Delusion by Avery North

Chapter 6

Jake pushed open the door of Butch’s and stepped into the bar. The smell of stale beer permeated his nostrils as his eyes got accustomed to the dim light.

Walking up to the bar, he sat down, waiting for the bartender who was serving someone at the end of the bar to see him.

“Hey. What can I get you?” the bartender said when he walked towards Jake.

“Do you remember me?” Jake asked.

The bartender looked at him, squinting his eyes. “Mister, I have a lot of people sit at my bar, but you do look a bit familiar.”

“Your name is Henry, right?”

“Yeah, it is. You’ve been in here before?” the bartender asked.

“Yes. It was a while ago. I was angry and upset, and we were talking about women. I was drinking Jack Daniels,” Jake said.

“Hmm, yeah … hey, wait a minute. Ya, I remember you now. You were putting those shots away pretty well. Yeah, I wondered how you made out,” the bartender said, recognizing Jake. “I take it you got in your house, okay?”

“Did I go home with anyone?” Jake asked.

“Ha,” the bartender laughed. “You could hardly stand up. The lady left you at the bar. I think she was looking for a bit more. You kept going on and on about some woman named Amber. I think she got bored and left. A buddy and I drove you home. I drove your car, and my buddy followed me. I got your address off your driver's license and left you standing on the sidewalk.”

“So, I didn’t go home with anyone?” Jake asked again, relief filling his chest.

“Nope, you were all alone. I watched you open your front door, and we drove away,” the bartender said.

“Well, I guess I owe you a big thank you then,” Jake said, smiling at the bartender.

“No problem. You looked like you were dealing with something. You sure did piss off the woman, though. I think she was looking for a good time, and you screwed up her night. It was actually funny to watch.”

“Really. What the hell was I doing?”

“Well, she kept hinting about wanting to go someplace quieter. I guess at one point she was running her foot up and down your leg, and you told her to stop because if Amber walked in, she'd be mad," the bartender said, laughing at the memory. "After several attempts to kiss you, she told you to fuck off, and she left."

“Yeah, I was pretty wasted. If I need proof about that night, would you put your account down on paper?” Jake asked. “Someone is trying to cause some problems for me.”

“Hey, no problem. In fact, I’ll do it tonight and email it to you if you want,” Henry said, nodding his head.

"Aww, that would be great," Jake said, giving him one of his cards. “My email address is on there.”

“Hey, you’re Jake McCarthy. You own the gallery?”

“I am. Have you been there yet?”

“No, but the wife wants to go. She’s into that art stuff. Wait till I tell her who I met.”

“Well, if you want a private tour, give me a shout. I’d be more than happy to show you around,” Jake said, getting up and shaking Henry’s hand.

The bartender chuckled. “I’ll just take you up on your offer.”

“Well, I better go,” Jake said. “Thanks a lot. I appreciate the information, and thanks for bringing me home. Can I pay you for your gas and time?"

"Oh gosh, no. It wasn’t out of my way, and my buddy and I were going out to a party after work anyways. I just wanted to make sure you got home safe. I should've left a note, I guess, but didn't think of it at the time."

“That’s fine. Okay, thanks again,” Jake said, walking out the door of the bar. That answered some questions, but not all of them. He really needed to find out where those pictures were taken, and he hoped that Kevin could find out the rest of the mystery.

✽✽✽

Corrine made a face when she saw the name pop up on her ringing cell phone screen. “Ahhh fuck,” she said, denying the call. “Leave me the fuck alone.”

“Who’s that?” Bob asked.

“That Richard guy. He wants the $2,000 I owe him, and I don't have it," Corrine said, bending down and doing another line of coke.

“Go turn some tricks,” Bob said, walking to the fridge and taking out a beer. “Want one?”

“Sure,” Corrine sniffed. “I guess I could. Get him off my back. The last thing I need is for him to try to get revenge and to blab all over what he did for me.”

“Any news about the pictures?” Bob asked, handing her a beer.

“No, but I assume it’s caused quite an upheaval in Amber’s perfect world. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when she confronted Jake.”

“So, what’s next?”

“Well, I'm going to wait for a bit, but I think the next step will be the gallery. I read that they were both involved in it, and it's doing quite well. I think that maybe a break-in destroys some of the artwork in there," Corrine said, sitting back in her chair. “I am actually enjoying this. Tearing down Amber’s perfect little world, piece by piece.”

“Why not steal some of the artwork and sell it? I’m sure it would bring in a lot,” Bob said, shaking his head. “Seems like a lot of work for nothing when all we have to do is sell a couple of paintings.”

“Bob, this isn’t about the money. Well, it is sort of. This is about destroying a life. Amber had given me the cold shoulder ever since she came into the money when her parents died. She may have come from money, but she is no different than anyone else. No, I want to destroy her life, just like she destroyed mine.”

“You know you turn me on when you talk like that,” Bob said, reaching down and rubbing the bulge that had appeared in his sweatpants.

“Relax, tiger. I’m not in the mood,” Corrine said, shaking her head. “I’ll tell you one thing. If my plan goes through, we will be having one hell of a celebration. We just need to be patient. It will all come together.”

✽✽✽

Richard sat drumming his fingers on the table. Another call was denied. What was she trying to do? He wanted his money. With the $3,000 she had given him, he could pay his share of the rent and some bills, and next week he had a job interview with the McCarthy Gallery for part-time security guard. It wasn’t a great-paying job, but it was a start. The other $2,000 he was owed would come in handy as a bit of a cushion in his bank account.

“Hey,” Richard’s roommate, Paula, said as she walked into the kitchen. “Why so glum?”

Richard smiled. He had met Paula several years ago in a bar. After trying to pick her up, she told him she was gay, so she wasn't interested. The two became good friends instead, and when Richard lost his job and was having a hard time making ends meet, Paula suggested they move in together and share rent and expenses.

“Oh, fuck Paula,” Richard said. “I did something I am kinda regretting now.”

“What?” Paula asked, pouring a cup of coffee.

Richard told her about meeting Corrine and what she had him do. “I was desperate for money at that time. I’d just lost my job and felt like I had hit rock bottom. I got some coke into me, and after that, nothing mattered. I screwed those poor girls while some guy took pictures of us. I have no idea where those pictures are.”

“Wow. How come I never get so lucky? Three girls, that’s a dream come true,” Paula said, laughing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.”

“It’s okay. So this Corrine still owes me $2,000, but she’s avoiding me,” Richard sighed. “Part of me wants to just say forget it, but it’s $2,000. And what did she want the pictures for? I have no idea. All I saw were dollar signs.” Richard shook his head. “She told me I was the spitting image of someone she knew.”

“Not sure what to tell you, Richard," Paula said, shaking her head. “Was it worth a couple of thousand and some tail?”

"At the time, I thought it was, but now not so much. What if I meet a really nice woman and finally settle down, and then those pictures resurface. What the fuck was I thinking?” Richard moaned.

"Ah, relax. From the description of this Corrine woman, she sounds like a piece of work. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Those pictures are probably sitting in some trash bin covered in week-old spaghetti.”

Richard looked at his friend and nodded. He wished he had never met this Corrine person. Things may have been tight for him financially, but at least he’d had his self-respect. Now he was filled with guilt and remorse and had no one he could apologize to make him feel better. All he knew was that as long as he lived, he would regret the night he met Corrine.