Stories by Kiera Dellacroix

by Dellacroix, Kiera

  I pulled up in Anabel's little driveway, collected my flowers and checked my face in the mirror for stress zits and boogers. With my first step toward the house, I damn near took a header, stumbling several feet before I managed to right myself. Fuckin' heels! I only wore them once in a blue moon and I felt like a clown every time I did.

  I steadied myself at the front door with a deep breath and rang the bell. As soon as my finger left the button, I had the almost overwhelming urge to make a break for it. I probably would've if I'd been wearing different shoes. With heels, I wouldn't get very far, and would most likely end up face down in the lawn with my dress over my head.

  She answered the door in a tie-dye T-shirt and a pair of sweats. It was not one of my more heroic moments. I froze. I'd never done anything like this before and was at complete loss as to what do or say.

  Her eyes lit up and I felt a spark of hope. It dimmed a little though when she appeared to catch herself and assumed an indifferent expression. I was just sharp enough to know that this was the point at which I was supposed to begin groveling, but again, I was at a loss. How did one grovel? Was I supposed to apologize or throw myself to floor and beg for forgiveness? Should I cry? If there was a sniper targeting me right now I wish he would just hurry up and pull the damn trigger. The silence was starting to stretch into hours; I needed to do something, anything. The pressure was too much.

  "Uh, How 'bout those Bears?" I said stupidly, extending the flowers in her direction.

  She laughed and I felt a wave of relief. "That is the most asinine apology I've ever heard."

  I didn't know what to say and she still hadn't accepted the flowers so I fell back on my standby. I plastered on my puppy dog look.

  She shook her head sadly, but I rejoiced internally, it was working. I could see her start to melt. What a sucker! This groveling stuff wasn't so bad. I batted my eyes for effect.

  "Are you really as clueless as you would have me believe?"

  I fumbled for an answer. "Uh, yeah, probably."

  She rolled her eyes and took the flowers away from me. "You might as well come in," she said, backing up to allow me entry.

  Heh. God, I was cool.

  I took a step forward and promptly lost my feet. Falling forward to smack the right side of my face into the doorframe and bouncing off to land directly on top of her, crushing the flowers between us.

  She started to laugh from underneath me and I wished, prayed really, that God would stop fucking around and just finish me off.

  Part Two

  I

  "Are you sure you're okay, Maddie?" Anabel asked, gently applying an ice-filled washcloth to my face.

  "I'll live," I mumbled, still embarrassed.

  "You're gonna have a shiner."

  "Great."

  She chuckled and padded into the kitchen, leaving me sprawled out on the sofa. I craned my neck around and watched as she attempted to salvage a few of the flowers I'd mangled with my incredibly suave blunder.

  At least she hadn't thrown me out, although that might have been easier on my ego. It kinda irked me that even now I could still hear her emit the occasional snicker. I didn't think it was funny at all; it had been painful and humiliating.

  "You want something to drink, Maddie?"

  "Sure."

  She ambled over and sat down next to me, prompting me to scoot over by bumping her hips into my waist. "Here," she said, offering me a Mountain Dew.

  "Thanks."

  "Feeling a little better?"

  "I guess."

  A snicker that I tried my best to ignore. "Alright then, let's hear it."

  "Hear what?"

  "You came over here to apologize didn't you?"

  "Yes, I came to grovel."

  "Good. Let me hear some groveling."

  I sighed.

  "I'm waiting."

  "Isn't it enough I've already embarrassed myself?"

  She made a production out of pretending to think. "I dunno."

  "How about if I just said I was really sorry and would never do anything like it again?"

  "Hmmm. I can almost believe the sorry part."

  I thought fast. "Okay, how about this? I promise to try my best not to do anything like it again."

  "You're getting there."

  "Geez, I'm not very good at this. It's my first time."

  "First time for what?"

  "Groveling."

  "God, no wonder you're still single."

  I went limp in exasperation. "Don't I get any points for effort?"

