What Happened to Baby Cameron?
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 15

The Bordello

When we were seated at the table, a waiter came and handed us a menu.  “What may I bring you gentlemen to drink?”

Mr. Tibideaux had a martini and the Hank and I opted for iced tea because there were so many unknowns about what was going to be happening.  Chad ordered a cola and five young guys had chocolate milk.

Cam asked Tony what he liked to eat when he was at this restaurant. 

Tony answered, “They have great catfish, southern fried chicken and  ham with red eye sauce.  Our Mother liked their lamb chops and Mr. Cournier always had a steak of some kind.”

Ricky and Randy opted for the southern fried chicken, because they didn’t know what anything was.  Cam surprised even me, “I’d like the lamb chops, since we don’t have them very often.  I hope you have some mint jelly to go with them.”

Tony ordered, “Sir, I’d like the fried prawns with French fries, coleslaw and hush puppies.”

Andy looked up, “Can I have a grilled cheese and ham sandwich with a bowl of clam chowder soup, please?”

Chad ordered the catfish dinner

Mr. Tibideaux went next, “I’d like the catfish dinner, also”

Hank ordered a filet mignon and I decided to have the ham with red eye sauce, since I hadn’t had it for some time.  The young waiter put his notepad on the table.  “I hope you gentleman aren’t in any hurry.  It's going to take me forever to capture all the animals that you want to eat.”

The service was wonderful and I noticed that everyone was chowing down on their food.  Cam asked, even though his mouth was full, “Dads, where are we going to sleep tonight?”

Tony answered, “We can sleep at our house if there is no one else there.  We have lots of bedrooms.  The maids always come in and clean every day, since our Mother died.”

Mr. Tibideaux asked, “Guys, I don’t know how you’re going to get in, since Mr. Cournier is in jail.”

“Grampa, we know the code for the garage.  We had to go in that way when we got home from school if Mother wasn’t there.  After Mother died, we had to go in that way so we wouldn’t see who was in the house.  We had to go up the backstairs to our bedroom if anyone was there.  There were always a lot of men coming and going from the house.”

I looked at the boys, “Guys, eat your food, since we don’t know what kind of food is at the house,  I’m tired from traveling and would like to get some sleep.”

Hank looked at me and Mr. Tibideaux, “I’m reluctant to take the boys to that house, after what I saw this morning.”

Mr. Tibideaux disagreed, “Hank, Mr. Cournier and the creep who was there have been arrested.  The boys should be safe.  When we finish eating, let’s go check it out.  It sure would be a lot cheaper than paying for a hotel or motel for you people to stay in, since I own it.”

After dinner, we made our way to 2435 Rue Marseilles.  Tony sighed, “Good, no one is here; the red light isn’t lit.  We’ll be okay.”

Tony punched the number on the garage door and there was a BMW sitting in one bay.  Fortunately Mr. Tibideaux could get into the house.  When we got inside the house, it appeared to be rather clean.

Chad and I took the boys upstairs with their suitcases.  The bedrooms had clean linens on the beds and the bathrooms seemed to be clean, so I asked Chad to get the boys ready for bed.  When I got downstairs, Hank and Mr. Tibideaux were leaving.  Hank winked, I’ll be back as soon as I get Mr. Tibideaux delivered.  He can’t make it up the steps here.  I should be back in thirty minutes.”

It was almost thirty minutes later when Chad came down the stairs carrying his clothes, “Mr. Michaels, the prick didn’t even pack clean clothes for me except for a couple pairs of briefs.  Surely, there’s a laundry room here somewhere.”

“Chad, I honestly don’t know where it would be; I‘ve never been here before.  “Why didn’t you ask Tony and Andy.”

“Sir, they’re already asleep.”

I looked around, “Since there is no basement, it shouldn’t be too hard to find if there is one.”

We went into the kitchen and I saw a room off to the side, “Chad, I’m guessing it’s in there.”

