Circles in the Sand (27 page)

“Did he get too fresh with you? Did he ask you to do  something you didn’t want to do?”

“No, dear girl. Nothing like that. He’s always been a perfect gentleman to me.”
Too perfect
… Dorris chuckled.

“Well if he didn’t do anything to make you mad?  Did you make him mad? Why
did
he leave here?”

“I guess you’re old enough to know.” Dorris explained the problem with Agatha Altman. “I don’t want you to talk about it to anyone else, okay? Now why don’t you like him leaving?”

“Well…”Lorena dawdled turning her toes around in a circle. “You know his troops talk and kid around during meals…I overheard someone say, ‘that nurse woman sure enjoys nursing the Chief.’”

“Oh so what. Lilith is a very caring person. She is good with anyone she treats.”

“Okaaaay. But you said she suggested Clint move over there. I don’t trust her with him.”

“Oh good grief. Don’t forget she’s happily married to Ollie. Are you afraid she’s after Clint? I don’t believe it. Just forget it.
Hmmm. I wonder if Lilith could be predatory? Being in close proximity to a man can cause attraction. I know that with Clint, first hand.

Out at Q-1, Clint poured over the plans and documents for the bomb scoring site. He mused,
seems to me we got a problem reporting drop locations… until I can obtain a county grid map, or something similar on which to locate our targets and towers…will still have a problem locating the targets and towers on the grid.
He looked up as Tommy Kearns parked his truck in front.

He stood and offered his hand as Tommy entered. “And to what stroke of good luck am I indebted…for a visit of the law to my  little kingdom?”

“Nothing too legal. Though you might like to know, confidentially, of course, the coroner dropped a hint that just possibly, just possibly, the body drowned…an accident, maybe suicide…or he could have been murdered.”

“Yeah? When will he know for sure…and who?”

“Good question. Guess he won’t know anything for sure until the lab does their work.”

“Probably. That’s one job I’m glad I don’t have. Seeing you reminds me, with all the other excitement, I don’t think we told the law that someone vandalized our RADAR target. Split all the aluminum panels down the middle.”

“Now who would do a thing like that?”

“I ‘spect it was a steer standing on his hind legs and ripping them with his horns.”

Tommy laughed. “Yore fulla shit sometimes, ain’t you?”

“Well…maybe someone standing on a steers back then.”

“With the problems you’ve had, it’s a good thing you can laugh at some of them.”

“At times, that’s the only thing I can do. The way that body was staked out…sheriff looking into a possible Indian connection?”

“Not that I know of, but maybe the county mounty’s are. Why do you ask?”

“You haven’t heard about it, because it’s kind of embarrassing. We’ve been haunted by an old Indian in a coyote mask.”

“Huh? You puttin’ me on again?”

“Me kid the law? No way.” Clint then related the appearances of the mysterious Indian.

Tommy said. “Ain’t that weird. I never heard of anything like it before. You say he’s kinda spooky?”

“Well, he sure’s able to disappear every time I want to talk to him.”

“Hard to believe, but I reckon you ought to tell the sheriff, if not the state police.”

“Shucks, Tommy. I just told you. Ain’t you the law?”

Tommy hitched up his pants. He rubbed his chin. “I’m only a town deputy. He or they are gonna want to hear it from the parties concerned. I’ll mention it to Radecker though.”

The rest of the week continued relatively smooth: work continued at the bomb site; no more vandalism occurred; the spooky Indian didn’t make another appearance; no word from the coroner. Unknown to the airmen, Jill didn’t return to the Boar Pen.

Wednesday night Clint dreamt of sex with Lilith. When he awoke, the dream was true, but he couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop, but he wrapped her in his arms and turned them over. “I told you no more,” he said, but finished the job.

“You know better. You know you can’t resist me.”

“You’re crazy. I had the door locked. How didju get in here?”

“Ha ha. Little tricks can’t keep me away from you. You’ll be mine…as long as I want you.”

“I’ll be go to hell! You’re out of your gourd! You’ll get us both in big trouble. Lilith, you’ve just  got to stop coming in here! I’m not your pet boy toy!”

Lilith laughed. “I’m not finished with you…I’m not pregnant yet.”

“You are out of your God damned mind! I damn sure don’t want to knock you up!”

“We’ll see…” She said as she left his room.

After that, Clint tried to stay out of Lilith’s reach, and snugged the chair under his bedroom door at night.
If that can’t keep her out…I damn sure have to move out.

Friday night Lance precipitated a sea change by saying, “I’m driving over to Glasgow after chow. Anyone want to ride along?”

