The Wages of Cin (Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries Book 4) (12 page)

“That’s shoddy police work,” I said.

“That’s the way it is sometimes.  The judge agreed, and Elijah was acquitted.”  Buslowski set a few papers aside and picked up a handful.  “Now for the rest of the band.  Manuel is wanted for having sex with an underage girl.”

“Pedophile?” I asked.

“Not exactly, he was eighteen and she was fifteen, and it was in Connecticut.  He confessed and was given a warning.  Meyer has form for assault which, after researching the arrests, seemed to me like he was more the receiver than the doer of the violence.  A couple of bar fights.  Gareth was picked up for underage drinking and shoplifting when he was a kid.”

“Sounds like kind of run-of-the-mill stuff,” Harry said.

“They are still crimes.  Were you aware of any of them when the band was performing?” he asked me.

“Nope.”

“Yes, it was before social media took off.  All this stuff was neatly hidden.  The manager must have had to pay out to keep a few of these incidents unreported by the press.”

“Tom Richards seems devoted to the band members,” I observed.  Buslowski smiled and picked up a sheet of paper.  “Don’t tell me Tom’s got form.”

“No, he’s squeaky clean. It’s Susan who’s got a violent streak.”

“Not that kind lady?” Harry said.  “She reminds me of a classy Sunday school teacher I had in my youth.”

“I thought she was pretty savvy and balanced,” I said.

“She was picked up for assault on a number of occasions,” he said, handing me the sheet.  There it was in black and white.  Susan Richards had form for hitting her hair stylist, punching a rival when she was in a beauty pageant, and striking a police officer who pulled her over for speeding.  I passed it to Harry.

He read it with his mouth hanging open.

“Dave, was this everything?” I asked.

“Everything that was charged.  There were other complaints, but the victims never pressed charges.  Could be that money was exchanged.  Her parents were wealthy people.  The house they live in is her childhood home.”

“I suspected Tom didn’t earn that much off of the bands he managed.  He’s a sweetheart, and I bet he hands out more than he earns,” I guessed.

“That’s the idea I got when I interviewed him,” Buslowski reported.

“Phew!  So you weren’t exaggerating,” I said as I fixed myself another drink.  I didn’t bother to measure the whiskey; I wanted the familiar numbing effects to push away the odd way I was feeling.

“I never exaggerate. I leave that to Harry,” he teased.

“Okay, about last night…”

“I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation,” Buslowski said.

“Since when?” I said.

“Since you became a suspect.  You know that most of the guests suspect you offed the woman for Elijah.”

I sat back.  It was my turn to have my mouth hang open.  “Do I give that bad an impression?”

“I’m not the only one privy to the internet, Cin.  You’ve got form in England.”

“I was never arrested!”

“Only because the officer in charge spoke up for you.”

“It seems the rumor mill has been working overtime to jade my reputation,” I said, putting my head down on the counter.

Buslowski patted me on the back.  “Come on, Cin, I don’t believe you offed her. I think you’re the only one who didn’t know that you were Elijah’s new girlfriend.”

“Great,” was all I said.  I sat up, but only to down the rest of my drink.

“Whoa, Cin, that’s not going to help,” Harry said.  “Quick, before you get drunk, tell us who you think
didn’t
do it.”

“Oh, yeah.  I took the information I learned from Mandy about the bouncing red ball and figured that it was the killer.  When I got to her, the killer was still there.  Sidney and Manuel were with me when I first heard Mandy’s screams.”

Buslowski seemed pleased.  “Who else was with you?”

“The coke sisters. I think Manuel’s fiancée was getting ready to beat me up.”

“Of course, Mandy could have killed her mother,” Buslowski pointed out.

“My gut says no.  I don’t get the kill vibe from either father or daughter,” I stressed.  “How about you, Harry?”

“Dave, I’m going to have to agree with Cin.”

“So that leaves Meyer, Gareth, Tom and Susan Richards,” Buslowski said.

“Interesting.  Damn, Elijah and Mandy are staying with the Richardses,” I said.

