I flashed him my hottest and most provocative smile. “Sure. Got any experience? Jump up on the counter and drop your pants.” I winked at him. He smiled and turned beet red.
I flashed my detective’s shield. Lido did the same. “There was a murder committed on the tram Friday night at about three in the morning. We’d like to see if anyone in the club saw our perp come scrambling out of the tram station.”
“No shit! Someone got killed up there?” Tall, dark, and vacuous looked up at the tram cabin that was passing by overhead. “Wow.” Vincent seemed really taken aback. “Come inside. I’ll get the manager.”
We were led into the sanctified establishment. Everyone in the tri-state area knew that Scores was considered the premiere men’s club in Manhattan. The girls were the crème de la crème of exotic dancers; no skanks or sleaze bunnies. It was sort of like Disney World with giant augmented boobs.
By the way, did I mention that I was wearing this absolutely adorable denim dress, a Guess? Not as in conjecture, but as in the brand. It’s sleeveless with a deep V-neck. It’s about as daring an outfit as I ever wear on the job, but there’s no way in hell that I was going to kowtow to any of those augmented pixies. I’m a whole lot better off for not having had my precious body sliced and stuffed like a Vienna sausage.
I knew that I was going to be on the street and out of the house all day, away from my fellow detectives. It was just the two of us working every angle we could figure, doing the dog work.
We were asked to wait in the lobby while Vincent set off to find his boss. Scores was not unaccustomed to police visits. The establishment had been the target of a money-laundering probe a few years back. There had been a shooting as well, allegations of mob involvement, scantily clad women, inappropriate sexual conduct, fire and brimstone, boiling blood. My God, I felt as if I had sinned by merely stepping foot into the establishment.
Lido walked over to the Barbie doll behind the cigar counter while I said a quick Hail Mary.
“I’ll bet you’re looking for something full-bodied and robust,” Barbie offered.
And they say men are lousy at pickup lines. I think she knew we were cops. I’ve seen women make complete fools of themselves in front of Lido. He’s got that quiet inner strength and cute butt that women go for. Barbie sighed heavily, engaging her flotation devices. I wanted to kick Lido because the jerk was eating it up.
Lido cozied up to Barbie’s counter. “Actually, I’m looking for information.” When she leaned forward, her face came into the light and I could see that she was wearing glitter. It wasn’t a bad look for a tart.
“What would you like to know?”
Lido smiled at her, which really turned her on. I heard her try to suppress a tiny gasp of excitement. For God’s sake, you’d think that he’d unzipped or something. “There was a double homicide on the tram Friday night. Hear anything about it?”
Barbie seemed disappointed by Lido’s question. What is it about strippers and cops? “A couple of the girls are friendly with the old tram conductor. They left the station just as the two DOAs pulled in.”
“DOAs?” Lido knew the lingo but was surprised that it was coming from a civilian.
“I used to be married to a cop,” she replied. Figures. She grinned. As the boys in uniform say, once they’ve had law, they’ll come back for more. Oh please.
I’d had enough. I bodied up to Lido, implying that I was more than just his partner. Barbie shot me a dagger. “We’ll need their names, sweetie.”
“Chantelle and . . . I mean Dina and Valerie,” she recanted.
“Who’s Chantelle?” Lido asked.
“That’s the name Valerie uses in the club,” she replied.
Vincent came back. He and Barbie exchanged glances. “Ready to double-date?” I asked. They looked at each other and grinned.
“It’s pretty quiet tonight. We’ve got a room you can use for your interviews.”
Translation: Get the two cops off the business floor before the Japanese businessmen put away their cash and head for the door.
“Great, but we’ll have to see everyone,” I advised.
Vincent winked. “Not a problem.”
We were led into the club. Lido gave Barbie a parting glance. I whispered into his ear, “You think I should get some glitter?” Lido ignored me. “How about a garter?” He didn’t answer, but I could tell that he was thinking yes.
