Chapter 46

Bryant was only a few minutes away from the diner when his phone rang again.

"When I said you would distract her that wasn't what I meant," Jan said.

"Jesus Christ!" Bryant fumed. "She was like a dog in heat."

"A bitch in heat," Jan corrected with a laugh. "At least you made it out of there with your virtue intact. But I have to tell you, I don't want those fingers anywhere near me until you dip them in acid or something."

"I already scrubbed the hell of out them with the antibacterial wipes from the glove box," Bryant said. "Then I wiped my lips off too."

"Yuck," Jan said. Bryant thought she was taking entirely too much pleasure from this. A troubling thought hit him and he immediately pulled off the road. "I'll call you back."

Bryant hoped fervently that the woman hadn't planted some sort of listening device in the vehicle. If she had, she'd heard every word he'd just said and the whole sting was over. He searched frantically in the door console, under the seat and under the dash but found nothing. He still didn't want to take any chances so he stayed outside of the vehicle while he dialed Jan's number.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I was worried about some sort of listening device in the car," he admitted.

"Damn, you're paranoid," Jan replied.

"It was just too, I don't know, over the top," Bryant said. "She had to be faking and the only reason I can think of is so she could get into my vehicle."

"I think she's just a horny slut," Jan replied. "She took a vibrator out of her glove box and shoved it up that nasty cunt before she drove away."

"That's gross, Jan," Bryant answered.

"I am not kidding you in the least," Jan informed him. "She was still in her car when we left the diner. She pulled a pink dildo out of the glove box, licked it like it was a Popsicle and then shoved it inside of her. The plastic will probably rot before she gets home."

"How in the hell am I going to fend her off for another month?" Bryant wondered.

"We'll figure that out during our meeting," Jan announced. "I think we're coming up on you now. Yep, stay there, I'm pulling over."

Jan's car stopped behind Bryant's and she got out.

"Poor Herman," she said. "I've never seen a man's face turn that red. The bitch saw him looking at her dildo performance and she gave him a smirk and a shrug before she drove off."

"He's lucky she didn't drag him in the car for a snack," Bryant said. "Jesus, I feel sorry for those girls tonight."

"That's why I suggested you help her out," Jan said. "But I'm still not going to kiss you until you wash your face, brush your teeth and boil your hands."

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wiped my mouth with the antibacterial wipes," Bryant said, chuckling slightly. Jan leaned forward and took a sniff. She pulled away with a look on incredulity on her face.

"That has to taste awful!" she said.

"Tastes better than her twat," Bryant rejoined.

"You didn't go down on her did you?" Jan asked.

"God, no!" Bryant replied. "She sucked my fingers after I was done. Then she kissed me when I dropped her off at the restaurant."

Jan wrinkled her nose.

"I heard her little comment about sucking a guy after he pulls out of her," Jan said. "It sounded disgusting until I realized it's no different than kissing you after you go down on me. I don't mind that at all."

"I don't mind that, with you, either," Bryant replied. "The operative words being 'with you'."

"Sweet talk me all you want, Mister," Jan said, punching him on the arm. "That's still as close as I get to you until you shower."

"At least we've moved away from boiling my body in hot oil," Bryant said with a smile. "Are you coming over tonight?"

"I'll be down right after work," she confirmed. "I wish I could just come with you now but I have to take Herman home."

"No problem," Bryant said. "Jan, I'm sorry about today. I hope you know it wasn't anything I wanted to do."

"Oh, I know," Jan said. "I looked at your pants when she pulled you out the door. You weren't even hard."

She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Herman was looking the other way so she put her hand on Bryant's crotch and rubbed him lightly. He immediately stiffened beneath her hand.

"You're bad," Bryant said. "Six months ago, you wouldn't even touch my hand and now you're giving me a hand job on the side of the road."

"If Herman wasn't with me, I'd do more than that," Jan said with a smile. "Now, when you get back to Scottsville, I want you to wait a half hour and then log on. If she is there keep her occupied. Don't turn her on or anything. Chat about Courtney's injury and rant about your ex-wife or something. Give those kids a chance. If you miss the task force meeting I'll fill you in when I get there. Well, after we get naked for a little while first."

"Thanks, Jan," Bryant said. "I was really worried that you might get rid of me because of this. I know it has to be difficult to watch me feeling up Cassidy and listening to me feeling up that awful woman."

"It's fine," Jan said. "I understand that undercover work is like this. If the situations were reversed, I'm sure you'd be okay with me doing what was required of me."

"I doubt it," Bryant admitted.

