In Case of Death (The Adventures of Gabriel Celtic Book 3) (8 page)

Looking down the hall, I saw James with his back toward me and his hand on the knob of the same room as last time. Relishing that it probably annoyed the hell out of him, I slowly walked to his location.

When he sensed I was near, he opened the door and announced me before stepping out of the way. If I had succeeded in irritating him, it did not show on the mask that was his face at that moment. Thanking him anyway, I walked past him and shut the door behind me as Raven glided toward me with a smile.

“It’s so nice to see you again Gabe!” she exclaimed as she extended her hand. Reaching out to her in turn with my hand, she gently moved it aside and gave me a hug instead. Surprised, I took a few seconds before wrapping my arms loosely around her in return.

As she lingered in the embrace for a few seconds longer than I felt comfortable with, I was inundated with the heavenly scent of her perfume. It was intoxicating!

Finally pulling away, she stood in front of me with a warm smile on her lips.

“Have you had any luck with the investigation?” she asked

As I was starting to formulate an answer for her, my eyes were drawn down to her necklace. The silver and turquoise pendant that caught my attention soon lost focus as it drew my eyes to her slightly shadowed cleavage. Wearing a low-cut southwestern style blouse revealed rounded mounds of pearl white flesh that were peeking…no glaring at me from her top. I found it suddenly hard to swallow as I tried to remember what the hell we had been talking about.

Realizing that I must look like a slobbering teenager, I quickly brought my eyes back up to hers. A playful smile lay happily on her lips as I realized I had lingered long enough for her to notice.

I had not had a reaction like this to a woman in years, and found myself confused by it. I could feel a slight film of sweat forming on my forehead and my heart was going a mile a minute. Willing myself back to professionalism, I remembered the question at hand.

“We have some working theories, but we are a long way from anything concrete.”

She nodded, a little more solemn than before. Had she been enjoying the attention?

“I’ve had some fresh coffee made, come have some before you get busy with Calvin’s office.”

I followed her to the sitting area and took a seat. While she poured us each a cup, I thought back to our time together decades earlier. It hadn’t all been bad; I had loved her, or at least thought I did at the time. And as far as the bedroom went…

I felt my heart rate increasing at the thoughts now in my head. Feeling once again embarrassed, I sat up straighter in my chair and tried to concentrate on the case.

“What about you?” I asked as she handed me my cup. “Have you and May come up with any more revelations since we last met?”

She laughed gaily as she took her seat, “No, I think we may have reached the limits of our investigative skills.”

“I don’t know,” I added, “It really was quite impressive what you two dug up by yourselves. I was impressed, still am actually. We still haven’t confirmed your theory, but most of it feels right to me.”

Raven beamed at my compliment before taking a sip of the hot brew in her cup. She seemed reflective for the next few minutes as we quietly enjoyed our coffee.

“I really did love him you know,” she said as she continued to stare at her cup. “I can only imagine what you must have thought of me all of these years Gabe.”

“Hey, listen, that’s all in the past,” I started, troubled as to the direction that the conversation had taken. “We have both made good lives for ourselves, there’s nothing to feel bad about.”

A sad smile, “I hurt you back then Gabe, and for that I am very sorry. I know you think that I am just a gold-digger, and I will mostly admit to that now. But I just had to have something better than I was raised with. I couldn’t stand being poor.”

Although Raven had been raised in the
right
part of town, there had always been rumors of economic troubles surrounding her family. Her dad had made a good living as an executive for a big company in the city, but he had apparently had a huge gambling problem. They had been able to keep their house through numerous downturns in finances only through help from his family. I knew that Raven had had to sell her car at one point during our relationship, but she would never discuss it, even with me.

“Look,” I said, setting down my cup and looking her in the eye. “I was hurting for awhile, I’ll admit that. But that’s life. You have to admit, we probably would never have been happy with each other.”

“But you will always hold a special place in my heart Raven; you were my first real love. We’ve both moved on with our lives, and as hard as that can be sometimes, I don’t regret a thing.”

She smiled warmly at my little speech before announcing, “Where would you put me now Gabe, in your heart that is?”

“Excuse me?”

Nervous laughter from her then, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to jump you with that right now. It just sort of came out.”

Sitting up straight in her seat, “I guess I meant to ask, do you think there is any hope of rekindling anything between us? I have to admit, I’ve thought of it a lot since I saw you again the other day.”

I was shocked! And speechless!

Where had that come from? I seemed frozen in place as I tried to wrap my mind around what she had just said.

Exuding a comfortable confidence, she leaned over and patted my hand. “I see I’ve surprised you…good!”

Standing up, she offered her hand to help me up. I took it and stood up next to her.

“It’s nothing you have to think about today my dear friend. You have a case to work, and I’m not going anywhere. Just give it some thought.”

With that she reached over and gave me a little peck on the cheek.

“Now, let me show you Calvin’s office.”

Chapter 20

September 16, 1999

Raven led me into Calvin’s office, but I would be in need of help finding my way out of it when done. The short trip to the large wood paneled room was lost to my mind.

To say that I was surprised by her question a few moments ago would be a supreme understatement. I was flabbergasted!

