Death & Stilettos

by Jason Krumbine

  “I’d take the out I just gave you, Dicky,” Stanley says.

  “Would you?” Dicky asks, looking at the skull. “Because I have you considerably outmanned and outgunned. So why would I take an out from you?”

  “Because we go way back,” Stanley says, watching the goons. “Because we have a relationship.”

  “A relationship,” Dicky echoes. “This was obtained through very reliable and trustworthy sources.”

  Stanley shrugs simply. “Maybe they’re not as reliable as you’d like to believe.”

  “You’re pushing the envelope of my hospitality, Stanley,” Dicky says.

  Stanley takes a step back. “I’m just lookin’ ta do some business, Dicky. You get me the right skull and yo’ve got yourself a deal.”

  Dicky grasps the skull between his heads, squeezes it. His face turns a dark shade of red, the fat along his arms quiver and then the skull bursts into pieces.

  Dicky casts his gaze up to Stanley. “Leave here, Stanley, while I’m feeling in a generous mood.”

  Stanley grabs Brooke and pulls her out of the room before Dicky can say anything else.

  Outside, they’re quickly cutting through an alley to get to Stanley’s car. Brooke’s heart is racing and she’s still feeling the rush of adrenaline.

  “That went over well,” she says a little breathlessly. She feels an indescribable itch all over her body.

  Stanley looks over his shoulder at her, intending to say something, but there’s a look in her eyes. There was tension back in the room with Dicky and sometimes, when that tension isn’t released, it leads to something else.

  There’s lust in Brooke’s eyes and it’s mirrored in Stanley’s.

  He pushes her against the wall in the alley, mashing his lips against hers. She grips his shoulders and Stanley lifts her into his arms. He pushes her skirt up out of the way, it’s so tiny it doesn’t have far to go. The panties come off with a quick tear.

  There’s no time for foreplay.

  A moment later his pants are opened and he’s inside her. Brooke moans into his mouth as he fills her.

  With each thrust the tension melts away, replaced with something else.

  With each thrust his grip on her bottom tightens, there’ll be marks later, but neither of them cares.

  With each thrust her body feels lit on fire with pleasure.

  It doesn’t take long to get the desired results. Their bodies were more prepared for this than their minds were.

  Brooke’s grip on his neck tightens and a muffled scream escapes her lips into his mouth as she’s flooded with bliss. It rolls through her like a wave. Every muscle in her body seizes for one flash of a second and then releases. She shudders, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to grab every ounce of pleasure from the sensations that are overwhelming her body.

  A moment later Stanley follows her with guttural growl and it sets off another wave through her body.

  His hips roll against her once more and Stanley’s rewarded with a contented sigh from her. Nothing more is said for the evening.

  fifteen

  “Hey, Graves, I’m not your damn secretary!”

  It’s the next morning as Avery and Brooke stop at the street door to their office. Howard Chang is yelling at them from his 24 Hour Chinese Food restaurant.

  Avery’s dressed in jeans and a black button down blouse, with a sparkly tank top beneath. She’s got her hair back in a simple ponytail and skipped the make-up for the day.

  Brooke’s looking considerably more conservative than she did yesterday, with dark jeans and a light grey oversized tunic top. Her hair lazily held up with a pencil in a loose bun. There’s some light make-up applied to hide the dark circles under eyes. She’s also has a brand new pair of faux leopard fur boots.

  “Do you know anything about this?” Avery mutters to her sister as the angry Chinese man stomps towards them.

  “Not a clue,” Brooke replies.

  Howard Chang is middle aged with a flat face and black hair that languishes on his head as though each strand were a dead worm. His white cooking apron is covered in a multitude of food stains. Chang’s glaring at the sisters, but to anyone else it just looks like he’s squinting extra hard.

  “Howard,” Avery says, noticing that Brooke’s positioned herself directly behind her. “Nice to see you. Great weather we’re having today. What the hell are you talking about?”

  Howard nods at their office. “That lady. She come by earlier. She say that you not around and she wants to leave a message with me. I’m not your damn secretary!”

