Tabby extended her glass to the end table without looking. Their lips touched gently at first, each pulling back as if asking permission. And then they joined together again and Cozy couldn’t help but curl her toes.
#
The sheet had been pushed down to their waistlines. Tabby propped her head up with two pillows as Cozy rolled over and threw her thigh over Tabby’s hot legs. She moaned with sleepy eyes and gently kissed Tabby’s nipple before resting her cheek on it.
Tabby stroked her arm. “You were amazing and I’m not saying that ’cause I’m drunk. I actually didn’t think I’d finish, but you made it happen.”
“Same here.” Cozy exhaled.
“I’m sleeping with a criminal.”
“What?”
“Wanted by the cops… You.”
“I wanted to ask you, what kind of questions did that cop ask?”
Cozy felt her tense up. “Just general questions about Vince and Haley and you, but Ray told me you explained about your momma.”
“Is Ray in trouble?”
“No. He’s covered.”
“What did you tell the cop about me?”
“About you? Nothing. That we had no contact info.”
Cozy stretched up and kissed her tenderly. “What did you say about that Haley girl?”
Tabby’s expression turned curious. “That Haley was about to be fired from the club just before she died.” Tabitha kissed her hair, running her hand down to the small of her back.
“Convenient.”
“That sounded accusatory.”
“I imagine myself in that girl’s place. I just want to know what happened.”
Tabitha shrugged, her lids closing. “What else can I say?”
“Could Ray be protecting the guy who killed that girl?”
Tabitha stiffened. “You’re asking some very dangerous questions. What’s going on, Keri?”
Cozy shrugged and then inched down to squeeze one of Tabitha’s breasts like a water balloon, taking the nipple in her mouth. Tabitha sighed. “Stop.”
“Alright.”
“Are you nervous about tomorrow night? Is that what all these questions are about?”
“I know my way around a dick and the little button.” She bit her bottom lip with a smile.
“That’s only part of it.” Her speech was sloppy. “These men want their fantasies. You might have to fawn over them or dominate them, or hell, they might want you to shit on them. They might expect you to know what they want and get pissed when you don’t. They may think they are in charge, but you have to control them.”
“How do you do that?”
“Confidence, sugar. Each girl develops their own method. If you’re unsure about how things are going, you might find yourself uninvited to these events.”
“You nervous for me?”
“Sure. You don’t come off as experienced and that’s why they want you. Everyone will want you. Hell, I wanted you.”
“You got me.”
“You know I’m not a lesbian, right?” Tabby’s eyes were closed. “At least not full-time.”
“Neither am I, but with you, it just seemed right.”
“It did.”
Cozy separated from Tabby’s body and propped herself against the headboard. “Should I be worried about these freaks?”
Her eyes opened for just a moment to see that Cozy shifted to a higher position, looking down on her. “I don’t think so. It’s like I’m a doctor telling you the risks of an appendectomy. Ninety-nine percent go fine.”
Cozy watched her chest swell with each breath in the candlelight. “Would Haley be the one percent?”
“Haley wasn’t killed at the party, Sugar. It had to have happened right after. Bad things could always happen. I want you to be careful.”
“You miss Haley. You get really sad when you talk about her.”
“We really liked each other.”
“Like, how we’re liking each other?” Cozy had to force her mouth shut.
“Sometimes gender doesn’t matter.”
“Sometimes we all need a friend.”
“You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?”
“I didn’t come all the way out here from Manchac for nothing.” Cozy clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut.
Tabby paused for five drunk seconds, and then it registered. “Manchac? You said you were from Empire. Haley was from Manchac.”
“Empire… That’s right. Someone told me Haley was from Manchac. I’m drunk.” Cozy hoped the darkness hid her skin warming up.
Tabby scooted to a sitting position. “Now, I remember. That alligator pendant was Haley’s, wasn’t it?”
Cozy let out a breath. This bell couldn’t be un-rung. After an eternity of silence, she confessed. “Haley is my sister – was my sister.”
