Dead Sweet: A D.I. Turnbull mystery (11 page)

Candace's eyes wandered around Todd's second floor flat. The sofa's colour did not match the grey walls and black shelving which adorned them. A flat screen television sat on more black furniture and there were grey blinds in the windows which looked over the Thames.

"This sofa doesn't match
anything
in your flat you know." Candace remarked as she put her glass down on the black coffee table. "You're black, grey, black, grey and then maroon of all colours." She exclaimed.

"It was my sisters." Todd told her. "She bought it for her house but didn't like it. I had a black leather sofa so she asked me to swap."

"What, and you did?" Candace asked. Todd shrugged his shoulders. "It's just furniture, I don't care what it looks like as long as I can sit on it. Besides, this is more comfortable." He said, patting the armrests of his armchair.

"Yeah it is comfortable," Candace agreed, "But
maroon.
"

Todd chuckled, he enjoyed Candace's company even when she was drunk; in fact more when she was drunk as it made her unafraid to voice her opinions. There was no manager/junior divide between them once Candace had imbibed. Todd took another sip of his wine.

"You've got a moustache," Candace laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"Red wine." Candace pointed to his mouth and giggled. Todd wiped his mouth with the back of his hand then burped loudly. He could taste once again the steak they had eaten earlier and he smiled remembering how much he had enjoyed it.

"Pardon me," he said, to which Candace let out a burp of her own, even louder than Todd's.

"Candace." he admonished.

"What's good for the goose," she laughed. "I could do with something sweet now," she said into her wine glass as she once again put it to her mouth.

"Please don't bring up sweets," Todd grimaced, "I was just beginning to relax."

"Sorry Guv, oh but we were supposed to be going through those statements; that's why you brought me here after all."

"Ah yes, I know," Todd wondered in his drunken haze whether that had been the real reason for bringing Candace home or if subconsciously he wanted Candace the way that she obviously wanted him. "I've drank a little too much to be able to concentrate now," he told her, "Maybe we should just enjoy the night and look at with fresh eyes in the morning."

"You're the governor." Candace winked at Todd, "What shall we do instead then?"

Todd picked up the remote control for his television. "Holby City is on," he said, "We can see how the other emergency services live their lives."

"Guv?"

"It's educational." Todd laughed.

"How did you get your nick name?" Candace asked. Todd turned the television off.

"And what nick name would that be?" he smirked.

"Oh come on, you know they all call you Todger," said Candace, "I heard it's because... you know," she nodded towards Todd's groin.

"I wish," Todd shook his head. "It's actually quite embarrassing, I'm not sure I want to tell you."

"Oh come on, if you don't, I'll tell the whole nick how you nearly got arrested for shoplifting in Big Value."

"Don't you dare."

"Try and stop me," Candace got up from the sofa and plonked herself on Todd's lap. He thought about pushing her off, but quite enjoyed the weight of her on his lap; the wine had made him more amenable and Candace more attractive.

"Ok I will tell you, but it's not what you think." Candace nuzzled into Todd's neck and he put his arm around her, drawing her into his body.

"Well I've had quite a few offers from women; for sex," he began.

"You are a very good looking man," Candace agreed.

"So I'm told. Normally I try to stay away from work colleagues. I wanted a promotion and I didn't want to get caught up in work romances; nothing good ever comes of them."

"And?" Candace encouraged him, "How did you get the name?"

"I'm getting to that. At one point it seemed to be a competition who would be the one to pull me and get me into bed. I wasn't even a sergeant then, the lads told me that the girls on team had a bet on who would get hold of me first."

"I would have done that."

"Cheeky mare. Anyway, it went on for months. I was always being propositioned by one girl or another; eventually on a night out, I relented and went home with one of them; Clare her name was, a nice girl and I'm only human."

"Lucky cow," Candace moved her head so her mouth was touching Todd's shoulder.

"She wasn't that lucky," Todd said, "I was so drunk I couldn't do anything. She tried to get me going, oh boy how she tried, but I just couldn't get it up. She thought it was her, I said no it's me, blah, blah. Anyway, she left and I thought that would be the end of it. Turns out she went back to the girls with a whole different version of the truth."

"Which was?"

