Black & Tan Blues Ch. 02

I got the sack of drugs out of the basement where I had stashed them. I put the dime bags of marijuana, the cocaine and the two bottles of prescription painkillers in the bag. I also put the syringes and cigarette papers in with them. I also put an envelope with five hundred dollars in hundreds, fifties and twenties in the bag. As a fitting emphasis I also included about a dozen condoms of various kinds. I rolled and folded the bag tightly and put it inside a backpack and put it behind my seat in the pickup.

As an additional twist I prepared a couple of small baggies to put into an inside compartment in the bottom of Donna's purse that I knew she never used. In one baggie I put three rolled joints and a roach clip. In another I had enough coke for a couple of lines and in a third I put two hundred dollars in twenties and a couple of condoms. I then put the baggies in a larger bag and hid them in my brief case.

For the rest of the afternoon I cleaned the house. I scrubbed down any surface that may have touched the sack holding the drugs. I dusted the furniture, swept the carpets and mopped the floors. I collected the dust bag from the vacuum cleaner, the surgical gloves I had worn and the sack that had held the drugs. I bagged everything up and took it down to the 7-11 down the block and put it into their trash barrel. I then changed clothes, took a shower and washed everything I had been wearing. I couldn't be too careful.

When it was time I went and picked up Sam from pre-school. I sat down and played with her and tried to relax for awhile. I couldn't help but feel guilty about the upheaval she was going to experience. I knew it was going to be hard on her to lose her mother for all intents and purposes. I hoped and prayed that I would be able to fill the void in her life.

I got dinner around and Donna was home on time. When she went into the bedroom to change clothes I only needed a minute to open her purse, open my briefcase and transfer the baggies into the zippered compartment. Dinner was uneventful. Donna and Sam were still sitting at the table talking as I started to walk out the door. I stopped for a moment to look at the two of them, knowing this could be the last time I might see them together in any kind of happy care-free setting. I accepted the fact that one of us would probably be in jail before the night was over. While I had a moment of regret I reminded myself that Donna had thrown this away, not me and without another word I turned and went out the door.

Trev and I both got to work about fifteen minutes early. I went over my preparations with him and he nodded and said he thought I had everything covered. When I told him about the drugs I planted in Donna's purse, he looked thoughtful for a minute and said, "One thing you should think about. At some point someone is going to figure out they were set up. And they are going to try to figure out who."

"Yeah, I know. And sooner or later Donna is going to start thinking about who had access to her purse. It will probably come down to Connie or me. But by the time it does I hope to have the divorce and custody arrangements settled and Sam and I relocated. If it comes down to her word against mine who do you think they will believe?"

As planned we worked until the lunch period. Trev then walked me out to the parking lot. I moved my backpack into his car and we traded keys. As a parting gift he gave me the 'Slim-Jim' from the foreman's office. It seemed like every week, a couple of people would lock themselves out of their vehicles and so most of the foremen kept one these handy tools hidden in their offices. We shook hands and with more confidence than I felt I said, "See you at Gino's around two." Trev just nodded and I left.

It took me only about twenty minutes to get over to the Best Western across from the Inn. I parked in a dark corner of the lot where I could see the wing of the building between the trees that held Room 120 with my field glasses. There were two cars parked next to each other near the end of the building, Curtis's town car and a blue Trans Am I knew was Connie's. I looked at my watch it was just past nine thirty. I thought to myself they certainly didn't waste anytime getting over here from the Black & Tan.

I put on my surgical gloves and got my backpack out of the trunk and put it on. As I walked across the street the only cars on the road I could see were up by the freeway intersection. I ducked behind a pine tree and observed the two cars and the rooms for a few minutes. I could see a light coming from the window of 120 but the rest of the rooms on this side were dark. I crouched down and ran across the lot and hunkered down between the cars. I put my hand on the hood of the Trans Am and could feel the heat radiating from it. They hadn't been here long.

I tried the passenger door of the Trans Am but it was locked. I slipped the backpack off and opened it. I took the Slim-Jim out and slid it down the window glass until I could feel the door latch and yanked up hard and the door was unlocked. I took the hospital tote bag out of the backpack, quietly opened the car door and stuffed it under the front passenger seat. I relocked the door and quietly closed it.

I felt around the bottom of the backpack for a baggie I had with several roaches, butts from marijuana cigarettes, that I had Trev make up. I spread them out between the two cars beneath the front doors. If the cops didn't have probable cause to search the cars before they certainly would now.

I put the backpack on and as I started to go back across the parking lot, I stopped and looked at the lighted window of the motel room. I knew it wasn't a good idea but something pulled me toward the window. I crept across the sidewalk and up to the window. I could hear the muted sounds of grunting, laughter and moaning. I slowly stood up and as I did so an inch or two gap in the curtains became apparent. Whether it was unintentional or whether Curtis thought Troy was going to show up I don't know. But the scene that unfolded was as pornographic as anything I had ever seen in any stag film.

In the dim light and through a haze of smoke, I could see a naked Donna and Curtis on the closest bed only about five feet away from the window. Donna was on her back with her head toward me and almost hanging off the end of the bed with her legs up on Curtis's shoulders as he pounded his cock into her pussy. Her eyes were clinched shut as she moaned loudly and continuously and her hands scrabbled furiously at the sheets on the bed.

Further away on the other bed James and Connie were fucking missionary style with Connie's legs hooked tightly around his back. About that time, Curtis laughed and exclaimed, "Damn, it's noisy in here! Can't someone shut this bitch up?"

