Leanne Banks - Hot Stuff

“She said she could nail a river rat at fifty paces.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Kellen said. “I ran a check on the house on Commonwealth. It’s owned by a holding company. And I was able to trace the holding company back to Ronald Bergman.”

“Big surprise.”

“Ronald is at the present time raping a forest in Central America and probably doesn’t even know he owns the house.”

“So you think Kitty and Marty use the house as a stopover for stolen stuff?”

“It’s possible.”

Kellen didn’t like where this was going. Bad enough that Kitty was probably crooked, but now she seemed to be targeting Cate.

“And what about Beast? Hard to believe they want him for his guard dog skills.”

“I already looked into Beast. The kennel owner seems to know Marty. He said Marty was in a couple weeks ago looking for a dog. He took a couple out for a walk and chose Beast. The kennel owner said he gave Marty a break on the price because Beast wasn’t show quality and didn’t totally have a guard dog personality. I’ve looked at Beast’s collar. It’s standard issue from the kennel. No secret pouch filled with stolen diamonds.”

“What about his water bowl?”

“I assumed you bought it in some doggie boutique.”

“Nope. Marty sent it from Puerto Rico.”

“I’ll take a look at it when I get home. Did you tell Kitty I have Beast staying with me?”

“No.”

“One less thing to worry about,” Kellen said, looking at his watch. “I have to get back to the house. How do you feel about all this? Would you feel safer if you moved in with me? Or do you want to stay here?”

“I’ll stay here. I’m doing a project for Julie, and I have to leave for work in a couple hours. This is my night to do setup.”

Kellen pulled her to him. She was warm in his arms and smelled like cake. He kissed her gently, lingering just long enough to make it painful to pull away. “Wish I had more time,” he said. “Call me if you change your mind or need help.”

“Give Beast a hug for me.”

A casual observer might look at the slightly paunchy man at the bar and think he was just another customer procrastinating the event of going home. The bar regulars knew the man was the bar owner, Gerald Evian. And Cate knew he only sat in this catatonic stupor when he was panicked. It was fifteen minutes to Marty’s first show and Marty was nowhere to be seen. Marty hadn’t called. Marty hadn’t e-mailed. Marty wasn’t answering his phone.

“I’m fucked,” Gerald Evian said.

Cate and Gina scurried away from Evian, refilling glasses, making sure no one was thirsty, and adding extra booze to the mixed drinks. In a half hour people would be demanding a drag queen, and they might be more forgiving if they were liquored up.

“Do you think Marty will show?” Gina asked Cate.

“No,” Cate said. “I think Marty’s in trouble.”

Julie had ordered Pugg to escort Cate to work and not let her out of his sight, and Pugg was now sitting at the end of the bar, watching the overhead television. It was close to eleven, and the bar was almost empty. Just a few morose drunks and Pugg and Evian.

“Hey,” Pugg said to Cate. “What’s the name of the guy you rent from?”

“Marty Longfellow.”

“There was just a news flash about him. They fished him out of the Charles River.”

All eyes fixed on the television screen, but the scrolling headline had moved on to game scores.

“Are you sure?” Cate asked.

“It said South End drag queen Marty Longfellow was found washed ashore at the Boston University Bridge. Police were investigating.”

Cate felt her stomach go hollow. “Poor Marty.”

“I’m out of a job,” Gina said.

Evian nodded agreement. “And I’m truly fucked.”

“We need new entertainment,” Gina said.

“Pugg could tell jokes,” Pugg said. “Would you like to hear some of Pugg’s jokes?”

“No,” everyone said in unison.

Kellen strolled into the bar and smiled at Cate. “Closing time?”

“Yes. And we just heard about Marty.”

“What did you hear?”

“That they found his body washed ashore at the BU Bridge.”

“That’s not entirely correct,” Kellen said. “I’ve been listening to the police band. Someone found Marty’s wig and a high-heeled pump size fourteen and Marty’s evening purse with identification inside at the water’s edge. They’re dragging the river near the scene, looking for a body.”

Cate gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of the police dragging the river for Marty’s body. Somehow it was even worse than having Marty’s body wash ashore.

“You can leave,” Evian said to Cate and Gina. “I’ll close up. Give me something to do besides think about bankruptcy.”

“Thanks for waiting,” Cate said to Pugg when they were outside.

