Murder and Mayhem (43 page)

“Don’t you worry yourself ‘bout that, I’s got me
‘nother box in my bag. I always carry a spare in case we’s run out.”

I helped myself to a nice gooey
chocolate one – and checked the box… for seconds. Eany, meany, miney…moe!

Suddenly we heard a ruckus from
the back of the room. I looked up and saw the unpleasant man who had been
sitting beside Linda, sprawled the floor–newspaper pages, scattered in every
directions.

“Whoops, sorry! Me and my big
feet!” I heard Grace say as she tucked her dainty size seven shoes back under
the chair.

As the man scooped up the
newspaper pages, he glanced at me. I glared back and raised an arched eyebrow
lest he should misinterpret my meaning
– What? Not dead yet
–it plainly
said.

*****

The morning was wet with fog that swirled up from the
river and hung wetly in the trees, and gathered like damp cotton around street
and houses, and settled over a town that still slept. The occasional roar of an
early morning rider echoed through empty streets and cavernous buildings along
the waterfront.

As the black SUV headed south on the narrow two-lane
road that followed the river past cornfields and wheat fields, and dairy farms,
the harsh headlights of a lone vehicle dogged them. When there was enough room,
Danny moved over and allowed the pick-up of a local farm worker to pass. As he
pulled back on the road, the headlights of the SUV outlined the silhouette of
the driver wearing what looked like a cap on his head.

On the edge of a small lake, deer stood in the
shallows. Cranes and egrets extended their wings and lifted into the golden
light as the sun came up and covered the land with the smell of a brand new
day.

“I always take the scenic route when I can. It’s so
much nicer than traveling the highways,” Danny said.

“So I’ve noticed. What exciting little adventure have
you got planned today?”

“I haven’t got anything planned other than meeting a
guy in Pine Grove tonight.”

“Pine Grove, where’s that?”

“It’s about twenty-five miles north of Harrisburg–and
less than an hour from Hershey’s Chocolate World. I thought tomorrow I’d take
you to chocolate heaven and I’ll treat you to whatever your heart desires.”

Nicola laughed. “When I wake up each morning I never
know what to expect. It’s like going on a magical mystery tour. I thank you for
the thought–but I’ll pass on the chocolate.”

“I thought all red-blooded woman loved chocolate!”

“What goes through the lips–stays on the hips.”

At the East Stroud junction they turned west onto
I-80, and at the I-81 crossroads turned south and drove through towns with
strange sounding names: McAdoo, Frackville, Tamaqua and Quakake. And names
filled with magic like Shenandoah and Deer Lake. Places that conjure up images
of mountains and valleys, and forests and rivers, and images of bear, and deer,
and cougar. And proud men who roamed this land for more than a thousand years.

* * *

Situated at the foot of the Blue Mountain Range, the
town of Pine Grove is one of those names you’d have a hard time finding on the
pages of the Rand McNally Road Atlas. Population at the 2000 census, 2154, the
borough has only a total of 1.1 square miles of land. So, unless you lived
within close proximity, the name would only merit a blank stare. Or, as in
Danny’s case, if you were a collector of rare antique Harley Davidson
motorcycle parts.

As they approached the exit sign, Danny changed lanes
and headed up the off-ramp, unsure what to expect by way of accommodation. They
were pleasantly surprised when they turned east on Suedberg Road and saw the
gleaming white façade of the Hampton Inn set back from the road, back-dropped
by tall pine trees.

“Looks like we might be in luck,” he said as he drove
down the dusty unpaved driveway to the almost empty asphalt parking lot. When
they opened the car doors the dusty air was filled with the resinous smell of
pine trees, and constant hum of long-haul eighteen-wheelers on the freeway.

A young woman with an enchanting smile and dimpled
cheeks assured them there were rooms available as she took an imprint of
Danny’s credit card and entered the details on the computer.

While Danny attended to the paperwork, Nicola looked
around. “This looks new,” she said.

“It is new. It only opened in June,” the receptionist
announced proudly.

“Pine Grove seems like a small, quiet town. What’s in
the area to justify the building of this magnificent hotel, Melissa?” Danny
asked as he handed over the completed paperwork and noted the shiny new name
tag pinned to her blouse just above the slight rise of her left breast.

“Nothing,” Melissa replied with an indifferent shrug.
“There’s absolutely nothing here!”

Danny was both surprised and amused by her frankness.
“In that case we’re sure to get a nice quiet room.”

“Oh, you bet. There’s only one other guest staying in
the hotel so you can take your pick. Which one would you like?”

“How about the one on the top floor, at the far end of
the building, away from the freeway?”

Melissa tapped the keyboard, and looked up. “You’ll be
the first guests to stay in that room so everything will be nice and new with a
bed no one else has slept in,” she said as she handed Danny his credit card.
“Would you like two room cards?”

“One is fine, thanks, Melissa.”

Melissa coded the room key card, slipped it into a
cardboard sleeve, wrote the room number on the inside and handed it to him.
“Breakfast is served in the dining area between six thirty and nine thirty,”
she said, and then smiled. “If there’s anything I can do for you please let me
know.”

“Thank you, Melissa.”

“Can you suggest somewhere to eat?” Nicola asked.

Melissa shrugged. “There’s not much around here except
the diner across the road. The food’s okay, I guess.”

Danny handed Nicola the room card. “I’ll get the
luggage and meet you in the room.”

