Sleuthing Women

by Lois Winston

  “Yes, that Britt Radcliff has it in for me. I’d still be rotting behind bars if you hadn’t corroborated my story.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Thanks for saying I slept over.”

  His intimate tone irked me. Did he think we were a team now that we were being civil to each other? He’d better think again. “I’m surprised you told anyone.”

  “When faced with jail or an upset wife, I’ll take an upset wife any day. By the way, Denise is furious with me. She’s sure I slept with you and she accused me of cheating on her. That’s rich.”

  I rolled my eyes at the phone. I didn’t want to hear about Charlie’s sex life or lack thereof. I had enough problems of my own in that area. “I would rather not have this discussion with you. Thanks for looking into Ed’s loan. Bye.”

  I clicked the phone off before he could say another word. If he was having trouble with Denise, he’d have to work that out on his own. I was no longer his sounding board. I was his ex-sounding board and I didn’t have to do it any longer.

  I breezed into the golf course parking lot, and Christine Strand fairly spit at me. “We were ready to give your tee time away, Cleo. If you need to warm up, I’m moving someone else in your slot. Your foursome is ready to go and the next one is on deck.”

  I managed a tight smile. “Sorry, I got hung up at the last minute. I’ll be right back.”

  I bopped into the pro shop and was instantly blindsided by a beaming Rafe Golden in a crimson polo and dark slacks. Had he greeted everyone with that gigawatt smile this morning? “I need to sign in for the Ladies League,” I mumbled, steering clear of the golf club display.

  “Walking or riding?” he asked. His bedroom eyes swept my length. I could feel myself warming under his perusal. This was lust. A biological reaction. I wasn’t responsible for the way I responded to him. My brain chimed in to remind me that I was taking this slowly. Rafe flirted outrageously with every woman in the club.

  “Riding.” Who would walk when they could ride? I had never figured that part of the sport out. Driving those little golf carts around was more than half of the fun. A better question would have been, are you going to drive the cart or entrust your life to someone else?

  “Morning, Cleo.” Jonette sauntered in behind me. Her skintight matching lavender top and shorts looked like a breath of leftover Easter in the pro shop. “Morning, Rafe.”

  Oh goody. Jonette was here to watch me melt under the hot gaze of the golf pro. “Morning, Jonette,” I said. “You in the first group?” I tore my gaze from Rafe.

  “I am now. I offered Betty a two for one deal at the tavern if she’d swap times with me.”

  “Great. Are we riding together?”

  Jonette appeared to think for a moment. “Gosh, I don’t know. It’s so hard to choose between you and Christine.”

  I flicked a quick glance to Rafe, who’d given up the pretense of working the cash register. He leaned over the counter to catch our every syllable. “I was looking forward to riding with Alveeta, myself,” I said.

  “You do that, sweetie. You take Alveeta and I’ll take Christine. We can dump them both deep in the woods and they’ll never find their way back to civilization. Rafe wouldn’t mind, would you?”

  Rafe grinned at Jonette. “Anything you ladies want is fine with me. Although it would be best if you didn’t discover more dead bodies. That’s bad for business.”

  That thought was sobering. Had it only been two weeks ago that I’d found Dudley? It seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened that I didn’t feel like the same person.

  I snatched a cart key from the plastic bin next to the cash register. “I believe it’s my turn to drive.”

  Jonette held out her hand. “Think again. It’s my turn until you beat me. Hand it over, sister.”

  I hated when she was right. At this rate, I’d be a hundred years old before I was driving the cart again. Before leaving, I exchanged another one of those earth-moving glances with Rafe.

  Jonette must have been singed with the afterburn. As I strapped my clubs in her cart she asked, “Are you sleeping with him?”

  I arched my eyebrows at her. “No commitment, no sex with Cleo.”

  Rafe Golden was in the same category as chocolate cake, ice cream, and strawberry daiquiris. Bad news. I could devour a whole tub of ice cream when I was feeling needy.

  Jonette punched me in the shoulder. “That man is after you, mark my words.”

  The new and improved Cleo was okay with his pursuit, but I didn’t know how to respond. As soon as sex entered my romantic equation, additional variables came into play.

