Searching for Sheila Ch. 03

When their drinks arrived Tobe touched her glass with his. "To many more sales. "

"Thank you, kind sir. Are from around here, Tobe?"

"Ravensfield."

"But you're meeting someone from the hotel. " It wasn't exactly a question, Tobe thought, and it wasn't exactly making conversation. But it was a try at getting information.

"I couldn't help notice that you were interested in what was going on across the street, "she went on. Tobe thought, well, what the hell, let's go for it and see what happens.

"Actually I was hoping my wife would come out of the hotel with her boyfriend. I'm up here on a tip from a detective."

"Oh, I see. And what would you do if they did come out?"

Tobe smiled and said, "I dunno. What are my options?"

"Well . . . unless there's children involved, the best one is to walk away. I speak from experience."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It was the best thing for both of us, certainly for me. I made more money than Brad, had a more responsible position. He couldn't accept that. He started seeking the company of other women, I suppose, to console himself. He's undoubtedly better acquainted with this side of town than I am."

Delia took a sip and added," Wouldn't it be a coincidence if my ex-husband walked out of the hotel with your wife?"

Tobe stared at his drink for a moment and said, "Knowing what I've found out about Sheila recently, that could very likely happen."

"Well, maybe we're not just two ships passing in the night. Look, Tobe, I'm not usually what you would call 'fast'. I didn't come in here to pick up somebody and I've never bought a drink for a man before. But I know a nice guy when I meet one and I know a nice restaurant in another part of town and we could go there and commiserate. I'd appreciate some company tonight. Are you up for it?"

She's good, Tobe thought, she's very good, and very fast; well, let's see where it goes.

"Sure. But I pick up the tab," Tobe said with a thumb to his chest. "Maybe I'm like Brad -- can't stand the woman wearing the pants."

"You're nothing like Brad, Tobe. Believe me."

They finished their drinks with Tobe laying down a tip on the bar, and walked out the back of the lounge to the parking lot. Delia's car was a good sized sedan, all silver and shiny. She reached in her black handbag and tossed Tobe the keys.

"Why don't you drive? I'll tell you where to go."

"Taking me for a ride, eh?"

"Something like that."

Delia directed Tobe off Victoria onto a ramp to the interstate. After a mile or so, he said,"Aren't you taking an awful chance with me, Ms. - may I know your last name?"

"It's Riley."

"Cordelia Riley. Nice name. Mine's Lanscott."

"Lanscott. Mmm -- rhymes with Lancelot. Are you a knight in shining armor, Tobe?"

"My armor's got a few kinks in it these days. But suppose I were a knight. Didn't knights go around

and deflower virgins back in the old days?"

"Oh, no. A good knight always protected a woman's virtue."

"Suppose I'm a knight who jumped the reservation, and now I'm taking you to some secluded spot to take advantage of you?"

"Would you like to, Tobe?" Was she serious?

"The thought's crossed my mind."

Delia looked straight ahead and was silent for a while.

"Shall I tell you a secret, Tobe?"

"It won't be a secret anymore, but go ahead."

"I've had this fantasy -- maybe all women do -- of meeting a stranger and having sex with him. I might not even know his name, or anything about him. But we fuck each other's brains out and go our separate ways -- no pronouncements of love, no commitments, never to see each other again. What do

you think, Tobe?"

He took a breath and thought, here we go. He glanced at Delia with a faint smile and said,"I think I'd like to be part of your fantasy, Delia."

"Then take the next exit."

"Why?"

"'Cause that's where my apartment is."

IV.

The garage to Delia's apartment complex was deserted and the lighting was not bright. She had him take a spot where the light was particularly poor. Before the engine was off, she was out of the car leaning against the passenger door. When Tobe walked around the car Delia came into his arms, pressing her body and open mouth against his for a long time.

"Take me now, Tobe. Take me here."

Was this woman crazy? Well, Tobe thought, after all, this is her fantasy. His head was swimming and he fumbled with the handle to the rear door. He felt like some high school kid about to have his first fuck. Maybe it was the anticipation of fucking this woman in a deserted garage which made him so excited. Delia got in and pulled her skirt up to her waist. Tobe followed, bumping his head and leaving the door open to accommodate his long legs. He reached for her.

"No. Not that. I'm ready for you now, Tobe. I want you to fuck me now."

"Delia, I'm embarrassed to tell you I'm not quite ready."

"I'll get you ready."

