Gretchen, The Hell's Angels....And Me. Part V

Ok folks...here's where the plot actually DOES thicken and, since I'm such a nice guy I'll go ahead and tell ya'll. This isn't going to be the last installement of this little yarn.

I know....I'm an asshole.

I can just hear Jackie Sue goin' off on me now!! (Fuckity, Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!!)

I've been thinking about what happened lo those many moons ago and, I actually called my old buddy Tony H. to talk about it. We talk periodically anyhow but, for some reason, this incedent hasn't come up in a long, long time.

The main reason I even called him was that I have recently been accused of "fabricating" this story, among others, and I wanted to get another take on the tale from an actual participant in the situation.

In a hilarious phone call with him, he reminded me of a few things that had SOMEHOW slipped my mind over the years. I experienced one of those forehead slapping moments when, in an instant, it all came back to me when Tony mentioned the F.B.I., (yeah, THAT F.B.I)!

Actually, the plot didn't exactly thicken...it got damned FAT! Damn the stuff you can forget over the years. It's scary.

Back To The Tale............

The conversation I had with Gino left me wondering what the hell was going on. Was Gretchen a maniac? Was Gino a maniac? Were they BOTH maniacs? How the hell was I supposed to know?

Trust me, I wanted to believe that Gretchen was NOT a crazy woman because, of course, she was a one of the best looking women I'd ever met much less.....ummm..... gotten to know....in the biblical sense!

A fella's judgement can be clouded by such things you know.

I mean DAMN...what's a young man to do?

Being that it was still early in the afternoon, I drove out to Gretchen's house on Seabrook Island. As I pulled into the driveway, I could see that her van was still parked in the driveway. I parked my car beside the van, got out and walked to the front door.

The sun was shining and the wind was blowing from the ocean. It was one of those picture post card days. It couldn't be more perfect weather.

I rang the door bell and waited.

A few minutes went by but no one answered the door so, I walked around to the back of the house in the sand.

I turned the corner and peered cautiously in to the back yard which was, actually, the beach.

No one was there.

I walked onto the wrap around deck and knocked on the double sliding glass doors while chancing a glance through the glass into the living room.

Still no sign of life.

I finally gave up, sat down on the deck railing and watched the surf roll in for several minutes while pondering the whole situation.

I reached into my pocket, pulled out a joint I had stashed there, and lit it with some difficulty in the wind.

As I was deep in thought and holding in a lungful of pot, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Jeez.....I damn near had a freakin' stroke right then and there!!

It was Gretchen...thank God!

She was laughing at me as I clutched my chest and hopped down off the railing.

"I didn't hear you drive up." she said. "Can I have a hit?"

She was standing on the deck wearing a bright pink bikini which barely covered the good stuff.

I looked at her sheepishly.

"Sure...if I can find the damned thing! I flicked it down there somewhere when you scared the shit out of me." pointing below the deck.

She giggled.

"Don't worry about it...I've got some in the house. It's the shit that killed Elvis. You're gonna love it." she giggled as she threw her arms around my neck.

"I'm so glad you came back. I was afraid you had been scared off by Gino........Grandpa said he liked you alot." she said.

"He's a cool old guy. I really enjoyed partying with him. That old man can shoot some pool!" I said.

She took my hand and led me inside the house.

"Did he get you drunk?" she asked playfully.

"No...I think I did that on my own but, Gino said he likes pour his drinks down the sink while his opponent gets sloshed."

She laughed.

"Yep...that's my Grandpa. He's a nut." she said as she walked to the kitchen.

I was thinking to myself....

Who the hell in this entire family ISN'T a nut?

I watched her go to the freezer and pull out a huge bag of pot. She came to the bar, opened the baggie and started rolling a joint.

"You want a beer or something?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd like a beer." I said.

She grabbed a beer, opened it for me and placed it on the bar.

She looked at me for a second with those big, liquid blue eyes.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

I started to lie but instead, I opted for honesty.

"I just left Gino and he warned me not to get involved with you." I said matter of factly.

She gave that some thought as she used her perfect pink tongue to lick the joint she had just rolled. She then placed it her mouth and pulled it out slowly.

She handed it to me.

Lord have mercy!

"Not get involved with me?" she laughed. "Don't you think it's a little too late for that?" she grinned.

She offered me a light and, of course, I dutifully fired up the joint. I inhaled deeply and passed it to her.

"Gretchen...ordinarily, I wouldn't let any girl's brother bother me but....to be honest, Gino ain't your typical concerned brother."

She exhaled, passed it back to me and laughed.

"You can say that again." she said.

There was a moment of silence until she spoke again.

"He's made a habit of tying to scare off any guy I go out with." she said. "Did he tell you that I'm crazy?"

"Yeah, actually he told me that you are bad news." I told her.

She laughed and shook her head sadly.

"Ron...Gino killed a boyfriend of mine for no fucking reason except that he is crazy! she was almost shouting.

"He got convicted of second degree murder and served eight years for it. He still believes he didn't do anything wrong."

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

She took a deep breath, walked around the counter and sat down on the stool next to me.

"I was fifteen years old and...I had the hots for an older man. David was his name. He was cute, tall and only seventeen years old at the time.... We went to Folly Beach....to his parent's beach house. Of course, one thing led to another and we had sex. Afterwards, we drank some kind of booze from the bar and David got drunk. Sick and drunk. He passed out in the bedroom and, not knowing any better, I thought he was dying or something." she took another big hit off the joint.

