Tip Tap Toe

By J. Lamar

Sergeant James Douglas and his partner are investigating the murder of a security guard at the Laverty Farm Equipment Company that occurred during an apparent robbery. As the investigation unfolds, it is apparent that the motive for his death is more than robbery. Soon, the detectives have reason to believe that other murders may be related to the same killer and this might only be the beginning.

The investigation takes them to Cincinnati, Ohio where the murder of an honorable man occurs soon after they arrive. The murderer, now classified as a serial killer, is on a rampage. He has a knack for tracking and terrorizing his victims before he moves in for the kill. He is able to conceal himself and at first appears to be a crazed psychopath, but this monster has the cunning and strength of a wild animal.

It is up to Sergeant Douglas to find out what has set this beast loose and how to bring him to justice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469189741

J. Lamar

The Author is a Marine Corps Veteran. Having earned two honorable discharges, he served in Okinawa, Japan. Following his military service, he joined a Metropolitan Police Department, and received training as a recruit police cadet. After his training, he rode a police beat for three years then was assigned to the Detective Bureau as a Robbery Detective. He was promoted to Detective Sergeant and transferred to the Criminal Intelligence unit. It was in this unit that he investigated organized criminal elements, setting up on the intended targets, tracking them, using visual, and other investigational methods to determine their modes of operations. The Author holds a Flight Instructor Rating in single and Multi-engine aircraft, Instrument Instructor, and a Commercial Helicopter Rating.

Book preview

Tip Tap Toe

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

J. Lamar

Copyright © 2012 by J. Lamar.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2012905833

ISBN:                   Hardcover                       978-1-4691-8973-4

ISBN:                   Softcover                        978-1-4691-8972-7

ISBN:                   Ebook                             978-1-4691-8974-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

113150

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 1

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

The January night was bitter cold, with near-freezing rain. The old courthouse was just about one hundred years old. The architecture was very ornate inside and out, and not a lot of updating had been done over the years, but it would take an inordinate amount of updating to really make the old building shine! Inside the halls, the old watchman made his rounds, checking for unlocked doors and possible intruders. He shuffled along the hallways, making sure there were no fires or other problems.

Rudy Jenkins was a seventy-five-year-old retired policeman having served for twenty-nine years in the police department and was now augmenting his retirement with the extra job of patrolling the courthouse. The old courthouse brought back many memories to the old man—many of them bad, and some of them good! The only lighting available to the man were the Fire Exit signs and the light from his three-cell flashlight. Rudy was on the eleventh floor, walking up the steps to the twelfth, when he began hearing a noise. Click . . . clack, click . . . clack, click . . . clack! The noise grew louder as he climbed the steps. As the watchman arrived on the twelfth floor, he observed the source of the noise! The elevator door was trying to close and then reopen. There appeared to be some obstruction preventing the door from fully closing! When the old man neared the elevator door, he saw the source of the obstruction. A shoe—a female’s shoe—was over the door track, blocking the door from fully closing! As he reached down to remove the obstruction, he looked into the car and saw the body of a woman! The old watchman knew death when he saw it, but he never wanted to call someone dead if they weren’t! He reached down and checked for vital signs on the prone figure but found none! There was a lot of blood pooling around the body, and he was careful not to step in any of it.

The first responding unit, the uniformed beat car, skidded to a stop outside the front entrance to the courthouse, where the two officers were met by the watchman, who took them to the location of the body. The officers advised the watchman to leave everything as it was and not to turn off anything or change anything. They then advised radio that they had a body, a homicide, and that they needed the robbery/homicide unit to respond! Almost immediately after that transmission came a reply over the radio. 604 is okay with that information and responding.

The detective, Don Adams, was met at the door by the watchman, who escorted him to the twelfth floor. The detective then called for a crime scene unit and had the watchman rope off the stairways to the twelfth floor. Additional units arrived at the scene, and the search for a killer, who may be in the building or on the grounds, was under way! The killer had remained behind at the scene, enjoying watching the activity and listening for any information that may be helpful. The killer’s access to concealment was available, and the conversation between the watchman and the lone police detective was noted. The killer would remain in hiding at the scene until the K-9 unit arrived.