Her hands worked deftly, bringing his jeans and briefs down to his ankles. Delia's mouth immediately encircled his cock, and Tobe could feel himself growing in its warmth. Her red head bobbed before him until he thought he would explode.

"'That's enough," he said with some effort.

Delia lay back on the seat, her skirt still around her waist. She started to bring her panties down her legs when Tobe leaned forward and kissed the wetness between her legs. His tongue pressed against her pussy through the fabric and her hips came forward off the seat.

"Oh, lovely, Tobe. That's so lovely."

She let him do that for a while, but then pleaded,"I need you inside me, Tobe. Please fuck me. Fuck me now."

He guided her now drenched panties down her legs and over her high heels. He hoisted himself above her and came down slowly, Delia taking his now fully extended cock and letting it glide into her expectant pussy. She immediately went into a silent frenzy, her eyes closed, her mouth clenched, pumping her pussy up and down his cock as if it were a piston delivering as much pleasure as she could take. He set his hips to her quickened rhythm and drove his cock into her, trying to drive his flesh far up into her body. She responded to his every thrust with her own and just as forceful. Then she called his name quietly and opened her eyes into his. Tobe felt her tremor under him. The moment of release came upon him as well and he pressed his cock far into her beautiful warm juices, bringing forth his own.

Delia kissed him tenderly and said,"I'm glad you're the knight who jumped the reservation and decided to fuck a damsel in distress."

"Either that or I'm the stranger in the night who hopefully helped fulfill a certain woman's fantasy."

"I haven't been with a man in so long, Tobe. Brad wouldn't touch me the last few months we were together. And after the divorce, I just wasn't interested. But now . . . And my fantasy's not over. C'mon."

They were alone in the elevator, and Delia opened her blouse and pulled her bra down. She reached up and brought his face down to her chest. He braced her against one wall and took each nipple in turn into his mouth and used his teeth and tongue. She reached for his hand and placed his fingers to the entrance to her pussy. Tobe could feel that Delia's cunt was drenched with both their juices and his fingers entered easily. She glided her hips back and forth over his fingers.

"God, I need this."

When they reached her floor, she fumbled with her key card and Tobe had to take it from her to open the door. Then they were in her bedroom. Delia threw her purse across the room and said, "I'm on fire, Tobe. Undress me. I want to be naked for you."

Tobe stood behind her and took the jacket and blouse from her shoulders, unclasped her bra and pulled her skirt to the floor. He started to remove her high heels.

"No. I want to wear my heels when you fuck me. I feel so decadent."

Delia flung herself on the bed, brought her knees up and opened her legs.

"Get naked, Tobe, and come to me."

He pulled his shirt over his head, slipped his sneakers off and yanked his jeans to the floor, all the while watching Delia manipulate her wet pussy with two fingers. When he was between her legs,she tugged his head forward bringing his mouth to her waiting cunt.

"Do me like you did in the car. I want your mouth on my pussy."

Tobe cupped Delia's ass cheeks and raised her saturated cunt to his lips. He swirled his tongue over her well lubricated pussy lips which now felt enlarged. Her hips rose and fell with an increased rhythm. Her taste was not pleasant, but he soon put that thought aside knowing he again was bringing this woman to a frenzied heat.

Delia gripped the back of his head, pressing him harder against her cunt.

"Tongue me. Put your tongue inside me. Oh, god, just like that."

Tobe was so hard against Delia's cunt, he was only able to breathe in gasps. She placed her legs on his shoulders, clamping his head in place. Tobe felt her hips come up from the bed where she held them while her body trembled with a second orgasm.

They were quiet for a while and just held each other. Delia whispered,"I don't think I can let my stranger go his separate way."

"Well," Tobe said, "if I'm a knight, there's a lot of damsels out there who are going to need my help."

"For right now, Mr. Knight, you just concentrate on this damsel. Let's have some wine."

He listened to her heels going down the hall and went to her hand bag on the floor by the dressing table. He came up with a policeman's special in a clip type holster and a black billfold similar to the one Lundsford had carried.

"Oh, shit," he heard himself breath. He stood in the middle of the room with the gun and badge in each hand, letting what he had just learned sink in.

"Find anything interesting?" She was at the door behind him with a bottle of red wine and two long-stem glasses - this Sargent Cordelia Augusta Riley, Detective with the City of Piedmont Police Department, naked in high heels.

"Delia, you're a cop, a goddamned cop."

"That doesn't make me a bad person, does it?"

"You're working with Lundsford, aren't you? You're my tail. Did Lundsford tell you to fuck me?"

