The Jack Frost Thrillers - Box Set Read online

  Chapter 6

  On a brilliant Tuesday afternoon, Tina Giovanni once again held court at the hotel swimming pool, on exhibition for a new group of tourists. She lay face down and topless, basking in the sun, wearing only a brilliant red string bikini bottom. Occasionally she lifted herself on her elbows, just far enough to expose most of her breasts as she reached for lotion, or to rearrange some imaginary, out-of-place item.

  As she shifted into a more comfortable position on the towel, I whispered into her ear, “Too much sun causes wrinkles.” She turned her head and lazily looked up at me.

  “Well, hello,” she said with a broad smile. She boldly looked me over as I settled down next to her. I wore white trunks, so as to not appear completely out of place at the pool while I chatted with her. I was hoping that Varchetta would not bother keeping an eye on her while she was around the hotel. If I was wrong, I’d soon have a visitor in the form of Red Sleeves, or one of those giant redwoods that go around posing as security guards.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, after the other night,” she said. “Too bad Red Sleeves interfered. We could have had a good time.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Really?” She propped herself up on her elbows, which lifted her breasts high enough so that only her nipples remained flattened against the towel.

  I looked around. Every man within fifty yards was lusting with wide-eyed fascination; every woman wore a look of total disgust.

  “What are you doing here?” she said.

  “If you can slip away from Varchetta, maybe we can go out one of these nights.”

  “I can get away tonight,” she said enthusiastically.

  “Ten o’clock okay?”

  “I’ll be there, Frost!”

  Tina watched the big man stand and walk away. She sighed. Suddenly tired of the sun, she got to her feet, leisurely wrapped the towel around her enormous breasts, and tied it in the back. Then she picked up her bag and walked through the poolside crowd, smiling at each gawking male as she went.

  A plump, florid woman in a loud, one-piece bathing suit shouted, “Brazen hussy.”

  “Piss off, fatso!” Tina shot back.

  The woman gasped and put her hand over her heart. She turned to her husband, a meek little prune with flaccid white skin. “Arthur, did you hear what she said to me!”

  Her husband smiled. “Yes dear, I did.”

  “See you tonight, Artie,” Tina said. “Same time, same place. Don’t be late now!” With a bawdy laugh, she walked away. She could only imagine the hell that poor man would pay for his little trip to Las Vegas.

  Minutes later Tina strolled slowly through the throng of people that filled the casino floor, sunglasses propped on top of her head, the towel knotted around her swaying breasts. People moved out of her way as she approached, then stopped to stare as she passed by. She enjoyed being the center of attraction. Drugs had never been an attraction for her, sex had always been enough.

  When she left the casino floor and walked up the steps leading to the glass doors and the curved driveway beyond, she turned and looked at the crowd with an amused smile.

  She had everyone’s attention. With a flourish, she whipped off the towel and twirled it over her head.

  The crowd roared its approval. One drunken cowboy turned to his friend and said, “God, Casey, I just love this town!”

  Satisfied, Tina wrapped the towel around her breasts once again and turned and walked through the swinging doors into the blinding glare of the Nevada afternoon.

  Outside the main entrance, Tina’s black Mercedes appeared almost immediately. She walked around the front of the car and squeezed past the beaming young parking attendant who held the door for her. “Thank you, Freddie.” She let her hand glide over his crotch, murmuring, “Here’s your tip, sweetheart,” as she slid into the seat.

  “Thank you, Ms. Giovanni,” he croaked, as he shut the door behind her. She grinned up at him through the window, put the Mercedes in gear, and sped off. Freddie had already adjusted the air conditioning the way she liked it, the seat was in the proper position, and the mirror was perfect. The radio was also turned to her favorite station. Freddie never forgot.

  As Tina drove along the Strip, she reached behind her and loosened the knot holding the towel. She sat there in her bikini bottom, squirming against the comfortable sheepskin seat cover. She opened the sun roof and turned up the music.

