Syrah and Swingers Read online

  Joy moved in and kissed him. “This might be like dancing, Steele. I’ll crush your boots a few times with missteps.”

  “You were pretty smooth after I fed you a whiskey at the roof-top café.” He arched his eyebrows. “Be right back.”

  The room seemed a million times brighter. The food smelled better than any she’d ever smelled before. It was like a lightbulb called “life” had finally—after all these years—illuminated and radiated pure pleasure.

  Joy put her fingers to her lips, remembering the touch of Steele’s lips pressed against hers.

  She’d faced Draven, discovered who had killed her father, and she was about to open her heart more than a crack. She didn’t know if it would last or if an unexpected bullet would rip her and Steele apart, like the one that ripped Sam out of her life. But at this moment, life was as perfect as it could get.

  Something made her glance down at her silly flowered T-shirt and she let out a stuttering laugh. Sam saw her blooming—or at least capable of blooming.

  Joy whispered, “Thanks for believing in me. I love you, Dad.”

  13

  Monday morning, Max and Joy left the police station and headed to Riverside to meet with Victor and Gloria, who waited for them at their club, which was closed.

  The two-story building looked nondescript from the outside: white with black awnings over red-framed windows and a sign that simply read “Adult Entertainment.” Joy and Max stepped through the red door to find another world on the inside. The palatial room had a round stage. The edge of the stage was also a bar, surrounded by red barstools. Plush seats around small tables formed conversation areas. Black, gold, and purple with splashes of pink exploded in garish splendor.

  Victor came to greet them. “Come, I’ll show you around.” Gloria followed as Victor proudly gave them a tour of the main stage, the bar area, and the private dance room, where high-backed chairs faced three dance poles that ran from floor to ceiling.

  Another door had a permanent hostess station fixed before it. The plaque on the door read “Members Only, VIP Lounge.” Gloria swung the door open. “Come upstairs; the strip club and adult store are downstairs, but upstairs, we run a sex club. Private membership only.” At the top of the stairs, they came to a posh bar and lounge. They headed down the hall where Victor and Gloria explained the multiple options for guests, from private spaces to funky swings or cushioned leather tables, to the group room, little more than a room scattered with flat cushions and decorator pillows. A screen on the wall was black and quiet. Before they sat down at a table in the lounge, Max and Joy split the pair up. Gloria and Joy retreated downstairs, and Max and Victor stayed upstairs.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Gloria pointed to a red curtain. “That’s our other business.” She pulled back the curtain enough for Joy to see the adult toy store, a menagerie of gels, videos, sexy lingerie, costumes, sex toys, and more.

  “Water or Perrier?”

  “Neither,” said Joy, “but thank you.”

  “Take a seat at the stage-bar. I’ll be right there.”

  Gloria grabbed a Perrier from behind the bar and opened it. She sat on a barstool next to Joy.

  “There are times I wish I knew how to dance. Some of our girls dance like graceful gymnasts.”

  “You used to dance?” said Joy.

  “No. I was a porn star, not a dancer.” Gloria pulled her blond curls so that her hair fell over one shoulder.

  “How long have you and Victor been together?”

  “More than twenty years.”

  “The club isn’t that old.”

  “We saved our money and built it about ten years ago. I worked in front of the camera, and Victor was my cameraman. He came here from Germany with big dreams.”

  “You must be a huge draw for the customers?”

  Gloria laughed. “All I have to do is wear a sexy outfit, stick my boobs out, and talk to customers to draw them in. But my star-status does help in this business. I quit making movies ten years ago when we built this club. Nothing cheap here. No prostitution. We wanted high-class clientele, and that’s what we have.”

  “Victor sounds like a good businessman.”

  “He is driven. When we met, I was spending my money as fast as I made it. But he taught me to save it. To set a goal. We’re married and we’re business partners. From the beginning, we discussed every decision—whether it’s sex or business—and that still holds true.”

  “Tell me about Christie and Tony.”

