Chapter 12: Help From an Unexpected Source

“What was really going on at the bachelor party on Saturday night, Mr. Reed?”

I shrugged, “Bachelor party, lots of drinking, a few guys got argumentative and crude. Billy Newman started to say lots of crude statements about Sheila, Derek Bishop’s fiancée, even suggesting that he’d already fucked her dozens of times in public places, and how she gave great blowjobs to anybody that asked. I’d had nothing to drink, saw little humor in his remarks, suggested that he withdraw and stop taunting the man that’s supposedly his friend. He got belligerent, I said a few more words about him being an asshole to try to stop him, but he pulled a knife. I took the knife away from him. He broke a beer bottle to use the jagged glass as a weapon against me. That was when I broke his right arm, but he didn’t apparently feel much pain. He’d been drinking Jack Daniels shots.

“Newman continued his slanderous and crude remarks and I continued to verbally react to his remarks. I was raised to defend a woman’s honor. Derek was out of it. I called Billy a few choice names. He left the house, and apparently got a gun from his car. The next I knew he was aiming the gun at me and tried to shoot at me. The safety was on, thank God. As he struggled to get the safety latch in the off position, I drew my weapon and pointed it at his forehead; I threatened him and asked him to put the weapon away. He didn’t. He turned the safety off and got the gun into his good hand. I saw his left finger go into the trigger housing as he raised the gun at me, so I shot him in that shoulder. He dropped the gun and I kicked it away from him. The next person to touch that gun was one of your patrolmen.

“I’d already asked Aaron Brady to call 9-1-1 about Billy’s broken arm. I told him to call back about the gun wound. We needed police and an ambulance. I didn’t think I’d fatally shot him, but I wanted to be sure he got immediate medical attention. You guys showed up, and know what happened the rest of the night.”

Detective Lieutenant Mike Stuttgart studied me. He was in civilian clothes with his badge and ID hanging from a leather flap tucked into his belt.

Stuttgart finally spoke again, “Let me tell you what I think really happened that night. There were two or three women at the party – whores or escorts or whatever you want to call them. They were the risqué entertainment at the bachelor party. You were there as their escort and protection from unruly celebrants.

“William Newman, or Billy as you call him, got unruly with one of the women. You stepped in and he did something or threatened you and you broke his arm. He was pissed, so he got his gun. The next scene was him trying to shoot you, as you said, and you took out his one good arm. A wise move rather than homicide, Mr. Reed. Had you killed him; the DA would have wanted something more from all this. Every person we’ve talked to said you acted in self-defence.”

I shrugged, “Lots of other possible stories could be made up to describe what happened, too.” I smiled, “I’m stickin’ with my version of things.”

Stuttgart smiled knowingly. “The telltale signs to back up my version were the bowl full of condoms and the mug full of Viagra on the dining room table. Don’t see many of those at an all-male bachelor party. Also, I would have expected at least one poker game to be underway, but nothing like that either.”

I nodded, “Interesting leap of faith, there. I don’t know what else Aaron does in his spare time, though.”

There was tap on the door and the other detective came in for a second and gestured at Stuttgart to step out of the room. I tried to remain relaxed, knowing I was probably under observation through the large one-way mirror reflecting into the room. I studied my right hand and waited.

Stuttgart came back about five minutes later. He was carrying a plastic bag containing my Glock 30, with the magazine separated from the weapon, and the remaining bullets removed from the magazine.

The detective set the gun on the table in front of me. “This is your gun, correct?”

“I’d have to verify the serial number, but I’d say yes. It’s the correct model.”

“And you admit to shooting Mr. Newman in self-defence?”

“I do. If I hadn’t, I would be dead and he’d be up for murder charges.”

Stuttgart nodded with a sage expression on his face. He said, “You have friends in high places. You may take your weapon and leave. I doubt we’ll be talking with you further, but we do know how to get in touch. You’ve been very accommodating in that regard.”

“Thank for your efforts to protect and serve. Our community is better because of it.”

Stuttgart smirked, “Tell your lady friends to pick their occasions more carefully.”

“If I had lady friends, as you suggest, I would have certainly made that recommendation by now.” I smiled as I removed the gun and put it in my empty holster. I put the magazine and bullets in my pocket. I was sure he didn’t want me wandering around inside his police station with a loaded weapon.

