Unexpected Ties

by Gina Dartt

  “I like being with you, too.” Kate hugged her, then drew back. “Shall we head for the restaurant?”

  “Good idea.” Nikki shivered. “It’s cold down here.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Susan was already standing on the sidewalk when Nikki and Kate arrived at the Italian eatery.

  She greeted them effusively, hugging Kate and staring intently at her face. “I swear, love must agree with you, Katie. You’re looking better every time I see you.” She also gave Nikki an affectionate hug. “How are you, Nikki?”

  “I’m fine. It’s really good to see you again.”

  “At least it’s under better circumstances. Let’s hope nobody drops dead over dinner tonight.” Kate winced, but her reaction didn’t slow Susan down one iota. Linking her arm in Nikki’s, she said, “I want you to tell me everything you’ve found out so far.”

  In the restaurant, they settled in a booth, Kate and Nikki pressing their legs against each other beneath the table in hidden connection. After ordering, they brought each other up to date and were finished by the time their food arrived. The talk immediately turned to Stephen’s death, despite Kate’s desire not to go there.

  “So Kate tells me that you used to date him.” Nikki eyed Susan almost challengingly.

  “A couple of times in high school, back in the Jurassic era.” Susan lowered her tone suggestively. “He was the class ‘bad boy.’”

  “Really? How so?” Nikki’s keen interest filled Kate with dread, and she nudged Susan’s foot under the table. Susan offered a blank look, obviously missing the warning, and returned her attention to Nikki.

  “Oh, you know, the usual. He drank, ran around on the weekends with his buddies, drove fast cars and wrecked half of them, which Mommy and Daddy replaced immediately. He was always on the verge of getting kicked out of school, not to mention his occasional brush with the law. He was a wild one, that’s for sure, and, honestly, how could an impressionable young thing like me resist?”

  “Easily, I would think,” Kate said acidly.

  Susan finally took note of her tone, at least, apparently realizing Kate didn’t care to explore the topic.

  “Anyway, my parents put a stop to the whole thing, and my whole rebellious stage ended with a whimper instead of a bang, much to my disappointment.” Susan’s emphasis on the word “bang” left little doubt what she meant, and Nikki laughed while Kate winced.

  She still remembered how desperately she had tried to convince Susan that losing her virginity to Stephen Elliot was a very bad thing, not something to be proud of, a real bone of contention between the then teenage girls, when everything was so big and dramatic and “forever.” Fortunately, the senior O’Briens made the whole point moot before anything happened and before Kate and Susan’s friendship was damaged beyond repair.

  “So, what would you like to do tonight?” Susan finally seemed to sense Kate’s discomfort and changed the subject. “Catch a movie? Maybe check out the museum on the waterfront before it closes?”

  “I was thinking we could drop by Introspections,” Nikki said.

  Susan immediately looked interested. “The gay bar up the street?”

  Kate frowned, surprised at the suggestion. “But—”

  “What a great idea! I’d love to go.” Susan looked thoughtful. “I’ve never been in a gay bar. Do you think some woman will hit on me? Hey, maybe I’ll get lucky!”

  “Susan!” Kate stared at her friend, who looked completely unrepentant as Nikki grinned. “What would we do in a gay bar?”

  “We could dance.” Nikki gave her a soft look. “I don’t get to dance with you very often. I could also show you off.”

  Though Kate wasn’t sure how to take that remark, she decided it was a compliment of sorts. “Really? Show me off?”

  Nikki blushed.

  Outvoted, Kate stifled her protests and leaned back in her chair. If Nikki wanted to try it, and Susan was ready for anything she might encounter, then the least she could do was be open to the experience.

  *

  Kate didn’t know what she had been expecting, but she was rather disappointed. Introspections was pretty similar to every other bar she had ever been in. The décor was nothing special; the tables were made of the same heavy wood found in the taverns in Truro and the place was poorly lit. Perhaps the owners were trying to create a mood, but in reality, the dim lighting only prevented the patrons from seeing how dingy everything was. There were a couple of pool tables in a back room, and a fair-sized dance floor occupied one end of the bar.