  Howard’s got a butcher knife in his left hand and he’s waving it around as he speaks.

  Avery holds up her hands. “Okay, calm down, Howard.”

  “Every time, you do this!” he snaps. “Get your own damn secretary!”

  “Well, we don’t have the money to get our own damn secretary,” Avery explains. “But in our defense, it’s not like we’ve got a sign on the door that says to come down and brother the crazy Chinese man when we’re out.”

  Howard points at her with the butcher knife. “Stupid white lady!”

  “Okay, well that’s a little racist,” Avery says. “But I’m assuming there was something lost in the translation.”

  Howard swears something in a language Avery doesn’t recognize.

  “Howard?” Avery says, snapping her fingers in an attempt to get the chubby Chinaman to focus. “Howard? Who was the lady, Howard?”

  Howard spits on the sidewalk. “Shelly Jones.”

  “Shelly Jones?” Avery repeats.

  “Are you deaf?” Howard snaps.

  “No,” Avery replies calmly. “No, my hearing’s just fine. What did want she want?”

  “How hell should I know?” Howard snaps. “I not your damn secretary!” He stomps his tiny little feet and then heads back into his restaurant, muttering to himself.

  “Thanks for the back-up,” Avery says to her sister.

  “Excuse me, but did you see the giant knife he was waving around?” Brooke says.

  “So you hid behind me?” Avery starts up the stairs to their office.

  “You can defend yourself,” Brooke says. “You know all those knife moves.

  “What knife moves?”

  Brooke shrugs. “I don’t know. You used to throw knives.”

  “Darts,” Avery says. “I used to throw darts.”

  “Whatever. Shelly Jones?”

  “Yeah, Daniel’s widow,” Avery says.

  “How the hell did she end up here?”

  “That’s a good question.”

  “Hey, how’d your arm candy thing go last night?” Brooke asks.

  “It was great,” Avery replies. “Delightful wining and dining, right up until the part when James Decessus appeared and started being all creepy-like.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, apparently he’s a big fan of the hospital,” Avery says. “And stalking. I think he’s a big fan of stalking.”

  “Stalking?”

  “I might be exaggerating,” Avery admits. “Anyway, he wants us to talk to the reapers he’s allegedly screwed over.”

  “That’s weird.

  “Very weird,” Avery agrees. “How’d your night go? Did you get one of your nude male models?”

  “Not exactly,” Brooke says.

  “Did you want to expand on that?”

  Brooke shakes her head. “Nope.”

  Avery just sighs.

  Avery opens the door to the spare room to find Daniel on an old rotary phone. She shakes her head.

  “I have to go,” Daniel says and quickly hangs up.

  “What the hell?” Brooke takes the phone and follows the cord to an outlet on the wall. She yanks the cord out.

  “Daniel,” Avery adopts a cooler demeanor. “We talked about this. You can’t make contact with anyone.”

  “Shelly’s going to get all of my money!” Daniel says.

  “Maybe you should have thought of that before y
ou married her,” Brooke says, standing over him.

  “Who did you call, Daniel?” Avery asks.

  Daniel doesn’t answer.

  “Daniel?” Avery asks more firmly. “Who did you call?”

  Brooke takes the receiver from the phone and smacks it upside the dead man’s head. “Hey, answer the question, moron.”

  “I called Shelly,” he whimpers, staring at the ground.

  “You called Shelly,” Avery shakes her head. “Why did you call Shelly?”

  “I thought that maybe I could scare her away from the money,” Daniel says.

  “You have an interesting method of scaring people away,” Avery says, leaning against the wall.

  Daniel looks at her. “I do?”

  “Yeah, you do,” Brooke says. “Apparently Shelly swung by while we were out.”

  Daniel snaps his head around to Brooke. “She was here?” he looks back at Avery. “I didn’t give her the address. I couldn’t. I don’t even know where I am!”

  “It’s called caller ID,” Avery says. “So calm down,” she sighs. “What did you say to her?”

