Mahogany: A Story of Love and Corruption

By Terry Robinson

Private Investigator Jeff Dixon finds beauty and love in Rachael Waters, a ravenous beauty who not only consumes his every waking- moment but also takes him on a roller coaster ride of emotion into Organized Crime, deceit and passion. Her double life tests the senses as Jeff falls into her carefully laid trap. Little did she know that life and love had a way of altering her plan. Jeffs fascinating journey not only changes his life forever but also costs him the lives of those he loves. Set in the magnificent beauty of Chattanooga and East Tennessee, every breath taking vista serves to accentuate the intrigue and deception culminating in an action packed and surprising finale. Each suspense filled- step of his journey will have you sitting on the edge of your chair in anticipation!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781426974946

Book preview

Chapter 1

The cold rain beating on the tin awning like muffled drums would normally have me sleeping like a baby, but not tonight. It had been hours since I awakened from the same nightmare that tormented me for days. It was now 4:00 AM. The glare of the cheap clock, in the hotel room I had found on a lonely stretch of Interstate 59 from Chattanooga to Birmingham, barely lit the room causing ominous shadows to dance about as if choreographed by Satan himself. I found my thoughts drifting back, as they had many times before, to the day my life, as I knew it, changed forever.

Love had found me, picked me out of a crowd, and gave me no chance to question or apply the caution I had always shown when meeting women. Rachael was not like any woman I had ever met. She was tall, very tall. I am six feet four and we almost looked eye to eye. I cannot recall meeting a woman of such height who carried herself so well. She had black hair that had a sultry shimmer reflecting the obvious attention and care she gave it. Her eyes were dark, maybe the blackest eyes I’d ever seen. It was those eyes that separated her from all the women I had known before. I suppose in retrospect they left me vulnerable for I found myself searching them almost as if they in some way held the secrets to life and love.

We met in a sandwich shop in downtown Chattanooga. I often frequented this shop because of the great food and convenience to my office a block away. As I fumbled for my wallet to pay I turned and there she stood. She wore tight jeans that showed off her long muscular legs. Her white silk blouse caressed her soft shoulders that were partially shrouded by the most beautiful hair I had every laid my eyes on. Her lips were full and glistened with a peach colored gloss she wore. I took it all in within a split second and then instantly I was helplessly reeling, my insides quivering as I looked into her eyes… those beautiful, dark, dynamic eyes!

As our eyes met, for a moment that felt like forever I felt awkward just like a kid in school. I wondered if she sensed my uneasiness. I always considered myself more than adequate when meeting women. Maybe this explains the awkwardness I felt. She was quite different, almost as if she took command of me with a glance. I struggled, considering my momentary instability, yet offered my best smile and hello. I paused, waiting for her response, afraid she might turn and say nothing. Instead she smiled and spoke,

Hello. Could you recommend something light on the menu? Her smile revealed a perfect set of white teeth that were simply beautiful.

Her words almost rushed past my mind. I found myself struggling. What a beautiful woman! She went on to tell me she was new in town and had never eaten there before. It was as if all the uncertainty and distress I was feeling vanished. Now feeling more at ease I introduced myself and she followed suit by telling me her name. The way she spoke her name generated instant warmth somewhere down deep inside of me.

Rachael Waters.

I can see her name roll off her beautiful lips as if it were yesterday.

She accepted my invitation to sit with me and we began a dialogue on that windy March day that drew me into not only her life but changed mine forever. Rachael explained that she was from Dallas, Texas and had been here in Chattanooga for only a few days. She was staying at the Marriott. I knew it as one of the more expensive hotels in town. She asked me what line of work I was in. I felt like I was on familiar ground having experienced this same tiptoeing that occurs when two strangers first meet.

Since my wife died 3 years ago I frequented the local bars and local hangouts in town and felt I could impress any woman with my almost endless recall of lines and humor designed to give the end results I had found myself so accustomed to. Having lost the only woman in my life who gave me a sense of happiness and stability, I had involuntarily built a wall that protected me from any new emotional involvement. The sex was always great but sex was all there was. No woman could take the place of Karen. Down deep inside I was still angry about the cancer. She was only 27 and so full of life.