When Danny returned to the lobby a short time later he
noticed Nicola inspecting a large abstract mural that looked like something
Pablo Picasso would paint. As he came up beside her he leaned in and gave it a
perfunctory glance.

“Mmm, not bad I suppose–if you like that sort of
thing.”

“Not my cup of tea,” Nicola said.

“Mine either.”

As they passed the front desk on their way to the
elevator,
Danny heard Melissa mutter, “Best
place for something like that is in New York with the rest of the weirdos.”

Danny leaned across the counter-top, and said, “I’m
with you, Melissa.”

The young woman looked up, and grinned.

When the door to Room 301 opened, Nicola’s face lit
up. “Oh, Danny this looks like something out of a decorator magazine,” she said
as she trailed her hand over the bedcover and pillows trimmed with satin and
ribbon.

Danny dropped the bags on the floor, grabbed hold of
Nicola’s hand and pulled her down onto the feathery softness. He looked into
green eyes, bright with mischief, and said, “Do you want dessert now or later?”

Nicola gave a small tinkling laugh. “Does that mean
you are restricting me to only one dessert tonight?”

Danny couldn’t take his eyes from hers. He reached up
and touched her cheek, and cupped her face with his hand as though she were a
delicate rose.

“We could have an appetizer now–and dessert later.”

“Sounds like the perfect solution to me,” Danny said,
and then kissed her.

“Take everything off,” he whispered as he removed his
clothes and lay on the bed, his eyes never leaving her face.

Nicola felt his warm breath on her skin, the touch of
his flesh against her flesh. When she buried her face in the curve of his neck
she felt the throb of his pulse against her cheek.

He covered her lips with passionate kisses. Nicola
moaned as her body responded. His eyes traveled every mound and valley, every
plain and crevice, drinking in every inch. She was a Raphael painting come to
life as the molten rays of the sun shone through the window on her hair and
skin.

“You take my breath away,” Danny whispered as he ran
his hands over her breasts and watched the nipples harden. He bent down and
kissed each one.

Nicola responded to his touch; his hands on her body;
his mouth on her skin; his teeth, gently nipping; his tongue against her teeth
sent shivers of pleasure coursing through her body.

“All day I’ve been taunted by the sense of you sitting
beside me; the fragrance of your hair and skin. And when I turned my head I
could see your profile, the softness of your lips, the curve of your neck, the
outline of your breasts, and I wanted you,” he whispered. “I want to feel your
body against mine, the rose petal softness of your skin as you lay beneath me,
feel my hardness inside you. I want to drown in your love.”

When he entered her Nicola wrapped her legs around his
hips and pulled him inside. She moaned with the pleasure. Danny reached down
and cupped the cheeks of her buttocks in one hand and raised her up. When he
looked in her eyes, it was like looking into her soul.

With each pleasurable thrust she rose up to meet him.
Her fingers kneaded his back. His teeth nipped her lips. His tongue licked her
throat. When she reached up and touched his face, Danny moaned.

Faster and faster, harder and harder, their bodies
slapped together as he rode her. Suddenly he tensed. Danny felt a white light
explode inside him as Nicola cried out and shuddered beneath him.

His breathing was heavy and labored, his body throbbed
inside her as he waited for the pulsing to calm– then there was only the
beating of their hearts, the moist touch of their skin, the softness of her
smile-and her warm breath on his face.

Danny caressed her flushed cheeks with the back of his
hand. 

“You make my head spin and my heart pound. I love you
so much, half the time I don’t know which way is up.”

When he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her,
Nicola was so profoundly shaken by the intensity of her emotions, she had to
bite back the tears.

* * *

 Danny sat on the edge of the bed and slipped his feet
into a pair of black sneakers. He watched Nicola run a brush through her hair
and apply a fresh coat of lipstick, and thought how beautiful she looked in the
aquamarine top and champagne-colored jeans with the late afternoon sun coming
in through the window touching her hair with gold and bronze highlights.

“Well, babe, this is the last one tonight. After this
there won’t be any more bike mates to catch up on, at least, not on this trip.”
When Nicola turned and smiled he reached out and took hold of her hand and
pulled her onto the bed. He kissed her.

She snuggled into him as a desolate feeling swept over
her. She hated the thought of him leaving, not knowing if, or when, she would
see him again.

“I don’t want you to go.”

Danny laughed. “I’ll only be gone a couple of hours,
then I’ll be back,” he said.

“I don’t mean tonight. I don’t want you going back to
Australia.”

He caressed her cheek. “I have to. But I’ll be back. I
just need to sort out some things and then I’ll come back, and when I do, we
can make plans for the rest of our lives. I promise you Nic, we’ll be
together.”

* * *

As they strolled hand in hand down the gravel driveway
kicking up plumes of dust with their heels, Nicola looked to the western sky
where the molten sun dripped through the trees like liquid gold and tinged the
clouds pink and orange. A flock of swallows rose out of the shadows, dipped and
turned and flew into the softening light.

A short distance away, a black SUV sat on the grassy
verge partially hidden by a copse of pine trees. The driver removed his cap,
tossed it on the back seat and raked his fingers through his hair. He lifted a
take-out cup to his lips and gulped down half the contents before replacing it
in the cup holder, reached into the pizza box, removed a slice and started to
eat. He picked up a napkin and wiped the string of cheese that dripped from his
mouth as he followed the progress of the young couple as they walked down the
driveway and crossed the road, his eyes never leaving them till they
disappeared behind the large door.