on a bun, then speared a hot dog and put it on the hot dog bun on his plate. A TV tray had been set up and condiments were arranged on it. He went to the tray and dressed his burger and dog. Another TV tray held the macaroni salad, chips, and dip. Reznick loaded up.
He held the plate on his left hand and ate with his right as he walked back to Anna. There was a round table under the trailer’s awning, and at that table sat a woman Reznick did not know. There were two kids playing catch with a ball in the small yard.
“Come here,” Anna said. “Let’s sit down at the table.”
Once they were seated, Anna said, “Marcus Reznick, this is my sister Rose Pasternak, and her children, Ramona and Bobby, playing catch over there.”
“Nice to meet you,” Reznick said with a smile.
“Good to meet you, too, Mr. Reznick.”
“Please, call me Marc.”
“Anna tells us you’re a private investigator.”
“That’s right.”
“I think that’s very exciting.”
“Well, it’s probably not as exciting as you think it is. Mostly it’s following people around and taking pictures. Kind of sleazy, if you ask me.”
“Is that what you do?” she said, tilting her head to one side. “You follow people around and take pictures?”
“In divorce cases, yes. When one spouse is looking to catch the other in an adulterous affair, yes, that’s what I do. And that’s mostly what I get these days, divorce cases.”
“Oh. So… it’s not like
He laughed. “No, I’m afraid not.”
Rose was older than her sister and not as attractive. She had a round face and was developing a double chin. Her dark hair was short and appeared coarse. Her eyes were set too close together, and her nose was too narrow and blade-like. And yet she was the one married to a husband who was providing for her while Anna, who was gorgeous, had to struggle on her own to support herself and her daughter. Why wasn’t Anna married? It didn’t make sense.
Reznick bit into his hamburger and made sounds of great satisfaction. He chewed for a while, then said, “Delicious. Really. Delicious. S’been a long time since I’ve had outdoor cooking like this. I’ve missed it.”
“I like to do it once in awhile,” Anna said. “Tonight, we’re celebrating.”
“What are we celebrating?” Reznick said.
“I’ve been working with this temp agency for months, now,” she said. “I did this job today, and they really like me there, so they want me to come in nine-to-five for a while, and it might – fingers crossed
“Well, congratulations, Anna,” he said. “I’d toast your new job, but I – “
”Oh, you want a beer?” Anna said. “I’m sorry, I completely – how about you, Rose, you need another beer?”
“Uh, no beer for me, thanks,” Reznick said. “But I’ll take a soft drink, if you have one.”
She went inside and came back with a beer for herself, one for her sister, and a Pepsi for Reznick.
He cracked his can of Pepsi open and raised it in a toast. “To your new job, may it be permanent for as long as you want it.”
Anna and Rose touched their beer cans to his, and then they drank.
Reznick was glad she wasn’t wearing that perfume again tonight. He wouldn’t be able to stick around if she were. He ate and chatted with Anna and Rose. But he glanced now and then at Kendra, who stood over by the porch. She was always watching him, every time he glanced at her. And when he caught her at it, she did not look away. Even when he didn’t look at her, he could feel her eyes on him.
He thought of her in his trailer earlier that day – all that smooth, milky flesh exposed… that beautiful long blonde hair… that sultry face above those breasts like small melons. When was the last time he’d wanted a woman so much? He had to divert his thoughts before he got an erection.
“How would you like to do me a favor?” Anna said.
“What’s that?” Reznick said.
“I’m going to be leaving Kendra alone while I’m at work during the day. I don’t know what your schedule is like – if you come home for lunch, or how often you come home, if at all. But if you
“Oh, sure, I’d be glad to.”
“One more thing.” She leaned close and whispered, “In case you haven’t noticed, Kendra has quite a crush on you. I hope you’d never consider taking advantage of that. Because if you did, I’d kill you, understand?” She smiled. “And you wouldn’t even see it coming.” Then she backed up again, still smiling.
A smile slowly grew on Reznick’s face, then he laughed quietly. “Okay. That’s good to know. But I assure you, it never crossed my mind.”
She nodded. “Just so you know.”
Back in his trailer, he sat down at the computer again. He browsed through MILFParade.com. Lots of pictures and videos of women in their thirties and early forties, some simply posing nude, others having sex with the same two men over and over again – the same two men who were in the pictures he’d taken through the window in the backyard of the house on Jupiter Street.
As he browsed through the site, he found several pictures of Alicia Carey. She seemed to be quite popular on MILFParade.com. Sometimes she was nude and masturbating, and sometimes she was having sex with one of the two men who ran the site. There were even videos of Alicia, a few of which Reznick watched. She seemed to enjoy herself, to say the least. Reznick did not look forward to it, but he would have to show some of this to Mo Carey.
Throughout the site, there were ads for other sites – LovingCouples.com, YoungandLovely.com, and LustyLesbians.com, all apparently owned by the same company, Burning Lizard Amusements. He visited the other sites and went to their preview pages.
Then he saw it. The words “And coming soon” next to a link to something called Trailer Park Girls. Reznick clicked on the link.
A page opened up with a cartoon showing a buxom girl in a too-small halter top and short-shorts standing in front of a trailer. Below the picture were the words, “Real trailer parks. Real girls. Coming soon.”
He clicked his mouse, then his fingers clattered over the keyboard. He had more work to do to prepare for tomorrow.
Anna called Calista Hoffman’s mother and explained her problem, asked if she’d be willing to pick Kendra up and take her to Vacation Bible School with Calista each day.
“You know, I wouldn’t mind at all,” Mrs. Hoffman said, “but Calista won’t be going anymore. As of tomorrow, she’s going down to Sacramento to spend the rest of the summer with her father. I’m really sorry.”
After ending the conversation, Anna told Kendra.
“Do you know of anyone else who might be able to come pick you up?” Anna said.
Kendra shook her head. “Nobody who drives by this way. And nobody who’d do it, probably. Calista’s really my only friend there.”
“Well, then, what do you want to do?”
Kendra thought for a while. Then she sighed and said, “Well, I guess I’ll just miss the rest of Vacation Bible School this summer.”
