The Country Club (4 page)

Chapter 7

     “How much further?” Joel whined.

 
    “Stop being a little bitch,” Crystal said from behind the wheel. “We’re almost there.”

 
    She had never taken a road trip with Joel before and didn’t realize how needy he would be. They’d had to stop three times for him to go to the bathroom and once because he was hungry. The sun was starting to creep up as they finally drove past the Round Rock city limit sign. Round Rock was only around twenty miles from Austin, but with all the stupid stops they made, it took much longer than Crystal had hoped.

 
    “Ok, we’re here,” Sophie said. “Now what?”

 
    “Well. I’m not sure. I’m really tired,” Crystal said.

 
    “So am I. Can we get breakfast?” Joel asked.

 
    “Jesus Christ Joel. This isn’t a fucking vacation. We’re looking for something important here.” Crystal scolded. She drove through the city into downtown.

 
    “Maybe we should ask the police,” Joel said.

 
    “Oh that’s great,” Sophie said. “Just walk in and ask the cops if they know where the top secret human trafficking-sex-torture club is. That won’t sound crazy at all.”

 
    “You don’t have to be such a bitch about it,” Joel said.

 
    “Some reporter did a story on it a few years ago. I’ll have to see if I can find the article,” Crystal said. There was a coffee shop just ahead. Crystal pulled the car in to see they were just opening. They went inside and she hooked her laptop up to the Wi-Fi and searched for the article she was looking for. She found it. It had been written by a guy named Brett Higgins. The article had nothing Crystal didn’t already know. It was for an El Paso newspaper. It was part of a series he’d done on Texas urban legends. The piece named some rumored places The Country Club could be located. He had mentioned north of Austin, but didn’t go into specifics.

 
    Joel got online and worked his magic until he found a cell phone number for Higgins. Crystal dialed the number on her phone. Someone picked it up on the third ring.

 
    “Hello?” a tired man’s voice mumbled from the other line.

 
    “Yes, is this Brett Higgins?” Crystal asked.

 
    “Maybe. Who is this?”

 
    “I’m Crystal Brown, from Texas Urban Legends. I was calling about your article on The Country Club.”

 
    “What the hell? Why in the hell would you call me at five in the morning about an article I did three years ago? Are you fucking nuts? And what is Texas Urban Legends anyway?”

 
    “That’s my blog.”

 
    “Oh Christ. Goodbye,” Brett said.

 
    “No! Wait!”

 
    “What?”

 
    “From my blog, I got some threatening email from some weird email address. Then I got another one saying to go to Round Rock.”

 
    “Round Rock?”

 
    “Yeah. So that’s where we are now. We just got here. But I don’t know where to go from here. In your article you mentioned one idea for The Country Club being north of Austin. Had you been up this way or have any other info?”

 
    “Shit, kid. How old are you?”

 
    “Kid? I’m twenty-five.”

 
    “Look. You’re not recording this are you?”

 
    “Huh? No. I’m in a coffee shop on my cell phone.”

 
    “Ok. Good. The piece I did on the Country Club was pretty much a fluff piece. That’s how it ended up anyway. But The Country Club is some shit,” he said.

 
    “What do you mean?”

 
    “I mean, I think it’s real. I did some checking around Austin, Dallas, Round Rock, and everywhere else. Everywhere else someone had a story about it. They knew someone who knew someone. They had a cousin whose best friend visited there or something. In Round Rock, everyone said they never heard of it. Don’t know nothing about it. And my second day there, a police captain came and escorted me out of town. Said I was causing trouble.”

 
    “No shit?” Crystal said.

 
    “No shit. You should get out of there. Shut your blog down. I don’t know what the deal is with that story, but if someone sent you a threatening email I’d forget the whole thing. You sound like a nice girl. Go to Schlitterbahn or something.” Schlitterbahn was a ginormous waterpark in the South and Central Texas area.

 
    “Fuck that. I’m gonna find that place. I’m gonna expose them. They’re killing people!” Crystal said.

 
    “I know. Unless you want to be one of them, I suggest you forget it.”

 
    “I can’t. I’ve been doing this for years now. I feel like I’m getting closer. I’m not gonna just walk away because someone made a threat!”  

 
    “You should be a real reporter, kid. At least get paid for being nuts. Well, like I said. You shouldn’t stay there. If you plan on staying, which you probably will, then good luck,” Brett said as he hung up.

 
    Crystal told the others what he had said.

 
    “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Sophie said. “This is bullshit.”

 
    “Yeah, Sophie’s right. This sounds dangerous,” Joel added.

 
    “Wait a minute. Just last night you guys were saying I was chasing bigfoot and shit. Now you’re all scared?”

 
    “What if he was just fucking with you?” Sophie said.

 
    “Why would he do that?”

 
    “You did wake him up. Do you not think of anyone else? Ever?” Sophie asked.

 
     “Not when I got shit to do. So we know to steer clear of the cops. Wait a minute.”

 
    She got back onto her laptop and into her email. The Round Rock email was still there. She replied to it.

