Josh Aterovis is the author of Bleeding Hearts (ISBN: 1930928688) and the upcoming Reap the Whirlwind (Coming in 2003), published by Renaissance Alliance Publishing Inc. (http://www.rapbooks.biz) The Truth of Yesterday is the fourth book in the Killian Kendall series.
Visit "Black Sheep Productions" for more information. Official Site of the Killian Kendall Mystery Series http://www.steliko.com/bleedinghearts
The Truth of Yesterday
Chapter 18
I have to admit that I was relieved when I awoke the next morning without having been wakened during the night by anyone, alive or otherwise. Despite my determination to see this through, I still wasn't looking forward to seeing Amalie again.
I took a break from my cases on Friday; I just went to class and caught up on routine stuff at the office. It was a nice change of pace. That night, Micah took me out to dinner and again. We avoided discussing the case while we ate. Afterwards, we took a walk along the river that ran along next to the restaurant where we had eaten. I couldn't resist bringing up the case any longer. I had been thinking of a plan to find Neal and I had a question that I needed the answer to in order to implement my plan.
"What is the name of the agency that you and Paul worked for?" I asked him.
He looked at me as if gauging my feelings on the subject. "Are you sure you want to talk about this?"
I shrugged. "I'm doing better with it now. I'm trying not to be so judgmental."
He gave me a lop-sided smile. "I thought I'd given you the name already, not that it will help much. They're not exactly listed in the yellow pages. It's called Top to Bottom."
I blinked for a second, thinking he must be joking. When I realized that he was serious, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. "No," I sputtered, "You definitely had not told me the name before. I would not have forgotten that."
Micah waited for the giggles to wear off before asking, "Why did you want to know? Are we still on for Michelangelo's tomorrow night?"
"Yeah, we're still on. I was just curious. It occurred to me that if the club doesn't pan out, it would be hard to find something that you don't even know what it's called. Actually, I have an idea. If it works, it might mean that we can just have fun at the club and not worry about business. Our last trip there didn't turn out so well; I wouldn't mind exorcizing those memories."
"True," he said with a grimace. "I'd ask you what your plan is, but the fact of the matter is, I don't want to talk business right now."
"Oh?" I asked, giving him a coy look through my lashes. "And what do you want to talk about?"
He stopped and caught my arm, swinging me around into his embrace. "I don't want to talk about anything," he said in a husky voice before kissing me tenderly on the lips. I melted into his arms, slipping one arm around his waist and running my other hand through his hair. It didn't take long for kiss to heat up. We came up for air a few minutes later, both of us breathing heavily.
"I've missed you," he breathed as he held me tightly to his chest.
"I've missed you too."
"Do you want to come back to my place tonight?"
I knew what he was asking and I did want it; I was surprised at how desperately I wanted it. "I want to, but I need to stay at the bed and breakfast. I'm on Amalie watch."
Micah pulled back wearing a startled expression. "Since when?"
"Since last night. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that I'm trying not to be so selfish. Steve and Adam need me to do this and I'm going to do my best."
"To get rid of Amalie?"
"Something like that."
"I'm proud of you."
"Don't be. I'm still scared spitless."
"What does that have to do with anything? Who wouldn't be scared? The important thing is that you're doing it anyway. How about if I stay over with you then? You have your own room, right?"
"You'd be willing to do that?" I asked in surprise.
"Do what? Would I be willing to sleep with you? That's a silly question," he teased.
"I meant sleep in that house, silly."
"It wouldn't be the first time, remember? Besides, I'm not sensitive like you are. She could show up and do a Mexican Hat Dance in the middle of the bed and I doubt I'd notice."
I snorted at that mental image. "Oh, you'd notice alright. She can make herself known to just about anyone, sensitive or not, if she wants to. If you're serious about staying with me tonight, I'd like that."
"I'm very serious." He pulled me close again and showed me just how serious he was.
I'd gone by and picked up some clothes and toiletries from home earlier that day, and now we ran by Micah's apartment so he could do the same. We almost got sidetracked there, but we finally made it out the door. We'd left my car there earlier when we went out to eat, so I drove from there with Micah driving behind me.
