Three Hearts Beat as One (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

“Besides,” added Katrina, careening around another hairpin turn, “Cal just said someone
tried
to set the store on fire. Maybe there’s just a little soot damage.”

But when they turned the corner onto Jack London Street and saw the two fire trucks out front, hoses still snaking through the watery street, Lacey knew it was more than a little soot. It seemed like the whole town had turned out to watch the firemen, although it was nearly one-thirty in the morning. The women had to park behind Delight Hardware two blocks away and jog down Jack London Street, getting bits and pieces of information as they ran.

“Firemen came in time to put the fire out,” said the guy who owned the vitamin store.

“They think it’s foul play,” a guy with a bass guitar slung over his neck said.

“Lacey!” cried Saul Wakeman, the creepy bookstore owner who always bid on Lacey at the merchant’s gala.

Lacey cut around a few knots of people to avoid Saul Wakeman and practically bashed into Chase and Devin. They were talking to Mick Gillette and a girl who Lacey assumed was Julie, the assistant manager. That Emilio Castillo, the chief of police, was there was not calming.

“I swear, the boy left around ten-thirty,” Julie was saying in a stressed, plaintive voice.

“Dean Smithson,” Lacey assumed.

“Right,” said Devin. He took Lacey’s arm in a proprietary manner and told the authority figures, “These here are our women. They can be privy to this conversation.”

While Mick and Emilio exchanged raised eyebrow glances, Lacey asked Julie, “Why’d you let Dean Smithson into the store? He’s only about ten.”

Katrina blabbed, “He’s also the minion of Ben Pearson, who paid him to staple those nasty fliers all over town.”

“Julie didn’t know that,” Chase said soothingly.

Julie continued, “I let him in because he said his Dad wanted to exchange a video. The one he’d gotten was defective.”

“Which one?” asked Mick.

Julie’s face was blank. “Does it matter?”

“It does if we want to get a handle on the sort of culprit who might do this.”

Devin asked, “You think Stormy Smithson might be behind it?” To Lacey he said, “They found rags soaked in turpentine at the back of the store, then lit. That was the accelerant. A sniffer dog found it.”

“Stormy could be behind this,” said Mick. “He could’ve sent his kid to do his bidding. Now, what was the movie?”

“Uh,” said Julie, “
Ardent Moms
.”

“Oh,” said Chase, “that one’s popular with the women of the Cultured Pearl.” He explained to Mick, “Three women. Gal-on-gal.”

Lacey was beyond irritated. “Captain Gillette, Stormy or his gal-on-gal had nothing to do with this. Has anyone questioned Ben Pearson about his whereabouts?”

“Oh yeah,” said Emilio Castillo, who was known to have had chummy dealings with Ben and his real estate-developing father. “He was at the Pit with his usual crowd, came over to see the fire, then went home.”

Lacey stamped her foot. “Well, of
course
he’s got some alibi. He paid the kid to do it.” Tearing herself away, she stomped up the two steps that led into the store, now fully lit with a few firemen still meandering about. The smoke stench was still so acrid it burned her eyes, but hopefully in the front here, smoke damage was all it was. She paused, looking at a display of the same lovely black leather corset she had selected for herself. It was doubtful they could get the smoke smell out of those. Smoke evidently had been pouring from a hallway that led to the bathrooms and an alleyway, probably where the dog had found the soaked rags.

“Shame, huh?”

Cal was behind her. She said, “Yes, and we know who was behind it of course, but can we prove it?”

“Yeah.” Cal snorted. “‘Go home fags’? Real witty.”

Lacey frowned. “Who said, ‘go home fags’?”

“Oh, they didn’t tell you? It’s spray painted on the brick wall in the alley. Kid probably did it before lighting the rags.”

Lacey sloshed in the dirty water that blanketed the hallway. She would help clean this place up. A pile of books about blow jobs and G-spots were piled up near the men’s room door, charred. “Here’s another possible source of the fire.”

“We saw that,” said a passing fireman. “Looks like the kid squirted those tubes of motion lotion all over them and lit them.”