Ok. I’m here

    
 
She hit send.

 
    “Now we wait?” Joel asked.

 
    “I guess so. I wonder who sent that,” Crystal said. As she looked back, her inbox refreshed with a new message.

 
Days Inn room 206. Knock four times.

 
     Crystal closed up her laptop and stood.

 
    “I guess we’re going to Days Inn,” she said. Joel and Sophie just sat looking at her. “What? Let’s go?”

 
    “What is this? A fucking scavenger hunt?” Sophie asked.

 
    “Real funny. Maybe this is the guy or whoever sent this shit,” Crystal said.

 
    “Maybe it’s someone from the Country Club setting a trap!” Joel said.

 
    “Not funny asshole,” Crystal said as she walked out to the car. The other two followed behind her for the next stage of the trip. 

Chapter 8

     Joel sat quietly in the back seat as they drove through town trying to find the Days Inn. It turned out there were two of them. Something the mystery emailer hadn’t specified. The first one was in their part of town, just a few blocks away. They went to the room and Crystal knocked, but there was no answer. So they left for the other one.

     “What if this guy or whoever is fucking with us?” Sophie said. “Maybe there is no one there and this has been a waste of time.”

     “I told you what that reporter said. It’s around here somewhere. So we have to follow through,” Crystal insisted.

     Joel didn’t know why, but he found Crystal even more attractive when she was fired up and barking out orders. On the outside, she looked petite and reserved, but was totally the opposite. Her personality was far larger than her body. They finally reached the Days Inn and filed out of the car. They walked up to room 206 where Crystal knocked four times. There was no answer.

     “Great,” Sophie said. “Any other great ideas?”

     The room door opened a crack. It was a woman. She looked older, with brown hair and flecks of gray. She had on no makeup and her hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a week.

     “Are you Crystal?” the woman said.

     “Um, yes. That’s me. You sent the emails?” Crystal said.

     “Yes. Did anyone follow you?”

     “No…I don’t think so. I haven’t noticed anyone.”

     She glared at Sophie and Joel. Joel thought she was trying to turn him to stone.

     “Who are they?”
she asked.

     “They’re my friends. This is Sophie and this is Joel. They came with me. They’re ok. They’re my best friends.”

     “Ok. Come in.” The woman opened the door the rest of the way and the three entered the room. It smelled like cigarette smoke and rotten cheese. There were dirty clothes everywhere along with fast food wrappers and cigarette butts.

     “So who are you?” Crystal asked.

     “I’m Eileen. I’m glad you came here. I didn’t know who else to contact.” She walked to the edge of the bed and sat down. “My husband is a member of The Country Club.”

     “Holy shit
,” Joel said. “Are you serious?”

     “Yes. I’m very serious.”

     “How do you know?” Crystal asked. “Are you sure?”

     “Yes. He’s an investment banker. We live in Dallas. He’s always taking these long trips though. For years he’s been taking these trips. I finally hired a private investigator to follow him, I thought he was having an affair. The PI followed him here.
Well, not just here but there is a property west of here quite a ways. He’s sure of it, but never made it that far.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “He was following my husband at a safe distance. I know my husband had no idea he was there. When he turned onto a side road that must have been near the place, a police car came out of nowhere and pulled him over.”

     “No shit?” Joel said.

     “Yeah, no shit kid,” Eileen said.

     “Did they arrest him?”

     “No. They told him he was on private property, even though it’s a public road. They also had him at shotgun point. Two officers. They said he needed to turn back, so he didn’t argue. That’s when I knew.”

     “Wait a minute
,” Sophie said. “How do you know this is The Country Club place? Maybe it really was private property. Maybe it was some out of the way casino, or a whore house even. How do you jump right to The Country Club?”

     “What casino or brothel would have cops hanging out and turning motorists away? I don’t know. You could be right. But not long after that, I got a text message from an unknown number telling me
to back off. The PI was scared shitless. After I got the text, I left. I haven’t heard from my husband either. He’s probably still there doing God knows what.”

     “That’s crazy
,” Joel said.

     “So what do you want us to do?” Crystal said.

     “I want you to find it. You want to prove it exists and expose it? I can help you. But it will be hard. That place has a lot of money and protection. My husband has some very powerful friends. I have no doubt that law enforcement and others in power know it’s there. They probably go there themselves. Sick fuckers.”

     “Shit!” Crystal said. “Tell me where it is. We’ll find it and blow the lid wide open on that place.”

     “Are you sure? You’ve written the stories of the horrible things that go on there. What if they catch you?”

     “They won’t. I’ve done my share of sneaking around. We’ll be careful
,” Crystal insisted.

     “Ok, I hope so
,” Eileen said as she took out a map and showed them about where it was. “The road the PI was on isn’t on the map. Once you’re on Highway 183 for about thirty minutes, you’ll see a side road. That isn’t the road it’s on, but it’s on the right. You’ll turn onto that and take that for ten to fifteen more minutes. On the left will be an unmarked dirt road. That is the one he got stopped on. So maybe find some other way, but once you get to that road, I’m sure the property is around there somewhere.”

