Pt. XVIII: Safari Snatch
Caitlin, Kim and Sal rode their Harleys from Dyer, Nevada, across the border and into California, heading north. They crossed back into Nevada at Topaz Lake and headed up I-395 to Reno.
Right up to the casino-hotel where Thomas Peterson had been murdered they rode. Jack had reserved the other super suite for them. Peterson lost his penis and his life in the Roman Super Suite. The three ladies were staying in the Safari Super Suite.
"This is incredible!" Sal gasped as she surveyed their accommodations.
"Hey, you are a governor’s daughter, girl." Kim chuckled. "What, do they make you stay in Motel 6?"
"No, no, but this is awesome. I love the Jacuzzi in this living room, the elephant head searching for a watering hole and the native water carriers."
"Yeah, really," Caitlin added, "I wonder if the natives are cannibals, ‘eh? I like the dome over the Jacuzzi with the three sky scenes, daytime, nighttime and starry night. So where is the Sasquatch?"
"That elephant head and the charging rhinoceros on the first floor are sculpted from fiberglass," Kim offered. "Look at the ceilings. That is Rhodesian walnut imported from England."
The three checked out the three bedrooms and the five baths, all of which featured full-size steam showers. When they got to the master bedroom, each looked at the other.
"I’ll take this bedroom," Kim said assertively.
"I don’t think so," Caitlin retorted. "We’ll all sleep here."
The master bedroom had an eight-foot by eight-foot king’s king bed draped in silk mosquito netting and was surrounded by a sitting area. A beautiful soft white leather sofa sat at the end of the gigantic bed.
"Hey, I’m famished!" Caitlin exclaimed, after they had closely scrutinized everything about their new digs.
"Let’s try the Italian cuisine," Kim suggested, and mentioned the name of one of the seven restaurants in this fabulous place.
"But you’re not Italian," Sal chided.
"No, I’m not, Sal, I’m black and a little bit of something else. You are definitely blonde. So I like Italian. Don’t you like southern-fried chicken and some of the other favorites of us black folk?"
"Uh, it’s OK but I prefer lobster."
"Yeah, whatever, you two," Caitlin interrupted, quite irritated. "Let’s eat some food rather than talk about it."
"Geez, Caitlin," Kim whined, "you are always hungry. I suppose later you’ll go out for pizza and tell us another bullshit story about blowing the dudes you met at the pizza shop."
"Nope," Caitlin smirked, "this time I’ll tell you another story about Roger the Scotsquatch. This one involves not only fucking chicks, but fucking chickens as well."
"Yeah, right," Sal snorted sarcastically.
"Well, let’s just go chow down, shall we?" Caitlin asked but insisted in conclusion of the matter.
The restaurant had a dining area covered by an enchanted skydome, ringed with softly glowing torches. The sky scene drifted from sunset into starry twilight as soft northern lights appeared and then a meteor shower streamed by, accompanied by dramatic music. What the three ladies found most intriguing was the large statue of the Roman hero Antinous and two naked maidens which revolved around and around.
"Hey, I’m getting dizzy," Caitlin complained. "We better order."
Sal had the Carpaccio di Manzo, Ripieno al Profumo di Tarfufo, also known as beef and lobster. The beef tenderloin was thinly sliced and quite rare. After the first hungry bite, Sal squealed, "Geez, you are looking at me like I’m a cannibal. So I like rare meat." Her lobster tail was served with caper berries, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, white truffle oil and lamb’s lettuce.
Kim ordered the Quaglie Grigliante Servite sul Letto di Polenta all’ Asiago. She toyed with the grilled quail skewered with exotic vinegar and honey sauces.
"If you don’t want that, Kim, just pass your plate this way," Caitlin said with a wink. Caitlin had quickly finished her Vongole Veraci all Mediterranea con Brusshette Dorate; manila clams braised in a special white wine sauce. "Clams enhance the female libido, you know."
Throughout dinner the three discussed cannibalism. Kim recalled for Sal the conversations she and Caitlin had about the Aztecs and others inclined to eat human flesh. Caitlin talked about Anasazi cannibalism in southwestern Colorado almost a thousand years ago. Kim related stories about cannibalistic serial murderers.
"Please, no more Jeffrey Dahmer jokes, Kim," Caitlin begged.
"No, no, but here is one I haven’t told before. Alexander "Sawney" Bean was born near Edinburgh during the time of King James. Right, the bible dude. He moved to County Galloway and he and his wife lived in a cave near the shore. They had many children and grandchildren, all the result of incest. Now, this Bean dude needed a means to feed all these kids. He robbed passers-by and the victims became dinner. He and the little ones dragged the bodies back to the cave, had a snack and pickled the rest for later. In fact, they had so much ‘food’ they just threw much away into the sea. Severed limbs and body parts that washed up on the shore alarmed the local community and …"