The Deep Sleep
Chapter Four
Being a Marine, I have a lot of experience digging sand on a Pacific beach. The difference is that on places like Pelilieu, there was a chance I might live. I’m pretty sure I’m a goner on this beach.
I owe the fact I’m still breathing to the laziness of Officers Cumberland and Rossetti. I wake up in the back of their prowler parked near a wild stretch of beach covered with dunes. They don’t want to dig the grave, so they drag me out, lose the cuffs, and give me a shovel. Both of them have hit the donuts a lot harder than any PT.
For now, I’m basically intact...except for the bump on my head. A real goose egg... you know, like you see in cartoons.......think Popeye and Bluto. I also have the headache to go with it.
Cumberland sits on some driftwood smoking a cheap stogie while his partner covers me with a cop issue scattergun. He’s the one that breaks the silence.
“Weekend’s coming up....think Dorvak will let us have some fun with the inventory?”
”If he does, I’m asking for the Chinese gal again, how about you?” Cumberland smiled at the thought.
”You see the new one, the Greek gal from the diner....Madronne, I’d like some of that pie.”
The hell with his shotgun, I decide my last act will be trying to cave his skull in..
Cumberland snorts.
”Show some manners, Sal......the gumshoe used to be boyfriends with the lady.”
”I ain’t asking for his permission. Besides, he won’t care soon as he finishes that hole.”
“It don’t matter. The Greek gal is slated for Dorvak’s private harem.”
I see a chance, if I can get Sal to come closer. I speak for the first time since I started digging.
”Just as well, Sal......you’re not her type. She prefers doing it with a man.”
Both cops are shocked, then Cumberland breaks out laughing. That makes Sal even madder..
”Funny guy. Dorvak said kill you. He never said it had to be quick. I’m gonna shoot one limb off at a time, if you’re still breathing, then I’m gonna get personal.”
It worked, the palooka moves closer so he can aim tighter on my limbs. But then, there’s a sharp crack. Sal’s body twists, then another crack, and his head explodes. When his body hits the sand, I see Pedro aiming a 45 semiautomatic pistol about 75 feet away.
There’s still Cumberland. He’s good in a scrap so long his opponent is handcuffed. All my Jarhead instincts kick in and I’m moving while he’s gaping. Even with my bum leg, I’m grabbing the shotgun just as his hand starts fumbling at his holster. The scattergun blows him off the driftwood.
Pedro trots up to me.
”You hurt?”
”Just my pride......I won’t be wearing a hat for a while. Hell of a shot from that range.”
”No....it took two bullets.” His disappointment is the closest thing to an emotion I’ve heard from him.
I help him bury the bodies and the scattergun after wiping it down. Then we wipe down the back seat of the patrol car. That’s when it hits me....I’m now a cop killer. A dirty cop, sure, but that won’t keep me out of the gas chamber at San Quentin.
After our clean up, we head to Norma’s Caddy. Pedro is as silent as ever. I try to make conversation.
”San Diego, Paris Island, or Quantico?” His shooting stance was 100 percent Marine issue.
”Quantico, El Presidente sent me there for advance training by your Marine Corps.
“Why aren’t you in Cuba, killing reds for Batista?”
”Sinking ship.”
I thought that was crazy, Uncle Sam, United Fruit Company, and the Mob would never let Cuba go red. But, after seeing what he could do with a pistol, I kept it to myself. Instead, I say:
”Thanks.....for back there...I think I could’ve got Sal, but not both.”
”Didn’t do it for you. You need to do your job.”
”Norma pay you well?”
”Didn’t do it for money, either, Dupuis.” I look at him. Again, I detect human feelings.
”Yeah.....Norma’s a beautiful woman.”
He just shakes his head.
After a while, we were on the Coastal Highway, headed for the Breckinridge Mansion. As we pull in the driveway, he suddenly hits the brakes. He turns and faces me. There’s something like a human being in his eyes.
”Patty.....she is so special...and everybody just wants her to use her and her damn money. When you get her......please...give her to me.” His voice shakes with emotion.
”So she can be your rich zombie gal?”
The pleading turns angry. “No, you bastard. To get her away from all of this. I’ll take her to New York....Chicago. Find her a doctor who will free her.”
”Then the two of you get live happily ever after?”
