Dirty Sexy Murder

by Cathleen Ross

  Lizzie thought about it and decided she’d better not admit that she’d feel quite good if it was some of the bats she had to deal with. “Look Marina, I know Natalia says we have to make conversation with the clients, but you get so involved with them and their problems, you act like they’re your own. By the end of the day you’re dead on your feet. You’re getting migraines. Give it up.”

  Marina blanched at her criticism.

  “Lizzie!” James put his arm around Marina’s shoulder. “You okay?”

  Marina ran her hand through her hair. She nodded.

  Lizzie noticed Marina was looking dark under her eyes. The skin around her nose looked a little red and flaky. Sure signs of stress.

  “Lizzie’s right.” Marina sighed. “I don’t keep my distance. Even Natalia said that about me. It’s probably because I knew my clients so well back in Blackheath. I knew who was pregnant with whose baby, who had an abortion, who was getting engaged. I knew more than the local doctor and minister combined.”

  “You didn’t have to deal with a serial killer there,” James said soothingly, rubbing her arm.

  Lizzie was sorry that Marina’s clients were being popped off. But she was more concerned about Marina. She needed to get a life. It was lucky James seemed to get on with her. She’d never seen him behave so compassionately with one of her friends.

  Marina pulled at her bottom lip. She walked around the massage bed, gathering up dirty clothes that Lizzie had thrown on the floor.

  “Here, give me those.” Lizzie hurried over to her and chucked them in the cane washing basket that stood in the corner of her bedroom next to the stereo.

  “No wonder the police wanted to know the details of Mrs. Saxon’s last conversation with me. Detective Herbert said her death didn’t follow the pattern,” Marina said.

  “Detective Herbert said that? Did he explain?” James asked.

  “No.”

  “Now I get why they didn’t try and interview me,” James added, “seeing as the husband’s the killer.”

  “Oh my God. You know what this means?” Marina said to James.

  Lizzie noticed that, like James’s, Marina’s face looked like she’d used the wrong colour foundation her skin was so pallid. She let out a large sigh. The whole thing was bloody boring, she thought, but decided to keep her view to herself.

  “You’ll be a suspect again.”

  Lizzie’s chin jerked up and she stared at James. Shit, James was in trouble again. “That’s not good,” she said.

  Her brother’s eyes narrowed. He swept the stuffed toys against the wall and sat on her bed. He looked like a pin had popped his balloon. “I knew that the moment I saw the paper. This murderer is smart. He won’t be caught easily.”

  “I told you before, we have to be smart too,” Marina said.

  Lizzie saw hope in her brother’s eyes. She liked the way they bounced thoughts off each other. James had never got on so well with one of her friends before.

  Her brother pushed himself off her bed. He walked over to Marina and put his hands on her shoulders, his face was inches from hers. “We have to catch this murderer before he strikes again. You’re the only one who can sense him. You have to use your powers.”

  Powers? What was James talking about? “Marina!” Lizzie stared at her, feeling left out. “Did you look in the scrying bowl again without me?” She watched as Marina squeezed James’s hand. These two were closer than she thought.

  Marina took a clean sheet from Lizzie’s wardrobe, unfolded it and smoothed it over the massage table. “There’s more to it than that, Lizzie.” She hesitated. “I had premonitions of the murders too.”

  “Huh?” A rush of surprise hit Lizzie. “What do you mean? What premonitions?” Marina always carried on that she wasn’t psychic.

  “Remember the strange thing that happened in the shop when I held the printout? The way I saw things. The way I knew that woman had been murdered?”

  Lizzie nodded.

  “I had that before Adele was murdered when I was waxing her. Then later that night I had another terrifying vision. I saw Adele dying. It was the same with Dani.”

  Hurt filled Lizzie’s chest. “You’re my best friend. You never told me. Does James know?” One look at her brother and she saw he did. “You told him before me.” She knew it was silly, but she couldn’t keep the accusation out of her voice. She wanted her brother to like her best friend. She did. But Marina had been so distant lately. She’d thought it was because she didn’t approve of Fabio.