  Daniel shrugs. “I said that I was a lawyer working on behalf of Kristen Jones. I was calling to let her know that Kristen would be coming by in the next day or so to sign all the appropriate paperwork.”

  Avery groans. “Why would you do that, Daniel?”

  “No, I got this one,” Brooke interrupts. “It’s because he’s an idiot. A dead idiot. Can we please get rid of him now?”

  Daniel jumps to his feet, an alarmed look on his face. “No, please! I just have to see my daughter one more time!”

  Brooke pushes him back down onto the bed. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this but as a dead person, you don’t get a vote.”

  Daniel looks at Avery. “Please,” he pleads.

  Avery sighs. “Daniel, we’re putting our neck on the line here.”

  “And they are very fine looking necks,” Brooke adds.

  “There’s nothing wrong with helping a deceased soul bring some closure to the living,” Avery says, “but it’s kind of against the rules to hang on to a dead soul while we’re doing it.”

  “There’s actually no ‘kind of’ about it, though,” Brooke says. “It’s definitely against the rules.”

  “You rock the boat and people are going to find out you’re here,” Avery says. “People find out you’re here, we’re out our bounty, up crap creek, Shelly gets all your money and you’re going to the afterlife without the chance to say good-bye to your daughter.”

  “I swear,” he pleads. “I’ll behave. I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry.”

  “Who else did you call?” Brooke asks.

  Daniel doesn’t answer right away.

  “Daniel,” Avery warns.

  Daniel runs pale fingers through his thinning hair. “I was talking to Sue when you came in.”

  Brooke looks at her sister. “Who the hell is Sue?”

  Avery shrugs. “Beats me,” she looks at Daniel. “Who’s Sue, Daniel?”

  Daniel chews on his lower lip for a second. “Sue’s my girlfriend.”

  Avery gapes at him. She looks at Brooke and then back at Daniel. “Your girlfriend?”

  “Look, I’m not proud of it,” Daniel starts.

  “Dude, you’re dead,” Brooke cuts in. “Pride is the least of your worries.”

  “Daniel, you told you me that you couldn’t find a woman to even look at you before Shelly,” Avery says.

  Daniel bobs his head up and down. “And that’s true.”

  “Oh?”

  “After I married Shelly,” Daniel explains, “I met Sue. She’s a wonderful woman.”

  “I’m sure she is,” Avery says, rubbing her forehead. “Is it possible your daughter hasn’t talked to you all these years because you’re a man-whore?”

  Brooke nudges the dead man with her elbow. “Don’t worry, that’s not as bad as it sounds.”

  Daniel looks back and forth between the sisters. “I have only ever loved three women.”

  “And, unfortunately, two of those were at the same time?” Avery asks.

  “Ms. Graves,” Daniels starts. “Shelly was...insatiable.”

  Brooke frowns. “I’m confused. This usually isn’t a problem for men.”

  “But she was emotionally distant,” Daniel continues. “I couldn’t connect with her on a basic, emotional level. So, I found Sue.” He pauses. “Sue and I, we connected on a level that I never thought was possible, not even with my first wife.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Avery mutters. “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her I loved her,” Daniel says.

  “You told her who you were?”

  “Of course.”

  Avery rubs her hands up and down her face violently. “Daniel, what part of ‘you’re dead and you can’t communicate with anyone anymore’ did you not understand?”

  “Sue was different,” Daniels says.

  Avery glares at him. “I don’t care if Sue had the power to bring you back to life, you don’t talk to her!”

  “Wow,” Brooke takes a step back from the dead guy. “I know this probably isn’t the best time to say it, but maybe an I-told-you-so is in order? I mean, it wasn’t my idea to leave him unsupervised two nights in a row.”

  Avery shoots a look at her sister. “Don’t start with me.”

  Brooke holds up her hands. “So, not a good time?”

  Avery looks at Daniel. “Did Shelly know about your affair with Sue?”

  “It wasn’t an affair,” Daniel insists. “It was something more than that.”