“What the fuck is this?” She threw the blanket off and stood at the edge of the bed.
“My name is really Cozy… Cozy Robicheaux.”
Tabitha attempted to keep balance and poise while putting on a robe. Her face became hard and aggressive. “What exactly are you doing, Cozy?”
“Maybe I should start from the beginning.”
Tabby pulled a gun from her dresser and held it on her with wide eyes and steady hands. “Damn well you better.”
“I guess the story starts when I got shot in the throat.” Cozy pulled the covers up to her chest. She explained the entire story where she lay, as if there wasn’t a weapon pointed at her. Tears had slowly gathered and fell from time to time until she finished. Cozy sheepishly looked at Tabby. “… And that brings us here.” Cozy smiled and the last tear dropped.
The gun bobbed in its descent. Tabby eventually put it back in the drawer. “I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
Fifteen minutes later, Tabby held Cozy’s hands at the kitchen table. “That’s incredible. The fact that you’re ready to throw your life away makes me sad.”
“If I can’t avenge my sister, I might as well kill myself anyway.”
“So, wait.” She looked at the bed. “Was all this a way of eliminating me as a suspect?”
“I didn’t have to sleep with you to do that. I knew in my heart you didn’t do it. Deep down, I think I wanted to experience what my sister did with you. Like, maybe it would bring me closer to her.”
“Did it?”
“I don’t know. I was doing the same thing with her boyfriend back home; but that was more to hurt her for abandoning me. This isn’t the same.”
“Why?”
“The memory of Haley still exists in you and I like you for that. So, I guess the question now is, what are you going to do about this?”
“Nothing, sugar. Absolutely nothing.”
“You’re not going to tell Ray?”
“I tell Ray and he might have you killed… Seriously. He’s unpredictable. He has a long fuse, but once you reach the end of it, he just explodes.”
“Great. I’ll have to be careful when I question him.”
“Question Ray? You do have a death wish.” Tabby gently pecked Cozy on the lips. “I know Ray didn’t kill Haley. He doesn’t murder you, he just throws you away. Whether he knows who did is another story.”
“All I want to do is get him to tell me who was with Haley the night she died. That’s all.”
“If you think you can get him to say, be my guest. But be very careful. When he figures out what you’re hinting for and he shuts you down, don’t push it.”
“Right. Act like it’s not important. Will he be at the club tomorrow?”
“Not ’til late, so you won’t have any time with him. Here, I’ll give you his home address and you can see him early tomorrow.” She reached for a pen. “But, you better think up an amazing excuse for showing up at his house.”
“You won’t betray me?”
“My loyalty to Ray is hanging on by a paycheck.” Tabby gave Cozy a lingering kiss on her cheek. “If I betray you, then I betray Haley.”
Cozy smiled.
She could see why Haley loved Tabby.
Chapter 31
Cozy woke with Tabby spooning her, their bare bodies creating an intoxicating scent. Her hangover wasn’t even a consideration. The moment couldn’t get more perfect. Was this love? Or would Dr. Clair say this was some kind of Electra complex with a mother figure instead of father? Both her parents had been lacking, but Cozy had to live with her momma’s warped sense of reality. No, Tabby was too young to be a mother figure and she didn’t want any other sister. Tabby was just perfect.
Cozy had eaten a bowl of instant grits with Tabby before returning to the hotel. Tabby had told her to come back for six that evening in the new dress to get her makeup done. With the entire day ahead, Cozy showered with the hotel-supplied toiletries, double-checked the gun she got off Titus, and headed out the door with a weighted purse.
She rode the shiny, old-school streetcar down St. Charles, hypnotized by the shadows of the Oaks whizzing by before getting off at Napoleon Avenue. She strolled towards the river like a resident with her large handbag snug to her side. The charming houses were impressive, but she found that without the bayou in sight, she was like a fish out of water.
