The Topekan Read online

  The Topekan

  by

  Roy Batty

  This is a work of fiction. None of the characters or situations portray real people or situations. Any similarity to actual persons or events is coincidental.

  Copyright 2016 © by Roy Batty.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author, except for brief quotations in book reviews.

  ASIN:

  Other titles by Roy Batty:

  The Miracle Worker

  Loving Lana

  House Dunedain

  I Know, Right?

  Gatling Gun

  The Adventures of Swarvy McCark

  Visit the Roy Batty website and sign up to receive an email when new titles are released: http://roybatty427.wixsite.com/author

  1.

  The spa was had cypress trees out front and Spanish tile on the roof. Frank Shine’s blue Camaro on monster truck wheels was parked in the driveway. Danny walked inside and went into the lounge, which was a sunlit room of tan stone with a pattering fountain in the center. The place was so nice that he felt like he had been missing out on the party. Frank Shine sat at a table near the bar. Danny joined him and asked,

  “How’s the Camaro doing?”

  Frank hurriedly sipped his whisky and replied,

  “Going to install a new carburetor! Have a round!”

  “I don’t think so. I’ve got work.”

  “Come on, just have one.”

  Frank had a whisky ready for Danny.

  Frank was a bouncer-sized man with short blonde hair, intense blue eyes, and he wore blue jeans, nike’s, and a button-down, not tucked in. Danny sipped his drink and said,

  “Jesus this shit tastes like nail polish remover!”

  “I got bottom shelf, it’s cheaper that way.”

  “Have you taken the photos yet?”

  “Not yet. What’s the project this time?”

  “A woman giving something good to a bunch of guys.”

  “Too bad Damminway’s in. No more fun for the boys!”

  “Yeah. I’ve got work to do. When can you get me the photos?”

  “Pretty soon.”

  “Like when?”

  Frank glared at Danny and said,

  “I’ve got a lot on my plate! If you want someone else to do it I’ll give your money back.”

  Danny was annoyed. Why couldn’t people just get shit done on time? Frank tilted his head back and emptied his tumbler then he refilled it and emptied it again. Danny stood up to go but Frank leaned over, grabbed Danny by the arm and said,

  “You think you can take me?”

  Danny was ready to lose his temper and he gave in to the anger and growled,

  “You’re so drunk right now I’d knock you on your ass.”

  “Allright then lets see it.”

  Frank started to stand up but Danny short-jabbed him on the chin and Frank sat back down quick. Danny said,

  “Stay the fuck down.”

  Frank rubbed his jaw and said,

  “Damn.”

  “Get me those fuckin pictures by tomorrow or get my money back.”

  Danny was fuming. He walked to the exit and turned to look back at Frank, whose head had drooped to the side and his eyes were closed. Then a deep rumble shook the floor. Danny was startled and he braced himself in the entranceway. The windowpanes rattled. It was over before he had a chance to be afraid. Lately little earthquakes had been happening in Kansas City, the first time in recorded history. It was troubling. What might it lead to? Those idiots down in Oklahoma were causing it by drilling the shit out of the earth. People were so fucking stupid.

  After the little earthquake he walked outside into the warm sun and sat on a smooth pink boulder in the courtyard. Danny was a good-looking guy, not quite Hollywood material but enough to turn some women on. He wore a suit and tie and looked like he was 28 but he was 35. Short brown hair, athletic build, an average middle-class guy with frustrated hopes, but still trying to make it happen. He sat and waited for another shockwave but it never happened, and he was absent-mindedly looking at the palm of his right hand and appreciating the grassy smell of the plants when he noticed someone striding toward him on the sidewalk. He looked up and a jolt of fear hit him. It was Annie. Annie had a trim figure, long legs, and long blonde hair. She also had a beak-like nose and a feverish sickness in her green eyes. Her face looked like she had just swallowed a teaspoon of rotten bumblebee shit, or maybe scarfed down a dirty tube sock. Danny sat up straight and forced himself to smiled at her. Annie’s eyes were intense as she began,

  “Hey!”

  “Hey, do you work here?”

  She ignored his question and continued,

  “You’re like a cat! Nobody can get a hold of you.”

  “Yep.”

  “You know what? I just got out of the mental hospital.”

  “Oh?”

  A creeping fear began to spread in Danny but he acted calm. Annie replied,

  “Yeah! You know what the fuck they did?”

  “No…”

  “There was a big lady in there and she took me under her wing because I was a wreck. She told the staff that if they took my sugar packets away, she would beat them with a cafeteria tray like a wild animal in the zoo.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, then she had me put makeup on and I asked her why. She told me it was so you look ready when your daddy show up. Then she made me wash my feet and hide my socks before bed. On my last day they prepared us for discharge by having us watch space movies like Armageddon.”

  “That’s great.”