“Well, has anyone arrested that damned kid?” Lacey fumed.

Cal said, “They went to his house the second Julie told them he’d been here and took him to the juvenile hall. But you know the drill. Since he’s a juvenile, yadda yadda.”

“
What
yadda yadda?” Lacey said with irritation.

“I mean, what’re they gonna do to him? Spend a night at the Hall where he’ll just play more video games.”

“Make his dad pay a fine, most likely,” said the fireman and exited the back door.

Lacey sighed. “Well, that’s
one
way we could get Ben, indirectly anyway. If we let Stormy know who the real culprit behind this mess is, he’s the sort who might just haul off and kneecap ole Ben.”

“Yeah, Stormy’s been involved in a few assaults in his time. Oh, look.”

Someone had ripped the boxes from at least a dozen Prelude and double rabbit vibrators. In a further effort to start a fire, they’d plugged all sixteen vibrators into a power strip where a worker had earlier plugged a sander.

Lacey put her hands on her hips. “This is the work of a rank amateur.”

“Yeah,” agreed Cal. “It’s got Ben written all over it.”

Lacey grabbed her stepbrother’s arm. “C’mon. Let’s get some mops and cleaning powder from the store. It’s the least we can do. Ben never would’ve become so irate with poor Chase and Devin if I hadn’t become involved with them.”

“Ben never would’ve become so irate if he wasn’t a goddamned drug-addled, immature, selfish, whining idiot,” Cal corrected.

“That’s true.” It was sad to see the lace baby dolls and crotchless body stockings ruined by smoke. “I was wondering. You said Ben came into our store yesterday. Did you notice what he purchased?”

“I’m one step ahead of you. I rang him up, and I definitely recall a can of turpentine. I’ll have to go look back at the computer to see what else—there were a few more items.”

Lacey rolled her eyes. “Typical. He goes to a store to buy turpentine just blocks from the place he wants to burn down.”

“All caught on camera, natch.”

“Natch. Hey, Chase, hey, Devin. Do you think these clothes can be dry-cleaned?”

Chase sadly fingered a leather harness. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had to clean smoke out of a strap-on harness before. But probably not well enough to resell.”

He looked so pathetic, so bereft, Lacey tried to cheer him up. “Maybe you can have a fire sale. We’ll help you clean. We’re heading over to Delight Hardware right now to grab mops, buckets, cleaning agents, that sort of thing.”

“I’ll come,” said Devin, apparently eager to be away from the depressing store.

Surprisingly, Chase was of the same mind. Out front, both fire trucks had departed and only a few lookie-loos lingered. Oddly, one of them was the mayor Jared Alessi, who shook Chase’s hand and expressed his condolences for the fire. Then he shook Devin’s hand with both of his and expressed condolences for the fire.

“Devin, I’m going to stay on top of Emilio Castillo until this culprit is apprehended. We’ll make sure you’re remunerated for your losses.”

Lacey butted in. “It’s not that hard to figure out, Mayor. Ben Pearson is responsible. Cal said he was at our store yesterday purchasing turpentine.”

“Is
that so
?” Mayor Alessi was inordinately interested in this. He spoke at Devin as though he were a priest, in hushed, reverent tones. “Ben Pearson, eh? Well, give Castillo all the evidence you think you have.”

Devin had to wrench his hands from Alessi’s paws. “That was our plan, Mayor.”

Chase put a protective arm around Devin as he steered him toward Delight Hardware. Cal remained talking to the mayor, perhaps knowing they wanted to be alone, to be rid of the creepy official.

“That guy is
way
too much into you, Dev,” said Chase.

“I know,” Devin admitted. “Lace, you wouldn’t believe how I had to block him from bidding on your Hardscrabble vacation. By the way, we owe you a day. Part of your cowboy experience isn’t mopping smoky lube off our floors.”

“Devin, don’t you know…
I don’t mind?
I love you, so of course I want to help in any way I can. Cal will help us clean up, too. I can already tell he likes you so much more than he liked Ben.”

