Dangerous Kiss (47 page)

'How about making the owner an offer?' he suggested, checking out the kitchen.

'What kind of offer?' she retaliated, dollar signs lighting her eyes.

'Seven thousand a month.'

She laughed politely. 'Mr Golden - Lennie - they're asking twelve?

'I know,' he said, wandering into the dining room. 'How about compromising at nine?'

'I can put in the offer.'

'I suggest that you do that.'

'And shall we make a provision that if you wish to buy?'

'Yeah, throw that in. Although for three million they don't stand a chance.'

'Property values are rising all the time, Mr Golden,' she lectured. 'I sold three houses this month, all of them fetched over four million.'

'I'm sure,' he said impatiently. 'Anything else you want to show me?'

'No. I'll put in your offer and let you know.'

He felt like he was being taken because he was a celebrity. Shit! Twelve thousand a month! Who was she kidding?

When Lennie arrived back at the hotel, Leonardo was already in bed, and Claudia was in the kitchen fixing pasta. He wasn't hungry, but what the hell? He sat down anyway.

One thing about Claudia, she was a fantastic cook, her Bolognese sauce was beyond delicious and he found himself stuffing down two heaped bowls of pasta without even thinking.

She didn't eat. She hovered, making sure he had everything he needed. Thick crusty garlic bread; a mixed green salad; a cold beer.

Hey, living with Claudia he'd grow fat as a hog. Especially as he wasn't working out because all his equipment - Stairmaster, weights, et cetera - were at the beach-house. Along with Lucky.

His Lucky. The one love of his life.

And what was he doing to get her back? Because if he didn't move fast, he knew that Alex Woods was ready and waiting. The bastard.

Duke awoke with a start. He'd fallen asleep behind the wheel of the comfortable green Chevy, parked on the street near the entrance to the garage of the Chateau Marmont. And who could blame him? He'd had a tough day. Stealing two cars. Ransacking the Price Washington mansion. Raping the maid.

He allowed his mind to focus on the maid for a moment. A juicy little piece. She'd squealed like a baby pig at the moment of rear entry. He'd liked that.

A faint smile flitted across his face at the memory. He got off on fear. Other people's. Especially women's.

The truth was he'd done enough for one day and he was genuinely tired. Too tired even to consider offing Lennie Golden. There was always tomorrow. And, besides, he had to think this thing through in a more business-like way.

Maybelline had made a deal with Mila, her cell-mate. The deal was that he got to rob the Washingtons' house in exchange for whacking Lennie Golden. Mila had given Maybelline details about the house - alarm code, safe location, layout -

which Maybelline had passed on to him during his last visit.

So what? He could've got in without any of that information. And once he was in, he could've persuaded Consuella to tell him anything he wanted. Especially when he'd had her bent doggie-style over the bathroom stool, and was dousing her big juicy ass with various aftershaves and colognes.

That had been some kick. Especially when the mixed scents had hit the tip of his cock, stinging the shit out of him.

Ah… but he'd liked the pain. It added to the adventure, and every gig was a new adventure.

So… this was not a fair deal. Why should he risk jail-time - not that he'd ever allow himself to get caught again - for such small rewards?

Jesus Christ. Was Maybelline getting soft? He could score big for putting a hit on someone.

Full of these thoughts, he consulted his watch and decided it was way past time to dump the Chevy. Removing a small chamois cloth from his pocket, he dusted every surface he'd touched, then left the car and made his way down the hill on foot, heading for home.

Since Maybelline had screwed their chance of living in the big house with step-grandma Renee, home was now a one-bedroom apartment situated off Hollywood Boulevard. It was not Duke's ideal choice. He knew where his rightful place was - back in the house their grandfather had left them.

Damn Maybelline and her vicious temper.

If only she'd waited for him to come home, it could have all been so easy.

Irena sensed trouble long before it happened - she'd always had an antenna for such things. So when she saw the police cars parked outside the house, her first thought was that they'd finally come to arrest her. They'd discovered she'd entered the country with false papers, and were preparing to deport her. She wasn't Irena Kopistani. She was Ludmilla Lamara, a known criminal in Russia.

She'd been waiting twenty years for this to happen.

She walked up to the front door dragging her feet.