Kline, Jewel and Alcocke took him up on the offer. On the way, Lance said, “I’m going to a bar where a really cute barmaid works. Rosy Barth, a really sweet thing. You probably heard, she’s that asshole Basil Tree’s ex, and he and I had a little disagreement over her. I’ll appreciate it, if you guys watch my back.”

“No problem, Sarge. We don’t like Basil Tree either,” Kline said.

While Lance perched on a barstool and chatted with Rosy as much as he could, the airmen sat at a table. A number of locals sat at other tables. No single women came in. On the third beer, Jewel said, “There’s got to be some other girls around here. I’m going on a scouting mission.” He got up and walked out the door.

“Ol Peter sure is a pussy hustler,” Alcocke said.

Kline had not told anyone except the NCOs of Jewel’s technique with women. He told Alcocke now.

“You’re kidding me.”

“Now way. Next time you talk to Tawny, ask her.”

“Tawny, hell. You better not be kidding me, cause I’m gonna ask him!”

“Hold on, hold on.” Fritz grabbed Basil’s arm. “Don’t get out yet. That guy must have been with the other airmen we saw… when we passed by Rosy’s place.”

“Yeah. Two of ‘em had short haircuts. This’n’s got more hair than most.”

“Seen ‘em before? Know who this one is?”

“Short, chubby, fair and baby-looking. B’lieve it’s your friend.”

“That don’t fit any of the others. Must be him. Let’s see where he goes.”

Peter Jewel wandered around with no destination in mind. He poked his head in another bar, but didn’t see any single women. Looking in store windows he continued down the street.  Then he heard loud music coming from the direction of another street.
Maybe that’s where that dance hall is.
Before he reached the next corner, he came to an alley heading in the right direction.
Ought to be a short-cut.

Near the end of the alley he could see he still wasn’t at the dancehall. He saw two men near a panel truck talking. One of them was hunkered down on his heels. When he got closer, that one hollered, “Hey, Buddy, you got a light?”

Peter whipped out his lighter and bent toward the crouching man. When he woke up with a head ache, that’s all he remembered. He couldn’t see through a kerchief over his eyes, couldn’t complain through the wad in his mouth, and couldn’t move for being trussed up like a condemned hog. He lay on the floor of a fast moving vehicle. He struggled and mumbled. A voice said, “Might as well save your energy until we let you  out.”

When the truck stopped, rough hands removed the blindfold and gag. “What the hell’s going on? You better untie me and let me out of here!”

“No, I ain’t gonna let you go, Sonny Boy. Didn’t Marie-Elena tell you I’ve promised to cut the nuts off any other man that fucked her?”

“No, she didn’t. In any case, I didn’t fuck her, I only ate her pussy. Damn it. Now just let me go!”

“How can you do that to a whore anyway? Now, Basil tells me you’ve fucked every one of the other whores after you ate them. Why should I think you didn’t fuck Marie-Elena too?”

“Because I didn’t. She wouldn’t let me.” Peter lied.

Fritz got out and walked into the barn. “Bring him on here in here, Basil.”

“I ain’t going in there!”

“Hell you’re not.” Basil said. He jerked Jewel out of the truck. Peter struggled with his ropes. He fell to the ground. Basil tried to pull him.

“You can’t do this! You can’t do this! It’s kidnapping. You can get the chair for kidnapping.”

“You gonna run around and tell everyone a man cut your nuts off? I don’t think so. When the deed is done, you gonna be very tame and docile. People might even think you’ve turned into a girl.”

“Basil, put a noose on him. If he don’t come along, strangle him until he passes out, but don’t kill him yet.”

Feeling light headed, nearly unconscious from his breath cut off by the noose, Jewel couldn’t resist as Basil forced him into the barn. “With his legs dangling, lay him chest down on the table. Keep him down that way till I have his legs tied to the table legs.”

Fritz pulled Jewel’s jeans and underwear off. With Jewels legs spread apart an anchored to the table legs,  Fritz then tied each of Peter’s arms to the front table legs. “Take that noose off him. We don’t need it now, I want to talk to him.”

No longer being choked, Peter twisted and turned and tried to slip free. Fritz put a  bench down beside the table where he could look in Peter’s face. Peter faced the other way. “Basil stand on that side. Maybe he’d rather look at you than me.”

Hoarse now, Peter said, “Let me go, Basil! They’ll fry you for kidnapping too!”

“No, they won’t. Like I said, You gonna admit someone cut your balls off? I don’ think so. Besides there ain’t no witnesses. Word of two of us against one of you. No way.”