  Logistics, performance anxiety, old lingerie, countless fears, personal hygiene. The obstacles multiplied as I thought more about having sex with Rafe. Better not to think about it.

  We worked our way down the number one fairway under the disapproving glares of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. I’d already used six strokes to get my ball to the fringe of the first green, including one short tour through the woods. I selected my nine iron for a little pitch and run shot, hoping for solid contact so that I’d have a short putt to hole out.

  Christine’s ball lay in the lower sand trap, Alveeta’s ball balanced on the downhill slope behind the green. Jonette’s third shot cackled gleefully on the green.

  At this rate, Jonette would drive the cart for the rest of the season. There was no way I could beat her today without asking for extra strokes and even that wasn’t a sure thing.

  I took dead aim at the pin and struck the ball firmly. My ball rolled right into the cup like it was supposed to. I gave a yippee squeal and danced up to the pin to pull my ball out.

  Celebration. Now this was something I hadn’t done in a while. I’d missed it. The new Cleo wanted to have more moments like this. I threw my ball high in the air and caught it on the fly.

  “Lucky duck,” Jonette said.

  My success went right to my head. “How about we switch to match play for the remainder of the round?”

  “Get serious,” Jonette said. “One chip in and you think you can take me? Your luck isn’t that good.”

  “This is going to be my day. I just know it.”

  Jonette laughed at my cockiness. “I’ll spot you two strokes a hole. What am I going to win?”

  “I’m going to win a home-cooked meal.”

  Jonette’s eyes twinkled. “Dinner and a dare.”

  “What kind of dare?”

  “Winner’s choice.”

  We’d played this game a lot as teens. A shiver of reckless anticipation sped down my spine. “Definitely.”

  With three holes to go, we were even in the match. That’s when disaster struck. Alveeta casually mentioned something about the bank. I wasn’t so swept up in my golf game that I had forgotten all about the murders of two bank employees. What else was going on at that bank?

  “Excuse me,” I interrupted. “Did you say your daughter was having trouble at the bank?”

  Alveeta nodded. Her luminous brown eyes glowed with motherly pride. “Shaquell works in credit-card collections down at the bank. Folks swear they’re all paid up but Shaquell has unpaid invoices that prove they’re lying.”

  I knew some people didn’t keep up with their credit-card payments, but to have many complaints that something was amiss with their accounts was unusual. Best of all, this new bank problem supported my theory that the murders were related to money.

  Dudley and Charlie were bank vice-presidents. Were they aware of what had been going on? My instincts had been wrong about Charlie’s personal life. What if the police were right to suspect him of the murders?

  Charlie and Dudley, masterminds or dupes? At this point I didn’t know. I had no trouble believing that they’d each been caught up in their own worlds and not paid attention to things at the bank. Conversely, Dudley liked to flash money around and Charlie’s new wife was very high maintenance. I could also see Charlie and Dudley helping themselves to a little something extra without much remorse.

>   With those thoughts circling viciously in my brain, was it any wonder I lost the golf match to Jonette?

  “What time should I come for dinner?” Jonette asked with a smirk.

  I beamed the smirk right back at her. “Your colorful dinner will be served at half past six.”

  “Colorful?” Jonette looked worried.

  “Mama and Charla are cooking tonight,” I said. “I’d hoped to avoid another rainbow-colored meal, but now you have to suffer alongside of me.”

  “In that case, I’m going to be merciless with my dare,” Jonette crowed. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You have to kiss Rafe in front of Christine.”

  “That’s not fair,” I complained even as excitement thundered through my veins. “I don’t like public displays of affection, and the last thing I’d do is to put on a show for Christine.”

  “Hey, I have to eat Rainbow Dinner,” Jonette pointed out. “It’s only fair that you do something equally nerve-wracking.” Jonette zipped up the cart path towards the pro shop. “And I expect to collect right now.” She nodded towards the concrete pad outside the pro shop entrance where Rafe stood conversing with Christine and Alveeta.

  What would Rafe think of such brazen behavior? He wasn’t irresistible, and I wasn’t desperate. But I wasn’t one to back down from a dare. My pride was at stake.

