by Ann Roberts
When he lit the candle sitting in the center, Biz said, “He’s expecting someone.”
“It looks very romantic,” Ari commented, staring through the windshield.
Biz gazed at Ari’s profile. She was so beautiful. Biz had never understood how the sight of someone could take a person’s breath away until she met her. That first day when they’d been introduced, she’d stumbled over her words, instantly enamored and full of desire. She’d waited so long, so sure that Ari and Molly’s relationship would eventually run its course, a victim of Molly’s alcoholism.
However, she’d grown impatient and decided to give their breakup a little nudge, destroying Molly’s personal and professional lives at the same time. She’d hated herself for that, but as she gazed at Ari, it was all forgotten.
She tucked Ari’s hair behind her ear and grinned. She loved her new haircut and the way it framed her face. She massaged the back of her neck and Ari moaned.
“You’re tense,” she said.
Ari closed her eyes and murmured her agreement. She saw an opportunity and gently kissed her cheek. When she didn’t protest, her lips wandered to her neck and her fingers slid deeper into her hair.
“We’re supposed to be working,” Ari whispered.
“We are,” she answered before she nibbled her ear. “This is the best stakeout of my entire career.”
They kissed. Ari’s lips were magnets pulling Biz out of the driver’s seat and into her lap. Ari’s passionate kisses signaled permission and she stroked her breasts and her belly. A wave of euphoria swept over Biz with each flick of Ari’s tongue and every undulation of her body. In her dreams this moment was like a fire in a cozy cabin, but as Ari directed her hand to her inner thigh, she realized how much she wanted it too. Instead of the cozy cabin a different image came to her mind, one that was much rawer—a bed of leaves under an enormous tree.
Biz pulled away and held her shoulders. “Baby, I can’t wait much longer.”
“You’re not going to,” she said with a grin.
Headlights flooded the street and they immediately hunkered down in the seats as a Mercedes cruised past them and pulled into Scott Kramer’s carport. The car idled as the garage door slowly ascended.
Ari grabbed the binoculars and focused on the car. “Well, this just got more interesting.” She lowered them to her chest, a smug look on her face. “The license plate says GRGY G. Georgie G.”
They argued all the way back to Laguna Beach about the significance of an affair between Scott Kramer and Georgie Garritson.
“It doesn’t make either of them a killer,” Biz said adamantly. “It could just be they’re in love and they’ve always been in love. Steve might even know.”
“I doubt it,” Ari disagreed. “If it was such an open affair, why would she lie about taking overnight trips to San Diego every two weeks?”
Biz held her tongue, frustrated by the turn of events. She still thought Bobby Arco was the killer. She needed Bobby Arco to be the killer, or at least she needed to convince Ari so they could go home and she could keep an eye on Molly. A fleeting thought occurred to her. Vince Carnotti might want Molly eliminated.
“I think we should just see what plays out with the police,” she announced. “You said they had a second piece of evidence, whatever Nina grabbed when she fell over the railing, and Jane said that the patch from Bobby Arco’s work shirt was missing when you saw him at the school.” She gauged Ari’s cynical expression and added, “If they have the patch they’ll charge him with murder by morning.”
She raked a hand through her hair and gazed out the window. “Then I guess we wait until morning.”
They were forced to take a parking space in the back of the hotel. After she turned off the engine she made no move to get out of the car. Ari looked at her quizzically.
“You need to tell me what happens next,” Biz said quietly. “We’re going to your room and making love or I need to go down to the beach and take a very long walk. Which is it?”
She could see the debate raging behind her eyes, and she was surprised when Ari reached over, kissed her softly and whispered, “C’mon.”
They quickly went to the room, giggling and holding hands. They found a note from Jane and Rory on the coffee table stating they were at a gay bar.
“Isn’t that interesting,” Ari mused while Biz groped and kissed her frantically from behind.
“Not really,” she growled.
When she boldly unzipped Ari’s jeans and yanked them from her waist, Ari cried out in surprise and the note fluttered from her fingers. Biz found an ounce of patience, long enough for them to stumble into Ari’s bedroom before she claimed what was hers.
Chapter Thirty
Ari awoke when the suite’s front door slammed. Her eyes flew open and the sun momentarily blinded her, its white rays pouring through the open curtains. She sat up, conscious that she was naked. She never slept in the nude, but Biz had insisted. She looked around. Where was she?
Her clothes from last night had been piled on a chair but noticeably missing were Biz’s things. Exhausted and somewhat disoriented, she pulled herself out of bed and saw a note sitting against the bedside lamp with her name on it.
Dear Ari,
Last night = amazing. The best! Our bodies were definately meant to be together. I’m sorry you’ll wake up alone. I’d thought about rolling on top of u (I love sex in the morning) before I left, but we were up really late last night and u r a butiful sleeper. Got a text from Det. Justice. Bobby Arco was charged with 1st degree so I guess we’re done. I’ve got to get back to Phx. I’ll see u soon, baby.
