Synopsis: The last chapter opened with Sandra telling Jim and Bette that Jeff had "come out," and given over to his homosexual instincts.
Jim and Bette have gone to a party at Satin Studios. Su Lin and Stick are there, as is Cynthia, Hollywood's "most famous madam" who is eager to obtain Bette for her stable of working girls. Feeling cornered, Jim decides to look around. He believes this is the moment of truth.
Chapter 14: Paying the Piper
I laid in that rumpled bed for a long time, trying to sort things out. First, I tried to make sense out of some of the things Cynthia had said. When she mentioned two girls, I had assumed, somehow, that she knew about Louise. But then she had referred to `the girl who gives head' I now realized she had been referring to Sandy. They thought Sandy was tricking for me.
There was also the question about where Cynthia had gotten her information. While it seemed likely it was Carol, I failed to see why she would have been so free with such sensitive information, unless the two were linked in some way: a prostitution ring perhaps, or possibly something more sinister.
I remembered Bucky's warning, and I felt a thrill of terror as I thought of Carmine and Richard. I had thought that by coming to the party, I would somehow force a showdown, but I had not seen either of them.
Now that I thought of it, except for his brief appearance as master of ceremonies, I had seen neither Steve nor Carol. Steve had not been much in evidence during my two previous visits; I knew now that he was indulging his voyeuristic impulses by taping various sexual activities, especially the group orgies, but Carol was usually around the party somewhere. I hadn't even seen her tonight.
Much as I hated to do it, I had to get out of the room and mingle. I knew that most people, by this time, would be naked and would probably be congregating around the bar in the kitchen. I began to get out of bed, but then I stopped. I was caught in an odd psychological dilemma.
I was comfortable enough with social nudism, but the thought of doing something dangerous without my pants protecting me seemed oddly preposterous. I suppose that was, in part, a throwback to the days when warriors protected their private parts with armor, and partly, because I knew there was nothing heroic about my pasty, pudgy, naked body. Therefore, from a psychological point of view, before I could even think about doing something brave, I needed at least the flimsy protection of a pair of pants.
And there lay my dilemma. Wearing trousers in that crowd would call unwanted and possibly dangerous attention to myself. I decided to compromise by wearing my briefs and loafers. Feeling very James Bondish, I folded my wallet over the waistband of my briefs in the small of my back.
Any other time, I would have joined the crowd in the kitchen, happy to pander to my voyeur's impulses, but now was not the time. Instead, feeling conspicious and ridiculously overdressed in my Jocky briefs, I slipped into the hall, hurried past the noisy crowd in the kitchen and entered the rec room.
As I stepped into the party room, I heard a woman moan and saw a couple on a mat in the corner. She was on her back, her legs flung wide and her arms wrapped around the neck of her lover. She was energetically rolling her pelvis to meet her partner's thrusts. I couldn't see her face, but as I heard her voice urging her stallion on to greater and more noble efforts, I realized I was watching Su Lin in action.
Remembering the wild sex we had enjoyed on our first encounter, I felt myself stir. When Su Lin put aside the commercial aspects of sex and concentrated on having a good time, she was capable of a spectacular performance. Even in my worried and confused state of mind, I hoped her performance was being observed by Steve or Carol. It would vindicate my judgment and might result in a break for her.
Then I smiled ruefully. What the hell was I thinking? There were no careers here, only mysterious, shadowy, and sinister characters who, quite frankly, scared the shit out of me!
I wandered down the hall toward the office. I don't know what I expected when I slowly opened the door, but the sight of Carol on her knees sucking Carmine was not high on the list. She was naked to the waist. Carmine, sitting on the couch, reached down, and absently tweaked her reddened nipples while watching the same TV monitor on the wall where I had seen his performance two weeks earlier. I tried to see what had Carmine so enthralled that he hadn't seen or heard me coming.
It was a top view of Su Lin and her stud. Then that angle faded, and another, more intimate shot of his penis pistoning in and out of her welcoming tunnel filled the screen. I remembered the elaborate recording setup in the office. Then, I had assumed that Steve or Carol, or both, were merely indulging a little harmless voyeurism. Now I realized they were acquiring stock footage; making movies, using unknowing and unpaid actors. The lawyer in me cringed at the awful civil liabilities they were incurring. However, remembering the several group orgy scenes in Louise and Phil's picture, I had to admire their ingenuity. Hiring that many extras could easily have made the picture's cost prohibitive.
I watched Carol for a moment. Her cheeks alternately ballooned and hollowed as she moved her head. Her right hand was wrapped nearly around his penis, which she was briskly stroking while she sucked. She didn't look happy, but Carmine seemed oblivious to her mood. His gaze never wavered from the action on the screen. I sensed this was payback time.
I had no sympathy for her. I was remembering what she had put me through in the past week. I quietly closed the door and retraced my steps to the kitchen to freshen the nearly empty glass I held.
The kitchen was empty. I wondered where the crowd was. I began by looking in the bedrooms, although I would have been surprised if people had separated this early. The rooms were empty.
I went back into the hall and peeked into the office where I had seen Carol and Carmine. They were gone, too, and the TV screen was blank
Jesus Christ, I thought, where is everyone? I went outside by the pool. Then I saw the lights on in the barn. Obviously, I was missing something. I started in that direction, and then stopped. What am I thinking? This was the perfect opportunity to do a little snooping.
I hurried back to the house. My heart was beating almost audibly, and I began to hyperventilate as though I had just run a 100-yard sprint. Nervous sweat felt cold and slick as it trickled down my ribs from my armpits when I opened the door to the office.
The light was still on. I decided to leave the door open so I could hear people coming back into the house. My first target was Steve's desk.
I had no idea what to look for. I opened the lap drawer. It contained the usual clutter of junk -- staple removers, paper clips, dry ballpoint pens, broken pencils and Post-it pads. Nothing there. Then I opened the top drawer in the pedestal. This was more like it. I found a couple of ledgers, some letters fastened together with rubber bands, and a sheaf of paper that looked like a movie script.
I had no time to examine anything. The second drawer was a file drawer. It was locked. There was no point in trying to force the lock. Stymied, I glanced around the room. Then I thought of the Purloined Letter, and my eye fell on an appointment book in the middle of the desk.
I picked it up. It was Carol's. I quickly leafed through it, and found two interesting phone numbers and one appointment. I grabbed a scrap of paper and was writing the numbers down when I heard Su Lin talking to someone in the hall.
I scrambled around the desk and peeked cautiously around the corner. Su Lin was talking to Steve, who was standing with his back to me. Su Lin saw me slip out the door and hurry down the hall. Whoever said whores don't have hearts of gold?
She saved my ass by keeping Steve distracted until I was safely outside the house, where I joined a group returning from the barn. The palms of my hands were still slick with sweat, and I was surprised they couldn't hear my heart pounding or smell the fear that was nearly making me nauseous.
I pretended a nonchalance I was far from feeling. One thing I now know. I don't begin to have what it takes to become a successful burglar.
I followed the crowd into the kitchen and poured myself a steadying jolt of bourbon. When I turned, Carol was standing behind me. She wore only an opened shirt.
