Ch 11 Crystal Queen

Albert’s moist body swayed and thrust about in his room, moving psychotically in his room wearing nothing but his skinny blue jeans, his butt crack easily visible. The electronic techno music he had at full volume helped him get into this hypnotic rhythm, he started to lose his senses, his feet starting to lose their hold to the ground. He pulled out a tiny glass vial, opened it, and raised it to his nostrils and inhaled as he spasms and jerks his head and his eyes thrown aback. He wipes his nose spasmodically, he reaches for a box of cigarettes and a lighter and lights one.  He puffs put the smoke and then moves through it, letting the smoke smear through his pores. His sweat defined his perfectly toned six pack, his shoulders, chest and back; a perfect combination. The music hit a high point, he started to dance with cigarette smoke. He felt like Mick Jagger at a sold out concert, his roaring fans applauding him. He jumped atop the bed jumping about lazily, his movements began to slow. Reaching for his vial, his eyes forced themselves shut, and against his will, his knees turned nimble and collapsed. His face hit the ground first, his toes were raised towards sky as they slowly made way down to the floor.

Ronnie felt his stomach quiver, he was hungry but he refused to eat in front of Kessler. The same thing happened on his first date with Albert almost two years ago. Kessler stuffed his face while he babbled on about the gruesome scene he encountered. the scene was not shy of embellishment, he exaggerated to some degree, it further encouraged Ronnie not to eat anything. How could he eat when his stomach was full of metaphorical butterflies? Ronnie kept looking at his muscular and hairy hands. It was his favorite part of a man, the hands had to have some sort of damage and ware, some symbol like hair or veins that represented the entire masculine aura. And there in front of him, laced with a golden wrist watch on the left, was a pair of hands fashioned by God himself by cutting off his own and stitched them onto Kessler. He wandered and came back suddenly to Earth. The Hell am I doing? He thought. What a disgrace to Will he was, fondling over a married man like that, Will would crawl out of his grave and bitch slap him into reason, he wasn’t even paying attention to what he was saying, oh God what a terrible friend he was. 

Bradley arrived at the house he shared with Olivia, Shawn, and Beverly. Olivia was in the nice turquoise living room that might or might not have been decorated in the 1980’s. She was doing yogalates with her green tea facial mask on, her left leg in the air as she balanced her back on a yoga ball. 

Bradley burst through the front door closing it behind it. Olivia was startled and lost her balance on the ball. 

“What the Hell?!” She said. Bradley grabbed her by the arms and kissed her on the lips, smearing her facial mask onto the edge of his mouth, he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

“Wait, lemme take off my mask first!” he didn’t say anything as he carried her upstairs, he let loose on her neck as she tried scrape off her facial mask. He sobbered her neck until he kicked open the bedroom door and dropped her down the bed and she gave a girlish shriek as he began to undress her like a savage rapist nearly tearing her clothes off. He maneuvered his tricky tongue all over her sweaty body moving to more obscure places. 

They found themselves engaged in the salty push and pull of bones and pelvises. They wailed as they were succored in by human delights, she twisted and jerked as he towered over her, his perfect structure of a body released energy , like a hammer hitting asphalt. His passion and fervor summarized by softly spoken words. 

“oh Jane”

She raised his lips from her nipples and held them in a vice grip. All movement ceased.

“What the Hell did you just say?!” Furiously she slapped him and pushed him off of her.

“Baby, it was mistake!” She leapt out of bed with the covers wrapped around her, she went into the bathroom and locked herself in. Bradley, butt naked, proceeded to bang the bathroom door.

“Come on, Olivia, I did’nt mean nothing of it! Let’s just finish up real quick-“

“Get out!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. Bradley stood there regretting his words, he kicked the edge of the nightstand furiously and went to put on his clothes. Succinctly, from the bathroom hear could hear hushed whimpers and sobs.

Melvin walked into his apartment, he put down his satchel, and turned on the lights hoping to find Albert sitting alone in the dark ready to him an apology, right now he’d settle for just seeing him. But as he walked around the kitchen he wondered where he was, until he tried to open the bedroom door. It was locked.

“Albert, you in there? Listen, we have to talk, I know what happened with you and your sister, Albert, baby, we can, you know we can work this out… Albert!” He banged on the door loudly just in case he was asleep. But still no reply. 

“Albert, come on, let me in, we need to talk!” He starts punching the door repeatedly, not making a single dent in it, he places his forehead on the door while he quietly sobs underneath.

“Look I know what happened, Jane told me, its nothing hun, we can move past this, we’ll find somewhere else where you can go, but just please open this door!” He banged and banged but still no reply, until finally hit him. His eyes widened with panic, he immediately ran towards the kitchen. He shuffled through drawers, opening and closing them until he finally pulled out a mallet from one of them. 

He swung the mallet against the door lock and kicked it the door aside. His heart cringed as he saw Albert laying sloppily by the side of the bed with his mouth open. He immediately rushed to him while the techno music still played.

“Albert! Albert! Come on wake up baby, wake up!” He slapped him lightly on the cheek and held his head up on his lap. But he still got no reaction. He immediately pressed his hear on his chest and feared for his life, in his mind he was begging, pleading, supplicating to some sort of deity that he thought he didn’t believe in, it was in Albert’s subtle heartbeat that Melvin’s faith had suddenly rekindled in an instant.

“Oh thank God!” He clutches his head and lifts him up, Albert’ feet dangling off his knees as Melvin carries him out.

Megan walked down the stairs of her parent’s house wearing her fuchsia winter coat with her hood on. Her blonde hair poked out through it as her glasses seemed tinged with tears. Just at that moment Beverly and Shawn walked through the front door wearing large coats. Beverly looked a bit tipsy she clung to Shawn’s arm as she exclaimed her return, Shawn had grown a frothy beard that made him look like a lumberjack. 