  Jonette glanced at her watch. “You’ve got ten minutes to kiss the pro on the lips, starting right now. If you choose not to, you owe me a seafood dinner tonight at the Boar’s Head.”

  The Boar’s Head was outrageously expensive. I had griped about their price gouging for years. “Don’t be thinking you’re dining on lobster, stuffed mushrooms, and swordfish tonight. You’re eating Rainbow Surprise at my house.”

  “Tick, tock.” Jonette pointed to her watch. “Ten minutes or I’m digging out my Sunday best for a nice evening on the town.”

  I squeezed past Christine and Alveeta. Rafe’s masculine scent made my blood vibrate with need. “About that lesson.” My voice trailed off so that he’d lean closer. “I decided to reschedule.”

  “Reschedule?” His sandpaper voice caressed my ear with heat and lust.

  “Yes.” A lightning bolt of excitement raced through my hand as I touched his arm, setting my nether parts on fire.

  Rafe clamped his hand on my arm and propelled me towards the pro shop. “My calendar’s inside.” Panic joined the other dangerous emotions zooming through my veins. If I didn’t do something, I’d be paying through the nose for a formal dinner with Jonette.

  I stumbled over nothing, but it stopped our forward momentum and got me square in his arms. Exactly where I wanted to be, dare or not. All thoughts of murderers and logistics and twenty-year-old lingerie winked out of my head.

  His brown eyes darkened with desire, then his lips covered mine. A familiar light storm took hold of me and bathed me with radiant masculine heat. Passion gripped me in a way I hadn’t known was possible.

  Carnal and wickedly seductive, his kiss fried every nerve ending I possessed. I was lucky I remembered my name, and even more surprised to find that I was still fully clothed, when we came up for air.

  Silent expectation warmed my skin. I knew we’d finish this. Not here, not now. Later. The new Cleo was ready to take on the world, or at least, this one man.

  With self-control I hadn’t known I possessed I stepped out of his embrace, ignoring the shell shocked expressions on Alveeta and Christine’s faces. Sauntering past Jonette, I mumbled, “Rainbow Dinner. Six-thirty.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  “Hey, Aunt Jonette!” Charla said. “I heard you won dinner at our house today at the golf course.”

  I put down the folder I’d been reviewing in the living room and rushed to intercept Jonette. I wasn’t exactly keeping my activities with Rafe a secret, but I wasn’t broadcasting them either. I was just in time to see Jonette give Charla a warm hug.

  “But did you hear how I won, Beautiful?” Jonette’s amber-flecked eyes sparkled. “On a dare. Your mother kissed the pro in broad daylight in front of God and everybody.”

  My heart sunk. I wanted to chide Jonette for mentioning the kiss, but she only reported the truth. Worse, she looked thrilled to be sharing the news. I wasn’t sure how Mama or Charla would react. Lexy was in the backyard with the dog so I didn’t have to worry about her reaction just yet.

  “Mom!” Charla stomped her foot loudly. Her wonderfully expressive face darkened with anger. “How could you do this to me?”

  I wasn’t the type to sit idly by when accused. The first words out of my mouth were unfiltered. “I don’t recall you being involved. This was between me and Rafe and Jonette.”

  As soon as I heard what I’d said, I felt heat rush to my face. I’d made an innocent kiss sound like a hot love triangle.

  Well, maybe not an innocent kiss. I’d been fairly captivated by that kiss and Jonette darn well knew it, which was why she was crowing now. She hadn’t really wanted that dinner at the Boar’s Head. What she wanted was for me to admit that I had desires, that I was still human after Charlie.

  I was human, all right. And if I was eighteen, I’d be sneaking out my window tonight to meet Rafe somewhere to do more kissing and whatever else it might lead to. However, I had spent the afternoon thinking things through and sneaking around wasn’t the wisest course of action for a mother of two.

  “Do, Jesus!” Mama exclaimed, one hand over her heart. “Are you so hard-up for a man that you have to throw yourself at the first one to come sniffing around?”

  I had behaved shamelessly, but I wasn’t ashamed of my behavior. There was a difference. “I’m not desperate, Mama, just exploring my options. I don’t quite have the hang of dating just yet.”

