The Wages of Cin (Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries Book 4) (6 page)

“Thanks, I’ll save it for Alex.”

“Alex the bass player? How do you know him?”

“He’s my son.”

“No shit?”

I nodded enjoying the confusion.  “I’m responsible.”

“He’s a good kid.  Talented.”

“Thank you.”

“Eddie, Cin’s a fine musician herself, plays clarinets.  I saw her play with Zgap.”

“No kidding.  Zee’s a perfectionist.”

“Oh yes, I was just filling in.  I was a wreck by the end of the concert,” I admitted.  “I normally play in symphonic bands.  That was quite an experience.”

“Hey, you’re a survivor, just like Stoneridge.”

“Guess so.”

Eddie smiled and got back to work.  I wandered around the stage, staying out of the way of the crew clearing the equipment.  At one point, Meyer came up and supervised the packing up of his drum set.  He exchanged a few barbs with Sidney and the others before striding across the stage towards me.

“You’re Lathen’s mom.”

“Cin,” I said, holding out my hand.

He wiped his sweaty hand before shaking mine.  “The kid’s got talent.”

“Thank you, so do you.”

“Any monkey can do what I do.”

“I think, then monkeys must be very talented percussionists.”

He shook his head at the compliment.  “You know you can come downstairs? The liquor’s flowing.”

“I’ll be down. I’m waiting for Sidney.”

“Really?  Cool.  Well, I’ll see you later then,” he said and left the stage.

Sidney walked over.  “I’ve a load of stuff to take to the van, and I want to wash some of the sweat off.  Can I meet you downstairs?”

“Sure, I’ll be in the hall.”

He nodded.

I found the stairs, and when I opened the door, I was blown away by the cool air. I passed a women’s washroom, stopped, turned around, and walked back to check my makeup.  I’m sure Sidney wasn’t the only one who needed to get rid of some sweat.  I was happy to see I had the place to myself.  I looked at the woman in the mirror and saw that I was glowing.  I repaired my makeup where needed.  I had a feeling, the vipers in the lounge would be looking for any flaw to pounce upon.  I took time to use the facilities.  As I washed my hands, I wished that I could have a drink in me before entering the band lounge.  I hoped that I wouldn’t thwart Alex’s good time by being here, but I was Sidney’s date and would pretend Alex was just another band member.

I moved my hands through my curls, pulling down the ones that the humidity had shortened.  I blushed, thinking about Sidney’s hands in my hair, his lips on mine.  Oh god, what was I doing here?

The door opened and a woman breezed in.  She glanced at me before going into a stall.  I didn’t want to make chitchat in the john, so I left as soon as I heard the stall door’s lock click.

I turned the corner, and the party seemed to have spilled out into the hall.  I smiled and walked around until I found an empty place to lean against the wall.  It wasn’t long before Sidney joined me.  He kissed me lightly before putting his arm around me.

“Shall we?”

“Sure.”

He guided me past the various groups.  Someone handed him a few beers.  I took a long pull of the icy brew and found it refreshing.  We inched our way towards Elijah.  People were introduced along the way.  I caught about a third of the names.  I no longer was Alex’s mom; I was Sidney’s girl.  I liked that.  I nodded to Harry who was chatting up a young woman wearing very expensive clothes.  I suspected this might be Mandy Broadhurst.  Harry was drinking water.  Inwardly, I was overjoyed, considering he would be driving my car home.

“Cin, this is…”

My attention was forced back to Sidney and the polo-shirted man in front of me.

“He’s the band manager,” Sidney finished.

My inner librarian came up with the name that I didn’t hear.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Richards.”

“Tom, call me Tom.  I understand you’re the one that spotted the light tower problem.  Thank God, you were here.  I haven’t told the band yet.”

“That can wait.  Let them enjoy their success,” I said.

“We’ll talk soon,” Tom said before moving off to talk to someone else.

“Sidney, the girl stealer,” Elijah greeted us.  “I turn my back for five minutes and Stoneridge moves in.”

I couldn’t tell if Elijah was teasing or not. The rocker was fragrant with whiskey.  He held on to the bottle of Jack Daniels that he had drunk a good quantity of.

“It was a fantastic concert.  The crowd loved the new songs,” I said quickly.

“Do you think so?  I need honesty here.  Too many suck-ups.”

