Long, Lean and Lethal

by O'Clare, Lorie

  “Who did she call?” He glanced at the vent next to the toilet when a burst of laughter rang out downstairs.

  More than likely, Rain had returned to the party, assuring everyone that Noah simply needed to take a call pertaining to work and would join them soon. He hated leaving her down there with those vultures, but so far she was holding her own pretty good. It was an odd group down there.

  “The first number was a track cell phone, which can’t be traced other than where it was purchased. That’s being investigated right now. But the second number is registered to an Oscar and Elaine Phillips. Local police dispatched a car to their house to question them.”

  That explained why the couple didn’t return to the party. And if time of death was around eight, both Joanna and the Porters showed up after eight. Everyone else was accounted for, except those names in the group who weren’t here. Noah didn’t know whether they’d planned to come, though, or not.

  Noah glanced at his watch. It was almost ten thirty. “I’ll touch base with you in about an hour.”

  “That’s right. You’re at your swingers’ party tonight, aren’t you?”

  “Yup.” He closed his eyes and pinched his nose, praying she wouldn’t ask how he was handling it. Brenda hated Laurel for what she did to Noah, but then over the years Noah noticed Brenda didn’t like any woman he allowed into his life. It wasn’t jealousy. There wasn’t anything in Brenda’s actions that ever suggested her interest in him went anything beyond her claiming him to be one of her best agents. But she was the protective mother hen. “And I really shouldn’t leave Rain alone too long with all of them,” he added.

  “Anyone arrive after eight?”

  “Several people.”

  “Is Rain enjoying herself in that environment?”

  “About as much as I am. I need to go join her.”

  Brenda was silent for a moment. “Noah, be careful.”

  “I’m fine.” He stood when music started downstairs. “I’ve got to go.”

  “I know when you’re fine and when you aren’t,” she said quickly, her tone too smooth, too confident. “She’s a cop, Noah, from Lincoln, Nebraska. You’re on a rebound from a terrible falling-out. I worried putting you in this atmosphere might be hard on you, but I needed my best man for this one. Just don’t let her get to you.”

  This time he hung up without saying good-bye, and wondered if Brenda noticed that he’d picked up on her lack of phone etiquette. He didn’t want a lecture, though. It pissed him off that she would cross that line and imply that he’d done the same. There was nothing that he’d done, or said, that could lead Brenda to think that Rain was getting under his skin.

  Shoving his cell phone into his clip on his belt and making sure the flat beeper in his shirt pocket was secure, he opened the bathroom door. Steve Porter stood in the dark hallway.

  “Care to use my office?” Noah offered, stepping around the cheap-looking man and heading toward the kitchen and the stairs to the family room.

  “Must suck to have to work on a Friday night.”

  “It’s the price of success, I’m afraid, my friend,” Noah said all too cheerfully, deciding it would be more fun to annoy the crap out of the pretentious pig than to release his aggravation and get pissed at the creep.

  “Success?” Steve wore more of Joanna’s musky perfume than he did of his own cheap cologne. “Is that why you bought into a middle-class neighborhood?”

  Noah turned in the kitchen doorway, and then wagging his index finger, he stepped toward Steve, taking his time in choosing his words.

  “You know,” he began confidentially. “I’ve learned that buying a home outright, instead of taking a mortgage, and then fixing it up and listing it again is a hell of a way to create extra income. Talk to me sometime if you’re interested. Rain is excited to have Joanna help her with the re-decorating, and I hear that Patty is a Realtor. I thought I’d let her list it here in a couple years. She’s one hell of a hot lady, and successful, too, am I right?”

  Steve stared at Noah a moment, obviously speechless. Then, leaning in the doorway, while music thumped loudly downstairs, Steve grinned in the darkness and started laughing.

