Long, Lean and Lethal

by O'Clare, Lorie

  “What makes you think they’ve lined up their next victim?” She liked watching him when he brainstormed. Fighting the urge to cuddle into him, she focused on a tiny muscle twitch just above his jaw while he pressed his lips together and continued staring across the room.

  “Those two women wouldn’t have come over here if they didn’t believe danger still existed.” Finally he looked down at her, searching her face. “We’re going to find out where Joanna lives. You said she told you it was nearby. And you said she didn’t mention needing to get back from her lunch.

  “Good idea. Joanna spoke her mind more than Patty. If she knows something, I know I can get it out of her, especially if Patty isn’t with her to warn her to be quiet.”

  “We’re going to pay that sexy redhead an unannounced visit just like she did to us.”

  SEVEN

  The murders were going to start garnering national attention. It would be known the FBI was involved. When Noah talked to Brenda earlier on the phone, she didn’t need to tell him the media would destroy his cover in their effort to exploit the victims and the lifestyle they led prior to their deaths. Their killer would go into hiding or on a rampage, depending on his or her nature. And of course Brenda insisted on pointing out that he didn’t even have a profile worked up yet on their murderer. In no few words, she informed Noah his time was up in molding his partner into his hot and compliant wife.

  When he returned to the house, and the period of time that immediately followed, showed Noah how close he and Rain had become in the past two days. Her frustration and something akin to panic when he first showed up at the house and then later, after they decorated and unpacked the television, were as noticeable as the perfume she wore. When they wrestled, her fierce urge to win, as well as her sexual arousal, was as clear to him as the big grin on her face. The passion that ripped through her attacked him harder than he thought it would. Even as she fought it and forced the conversation to stay on the case, he felt her. They were becoming a team, good partners, and not just working partners.

  As he stood next to Rain, staring at Joanna Hill’s front door, he again felt her. She shifted her weight from foot to foot and then rubbed her hands against her hips. If he judged by her actions, he’d say she was anxious, eager to talk to Joanna and learn something, anything that would bring them closer to their murderer. He didn’t need to watch Rain physically to know that about her. Noah felt the same way.

  But it was more than her actions that helped him know Rain. Her emotions ripped him open and burrowed deep inside his gut until he felt them, too.

  Rain was determined. Within thirty minutes of him suggesting this visit, she had pulled the address and phone number for Joanna Hill off of the computer. Then touching up her makeup and brushing her hair, applying some more perfume, and glaring at her wardrobe until muttering something he didn’t catch, she was ready to go. In the car and standing next to her now, Noah easily grasped the level of her determination.

  “Doesn’t look like she came home.” Rain glanced around the front yard and then turned, clutching the handbag that hung on a narrow strap over her shoulder and housed her gun. “I’m going to walk around back,” she informed him, and then headed across the grass without waiting for his response.

  He stayed right on her heels. “You forget, sweetheart,” he whispered as they walked between Joanna’s house and the one next door, which was no more than possibly twelve feet away. “We’re a couple, not law enforcement. I’m not going to play eagle eye while you sniff out the backyard. We stick together.”

  “That’s fine.” She wore one of her sleeveless blouses that buttoned down the front. She’d tucked it into a straightcut tan skirt that showed off her long, slender legs. Rain ran circles around the redhead in the sex appeal department. “Let’s see if there’s a car parked inside her garage.”

  “What do we tell the nosy neighbors?” He stayed close but enjoyed how Rain didn’t hesitate and was quick to learn what she could at a scene.

  She glanced in both directions and, like him, saw no one. “That I’m new in town, just met Joanna and wanted to see if this was her home or if I had the wrong address.” She looked up at him, searching his face as she offered a cocky grin, but then brushed her hair over her shoulder and headed across the backyard to a single-car detached garage.

  Rain stretched and leaned over short shrubs to see in a dirty window. “Holy crap. Mustang—’67, I think. Automatic. Leather seats.” She cupped her hands on either side of her face and pressed them against the window as she stared into the garage. “Miss Joanna Hill does okay for herself if this is her weekend cruise-mobile.”