“From where I was sitting, the audience was enchanted, and by the second chorus of the second new song, they were singing along.”

“That’s good,” he said.  “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem.”

“Stoneridge, you take care of her, or I’m going to break your scrawny neck,” Elijah said.

A young woman tapped Elijah on the back, and I sighed in relief as his attention was diverted from us.

“Let’s leave,” Sidney said, pulling me closer.

“Yes.”

It took a few minutes to extract ourselves from the throng, but when we hit the hall, Sidney grabbed my hand, and we ran down the hall and didn’t stop until we hit the exit doors.

He patted himself down.  “Keys, check.  Wallet, check.  Hot redhead, check and double check.”

I laughed and reached up, drawing him in for a kiss.  He wrapped his arms around me, and his hands slowly moved on my back while we kissed.

He pulled away and held my face a moment and said, “I want to finish this somewhere more private. Is that alright?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.  Do you want to follow me?”

“No, I gave my keys to Harry.”

He looked surprised but pleased.  He angled his head and asked, “This is real, isn’t it?  Not just a concert hookup.”

The butterflies returned.  I nodded.

He took a deep breath.  “I’m so glad.  Come on, before I lose my nerve.”

I followed him to his van.  He opened the passenger door, leaned in and grabbed a bunch of papers, tossing them in the back before saying, “My chariot is at your disposal.”

I got in, and he shut the door.  For the thirty seconds it took for him to get to the driver’s side, I examined my feelings.  What the hell was I doing?  I’m not an easy woman, but I wanted the night to continue.  Sidney, I felt, was the right one to break me out of my post-divorce cocoon.  He was the kind of adventure I wanted tonight.  How I would feel in the morning was another matter.  I pushed common sense into a cupboard in my mind and decided to let my emotions set sail tonight.

“I live a little ways from here,” he said, getting in.  “It’s a small place, but it has an air-conditioned garage which is very important for my equipment.”

He backed out, and as we passed my car, he slowed down.  “Last chance to bail.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank God.  Cin, you’ve turned me inside out.  Is it just me or is there chemistry here?”

“It’s not just you.”

“This isn’t a mercy date, is it?” he asked, not looking at me.

“Not on my part.  Is it on yours?” I asked.

“Oh god, no.  Although, you may have been an item on my bucket list,” he admitted.

“Bucket list?”

“That’s a list of things you want to complete before you die.  When I was diagnosed, Vicki thought I should make one.  I started it as a lark, but as things got more and more serious, the list became a lifeline.”

I listened to his concerns and experiences with the different doctors and other medical professionals he had to deal with.  “I had a girlfriend at the start of this, but she bailed when my hair fell out.  My head’s too knobby to be attractive without hair.”

Before I knew it, he was pulling into the long drive of an isolated ranch house.  He pulled around back and raised the doors of a three car garage.  He pulled the van inside and looked over at me.  “This is the heart of Stoneridge LTD.  I normally empty and clean up the console after an outdoor concert.”

“Go ahead, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.  I’ll only be a few minutes.  Let me let you into the house, and you can check out my medicine cabinet and drawers while I’m working.”

I laughed.  “Any particular drawers?”

“All of them,” he suggested.  “There are some mixers in the fridge and liquor on the counter.  Make yourself at home.”

He walked me over to the house, and after he disarmed the alarm, he flipped on a few lights, kissed me quickly and left.

I found myself in a small galley kitchen.  True to his word, there was a counter full of booze.  It looked like he must have bought them recently as none of the seals were broken.  I looked in the refrigerator and found soda and mixers.  There were a few limes rolling around in the vegetable bin.  I took a lime and Coke and cracked some ice.  I found a large glass in the cupboard and made myself one hell of a large drink of courage, Jack and Coke.  Once the drink was made, I wandered out of the kitchen, turning on a few lights and illuminating the small, comfy living room.  The furnishings were male.  Comfort was the main attraction.  There were a few pictures scattered around on end tables.  I picked up a few frames and studied the family shots.  I saw a younger, stouter version of Sidney standing with an arm around Vicki and another older woman, I suspected was his mother.

“That was taken before my mother died,” he said from behind me.

“So early?” I asked.

“Traffic accident.  Damn snow bird ran over her Mazda with a two ton RV.”

“I’m sorry, Sidney.”

