Roxie twisted in her seat and stared at the guy through the gap between the seats. “Most folks should be ashamed of themselves. What’s your name, stranger?”
“Carl McCoy.”
Roxie reached a hand into the backseat. “Pleased to meet you, Carl. I’m Roxie. And my friend here is Rob.”
Carl shook her hand and Roxie held onto it.
“Pleased to meet you both.”
“Now, Carl, I hate to break it to you, but nobody rides for free, not in this car. I can see you don’t have any money to speak of, but there is a way you can pay.”
The man’s voice became wary. “Yeah? What would that be?”
Roxie kept grinning. “Ass, gas, or grass, Carl. Ass, gas, or grass. In this case, ass.” She nodded at Rob. “My friend here is feeling very frustrated right now. The price of your ride is a blow job.”
Rob’s mouth dropped open. “What the fuck, Roxie?”
Carl chuckled. “Ain’t a problem. I suck a mean dick.”
Roxie laughed. “I bet you do, Carl. I bet you do.”
“Got real good at it in jail.”
Rob shook his head. “No way, Roxie. Fuck this.”
“It’s that or the other thing. You know what I mean.”
Carl was quickly becoming confused in the backseat. “What other thing? I don’t know if I like the sound of that.”
Rob hated being forced to make this choice. He would not let some foul-smelling, nearly toothless, butt-ugly homeless man put his mouth on his penis. There was no scenario in which he could ever imagine allowing that to happen. And yet the other option amounted to sentencing the man to death.
Carl coughed loudly in the backseat. “Uh…I think I’ll be getting out now. If you’d just let go of my hand, young lady.”
Roxie leg go of his hand, snagged the.38 from the tote bag, and pointed it at him. “You’re not going anywhere, you fucking bum. Rob still has a choice to make.”
Carl started crying. “Please. Don’t. I’ll do anything.”
Roxie laughed. “Holy shit, really? Anything at all? Wow. You know what, I’ve never heard that before. People never, ever say that when they’re about to die. Seriously.”
Carl whimpered. He sniffled. “Please…”
“Shut up.” Roxie glanced at Rob. “Gross old-guy mouth action or the other thing. Decide now.”
Rob looked away from her and sighed. “Other thing.”
She smiled. “Good choice. I approve.”
Rob closed his eyes and cringed, waiting to hear the report of the gun, which would be painfully loud inside the car.
“Get out, Carl.”
Rob heard the man’s breath catch in his throat.
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me. It’s your lucky day. Get out, bum.”
Carl didn’t need to be told twice. He hustled himself out of the car and slammed the door shut. Rob opened his eyes, glanced at the side-mounted mirror, and saw the man walking fast in the opposite direction.
Roxie laughed and slapped the steering wheel. “Fuck! That was fun.“
Rob couldn’t say anything. He just stared at her.
“You’re probably wondering why I let him go.” Roxie patted his knee. “You look like you just saw a ghost. Poor baby. Let me explain. I didn’t want to kill that guy. And letting him go’s no big deal. A guy like that’s not going to the cops, so he’s not a liability. The real payoff was you making that choice. Now I know you have it in you, too.”
Rob squinted at her. “What?”
“Murder, Rob. You have murder in your heart. Just like me.”
Rob opened his mouth to issue an automatic denial, but the words did not come. He stayed silent because the words would be a lie.
She was right.
He felt like crying.
Roxie was still laughing as she put the car in gear and pulled back into the stream of traffic.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
March 20
The guy seemed really nervous and she guessed she couldn’t blame him. It was a pretty weird situation. Not to mention highly illegal, as he thought he’d been approached by a very young prostitute. So he was pretty fucking gullible, too. She was way prettier and fresher-looking than the usual crack-addicted, street-trawling whore.
They were in the parking lot outside the 21 Up Adult Video store. The man clutched a brown paper bag that appeared to contain several DVDs. He was fidgeting and kept glancing at the door to the smut shop. “You’re sure you’re not with the cops?”
Julie smiled and licked her lips seductively. “No, baby. I just want to make you feel good and make a little money.”
He was staring at her breasts, which strained the fabric of the tiny halter she was wearing. “How much?”
“Fifty for a blow, hundred for a fuck.”
“I’ve got the cash, but I don’t have any rubbers on me.”
Julie almost laughed.
I’m sure you don’t, you ugly fuck.
“That’s okay, baby. I’ve got you covered.” She nodded at the BMW parked on the other side of the lot. “That’s my old man’s car over there. Get in the back with me and we’ll set this up.”
He frowned. “Your…old man?”
She smiled. “My pimp.”
The man turned partially away from her and stared at the BMW. Zeb wasn’t visible through the car’s tinted windows. Good thing, too. Dude would be spooked for sure if he got a load of the crazy homeless man. And Julie didn’t want him spooked. This guy was perfect. He was just the kind of slimy pervert the world would be better off without.
He faced her again. “I guess that’s okay. That’s a hell of a nice car. You and your…old man…must be doing well.”
She smiled and kicked at a little rock with the toe of a sneaker. She kept her hands clasped in front of her and gave her hips a little swivel, really playing up the whole Lolita thing. “You could say that. We’re picky, you know. We drive around and find people who look like they have a little class to ’em. Like you.”
The man blushed. “Oh…thanks.”
She started walking toward the BMW, glancing over her shoulder at the mark. He was staring at her ass now. “You coming?”
He hesitated just long enough to scan the parking lot again, probably still checking for cops, not quite trusting her denial. Then he took a deep breath and hurried after her. She opened the back door on the passenger side and stood aside for him to slide in. She climbed in after him and pulled the door shut. Zeb hit a button up front and the car’s locks clicked shut.
The sleazy little fuck drew in a startled breath upon seeing Zeb.
Julie laughed. “Chill, baby. I know he’s scary-looking. But a girl needs a tough guy around to survive in this business.” Julie doubted any real-life whore said things like this, but the guy was clueless and horny, so it was probably okay. She put a hand on his leg and squeezed, eliciting a shudder from him. “Yeah. Feels good, huh?”
He gulped. “Y-yeah…”
“Let’s get out of here, Zeb.”
Zeb started the BMW and began to back out of the parking space.
The guy sat up straighter. “Wait! Where are we going?”
Julie scooted closer to him and draped an arm around his shoulders. “You shush, sweetie. We have a special place we go. You didn’t really think we were gonna do business in the parking lot of a porn shop, did you?”
He clutched the brown paper bag in his lap with both hands, the paper crinkling as his fingers shook. Nervous? Shit. He was terrified. Julie figured he’d never been intimate with a girl on any level before. It didn’t make her feel sorry for him. The sad sacks of the world only had themselves to blame for their problems. He wasn’t fat. He could clean himself up. Maybe get some cream to clear up those zits. Pathetic. The guy was maybe in his midtwenties, but he still looked like some high-school loser. No one would miss this waste of space. It made her feel a little better about what she was about to do.