Aftermath

Normally I don't provide warnings or cautions. This time I am. This chapter deals with date rape drugs and the effects of those drugs, which can include disorientation, confusion, amnesia, drunkenness, elevated mood, changes in decision-making abilities, and the loss of behavioral and sexual inhibitions. I realize that this chapter is much darker than I usually write. Saul is a cruel evil man who doesn't care what he has to do to gain power, meaning in the Ironside world, he won't be around too much longer.

JT

Owen Fisette returned to his office to find Mattie Johnson surrounded by his staff as they talked about their former co-worker. She took no notes. Instead, she passed out Kleenex and gave reassuring pats on the arm to others, all the time listening. Noticing Fisette had returned, she got up and headed towards his office door.

"I'm sorry for your loss, councilman."

"Thank you." He looked at her. "You're Chief Brown's secretary, aren't you."

"Yes."

"He thinks I'm a suspect, doesn't he?"

"I wouldn't know that, sir. He just asked that I come over and talk with your staff as a courtesy while you were with him this morning."

"It was good of him to do that. Please thank him for me, will you, Ms. Johnson."

"I will, sir." Mattie turned and left the office suite. Fisette's staff agreed on the basic facts of Eleanor Bron's life. She was a nice, well-liked person. A hard worker. The councilman didn't seem to be able to do without her. Kept to herself outside the office. Never talked about a boyfriend or partner. Eleanor Bron would be missed by her co-workers. There was nothing new to take back to her boss. Deciding to take the elevator, she pushed the button, the car door opened, and she found herself quickly joined by one of Fisette's staff. She had kept quiet in the office. When she reached the lobby, Mattie grabbed her phone to call Ed Brown.

"He did what? Say that again, will you, Mattie? Fisette gave her Friday as an administrative day off. Franklin heard Fisette give her the time off. Ok, get a written statement and get back as quickly as you can." Ed Brown walked into his case room and, on the whiteboard, drew an arrow from Owen Fisette's photo to Eleanor's photo. He drew another one from the name 'Nate Franklin' to Fisette's. He wrote, "gave her admin day" on the arrow between Fisette and Bron. and "Aware she got the day off" between Bron and Franklin.

"Owen, what?" He asked aloud, shaking his head and sighing heavily. "What the hell did you do?"

Saul Rogers sat in his uncle's hotel suite, hopelessly bored, when his phone pinged. Looking at the message, he got up and looked at his uncle's bodyguards. "I'm going down to the coffee shop."

They nodded, more concerned with their rummy game than the nephew's coffee habit.

In the lobby, he checked the crowd in the hotel coffee shop. It was too crowded. He walked down the street to one three blocks away. Rogers ordered a coffee, took it to a table outside, took out a notepad, and sipped his coffee; only then did he dial the number.

He listened politely for a time then his face grew red. A passerby looking at him would just think his portfolio value had dropped or he had broken up with his lover. He didn't say a word. He put the phone in his pocket. Damn, that little punk. Saul had done something to solve a problem, and that bean-eating greaser found out about it and disapproved. Too damn bad.

Saul loved his uncle but loved power and money more. He knew he'd never get control of the family business. That would go to his brother Robbie. He'd met Francisco Alvarado at a party. Alvarado offered him a job. Saul provided information on his uncle, the family finances, and, more recently, any information regarding his missing cousin, Catalina. Saul Rogers made the arrangements to get Rickey Welles' guns and expense money to the Sal Mineo Cigar and Social Club. He joined the club as soon as he landed in Denver because he was obsessed with finding out who had the contract to murder his uncle. It was all about leverage. Information was power.

On arriving in Denver, Saul became a member of the Thursday night poker game at the Stockyard Club. One of the regulars was Owen Fisette. Alvarado wanted him to become Fisette's 'friend', making sure Owen Fisette remained firmly in his pocket. Alvarado bought Saul his membership to the game, gave him the cash to play, and covered his losses. Rogers listened attentively as Fisette, his tongue loosened from drinking too much, talked about the man who visited his office that evening. How his secretary called security. His brave Ellie, he called her.. Rogers realized that she might be able to recognize Alvarado's hitman. She needed to be taken care of. Friday night, he followed her to Vitelli's Bar and Grill. She was known to the barman. One of the single ladies who drank alone. Ellie drank Negronis'- double Negroni's. He sent one over to her. Surprisingly she invited him to her table. They talked, drank a few, and said good night, not before he asked her out for Saturday. She accepted.