Laughingly, James got up off of Connie and walked over to Donna. Lifting her head up in one hand he stuck his dripping cock in her mouth. I could see Donna's eyes bulge as she felt James try to slide almost his entire length down her throat. As he pulled back I could see her eyes close and her mouth start to suck as he thrust forward again. Behind him I could hear Connie laughing hysterically. Stunned I turned around and slowly slid to the ground with my back to the wall and put my hands over my eyes. I was shocked. Nothing I imagined had prepared me for this.

In a daze I got up and staggered across the parking lot, across the road and up to Trev's car. I turned and looked back at Room 120. I cursed myself for looking in that window. I would never forget that scene every time I thought of the woman I once loved. If I could have destroyed that building and everyone in it at that moment I would have. I took a couple of deep breaths and remembered what I had to do next.

I turned away and walked towards the Best Western office and the outside pay phone. I put in some change and dialed the photographer's phone number. When Dennis answered I said, "The drug buy is going down in Room 120 at the Red Roof Inn on Forest Road. The supplier is Curtis Hallock and he drives a silver Lincoln Town Car. The buyer is James Martin; he is a corrections officer at the state prison in Ionia. They are holed up in the motel room with two hookers. One of the hookers drives a blue Trans Am."

"I got it," Dennis said.

"How long will it take you to get here?" I asked.

"About fifteen, twenty minutes."

"You have a five minute head start before I call the Tri-County Task Force."

"Thanks, Lt. Mason is waiting for your call. I'm leaving now." Then he hung up.

I stood there, lost in my thoughts and just stared across the road. Finally I checked my watch and picked up the phone and dialed Tri-County. When they answered I identified myself by the code word and repeated what I had told Dennis with the addition of one detail. I told them that James Martin was carrying a gun and Curtis Hallock was carrying a knife. Then I hung up.

I walked back down to the end of the lot and the car. I stripped off the gloves and put them in the backpack. I drove around to the back of the Best Western and dumped the backpack and its contents in their dumpster. I then drove back to the edge of the lot facing the Inn and Room 120. Standing next to the car I had an excellent view of both sides of the building from about 150 feet away. This part of the parking lot was not well lighted and I was wearing dark clothes so I was fairly well hidden.

I watched the entrance to the Inn and the side of the building holding Room 120 through the field glasses. After about fifteen minutes a car pulled in and parked near the office. Two men got out and instead of going in the office they walked along the line of rooms and turned the corner toward the end of the building. One man stopped at the corner and the other continued down to Room 120. I saw him stop at the window. He didn't move for several minutes and I figured he was getting an eyeful. He had something in his hand I though was probably a camera. He turned around and retraced his steps. The two of them huddled up for a few minutes then went back to their car and waited.

About thirty minutes later six unmarked cars came down the road and as they turned into the parking lot they turned off their headlights. They disgorged about a dozen men in some kind of dark windbreakers. I could just make out 'Police' on the back of them. I watched one officer go into the office and a couple of others open up the trunks of their cars and take out some equipment. Two Sherriff's cars came silently down Forest Road and took up positions on each end of the block.

The two men I originally observed went over and spoke to one of the officers and pointed down to the end of the building. I figured that was probably Dennis Thompson. About six of the officers headed down toward the end of the building followed by the photographer. Two other officers headed around the back of the building and two others took up stations at the parking lot entrance.

The six officers inched around the corner of the building and up to the window. One officer peered in the window and motioned the others toward the door. Two officers with what looked like drawn guns took up a position on each side of the door and two officers carrying something between them took up a position in front of the door. It looked like the photographer took up a position right behind them.

Even from where I was I could hear someone yell "Police!" At the same time the two officers in front of the door swung what must have been an iron ram at the door which opened with a loud "crash". As the door flew open I saw a flash from the photographer as he held a camera over the officer's heads. All four officers piled into the room accompanied by screams and shouting. I heard someone or something hit the wall and then it got quiet. I saw continuing flashes from the camera coming from inside the room now.

The screams had been replaced by cursing and yelling. And faintly I could hear someone crying. Several other officers quickly congregated around the room and I saw two other marked police vehicles pull into the parking lot and drive down and stop in front of the room with their lights flashing. A couple of female police officers got out of the cars and went into the room. A couple of other officers started examining the Town Car and the Trans Am with flashlights.

After a couple of more minutes two officers dragged Curtis out of the room with his hands cuffed behind him wearing boxer shorts. His head was down and it looked like he had been beaten. I could see a red blotch on his chest where blood had dripped from his face. They put him in one car and drove off. James was brought out the same way except he was walking under his own power. He looked shocked and dazed. He was put in another car and driven away.

Two more police cars and a pick-up marked "Canine Unit" pulled up. And more officers went into the room. One officer came out with what must have been keys and opened the doors and trunks of the cars. Several officers started going through the contents of both vehicles.

Finally Donna and Connie were brought out of the room in handcuffs, each accompanied by a female officer. The two of them had been allowed to dress but it was apparent by their disheveled appearance that their clothes had just been thrown on. I watched Donna closely through the glasses as she stumbled across the threshold being held up by the officer. I could see her clearly. I have never seen such a look of terror and helplessness on anyone's face as she had now. Tears and make-up ran down her checks. She blinked repeatedly into the light and I could see her chin quivering and her body shaking as she attempted to hold back what I imagined were sobs.

As much as I thought Donna and the others deserved this, for a minute I hated myself for doing it to her. Then I remembered the scene in the motel room, and how she had treated me and Samantha and my feelings of guilt dissipated.

I looked on as the two of them were pushed into a squad car and I followed it in the field glasses as it slowly made its way out of the parking lot and down the road.

My mind numb, I put the glasses down and watched silently as the police strobes were swallowed up into the distance. And I sadly contemplated the uncertainty my future had become.