We were set up in a room with a couch, two chairs, and a coffee table. There was an ice bucket in the corner which was still sweating from a recent bottle of champagne. I checked the couch before I sat down. I didn’t want to make contact with some sleazy guy’s gene pool.
The first interview was with a five-foot-ten blonde who said her name was Katrina. As she crossed her legs, her dress spread open to her . . . Well, even I was shocked.
“You hear about the incident on the tram?” Lido asked.
“Everyone’s heard.” Katrina cracked some chewing gum. She sounded like a ranch hand. Her voice and her Eastern European alias were incongruent. Perhaps she told the customers that she was from a kibbutz.
“Where you from?” I asked.
“Dallas. I used to commute a lot, but I got tired of all the traveling. Now I live here permanently.”
All the way from Dallas, really? I scrutinized her carefully. At least twenty percent of her body weight was non-biodegradable. Her giant boobs protruded well out of her dress. How, I wondered, did she ever squeeze those things through the airport’s metal detector?
“How long have you been in New York?”
“About two years,” she replied.
“You came to New York to dance?” I continued.
“Well, sure,” she replied. “Everyone wants to work here.”
“Good money?” Lido asked.
“Great money!” she replied emphatically. She also gave us an affirming nod.
“Were you working here Friday night?”
“Uh huh.”
“What time did you get off?” I asked.
“About two. I wasn’t feeling well.” Katrina put her hand up to the side of her mouth partially covering it, and whispered to me as if Lido couldn’t hear what she was saying. “I got my period.”
“Sorry,” I whispered back. Katrina didn’t know diddly. I was bracing myself for a long night. I was checking the carpet for telltale stains when someone knocked on the door. “Come!” I said come, not cum.
Vincent opened the door. Paul Reynolds, one of the detectives on the squad, was with him. Paul had a duffle bag in his hand which he lifted and shook triumphantly.
“We caught a break,” he announced. There was a huge grin on his face.
Lido and I jumped to our feet. “Thanks,” I said to Katrina. “That’ll be all. Hope you’re feeling better.”
Katrina cracked her gum. “I am. Thanks.” She got up and strode to the door. I couldn’t get over the way she walked. It was like her butt swiveled on ball bearings.
Reynolds checked out her behind as she passed. “No, no. Don’t let me interrupt,” he pleaded.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I said. Reynolds smiled. It was a typical guy’s caught in the act, shit-eating grin. I asked Vincent to give us ten minutes before he sent the next girl in. I turned back to Reynolds. “Whatcha got?” I asked excitedly.
“Our boys were cleaning up the basement of Samantha Harris’s building. Look what they stumbled on.” Reynolds reached into the shopping bag and pulled out a foot-long length of two-inch PVC plumbing pipe wrapped in a clear bag.
“What the hell’s that?” Lido asked.
“Check it out, Gus, it’s a homemade silencer. Our perp must have dropped it on the way out. It was the damnedest thing. They were kicking this thing all over the floor before someone took a good look at it. They thought it was a hunk of scrap just lying about.”
Lido and I studied the device. As I said, it was about a foot long. Restricting caps with three-quarter-inch openings were screwed onto each
end. “I shined my Maglite in there,” Reynolds said, “Looks like it’s filled with tennis balls.” Reynolds pointed to the end in Lido’s right hand. “The barrel of the gun was inserted in here. There’s scorch marks on the other end. Pretty damn clever if you ask me.”
“That’s fabulous,” I said, “Nothing like a techno-fucking-homicidal-maniac to make things interesting. We’re looking for a guy like MacGyver with a few loose screws.”
“This explains why the ME found bits of yellow fiber on the two gunshot victims,” I offered.
“Good point,” Lido replied.
“I’m going to rush this down to Aaron Kurtz in forensics. He’ll go crazy when he sees it. He’s into all this homemade weaponry shit,” Reynolds said.
“I’ll take it. You know you want me to,” I said.
“I’ll take it, Chalice,” Reynolds said in a totally unconvincing manner.
I took the silencer out of Lido’s hands. “I don’t think I can take one more pair of enormous heaving breasts in my face. This is a man’s job. Besides, fair is fair.”