  “She’s one hell of a hot little piece of ass. Just don’t ever turn your back on her,” he said, wagging his eyebrows. He rubbed his fingertips, which appeared nicely manicured, up and down the wedge in the doorway and glanced past Noah, as if someone else might sneak up just to eavesdrop on them. “I can arrange for you to spend time with her, or Joanna, whenever it fits into your schedule. I’ve been thinking about pulling some new blood into our group as well, so if you’ve got any kinks, let me know, and I’m sure I can find the perfect partner for you.”

  Noah nodded and turned again as if to leave. “The wilder and more submissive, the better. But in case you haven’t noticed, I already have the perfect partner. Rain and I don’t do anything without each other.”

  “I’d keep a short leash on her if she were mine, too,” Steve added easily. “The hotter they are, the more coveted. And we’re all human; sometimes sampling a delicacy is too hard to pass up, even if we aren’t supposed to.”

  Steve nodded once, his expression sobering, and then turned into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him. Noah got the strongest urge to punch the guy’s lights out. The epitome of a fucking creep, and with just enough balls to admit he was one.

  Noah understood that Steve had just told him that if he had half a chance he’d fuck Rain, whether Noah was around or not. He wondered if Steve would rape her, and then pushed all doubt out of his mind. Anyone willing to openly confess they had no scruples would do whatever they wanted for their own gain. Possibly even murder.

  Old disco thumped loudly, causing the banister to vibrate when Noah held on to it and paused at the bottom of the stairs. Brandy, Joanna, and Jan were dancing topless, with Ted and Butch gyrating around them and all of them laughing and appearing not to have a care in the world. Joanna would be the only one in that group who could be named a suspect in Patty’s murder. He watched her until she spotted him and then pulled away from the group, sashaying toward him with her breasts barely bouncing as she held her hands over her head.

  “See anything you like?” she yelled into his ear after practically falling into him when he stepped off the stairs.

  “Plenty,” he said, grinning at her pleased and satisfied expression.

  Joanna wrapped her arms around him, pressing her bare breasts against his chest, but then looked over his shoulder. He watched her expression change. Was it fear, loathing, that he saw? Whatever emotion hit her when she saw Steve returning to the party, it disappeared quickly.

  Noah didn’t force her to choose but stepped to the side. He doubted she noticed him remove her hands from behind his neck and practically hand her to Steve. If Noah let her continue to cling to him, or even responded to her teasing, Steve would strut right on over to Rain. And that wasn’t going to happen.

  Rain sat on the coffee table next to Susie, and the two appeared engaged in a serious conversation. They were huddled close, their faces inches from each other, to be heard over the music. More than likely Rain had watched Joanna meet Noah at the bottom of the stairs, even though she didn’t look at him now. When he walked over to join them, she looked up and then stood.

  “Susie wants this party to be at our house next time,” Rain whispered into his ear.

  Noah ran his hands down her back and then cupped her ass. He moved his mouth over her cheek to her ear, and then nibbled her lobe. The chill he gave her was so noticeable that he was instantly hard.

  “Sounds like a blast,” he whispered, and then pulled his head back far enough to stare into her face.

  Her expression bordered on comical, and he fought the urge to laugh. If he didn’t know better, he’d guess she wasn’t having that much fun. Granted, they were among some of the most bizarre company he’d ever encountered. Picking a murderer out of this crowd was going to be one hell of a challenge.
/>
  It wasn’t hard to convince Rain to leave. They’d stayed at the party to the point where fornicating was going to start at any moment. That wasn’t why they were here. His ears were ringing when they headed to the rental car, and he desperately needed a shower to remove the perfume that clung to his clothes.

  “I think the first thing we should do is create notes, writing down everything we know about each of these people,” Rain said, speaking for the first time since they left the party.

  “Sounds good.” At the sidewalk, he glanced up and down the street and took Rain’s arm when a couple approached. “How’s it going?” he asked, announcing their presence.

  Rain obviously was lost in thought, possibly already mulling over the mental list she’d created, because she looked up quickly.