“I insisted that the Broadhursts not leave Palm Beach County,” Buslowski informed me and Harry.

“Could they stay here?” Harry asked.

“No!” I said, waving my hands in front of me.  “Those two can afford a hotel room; they don’t need to be in my house.”

“You’re in danger too if Mandy is.  It would be easier to watch the both of you in one place,” Dave said.

“Wait, I’ve got an idea,” Harry said.

“Go on,” Buslowski said.

“Have Cin move in with them at the Richards beach house.”

“Are you trying to get me killed?” I asked Harry.

Harry took his time answering.  “You would be able to keep your eye on the Richardses and keep Mandy safe,” he reasoned.  “Buslowski could have a few Kens within screaming distance.”

“Wait, what are Kens?” Buslowski asked.

I turned to him and explained, “The Palm Beach patrol officers look like Ken dolls - you know, Barbie and Ken?”

“I know Barbies, I raised a daughter.  I can see the resemblance.  So you call any Palm Beach cops Ken?”

“If they’re male. I suspect there aren’t any females on patrol,” I commented.

“What do you call my guys?”

Harry started to say something, but I got to him in time.  I removed Harry from the kitchen with my hand over his big mouth.

I served Dave another helping of Harry’s casserole.  We were still brainstorming.  I made it very clear that I didn’t want to bunk in at the Richardses'.  “Couldn’t you collect their passports and release the Broadhursts?”

He nodded.  “I already did.”

I pointed a fork at him.  “You’re on my list.”

“You have a list?” he questioned.  “I have lists, and you’re on a few of them, along with Harry.”

“Hey, don’t go lumping me in with her,” Harry warned.  “We may be partners, but we are two very different people.”

Alex walked in the kitchen sleepy-eyed.

“About time you got up,” Harry commented.

“I was up all night too,” he said, taking a plate and heaping on several large servings of the casserole.

“Hello, Dave,” my son said.

“Good to see you, Alex.  Wait, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“Don’t say that to Buslowski. He’s armed,” Harry warned.

Dave looked at him sourly.  “What I wanted to ask you is, what do you think of Meyer?”

“He’s a good guy.  I think he’s gay, not that there is anything wrong with that, but I’m not sure that he’s out of the closet.  That’s sad,” Alex commented.  “He’s an excellent drummer.  He’s been making a lot of money at Disney World.  He offered to get me a job there, but I told him I was going back to school this fall and thanked him anyway.  Those Disney gigs are hard ones to get.”

“I heard that,” I said.  “We have several band members who’ve tried to get in.  The background checks are pretty tough.”

“I wonder how Meyer got in if he has form?” Harry asked.

“Maybe he lied,” I said.

“More likely he didn’t and explained the situation of each incident,” Buslowski said.

“Ah, I sense you already looked into it,” Harry said.

Dave smiled.

“You’re a very good investigator,” I said.

“I try to be.”

“So I imagine you’ve run Cin’s name a time or two,” Harry asked.

“Oh, she’s on my daily sheet.”

I forgot myself and hauled off and whacked him hard on the upper arm.

“That’s assaulting a police officer,” Harry said.

“Indeed it is, son.”

“Mom, you’re on your own,” Alex said, returning to his room.

“What are you going to do, cuff me again?” I sassed.

“No, but I think,” he said, getting off his stool and grabbing me, “with Harry’s help, I think you need to cool off,” he said, throwing me over his shoulder.

That traitor Harry opened the sliding door. Buslowski walked out with me and tossed me in the deep end of the pool.  I couldn’t help laughing at my predicament and swallowed a little water on the way down.  The pool’s lights were off, and the dark water was somewhat comforting.  Without the lights on, I could see the stars overhead.  I floated on my back, enjoying the warm feeling I got from the attention I was receiving from Buslowski.  I stayed in the pool.  I was too tempted to take my revenge which would have landed me back in the pool.  Buslowski was a strong guy.  He walked into the cabana bathroom and brought out a washcloth.