“What do you mean, Chalice?” Lido asked.
“You two can have at the bimbos. At least I’m leaving with something that’s long and hard.”
Lido and Reynolds cackled and then smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Chalice. We owe you big,” Reynolds said.
I put the silencer into the duffle bag and headed for the door. “Just take it easy, you two. I’m going to dust the two of you for fingerprints in the morning.”
Chapter Thirteen
I’m sure Lido wasn’t expecting me to knock on his door at midnight, but that’s exactly what I did. “Where’s the pipe? I want to see it … now!” He had that look on his face. You know the one I mean: What the hell are you doing here? There was fire in my eyes and undeniable intent in the way I moved. There was something else in Lido’s expression, that look of astonishment that said, “Are you absolutely crazy?”
I was backing him into his apartment and he was sort of, well, backpedaling as I advanced. “What pipe?” he asked defensively. “I thought you were dropping it off at forensics.”
“No, not that pipe, the other pipe.” I stripped my pocketbook off my shoulder in a purposeful manner and let it thump on the floor.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” He pretended to be puzzled, but only a moron could misinterpret my signals. I was hot and sweaty before I put my hands on him. “Hey, Stephanie, what gives? Really.” Read between the lines, love boat.
“Call me Chalice.” Time’s up. I didn’t know if he was kidding or confounded, either was unimportant. I couldn’t stand the way those Scores bimbos had looked at him. Even worse was the way he had responded. Gee, I hope he didn’t bring one home with him. “You alone?”
“Yeah, why?” Do you believe this guy? Actually, I couldn’t blame him. My tough-girl veneer had always ridden roughshod over any emotional stirrings that might have existed between us in the past. There was sexual tension between us, but it was always overshadowed with I’ll cut your balls off if you try. But so what? I’m a woman and it’s completely within my God-given rights to be fickle. Anyway, I was thinking with my heart and not my head, and I was about to change the nature of our relationship forever. God help the poor man.
I had him backed up against his bed within seconds. Thank God it was only a studio. I put my hands on his shirt and ripped it open. Lido no longer looked puzzled. He was grinning a big shit-eating grin. “Why, Stephanie—”
“Stop talking,” I put my lips on his, kissed him hard, then backed off and pushed him onto the bed.
“Hey, you carrying?” he asked. He was sitting on the end of the bed, looking adorable.
“Yeah and you better be too!” Lido’s white shirt was parted over his tan belly. His stomach wasn’t cut in one of those ice-cube-tray configurations, but he had a deep indentation right down the middle of it, a roadmap to the Promised Land.
I yanked the Guess dress up and over my head. I looked down at Lido through tousled hair. His hair was soft. It had fallen across his forehead, imparting a little-boy look to his rugged features. His beard was a little stubbly. Yum. I kicked off my shoes and got on the bed, straddling him. I threw my arms around him and kissed him again, a cop’s kiss, like a French kiss on steroids.
Lido pulled away this time. I knew what he was going to say before he said it. The warning was coming. “Chalice, you sure about this?”
“Thanks for being a gentleman, but I came here because I wanted to.” I looked at him with wanting, hungry insatiable wanting, and unclasped my bra. I studied his reaction. He seemed to be impressed which wasn’t bad considering he’d just interrogated thirty exotic dancers.
“You’re beautiful,” he said. Isn’t it funny? A guy sees your face every day, but doesn’t tell you you’re beautiful until he sees your boobs. I undid his belt and reached down inside his slacks. Whoopee, who cares?
Lido did a good job. In fact, I was so impressed that I made him stay and put in some overtime. Afterward, I rested in his arms, wondering how we were going to get through the next day. If it wasn’t for the psycho, I think I would have called in sick. Gus was staring at me. His eyes were soft, but thoughtful. He was probably wondering the same thing. I ran my finger over his lip. “You okay?”
