Dirty Sexy Murder

by Cathleen Ross

  She was just about to pick up her book when she heard a heavy footfall on the landing. Good, sounded like James was home seeing as he walked like an elephant. She couldn’t hear Marina but then she was light on her feet. About time they arrived home. She was dying to find out what the clairvoyant had told them.

  She skipped over and opened the door. Her face froze with disappointment. This was the last person she wanted to see right now. “What are you doing here?” she said.

  * * * *

  James pushed his keys into the lock and opened the door to the apartment. He stepped back to let Marina in before him. “You home, Lizzie?” he called. Pushing the door closed, his hand touched something sticky on the doorknob. Absentmindedly, he wiped it on the side of his t-shirt.

  “I thought Lizzie would stay in for us. She loves this clairvoyant stuff,” Marina said.

  “I told her not to go out unless she told me first,” James said.

  Marina pushed Lizzie’s bedroom door open. “She’s not here. She must have gone to stay the night with Fabio, though something doesn’t feel right. I thought she said she wasn’t going out tonight. Fabio probably bugged her until she changed her mind.”

  “I think she likes the attention,” James said. “Personally, I hope she will dump the dumb-ass.” He stopped when Marina scowled at him. “I was just going to add that Lizzie’s choice is Lizzie’s choice and I have to put up with it.”

  Marina picked at the skin on her bottom lip until it started to bleed. She licked at it with the pink tip of her tongue. “I’m worried.”

  “You getting something? A message?”

  She frowned, rubbing at the crease between her eyebrows with her forefinger smoothing it away. “It’s late to call Lizzie, but I’d like her to ask Fabio the URL for that eighties porn photo. I should have written down the URL before I threw the photo out.”

  “Why do you want to do that?”

  She shuddered. “I never wanted to see it again after I had that strange reaction. The trouble is Evelyn said that the photo was the link to the murderer. That’s the reason all this is happening. So we might as well start there. Maybe I could get some feelings off it. A vision. Something I could recognize.”

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s late. Why don’t we go to bed and look into it tomorrow?”

  She shook her head. Her lips pinched together with determination. “I want to get onto this. Maybe we can check out some porn sites and find the picture ourselves. Something is wrong. I can feel it.”

  “I guess we could do that.” He slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her to him. “If a beautiful hazel-eyed redhead wants me to look at porn, she’s going to have to cope with the consequences.” He bent and kissed her full on the lips. “We could Google porn and see what comes up.”

  Marina groaned. “I hope that wasn’t your idea of a joke.”

  He grinned at her. “Come into my bedroom and sit on my knee.” He walked into his room, sat at his desk and turned on his computer. He beckoned her over. “Let’s see what we can find.”

  Marina followed him in, pulled up a chair and sat next to him. “I’m not sitting on your knee to look up porn sites. We won’t get any work done. Anyway, I’m going to have to concentrate. Touching you will distract me.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He reached over and kissed her on the side of her neck.

  “Stop it. I have to concentrate.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m not looking forward to this. That photo was like living through a death. Literally.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you this time. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

  Marina pulled her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ears. Her auburn locks bounced back immediately.

  “Evelyn said my psychic strength comes from touch. Some psychics are telepathic, others get a feeling, some see the dead like her.”

  “Weird.” James shook his head.

  “What?” she snapped at him.

  “Nothing.”

  “We’ve got a murderer to catch, James. Will you stop looking at my breasts? Don’t you realize how urgent this is? Evelyn said a young blond girl is going to be next.”

  He sighed. “Then I’m glad Lizzie’s with Fabio seeing as you’re convinced he’s not the man we’re looking for.” James turned to the computer and launched the browser

  Marina twisted her hair into a bun. She rested her elbows on the computer desk. “The trouble is I’m so new at all this. I can’t develop my psychic ability overnight. Evelyn said to practice by touch.”

  “Do you want to hold my hand and see what I’m thinking like you did last time?” He tried to keep his expression serious.

