Black Princess Mystery (30 page)

“I can
understand William wanting to be alone at the cottage. It would have been a
wonderful feeling. No bars, no concrete, no one telling you what to do every
second of the day. He was completely cut off, his own master. He said he had no
idea of the killing until the cottage owner recognized his car and called the
police.”

Tasheka
nodded. “Had the police not found him, he would have driven back to Lakeside on
New Year’s Day and discovered that his brother was dead.”

“Exactly.
When the police did find him, he was by all accounts in no hurry and was
shocked to see them coming down the driveway. He was holding a Christmas
present he bought for his brother.”

“I buy,”
said Tasheka. “What about you?”

“I believe
him,” Thorston agreed. “I’ve talked to a number of people and they all gave me
the same message about him coming to a crossroads in his life and deciding to
make a change. Besides, if he killed his own brother, I hardly think he would have
taken up residence so close and bought a Christmas present. And there’s one
other thing.”

“Oh?”

“The
prison doctor told me that because of William’s prosthetic leg it would have
been extremely difficult for him to walk any distance in snow. I described the
terrain around Dead Man’s Oak and he said, in his opinion, it was extremely
unlikely William could have made that trip even if he had been so inclined.”

“I think
you can cross him off the list,” Tasheka said.

“But that
brings us back to square one. If not William Murphy, who?”

“It’s just
a matter of time now,” she said.

* * * *

On Boxing
Day, like every other Boxing Day, Tasheka and her mother went to the basement
of St. Timothy’s Church and served dinner to everyone in the community. Though
the space was modest, consisting of only a kitchen and large room with card
tables and folding chairs, all the villagers attended.

“How long
has this been going now, Mrs. Green?” Henrietta asked.

“My
husband started it fifteen years ago.”

“It must
cost you a pretty penny.”

“I don’t
care. I enjoy having all our friends here and celebrating together. It’s
reminds me of the big reunions my family used to hold every Christmas back in
Russia.”

“Thank
you,” Matt said, coming up to them and filling his glass from the pitcher. “I
always look forward to this, Mrs. Green.”

“You’re
welcome, Matthew.”

Mike Power
and Jake Thompson, many eyes watching them, came up to the table at the same
time and scooped seconds onto their plates. Though both men were obviously
aware of the stares, they pretended nothing was amiss. Tasheka asked Linda
Thompson to help her bring out the desserts. They had not been out of sight
more than a few seconds when Tasheka turned to her.

“You live
really close to Henrietta,” she said. “Is she all right up there all alone?
It’s kind of secluded.”

“I keep an
eye on her,” Linda said, taking out a tray of brownies from the refrigerator.
“The trees were clear cut around her house and I can see most anyone who comes
near.”

“I was
thinking about paying a call to her,” Tasheka mentioned. “Besides Matt, does
anyone ever visit?”

“He comes
over a couple times a month, but nobody else. Most the time she’s there alone,
or with Baxter, when he’s not on the road.”

Tasheka
smiled and they carried out the trays together. They put them on the table and
everyone who had been sitting suddenly stood up and approached, eyeing each
delicious sweet before making their selections. With paper plates drooping
under the weight of cookies, cake and squares, the people of Lakeside gathered
in loose groups and, for the first time in a week, felt relaxed and positive. A
renewed sense of hope rose among them. People laughed when they left, shook
hands, and universally thanked Mrs. Green and Tasheka. The women stayed late,
helping the hired staff clean up and put away the chairs. Driving home, they
both, as always, commented on the wonderful day and expressed their firm
resolve to do it again the next year.

When
Tasheka went into her room, she called Thorston and he invited her to his
place. She told her mother she was going out for a while and then made the
drive. He opened the door as soon as she knocked. She was sincerely overjoyed
to see him, and he looked just as excited to see her.

They sat
on the couch casually talking and watching television. It was a romantic
comedy, one in which both leads had grown resigned to being alone, then, by
sheer chance, they had come together during a powerful storm. They looked so
happy, so fulfilled, and Tasheka wanted what they had. She wanted to trust a man
with all her heart, and to give herself wholly to another human being. She
wanted to let herself go, to take off her mask and fold down the curtain, to
give and receive pleasure without guilt or shame.

Before she
knew it, they were kissing. Thorston slid his hand between her legs and rubbed
her pussy. She squeezed his cock. Tasheka pulled down his zipper and he stuck
his erection out the opening. She started to pull it, lightly rubbing her
fingers over his engorged cockhead. Thorston had pulled her panties aside and
was stroking her wet lips, concentrating on her clitoris. Suddenly Tasheka
stood up, turned off the lights, and pulled her panties off. She lifted her
skirt, sat astride him, and took his hot, hard cock into her, eventually
bouncing on it and smiling with pleasure at each deep stroke.

“Touch me
there
,” she said.

He put his
hand on her ass, slid his fingers between her cheeks, and touched her anus.
“There?” he asked.

“Yes,” she
said, leaning her head back and moaning. “I like that. Do it.”

He began
fingering her and Tasheka moaned in ecstasy. The more he did it, and the faster
he went, the more spirited and engaged she became. Finally, though, she pulled
his finger out and stared into his eyes. He seemed confused and didn’t know
what to do. Tasheka suddenly lifted off him, allowing his big cock to slide out
of her, then she clasped it and held it up straight, pressing the cockhead
against her anus. His eyes opened wide with intense excitement. Looking right
at him, she lowered herself, slowly taking his cock into her ass. Thorston grew
red in the face and the vein protruded in his neck. Tasheka smiled breathlessly
and slid the big cock into her behind until he was balls deep.