“Take care, Mr. Reed.”

“You, too, Detective Stuttgart. Nice meeting you. Perhaps again sometime, under better circumstances.”

I left the police station, got in my car and drove back to campus. I had just enough time to park and run to my Electrical Network Solutions class.

I got home from my afternoon class at six o’clock. Allie was there and had dinner duty that night. We were having a turkey loaf from our slow cooker. We were spending as much on food in a week as I’d been spending in almost a year only a short time earlier before I’d started being an escort.

Allie hugged and kissed me. We were getting quite domestic. She smiled. “You’re off and scot-free, right? No more police problems?”

“True. You seem to know something in that regard.”

“Our friend Tish called up to schedule us with Barbara and her for the coming Friday evening. I recounted to them what happened and where you were at that moment. She asked a few questions, and then rang off. I had the feeling that Barbara was going to call somebody. Tish rang back a half-hour later and assured me that you were ‘free and clear’ as she said. I was sure she’d done something. Barbara has a lot of pull in this community.”

“The detective commented that I had friends in high places. I guess Barbara called in a chit so I wasn’t unduly detained. My next step would have been to get a lawyer if they’d pushed a little harder. I figured if I did that, they’d consider me guilty of something. I stuck to my story, but there was some evidence that there’d been women at the party – hard to refute, but I didn’t get into a debate with him about his accurate suppositions.”

The rest of the week flew by, and I aced two quizzes in my CS and EE courses. I had this dream of a 4.00 semester, but I knew it was elusive given my likely performance on midterms and final exams.

Friday at five o’clock, Allie and I rang the doorbell at Barbara’s majestic condominium. She was on the eighteenth floor of the tallest building in the city overlooking the marina and a good portion of the city. She’d mentioned that she had about 5,000 square feet. The lot my parent’s house sat on wasn’t that large.

Tish answered and threw herself in my arms and we kissed. Allie was next. The aroma of something cooking reached us and I started to salivate. “That smells wonderful, whatever it is.” I noted that Tish was only wearing tiny athletic shorts and a singlet with huge openings for her arms that barely covered her boobs.

“Mom’s making paella. It’s been cooking all afternoon and we can barely wait to eat. Cocktails and conversation first, however.”

Barbara appeared at the doorway to her kitchen wearing an apron and little else. I grinned and went and hugged her.

I said with a grin, “Did you call somebody and have them stop hassling me at the start of the week?”

Barbara blushed and nodded. “I know the sheriff. We’ve dated at some charity events and I’ve contributed generously to his re-election campaigns in the past. He also may have even been in my bed a time or two. I just suggested that if there was any question as to your veracity, I’d vouch for you, get you a superb attorney, and that they try not to make some trumped up charge or story stick where it shouldn’t. I told him you were a very close friend.”

I kissed the older woman and she ground her mons into my leg with the apron in the way.

“Is this the new way we cook around here?” I patted her sweet butt.

She nodded again. “I wanted to be fully available to you.”

“Do you want to do something now, or wait until after dinner.”

“After dinner. We waited to start drinking.” In seconds, she’d presented me with my wine cooler – white wine over ice, that was my drink of choice because it sated my thirst and lasted longer than a normal glass of wine and tasted better than straight water.

Barb wanted to hear what had happened the previous weekend evening first hand. I told her the unexpurgated version, emphasizing that we didn’t want the girls brought up on solicitation charges. She laughed.

“You don’t think this guy Billy Newman will come after you?”

“He was very drunk and had lost all sense of reason. Sober, I bet he’ll rethink what happened, especially with a broken arm and seriously damaged shoulder as a result of his drunken hot-headedness.”

We went on to other topics.

Barbara said, “I would like to take Allie and you down to a vacation place I have on the island of St. Aidan’s in the Caribbean. I was hoping to fit that in just before Christmas, after classes end. Tish checked the school calendar. Oh, we want at least two more men, and even a couple of couples, if you want to involve any friends.”

I glanced at Allie and she was nodding. “We’ll need to let our parents know, but we could still be home for the holiday.”

I said to Barbara, “Count on it. Sounds delicious. Lots of sun and sex, I assume?”