Steve gave me a surprised look when I showed up with Micah and we both went upstairs with duffle bags, but he didn't comment. Micah was still feeling quite amorous, but I tried to convince him that we should restrain ourselves for now and go back down and be social. He agreed only after I promised him we wouldn't stay long and that I'd make it up to him later.
When the ballroom on the first floor wasn't being used for parties, Steve and Adam had arranged a comfortable sitting area around the large fireplace. It wasn't quite chilly enough yet to need a fire, but Steve had lit one anyway, for purely aesthetic reasons. Then again, there is something comforting and inviting about a crackling fire, so maybe there was more to it than I first thought. Steve served drinks from the wet bar in the corner every night and often the guests would gather and socialize with one another and their host.
We arrived back downstairs to find that the ghost-hunting couple was still the only other people staying there, although another couple was scheduled to come in the next day. Conversation with the Alan and Carla, the couple with the ghost fetish, was awkward at best. All they wanted to talk about was supernatural phenomenon in general, and ghosts in particular. As hard as we tried to steer the conversation to other topics, they always managed to turn it back to Amalie. They tried especially hard to grill me about my experiences. My reticence only seemed to inflame their curiosity all the more. They were beginning to give me a headache when I guess Micah realized how much they were getting to me.
"We'd better go soon," he said suddenly, cutting Alan's diatribe on the importance of understanding the living impaired off in mid-sentence. "I have to get up early in the morning and get that story finished. They want it for Sunday's edition."
The couple blinked at Micah in surprise. I couldn't tell if they had simply forgotten that he was there or if they were caught off guard at the implication that we were retiring to bed together. I took advantage of their momentary silence to quickly jump to my feet and offer a quick, but polite good night.
"Killian," Steve called just as we made it to the doorway. "Can I talk to you a second?"
"Sure," I said as he started across the room.
"I'll meet you upstairs," Micah said and trotted up the stairs, thoughtfully giving Steve and me privacy to talk.
Steve stared after him as he reached my side. "Killian," he said sounding slightly uncomfortable. I suddenly grew a little uneasy. "I don't know if this is my place or not. I mean, I'm not your father..."
"What is it, Steve?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral. "And you may not be my father, but for all intents and purposes you've been like a second father to me. Or maybe that would be a third father. I don't really count my dad, though." I was babbling and I knew it. I had a feeling that I knew what it was that Steve wanted to talk to me about and I would rather have avoided it if at all possible.
"It's just that...well...I guess I didn't realize that your relationship with Micah had progressed to that point. I know I haven't been around much the last couple months; I've been so busy with this place that I probably wouldn't have noticed if you'd suddenly gone straight and started dating girls."
"I think we're all safe on that score," I said with a grin.
Steve chuckled, but sobered quickly. "I just want you to be safe on every score," he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You're 18 so you can make your own choices. Adam and I both respect that. But I know that if he were here he'd want to tell you to be careful."
"I've done a lot of thinking about Micah and me," I told him. "I'm sure that this is right for us."
"That's not quite what I meant," Steve said with a slight blush. My blush was more than slight as I realized what he was talking about.
"You mean...?"
"Are you having safe sex?" he asked bluntly.
At that moment, I would have been perfectly happy if the earth had opened up and swallowed me whole. I would have actually welcomed a visit from Amalie, but of course, there's never a ghost around when you need one. I felt as if my face would burst into flame at any moment.
"I...we...I mean...we've only...I..." I stammered. I took a deep breath and managed to get a coherent answer out. "Yes!"
Steve looked eminently relieved. "That's all I needed to know." He pulled me into a sudden hug that caught me by surprise. "I'm sorry that was so...ghastly," he said as he released me. "I've never had kids and I don't really know what I'm doing. It really shows at times like this."
"If you ask me, you've done a great job," I said sincerely.
"Liar," he said with a grin. He ruffled my hair and gave me a gentle shove towards the stairs. "Now get on up to your man before he falls asleep without you."
"Not much chance of that," I said with a wicked grin. "He's been promised something and he isn't likely to forget it." With that bit of payback, I left a blushing Steve and took the stairs two at a time. Revenge is sweet.