  “No. You’ll just be thinking about sex. I can tell by the hopeful expression you get on your face from the moment you see we’ve got the apartment to ourselves.”

  “Hmph. Might as well get to work.” He typed porn into the Google site. Leaning back in his chair he expelled a loud sigh. “There’s only several hundred thousand sites here. We could be up all night.” He looked downwards. “Something else could be up all night getting nowhere.”

  “James!”

  “What?”

  “Just get on with it.”

  Several hours later, Marina sat resting her hand on her chin, looking at photos of naked women. “We’re never going to find the site,” she said wearily. “Fabio must have spent hours looking these things up. No wonder Lizzie gets so mad at him.”

  James shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe we should just go to bed. Snuggle up together. You can ask Lizzie tomorrow for the URL.”

  She frowned. “I can’t sleep.” She stood, paced up and down his bedroom. “Something’s not right. I can sense it. This apartment doesn’t feel like it did when we left. The happiness is gone.” She picked at the rough spot on her lips. “If I had that photo I could touch it and see if I get any feelings about the murderer.”

  James stood and stretched. “I’m beat. Come to bed, Marina.” He walked over and massaged her shoulders.

  “Don’t.” She shrugged him off.

  His stomach growled. “Do you want something to eat?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Your clothes are looking a bit loose.”

  She glared at him.

  “Okay.” He took a step back. “Just asking.” James, looking disgruntled, walked into the hallway.

  “Hey, Marina. Did you cut yourself?”

  She rushed into the hall. “No.”

  He pointed to a reddish brown spot smeared into the carpet. It wasn’t big about the size of a ten cent piece but it stood out on the cream carpet. “Looks like blood.”

  Immediately, Marina bent and touched it. She stroked the area with the tips of her fingers. Her lips parted as her expression became still with concentration. “It’s Lizzie’s blood,” she said slowly.

  Still squatting, she stared into space until her hazel eyes became clouded. She continued to stroke the area like she would the tip of a kitten’s nose.

  “What are you getting?”

  Marina’s hand started to tremble. “No!” She jerked her hand away.

  “What?”

  She stood and clutched his arm. “Lizzie’s in trouble. I feel fear.” Her fingernails dug into his arms.

  “Fabio,” he muttered. “I never liked that bastard she’s with.”

  “God, James, we have to do something.”

  His whole body tensed. He looked around as if trying to work out if something had changed in the apartment. He glanced over to the telephone and charged over to it. “Why is the phone disconnected?” He bent and plugged the connection back in. “Look, Lizzie’s mobile is here too.”

  Marina stared at him her eyes wide. She snatched the mobile off the telephone table. James watched as she concentrated. Her hand trembled. She frowned. Her eyes narrowed with concern. “Fabio... fear... Lizzie’s...afraid of him. I’ve never picked up fear before.” Her gaze met his. “
Oh my God, James. What if I’ve got it all wrong? What if the murderer is Fabio? I’m so new at all this.”

  Marina bent and touched the blood again. Her forefinger stroking the small patch. “I need a vision.”

  James surged into action. He snatched Lizzie’s mobile from Marina. “I’m going to call Fabio.” He turned on Lizzie’s mobile phone and scrolled through the numbers until he found the one he was seeking. He jabbed at the call button. His free hand balled into a fist. “Fabio’s mobile is turned off. Bastard.”

  Marina sat on the carpet in the hall and placed her whole hand on the blood spot. She made a strange choking sound. Her chest heaved as she sucked air in and out.

  “Lizzie’s terrified.” She shuddered, slapping her hand over her chest. “I can’t bear it. I need a vision so I can help her. I have to know where she is.” Her voice rose in a wail.

  “Hell. I knew all along that you were wrong about Fabio. The guy is an obsessive, masturbating sicko. I’m going over to Fabio’s. I know he’s got Lizzie. I’ll smash down his door if I have to.”

