Like I said, sometimes I never even see the husband. But tonight, I would be working for my money. Albert came out of the dining room with three other men. All were laughing, joking and patting one of the shorter men on the back. Either the joke was on the poor man, or he’d done something great for which he was being congratulated. I’d guessed the latter, since he seemed quite jolly too.
The next part was tricky. I had to infer myself into their little group, focusing in on Albert without being obvious. I didn’t want them to think I was a prostitute, or worse, desperate. They bellied up to the bar, and as luck would have it, Albert sat in the middle. This made me think his wife might be on the wrong track. A man looking to pick up a woman would sit on the end, so there’d be a chance of meeting with someone.
I sipped my club soda with lime, and said, “You guys look like you’re having a good time.”
The man next to me looked with his eyes, but didn’t actually acknowledge me. Was he rude or shy? The looker next to him said, “Yeah, we are. Want to join us?”
“Well, I’m waiting for someone.” I looked at my watch. “He’s late. You want to move to a table?”
Looker, a tall man with board straight black hair combed forward and light green eyes, stood. He took off his suit coat, revealing a toned physique, and tossed it on a chair by the closest table. He walked back to the bar as I stood. “I’m Danny.”
Oh, boy, this would make things much more difficult. I’d have to find a way to engage Albert in our twosome. “I’m Alison. Come on guys, let’s go to the table.”
As they grabbed their drinks from the bar and moved to the table, I excused myself. Danny asked, “Where you going?”
“Powder my nose. I’ll be right back.” I deliberately brushed up against Albert.
Danny may have thought he was hot shit, but Albert was much better looking. He was a little generic with his brown hair and eyes, but much better looking than in his photos. He blushed when he said, “Oh, sorry about that.”
When I touched his shoulder, he flinched. “It was my fault.”
He hustled to the table, and I walked to the bathroom. Once in there I walked into a stall, shut the door and leaned against the wall. I sighed. Why couldn’t it just be easy? I was tired from working Esme’s murder, I wanted a full night of sleep for a change, and I wanted to be home with Lola. I’d seen so little of her this week. Usually I did stakeouts and Lola got to come along. She curled up in the back seat and snored. She never interrupted, asked questions, or berated me. She just listened and snored.
I opened the stall door and went to the mirror. I fluffed my hair a little, pulled out a tube of In the Buff lipstick and painted on another layer. Ready for the next round, I headed back to the table.
Did I mention you never leave a drink at the table if you leave? Date rape drugs aren’t just for the college set. I made sure I left my drink at the bar, and the bartender knew to dump it. When I sat at the table someone would ask what I was drinking. I’d say, “Gin and tonic with a lime.” And the bartender would pour me a tonic and lime without the gin.
And that’s exactly what happened when I got back to the table. My luck had changed too. Albert was sitting on the couch, while the others had taken the chairs. I sat next to him.
I tried not to focus just on him at first. I looked around at all of them. “So you aren’t from around here are you?”
Danny said, “Casper, Wyoming. We’re here for a business conference.”
Pretending I gave a shit, I said, “Really?”
Albert said, “Business and golf.”
I said, “Oh, I love golf. This place has an excellent course. Did you play today?”
Danny laughed, “Yes, but we promise not to bore you with the details.”
And they didn’t. We talked about Monterey, John Steinbeck, the weather and even rodeo. Casper had a big rodeo, and so did Salinas. One of the guys was actually a professional saddle bronc rider. He had a family, so he worked a regular job and traveled to rodeos on the weekend. He’d even won a buckle at the rodeo in Salinas. I wasn’t so much interested in the rodeo part, but I did like cowboys. Who didn’t?
We’d been laughing and talking for about forty-five minutes before I looked at my watch and said, “Well I guess my friend isn’t coming. Do you mind if I hang out with you guys tonight. I drove all the way here; I hate to turn right back around and drive home.”
Albert looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get back to the room.”
“Why? We’re just getting to the fun part.” I leaned in close to him.
He smiled, looked at his watch again and said, “Maybe a while longer.”
His wife had nothing to worry about. I’d been touching his leg or his arm regularly while we talked. He made no advances. I didn’t see a wedding ring, so I didn’t ask if he was married. I’d let him say something if he wanted.
The others were talking amongst themselves, so I moved closer to Albert. “Do you travel much?”
“Only lately.” He shifted but didn’t move away. “We’ve been having to push our technology a bit harder lately, with the influence of foreign markets affecting sales.”
“Sounds stressful.” I felt for him. He looked tired. And he looked like he was a nice guy.
“You have no idea,” he sighed.
Time to make my move. “Maybe we could go back to your room and I could give you a massage or something?”
His eyes widened like a deer in headlights. “Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?” What a strange reaction.
“Usually the women are picking up Danny, not me.” He was tense.
“I’m not all that interested in Danny.”
“I wish you were.”
“Okay.” I’d never had this reaction before. Most men say, “Bye guys, we’re going back to the room.”
“It’s just that I’m married,” he said. “I’d love to take you up on your offer, but then I’d have to explain it to my wife, and I’m not a really good liar.”
