Death By High Heels (The Kim Murphy PI Series Book 1)

by Violet Ingram

  “We’ve talked about this before. When you are ready to be honest with yourself, you’ll be able to tell your wife the truth. You cannot control her response. You can only control your own actions. You must be ready to listen to her. Anger, denial, sadness, these are all feelings she’ll likely be dealing with,” the pastor said.

  “I know. It’s just, I love her so much. I can’t imagine my life without her.”

  Huh?

  “We understand.” The pastor waved his arm around. “We also know you can’t continue to hide this part of yourself from her. It’s possible she’ll be able to accept your cross-dressing and continue to be the loving, supportive wife she always has been.”

  Cross-dressing? Heck, that wasn’t so bad. I could think of a hundred things a wife didn’t want to hear and this didn’t even crack the top ten. I was pretty sure this was something my client could live with.

  I glanced at the door, judging the distance. It was too far for me to leave without drawing unwanted attention. Just great, I was going to be stuck here until the meeting was over. While I was an extremely nosy person, I didn’t think I should be in the room with these people while they poured out their darkest secrets. It made me feel guilty, like I was going to Hell for my intrusion. I spent the rest of the time praying no one would call on me, kind of like how I’d spent my time in high school. Hopefully, they would all be able to work out their problems and keep their loved ones in their lives. I hadn’t heard anything at the meeting that couldn’t be worked through but I was rather grateful when the pastor thanked everyone for coming.

  I stood up and rushed out the door, ignoring several people’s attempts to get my attention. The drive home must have been on auto pilot because I parked in the lot with no memory of the trip. Inside, I collapsed on the couch. My client had convinced herself her husband was cheating on her. After sitting there listening to all their stories, I felt for them. They were each going through a difficult time. Hopefully, they’d all be able to work out their problems.

  My stomach growled, reminding me I had skipped dinner. Missing meals wasn’t a common occurrence for me. Not in the mood to cook or go out, I kicked off my shoes and grabbed the phone. For delivery there were two choices, pizza or Chinese.

  I picked up the phone and ordered enough Chinese food to feed all four of my brothers. Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang. Finally, the food was here. I grabbed some cash out of my purse and rushed to open the door.

  “If you’re trying to bribe me, you’re gonna need a lot more than that,” Grant said, staring at the money in my hand, a smile tugging at his lips.

  “Funny. I thought you were my dinner, but I’ll be sure to let my dad know you have a price,” I said, returning his smile while trying to ignore the sudden jump in my pulse.

  “Ha, ha, ha.”

  “Well, what are you doing here?”

  “I thought for sure you’d want to know what we found out about your attack, but if you’re not interested…”

  “Oh my God, of course I want to know.”

  Grant stepped inside, his arm brushing against mine. I looked up and found myself staring into gray eyes. I opened my mouth but no sound came out. Uncertainty, lust, I wasn’t sure which, flashed in Grant’s eyes and then was gone.

  I sat down on the couch while Grant sat down in an accent chair across from me.

  “Unfortunately, we didn’t learn anything helpful from the crime scene or your clothes.”

  “Well, that was a waste.” I sighed. “Wait a minute. You could have told me that over the phone.”

  Grant squirmed in his seat, avoiding my eyes.

  “I just wanted you to know whoever attacked you is still out there.”

  “You mean you’d actually care if something happened to me?”

  “Of course.”

  I’d have to think about why that felt so good later on. For now, there was something else on Grant’s mind. I couldn’t believe he’d admitted to caring about me. Ever since we met six months ago, over another dead body, there had been an attraction I hadn’t believed was one-sided.

  “So let’s get this over with,” I said.

  “Get this over with?”

  “You did come here to yell at me, didn’t you?”

  “I’ve come to the realization yelling and threatening doesn’t work with you. So I’m trying a new approach.”

  “What kind of new approach?”

  “I’m going to ask you nicely to stay away from this case. It’s dangerous for you to be snooping around.”

  “I’m not snooping. Lindsay hired me to find the real killer.”

  “Lord, Kim, did you ever think maybe she did it?”

  “Yeah, for about a minute. You and I both know she didn’t do it.”

  “Oh, we do, do we? Why don’t you fill me in?” Grant asked.

  Before I could answer, the doorbell rang. I jumped up off of the couch and made my way to the door. I flung it open and smiled at the teenage boy standing in front of me, holding a large brown bag with my dinner inside.

  “Hey, Miss Murphy,” Jason said. “What’s up?”

  “Not much.”

  “I was wondering when you’d call again. It’s been a few weeks.” He flashed a smile that quickly turned into a frown as I felt Grant step up behind me and place his arm around my shoulders.

  “How much?” Grant asked.

  Jason glanced down at the receipt. “Twenty-four sixty,” Jason said.

  “Here you go. Keep the change,” Grant said, handing over two twenties and taking the bag from Jason.

  “Uh, thanks,” Jason said just before Grant closed the door in his face.

  “This smells great. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. This is the first break I’ve had all day.”

  “What the hell was that all about?”

  “What? Oh, that.” He laughed.

  “I’m waiting.”

