Read Online The Phantom Photographer: Murder in Marin Mystery - Book 3 (Murder in Marin Mysteries) by Martin Brown - Free Book Online
Authors: Martin Brown
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Carla. You wouldn’t happen to have any more of these? I mean, did you take any other pictures? We shared a shower later, but I wouldn’t imagine you got any of those shots, frosted glass window kind of ruins the opportunity.”
“Do you and Carla get to do this a lot?”
“As often as we can. My wife and I have an open marriage. She goes out and does her thing one night a week, and I do mine. She’s not into things like threesomes, so when it comes to play dates, we just go our separate ways. But tell me about your thing. What would you call it? Some sort of photo erotic fantasy play?”
After an awkward pause in the conversation, Paul continued to voice his curiosity over what he assumed was Michael’s sexual fetish.
“But, listen, Michael, this is not cool. I don’t have any problem with you doing your own thing, but if you’re going to take pictures of me, well I want to know next time. For one thing, I could have made the lighting a little better, which would have helped give you a better view of the action.”
The last thing Michael wanted to share with Paul was that he was trying to build a list of victims he could blackmail in exchange for keeping secret the photographic evidence he had gathered. He had no intention of providing Paul and his wife with a secret portfolio they could share with their various lovers.
“Well, I was driving down your block and I saw this really hot girl going into your place and, well…I was just curious. I’m sorry I snuck around the back and took the photos that I did. I know it was wrong of me. I’ll never do it again.”
“Hey, man, it’s okay. You like to watch. I get it; we’ve all got our own thing. I’m sure that there are a lot of people who wouldn’t approve of what Bev and I do for fun, but just like you, we’ve all got our own little secrets.”
Michael had no choice but to stand there and look both embarrassed and humbled. Clearly, it was better for Ablow to see him as a peeping tom than an extortionist.
“Maybe you should speak to Bev. She might like you to get some photos of her as well. I really admire your work. If you’ve got any more of Carla and me from that night, I’d be happy to pay you for them. You do really great work!”
Michael could not get out of Paul’s Patio World fast enough, even though Paul insisted that Michael stay and complete the stated purpose of the business meeting they were supposed to be having.
Later, in the car, driving over to Mary’s Pizza Shack, which was in the same strip mall where the camera shop was located, Michael could not believe what had just happened. He was aching to tell someone, but of course there was no way to explain why he had taken these pictures of Paul and his attractive young lover in the first place. Perhaps, at some point, he could tell his brother Christopher this story and they could share a good laugh. But certainly no one else.
It just didn’t seem fair. He did everything right and got the wrong result. It was a powerful lesson to him about the rules of the game he had decided to play. Secrets worth paying for were only those worth hiding. Certainly release of the photos of the local Rotary president at play would cause a stir among the members, but it would be the ruin of Michael in both his job and his standing in the community. It was far wiser, he knew, to file this away under funny things that happen when you enter the business of extortion.
Michael quickly adjusted to a more philosophical view of the whole episode. It was like one of the many hunting trips Christopher and Michael had gone on with their father in the years after Barbara had left. So often, when they thought that big buck was in their sites, something went wrong.
Every business has time, money, or both, invested in some pursuit that fails to yield its expected return. Michael had the sophistication to realize that he was still in the process of building a business. Setbacks and unexpected
“Do you and Carla get to do this a lot?”
“As often as we can. My wife and I have an open marriage. She goes out and does her thing one night a week, and I do mine. She’s not into things like threesomes, so when it comes to play dates, we just go our separate ways. But tell me about your thing. What would you call it? Some sort of photo erotic fantasy play?”
After an awkward pause in the conversation, Paul continued to voice his curiosity over what he assumed was Michael’s sexual fetish.
“But, listen, Michael, this is not cool. I don’t have any problem with you doing your own thing, but if you’re going to take pictures of me, well I want to know next time. For one thing, I could have made the lighting a little better, which would have helped give you a better view of the action.”
The last thing Michael wanted to share with Paul was that he was trying to build a list of victims he could blackmail in exchange for keeping secret the photographic evidence he had gathered. He had no intention of providing Paul and his wife with a secret portfolio they could share with their various lovers.
“Well, I was driving down your block and I saw this really hot girl going into your place and, well…I was just curious. I’m sorry I snuck around the back and took the photos that I did. I know it was wrong of me. I’ll never do it again.”
“Hey, man, it’s okay. You like to watch. I get it; we’ve all got our own thing. I’m sure that there are a lot of people who wouldn’t approve of what Bev and I do for fun, but just like you, we’ve all got our own little secrets.”
Michael had no choice but to stand there and look both embarrassed and humbled. Clearly, it was better for Ablow to see him as a peeping tom than an extortionist.
“Maybe you should speak to Bev. She might like you to get some photos of her as well. I really admire your work. If you’ve got any more of Carla and me from that night, I’d be happy to pay you for them. You do really great work!”
Michael could not get out of Paul’s Patio World fast enough, even though Paul insisted that Michael stay and complete the stated purpose of the business meeting they were supposed to be having.
Later, in the car, driving over to Mary’s Pizza Shack, which was in the same strip mall where the camera shop was located, Michael could not believe what had just happened. He was aching to tell someone, but of course there was no way to explain why he had taken these pictures of Paul and his attractive young lover in the first place. Perhaps, at some point, he could tell his brother Christopher this story and they could share a good laugh. But certainly no one else.
It just didn’t seem fair. He did everything right and got the wrong result. It was a powerful lesson to him about the rules of the game he had decided to play. Secrets worth paying for were only those worth hiding. Certainly release of the photos of the local Rotary president at play would cause a stir among the members, but it would be the ruin of Michael in both his job and his standing in the community. It was far wiser, he knew, to file this away under funny things that happen when you enter the business of extortion.
Michael quickly adjusted to a more philosophical view of the whole episode. It was like one of the many hunting trips Christopher and Michael had gone on with their father in the years after Barbara had left. So often, when they thought that big buck was in their sites, something went wrong.
Every business has time, money, or both, invested in some pursuit that fails to yield its expected return. Michael had the sophistication to realize that he was still in the process of building a business. Setbacks and unexpected
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