"Well that we'd had rampant sex; all different ways and I had well and truly earned the nick name she decided to bestow on me. I think she wanted to win the bet and was too embarrassed to admit it was a complete wipe out. I wasn't going to put anyone straight, the bet was over, the other girls gave up on me and I ended up with a type of nick name that earns you a reputation whether it be true or false."

"Not the most interesting of tales." Candace muttered.

"Sorry to disappoint you Candy Cane," Todd drunk deeply from his glass. He was surprised to see they had finished the third bottle of wine already.

"Maybe you could earn the nick name you were given." Candace sat up and looked Todd in the eye.

"We work together, I'm your boss," Todd's voice was gruff as his body belied his words.

"I think Todger says different." Candace opined, "Come on Todd, no strings, let's just have some fun." Candace said and reached down to take hold of her top. She slowly drew it up over her body revealing a tight stomach and round breasts cupped in a black lace bra. Pulling the top off over her head, Candace moved her legs so she straddled Todd on his armchair. She took the wine glass from his hand and reached behind her to place it on the table.

Todd was caught between disagreement and desire; he knew that sleeping with Candace could cause him a whole heap of trouble and he didn't particularly fancy her. The last thing he needed at work was a lovesick Sergeant fawning over him. On the other hand, it had been a few years since he had felt the touch of a woman, smelt the sweetness of femininity and moved in rhythm with a warm pulsating body. Candace released her breasts from their lacy prison and the pink nipples which protruded like cigarette butts from her chest, were begging to be tweaked. Todd found his body responding to the delights in front of him and he reached out a hand to pull on the nipple.

Candace gasped in surprise at his touch then leant in open-mouthed to Todd's face. Todd opened his own mouth and both explored each other with their tongues. Candace occasionally stopped to nip at Todd's lips with her small white teeth, each nip causing a hot sensation down in the depths of Todd's gut, his penis growing harder with each bite. Todd kneaded Candace's breasts with both hands as they kissed and Candace moved her own hands to Todd's trousers. She opened his fly very quickly, releasing his bulging penis with her hands.

Candace broke away from Todd's kiss and moved herself off his lap, putting her lips to the top of Todd's penis. "Hello Todger," she breathed before sliding the tip of her tongue around his helmet. He thought he may come just at the deliciousness of that first touch and tried to think of steak and mushrooms as Candace's tongue began to explore his penis and scrotum. She expertly flicked her tongue all over his most sensitive parts before finally shrouding his helmet with her hot mouth. She grabbed his bollocks and sucked at Todd's cock, ticking the skin at the bottom of the shaft. Todd couldn't hold back any longer and came in a hot pumping frenzy; Candace moved her head very quickly away, avoiding Todd's seed.

"I'm so sorry," Todd began, embarrassed at his premature excitement. Candace wiped her mouth of Todd's trouser leg.

"Hey, no problem," she said huskily, "That was just for starters." She stood up and removed the rest of her clothing before climbing back onto Todd's lap, his penis once again rigid.

"You're a naughty girl Candy Cane," Todd chuckled.

"And you're a bad, bad boy," she agreed as she allowed Todd to enter her, sliding herself down hard onto his lap.

Not quite the night in I had expected, Todd thought, "But good," he voiced as Candace continued to ride him. "Very, very good."

Danny 'Zucko' Bradford was an escort. Having been brought up by parents who were happy to live, no, exist, on the State; living week to week on hand outs which just about covered their nicotine and alcohol addiction. Danny had decided to break free from that miserable existence. He wanted more from his life; unfortunately
wanting
more was not enough to get him more.

Danny had never been a regular attendee of school, his parents were not enthusiastic about education; reminding him after every bad school report that he didn't need qualifications to claim the dole.

"Let the other mugs work son," his father would say, "I'm no Muppet: I've got a house rent free, a free car on account of my dodgy back, booze, fags and Jeremy Kyle; who could want for more?"

"Me," thought Danny. He wanted to see outside Elisworth, wanted to experience a holiday which wasn't obtained by cutting coupons out of the national newspaper. Danny wanted to wear clothes made by men with tape measures around their necks instead of by six year old children in China. Danny didn't want the strongest, cheapest lager; he wanted the finest, most expensive champagne. He wanted a Porsche, not a pushbike; he wanted to be free of the doldrums of Elisworth and living in a penthouse in Chelsea.

