A New Dawn Ch. 03

"Mr. Barker..."

"Thomas."

"Okay, Thomas. I'm Johnny. Look, there's no way I'm going to try anything with any of your women. I'm in a committed relationship and I'm faithful to it." I explained my situation and how I came to be living in a three-way relationship with my niece and my best friend.

"So," said Natalie, "you or your lovers can bring other women home and you're all free to have at them, but you never fool around without the consent of your lovers and they don't fool around at all with other men?"

"That's about it," I said. "Sometimes Dawn and I have sex alone and sometimes Mary Beth and I have sex alone but usually we're together and have ménage a trois sex. We've gotten pretty good at it and it feels a little empty unless it's all three of us. We used to bring other women to bed and it was great sport but over time we've done that less and less. It's hokey to say but we complete each other. We make each other feel complete."

"That actually sounds pretty familiar," Natalie said.

Thomas stared at me. "That's not hokey. That's beautiful. I'd like to meet them. How would you all like to come over for dinner tonight?"

"They're flying home today from Mary Beth's high school reunion," I said. "I'm picking them up from the airport in..." I looked at my watch. "Two hours."

"Let me do this for you then," said Thomas. "Give me your address. I'll have a limo pick you up there within an hour and take you to the airport. You can bring your girls home and the limo will stay at your disposal until you release it. If your girls are too tired then we'll try to get together some other time. But if they're up for it you can take the limo back here and we'll lay on a major league drinks and dinner fest. Juana is the best cook in Los Angeles and she loves cooking for new people. And you and I have a lot in common and a lot to talk about, I think. What do you say?"

He was a stranger, so no. He was a citizen involved in my case, so for sure no. And I suspected he was still jealous of his sister's interest in me, so hell no.

But I liked him. And he and his harem were people I could talk to about my situation with Dawn and Mary Beth, people we could socialize with without hiding what we were to each other.

"Yes," I said.

*****

Juana brought out her quickie brunch, a wonderfully simple little egg, chorizo, pepper and onion thing that about blew the roof of my mouth off. After drinking half my glass of water I managed to squeak, "What kind of peppers did you use, Juana?"

She finished chewing her second bite, swallowed, and smiled. "Jalapenos for everyone, and for you and me a combination of tabasco peppers and habaneros." People who have only tasted Tabasco Sauce have no idea that the tabasco pepper itself is actually quite a bit hotter than the jalapeno, but most people know that the habanero pepper is Oh My God hot. I noticed that she hadn't yet touched either her water or her champagne. Well, I'd asked for spicy and she'd delivered. I finished it off without looking too much like a wimp.

After the meal we said our goodbyes and I headed back home to change into something less formal and more airport-friendly. Laura was still in the backyard under the sun only now she was on her back and fully nude and sweating profusely. I took her a cold Diet Coke and as we talked I couldn't help but steal glances at her lovely little body. Her pussy was bare and her firm little perspiration-tinged teenaged tits glistened proudly in the sun. Jail bait. I told her that I'd leave the door open so she could get something to drink while I was gone, then hustled my ass back inside wondering how much explaining I'd have to do if she were still here when the girls got back.

I made a couple of phone calls and quickly had a list of the four people we knew of in Los Angeles who might be able to both disarm a state-of-the-art alarm system and crack a TL-30 rated safe. Of course, two different people may have accomplished those feats but it was typically better to start out simple. I made another call and discovered that one person on the list was in state prison, another was in LA county jail, and a third was actually consulting for the LAPD. That didn't mean he wasn't also doing some freelance work on the side, but again for the sake of simplicity I mentally crossed him off my list for now. That left one name. Of course, it could also have been someone who wasn't on the list because we didn't know about him yet. But I was feeling lucky.

I didn't have probable cause or even reasonable suspicion to do anything at all yet, but fortunately in this guy's case I didn't need it. He was on parole. I looked at my watch. I didn't have time to make it to his place before the girls landed. I thought about getting a squad car to roll on it but then I had an epiphany. I took a deep breath and called the Department of Corrections and prepared to wade through a tangle of people and administrivia in order to find the guy's parole officer. Amazingly it only took quick talks with two people before I had the officer's name, and when I was transferred to his extension he was actually in the office and willing to talk. I looked up at the ceiling and wondered why God was smiling on me. I explained the crime and the situation.