  She loved to drive the big car through town, totally naked, always harboring in the back of her mind the secret desire to be stopped by a traffic cop, just to see how he would handle the situation.

  The thought excited her. She undid the Velcro closers at the sides of her bikini, lifted her fanny slightly, and pulled the bikini from beneath her. She sat back in the seat, reveling in the bawdy feeling.

  The big black Mercedes attracted attention. She knew that the tinted windows provided only minimal screening, and that if one looked closely enough, it was just possible to make out the interior of the car.

  She laughed when she saw a few of the tourists gaping at her as they realized the driver was a naked young woman! Husbands and wives nudged each other and pointed. They would talk about this back in Cedar Rapids for years to come.

  Finally, she turned off the Strip, and took the I-15 onramp heading north. She ran the Mercedes up to eighty-five miles per hour and drove that way for several minutes. Glancing in the mirror, her heart suddenly leaped. She took the Rancho Drive off-ramp, barely under control, as she divided her attention between the road ahead and the flashing red lights that filled her mirror. At last!

  She skidded to a halt on the side of the road. She smiled as she peered into the rearview mirror. The young motorcycle cop get off his bike, removed his helmet and placed it over the handlebar, then unlimbered his pad and pencil as he walked to the driver’s side of the Mercedes in his best police academy swagger.

  As he walked up to the door, Tina ran the power window down. She could see his eyes go wide behind the sunglasses. “Uh, miss, you were going mighty fast,” he stammered, staring at her naked body.

  “Really officer? I hadn’t noticed.” She started to open the door. “I suppose you want me to get out and assume the position.”

  The rattled young officer pushed against the door with both hands. “No, no, stay right there. Just let me see your driver’s license, please.”

  Tina rummaged through her purse and handed him the license.

  “I’ll have to call this in,” he said, and walked away.

  Tina laughed aloud, her eyes locked on the scene playing out in her rearview mirror. The cop read her driver’s license and license plate numbers into his microphone. After quite an animated conversation, he walked back to the car, somewhat subdued.

  “Am I under arrest, officer?” Tina said with wide-eyed innocence. “Are you sure you don’t want to spread-eagle me, or something?”

  “That won’t be necessary, Ms. Giovanni,” he said, clearing his throat. “You can go now.”

  “But I thought you said I was speeding.”

  “Well, yes, you were. Just please see to it that you take it easy from now on.”

  Tina traced the contour of her left breast with a long fingernail, watching the officer’s eyes follow the movement as she did so. She smiled. “If you say so, Officer, uh, Brennan,” she said, as she squinted at his name tag.

  She smiled at the young cop, then accelerated away, showering his motorcycle with gravel. He’d remember her name for a long time to come. Her father’s influence covered her like a suit of armor.

  Tina walked into the huge cool kitchen, shut the door behind her, and leaned against it. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was staring into the smiling face of a tall, slim black woman wearing a green servant’s uniform.

  “Micki . . . I was finally stopped by a cop!” Tina said, a triumphant note in her voice.

  The black woman laughed, genuinely pleased. “Did it feel th
e way you’d hoped?”

  Tina nodded. “It was wonderful.” She explained, in detail, the young cop’s embarrassment. The two women laughed together. Then Tina grew quiet.

  “You okay?” the black woman said.

  Tina shut her eyes. Tears began to run down her cheeks. She shook her head. “No, I’m not, Micki.”

  The black woman towered over Tina. She stepped close, making comforting little clucking sounds, and took the naked young girl into her arms. She pulled Tina’s face between her breasts, feeling the heat from the naked body against her cool starched uniform.

  “Are we alone? I need you, Micki.”

  Micki slid her hands down over the small of Tina’s back, then over her firm buttocks. She turned and guided Tina down the carpeted hallway, toward a nearby bedroom.

