Enzo nods. “Justin, this is Bowie Binx. She makes a mean lasagna and an even meaner chicken cacciatore. And when she’s not cooking, she’s just plain mean.”
I offer him an approving nod. For a thug threatening to take down my life, he just managed to get on my good side.
“Justin Delforio.” The dark haired man picks up my hand and kisses the back, and I gird myself in the event there’s a gunshot on the horizon. “Attorney at law, at your service. What’s a stunner like you doing in a place like this?”
The crowd cheers with delight, and I glance back to the ring to see Regina getting tossed in the air like a ragdoll right before doing a face-plant in the mud.
Ah heck. I really am missing all the good parts.
I force my attention back to Justin. “Enzo and I are good friends. Our families go all the way back to the old country.” Most likely true on some disturbing level. “Say, you look familiar. Did I see you at The Hideaway the other night?” Who knew Dom’s useless club would be good for something? It’s a lie, but nonetheless, it’s something.
Justin cocks his head my way as he tries to place me. “Nope, but you look familiar to me, too.” His eyes widen a notch. “I saw you at the community center a few weeks back. You were selling cookies.”
“That was my sister, we look alike. But I was there, too. How’d you like the cookies?”
His eyes roll into the back of his head. “Best I’ve ever had.”
“Too bad the day had to end in tragedy. Did you happen to know the guy who was killed?”
The muscles in Justin’s jaw tense up. “We were pretty close. Frisk was one of my clients.”
“You don’t say?” Enzo butts in, and as soon as Justin turns his way, I give him the stink eye. “So did you do it? Did you pull the trigger?”
I scowl over at Enzo for daring to go there without my permission. But eh, now that he did, let’s hear what the legal eagle has to say.
“Nah.” Justin’s shoulders sag a moment. “I wanted to a time or two, but it looks as if someone beat me to it.”
“What made you want to kill him?” I tip my ear his way in the event he’s in the mood to spill a secret or two.
Enzo tips his head back. “I bet he borrowed money.”
“Nope,” Justin counters. “He borrowed my girl. An old high school girlfriend. She went sniffing his way. He sniffed back, broke her heart, and I was furious. I told him she was off-limits from the get-go, and he didn’t give a rat’s behind. He went for the gold and crushed her.”
“Wow,” I muse. “And, in turn, I bet you wanted to crush him.” Maybe even shoot the guy.
“I was about to—that very night, in fact. I found him outside and was about to lay into him, but we got interrupted.”
“By whom?” Every cell in my body tingles in anticipation of who that might be—the killer no doubt.
“By this guy.” He ticks his head Enzo’s way. “And his buddy. I heard them talking about keeping something from the feds and my ears perked up. I told Frisk to think about what he did and then let him know I’d be right back. I’ve yet to miss an opportunity to pass out my card. It’s the businessman in me. And look at us now.” His shoulders jump. “I’ve just been recruited as the Boogie Bungalow’s legal counsel. And if I were you, I’d keep the name.”
I take a moment to scowl over at the not-so-wise guy in front of me before reverting back to the ambulance chaser.
“Any idea who could have intercepted Frisk after you left him?”
The crowd screams at the top of their lungs, and I glance back to the ring to see Opal doing her best to get in with all three cats in tow and Shep doing his best to restrain her. How I hate that I’m not front and center for the action. Justin had better lead me straight to the killer for this to be worthwhile.
Justin nods as if he agrees. “I saw her. It was the woman who goes by Mal the Mallet.”
“Mallory Aspen?” I gasp as I say it.
“So you know her?” He takes a breath. “Mal was pretty ticked.”
“I heard she wanted the announcer gig.”
“True,” he says. “I heard them arguing about it right after he gave it to Wendy.”
“Wendy must have wanted it, too. Do you really think Mal would have pulled the trigger, all because Frisk didn’t give her the position she was gunning for? Pardon the pun.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
Enzo nods. “I’ve seen women get downright vicious when things don’t go the way they planned. I had an ex who once sliced up the interior of my car because I gave her a yellow diamond.”