  Annie’s story was funny to Danny but he worried that she was being sincere. He was worried that she would try to kill him when she finally realized he wouldn’t get back together with her. Danny hoped she would take a hint and that he wouldn’t have to directly refuse her. He hoped she would find someone else and move on, but years had passed she was still stuck on him. Pure insanity. She continued,

  “These non-blonde bitches at work give me shit. It’s blonde hate. I’m a hardcore bipolar Barbie.”

  “Hey, I have to go.”

  Danny’s voice was gentle but he felt rotten because he hated disappointing her, and he hated her for making him do it. Annie’s smile faded and her eyes looked black. She finally replied,

  “Call me later.”

  “Okay.”

  Danny shivered under her stare as he walked away. He had let other women down before. There had been Mary who had left him then had a kid with another guy, and then killed herself. Danny had been sad about that, but not as sad as if she would have stayed with him and killed herself. But he was nothing to Mary and she left him. Still he had wished he would have been more for her, enough to make her stay in this world and stay with him, but he had been neither of those things. Mary was beautiful, and she died, and he respected her for being resolved enough to do it. As for Annie, there was no way he was going to bite the bullet and be with her. If faced with the choice of being her man or letting her die, he would let her die. He still felt sad for her though. Annie must have been very lonely to be looking to him for love, when he had none for her. She had not found a single person who liked her, accepted her, cared about her, understood her, enjoyed her. What must that have done to her heart?

  2.

  Danny was sitting at his desk that evening when Chrissy walked into his office. She wore a short black dress that clung to her haunches. His heart skipped a beat. She had long blonde hair, a great figure, and a pretty face. She stopped at his desk and smiled at him. He knew he had to be careful in order to avoid making stupid decisions with her. She said,

  “Well, what now?”

  “Now we wait it out. T
hey’ll make an offer-”

  Chrissy angrily replied,

  “I’m not pleading! And I’m not going to stop working either. I’m not going to miss out on this money for some stupid court case.”

  Danny got angry with her for being such a nasty idiot, and he had an urge to tell her to fuck off and die, but he remembered to take her side and tell her what she wanted to hear,

  “I agree, this case is stupid and we’re planning to win. I can’t believe they arrested you for this. It’s ridiculous.”

  Chrissy’s scowl softened. Her tone softened too and she asked,

  “Did you know I was runner up for Miss Cass County six years ago?”

  “You were runner up?”

  “Can you believe it? This isn’t the end of the road for me.”

  “If we can keep you out of trouble somehow.”

  Chrissy smirked at Danny’s joke and she asked,

  “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  He felt like she was interested in him but testing the water to see if he would jump at the bait so he played it cool. Maybe she also wanted to see if she could make him compromise his professionality. She knew Danny liked her. Now it was a matter of what would or wouldn’t happen next. Danny was aware that ‘No sex with clients’ was the third rule of lawyering, preceded only by ‘Cover Your Ass’ and ‘Get The Money Up Front’. Chrissy’s slim arms dangled in front of her and she looked down like a girl who had misbehaved, but there wasn’t an ounce of humility in her. She continued,

  “I may be in more trouble.”

  Danny replied with a playful jab,

  “More trouble? Trouble costs money when you dump it in my lap.”

  Chrissy rolled her eyes at him and continued,

  “My UA came back dirty and they want to put me in jail!”

  “Dirty with what?”

  “Speed. But I have a prescription!”

  Her eyes searched Danny’s face. He stood up and walked to the window. His tie felt tight around his neck so he ripped it loose. She was another idiot. She was lying to him and he knew it, and even after years of practice, lying clients were still mildly annoying. It was all part of the job though. It was dark outside and the smell of rain blew in with the breeze. Chrissy asked,

  “Will they revoke my bond?”

  Danny turned to her and his eyes went to her legs. She caught him looking and he was embarrassed and he looked away and replied,

  “I’ll try to talk the judge out of it. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

  His reply was brusque and Chrissy didn’t like it. She frowned and her eyes burned as she looked up at him and said,

  “You better talk nice to me, buddy.”

  Danny liked her burning eyes and her bravery and he smiled at her. She put her hands on her hips. That was ladylike and it made him soften. Then he snapped out of it and strode to the coat rack. So what if she disliked his tone? He was the goddamn lawyer and he would call the shots. Over the years Danny had reached the conclusion that leaving decisions up to other people usually resulted in shitty situations. This especially applied when dealing with clients, since people lose their minds when they’re charged with a crime. Sometimes Danny hated his clients, but he still did his job.

  Yellow light shone down from the streetlamps outside his office. Heat was trapped in the brick wall from the day’s sunlight. Chrissy’s flats clopped against the concrete as they walked. Danny felt nervous and he walked fast and looked around. She asked,

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Why are you looking around like that?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Stop acting like a jerk.”