"You know the guy so you might be the one who is best able to spot anything out of the ordinary," I said. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to make a little unscheduled visit and poke around, see if there's any indication that he's returned to a life of crime."

"What a shock that would be," he said. There was a pause. "I was about to take my lunch break. How about I drive out to this guy's house instead? He's only 20 minutes or so away."

I couldn't believe my luck. I knew I was asking a lot given the schedule these guys have to keep. I thanked him and he promised to call my cell phone to let me know what he found either way.

I'd only been home for half an hour when, true to Barker's word, a gleaming black stretch limo slowed down and parked in front of my house.

The driver's door opened and a miniature supermodel stepped out. I guessed her at early to mid-twenties. She was around five foot nothing but she was gorgeously proportioned and had a beautiful and exotic face, a mixture of Asian and African genes as best I could tell. She wore a dangerously short black spandex mini-dress and four inch black high heels. She was incredibly attractive and her walk oozed sexuality. I watched, fascinated, as she sauntered up to my porch.

"You must be Mr. Rand," she said. "I'm your driver, J." She offered her hand and I shook it.

"Jay?" I said.

She smiled at me, a brilliant display of flawless white teeth. "Yes, as in the letter 'J.' My name is Jennifer but my family has called me J my whole life and my friends picked up on it and at some point I simply gave up fighting it."

"Jay it is," I said, mentally lengthening the name into something I could more easily wrap my head around. I invited her inside and asked her whether she wanted something to drink and we both went into the kitchen to fetch bottles of Dasani from the refrigerator. Jay looked out at the backyard through the screen door.

"You have a lovely backyard. Very nice features."

I followed her gaze and saw Laura emerging from the pool, water streaming down her nude, tanned body.

"Ah," I said. "Laura is the neighbors' daughter. We let her sunbathe and use the pool. This is her first foray into nudity here that I'm aware of."

"I see," she said. "Thomas told me that you are something of a nudist yourself and that I should be prepared to be greeted by a naked man when I arrived. I was frankly a little disappointed when you showed up at the door wearing clothes."

"Two reasons," I said. "First, I figured that when you got here I should be ready to go to the airport. Second, I didn't think it would be a good idea to be nude around Laura, especially while she's naked too, and most especially while we were alone together. Right now I'm pretty horny and she's... pretty young."

"Makes sense," she said, "and your restraint shows good character." She gave me a coy look and ran her hands over her clingy little dress as if to smooth it (an unnecessary exercise) and tug it down (an impossible exercise) as she said, "So how can I best serve you today, Mr. Rand?"

My amazing powers of intuition told me that there was a greater than one percent chance that her services might include more than just driving a limo from Point A to Point B.

"Call me Johnny," I said. "What services are on the menu?"

She gave me an appraising look and appeared satisfied. "For you, Johnny, all the same services available to Thomas."

"Help me out here," I said. "I've known Thomas Barker for a whole 60 minutes."

"Ah," she said. "Well, of course, there's the limo. I'm on a retainer that essentially constitutes a salary since it's an amount generous enough to provide for all my needs. At the moment Thomas is my only limousine client which means that I'm pretty much at his beck and call, which in turn means that today I'm at your beck and call."

"I see," I said.

"On occasion I accompany him as his escort to business meetings or social functions, although these days not as often as I'd like."

"Okay," I said.

"And before his sis... before the ladies you met joined his household, Thomas and I would sometimes enjoy sex together." She frowned. "I miss those days."

"I know about his sister and his mother," I said.

She brightened. "Ah, then it's obvious that Thomas trusts you," she said. "Good. My intuition was correct." She stepped closer, close enough that I could detect the faint scent of expensive perfume and aroused woman. She looked up into my face and made the most direct eye contact possible and said, "I'm at your disposal today, Johnny. Which of my services would you like to employ first?"

I felt as though I was about to break into a sweat. Barker's women were making it tougher than usual to be a faithfully committed guy today.

"Umm. Just a ride to LAX," I said. "We're picking up my lovers. I'm faithful to them." She didn't bat an eye at 'lovers.'

