Chapter 18: Hot Diggity, Dog Ziggity...

Nelson and Drake were usually in agreement on business matters. And they were completely simpatico regarding that enigmatic beauty, Jia Li Ch’ing.

Drake, “We have to wine and dine her.”

“Absolutely.”

The problem, the disappointing problem, was that she was a no-show at the next two charity functions where they had expected to find her. They had had one brief conversation at the Park Avenue Armory, but that was it.

When Justina turned 19, Marie came by to take her out for a birthday lunch. It was late on a Monday morning. The girl was naked from the waist up, nursing a happy, gurgling Henri Hubert Hanks. Who paused long enough to turn his head, smile, and say, “Hi, Miss Guidry.”

“Hello Henri. Justina. Tiffany.”

As Henri went back to work, Marie noticed he was wearing a bright green thong. Silk. She didn’t comment; nor did she say anything about his continued breastfeeding. That was common in the Cajun Bayous.

Marie smiled at Tiffany, “How’s tricks?”

Tiffany winked, “Sucking cock ain’t turning tricks.”

“No, you’re right.”

Justina stroked Henri’s back, “He’ll be finished in a minute, Miss Marie.”

“No hurry.”

Henri squirmed in pleasure.

Bull pulled into the porte cochere at a La Quinta Inn not far off the freeway. Madison looked straight ahead through the windshield, “Get one room.”

Bull sighed, “Logan.”

“I know he’s your friend. He was mine too. But he’s moved on.”

He returned a few minutes later, “Got a suite. There’s a fitness center, pretty small. And an outdoor pool.”

“Fine.”

At lunch, over red beans and rice, Marie handed Justina a driver’s license and a Social Security card, “Happy Birthday.”

Justina stared at the license, “It’s my name and my picture.” She looked puzzled.

“I had your birthday changed. You’re 21 now. And you were born in Sausalito General, not in the bayous.”

Justina still looked puzzled.

“You’re going to go to work at Miss Kitty’s, honey. A waitress for a month or so, then Kate’s moving you to the stage.” Marie smiled, “Your career of $5 blowjobs is over.”

The girl gasped, tears began forming as the news sunk in, “Oh My God.”

“Roy’s bookkeeping business is stalled. You need to make some serious money. With Henri and all.”

Justina leaned forward and whispered, “Is it true they get $40?”

“And sometimes a tip on top of that. You’ll be fine, just be yourself. Nice and friendly to the other girls, respectful to Kate.” She winked, “And remember to swallow.”

The girl nodded solemnly, “Oh, I always do, Miss Marie.” She placed her hand over her heart, “Ever’ time.”

Justina rushed home and told Tiffany who was babysitting Henri, “Marie got me hired on at Miss Kitty’s!”

“What? How?”

Justina showed her friend the new set of ID. Tiffany clapped her hands, “That’s wonderful, babe! Strip and I’ll Brazil you.”

Justina peeled off her clothes and hugged herself in glee. Henri was starting to stir in his room, but a bald pussy came first. Tiffany used moisturizer on the skin before she lathered her friend up. She frowned in concentration as she carefully began shaving Justina’s mons pubis.

“Is it a done deal, girlfriend?”

“Yep. Marie done told me, and she don’t lie. And Miss Broussard agreed to it. I start as a waitress, but I get to work the pole after a month or so.”

Tiffany continued going slowly, carefully, “That is so fantastic, hon.”

Justina frowned, “Only thing is, Roy’s gonna hear about it. The pole and BJ Room and all.”

“Oh, hon, our husbands know we suck cock, they just do.”

“They do?”

“Acourse. Ain’t no secrets, Sausalito. Now, what about Henri? You gonna tell him ‘bout your new job?”

“Oh, God, I didn’t think of that. Think I should?”

“Ain’t no secrets, Sausalito.” Tiffany winked, “And it ain’t like you’re working a Glory Hole over by New Orleans.”

Justina giggled, “Do people really do that?”

Tiffany nodded solemnly, “Everett’s mom — Willa — tole me he tole her he goes to this adult arcade five, six days a week. Blows tourists and college kids and high school students, they manage to sneak in.”

“Huh.”

“Willa told me once she come to grips, him being a queer and all, she’s kinda proud of him. Showing some initiative. Sucking cocks five, six days a week.”

“He get paid, Everett?”

“Tips only. Usually $5 or $10. Once he got $50 and Willa like to bust a gut.” Tiffany winked, “That Everett always been her favorite.” She nodded, “The youngest. That’s just the way it is, some moms.”

They heard Henri hop out of bed and start clomping around. Tiffany said, “Flip over, I’ll do your butt too.”

Madison grinned over at Bull in the La Quinta king-sized bed, “Okay, it was a rebound fuck. But still pretty good, right?”