After all my assertions to the opposite, had Amalie decided to show up and do that Mexican Hat Dance in the middle of our bed like Micah had suggested, I think I just might have slept through it. I was so exhausted after I fulfilled my promise that I slept like a log, although I'm still stumped as to how a log sleeps exactly.
It was a very nice feeling to wake up in Micah's arms and to feel his body pressed up close against mine. It was a feeling I thought I could get used to quickly. I just lay there for awhile reveling in the unfamiliar comfort. When he started to nuzzle my neck, I realized he was awake as well. I rolled over to face him, tossing a leg casually across his body as I did.
"Good morning, love," he said with a warm smile.
"A very good morning," I agreed. "I wish I could wake up like this every morning."
Micah studied me for a minute, his eyes searching mine, before he broke into a wide smile. "If you think this is good, then you're just going to love what comes next," he said with a twinkle in his eye. With that, he ducked under the sheet.
By the time we showered, which took a lot longer than usual, and finally came downstairs, I was so worn out that I was just about ready to go back to sleep. Steve was checking in the new couple, two women in their mid-forties, as we came down. He gave me a knowing smile before turning his attention back to his guests.
"What was that about?" Micah asked me. As usual, his sharp reporter's instinct hadn't missed a thing.
"Nothing," I said as I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.
He accepted my evasion and moved on. "So, I'm going to go finish up this story and make sure my editor gets it. Do you want me to pick you up at the office or here?"
"Call the office; you can just pick me up there if that's where I am. Otherwise, pick me up here."
"Ok. You're still not going to tell me this plan of yours?"
"If it works, I'll tell you all about it. If not, you'll never know."
He laughed and gave me a quick kiss before heading out the door. I nabbed a leftover blueberry muffin and headed out the door to try out my plan. It wasn't anything elaborate. The only reason I was avoiding Micah's questions was because it was a little embarrassing to admit I even knew about these sources. I was planning on going into the AOL M4M chat rooms in the DC area and asking if anyone knew how to get in touch with the Top to Bottom Escort Agency. The rooms were nothing more than pick-up joints, a place for freelance escorts and dirty old men to try and pick up guys. I went to the rooms a few times when Asher and I were having problems, thinking I might be able to meet someone nice, but each time I'd just ended up leaving feeling slightly dirty.
Once in the office, I logged onto my AOL account. I answered my email (After all, I do have my priorities!) and then pulled up the list of available chat rooms. There weren't many people in the first one, and those that were there weren't interested in answering my questions. After being ignored for a few minutes, I moved on to the next one that looked promising. This one had more people and they were a little chattier. When I asked about the agency, however, all I got were a few lewd and suggestive comments along the lines of, "Why pay for it, sweetie, when I can give it to you for free?" I was about to give up when an IM window popped up on my screen.
"Why are you looking for Top to Bottom?" someone with the screen name DCEscortBoi asked me.
I tried to decide how to play it. Should I pretend to be someone looking for an escort, which is what everyone in the chat room had assumed, or just be honest? It seemed that most escorts were a little wary so I decided I was in the market for an escort.
"Someone recommended them to me," I typed.
"So you're looking for looking for an escort?" they clarified.
"Yes."
"I work for T2B," they said. "My name is Brady."
"Hi Brady," I typed. I wondered what the protocol for something like this was. Did you make small talk or get right to the details?
"What's your name?" he asked after an awkward pause.
"Travers," I said, giving him my middle name. For some reason, I was hesitant to give my real name.
"Have you ever been with an escort before?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered. It was a partial truth. Micah had been an escort.
"So you know the drill. What do you like?"
Uh oh. I was getting in over my head. "The usual." I tried to bluff my way out of it.
"You'll have to be more specific than that. Do you like smooth or hairy? Younger or older? Top or bottom? Do you like it rough? Are you into dungeons?"
Dungeons? I shuddered at the thought. "I'm definitely not into dungeons," I typed. "Just nice normal..." I couldn't bring myself to say it. "Just nice and normal," I finished up.
"Vanilla," he said.
That sounded safe so I agreed. You can't go wrong with vanilla, right?
"Top or bottom?" he asked again.
"It doesn't matter." This was getting a little more involved than I had planned.
"Versatile, huh? I think I'd be a good match for you."
"Great," I said jumping at the chance to get out of the question and answer portion of our program. "How do I make an appointment?"