  Marina focused on feeling for Lizzie. She was close. She knew it. “Come on, Lizzie, speak to me.” Her hand hovered over the blood spot, occasionally resting on it. She started to sway. “I need a vision, Lizzie. Send me a vision. Show me where you are.”

  James snatched up his car keys from the hook near the door. “I’m going to deal with this my way.” He put his hand on the door knob, then jerked it back. “There’s more blood on the door handle.”

  He turned to Marina.

  “Stay near the phone. I’ll call you as soon as I’m at Fabio’s.” He swept open the door. “Just what we don’t need.”

  Marina glanced up, her trance broken by the interruption.

  “Going somewhere?” asked Detective Davis. His flinty cop eyes flicked over James making him feel instantly uncomfortable.

  “This isn’t a good time. I’m going out.” He made to move through the doorway but Detective Davis didn’t budge.

  “That’s too bad because we need you to come down to the station to answer some questions.” Detective Herbert stood just behind Detective Davis, so that their combined bulk filled the doorway.

  “I’ll come in the morning with my lawyer,” James said.

  Detective Davis made no attempt to move out of his way, instead he looked down the hall and saw Marina sitting on the carpet.

  She stared back at them but made no attempt to rise. She knew she must look odd sitting there, her hand still covering the blood spot.

  “Strange place to sit,” Detective Davis commented.

  Marina’s mouth opened but she didn’t say anything. Panic sat in her chest. She could feel her heart thumping. Lizzie’s fear was her fear.

  James walked over and pulled her to her feet. She felt woozy and he supported her with his arms as she tried to get her equilibrium back.

  The moment she stood, she saw Detective Davis’s gaze dart to the blood spot.

  He walked in and bent to examine it. “Blood,” he said to his partner.

  Detective Herbert nodded. “Too fresh for the latest one.” He placed his hands on his hips. “We want you to come down to the station to answer questions regarding the murder of Ms. Serena Porter.”

  Marina gasped. She felt James’s body stiffen beside hers.

  “I don’t know who she is,” he said.

  “Your girlfriend does, don’t you, Ms. Henry?” nodded Detective Herbert. “It’s another one of your clients. The way you’re going, you won’t have any left.”

  “Not Serena.” Her fingernails dug into James’s arm. His grip tightened protectively around her.

  Marina didn’t miss the sharp glance that passed between the two detectives.

  “Marina has nothing to do with this. Nor do I,” James said.

  But the cops would keep searching until they found something to pin on them, Marina thought. That was the way it had been so far.

  “Serena said she was going back to Melbourne on the weekend,” Marina said, finding her voice. “She was only here on business. I told her not to date. I told her there was a psychopath on the loose.” Her voice was high with distress, it barely sounded like her own.

  James’s grip tightened protectively around her waist.

  “Seems like she didn’t take your advice. A fishing boat pulled her out of the Harbour this morning. Makes it hard to determine the time of death when they’ve been fish bait. Forensics are working on it,” Detective Herbert said, his speech bullet-like.

  Marina gasped. “I can’t bear it.”

  Detective Davis said to James, “While they’re doing that, we want you down at the station. We want to know your exact movements for the past five days.”

  “This is harassment. You’ve already interviewed my boss this week. You know what I’ve been doing. I’ve been in Canberra at a trade fair and I can prove it.”

  “So was Serena Porter. We’ve checked the hotel records. She was staying at the same hotel as you. Nice way to get to know someone. Make them feel safe. When did you contact her again?”

  Detective Herbert took a menacing step forward.

  “I told you. I’ve never met her.” James’s stomach muscles tensed. He thrust his chin forward. “You’re not pinning this on me.”

  “We’ve accounted for Monday and Tuesday of this week,” Detective Herbert said. “We know Ms. Porter was last seen alive on Wednesday when she had her appointment with Ms. Henry here. The day you returned back from Canberra.”

  “My sister’s missing. I have to deal with that right now.”

  Detective Davis looked James over before settling on his waist. “There’s blood on your t-shirt.”