He pretended to take the question seriously, “Rebound fuck or revenge fuck?”

She slid her hand under the sheet, “Hmm. good question — we’d better do some additional lab work.”

Twenty minutes later, Madison said, “It sounds silly, but it’ll be easier for me to face her now.” Marie.

“Okay.”

“Can you spend a night or two with me in Sausalito? Or do you have to rush back?”

Bull grinned, and tongued his way down her body — his turn to make a move, “I can be enticed.”

Apache cruised the streets of Baltimore, not really expecting to spot the bitch. And, he was antennae-twitch aware that this could be a trap. But that blurry photo was all he had. That, and Baltimore was a logical hiding place, only 40 miles north of DC.

As they continued their way down to Sausalito, Madison said, “So, what do you do for money? Myself, I live off Popsicle.”

“I lead a quiet life. Boring work.”

“Tell me.”

“I was a data analyst for Citi.”

“In New York?”

“Yep. I analyzed data.”

“Don’t go so fast, Bull. As a data analyst, you analyzed data?”

“Do you want to hear about client-facing reports as opposed to internal spreadsheet insights?”

“Never mind.”

“That’s what my wife said.”

“You’re married?” Madison asked the question with some mild interest and zero concern.

“She left me for a taller man.”

“That can be important for ballroom dancing. So, what do you do now? Besides seducing your best friend’s wife?”

“I warned you, it’s boring.”

“So bore me.”

“At Citi, one of the industries I did a deep dive into was storage.”

“Like when people get divorced?”

“Like that. Although in my case, I let Jo have everything.”

“That’s really good to know, Bull. In case I decide to marry you. So, storage.”

“The growth rate has been fairly steady. Construction costs aren’t high — I started a modular factory and just ship units out. Land is relatively cheap — you don’t need prime locations.”

Madison considered this. Like her father, she was interested in how things — real-life things — worked. “So, you buy land, ship storage modules there, assemble the buildings and open your door for business.”

“That’s about it. I have a forensic auditor who does surprise visits. I told her if the employee theft-rate is under 5% to let it go.”

“Yawn.”

Lacy Danube called Logan, “My guy leaked the photo to a low-level cretin. Who passed it along to a sweetheart named Goose-Step Gorman.”

“Who informed Apache.”

“That’s the bet. Anyway, I’m on the way to Baltimore. Late this evening, after dark.”

“Remember, Apache saw you in Wyoming. Three times, two different looks.”

“You’re sweet when you’re concerned. Not very bright, but sweet.”

Logan was startled at the image on the Baltimore security video. First, because Lacy Danube had somehow managed to bypass the parking garage system and was now in the underground passageway leading to the Daltons’ apartment building.

But more than that was Lacy’s physical transformation. Other than being a couple of inches taller than Madison, she looked remarkably like Ethan’s daughter.

Logan sighed, partly in admiration, partly in awe.

How would an outside observer, say a professional sociologist from somewhere up in New England, describe the culture down in the Cajun Bayous? ‘Primitive’ would come up. As would ‘unique’.

But the prevailing descriptive would probably be ‘casual’. A byproduct of both ‘social and geographic isolation’.

There hadn’t been any sort of church in the overwhelmingly Catholic bayous for years and years. Yet, families formed, children were born. The term ‘common-law wife’ was unknown in the bayous. So, men and women simply moved in together, had kids, raised them as best they could.

Divorce? There were no attorneys living in the bayous, nor any need for their services. When a couple split up, they simply split up. A ‘husband’ might move in with his new girlfriend. A ‘wife’ with her new boyfriend.

Their kids? Used to family fluidity, they would usually just tag along with the mother. No muss, little fuss.

Education? Equally casual. The one-room schoolhouse was open year round, but attendance was spotty because kids were needed to work, to fish, to trap, to hunt.

The teacher, Monsieur LeBlank — Jonny LeBlank — had a laissez faire attitude toward both attendance and the curriculum he taught. Johnny was a second cousin, maybe third, to Maurice LeBlank, the pharmacist in town.

With approval from the vast majority of parents, he let each student decide to study whatever interested them the most. A few liked to read; the little library was surprisingly well stocked, thanks to donations from the Sausalito Public Library.

For additional reading material, there were what the kids called dirty magazines. In town, one of the worst-kept secrets was the curtained Porn Section in Theriot’s Drugstore. Even with all the digital porn available for free, Elsie Theriot told her friends, “I still sell a lot of smut.”

Every month or so, Elsie scissored the magazine titles off the front covers so the wholesale distributor would give her refunds on the unsold copies. Either Rémy or Marie would take the leftover pubs down to the bayou school and give them to Jonny.