Rock Star Down (The Psychic Registry) (14 page)

The day was fading but
Nathan wanted to finish the first season before he left for home. A package
containing both seasons on disc had already arrived and was sitting upon his
desk. He was mulling whether his evening would be better spent alone in front
of his television or in bed with a comely female friend. Perhaps he could do
both? Or maybe he should just call up one of his sparing partners to meet at
the gym? The intensity and adrenaline from fifteen minutes in the ring against
a live opponent was
almost
as good at purging his system as a healthy
romp between the sheets. Although his body certainly preferred the latter.

His ringing phone
interrupted his deliberations. He didn't recognize the number, but he was on a
case so he felt obligated to take the call. "This is Miller," he
answered.

It was Jaqui's
personal assistant: "Hi Detective, it's Rachel."

"What's going on,
Rachel?"

"Uh, well, Jaqui's
kind of stressed right now. We've been dealing with the county and the funeral
home most of the afternoon, and we're trying to make arrangements for Rock, but
his parents still won't talk to Jaqui."

"Were they on
good terms before?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah,
I guess
so
. I mean they all
talked
."

"So they probably
think that Jaqui killed their son," Nathan said.

"That's what
Jaqui thinks. Anyway, she was hoping that
you
could talk with them."

"
Me
?"

"
I know
,
Detective. But here's the thing. Jaqui
needs
them right now. She doesn't
have any other family besides Vanessa and
she
took off a little after
you left."

Nathan let out a sigh
that Rachel must have heard.

She snapped, "Hey,
I've been dealing with this for days. I'm doing what I can, but I don't really
know
Rock's folks either. So they're not gonna take
my
word that Jaqui didn't
kill their boy."

"So, what? I'm
supposed to call on Rock's family and convince them to reach out?"

Rachel huffed, "I
don't know much about these things, but yeah, I guess that's the gist of it.
Listen, Detective, it's just me and Jaqui here, and you heard my sob story
earlier, so I won't repeat it, but I'm just about spent right now. So are you
gonna come over or do I have to find someone
else
?"

"I have to come
over
there
?" Nathan asked.

"Jaqui thinks
that you know what's up with Vanessa. Plus I get the feeling that she's worried
what
else
you might tell Rock's folks," she admitted.

"And what might I
tell them, I wonder?"

"I'm still not
gonna talk about that," she replied. "So will you help, or not?"

Nathan
didn't really feel like helping. But he was not
entirely himself and there were thoughts more sympathetic to Jaqui's plight
that nudged him to give assistance. Certainly, spending the last couple of
hours watching her, getting drawn into her life, influenced his decision as
well. And she was quite the beauty, even in mourning, and Nathan, though aloof
as he was, remained
a bit
of a sucker for a damsel in distress. Of
course, it helped considerably that the damsel was gorgeous.

"Alright,"
he told her.

He grabbed his discs and left his
office. Cindy looked up from her desk and smiled, "So are we a fan now?"

Nathan gave a non-committal
shrug, "I don't know about her music, but the show is entertaining."

She nodded, "Yeah.
So are you going to watch them all tonight?"

"That's the idea.
But I might hit the ring, later. See if I can get into a fight."

"Oh, don't tell
me about that!" she blanched, "You better remember your head gear,
Mister! That's all you need, show up on the news looking like you went
toe-to-toe in a honky-tonk."

He nodded, "What
you're saying is,
I've got to take care of my looks
."

She batted the air as
if to slap him, "
What I'm saying is
that you are the very public
face of a respectable firm and that you'd best look the part."

"Since when did
we become respectable?" he asked.

"Oh? Around the
time you hired
me
."

It
was
a
respectable firm. People like Brendt and Cindy made sure of that. Sometimes
Nathan thought of himself more as a cop than as a business man. But things
changed, and his life was mostly better for the difference. He gave her an
appreciative smile, "Thanks. I'm going to pay a visit on the Franklin's,
then call it a day."

Cindy frowned a
little, "Rock's people?"

"Just a public
relations visit."

"Keeping them in
the loop and out of the press?" she asked.

"Something like
that."

"Okay, Nathan. Be
good."

He nodded and turned
away, walking down the hall to the elevator.

That's me. Nathan
the good guy.

The media, along with most of the
mourners and looky-loos had moved on. The vendors and traffic cops were gone,
too. Only one squad car remained on the street in front of the house and Nathan
guessed that they would be gone soon as well. The story was losing traction and
people were resuming their lives. Nathan raised his chin to the uniformed
officers in their patrol car who noted him with only mild interest.