  "A couple maybe. Let me do the math," she said, bringing a finger up to her lips thoughtfully. "You get a few points just for the dress, and I'll add a few more for the flowers. Unfortunately, I'll have to deduct some for the really pathetic apology. Then I'll have to take away a bunch because I had to prod you for the apology. Of course, you didn't bring chocolates, another subtraction…"

  I began to wonder why I wasn't attracted to men.

  "… It's looking pretty grim, but I'll add a heap of points just because you managed to live through the mortification of taking a fall into the doorframe and smashing all my roses…"

  Take me now, God.

  "…So in the final tally, I figure you come out ahead by less than a point and I'll forgive you," she said with determined nod.

  I smiled. "Really?"

  "This one time and only if you kiss me."

  "Deal," I said immediately, sitting up excitedly. "You wanna little tongue with that?"

  She gaped at me and then rolled her eyes. "Just a smooch will do."

  "Okay," I said, leaning forward to receive a quick, but very sweet, peck on the lips.

  "That was nice, thank you," she said shyly, abruptly hopping up from the couch and returning to the kitchen. "I still have some pizza left over from lunch. Would you like some?"

  "Okay," I said, a foolish grin slowly fading from my face.

  She puttered about for a few minutes and when she returned, much to my dismay, she handed me a plate and took a seat in the armchair, instead of on the couch next to me as I had hoped.

  I nibbled on my pizza, unable to keep from staring at her as I ate. I bet she had no idea how cute she was. "You're very pretty," I said, shocking myself by voicing what I'd been thinking.

  The slice of pizza in her hand stopped halfway to her mouth and she cast the most bashful look I've ever seen in my direction.

  "Thank you," she mumbled, quickly looking away.

  A dumbshit smile came to my face. I didn't want the moment to end so I sorted through my encyclopedia of charming anecdotes, and settling on one, opened my mouth to speak. As usual, the powers that be rained on my parade and the ringing of my cell phone ruined the opportunity. Irritated, I dug it out of my jacket.

  "Ledoux."

  "Hey, Maddie," Billy said.

  "I hope this is important. I'm kinda busy."

  "It is. Tish Binkowski just took a bullet."

  I froze. "Is she dead?"

  "Yeah, on my way to the scene now. Wanna meet me there?"

  "Yes, where?"

  "She was shot at home."

  "I'm on my way."

  "See ya in a few."

  I hung up the phone, angry with myself for not dropping in on the Binkowskis this afternoon like I had planned. Instead, I'd been sulking and now another person was dead. Not that I was all torn up about it, but if Tish were murdered by the same gun that killed Gus, I'd missed out on a golden opportunity for possible information.

  "You've got to go?" Anabel asked, and I turned to find a disappointed frown on her face.

  "Uhm… yeah. I'm really sorry."

  "Did someone die?"

  "Yes."

  "Who?"

  "Tish Binkowski."

  She gasped. "That nice lady I met over at Gus's?"

  "I'm afraid so," I said quietly. "I'm really sorry, but I've got to rocket."

  "Okay," she mumbled grumpily.

  "Uhm… do you have some clothes I could borrow?"
>
  She chewed on her lip for a second. "I'll go find something for you," she said, and turned to rush down the hall.

  I wasn't able to stand still so I paced around the living room until she returned and handed me a bundle of clothes. "Your feet are bigger than mine, I don't have anything in the way of shoes that'll fit you except a pair of boots."

  "Anything will be fine."

  "Be right back," she said, rushing back down the hall.

  I shrugged out of my dress, letting it fall to the floor as I shook a pair of neon pink sweats out of the bundle Anabel had given me. Neon pink, for Christ's sake. The shirt was even worse, but I put it on anyway. Anabel returned as I was getting into a pair of socks and dumped a pair of combat boots in front of me. I sighed. Billy was gonna have a fit when I showed up at his crime scene in pink sweats, combat boots, and a bright yellow T-shirt with Smurfs on it.

  I stood up after I got into the boots and she laughed at me. "You look retarded."

