narrowly. Could this fellow be real in this day and age? He decided the man was decidedly odd but held out his hand and shook the otherâs warmly. He was still a vote.
âMr Mayor, I hope it all works out...â
Work out it did, at least for the mayor. His pony-girl finished her time a week later and Angela found herself taken to the mayorâs official residence. She was brought into his presence and stood there in his study before his desk while the most powerful man in the city looked her up and down.
âI have decided that you are to be my new pony-girl ...â âYes, sir.â
âDo you know what that involves, girl?â
âOnly that I will be harnessed to one of those new gigs and have to pull you around?â
âThat is correct. You will also be available to me for other purposes ...â He paused and looked at her carefully. âDo you know what I am talking about?â She didnât. She had no idea that prisoners could be used for anything but labour. She said so. âI see. Well, perhaps we may leave that until later.â The mayor wanted to tread very carefully with this girl. He already knew she was something out of the box and he had no wish to break something so exquisite.
He pressed a button on his desk and in a few moments there was a knock at the door and at his behest it opened to reveal another naked girl. This one was Asian, from Thailand and she was a lovely example of her most attractive race. âMr Mayor?â she said in a tinkly voice.
âJane, Take Angela out to the garage. Harness her to my gig and take her around to the front door.â
âYes, sir.â She nodded to Angela who smiled at the mayor, turned and left his study, hard on the heels of the lovely naked girl in front of her.
âSo, youâre his latest?â said Jane. âIt seems so.â
âIâm not surprised. Youâre quite lovely. He always chooses the most athletic girls. Theyâre usually the best in bed.â
âIn bed? I donât understand?â
The Thai girl stopped and turned towards the new pony girl. Her eyes were wide with astonishment. âYou mean you donât know what else you have to do here... ? What I have to do at least once a week and sometimes more?â
Understanding dawned. Angelaâs face dropped. âOh. He said something about âother purposesâ but when I said I didnât know he mumbled something about seeing about that later.â
âMy, he is being careful, well be warned. He is a good lover and heâs quite nice to me in bed ...â Angela tried to take all this in. So she was now a sexual concubine to the mayor, as well as his pony-girl. She had never been promiscuous although she wasnât a virgin. There had been Peter, the boy she was sure she was going to marry - until he found someone else and dropped her like a hot potato, without as much as a goodbye... They had made love on three or four occasions but he hadnât been that all good and knew nothing of how to please a girl - not that that mattered much these days, of course. Well, if it had to be, she would make the best of it, as always, she thought.
They arrived in the garage and Jane pointed out the gig. âBring it out. It doesnât take much to harness you in... Stand there between the poles, now, bend down and pick them up. See? I just buckle your forearms into these gauntlets on the end of each pole. Theyâre tight, as you can see, and you wonât get out of them but they also allow you to grip the handle at the end. All right, walk around. Let me see your gait.â
Angela found the weight very small after the terrible labour she had endured in her first four weeks and she stepped lively, making each step a production issue. Jane clapped admiringly. âYouâve got the hang of it first off. They like you ponies to be smart, just as you are. Keep your shoulders back and your breasts
Elmore Leonard, Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, Tananarive Due, Edna Buchanan, Paul Levine, James W. Hall, Brian Antoni, Vicki Hendricks