"You have to make one with the person who does the schedule. His name is Neal. You can ask for me."
My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe how relatively easy this turned out to be. What's a little personal embarrassment if it gets the job done? But I was relieved that after all that I was at least going to get what I was after.
"How do I get in touch with Neal?" I asked.
"I can give you an email address or a phone number."
"Both?" I asked hopefully.
"No problem." He provided me with the information. I jotted both down in my trusty notepad, thanked Brady, and closed the IM window. I wrote Neal a quick email, telling him who I was and requesting an appointment to talk to him about Paul. I didn't have much confidence that I'd get an answer, but thought I'd try that first and hold on to the number to use as Plan B.
Micah showed up at the office much earlier than I had expected.
"I have a surprise for you before we head for DC," he said with an anticipatory grin.
"What?" I asked suspiciously.
"I'm not telling you. Come on and you'll see."
"No, I want to know," I insisted. I didn't really like surprises; I preferred to know what I was doing and what was expected of me. If I know there is a surprise, predictably, I obsess over it until I know what is going on. Blame it on my insatiable curiosity. That's why I'm an investigator.
"If you just cooperate you'll find out a lot quicker," he reasoned.
"I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on," I said obstinately.
"Fine, we'll do it the hard way." He was grinning as he said this so I knew he was enjoying every second of it. He walked calmly around my desk and before I knew what he was doing, he grabbed me around the waist and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Have I mentioned lately that Micah is a lot stronger than he looks? I struggled, but it was cursory at best. He carried me through the door just as Novak was coming in.
"I won't even ask," he said as he squeezed by and went into the office without even looking back.
"It's nice to know I can count on you if I'm ever in trouble," I yelled after him, mustering as much dignity as one can muster while hanging over someone's shoulder with their rump in the air.
"I didn't ask to be included in your sexual peccadilloes," I heard him call back.
"What?" I gasped. "What did he say?"
Micah just laughed and carried me outside.
"Now," he said, setting me down in the parking lot next to his car, "We can either do this the easy way, namely you get in the car and quit being a pain, or I stuff you in the trunk."
I had a feeling he would do it too. I made a show of smoothing my clothes, then turned coolly towards the car and climbed in. I was buckling my seatbelt as Micah slid into the driver's seat.
"There now, that wasn't so bad was it?" he asked.
"Just drive," I said. He chuckled and started the car.
He drove a short distance to one of those small strip malls that are scattered prevalently around any good-sized community. This one boasted a Chinese restaurant, a sporting goods store, a Kenpo studio, a framing gallery, and a bridal wear shop. An eclectic assortment and one that told me nothing about why we were here.
"So, are we here to take self-defense classes or have some moo goo gai pan?" I asked.
"Neither," he answered. "Follow me." He got out of the car and strode purposefully to the bridal shop. I had to give him this; he had succeeded in surprising me. I clambered after him wondering the whole time what the heck was going on.
He held the door open for me and ushered me inside with the grave dignity of an English butler, following close behind as I entered. The clerk inside, a small, rather effeminate looking man with a receding hairline and twinkling blue eyes, seemed to be in on what ever Micah had up his sleeve. He was positively beaming at us, which only served to increase my unease.
"Ok, I'm here. Now what's going on?" I demanded. Then a terrifying thought occurred to me. "This better not be another surprise wedding," I yelped. The bewildered expression on both their faces was almost enough to make me laugh. Almost.
"Surprise wedding?" Micah asked in confusion.
"Whoever heard of such a thing?" the clerk asked with a dismissive wave of his limp wrist.
"Will someone please just tell me what the hell is going on?" I interrupted, a little louder than I had intended.
"The ball," Micah said quickly, apparently deciding he had pushed his little game far enough.
"Huh?" I responded cleverly.
"I told you I would take care of the tuxedos for the ball," Micah explained. "We're here to get fitted."
I looked at him blankly. "You mean to tell me all of that was just to get fitted for a tux?"
"Yes."
"That was my surprise?"
"Well, it is a ball. I wanted it to be special and exciting."
"You kidnapped me to take me to a tux fitting." I was struggling to keep a straight face. I wasn't upset, but revenge, as I may have noted before, is sweet. I was enjoying watching Micah squirm a little.