“A yellow diamond?” I shake my head at him. “You had it coming.”
“Hey”—Justin backs up a notch—“my mother had a set of yellow diamonds in her wedding ring.”
“Like I was saying, Enzo, you had it coming for dating such a shallow woman. True love sees no color when looking at compressed carbon. But I don’t think Frisk was passing out diamonds of any color the night he was killed.”
Justin tips his head. “I bet Simone was wishing that he was.”
“So you knew Simone was basically obsessed with the guy? I guess you knew all the big players in Frisk’s life. Which one do you think pulled the trigger?” That conversation I had with Wendy comes back to me where she mentioned something about Simone either blackmailing Frisk or giving him an ultimatum.
“Simone was charged, that’s for sure.” His eyes expand as he says it. “She had it bad for the guy. They were going at it before Simone ever stepped into the ring that night. She accused him of throwing their future away because he was afraid to commit.” He glances to the ring to my right. “And then she said something to the effect that she would make him regret it by throwing his future away.”
Enzo and I exchange a look.
“Sounds to me like she threatened to kill him,” I say.
Justin shrugs. “Maybe. Anyway, the guy’s dead. What are you gonna do?” He knocks back the rest of his drink. “I’ll see you around, Enzo,” he says before turning my way. “Nice meeting you, Bowie. I’ll see you around for sure. Where can I find a beaut such as yourself?”
“At the Mortimer Manor in Starry Falls. I manage the café. Hey? Why don’t you come down on the night of the fourteenth? We’re having a little wrestlemania of our own. In fact, I’m inviting the same women that were going at it that day to do a little jaunt in the ring that night.”
“A Valentine’s Day rematch?” His ears rise a notch. “Sounds like a good time in the making. I’ll see you then.” His thumb brushes over my cheek. “If not sooner. Stay beautiful.” He takes off, and I gag in his wake.
“Stay beautiful? Only a lawyer could come up with something as cheesy as that.”
Enzo gives a long blink. “The legal eagle gig isn’t the only thing paying his bills.”
“What do you mean?”
He shakes his head. “He left out one tiny detail. He wasn’t just the guy’s lawyer. He was his bookie.”
A breath hitches in my throat just as a shrill scream comes from the mud pit to our right, and I spot Opal sloshing around the muck and mire while all three cats attempt to climb her shoulders in an effort to steer clear of the oily goo.
Without hesitating, I bolt over, dive into the greasy pit, and just as I’m about to indulge in a feline rescue mission, Regina leaps over me like a bat in flight, and the next thing I know cats go flying, Opal does an odd pirouette while Regina knocks me into the mud, face-first, before I land on my back.
It takes about a full minute of flailing and more than a few salty words for me to come up for air and right myself. I wipe my face clean just to see three wide-eyed cats with their fur standing on end, screaming at the top of their little kitty lungs as Opal does a belly flop and lands beside me. The cats land in the primordial stew before bouncing right out of the ring, shaking their fur and spraying the patrons of this fine establishment with some muddy loving.
I help Opal to a sitting position next to me jus
t as Stephanie pushes Tilly down next to us.
“Opal, what are you doing in here?” I ask, helping her wipe the slop off her face.
“The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of maintaining my membership in the girl gang in question.”
Tilly holds up a hand and high-fives her. “Pink Ladies forever.”
“Hey, I’ve always wanted to be a Pink Lady,” I say as I hold up my hand in hopes of a high-five that never comes.
“Sorry, Bowie,” Tilly spits over her shoulder. “We’re filled to capacity at the moment, but as soon as there’s a vacancy, we’ll let you know.”
I frown over at her. “How about as soon as you find an original name you let me know?” I rise to my feet and give an unsteady wobble. And just as I’m about to make a slippery exit, I’m tag-teamed by both Steph and Regina.
“Hey? I’m not the one fighting for a date. I’ve got Shep, remember?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Stephanie says as she puts me in a headlock. “Regina and I are family. We take care of interlopers together.”
