Florida’s wonderland of attractions. With so many visitors, his presence would be unremarkable. There were small towns close by, and he glanced at his map and drove towards one to the south of the city. He found a rooming house where he paid cash for one month’s rent to the widow who owned it. She had two other boarders that were both well into their seventies, but Sloan’s charm won him the room over her garage. She had agreed that the space with its outside entrance would be perfect, when he explained that he worked at night.
Sloan kept his things in his opened suitcase by the door, and he studied the newspaper he had purchased. After a few minutes of scanning the crime reports, he had a pretty good indication where the poorer sections of the city just north were located. He would begin at the bars on the fringes of these areas… the purgatory realm where the sluts hoped to meet wealthier men and wealthier men hoped to meet sluts.
Sloan was into his third night of prowling at another smoky pool hall, sitting alone at a table by the window and sipping his drink. A few girls had brazenly approached him, swaying their tight jeaned hips in an exaggerated drunken roll. He affected an easygoing manner and bought them drinks as he managed to send them away. It was not a slut he was after… just yet.
It was almost eleven when the door opened and a pretty young blonde walked in. She was dressed in jeans and a casual top, with her hair pulled back into a tail. There was a fresh innocence about her, and that was something Sloan desired in his conquests. Her eyes… Sloan always decided by the eyes… were a deep blue. She walked up to a woman Sloan recognized as one who had approached him earlier in the evening. She was currently wrapped around a middle-aged man who was obviously enjoying her attentions.
“Mom, I need a ride home,” the girl said.
“I thought you were staying at Nancy’s tonight.” The woman replied irritably, keeping her eyes focused… as much as she was able to… on the man she had singled out.
“Brian called, and she decided to go out with him instead.” The girl’s expression let Sloan know that she was well used to her mother’s behavior.
“Who’s this pretty little thing?” the targeted man slurred.
Sloan caught the beat of promise in the man’s inebriated eyes, when he considered that perhaps he had walked into an even better opportunity than he had originally thought. Sloan scanned the bar for one of his earlier stalkers, and he caught the eye of a washed out brunette who was sitting by herself and drinking away her misery. He waved her over, and she staggered to his table with her beer.
“Thought you wanted to be alone,” she muttered. Peggy was not having a very good night, even though this guy had bought her a beer earlier. Losing Reggie to Patsy an hour ago had pretty much assured Peggy that tonight was going to be a bust for her… and she needed twenty dollars more for rent.
Sloan smiled and said, “I guess I need some company, after all.”
Peggy shrugged and sat down with an awkward thump that caused her beer bottle to slam on the table. “Damn heels,” she cursed, and reached down to rub her ankle. She looked back at the man and felt pleased that he had come to his senses and finally singled her out. He was maybe even richer than the usual fare that came into the bar in the middle of the week… and he had no pale indication of a wedding ring he had taken off and hidden in a pocket. With the black shirt and day old groomed whiskers of his dark beard shadowing a strong jaw and handsome features. Peggy thought he looked sexy and mysterious. His eyes were pitch black in the dim light, but Peggy imagined she saw desire lurking in their depths.
Peggy was a rough looking forty, but the alcohol convinced her that she still had the appeal she did in her twenties… like Jenna, Patsy’s