"No. He just told me to follow you. Fucking you was my own idea. I presumed you wanted red."

Tobe took the glass and laughed. "Well, here's to Piedmont's finest, and the joke on me."

"And here's to you, my knight in shining armor. Come back to bed and fuck me properly."

"I think I want to fuck you the way a cop should be fucked."

He led her down the hall to the kitchen and flipped off the light. He turned her around and brought

her ass to his cock, letting it settle between her ass cheeks where her warmth made him hard again. He took her breasts in his hands and gently kneaded them, and kissed the back of her neck and shoulders, using his teeth just slightly. She turned her head so that her lips and tongue could find his, and brought

her hand behind her and softly gripped his cock. He breathed in her ear, "Reach for the counter, Delia,and give me your ass."

"Yes, Tobe. Fuck me like this. Take me like this."

With one hand he leveled his cock to her cunt opening, then with both hands slowly brought her ass

back easing himself inside her wet darkness. His strokes were slow and smooth and gentle. After a time he felt Delia's hand on his hip.

"Let me." she said quietly.

While he stood in place, she moved her ass and pussy back and forth over his cock, at first slowly and evenly, her ass cheeks gently touching his abdomen. Her rhythm quickened until Tobe thought he would go mad with its pleasure. He wanted to take this woman forcefully, and he did. He brought her to him without mercy, crushing her ass against his body, forcing his cock far up into her.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he chanted through clenched teeth. An irresistible thought of Sheila came over him, Shelia, the wife he was seeking who now wanted to be fucked by other men, a lot of other men, and have herself filmed while doing it. The anger he had felt often before now welled up in him. That anger came together with his desperate need to cum. A voice inside him said,"When I find you Sheila, you fucking bitch, I'm going to fuck you and fuck you and fuck you and then I'm going to leave your pitiful ass so you can go on being the filthy slut that you've become and I'll never look back." That thought brought with it a scorching release, replacing his anger momentarily with a touch of shame that it was Sheila who had entered his mind at the instant of climax and not Delia.

V.

"I promised you dinner, remember?"

"That seems like a long time ago."

"Let's fix something together, shall we, Tobe?"

"Sure. In the nude."

"Definitely."

An hour later eating at the counter, Tobe asked,"So what did Lundsford have to say about me?"

"He told me to stick close to you."

"Well, you've done a pretty good job of that I'd say. In fact, I don't think you could have got much closer."

She kissed him and said,"Silly."

"Did Lundsford say why you were to stay on my trail?"

"Sheila. He thought if you made contact with her, since she's Pharaoh's current woman -- I'm sorry to be the one to tell you - that would start something and Pharaoh would show his hand, you know, do something stupid."

"Like kill me?"

A darkness entered her features. "That crossed my mind, too. Tom thinks you can take care of yourself."

"That's right. I'm the knight in shining armor."

"Listen, Tobe. I'm not like Tom. I don't want you taking unnecessary risks. Maybe I'm sticking my neck out, but if I could arrange a meeting between you and Sheila, and you were satisfied that she wasn't coming with you, would you get out of town and forget this whole thing?"

"How would you do it?"

"Bring her in on some trumped up charge. We've done it before. A couple years ago we brought a woman in named Angel Dearsing. Tom offered her protection in exchange for information about Maggard and his mob. Angel took his offer, I think to get away from her abusive husband who's sort of Pharaoh's right-hand man."

"Who's that?"

"A man named Calvin Hoagley. He's known as Hogg. Like the name? Quite a gentleman. He practically sold his wife into prostitution. Tom's been looking after Angel, in a brotherly sort of way. How he keeps it from his wife I'll never know. Anyway Tom got her a divorce from Hoagley and she's gone more or less straight. We've learned a few things about how Pharaoh operates from her, but Tom hasn't the heart to make her a witness before the grand jury. I can't blame him for that. Tom's really a soft- hearted guy underneath that gruff exterior."

"You said you also brought in Sheila later. What happened?"

Delia took a breath and let it out slowly. "Well, Sheila was a different story."

"I want to hear everything you know. I have a right, don't you think?"

"I don't know much. It came in bits and pieces. I guess it started with an affair she had with a man named Bullock."

Tobe stared at his plate. "I know the man. Sheila was in a secretarial pool in a firm and he was one of the lawyers. Lou Bullock. He was a criminal attorney. I think he's been disbarred."