  The garage was built sideways behind the house and opened up toward an alley. Noah looked toward the alley when a car made gravel pop as it approached. He protectively put his hand on Rain’s waist and pulled her away from the window.

  “We’ve got company.”

  Rain nodded and backed away from the window. She pressed her backside against his front and he watched over her head as a small two-door Hyundai appeared. Joanna sat behind the driver’s wheel and froze, letting the car idle a moment before angling it toward the garage door.

  “Let me do the talking,” Rain whispered, and then pulled away from him, waving as she walked to Joanna’s car.

  Joanna looked terrified, as if she considered turning tail and running. After a moment, though, she pulled her car in front of the closed garage door and cut the engine.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her expression strained, although she sounded like she put some effort into appearing cheerful.

  “Returning the favor of arriving unannounced?” Rain said cheerfully. Ignoring Joanna when she stopped in her tracks and frowned, Rain sidled up to her and slipped her arm around Joanna’s. “Truthfully, you must have known I couldn’t stand you leaving me without clarifying why you and Patty wouldn’t want us at the potluck. We’re good people.”

  “I’m really sorry. I’m sure we hurt your feelings and that does suck. I could say it wasn’t my idea, but that would make Patty sound like a bitch. And she’s pretty cool, actually.” Joanna glanced at Noah several times with large blue eyes filled with more than curiosity.

  “Are you busy right now? Make it up to us by inviting us inside.” Rain didn’t show any intention of letting go of Joanna’s arm as they walked past him toward the house. “We’re going to prove to you that we’re people worth knowing.”

  “I’m sure you are. And that doesn’t have anything to do with it.” They reached the door and Joanna looked over her shoulder at Noah. “And of course you two can come in.”

  “That’s a nice ’stang you have out there in your garage,” Noah told her when they entered the house through the back door. As simple as the house looked on the outside, inside “modern” didn’t describe the atmosphere. “And Rain looked first,” he added, winking when Joanna dropped her purse on the bar in the middle of the kitchen and easily drawing a large grin for his efforts.

  “I’ve never been accused of being shy.” Rain shrugged and then ran her finger over the shiny chrome top of the stove. “This kitchen is magnificent. How trendy! What did you say you do for a living?”

  “I’m an interior decorator. I did work for a company downtown, but we had a few differences of opinion. I started my own business two years ago and I’m doing okay for myself. I’ll give you a tour.”

  Noah managed to get closer to Joanna while she took them from room to room, showing off a home that could be the feature of a magazine. Even the bathroom was spacious. Rain walked in farther than he did and admired the mirror-covered cabinets hung on the wall. She opened one and Noah caught a glimpse of a variety of massage oils. The headboard on a king-size bed in the bedroom had several different-shaped and-sized dildos, along with a few condoms.

  Joanna didn’t have a problem letting anyone know how much she enjoyed sex. As she moved around and definitely put some effort into showing off a fair amount of cleavage, Noah didn’t won
der for a second whether her breasts were real or not. Joanna paid good money for the body she appeared eager to flaunt before him. He wondered if her breasts would even bounce during the throes of hot sex.

  “Rain was really upset after you and your friend left,” Noah told Joanna when they returned to the kitchen. “Tell us why it’s in our favor to search for another group of swingers.”

  Joanna opened her refrigerator and pulled out several bottles of flavored water. Then plopping down on one of the wooden stools surrounding the bar in the middle of her kitchen, she pushed a bottle toward him and Rain.

  “I started swinging when I was in college,” she told him while sitting with a slight arch to her back, which was probably intentional to aid in showing off her large fake breasts. “And I moved here right after college, which was not quite ten years ago. Lincoln is a good town and there are a lot of good parties and swinger groups you can become part of around here. I moved in a few different circles until I met Ned and his wife, Brandy.”

