Dirty Sexy Murder

by Cathleen Ross

  Fabio’s thick hands closed into fists. “Why don’t you just say it?” he shouted. “Go on. Say it.”

  “What?” Lizzie cried.

  “Everyone at the gym is commenting on how I look. I just didn’t expect you to join the crowd of hecklers.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Drugs. You think I’m using steroids to look this good, don’t you?”

  “No!” A light of understanding switched on in her mind. Tentatively, she put out her hand and touched his arm. “I wasn’t thinking that at all.” She wrinkled her nose not wanting to tell him what she’d been thinking, but she knew the truth would calm him down. “I was wondering whether these drinks would build the muscles in my body. I’d like to be bigger too.” She looked down at her breasts, which even with her new bra, still looked too small. “Well, certain muscles.”

  Fabio smiled getting her meaning and his face softened. “Sorry Lizzie. I didn’t mean to get mad. The drinks don’t work that way. You can train and build up your pectoral muscles but the drink won’t target one special area.”

  His words made sense, but then as a trainer Fabio knew all about that sort of thing. “I guess if they did most men would be targeting their penises.” She giggled.

  Fabio picked up a towel and wiped his forehead, neck and chest. He frowned again not laughing along with her joke as he normally did. “Sorry I snapped. Someone’s put a rumor around the gym that I’m using steroids. My gym manager asked me if I was using. That really upset me.”

  “But I read you can prove you’re clean with a urine test.”

  Fabio nodded. “Of course I can.” He flicked the towel on the floor, picked Lizzie up, walked across the room and lay down on the bed. “I offered to do one on the spot.”

  “That was clever of you. What did your boss say to that?”

  “It shut him up.” Fabio cuddled her close and smiled. “I’m more than clever, Lizzie Lu. I’m going to be a star one day. You see, all the people at the gym know me. They ask me all sorts of questions and want to find out about my fitness program. I can’t let anyone tarnish my reputation.” His eyes narrowed. “Especially not my competition.”

  Lizzie nodded in agreement.

  “I’ve got a full list of clients. If I win Mr. Sydney, I could be doing product endorsements next.”

  “Fabio, I know you’re going to be successful. You train so hard.” Lizzie reached over and kissed him. “I can see why you’re upset. I guess people say stupid things when they see how good you look. Even James said you look like you use steroids, but he doesn’t know anything about drugs. He even hates incense.”

  Fabio’s mouth tightened. “That’s one of the first things he said to me. Told me it would shrink my nuts. I should show him the size of my balls.” Fabio put his hand on his crotch and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  Lizzie giggled and punched him gently on the arm. “I don’t think so.” She frowned thinking of her brother. “Poor James is in so much trouble at the moment.”

  “What do you mean?” He cuddled her close and Lizzie missed the amused expression on Fabio’s face.

  “The police questioned him over the latest murder.”

  “What? The one I rang you about this morning?” Fabio asked.

  Lizzie nodded. “The victim was one of Marina’s clients again. A girl called Dani. The police think Marina and James are involved.”

  Fabio shrugged, bumping Lizzie’s head aside with his massive pectoral muscles. “Why?” he asked, though from the tone of his voice Lizzie thought he didn’t sound that interested. His hand wandered over to Lizzie’s top and he started unbuttoning her shirt, his attention clearly moving onto other things.

  Although a shiver of pleasure rippled along her skin at his touch, she knew the sex could wait. “No Fabs. I want to talk about this. I’m so worried I can’t think straight.”

  “So let me relax you.” Fabio fiddled with her buttons again, undoing the top one, but Lizzie closed her hand over his. The tops of her knuckles were white.

  “I need to talk about this. James emailed Dani asking for a date. The police found his email on her computer.” Lizzie gave her nose ring a vigorous twist. “Poor James. All he was looking for was a date.”

  Fabio stroked her face. “Don’t worry, Lizzie Lu. Hundreds of people online date. The babe probably had heaps of guys hitting on her advertisement.”

  She grabbed his fingers and squeezed them tightly. “But it is a worry.” Lizzie’s voice rose urgently. “You see James was at the scene of the first murder. He admitted to being where Adele, the first girl, was murdered.”