“Arent you gonna say hi, Megan?” Asked Beverly as Megan walked right past them and through the door.

“What a bitch” She heard Beverly say as she was out the door and got to her Ford Concorde, turned it on and drove away. 

Megan scraped the tears off her cheeks with her wool coat, she couldn’t help it they we’re pouring out of her. She was heartbroken. She was inexplicably and inexorably in love with James Patterson, a man whom she longed for since the first moment she laid eyes on his savage mustache, his father-like features, it was something that cast a large shadow on her, forcing herself to keep her feelings to herself, as a married and religious man she could not touch him the way she wanted. Many times she tried to repress her feelings, in the end she resigned and settled for being by his side at club meetings.

She sped down the highway as hear tears became more solid and fearful. Her vision of James was obscured now, she didn’t know to believe what she heard or not. She couldn’t possibly believe that her beloved and good Christian of a man would commit adultery, especially with Regina, of all the women it had to be the one Megan despised the most. She just wasn’t going to take it, she was being completely blinded by the reverend, and it was time she confirmed it.

She turned the corner to the Reverend’s house and parked her car a few houses away. She was going to do something she thought would never occur. If what Regina said was true, then this was the perfect time to catch them in the act. When his wife was out of town, she was sure they’d be in there. She got out of her car, and silently closed the door. She scanned the streets and sprinted towards the reverend’s house. She neared towards the side of his house where his office was located on the second floor. She jumped a picket white fence, which was no difficult feat this was a wealthy neighborhood. There, in the reverend’s back yard was large maple tree, absent leaves, naked, which made it easier to climb. As she clung to each branch and stepped higher a viviparous sound grew clearer. She neared the lit window and looked into it. She saw, covered by suede curtains, the silhouette of Reverend James naked and slouching over shrugged pushing and pulling over and over again. The sound was unmistakable. She pressed her hand to her mouth as her foot became slippery and her grip on the branches loosened. She hastened down the tree holding back her wails of agony as she ran clumsily out of the Reverend”s back yard.

Ronnie’s phone ringed while Kessler was talking, initially he was going to ignore it, but then he checked the caller. It was Teddy. He questioned at first but then he submitted.

“Im sorry, im gonna have to take this, I’m so sorry”

“It’s fine take your time” Ronnie answers the phone unenthusiastically. Ronnie’s facial expression changes as Kessler watches him speak on the phone.

“Albert?! He O.D’d?!” Ronnie was genuinely surprised, he was angry with them but he knew immediately he had to be at Albert and Melvin’s side to support them, even though they would’nt do the same for Will, he wanted to be the better man.

“Alright, I guess I’m on my way” He said as he looked to Kessler apologetically. Ronnie hung up.

“I have to go to the hospital, something happened with Albert”

“I’ts fine, we’ll review this later, don’t worry about it” Just as Ronnie had packed his things Kessler’s phone begins to ring as well. It was Petrovsky. 

“What’s up Petrovsky?” 

“I was just looking up some records of incidents from that club in Ojai county, where are you?”

“I was reviewing some details of the case with Ronnie-“

“Giving away classified information to outsider, that’s not like you”

“Well, what can I say, this kid is passionate about finding the murderer of his best friend, and we’re gonna need all the help we can get” he said as he turned around and saw Ronnie exit the front door of the café. 

Kessler stepped onto his front porch and shuffled through his keys finding a small silver one and opened the door. His house was extremely humble, nothing out of the ordinary, no expensive furnishing, in fact therewas quite a mess upon entrance. Kessler heard the recognizable pitter patter of his 4 year old, Junior, running towards him.

“Daddy!” The little boy ran to his father’s embrace, and has hoisted up in the air and brought down again as he laughed and giggled. 

“How’s my little toy soldier?” Kessler gave him a big kiss on his forehead. The bucktooth child smiled. But before he could answer  shrill and annoyed voice was heard from further inside the house. 

“He’s been racking up a storm lately, I can’t keep him quiet for five minutes while im on the phone with Mary!” Kessler walks deeper into the house and finds Sarah, his wife, with hair curlers, a nigh gown, and fuzzy bunny slippers. She didn’t come over to him. 

“And where’ve you been? I called the Petrovsky, she said you left the station 2 hours ago!” Kessler was tired, he gestured his hand sweeping her off and turning away an heading towards the TV room. 

This wasn’t the first time Sarah would put on her jealousy fit, and Kessler was sick of it.

“Answer me!” Little Junior ran to his room. Kessler obliged her.

“I was working on the case”

“What case?”

“The ongoing investigation-“

“The fag case? I thought you said that got canceled, why are you lying to me?!”

“I’m not lying there was another murder and the case was reopened-“

“Oh bullshit! You’re full of bullshit David!” Her yelling igniting the cries of a baby that were heard coming from upstairs. 

“Oh and now you woke up Milo! Thanks David, you’re a real help, while you go out and play detective hero cop, I get to stay here locked inside, cooking, cleaning up after your kids, you think this is easy…”

Kessler tuned her out. He had learned to do that over past few months of her incessant rage rants, it was okay if it was every once and awhile, but it started into a daily thing with her. Kessler never starts the fight; he honestly doesn’t participate in it fully. He likes to think of the times when they were newlyweds, always happy, always in a good mood. Ever since Milo was born they’ve had about a few sexual encounters. Not that Kessler was a man who needed release he wasn’t very carnal at all, his emotions lie deeper, in more obscure places. 

As he sat there tuned in to the television, an image of Ronnie’s preppy boyish face suddenly popped into his head, his black piercing eyes the same as his hair coveted with his impeccable paper white skin. He stared at the image ominously.