  “We’re sorry if we startled you. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Oscar Phillips and this is my wife, Elaine. Is the party over already?” Oscar sounded weary yet smiled and glanced toward the house. “Honestly, I’m not sure why we returned.”

  As his words faded out, his wife, Elaine, looked up at him and then squeezed his arm. She offered Noah and Rain a pleasant smile. The couple were possibly in their mid-forties but attractive looking. If Noah didn’t already know they’d had an evening from hell, he possibly wouldn’t have guessed how distraught they were at the moment.

  “No, the party isn’t over,” Rain offered. “If Noah didn’t have to get up and head out to work in the morning, we’d probably stay longer.”

  “We know that one,” Elaine said, smiling. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to visit with the two of you. Have they announced where next month’s party will be yet?”

  Rain shook her head, making a coughing sound. “Well, Susie suggested that it be at our house,” she began.

  “Wow. You must have made an impression. She hasn’t chosen our home yet for the parties. And dear, that wasn’t a suggestion. Susie says where the parties will be every month. We will all be at your home.” Elaine actually looked envious.

  “Well, we haven’t confirmed yet,” Noah explained.

  Oscar scowled, looking at Noah like he didn’t quite understand what Noah just said. “Are you not going to stay with our group?”

  “Huh? No. That isn’t what I meant. We had a really good time tonight. Both of us hated leaving.” Noah studied the couple, noting when both of their faces relaxed at the same time and they again smiled. Their confusion when he said he and Rain hadn’t confirmed next month’s party was odd. But then the whole lot of them were odd. “We’ll be at next month’s party no matter where it is.”

  “If Susie says the party is at your house next month, it’s at your house,” Elaine said. “You don’t tell Susie no.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Rain laughed and then crossed her arms against a swift breeze that brought a hard chill to the air. “What’s there to say no to? Susie is so quiet, she barely uttered a word. You make it sound like she rules the roost or something.”

  “I wouldn’t talk about her that loudly,” Elaine said, fluttering her hands in front of her as if to hush both of them.

  Oscar quickly wrapped his arm around his wife and tucked her in against him. “Don’t let Susie fool you,” he said quietly. “And please, please don’t ever cross her.”

  Elaine looked up at her husband quickly, her lips parting as if she would speak. Oscar looked down at her and made a shooshing sound, then took her hand in his while still holding her.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered to her. “We can say that much. I don’t see any harm in that. They’re new and we’re helping them understand.”

  “Who’s to say where harm lies?” Elaine whispered, suddenly sounding terrified.

  “Is everything okay with you two?” Noah asked, wondering if they would bring up Patty.

  “Fine. We’re fine.” Oscar answered too quickly, making it grossly apparent everything was far from fine.

  “We should go in now,” Elaine said. She glanced from Noah to Rain, her smile so forced it was hard not to press further as to what bothered them. But already she pushed her husband toward the house. “Hopefully we’ll be in touch before next month’s party.”

  Noah watched the two of them hurry toward the house, damn near running and then disappearing into the shadows along the side of the house as they headed around back.

  “My God,” Rain said, exhaling, and then walked out of his arms and around to the passenger side of the rental.

  Rain didn’t say much on the ride to their house, which apparently now they had a month to turn into a home. Noah prayed the case would be solved long before that.

  He learned years ago never to assume the obvious was true. But if it was, there were only a few suspects who could have killed Patty. And the logical guess would be, find that killer and they had their murderer for the previous crimes. Then they would learn why the Swinging Killer in Lincoln was imitating the murders occurring in Kansas City and in Dallas.

  Rain pulled out her phone and punched a number into it without saying anything. “This is Detective Rain Huxtable. My ID number is four-six-two-four-five. I need Detective Al Gomez’s personal cell-phone number, please.”

  Rain shot him a quick glance before adjusting her phone between her ear and her shoulder. “Repeat that, please? … Yes. Two-five-five-four. Got it.” Slapping her phone shut, she looked at him again. “Take me to the house so I can change, then let’s see if we can’t at least go take a look at Patty’s car. It’s already been impounded, so we should be safe.”