“Pugg had strict instructions not to let you out of Pugg’s sight. Pugg shudders to think what would happen to him if he didn’t follow instructions. Pugg would be cut off from Julie’s affections. Pugg would be left to his own devices for sexual gratification.”

Kellen put an arm around Cate. “I’ll watch over her for the rest of the night,” he said to Pugg.

“No, no, no. Pugg is not allowed to leave Cate’s side until Cate is safely locked in her condo. Pugg will follow at a respectful distance.”

“It’s not necessary to follow at a distance,” Kellen said. “But it would be good if you didn’t say anything.”

“That’s too bad,” Pugg said, walking fast to keep pace with Kellen’s longer legs. “Pugg has many interesting things to say.”

“Such as?”

“Pugg is knowledgeable about the gooney bird. The gooney bird is actually an albatross, of the biological family Diomedeidae. They are among the largest of flying birds and range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They have become extinct in the North Atlantic. Pugg does not know why this is.”

“I didn’t know that,” Cate said.

“Gooney birds are highly efficient in the air and can cover great distances with little exertion. They nest on remote oceanic islands and pairs of gooney birds form bonds over several years with the use of ritualistic dances, and that bond will last the life of the pair. Gooney birds are monogamous. Pugg would like to be a gooney bird.”

“Wow, that’s terrific,” Cate said, using her key fob to unlock the condo building’s front door. “I bet you’d make a good gooney bird. Are you going to see Julie now?”

“Yes. Pugg will perform his ritualistic gooney dance and hope Julie is impressed.”

They all got into the elevator and Pugg got off at Julie’s floor.

Kellen waited for the elevator’s doors to close before speaking. “Do you suppose he would actually perform a gooney bird dance?”

Cate laughed out loud. “Yes. And Julie would probably love it.”

Kellen followed Cate out of the elevator at the fourth floor and punched her code into the new condo lock. They stepped into the quiet, dark condo and Kellen closed and locked the door behind them.

“Beast is at my house,” Kellen said. “And I would feel better if you were there too. I don’t like the way the weird factor is escalating on this case.”

“I’ll throw a few things in an overnight bag,” Cate said. “I’m not anxious to stay here. It feels creepy and sad, knowing Marty is at the bottom of the river somewhere.”

Kellen handed Cate a glass of Pinot Grigio and poured a glass for himself.

“You have wineglasses!” Cate said.

“I went shopping today. I thought we needed to celebrate.”

“Are we celebrating anything special?”

“Yep. We’re celebrating because I got you to take your clothes off last night. And we’re celebrating because Julie rescued you this afternoon, and you’re safe. And we’re celebrating because I was able to remove the bottom on Beast’s water bowl and found this…”

Kellen reached into a kitchen drawer and extracted a diamond-and-deep-blue-sapphire necklace.

“That’s the most beautiful necklace I’ve ever seen,” Cate said. “Is that the necklace you were looking for?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“What will you do with it?”

“I’ll make some inquiries,” Kellen said. “And I’ll file a report with the police.”

Beast softly padded into the kitchen and rubbed against Cate.

“He’s all droopy-eyed,” Cate said, fondling his ear.

“I’m surprised he even got up. This is not a night dog. All day long he has tons of energy. When the sun goes down it’s Beast’s bedtime, and it takes a forklift to move him.”

Cate sipped her wine. “Where do you go from here?”

“I work at getting you out of your clothes again.”

Cate grinned. “I meant with your necklace search.”

Kellen lounged against the counter. “I need to figure out the Kitty Bergman connection. They were working together. They had a falling out. She came after Marty. And she wanted Beast. Maybe she wanted the necklace in the dog bowl. I have a feeling Marty was holding out on her.”

“And what about Marty’s agent? What was that about?”

Kellen smiled at Cate. “You’re getting into this whole mystery thing, aren’t you? You’re enjoying some of it.”

“It is interesting.”

“It’s a puzzle. You put it together piece by piece. You just keep working at it until you see the whole picture.”

“And this is what you do all day?”

“Pretty much.” Kellen put his wineglass on the counter and took Cate into his arms. He kissed the back of her hand, and then the inside of her wrist. “And this is what I intend to do all night. I’m going to start here.” He kissed her just below her ear. “And I’m going to keep moving south until we find your favorite spot to get kissed.”

Cate was pretty sure she already knew where that spot was, but she thought she’d keep an open mind while he worked his way down.