"Well, yeah, I'm not really okay with it, either," she told him. "But when I consider that the alternative is to leave those two girls to a life of utter depravity I put myself aside for a little while and deal with it. This isn't going to affect us, Bryant. I give you my word."

Melinda Pahl wasn't online when Bryant got home – or if she were it was under a different user name than the one Bryant knew about. Images of what Hope and Destiny might be being subjected to flashed through Bryant's mind as he showered and changed clothes.

The afternoon had been an utter failure on his part. He had not secured Vic's full name nor the names of the victims. He hadn't gotten even a photo of Melinda herself without the wig, makeup and contact lenses. On the drive home, he realized that he had wiped away any DNA sample that she had willingly provided.

Bryant felt nothing but dejection as he logged onto the computer to video-conference with the task force.

"Did you make additional contact with her?" Jan asked.

Only four people knew of the outcome of the meeting: Jan and Herman because they were there; Holly because Jan had called her to move the phone call up; and the FBI liaison who had made arrangements with the hospital to answer the call as they had and alerted the school to get the return number of anyone attempting to contact the school nurse, whose real name -- sadly enough -- was Sherry Wine. The rest just knew that outside of Jan securing fingerprints the day was unsuccessful.

"She wasn't online," Bryant said glumly. "I'm still watching for her but I don't hold out much hope."

Herman Tallmadge cleared his throat. The computer camera was set at the head of the table and Bryant could everyone sitting there with notebooks out.

"May I assume, Chief, that you were exchanging telephone numbers when Chief Elliot and I arrived this morning?" he asked hesitantly.

"Shit!" Bryant said. "I didn't even think of that."

"I don't think anyone would fault you for being out of sorts," Herman continued. "The day did not go as any of us had anticipated. The children are probably just now home from school so I suggest you might telephone her at this point. I believe Chief Elliot and I can offer the salient points to the task force while you attend to the safety of the children."

"He's right, Bryant," Jan cut in. "We're running her fingerprints through the FBI database now. I got a good clean set from her right hand – three fingers and a thumb. That will take some time but I'll fill you in on later tonight."

"Okay," Bryant said. "If you need me for anything, buzz me and I'll switch over. I'm not really as bad with a cell phone as I let on. If you hadn't secured fingerprints I was going to have them taken from my phone."

"That was a good plan," Herman said, offering a rare smile at the camera – and by extension, Bryant.

"One of the few I came up with today," Bryant replied, shaking his head. "I'll talk to you later."

He closed the window and pulled out his cell phone. Melinda answered on the first ring.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She's okay," Bryant replied, "a little woozy and slightly embarrassed but nothing major. They didn't keep her at the hospital."

"That's good," Melinda said. There seemed to be actual relief in her voice. "Is she there with you?"

"It's her mother's weekend," Bryant told her. "That bitch waltzed in there like the Queen of Siam – after being completely out of contact all fucking day – and just pushed me aside to tend to Courtney. I thought about just snapping her fucking neck and leaving her on the floor for the doctor's to deal with."

"Merton, don't say things like that," Melinda said.

"If I would have killed her the first time it crossed my mind, I'd probably be out on parole by now," he said with a forced chuckle. "How are you doing?"

"A lot less manic than when I left you," Melinda replied. "I really want to apologize. I'm not really like that. I mean, I sort of am. I like sex. I won't lie to you about it. I really like the feelings from it. I think I just spent most of the night fantasizing about you – and the entire drive up there, too. When you walked through the door my mind just went blank. I saw you standing there, silhouetted with the sun at your back. You looked so imposing, so dangerous. But I know that you're gentle and caring. It was like all the fantasies I've had were suddenly coming true and I couldn't breathe. I hope that you'll forgive me for behaving like that."

"Aw, shucks," Bryant said. "After a while you sort of get used to beautiful women throwing themselves at your feet. I had two or three nurses offer me a sponge bath while I was looking in on my daughter."

Melinda knew the guy was making light of the situation so she wouldn't feel bad about what happened. If he only knew ... the only thing she felt badly about was the whole plan didn't get accomplished. She still believed she had accomplished enough to push him in any direction she wanted him to go – if only in the vain hope that he might get to see the animal inside of her come out again.

"Thank you, Merton," Melinda purred. "I'm glad this isn't going to end what we seem to be starting."

"It's not," Bryant said quickly. "I should probably let you off the phone. I'm sure the girls are going to be home soon and you'll want to see how their day went. I picture you as the type of mom who sits down with them after school and talks about their day over a glass of milk and plate of cookies. Am I right?"

"I wish," Melinda told him. "Those girls are so active. Tonight they're at community choir practice until supper. Tuesdays and Thursdays its soccer practice. Weekends are traveling to soccer games and visits to friends' houses. I sometimes wonder if I'm their mother or their chauffeur."