  It was midnight when they pulled outside a well-locked privacy fence to the wrecker service that had towed Patty’s car. Rain jumped out on her side, now wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and tennis shoes. Her hair was still pulled back in the ponytail, though, and floated down her back when she walked ahead of him with the tow truck driver, who spit chew as he willingly rambled on about being called to go get Patty’s car.

  “We get calls like this every now and then,” he told Rain, and then reached for the lock that secured all of the vehicles behind the large wooden fence. “I had to take this one personally, since I knew PD needed someone there ASAP.”

  “Where was the car when you got there?” Rain asked, stepping out of the way when he started opening the gate.

  “It had rolled out of the driveway and was blocking over half the road. That’s a pretty nice part of town over that way. You got the address?”

  “Yes. We’ve got it,” Noah told him.

  The wrecker driver looked Noah’s way, nodded once, and then aimed and spit behind Rain. Then flipping on a heavy-duty flashlight, the driver gestured with it as he headed into his lot.

  “When I got there, the body was gone. There isn’t much blood inside the car. You should see some of the suicides I’ve picked up. Blood and brain matter splattered all over the place. I reckon this lady wanted to go in style.”

  Noah didn’t comment on the man’s assumption that it was a suicide, and Rain remained quiet as well.

  “You mind if we borrow your flashlight for a moment?” Rain asked the man.

  “Well …”

  Rain quickly pulled out her badge and flipped it open, then shoved it into the light from the flashlight. “We’re not going to remove anything from the vehicle. We just want to take a look.”

  “That’s fine.” He smiled at Rain and let her take his flashlight.

  He then looked Noah’s way when Rain headed toward the car. A patrol car pulled up behind where Noah had parked their rental, and Al hopped out, then hurried to join them.

  She held her badge up for the wrecker service owner to see but focused her attention on Noah. “You two are quick. When Rain called me to find out where the car was towed, I figured I had at least twenty minutes. Have fun at your party?”

  She grinned easily at him, and he imagined that very little upset or got past the spunky, short cop.

  “You should go with us next time,” he said, and managed not to crack a smile when her eyes wid
ened. He turned before allowing her response time, and followed Rain through the maze of cars.

  “That’s it.” Al also carried a small flashlight and raced it from one end to the other of the pristine-looking Mazda RX-8. “New window and she’ll be good as new.”

  “I’m sure her next of kin will be thrilled to hear that,” Rain said dryly, and then turned to look at Al. “I need gloves.”

  The three of them traipsed back to Al’s patrol car, pulled latex gloves out of the trunk, and then, donning them, returned to the car.

  “You all going to be that long?” The tow truck driver rubbed his head and then made a show of yawning loudly. “The cops have already been all over that thing. What do you have to do to it?”

  “We won’t be long.” Noah only gave the guy a moment’s attention. The three of them could take as long as they wanted, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  Obviously the guy knew that. He mumbled something and then walked over to the gate, leaving them to their work.

  Noah caught up with Rain and reached for the flashlight.

  She clamped down on it. “You get to drive. I get to hold the flashlight,” she grumbled.

  “Fine,” he told her, itching to stroke a loose strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail away from the side of her face. Instead he wrapped his hand over hers and aimed the flashlight at the driver’s side door. “See how far the window is rolled down? Patty recognized her killer and started rolling her window down to talk to them.”

  “That or she simply already had it cracked for air,” Rain said slowly, but then wrinkled her nose as she returned her focus to the car door.

  “I’m betting I’m right.” He held her hand firmly, both of them clasping the flashlight, and led them up to the side of the car. “You knew her better than I did.”

  “After a thirty-minute conversation,” Rain added, and tugged on the flashlight as she opened the car door. Pulling harder while leaning into the car, she pointed with her free hand at the controls on the dash. “The air conditioner was on. Possibly you’re right. She didn’t strike me as a fresh air over air-conditioning kind of gal.”