  “He’s a teenager and he obviously has a crush on you.”

  “It was harmless and he’s a nice kid.”

  “Kid being the operative word. I’m just saving him some trouble. Believe me, I did the kid a favor. He needs to focus on girls his own age, not a woman old enough to—”

  “Watch it,” I snapped.

  He laughed. “I was going to say old enough to know better.”

  “Oh. Jason’s a good kid and he always remembers the chopsticks.”

  “I’d do a lot more than that if you were aiming those big green eyes at me.”

  My pulse raced, despite my irritation at his Neanderthal behavior. The man raised the pulse of women by just stepping into a room. Expensive suits, polished shoes, every strand of hair in place, just begging a woman to run her hands through it.

  “Kim.”

  “Ah, what?” I asked, embarrassed at having been caught staring.

  He laughed. “Why don’t you get some plates and drinks while I set this stuff out on the table?”

  “Oh, yeah, sure.” I spun around and rushed into the kitchen. My face burned and my heart continued its dangerous rate. I took several slow, steadying breaths and felt my heart slowing down back to a steady beat.

  Back in the dining room, Grant and I filled our plates. He looked at the two bottles of beer and raised his right eyebrow.

  “There’s Diet Pepsi in the fridge.”

  Grant stood up and strode toward the kitchen, muttering something that sounded an awful lot like stupid diet pop. The giggle escaped despite my best effort. He returned with a glass of water.

  I was impressed when Grant shoved food into his mouth with precision that most of the guys I knew couldn’t do with chopsticks. Each time I raised the bottle of beer to my mouth I watched his eyes follow the motion.

  “Oh hell, just drink the beer.”

  “I’m working.”

  “Technically, you’re eating.”

  “Kim…”

  “Fine, I’ll drink it. Mine’s empty and I’m not about to let one go to waste,” I said, grabbing the
bottle. Grant’s hands closed over mine. Once again I found myself staring at gray eyes that resembled storm clouds.

  “God, you’re stubborn.”

  Not exactly the words I’d been expecting. I guessed I was the only one fighting the urge to rush upstairs, tear off our clothes, and have mind-blowing sex. Jeez, it had been six long freaking months. I was beginning to fear the parts wouldn’t work with a partner anymore.

  “Kim?”

  “Huh? Oh, sorry, I must’ve zoned out there. What’d you say?”

  “Never mind, it’s getting late.” He let go of my hand and stood up. I followed him to the door.

  “Well, thanks for dinner.”

  “You paid. I should thank you.”

  “Next time we’ll have to try Italian.”

  “Next time?

  “When this case is over, I’d like to have a conversation that doesn’t include dead bodies.”

  “What makes you think there’ll be a next time?”

  Grant grabbed my arms and pulled me close.

  “You know there’ll be a next time.” He leaned down, his mouth mere inches from mine, and his stupid phone rang.

  “Ugh.” He grabbed his phone and barked into it. “Tompkins.” He listened for a minute before finally telling the voice on the phone he’d be there soon.

  “Work, huh?” I asked.

  “Lock up behind me. Uniforms will be running extra patrols through here for the next few days.” With that, he turned and left without saying anything about the almost kiss.

  I’d been so angry with him for the past few months, yet whenever I was close to him, anger usually took a back seat to lust.

  Getting involved with him would be a mistake. First of all, he never even apologized for arresting me. Second, he always acted so superior, bossing me around. Third, there was the tiny little detail about my dad being his boss. I also couldn’t forget what Jackie had said about the possibility he wasn’t single. It was driving me crazy. He didn’t wear a wedding ring and he sure as heck didn’t act married, not that it meant anything.

  I yawned. The day had been a long one and I was ready for it to be over. I stuck the leftovers in the fridge and stuck the dishes in the sink. I’d deal with them and a bunch of other things tomorrow. Remembering Grant’s warning, I checked that the doors were locked before heading upstairs. In my room, I stripped out of my clothes and tossed on a tank top and a pair of boxer-short pajama bottoms. A quick stop in the bathroom and I was ready for bed.

  ***

  Some idiot was leaning on my doorbell. That was the only explanation I had as to why it wouldn’t stop. Prying my eyes open, I glanced at the clock. I’d only been asleep for a few hours. I so did not like middle of the night visitors. I was debating what to do when my phone rang. What the hell was going on? My heart began to race. Bad things happened in the middle of the night. You never got good news past eight at night.

  My hands shook as I grabbed the phone and answered.

  “Hey, Kim, it’s Darlene.”

  I couldn’t figure out why the police dispatcher was calling me but she had my attention. “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, I’ve got an officer who’s been ringing your doorbell for the past five minutes. The guy was about to bust your door down. He was afraid something happened to you on his watch. I told him to keep his boxers on and I’d try calling you. Hang on a second and let me tell him you’re okay.”

  There was a click and Darlene was gone. A few seconds and another click later and she was back.

  “Not that I wouldn’t love to chat with you, Darlene, but what’s wrong?” I asked again, not sure I wanted the answer.

  “On his sweep through he noticed you had a flat tire. Trouble is it had a knife stickin’ out of it. I told him to meet you at your back door.”

