CHAPTER 69

When the doorbell rang, Kevin practically bolted to answer it. Standing in the threshold was Nick Lachey. He seemed a little surprised to see Kevin.

“Hi ‘ya, Kev. Didn’t expect to see you here…”

Didn’t expect to see me? Why the hell not? “Well, I do live here, Nick,” Kevin answered with a stiff smile. “Come in…”

Nick strolled through the doorway and glanced around the house. “Really? I didn’t know that."

Nick’s ignorance pissed Kevin off. Why didn’t he know it? Answer: Because Connie didn’t tell him… But Lachey liked to piss him off and Kevin didn’t want to give him that pleasure.

“Yes,” Kevin remarked calmly, “Connie and I live together, Nick. I assume you know ‘why’ she’s asked you to escort her to this party…”

“I know that Jive is a bunch of assholes, if that’s what you mean, Kev. Connie told me that the label didn’t want fans to think you were attached to anybody in particular, so I figured you two must have been seeing each other some. I just didn’t realize it was serious, ‘ya know?” Nick paused and looked Kevin in the eye. “It is serious, right, Kev?”

Kevin thought he caught some kind of implication in Nick’s question. He didn’t like it but answered with a syrupy sweetness.

“I don’t know that my feelings for Connie are any of your business, Nick…” he smiled.

“Well, actually, they kinda are, Kev. ‘Cuz if you’re not serious, well, Connie’s a nice lady and I wouldn’t mind getting to know her a little better – if you’re not serious, I mean…”

“I’m serious, Nick,” Kevin frowned. “Let’s not forget that tonight, alright?”

Nick didn’t answer. He just grinned.

Their silent posturing ended when Connie appeared in the hallway, knotting the tie on her lightweight coat.

“Nick! I didn’t know you were here!” Connie turned her eyes to Kevin. “Why didn’t you tell me, Nick was here?” she scolded.

“Nick’s here,” Kevin returned sarcastically.

Nick decided to turn on the charm. “I just got here.” Nick stepped back and appraised his date for the evening. “You look beautiful, Connie. Maybe I should have come a little earlier…” Connie blushed and Kevin rolled his eyes. “You ready to go?”

“She’s ready.” Kevin said flatly. “I’ll be right behind you two. I probably should have been there already.”

“Then why aren’t you?” Nick was still grinning. Kevin’s irritation escalated.

“Why because, Nick….” Kevin’s smile was phonier than a politician’s. “…I wanted to speak to you… and I have. I’ll see you at the party in a little bit…”

“It might be a big bit, Kev. I made reservations for eight o’ clock at La Capucine.”

Kevin’s smile became even more specious. “Why how nice… Too bad, Connie’s already eaten..”

“Well, maybe she’ll enjoy a little something. Maybe a glass of wine or something. We can talk and she can watch me eat.”

“I’m sure that will be a thrill for her, Nick….”

Connie thought that now was the time to butt in and put an end to this contrived dialogue. Kevin was getting more pissed by the minute and Nick seemed to be enjoying his discomfort a little too much.

“We’d better get going then…” she sang out, before heading for the door.

“Don’t be too long.” Kevin’s comment was not made in a lighthearted fashion. He was issuing an order obviously intended for Lachey, since Connie’s back was now towards the two men.

But Nick had the final word. “Why Kev, I always heard that a man can’t be too long. Besides, I think I’m just right…”

He turned before Kevin could comment and lead Connie out of the door.

*****

Nick watched Kevin head for the open bar. By his calculations, this was Kevin’s third drink in two hours. Connie and Lachey were nowhere to be seen. There was music and food and lots of schmoozing but Kevin had positioned himself where he could keep his eye on the door. His restlessness wasn’t obvious except to the trained eye but over the years, Nick’s eye had been trained pretty well when it came to his oldest brother. When he saw Kevin look at his watch for the umteenth time, Nick checked his own. It was quarter to eleven and there was no sign of the pair. Kevin’s imagination was shifting into overdrive and Nick could see the warning signs of an impending explosion.

*****

Dinner had been very nice and Nick had been the perfect gentleman. They had talked about a lot of things, including Kevin, and Connie learned what she already suspected, that Nick got a certain pleasure out of goading Kevin.

“He’s just so serious most of the time…” Nick explained. “Kevin likes his world nice and neat, which is next to impossible in this business. Some of us just like to give him a hard time sometimes.”

The teasing wasn’t meant to be malicious and soon Connie was laughing at Nick’s stories of life on the road along with some Backstreet tales as well.

“We’d better get going,” Nick announced after a brief pause in the conversation. “Kev’ll be sending out a posse before long – not that I blame him…”

As they headed for the door, a friend of Nick’s waved at them from a table in the back of the dining room.