Having told Rachael my name was Jeff Dixon, I explained that I was working for several local attorneys around town as a private investigator. She smiled and it seemed as if the entire room was alive. Looking back now I must have fallen like a pubescent 7th grader experiencing his first kiss. We finished our lunch and she told me she had an appointment to make in 15 minutes. She just couldn’t walk out of my life and I never see her again! I rose to my feet.

I enjoyed lunch and meeting you Rachael!

I must see her again. What could I say that would make this unbelievable creature open her life to include me? I couldn’t find the words as she strode across the room and then as if she could read my mind stopped, turned and told me to call her,

Room 651, she said with a suggestive smile that left me staring in awe.

Sure. I answered as she went through the door, out on the sidewalk, where she turned south towards Market Street.

Her tight jeans caused her every step to etch itself into my mind. She knew I would be watching. Her perfect body made her every movement breathtaking. I looked at my watch. Only 20 minutes passed since we met and my mind raced with the memory of her voice, her hair, the smell of her perfume, and those eyes! I knew I had to see her again as I wrote 651 down on the napkin at my table, room 651.

Chapter 2

Mahogany, everywhere I looked mahogany. Jack Montgomery stood behind his oversized mahogany desk with a big grin on his larger than average face. I never could understand why attorneys had to surround themselves with all that mahogany. Maybe the more mahogany the better lawyers they became. I wondered who started this craze that had swept the legal system and even infiltrated corporate America. Oh well, I thought, laughing inside, as I extended my hand to Jack.

Jack was a big fellow. I could have taken one of his suits apart and made two for me. His size seemed to fit him though. He had a thick head of dark brown hair that he wore in a sixties style. Some people never quite made the transition from their good old days. After a bone-crushing handshake he got down to the reason he called me to his office. I had been working on a divorce case for him for nearly a month and turned over my findings to him three days prior.

Great work Jeff, Jack bellowed. With the photos you took my client will have a cakewalk in court!

He started to say more when Jennifer, his secretary, interrupted us. Mrs. Nelson is here to see you.

Mrs. Nelson was the client we were talking about. She was married to a very prominent businessman in town. They were the perfect family, or so you would have thought, until she discovered he was leading a double life. They had two beautiful teenage daughters, an expensive home on Lookout Mountain, memberships at two prestigious country clubs, everything a couple could want.

For Bill Nelson that just wasn’t enough. His wife found a hotel key in one of his suit pockets she was taking to the cleaners. Of course he had a good explanation. He said something like a friend who was having trouble at home, used a hotel and forgot to leave the key. Bill was going to return it for him. All this seemed possible for Beverly Nelson did not want to think that their marriage of twenty years was in trouble. One week later her fairy tale world started to crumble. She received an anonymous call telling her that Bill was with another woman at a local motel and that they were not talking business and hung up.

Beverly walked briskly into Jacks office. She was a strikingly beautiful woman. For a lady nearly forty she managed to take very good care of herself. Pouty lips highlighted her youthful face. The makeup she wore was meticulously applied. I couldn’t help admire her and at the same time wonder why any man would want to cheat on her.

Jack introduced Beverly to me and made a few comments about how I was the best P.I. in the country. It wasn’t true but I will admit it sure sounded good.

Nice meeting you Mrs. Nelson. I said smiling.

Jack went on to explain how I had been shadowing Bill and turned up some pretty startling revelations. I could see the anticipation already forming on Beverly’s face.

Bill, Jack continued, was seeing another woman alright and we have all the goods on him!

I wasn’t quite sure what I expected from Mrs. Nelson but she sat perfectly still and showed no emotion at all. After a long uncomfortable silence waiting on a response from her Jack awkwardly continued.

Jeff followed Bill to an apartment complex in Hixson, where he picked up a young woman.

They drove to Atlanta and checked into the Sheraton Hotel, room 386. Jeff bribed the clerk for a room key, entered their room after waiting an hour or so and found them having sex in their king sized bed completely oblivious to anything around them. They certainly never saw Jeff enter their room take his pictures and leave.

Jack continued, These pictures Jack paused reaching for the envelope that lay on top his desk,

Will be all the proof you need to prove his infidelity. After another uncomfortable pause Jack added, Would you like to see them Mrs. Nelson?