  I sighed again and slipped into my jacket. "Thanks a lot. Did you dress me this way on purpose?"

  "Of course not. I just grabbed the first things I thought might fit you."

  I narrowed my eyes suspiciously and received another snicker.

  "Maddie, give me a call when you get home, okay?" she asked, shuffling her feet a little.

  "Uhm… I don't have your number."

  "Oh," she said, grabbing her purse from the coffee table and digging through it to produce a pen. Instead of searching for a piece of paper, she reached out and grabbed my hand, writing the number on the back. "There you go," she said with an impish smile.

  It was corny, but it kinda thrilled me. "Thanks," I said, knowing I had a mushy look on my face.

  She leaned forward and placed a lightning fast kiss on my lips followed by a little shove in the direction of the door. "Be on your way."

  I giggled and turned to make my way out of the house.

  ----------

  Billy was out front talking to a few of the uniformed fellas when I arrived. He broke away from them when I parked and walked over to meet me. He stopped a few feet away and leveled an amused look at me.

  "What the fuck, Maddie? I didn't think you went if for the gay militant thing."

  "Just spare me and give me the details, okay?"

  He chuckled. "Large caliber wound to the abdomen. Ballistics will need to verify, but I'll reckon it's the gun we're looking for."

  "Shit. I was planning on talking to her today and I didn't make it out here."

  "Why not?" he asked, a knowing smile bearing down on me.

  I narrowed my eyes; the grin gave him away. "Like you don't know?"

  "Alright," he said around a snicker. "I'll let it go for the moment."

  "Gee, thanks."

  "Think nothing of it."

  "I won't. Was Sidney here when it happened?"

  "She was home alone. It was the staff's night off and Sidney was at a business meeting."

  "He here now?"

  "Yeah, he's in his office. I've got a couple of fellas looking after him, he's pretty distraught."

  "Who found her?"

  "Sidney did."

  "Christ."

  "Yep. You ready?"

  "Yeah, let's take a look."

  I followed him into the house and up a flight of stairs, as we entered the master bedroom he gave me a nudge.

  "Watch your feet, it's pretty messy."

  I nodded as he walked across the room and pushed open the bathroom door.

  "In here. She was shot as she got out of the shower."

  I approached and surveyed the interior from the doorway. A walk-in shower was situated in the corner next to a whirlpool bath. The corpse lay in the middle of white-tiled floor in an impressive pool of blood. I stepped inside carefully, circling the congealing puddle until I get a picture of the room as a whole.

  On one side of the shower an exit-wound splatter stained the wall, and there were several smears in the blood where she had apparently struggled until death came for her.

  "I agree. She was probably shot the second she stepped out."

  "I place the shooter in front of the vanity."

  I cast another look inside the shower and frowned. "If I remember right, Tish was about my size, right?"

  "Pretty close, yeah."

  I gingerly stepped into the shower doorway, glancing behind me to make sure I was positioned correctly. "Billy, go stand where you think the shooter stood."

  He tiptoed over and shot me a curious look. "Whatcha thinkin', Maddie?"

  "I'm thinking you stand about six foot tall."

  "And?"

  "That's about average height for most guys, isn't it?"

  "I guess, yeah."

  "Shoot me in the belly."

  He extended his arm, pointing a finger at me. "Bang."

  I stepped to the side. "Now look behind me."

  "The splatter doesn't line up. She was shot at angle."

  "Exactly. Now take a seat on top of the vanity and do the same thing."

  He hopped up to sit down and we went through the scene again. "Well, shit. So the shooter had to be about six and half feet tall or they jumped up on the damn counter and waited for her to get out of the shower."

  "It was the counter. They wanted a comfortable seat for the show."

  "The show?"

  "The shooter likes to watch them suffer. He gets off on it."

  He shook his head in disgust. "God."

  "No shit."

  "Did you wanna talk to Sidney?"

  "Nah, the questions I want answers to would be hard to hear right now," I said. "However, you might mention it to him that I'll be around soon."

  "Okay."

