Echo

astonishing connection that had been alluding him. They all wore a golden aura about them. Their golden streaked hair, the skin of both Scotty and Jose, all suggested a subtle goldenness. That’s odd . Tomorrow will be the first time he’s laid eyes on all three at the same time. Oh yes, and their two dogs, Barney and Echo. They should not be a problem, as Sarasota seemed to be an inordinately tolerant community of dog lovers . Not intending to offend, he hoped Abby and Jose could take his questions in stride.
    Passing the hotel landline sitting on the Chippendale style desk, he saw a red message light blinking. Did I miss a call from Abby?
    Dialing into the message center, he found himself ordered to contact the Newtown Police Department at his earliest convenience. Frowning, he wondered how they knew how to find him as only Tiffany knew his itinerary. Something must have happened to his elderly parents. His father was eighty years old, after all. They knew of his change in fortune but not the name of his hotel. An only child, his parents relied on him. Conception came late for his mother after doctors convinced his parents she could never conceive. The fact that his mother’s pregnancy came as she turned forty eight and his father fifty, relegated them to the role of shocked and reticent parents; stumbling along, trying their best. It probably contributed to his lack of confidence and his reliance on his professional demeanor to formulate his personality. Shrugging off his introspection, he remembered how he loved his parents and quickly dialed their number in Sussex County.

Chapter 23
    Armoni hurried back to his hotel, ready to explode with giddiness. The three days it took to accomplish the task felt endless but the sale concluded successfully. The gold dealers behaved much more professionally in New York City. They failed to bat an eye when he pulled his lump of gold out of his paper bag. The cash resided safe and sound (except for the wad in his pockets) in the bank. They tried to talk him into one of those newfangled plastic cards with his fingerprints. Oh no, he wern’t no fool. Not gunna let some stupid clerk trick him into giving his fingerprints. He preferred hard cash in his pocket, anyway. Cash always speaks loudest in a crowded room.
    Pulling up to the hotel parking attendant, he flipped him the keys to his brand new two hundred and fifty thousand smackeroo, Lamborghini SUV, cherry red with a gold trimmed, black lightning bolt down the side panels. Yeah, the snotty, board-up-his-ass dealer sure wasn’t pleased about his insistence on the lightning bolt. Slapping his documents from the bank on the dealer’s desk sure changed his tune.
    He reached into the back of his new wheels to grab the shopping bags he accumulated from his riotous shopping spree for the new duds he needed, befitting a man of his obvious new stature. He loved making snot nose, gay blades dance to the tunes he called as he forced them to run ragged trying to please him. He wouldn’t even bother with them but everyone knew they were the best source of what they call fashion . Anxious to get himself some fashion , he privately thought his taste as good as the stuck up blades. Most of the duds he left the store with looked like the same things he picked out in the first place. Once the blades realized what he liked they bent over backwards to kiss his ass. He had a few numbers that he couldn’t wait to try on. Like the red and yellow anaconda skin shit kickers. He whistled, recalling how they had politely suggested that the gentlemen’s boots might be a tad inappropriate . Just to show them who was in charge, he bought an additional pair in turquoise and white. Sure turned their faces green; with envy, of course.
    He couldn’t wait to change. Oh yeah, maybe it would be a good idea to shower up first. He hoped he might be able to find a willing babe to help him celebrate. He imagined he could have any girl he wanted, now that he was so obviously a man of substance. Cupping his crotch in his meaty hands, he laughed as he entered the sumptuous lobby spotting two uptown ladies with big fake tits, staring at his crotch. Obviously, they were interested in the goods. What girl wouldn’t be? They probably wondered how they could be the lucky one to celebrate with me .
    Strolling right up to them, his bandy legs now shod in his turquoise and white shit kickers, he smacked the nearest one on the ass as he stuck a dirty finger nail