“While you’re in there, how about washing off that eyeliner.  You look like a…”

“Don’t,” I warned him as he bent down to hand me the cloth.

“Slut,” he enunciated slowly.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him in.  Unfortunately, it was on top of me.  We both broke the surface at the same time.  Harry was laughing as he brought out two beach towels.  He then left us.

“Kind of glad I don’t have to go back to work, Cin,” Dave said as he took off his shoes, drained the water out of them and set them on the pool deck.  Next came his shirt.  He twisted the water out of it and tossed it next to his shoes.

“Gee, I hope you stop there, pal. My kid’s in there.”

“Don’t worry, Cin.  I’m just getting more comfortable.”  With that comment, off came the pants.  Fortunately, he had on boxers.  “That’s better.  Now how did I end up here in the first place?”

“You called me a slut.”

“No, I said your makeup made you look like one.”

“That was six shades of unkind, Buslowski.”

He swam over and trapped me against the wall of the pool.  “When I walked in that bedroom and saw you in
his
jacket, holding onto
his
hand, with those cat eyes of yours challenging me, I could have spanked you.”

“Um, I was cold, and Mandy did my makeup prior to her mother being killed.”

“Why?”

“I cried mine off when I was told Sidney’s cancer was back.”

“The guy who dumped you?”

“One in the same.  Turns out he’s fine. Someone may have falsified the report Tom got.”

“Oh, baby, you have had a bad day.”  He asked, “How long had you been dating?”

“Well…” I hedged then mumbled, “a day, two at the most.”

He was visibly surprised.  It took a moment, but he calmed down and looked at me.  He ran his finger along my cheekbone.  “I suppose you slept with him.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“But if it were my business?”

“I hadn’t had sex for three years,” I explained.  “That’s twenty-one in dog years.”

“I thought you and the priest…”

“Um, he’s a priest, and I don’t think of him that way,” I lied.

His caressing finger stopped on my chin.  “How do you think of me, may I ask?”

Time out!  My brain screamed.  Here I was, with this ruggedly handsome man pressed up against my body.  The chemistry had always been there, but if I succumbed to his advances and had sex with him, that would be two men in three days, which would make me a major slag. If I’m already on Hell’s waiting list, this would seal the deal.  On the other hand, aside from Sidney, I hadn’t had any sex for three years…

“Aren’t you still married?” I asked.

“Divorced, papers were signed yesterday.  That’s why…”

“You came to borrow my ladder,” I realized.

“You still haven’t answered me.”

“What was the question?” I stalled, wiggling, trying to escape, which only trapped me further.

“How do you think of me?”

“Well…  I have a very high regard for your investigative abilities.”

“Cin,” he growled.

“Okay, I’m attracted to you and have been since you sat your butt down in my living room and started profiling.  But, Dave, you were married.”

“Well, I’m not now.  Do I have a chance with you?”

“I’ve just been dumped, I’m drunk, and I could be using you.  The boys are home and…”

He kissed me.  This wasn’t a I’m-going-to-seduce-you type of kiss, it was an I-own-you type of kiss.  And, at that moment, he did.  It erased all my objections. I saw myself proudly going to Slags Anonymous meetings.

The kitchen door slider opened, and Harry called out, “Alex and I are going to Musictown and then to the movies.  If you’re going to make a move on her, Buslowski, you have three hours in which to get up your courage.  Thank you and goodnight,” Harry said and shut the door.

“I’m going to kill him,” I said.

“Do you know what I’m thinking?” he asked.

“I’m afraid to find out,” I answered.

“I’m thinking that three hours isn’t enough time for what I’m thinking,” he said as he scooped up one of my ruined, waterlogged shoes and tossed it on the pool deck.  He took off the other one which was most difficult as I had wrapped my legs around him.  He kissed me again, this time he didn’t hesitate to illicit a response from me.  He was demanding, and I was so turned on.  I don’t know how we made it inside, but soon I found myself naked with Dave tracing every scar of mine with his fingers first and then his kisses.  I regretted not having more scars.