Stark was back quickly, his legs dripping water beneath the robe. “Now then,” he said, leaning against the dresser and folding his arms over his chest. “You said that you were in the business of protection and that this involved homosexuals. Can you be more specific about this business of yours?”
Jackie hesitated briefly. He did not, as a rule, discuss his work with strangers as, for all practical purposes, Stark was. On the other hand, Stark had hinted that he needed help, and if Jackie was going to supply that help, he owed some explanation.
“I’m an agent for an organization called C.A.M.P. It’s an international, underground organization dedicated to the advancement and protection of homosexuals.”
“Is there a demand for such an outfit?” Stark asked, interested.
Jackie nodded. “Most definitely. No one knows just how many homosexuals there are in the world, but it’s safe to say there are millions. Most of them pay a heavy price for being what they are. In most countries there are laws prohibiting homosexual acts, sometimes involving life imprisonment. Even where there are no laws there is a great deal of ignorance regarding the subject, with the resultant myths and prejudices. C.A.M.P. has numerous sections that deal with every aspect of homosexuality. Some of them work to improve the legal situation, others work in the medical and social fields, among others.”
“And the protection?”
“Unfortunately, it’s too often necessary. These homosexuals are frequently the victims of unscrupulous people, ranging from small time roughnecks who make a sport of queer hunting—cruising around looking for homosexuals to molest—to blackmailers and sometimes worse. There’s little police protection for the homosexual. Remember, he’s technically outside the law anyway. That’s where I come in. My section works as a police agency for homosexuals everywhere, whenever needed.”
“I see,” Stark said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his hand.
“But I’m not sure I see what your interest in all this is,” Jackie said frankly. “You were pretty blunt in stating that you weren’t, as you put it, a pansy.”
A slight blush tinged the angular face pink. “I’m not, of course,” Stark agreed. “But I think I can qualify for your services, Jackie.”
“In what way?” Jackie asked, puzzled.
Stark was becoming more embarrassed as he talked and his reluctance was apparent in the fact that he looked away from Jackie as he went on slowly.
“These blackmailers you mentioned,” he explained, stammering. “I know all about that aspect of the problem. You see, I’ve just found myself confronted with the same situation. To be brief about it, I’m being blackmailed. At least, someone is trying to blackmail me.”
Jackie leaned forward on the edge of the bed, definitely interested. Stark, so famous now as to be almost a household word and earning a phenomenal salary, would be a ripe target for any blackmailer.
“What are they blackmailing you for?” he asked, still curious about how this was connected with him and his work for C.A.M.P.
Stark’s face went from pink to a deep crimson red. “It’s over some homosexual incidents,” he managed to stammer.
CHAPTER TWO
Jackie’s interest and his curiosity were aroused still further by the statement. “Isn’t that a little contradictory,” he asked.
“I suppose I’d better tell you the whole story,” Stark agreed with obvious discomfort. “When I said I wasn’t homosexual I was being honest. But isn’t it true that most blokes go through a stage of that as children?”
“That’s true enough,” Jackie agreed. “Some experts think that the heterosexual person goes through a stage of homosexual development, which he outgrows as he grows older. According to that theory, the homosexual in a sense gets bogged down in that stage and never develops beyond it. Some people, of course, the ones they call bisexual, grow into adulthood capable of enjoying both sexes. In fact, many authorities think that everyone remains more or less bisexual, but that the conditioning in our society prohibits the average adult from practicing or even recognizing his homosexual urges.”
“That’s how I understood it,” Stark answered. Jackie’s matter-of-fact approach had eased his embarrassment somewhat. “Well, that’s what it was in my case. The incidents involved were childhood incidents. They took place when I was only sixteen and seventeen.”
Jackie did not interrupt to point out that the young man was not much older than that now.
“I grew up in a rough neighborhood,” Stark when on. “I was pretty much of a loner, until I met Steve. He was a different sort, out of place in the neighborhood, if you know what I mean.”
Jackie nodded his head. He knew how difficult life could be for the homosexual growing up in such an environment. He himself had fared better, coming from a family of vast wealth, but his work had often led him to the others.
“Steve was a nice-looking chap, but sort of delicate and fragile, if you can picture him. He was a pansy—excuse me, a homosexual—even then, and still is, so far as I know. Anyway, he had had quite a bit of experience at it, as I found out eventually.
“When I first met him, he was being worked over roundly by a bunch of ruffians. I pitched in and saved his skin. After that, he sort of attached himself to me. For me it was like having a pet dog around, or something like that, and he was a nice enough chap. Besides, I hadn’t had any friends of my own and the two of us became quite close.”
“How close?” Jackie prodded him when he paused, restraining himself from smiling.
“Close enough,” Stark answered, blushing slightly again, “To fool around a bit with one another. Kid stuff, you understand.”
How long did this go on,” Jackie asked. “This fooling around between the two of you?”
“Two years. I got my big break then and left the old neighborhood.”
Two years, Jackie thought, was quite a long time for a trivial affair to continue. Nor had it ended, he reminded himself, because Stark had found himself a girl or anything of that sort, but because he had moved from the neighborhood. But he thought it best to keep these thoughts to himself.
“Where is Steve now?” he asked.
“Oh, I saw that he was taken care of,” Stark answered quickly, as though suspecting some implied criticism in the question. “I couldn’t afford to have him stay around, at the risk of scandal, but I saw that he had enough money to take care of himself. He’s living here, as a matter or fact, in this country. I haven’t yet gotten in touch with him, as he’d moved from his last address.”
“I see. And someone got hold of this story?”
“Yes. I don’t know how, but a few days ago I got a note. It included quite a bit of information about Steve and myself, enough to make it clear that the sender knew we had been, uh, doing it together, so to speak. The note suggested that I be at the parking lot behind the bar, tonight. When I got there, I found those three toughies. They put it on the line: one hundred thousand dollars in your money, or they’d ruin my career by spreading the story about me. I lost my temper and took a swing at one of them. You know the rest.”
Jackie nodded grimly. “I’d say you are in a spot.”
“I don’t suppose there’s much that can be done now,” Stark said. “After I lost my temper and started a fight, they’re sure to start their smear campaign.”
“I don’t think so. It’s the money they want, and chances are good they’ll try again, after you’ve had time to cool off.”
“Is there anything your outfit, C.A.M.P., can do to help me? I can’t go to the police, of course, without risking the same exposure.”
“We