“I think the only consolation prize for possibly dying from this cancer is that I’ll see her sooner than expected.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I kept quiet and moved to the bookshelf.  Sidney turned on the stereo and put on a soft rock station. I saw a series of books that looked like yearbooks.  I took in the dates and almost jumped for joy.  Sidney Stoneridge graduated the same year I did.  I turned around and smiled.

He was staring at me.  “What are you smiling about?”

“It seems that we graduated the same year.”

“And that made you smile, why?” he interrogated.

“I suspected you were younger than me.”

“Would that have bothered you?”

“A bit.”

“Why?”

“Vanity and… vanity.”

He laughed and walked over, picked up my drink and put it on the table.  Next he drew me in for a kiss.  “Come here, you vain vixen,” he said huskily.

The kiss lasted through the first song and halfway through the next.  By the time we parted, my knees were weak.  The song playing was perfect for a slow dance, and he guided me around the room.  I fought the urge to lead.  When the song finished and while the DJs ran their commercials, Sidney left me and returned with a drink he fixed for himself and some snacks.  He sat next to me.  I took a long drink from my glass.

“Do you mind if I take my shoes off?” I asked.  “They’re killing me.”

“Let me,” he said.

I lifted a foot, and he slid the sandal off and started to massage my instep.  That felt so good.  I think I moaned.  He looked over at me and grabbed the other foot.  After the footwear had been discarded, he massaged that foot and then began working his way up my legs.  I didn’t object when he eased my tights off my legs.

He sat up and pulled me to him.  The music played on, but I no longer heard it, my heart was beating so hard.  I remember us leaving the living room and the softness of the bed.  But, driven by years of built up lust and the chemistry between us, all I cared about was returning the pleasure I was receiving.

In the morning light, underneath the shower spray, Sidney asked about the scars.  I told him there were long, painful stories attached to them, and I promised to tell him later.  I ran my hands over his body and laughed as he giggled.

“I’m very ticklish,” he said as we toweled off.

I was amazed how relaxed I was.  Here I was in, basically, a stranger’s bathroom, naked, trying to untangle my curls.  Sidney left and returned with a t-shirt and a pair of cut-off sweatpants and handed them to me.  I was amazed that I could pull on the shorts.  The tee was big on me.  I suspected these came from the pre-chemo drawer of clothes.  I was thankful I didn’t have to try to fit into the size Sidney was now.

I walked out into the kitchen to the smell of bacon.

“Bacon, I love bacon.”

“Oh, that’s for me. You get yogurt.”  He watched my face fall and started to laugh.  “Oh, darlin’, I was just kidding.”

“Very funny.  Bacon is no joking matter,” I said.  “Can I help?”

“Toast needs buttering.” He nodded in the direction of the counter.

I started humming “Redheaded Stepchild.”  He looked over at me and winked.

The coffee machine finished, and I navigated through his cupboards and found two mugs.  I remembered from the outdoor café that he put milk and sugar in his coffee. I opened the refrigerator and grabbed the milk.  After I had fixed his coffee, I set it next to the stove and returned to my toast project.

He kept stealing glances at me.  I understood.  It was a little awkward being in someone else’s kitchen, let alone a man I just met two days ago.  He must be feeling the same thing.  “If we keep smiling at each other, our cheeks are going to hurt.”

He laughed.  “Sorry, but I’m way out of my depth here.”

“Me too.  Shall we talk about the weather?”

“It’s Florida in the summertime; it’s always the same.”

“True.  But I love it in November.  The sky is so big.”

“I know what you mean, and the streets are empty.”  He stacked the blotted bacon on a plate and brought it into the living room.  “Sorry, but I don’t have a kitchen table.  Bachelors eat everything in front of the television.”

I followed him out and found he had set up the coffee table with plates and napkins.  He dropped the bacon off and opened up the front door to retrieve the paper.  “I thought I’d look and see if the concert was reviewed.”

I sat down and drank my coffee while munching on a strip of bacon.

Sidney sat down and flipped through the paper until he found the leisure section.  “Here it is.”  He read it and put the paper down and looked at me.  “The reviewer liked the new songs.  Your son was a hit.  And…”

I put out my hand and said, “Either read me the review or hand the paper over.”

“Tough crowd,” he said and handed me the paper.

