An Old Acquaintance

Excerpt from Hag's Hollow Chapter Six "Going Nowhere Fast":

"I’ve banged a lot of broads, from eighteen to eighty, and let me tell you Nory was the best. The absolute best.” The man licked his lips, grinning like some kind of perverted porno star.

“Doesn’t it bother you that you steal other men’s wives?” The question was driven more from curiosity than being case related.

“You can’t steal what’s freely given.”

“So why go to the husband and ask for her personal things? Seems like she might be shacking up with you.”

“Aw, hell no. Nicky doesn’t shack up with any woman. That would cramp my style. I mean, nothing scares away the Betties like having a live-in girlfriend anchoring you down.” The man scoffed his disdain at such a suggestion.

“So why ask for the items?” Greg was getting nowhere.

“For the psychic. Madam Zola. She needed some personal stuff to really zone in on Nory. So I asked numbnuts Neesh for some items. I didn’t expect him to toss all of her shit out onto the lawn. I took everything in case Nory comes back.”

“Let’s go back to Madam Zola. You cared enough about Nory to hire a psychic?”

“Cared about Nory?  Yeah. . . no. Honestly, I just couldn’t imagine going through life without doing the horizontal hula hoop with that woman again. I was strictly thinking with my pecker.”

“So what happened with Madam Zola?”

“Oh, I nailed her. Surprisingly, she was a real dead fish. Just laid there like a board so I ghosted her. You really don’t expect that from the fat girls.” The scuzzy man shook his head in disappointment.

“That’s not what I meant.” Greg was getting frustrated with the perverted tow truck driver. I need to remember to tell Jenny never to call Meredith Towing. “Did the psychic come up with any leads?”

“Oh. Yeah, she said exactly what I told her I suspected. Neesh killed Nory and buried her in his backyard.”

“And Madam Zola still has Nory’s personal items?”

“Yes, most of them. Except for the panties. I kept those for me. My little souvenir of our tryst.” The man acted like he was grabbing a woman and thrusted his hips a couple of times. “I tell ya, that Nory was the best. A real teeth rattler.”

“Do you have any evidence of any of this?”

“Oh, yeah, take a look in here.” Nicky opened the tow truck door and popped open the glovebox. At least twenty pairs of panties, of all shapes and sizes, spilt out. “I keep evidence of it all.”

Greg quickly left. He couldn’t shake off the feeling he needed a long shower after talking to the nasty manwhore, Nicky Meredith.

New Chapter Lair Of The Seductress:

Not much had been learned from the alleyway meeting. And after Satin Boxers, the name the Task Force Ash members had started calling Lilith’s latest victim, had been found there had been no new victims. When Greg pulled into the police station he saw a Meredith tow truck parked in the lot. Oh, this should be interesting. 

Greg found a very familiar, albeit nervous looking, man waiting for him in his office. He had only met Nick Meredith one time, but there was no mistaking the wavy blond hair and bushy mustache. The man reminded Greg of Bo Duke from the old Dukes Of Hazzard series.  

The ruggedly handsome man wore oily gray overalls and had to be pushing thirty by now. He was wiggling about in the chair and the second Greg entered, he rose and extended an oil-stained hand.  

“Do you remember me, Chief?”

How could I not? Greg shook the man’s hand and took a seat behind his desk. “Of course, Mr. Meredith. What can I do for you?”

“I need protection, man. Real protection.” Nicky looked scared. 

I’m sure you do. Greg couldn’t help but remember how promiscuous the man was. “Protection? From who?”

“From that crazy lady killer. The one who’s carving up the men around these parts. I met her. Now she’s after me.” Nicky took a big gulp and stared at Greg wide-eyed.

“Now slow down and let’s back up.” Greg leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk. “First, how do you know about this crazy lady?”

“Seriously, Chief? It’s all over the news, not to mention all of the townsfolk are talking about it.”

“I don’t have much time for television. So, tell me how you met her.” 

“I was returning with a tow from over in Colville, an abandoned car removal, when I saw this pretty young redhead hitchhiking. Skinny, tight, and so damn yummy; just the way ol’ Nicky likes em. Anyways, being a good citizen, I pulled over to offer her a ride. Of course, one look at the ol’ Nickster, and she hopped right in.”

“Of course.” Greg fought back the urge to roll his eyes. 

“So, there I am driving around the cutest thing this side of the Mississippi. She’s staring at me, and I’m just sitting there trying to figure out how to get her panties off. I’m about to drop one of my best lines on her, when she says, ‘You wanna pull over and fuck?’ Just like that. I thought we were soul mates because that sweet piece was reading my mind.” 