He rang the doorbell
and after a long pause he was about to ring it again when Rachel opened the
door and waved him into the foyer. She looked frazzled and tired, but she
smiled in greeting, clearly relieved at his arrival.

"Thanks for
coming. Can I get you anything?" she offered.

He shook his head and
felt a trickle of pity for her. "I'm alright. But maybe
you
should
eat something."

She shrugged, "I'm
too
tired
to eat, Detective."

"So go take a
nap. I'll hold Jaqui's hand for a while," he replied.

"Really? Okay. I'm
just gonna lie down for a minute," Rachel said as she shuffled into the piano
room and collapsed onto the sofa, in only a slight exaggeration of her
exhausted state.

Nathan followed a few
steps after her and watched.

"Jaqui's up in
her room, just go all the way to the top," Rachel said before curling up
and closing her eyes. "Detective?" she reached into her pocket,
retrieved a folded paper, and held it out for him. "That's their phone and
address. Robert and Joy Franklin."

Nathan examined the
note, then pocketed it.

He wheeled about and
ascended the stairs to the third floor landing. There was only one doorway and
it was already open. Nathan rapped gently against the door and took a step
inside.

The master suite
occupied the entire top floor, thus it was quite large and divided into a
bedroom, dressing rooms, and a bath suite. Only a few accent lights were on and
although the curtains were open, they provided little illumination as dusk had
settled. In the dim light he almost didn't see Jaqui – as still as she was – sitting
upon a bench at the foot of the bed.

"Nathan?"
she called, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's me, Jaqui,"
he said, though he remained fixed just inside the doorway.

"Close the door?"
she asked, softly.

And he did. As an
afterthought, he locked it.

"Sit with me?"
she asked, her voice small and fragile.

He nodded and crossed
the room. Up close, looking down upon her, he noticed that she'd shed her
costume and makeup. Instead of her silk dress she wore a simple pale blouse and
a pair of tight fitting jeans. Her bare feet swished beneath her as she looked
up at him with sad, lonely eyes.

Nathan sat next to her
on the bench but he avoided her gaze, which threatened to pull him closer
still. So she cast her eyes downward, but he felt her stealing glances his way.

"Where's Rachel?"
she asked.

"Sleeping on the
couch," Nathan said.

Jaqui gave a faint
nod, "I don't know what I'd do without her."

"She's quite
loyal," Nathan agreed.

"Vanessa left,"
Jaqui announced, adding, "She's not answering her phone."

Nathan wasn't sure
what to say, so he said nothing.

"Do you know— Is
she mad at me?" Jaqui asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"People deal with
grief in different ways— Sometimes strange ways. Maybe she just needs a break
from it all," he told her.

Jaqui shook her head,
sad and befuddled. "Did she
love
Rock?"

Nathan didn't betray
an answer.

"I think she
loved
him… " Jaqui said. "I was going to leave my husband. I told myself it
was for the best— He wasn't happy, either. And he was a good man, you know? I
wanted him to be happy. It just wouldn't be
together
."

Nathan nodded along
and listened.

"And I had this
crazy thought: what if Vanessa and Rock got together? Then it wouldn't be so
bad, my leaving
like that
."

"You wanted them
to be happy," he agreed.

"But they never
got a chance," she said.

Nathan shrugged,
who
knows?

"But he was still
my
husband. And we loved each other, at least for a while. And people
think that I killed him!" she wept, tears raining from her wide,
incredulous eyes.

He took her hand in
his own and she squeezed it tight.

"Am I a bad person?"
she asked.

Nathan took a moment
to measure his answer.

Jaqui was silent,
waiting.

He said, "Sometimes
good people do bad things. And sometimes even bad people have good deeds within
them."

"How do you tell
the difference?" she sniffled.

"
Time
. The
balance of the deeds. On the whole, bad people don't get forgiven. As for the
good ones? Well, they start by asking."

"Would
you
forgive me?" she asked, looking at him directly.

"You haven't done
me wrong," he smiled, meeting her gaze.

"We haven't known
each other that
long
," she scoffed.

She was quiet for a
moment as she dabbed her tears with the sleeve of her free hand. "What if
they never forgive me?" she whimpered.

"Sometimes they
never forgive you. No matter what you do or say, or how much time passes."

"Oh, God— I'm so
sorry," she cried. "Nathan, I'm sorry—" she trembled, her body
begging to be held.

Nathan took her in his
arms and she pressed herself into him.

Jaqui clung tight as
she sobbed, "
Rock
."