Danny had left school to seek his fortune. He soon realised the only avenue open to him was on the dark side of living. No education and the wrong postcode made it impossible for Danny to even get an interview for a job, when he was number twenty two out of the four hundred people who applied for any job he went for. It wasn't long before Danny turned to crime, but he was taught very quickly that crime was just as difficult in some respects.

To be a successful criminal one had to be not caught. A certain level of intelligence was required and after Danny's third attempt at earning a nefarious living, had ended up once again barely escaping arrest, he decided to try his luck elsewhere.

The one endeavour Danny had always been successful with, was women. With jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, a cleft chin and lean chiselled looks, Danny had never failed to have a girl on his arm. He was often compared to Elvis and his namesake, Danny Zucko; girls would give him their numbers and fanny was pretty much on tap where Danny was concerned. A flippant comment from one of his conquests one night, made Danny realise that his future lay in his looks.

Danny signed up with a local gangster named Jack 'the ripper' Jackson; who ran an Escort Agency, among his other more sinister exploits and he became their most asked for Escort.

Danny now had the Porsche, the pent house and the panoply of clothing he had always dreamt of. The only downside to Danny's job were the constant trips to the STD Clinic and a niggling feeling of dirtiness. This was always successfully washed away with a large glass of Crystal and a swift snort of cocaine.

The thing which made Danny so successful was his willingness to take on
any
job. Fat, thin, tall, short, dirty, clean, male or female; Danny never said no. "Any hole's a goal." He would cheerfully reply when offered his next job by Maxine, the agency's receptionist. Maxine would always chuckle after hearing Danny's usual response. "Dirty bastard," she would say affectionately before picking up the next punter's call. Sex was big business, always had been and always will be.

And so Danny now found himself in the Master Talbot Hotel in Olinsbury. To say the hotel was a dive was being polite. Danny had arrived before his client; this wasn't unusual, clients liked to feel they were on a date rather than sleeping with a prostitute; that's why they chose escorts instead of whores. He would often arrive first at the hotels, check-in and set up a tray of drinks ready to play host to his 'date' of that evening.

When Danny walked into the chalet style room which was nothing more than a concrete block set bizarrely in a row of blocks outside the hotel and in the actual car park; he found himself in a seventies time warp. Brown being the predominant colour, with large garish orange patterns on the plastic wall coverings. Danny sat on the brown chenille bed covering and gave a little bounce to check the sturdiness of the bed. A loud squeak followed by a twang of springs, let Danny know that most of tonight's work would be conducted on the floor.

"Carpet burns," he mused to himself as he continued to get ready for the night ahead. Danny opened his plastic bag and produced a bottle of Crystal Champagne and two plastic wine glasses; rarely would a mini bar be available at places like the Master Talbot, so Danny always came prepared. He poured himself a glass of the fizz, paid for by his client, and chopped himself a couple of lines on the glass covered coffee table cum bedside cabinet, stuck in the corner of the room. His client Terry loved to take it up the arse, hard and fast; never wanted to do stay and chat. Condoms were always worn and chat was kept to a minimum. Terry was a regular with the escort agency and one of Danny's easy lays; always paid cash, never quibbled over the cost of the champagne and was now seemingly becoming a regular as Danny had pleasured Terry three times in the last month and he knew other escorts had done the same.

As the cocaine congealed at the back of Danny's throat, causing him to cough and then take a big swig of champagne to wash it down, a light knock at the door alerted him to Terry's arrival. Danny opened the door to the grey suited, overweight and drab looking Terry.

"Hello gorgeous," Terry smiled.

"Hi lovely," Danny smiled back, opening the door wider to allow Terry entrance. Terry walked passed and immediately gave Danny a condom before removing the grey suit bottoms revealing a chubby pair of legs. Danny grinned; that's what he liked, quick and to the point. With any luck this would be over fast and he could set up another meet.

"Kerching," mouthed Danny as he rubbed his cock into an erection. He knelt behind the bent over figure of Terry whose hands were pulling open two enormous arse cheeks, showing a pulsating anus, winking at him from behind curly pubic hair scattered along the crack.

"Any hole's a goal," Danny smiled to himself and got to work.