"I felt the same way when Courtney was that age," Bryant replied. "She didn't appreciate it until she got a little perspective a year or so later. I'm sure Hope and Destiny will come around, too. They seem like great kids."

"I'm glad you think so," Melinda said. "Their names are Ashlynn and Danielle. Ashlynn is the older one. She'll be 12 in March. Danielle just turned 10 in September."

"Those are lovely names," Bryant said. He wished he had his second cell phone with him so he could text the information to Jan.

"Is it wise for them to be involved in so many things?" Bryant asked.

"What do you mean?" Melinda replied, even though she knew exactly what he meant.

"I mean, don't you worry about them saying something or someone finding out?" Bryant pushed.

"I don't worry at all," Melinda said. "They're good girls and they understand the importance of keeping secrets. Do you worry about Courtney saying something?"

"All the time," Bryant said. "I worried the whole way back that the trip to the hospital was just some sort of ruse. I looked all around the parking lot for cops before I went inside. They have security at the doors and I about crapped when I saw the guy – and he was probably 60 years old."

"That will pass once the guilt passes," Melinda informed him. "Right now you think you're doing something harmful to your child so you worry that she will tell on you. In a few months, you'll understand that she doesn't view it as something bad but as something really good. She isn't interested in losing what she has so she won't tell anyone – because she knows the consequences. Can I assume that you've explained the consequences to her?"

"She's 14, Melinda," Bryant countered. "She explained the consequences to me. She's heard all about 'good touch, bad touch' since she was in preschool. Her mother and I sat her down when she was starting to primary school and filled her in on anything she missed. Every year they have a symposium at school to talk about abuse. The one at the high school this year covered not only physical and sexual abuse from parents but also date rape and abusive boyfriends. It was part of the orientation program so I got to sit there and listen to it, too. Our relationship had begun just a few weeks earlier and I felt like shit the whole time. She and I have always been able to talk about most things so we discussed it on the way home. It helped assuage my fears but I still worry."

Bryant decided this was a good point to stop the conversation for a moment so he could talk to Jan before the task force wrapped up.

"I have another call coming in," he said. "Oh, it's my ex-wife so I better take it in case it's an update on Courtney. Can I put you on hold for a moment? I won't be long."

"Sure, Merton," Melinda said.

Bryant put the call on hold and telephoned Jan.

"Ashylnn, no spelling, and Danielle are the girls' names," Bryant informed her. "She says they are involved in a lot of community events – choir and soccer. I'm not sure I believe her. She seems like too much of a control freak to let them have that much autonomy. But it's something to check out."

"Good work," Jan said as she passed the information along to the rest of the group. Regina left immediately to run the names through the FBI's database on Missing and Exploited Children. "We're wrapping up here. Regina is going to wait for the fingerprint analysis to come back but I'll be down to see you in half an hour or so."

"I'm going to keep her on the phone so come in quietly," Bryant said. "She said the kids are at choir practice but I'm not sure of that."

"Good plan," Jan replied. "You realize that you can't keep her on the phone forever."

"I know but I told her I had to take a call from my ex-wife," Bryant told her. "I let her think that the woman had waltzed into the hospital and taken over after disappearing all afternoon. This should give me something else to rail about. I'm sure I can vent until you get here and maybe by then Ole Vic will be home to absorb some of the sting."

"I'll see you soon," Jan told him.

Bryant managed to keep Melinda on the phone until he heard Jan coming through the backdoor to the house. She motioned for him to stay silent and she wrote a note on a piece of paper.

"Your house is being watched," she wrote.

Bryant looked up in shock but kept up his end of the conversation.

"I've called the local police and they are on their way," Jan wrote. "I'm almost positive it's Vic. We'll know soon enough."

Sure enough flashing lights could be seen outside of his windows.

"Oh, shit!" Bryant said into the phone. "Oh, shit! The cops are here."

"Cops?" Melinda asked, stunned by the news. "Are you sure?"

"There are flashing blue lights outside my fucking house!" Bryant said, panic evident in his voice. "I'll bet Courtney said something when she was woozy. Oh, shit! I wonder if they did some sort of test at the hospital. I am so screwed. I'm sorry, Melinda. I have to go."

"Wait!" Melinda said frantically. "Promise you won't say anything about us."

"I won't," Bryant pledged. "Uh, this might be the last time we get to talk so I'll tell you how glad I am I met you."

"Me, too, Merton," Melinda said. It was obvious that she was scared now, which caused Bryant to smile slightly.