Rock. Her dead
husband, who was once her love. Nathan tried to break their embrace, but she
held fast.

"No," she
whispered. "Don't let go."

He should have left
the door open and turned on the lights. He should have had Rachel make a pot of
coffee. He should have called his trainer to book a sparring partner in the
ring, then traded punishment with the bastard until he'd purged the crud from
his system and he was once more thinking and feeling like Nathan Miller.
Instead, he felt like a character in
Jaqui's World
– and indeed he was –
the psychic detective, the one to solve the crime and console the lonely widow.
That
word
should've bothered him, but it didn't. Jaqui wasn't a
lowly
widow
. She was a white hot star, catching and consuming objects
within her orbit. Rock had merely
burned up
.

But those were all
just excuses. He knew where it was going to lead. That's why he'd locked the
door. Because he wanted it to happen. He wanted her to want him. To seduce him
with her weakness, with her tears. He wanted to ravish her, to take away her
pain, if only for a brief window of time. Because she was beautiful, and young,
and needed him. And because he needed her, if only to help him find himself once
more. He could regret things later. Or not.

Sorry, Rock.

They were so close
already. Just a dip of his chin and a turn of the head to find her lips with
his own. And she came to life as he kissed her, Jaqui's mouth and hands seeking
more flesh, more contact.

Cool tears yet
streaked her flushed cheeks, but the flood had ceased. Still, the pain remained
and only their lust could smother it.

Nathan was reading
her, he belatedly realized. He'd been pushing his powers too far and his
control was slipping.

Jaqui needed a break
from the hurting.

He understood. He knew
about pain. And love. And the kind of loss that lasts forever.

He slipped a hand
inside of her blouse and her body leapt at his touch, seeking more. Jaqui's
hands were busy, too, mapping out more flesh, more heat, more contact with the
other, and the confirmation that she was not alone in the world.

She was guided by
impulse, sensations of pleasure, as a soothing drip of chemicals engulfed her
body. She needed him inside of her, needed to be a woman, needed to belong to
someone. It was a pure agenda of bodies. And it felt
really good.

Nathan picked up Jaqui
and carried her to the bed. He laid her out and she wriggled from her remaining
clothes. He was already half naked and she stripped him down with an urgency
and singular focus that only continued to build.

He wanted to take in
the sight of her, but she was possessed by her lust. She pulled him to her,
their bodies pressing together. So much naked skin.

Nathan felt it all. To
him, they were one flesh. Touching and being touched. Whose hand was caressing?
Who was being petted? Who was hard? And who was wet?

Whose wonderful taste?
Male and female scents, intoxicating them both.

She bucked against
him, seeking his flesh for which she ached. And he slipped inside of her. She
was hot and so very tight.

The anticipation. The
suddenness. He was big, hard, and so strong. And she came instantly.

Jaqui wrapped herself
around him. It felt so good. She felt so alive.

Nathan felt her orgasm
and it nearly took him away. His read on Jaqui was intense. How high, he
wondered? But he couldn't tell. He knew he should back off. But he plunged
deeper into her still.

Jaqui was singing some
unintelligible song, shifting from key to key as they rocked together in
perfect rhythm. Nathan was breathing in time with her. Two bodies, beating out
the pain.

Their skin was
exquisite – a single organ, supple and taut – enveloping them in a cocoon of
pleasure.

Until they couldn't
take any more.

And they thrust and
thrashed, trembled and shook, until they broke free with an explosion of energy
that severed their coupling, both of mind and body.

Then Nathan was simply
Nathan.

And Jaqui was Jaqui.

They lay next to one
another, each still catching their breath.

"Holy God,"
she whispered.

Nathan took a deep
breath and relaxed. It felt good to be back in his body and to have it all to
himself.

She turned to look at
him. There were fresh tears in her eyes, but she didn't look sad. "Thanks,
Nathan."

"It's going to be
alright," he told her.

She nodded, "I
know." She wiped at her tears and laughed at herself, "I just hope I
can live up to it all, you know?"

To live up to it all.
To the responsibilities. To the talents. To all the promises, hopes, and
dreams. When they were all watching and waiting for you to fail. When the trail
of broken hearts, burnt bridges, and departed souls grew longer with each
passing year.

"Yeah, I know,"
he said.

She slid into him and
gave him a long kiss. Once they broke, she looked to him and smiled, "And
now, Detective, the show must go on."

Jaqui slipped from the
bed and trotted off into the bathroom. And Nathan both loved and hated to see
her go. He toyed with seeking out an encore, but knew that their set had come
to a close.