  Fabio snorted. “Pier One is a busy place.”

  Lizzie rattled off her worries ignoring Fabio. “What’s worse, witnesses saw him having an argument with a woman.”

  “His mum.” Fabio grinned, reached down and unbuttoned the second button of Lizzie’s shirt.

  She couldn’t wait to surprise him with her new look but she needed to discuss her problems. One of Fabio’s fingers grazed her skin. Lizzie squirmed with pleasure. “It’s just that the police don’t seem to believe anything James tells them.” It was hard to concentrate once Fabio started touching her.

  “He does come out with bullshit. Look at the way he said I use steroids. I don’t want it spread around that I do drugs.” Fabio didn’t look remotely sympathetic to James’s situation.

  Lizzie sighed. She knew her brother didn’t like Fabio and that Fabio seemed to feel the same way about James. Still, she conceded Fabio was right about her brother. James did shoot his mouth off sometimes, but in this case she was certain her brother hadn’t done anything wrong. “James said Dani didn’t reply to his email. He didn’t go out on a date with her. I know he spent Saturday night in with Marina.”

  “So that’s his alibi.” Fabio’s fingers moved lower undoing another button exposing Lizzie’s crimson bra. Some of its sequins caught the light. “Wow Lizzie Lu, what are you hiding under there?” His hand reached inside her shirt, his thick fingers resting over the bra cup as his thumb stroked the edge of the bra where the fabric met flesh.

  Lizzie smiled but she held his hand firm. Let him wait for when she was ready. Her mind was a scramble of possibilities and she needed Fabio to listen to her. “The trouble is Marina and James have the same alibi, but the police think it’s too convenient. Dani was one of Marina’s clients. They’ve got this weird idea that Marina’s supplying James with girls to murder. I’m so worried I don’t know what to do.” Lizzie walked out of the kitchen and stood near Fabio’s bed.

  Fabio followed her. “But that’s a bit of a jump to make.”

  “I know, but the police think this nut case is someone who can pass himself off as normal to get the date in the first place. I don’t quite understand it myself. Nor do James and Marina. There’s something strange going on. Something kinky.”

  Fabio leaned forward and ceased trying to undo Lizzie’s shirt. “Kinky? Like what? The cop I train told me that too.”

  For the first time Lizzie saw he looked interested in what she was saying. “That’s just it. I’m not sure. The detectives on the case wanted to know what happened to the pubic hair after Marina’s finished the Brazilians. Why would they want to know that?”

  “Beats me. That’s real weird.” Fabio shook his head. “There’s some sicko out there. You make sure you stay close to me because I’m gonna look after you and treat you like a star.” He pulled her down on the bed lying close beside her. “Now I wanna see that sexy number you’re hiding under your shirt.”

  Lizzie giggled, enjoying the expression on his face when she unbuttoned the rest of her shirt. She slipped out of it and leaned on her left elbow facing him because she knew if she leaned on her side, the bra would make her breasts look bigger. “Do you like what you see?”

  Fabio drooled. “Hot, hot, hot.” His hand moved to unzip her pants.

  “Not so fast.” She pushed his hand away and stood in front of him. “Lie back down. I’ve got a special surpris
e for you.” Maybe she’d never find a way to cure Fabio of his pornography addiction, but this time she was going to make sure he had no one on his mind but her. If she had to compete with celluloid-looking women, she was going to win.

  Fabio laid back on his bed with his hands tucked behind his head. An appreciative smile creased his face.

  Lizzie stripped off her pants and flicked them onto the ground. Already she could see the bulge straining against the tight Lycra of Fabio’s training shorts.

  “I’ve never met a girl like you,” he said. “You are a babe. Sensational.”

  “I haven’t finished yet,” she purred. “You’re about to see how sensational I am.”

  She walked up the bed so that she stood one foot either side of his face, hooked her fingers under the sides of the G-string and slid it off.

  Looking down she saw that his mouth had dropped open, which was a good thing because that was exactly the reaction she wanted.