  “The butcher,” Rain interrupted, and untwisted the lid on her bottle. “He and I chatted the night we moved in.” She looked to Noah for confirmation.

  He nodded. “We went down and talked to him the next day and that is how we found out about the potluck.”

  Joanna’s smile made her blue eyes radiant. Redheads never appealed to him much, but he’d have to say she was very beautiful. He wondered if she was beautiful enough to kill for.

  “That’s Butch.” Joanna laughed and then wrapped her full lips around the bottle and took a long drink. She licked her moist lips and looked like she performed the act to get his reaction. “I met Steve Porter and his wife, Susie, next. For a while it was the five of us, but Butch found others to join our group. Steve is concerned about it getting much larger, but then he’s always been a bit possessive.”

  “Possessive?” Rain asked before Noah could. “How so?”

  “Maybe ‘protective’ is a better word. And I really do appreciate it,” Joanna added quickly, the glow in her eyes dulling for a brief moment.

  Rain glanced his way, and he’d bet she noticed something as well.

  “Did Patty tell us not to go to the potluck tomorrow night because it would upset Steve if new people showed up?” Rain asked.

  “No. Oh God, no. That never even crossed our minds.” Joanna reached out and touched Rain’s hand. “Steve is the kindest, most generous man I’ve ever known,” she said, her tone softening. “And like I said, I appreciate it. I really do.”

  The action seemed almost too much when the suggestion was so petty. Joanna said she was appreciative, not that she liked Steve.

  “Then why did Patty ask us not to go?” Rain demanded.

  Joanna stared at her for a long moment. She shot Noah a furtive glance once or twice and then finally stared down at her water bottle. Slowly, she started peeling the label from the plastic, a sure sign of someone who was very nervous about something.

  “Because we’re jinxed, okay?” Joanna jumped up from her stool as if something bit her and then walked around the bar to the counter.

  Rain shifted on her stool to watch Joanna, and Noah kept his attention on her, too, knowing she was seconds away from telling them what they wanted to hear. If he pushed her, she would shut up. He knew Rain kept glancing at him, but he wouldn’t let his attention from Joanna be swayed. All he could do was pray Rain wouldn’t say or do anything to spook Joanna.

  “Jinxed?” Rain sounded in awe but didn’t look his way when he frowned at her. “You mean as in bad luck happens to everyone who meets one of you?”

  “People are dying,” Joanna whispered, suddenly looking very terrified.

  “What?” Noah said, knowing if she came this far, she would tell them everything she knew. The words had left her mouth. Now they could press for more information. “What do you mean, dying?”

  “Oh, I don’t know why everyone is throwing a fit that you not be told. It’s starting to be all over the news. They did a piece on it last night.” Joanna brushed her fingers over her thick red hair. She pulled several thick, long strands forward over her shoulder and started twisting them nervously between her fingers. “They aren’t just dying. Someone is murdering them.”

  “These are people in your swingers’ group?” Rain asked, jumping in once again before he could say a word. “I saw that piece on the news,” she lied. “You’ve got to tell me what you know.” Rain sounded like she had just stumbled on the best gossip in town, and when she grabbed Joanna’s arm Joanna jumped but then noticeably relaxed when she let out a long, slow breath.

  “Is someone in the group killing them?” Noah asked.

  Joanna’s blue eyes were large and suddenly looked moist. “Yes. People I know, that I’ve played with—had sex with—are being killed. And no. Oh, no way. No one I know would do anything like this. You’ll see when you meet them.” She looked down at the floor and put her fingers over her lips. “If you meet them,” she added quietly.

  Rain put her arm around Joanna’s shoulder. “We had no idea,” she said, her tone soothing. “Why don’t you tell us everything you know? Noah always says that it’s best to get everything off your chest. Sometimes telling a stranger is easier than sharing your feelings with people you know really well.”

  Joanna looked at him at the same time that Rain did. Both were sexy as hell. While Rain looked at him pensively, Joanna’s moist gaze regained some of its glow and she smiled.