  Only the patrons were different. They were predominantly female, and the women were all in couples or groups, while the men kept to themselves. The scene reminded her of an adult version of a junior high dance, with the genders politely ignoring each other, except for a couple of women at the bar in evening dress. Several men were hovering around these women, and Kate wondered if they were hookers before she realized they weren’t women at all. As she sat down at a table, she wondered how these drag queens managed to look better than most of the women she knew. Some of her straight friends could definitely benefit from their expertise with hair and makeup.

  “You should see this place on Pride Day,” Nikki said after they ordered a round of drinks. “It’s absolutely packed.”

  “We should make an effort to get down here that weekend.”

  “I’d like that.” Around them, the music throbbed with an insistent beat. “Would you like to dance?”

  Uncertainly, Kate glanced at Susan, who smiled and waved her away. “Go on, I’ll be fine. Maybe someone will ask me to dance, too.”

  Somewhat guilty about leaving her friend to her own devices, Kate allowed herself to be swept out onto the dance floor. She was nervous at first, not just because she was with a woman, but because everyone else seemed so young and she wasn’t sure of the steps. They danced several fast numbers and then a slow one that she found particularly appealing, clinging to Nikki as they swayed amid the other couples, completely safe to show their feelings for each other. There was a heady sort of freedom in that, Kate realized, a sense of being a part of a community.

  “I’m glad you suggested this,” she murmured as they drifted back to their table. “I’m having a really good time.”

  “I hoped you would.”

  Nikki’s expression appeared to be equal parts happiness and relief. She must have been somewhat apprehensive about sharing this part of her world, and Kate squeezed her hand affectionately.

  Surprisingly, their table was occupied by a group of extremely handsome young men, many of whom were hanging on Susan’s every word and regarding her with surprising devotion. As Kate and Nikki approached, Susan introduced her new acquaintances, offering not only their names, but also where they were from and what they all did for a living.

  “Gay guys,” Nikki told Kate. “Straight chicks love ‘em, and they love anyone who will mother them.”

  Kate didn’t know what to say. Some things never changed. Even in a gay bar, Susan managed to garner most of the male attention.

  Chapter Twelve

  I ran into Audrey and Debbie Saturday morning,” Nikki said as she sipped the milkshake made with frozen blueberries, yogurt, and skim milk. Lately, the Mayflower Diner had started serving low-fat alternatives to their regular menu. Nikki suspected it had to do with the cholesterol test of Eddie, the diner’s cook and owner; the results had left him shaken and Addy tremendously scared.

  Nikki had already decided to get into the best possible shape, so she was rather pleased with the new selections, though she seemed to be the only one who ordered any of them. Kim, meanwhile, was perfectly content with her triple cheeseburger and fries, served with a thick chocolate milkshake made with real ice cream and chocolate syrup.

  “What have those two been up to?”

  “They were down in the city that morning and popped by the bookstore on their way home.” Nikki poked at her salad, wondering what the red and white bits were. A cautious bite iden
tified them as radishes. “They’re looking forward to the canoe trip.”

  “A lot of people are.” Kim glanced at Nikki beneath her eyelashes. “The Summer Twins offered to provide the entertainment.”

  “Meaning what?” Nikki was perturbed. What would those two come up with as a form of entertainment?

  “I don’t know. I told them that after a day on the river, people probably wouldn’t be in the mood for organized entertainment.”

  “Smooth.”

  “I thought so,” Kim said smugly. She took a healthy bite of her burger and chewed only a couple of times before she swallowed.

  Nikki wondered why her friend had never choked to death. Shaking her head at the thought, she leaned over and picked up her tennis bag. “I’d better get going. I’m hoping to pick up a match this afternoon.”

  “Want a lift? I’m heading home so I can drop you off at the club.”

