Naughty Read Free Page B

recorded her, all they’d see was her floppy hat. Cars behind them honked.
    “Can’t think and drive at the same time, Stu?”
    He stepped on the gas. Hammett watched the gears turn in his head.
    “And if I give you a name, you go away? How do I know you won’t hold this over me forever?”
    “You’re a smart guy. You can get rid of your computer, delete your online accounts. Since I contacted you, I bet you’ve already done that. I’ve got the laptop computer you sent those pictures to. It’s got the emails on it. A unique IP address. You give me some names, I give you the laptop and let you go. Promise.”
    Her offer made no sense. She could easily copy the emails, or the hard drive. And if he thought about what she was asking for—information and not money—he should have been questioning her motive, following it to the inevitable conclusion.
    But Lupowitz was looking for a way out, and desperate men didn’t think clearly. Which is why the pervert had called one of his seedy friends and bought himself a throwaway piece, no doubt to use on her. What a charming man.
    Apparently Hammett’s acting skills were good enough for him to believe her, because he said, “Tex Darling.”
    “Tex Darling? That’s his real name?”
    Lupowitz made a face like a bad smell had entered the car. “I doubt it. He’s a porn producer. But he’s connected. And I’ve gotten certain… um…
materials…
from him that aren’t for sale through regular channels.”
    “Does he shoot these materials himself?”
    Lupowitz went silent again. Hammett gave him a quick jab in his thigh with the scalpel, in-and-out like a snake striking. It took a moment for the pain to register, the blood to come. But when it did, Lupowitz acted appropriately surprised.
    “JESUS CHRIST! YOU STABBED ME!”
    “Press your palm to it. Keep pressure. I may have hit an artery, and you could bleed to death. Plus, think of the upholstery.”
    He pressed a hand to the widening circle of red on his leg.
    “Now I’ll ask again, and I’m done with your lengthy pauses. Does Tex shoot these materials himself?”
    “Some of them.”
    Hammett noted in Lupowitz’s expression and tone that he’d gone from worrying about his secret getting out to worrying about his life.
    “Have you ever been in one?”
    “What? No! Are you nuts? Me, being in a video?”
    “But you bankrolled a few of these productions, didn’t you, Stu?”
    Lupowitz hesitated only long enough to glance at the scalpel again.
    “I gave him some money, cash, no record of anything.”
    “And he made a movie just for you?”
    Lupowitz’s eyes began to get glassy. Perhaps he was finally realizing what a monster he was, but Hammett guessed it was self-pity.
    “I gave you a name, like you asked.” His lower lip trembled. “But… but you want more than just a name, don’t you?”
    “Gas station, on the right. Turn in.”
    He did. Again Hammett kept her face down, away from the pump cameras.
    “The automatic carwash. Pull up.”
    He stopped the car next to a credit card kiosk, which allowed a person to pick the wash they wanted.
    “You’re a rich guy, Stu. Get the Ultimate Wash. Comes with an undercarriage cleanse and Turtle Wax. Seems like a good deal.”
    “My credit card is in my wallet.”
    “So whip it out, stud.”
    Hands shaking, wincing in apparent pain, he reached for his back pocket and managed to pull out an AmEx Platinum from a calf leather wallet. The kiosk thanked him in a robotic voice, saying his Ultimate Wash would take three minutes.
    “Roll up the window and pull in,” Hammett ordered.
    “You’re going to kill me.”
    “I’m going to give you a chance to live, Stu. That’s the truth. Now pull into the goddamn carwash.”
    He drove into the Y-shaped conveyor track which caught his left front tire.
    “Put it in neutral.”
    He did, full-on crying now. The conveyor engaged with a mechanical whir, pulling them into the carwash. Foamy soap dripped onto the windshield