  “You’re pink. Pink!” he muttered again as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. He reached up and pulled her down onto his face.

  * * * *

  Twenty minutes later Lizzie glowed with satisfaction. Fabio had shagged her for the first time without the assistance of pornography—no downloads off internet dating sites, no porn photos of girls with implants and no whorish name-calling. Lizzie let her mind float with pleasure. This time she felt Fabio had made love to her. Life was perfect.

  Fabio cuddled her close. “I love you, Lizzie. You did that for me, didn’t you?” He stroked her downy, pink hair below.

  “Who else did you think I’d do it for?” Lizzie grinned. “No one would appreciate it but you.”

  Fabio smiled and nodded. “I think a lot of guys would appreciate just how sexy you are, but I don’t ever want them to find out. You’re my girl.”

  It dawned on Lizzie, as she laid there cuddling Fabio, that she was crazy about him. In the past when he’d annoyed her, she could walk away. The pornography addiction hurt her, but she could cope. She’d never thought of him as a long-term relationship. But somehow she didn’t feel that way now. She and Fabio were on the same wavelength. He wasn’t an intellectual either but he had plans for his life and he worked hard for what he wanted. She liked that. Overall her life was happier having him in it even though he upset her sometimes.

  “Lizzie. I want to show you something.” Fabio leaned on his elbow and looked into her eyes.

  “What?”

  “You have to promise not to get mad.”

  “Of course I won’t get mad.” How could she feel mad now? She was too happy.

  “No. I mean it, Lizzie. You have to promise me.” The expression in his eyes was serious. “It involves pornography.”

  Lizzie’s muscles tensed and her heart beat faster in disappointed anticipation. She untangled herself from his arms and sat.

  “Never mind,” he said quickly. His face wore a closed, disappointed look.

  Lizzie wondered what he could want to show her. Some pictures of women with enormous breasts that she would never measure up to? Why did he have to spoil a perfect moment?

  “What did you want to show me?” she asked. “Not more magazines?” She didn’t want to lie there naked looking at pictures of porn with him. The comparisons would be inevitable.

  “No. I haven’t bought any magazines since you helped clean up my apartment. I swear.” He put his hand over his heart. “I’m trying to stop that habit. I want to make you happy, Lizzie. I’m trying real hard.”

  He looked so sincere her heart warmed to him. “Then what?”

  “Put this on so you don’t get cold.” Fabio handed her one of his t-shirts. Lizzie pulled it on over her head. It swam over her shoulders and hung below her knees like an oversized dress. He walked over, picked up his workout towel and tucked it around his waist.

  “I found a site on the internet you should see.” Fabio walked over to his computer, pulled out the chair and sat.

  With trepidation in her heart, Lizzie joined him. Fabio pulled her onto his knee and turned on his computer. She noticed that once he clicked on Internet Explorer he opened his Favorites file. The last thing she wanted to see was some favorite porn site. Perhaps dying her pubic hair pink and getting a part-Brazilian hadn’t been such a good idea, after all? Now he wanted her to look at porno with him.

  “Fabio, things are good right now. I don’t want to see pornography because we always seem to fight about it. I don’t like it.” Lizzie squirmed on his lap thinking about leaving but Fabio had his arms on either side of her.

  “No. Wait a minute. I think you should see this. This is something weird I found last night. I can’t explain it.” His arms stiffened when she tried to move. She looked up at his face, but Fabio was staring intensely at the computer screen.

  “I’ve had enough of weird, thanks.” Her heart sank when she saw that since he now had her, he wanted her to look at what he found no matter how she felt about it. Lizzie shook her head. Fabs was in a strange mood today. Aggressive even.

  “Look at this, Lizzie. Look, I tell you.”

  “Oh my God.” Lizzie pulled her nose ring right out of her nose. She was looking at a photo of Marina on the internet naked. She leaned closer trying to get a sense of what she was seeing. “What’s going on, Fabio?” she asked, her voice sounding small. “Marina would never take a nude photo.”

  “I thought you’d be interested in this. It’s not Marina but her twin. Isn’t she beautiful?” Fabio was enthused. He gave Lizzie a squeeze.