Identification found on the body was that of Sylvia Crane, a state prosecuting attorney! This was an apparent homicide!

Detective Adams was a four-year veteran police officer who was working solo, as his partner was on vacation. The detective was advised that the autopsy would be conducted at eight the next morning.

The detective stayed with the crime scene unit throughout their forensic investigation, helping to guard the scene and assisting in any way that he could. The unit was self-supporting in that they were able to operate independent of any extraneous entities and worked long hours ensuring that the scene was completely processed and all possible evidence was collected and properly cared for. The detective did not have to worry about having to go home and get ready for his shift for the next day, as his shift had already ended and he was working on overtime. The detective was notified by his lieutenant that a day-watch uniformed unit would be relieving him, and they would guard the scene until the coroner and homicide lieutenant relieved them.

Detective Adams wasn’t looking forward to this part of his job: the sight of a human body sliced open upon a table and all the organs and entrails being taken out was sickening, even to many veteran police officers who had witnessed the procedure before.

The next morning, as he stood watching the procedure, he remembered the first autopsy he had witnessed! He was a fairly new detective as he had stood watching as the chest was ripped open, the bone sawed, and the organs pulled out of the cavity of the body. The detective had looked at the face of the corpse and began to see it move and then stare at him! He had felt as though he was not able to stand and began to sway, and then he had to exit from the room to get some air! Now he was not as queasy about watching the procedure as he had seen several since that first time!

The coroner’s inquest was held three days later, and he released the results of his findings of the autopsy. Death was due to a puncture wound to the aorta, with a weapon similar to a long bladed knife by an unknown person, initiating almost-instant death! The body had a 0.12 reading for blood alcohol!

Chapter 2

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

The patient, Detective Sergeant James Douglas, was sitting up in his hospital bed after having his doctor examine him. He had received good news and felt like he just might survive the attack from Willie Manning.

Prior to his doctor’s arrival, he had given a descriptive outline and summary of the events leading up to his confrontation with the intruder and his subsequent actions resulting in Willy Manning going over the parapet of the roof! He had related to his fellow investigators—both federal and those from his department—that he was patrolling the fifteenth floor of the hotel and was in the hallway that was perpendicular to the hallway where the two suites 1501 and 1520 were located! He had just entered that hallway, on the south side, when he heard a series of shots, both pistol and shotgun blasts; he then began to run in the direction of the hallway on the north side, from which he had heard the shots!

Before he entered the hallway on the north side, he heard another series of gunshots. As he rounded the corner to that hallway, he saw a figure backing out of a room, farther up the hallway. Suddenly, the figure turned and started shooting in his direction. He knew at the time that he had been hit but kept running toward the figure and fired two shots at him as he headed toward the exit door to the roof. The figure hit the exit door, running; and as he went through the door, it remained in the open position. That gave the detective a slight edge of gaining on the intruder!

As he cleared the exit doorway to the roof, he turned in the direction that the intruder had fled; and as he saw the intruder, he raised his pistol and fired several shots and then collapsed. Then everything went black!

One of the questions asked of him was Did you know it was Manning?

No, but I figured that it was!

Did you see him go over the roof?

No, after I fired, that was the end of what I remember!

The group of law enforcement officers then told Detective Douglas what had occurred after he had fallen as a result of the intruder shooting him! Two of your shots hit him just as he turned to fire at you, and the impact of your blasts, along with the momentum of his running, knocked him over backward. And he sailed over the parapet, out over the side of the building, then landing square on the tip of the steel lance of the horseman’s statue—impaling him! The patient settled back into his pillow, closing his eyes, and began to sleep again, more content now than before; and he would rest much better!