“That’s right.” Regina sheds a cheesy smile from underneath that clay adhering to her skin just before she gives me a muddy swirly.
It’s in that moment I vow revenge against every not-so-pink lady in this ring.
Shep attempts to fish me out, and I accidentally on purpose help him land face-first into the muddy mess along with me.
The Pink Ladies call a brief moratorium on duking it out for dates in an effort to help Opal wrangle her cats, and the entire Boogie Bungalow is covered with greasy mud by the time they’re through.
Shep and I do our best in an effort to pin one another down in the sticky stuff before taking a communal shower in the back, along with the Pink Ladies.
We head back to Starry Falls, lather, rinse and repeat at Shep’s place.
“Justin Delforio wasn’t just Frisk’s lawyer,” I say as Shep and I curl up in front of the fireplace on a pile of quilts and pillows. “He was his bookie.”
“I know,” Shep says as his fingers coil through my wet hair.
“You knew that?” I give him a tap over his rock-hard chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to see what Detective Binx could come up with on her own. You did good.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly get the info out of him. Enzo gifted it to me. Now what?”
“Now we wait for a search warrant to go through his home. I need to see those books. I need to know if illegal betting had anything to do with why Frisk took a bullet that night.”
“How long will that take?”
“Forever. I need to find solid probable cause, and I need to know what location to search. If I get a warrant for his home and the info I need is at his office, it gives him time to hide the evidence. I’ll need hard drives, hard copies, anything I can get my hands on.”
“Forever, huh?”
“It can be a waiting game.”
I’m not so good at waiting. In fact, I land a searing kiss to Shep’s lips that lets him know just that.
And we wrestle it out all over again with much more satisfying results.
Chapter 13
“My back hurts, my jaw is sore, and I can hardly walk this morning,” I grunt to my sister as we land a couple of cookie platters down on the reception counter in the library. Stephanie looks cute with her dark hair in a ponytail and a red turtleneck sweater paired with boots. And now I’m both sore and envious of her tasteful thrift store finds.
“You’re sore because you’re trying too hard in the bedroom.” She looks to the entry. “Speak of the acrobatic devil.” She holds an arm out as Shep steps our way, looking dangerously sexy in a dark suit. That facial scruff he’s got going on accentuates his pale eyes, and in an instant a fireball of heat races through me in all the right places.
“Ladies.” A sly grin rides up his cheek as he lands a heated kiss to my lips. “Smoke Show,” he whispers as he pulls away.
“Shep”—Stephanie shoves her balled fists into her hips—“you’re riding the old girl too hard. She said she could hardly walk this morning. I’m going to have to ask you to take it easy with her. She’s a delicate flower, and let’s face it, she’s not getting any younger.”
Shep’s eyes widen as he turns his head my way. “Something I should know about?”
“It wasn’t you. It was that greasy mud pit. Enzo never should have laced the mud with olive oil. That’s the problem with young guns like that. They spend all their time trying too hard, and it not only makes them look bad, but it hurts other people in the process.”
Opal enters the library with a groan. Typically, I’d be mesmerized by that navy velvet gown topped with a riding jacket and a choker of sapphires around her neck, but at present the cane she’s hobbling in on and the fact her left arm is resting in a sling is stealing my attention.
“Don’t say a word,” she cautions while swinging that cane in a threatening manner. “I’ll be fine. The doctor says a week of no fun in the mud and I’ll be right as rain.”
About a dozen cats stride in on her heels, each of their cute fuzzy heads pointed up at her with a level of concern I didn’t think animals were capable of. They bleat out a choir of sweet mewls and she mewls right back.
“There, there. Extra vittles all around tonight.” She purses her lips. “It does pain them to see me this way.” She waddles over to me. “A touch of extra comfort in my tea if you would.”
“I’ve never been shy with the whiskey,” I say as she takes off, and both Tilly and Regina bop in, looking a little worse for wear. Tilly has a black eye, and Regina is sporting a bulging lower lip.
