Hot Stuff

Chapter THIRTEEN

A casual observer might look at the slightly paunchy man at the bar and think he was just another customer procrastinating the event of going home. The bar regulars knew the man was the bar owner, Gerald Evian. And Cate knew he only sat in this catatonic stupor when he was panicked. It was fifteen minutes to Marty’s first show and Marty was nowhere to be seen. Marty hadn’t called. Marty hadn’t e-mailed. Marty wasn’t answering his phone.

“I’m fucked,” Gerald Evian said.

Cate and Gina scurried away from Evian, refilling glasses, making sure no one was thirsty, and adding extra booze to the mixed drinks. In a half hour people would be demanding a drag queen, and they might be more forgiving if they were liquored up.

“Do you think Marty will show?” Gina asked Cate.

“No,” Cate said. “I think Marty’s in trouble.”

Julie had ordered Pugg to escort Cate to work and not let her out of his sight, and Pugg was now sitting at the end of the bar, watching the overhead television. It was close to eleven, and the bar was almost empty. Just a few morose drunks and Pugg and Evian.

“Hey,” Pugg said to Cate. “What’s the name of the guy you rent from?”

“Marty Longfellow.”

“There was just a news flash about him. They fished him out of the Charles River.”

All eyes fixed on the television screen, but the scrolling headline had moved on to game scores.

“Are you sure?” Cate asked.

“It said South End drag queen Marty Longfellow was found washed ashore at the Boston University Bridge. Police were investigating.”

Cate felt her stomach go hollow. “Poor Marty.”

“I’m out of a job,” Gina said.

Evian nodded agreement. “And I’m truly fucked.”

“We need new entertainment,” Gina said.

“Pugg could tell jokes,” Pugg said. “Would you like to hear some of Pugg’s jokes?”

“No,” everyone said in unison.

Kellen strolled into the bar and smiled at Cate. “Closing time?”

“Yes. And we just heard about Marty.”

“What did you hear?”

“That they found his body washed ashore at the BU Bridge.”

“That’s not entirely correct,” Kellen said. “I’ve been listening to the police band. Someone found Marty’s wig and a high-heeled pump size fourteen and Marty’s evening purse with identification inside at the water’s edge. They’re dragging the river near the scene, looking for a body.”

Cate gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of the police dragging the river for Marty’s body. Somehow it was even worse than having Marty’s body wash ashore.

“You can leave,” Evian said to Cate and Gina. “I’ll close up. Give me something to do besides think about bankruptcy.”

“Thanks for waiting,” Cate said to Pugg when they were outside.

“Pugg had strict instructions not to let you out of Pugg’s sight. Pugg shudders to think what would happen to him if he didn’t follow instructions. Pugg would be cut off from Julie’s affections. Pugg would be left to his own devices for sexual gratification.”

Kellen put an arm around Cate. “I’ll watch over her for the rest of the night,” he said to Pugg.

“No, no, no. Pugg is not allowed to leave Cate’s side until Cate is safely locked in her condo. Pugg will follow at a respectful distance.”

“It’s not necessary to follow at a distance,” Kellen said. “But it would be good if you didn’t say anything.”

“That’s too bad,” Pugg said, walking fast to keep pace with Kellen’s longer legs. “Pugg has many interesting things to say.”

“Such as?”

“Pugg is knowledgeable about the gooney bird. The gooney bird is actually an albatross, of the biological family Diomedeidae. They are among the largest of flying birds and range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They have become extinct in the North Atlantic. Pugg does not know why this is.”

“I didn’t know that,” Cate said.

“Gooney birds are highly efficient in the air and can cover great distances with little exertion. They nest on remote oceanic islands and pairs of gooney birds form bonds over several years with the use of ritualistic dances, and that bond will last the life of the pair. Gooney birds are monogamous. Pugg would like to be a gooney bird.”

“Wow, that’s terrific,” Cate said, using her key fob to unlock the condo building’s front door. “I bet you’d make a good gooney bird. Are you going to see Julie now?”

“Yes. Pugg will perform his ritualistic gooney dance and hope Julie is impressed.”

They all got into the elevator and Pugg got off at Julie’s floor.

Kellen waited for the elevator’s doors to close before speaking. “Do you suppose he would actually perform a gooney bird dance?”

Cate laughed out loud. “Yes. And Julie would probably love it.”

Kellen followed Cate out of the elevator at the fourth floor and punched her code into the new condo lock. They stepped into the quiet, dark condo and Kellen closed and locked the door behind them.

“Beast is at my house,” Kellen said. “And I would feel better if you were there too. I don’t like the way the weird factor is escalating on this case.”

“I’ll throw a few things in an overnight bag,” Cate said. “I’m not anxious to stay here. It feels creepy and sad, knowing Marty is at the bottom of the river somewhere.”

Kellen handed Cate a glass of Pinot Grigio and poured a glass for himself.

“You have wineglasses!” Cate said.

“I went shopping today. I thought we needed to celebrate.”

“Are we celebrating anything special?”

“Yep. We’re celebrating because I got you to take your clothes off last night. And we’re celebrating because Julie rescued you this afternoon, and you’re safe. And we’re celebrating because I was able to remove the bottom on Beast’s water bowl and found this…”

Kellen reached into a kitchen drawer and extracted a diamond-and-deep-blue-sapphire necklace.

“That’s the most beautiful necklace I’ve ever seen,” Cate said. “Is that the necklace you were looking for?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“What will you do with it?”