  “Oh, he doesn’t have to do that. I’ll deal with it in the morning.”

  “Sweetie, he has to so a report can be filed. This is official police business. Make sure it’s Stevens before you open that door. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?”

  “No, that’s okay. Thanks, Darlene.”

  “Anytime, sweetie, bye-bye.”

  I flipped on the light and searched for my keys. It never failed, whenever I was in a rush I managed to misplace things. Dumping my purse on the bed, I found them and raced down the stairs. I peeked through the blinds and sure enough, Officer Stevens was waiting for me.

  “Evening, Miss Murphy. Sorry to bother you.”

  “Hey, it’s not your fault. Thanks for spotting it.”

  “No problem. The tech guys’ll be here any minute. They’re gonna dust for prints and they’ll take the damaged tire as evidence.”

  “Okay, well, I guess I’ll go inside and call AAA. There’s no telling how long it’ll take them to get here.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. You have a spare, right?”

  “Yeah, in the trunk.”

  “Good. We’ll make sure to put the spare on for you before we leave.”

  “Oh jeez, you don’t have to do that.”

  “It’s no problem. Heck, we’ll have the car up to take off the damaged one, we might as well finish it up.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “It didn’t look like whoever did this got inside your car, but I thought we should check just in case.”

  “Oh, sure.”

  We walked over to my car, careful not to touch anything. Officer Stevens turned his flashlight on and we both peered inside.

  “You’re right,” I said. “The inside is fine.”

  “That’s a relief. One less headache for ya anyway.”

  I smiled.

  “So, any idea who’d want to do this?”

  “The list is long,” I joked.

  He laughed. “Any names stand out more than the others?”

  “Honestly, other than my ex, I haven’t managed to piss off too many people lately.”

  “Your ex, huh? What’s his name?” he asked, a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.

  As much as I’d love to have my ex questioned by the police, I’d never give him the opportunity to claim police harassment. “No, I was just kidding about him.”

  “Now you know if you’re being hassled, we can help.”

  “Really, I was joking. Besides, do you think someone would really be stupid enough to bother me knowing about my dad and brothers? That would be suicidal.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Luckily for me, the lab techs arrived before my mouth could get me into any more trouble. Twenty minutes later, the techs had taken pictures and removed the tire with the knife as evidence. Since there weren’t any all-night tire stores, and if there were, I wasn’t going, they put the spare on and I assured them I’d get a new one on in the morning.

  The driver’s side of my car looked dirty thanks to all the powder they used to check for fingerprints. There was the awkward moment when they requested to take mine to rule them out and I had to remind them I was already in the system.

  I thanked everyone and signed the report. Before I could make it back inside, Grant tore into the parking lot, lights flashing. At that point I was just grateful he’d had the good sense not to use the siren. With all the activity, we had already caused enough of a spectacle.

  The car had barely come to a complete stop when Grant got out and raced over to me.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I’m fine. Just a little ticked off.”

  “Ticked off? Why aren’t you on your way to the hospital?”

  “I’ll pass, thanks. I’ve spent enough time there lately,” I replied.

  “Wait a minute. Weren’t you stabbed with a knife?”

  “I wasn’t, but my tire sure as heck was.”

  “Hey, detective, we’re done here. So, I think you’ve got this,” Officer Stevens said.

  “Before you go, call in a request for extra patrols through here.”

  “Already done.” He turned t
oward me. “Good night, Miss Murphy.”

  “Good night, and thanks again.”

  Grant waited until we were alone to speak.

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  I had a few suggestions, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about sex. At least not right now.

  “Oh jeez, you’re shivering. Let’s get you inside.”

  The poor man was being a gentleman, assuming I was cold when all I really wanted to do was get him naked and take care of my sexual drought. I let him lead me inside my apartment. He locked the door behind us. Oh my, maybe he did get it. I walked toward the stairs and stopped when I realized he wasn’t behind me.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to sleep on the couch in case you get any more unwanted visitors.”

  Seriously? The man was so hot I’d seen women walk into street signs while staring at him. There was also the lady who tripped over a chair, though that one was kind of funny. Yet here he was in my apartment, and instead of ripping my clothes off, he was planning to sleep on the couch. Swell. It wasn’t like one more sex-free night was going to return my virginity or anything, but damn.

  “I’m sure the idiot is done for the night.”

  “I’m staying.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  I stomped up the stairs, stripped out of my clothes, and crawled under the covers. I spent the next few hours tossing and turning. I was just about to call it quits and go downstairs in search of chocolate when my bedroom door opened. For a second I wondered if I could reach my gun, but then I realized just who it was walking toward me. He was the reason for my tossing and turning and my sexual frustration.

  “Kim?”

  “What’s wrong? You need another blanket?”

  Instead of answering me, Grant walked over to the bed and crawled under the covers. I rolled over toward him. “Did you get lonely down there?” I asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep. How about you?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe we should do something about that?”

  My heart was pounding so loud I was surprised he didn’t have to shout over it. The mere thought of what I wanted him to do to me had my panties wet. “Oh God, yes.”

  Chapter Eight