Biz
She rubbed a hand over her eyes and read the note again. The use of text language and misspellings made her cringe, but she agreed with her sentiment about the evening. The sex had been great and exactly what she’d needed after nearly a year of abstinence. Biz was a considerate lover, even if she was a bit overbearing. When she’d tried to throw on her traditional nightshirt and boxers before they fell asleep, Biz had wrapped her in a bear hug and tickled her. She wouldn’t let her leave the bed, cajoling her to remain skin to skin. She’d acquiesced but had fallen asleep slightly annoyed. She didn’t like sleeping nude. She felt too vulnerable. She’d have to explain that to her before next time. She smiled. Next time.
Her thoughts wandered to Bobby Arco’s arrest as she jumped in the shower and threw on some clothes. If he was arrested for Nina’s murder, there had to have been another piece of evidence, something that tied him to the crime scene, like the name patch from his work shirt, but that didn’t make sense. If that was the evidence, he would’ve been arrested before yesterday. She shook her head. How could Nina have misread the situation? She was trained to work with people and assess their threat level. How could she be so wrong about Bobby?
She found Jane filing her nails on the sofa. She raised an eyebrow and frowned, clearly in a bad mood. “Well, it’s about time Little Mary Sunshine got out of bed. Biz is gone and Rory and I are not speaking to each other.”
Ari poured herself a cup of coffee from the room service cart and joined Jane on the couch.
“What happened? I heard the door slam. It woke me up.”
She glowered. “So sorry.” She shook her head and threw up her hands. “That woman is the most frustrating person I’ve ever met.”
“I get it. What happened?”
“Nothing! That’s the point.”
A headache was creeping across her skull, so she sipped the coffee faster, hoping it would bathe her system in caffeine, wake her up and save her from the inevitable hangover she knew was coming. Raiding the minibar after their second round of sex had probably been a mistake.
“Jane, what happened between you two? Did you sleep together?”
She slumped back and stared at the ceiling. “Somehow it got complicated. We went out to this bar, but we got so wrapped up in our conversation and our Words with Friends game that we never left the table. We spent the whole nig
ht laughing and making fun of each other’s words. Then she suggested we have a match where we could only use dirty words or words found in a trashy romance.” She paused before she said, “That’s when it got complicated.”
“How?”
“After about fifty letters we both got really turned on. I’d just spelled ‘hungry’ and then she spelled ‘hungrier.’ I told her that wasn’t really a sex word and she said, ‘It is if that’s the case. Maybe I am hungrier than you.’”
“Then what happened?” Ari asked, pulling a cherry pastry from the cart.
“What do you think? That’s one of the best come-ons I’ve heard given the context of a Scrabble game. I was all over her and she loved it. And I loved it.” She stared at her incredulously. “Do you know how rare that is? And then she pushed me away. Said she wasn’t hungry anymore.”
“What?”
“She ran out of the bar and started walking down the street. I jumped in her car and followed her.”
“Why did you have her keys?” Ari interrupted.
“We’d already been to one place…it’s not important,” she said. “Anyway, I was so angry I was screaming out the window and she was screaming back. Apparently there was a police car around the corner and they saw me driving five miles an hour down a busy street and the two of us screaming so they pulled us over.” She paused and clarified. “Well, I guess it wasn’t really pulling us over since he just walked up and told me to stop. Since we weren’t drunk, the cops gave me a ride home and let Rory go. She wouldn’t even look at me. She just jumped in her car and sped away. Thank God they were cool, or I could’ve spent the night with Bobby Arco.”
“Did Biz tell you he was arrested for Nina’s murder?”
She nodded. “It’s not surprising. They must have more evidence, since Biz didn’t hesitate to leave. Everything good between the two of you?”
“Yeah,” she said with a shy smile. “It is.”
“Better than Molly?”
Her smile faded and she said quietly, “Different.” Before Jane could probe any further she asked, “So what was the door slamming about? Waiter upset with your tip this morning?”
“No, that was Rory. She showed up to apologize and explain her behavior from last night. She talked about commitment issues and a recent breakup and blah, blah, blah. Apparently that was why she’d been seeing Nina. I told her she needed to grow up. She got mad and stormed out. End of story. Glad she’s gone.”
She rose and clapped her hands together. “Let’s get our things together. The Garritsons are staging an elaborate brunch to celebrate Sam’s freedom and the catching of Nina’s killer, although I don’t think Evan will be joining us. Sam’s so angry it could take years for him to forgive Evan for not telling him about the pregnancy.”
She headed for the bedroom while Ari fretted.
“Honey, are you going to pack?”
“I will,” she said, setting the cup on the table, “but first I need to tie up some loose ends.”
* * *
Ari followed a uniformed officer down a long corridor of the Laguna Beach Police Department to Clay Justice’s desk. When he saw her, his smile widened. She noticed he was wearing another Mexican wedding shirt, only in yellow this time. She pictured an entire closet filled with them in multiple colors.
“Are you here to compare notes? Do you want the secret to my great detecting ways?”
“I heard you had an anonymous tip, actually,” she said casually.
His smile broke and he looked at her suspiciously. “Do you know anything about that?”
She shook her head honestly. “No, I only heard.”
He murmured, “That Arco is one sick bastard.”