"Anyway, apparently this Bullock had connections with certain people -- I suppose they were his clients - both in Ravensfield and Piedmont and he ran what was -- for want of a better name -- an escort service. Sheila allowed herself to be recruited. One thing led to another. She soon wound up here as part of Pharaoh's scene."

Tobe shook his head in frustration and brought a fist down hard on the table. "Where in the hell was I when this was going on?"

Delia covered his fist with both hands and said," You shouldn't berate yourself. I think you know how deceitful Sheila could be. She never mentioned you by name, but she said -- and I know that this is going to upset you -- that she had left her poor, pitiful husband -- that's the phrase she used -- because he was boring her to death."

"That doesn't make sense. You mean to tell me she's letting herself be used by other men out of boredom?"

"Something like that. My guess is that a woman like Sheila doesn't think about being used. She only thinks about the sexual power she has and can exert over men, all types of men And it's not even the sex she wants -- it's the feeling of power. She probably gets off in matching her power with what she perceives as a powerful man, like Pharaoh Maggard. She's not turned on by the sex this man allows her so much as she's turned on by her perception of power in him."

Tobe shook his head again. "Sounds Freudian. It's too complicated for me. So you think Sheila left me so she could feel powerful with other men?"

"Sex and power can be potent drugs in some people, especially those with low self-esteem. I would put both Sheila and Angel in that category."

Tobe got up and paced the kitchen. When he finally sat down he said,"Whatever it is that took her from me, I can't fight it. Or I don't want to fight it anymore. I sat across the street from the Brunswick

for hours, hoping to spot her, when I could've just walked in and made inquiries. Maybe I don't even want to confront her. Maybe I'm just putting off the inevitable, getting her out of my life for good. My feelings about this whole thing have been ambiguous from the start. Well, I've made up my mind. The search for Sheila stops here and now. I'm outta here in the morning. It's over. I can't go on.

I don't want to go on. Whatever was between Sheila and me is all used up. I feel so goddamned empty inside."

Delia could only nod in silence.

VI.

Delia pulled into the lot behind the Estabrook sometime after midnight She took Tobe's hand as he

leaned into her open window and said,"I wish we had met under different circumstances, Tobe."

"I'm just glad we met. I'll never forget our little fantasy."

"Me, too. You're a real stand-up guy, Tobe. And for it's worth, I think you're making the right decision."

She kissed him lightly, then was gone. Tobe braced his shoulder against the truck and watched Delia's car disappear down Victoria. He stood there for a time and let the warm darkness comfort him.. He thought he had never felt so alone.

Tobe took it slow and easy on the ride back to the motel, feeling his loneliness now tempered with a kind of relief, a relief that came in knowing that his search for Sheila was over. He now knew, or thought he knew, the full extend of Sheila's depravity, and now he could truly leave her to the life she had apparently chosen. Lundsford had thought that his mission was honorable, and maybe it was. It was certainly necessary, he thought, I needed to come here and find out for myself. And I met two fine women, he reflected warmly, one, Angel Dearsing, who had largely managed to escape Sheila's downward spiral by her willingness to let Tom Lundsford rescue her from the degrading clutches of Pharaoh Maggard and her husband, Calvin Hoagley, called Hogg. And with Lundsford's further help, Angel might yet leave that "life" behind her for good. But to now regret that Sheila had not been the one to have been rescued was dead-end thinking, he knew.

Tobe smiled grimly as he thought of the attempts by Lundsford and Doke Maggard to suck him into a confrontation with Pharaoh Maggard, to be the catalyst for that crook's undoing and the undoing of his operations. "I'm no hero," he said into the darkness. "I know now that there's nothing in this town worth risking my neck for." And then he was surprised with a thought of Angel. But he shook it off.

After all, Angel was Lundsford's concern, not his.

Tobe frequently checked his rear view mirror, but no lights appeared behind him. Maybe Arnold's as good as Doke Maggard said he was, he thought. Well, it was a big so-what now. In the morning he would be gone. When he got back to Ravensfield he would call Charlie Sutton, his old boss at Essential Insurance, for a referral to a good divorce lawyer. Then his marriage to Sheila would be over legally as well as in fact. Maybe he ought to check out of Lenny's motel and find another for the night. Oh, hell, he thought, in a few hours I'll be out of here for good. He supposed he owed a call to Lt. Redding since the Ravensfield detective was in at the beginning of this odyssey. He was thinking what he would tell Redding as he pulled into the motel. In his mind he was listening to Redding: "Didn't I tell you that it would be all for nothing? You shoulda listened to me, Lanscott, save yourself a lot of trouble."