“Oh, my
God,” he said with a groan.

“Do you
like it?” she asked, staring into his eyes.

“Yes,” he
said. “Oh yes!”

“Your
first time?”

“Yes,” he
stammered breathlessly. “Yours, too?”

“No,” she
said, “but this is the best.”

He closed
his eyes and seemed to drift into some kind of daydream where all he wanted to
think about was the physical pleasure. Tasheka began riding him, slowly at
first, then faster. The couch started to squeak. Thorston held on for dear life
and every time he opened his eyes Tasheka was looking at him, studying his
features as if keen on seeing the results of her lovemaking. After only a
couple minutes Thorston stiffened and opened his eyes wide, his face seemingly
frozen in an expression of pure bliss. Tasheka rode the whole time while he
climaxed in her ass, resting only when he was milked dry. She slid her butt
down to his balls and sat there, his cock still twitching inside her. Five
minutes later, when he was soft and spent, she stood up and uncoupled with him,
putting on her panties.

“I needed
that,” she said.

“You felt
anxious?” he asked. “You needed to be relaxed.”

“I needed
you,” she said. “I needed you inside me.”

“It was
amazing, Tasheka. When we’re one, I feel like I’m complete.”

“Me, too.”
She smiled. “I have to go home and be with Mom now.”

“Okay,” he
said weakly, drained of energy. “I’ll walk you to the car.”

When they
got outside, Detective McNab was parked by the curb. He was watching them and
he did not look happy. Thorston was shocked, but before he could say anything,
McNab drove away.

“He’s
spying on us,” Tasheka said.

“Why?
We’re not doing anything wrong.”

“Yes, you
are.”

He gave
her a strange look.

“You’re
betraying him by being with me,” Tasheka said. “You’re his partner, but now he
feels like you’ve chosen me over him.”

“I
separate my professional life from my personal life,” Thorston returned, still
looking up the street where McNab had driven.

“He
doesn’t,” Tasheka said. “They’re the same thing to him.” She kissed him. “Good
night.”

“Good
night,” he mumbled distractedly.

When
Tasheka got home she was not in her room more than ten minutes before hearing
the phone and seeing on the display that it was Thorston. She was not
surprised.

“He called
you, didn’t he?” she said.

“He told
me to stay away from you,” Thorston said frantically. “He said we were getting
romantically involved and it was compromising the case.”

“I’m his
prime suspect, aren’t I?” Tasheka said quickly.

Thorston
paused for a long time. “He told me about the party at the pool. He said you
were dancing naked with other women in front of a large group of men. Is that
true?”

“Would it
change anything between you and me if it was?”

“Is it
true, Tasheka?”

“It’s
true,” she said. “We had too much to drink and it got crazy.”

“He said
you were having sex in the pool with a man and someone filmed it.”

“That’s
true, but my father bought the tape and destroyed it. It never got posted on
the Internet or anything.”

“He told
me you had a menage a trios with two men in the change house. They were
bragging that they took you at the same time.” His voice sound agonized.

She didn’t
answer.

“Did you?”

“I had too
much to drink,” she said. “I did some things I’m not proud of. That was one of
them.”

“Tasheka,”
he said, his voice cracking, “he told me you were having an affair with Father
Murphy. Is that true?”

“I’m not
going to lie. It’s true.”

“Oh, my God,”
he called out in exasperation. “I never knew any of this.”

“I don’t
know about your past either,” Tasheka rebuffed, “and I don’t think it’s any of
my business. I certainly wouldn’t subject you to the Grand Inquisition in an
attempt to find out. All those things happened before we met.”

A long
silence, at least a minute, followed.

“You had
an affair with a priest!” Thorston exclaimed incredulously. “How could you?”

She did
not answer.

“What were
you thinking?”

“I thought
you knew,” she said. “I figured McNab would have told you earlier.”

“I didn’t
know,” he replied in an anguished tone. “He insisted on investigating you on
his own because he thought I was too attracted to you. There were some hints of
wild behavior, but I read about some underage drinking and you riding in that
car that was stolen. But nothing like this.”

“And he
just had to tell you, didn’t he?”

“Maybe you
should have told me,” Thorston snapped. “You had sex with a priest! A priest,
Tasheka!”

“You’ve
never thought of being with a nun?” she challenged.

“What’s
that got to do with anything?”

“Precisely,”
she returned. “What’s my private business got to do with anything?”

“What were
you thinking, Tasheka?”

She leaned
against the wall. “I wasn’t thinking,” she said. “I was acting a fool. I made
mistakes, Thorston, all right? Have you never made a mistake? Are you perfect?”

“I really
like you,” he said. “I mean, I really, really like you. But who do I like? Who
is Tasheka Green? I’m not sure I know.”

“Tasheka
Green was the pretty little rich girl everybody thought was a prude,” Tasheka
confessed. “She was the top in her class through elementary, middle school, and
high school. She won the state championship on the debating team, and the state
championship in chess. She was always the boring Miss Goody Two Shoes. To
compensate, she became a rebel. She acted out. One day she went to a party with
some women she thought were her friends, but she got drunk and got as wild as
they did. But I got tired of it, Thorston. The thrill was gone. I grew up. Then
along came Father Tim, the man behind the wall of a white collar. He was
untouchable. What could be safer? The only problem is, and you have seen it, is
that I have a very intense sex drive. I can’t help it. It’s part of me. With
Father Tim, at least at first, everything was safe. I liked that. But then we
started to push each other, seeing how far it would go. I was lonely and it
happened one night in a shithole motel. I needed someone in my life, Thorston.
I’m not evil.”