We went into room and there was a commercial washer and dryer that could handle big loads.  When Chad was putting his few clothes in the washing machine, the phone rang.  I went to answer the phone in the kitchen. 

“Hello, how can I help you?”

 

“This is Tom, I was checking to see if you were open for business.  I need to be serviced.”

“Tom, we’re not going to be open for a while.  We were busted by the police, today.”

The phone went dead.

I turned to look at Chad, “Hank should have been back by now.  He’s been gone forty five minutes.  Go turn the outside lights on while I call Mr. Dawkins and give him the number for the house.”

I called the number that was on the card that Mr. Dawkins had given me.

He answered, “Dawkins, here.  How can I help you?”

“McKenzie, this is Steve Michaels; you asked me to call you and tell you how you could get in touch with us.  We’re staying at the Tibideaux house.  The number is 556-6610.”

“Is Chad with you?”

“Yep, he’s standing here in briefs.”

“Good, keep him that way.  We’ve uncovered a real bucket of worms, thanks to him.  Gotta go.  I’ll talk to you later.”

I looked at Chad and started to laugh. “That was Mr. Dawkins, he said we were to keep you in your briefs.”

The garage door opened and Hank appeared, “Sorry, it took so long but Mr. Tibideaux wanted to talk.  He wants us to take the boys home with us after we get this mess cleared up down here.  Steve, do you think there is any way that we could make the ranch so it would be handicapped accessible?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Cowboy, I’m sure we could, but I have no idea what it might cost us.”

Our conversation was interrupted by someone ringing the front door bell.  I went to answer followed by Hank and Chad.  When I opened the door, a portly man was standing there.  He looked at me, “I don’t think I’ve seen you before, but you look fine to me.  Can we go to the bedroom and take care of business?”

The man stopped when he saw Chad and Hank.  “I’ll tell you what, I’ll let all three of you ride me and I’ll pay you $500.00.”

I pushed the man toward the door, “Sir, we’re not into that kind of thing.  Why would you even think we would be amenable to doing something like that?”

The man sputtered, “B-b-but the red light is on saying that you’re open for business.”

Hank asked, “What red light?”

The man was very nervous, because he was caught with his pants down, so to speak.  We accompanied Hank to the front door and sure enough there was a red light on the side of the front porch.  Hank unscrewed the light bulb, even though it was obviously hot, and threw it on the sidewalk and it broke into tiny fragments. “There, the red is light is off forever.  Call all your slime-ball acquaintances and tell them we’re out of business.  If we ever see you around here again, we’ll call the police.”

When we went into the house, Hank turned to Chad, “Shouldn’t you have something on other than briefs to hide your penis? No wonder the man assumed we were open for business  ”

I pushed Hank against the wall, “The only clothes that Chad has are in the washing machine.  What’s wrong with you?  Chad has done nothing wrong.  I just finished talking to Mr. Dawkins and they have found a mess, as a result of what happened to Chad.”

Chad spoke, “I’ll leave as soon as my clothes are dry, sir, if it would make you feel better.”

I turned to Chad, “You’re not going anywhere.  Cowboy hasn’t had any real sleep for nearly thirty hours. I'm going to take him and put him to bed.  We may have to wake him in time for dinner tomorrow night.  Now, go to bed.”

I hugged Chad and watched as he trudged up the stairs.

Hank was sitting with his head in his hands, “Steve, I’m sorry.  I guess everything finally caught up to me.   I didn’t mean to jump on Chad as I did.  I guess you’re right.  I need some quality sleep.  I’ll apologize to Chad in the morning.”

“Hank, I think it would be better if you apologized tonight.  He’s very fragile.  He was talking about committing suicide this afternoon.”

We secured the downstairs and went to the second floor.  All of the doors except one were open.  We looked in the first room and the three five/six years boys were asleep.  In the second room the two eight year old boys were spread all over the bed.  The third open door was obviously the master bedroom and no one was in it.  When we approached the fourth door, we could hear someone sobbing.