"What happened next?" I asked.

"Like a dumb ass...I called Gino and told him what happened. I told him that David wouldn't wake up and that I was afraid that he was dying." she was visibly shaken.

"Well, about twenty minutes later, Gino showed up. He was drunk or wired or both. Anyway, he started screaming about me being a little whore and asked me where David was. I pointed towards the bedroom and Gino went in." she said. "A couple of seconds later, I heard three shots."

She began sobbing and looked up at me, tears running down her perfect cheeks.

"He shot him in the head just before I walked into the room ....David was still moving when I got there." she took a deep breath. "Gino just grabbed my arm and led me outside."

"Damn." what the hell could I say?

She took a deep breath then looked at me with a steady gaze.

"He tells EVERYBODY that it was MY fault but, the truth is, when I needed him to help me out of a scary situation, he made it worse. I was just a kid! I will never get that scene out of my mind." she said angrily. "I never should have called him...if I hadn't, David would still be alive."

I held her as she sobbed.

"Why the hell did he get off with only eight years?"

"They called it a crime of passion or whatever. He played the gallant big brother to the hilt and, he had the best attorney in the state.....paid for by the Angels."

She looked at me and smiled sadly.

"You know, in a way, Gino's right about me being crazy. I did spend almost a year in a private sanitarium in Georgia after it happened. Everytime I closed my eyes, all I could see was David lying there dying." she told me.

"Well damn, I guess that would mess a person up for a while but, you seem to be fine now." I said.

She stepped back from me a bit, turned and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

She looked back over her shoulder as she pulled off her top.

"You remember the way to the bedroom?" she giggled.

Oh hell yeah...she was fine alright.

My memory isn't what it used to be and of course, my wife reads this stuff but, I think it's safe to say that we did not discuss physics, literature or politics. Hell, I don't actually recall a word being spoken at all!

Afterwards, I told her that I was going to call Gino and cancel the gig.

She gave me a look of horror.

"NO...you can't DO THAT!" she was obviously serious. "Ron, I don't know what he'd do but I promise...you wouldn't like it. Neither would I."

Being young, cocky and stupid, I of course, had to say it.....

"Gretchen, I'm not afraid of him."

"Yes you are." she said. "You're not stupid enough to NOT be afraid of him. He's a killer and not just ONCE!"

I laughed and said.

"Ok..maybe I AM a little scared of him but still, I don't feel like going back there after what you told me." I told her.

She thought about that for a minute before speaking again.

"I'm going to tell you something but, you've got to swear that you won't tell a living soul AND that you won't get mad at me until I can explain." her face told me that she was very serious.

Well damn....inquiring minds have GOT to know so...I agreed.

"I haven't seen Gino in a long time until last night but, he calls me constantly, he's threatened boyfriends, had people watching me and, even threatened me." she explained.

She hesitated as if debating whether or not to continue.

"What?" I prompted her to finish it.

"The F.B.I., D.E.A and A.T.F. have been after Gino and the Hell's Angels for years and, about a month ago, a couple of F.B.I. agents came to school and asked me to help them." she stated.

"No shit?" I was amazed.

"Well, what did you tell 'em?"

"I told them that I love my brother but that I'm scared to death of him. He's out of control and dangerous so...yes, I'd help them." she hung her head.

I thought about that for a moment.

"So, how are you helping them?" I was curious.

"Do you remember the three girls that were with me last night?" she asked.

"Hell, there were a bunch of girls with you....which ones?"

"It doesn't matter, you'll meet them tonight anyway but, all three of them are F.B.I. agents. Well...actually two are F.B.I. and one is D.E.A."

"Holy shit!" I couldn't believe my ears.

"So what? Are they gonna bust him tonight or something?" I asked.

"No but the place is bugged, they have all kind of cops watching and....I'll be wearing a wire in case he says something they can use." she explained.

A friggin' WIRE? What the fuck was I getting into? This was sounding like a bad Miami Vice episode! In Charleston, South Carolina? Damn!!

She could see the wheels spinning in my beady little brain.

"Nothing is gonna happen tonight but, I've got to be there. I want him locked up so I can get on with my life! I'm not asking you to do anything except play like you told him you would." she said. "Gino thinks this birthday party is going to fix things between us and I want him to believe that."

Of course, being young, ten foot tall, bullet proof and eager for her to think I was fearless. I brushed it off with a chuckle.

"Well hell, this oughta be fun to watch." I laughed.

I actually believed it.....Oh the innocence of youth.

She laughed and jumped on top of me.

"I promise, I didn't mean to get you involved in this." she said sweetly.

"Awww, this kind of shit happens to me all the time." I joked. "Hell, it's the third time this month I've been caught up in an F.B.I. sting!"

She laughed and jumped out of bed.

"Let's go for a swim!" she said.

"Oh hell no!" I said. "I'm not falling for that shit again..........I've gotta get home and get ready to play. I've only got three hours to get home, showered, changed and be there by eight for a sound check."

She looked disappointed as she turned away from me and began stretching like a cat.

At one point, she bent over and placed her hands flat down on the floor providing me a view which was unparalelled in nature!

"Damn it!! If I'm late, Gino is gonna KILL me!" I said.

She stood up faced me and grinned.

"If I don't kill you first!" she laughed.

That girl KNEW she was HOT!!

To Be Continued...and finished, tomorrow!