Saffron’s Menagerie. Phil Stevenson

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СКАЧАТЬ is just able to state his plight and location to the operator.

      From down the street, a car’s headlights switch on and it drives into the car park next to Warren. Saffron is now in the passenger’s seat. She looks at him and he at her. He wants her to come to his aid. No go. She just smiles back at him. Saffron quickly gets out and opens the left rear passenger door. Out slides Apples, who makes a beeline into Saffron’s car.

      Within eleven minutes the paramedics arrive and find Clapper in a state of shock with very shallow breathing. Warren is pronounced dead on arrival at the South Hampton Hospital.

      3.

      When the news got out that Warren Clapper died from snakebite in his car, people freaked out a bit. How could it happen? A lot were happy he got what was coming, but by snake bite?

      The local police got involved but found nothing suspicious. There was nothing to indicate that Clapper’s car had been interfered with or such like. He received four fatal bites from a snake yet to be identified. The police did some work on behalf of the Clapper family’s request, and viewed last CCTV images of him. He was captured entering the tavern. Unfortunately, no coverage was available from the over road car park, which is an ugly vacant lot basically, used by locals.

      Clapper was seen buying his first drinks and soon after was approached by a woman. She wore a Burger King uniform complete with cap. She had short blond hair and rimmed pink glasses. Her nose was long, a distinguishing mark, and she wore white sneakers with short white socks. She looked eighteen or nineteen but they couldn’t tell exactly. Clapper and her seemed to get on well.

      The woman soon left and video saw Clapper drink for about thirty minutes, go off to the john for a piss, return, look for something, then leave the premises.

      The police did follow up with images of the woman at the numerous local Burger King’s, but to no avail.

       LONG ISLAND

      1.

      Saffron has retrieved Caviar from the cattery boarding suits. Caviar stayed this time for three days in the Paris suite. Chandelier and a large pic of the Eifel Tower, with sumptuous bedding and care. It slept better than most humans did.

      Caviar ran up the steps and into the house. He is happy to be home and went straight to his food corner to see what was there.

      Birman’s are very placid felines. They originated as temple cats living around spiritual monks (therefore no angst in their personality), in northern Burma at the turn of the 20thCentury. Not many, and oh, so expensive for the cream of the litter, which Caviar of course was. Recently a Birman adopted the Dalai Lama. Saffron loved that connection.

      Herself inside, Saffron walks past her menagerie. A glass dome covers them on a small round oak table. Under the dome are about a dozen Orrefors crystal animals. Also, there is a glass daisy standing on its stalk. Saffron loves them all, but none more that her favorite three, which are always displayed to the fore.

      Saffron is exhausted and needs to get back from her travel time distortion. She decides to pour a glass of Shiraz, settle down in front of her television, not look at the Internet and relax.

      Saffron’s home has a large basement. In it she has a ‘safe room’ constructed using interstate builders and carpenters. It is invisible when in the basement. It could not be detected. A large old dusty bookcase, shelving half used paint tins is fastened to the outside wall of the safe room. It would slide sideways at the press of a secret button to allow access. Only Saffron and Brad knew where it was.

      2.

      After about two days doing nothing, Saffron decides to phone Brad. Oh dear Brad! She loved teasing him about Brad and Janet, saying she would be his Janet in his Rocky Horror Movie fantasy.

      “You’re home Saff. Come on over and we can catch up and chat and do other things.”

      Saffron needed other things, and set a time with Brad for late afternoon. She’d rock up at his place about 6:30 with Bollinger.

      Brad is a part time high school lecturer who teaches Biology and Chemistry. Two great faculties. They would have great conversations using their knowledge.

      Sex was always on the cards for them both and they usually participated with gay abandon.

      “So, what’s new?” asks Brad after getting to ‘biblically’ know one another again. It was a great session as usual. Nothing wrong with that, dear congregation.

      Brad is a decent citizen. He has a great love of Saffron and enjoys her company as well as the great sex. He knows that Saffron is so independent, in mind and wealth, that wishing anything more than he had, was beyond the pale.

      It was in her early teens, at her parent’s Baptist Church that she met Brad, two years her younger. She initially thought of him as gawky, but soon warmed to him as a good friend. Were they ‘fuck buddies’ these days? She is not sure, but they enjoy each other’s pleasures without recourse. Sunday School sweethearts if you like, that never let go of it. Brad is also bi-sexual. Saffron never judged him, only to think that she had a 50/50 chance of him falling in love with her. Best not to get too close. Maybe Saffron’s heart strings to her beloved parents.

      “So, what’s next?” asks Brad as he sloshed down the remnants of his Bollinger.

      “There are a few things in the pipeline, but I think I’m going to retire from everything soon.”

      “And at your age, what will you do? You are a qualified academic.”

      “So what? What does that mean? Lectures, journal editions. Nah, don’t want it. I’ve got our little business humming and selling saffron, apples and caviar, which has a great demand, you have no idea,” Saffron smiles wickedly.

      Brad likes that, gives her a passionate kiss on her soft lips and caresses her breasts. Soon, it is on again.

      3.

      After last night’s romp with beloved Brad, Saffron feels much more relaxed from her recent Los Angeles assignment. She wants to do some exercise in her gym room and catch up on a few good Hollywood movies or even better, British movies, which she has a penchant for. Don’t mention Bollywood, even though Saff does like the belly dancing.

      ‘Yes, we are fuck buddies’, Saff ponders. ‘He likes it. I like it. It’s like a physical and mental exercise, slash experience, all at once, complete with French Bollinger. And we are both as hard and tight as. It’s a win-win.’ Caviar rubs against her leg. She picks him up and rests him on her lap. Such a gentle graceful cat. A real temple cat, Shaloun Temple even.

      She wants to get back on the Internet to see if anything has happened of interest. She has a private encrypted forum site on what they call, ‘the dark web’. Also has an ingenious way of providing would-be clients the codes needed to access the web site.

      But today, Saffron is in no hurry.

      She is loaded. Filthy rich. Make no mistake about that. The clients she engages pay her large amounts for her assignments. Why does she do it? Interestingly, she has even done a ‘pro-bono’ request, when her standard fee is US$2,000,000.

      Saffron СКАЧАТЬ