Beverly simply stared at the floor. Her reaction certainly was not what I expected and I could see from the uneasy look on Jack’s face he was caught off guard as well. Beverly slowly reached into her purse, retrieved her checkbook, and proceeded to write Jack a check for $20,000.00. Upon completion she handed the check to Jack, stood and in a very soft voice, thanked us both for our help, smiled as best she could, and turned to leave.

Watching her walk across the thick pile carpet, I couldn’t help but notice that she no longer walked with the bounce in her step she showed just a few minutes prior. The pain she must be feeling now made me feel like I should help but I knew there was nothing I could do. Reaching behind him, Jack took a bottle of Jack Daniels from his mahogany credenza, poured us both a drink, and with a big smile said,

Boy, life can be a bitch sometimes, huh?

Yeah, was all I could answer?

Damn, life sure could be rough I thought.

This was the first time Jack asked me to be present when he broke such news to his clients and I asked him why. Jack Paused, grinned his big old country boy grin that somehow never seemed to fit, and with his countenance changing to a more serious look, explained.

This case is going to be different from the others you’ve helped me with. Bill Nelson is a very influential man and could make some pretty big trouble for us.

The worried look on his face had taken complete control as he continued.

Bill knows about the pictures through his attorney. He personally phoned me with a stern warning as to what might happen to me if I should be foolish enough to allow the pictures to be used in court!

Jack and I go back at least ten years. He started out as an ambulance chaser like the rest but got a break on a multi-million dollar lawsuit involving a manufacturing accident four years ago. There was a lot of publicity. Jack’s portion of the sizable judgment put him on easy street. It seemed overnight that his clientele changed from poor white and black middle class to Chattanooga’s movers and shakers. He became selective, very selective. He now sat across his big mahogany desk and I could see fear in his brutish face. After another rather large drink from his glass he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and continued.

Jeff, the girl in the pictures is a U.S. Senator’s daughter. Married daughter! he added.

He was afraid all right. His lips were quivering as he added that he really didn’t need the twenty grand and certainly didn’t need the kind of trouble we sat facing. Still shaken, Jack asked,

Could you lose the negatives if it came to it? I can tell Beverly that the pictures were stolen from my office during a break in.

He began to ramble on when I stopped him abruptly. Fear was nothing new to me. I sat and tried to understand the emotions Jack was feeling, but it seemed he was working himself up more and more as he tried to rationalize his escape from the case we were on.

Before I became a private investigator there was some fifteen years I gave the people of Chattanooga in service as one of their finest in blue. Being a police officer was a lifelong ambition of mine. Everything was going great. I was promoted to Sgt. and moved into the homicide division as a detective. In looking back those were the best years of my working life. It seemed I had a knack for solving even the most difficult cases.

There were several commendations from the Mayor and a further promotion to Lieutenant. Karen couldn’t handle the long nights alone. The phone calls during dinner revealing yet another murder that demanded my presence on the scene, left her furious. I believe things would have been different had we been able to have children. Karen had problems with her reproductive organs, some technical name I have trouble pronouncing to this day, and she was advised not to attempt a risky pregnancy.

I tried every way possible to smooth over the rough spots those interruptions caused. I really loved Karen and hated to see her upset. We were sweethearts throughout high school and married soon thereafter. She possessed a certain poise and character that gave me a total sense of security and stability.

We were lovers. In the craziest places and at the craziest times we found ourselves locked in a passionate embrace. We often talked about growing old together and all the things we would do. Those were great times!

A little more than four years ago she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Cancer, my God, how could this happen? I never dreamed she would die. It seemed like a story from hell from that day until she died ten months later. Standing looking into her coffin broke my heart. She was always so vibrant, funny, and full of life. My life changed that day. I could no longer function at the dept. and resigned six weeks later. For months I tried to put my life back together and see if my once comfortable, beautifully structured existence held any meaning. I suppose all these things that I was forced to endure made me a little tougher than Jack.

Seeing the distressed look on Jack’s face, it was clear that Jack was sure as hell afraid.

Take it easy Jack. Let’s take a good long look at every option before we decide how to handle Bill Nelson. He’s probably just pissed he got caught.

Jack appeared to settle down a bit. He sighed and I could hear the rush of whisky breath escape his mouth as he answered.

