Chapter 45: Another Last Time

February 27, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“Good morning!” I said.

“Sorry I didn’t really wake up last night,” Samantha said, stretching. “I was tired.”

“It’s OK. My flight was delayed and I didn’t come in until almost midnight. I was happy to find you alone.”

“Abbie said you would say that,” Samantha said, moving on top of me and stretching out.

I put my arms around her back, and my legs around hers and pulled her tightly against me.

“You and Abbie have become pretty close,” I said.

“Sure. She’s the one closest to my age, and her parents didn’t really care what she did once they caught her in bed with her boyfriend when she was fourteen. She didn’t have money like I did, but she had a lot of the same issues. It was just easier for me because my dad was rich.”

“She’s a wonderful girl,” I said.

“You know she’s in love with you, don’t you?”

“Yes. And that’s a minor miracle in itself because when she came here, she didn’t believe in love.”

“Me either,” Samantha said. “At least not from parents or adults. I hoped there was real love out there, but I never really saw it before I came here.”

“That was more or less Abbie’s experience as well. I’m glad you two are becoming friends. You asked her about Ellie?”

“Yes, and about you, and how you’ve changed and what you’ve decided to give up for me.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t just for you. It was for me, too.”

I’d grown hard and Samantha shifted, and slowly engulfed me in her warm folds. She surprised me by returning to the position we’d been in just before, so I put my legs back where they’d been.

“This is nice,” she sighed. “Just being this close to you, having you inside me.”

“I think so, too,” I said.

“Anyway, when I talked to Abbie, she was talking about how you liked to be close, and cuddle, and that kind of thing, and I said how much I liked it, too. Then I realized that Ellie got in the way of that. I don’t get you all night except once a week, and I decided I didn’t want to give up one of those to have her here. She did ask if she could do it with you without spending the night, and I told her I’d think about it. Would you be OK with that?”

“I still think it interferes with her seeing other guys. I suppose I could see it until she goes to Rosary, but it can’t go on. I really do think it should end, and maybe by not having her spend the night, that’s a good way to end it.”

“Abbie said you would say that, too!” Samantha said, wiggling and grinding slightly.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with the idea of you being with her again, but I don’t want to share my bed.”

“Then that tells you everything you need to know,” I said.

She wiggled more, sighed deeply, then shuddered softly as I felt the ripples of a small orgasm along my shaft.

“Will you come to dinner at my parents’ house on my birthday? It’s a Wednesday, but I asked for that evening off work.”

“Sure. I’ll let Sensei Jim know I’ll miss karate, but that won’t be an issue. How did your dinner go?”

“Fine. Great, actually. Dad showed me the paperwork he had drawn up that he’ll sign that morning. Basically, it’s the legal agreement that makes sure I get Spurgeon Capital if something happens to him. My mom has the pre-nup I told you about, but he wants to make sure it stays with me, well, my future husband, in his mind. I’ll be eighteen, so he can appoint me to the Board of Directors and make me his successor.”

“Very cool. That won’t affect college, or anything, will it?”

“No. It’s all just paperwork for the future. But right now, there’s a complicated system with a trustee and a conservator that isn’t good from a business perspective. Too many customers would get cold feet in such a case.”

“But they’ll be OK with you at eighteen being the nominated successor?”

“Yes. They know I’d keep the fund managers and traders in place while I got my bearings. But my dad isn’t that old, and is in good health, so they won’t really worry about it. His bigger risk is a pissed-off father with a shotgun!”

I chuckled, “I could see that!”

More wiggles, another sigh, and another small orgasm.

“Are you liking this?” she asked quietly.

“Talking and giving you orgasms? Yes!”

“Good! You don’t have breakfast with the guys this morning, right?”

“Nope. It’s Guys’ Night tonight.”

“Good! How long can you stay hard?”

“Let’s find out!” I chuckled.

The record had been back with Anala, of something past forty minutes, but I couldn’t remember exactly.

“Dinner would be at 7:00pm on the 14th. I figured that gives you time to get home from work, shower, dress, and still have enough time for us to get to Glencoe despite traffic.”

“I think so, yes.”

“What are you doing for your birthday?” she asked.

“Usually there’s a party. I’m not sure what Elyse and my wives have planned. My birthday is on a Thursday, I think, so the party would be Saturday. Why?”