  “I’m sorry.” Marina gave her an apologetic hug. “I didn’t believe what I was seeing when I had the vision with Adele. I was terrified. I thought I was going crazy.”

  “You crazy? Ha! Unlikely. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I tell you everything.” It bugged her that Marina kept things to herself. She would stew on things until she was wrinkled like a prune sometimes.

  “That’s your strength, Lizzie.” Marina patted her arm. “You’re open-minded. You accept things so much faster than I do. It’s harder for me. It takes me longer to believe in things when they’re different. Like I’m different.”

  Lizzie’s heart warmed to her best pal. Her father had called her a gossip, a busybody. Marina called her open-minded. Despite their differences, Marina always made things seem right.

  “You’re just fine as you are,” James said.

  “James was with me the night I had the vision of Dani. That’s why he knows.” Marina moistened her lower lip. “I was scared. I guess I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer.”

  Lizzie noticed her roommate had lost weight. The skin on her lips was dry and cracked but she didn’t seem to have realized. Normally she was the lip gloss queen. She didn’t wear makeup when she was at home, but she always wore something on her lips.

  “The thing is, I think there’s a pattern.” Marina’s eyes widened as she looked from Lizzie to James. “With Dani and Adele I had a warning of what was to come when I waxed them.”

  Lizzie twiddled her nose ring. “That’s awesome. Weird too.” She got why Marina was so freaked out.

  Marina stared into space as if trying to figure it out. “When the murder actually is happening it feels like I’m looking out of the murderer’s eyes, then when he’s killing them I’m in the victim. I feel it. Everything!” She shuddered. James put his arm around her.

  Lizzie sucked in a deep breath. “Ugh! Poor you.” She reached for her best lip balm, twisted the lid and offered it to Marina. She wasn’t sure what to do.

  James’s eyes narrowed.

  Lizzie could almost see him thinking as his mind ticked over.

  “You didn’t get a vision with Mrs. Saxon, did you?” he asked.

  “No. Just a vague feeling.”

  “Yet she was one of your clients, too,” Lizzie said. She scratched her head. There was a simple answer, but she just couldn’t think what it was.

  Marina raised her hand to her mouth and chewed on her fingernail.

  Lizzie frowned at her and shook her head. Marina normally kept her fingernails short and neat for waxing. She continued to chew, not noticing Lizzie’s disapproval.

  “The murderer gets into my head when I’m working. Not with every client. I feel it’s like… When he’s searching for a victim. He says horrible things about the clients. I can actually hear his words.” She looked at Lizzie. “Remember the night we were training?”

  Lizzie nodded.

  “I don’t want to scare you, but he was doing it when I was waxing you. That’s why I was so distracted.”

  A slither of fear stabbed between her breastbone and down into her heart. Lizzie was glad Marina had kept that one to herself. But her nosey side got the better of her. “What kind of things does he say?”

  “Whore. Slut,” Marina said.

  Lizzie took a step back.

  Marina’s face twisted with dismay. She walked over and held out her hand to Lizzie.

  With some reluctance Lizzie reached out and touched he
r flatmate’s hand. Her heart was pattering like a canary in a birdcage. Marina had freaked her out.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”

  Whore. Slut. Fabio had used those words on her. Lizzie pushed the thought away. “No wonder you thought you were going crazy. It must be horrible for you.” A yucky thought crossed her mind but she pushed it away. It couldn’t be him. Her doubts persisted, however. Fabs knew the salon well. They’d shagged there once when she’d stayed late. He dropped in to the salon on a weekly basis with his little gifts. What if Marina could read his thoughts when he was close? She’d always been telepathic. She’d just refused to recognize it. Anything too different freaked her out.

  “You must have some connection to the murderer,” James said. “You must know him.”

  Lizzie jumped. Her insides went weak with fear. What if... Hell! This was freaky. She reached over, grabbed her stuffed bunny and hugged it.

  “I know,” Marina said with a frown on her face. “I’ve thought about it again and again.” She walked over to Lizzie’s dressing table and took out some tweezers, tea-tree oil and powder they kept in her drawer for clients.