  “We don’t know them super well. Tony cuts my hair. He’s cracked more than a few lewd jokes and dropped innuendos, so I invited them to the club. Christie is super shy. I’m not sure she really wants to party, but Tony gets off on it, so she plays along. Tony found Christie on the street—literally—panhandling in front of his shop. He brought her in, fixed her hair, and later married her. She cuts hair too. Tony gave her a second chance.”

  “Nice guy or controlling?”

  Gloria shrugged. “You’ll have to ask her.”

  “Has Ted been here?”

  “Nicole brought him around one night. She’d just met him at a party at Elwin and Sophia’s house. They hit it off, but that was before we all found out that Ted worked for Henri.”

  “How was Ted here? Polite?”

  Gloria tossed back her long blonde waves of hair. “Ted could get rough and rowdy. He didn’t have the money for our exclusive club, but Nicole is a member, so we showed him around upstairs, and he and Nicole played with others. When he came around on his own, he expected the same treatment, but we said no. He drank too much and he accosted one of our girls in the parking lot.”

  “Did she report it?”

  “To us, yes. We got more out of her. She had partied with Ted once before—we suspect he’d paid her for sex, but we do not allow that. Ted then presumed he could ask for it when he wanted it. She told us he slapped her in the parking lot when she refused. During sex, he liked to slap and hit and pinch, even if a girl cried for him to stop, so she broke it off with him. Victor called Ted and said he wasn’t welcome at the club anymore. I was surprised to see him at the party, especially after the altercation with Henri at the restaurant. I suspect Ted suffered abuse as a child—that’s usually what leads to that kind of behavior.”

  “I’ve had FBI training, but it sounds like you have learned a lot just by observing people.”

  “You either learn fast or you’re in danger.”

  Joy sensed that Gloria had more to share. “But Ted wasn’t fired?”

  Gloria sighed. “No, in fact, Henri moved Ted up from entremetier, the vegetable cook, I think, to assistant chef. It came with a hefty raise.”

  “Odd behavior, unless Ted had made a threat to expose Henri and Nicole.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past Ted. He’s foul. In fact, now that you mention it, Elwin and Sophia had a funny look on their faces when Ted showed up, like they had to force themselves to be nice. I never thought of blackmail.”

  “How did Nicole act at the party?”

  “Henri and Nicole approached me and Victor early on. We made a pact to stick together. No one wanted to be anywhere near Ted. We had a good time.”

  “Was Ted ever rude to you?”

  “Ted wanted in my pants the moment he saw me. But I’m not a porn star anymore, thanks to Victor. We’re club owners. I can pick and choose who I’m with, and I do. We both do. If one of us says no, it’s no. No ‘taking one for the team’ with us. I love it when Victor is enjoying himself, and he feels the same way about me—but we love each other. Wholeheartedly.”

  “I can see that.” Joy handed her a card. “Give me a call if you think of anything else.”

  Upstairs, Max had delved into many of the same questions. “What’s the story with Steve and Sandy?”

  “The virgins? I don’t know. They’re friends of Elwin and Sophia. I doubt they’ll be coming back again, but you never know. You’d be surprised at the clientele of our VIP club.”

  �
��No,” said Joy. “I’ve been around too.”

  Max went down the line of questions, but Victor had little to say. He seemed relaxed, but he clearly had no intention of providing the police with information. His years of experience in the porn business, the adult club, and swinging had honed his skills at keeping his mouth shut, especially when asked questions by the police.

  Max tried one more tactic. “Mark and Mary are young.”

  “They are. The average age for swingers is between thirty-five and forty-five. Of course, we’re older. I guess in one’s twenties, you’re experimenting with dating, and only later, when that becomes a bore, do people reach out and try swinging.”

  “And they quit at forty-five, having sampled multiple dishes?”

  “Maybe.” Victor shrugged.

  Max handed him a card and met Joy downstairs.

  “I got nothin’,” said Max.

  “Let’s visit Tony and Christie.”

  As Max drove back to Vinoville, he asked, “Tell me about your visit with Blackmoor.”

  “How did you know?”

  “You’re kidding, right? You wanted to dissect him the moment you laid eyes on him.”

  “In a criminologist kind of way.”