That night, he dressed non descriptively. In one coat pocket were three tablets of GHB, a date rape drug. He'd have a little fun with Ms. Bron. In his other pocket was a .22 revolver.

They were almost seated at the same table as the night before when he asked that they sit by the fireplace. The host was given a hundred dollars not to let anyone disturb them. He slipped a tablet into the first double Negroni, confident that the bitterness of the Campari would disguise the drug. Within a half hour, on Negroni number 2, a different Eleanor Bron appeared, showing signs of drunkenness and a libido judging by the way she began flirting with him. He had done research on the woman. She was single and never had a boyfriend or a lover. They ordered a third and a fourth drink. Between drinks, flirts, and nascent feels, she told him how good she felt, how she'd never felt like this before. As they drank, her inhibitions loosened more. Rogers grinned with pleasure. She was warm, she said. Eleanor moved her chair closer to Saul and held his hand so he could feel her heat. While Eleanor Bron was exploring newfound sexual feelings, she was talking about her boss, the man she loved and would do anything for, Owen Fisette. Oblivious to the implications of what she was saying. Eleanor turned her face towards Rogers.

"I want to be kissed. Right now."

Rogers leaned towards her and kissed her slowly, stroking the small of her back. He was surprised by the enthusiasm she physically responded to him. The nascent feels became stronger, and their kisses explored deeper and longer. The Vitelli crowd became larger and noisier. He asked the host if they could move somewhere a little more secluded. The lady was becoming overheated in more ways than one. Another hundred dollars moved them into a small alcove. It was then Saul became more assertive with his touches, making her moan with pleasure. He suggested they eat after Double Negroni number 5.

Eleanor Bron had never felt like this nor behaved like this. It was as if the stern reliable repressed woman she was five days a week had floated away. Instead, there was this new Eleanor who he imagined could dance on tables, throwing caution to the wind if she were drunk enough.

She laughed out loud.

"Ellie, honey", Saul said, kissing her neck. "What's so funny?"

"Thinkin' bout Monday moaning when he sees the new me."

After they ate, he professed concern to the waiter that she'd gotten more than a little smashed and could they have coffee, lots of it and very strong. Coffee and dessert arrived. Ellie giggled throughout it all. Saul debated giving her one more tablet, but between the drinks, the wine, and the one tab of GHB she'd taken, he thought he'd done enough.

Suddenly she looked as if she were going to burst into tears.

"What's wrong, Ellie? We were having a good time."

"I hurt so bad right now. Owen will never know how I feel. I can't tell him."

The drug was wearing off.

Saul poured another cup. "Would you still like to go someplace very comfortable, and we can sit in front of a huge fireplace while engaging in a little ecstatic exercise followed by a lovely long sleep? Then we can do it all again? Everything we're doing right now and more?"

Eleanor Bron was looking confused. There was still the part of her who'd been fun thanks to the drug, but now the steady, sober part of her was coming to the surface.

"If I give you something to help you feel better, will you take it?" Saul asked.

He could see her struggle internally. She refused. It was time to go home, she said. She stammered through a thank you.

"A goodnight drink then." He called the waiter over, ordering a magnum of champagne and dropping another tab of GHB into her bubbles. They drank, and as they did, he watched as the argument in her brain ended. She relaxed, offering him a lopsided smile, and unfocused eyes, leaving reality behind. She wouldn't protest against or fight over anything now. Eleanor leaned against his shoulder. They finished the bottle, looking like a couple who had just found love.

They went out into the cold. Snow was lightly falling. It was one that would be gone by midday Sunday.

Eleanor threw off her coat and danced in the flakes. Saul picked it up, following her behind the restaurant. She leaned against the dumpster. She began unbuttoning her blouse. Saul threw himself against her. Tightly holding her. They kissed.

"Now", she breathed. "Love me right now. I can't hold on much longer." Much came out as mush.

She gave him a deep, long kiss, and his brain spun. Then Saul Rogers remembered what he was here for. With the gun in hand, he spoke the last words Eleanor Bron ever heard.

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"