     “We got it
,” Crystal said. She looked at Joel and Sophie. “You ready guys? This is it.”

     Joel doubted some of this story, but was a bit concerned at the same time in case it was true. Bravery was not his strong suit. However, deep down he knew that he would do anything or go anywhere for Crystal. As ill-advised as that may have been, he felt powerless to stop himself from nodding and following her to the car.

Chapter 9

     Denny stepped out of his room and saw several of the security guys chasing after the girl. He took off running along behind them to see what was going on. Girls had gotten loose in the past, but never made it out the door. Some guys liked to untie them and toy with them. Denny never did. If you’re going to do that though, you’d better make sure you can control them.

     As he ran outside, one of the security guys had stopped and began firing at the girl. The third shot hit her in the shoulder, sending her sprawling face first to the ground. They ran up to her, but before Denny could get there, the guard shot her point blank in the face.
Denny stopped just before he reached them. The guard put his gun back in his jacket as the two men walked passed him. The Tuxedo man, known only to members as Dominic, came outside and looked at the girl.

     “Whose was she?” Dominic asked.

     “Gerry’s. In 105A,” one of the guards answered.

     “Goddammit. Where is he?”

     Both the men shrugged and looked at each other. They all walked back inside as Denny tagged along. Because he was a fourth generation at The Club, he was allowed to go about anywhere in The Club he pleased. Certain areas and incidents were off limits to most members. They got to room 105A where there was moaning coming from the inside. As they stepped into the room, a man was lying on the ground, holding his hands over his crotch, blood oozing out from between his fingers. The man’s pants were also around his ankles.

     “Oh for Christ’s sake
,” Dominic said. “Gerry! What happened?”

     “The bitch bit my dick off! Fuck!” Gerry cried.

     Dominic knelt down next to him.

     “Move your hands, let me see
,” he said.

     Gerry moved his hands and revealed his dick was not bitten off. It was bitten into and looked like a hot dog that had been in a microwave for too long
. Except blood was oozing out of it.

     “How did this happen?” Dominic asked.

     “I told her I’d untie her if she’d promise to suck my dick. I like it when they play with my balls. They can’t do that all tied up. She said she would. She promised! She got going real good, then fucking clamped down and took off.”

     Doors to rooms are only locked from the outside for first time visitors.

     “Want me to take care of him?” one of the guards asked.

     “Shit. His dad is on the Texas Supreme court. We can’t do that with him
,” Dominic said.

     Apparently they would kill members if they let a girl escape, even though this one got caught before she got anywhere. It was just a reminder not to take stupid risks while having your fun. All members knew it and were briefed on it when they joined.

     “I’ll call his dad and have him pick him up. His father is a long time member. He’ll see to it this doesn’t happen again,” Dominic said.

     “Don’t call my dad! Shit!” Gerry pleaded.

     “Shut up. Get him some morphine out of the medical kit. That should keep him quiet until his dad picks him up.” Dominic said as he walked out. Denny stepped out behind him. “I’m so sorry you had to see all that Mr. Dennis. As you know, this doesn’t usually happen.”

     “Oh its fine. Kind of livened up the evening. How is Caleb doing?” Denny said.

     “He’s doing fine. I think he’s still taking care of his own mess, but he’s getting there. I don’t expect any trouble or resistance from him. As long as he stays that way, he’ll be just fine.”

     “Good, good. I appreciate you giving him this chance. It’s really my fault.”

     “No worries, sir. It happens,” Dominic said as he walked away. Denny headed back down to his room to try and get some rest. He was suddenly starting to feel exhausted. He wasn’t sure what he would tell Caleb’s mom. He’d have to make up a story; maybe tell her he took off with some girl and hasn’t called. He’ll think of something. Bringing him had been a mistake, but nothing he could do about it now.

     He sat on the bed once again
and took off his shoes, shirt and then his pants. As he crawled under the covers, he thought of how this place truly was his home away from home. There had been times he stayed at The Club more than his own home. When his girlfriend kicked him out the year before, he came to The Club to crash for a few days. Plus, it was nice being able to take out his frustrations on some strange, nameless girl.

     It was too bad for her though. Thanks to his ex’s bad behavior, he’d put that girl through more suffering than he had to anyone. He would have loved to have done those things to his ex. It had been hard not to. He had almost given in and tortured and killed
her instead of leaving, but knew that would be too risky. Over the years a few members had decided to try and play outsideThe Club. It was strictly against Club rules. If they were found out, and usually The Club would catch them before police would, they disappeared. Denny figured they were thrown into the incinerator in the basement. Maybe they were killed first, maybe not. Denny didn’t want to know.

     As he closed his eyes, he thought of the drive back in the morning. Maybe he’d stay another day. He might ask for three girls at once. That would be a first. He’d done tw
o at a time before but never three. That might be interesting. Sleep slowly came, as his dreams were filled with naked girls and their screams as he removed their various body parts. Had someone walked in at that moment, they’d have seen him sleeping with a smile on his face.