Now I’d need to push him. “We don’t have to tell your wife. It’s just a massage. Besides, it’ll feel good. I’ve been told I have great hands.”
Albert jumped from the couch. “I’ve got to go back to the room.” He turned to me, “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think my wife would understand.”
“I’m not married. You want to take me back to my room?” Danny interrupted.
As cute as Danny was, I had absolutely no interest. But before I could say anything, I heard a voice behind me. “Mimi, there you are.”
The voice was male, Charles was the only person who knew where I’d be, and it wasn’t him. I turned to look, then immediately turned back to the table. It was Sebastian.
He looked fresh, as if he’d just showered. He wore long sleeves, so he looked like any other businessman in the hotel. In reality, he looked better. With his height and build, he commanded attention. And he had it. All of the men at our table stared as he leaned over behind me and kissed me on the cheek.
I froze. This was too weird to be comfortable. I couldn’t even force a fake smile. My stomach turned. He had to have followed me to know I was here. This was no coincidence. He’d given me enough time to get comfortable, and when it seemed I might be on my way out, he pounced.
He came around the couch and sat where Albert had been sitting. He kissed me again.
Danny said, “Well, I guess your friend showed up after all. Bummer.”
“I guess.” I didn’t even try to act happy about it. I didn’t want anyone to leave. I didn’t want to be alone with Sebastian.
My mental telepathy was on the fritz. They all got up in turn. “Hey, Alison, or Mimi or whoever you are, it’s been fun. Have a nice night.”
I turned to Sebastian. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you I had to see you.” He touched my leg.
As much as I wanted to deny it, a warmth went through me. This guy was scary, and yet my hormones w
ere working overtime. He was just different enough to wake up my dormant libido.
“I thought we agreed to meet tomorrow night after the Camarilla.” That’s how I remembered it anyway.
“We did, but I couldn’t wait.” He moved closer and whispered, “The police came to see me shortly after you left.”
Damn that Nick, he had to go talk to Sebastian himself. But then, it is his job. “So?”
“So? They asked me a lot of the same questions you did, about Esme, and the Camarilla, and about dinner. They asked the questions differently, but they were the same. They think I had something to do with Esme’s murder.”
And there it was. He was scared. He’d been avoiding the cops, and now they’d caught up with him.
“Well, you are her ex-boyfriend and you are a part of the vampire role-playing-game. Did you read Lauren’s books?”
“Are you kidding? If I want porn, I’ll go online, or buy a Penthouse. I’m not into that kind of fiction.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Penthouse paid for the erotic content. Yes, writers made a living writing erotic letters for magazines. “Do you have an alibi?”
“That’s just it. I don’t. And I was at the house that night.”
CHAPTER 16
Sebastian’s statement came as a shock. “You said you just dropped Esme off. You said you didn’t go into the house.”
“I lied. She invited me in for a glass of wine. I thought it would be harmless. It wasn’t.” He’d lost some of his bravado.
“What?” I hated being lied to. It happened a lot in my business, but I didn’t have to like it. So I did a little lying too, but it was my job.
“We had sex on the table in the kitchen. We had a few glasses of wine, and then next thing I know she’s got my clothes off. Oh God, it was the best sex I’ve had in awhile. Esme could really get me off.” He looked down as he said this.
Remember the heat I felt earlier? Well, that statement was like getting an ice cold shower. Sebastian was disgusting.
“That falls under the category of too much information, Sebastian.” I was repulsed.
He must have felt my revulsion. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. When I saw you, I really wanted you. I’ve never had an older woman, and you are so sexy. If you knew I’d had sex with Esme recently, you wouldn’t be interested.”
I put his mind at ease. “I wasn’t interested before. I don’t find younger men that sexy.” Lie, lie, lie. See, it’s okay for me, but not for others.
“But now I not only want you, I need you,” Sebastian said, and grabbed my hand.
I tried to pull it back, but he was stronger. I could pull a move on him, but I was prepared to wait. We were in a room full of people, so I felt relatively safe for the moment. “You neither want nor need me. You have to leave me alone. Like I said, I’m not interested.” Then I pulled a statement right out of my backside. “You know I’m dating the homicide detective investigating this case, right?”
Sebastian dropped my hand like it was holy water. “Are you going to tell him about me and Esme?”
“I don’t know.” Why was he telling me this?
“But I really need you. What am I going to do?”
“About what?”
“Esme. I had sex with her right before she was murdered. If they test for that stuff, they’ll find my semen. They’re going to come to me and ask for a DNA swab.”
“So? Just because you had sex with her doesn’t mean you killed her.” Or did it? “Does it?”
He jumped up from his seat, “No! But like I said, I have no alibi, and I was probably the last person to see her alive.”
“Was she alive when you left the house?” I wasn’t sure where I was going with this, but maybe I’d catch him in a lie, or find something out.
“Yes. She was putting her clothes back on, and I was getting the hell out of there. She screamed at me from the back door as I practically ran to my car.” His eyes were focused on me as he spoke. I didn’t see any hesitation, but then maybe he was a good actor.
“Why such a hurry?”