  “But Mama,” Charla wailed. “He’s kissed you two times now and you haven’t been on the first date with him. If I did that, I’d be under house arrest for a month.”

  Darn straight. Maybe even grounded for life.

  No wonder the double standard had been invented. Ah, the thrills of parenthood.

  How did Mama survive me and Jonette growing up? Not that I wanted her advice, then or now, it’s just that there was more to parenting than I’d given her credit for over the years. “It’s not the same thing, Charla, and you know it. I’m single, but I’m not dead. You make it sound like it’s my fault the guy is interested in me.”

  Lexy walked in with Madonna. She embraced Jonette and Madonna went crazy licking Jonette’s ankles.

  Charla waved a wooden spoon at Lexy. “You’re never going to believe what Mom did today. She kissed that golf guy. Again. I’m never going to be able to hold my head up after this.”

  Lexy eyed me sharply. “Are you serious about this guy, Mom?”

  Trust Lexy to cut right to the chase. “I don’t know that it’s serious per se, but it’s fun. Seriously fun kissing Rafe. There. I said it. Are you happy, Jonette?”

  Jonette laughed aloud as she hugged Madonna. “Yes. I’m seriously happy. Deliriously happy. Couldn’t be happier.”

  Mama pursed her lips momentarily and set the table in pointed silence. I could tell she had a lot on her mind, but thankfully she didn’t burden me with it. And she stopped clutching her heart, which was a good thing.

  Lexy seemed okay with the news I was interested in someone. Charla wasn’t. I’d have to sit down with Charla and make sure she understood that her Mom and Dad weren’t getting back together. Maybe then she would accept that I was moving on.

  Jonette sniffed appreciatively as she took a seat at the cozy kitchen table. “What smells so good?”

  “Pork Chops in Paradise, better known as Green Night,” Charla said as she brought over the three-bean salad.

  How much food coloring were we going through these days? Thank God it wasn’t toxic. Surprisingly, green pork chops were edible. After dinner, I talked Jonette into walking the dog with me. We turned left out of my driveway and walked up Main Street to Elm.

  Madonna didn’t bound playfully ahead
the way she did when I normally walked her. Instead, she remained in Jonette’s path, obviously wanting Jonette to pay attention to her. Jonette obliged the dog. Madonna’s tail waved in broad strokes. “She likes you a lot,” I said.

  “Madonna and I are good friends,” Jonette said. “I’m surprised you still have her. I meant to ask you about her at the bank the other day. I thought Bitsy was taking Madonna home with them after the funeral.”

  “So did I, but Bitsy is having trouble handling the Saint Bernard she’s got. The two dogs together are like an X-rated circus act. We had to go to heroic measures to keep them apart. Every chance they got together, her dog would be on Madonna.”

  “Hot diggety dog,” Jonette said. “Is Madonna still in heat?”

  Who knew these things? I hadn’t paid attention to the dog’s hormonal cycle. In a house with three menstruating females, what was one more? But wouldn’t I have noticed something messy like that? Wouldn’t there have been spots left around? “I don’t have any idea. I must be a bad dog mother.”

  Wait a minute. Jonette had never owned a pet in her life. How did Jonette know more about Dudley’s dog than I did? “What’s going on here?”

  “I spent some time with Dudley and Madonna.” Jonette shot me an enigmatic look and rubbed Madonna’s chin. “That’s why the two of us are such good friends, aren’t we, girl?”

  At the intersection, we crossed Schoolhouse Road and entered Hogan’s Glen Park. I needed the additional distance of the park to walk off the calories from that heavy green dinner I just ate.

  It occurred to me that Jonette’s friendship with Madonna was a solid link between her and Dudley. Was this why Jonette’s fingerprints were in Dudley’s house and car? “Did you and Madonna hang out together a lot?”

  Maybe it was all very innocent. Dudley could have hired Jonette to be his dog sitter.

  “You could say that,” Jonette said.

  “I could, but why would I?” Getting information about Dudley out of Jonette was like pulling teeth. Her secretiveness irritated me to no end. “What’s this all about, Jonette? I know you’re holding out on me.”