NOTE: This is part of a multi-chapter story of which there are forty chapters plus an epilogue. An uncompleted version of this story appeared here at Literotica a few years ago in case it looks familiar to you. The story has been revised and completed. Chapters 37 - 40 and the epilogue are all new material.
*
Richard had finally finished going through his messages and making the necessary calls. He had also received a call from Hank, Lisa's boyfriend, and was not surprised, after talking to Deirdre, that he was no longer interested in buying the house. What did surprise Richard, was the hostility that Hank displayed on the phone.
It was clear that Hank did not like black men by the time the call was finished, and it was not just because Maurice and his friends were so much better equipped to take care of Lisa's insatiable appetites. Hank apparently, was an actual bona fide racist.
Richard thanked Hank for the courtesy of the call and wished him well. What had she seen in that idiot anyway, Richard thought to himself, as he hung up. Even if he was a rocket scientist! The only rockets Lisa appeared to be interested in were the pocket variety anyway, Richard mused to himself.
Looking up at the clock, Richard realized that the day had sped by quickly. As he thought about taking off a bit early, the phone rang again. Richard's assistant told him Villarreal was on the line and wanted to speak to him right away and that it sounded urgent.
The line went dead for a moment while Ms. Ames transferred the call. "Hello, Richard are you there?" said Villarreal impatiently.
"Yes, I'm here. I didn't expect to hear from you so..." said Richard as Villarreal cut him off.
"Look, I don't have much time. But I needed to talk to you before I leave. We're on our way to the airport. I'm headed back to the ranch in Baja for a at least a few days," said Villarreal quickly.
"What can I do for you?" asked Richard, sensing there was a problem.
"The business deal I told you about fell through. And I need to go back to the ranch and tend to some other business," said Villarreal pausing. "There were some unforeseen complications in closing the transaction and I need your assistance in representing three of my employees."
"Of course," replied Richard. "How can I get hold of them to set up an appointment. Can they come to my office tomorrow?"
"That won't be possible," said Villarreal as he continued to talk quickly, but deliberately, into the phone. "They are currently in police custody. They are in the hospital up in Lancaster. Look, I have to go. I'll call you from the ranch tomorrow. You can look at the newspaper. It was on the front page today. You can't miss it. I'll call you tomorrow. I've got to go!" The line went dead.
As Richard hung up the phone, his face was completely drained of blood and he looked as though he had just seen a ghost. Closing his eyes and putting his head in his hands, he rested his elbows on the edge of the desk. Richard realized that his feet were firmly entrenched in a really big pile of it and that it was only likely to get deeper and the smell much worse.
Richard's mind was racing now. What the fuck was he going to do? He knew Villarreal had the resources to run things down. He knew that there was a possibility that he might track down John. What did those three zeros have to do with Villarreal anyway? Did it have something to do with the titty bar? Christ! Did he or any of his men from LA know Deborah? Would they recognize her when they got to the ranch? Would she recognize them?
The only photo he had given Villarreal originally was her driver's license ID, that John had gotten through one of his friends at the DMV, not the overly made-up, grotesquely wigged biker bitch from the titty bar!
Richard realized that all he had were questions...no answers. John was the only connection between him and the stooges...and Deborah, and he couldn't do anything about that now. Richard quickly decided that he needed to get John out of town. Picking up the phone, Richard quickly dialed John's cell phone.
"John! Richard here," said Richard urgently into the phone. "Can you talk? I need to speak to you privately."
"Yeah, sure," replied John, sensing something was up. "I just got home. Let me step out on the patio."
As Richard heard the sliding door close behind John he immediately began to speak.
"Listen to me carefully," said Richard pausing for effect. "Those three idiots you rearranged...they work for one of my clients...and he has asked me to represent them. But that isn't the problem. The client isn't someone either you or I want to cross!"
"OK," responded John calmly.
"He has a lot of juice and if he wants to find out who took his men apart, he has the means to get people to tell him what he wants to know. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah, I'm catching the drift," said John calmly.
"You need to get out of town," said Richard bluntly. "To be safe you both need to get out of town. My client is capable of using your wife to get to you. Understand?"
"Do you really think this is that serious?" asked John calmly.
"Yes, I think it might be," said Richard firmly. "And we can't take any chances. When I talked to him, he was getting the hell out of Dodge, so you must have opened a real can of worms. If we are lucky, this might blow over in a few days."
"Yeah, OK," replied John. Richard got the impression John was just humoring him and did not understand how serious the situation was.
"Fortunately, he has asked me to represent those three bozos, so I may have some leverage, some control here," said Richard. "But I don't know what my client already knows...or what he might know soon,"
Richard thought about Deborah and the fact that Villarreal and his men would soon arrive in Baja. Richard worried that Murphy's Law would be his undoing.
"Well, we've been wanting to take a Mexican cruise and..." said John as Richard cut him off.
"Fuck no! Anywhere but Mexico. Go on an Alaskan cruise. Hell, go on a Scandinavian cruise, go anywhere else, but for Christ's sake, don't go anywhere near Mexico! Understand! Villarreal is tight with the Federal police down there."
"Yeah, I get the picture. You know, this is going to be expensive and..." John began to say as Richard cut him off again.
"I'll transfer some money into your expense account immediately but have your asses on a plane tonight! Got it!" said Richard emphatically and urgently.
"But what am I going to tell my wife? She has school tomorrow," said John.
"You know her, tell her whatever you have to, but personally, my advice would be to lie like hell!" said Richard as he was about to hang up. "And whatever you do, don't tell anyone where you are going...no one!"
Richard put the phone back on the cradle and sat back in his chair for a moment, taking a few deep breaths and trying to slow his heart rate down as he gathered his thoughts. Richard decided to go ahead and head home early. There was not anything more he could do now. And besides, he thought, he needed to get into the office first thing in the morning and be there when Villarreal called back.
Darkly, Richard also thought, he did not want to be home with the girls in the morning, if Villarreal sent some of his men looking for him. He wanted to keep them away from the house.
----------
Deirdre was rushing to finish up, so she could start home early. She had already seen Heather, Jana 2.0 she corrected herself, off to the airport and had told her about the new jewelry she was about to receive. Eager to know what it would look like, Deirdre opened her blouse and lifted her skirt for 2.0 to take a good look, as Tom also took a long hard and admiring look.