"I didn't kidnap you. Well, not exactly."
His expression was finally too much for me to take and I burst out laughing. It didn't take him long to realize what I'd been doing and he joined me in the laughter. The clerk just stood by looking even more befuddled.
"If we could?" he asked after a moment. He whipped a tape measure from his pocket and unfurled it with a flourish. I had a feeling that he had practiced the maneuver.
"Sorry," I apologized. I submitted myself to the process of being measured from every possible angle, and after me, Micah. Then we looked through the tuxedos he had on hand and tried several of them on just to get an idea of the style. They would have to be altered to fit, but we finally decided on what we liked.
We actually did end up eating dinner at the Chinese restaurant. For the record, I did not order moo goo gai pan; I like spicier dishes. I order the double cooked sliced pork and Micah had the Hunan chicken. It was excellent.
After dinner, we were off for DC. Micah had planned the whole trip so I didn't even know where we were staying after we went clubbing. I was pretty sure we weren't going to try to drive back that late at night though. Or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it.
During the drive, I told Micah how I'd managed to get Neal's email address and phone number. He gave me a look of respect.
"That was smart thinking," he said. "I don't know if I would have thought of that and I knew about those chat rooms. I used to go there to drum up business when things got slow, too. Well, then tonight is all about us."
That sounded good to me. After being told by several people lately that I was too serious and didn't have enough fun, I was determined to just relax and enjoy myself tonight.
"So what was all that about a surprise wedding?" he asked after a few minutes.
"Oh, nothing," I said. I was a little embarrassed that my mind had gone there straight away.
"It had to come from somewhere," he persisted.
I sighed. It would be easier to just tell him than go through the third degree. "You know Will Keegan?" I asked him.
"Yeah, he's a friend of yours right? He was involved in those murders about a year ago? I think we've met."
"Yeah, well, he was dating my cousin at the time, Aidan."
"The one who...?"
"Yes. They stunned all their friends with a surprise wedding, planned by none other than Adam. None of us had any idea why we were invited over to their house, but when we arrived, everything was all set up and they got married right there."
"Oh wow, how romantic...and tragic."
"Yeah. It was beautiful though."
"If Adam was in charge, I'm sure it was. And you thought that I was throwing you a surprise wedding?"
"No! I mean...maybe. I didn't..."
He laughed. "There was one big difference you should have seen right away. Aidan and Will wanted to get married, they were just surprising their guests. It would be a different thing all together to surprise one of the grooms!"
I laughed too. "I didn't really think that was what was happening. It just went through my mind and I blurted it out before I could think."
"Well, you can relax. I don't plan on getting married," he paused, and then added, "Yet."
We fell into silence as I thought about that yet and all its implication.
Once in the capitol, Micah drove to a hotel. It wasn't quite as nice as the one we stayed in the last time we were here, but it was clean and it would be more than sufficient for the brief time we would be spending in it. We left our clothes in the room and took the Metro to the Dupont area. We browsed through some of the stores, the HRC headquarters, Lambda Rising Bookstore, and an odd little store that specialized in mystery books, among others. I even bought a book a Mercedes Lackey book that I hadn't read before at Lambda. Another short Metro ride and we were at the Mall. We walked around the Washington Monument, the moonlight shimmering beautifully in the reflecting pool. By then it was time to head on over to Michelangelo's.
The club was just as packed as it had been the last time we were there. Bodies writhed and wriggled everywhere you looked, most of them male bodies, but not all. It was just as exhilarating as I remembered. I let the music sink into my body and allowed the beat to take over. We danced until I was completely exhausted, stopping only to drink the bottled water that Micah kept pushing on me.
"I don't want you to dehydrate," he yelled over the din.
We left at three in the morning, tired, relaxed, and happy. We caught a cab back to the hotel, expensive at that time of night but the Metro had stopped running by then. When we got back to the hotel room, we both shed our clothes and collapsed into bed. I hope Micah didn't have any romantic intentions, because I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. Hey, it had been a long day! It had been a good day too. It felt good to be back with Micah and it seemed like things were beginning to go right for a change. I should have suspected that it was just the calm before the storm.