  "I'm gonna talk to Larry Merchant tomorrow."

  He took a deep breath. "That's a potential shitstorm, Maddie."

  "Probably."

  "He's not gonna talk about his clients, and if you piss him off you can wave goodbye to your PI license."

  "He'll talk."

  "Oh? Why would he do that?"

  "Do you really want me to answer that?" I asked, giving him a look.

  He met my eyes, knowing where I was going. Joey. "No, I don't."

  "There it is then."

  He nodded. "Wanna tell me where ya got the shiner?"

  "No."

  "Did she slug you?"

  "No!" I said, placing my hands on my hips.

  He chuckled and dipped his head, zeroing in on something. "Is that her phone number on your hand?"

  Goddamn it. "No."

  "Don't ever run for office, Maddie," he said, grinning. "So why are you dressed up like Richard Simmons playing GI Joe?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Isn't there something you should be doing?"

  He looked at his watch. "It can wait."

  "Not that long."

  He snickered. "Fine, but I'll find out sooner or later."

  "Sadly, that's probably true."

  His radio barked. "Forensics just arrived."

  "Copy, on the way," he answered.

  "I need to lead them back here. Wanna wait or come with me?"

  "I'll hang out."

  "Be right back," he said, turning to amble out the door and leaving me alone with the late Tish Binkowski.

  My eyes strayed to the body and I shook my head in wonder. The bogus boobs were indeed a sight to behold. They were as sturdy as the Himalayas and completely unaffected by gravity. A thought suddenly struck me. A sick, perverse thought that disgusted me even as I battled with the undeniable curiosity that gave birth to it. It was disrespectful, twisted, and gross, but I just had to know what a phony hooter felt like.

  I looked to make sure the coast was clear, and crept up to within arms reach of my target. I had a hard time believing that I was even considering it. The poor woman was lying dead on the floor and I was thinking about feeling her up. I couldn't help myself. Knowing that I'd later be roasting in Hell for it, I reached out and hesitantly lay a hand on one of her breasts.

&
nbsp; I'll be damned.

  Voices in the next room sent me flying backward in a panic and I hurriedly tried to assume a nonchalant expression. My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror and I was horrified to see a crimson face staring back at me glowing with shame. I could get caught diddling myself in church and not look as guilty as I did now. Loser, was too good a word for me.

  Billy came into the room leading several guys and one woman. All of them instantly went about their work and none of them spared me anything more than a passing glance.

  "You okay, Maddie?" Billy asked. "You look a little strange."

  "Uhm… I'm just a little tired is all."

  "Huh. You all done in here?"

  "Yeah."

  "Want me to walk you out?"

  "Nah, I can find my way."

  "Alright, gimme a call tomorrow."

  "Okay. 'Night, Billy."

  "Goodnight."

  I brushed past him with a punch to his arm and escaped into the bedroom, letting out a giant breath of relief. All the way to the car, I berated myself for being a hopeless, depraved pervert.

  ----------

  When I got home, I shuffled into the bedroom and flopped down on my bed, a million things spiraling around in my head. My spirit guide told me the road that led to the killer had a lot to do with Tish Binkowski. But where did Gus come in? There was absolutely nothing substantial I could point to that connected Tish to Gus other than a dinner party. Was there more going on between them than met the eye? I doubted it.

  A theory, or at least the vague outline of a theory, began to form. There wasn't a pimp on the planet that would cough up the kind of cash it would take to acquire the services of a shyster like Lawrence Merchant on behalf of a smalltime hooker. They would let her burn, secure in the knowledge that were plenty of other women to exploit. Tish knew something. She knew something important enough to keep her out of jail, and dangerous enough to eventually get her killed. That pointed to someone with clout and the obvious suspect was Sabrina DiCarlo.

  She was the only one that had a possible motive for both murders. Maybe she figured Gus was getting too close and maybe she could no longer trust Tish to keep her mouth shut. It was all conjecture, but I could feel it in my teeth that Sabrina came into play somewhere in the middle of this mess.