“Man, I’ve been looking for him! Want to come on over Connie? I’ll just be a minute…”

“No, you go ahead. I’ll wait up front…”

The two glasses of wine had had a small effect on Connie. She wasn’t drunk but the restaurant suddenly seemed a little stuffy and she decided to wait outside. The street was practically deserted, except for a pair of women who were standing near the curb, smoking cigarettes. Although Connie didn’t know much about Orlando, this seemed like a strange part of town to house such a nice restaurant. There were two bars, a massage parlor and a pool hall across the street and a tattoo parlor next door. Connie took a few steps down to the parlor and looked through the glass window. The wall was covered with tattoo designs and Connie could see a man inside who was getting a design pierced into his skin. There was a sign in the window that read ‘Tats - $20.00’.

God, it’s humid tonight… Connie slipped off the lightweight coat and pushed her hair back over her shoulders. The thought of getting a tattoo intrigued her although she couldn’t imagine getting one wear Kevin had his. Where would I even get one?…. She turned and stepped back towards the curb as she pondered the possibilities. She didn’t hear the click-clack of stiletto heels on the pavement behind her or see the evil look of the scantily clad woman who strolled past. Twenty dollars is pretty cheap. I wonder what you get for twenty dollars?

Connie didn’t think much of it when the dark blue Park Avenue pulled up in front of her. She was a little surprised the see the passenger’s side window come down and the driver, a nice looking young man lean across the seat. He looked like he had a question and waved Connie over to the car. She only took one step and bent to get a better look at the driver. He was smiling and looked totally non-threatening.

“What’s a classy looking woman like you doing out here all alone?” he asked.

“Just waiting…” Connie smiled.

The young man nodded in response. “You’re new….”

“Pardon me?” Connie wasn’t sure she had understood his comment. She didn’t realize that she had understood the words but not the implication.

“Never mind…” The man took a breath and then pointed out the car window. “How much?”

Connie glanced behind herself at the window of the tattoo parlour and then turned back to the driver.

“Twenty dollars,” she answered.

“Twenty dollars?” the man asked. “That’s the charge? Are you sure? Twenty dollars?”

“Twenty dollars…” Connie repeated.

The man slid back in his seat, opened the door and got out of the car. As he walked around his car towards the curb, he reached into his pocket.

“Lady, you screwed up. You’re under arrest….”

Chapter 70

Kevin was trying to have what appeared to be a normal and casual conversation with Robert Drake, even though he disliked the asshole. Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to talk too much. Robert took care of that and all Kevin had to do was nod and grunt at the appropriate times which left him free to cast glances towards the door.

He had called his house for messages. There were none. He had called La Capucine. They recalled ‘Mr. Lachey and a red –haired woman’ having dinner, but they had left some time ago. Now images of flashing lights and emergency rooms fought ridiculous visions of Lachey groping and pawing his way through the sweater Connie said she was wearing tonight. He wouldn’t dare…. But where the fuck are they?… Kevin’s felt a combination of relief and anger when he turned to the door once more. Nick Lachey was standing in the doorway casting furtive glances around the room. Connie wasn’t with him. The two men seemed to spot each other at the same time. Nick’s eyes grew wide and Kevin saw him swallow. The body language wasn’t good and Kevin’s head was suddenly filled with wailing alarms that no one else could hear. He turned from Drake mid-sentence and headed towards the door – and Lachey.

Brian had been standing on the sidelines, more or less listening to Leighanne chatter with one of the dancers. He had also been aware of Kevin’s aggravation, not that it took a psychic to see that his cousin was annoyed. When he saw Kevin’s expression change from impatient to ‘ass-kicking pissed’, he followed his line of vision to the door in time to see Lachey’s look of panic.

“Be back in a minute…”

Brian abruptly left the tęte-ŕ-tęte and tried to catch up with Kevin, unable to match his cousin’s giant and purposeful strides. Calling to him did no good. Kevin was becoming more incensed with each step and by the time he did catch up, Kevin had already grabbed Nick by the arm and was pushing him back through the door.

“Where’s Connie?” Kevin growled into Nick’s face, as his fingers dug into the arm of Nick’s leather jacket.

“Uh…uh… Take it easy Kev. I think she’s alright…”

“THINK? What have you done to her, you prick? You’d better start talkin’ cuz your group’s about to lose twenty-five of it’s fuckin’ degrees…”

Nick’s hands rose as he tried to place some kind of barrier between himself and one completely furious Backstreet Boy. By now AJ had joined the circle, as had Jeff Timmons, Nick’s groupmate. Voices were rising and the situation was threatening to get out of hand even before anyone was sure what exactly the ‘situation’ was. It would take a big man to bust this up and fortunately, a big man was there. Carlos, who didn’t usually attend these kinds of functions, preferring to stay home and sleep, had been asked to stop by and pick up a copy of a revised itinerary. He had picked up his paperwork and was about to leave when things began to get out of hand. A path automatically cleared for him as he began to lumber across the large room towards the shouting, which generally consisted of a familiar voice. His charge, Kevin, was reaming someone a new asshole.