“I shouldn’t have gone in the house. I shouldn’t have let her seduce me. I’m sort of with someone else right now.” He looked down.
“You screwed her on the kitchen table, you’re coming on to me, and you have a girlfriend?” Incredible. I liked Sebastian less and less. What a self-centered bastard.
“I don’t have a girlfriend. Just a girl I’m, well, sort of using for sex. But she’s nowhere near as good as Esme was,” he quickly added, as if that made all the difference.
I looked him in the eye. “Did you have a reason to kill Esme?”
“No.”
“Does your new girl know about you and Esme?”
“Yes and no. She knew we were over. She didn’t know I was still having sex with her.”
“Did you see your girlfriend that night?” Maybe she smelled Esme on him and went to confront her.
“She’s not really my girlfriend. And no. We had planned to hook up, but it didn’t work out. So you see, I have no one to back up my story that I was at home and left early Tuesday morning.”
He was right, he didn’t have anyone. “Does your girlfriend know Esme?”
“Yes, she does.” Sebastian wasn’t going to give me the information willingly.
“So who is she?” Now I was too curious.
“She’s got nothing to do with this, so I’d rather not tell you.”
“How do you know? Maybe she’s the jealous type and followed you? Maybe she saw you with Esme at dinner?”
“She knew that I was having dinner with people from the LRPG.”
“LRPG?”
“Live role-playing game.” The “duh” was evident in Sebastian’s tone. “But really, neither of us had anything to do with Esme’s murder.”
“Maybe you need to tell Detective Christianson this information, not me.”
“You believe me, don’t you?”
I didn’t know what to believe. I had no theory on the subject. But if it would get him out of my life, I’d lie. “Sure, I believe you.”
Sebastian plopped back down. He took a deep breath. “Oh, thank you. Now you have to convince Detective Christianson that I’m innocent.”
I got up to leave. Not sure how I’d extricate myself from Sebastian, I stepped back and leaned over to pick up my purse. “No, Sebastian, that’s your job. I have nothing to do with it.”
I turned to walk away, and I could feel him several paces behind me.
I kept checking the headlights in my rearview mirror on my way home. When I was younger, I could tell you the type of car behind me, since I was a car fanatic. I’m not so fanatical anymore, but I can tell if the same car is behind me for any period of time. I didn’t see anything to confirm it, but I had a feeling I wasn’t alone.
CHAPTER 17
I practically ran to my front door with the key ready in my hand when I got home. I hustled across the house to the back door and checked to be sure both locks were engaged. Lola had stirred from her slumber and followed me around the house as I went to each window and checked the latches. At the same time, I pulled all of the blinds and curtains closed. Once I was safely cocooned, I went into the kitchen and flipped the switches for the outdoor lights.
I wore my usual T-shirt and underwear to sleep in, but I added a pair of sweats and put slip-on shoes by the bed. I lay in the dark of my bedroom, with Lola sharing my pillow, listening and watching for any unusual movement. I must have fallen asleep during my vigil, because the next noise I heard was my alarm clock.
The stress had taken its toll. I awoke exhausted. Lola stirred from the alarm and immediately put her head back on the pillow. Within moments she was snoring. I left her there while I got up to take a shower.
I padded into the kitchen with my hair wrapped in a towel and my body wrapped in a robe. Still weary, I went to the kitchen cabinet and pulled down a canister with my stash of Kona coffee. I flipped the lid off my pressurized
coffee pot and poured the grounds directly into the container. I filled the pot with water, pushed the top portion with the grounds into the open top of the pot and pushed the button. Watching the water boil up into the grounds, I spaced off. As the water, now in the form of coffee, was sucked back down into the pot, I regained consciousness. The aroma of good coffee was like an elixir. I inhaled and looked around the room. Something on the kitchen table caught my eye. It was an open book.
I walked over to see what it was. My breath caught when I read the title at the top of the exposed page. Prey.
I hadn’t read any more of the book since the other night, and I’d put it on my bookshelf in the living room. Now I was second guessing myself. Had I left it on the table? No, I was absolutely sure I had put in on the shelf. I couldn’t remember if it was there last night. But here it was now, opened to chapter three, the scene of the slaying highlighted in bright pink. A yellow Post-it note read, “You will be next. Stay away.”
I froze. Someone had been in my house. First my business had been violated, and now my house. Bile gurgled in my gut. I reached for the phone, my hand shaking.
Did I call 911? I had Nick’s number somewhere. In my cell phone. Instead of calling from the house phone, I went back to the bedroom and called him from my cell.
“Christianson,” Nick answered.
“Someone was in my house.” My voice cracked. I didn’t sound like the strong woman I like to portray, and I didn’t care.
“Mimi?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean someone was in my house last night. They left a message.” I didn’t know if the quiver in my chest was coming through in my voice, but something alarmed Nick.
“Are you alright?” I could hear him moving.
“Just a little shook up. They left me a copy of Lauren’s book.” I took a breath to keep from crying. “It’s open to the killing, and it’s highlighted.”
“Do you have your gun?”
“Yes.”
Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries Boxed Set (3 Books) Page 14