“You’re going to be 30?”

“Yes.”

“I want to give you a very special birthday gift.”

“You know the rules about money,” I said.

“Oh! Speaking of money; before I forget, once the weather gets better, I need to fly. I need hours to keep my license current and get certifications.”

“That’s fine. Flying lessons are something I could see paying for if one of my kids wanted to fly, and it would fit in our budget. Not buying a plane, mind you, but the cost of renting one. And I don’t want you to lose your license!”

“Thanks. Maybe you can fly with me? I need to fly with an instructor for a refresher before I do that, but I’ll set it up in March, most likely.”

“OK.”

“So, about this present.”

“Yes?”

“So I can give you a present, so long as it’s not outrageous?”

“Yes.”

“Good!”

She wiggled again, more forcefully, ground her mons into me a bit, and had a slightly bigger orgasm.

“AND it has to follow the rules,” I added.

“I remember. It’s not that. I was wrong to even hint at it before. I really don’t want that.”

“And you talked to Abbie about it?”

Samantha giggled, “Yes. We talked about my motivations and why I was doing what I was doing.”

“With Ellie?”

“Yes, and the other girls. I wasn’t thinking clearly. She helped me figure things out. I probably shouldn’t have brought Ellie to bed with us in the first place.”

“That’s in the past. Now we focus on the present and future.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“There’s nothing to apologize for! You’re learning and adapting and adjusting. I think it’s a good thing!”

“You do?”

“Do you think your father has a conscience?”

She was quiet for a moment.

“No, I don’t think he does.”

“You do.”

She smiled and nodded, then kissed me. We lay quietly together with Samantha having a few small orgasms before she decided to give herself a big one, and me a tremendous one.

“Wow,” I chuckled. “That was awesome!”

“Forty-five minutes!” she smiled. “We should take a shower. The ‘Neighborhood Watch’ will be knocking on the door soon!”

I chuckled, “She knew I was going to get in late. But you’re probably right!”

We got out of bed and went to the shower. After our shower, we dried off, and I went across to my room to get fresh clothes. When I went downstairs, my wives and Birgit were waiting for me in the kitchen.

“Daddy!” she exclaimed.

“Hi, Pumpkin!” I said, scooping her up into my arms.

“Breakfast, Tiger?” Jessica asked.

“Yes, please!”

March 2, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“Steve, there’s an Eduardo Colón on the line for you,” Lucas said.

I had him put the call through.

“Eduardo! It’s great to hear from you! Welcome to Chicago! Or back, I guess I should say!”

“Thanks! Elyse said I should call you to set up lunch when I saw her on Sunday afternoon.”

“My schedule is wide open,” I said.

“Let’s plan for Tuesday of next week. It will be good to catch up!”

“Your office is in the First Chicago building, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s meet at Maxim’s. It’s right across the street.”

“Sounds good. See you at noon on Tuesday!”

I’d just replaced the receiver when Lucas buzzed me again to let me know that Patrick Shaughnessy was on the line.

“I have some news,” he said.

“Good or bad?” I asked.

“Neutral. The photos and negatives went to Dustin’s mom. She put them all in storage, and she’s not particularly interested in letting anyone see them, even for a story which would feature him. She didn’t say why. And pushing harder would seem suspicious.”

“Well, shit! Why is everything about this so difficult?”

“Life isn’t like television where people just do the thing or make the mistake that helps solve the mystery in 44 minutes! There are always loose ends and always things that don’t make sense. Life is, as they say, stranger than fiction.”

“Are there any other options for getting a look at those pictures?” I asked.

“Short of simply telling the truth or committing a crime? No. And I don’t know that telling the truth will make a difference.”

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked. “Any at all?”

“The only other thing I could think of was you appealing to Ms. Rizzi. But I don’t know that she would help, or if she even could help if she wanted to. And you talking to her might only make your personal situation worse. That said, she probably knows about the pictures and might have some idea why Dustin’s mom doesn’t want to show them. Or she might not. On balance, I think you just have to drop it at this point. That’s my advice as a friend. As a businessman, I’ll have my investigators do anything legal that you want us to do.”

“I’ll take your advice,” I said. “Let it go for now.”

“Sorry, Steve. If anything new comes up, give me a call and I’ll see what we can find.”