  “There’s nothing better than a good-looking man who is a good listener, too.” She smiled, the corners of her mouth barely turning up. “I admit I wish your first impression of me was something a bit more alluring.”

  Noah smiled and crossed his arms over the bar, continuing to shift his attention from one woman to the next. “You’re beautiful, Joanna, and I can see that you’re upset. I can only imagine that when you aren’t upset you’re breathtaking.”

  Rain’s expression was suddenly masked. It didn’t take much investigative skill to see Rain didn’t like him flirting with Joanna. He wouldn’t focus on what might happen, or not happen, after this case was over. But at the moment, something swelled inside him with the knowledge Rain wouldn’t encourage this type of extracurricular activity the way Laurel did.

  “Oh.” Joanna turned to Rain and grinned so broadly her entire face lit up. “I swear you have the best man on the planet.”

  “I think so,” Rain said softly, and graced him with a smile that damn near made him hard. She patted Joanna’s shoulder and then dropped her hand to her side. “Now please, tell us everything. I feel so out of the loop not watching the news for the past week or so.”

  “Moving is a bitch,” Joanna pointed out. “I’m so lucky to have this place. I hope I don’t have to move again,” she added wistfully, making it sound as if she hadn’t lived here long, although she appeared very settled in the nice, small home. Downing a few quick swallows of her water, she straightened and tugged at her sweater, showing off some distracting cleavage. “Like I said, I don’t know that I buy into keeping you two in the dark, or discouraging you privately, without letting the group know, to stay away from us.” She walked in between them, again pressing her hands over her clothes and smoothing them, drawing attention to her narrow waist. “We were a tight group, the Gamboas, Flynns, and Porters being friends forever, and then I came along. Patty joined us at least four years ago or so. And for quite a while it was the eight of us. We even went on a cruise together a few years ago. I think around two years ago or so the Lapthornes and Swansons started coming to all of our events.” She stopped and made a show of clearing her throat. Then taking a minute to get into her refrigerator, she pulled out a chunk of cheese and moved to her counter, grabbing a knife and cutting board. “I don’t know about you two, but a snack sounds good. Anyone for cheese and crackers? Or are either of you lactose intolerant? I have special cheese and milk in the refrigerator. Steve is lactose intolerant.”

  “No, we’re fine.” Rain glanced at Noah and rais
ed an eyebrow when Joanna turned her back.

  He nodded once, barely moving his head to let Rain know he had picked up on that, too. They might be a tight group, but apparently the single Miss Joanna entertained here as well. Noah wondered if she entertained Steve alone and, if so, did his wife know?

  “The Handels and Hinderses only started coming to our parties about a year and a half ago,” Joanna continued.

  “So you had seven couples and then you and Patty?” Rain asked. “Why no single men? Are single women sought out the most in your group?” she asked, focusing on Noah, her expression easily read. Noah had no doubts he’d get an earful that she might have been able to crack this case alone if they’d known prior to now that a single lady would be welcomed.

  “We were a good-sized group of partiers there for a while,” Joanna said, glancing at her as she sliced cheese. “But no, no more single ladies. I’m positive the group wouldn’t allow any other single women, whether they were bi or straight, to become part of our group.”

  “Why is that?” Rain asked again.

  Joanna raised and dropped her shoulder lazily and then turned, with the cutting board and knife and half a chunk of cheese left over with a layer of neatly sliced squares lying over each other. She placed the cutting board on the bar and smiled at Noah. In a different atmosphere, he would swear her quiet smiles were an invitation. But here, and now, he simply gave her a comforting smile in return. Glancing past her, when Joanna turned, he caught the scowl on Rain’s face that faded quickly when Joanna moved.

  “We’re like the hot commodity within our group, and most of the guys will do anything for us. But you bring too many single women around and you’re inviting trouble. I know I would vote against any more singles in our group.” She opened a cabinet and grabbed a box of crackers and then poured some of them onto the cutting board. “Is it too early for wine? That would go perfectly with these.”