He closes his eyes, and to my shock, a tear falls down his cheek. “No. I’m like you, Dupuis. Dirty...done too many things. Men like us don’t deserve such an angel. Once I know she is herself again....I’ll leave and never see her again. I’ll see she doesn’t remember me....any of the bad things. She’ll be free.....I swear it.
Look, I have money. Men like me are always in demand. I’ll match whatever that bitch offered you.”
”And if I don’t?”
He opened his eyes. The dead shark eyes were back.
”I’ll find you, and kill you real slow, Dupuis.”
I enter the mansion and am met by Norma. She’s been crying. She wears a sheer dressing gown. She is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Then she throws herself into my arms.
”Thank God.....you’re safe.......when Pedro said you’d been taken....I didn’t know what to do...Luckily, Tony knew where the cops take their victims....”. Her body presses against mine. She bathes me with wet kisses, first on the cheeks and throat, then she makes her way to my mouth. The dressing gown falls open, and she’s wearing nothing underneath.
The journey to the master bedroom happens in a blur.
Look, I told you....I’m no angel. Norma Breckinridge is a fever, and there’s just one way to get over it.
After, we lay together. For the first time in a while, my leg don’t hurt. I look at the large mirror over the make up table, admiring her long, tanned form. Norma? She watches the smoke from her cigarette twirl to the ceiling. She speaks first.
“I’m sorry about your waitress friend.”
“I’m the idiot who got her involved.” I replied. I shift my gaze to the large mirror. The thought about my latest betrayal of Angie hurt more than the goose egg on my head.
“I’m sure Doctor Volkner can help her, like he’s going to help Patty.” She pauses. “Do you really think you can get her out?”
“There’s no sure thing. We gotta move quick, tonight. Once they move her, we’re screwed. I’m going in after the club closes, maybe 2 in the morning.
“What do you need from us?”
“Pedro to start. Cumberland and Sal are out of the picture, but that still leaves two bouncers. I need them.....neutralized. Second, Tony P. He has to keep the cops away, no matter how many citizen calls they get. Also, Dorvak still thinks Tony P is his go between between him and the mob. He needs to reassure him as best as he can when Dorvak starts calling in a panic. He’s going to be spooked when the two cops don’t check in or show up. What’d Tony do about the Swede?”
“He’s disappeared, Tony thinks he’s on the run. One good thing, he’s pretty sure he’s not been to the Club.”
I don’t like this development, but there’s nothing to be done about it. She nuzzles her head next to mine. Her hair smells like lavender. But her words are not real romantic.
”Get dressed, the Doctor and Tony will be here soon.”
Doc Volkner arrives first. He tries to catch me up on the topic of hypnotism. He’s seen Angie again, and tells me what he’s learned. He says that Dorvak’s brand of hypnosis is weird. Turns out once the trigger is set in a girl’s mind, it can’t be removed or changed.
This gives me an idea I can use. I keep it to myself.
Tony P arrives. He brings bad news.
”Dorvak’s panicking. He’s closed the club and there’s a truck parked behind the club.. He won’t tell me where he’s going. I try to settle him down, but he keeps threatening to call the bosses downtown. I think he’s bugging out, tonight.”
So much for doing this around 2. “OK. We do it soon... after dark.”
I catch Norma nodding at the Doc.
Pedro drives me. I persuade him to let me check on Artie and Angie. After that, he helps me darken my skin and hands. I’m all in black, including a black knit cap. We park in an alley and make our way to the “Alka Seltzer” billboard on the road. Speedy Seltzer looms over us with his stupid tablet head and body. I feel the same butterflies I felt in the landing craft waiting to hit the shores at Pelilieu and Inchon. I kinda wish I had a seltzer to calm them down.
We are right to be moving now. There’s not one truck parked behind the club, but two. One is a panel truck that’s all sealed up. The way it sags on its wheels, we know it’s fully loaded. The other one’s a refrigerator truck, and you and me both know it ain’t carrying steaks. There’s also a large station wagon. My guess the Space Girls get that for their ride.
On cue, a Space Girl comes out the back door with a cart filled with film canisters. I’m relieved to see it’s not Nancy, the star of my plan.
In exactly five minutes, Pedro will distract the two bouncers. He has a pistol, but hopefully he won’t need it. Gunfire draws attention. Tony P has promised the cops won’t respond to any calls, but we don’t want to test this.
