Picture Postcards From L.a.: Beryl

This story was written for the 2024 Crime and Punishment Story Event, but I decided to publish it early. I hope to have another one done in time for the event. As always, the names and places have not been changed to protect the innocent or the guilty.

© 2024 Candy_Kane54

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"Okay," she said hesitantly, as though she wasn't sure she had heard me correctly, "but I still don't get why you won't take my money." As she spoke, her hands nervously fidgeted with the stack of Benjamins lying on the table in front of her.

I stuck out my hand and said, "It's simple. If I take your money, it means I can be bought and paid for. That's not how I operate. I have no need for your money. Instead, I barter. All I want in return for doing you a favor is a favor in return." Now that the terms of our agreement have been stated, I was ready to close the deal.

"What kind of favor?" she asked as she reached for my hand.

"I don't know," I truthfully answered as I took her hand in mine, enjoying how it fit so perfectly into mine as we shook on the deal. "All I can tell you is that I'll call on you sometime in the future for a favor. It will be something that you can do for me that I can't do for myself."

When I said that, she looked worried and asked, "Will it be dangerous?"

"Again, I don't know," I said as I regretfully let go of her hand. I smiled and said, "That's something you will need to decide when the time comes."

Curious, she asked, "What happens if I refuse to do what you ask?"

"Nothing," I said.

"Nothing?" she echoed.

"Nothing," I reaffirmed. "If you refuse to help me after I've helped you, that's on your conscience for the rest of your life, not mine."

"And if I do what you ask, that's it?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied while flashing a reassuring smile at her. "Once I've asked you for a favor, and you do it, you will never hear from me again."

I noticed that she looked a little disappointed when I said that. Despite the flare of heat that I felt down below, I started thinking about how I would take care of her problem. I stood up and said, "I'll see myself out. Have a good day...."

June 1986

As I powered down the 405 in my Rally Red '66 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray coupe, the 427CI big-block V8 engine growling its desire to be unleashed, I pondered my options for solving Beryl's problem. Traffic was heavy, and I was weaving in and out of traffic, changing lanes even though I knew it wouldn't get me there any faster in the long run. There were several things I needed to do before I got started. Among them was moving my base of operations closer to Northridge to avoid the time-consuming commutes I expected as I worked the case.

By the time I returned to my place in Manhattan Beach, I had roughed out how I would proceed. As I approached my house, I scanned the street in front of my house to see if anyone was hanging around that shouldn't be. Once I was sure nothing was out of order, I used my remote to open the garage door to pull my car off the street. As the garage door closed, I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned off the engine and climbed out of my car.

I looked over the other vehicles in the garage, my eyes settling on the partially disassembled 1980 BMW R100RT motorcycle, and clucked over it. I loved taking that bike out for a relaxing ride along the coast, but keeping it running was always a struggle. "I really need to get Rowan back over here to help me finish putting that back together," I thought as I walked over to the door leading into the house.

After disabling the alarm, the first thing I did when I entered the house was to call the L.A. Times and pull my ad from the Classifieds. Until I was finished with this job, I wouldn't be available to help anyone else. The next thing I did was log into my computer to access my database of clients who still owed me favors and run a search to see if any of them could help me with this case. I spent a minute building my search query, wanting to look for several different things. When I thought I had everything I needed in the search query, I started it. While it ran, I fixed a quick lunch and ate it while scanning the L.A. Times. I concentrated on the Local section, looking for anything out of the ordinary that could relate to my case.

After finishing lunch and finding nothing in the paper, I reviewed the results of the search I had run. Depending on how my investigation went, I found several possible favors I could call in. I came up empty on someone in the Northridge area who could lend me a place to stay, so I called and booked a room at the Panorama Motel on Sepulveda Blvd just south of Rosco Blvd.

With that done, all I needed was to get someone over here to house-sit while I was gone. I dialed a number, and when it was picked up, I said, "Jo, it's Ray."

"Hey, Ray," Jo's bedroom voice cooed in my ear. "You need a friend tonight?"