The detective had just been examined by his physician, Dr. O’Brian, in his hospital room; and the doctor told him that he had to adhere to his list of instructions. If he agreed to abide by the doctor’s orders, he would be released today!

Okay, the doctor said, I will sign the release, and I will advise your wife that you are free to go home. When you get there, she will be in charge, as she is taking some time off from her job here to care for you until you get better!

Jim asked the doctor to remain for a few minutes, and then he said, Doctor, I know how hard you worked on me, and I know that I was near death, and you worked extraordinarily to keep me alive and patch me up! You are a skilled surgeon, and I would like to thank you profusely for the care that you have given me. I also want you to know that if you ever get in some kind of jam where you need help from someone like me, you have a standing invitation to call on me, and I will do my best to help you in any way that I can… if I can!

Thanks, Jim, for your kind words and your offer of assistance. I will certainly remember that!

Ten minutes later, the doctor left; and Jim’s wife, Donna, arrived with some clean clothes for him to wear home! Okay, lover, I guess you know that I am in charge now!

Jim replied, Yes, dear!

When the two arrived at their condo, their little dog, a Brussels griffon, would not leave them alone; and she was so excited to see Jim that she wet the floor in a couple of places, unable to control her glee at seeing him! Lilly jumped in Jim’s lap when he sat on the couch and refused to move away!

Okay, lover, here is what we are going to do. The doctor okayed a physical exercise routine, and we are going to start on it today! Each day, we are going to the pool, and you are going to do aquatic exercises that are less stressful on your body than ones that you were used to doing in the past.

Every other day, for the next month, Donna oversaw the aquatic exercise routine that she had set up for him. Jim Douglas looked better and seemed to be gaining a lot of his strength back. When the month was over, she told him that it was time to go see the doctor and get his blessing as to whether Jim was fit to return to work.

The doctor had signed Jim off as fit to return to duty but cautioned him that he wanted him to curtail any extraneous types of work for at least another two weeks! Jim agreed to abide by the doctor’s instructions. The next Monday morning, Detective Sergeant Jim Douglas returned to headquarters and to the robbery/homicide unit in the detective bureau. All his friends congratulated him on his actions against the serial killer Manning and told him how happy they were to see him back in action. He started to work by reading up on all the crime, reports, and the wanted-persons lists. He was happy to be back!

Chapter 3

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

The robbery/homicide unit was under the leadership of Lieutenant Ed McHugh, a no-nonsense, tough Irish Catholic. Lieutenant McHugh was a policeman’s policeman! He not only ran the unit—he led the unit! Detectives could expect to find their lieutenant on the street, looking for the perpetrator after a robbery, checking for suspects in the area, and even setting up a surveillance in an alley, waiting for the suspect to show up! There was more than one instance where Lieutenant McHugh apprehended a suspect single-handedly while in wait! Lieutenant McHugh made a decision to make Sergeant Jim Douglas and his new partner, Irene Harris, the lead investigators on the Sylvia Crane murder case. Detective Don Adams would be a supporting detective on the case, as his partner was on vacation.

As the detectives assembled in the conference room, Lieutenant McHugh made a statement to them: I am here to watch and to learn! I know that all of you are capable of working this investigation to a successful conclusion. I will supply you with all the support and any other help that I can.

Sergeant Jim Douglas started off, We want to find out everything that we can about the victim, Sylvia Crane… why she was in that elevator, whom she dated or associated with, who had a grudge against her, and what places she frequented. We want to dig into her caseload files and find out what defendants might have reason to murder her. We know as of now that she was a tough prosecutor who had a lust for winning cases against the criminal elements of our society! That point may well be a good starting point for this investigation. Many of you already know, or should have heard, the gossip floating around about her personality, in that she was a bitch and had an ill temper for many of those she had to deal with. So now, I believe—as you do—that she probably had many in this community who would not mind seeing harm come to her! One more item, I want her investigators interviewed, including her secretary, and we want to know if she had any threats leveled against her. And last but not least, we want to know whom she has been sleeping with! Sergeant Jim Douglas then turned the floor over to Lieutenant McHugh. Gentlemen, I know that this investigation is in good hands and that you will bring it to a successful conclusion! Detective Irene Harris knew that Sergeant Jim Douglas had a big say in her selection to be his partner! Irene loved this man! She loved him as much as any gay female could ever love any man! He was everything that a straight woman would want in a husband! Other cops noticed how she looked at him, showing admiration that no other man would receive from her! She would make him proud of her.