“I’ll make some inquiries,” Kellen said. “And I’ll file a report with the police.”

Beast softly padded into the kitchen and rubbed against Cate.

“He’s all droopy-eyed,” Cate said, fondling his ear.

“I’m surprised he even got up. This is not a night dog. All day long he has tons of energy. When the sun goes down it’s Beast’s bedtime, and it takes a forklift to move him.”

Cate sipped her wine. “Where do you go from here?”

“I work at getting you out of your clothes again.”

Cate grinned. “I meant with your necklace search.”

Kellen lounged against the counter. “I need to figure out the Kitty Bergman connection. They were working together. They had a falling out. She came after Marty. And she wanted Beast. Maybe she wanted the necklace in the dog bowl. I have a feeling Marty was holding out on her.”

“And what about Marty’s agent? What was that about?”

Kellen smiled at Cate. “You’re getting into this whole mystery thing, aren’t you? You’re enjoying some of it.”

“It is interesting.”

“It’s a puzzle. You put it together piece by piece. You just keep working at it until you see the whole picture.”

“And this is what you do all day?”

“Pretty much.” Kellen put his wineglass on the counter and took Cate into his arms. He kissed the back of her hand, and then the inside of her wrist. “And this is what I intend to do all night. I’m going to start here.” He kissed her just below her ear. “And I’m going to keep moving south until we find your favorite spot to get kissed.”

Cate was pretty sure she already knew where that spot was, but she thought she’d keep an open mind while he worked his way down.

Cate sprawled in Kellen’s king-sized bed and decided it was the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in. It wasn’t too hard. And it wasn’t too soft. It was just right. Plus there was plenty of room for three people, although technically speaking one of those people was a dog. Kellen had new pillows and smooth white sheets and a fluffy forest green comforter that was also just right for the air-conditioned room. And the best part about the bed, Cate thought, was that it contained Kellen. Not now, but usually. At this precise moment Kellen’s side of the bed was empty.

It was Saturday morning and the sun was shining behind honeycomb shades, flooding the room with diffused light. The walls were painted cream and the old-fashioned baseboards and ornate wood doors and crown moldings were dark mahogany. Kellen’s bed had a padded dark leather headboard. It was flanked by two marble-topped bedside chests. The only other piece of furniture in the room was an antique mahogany dresser.

Cate checked her watch on the bedside table. Eight o’clock. She’d originally awakened at six, but that led to morning sex, and she’d drifted back to sleep when they were done. And now man and dog were missing.

The door alarm chimed downstairs, and Cate heard footsteps and heavy dog panting coming up the stairs and into the hall. Beast bounded into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed. He turned around a bunch of times and flopped down, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, still panting. Kellen followed Beast into the room.

Cate propped herself up on one elbow. “What did you do to my dog? He’s all worn out.”

“Your dog is a nutcase. He insists on jumping around like a rabbit. And when I let him loose in the dog park he runs around like a crazy dog. And it’s already hot out. It’s going to be in the nineties today.” Kellen dropped a couple of bags on the bed and set two containers of coffee on the nightstand. “I don’t know what you like to eat in the morning so I got one of everything. There’s a totally unhealthy breakfast sandwich with egg and sausage and cheese and lots of great grease. There’s a carrot cake muffin, a bran muffin, a blueberry muffin. There are a couple bagels with cream cheese. And there are a couple doughnuts. And coffee.”

“I’m overwhelmed,” Cate said. “I want it all.”

Kellen took one of the coffees and opened it. “I’ve got my name on the honey wheat bagel.”

“A healthy breakfast eater?”

“Sometimes.” He sat on the edge of the bed and fished his bagel out of the bag. “I’ve been talking to some of my cop friends and listening to the chatter on the scanner, and they haven’t found Marty. Word is that someone in a passing car saw two men pitch a tall woman off the bridge. She was wearing a cocktail dress and heels and carrying a handbag. Marty fits the description. And the witness has seen the wig and shoes and bag found at the water’s edge, and while he can’t be sure he thinks they belong to the woman he saw.”

“Are they still dragging for the body?’

“No. They’ve stopped.”

“That’s grim. Could the witness identify the two men if he saw them in a lineup?”

“Don’t know. I reminded the police of Pugg’s phone call. Needless to say, they weren’t happy to learn Kitty Bergman might be involved in something nasty.”

Cate chose the maple-glazed doughnut as her first breakfast selection. “We heard about Marty on the eleven o’clock news. When did the witness see him tossed off the bridge?”

“Around three in the morning on Friday. The shoes and wig and bag were found around eight in the evening.”

“Poor Marty.”

Kellen sipped his coffee and looked at Cate. “I got the impression you weren’t close.”

“No. But he was always nice to me.”

Kellen broke a chunk off his bagel and fed it to Beast. “It’s Saturday. Would you like to do something fun?”

“I’d love to, but I can’t. I promised Julie I’d do some typing for her, and I need to get it done before I start school next week.”

“I assume that’s why you have the large pack of papers and your laptop with you.”

“Yeah. Is it okay if I commandeer a corner of your kitchen?”

“You can commandeer whatever you want. If you’re going to work, I will too. I have some loose ends I can run down.”

When Cate was finished with the doughnut she ate the carrot cake muffin and the breakfast sandwich and drank all her coffee. She gave the blueberry muffin to Beast and dragged herself into the shower.