Basil forced Peter’s head around toward Fritz. “Just to show you what a good sport I am, I’m gonna give you some choices,” Fritz said. He showed Jewel a pistol in his hand. “First of all,” He cocked that revolver and pointed the barrel an inch in front of Peter’s eyes. “You can choose to be dead…they’ll never find you body… or you can choose to be castrated….So what’s your first choice?”

“Neither! You can’t do this to me! You can’t! You can’t! I never fucked her!”

“How about that, Basil? He’s raised some questions. Can I or can’t I do this?…And did he…or did he not…fuck Marie-Elena?”

“Believe the answer to both is… yes.”

Fritz had uncocked and raised the pistol while he and Basil talked. Now he brought it down in Peter’s face again When Peter’s eyes were fixed on it, he said. “Now back to the first question, would you rather be alive and nutless, or…” Fritz slowly thumbed and cocked the revolver. “Dead!”

“Neither, NO,NO,NO, you can’t do it! “Peter broke down in tears and sobs. Unable to control his emotions, Peter wailed for several minutes while Fritz just stared at him. Peter’s forced down position on the table reduced his breath power. When exhausted by his efforts, Peter reduced his voice to soft sobs and whimpers. He shut his eyes.

Fritz said, “Well, since he can’t choose, I’ll have to chose for him. I believe he’s too  young to die, so I’m sure he’d rather live without the family jewels, than fertilize some weeds somewhere. But there’s still a choice to make. You may as well look. Now this here is one way we can do it.” He held up a rusty curved knife set in a small handle. “This way is fast….One quick slice…and it’s all over…On the other hand…it hurts like hell…and makes a bloody mess on the floor. We’d have to gag you so we didn’t have to listen to your screams.”

Fritz laid the knife down and held up a device that looked like a huge black wire cutter. “Now this thing is called a Burdizzo…I’ll just slip this up under your nuts…and crush the sperm tube and blood vessels on each side. They tell me it doesn’t hurt much. Beauty is no blood…and what’s left of your balls are just absorbed into your body.  Wouldn’t you rather I used it instead of the knife?”

Jewel just moaned “No…no…no…” And broke up again.

Fritz held up a prong like device with a strong rubber disk separated on the ends. “Now this is a elastrator….I think this is the most appropriate one for you… See?… I’ll just fit that band high up on your nuts under your dick…When I press the trigger…that band will snap tight…That cuts off the blood flow and everything else…Hurts like hell for about twelve hours…Your balls will just start to rot…In a week or ten days… they’ll just fall off…Course if you want to, you can cut ‘em off before that…Just make sure you leave the band on until the bleeding stops. So…you’ve still got a choice…knife… burdizzo…or elastrator? Come on, come on…Be a man…control your own destiny.”

“No…no…it’s not fair…if I screwed Marie-Elena…not the first…screwing college boys…all of ‘em…abortion in Seattle…not a cherry when you bought it…”

“What you saying? Not a virgin? You crazy. I know. She bled. College boys been fucking her? She had an abortion? Yore crazy lying ain’t  gonna  save yore nuts! Maybe I’ll use the knife after all.”

Basil spoke up. “He might be right. I thought she was acting funny when I asked about him…I heard before you didn’t get a virgin…Didn’t dare mention it to you.”

Fritz stood up and backed away from the table and stared at Jewel. His face twisted into a knot. “Well…I’ll be God Damned.”

Basil stared at Peter. “Ya’ know Fritz. It seems to me that a guy that’d eat whore’s pussies, probably sucks cocks too. Stands to reason. Right, pretty boy? You a dick eater too?” Basil stood at the rear of Jewel and then patted his rump. “Got a cute ass for a guy. Y’ know, now that he’s gonna be a girl. I think I’ll fuck him…so he knows what to expect from guys afterwards.”

Seemingly stunned, Fritz didn’t respond. Basil went to a wall cupboard for a jar of Vaseline. He dropped his drawers and stroked himself erect with the Vaseline. Holding Jewel’s buttocks he pressed his erection at his anus. Jewel squirmed and twisted his body while screaming, “No, no. Not right…I’m not queer…don’t do it.”

“Relax honey. I’m doing you a favor. After I take your cherry, it won’t hurt so much the next time.”

Jewel continued to struggle until Tree took his right hand off of Peter’s buttock and grabbing his erection with it, rammed it into Jewel. Peter screamed again, and again, and tried to pull away. Tree kept pumping. At first watching disinterestedly, after a few minutes, Fritz noticed a change in the action. Jewel stopped screaming and only grunted. Instead of twisting away, his buttocks seemed to be meeting Tree’s thrusts.