It would figure that Regina’s injury somehow manages to magnify her beauty.
I tick my head to the side as I examine them. “It looks as if it’s turning out to be a rough day for the Pink Ladies.”
Tilly shakes her head. “We changed our name last night during our first official meeting.”
“Oh? Going for something tougher?” I ask.
“Can’t tell you,” Stephanie says, pulling the whiskey from behind the library’s checkout counter as she takes up her role as the designated bartender for the next two hours. “It’s a secret. Only club members are privy to it. Just know it’s a good one.”
“It’s really good.” Regina nods. “It’s the best of the best. I thought it up myself.”
Shep lifts his chin. “Let me guess. The Femme Fatales? Venus Vixens?”
“Lady Loves?” I tip my ear their way. “The Flossy Posse?”
“Ceiling Shatterers?” Shep offers.
“Fembots?” I say, and both Shep and I share a quick chuckle.
Stephanie clucks her tongue as she looks our way. “It’s the Ride or Die Hustlin’ Honeys.”
Both Tilly and Regina groan with disapproval at the big reveal.
“Way to go, Lola.” Regina scoffs over at my sister with a look that could fry her eyeballs. “So much for being top secret.”
Stephanie chokes and sputters. “They practically dragged it out of me. You saw the whole thing.”
Regina takes off toward the crafting tables, and Stephanie follows alongside her while pleading her case.
The Mortimer library is a thing of beauty with strong Victorian themes exemplified through its heavily carved mahogany bookshelves, of which there are legions that span the length of this massive enclave of knowledge. But aside from the gargoyles and cherubs notched into the tops of the wooden shelves that stand well over fifteen feet high, aside from the creamy marble counters and the elongated wooden tables that are conjoined to make one massive workspace for the crafts session at hand, it’s the dozens upon dozens of cats that are tucked among the stacks that give this space its magical appeal.
An array of Opal’s fine china is on display and in use at the moment as a crowd of Starry Falls’ finest women congregate at the tables each with a craft project in hand.
We’ve got everything from crochet to diamond painting.
As for me, I’ve brought my cross-stitch hoop to keep me busy, but it’s rare if ever that I get a moment to sit down at one of these weekly whiskey sloshing events. I get most of my cross-stitching done at home while curled up watching TV.
Shep squints as he gives a quick look around. “Why do I get the feeling I’m the only one here with testicles?”
“Now, now”—I say as I pull him in by the tie—“we don’t know that for sure. We’re not doing a skirt check, you know. How about something sweet to eat?” I fan my hand over a platter of thumbprint cookies with a smidge of raspberry jam in each of them. “Stephanie thought they’d look extra festive if we rolled the edges in colorful sprinkles, and it gives off that birthday vibe that makes everyone happy just by looking at them. And if you think looking at them makes you happy, just wait until you taste one. But beware, it can lead to one serious addiction.”
His lips flicker with the hint of a naughty smile. “I thought the same about you when we first met. You were easy on the eyes, but after one taste I was addicted.” He brushes his finger over my lip, and a rocket of heat jumps through me in all the right places.
“Watch it,” I say, swishing my finger down the front of his tie. “This is a family show.”
The doorway darkens, and I gasp with delight once I see a flurry of familiar faces heading in.
“Speaking of family.” I lean his way and whisper, “And the very reason you’re here.” I pull Shep over with me. “Lottie! Carlotta! Meg! And Wendy! Welcome one and all to the famed Stitch Witchery. It’s BYOC, bring your own craft, but should you not have one, one will be provided for you.”
Carlotta makes a face. “I was told there’d be whiskey.”
Stephanie pops up and hands her a teacup brimming with the good stuff. “The whiskey is free range, and cruelty free—but that’s about as far as the free thing goes. Usually, there’s a surcharge, but seeing you’re our special guests, I’m covering the bill tonight. Let’s get you drunk as a skunk, girls.”
A Purr-fect Storm Page 11