Just hearing her voice in my ear made my whole body heat up. Jo was my 'girl Friday' and 'friend with benefits.' I didn't know how I'd keep everything straight without her help, and it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes, having been a model with the Clyburn Agency for several years. Despite her 'dumb blonde' mannerisms, she had a brain, and I relied heavily on it to keep everything from falling apart.

"Oh, Jo, I always need a friend," I said with a chuckle. "However, I called because I will need a house sitter for a week or so. Can you help me out?"

"Sure, Ray," Jo said, immediately going into her no-nonsense 'girl Friday' mode. "I've got a couple of girls who need a place to stay for a few days. Whatever they can't cover, I'll make myself available to do so."

"That's great, Jo. Thanks!" I replied. "If you can, please try to get Rowan over to finish putting my bike back together."

"No problem," Jo eagerly answered. I chuckled at hearing that. For some reason, Jo had the hots for Rowan, who, sadly, didn't feel the same way toward her. However, Jo wasn't one to give up so easily, so I knew she'd somehow manage to talk Rowan into coming over to work on my bike.

"In the meantime, I'm not heading out until tomorrow, so you're welcome to come over tonight," I said.

"Great," Jo said. "I'll be there about seven. See you!" I heard the click as she immediately hung up, probably eager to get everything started before coming over.

With those details taken care of, I got on the phone and started working my contacts to determine where to start. Missing person cases were tricky because you couldn't always assume that the person reported missing needed or even wanted to be found. I'd had my share of cases where the person I was looking for went missing for a reason, many times to avoid abuse.

Nevertheless, if you didn't find the person in the first 96 hours, the odds of finding them decreased dramatically, especially if they were trying to disappear. While I haven't yet failed to find someone I was looking for, I certainly didn't want to end that streak now. The distressed look on Beryl's face had told me that wasn't the case this time, but nevertheless, I put out feelers.

One of my contacts was a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), based out of the Rampart Division. Her name was Chris, and I had done a favor for her in one of her cases, and she later returned the favor in one of my cases. I enjoyed working with her, so we stayed in contact; I acted as a Confidential Informant (CI) for her while she would feed me information on unusual events that she didn't have jurisdiction over or probable cause to be able to look into them.

I called Chris' number and was lucky to catch her at her desk. "Detective Graham," Chris said when she answered her phone.

I said, "Good afternoon, Chris. This is Ray."

"What have you got for me?"

"I've got a missing person. Last Friday night, she went missing from a Gala held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art at the northwest end of MacArthur Park. Have you heard any chatter?"

"Nothing off the top of my head. I can check around for you. Do you have a name?"

"Camille Roach. She was in town visiting my client."

"And your client is...?"

"I want to keep her name out of it if possible."

"Okay, but if I need it?"

"Then it's yours. By the way, I got it on good authority that a drug shipment is hitting the docks tonight."

"Tell me more."

I went on to give Chris the details. She thanked me for the tip and said she'd pass it on to the Narcotics taskforce. She said she'd look into the gala, talk to the organizers, and get back to me if she found anything.

After I hung up, I thought about my relationship with Chris. The first time I met her, she struck me as being a beautiful woman. However, I instantly got the vibe that she was confused about her sexuality and was searching for an answer. I was too involved in what I was going through to spend time helping her with that, so I just concentrated on working with her on the case she was helping me with. I was glad I had let that go because our working relationship had paid dividends over the years.

I cleaned up and started planning dinner. I loved cooking and found that I could get some serious thinking done while working in the kitchen. My mom was a second-generation transplant from Italy, and I enjoyed the many evenings spent with her in the kitchen, fixing dinner for our family. Because of her example, I loved cooking from scratch, so I rooted around to find all the ingredients I needed to make Jo's favorite -- parmigiana di melanzane. I pulled a nice bottle of Valpolicella Ripasso out of my wine rack to go with it. I enjoyed its richly textured taste and how it went so well with most tomato-based Italian sauces.

With impeccable timing, I heard the doorbell ring just as I pulled the parmigiana di melanzane out of the oven. I answered the door, and Jo stepped in and wrapped her arms around me. She laid a kiss on me that promised something more than dinner would be on the menu tonight. My arms instinctively went around her in return, and I pressed back, our kiss extending to the point that we were putting on a show for the neighbors.

