One Deadly Sister

standing there sweating, straggly hair hanging down, looking like a barefooted third-world refugee, and he takes off his shoes.”

“Very classy. What did he want?” His eyes wandered around her hair and her warm blue eyes. He decided that he liked her a lot.

“Two weeks earlier, our precinct captain had failed to show up for a get-out-the-vote canvass. We volunteers started to disperse so I stood up and told them we could do it without a leader. I fumbled through it.”

“Actually, you became the leader.”

“Somehow, Al heard about it and wanted to thank me. He offered me a job at City Hall. He was mayor for eight years and I was his administrative assistant. Started selling real estate part time.”

“You must have been pretty close to him. I heard about the disposition of his estate.”

“A complete surprise. His attorney called me to his office. He said Al had changed his will recently, and left me those Chinese dishes and that rare Chinese trader’s catalog that he told you about. I wouldn’t know what to do with them. I’ll give them to charity unless you want them. You’re the only person I know that understands what they are. I know you’ll appreciate them.”

“That’s far too generous. I could never accept them. And you must be very careful about disposing of those items. You’d be making a big mistake by giving them to charity. Promise me you’ll not take any action until you talk with an appraiser. I’ve a friend at Sotheby’s in New York.”

“I’m sure they’re very nice, but I’ve no use for them. She reached across and closed her hand over his. “You want coffee now or shall we stick with the wine?”

“I had coffee in jail. Let’s stick with the wine.”

She stood by the sink while he cleared the sorbet dishes from the table and handed them to her. She turned and gave him a quick, light kiss on the lips. “You know, you’re very nice, Ray. I’m certain that you’re innocent, and I hope everything works out for you.”

He wondered what would happen if he just pulled her to him and kissed those lips hard. What he actually did was mutter, “Thanks.”

They moved with their wine glasses to the couch and sat side by side.

He was aware that an unexpected degree of closeness with Tammy had begun. Although he had no particular expectation, he did know that he wanted to spend more time with this woman. He had detected a value and an attraction to her that went beyond her physical beauty.

He would need to move carefully. Let things progress naturally. If a friendship developed out of this then it would be worth it. He hoped the evening had gone pleasantly for her. He would wait a day or so. Not appear too anxious. Then ask her out to dinner. Would she accept? That would be the mighty test of whether she wanted to see him again. He didn’t dare dream of what might happen after that.

Then he noticed Tammy had moved closer to him on the couch.

She reached over and rested her hand on his thigh, and said, “Now just because I made you dinner, I don’t want you to feel obligated to sleep with me.”

Chapter 34

When Ray nervously phoned Loraine Dellin the next day, he was surprised she didn’t hang up. In fact, she agreed to meet with him provided it was at some public place. He wanted some answers about why she had trapped him—he didn’t know why she agreed.

They met in the parking lot of the public library. She backed into a parking space but didn’t get out, sat there with the window down and the engine running. Ray leaned at the window. “There’s a bench over there, we could sit and talk.”

She didn’t budge. “This is fine, under the circumstances.”

“Yes, the circumstances being you’re ready to speed out of here as soon as I try to reach in there and grab you by the throat.”

“Is that what we’re going to talk about, retaliation? Just don’t make any sudden moves. I’m not joking about that.”

“What, you have that little Smithy Wesson next to you there in the car? Little risky carrying around the murder weapon, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t murder anyone but I know who did. That’s why I agreed to meet you. I wanted to tell you. I figure I owe you that much.”

“You owe me plenty, and I know you’re not here to help me. Okay, let’s have it, if you didn’t do it, who did?”

“Norma Martin. Did you know Martin is a Hispanic name? She’s actually Cuban.”

“Cuban-American, and runs a Cuban cafe. Some secret.”

“Don’t you get it? Everyone knew Al was having an affair, well she’s the one. He thought he could handle being involved with her. But she had him all sexed up so the whole tribe could rob him blind. You sleep with one of them and the entire family climbs into bed with you. That’s the way they operate.”

“Where are you getting this nonsense?”

“Al was into some big Tampa real estate deal with her not knowing her family was setting him up. The deal went bad and he broke off with her. The family was afraid he’d reveal their secrets, so she killed him. She was actually seen leaving his apartment the day of the murder.”

“Loraine, you’re mixing up pieces of several different rumors. Who’s your source on all this?”

“I can’t tell you who. You might be wearing a wire.”

“Me? No, are you? Don’t forget which of us is the suspect. You’re the one flitting around uncharged. You’re the one causing all the trouble and for some reason the police are afraid to come after you.”

“Prominent citizen trumps irrelevant stranger every time.”

“You were quite the actress putting on that oversexed and helpless routine at the motel.”

She relaxed, unhooked her seatbelt, leaned back, and smiled, “You went for it. Show a man some skin and his brains slide down into his pants.” She changed to a slow, mocking voice, “Isn’t my little bikini just the cutest thing you’ve ever saw? You do like to look at me, don’t you?” Then back to normal, “Thank God I had to wear it only once. You’re a regular Boy Scout aren’t you, running around like that?”

“Pretty dumb of me, huh, trying to help a bunch of strangers.”

“You and one other guy at the party were the type I was looking for, horny and gullible. I was working both of you. I figured one of you would catch fire.”

“What fun! And I was the winning stooge. The loser is happily going on with his life somewhere.”

She looked directly at him. “You didn’t seem to mind.”

“No, I didn’t at the time, but I paid an incredibly high price for that piece of sex, wasn’t worth five seconds of my freedom.”

“You surprised me when you turned me down at the motel. The bikini was to get you going, and when I took it all off, you were supposed to go all stupid. I overestimated your horniness. I expected I’d have to screw you again to keep you properly motivated. You know, make you think there would be regular sex if you kept doing what I wanted. But you didn’t require it, thank God. You just charged off like Don Quixote to right the wrongs of the world.”

“You must have known when Towson would be murdered, and you got me to his place at the proper time. I was the stranger with only some cockamamie explanation for being there. It was supposed to appear that in my delusional mind I was in a love triangle.”

“He was such a sick pup, your Honor. He imagined that with Senator Towson out of the way he’d have me all to himself.”

“Sex is merely a weapon for you, isn’t it?”