girl came strutting up beside the car.

“Come back to get a better look?” the girl asked.

Loretta smiled. “What can I say?” she replied. “You enticed me.”

“It’s cold out here, can I at least get in while we talk this over?” the girl asked, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her eyes.

“Of course,” Loretta said, leaning over to open the door for her.

The girl climbed inside and shivered as the air from the heater kissed her cold skin. “We were thinking about calling it quits for the night,” the girl said. “I’m glad you came along. What’s your name?”

“Loretta.”

“That’s a very sexy name. My name is Amber, but for the right money you can call me whatever you want.” She smiled and offered a hand. Loretta shook it.

“Amber, how much is it going to cost me?”

Amber smiled a shy and kind of girlish smile where her upper teeth kind of met her lower lip. Even through her painted face Loretta could see her youth. “Right down to business, huh?” Amber asked. “Well, I normally get a hundred an hour, but I’ll make an exception for you. Make me like it and feed me and give me a place to sleep for the night, and I’ll let you eat me for free.” She paused and looked at Loretta for confirmation.

Loretta smiled and pressed on the gas pedal.

Amber smiled in return. “I’ll eat you too. You do have toys right?”

Loretta laughed, thinking about the huge dildo clinging to the wall. “Yeah, I have toys. I have a husband too, and two kids.”

“Oh,” Amber said, warming her hands in front of the vent. “Is this going to be a share me with your husband thing? I mean, I’ll still stick to the free thing if you feed me and keep me warm for a night.”

“He doesn’t know about you yet. I’m not sure if I’m ready to see him with another woman yet,” Loretta said, feeling a twinge of guilt as she said it. She knew good and well how many men she had been with since their marriage. Herman did, sort of, deserve a chance with some fresh young whore, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous for a moment. Thinking about another woman rubbing herself all over her husband, it seemed almost too much too soon, too much to stomach all at once. After all, he
was
her husband

“We’ll see about Herman,” she said.

Loretta parked the car in the driveway. The kids were out of school, but she knew how they were becoming. Bobby was out with his father, and Jessica was probably trying to rekindle a love with her former flame. Either way, the house was empty, and Loretta was glad for that.

Amber made herself at home, removing her jacket that had covered her torso and breasts. She wore nearly nothing underneath. It was arousing to Loretta to see the girl dressed like that inside her own home.

“Do you want to eat first or what?” Loretta asked, but it was too late, Amber was behind her and beginning to fondle her. Loretta moaned. Amber’s hand caressed her sides and slipped under her blouse. Her hands were still a bit cold, but they felt good nonetheless.

She continued to caress, working her way around to her abdomen and up toward her breasts. Loretta moaned again. Amber kissed her between the shoulder blades, as high as she could reach without tiptoeing. Amber released Loretta’s breasts from her bra. They were heavy and sagged down a little, as large natural breasts tended to. Amber found her nipples and rolled them between her fingers and thumb, tugging on them lightly. Loretta moaned again and turned to face the girl.

Without missing a beat, Amber met her lips and probed Loretta’s mouth with her tongue. Then, she lifted Loretta’s blouse and suckled her nipples, nibbling ever so gently on them. Loretta could feel herself becoming wet, the juices beginning to run down her legs with no panties to stop them.

She led Amber down the hall and into her bedroom. The lights were off; the only light was the dimly glowing, green nightlight that was plugged into the socket on the far wall of the bathroom. Loretta didn’t need light, but thought it would be a nice addition. She lit a few candles that were set up on the dresser and returned to Amber, kissing her and exploring her body.

As they lay on the bed fondling each other, Amber said, “I thought you had some toys.”

Loretta smiled and retrieved a box from under the bed. Inside the box, she removed several average sized dildos, some vibrated, others were studded or ribbed and some looked as though they were cast from real men. Amber looked in amazement, like a child in a candy shop, feeling each toy, trying to decide which one she liked.

“Which one is your favorite?” Amber asked.