Gus smiled, but didn’t answer. I could see that he was thinking. “I never thought this would happen,” he said. He started sliding off the bed. “I’ve got some Sam Adams in the fridge. Thirsty?”
I’m satisfied and thirsty as hell. “Yeah.” Lido walked into the kitchen area, leaving me to wonder what he was thinking about. What could he be thinking? It wasn’t bad enough that we had a psychopath to apprehend. I had added a whole new set of complications. Where would this lead? How would it affect the job? Maybe I was giving him too much credit. Maybe he was thinking, wait ‘til I tell the boys.
Lido came back with two cold ones. I took a long sip and he did the same. I caressed his arm.
“You know I’ll never say a word,” he said.
“I know you won’t. I’m a faster draw than you are.”
“Funny.”
“This can be as serious or as casual as we want it to be.” I put my bottle down on the end table and stood up. “Really, Gus, I’m okay either way.” Gus looked a little hurt by that, making me sorry I had said it.
“You’re too much, Chalice, you know that? I’ve had this fantasy fifty times. It finally comes true and then you go and crap on it.” I was surprised at Gus’s admission, especially after granting him unconditional absolution. He had always been on the quiet side. I guess what they say is true; still waters run deep.
“Hey, Gus, come on . . . I’m not making light of this. I’m just—”
“Giving me a way out if I want it? Well, I don’t.”
It’s funny with cops. In any other profession, careers would come into play. You know the old adage: Don’t shit where you eat. It’s different in the police department. Relationships were almost expected; you just had to be discreet enough not to let it screw up your performance.
“We can be cool about this, right?” I asked.
“Ever the career-minded policeman, huh?” Woman, policewoman, surely he noticed.
It was important to me. “Come on, Gus, let’s not ruin the moment.”
We were both still naked. My, but we’d grown familiar in a very short time. I took another hit of the Sam Adams and then got back into bed. I covered myself with the sheet. Lido was still standing there. Christ, he had the body of a Greek God. “Come lie down; let’s talk about it.” Gus brightened and Little Gus rose to attention. It looked like he was preparing for a pole-vault attempt. He was under the covers and next to me in an instant, smiling. “Didn’t expect it, did you?”
“No, these are definitely uncharted waters.”
Hey, what the hell’s wrong with me? Couldn’t I ever be a woman? Did I have to be a cop all the time? I turned to him, snuggling, and drew circles on his chest with my finger. “Hey,
this is nice,” I whispered. I kissed his bare shoulder. “Let’s take it a day at a time, all right? Hey, what’s that poking me in the leg?”
“Nothing.” Lido pretended not to know what I was talking about, but he began to blush. The man had reloaded and was ready for action. I grabbed the barrel of his gun and aimed it at the target.
“I think I’m gonna like this arrangement.” I kissed him sweetly. It was tough making the transition from partner to girlfriend, but not one that I was incapable of.
We made love again. It was even better the second time. Most things are after you loosen up a little and let yourself go.
Chapter Fourteen
Len Isaacs poured himself a glass of water from a china carafe. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you yesterday. I was away for an extended weekend—professional conference. Can I offer you something to drink?”
“No, thanks.” It was another hot day. I took off my blazer and laid it over the back of the couch. The sky was already dimming and I could see people hurrying home from work through Isaacs’s window.
Isaacs had a little stubble growing on his chin. Being around all his fellow therapists probably put the bug in his head. Have you ever noticed how many shrinks have facial hair? I think it’s a prerequisite for the degree. Somewhere along the line, most of them undergo psychoanalysis and grow a beard. I guess it’s the Freudian thing to do.
“I hope it was nothing serious—”
No, nothing serious, just another session of charred arms and terror, waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with palpitations. “No, just more of the same.”
“In any case, I’ll give you my cell number. That way I’ll never be out of reach.” Isaacs smiled reassuringly.
“I’ll have to memorize it.”
“Still worried about being found out by your fellow policemen?”
Uh huh. “That’s the way it goes.”
Don't Close Your Eyes (Stephanie Chalice Thrillers Book 1) Page 8