We broke before we passed out from lack of oxygen, and Jo slipped past me while I quickly closed and locked the door. I followed her into the kitchen, loving how her ass swayed and bounced as she walked. When we entered the kitchen, Jo turned to me and said, "I got another check for you today."

I smiled and said, "Good. Have you figured out who's sending the checks yet?"

"No," Jo groused in frustration. "It had a different postmark again, drawn on a different off-shore account and from a different bank. Who is sending them, and why?"

I knew the question was rhetorical, so I didn't bother answering it. Jo knew I wouldn't tell her, anyway, so I knew she was just venting. I knew it drove her crazy, but honestly, I wasn't exactly sure myself. I had my suspicions, but all I knew was that shortly after I arrived here in L.A., I received a cryptic letter with a check in it. The letter led me to my first case; the rest was history. Since then, I've received checks for $100,000 every time I finished a case. That financing allowed me to help people without needing to be paid for my services.

I seated Jo before I sat beside her, and we dug into dinner. Jo expressed her appreciation for the meal, complimenting me on my cooking skills and wine selection. I smiled at her enthusiasm, pleased that she was so happy with what I had prepared. We held hands and fed each other bites of food, enjoying each other's company.

We were great friends, although a relationship would never work between us. Jo didn't want to be confined to a relationship, and I belonged to another. However, we did enjoy sex with each other, and I was looking forward to getting some release tonight.

As we sat there, sipping on the last of the wine, Jo's eyes were dilated to nearly black, as I was sure mine were, too. I could see her nipples were tenting her dress, and my nipples were aching and hard, tenting my top. My pussy was hot and wet as I ran my eyes up and down Jo's body, loving how it looked. I stood up, took Jo's glass, and started toward the bedroom, Jo following closely behind me. I sat our glasses on the night table and turned to find Jo had already skinned her dress off and was standing there, naked as the day she was born.

I quickly removed my top and shimmied out of my jeans as Jo climbed on the bed. I joined her, and we wrapped our arms around each other as our lips crashed together, our mouths opened together, and our tongues fought for supremacy.

I rolled over on top of Jo, and she spread her legs wide, allowing me between her thighs. I scooted my knees up outside her hips, and Jo wrapped her legs around my hips as we both started rolling our hips, grinding our pussies together as if scratching a persistent itch. Our moans got louder, resonating and making a beautiful sound that made my whole body vibrate.

Our actions became more frantic as I quickly reached the point of no return. Without hesitation, I threw myself into the maelstrom of my orgasm, giving in to the storm, my conscience battered and thrown about by its power.

Finally, it spit me out, and I became aware that Jo was also working through her orgasm. Feeling her body spasm under me thrilled me as I rolled off her, allowing us to recover, both of us gasping from the exertion. I reveled in the feeling while my breathing finally settled down. I locked eyes with Jo and fell into those blue pools as I fought off the lassitude resulting from my orgasm.

Jo decided to take the initiative and climbed on top of me and started kissing her way over my jaw and down onto my neck. She found the spot that drove me crazy and plundered it mercilessly. She then moved down over my clavicle and began nuzzling my breasts, nipping and nuzzling all around my breasts until she finally captured my hard, aching nipple in her mouth.

The warmth of Jo's mouth and the feel of her tongue laving my nipple drove me crazy, making me writhe and moan. My hands flew to the back of her head as I pressed her mouth into my breast, wanting more contact. When I felt her teeth latch onto my nipple, I braced myself as she started chewing on it, sending impulses zinging through my body. I gasped, "Oh, God!" over and over, the pain/pleasure driving me crazy.

I don't know how long Jo ministered to my breasts, but it wasn't long enough. I moaned my disappointment as she started moving down over my ribs and core and down to my vee after spending a moment on my divot. Finally, I felt her warm breath on my pussy. When her tongue started worming its way between my lips, I arched my back and thrust my hips up, trying to get her tongue deeper into my hole.