Five minutes gives me plenty of time to get to the fire escape. I slowly move up, cringing with every creak. Finally, I get to the landing by the office window. I can hear Dorvak through the window. He’s yelling, from what I can make out he’s sore Tony P’s not available. This ain’t right, the plan was for Passanno to take his calls and reassure him. Finally he slams the phone down and storms out of the room.
I hear drunken singing from behind the building, then gruff yells. That’s my signal. I go to the window and am relieved it’s still unlocked. I creep into the office and see a large briefcase sits open by the safe. I make my way to the door, and I hear Dorvak again.
“Nancy, I want you to go to the safe and pack my uncle’s manuscript and the Trigger Ledger in the bag next to the safe. Bring it to the car and get in and await further instruction. Do you understand?”
”Yes, Master..,,I understand.....I will obey you.” Her voice drips with desire. I quickly make my way to door to the blackmail corridor. I just make it as Nancy pads into the office. I wait until both documents are in the briefcase. She is kneeling, closing the safe. I think real hard, trying to remember the words. I make my move.
“Barefoot Nancy must listen.”
I feel like an ass saying this. But I’m rewarded as the kneeling blonde stops closing the safe, turns her head and blankly looks at me. I go on:
”Mr. Sandman, bring me a Dream.”
Her eyes fill with desire, like Angie’s did with the Doc. It’s not at like when Dori triggered her. I guess it’s a bonus Dorvak puts in for us fellows.
”Make him the cutest I’ve ever seen.” She murmurs this line while staring at me, like I’m now the cutest she’s ever seen.
I step back in, go to the office door and quietly close the door all the way. Barely above a whisper, I talk.
”So......Nancy.....you’ll now obey me, right?”
She smiles and nods her head.
”Yes, Master....we have said the words, and I will obey.”
For a minute, I consider all the implications. As I’ve mentioned, I’m no angel. But then, I’m back to business.
“Pull out the trigger ledger for me.”
She obeys, and soon it sits on the desk.
I need Patricia Breckinridge’s trigger if I have any hope of getting her out of this madhouse. I look in the “B’s”. I pull out the wrong page and stare at it for a long moment, then pocket it. I then grab the right page. I told you, my memory is real good, but I take extra care. Unlike Nancy’s, Patty’s trigger is not a song I know.
I think a minute, then. I pull out the Dorvak brainwashing cookbook. Then I grab the poetry book and the Armand Dupuis novel and put them in the briefcase for weight. I then speak to the hypnotized Space Girl.
”Where is the Breckinridge girl?”
”She’s in the Contemplation Room, Master.”
A weight lifts off my shoulder.....she’s still here.
”Do you have the key?”
She shakes her head, but opens the desk drawer and holds up a ring with about seven keys. I take them from her. I consider keeping her with me, but I know that if she don’t show up with the briefcase soon, Dorvak might lose it and scram.
“Ok....listen up. When I tell you to start, you’ll slowly count to a hundred. Then you’re going to do what Dorvak told you.....sort of. You will take the briefcase to the auto. If anyone asks, the Manuscript and the.....Trigger Ledger....are in there. You won’t say anything about me, or what you and I’ve done here. Can you do all that, Honey?”
”Yes, Master. We have said the...”
”Yeah, right the ‘words’.” I take a long look. She’s very pretty, and the idea she’ll do anything I say is just too tempting. I check the hall outside the office. It’s still clear. I take a long look. Then I pull her to her feet. She stands real close, I feel her breath.
”Kiss me.”
There’s no time for any “Yes Master”, as she falls upon me like tiger on a buffalo carcass. Her kiss is long and passionate. I find myself loving the sense of power....over her...Potentially over any woman. Norma......Angie....
What am I thinking? I tell Nancy to stop.
I’m drowning in guilt. To even think about doing something like this to Angela. That’s when I understand the seductiveness of this insanity. Once I get Patricia safe, I’m going to destroy the ledger and the manuscript. They are big and bulky, and I’m going to have to come back for them. I stash them into the blackmail corridor, then close the door.
I tell Nancy to start counting.
I check the corridor, it’s clear. I make my way to the stairs. I hear some talking, then a door slam. I go down the stairs. I find the right key on the third try.