“Thanks,” I said.

I hung up and went to let Elyse know that we’d hit another dead end. She didn’t have any suggestions as to how to proceed. I let her know about my lunch plans with Eduardo, and then went back to my office.

That evening, much to my surprise, I saw that Mario Lemieux had returned to the Penguins. While they had lost to the Flyers 5-4, ESPN showed the Philadelphia fans giving him a standing ovation before the game. To me, given the animosity between the Flyers and Penguins, that was even more impressive than the fact that on the same day he’d received his last radiation treatment, Mario Lemieux had scored a goal and earned an assist.

March 4, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“So what do you think about this thing that’s going on down in Texas?” Elyse asked as we drove home from work together.

“The whack job preacher? Besides the alleged gun charges, he’s not doing anything I’m not!”

Elyse joined me laughing.

“I don’t think you’ve married any thirteen-year-olds!”

“No, but I’ve been with girls almost that young. And I do have a history of collecting girls in my compound and kids with a bunch of different women!”

“The ATF raided them for having unlicensed machine guns,” Elyse said.

“Allegedly having unlicensed machine guns,” I replied, correcting her. “I’ll wager anything you care to wager those charges are trumped up because they don’t like his religion and penchant for young girls.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes; seriously,” I said. “And now that they resisted the raid, and killed ATF agents in the process, they won’t come out of there alive.”

“What if they surrender?”

“I can’t imagine they will. After that interview that the guy, Koresh, gave to the radio station, and the stuff that was printed in the local paper, I’d say they’re in full ‘doomsday’ mode. I have this bad feeling it’s going to turn out like the Jim Jones thing in Guyana.”

“The cult that committed mass suicide?”

“Yes, the Peoples’ Temple. It just seems to have that feel. Maybe the Branch Davidians did have the automatic weapons; maybe they didn’t. I’m not sure that justifies the ATF raid in the middle of the night. And I sure as hell don’t think four dead agents is a good thing! Add in the guy the ATF killed trying to get out of the compound, and I can’t imagine this ending any other way.”

“Maybe some of the people will leave?” Elyse offered.

“Not if Koresh is a typical cult leader. Manson’s girls didn’t leave after the murders. And trust me, I’ve seen enough damaged girls in my life who would do whatever I wanted and who would basically follow me into Hell.”

“They wouldn’t murder for you!”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked.

“I’m not sure I want to think about that,” Elyse said.

“Exactly. Also, I’m going to order a new computer today. I wanted you to know about the charge before the credit card bill shows up.”

“Personal?” Elyse asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m ordering a Macintosh Quadra 800. I haven’t bought a new Mac in a long time.”

Elyse laughed, “You don’t have to justify it to me! I just need to pay the bills!”

“True!”

We arrived home and when I walked in the house, Abbie told me that Tracey Jones had called and wanted me to call her. I sighed. I knew what that meant. I went to my study and dialed the number.

“Hi,” I said. “How are you?”

“I’m OK. They don’t expect Marty to live through the night. Can you come?”

“I think so. Jessica doesn’t work tomorrow or Saturday. I’ll need to see if Kara can get someone to cover her class for her tomorrow. We’d probably need to come home Saturday night. Jessica has a shift that starts Sunday at 10:00am and it’s difficult for her to trade.”

“Even two days will help.”

“OK. Where can I reach you later?”

“Room 608 at the hospital. Let me give you the number.”

I wrote down the number and promised to call her back. I went to find Kara and told her what Tracey had asked, and she said she would make some phone calls to see if she could get a professor to cover for her. I called the hospital and talked to Jessica, and she pushed back about going.

“I only have two days off, Tiger, and traveling doesn’t give me any downtime. And I don’t really know them. Do I need to go?”

“No, you’d be going for me, more than anything.”

“If you tell me you want me to go, I will,” Jessica said. “But that’s ten hours of traveling out of my 48 off.”

“OK. Let me see what Kara has to say,” I said. “She’s trying to find someone to cover her class.”

“Did she know them?”

“Yes. So did Bethany.”

“If Kara can’t find someone to cover, maybe Bethany could go with you.”

“That makes sense, Babe. Sorry I didn’t think about you.”

“I know you promised them, so I totally understand.”

“I love you,” I said. “See you in a few hours.”

“I love you, Tiger!”