A uniformed cop blocked her way. 'Yes?' he said, in a none-too-friendly voice.

'I live here,' she said, studying his broad, beefy face for clues regarding her imminent arrest.

'Your name?'

She hesitated a moment. 'Irena Kopistani,' she said, rubbing her hands together.

'I'm Mr Washington's housekeeper.'

'You'd better go inside.'

'What's happening?' she asked tentatively.

'Detective Solo will fill you in.'

'Where's Mr Washington? Is he all right?'

'He's in the house, ma'am.'

Sometimes she had nightmares that something bad might happen to Price before she could tell him how much he meant to her. She couldn't bear it if he was hurt in any way. He was her only reason for living. The one true love of her life.

Her heart was beating much too fast. She walked through the door into the front hallway, where there was a gathering of unknown faces. She saw Howard Greenspan talking to a tall, haggard-looking man with greasy hair.

'Who's this woman?' the haggard-looking man asked, as she came into view.

'It's all right,' Price said, emerging from the living room.

'Irena's my housekeeper.'

'Good,' the detective said. 'She's the one I want to speak to.' Irena's heart sank.

Irene Kopistani. Ludmilla Lamara. Who did he think she was?

Chapter Seventy-seven

When the news flashed across the TV screen, Mila was sitting with a couple of Puerto Rican hookers whom she found quite entertaining. Anything to take her mind off her day in court. They were teaching her all kinds of things she hadn't learned in school. Like how to give the mother of all blow-jobs in the back of a moving car, and how to recognize a vice cop when he tried to entrap a girl.

Obviously they weren't too good at the second one, because they'd both been arrested during a recent vice bust.

Pandora, one of the hookers, was busy telling stories about her famous clients, when the news broke.

The newscaster, a dour-faced man wearing too much makeup and a bad rug, began relating the story. 'Sometime this afternoon there was an invasion of Price Washington's home in the Hancock Park area of the Wilshire district. Mr Washington was in court at the time, where his son is accused of being involved in a hold-up and the subsequent shooting of TV star Mary Lou Berkeley. An Hispanic maid - alone in the house - was raped and tied up while the house was robbed of jewellery, clothes, and cash. The estimated loss could be in the millions. Police are looking for a white male, early twenties…'

'Price Washington,' Pandora purred, stroking her own thigh. 'That dude's about as sexy as they get.'

'I had an NBA player once,' her friend confided. 'All he wanted was a hand job in the alley. He must've liked it, 'cause he came back three nights in a row. Guess I was doin' somethin' right.'

Both girls cackled.

Mila got up and returned to her cell where Maybelline was lying on her bunk sucking her hair and staring into space. 'It's all over the news,' Mila announced excitedly.

'What is?' Maybelline said.

'The goddamn robbery. I didn't think Price Washington was that important.'

'He's a big star,' Maybelline said.

'You didn't tell me your brother was gonna rape the maid,' Mila said accusingly.

'Oh, that's Duke,' Maybelline said, not at all surprised. 'He has these little…

habits. Can't break him of them.'

'Rape is a little habit?' Mila said, raising her eyebrows. 'He shouldn't've done that. Now I feel responsible.'

'Listen to you,' Maybelline snorted, turning nasty. 'You shot some bitch in a car, but you can't stomach my brother raping the stupid maid. What the fuck does it matter to you?'

'I hope he found my gun,' Mila muttered, backing down, because she sensed it was not pretty when Maybelline got pissed.

'If it was where you said it was, he'll have it.'

'How about Lennie Golden? Has he done it yet?'

'Knowing my brother, he's done enough for one day. He'll take care of it tomorrow.'

'Yeah, but if Lennie's called as a witness…'

'They won't call him for another few days. There's plenty of time.'

'How do you know?'

' 'Cause the courts drag things out for ever. Don't worry, it'll be taken care of.

Duke's a pro.'

Mila was steaming. She wasn't so sure about Duke. The fact that he'd stopped and taken the time to rape the maid infuriated her. What if Irena had been in the house? Would he have raped her too?

Not that she cared about her mother, because Irena sure as hell didn't give a shit about her. Still… she hadn't reckoned on her being physically harmed.

Maybe she should get the gun to her lawyer.

