AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Jane may not be as tough as you think. Despite her hard ass butch manner, she has a really sweet side, as if there’s a tender old dame under that hard exterior.”
“Is this what people said of her, or what you saw?”
“What I saw? I watched her top one of the club’s doms. She was terrifying every second, though there was this undercurrent of care. It was really quite amazing.”
“That really doesn’t surprise me; the really good tops are like that, at least the ones I’ve been with.” Robin readily thought of Britta, the sad woman who was so lovingly mean that it left her breathless. Now, she saw that same kind of breathless response in Leslie; it was unexpected coming from this great lady of reason, order and sensibility. “What about the night of the murder?” Robin changed the subject.
“Jane was there all right. But no one can swear that she might not have left a while. No one there is going to testify that she wasn’t in the club. She might as well own the place, she’s the one in charge. She licks no one’s boots.”
“But she could have left?”
“It’s common for her to disappear for an hour or two in some private room. The way the place is arranged, it would be easy to create a perfect alibi, and then slip out to do some murderous deed.”
“Did anyone remember her being in a private room?”
“She’s into a girl named Chris. Was with her that night. I managed to get Chris to tell me that she and Jane had “quite a scene going,” but it sounded as if Chris was too far gone to testify to anything specific. I suppose you know what that means?”
“You mean she was likely bound and blindfolded and off in another world? Yeah, I understand that,” Robin said. “So Jane doesn’t have an airtight alibi at all; that makes it very interesting.”
“But I don’t think she killed Felicia,” Leslie quickly added.
“Why? Because she had the capacity to care?” Robin asked.
“Because I couldn’t imagine her doing it.”
“Now, you’re sounding like me,” Robin smiled. “My intuitive abilities must be rubbing off.” She chuckled under her breath. “So, tell me, how did you like surrendering your ass?”
Leslie thought for a minute, fending off a telling blush. “I suppose I was dumbfounded.”“And …”
“Hum…puzzled, it was bizarre. But it wasn’t all that different from slapping asses when I make love to someone. I even did that to you. I guess because it was the club and there’s all that S&M ambience,” she said tongue and cheek, “it took on a darker flavor.”
“Well, did you LIKE it?” Robin probed, being just a little frustrated with her partner’s vague replies.
“Oh, hell, yes,” Leslie snapped.
“Good.” Robin backed off, a pleased smirk crossing her face. “I would never have believed it.”
“Well don’t get too excited, it’s not like I’m going back tonight,” Leslie added.
“You might do it again?”
“Let’s just say the possibility is much more appealing than it was a few days ago. Now, let’s get back to business. What have you uncovered?”
“My friend Diane called to report on Martha and Zelda at State U. Martha got her graduate degree there in 1976, but as far as Diane could tell, Zelda was never there, at least under that name. Betsy was pretty clear that Zelda wasn’t telling the truth, when she called them friends. I think there’s a lot those three are hiding, Remy too.”
“So, we still have four suspects.”
“We do, none of them with a reasonable alibi, including Jane, and any one of them could have a reason to murder Felicia. For Jane, it could be a number of things, from money to sex. Remy might well have been jealous, and Martha and Zelda are both suspect because of their affection for Remy.”
“So where do we go from here?” Leslie said, sighing.
“Well, I’ve done some checking on Brightwood. There’s a Brightwood Hospital, a private mental institution in New Hampshire that just might have some answers.”
“One of our suspects a resident, you think?”
“I think so.”
“Which one?” Leslie asked.
