John Kellerman - A girl_s best friend

Her beautiful face slack and numb-looking behind its drunken smile. Her lovely dark eyes glazed and her upswept coiffeur a disheveled mess.

"What little old policeman's gonna be dumb 'nough to stop us, eh?" she slurred. "Why… we're the social elite of Breynar… 'member, Honey… the Martins? B'sides… I just wanted to play with your li'l ol' peter. Nothin' wrong with that after sixteen years of wedded bliss is there?"

Somehow, he'd managed to contain her, get her home and into the house, but not until she had slipped into a crying jag before she'd finally collapsed into bed.

Christ, he hadn't realized until these last few days what a state things had reached in his family that meant everything to him. He'd even forgotten how much he loved her, and his precious twins, whom, he seldom even saw to speak to anymore. He'd been too Goddamned busy making money. Too overwhelmed with what he'd figured was his good fortune at becoming Darrel Jenkins' protege, mistakenly believing that the money and worldly things he lavished on them were the real keys to happiness. What a stupid damned fool he'd been, and how well he knew it now that it was too late!

How in God's name could he ever have known that Jenkins was using him? The little gargoylish bastard! Had there been some sort of financial scheme in the back of the weirdo's perverted brain he might have seen through it.

After all, finance was his business, but Darrel Jenkins was a millionaire many times over, as well as being Saguaro's Board Chairman, and when he'd given him the nod as Manager of the Breynar branch he'd jumped at the chance. Who wouldn't?

From an obscure loan officer to top man of one of the concern's main houses was no small accomplishment… and all he had thought of was what it was going to mean to Jan and the twins.

The fact that Darrel Jenkins was a bachelor seemed no more than natural. At only 4'8" or 9", chicken-breasted, bald, reckless and ugly-faced, one didn't associate him with the opposite sex, even in thought. And that had been his first mistake.

Jenkins had sprung the girls on him shortly after their first land deal together. But first the little man had invited him to dinner at his exclusive Phoenix apartment. And there, over fine imported wine, explained the simplicity of making a substantial profit on a quick turnover of some desert land where he knew a shopping center was undoubtedly going to be constructed.

Was Gil interested? Naturally, he had been. Any fool would've been, but he had no money to invest.

"Hardly a problem," the monstrous little creature had replied, grinning at him. "A bit of manipulation at the bank… make yourself a loan."

"Without collateral?"

"You have collateral, Gil," he said evenly. "I'll just sign your note."

And he had! The profits in less than a month had been staggering! He'd bought the K-Bar-L with them, and then had followed more and more such investments, until he no longer felt it necessary for his benefactor's signature on his loans, even though he knew that without collateral they were illegal, or at the very least, could cost him his position if discovered.

But confidence had come with success, and he'd never lost a dime on Darrel Jenkins' ventures. Besides, he didn't want the little man to know that his savings were next to nil. That somehow he'd managed to squander all the money he'd made on luxuries for his beloved family with whom he was seldom in attendance anymore.

A businessman such as Darrel Jenkins might not approve… or he might lose faith in him, and he didn't want that to happen. Their new existence, their place in the social register of Breynar, had become too luxurious, too necessary to give up now.

"I have some friends coming to entertain us, Gil," Jenkins had said over a celebration dinner that night in his apartment.

"Oh?" Gil had responded, smiling, but hardly hearing him.

He'd been too engrossed with the fantastic profits his first land venture had brought him. Jan had been out of her mind with joy, and even the kids had seemed happy.

"Will you buy me a horse, Daddy?" his lovely Katie pleaded, coming over to drape her voluptuous young body onto him in the chair.

God, she was so lovely, with hair the color of his own and eyes that could have been plucked from his skull. She was his daughter, all right, and he loved her. Maybe too much. He couldn't deny to himself that in his most secret moments some wild and forbidden thoughts had rushed through his mind. Nor was he at ease when she dropped onto his lap that way, her luscious behind squirming down delightfully onto his rod, her arm around his neck and her fantastic young breasts pressing against his chest. Christ, he was always afraid his prick was going to give a start.

"A horse… with a ranch to go with it," he'd answered, shifting to relieve the swelling pressure she was causing.

"How about a new sports car, Dad?" Lee asked excitedly, dropping down beside his mother on the couch and slipping his arm around her neck affectionately.

"Sure… why not?"

"And maybe we can all take a trip down to Tucson and see our friends for a week or so," Jan had put in, as if reading the twins' thoughts.

"Yes, Daddy… that'd be super!" Katie chimed agreement.

"Well… we'll see," he'd answered, knowing that he wouldn't permit it.

Knowing that he didn't want her to have anymore to do with the Farnum boy, but not knowing why?

"I… I wish you didn't have to leave tonight, Gil," Jan had said suddenly. "It seems like we should celebrate."

"Darrel's expecting me."

"Do you call him Darrel, Daddy?" Katie asked.

"Sure, why not? We're partners, Doll."

"But he's a millionaire!"

"And we're going to be too, sweetheart," he told her. "We're going to be too. And then you, your brother and mother are going to have everything your little hearts desire. How does that sound, Baby?"

"I… I don't know," Katie answered, unsure of what that entailed. "Good, I guess."

"Of course, it does, Angel. Of course, it does!"

And it had, then, he had thought. But that was before Darrel Jenkins had told him of the friends he had coming to entertain them.

"Friends? Who?" he'd questioned, noticing for the first time that the little deformed man across from him had a wide, even-teethed smile, and that his eyes, though small, were the color of agate.

It had to be the wine, Gil decided subconsciously. The wine on top of the martinis. Then, he couldn't forget that he was now, all of a sudden, what might be considered a wealthy man. At least, he'd have no worries the rest of his life if he went on living with his family as he had the past sixteen years. What a fine sensation of security it gave him!

"Girls," Darrel Jenkins answered his question. "What else? Or does it surprise you that an ogre like me would prefer the company of the female to all other animals?"

Gil laughed. It was a partially forced gesture, but superbly handled. He saw the gleam in the little man's eye searching his face almost rancorously.

"Are you kidding… a bachelor like you? On top of that, you can't be more than a year older than I am."

"43."

"You don't look it."

"That's because I'm deformed!" Jenkins spat, yet smiled. "People with warped bodies either look a 100-years-old, like the monsters in movies, or resemble children, such as dwarfs. I'm neither one, Gilbert, as any of my girls will tell you! I have two fantastic things going for me. One is my money. The other… well, you'll see that before the night's over with."

Gil had sat there and drank wine with him until he was damned near blurry-eyed, Jenkins' first explanatory words bouncing around in his mind above all others. And then, the girls had arrived.

Really, he'd hardly believed it was going to happen. Then he'd looked up and the maid was letting them in. Immediately, they ran over to bend down over the man to shower him with hugs and kisses.