“I don’t disagree, but are you sure he’s a murderer?”
“Absolutely. Slam dunk case. We found a critical piece of evidence in his house that linked him to the crime.”
Her shoulders sagged as she worried what was coming. “Can you share with me what you found, you know, since I was looking too? I mean, I’m going home today anyway.”
He chewed his lip and glanced about the empty squad room. Since it was Sunday, there was only a skeleton crew. “What the hell?” He leaned against the desk and said, “We found the shirt he was wearing that night. Hung in the back of his closet.”
She was puzzled. “What? That doesn’t make any sense. If you committed a murder, wouldn’t you throw out the shirt you were wearing?”
He shook his head. “There’s no understanding people. Maybe he only had one good shirt. Even with the pocket missing, he could still wear it with a jacket.”
Her head snapped up. “What did you say?”
“I’m just sayin’ that even though the pocket’s gone—”
“Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Nina grabbed the pocket of a man’s dress shirt on her way down?”
“Yeah.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Molly found Sienna huddled over a large cup of coffee at Lux Café. She was wearing her gym attire and a serious expression.
“You’re a crazy woman, do you know that?” she said before Molly could sit down.
“I’m not crazy. I found the disguise that Wanda wore when she met me at Hideaway. Biz had it in her closet.”
She started to berate her, but a waitress came by for Molly’s order and she fell silent until the waitress headed back to the counter.
“And what if Biz finds out you broke into her condo? What if one of her neighbors saw you?”
She winced. “She already knows.”
Her eyes widened. “How?”
“Apparently she has hidden cameras all over her place. She actually called her house and spoke into her answering machine while I was there. She was talking to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was watching me while she was talking.”
“Can somebody do that now? I mean, private citizens?”
“Oh, yeah. High-tech surveillance equipment is accessible to the general public. Look at all those nanny cams that your rich friends have.”
“Most bought those to catch their cheating husbands,” she laughed. “They weren’t half as worried about who was handling their children as they were about who was handling their men.”
“You weren’t?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Really?”
“Really,” she repeated and sipped her coffee. “Unlike most couples, Louie and I decided to talk about our sexual relationship before we ran into trouble. After he caught me with my maid of honor, I don’t think we had any other choice. We decided to have an open marriage. Since I needed to be with women, I certainly couldn’t ask him to be completely faithful.”
“So he has other lovers?” she asked, fascinated by Sienna’s lifestyle.
She shrugged. “Perhaps. Maybe not now but in the past. We don’t talk about it. We just expect two things from each other,” she said, wagging two fingers. “First, we take precautions with other partners, and we leave it as sex. There’s no dating, no falling in love.” She gestured at the table. “I’m actually making a huge exception for you, meeting you here for coffee. This is almost like a date.”
At the mention of the word “date,” Molly sat up, startled. “Date? This isn’t a date.”
“It’s beyond my agreement with my husband,” she said adamantly. “We’re not naked and we’re in a public place.”
She leaned forward. “Then why are you here?”
She gazed at her thoughtfully. “Because my husband has nothing to fear from you. There’s no way we’ll fall in love. You’re not a threat. You’re still in love with Ari.”
She frowned. “That’s not true.”
She reached across the table and took her hand. “Isn’t it? I know this Biz person ruined your career and she may be a murderer, but aren’t you worried about Ari? About her being with Biz?”
She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. “You’ve got it all wrong. In fact, you probably won’t like my motivations.”
&n
bsp; “Tell me.”
Before she spoke she wrapped all of her anger into the tight little steel ball that sat inside her heart. “I can’t wait for Biz to be arrested, that’s true, but not because I’m worried about Ari. No, it’s quite the opposite. I hope the police break down the door of her hot shit condo while they’re doing it in bed. I hope the cops run into her bedroom with guns blazing just before they climax.” She watched Sienna’s face fall—and it pleased her. “I want Ari to suffer just like I suffered. I want her to know what it’s like to lose the person you love the most in the world.”
“How do you know she loves Biz?”
“Well, she left me.”
“No,” she disagreed, “from what you’ve told me, you left her. She was completely vulnerable after being kidnapped and nearly killed, and you caught her in a terrible moment of weakness, one that was probably orchestrated by Biz, I should add, and you ran out on her. Is that about right?”
Her face reddened. She’d twisted all the facts. Or maybe she just untwisted them.
“Still,” she argued, “Ari’s responsible for her actions.”
“That’s true,” she conceded. “We all have to accept responsibility for our actions.” She paused before she said, “I guess I was just lucky enough to find a partner who believed loving me was more important than punishing me.”
“It’s not the same,” she snarled, “and why are we talking about this? My relationship with Ari has nothing to do with catching Biz. She’s committed a felony and she’s going to pay.”
“What about her boss?” she whispered. “Wasn’t she working for someone in the mob?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been trying to catch him for years.”
“How do you think he’s going to react when he finds out you know she’s a killer?”
“He won’t find out,” she said without much conviction.
“Right,” she said, taking one last gulp of her coffee before she stood up to go. “You’re in over your head, Molly, and the person you love most in the world could get hurt or wind up dead. You think you feel awful now…”