  James’s gaze followed her every movement. “Think, Marina. This man gets inside your head somehow. It’s someone you’ve met. It has to be. You never had a vision with Mrs. Saxon. It’s someone who has a connection with you.”

  Lizzie looked at her brother with admiration. He was smart, good at working things out. Whenever she had a problem, he always fixed it for her, providing it wasn’t a problem with a boyfriend. “You know,” she said to Marina, “I read in a magazine that most people are psychic but they don’t develop their talents. Maybe you need to stretch yourself.” James would probably pooh pooh her idea but it was all she could think of. She did want to help.

  “Lizzie’s right,” James said.

  “Huh?” Lizzie started. Though she knew that James believed Marina, she still stared at him in surprise. He’d always thought anything esoterical was complete rubbish.

  “I need help to develop my psychic ability,” Marina said.

  “Fast,” he added. “Before the next murder.”

  Marina took out some cotton strips the girls used for waxing, pushed some of Lizzie’s beauty products aside and placed them on her dressing table beside the massage bed. Marina looked at her watch. “Do you want to turn the wax on, Lizzie?”

  Lizzie nodded. She noticed when she pressed the wax switch her hand was shaking. She felt like she’d downed ten cups of black coffee in a row, her hands were trembling so badly.

  “Before Mrs. Saxon died she gave me the number of a clairvoyant. I’ve made an appointment to see her tonight after we’ve waxed Peta. Maybe she can help me.” She hunched her shoulders. “It’s a long shot but I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Wow! A clairvoyant.” Now Marina was talking. But she could help too. “I’ll search through my magazines for you,” Lizzie added. “There’s bound to be something in them.”

  “I’ll drive you to see the clairvoyant,” James said.

  “Sheesh!” Lizzie stared at James in surprise. “Haven’t you changed in a short time?” She saw him glance at Marina with such warmth, she realized her best pal had made an impact on her brother. More than an impact.

  “Marina’s something else,” James said, looking at her with admiration. “She told me Fabio’s innocent. I’m willing to go with that.”

  There was conviction in her brother’s voice. Normally that would have made her happy. Pleased her that he had a crush on Marina. After all, they were the two people she loved most, but she didn’t feel happy. Instead her stomach pinched.

  What if... It couldn’t be Fabs. It just couldn’t. Yesterday she’d been insulted by the very suggestion. But the words ‘whore’ and ‘slut’ haunted her. She pushed the thought away again. “Told you you’d like Marina living with us.”

  Marina blushed. She looked at her watch again. “Peta will be here in a few minutes. We’re still not ready. I have to finish sorting out the Elvis CDs.”

  James crossed his arms watching them prepare. “How much do you girls talk to Peta?”

  “Heaps. Why?” Lizzie asked.

  “This murderer’s a man and it’s someone who knows what we’re doing. At least enough to commit a murder when we don’t have an alibi.”

  “Or not one that will hold up,” Marina added.

  Lizzie looked from Marina to James. “We always tell Peta what we’re doing. I mean, it’s not that I’m a blabbermouth,” she added quickly. “She asks.” Just like Fabs did.

  “Don’t,” James said. “Don’t tell her anything. What do you think, Marina?”

  “I think you’re right. Someone knows too much about us.”

  Lizzie felt herself blush. Guilty. She told Fabs everything too. Every little detail. Every mean thing James said about him. James’s disapproval of his porno addiction. The way Marina thought she should break up with him because he put her down. A shudder of disquiet passed through her. She remembered Fabio’s fury over the protein shakes. He could be scary if he wanted to.

  Marina laid out some small spatulas next to the container of hot wax. “When I touch Peta, there’s anger there. She hates her mother. I know she always seems in a good mood, but I can feel her emotions through my fingers. It feels...hot...seething. And yet she’s gentle, vulnerable. There’s violence there too. Remember I heard a scream, Lizzie?”

  “Yes, the last time we waxed her. I didn’t hear anything though.”

  “The trouble is I don’t know if it’s something in the future or something in the past. I’ll try touching her when we do this wax.”