  Nikki waited until Kim finished her meal before paying their respective bills and leaving. Kim’s blue Honda was parked up the street, and Nikki slung her bag into the backseat before slipping into the front. The car’s interior was hot, and Nikki rolled down her window as Kim drove to the tennis club, letting the slight breeze cool her off.

  As they turned up the quiet side street that ran alongside the tennis club, a car pulled out of a parking spot and cruised past them. It was the Mustang convertible with the top down, revealing Martin Elliot in the passenger’s seat with Tiffany laughing and tossing her blond hair behind the wheel like some model in a television commercial.

  “Who’s that?” Kim had noted Nikki’s intense interest in the passing vehicle.

  “Martin Elliot and his cousin’s wife. I think they’re having an affair.”

  “Yeah?” Kim didn’t appear interested as she stopped by the gate leading to the tennis club.

  Nikki looked over her shoulder, watching as the car turned left on Brunswick Street. “Let’s follow them.”

  “What?” Kim looked over at her, her blue eyes wide.

  “Turn around. I want to see where they go.”

  Kim stared at her as if she had suddenly lost her mind, but she took her foot off the brake and put it on the accelerator, doing a quick U-turn on the lightly traveled side street. “What if they spot us?”

  “Truro’s a small town.” Nikki’s eyes were intent on the vehicle ahead of them. “There’s a limited number of ways to get to places, and everyone uses them, so they shouldn’t notice someone’s following them deliberately unless they go somewhere out of the way. Besides, their car is easy to spot while yours is, well—”

  “Ugly?”

  “I would have said nondescript.” Nikki patted the dash of the little blue Honda affectionately. “Perfect for surveillance.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell Lynn.” Kim’s voice was tinged with amusement. “She wants to sell it and buy a van. Maybe we can add that feature to the newspaper ad.”

  “You’re selling the car?” Nikki was oddly stricken. She didn’t often need a vehicle, but when she did, Kim readily lent her this one, and Nikki had become rather fond of it. She didn’t think her friend would be as quick to lend her a brand-new car, nor would she enjoy driving it as much.

  “Yeah, Lynn’s business is doing well, and I just got a raise at the Sportsplex. Lynn replaced her truck with the Mazda last year, and we decided it was time for me to trade up as well. We want something that can haul stuff around.”

  “So you’re going to trade it in?”

  “Actually, no, we think we’ll get more with a private sale.” Kim glanced at her friend. “You interested?”

  “I hadn’t thought about buying a car.”

  “Well, you’re making pretty good money at the police station now. Maybe it’s time you considered it.”

  “Maybe.” Nikki examined the idea, starting to like it more and more with every passing second. Her mind was alive with possibilities until she saw the black Mustang accelerate toward Robie Street.

  Her heart sank. The route led out of town, and she was afraid Kim wouldn’t be willing to follow their quarry all the way to Shortt’s Lake, which was probably where the Elliots were headed. Disappointed, she was about to tell Kim to go back to the tennis club when the convertible cruised past the ramps leading to the 102, the customary route out to the lake.

  “Just a few more minutes,” she begged. “If they look like they’re going way out of town, we’ll turn around.”

  “No problem.”

  Nikki knew she was fortunate in her choice of friends. They let her be as weird as she wanted and didn’t say a word about it. She was rewarded when the car turned again, this time onto the Lower Truro road.

  “That’s odd. They’re heading back into town.”

  Kim smiled. “No, they’re not. They’re going to the Tideview Motel.”

  “There’s a motel up here?” Even as she asked, she saw the motel’s huge billboard a short distance ahead, the Mustang turned into the motel’s parking lot.

  Kim drove casually by and continued down the road a hundred meters or so until she reached the parking lot of a heavy equipment sales depot, positioning the car so that it faced the motel before she turned off the engine. “The binoculars are in the dash,” she informed Nikki.