I knocked and it took a second knock before Chad told us to come in.  When we entered Chad was sitting there with tears streaming down his  face.  He looked at us, “I’ll leave before anyone gets up in the morning.  I don’t want to embarrass Mr. Rodgers any more.”

Hank and I sat down on either side of Chad and Hank put his arm around Chad, “Go ahead hit me when I’m down.  Chad, I apologize for snapping at you downstairs.  I don’t want you to leave at all.  In fact what I saw downstairs looked pretty good.  No wonder that asshole got excited when he saw you standing there in your briefs.  You are an extremely handsome young man.”

I hugged Chad, “I second that comment.  Now why don’t we get some sleep.  The boys, especially Cam, are early risers.  I’ve hidden your clothes so don’t even think about leaving.”

As Hank and I were leaving, Chad asked, “Sirs, what’s going to happen to me?”

I turned to Chad, “I would guess that you’ll probably be going home with us.  You have done nothing wrong, so there is no reason for the authorities to keep you here, and we certainly can’t let you go back to your family.  At least not until you’re eighteen.”

Chad sighed, “You mean you would let me live with you and the boys even though I’m sure I’m gay.”

Hank and I started to laugh.  I asked, “Do the boys seem to have a problem with us being a couple?  Besides, one of our other sons is gay as well.  Our college age sons have no problem with us being more than just friends.  The only thing we would ask is that you not let the young guys see you doing anything sexual.  You could be like a big brother to the five guys since it  looks as if we’ll be taking Tony and Andy home to live with us.  Now get some sleep.  We’ll discuss more about what’s going to happen, tomorrow.”

When Hank and I went into the Master bedroom, we were in for some surprises.  The first surprise presented itself when we went into the bathroom.  It was very apparent that this was indeed a male bordello.  There was everything that you could possibly think of that could be used for gay sexual activities including a big box of condoms.

We took a quick shower. We noticed the next surprise, when we crawled into bed.  When we looked up, the ceiling had mirrors as well as did the walls on either side of the bed.  Hank started to chuckle, “We’ll have to take advantage of the décor tomorrow, when we’re not so bushed.”

As I was going to sleep, I had a sudden panicky thought, ‘We shouldn’t let the boys see what’s in here.’  I got up and shut the door so the boys would know to knock to enter. 

Hank was sound asleep and I had another panicky thought, ‘What if Chad should decide to leave?’

I decided to go sleep downstairs to make sure Chad didn’t try to leave.  The next morning I was awakened by Cam, “Dad, why are you sleeping down here?  Did you and Daddy have a fight?  Dad, we’re hungry.”

I stood, even though I only had my briefs on, “Let’s go see what we can find to eat.”

We went into the kitchen.  Andy pointed, “There should be some cereal in that door.” 

I opened the closet and got the cereal while Tony went to get the milk.  Chad came into kitchen and giggled, “Mr. Michaels, you better be careful or Mr. Rodgers will jump your case.”

“I’ll help the boys so you can get dressed.  You never know who might show up around here.  There are some weird things in the bedroom where I was sleeping.”

Tony nodded, “Our clothes are all gone.  I wonder if that man sold them, too.  There are a bunch of funny things in our bedrooms too.”

I guess we should have thought about that possibility last night. “Guys, we’ll check everything out after you eat.”

When I arrived in the bedroom, Hank was nearly dressed.  He looked up at me and grinned, “Oh no, not you, too.  It must be something in the air here in New Orleans.  Chad didn’t runaway did he?”

I shook my head no, “He’s downstairs helping the boys.  We need to check the boys' bedrooms.  They said there were some funny things in them and that all their clothes were gone.”

Hank frowned, “I guess we should have checked last night.  I’ll see what’s wrong while you get dressed.  I have no idea what’s going to happen, today.”