"Shit," she said. Then, realizing that she'd said it out loud she said, "Forgive me." She caressed my cheek. "I respect that, but I was looking forward to getting to know you a lot better."

"That might still be possible," I said. "I'm very much attracted to you, and we occasionally make room in the bed for a fourth lover. If you're into that kind of thing, that is."

She brightened again. "That sounds lovely," she said. "I very much hope that your ladies will agree."

Before we took off Jay asked me whether I wanted her to open and pour champagne. I was off duty and not driving and I'd had a craving for champagne ever since watching four beautiful nude women sipping it earlier this morning. "That's a big 'Yes,'" I said, "but just point me at the bottle and I'll uncork it while you drive."

She leaned into the back of the limo and opened the lid to a refrigerated chamber. Inside were several icy bottles of Cristal.

"Thomas lives very well," I said as I climbed into the car.

"Yes, he does," she said.

I'd done some quick Google research on Barker before driving up to meet with him. I had thought I was doing quite well for myself: with the money that Dawn had given me from her inheritance and the fact that I usually didn't even manage to spend all of my LAPD salary, I had gone from being a middle-class public servant to being seven-figure rich. Thomas Barker was nine-figure rich, a whole different kind of wealthy. He spilled more money than I made. I wondered how much he paid Jay as a retainer. And how much Cristal he and his women drank.

She drove quickly and smoothly south on PCH. I sipped very good champagne and watched the beach as we transitioned from Malibu into Santa Monica, and then east onto Interstate 10 and finally south through the city on the 405.

I worried that I might quickly become so spoiled by very good champagne that Barefoot Bubbly would no longer satisfy me. I might already be so snobbish as to have to move up to Chandon.

My cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number. "Rand," I said.

"This is your lucky fucking day, Detective," said the parole officer. "When I pulled up he was putting a bag in the trunk of his car. I snuck up behind him and said 'What's in the bag?' and he just about fainted."

"Was it...?"

"Yep, everything you described. I think he was heading out to unload the jewelry right away then figure out what to do with the other stuff."

"Where is he now?"

"I called it in to my guys and they called your guys and one of them, a Detective Meyer, came out and transported him and the evidence to PAB." PAB is the LAPD Police Administrative Building, where Robbery-Homicide resides.

"I can't thank you enough," I said.

"Hey, I get credit for the bust with Corrections, too," he said. "Thanks for the tip."

I called Meyer and verified that all of the stolen items had been recovered. Then I made another call.

"Thomas Barker."

"Johnny Rand here," I said.

"Didn't the limo show up?"

"Sure did, thanks. We're almost at the airport. I'm sitting here drinking your Cristal. I called to tell you that we recovered your stolen property."

Silence. Then, "You're shitting me."

"I shit thee not."

"It's barely been an hour. And it's your day off."

"I like to detect in my spare time."

"And you do it very well," he said. "When can we have it back?"

"Well, it's evidence in a crime," I said. "It's gotta be processed and it's really the assistant DA assigned to the case who'll decide when it's no longer needed. But with high value personal property in a robbery case like this they'll most likely catalog it, take pictures, and give it right back to you."

"I don't know how to thank you," he said.

"Not a problem; your tax dollars at work. See you tonight." We hung up.

As we pulled off the freeway to head west towards LAX Jay said, "Johnny, would you like me to come inside with you to manage the luggage or would you rather I stay with the limo so that I can quickly pick you up when you get back to the curb?"

I said, "I'd like you to come along inside with me and meet the girls, Jay, but there's no way I'm going to let you lug bags."

"Sexist, are we Johnny?"

"You bet. I haul the bags and hold the doors open and stand up when a woman comes to the table or leaves it."

"Good boy," she said. "Your parents raised you right."

I didn't tell her that there were no parents involved in my upbringing.

We parked the limo in the short-term parking structure and walked to the American Airlines terminal and got as close as we could to where the disembarking passengers would be exiting the secure area. We didn't have long to wait. I saw the girls come flouncing past security and my heart leapt. After being with these two wonderful, sexy beauties for nearly a year I was deeply in love with both of them and dreadfully missed them on those rare occasions when we were apart for any length of time.