Blocks later, she approached the address Tabby had supplied and saw two men in Ray’s driveway. Each had one end of a large sack, obviously weighted, throwing it into the back of a cleaning van. They didn’t look like a cleaning service. Confident they were gone; she stood paralyzed in front of a magnificently manicured home. She admired the garden, the rose bushes and freshly painted exterior shaded by a large Magnolia tree, its huge white blossoms resembled decorative lampshades. She couldn’t believe such slime lived inside.
Ray answered the door alone as Tabby had promised, not liking his conquests to know where he lived. He was wearing only a towel and a head of wet hair.
“Keri. Who told you where I lived?”
“Internet. Everything’s on the Internet.”
“Tabitha told you.”
“Don’t blame Tabby.”
“Tabby, is it?” He chuckled like he knew of their intimacy.
“I’m freaking out about this party, Ray. I need you to put me at ease or I won’t do it.”
“Come in. Forgive my towel, but I’m getting ready for a meeting downtown.”
“I won’t keep you for long.” She took a step in.
“You’re the first dancer I’ve ever had in here; not counting Tabby.”
“That’s hard to believe.” Cozy trailed her boss into his expansive living room. He pointed her to a leather studded couch in front of an actual bear hide with the head still attached. It looked as if he smoked cigars and drank brandy in this room often. When she approached the coffee table, she noticed two empty cups of coffee and a napkin torn into long, narrow strips.
“Company?” She pointed.
“I’m in a bit of a rush. Your question?”
A cleaning service that left a shredded napkin next to their cup? Her mouth dried instantly. “You live here all alone?”
“Yes, but that can’t be your question.”
“It’s not.”
“Must be a tough question to ask.” He gave up and sat in his towel, patting for Cozy to take a seat.
Cozy stepped up to edge of the sofa, still amazed at the classy décor that contradicted this man’s profession. She put her knee on the cushion next to his thigh and sat on her foot. She leaned in, running her finger through the hair on his chest.
“I’m scared of embarrassing myself tonight.”
“No you’re not. If anything, I’d say you’re angling for more money.”
“No.” Cozy squinted at him.
“You’re playing games and I have a meeting.”
“Fine.” She pushed herself onto the end cushion and dug into her purse. “I got something for you.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Here, put these on.” She threw a pair of handcuffs on his lap.
“Keri, this isn’t the place…”
She pulled out the gun and pointed it at his face. “Put them on.”
He sighed as if he was inconvenienced, reached under a throw pillow and pulled out his own gun. “I had such high hopes for you.”
“Why the fuck you have a gun under your sofa pillows?”
“I have guns hidden all over for moments just like this.”
Ray picked up the cuffs and tossed them back at Cozy, startling her into firing unexpectedly. A loud ping filled the room as Ray’s gun popped out of his hand with a spark. After a frozen moment in time, Cozy let out a loud, short laugh. “Like Clint Fuckin’ Eastwood.”
“Unbelievable.” Ray shook his hand as Cozy affirmed her grip. “How the hell?”
“Just lucky.” Cozy kicked the cuffs to Ray’s feet. “Now put those on or I aim for your head.”
Cozy rounded to the backside of the sofa and intently watched as Ray’s stinging hand fumbled with the cuffs, making sure they snapped closed. Moments later, the stunned prisoner held both cuffed hands in the air and then let them fall back into his lap.
“Good. Now, I want you to sit that contraption of a chair. What is that for? S&M?”
He stood and followed her command. Cozy reached out to pull the towel off his waist. He hesitated before snuggling his butt onto the solid metal chair. “This contraption is an antique barber’s chair from the French Revolution, meant for royalty.”
“Perfect.” She kicked his gun across the room and then eyed the back of his head. With one slow practice aim, she brought the butt of her gun down as hard as she could on the spot where his neck met his skull. Luckily he didn’t slump forward enough to fall out.
#
Ray remained naked in the brushed nickel, gold-plated throne of a chair, still handcuffed, duct taped to the backrest, along with his legs. Cozy watched him wake with a struggle. This was a hairy man, and she shuddered at the thought of his removing the tape.
