Chapter 6

“STATE POLICE have an APB out on Tom Perkins,” Reg said as he came through Brisco’s door.

“On what grounds?” Brisco asked. They’d been watching Perkins’ movements for a week now and he’d visited nearly every town with more than 1,000 people in a six-county area. Brisco wanted to close the gap and make the arrest.

“Assault and attempted murder. That last could go to murder if the girl doesn’t survive.” Reg said. “Oh, and for speeding.”

“Who’s in charge?”

“Your old friend Tom Moran,” Reg said. Brisco reached for his phone and dialed Moran’s number. It was picked up in just a couple of rings.

“Isn’t Ames a little far from your usual segment?” Brisco demanded.

“Hello to you, too, Brisco. The State is my beat; I just spend more time around Bartley County these days. What’s up?”

“Trying to find out what your interest in Tom Perkins is. We’ve been observing him for a week.”

“No kidding? Where was your observer when he threw a girl out of his car in Bartley and sped out of town?”

“Christ! He was in Bartley?” Brisco covered the phone and turned to Reg. “Find Thomas.” Reg nodded and left the office. “What’s this about a girl?” he asked, returning to the phone. “Anyone we know?”

“She’s been mentioned, but not in any direct way. Name’s Carol Reston. But get this: He dumped her right in front of the Enders’ house,” Moran said.

“Those poor people,” Brisco moaned.

“More a lucky choice. The kid probably saved her life. What’s your interest?”

“We’ve had a guy watching Perkins for a week and tailing him. It looks like Perkins is the missing link between the suppliers and the dealers. Has quite a network spread out around the western part of the state. Did you see him?”

“Your man? If he was following Perkins, he was invisible.”

“I’m on my way to Bartley. I think I know someone who might be able to shed some light on why Perkins would have come to Bartley to dump a girl.”

“I’ll see you there. I have some questions of my own.”

If word got out that Perkins was wanted, his distribution network would go to ground and they’d never ferret them out. This had all depended on sweeping them all up at once. What a mess.

And where was Agent Thomas? Something wasn’t adding up and that made Brisco very nervous.

“We have errands and stuff and have to explain to Mom and Dad about last night. I’ll swing by at five to pick you up and we’ll go to the movie in Audubon, ‘k?” Natalie went to the door and after a quick look around, Dennis snatched one of the boxes of condoms off the coffee table and handed it to her. She giggled and kissed him. “It’ll be under the front seat when we need one,” she whispered. The four girls left the house, Leanne to walk across the street to her own home and the Armors to get in the car. Dennis waved at them and went inside.

Neither Dot nor Peg had the day off and had left early enough that the five teens could fool around some more before the girls said they had to leave. What was exciting at night was even more so by day. Dennis had eaten Leanne while Natalie rode her face. No one bothered to muffle their orgasmic screams, though Roberta and Daniella were muffled in each other’s pussy as they sixty-nined. They managed quick showers with only a little fooling around and Dennis was surprised when Daniella joined him in the shower to suck him off.

After they’d left, he looked around the house and began cleaning and tidying. There were fewer overnight girls since basketball season ended and some of the housework wasn’t getting done. Dennis buckled in to do the laundry and run the vacuum. He looked at the remaining eight boxes of condoms and gathered them all up to put in his room. No one ever slept out in the living room when girls came over, so there was no sense having them out where everyone could count them. Dennis wondered when Amy had brought a box over and where she’d gotten them. He was sure the night of his birthday party, there had been only eight new boxes added to the one his mother gave him. He wondered if he should be wearing a condom when he pressed into either Brenda’s or Amy’s bottom.

He was folding laundry when Brenda called him.

“Hey, lover. How are you doing?” Dennis asked.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Brenda almost screamed. “I just found out what happened last night. That’s crazy.”

“I just didn’t have time to think, Bren. I punched the first number in my list and then I had to call 9-1-1. By the time we made it to bed, my phone was dead and I just didn’t think of calling anyone else that late at night.”

“So, you just slept with Natalie again,” Brenda sighed.

“Yeah. And Leanne and Roberta, and Daniella.”

“Gees! After doing both Amy and me until we passed out? Your dick must be ready to fall off!” Brenda laughed.