  Minutes later they lay entwined in each other’s arms on a huge water bed. As the long afternoon dragged on, they made love in the living room, in Varchetta’s study, in the master bathroom tub, and in Tina’s own shower, as they had so many times before.

  As darkness began to fall, Micki cradled the exhausted Tina in her arms.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” Tina said.

  “You’ll be fine, honey, fine,” Micki said.

  Tina sat up and stared into Micki’s eyes. “Why did my mother leave me?”

  Micki shook her head. “I don’t know, honey.”

  “Why did she kill herself? Was that my fault? Did I make her do that?”

  “No, no,” Micki said, pulling the shaken girl back into the protection of her arms. “You didn’t make her do that. Your mamma couldn’t help it, she had problems, lots of big problems.”

  Tears glistened in Tina’s huge eyes. “She wouldn’t have left me if she’d known how lonely I was going to be. She would have never done that to me.”

  “No honey,” Micki said with great tenderness. “She never would have.”

  Chapter 7

  Harry Varchetta let himself into his Alta Drive home with his key. He closed the door behind him and listened to the silence in the house for a moment. Then he crossed the huge living room and began to walk down the hallway toward his study.

  Tina’s bedroom door stood slightly ajar. He looked in. She stood in front of her full-length mirror, naked except for a gossamer red skirt. She was frustrated, trying to adjust something she didn’t like with the waistband.

  Varchetta stared at the swollen breasts and outlandish nipples which were reflected in the mirror. He stood there for a few moments, then knocked on the door and walked in. “Tina, I need to talk to you.”

  She struggled with her skirt. “What about?”

  Varchetta sat down on the edge of her bed. “Tina, I want to talk to you, so get some clothes on.”

  “If you don’t want to see me without clothes on, go out in the living room and wait until I get dressed!”

  “I want to talk to you now!” Varchetta said.

  “Too damn bad!” she said, turning to face him, her hands on her hips, shoulders thrown back. The look on her face was defiant. She watched his eyes drop to her breasts. “Like what you see, old man?” she said.

  “Kid, I’ve unfastened more bras than you have. I’ve seen tits in every shape and size imaginable. You haven’t got anything new. I can have a different woman every night if I want, so don’t try that bullshit on me, because it won’t work.”

  Tina whirled angrily and faced the mirror again. She began to furiously brush her hair, her breasts bouncing heavily as she did so.

  “Do you think you’re going somewhere tonight?” Varchetta said.

  “Bet your ass!” she said.

  “No you’re not.”

  She turned to face him again. “Hell yeah, I am! I’m not staying in this house one more night.”

  “You’re staying here until your father gets home. Then I’m done with you.”

  “And when he gets home, I’ve got plenty to tell him!”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as you sitting on my bed watching me while I’m naked!” Tina said with a snarl.

  “Your father knows he can trust me.”

  Tina laughed. “Yeah, he can ‘trust’ you all right! Because you’re scared shitless of him!”

  “At least you’ve got that right,” Varchetta said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t cross him for any amount of money, or any number of broads. I know it, and he knows it, so don’t make yourself look stupid by even bringing it up.”

  Tina pouted for a moment, knowing it was true. Varchetta stood, wincing as he held the small of his back. He turned wearily toward the door as Tina said, “I am going out tonight!”

  Varchetta stood in the doorway for a moment, the doorknob in his hand. He smiled at her. “Wrong,” he said, as he shut the door and turned the key. He stood in the hallway and listened to her scream of rage. She hit the door on the run, then yanked on the knob until the door literally vibrated on its hinges.

  “You sonofabitch!” she screamed. “You ferret-faced little bastard!”

  Varchetta winced as Tina reeled off a seemingly endless list of downright astonishing obscenities. He shook his head in amazement as he wearily headed for his bedroom. Behind him, he heard things crashing to the floor, mirrors being shattered, and furniture being splintered into pieces. He winced again as he heard the sound of the big plasma television screen give way.