Irene Harris had been a detective working in the general assignment unit, and that was known as a catch-all unit, meaning that a detective there might be called upon to work any kind of case, including but not limited to robbery/homicide, missing persons, and also unsolved cases. Jim Douglas had an occasion to observe her work habits and found that she was a conscientious worker, with above-average intelligence. He knew of her reputation as a hard worker and that she was saddled with a name given to her by some of the slackers in the department. That name was Dyke!

Detective Douglas had heard all the rumors relating to Detective Harris, but he was interested in her ability to solve cases and work with him without too much overseeing her work.

Chapter 4

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

Cory Davis was a shady attorney on the fringe of the law and had never been an honest person! He was a born cheater, always looking for the easy way to accomplish a task, finding ways to bypass the system, and even committing crimes in his mission to make money! He was more comfortable working outside the law rather than within! Cory had several prostitutes that he pimped for and even used them in setting up robberies.

Cory would set up high-stakes poker games, and then he would enlist a crew to rob the participants of the game! One night, with a game in progress, two of his stickup men burst in the door with guns in their hands, intending to rob the pot and the players! One of the players was also armed with a gun! The armed player pulled his gun and fired at the first man that he saw. One of the other bad guys shot the player! The man shot by the player headed out the door into the night. Two detectives crossing the street from their parked unit toward the strip club encountered the wounded holdup man and put him on the ground. Meanwhile, the participants of the game scattered!

Detective Jim Douglas was very familiar with Cory Davis and his criminal background. One such caper landed Cory in jail and cost him his license to practice law! This happened when a police sergeant had approached Jim Douglas and his partner, Burt Willis, and asked them for their help with a certain situation! Of course, they told him. The police sergeant, a ladies’ man, was well-known in all the strip clubs. He was attracted to the strippers and some of the prostitutes that habituated the strip clubs. The sergeant advised that he had a lady friend, Viola, who was a stripper, and she also worked part-time for the attorney Cory Davis as a hostess at some of his poker games! She had found out that Cory had set up some of these games to be robbed by two of his cohorts, and she didn’t want to be involved in these crimes and needed help in freeing herself from Cory Davis’s influence.

Recently, one of the men began hitting on her and was becoming a nuisance! In some of the conversations with him where he was trying to impress her, he bragged about what they did for Cory! Once, this guy was juiced up and began bragging about how much money he would have! He mentioned that they were going to hit a check-cashing place on Walnut. He told her that Cory had been using them to rob several poker games, games that he had set up! He had been doing it for quite a while and was raking in a lot of money! The detectives took the information the police sergeant had given them to the special investigations unit! The commander of the SIU, Lieutenant Lawrence, was briefed on what they had. He advised them to map out their plan, and he would implement it! The stakeout was implemented, and the two holdup men were caught in the act, and Cory Davis was filmed taking the money bags from them and then attempting to leave the scene. Fortunately for him, he had friends in the courthouse, and he skated with probation and the loss of his law license! The detectives were livid!

Chapter 5

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

Ronnie Smithy was an electronic whiz! During his early years, he tinkered with anything electrical, trying to figure out how it worked! He had joined the army, and his aptitude tests showed that he was more capable of communications work than to be a grunt foot soldier! Ronnie started out climbing poles and stringing wire. He enjoyed strapping on the steel gaffs and the heavy-duty gloves, clamping the leather strap of the belt around his waist, and then digging in one of the gaffs into the pole with his left foot, stepping up and digging in his gaffed right foot, then walking vertically up the pole like a monkey on a stick!