“Well, we didn’t everybody ... you know.”

“Yeah, I know. Just remember we all love you and worry about you.”

“I suppose I’d better call Diane, Judith, and Rosie, huh?”

“And Lana. They all know now, but you should still call them and tell them you love them.”

“Lana?”

“Well, maybe just that you care about her,” Brenda said. “Anyway, that DEA agent called Amy this morning and found out she was here so he came by to visit.”

“Agent Brisco? Why was he in town?”

“He’s working with the State Police investigating what happened last night. He wanted to know if we knew about a relationship between Tom and Carol. Of course, how could we not know with the way she’s always going on about it. Besides, we saw her topless in the front of his car with the Gang of Three. It was a real shock to find out she’d been dumped in front of your house.”

“Yeah. I can’t figure that out at all. I’m sure she wasn’t dumped there so I could save her. Who’d figure that I’d even try after basketball.”

“Well, that’s what I told Agent Brisco. Anybody who dumped her at your house had to figure you wouldn’t try to save her and you’d just watch her die. He was really interested in that because they think Tom was related to the drug bust in some way and that Amy might not be safe yet. He might even have gone to her house before he drove to yours,” Brenda gossiped.

“Wow! Have they caught him yet?”

“No. Not when the agent was here. He says he’s disappeared, which means we could all be in danger, including you.”

“Great. That’s just what we need. Are you and Amy okay?”

“Yes. We convinced her parents to let her spend the weekend with me. Maybe we’ll have another chance for the three of us to get together. That was really fun.”

“It was. I’m worried, though. With Amy not on the pill, I shouldn’t be fooling around with my cock down there. Maybe if she wants to play like that, I should wear a condom,” Dennis said.

“Oh. We didn’t make a big deal about it, but in the aftermath of the drug bust and running up to the tourney, I took Amy to Planned Parenthood in Des Moines. She got an implant like mine. She’s safe now,” Brenda said.

“Isn’t Planned Parenthood the abortion people?” Dennis asked.

“You, too?” Brenda sighed. “Less than three percent of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion. It’s still pretty much the only place where women can dependably get counseling, birth control, health exams, and pregnancy care. And in Iowa—at least right now—minors have full access to services without parental contact. Unless there is an abortion, in which case a parent or grandparent has to be notified. So please don’t go joining the idiots who claim Planned Parenthood is just an abortion clinic and that the government pays for abortions. It just isn’t true.”

“Gosh, Brenda. I didn’t mean to insult anyone. I didn’t know all that. Or maybe I didn’t listen closely enough in health when they did the sex ed talk.”

“Or it could be because Miss Niedermeyer whispers during that part of the class,” Brenda laughed. “She’s really old school when it comes to talking about that kind of thing, but believe me, if a girl is in need of help, she’s the first one they want to talk to.”

“So, anyway, that means Amy is on birth control. I’m relieved.”

“It’s also why there was a tenth box of condoms left on your table. Um ... Are there still ten?”

“No. You know that. Natalie and I opened a box and have used a lot of them. And, um ... she took a box to put in her car just in case we were on a date and suddenly needed one,” Dennis whispered.

“Smart thinking. There should be a box in my car and in Diane’s car in case of emergency. Not that anyone expects to use one there, but just in case.”

“I put them all in my bedroom instead of leaving them out on the table,” Dennis said.

“Where’d you put them?” Brenda asked. “Just in case we need to know.”

“In the top right drawer of my dresser,” he answered. “Along with all the girls’ panties from during basketball season.” Both laughed, said ‘I love you,’ and disconnected.

“This is Moran,” the trooper said as he answered his phone.

“Tom, it’s Ray. I think you should get out here to Sheriff Perkins’ house. We found the vehicle.” Trooper Ray Lenin had been assigned the sheriff’s house during the investigation as Moran continued to contact people known to associate with the younger Perkins. His visit with Carol Reston’s parents was disappointing. Parent. She lived with just her mother, a woman so vacuous Moran was concerned he would be sucked into her head by the vacuum. She’d listened, nodded, and said she would visit her daughter in the hospital. As soon as she had her makeup on. The rest of the conversation was unproductive.