I was almost dressed when Hank returned, “Stevie, the other three bedrooms are unbelievable.  It appears that Mr. Cournier had a thriving business going here.  Since the boys have already seen the things, there is no sense trying to hide them  I need to call Si and see what’s happening.”

When we arrived in the kitchen, the six young people were eating coffee cake.  Chad looked up, “The coffee is ready and the coffee cake is staying warm in the oven.  What else can I fix you?”

I shook my head no, “Chad, the coffee and coffee cake sound great.”

Hank and I had just started to eat when the phone rang, Tony went to answer, “This is Tony Tibideaux.  … Oh, hi Grampa. … Let me check. …”

Tony put the receiver down and went into the laundry and returned, “Grampa, there are two sets of keys on the hook. … Okay, I'll put Mr. Rodgers on.”

Tony handed the phone to Hank.  “Hi Mr. Tibideaux. … Just a minute, let me check. … Chad, do you have a drivers license?” Chad nodded yes.  Hank continued, “I’ll bring Chad with me to pick you up, and he can drive it back here.  I think Steve should stay here and take care of the boys.  … We’ll be there in about 45 minutes.”

Hank had just hung up when the phone rang again.  “This is Tony Tibideaux. … Oh hi Mr. Dawkins. … Here, I’ll put Mr. Michaels on.”

“This is Steve Michaels.  What’s happening McKenzie?”

“Steve, can Si and I come to the house to talk to the boys and Chad?”

“Of course, when would you like to visit, so I can make sure that we’re here?”

“I’d like to get this taken care of this morning, so say, about ten o’clock.  We’ll be bringing some police with us.  In the meantime, don’t let anyone into the house or take anything out.  I have the distinct impression that there are some things there that Mr. Cournier doesn’t want anyone to see.  It would be great if Mr. Tibideaux could be there, too, since he owns the house.”  

“Hank is going to be picking Mr. Tibideaux up, in 45 minutes, so we should be set.”

“Great, see you at ten.”

I looked at the group, “That was Mr. Dawkins, he and Mr. Fairfield will be coming to talk to us at ten o’clock.  They are bringing some police with them.  We’re not to let anyone in, or take anything out of the house.  Tony, how many ways are there to get into the house?”

Tony pointed to the back door, “There’s that door, the front door and the through the garage.”

I got up and made sure that the dead locks where in place as well the regular locks.  I also made sure the chains were in place on the front door and the back door to prevent anyone who might have keys from being able to enter.

After Hank and Chad had departed, the boys and I were doing the dishes when the first visitors tried to come in through the back door.  I went to see who was there.

I could see two women standing there. I opened the door just wide enough to be able to talk to them, “How may I help you ladies?”

The older of the two answered, “We’re here to clean up the mess that you people always make.  We also need to get paid for the past week.”

“Mr. Cournier isn’t here.  He spent the night in jail.  I’m visiting from out of town, and I can assure you that there isn’t any mess to clean up.”

“If Mr. Cournier is in jail, whose going to pay us?”

“Ladies, I guess you will need to go visit Mr. Cournier in jail, and talk to him about that.  Have a good day, ladies.”

The boys had finished putting the dishes in the dishwasher when the front door bell rang.  I went to see who was there and a UPS truck was pulling away.  I opened the door and was picking up a package when a man was hurrying up the walk.  I turned to shut the door when he yelled, “Mister, wait.  I need to get my things.” 

I turned to the man, “You’re not taking anything.  The police are on their way here as we speak and I’ve been instructed to not to let anyone in.”

When the man heard the word police, he started hightailing it to his car which screeched as he pulled away.  I thought to myself, ‘What kind of mess have we gotten into?’

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  I would say that it is quite a serious mess, indeed.  Luckily, I don't think our guys are going to be in any trouble, and hopefully not any of the youngsters will be, either.

Chad is a very nice young man, and he certainly deserves to have a chance at a good life.  I think he will be a fine addition to the family.  I think another chapter would be very nice, right about now, don't you?

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher 

Posted: 11/27/09