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Dawn had arrived by then. The sun was a twisted pale-yellow thingin a white sky. Visibility was limited to a hundred feet. The eye-burning and the nostril-scorching and the lung-searing were back.
He decided to call Bruin and to tell him about Sybil. Bruinwould, ofcourse, think that he was being unduly concerned and would think, even if he didn't say so, that she had simply left for an extended shacking-upwith some man. Or, possibly, Bruin being the cynic he was, she was shacking upwith some woman.
Bruin called him as he stood before the phone.
"We got a package in the late mail yesterday afternoon but itwasn't openeduntil a little while ago. You better get down here, Childe. Can youmake it in half an hour?"
"What's it about? Budler?" And then, "Never mind. But how did youknow I was here?"
"I tried your place and you didn't answer, so I thought I'd tryyourex-wife's. I knew you was still friendly with her."
"Yeah," Childe said, realizing that it was too early to reporther missing. "I'll be down in time. See you. Unh-unh! Maybe I can't! I have to getmy carfirst and that may take some time."
He told Bruin what had happened but censored the summerhouseactivities. Bruin was silent for a long time and then said, "You realize, Childe, that we're all doing a juggling act now, keeping three balls or more in the airat the same time? I'd investigate Igescu even if you don't have anythingprovable, becausethey sure sound like a fishy lot, but I doubt we could get into thatplacewithout a court order and we don't have any evidence to get an order. You know that. So it's up to you. Those wolf hairs in Budler's car and nowthis film--well, I ain't going to tell you about it, you got to see it tobelieve it--but if you can't get down here on time...listen, I could have asquad carpick you up. I would if this was ordinary times, but there's noneavailable. Tell you what, if I'm out, you can get the film run off again, I'llleave word it's OK. Anyway, it might be shown again for the Commissioner. He'sup to hisass in work, but he's taking a special interest in this case, and nowonder."
Childe drank some orange juice, shaved (Sybil kept a man's razorand shavingcream for him and--he suspected--for other men) and then walked tothe BeverlyHills Police Department. He got his key from the desk sergeant andasked if it were possible to get a ride with a squad car out to his car. He wastold it was not. He tried to get a taxi, could not, and decided to hitchhike out. After fifteen minutes, he gave up. There were not many autos on SantaMonica Boulevard and Rexford, and the few that did go by ignored him. He did not blamethem. Picking up hitchhikers at any time was potentially dangerous, but inthis eerywhite-lighted smog anybody would have looked sinister. Moreover, theradio, TV, and newspapers were advising caution because of the number of crimesin the streets.
His eyes teary and the interior of his nostrils and throatfeeling as if hewere sniffing in fumes from boiling metal, he stood upon the corner. He could see the house across the street and make out the city hall and thepubliclibrary across the street from it as dim bulks, motionless icebergsin a fog. Far down, or seemingly far down, Rexford Avenue, a pair of headlightsappearedand then swung out of sight.
Presently a black-and-white squad car passed him. When it wasalmost out of sight up Rexford, it stopped and then backed up until it was by him. The officer on the right, without getting out of the car, asked him what he wasdoing there. Childe told him. Fortunately, the officer had heard about him. Heinvited Childe to get in and ride with them. They had no definite goal at thatmoment; theywere cruising around the area (the wealthy residential district, ofcourse) butthere was nothing to stop them from going that far out. Childe had tounderstand that if they got a call, they might have to dump him out on the spot, and he would be stranded again. Childe said that he would take a chance.
It took fifteen minutes to get to his car. Only an emergencywould have forced them to speed through this thick milky stuff. He thanked themand then started the car without any trouble, backed up, and swung towardtown. Fortyminutes later, he was parked in the LAPD visitors lot.
CHAPTER 12
Budler was in the same room in which Colben had been killed. The first scenes had shown Budler being conditioned, going through fear andimpotence atfirst and then confidence and active eager participation. In thebegi
Budler was a little man with narrow shoulders and ski
(Both victims had been men with hyper sex drives, or, at least, men whose lives seemed to be dominated by sex. Both were promiscuous, both hadmade a number of girls pregnant, been arrested or suspected of statutoryrape, and wereknown as loudmouths about their conquests. Both were what his wifedescribed as "creeps." There was something nasty about them. Childe thought thatthe victims had possibly been selected with poetic justice in mind.)
The woman with the garish makeup, and thecreature?--machine?--organ?--concealed behind her G-string, was anactor; shespecialized in sucking cock and she took out her teeth several timesbut she did not use the iron teeth. Every time he saw her remove the false teeth, Childe tensed and felt sick but he was spared the mutilation.
There were other actors, also. One was an enormously fat womanwith beautiful white skin. Her face never appeared. There was anotherwoman, whosefigure was superb, whose face was always hidden, usually by a mask. Both of these used their mouths and cunts, and once Budler buggered the fatwoman.
There were also two men, their faces masked. Childe studied theirbodies carefully, but he could not say that either was Igescu or Glam or theyouth whohad been playing billiards. One of the men had a build similar toIgescu's andanother was a very big and muscular man. But he could not identifythem as anyone he had seen at Igescu's.
Budler must have had a latent homosexual tendency which wasdeveloped, possibly under the influence of drugs, during the conditioning. Oneof the men blew him several times, and twice Budler buggered the big man. Thethird man appeared in one scene only, and this time it was in what Childethought would bethe grand finale. He braced himself for something terrible to happento Budler, but aside from being exhausted, Budler seemed to suffer no illeffects. Budler and the three men and three women formed many configurations with, usually, Budler as the focus of the group.
The Commissioner, sitting by Childe, said at this point, "This isquite anorganization. Besides the six there, there must be two, at least, handling thecameras."
The last scene (Childe knew it was the last because theCommissioner told him just as it flashed on) showed Budler screwing one of the well- built women dog-fashion. The cameras came in at every angle except that whichwould show the woman's face. There were a number of shots which must have been taken through along flexible optical fiber device, because there were close-ups of aseeminglygargantuan penis driving in under a cavernous anus into anelephantine slit. Thelubricating fluid flowed like spillage over a too-full dam.
And then the camera seemed to inch forward along the penis, nowquiescent, and into the slit. Light blazed up, and the viewers seemed to besurrounded bythousands of tons of flesh. They were looking down at the penis, awhale that had crashed into an underseas cave. Then they were looking up at theceiling ofwet pale red flesh.