They saw me and yelled my name and both ran into my waiting arms. We group hugged and I kissed Dawn deeply and then did the same to Mary Beth. We had long since established a protocol that it didn't matter who I kissed first, or who I made the first sexual move towards when we were in bed together. We were all in love with each other and each of them was happy to see me make the other one feel good, and that was all that mattered.

"How was the flight?" I said.

"Great," said Mary Beth. "No problems at all. We might have had a little too much to drink, though. The flight attendant kept coming around and refilling our wine glasses."

"The perils of flying first class," I said.

"It sure helps pass the time, though," said Dawn.

"Girls, I'd like you to meet Jay," I said. "Jay, meet my lovers Dawn and Mary Beth." I pointed at each woman as I said their name. Our little supermodel stepped forward and shook hands gravely. My girls looked at me and gave me the same quizzical expression.

"Jay is our limo driver," I said.

"Limo? Yay, goodie!!" Mary Beth jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

Dawn was staring at Jay. "You're beautiful," she said, and then looked at me. "Have you...?"

"No," I said.

Jay understood what Dawn was asking. "I made a run at him before I knew about you two and he made a point of telling me that he was faithful to you," she said. "It was cute and honorable, and sexy. And frustrating."

The girls stared at her.

"Some of Thomas' women made it pretty clear that he could have sex with them, too, but he turned them down," Jay said.

"Thomas' women?" said Dawn.

"I'll tell you later," I said.

"We decided that if you had fooled around while we were gone we would forgive you," Mary Beth said. "We took care of each other's needs all week but you had nobody."

"Doubly frustrating now," Jay said.

Dawn and Mary Beth looked at her, then at each other, and both of them grinned. I knew that Jay would be joining us in bed.

"Yes, I've been faithful and now I'm so fucking horny I can't stand it," I said. "Let's go home fast."

We collected the girls' luggage and put it in the limo and while Jay drove us home we killed a bottle and a half of Cristal. I had both Dawn and Mary Beth topless by the time Jay parked at the curb. They got out that way and walked towards the house, sipping champagne. A neighbor guy jogged right past them without even looking back. Maybe gay, or maybe just used to that kind of thing in Malibu.

I looked at Jay. She was giving me a "What should I do now, Master?" look.

"Come to bed with us. Please?" I said.

She let out a breath and her face lit up and she grinned at me. "I thought you'd never ask," she said. I grabbed her hand and held it as we walked to the house. Down the hall I saw my two topless beauties staring out the screen door into the backyard.

"Johnny...?" Dawn said. I walked to the kitchen and looked.

Six teenage schoolgirls were cavorting naked in and around our pool, laughing and splashing and making merry. I glanced at the bar: all the liquor seemed to be in the right place and at the right levels. Good girl, Laura, I thought.

"I can explain," I said. "I think."

"No need," Jay said. "I can vouch for you. 'Honorable' covers this situation, too."

Dawn giggled. Mary Beth looked at Jay. "We both trust Johnny completely," she said. "We've been through some tough shit and he's proven himself more than anyone should ever have to. And we know Laura and Johnny's not in trouble here. But I'm curious. How can you vouch for him when you don't really know him?"

"I have a gift," she said simply. "It doesn't fail me. I meet a person and make eye contact and talk to them about almost anything and I can intuit their character. I met Johnny a couple of hours ago and within five minutes I knew that he was honest, brave, humble, emotionally open, and a caring and giving lover. That's why I offered myself to him." She looked at both women. "Before I knew he was committed to you," she said.

Dawn said, "Jay, would you like to find out just how caring and giving a lover Johnny is? We'd like you to come to bed with us. I can tell that Johnny would really love it if you would."

"I would be honored to," Jay said. "Thank you."

"We girls can't guarantee that we'll keep our hands off of you, Jay," Mary Beth said. "In fact I can pretty much guarantee that we'll have our hands and tongues all over you."

Jay's hands flew to her cheeks and her face formed a shocked expression. "Oh, heavens," she said. "Whatever shall I do in the face of such debauchery?"

Mary Beth grinned and grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs. "Off through the looking glass we go then, Alice," she said. And off they went.