“Okay, everybody back it up!” Carlos yelled as he began pulling people apart, showing no partiality between the two camps.

AJ was the first to get yanked backwards by the band of his fishnet top. For a split second, he could have sworn that he felt his feet leave the floor and found himself glancing around for Marcus. Jeff was the next to be derailed, as Carlos grabbed him by the arm and whirled him around and back away from the center of the argument, making him feel for a moment like Ginger Rogers being spun by a formidable Fred Astair. Brian needed no encouragement and backed up voluntarily, holding his hands up and palms out and he took his steps to the rear. In the next instant, he had wedged himself between the two singers and planted his palms against their respective solar plexi, forcing them several steps apart and causing Kevin’s fingers to be pulled from Nick’s jacket.

“What the hell’s wrong with you two?” Carlos barked menacingly. “This ain’t no goddamn back alley!”

“This fucker has lost Connie – or done something to her..or – or something!” Kevin screamed.

“I haven’t done anything!” Nick yelled back. “I – I think I know where she is!”

“THINK? That’s the second fuckin’ time you’ve said that Lachey! I’m asking you one last time – where is she?”

Kevin was struggling against the pressure of Carlos’ hand, trying to get back into Nick’s face.

“Hold it!” Carlos shouted again. “Give the man a chance to talk, Kev….” He turned his face towards Nick. “Okay, Lachey. Where is Miss O’Rourke?”

Nick began to stammer. “I- I- I think she’s in jail….”

He started licking his lips as he glanced nervously between Carlos and a stunned Kevin Richardson, who’s body had suddenly gone limp with surprise. The space was completely silent for a few seconds until AJ muttered.

“Holy shit….”

*****

Connie had been placed in a group holding cell. There were eight other women in there with her and one person whose sexuality was questionable. All had been brought in on the same charges – soliciting.

This whole adventure seemed inconsequential to the others and Connie guessed that some of them had seen the inside if this cell before. A couple of the ‘ladies’ even seemed to know a few of the cops by name and taunted them as they passed, making not-so-vague references to the officers’ wives, girlfriends or genitalia. After a short time, Connie hadn’t been able to watch them anymore and had buried her face in her hands. She had been allowed her one phone call, like the others. Unfortunately, she couldn’t use a phone. When she told the officer she was deaf, he had rolled his eyes and said ‘That’s a new one…’ and had told her she’d have to wait then – that they were real busy tonight. She had no identification with her. At least a driver’s license would have been marked with evidence of her disability. And so, she waited and as the minutes ticked by, Connie became more and more upset. She was scared and mortified and outraged. On top of that, if she ever got out of here, Kevin was going to kill her….

*****

“Just chill a little bit, man…”

Brian had come with them to the police station. Carlos had insisted on driving and had put Kevin and Brian in the back seat. The story they had finally pulled out of Lachey had been full of missing pieces. He told them that he had spoken to a friend as he and Connie were leaving the restaurant and apparently, Connie had decided to wait outside. When he went out several minutes later, she was nowhere to be found. He had asked a woman who stood near the corner – a hooker in thigh-high boots and a halter top – if she had seen a red-head in a white angora sweater and black skirt and had been told that she had seen such a woman from across the street, and that she had been stopped by a man and put in the back of what she recognized as an unmarked police car. She also mentioned that the woman had been ‘cuffed’. For what, she wasn’t sure.

Lachey had panicked. He hadn’t known whether to go directly to the station and risk worrying Kevin because he wouldn’t know where they were or what was going on or let Kevin know what was happening so he wouldn’t think the worst. He had opted for the second choice. Kevin had still been mega-pissed and Lachey would spend the rest of the night wondering if he had done the right thing. Finally, he decided that either choice would have finally yielded the same result and hoped that this calamity would seem funny when enough time had passed. He had volunteered to accompany Carlos, Kevin and Brian to the police station but was not-so-politely refused.

“You two wait here,” Carlos ordered as he opened his door. “Let me take care of this.”

*****

After Carlos had spoken to desk sergeant, an officer was sent to retrieve Connie from the holding cell. A call was also made to the arresting officer and a detective in the robbery division who knew sign language. Carlos waited, casting a wary eye around the station. Luckily, he spotted no one whom he thought might be a reporter stopping in to check the blotter before the Sentinel’s deadline. Carlos sighed. At least he had been told the charges. Connie had been arrested for prostitution. Kevin would not be happy.

By the time the police officer had come for Connie, she was in the throes of borderline hysteria. She didn’t know if she was being taken out for fingerprinting and mug shots or if she was being moved to another cell or what was happening. She was rattled and the officer wasn’t bothering to clear up the mystery. In fact, he looked bored with the whole situation. The only remark he made that she could focus on enough to understand, was cryptic.

“I think your pimp is here…”