“Okay,” agreed Devin, “but I’m still giving you another day at Hardscrabble. You and Katrina both.”

Chase harrumphed, his hands deep in his pockets. “Hell. You’d give Miss Lacey another
lifetime
at Hardscrabble if you had your way.”

“Oh, you mean I
don’t
have my way?” Devin teased. “I thought I got everything I wanted.”

“Usually,” grumped Chase.

Lacey didn’t blame Chase for being grumpy. His store had nearly been ruined. And all because of a pinheaded, puerile ex-husband of hers.

Chase knew where to find mops and cleaning products, having shopped at her store many times, so Lacey took Devin to the front. A couple of weeks ago she had arranged a window display with a fifties theme. It wasn’t feminist at all, and some women of the Cultured Pearl had complained, but she posed their only mannequin in a Lucille Ball dress with high heels and pearls…while dusting. Yes, the poor unliberated mannequin was dusting the top of an O’Keefe and Merritt stove while wearing a frilly apron. Lacey had decorated the faux kitchen with period steel wool pads, glass milk bottles, Pyrex mixing bowls, and utensils that looked like torture devices. Right now, though, she wanted to steal Lucille’s steel wool pads.

Devin, however, followed her into the window display. He stood, not looking unlike Desi Arnaz in the feeble footlights that lit the display during closing hours. Taking her by the shoulders, he faced her to the stove and murmured in her ear. She expected him to call her “little lady” and ask for a casserole, but once again, he surprised her.

“I think I know what might cheer up Chase. I think he feels left out since I fucked you and he hasn’t. That’s one thing he hasn’t forgotten how to do. Do you think you could just bend over this kitchen table here and…” He paused, as though wondering how raunchy he could get with her. “Spread ’em for Chase?”

Lacey giggled. “In the window?”

Devin’s breath was hot against her neck. “Who’s going to see? The bar is closed, everyone’s gone home, and these lights are dim. I know for a fact Chase is something of an exhibitionist.”

“I’d peg
you
as more the exhibitionist.” That was true. Devin was so beautiful, who wouldn’t want to stare at him doing the most mundane things? Lacey imagined that was the reason for their apparent love of mirrors.

“Devin
is
the exhibitionist.” Suddenly Chase was there in the window with them, holding a fistful of dust masks and rubber gloves. He tossed them on the table to unearth something from his front jeans pocket. “Devin loves to display himself. You’ll get used to it. He’ll be watching himself in the mirror fucking you instead of watching you.”

Devin started turning toward his mate. “Listen here, Chase—”

“
But
,” Chase interrupted loudly, “I do agree it’d cheer me up to see someone on their hands on this table. That someone is
you
, Dev.” Chase twirled the black leather object about on his forefinger, and with a start Lacey recognized it as one of the smoky harnesses she’d seen in the store.

And this model had an
O
ring at crotch level for insertion of a dildo.

They were mostly used by women.

Devin knew the second Chase twirled the harness what he was up to.

Chase had been all about the switching for the past few days. Devin knew Chase was trying to assert his dominance, fearing being lost next to the passion and chemistry that roared between Devin and Lacey. Devin knew that his sweet little sub was pushing the limits, seeing how far he could go, topping from the bottom.

But Lacey probably had no clue what that leather thong was. Devin grabbed it from Chase, crumpling it in his hand. “Chase, man. Maybe later, at our house. We’ve got work to do now. And it would only be polite to let Lacey get some sleep.”

To Devin’s chagrin—and excitement—Lacey grabbed the harness from him. “Oh, it’s one of those harness things. Did you want Devin to wear this, so you can chain him to the stove?”

Chase gently shoved Lacey so she sat on the edge of the kitchen table. “No,” he explained devilishly. “It’s for you.” With his left hand he set to unzipping the front of Lacey’s alpine sweater. Devin, not wanting to be left out in the cold, joined in by snaking her panties and knit skirt down over her boots. If she couldn’t beat them, so to speak, she could join them.