Yes, she decided, she'd tell him about it in the morning, then she'd have Maybelline instruct Duke to deliver it.

Right now her trust level was sinking fast. Duke was obviously a maniac, and Maybelline didn't seem to care.

They'd made a deal. And if Maybelline and her crazy brother didn't keep their side of it, they'd both be way sorry.

Chapter Seventy-eight

Lucky caught the story on the ten o'clock news. She was shocked. She immediately called Venus, knowing that Venus was friendly with Price Washington.

'What in hell's going on? Has this got anything to do with the case?'

'How do I know?' Venus replied. 'I haven't spoken to Price in weeks.'

'Isn't it kind of weird?' Lucky said. 'His house getting broken into?'

'Not really. Somebody knew he was in court and took advantage of the situation.'

'There's something not quite right about it,' Lucky said. 'Why don't you phone him, see what he has to say?'

'I'm not calling him to find out,' Venus objected. 'That's like ghoulish.'

'No, it's not,' Lucky insisted.

'Okay, maybe later.'

Lucky reached for a cigarette. 'How did everything go after I left?' she asked.

'Great. Seven more actors came in to read. One of them was pretty damn hot.'

'Did Alex like him?'

'Nooo:

'He's hard to please.'

'Right. Hard to please and way particular.'

'Which is what makes him such a great director.'

'And a huge pain in the ass at times,' Venus said with a dry laugh. 'Although, don't get me wrong, I love working with him. Alex inspires me. He has soul.'

Lucky inhaled deeply, thinking that yes, he did, which was why she was so attracted to him - as a friend, nothing more. 'Now,' she said, 'perhaps you'd like to tell me about ganging up on me today? What was that about?'

'It's because Alex and I see what's going on,' Venus explained. 'You're too close to it.' She took a deep breath. 'The deal is this. Alex wants to be with you - no surprise, you've known that for the last five years. But he understands that if he's with you, you cannot be thinking about Lennie. So until Lennie's history - which we both know he's not - Alex realizes he has no chance.'

'Is that why you're both trying to force me back with Lennie? It doesn't make sense.'

'What does?' A beat. 'So… what d'you think?'

'About what?'

'About Lennie, of course,' Venus said, exasperated. 'You've got to call him, go out, talk things over.'

'I… I don't know any more,' Lucky said unsurely. 'I've always felt that the biggest betrayal of all was sleeping with somebody else when you've made the big commitment. I slept around as much as I wanted before I was married, but once you're married that should be it. It's like being on a diet and seeing this incredible chocolate cake, and you're a chocolate freak, so all you want to do is have a bite of that cake. But you know that if you have one small slice, you'll end up eating the whole thing. I know it sounds crazy, but to me that's what fidelity is about.'

'I can dig it,' Venus said. 'You and I both lived our lives like guys. We ran around doing whatever we wanted, and we married guys who'd done the same. Which makes for a real been-there-done-that situation, so nobody's looking around to see what they missed 'cause nobody missed anything!'

'Exactly,' Lucky agreed. 'So when that woman showed up at my door with Lennie's child, how do you think I felt?'

'I know I keep on repeating myself,' Venus said, 'but it's not as if he ran off and had an affair. He was desperate - you've got to take that into consideration.'

'Why?' Lucky said stubbornly.

' 'Cause it's only fair. And Alex agrees with me. What you need is closure.'

'I guess you could be right,' Lucky sighed. 'Maybe I will call him.'

'Best thing you can do,' Venus said. 'Dinner. The two of you. No outside interference. Make sure it's on neutral ground.'

'Good thinking.'

'By the way,' Venus added curiously, 'what did Alex mean when he mentioned your one crazy night together?'

'Nothing,' Lucky said quickly.

'You sound guilty,' Venus said gleefully. 'Did something happen between the two of you?'

'If it did - and I'm not saying it did - then it would've happened while I thought Lennie was dead.'

'Oh, you bad girl,' Venus admonished, loving every moment. 'You slept with Alex, didn't you?'

'No, I didn't.'

'Yes, you did!'

'Okay, Venus, enough. I've got to go. Let's talk tomorrow.' She hung up the phone. Something was bothering her. Price Washington's house getting broken into and the maid getting raped. Could it possibly be connected to the case?