  Max took his eyes off of the road long enough to make eye contact. “How do you feel about Evan Owens confessing to Sam’s murder?”

  How did she feel? It was so much easier not to share her feelings with anyone. Joy stared out the window. Golden hills rose up on both sides. “Relieved. Not knowing who killed Sam caused excruciating pain. I plunged into a well I almost didn’t crawl out of. But I did crawl out, Max—and I’m not going back in.”

  Max glanced her way again. “You will always crawl out of the well, Joy. And I’ll be there to give you a hand.”

  “Draven kissed me.”

  Max paused before asking, “Did you kiss him back?”

  Joy smiled. “I had a knee-jerk reaction. My knee shoved his nuts right up into his pelvis.”

  Max laughed. “That’s my girl. Sometimes I want to say ‘sister,’ but if I start using that word, I’m afraid it will slip out when it’s not supposed to.”

  “I know, Max. I feel awkward with Steele now. I’m keeping secrets.”

  “We have to keep this one.”

  “I know. I told him a little about Blackmoor—not the kiss or the nuts part.”

  14

  Max and Joy parked in the small mini-mall in front of Tony’s Beauty Time salon, a small corner studio with picture glass windows. Inside, Max smelled a mixture of perfumes and chemicals. The décor was black and white and blue.

  Max interviewed Tony in his small office, while Christie led Joy to a small storage room.

  “Tony, you two were with Ted. I know what you told us before, but what can you tell us about Ted’s relationship to others at the party? We’ve heard there was friction.”

  Tony’s eyes lit up. “Friction? There was downright animosity. Christie and I had missed the party last month. We vacationed on a swingers’ cruise. No one warned us. Victor, Henri, Nicole, Gloria, Elwin, and Sophia—they all knew and not a one of them said a peep about Ted until after he died.”

  “What did they say exactly?”

  “It’s what they didn’t say. Christie is good at listening. She’s so quiet, people forget she’s there. Henri’s assistant chef quit after Henri gave Ted a raise and a new job title. Ted blackmailed them. I sank my money and my back into this business. Elwin and Sophia, they worry all the time someone will find out they swing, but I don’t give a crap. What I do in the bedroom is my business. No one else’s.”

  “Does Christie give a crap?”

  “She couldn’t hurt a fly if it buzzed around her head for an hour. Doesn’t have it in her.”

  Max wondered if Joy had the same assessment. The quiet ones, the ones people ignored or bullied, they sometimes grabbed a gun and exploded. But Christie didn’t have a motive to kill Ted—not that they knew of. Neither did Tony.

  In the other room, Joy started with a personal question. “How did you meet Tony?”

  Christie played with the short spikes of blond and blue hair near her ear. “When I was down in the dumps.” Christie sighed. She had pretty but pale features and soft blue eyes. But her voice strained at answering Joy’s question. She kept her eyes glued to her hands and picked at her cuticles. “My mom and I worked as waitresses at the diner in the shopping center. I suffer from anxiety.” Christie rubbed her wrist, even though she wore long sleeves.

  Joy knew the signs. People who cut hid it well—whether they cut an arm or a thigh. “Cutting?”

  Christie stopped rubbing her wrists. “And eating disorders. I’ve tried all of the wrong ways to gain control over my life.”

  Joy let out a true sigh of compassion. “Me too, Christie. And I didn’t always take the healthy path toward that goal.”

  Christie’s wan blue eyes met Joy’s and her shoulders relaxed. “Mom died unexpectedly. Heart attack. I couldn’t afford rent. The boss threatened to cut my hours unless he had some perks. I threw my order pad in his face and ran out. When the landlord kicked me out, I tried a shelter, but I didn’t feel safe. I was like fresh meat for every pimp and hustler in there. I was walking around. I don’t know why, but I came back here. I sat on the curb in front of Tony’s place to have a good cry. Tony saw me. Really saw me. He knew I was in trouble. He wasn’t trying to pick me up. In fact, he brought me inside, made me a cup of tea, fed me, and he did my hair. He asked how I wanted my hair, but I said it didn’t matter. He said I’d be a superstar when he was done.”