I locked eyes with Jo as she plundered my pussy. My heels came down on her shoulder blades as I pressed her head into my pussy. I was close to screaming into my orgasm when Jo captured my clit in her lips and started trilling it with her tongue, setting me off as my orgasm crashed down on me like a tsunami. I lost myself in the impulses shooting through my body and faded away...

... When I became aware of myself again, I opened my eyes, and Jo's face filled my view. She had such a smug look on her face that I started giggling. Jo joined me, and our giggles harmonized, making me giggle even more. Finally, I recovered enough to roll over onto Jo, wanting to return the favor.

I knew the spots that drove Jo crazy, making sure to visit each one, taking my time, and loving how she responded to my ministrations. Her moans drove me on as I worked my way down to her breasts and worshipped them, making sure to pay the same amount of attention to each one. Jo was moaning and gasping, "Oh, God, Ray!" continuously as I eventually worked my way down her core, diving into her divot before moving down to her vee.

I nuzzled my way up one crease and down the other, enjoying Jo's fragrance as her pussy wept fluids between her red and swollen lips. When I started running the tip of my tongue up and down her slit, her hands went to the back of my head, urging me to dive into her pussy. I continued working up and down her slit, lightly flicking her clit and perineum at the end of each journey. I locked eyes with Jo, seeing the desire in her eyes as I drove my tongue into her hole, swirling it around to try to trip as many nerves as possible. Jo's eyes got so big I thought they would pop out of her head before they rolled up, and she started thrusting her hips. I hung on, riding it out as I continued plundering her hole.

I felt her thighs trembling as I brought her to the brink of orgasm, pulled my tongue out of her hole, and sucked her clit into my mouth. I used my tongue to tease her little nub out as her movements became more violent. When she sucked in a big breath and held it, I knew she was ready to explode, so I trilled her nub as fast as I could as she screamed her orgasm, spasming so hard that I felt like I was going to be bucked off her.

I continued attacking her clit as I slid two fingers into her hole, pistoning them in and out, making sure to scratch her G-spot, driving her into an even bigger orgasm. I hung on for dear life, drawing out her pleasure until she suddenly went limp, her hands falling off my head and her thighs releasing my head. A gush of her hot cum hit my chin and fingers, and I eagerly lapped it up, making sure to get every delicious drop.

I crawled up beside her limp body, watching over her as she slowly recovered from her orgasm. As I waited, I thought about how I had first met Jo, one of my earliest cases, and how I had helped her out for a favor. Once I got to know her and learned what she could bring to the table, I came to her for the favor she owed me. I asked her to be my 'girl Friday,' and she accepted without hesitation. Our friendship grew from there, and she had been the one who showed me that I didn't need to deny my sexuality because I had lost the love of my life.

When Jo finally stirred and opened her eyes, she saw the tears that had gathered in my eyes. She immediately took me in her arms and held me, knowing without having to ask what those tears meant. I pulled myself together as I pulled back, smiling at Jo and silently thanking her with my eyes for her understanding. Our lips crashed together, and I pressed into the kiss, wanting to meld with Jo and show my appreciation for her friendship.

Eventually, we broke the kiss and moved into a sixty-nine position so we could pleasure each other simultaneously. I tucked my left foot behind my right knee as she did the same. I dove into her pussy, and she dove into mine. I lost track of time and orgasms as I ministered to Jo's delicious pussy, and she to mine. Finally, my clit was so sensitive that I had to push Jo away and roll onto my back, totally blissed out.

As we lay there in our afterglow, I looked over at Jo, enjoying the look of bliss on her face. I loved her enthusiasm and how she always made sure I screamed her name several times before we both fell into a sex-induced stupor. I fought that stupor, wanting to enjoy this moment as long as possible, knowing that, in the morning, I would need to set all of this aside and take care of my latest case. Despite my best efforts, I quickly slipped into Sandman's realm...

... It had been another long, hard day, and I was looking forward to getting back to the barracks and attending 'Mail Call.' My current training was ending next week, and I was looking forward to taking some leave and heading home for the holidays. I had a couple of weeks before my next school started after the beginning of the year. Christmas was coming up, and I was looking forward to seeing my parents. Mom had written me a couple of letters about how they were getting along, having become 'empty nesters' with me, their youngest, finally out of the house.