Sitting in the middle of the empty room on a folding canvas chair is Patricia Breckinridge. She’s pretty in a girl next door kind of way. She wears a sweater and a skirt. Of course, she’s got no shoes. She sits there, her hands folded on her lap.
”Barefoot Patricia must listen”
Her head swivels, and looks at me blankly, like a beautiful doll. I gotta admit it gets my motor running.
I finish the trigger.
”We are the Men of Westwood.”
Adoration fills her eyes.
”And we hail to Blue and Gold.”
Remember, she was a UCLA cheerleader.
I got no time to play around. I just tell her to quietly follow me. Space Girl Nancy, having finished her count, passes us on the stairway with the briefcase. She pays us no mind.
I take her to the office, then to the window. Pedro is there, halfway up the fire escape. He’s sees her, and he looks near tears. Then he looks angry.
”Wake her up.......this is a....a horror.....they made her soulless.....dead.”
I shake my head.
”Think it through, Pedro.....we wake her up......what she going to think? We don’t have time for explanations. Keep her goofed up until you and she are far from here.”
He nods and picks her up. I look at him, and ask what the hell he’s doing,
”She’s my angel ....I cannot let her bare feet cross the hard ground.”
Yeah....I know, corny as hell. But the damn thing is......I believe him. Also....he hasn’t said a word about the papers. I make a snap decision. I decide to trust him. I tell him Patricia’s trigger. He’s gonna need it to get her away. I have to go back for the papers.
We argue in whispers, but finally, he triggers her.
I hope I’m right about the guy. I escort them to the billboard.
Before he heads off into the darkness, he turns to me.
”if you go back, watch your back. I saw Passanno show up.....he didn’t see me. He watched you go up the fire escape. He looked angry.....very angry.”
I ask about the bouncers.
He smiles. “Don’t worry about them.”
I take that in, then wish him luck. They disappear into the darkness without another word.
I head back, and creep up the stairs. I carefully look through the window. Dorvak is bent over his desk. I can’t tell if he’s dead, but I don’t see any blood. I look around the office, and notice the door to the blackmail hall is slightly open. I had left it closed. I draw my gun.
I go back down the fire escape and head to the back door. The trucks and the station wagon full of hypnotized ladies still sit there. The bouncers’ corpses are between the vehicles. It makes me rethink trusting a stone cold killer like Pedro. Nothing I can do about it now.
I go in the building. Soon, I’m at the bedroom next to the office. I go in, but I leave the light off. I look around until I find something that’ll work. By the door there’s a coat rack....you know....the kind with a single pole with a bunch of hooks. I hold it hooked under my left arm, keeping my right holding my 32. I get a running start.
It hits me I kinda look like a knight in a joust.
The coat rack breaks through the two way mirror enough that I can lean my head and shoulders into the secret hallway. I immediately see Tony P looking through the cracked door, he’d been aiming at the office window. Now, in the commotion, he turns toward me....too slow...too surprised...lit up by the light from the office making him a easy target,
Tony P talks big, but always leaves the rough stuff to his crew. I spent my youth in combat. It’s not a fair fight.
His shots go wild. Mine catches him in the chest.
I go to where he lays sprawled.
I don’t get it. I mean, I get him having me killed.....I always knew there’d be a double cross. But why put himself in harm’s way....even without the Swede, Tony P had a dozen guys to rub me out. I have to ask:
”Why?”
Tony P looks up at me.
”You couldn’t......keep your hands off of her.....you.....piece....of...shit.”
Then he’s gone.
I got no time to give a eulogy or think about how he knew about Norma and me. I gotta get out of here.
I grab the papers and go down the fire escape. I head for the office, it’s the only place I can think of.....I don’t want to bring anymore trouble to Angie and Artie. I’m nearly there...but then I see something....something bad.
The Cadillac is still in the alley. I run over. Pedro’s broken body lies by the open trunk. He looks like a farm thresher ran over him. He’s barely alive. I bend down, and he whispers two words before he passes.
”El Gigante.......”
That’s when I notice the Caddy is real low on its suspension. Its engine starts.
That’s when the hypodermic needle goes into my neck. I whirl around....but things get real cloudy. I make out an arm closing the trunk, then the Caddy pulling out the other end of the alley.
Then I see nothing.