  “He’s older?”

  “Ten years. He lost his parents young too, but they left life insurance. He used it to buy this place. He let me live in the shop. And he paid for hairdresser school. He paid for counseling too. He was a gentleman. I finally made the first move on him.”

  “How long have you been swinging?”

  Christie shrugged. “With Sophia and Elwin’s group, not long. Look, Tony saved my life. He likes to watch. It steams him up for me. It’s just who he is. I’m a mess. He’s a mess too, but together, somehow, we balance. I love Tony, and Tony knows it. He protects me.”

  “Would you walk away from swinging?”

  Christie shook her head. “Not yet. You know what’s crazy—the people at the parties, like Elwin and Sophia, Nicole and Henri, Gloria and Victor, and the others—there aren’t any phonies. We don’t need to apologize to anyone else for the choices we make for ourselves. No one pressures me to do anything I don’t want to do—unlike before. I’ve never met more genuine people. Most people look you in the eye and lie or pretend to be something they’re not. We don’t.”

  “Had you been with Ted before?”

  Christie shook her head and looked away. “There was something I didn’t like about him. He had this stupid mustache. He was kind of skinny. Real tall. I was happy he was passing out.”

  “Tell me about that.”

  Christie shrugged. “He was fine when we negotiated. Asia came up and said she’d made a match with Elwin and Sophia. She finished her drink. Ted tossed back his screwdriver—I remembered because we all laughed, and Sophia said it was better to call it ‘vodka and orange juice.’ Ted helped take off my clothes, and I helped take off his. He fell back on the bed. I don’t kiss. I straddled him, and he reached up for me, but he began to blink like he was woozy. His eyes fluttered, like he wanted to fall asleep. I…I tried to keep him awake, if you know what I mean, but…oh, this is embarrassing.”

  “He couldn’t sustain…”

  Christie nodded. “His arms flopped to his sides, and he was out cold in maybe ten or fifteen minutes. We thought he was drunk. Sophia and Elwin don’t allow drugs. Tony helped me dress. And we went back to the dining room. Tony stepped out to smoke a cigarette. I poured a Syrah and sipped on it. It was a while before the others came out of their rooms. Victor stepped outside too. People began chatting and laughing again. Asia asked where Ted was, and we told
her he’d passed out. She went to check on him, and the next thing we know, she’s screaming her head off. She said she had tried to wake him, but he wouldn’t wake up. Was it a drug overdose?”

  “We don’t know yet. Christie, what can you tell me about Mark and Mary?”

  Christie smiled. “Mark and Mary came to a party a couple of months ago. They’re so cute. Super innocent, which is rare at our parties. They just wanted to experiment. Mark is a bit of a geek, and I think he’s still in school. The first time they came, they just watched. The next time, Mark and Mary swapped with Ted and Nicole. Henri had to work late. I got the impression from somewhere, maybe Mark, that Mary’s father is a problem.”

  “Problem how?”

  “Not sure, really. Disapproving. Strict. I don’t know.”

  “Thanks, Christie. You’re stronger than you think—a friend gave me that advice once. It was good advice. Call me if you think of anything else.”

  “People think that because I’m quiet, I’m a dormouse or weak, but quiet people are good observers. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. Tony supports my decisions. I swing because I want to.”

  “I know what you mean. People in high school made up all kinds of nonsense about me. Being in a group just makes some people meaner—not better.”

  Max and Joy agreed on the next stop after lunch. Mark still lived at home with his parents.

  They also decided to have lunch at Belle’s. Joy had her usual salad, only she skipped the strawberry shake and opted for water. Max had Belle’s Bodacious Burger—the biggest one on the menu: two patties, topped with bacon, caramelized onions, and cheese. Hold the tomato and lettuce.

  “Murder or mayhem?” Belle asked her usual question.

  Max said, “Mayhem for sure, but we’re not calling it murder just yet.”

  “I need something more,” pleaded Belle.

  “Lustful mayhem,” said Joy without skipping a beat.

  Belle smiled. “It always is, honey.” As the septuagenarian owner moved on to visit with another table, her long braid swished against her back.