I followed her gaze and saw Laura emerging from the pool, water streaming down her nude, tanned body.
“Ah,” I said. “Laura is the neighbors’ daughter. We let her sunbathe and use the pool. This is her first foray into nudity here that I’m aware of.”
“I see,” she said. “Thomas told me that you are something of a nudist yourself and that I should be prepared to be greeted by a naked man when I arrived. I was frankly a little disappointed when you showed up at the door wearing clothes.”
“Two reasons,” I said. “First, I figured that when you got here I should be ready to go to the airport. Second, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to be nude around Laura, especially while she’s naked too, and most especially while we were alone together. Right now I’m pretty horny and she’s… pretty young.”
“Makes sense,” she said, “and your restraint shows good character.” She gave me a coy look and ran her hands over her clingy little dress as if to smooth it (an unnecessary exercise) and tug it down (an impossible exercise) as she said, “So how can I best serve you today, Mr. Rand?”
My amazing powers of intuition told me that there was a greater than one percent chance that her services might include more than just driving a limo from Point A to Point B.
“Call me Johnny,” I said. “What services are on the menu?”
She gave me an appraising look and appeared satisfied. “For you, Johnny, all the same services available to Thomas.”
“Help me out here,” I said. “I’ve known Thomas Barker for a whole 60 minutes.”
“Ah,” she said. “Well, of course, there’s the limo. I’m on a retainer that essentially constitutes a salary since it’s an amount generous enough to provide for all my needs. At the moment Thomas is my only limousine client which means that I’m pretty much at his beck and call, which in turn means that today I’m at your beck and call.”
“I see,” I said.
“On occasion I accompany him as his escort to business meetings or social functions, although these days not as often as I’d like.”
“Okay,” I said.
“And before his sis… before the ladies you met joined his household, Thomas and I would sometimes enjoy sex together.” She frowned. “I miss those days.”
“I know about his sister and his mother,” I said.
She brightened. “Ah, then it’s obvious that Thomas trusts you,” she said. “Good. My intuition was correct.” She stepped closer, close enough that I could detect the faint scent of expensive perfume and aroused woman. She looked up into my face and made the most direct eye contact possible and said, “I’m at your disposal today, Johnny. Which of my services would you like to employ first?”
I felt as though I was about to break into a sweat. Barker’s women were making it tougher than usual to be a faithfully committed guy today.
“Umm. Just a ride to LAX,” I said. “We’re picking up my lovers. I’m faithful to them.” She didn’t bat an eye at ‘lovers.’
“Shit,” she said. Then, realizing that she’d said it out loud she said, “Forgive me.” She caressed my cheek. “I respect that, but I was looking forward to getting to know you a lot better.”
“That might still be possible,” I said. “I’m very much attracted to you, and we occasionally make room in the bed for a fourth lover. If you’re into that kind of thing, that is.”
She brightened again. “That sounds lovely,” she said. “I very much hope that your ladies will agree.”
Before we took off Jay asked me whether I wanted her to open and pour champagne. I was off duty and not driving and I’d had a craving for champagne ever since watching four beautiful nude women sipping it earlier this morning. “That’s a big ‘Yes,'” I said, “but just point me at the bottle and I’ll uncork it while you drive.”
She leaned into the back of the limo and opened the lid to a refrigerated chamber. Inside were several icy bottles of Cristal.
“Thomas lives very well,” I said as I climbed into the car.
“Yes, he does,” she said.
I’d done some quick Google research on Barker before driving up to meet with him. I had thought I was doing quite well for myself: with the money that Dawn had given me from her inheritance and the fact that I usually didn’t even manage to spend all of my LAPD salary, I had gone from being a middle-class public servant to being seven-figure rich. Thomas Barker was nine-figure rich, a whole different kind of wealthy. He spilled more money than I made. I wondered how much he paid Jay as a retainer. And how much Cristal he and his women drank.
She drove quickly and smoothly south on PCH. I sipped very good champagne and watched the beach as we transitioned from Malibu into Santa Monica, and then east onto Interstate 10 and finally south through the city on the 405.
I worried that I might quickly become so spoiled by very good champagne that Barefoot Bubbly would no longer satisfy me. I might already be so snobbish as to have to move up to Chandon.
My cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number. “Rand,” I said.
“This is your lucky fucking day, Detective,” said the parole officer. “When I pulled up he was putting a bag in the trunk of his car. I snuck up behind him and said ‘What’s in the bag?’ and he just about fainted.”
“Was it…?”
“Yep, everything you described. I think he was heading out to unload the jewelry right away then figure out what to do with the other stuff.”
“Where is he now?”
“I called it in to my guys and they called your guys and one of them, a Detective Meyer, came out and transported him and the evidence to PAB.” PAB is the LAPD Police Administrative Building, where Robbery-Homicide resides.
“I can’t thank you enough,” I said.
“Hey, I get credit for the bust with Corrections, too,” he said. “Thanks for the tip.”
I called Meyer and verified that all of the stolen items had been recovered. Then I made another call.
“Thomas Barker.”
“Johnny Rand here,” I said.
“Didn’t the limo show up?”
“Sure did, thanks. We’re almost at the airport. I’m sitting here drinking your Cristal. I called to tell you that we recovered your stolen property.”
Silence. Then, “You’re shitting me.”
“I shit thee not.”
“It’s barely been an hour. And it’s your day off.”
“I like to detect in my spare time.”
“And you do it very well,” he said. “When can we have it back?”