Since Betty’s death two years before, I had given no thought to romance of any kind. Raven’s declaration had left me stupefied, but the fact that I seemed to be even considering it added a layer of confusion that I was ill prepared to handle.

Swinging her arm left to right across the room as if to say
behold this
, “Here we are, at the epicenter of the Forester Empire!”

“Impressive,” I finally managed to eke out.

Pulling up my hand, Raven deposited a ring of keys into the palm.

“These should get you anywhere you need. I’ll have a small lunch ready at 1:00; I’ll return to get you then.”

Relieved that she would be coming back, I thanked her while I took in the whole of the room. Looking like an executive’s office in a scene from a movie, three of the four walls were lined with bookcases. The fourth wall, the one behind the desk, had a huge window looking out upon the manicured grounds beyond.

Deciding to start at the desk, I lowered myself into the plush leather of Calvin’s chair.

It felt like heaven.

Shaking off my reverie, I pulled out my notebook and laid it on top of the desk. Finding the key to the middle drawer, I opened it and looked in. Four or five thin folders stared back at me, probably some of his most important papers. I felt a bit uncomfortable about going through the man’s life, and I worried just a little about what I
might
find more than what I might not.

It took a full fifteen minutes to comb through that first drawer. I took a few notes about different papers I came across, but I wasn’t sure yet what I was looking for. I realized on the way over that morning that I could conceivably look right at something I needed for the case and never even know it. Recording what was here was probably the only option for today. That way, when I investigated May’s house the next day, maybe something would hit me over the head.

To completely work my way through the desk ended up taking a couple of hours. Although the desk seemed like one of the highest priority areas of my search, I still had two filing cabinets to go through before I could start on the bookcases.

This might take awhile.

“Ready for lunch?”

Unbeknownst to me, Raven had quietly entered the room at some point in the last few minutes. I wonder if she had been enjoying the look of confused apprehension that had been on my face moments before.

“Yes, I believe I am.”

I stood up for the first time in hours, finding my joints rebelling at the shift of positions. Pocketing my notebook, I started to follow Raven out of the room.

“I hope you like quiche lorraine? I adore the French and their cuisine, don’t you?

Not realizing that she had asked me a question at first, I suddenly grasped that I had instead been staring at her figure in the well filled out white pants.

I stumbled through an answer, “Umm, yeah, I guess.”

I felt like a horny teenager. What the hell was wrong with me?

“I haven’t had too much French food,” I interjected, trying to save the conversation. “Quiche you say?”

“Yes!” Raven replied excitedly, “Then this will be a real treat for you!”

We arrived at a well lit room filled with windows and plant life.

“Welcome to the solarium! It’s one of my favorite rooms in the house.”

Indicating a chair with her open hand, I took my seat. Unnerved by my actions a moment before, I concentrated on the food and the conversation of old friends. I had to admit, the food was delicious, determining that she must have a chef on the payroll.

It felt good to catch up; as there were a lot of details of our lives that were understandably unknown to the other. Questions containing ‘what ever happened to’ and ‘remember when’ abounded during the meal, and it was a truly enjoyable time.

I found however that I had trouble keeping my eyes off that damn pendant that seemed to beckon my eyes toward it and its sumptuous surroundings.
She was certainly pleasant to look at
I admitted to myself as the memory of her white pants again appeared in my mind.

Reaching for the glass of ice water, I concentrated on drinking the liquid instead of taking the cold shower I seemed to desperately need. The persistent memory of her walking before me on the way to lunch continued to haunt my mind however.

At least she hadn’t caught me in the act like she had earlier.

Chapter 21

September 16, 1999

The
ding
of the timer went off as the tanning bed powered down.

Hector threw up the lid, seeking the cooler air of the little room as he started to gather up his clothes.

He hated tanning.

Already dark skinned, the identity he had chosen was even darker, the darkest of his whole stable. He would need to hit the bed twice a day before his plane left tomorrow night.

Now for a shower!

His heart rate raced as he made his way to the car for the short drive home. He was already getting excited about the next phase of his preparation, shaving. He could feel himself getting hard already, and he hadn’t even gotten out of the parking lot yet!

He loved his work!

He could make his alter egos anything he wanted, and he made very specific demands upon himself for each and every one of them. But there was one thing common to all of them…they were hairless.

Initially, this practice had worked well because of wigs and other costume requirements needed in the course of his work. But the need to shave his whole body had become more…so much more!

He had found that the act of shaving itself was erotic. In fact, it had become one of his favorite erotic diversions. The blade pulling sensually at the skin…so close to cutting and drawing blood, and yet if done right…

Of course this was even truer around his genitals. He would always save that pleasure for last. Usually he had used up all of the hot water by that point, but the cold water pounding his skin actually added to the sensual climax as he shaved off the last patch of hair.

His erection was pushing at his waistband by the time he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment. Adding a sense of urgency to get into the house, Hector actually giggled to himself as he exited the car.

“Hold on my sweet,” he spoke to the engorged appendage, “Soon enough we will see what you have in you today.”

Hector literally ran up the sidewalk as he rushed to his door, shedding his clothes the second he entered.

He had stirred himself up good this time,
he thought to himself with a smile. He wasn’t sure at this point if he could even make it to the shower!