Free American Sextet by Warren Adler

understood his real motives.
    "We live on favors in this town, baby." He had
reiterated the point to be sure she hadn't changed her mind.
    "I understand, Jason."
    He refused to question her own value system--he didn't need
any extra baggage for his conscience.
    He'd let her decorate the apartment in her special way, an
expression of her own fantasies.
    "But why don't we live here, Jason?" They still
stayed at his Capitol Hill apartment.
    "Some day. If you do exactly as I say."
    "Of course, Jason." She thought for a moment.
"I'll make sure he returns the favor."
    "Oh he will, baby. That's been settled."
    "Better be."
    "It'll all be perfect in the end. You'll see."
    "Sure, Jason. Anything you say."
    When Arthur had disappeared around the corner, Jason
crossed the street to the townhouse. The outside door worked on a buzzer
system, but he let himself in with his own key. Dorothy was in the shower.
Getting out of the sooty coal area had increased her passion for cleanliness.
She had shined and primped the apartment until its floors and furniture were
honed to a fine gloss. Everything was tucked neatly in place.
    Dorothy came out of the shower, scrubbed and sweet
smelling, wearing a flouncy white negligee. Seeing him sitting on the couch,
she smiled brightly. He forced his expression to match hers, surprised at the
brief stab of jealousy. Watching her now, fresh from another man's arms,
oblivious in her innocence, made him feel uneasy.
    "He was very nice," she said, insinuating herself
next to him, locking her fingers in his.
    "Didn't I tell you," he said hoarsely.
    "And you're not jealous?"
    "Not a bit."
    "As long as he helps you, Jason, it's okay with
me."
    Her nearness made his concentration falter. He had the
sudden urge to explain it further to her, to justify it, but gazing at her
perfect face, it didn't seem to matter anymore. Her malleability was a
phenomenon.
    From his pocket he took his small tape recorder and locked
in a blank cassette. Standing it upright on the cocktail table between them, he
tested it, checking its range and pitch. She watched him with childish
curiosity, emitting the inevitable "gosh." He had toyed with the idea
of wiring the place, but that would have required bringing another person in to
do the job. Debriefing was second best, but far safer. The type of
"visitors" he had in mind would all be paranoid about security. As it
was, he would have to have Dorothy offer them elaborate assurances. The
slightest hint of a "setup" would scatter them like frightened geese.
    "Remember. It's like a game," he explained.
    "Okay."
    "Everyone to his own aberration," he said,
caressing her shoulders.
    "Aber what?" she asked, laughing, her eyes fixed
on the running recorder.
    "Never mind."
    He'd already assumed that the first time would be the most
difficult. "Just tell me how it was." Her eyes narrowed in confusion.
    "Tell you? I don't understand."
    "It excites me," he whispered, biting at her
earlobe. He wondered if it really would.
    "It does? But I thought..." He observed her
mulling it over in her tortuous plodding way. It was contrary to her
experience. She looked at the recorder and frowned.
    "I'm not sure, Jason."
    "Just trust me," he whispered. "It's
important to us."
    "To us?"
    "Go ahead," he coaxed.
    "What?"
    "Just tell me what happened. What he said. What you
felt."
    "He smelled nice," she giggled.
    "What else?" He kissed her forehead. "How
did he do it?"
    "You want to know that?"
    "Yes."
    "Just like he was starving to death." She smiled
and turned to face him. He chuckled benignly, and it gave her courage to
proceed. What he wanted was facts, bits and pieces, the juicy stuff. He
continued to coax her.
    "He liked to talk dirty when he was doing it. Usually
like dogs do."
    It came out like an instruction sheet for elaborate sexual
exercises, boiled down to their ultimate simplicity. Wanting to please him, she
relayed each movement with as much detail as could be hoped for. And then he
did this and then