  Lizzie was impressed. “You get a lot from touching her, don’t you?”

  Marina raised her eyebrows and sighed. “To think I thought I was suffering just from migraines.”

  “Would you touch Fabs? Sometimes I don’t know what he’s thinking. You know with his you-know-what problem.” She gave a quick glance at her brother. Would Marina sense if Fabs was the murderer?

  “I don’t want her touching him,” James interjected.

  Lizzie stared at her brother.

  He reddened under her scrutiny. “She doesn’t need to. Sort your own stuff out.”

  Lizzie ran her fingers through her hair. It was thick with hairspray and needed washing. She had intended to visit Fabs late tonight, but now she decided not to. She looked around her little pink bedroom. It was too full with the massage bed in it as well. She’d never bothered to change the colour from her childhood. It felt safe.

  “I’m not going to Tae Kwon Do tonight. I’m going to stick around. Just in case you girls need me.”

  Lizzie shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She was glad her brother was there.

  There was a knock on the door.

  “That’s Peta. Remember,” Marina cautioned Lizzie, “not a word about our personal lives.”

  “Fine with me,” Lizzie agreed. How she wished she hadn’t told Fabio so much about their personal lives. She shot a guilty glance at her brother. James would be furious if he knew.

  Once she’d even checked James’s sent email list and shown them to Fabio when they were in the apartment and James wasn’t home. She’d thought it was harmless. She’d laughed with Fabio about James’s online dating name. Sex Cowboy. But it wasn’t funny now. Not at all. It was frightening.

  Fabio knew everything about them.

  * * * *

  Marina walked down the hallway and opened the door for Peta, determined not to give anything away about her private life. She stopped. Peta was wearing a red wig this week, styled in a way that matched her own hair. “Hey, Peta, I like the hairstyle. Should I take it as a compliment?”

  Peta held out her hand. “Put it here, honey. I thought of you when I saw this wig. This is a high-five moment.”

  She slapped Peta’s hand. A sensation like a punch exploded in her brain. She gasped and staggered back.

  “You okay, honey?” Peta looked at her c
oncerned. “Did you lose your balance?” Peta held out her hand with long manicured red fingernails to steady Marina.

  She blinked and stared at Peta. Little stars flickered in front of her eyes. She steadied herself declining her client’s help.

  James strode down the hallway. “Marina.” He put his hand on her arm. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” She shook his hand off her arm, trying to ignore his hurt expression. There were too many feelings coming at her all at once now she’d opened herself up. “I just felt dizzy for a moment. I’m fine.”

  “Honey. You look a bit woozy. A little out of sorts. Are you feeling better now?” Peta asked.

  “Yes.” Her head cleared now she wasn’t touching Peta.

  Peta’s gaze flicked over James. “What about you, honey? You feeling anyone lately?”

  James instantly flushed.

  Marina laughed despite what had just happened to her. Peta was dreadful. Funny too.

  Peta’s gaze flicked from James to Marina. “You looking after this pretty chicken?”

  “Course I am,” James said.

  “You make a nice couple,” Peta added perceptively. “Of course if you ever want to cross over to the dark side, give me a call.”

  James grunted noncommittally. “Excuse me, I’ve got things to do.” He walked into his bedroom and shut the door.

  Peta gave a shiver and pursed her lips. “I love it when he grunts. He’s such a he-man. I’d just love it if he dragged me to that cave of his.”

  The thought was so unlikely Marina put her hand over her mouth trying to hide her smile.

  “That’s better. Now you’re smiling, your pretty cheeks have gone all rosy.”

  “I’m fine now. Come in to Lizzie’s bedroom. Everything’s set up for you.” She let Peta walk in front of her. She was wearing a sparkly blue mini and tight leather jacket. She had sensational legs when she wore stilettos. Long with a tight small ass that would make any girl envious. Although she was sexy, Peta was gentle too. So why did she sense violence when Peta seemed so gentle-hearted? What was going on?

  “Lizzie,” Peta cried. “You getting any?”