“That could work, Johnny,” said Dawn. She looked excited. “I couldn’t think of any way that you and I could live together short of packing up and moving someplace where nobody knew us. But if Mary Beth is your girlfriend to the outside world, it would seem innocent that I’m also living with you. And as it turns out I really, really like lesbian sex.” She grinned at Mary Beth.
“For which I’m very grateful,” Mary Beth said. “Johnny, Dawn loves you and I love you, and I’m falling for Dawn pretty quickly. This could work.”
“Are you sure?” I said. “Why did you two invite Jen to ‘take a run at me?'”
They looked at each other. Obviously they hadn’t talked about this yet.
Mary Beth went first. “Okay, what I was thinking was that you wouldn’t be happy stuck with a lesbian who wanted to be with other women, and that it wasn’t fair to try and make you do that.”
Dawn said, “And I couldn’t figure a way that we could be together, and didn’t think it was fair to keep you from dating someone who might turn out to be someone you’d want to spend the rest of your life with. We looked in each others’ eyes and saw the same thing and just acted on it.”
“Listen,” I said, “I’d be happy to spend the rest of my life with either of you. It’s a gift from God that I might have a chance to spend it with both of you.” I reached out and held both Mary Beth’s and Dawn’s hands. “So you don’t have to go finding women for me.”
They smiled at me and both squeezed my hand.
“If I’m going to be totally honest, I like a little variety,” Mary Beth said. “I’m sort of hoping to get Jen to bat for my team tonight.”
“That sounds good to me, too,” Dawn said.
“Are you two going to be okay if I also wind up having sex with Jen tonight?” I said.
“Totally okay,” Mary Beth said. “Truly.”
I looked at Dawn. “It would be hot to watch,” she said. “And help.”
Mary Beth said, “You and Dawn and I are at the start of something that could be pretty special, but we’re just at the start. Can we please be in the ‘I’m really into you but I’ve got to get to know you better before we commit to each other so it’s okay if we still see other people, but only when we do it together’ phase of the relationship for a while?”
I looked at Dawn again. “Sounds right to me,” she said.
I thought about it. “Does that include you two having sex with other guys?”
“Not for me,” Mary Beth said. “I told you, I’m attracted to exactly one guy on the planet. And I don’t even know why. Maybe I’m really bisexual.”
“Nope, I like the idea of having a lesbian girlfriend too much for you to be anything else,” I said. She laughed.
I looked at Dawn again. “Me neither,” she said. “I love you, Johnny. Only you.”
“Let me just summarize to see if I have this right. The three of us love each other and we’ll live together and bang each others’ brains out day and night. You’re each okay with me having sex with both of you. Neither of you will sleep with another man, but we’ll be free to bring other women home and, depending on how they’re inclined, all three of us can have sex with them, too. Does that about cover it?”
They both nodded happily. “You’ve got it, Professor,” Mary Beth said.
“I can live with that,” I said.
———-
I called Myer to tell him that I was taking some leave, and why. He said that he understood and agreed. I asked him how the case was going. He didn’t ask which one I meant.
“Nowhere, and fast,” he said. They’d already been through the forensic evidence and while all the tests weren’t finished it was already clear that there was nothing useful. They’d talked to the neighbors and contacted taxi companies and delivery services that might have had people in the neighborhood at the time of the murder. They’d hauled in and sweated the guy we knew had done it, Carlos Santos and his two lieutenants. Nothing. We both knew how quickly the odds of breaking a case decrease as time goes by.
“We know that Dawn heard your brother say ‘Carlos’ when he opened the front door, just before she closed the attic hatch. That’s all we got. And there’s at least a couple more guys named Carlos in Los Angeles. I don’t think the D. A. will bite.” He was trying to be funny.
I sighed. “Dawn will never be safe as long as Santos is free, Meyer.”
“I agree. You might want to think about that,” he said, and hung up.
I did.
———-
The private security I’d arranged for showed up at ten o’clock. Both were off duty cops that I knew. Buddy Megellas was good friend of mine. We’d served in the Rangers together and had both left the Army to become LAPD cops. Buddy was a beat cop and that’s all he wanted to be. He’d passed the Sergeant I exam but was loathe to be promoted for fear of being assigned to any kind of administrative duty. He’d always been one who craved action while in the Army Rangers and he was no different now. I hugged him and thanked him for coming. I hugged the other cop, too.
Mary Beth and Dawn both squealed in delight when they saw Buddy and I walk through the door with Jen Franklin.
“Jen, when the hell do you sleep?” Dawn said. “You worked the night shift and now you’re going to be here all day.”
“This is the start of three days off,” she said. “I’ll start it tired, but I’ll start it with some of Johnny’s money in my pocket, too.” She grinned at me.
“You’ll start it exhausted if we get our way tonight,” Mary Beth said. Buddy gave me a questioning glance.
“I’ll explain later,” I said. “Or they will while I’m gone.”
“Where are you going?” Dawn said.
“I just have a little errand to run,” I said.
“Where are you going?” Dawn said.
I sighed. “I’m going to have a talk with Carlos Santos.”
“No, Johnny!” she said.
“Fuck, I’m going with you, Bro,” Buddy said.
“Who is Carlos Santos?” Mary Beth said.
Jen just watched me.
“Buddy, you’re staying right here. I need people I can trust to protect these two women. Dawn, the investigation of your father’s murder is going nowhere. I need to try and talk us out of this situation.”
Jen softly said, “Carlos is bad news, Johnny. He’s got an evil temper. He could snap and kill you if you say the wrong thing.”
Mary Beth was shaking. “Who is Carlos Santos, Johnny? Who is he?”
“He’s the man who killed my brother,” I said. “The man who killed Dawn’s father. The man who wants to kill her now. The justice system isn’t going to be able to do anything about this. I’ve got to stop him myself.”
“Johnny, no,” Dawn said quietly, but I could tell that she was resigned to the fact that I was right and that I was going. I went to her and hugged her and kissed her cheek and smoothed her hair and she held me tightly. When I let go of her there were tears streaming down her face. I brushed them away and planted a quick kiss on her lips.