  “Huh?” More blood? He looked down.

  Marina pulled away from him.

  “There is blood,” she said. “Look James. There.” She pulled at the side of his t-shirt.

  He looked down to see a smear of blood. “How’d that get there?” He checked the rest of his clothing. “It’s nowhere else.”

  Marina saw the accusation in Detective Davis’s gaze.

  “Mind if we look around?” Detective Davis asked. He didn’t wait for a response, just pushed past James and Marina, looked left into Lizzie’s bedroom, then walked into the small kitchen.

  Detective Herbert checked the living room and James’s bedroom.

  Marina was about to tell them they were wasting their time, when Detective Davis reentered the narrow hallway from the kitchen, looked past them and said to his partner, “I think you should take a look at this.”

  James and Marina stepped aside as Detective Herbert strode past. They moved in behind the police to see what he had found.

  “More spells?” Detective Herbert said to Marina.

  “I don’t do spells. That’s Lizzie’s thing.”

  James groaned. “What has Lizzie been up to?”

  Whatever it was, Marina was certain it was going to look bad in front of the cops. She entered the kitchen, squeezing in behind the police trying to look around Detective Herbert’s shoulder. She saw drops of blood on the Formica kitchen table alongside Lizzie’s spell book.

  “Not good,” James groaned. He shook his head as Detective Herbert slipped on a pair of plastic gloves and picked a blood-smeared envelope and folded it into a plastic bag. “Can you explain this?”

  “No,” James said.

  “Let me see,” Marina said.

  James moved back into the hall to let her see better.

  Both detectives stepped aside and Marina slipped around them. “Lizzie’s spell book is open. Vanquishing mortals,” she read out loud. “Look, the spell requires human blood. Why would she be doing that?”

  “It’s just another of Lizzie’s dumb spells. Lizzie does these nutty things. All the time. If it’s not spells, it’s visualization. If it’s not visualization, it’s something else. It’s harmless.”

  “Women are being murdered in this city. Strangled and dumped in the Harbour. There’s nothing harm
less about that,” Detective Davis said. He reached out and grabbed James by the arm. “You’re coming with us.”

  “Are you arresting me? Aren’t you supposed to be reading me my rights or something?

  “Detaining you. We don’t have enough on you to arrest you,” Detective Davis said.

  “Not yet,” Detective Herbert joined in. “But we have our boss on us night and day to find this killer and that’s what we’re going to do.” He reached out and grabbed James too. Marina saw his hand bite into James’s forearm. He nodded to his partner. “The waxer and the weirdo. Nice couple.”

  “All we have to do is find the witch and we’ll have this case stitched up,” Detective Davis said.

  “Are you crazy?” Marina cried. “This is not the man you want.”

  “I suppose you know who it is then?” Detective Herbert rounded on her.

  “Of course I don’t,” she shouted. She glared at him. “And if you were any good at your job you’d be helping us find Lizzie.”

  “The witch,” said Detective Herbert obviously enjoying Marina’s fury.

  She gave him a filthy look.

  “Your boyfriend’s got what looks to be her blood on him. Now she’s missing. Of course he doesn’t know anything about it. He never does. Let’s see it his memory comes back in the station when we question him.”

  “And stick around. We’ll be questioning you soon, too,” Detective Herbert added.

  Detective Davis gave James a tug and he stiffened, his fists clenched.

  “Don’t fight them, James,” Marina warned, “you’ll give them a reason to charge you.”

  He let them frog march him to the door. “Marina, get that card I gave you. Call my lawyer.”

  “I will,” she answered.

  “You can call him yourself from the station,” Detective Davis said, his tone nasty. “You’re going to need all the help you can get.”

  Marina raced into her bedroom, picked her handbag off the floor where she’d dumped it and tugged at the zipper. The zip stuck. She clawed at it. Tears splashed on her hands. “Argh!” Lizzie was missing and now James was gone too. How long could the police hold James? His lawyer would know. If she could just find the card.