  He wouldn’t open that door again for anything or anyone. A wrecked room he could fix, but if something happened to Giovanni’s daughter, there’d be no way to fix that. He’d let her out in the morning for breakfast. He thought about that for a moment. Better yet, Red Sleeves could let her out.

  Tina sat in a heap on the floor in front of the locked door, fighting tears of frustration. She looked around at the shambles she had made of the room.

  She set her jaw, got to her feet, then walked to the closet and selected an outfit. She stood in front of the cracked mirror and breathed deeply until she got herself under control. Then she sat down at her dressing table and began to apply her makeup.

  After a while she stood, got dressed, then sat down again on the chair. She casually folded her hands in her lap, closed her eyes, and sat for about an hour, to be sure that Varchetta was asleep. She would, by God, get out of his house, and she would, by God, see Jack Frost tonight!

  When the hour was up, Tina opened her eyes as if coming out of a trance. She walked to the door and looked at it for a moment. Then, with the end of her hairbrush handle, she began prying up on the inside hinges. After she succeeded in removing all three hinge pins, she got on her knees and slid her fingers under the door. She tugged inward. The door dropped out of the hinges, the full weight of it coming down on her fingers. She stifled a cry of pain, and wiggled her fingers free. She sucked on them for a few moments, then pulled the door open far enough for her to squeeze through into the hallway.

  With her shoes in her hand, she walked toward the front door. As she passed the open door to Varchetta’s study, she glanced in at the big desk which dominated the room. Suddenly, a picture of him sitting at the desk poring over a black ledger filled her mind. He had quickly closed it when she’d walked into the room a few days ago, so it must be something important.

  She quietly entered the room and sat down behind the desk. She tugged on the desk drawer. It was locked, as she expected, but a locked desk drawer was not much of an obstacle. She’d found that out from a classmate in one of the many finishing schools she’d attended.

  Within minutes she had it open. She pulled out two black ledgers and opened them. The information looked important, computer-generated spreadsheets detailing a daily tally of casino takes, by date.

  While she did not know what the problem was between Frost and Varchetta, she assumed that these books, in Frost’s hands, would at least be a source of aggravation to Varchetta, and that was good enough for her.

  Tina carefully shut the front door behind her and walked quickly to the Mercedes. She closed the driver’s door quietl
y, and started the car.

  Chapter 8

  Ripper heard the sound first. Frankly, I wouldn’t have noticed a marching band coming up the RV steps, because at the moment I was somewhat distracted, to put it mildly.

  An hour earlier, Susan had given me one of those long, sultry looks, and had advanced on me like a hungry praying mantis. She’d towed me off to bed, where I’d submitted like a gentleman should.

  We were still heavily engaged in this wonderful contact sport when I stopped what I was doing and tried to disengage myself from her overheated body.

  “Where are you going?” she whimpered.

  “Ripper heard something,” I said, shushing her. I walked into the darkened living room and stood near the door, listening. Ripper stood at full attention.

  Just then there was a knock on the door. “That probably rules out Red Sleeves,” I muttered. “Who is it?” I called out, standing to one side of the door.

  “Tina Giovanni.”

  I groaned. Susan called out to ask who it was. “Tina Giovanni,” I said. I heard her groan, too.

  “Just a minute,” I said to the door. I went into the bedroom, pulled on a robe, then went back and opened the door. Tina stood there, looking positively stunning, smiling up at me with those big eyes.

  “Hi!” she said with a huge smile.

  I motioned her in and closed and locked the door behind her. “At the risk of sounding inhospitable, what are you doing here?” I glanced at my watch. “I’m not supposed to pick you up until ten.”

  “I ran away. I’m going to stay with you for a while.”

  “Gee that’s swell. How’d you find me?”

  “I’ve known where you live for several days. Red Sleeves was driving me someplace and he suddenly decided to take a detour way out here. He never said why, but when he cruised by this park and I saw him eyeing this RV. I put two and two together and came up with you—I’m not stupid, you know!”