Ray’s eyes strained to focus. “You duck taped me?”
“I call it duck tape, too. Someone tried to tell me it was duct tape, which makes sense. But, I found out it was called duck tape during the Second World War. Used to keep ammo dry. Then, it started being used for ducts. Interesting, right?” Cozy’s kept calm, waiting patiently for Ray to get a grip on his situation.
“Either you’re a psycho or you’re pissed off at me. One of those, I can fix.”
“Can you bring my sister back to life?”
“No. I can’t.”
“So, are we done playing that game?”
“Honey, ever since you showed up to Haley’s apartment, I’ve led you every step of the way.”
“You had Porter try to kidnap me?”
“No. He learned about you from going through Haley’s apartment and did that on his own. He’s a pervert. Once he told me you recognized him, I eliminated the problem.”
“Why not just kill me instead?”
“I like money and I didn’t like Porter. Porter told me you killed Titus, so I told him to clean it up. I knew you would eventually come to the club if Porter planted a business card. Why do things the hard way?”
“Tell me who killed my sister. Did you?”
He stopped fidgeting as if he had regained control. “I didn’t kill Haley and neither did Porter. Not to speak ill of the dead, but she was a huge meal ticket. I would never do that.”
“But you would also think she was a dime a dozen.”
“No. Haley. You. You’re not a dime a dozen. You’ll make me lots of money at this party. Would have, anyway.”
“I believe you. I think one of the guests killed her and dumped her body and you know who did that.”
“Haley left alive.”
“Like you’d rat out the killer.”
“I can get witnesses that saw her leave. Get my cell phone.”
“No one is going to admit they attended, much less say they saw her leave.”
Cozy patted down a strip of tape onto his chest. He peered down with a gaping mouth. “What are you doin
g?”
“You’re a hairy fucker, aren’t you?” She quickly ripped it off, leaving a decimated forest on rash-red, irritated skin.
His face twisted. “Bitch! I’m going to kill you.”
“Oh, so you do kill people. Who did Haley hook up with?” She applied another strip of tape across his nipple.
“Let’s go to the police together. I’ll tell them everything I know about the girls at the party. Hell, bring the cops here.”
She pulled the tape off with serious effort. Blood came to the surface of skin as if permeating a cloth. Ray cried out like he had been branded. “You’re dead. You bitch. You’re fucking dead.”
Another short length torn off the roll created a tacky, ripping sound. “You think I’m stupid.”
Ray’s purple face glistened as he spoke swiftly in short breaths. “Senator Folsom requested Haley, but he didn’t kill her. When everyone left, Haley was alive. I swear, she was alive.”
“Then, Folsom’s my next target.”
“Dead end. He won’t know what you’re talking about.” His eyes slowly met hers.
“You have video?”
“Yeah,” he laughed through the pain. “I got loads of video of that.”
“Watch your tone. I suppose you might believe that to be the truth. I’ll find out tonight.”
“You’re going to leave me tied up all night?”
“If I don’t kill you, yes. You’re still a scumbag. And I can’t have you coming after me.”
“You kill the senator, you’ll be put away for life.”
“Once justice is served, I don’t plan on hanging around.”
“Oh, you’re fucked up and crazy.” The fight returned to his face. “Do I have anything to bargain with?”
Cozy wedged his legs open, wrapping the tape around his testicles, giving them a light tap. “I looked around the place. It’s beautiful. I found the Fort Knox safe behind that picture in your bedroom. How original. I imagine that’s where you keep your illegal accounting, client list, money and stuff like that. You give me the combo – you live. You refuse, you die with no hair on your balls, perhaps no skin, either.”
“You’re in over your head, little girl.”
“Maybe.” Cozy put her face in his. His sweat mixed with the fresh smell of soap. His labored breathing wafted mouthwash. She whispered. “I killed my father. I killed Titus. I want to kill you, Ray, but I’m giving you a choice. A chance for redemption.”
Where The Devil Won't Go: A Lucas Peyroux Novel Page 17