Sure Jeff, sure, maybe you’re right.

It was by total accident that I became a private investigator. One of my best friends on the dept. asked me for my help and advice. He was afraid that his wife of six months was screwing around on him. Although hesitant, I confirmed his suspicions and bingo, here I am today. Sometimes I feel I am stealing when I am paid for being such a sneak. I do however satisfy a need, whether desired or not, that our morally sick society has created.

I found that the same creative ability that helped me solve numerous crimes made my work as a P.I. rewarding and quite profitable. The hardest part, I must confess, is dealing with the emotional roller coaster I am subjected to as I uncover the deceit and abuse people heap on the ones they profess to love.

—

On the way to my apartment I stopped at Eric’s Bar for a cold beer. I had known Eric for years before he opened the Salty Dog. We were like brothers. I can’t recall a time we ever had an ill word for the other. After Karen died Eric was always there. He and I met through a mutual friend on a fishing trip on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. We must have caught a hundred large mouthed bass, in between all the beer we drank. He was as big a man as myself and had a hearty appetite for the enjoyable things in life. Although never married he loved the ladies. He once told me you could take all the women he had slept with, stand them shoulder to shoulder, and fill a high school gymnasium. If you knew Eric you would know he wasn’t bragging just talking about all his loves. A lot of the lines I use on the women I meet today I picked up from Eric.

By the time my butt hit the stool Eric had my favorite beer there to greet me. I stopped in at least three or four times a week. We would catch up on all the latest gossip and tell a few new jokes we had heard. As he went to wait on some other customers, I began to unwind and let the stress of the day subside. I enjoyed my visits to the Salty Dog. The atmosphere was great and here it was easy to unwind. The bar was nearly empty today. There were a couple of bikers playing pool accompanied by their buxom bleach blondes. On the barstool near the window sat a gray haired man wearing a UT shirt. I don’t know if I can remember coming in that this guy wasn’t sitting there drinking his beer. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and Eric had a knack for treating everyone like they were the only ones here and made everyone feel at home.

While reflecting on my activities of late, I couldn’t help but think about Rachael. She was there in the corner of my mind since I had met her. She was by far the best-looking woman that ever crossed my path but there was something else about her. I pulled the napkin from my jacket pocket, glanced at the room number, and started to remember everything about our meeting. Even though we just met I could tell she was interested in me. I wasn’t being conceited. Most of the women I met lately were only concerned about themselves, it was just something I could feel, something I knew. This black haired beauty was different. I knew I wanted to call her but I was a little afraid of the almost mystical control she exerted on me. Eric’s voice broke through,

Where were you Jeff, Looked like you were pretty deep in thought there buddy.

I smiled and all I said was, Rachael

Chapter 3

Michael, our waiter, poured wine in my glass, presented me the cork and waited patiently for my approval. Rachael watched almost humorously as I swirled and sniffed the French Cabernet I selected. Watching her across the dimly lit table, the only word that came to mind was enchanting. Her dark eyes were incredible. Much darker than they appeared at our first meeting, I thought. She wore a red dress that complimented her breasts and stood out in the crowded restaurant like a rose among thorns. The way heads turned as we entered and the ripple of visual appreciation that crossed the room reminded me of Karen. I was always proud to walk next to her whenever we ate out or attended functions. Karen had an almost angelic face and body that caused many a man to be chastised by their wife or date as they found themselves staring uncontrollably whenever she was near. I found it strange that I kept comparing Rachael to Karen.

Rachael seemed very pleased that I called her. Somehow I kept thinking she knew I would. It had been only two days since we met but I couldn’t get her off my mind. Perhaps it was her obvious beauty or the way she carried herself but more than that I couldn’t forget how she reduced me to a nervous kid at our first meeting. Regardless of the reasons, I knew there was no one else I would rather be with tonight.

Michael finished filling Rachael’s glass, smiled and left us alone at last allowing me to give my full attention to her. But before I could speak, she leaned forward, and took my hand in hers.

It’s so good being here with you Jeff. She said smiling.

My heart rate accelerated with her touch. Without a doubt Rachael Waters was a very desirable woman. I tried not to show any reaction but I knew she too could feel the electricity in our touch. It wasn’t something that either of us could hide.

"Tell me what brings you