  She froze. Anger bubbled in her chest and she fought to contain it. Fabs was her boyfriend. He should be interested in her and only her.

  “When was this taken?” Lizzie studied the downloaded photo. It looked dated with its bouffant hairstyle.

  “In the eighties. She’s so like Marina I couldn’t believe it when I found her.”

  Lizzie studied the photo of the naked woman. The first thing she noticed was that the woman didn’t have implants. Her breasts were rounded like Marina’s own. There was one main difference. This woman had a Brazilian. Marina didn’t.

  She looked at Fabio. “She doesn’t have huge breasts.”

  Fabio shrugged. “She looks like a real woman. Sexy.”

  “I can’t believe she’s so like Marina. I mean her hair is fuller, bigger. It looks so funny, but it’s an amazing likeness. I wonder who she was.”

  “She’s in a few of the photos on this porn site but none of them have a name on them. You see? Pornography’s not all bad,” he added, looking pleased. “It shows how women’s bodies have changed. Women are too skinny now. Look how rounded she is.”

  His voice was low and she could feel him hardening beneath her. “I’ve seen so much porno with silicone-enhanced women I’m bored with looking at them. I need something new to get a buzz from.”

  Lizzie raised her eyebrows at him. Somehow she doubted Fabio’s obsession with pornography had anything to do with research. Her lips tightened and her eyes narrowed. Fabs was getting a buzz from looking at porno pictures of a woman who looked like Marina. A lump formed in her throat. Why wasn’t he content with looking at her?

  “Can you print this out for me?” she asked.

  “Why?”

  It was Lizzie’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I guess it’s strange seeing such a close likeness of Marina. She might want to see it. They say everyone has a double. Maybe this girl is hers. I wonder why she did porn? She has such a nice face.”

  Fabio put his hands between her legs but she pushed him away. Seeing as he was turned on by a Marina-look-alike, he could satisfy himself. She wanted to go home.

  Chapter 12

  Marina was aching with tiredness. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn as she walked downstairs to greet her client at reception. All night she’d tossed and turned trying to make sense of what was going on. The police had dragged her and James into this mess and yet, in some way, the police were right about their suspicions. She and James were connected to th
e murders. She felt it with a certainty in her bones, except the police had the wrong handle on things because she and James were innocent. But innocent moths that flew into a spider’s web were still devoured. The spider was close by. She just knew it.

  Whether she liked it or not, she had to listen to her instinct because there had to be a reason for these frightening psychic premonitions. If only she understood what was happening. If only there was someone she could talk to about her psychic abilities. The problem was that if she admitted to having visions, people would think she was crazy. Even James, who knew she wasn’t crazy, had trouble accepting she could be psychic until the last vision had occurred almost in front of him. She herself had trouble accepting it.

  When she reached the bottom step, she checked the client printout in her hand. She was so rattled, her short-term memory had decided to take a hike and she couldn’t remember the name of her new client. There were two clients sitting in reception: an older woman with a perm wearing a dowdy checked skirt; and a young woman with a bare midriff and a pierced belly button.

  “Cynthia Nelson,” she said, looking from woman to woman.

  The older woman stood and Marina smiled to welcome her. One thing she’d learned from waxing in Sydney was never to be fooled by the clothes or age of a client. The more conservative-looking clients often wanted Brazilians.

  “I’m Marina,” she introduced herself. “Come this way.”

  She led her client upstairs and into her cubicle. “I haven’t done you before, have I?”

  “No, lovey. I used to go to Natalia.” Cynthia Nelson took off her glasses and put them in her handbag.

  “Good. Then you know to change into the gown and paper G-string.”

  While her client changed clothes, Marina stepped out of her cubicle. There were no flowers outside of Lizzie’s door, which meant she hadn’t fought with Fabio. Marina had gone to bed early and Lizzie was still asleep when she woke in the morning. She hadn’t come into her room wailing so Lizzie’s attempt at being Fabio’s porn queen must have worked. That was fine by Marina, provided Lizzie didn’t get hurt.