  “Now’s not really the time to get hung up on details, Daniel,” Avery says.

  Daniel takes a shuddering sigh. “Shelly knew Sue and I were friends.”

  “Friends?”

  “Close friends,” Daniel adds.

  “So maybe her sleeping with the neighbor’s pool boy wasn’t that unexpected?” Avery says.

  “What are you saying?”

  Brooke takes this one. “She’s saying that because you’re emotionally involved with another woman, Shelly felt it was probably okay to boink Raul. It’s called revenge sex. I’m very familiar with it.”

  “And you didn’t see it coming?” Avery asks Daniel.

  “No, of course not,” Daniel insists. “As far as I was concerned Shelly and I were happily married.”

  “But not too happily married, amiright?” Brooke nudges him with her elbow again.

  Avery takes a deep breath. “Daniel, I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest. Do you know where your daughter is?”

  Daniel looks like he’s about to burst into tears. “I swear. I have no idea where she is.”

  “You can understand my skepticism,” Avery says, “considering that yesterday you made yourself out to be a heartbroken widower who made a poor choice between his family and his dick.”

  Daniel’s shakes his head violently. “I don’t know where Kristen is!”

  Brooke walks over to Avery, turning her back to Daniel, she whispers, “Av, just tell him she’s dead and let it go.”

  Avery ignores her. “Daniel, how old was Kristen when she left?”

  Daniel sniffs. “She’d just turned twenty.”

  “What were her college plans?”

  “Her what?”

  “College plans, Daniel,” Avery says. “Kristen doesn’t sound like the kind of girl who’d be satisfied making minimum wage at Burger Hut.”

  Daniel wipes at his nose, taking a moment to think about it. “Honestly, I don’t remember. It was a long time ago.”

  “Here’s the thing, Daniel,” Avery says. “You want us to help you and we want to help you.”

  “I don’t want to help,” Brooke cuts in.

  “But you need to help us,” Avery continues.

  Daniel shakes. “I don’t remember. She was interested in architecture, but I don’t recall whether or not she ever made any college plans.”

  “And
what did all the other private investigators tell you?” Avery asks.

  “Nothing,” Daniel says. “They said they couldn’t find anything. No credit cards, no bank accounts, no driver’s license. Nothing.”

  “Nothing,” Avery echoes.

  “Well, you know what that sounds like to me,” Brooke starts.

  Avery grabs her sister and drags her back out into the front office.

  “Hey,” Brooke says.

  Avery closes the door behind them. “We’re not telling him his daughter’s dead.”

  “Well, that’s a shame, considering she probably is,” Brooke says.

  “And if you do tell him his daughter’s dead,” Avery says. “I want to be able to tell him what happened.”

  “It’s not really going to matter one way or the other,” Brooke says.

  “Here’s what I want you to do,” Avery continues, handing Brooke the picture of Kristen. “Visit Ricky and see what he can pull up on Kristin.”

  “Whoa, hold up, why don’t you go visit Ricky?”

  “Because I’m going to look into Brian’s other brother,” Avery replies. “On my way here this morning I swung by the Rusty Nail.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “First, our dead couple wasn’t there,” Avery says. “Second, Brian was a soft spoken artistic type.”

  Brooke pockets the picture. “That doesn’t sound particularly helpful.”

  “It wasn’t,” Avery agrees. “But the bartender remembered that the last time Brian was in there he was with another guy that looked like an older, and considerably more cheerful, version of him.”

  “So not Benny.”

  “Yeah, I’m thinking the other brother.”

  “And we’re just going to leave dead guy here by himself?” Brooke asks.

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Yeah, it’s called dropping him off at the Waiting Room and collecting our money.”

  Avery opens the second door in the office. It’s their proper office. There’s a desk and filing cabinets. This is where their father made the magic happen.

  Avery walks around the desk and checks the top drawers. “We can’t take him with us,” she says. “It would attract too much attention.”

  “And leaving him here has worked out so well,” Brooke says from the doorway. “How do we know he’s not going to find another phone in those boxes?”