Once up the pole, he reached over and unhooked the belt clip and pulled the belt around the pole and his backside and hitched it up to the clip buckle. With this, he settled back into the wide belt, resting his weight on his two gaffed feet into the pole and then observing the sights around him.

Ronnie thirsted for more knowledge; he knew how to climb polls, he knew how to string wire, he knew how to hook up telephones, and he knew how to troubleshoot malfunctions in the phones. Ronnie occasionally took passes outside the base with a few of his buddies for the occasional beer and pool game. He liked to look at the women too, as there was an abundance of them just outside of the base along the strip clubs under the neon lights.

Ronnie’s company commander called him in one day and asked him if he had any aspirations of going further within the communications field. The captain advised Ronnie that there was a slot open for someone with his qualifications, and he would be happy to recommend him for the school if he wanted! Ronnie enrolled in the class, and within six months, he was ready to start work in his new field of communications. A lot of the teletypes and telephone equipment were used in conjunction with radio telephone equipment, and there was a knack at adapting the telephones and teletype communications through radio transmissions. Ronnie graduated from the school and continued to have his head in the books, reading all he could to further his knowledge of electromechanical equipment and its use and adaptation. Ronnie Bradford was discharged from the army, and he was soon looking for a job, preferably in the communications field!

Ronnie drifted into a bar to get a cold beer. The bar’s name, the T & A Bar, was an odd one. But what the hell, he was here just for a couple of beers. As Ronnie was sipping his beer and looking around at some of the females in the place, a man’s voice on his left asked if he was new in town. Ronnie told him that he was just discharged from the army and was looking for a job. The manager, George, shook his hand and told the bartender to set him up a beer! George asked Ronnie what kind of work he was looking for, and Ronnie explained what his profession was.

George seemed more interested and asked, Do you know much about telephone equipment and their capabilities of being traced and tapped and how someone could go about getting information about them?

Are you talking about bugs? Ronnie asked.

"Yeah, you know anything about them?"

"Do you mean finding them or installing them?"

Both! The manager set Ronnie up with another beer and then a few more!

Chapter 6

113150-BYRD-layout.pdf

Vincent Amato had recently considered relocating from the state of Florida, and it was not just a seasonal change for his health, but a change for his survival! Vinnie, as his friends called him, had quickly gathered all his possessions along with a stolen car and plate that he had inherited from a wanted serial killer known as Willy Manning. Vincent Amato had previously migrated from New York to Florida to get away from some legal troubles that plagued him there, and it had necessitated that he change his address!

Vincent was now ready for another change of residence since he had fingered the killer, Manning for the purpose of putting twenty-five thousand cash in his pocket! His plan went awry, as the feds complicated the matter by trying to squeeze more information out of him! They used the pretext that he was an accessory to some bank robberies Manning had committed! Vinnie had held up to the intense interrogation and stood his ground because he was a pro and had a lot of experience dealing with the authorities in matters similar to this! The only thing Vincent had done was drive a rental car to a prearranged location where Willy, after robbing the bank, met him, abandoning the stolen car he was using, and then Vinnie picked up Manning in the trunk of the rental car and drove away. Vinnie found out later that Manning had robbed this same bank previously, and the guard had shot him in the leg during his escape. Manning wanted to get even with the guard and wanted to rob the same bank so that he could shoot the guard! Manning was a crazy bastard, and Vinnie feared him!

Vincent Amato was a street man and hustler! He had a lot of contacts and was in touch with many entities that could provide goods and services, under the counter things of value including guns, cars, and drugs. Vinnie would often act as a representative for females many would call whores! Vinnie knew that some would call this pimping, but Vinnie thought it was good clean work!