  Danny was amused by her. Other clients acting that way might have made him angry, but not Chrissy. Maybe it was because she was cute. The Lemans was parked on the curb. When they stopped beside it, something surprised Danny by emerging from the shadows.

  3.

  It was a man with a big square jaw. There was a shuffling behind Danny and he turned and saw a second man, skinny and wearing a ballcap. Danny was horrified and his adrenaline got flowing. The skinny man grabbed Chrissy by the arm and she reached into her purse but he yanked the purse strap and whispered to her,

  “Come, eat fireworks in the graveyard.”

  That scared her and it enraged Danny. The square-jawed man had the grin of someone who enjoyed hurting people, which made Danny’s blood boil. Sqaure jaw took a step closer to Danny, who spoke up,

  “You want our wallets?”

  Square jaw did not reply. Danny continued,

  “What the fuck are you gonna do? You’re gonna get fucked up, Jack.”

  Chrissy reached into her purse, pulled out a can of mace, and held it up. Danny continued,

  “She’s gonna spray you with that shit. Now what the fuck you gotta say?”

  Chrissy’s eyes shone and she screeched,

  “Yeah, fuckface!”

  Danny mumbled to her,

  “Quiet.”

  She snapped,

  “Don’t tell me what to do, dipshit!”

  The men looked amused. Danny figured it was now or never and with a surge of power he whipped out his left hand and chopped square jaw in the gullet. There was a wet pop noise and square jaw doubled over. Danny wouldn’t have minded killing them both. He whirled to face the skinny man, who backpedalled. Danny chased him and whopped him on the side of the head. The skinny man’s ball cap fell off. A long ponytail swished out from under his hat and he staggered backwards. Danny shouted to Chrissy,

  “Let’s get outta here!”

  Then Square jaw’s forearm slammed onto Danny’s face from behind and Danny felt metal touch his neck. Danny panicked, grabbed square jaw’s wrist and strained to hold the knife away from his neck. He caught a glimpse of Chrissy stepping towards him. She held something up and a warm spray burned his eyes. It smelled like cut onions and roach spray. Danny’s eyes clenched shut, square jaw let go, and Danny staggered forward and yelled,

  “You sprayed me with that shit!”

  Chrissy replied,

  “Tough shit!”

  “I can’t see!”

  Danny held out the car keys and shouted,

  “Get us out of here!”

  He heard a metal canister ping against the pavement and Chrissy took the keys from his hand. He heard the Lemans passenger door open and he moved towards the sound, slid into the seat, and shouted,

  “Drive the car!”

  “I know what to do, jerk!”

  She drove. Soon they walked into Danny’s apartment and he locked the door behind them. His heart thudded and warm sweat covered his body. He walked into the kitchen and rinsed his face in the sink then he asked her,

  “Any idea who those men are?”

  “No. Looks like I saved your butt though.”

  Danny laughed and replied,

  “Yes you did. I’m a lucky man.”

  “Yes you are. I don’t know what you’d do without me.”

  He enjoyed her sense of humor. Chrissy set her little red purse on the end table next to the couch then she turned to face him, clapped her hands down against her thighs and said,

  “Honey do you have anything to drink?”

  “Over there.”

  Danny nodded towards the kitchen. He liked being called honey and he looked at Chrissy’s hind as she walked. Fools like Danny got themselves into lots of trouble over a hind like that. Chrissy got two tumblers from the cabinet, opened the freezer, cracked out the ice, and said,

  “Would you like one?”

  “Damn right.”

  The cat wandered into the kitchen and Chrissy asked,

  “You have a cat?”

  “Of course.”

  “Typical for a Topeka boy.”

  Chrissy walked to Danny and handed him a tumbler of bourbon then she stood in front of him and a little smile appeared on her face. He took a sniff of his bourbon and she asked,

  “What ar
e you doing?”

  “Smelling my drink.”

  “Weirdo!”

  “Said the criminal.”

  She scowled at him and walked out to the balcony. He followed her and apologized then they stood against the rail and sipped the bourbon. The air smelled of wet pavement and the treetops were motionless in the darkness. Danny asked,

  “How’d you end up where you are today?”

  “I’m not a streetwalker. I used to have a good life before my father died. Don’t judge me.”

  Danny didn’t say anything. Chrissy continued,

  “I screen my clients and I use protection.”

  “Good for you.”

  Chrissy punched him on the arm and said,

  “You’re gonna get the shit slapped outta ya, bucko! Why are you so quiet?”

  “I like the way you look tonight, and I’m shy.”

  She smiled and they sipped their drinks as they stood side by side looking off the balcony. She was close and warm. Danny wanted her and he finally gave up turned to her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. He figured that most likely no one would find out, and if they did they wouldn’t care, and if he was nice to her she wouldn’t turn on him. She asked,

  “What was that for?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’m tired. Can I stay the night?”

  “Only if you behave.”