“What happened next?” Greg really wanted the man to get to the point. 

“What happened next? What do you think happened next? Hell, I nearly tore the tires off my tow truck pulling onto the shoulder. We climbed into the backseat and started swapping spit. Damn boy, I could draw a picture of her tongue for you, if you know what I mean.”

“I do. So, did you two have sex?” He shouldn’t be alive if they did. “If so, I don’t really need all of the graphic details.”

“That’s just it, Chief. This is where things started to get weird.”

“How so?”

“Well, she started asking questions. Annoying shit. She got all talky, wanting to know if I had a girlfriend or wife. She wanted to know if I felt guilty about picking up a stranger and screwing her on the side of the road. I told her hell no, but her lips were intoxicating, and all I could think about was sharing my boner with her.”

Damn this guy is such a pig. I guess some people never change. “Do you have a girlfriend? Did you get back with Nory Ticwtkwa after I rescued her?”

“Nah. I mean I nailed her a couple of times after the whole kidnapping thing, but she ended up going back to that slob, Neesh.”

“Her husband?” 

“Yeah. Can you friggin believe that? She’s wasting all that wild native sex on a lardass like him. I was willing to share her, but after she refused to answer fifty or sixty of my calls, I gave up on her. Ol’ Nicky ain’t beggin’ no woman for the poon. Way too many fish in the sea to batter.”

Batter? This guy is such a cretin. “Let’s get back to the hitchhiker, Nick.”

“Oh, yeah. So we’re in the backseat of my tow truck and I’m petting her like a kid who just picked up a new pooch from the pound, but she won’t shut up. All the guilt talk was deflating my tire if you know what I mean. Finally, I told her that ol’ Nicky never feels any guilt about tearing up a new piece of ass.”

Greg just shook his head. 

“Then I saw that tattoo. The one they keep showing on the news.”

“The tattoo?” Who freaking leaked that information?

“Yeah, the heart with the horns and wings. I was trying to release her bra and I saw it on her lower back in the light of my phone.”

Greg pulled a sheet of paper from his desk drawer and showed it to the man. “This one?”

“Yep, that’s it. Right where I like to make my deliveries.”

Greg had to fight the urge to hit the man. “What happened next?’

“Well, I realized I was with the crazy man killer, and after fighting her off, I threw her out of my truck and barely escaped with my life.”

Bullshit. “Now, how about the real story, Nicky? If she wanted you dead, you would be. How’d the encounter really end?”

“Okay, okay. I didn’t actually know that was the crazy woman’s tattoo until I saw it on the news the next day. I really had no clue.” 

“So how did it end?” Don’t tell me Lilith has taste. 

Nick’s cheeks flushed red and he looked anywhere but at Greg. “That broad demanded I let her out. She totally lost interest. Lost interest in me? How is that possible?” 

Greg just stared at him. This fella’s incredible.  

Nick Meredith shook his head. “I mean, look at me, Chief. I’m A+ prime beef filet mignon.”

“Are you serious right now?” Greg was the one shaking his head at this point. “You got damn lucky. If she’d slept with you you’d be dead.”

“I suppose, but it’s still a little embarrassing.”

“So, if you didn’t know she was the killer, and she let you go, then why’d you think she’s after you?”

“Madam Zola told me.” Nick shrugged.

“You’re still seeing Madam Zola? I remember you’d said you weren't into her because of her weight.” Greg frowned.  

“Well, she’s persistent, Chief.” Nick grinned. “Besides, even the big dogs need a bone every now and then. Who am I to deny them? So, I bounce her around sometimes.”

I really want to get to the end of this. “And how does Zola know the killer’s still after you?”

“She did a reading and told me that the death card came up. She said I’m doomed.” Nicky sighed. “So, I’m here to get some protection.”

Greg let out a longer, more frustrated sigh. “Nick, you don’t need protection. From your own admissions, the killer obviously passed on you.”

“Well, what about Madam Zola’s reading?”

Greg laughed. “Madam Zola’s a fake. She tells you what she thinks you want to hear.” 

“A fake? No way, Chief.” The man looked astonished. “Just last week she told me that my life was going to change and it did.”

“How so?” This interview has been going on for thirty minutes and that’s just about thirty minutes too long by my calculations.

The pervy man held both hands up, aiming his pointer fingers at his hair.

“What?”

“What? I got a gray hair. Now I’m gonna have to start dyeing it. I’m turning into my daddy.” Nick grimaced.