His previous territorial change, and now this one, was putting a dent in his business and causing Vinnie to start over! He would start out new but did not have the location picked out yet, but he was flexible! He had thought of going back to New York, but he nixed that idea pretty quick! He had left there while under a cloud of suspicion and thought they were about ready to arrest him for some of the deeds that he had been involved in! After giving it some thought, he didn’t think that was such a good idea! He would think on that some more while he relaxed in the room until checkout time, and then maybe he would have a few better ideas.

Vincent Amato decided to amble over to the restaurant, get some breakfast and a paper, and lie around resting until it was checkout time. He would have a few ideas on where he wanted to go by then. As he walked across the parking lot to the restaurant, he saw a newspaper dispenser box near the door. He looked at the headlines and almost pissed his pants!

Accused Serial Killer, Manning, Slain in Gun Battle with Police!

According to police sources, an intruder made an attempt on the lives of persons in two different rooms of the Plaza Hotel during the early-morning hours of June 3! The intruder managed to gain access to the upper floor of the hotel then continued to two different guests rooms, with intent to murder the occupants!

Detective James Douglas shot the intruder as he attempted to escape and was wounded in the exchange of gunfire. The intruder tumbled off of the roof and was impaled on the lance of the horseman statue as he fell! The intruder, Willy Manning, was pronounced dead at the scene! Detective James Douglas was transported to Mercy Hospital. His condition is listed as grave!

As he finished reading the newspaper article, Vincent Amato was elated! There was no one to tie him to any of the crimes that he helped Willy Manning with! There was no reason for him to leave town now! He could return to his activities as though nothing had ever happened! He went out to find a license plate, on a car that matched the stolen one that he had!

Thirty minutes later, Vinnie Amato was cruising southbound on I-95!

Vincent Amato drove the stolen car, with the recently stolen plate, south on I-95, observing and obeying the speed limit! Just under six hours later, he arrived at the outskirts of the city! He was somewhat weary and had a taste for a nice cold beer. He continued on until he was at the location of the T & A Bar, drove around to the lot in the rear, and parked in an empty slot. He locked the car, because he was leaving his bag there for a short while. Later, after dark, he would take the car to a part of town where he knew it would disappear within one hour after parking it there! He knew there were a lot of thieves in that area, and there would be those in need of a set of wheels! That would be the place to park a car if you wanted it to disappear!

Vinnie walked through the rear door and down the hall to the front, where the bar was located. He pulled out a bar stool and lifted himself up and sat. Vinnie nodded to the bartender, and he drew a draft beer and sat it in front of him. It was if no one had known that he had been gone!

As he sat sipping his beer, he noticed a figure moving up on his right side, then saw a small dark-haired Oriental female smiling at him, and at first he did not recognize her! Mieko, the girl that Willy had gone crazy over! He reached out, putting his arm around her, giving her a hug and asked what she wanted to drink. Seven and Seven, she responded.

Did you hear about what Willy had done at the Plaza Hotel?

Yes! she replied.

He go… How you say… nuts?

Yeah, I guess you could say that, Vinnie said. As he sat there looking at her, he felt a stirring in his groin and suddenly thought, She looks like she would be a good lay! He moved his hand over to the inside of her inner thigh and asked, How about it? You want to do me?

You want to go short time with me?

Yeah, if that’s what you want to call it!

Mieko took Vinnie’s hand in hers and slid off her bar stool, and they both walked toward the stairs, then up to the landing, turning right, then walked down the hall and stopped at a door. As she opened the door and walked in, he followed and began taking his shirt and shoes off. He further stripped off as he sat down on the bed, scooted back to lay his head on the two pillows, and watched as she stripped in a slow methodical fashion! The last article of clothing she took off was a small pair of pink bikini panties. As she peeled them off, she took them in her right hand, extended on one finger, pointed up, as if in an obscene gesture, while approaching the bed, then as she got onto the bed, she held them up and out to him, saying, Present to you, and smiled, and he took them!

One hour later, content and spent, Vincent Amato, rose from the bed and headed for the shower. He turned the two spigots on and adjusted them until a strong steady stream of hot water rained down on his body. As he stepped into the