  Thankful that Kim had replaced the binoculars lost during the unfortunate encounter with an arsonist in the woods, Nikki hauled them out and peered through them at the motel on the hill just in time to see Martin come out of the office and get back into the car. Tiffany backed out of the parking space and drove to the far end of the sprawling structure, stopping in front of the last unit. Martin took a bag from the backseat, then he and Tiffany entered the motel room hand-in-hand.

  “Wow, I guess this proves it.” Nikki felt the same tiny thrill she always did when she discovered information she wasn’t supposed to have. “I just didn’t expect them to be so open about it.”

  “What’s so open?” Kim peered up the road cynically. “Seriously, if any questions come up, they’ll just say they’re playing tennis. Enough people see them playing at the club, and if they take a half hour or an hour detour on the way home, no one really notices. People gossip, but only if there’s something unusual enough to gossip about.”

  Nikki lowered the binoculars, regarding Kim with renewed respect. “That’s brilliant. How’d you come up with that?”

  “If you’re up to no good, then it’s easier if whatever you’re doing is hidden in plain sight.” Kim looked back toward the motel. “But what does all this prove? I mean, if Stephen’s wife was fooling around with the cousin, I could see some kind of motive, but this is Andrew’s wife.”

  “Maybe Stephen found out about them and was going to tell Andrew,” Nikki speculated. “Or maybe Stephen was also having an affair with Tiffany, and Martin decided to remove his rival.”

  “Or maybe it has nothing to do with anything at all.”

  “Maybe not.” Nikki peered through the glasses once more, refusing to allow Kim’s skepticism to dampen her investigative fervor. “Martin lives in an apartment on Marshwood Drive. He lost his license last year for driving under the influence. The Mustang belongs to her.”

  “Nice to see that you’ve been putting your position at the police station to good use.” Kim sounded faintly sarcastic. “What does Kate think about it?”

  “I haven’t mentioned it to her.” Nikki hesitated. “She doesn’t like me messing around in police investigations.”

  “Who can blame her? The last time you snooped, you were almost barbequed.”

  Nikki flinched. “I know.” She lifted the field glasses again. “That’s odd.”

  “What?”

  “Another car just pulled up beside the Mustang” Nikki narrowed her eyes. “Some guy is getting out and going into the room. He didn’t knock either. He’s carrying something in a grocery bag.”

  “Andrew?”

  “No, it’s a stranger.” Nikki focused the glasses on the car. “Write this down.” Kim sighed and foun
d a piece of paper and pen in her handbag. “CDW 808.”

  “What are you going to do with that? Run the license plate?”

  “Yes. Then I’ll know who was visiting Martin and Tiffany. I wonder what he’s doing there?”

  “A threesome?” Kim suggested.

  “Two guys and a girl? Poor girl.”

  “Are you kidding?” Kim laughed. “From what I hear, two is better. Don’t forget that guys run out of steam after they get their rocks off. They don’t have our advantages of being able to keep going and going and going—”

  “Like the pink bunny.”

  “Why do you think he’s pink? Besides, I’m convinced the bunny’s a girl.”

  Nikki chuckled, but even as she did, her mind was on the motel and the people going into it. What were the Elliots up to?

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You seem pensive tonight.”

  Fresh from a Saturday evening at the movies and a late supper at the Wooden Hog, Kate and Nikki were pleasantly weary and looking forward to calling it a night at Kate’s apartment. Putting her coat into the closet, Kate watched as Nikki went in and sat on the sofa. “Is something wrong?”

  “Just thinking.” Nikki shrugged. “I was talking to Kim this week about selling her car.”

  “The blue Honda?” Kate sat beside Nikki, pleased when her lover immediately draped a possessive arm around her shoulders.

  “Yeah. She wants thirty-five hundred for it, but she offered it to me for three.”

  “You’re thinking of buying it?”

  “I wouldn’t mind having my own car. That way I wouldn’t have to borrow one when I wanted to go somewhere. Plus, it would be nice to drive to work sometimes, especially when it’s raining.”

  Kate immediately thought about offering to buy her the car, but restrained herself. “You should have a car,” she said instead. “Are you going to buy it?”