There, under a picture of the band, was the headline:
Ely’s Coming Came and Conquered. 
“Dandy headline,” I commented.  I scanned the article, and it was mostly positive.  It did mention Simon’s accident but lauded his fill-in player.  The interview also complimented how the band played through while the roadies fixed the light issue.  “Light issue,” I said, shaking my head.  I handed the paper back.

“It’s not
Rolling Stone
, but it’s a start,” Sidney said.

“Who knows what will happen as you continue to tour.”

Sidney looked sheepish.

“I know you’re leaving soon. Don’t worry,” I said.  “And you’ve got a bucket list to finish.”

“You’re amazing.  You’re so confident.”

“It’s an act.”

“It’s a damn good one.  How did you get into detecting?”

“Accidently.”  I told him about the trip to England to do a favor for a symphonic band associate, becoming embroiled in a mystery over the death of a US airman and missing musical manuscripts.  “I killed two people.  One was an accident, and the other was self-defense.”  I told him about Ivana Penny and Michael Sherborn.  “I think I was seconds from dying when Father Michael came to my rescue.  Then the bastard got the upper hand.  I wasn’t thinking. I just took out two little knives and stuck him under the arms and pulled him off the priest like he was a bale of hay.  I didn’t think about where I stuck him or that the man would be fool enough to remove them.  He bled out in seconds.  The scars you saw in the shower came from that day.  The scars from having killed are still healing,” I admitted.

Sidney didn’t say anything for a while; he just pulled me closer as if his hug could push away the nightmare.

“Your partner Harry wasn’t there.”

“No, Harry came into things later.  There was a duo of serial killers working their way through my band and…”  Talking about horrible Harry helped to brighten the mood.  “He wants us to become a team of private detectives, but I can’t see myself following errant spouses around for a buck.”

“Being consultants puts you in a different category.  It’s cool, Cin.  I didn’t realize what an amazing woman you are.  I’m quite shocked you even looked my way.”

“It was your remembering me at the Zgap concert that attracted me first.”

“I was attracted by your taking my chemo in stride.  No pity, but yet you didn’t ignore it either.  You told me to call you, so I did.”

“Amazingly fast too,” I teased.

“Early bird…”

We ate in companionable silence and fought over the crossword puzzle after.

“If they wanted you to ignore grammar rules, why didn’t they just say so?” Sidney pouted when I guessed a word that should have been hyphenated.

“Don’t look at me; do I look like a sixth grade teacher?”

“No, you are a beautiful woman who I enjoyed a wonderful night of making love with.  I crossed that item off my bucket list this morning.”

“Really?  Cool. Anything else I can help you with?”

Sidney lifted the newspaper off his lap.  “I seem to have a problem here.”

I didn’t mean to laugh, but I couldn’t help it.

“Well, that’s one way of deflating my ego,” he said sadly.

“I’m sorry, you were just so cute.”

“Last night I was handsome,” he said.

“And I was oh baby, oh baby…”

His eyes flashed.  I backed up.  I had gone too far.  He got to his feet.  “Come here,” he said, pointing to the ground next to him.

I turned and trotted down the hall.  He caught me and carried me to the bedroom and tossed me on the bed.

“Oh baby, oh baby,” I cried as he kicked the door shut.

~

Sidney dropped me off at noon.  I did the walk of shame past Harry who was washing my car.  I didn’t stop to ask why it needed to be washed.  A, I didn’t want to know.  B, I didn’t want to explain why I didn’t come home last night.  I went to my room and changed into my bathing suit.  I needed to cool off.  My internal thermostat still craved the attention Sidney gave me.

I waded into the cool pool water and started to do laps.  I was well-winded before I chose to float.  I grabbed a raft from the side and, after two tries, managed to mount it and lay on my back.

I heard Alex come home.  Harry must have said something smart because Alex told him to eff off.  He stuck his head out the patio door and said, “Mom, I’m home.”

“Thanks, Alex,” I said, shading my eyes to see him better.

“I’m in need of a hangover cure.”

“Eat something greasy.  I had bacon.”

“We have bacon?”

Shit, I forgot
we
didn’t have bacon.  “There’s sausage in the meat bin.”

His pounding head had bought the explanation.

“If you wait, I’ll make it or…”

He turned and yelled into the house, “Harry, Mom says for you to make us sausage.”

“What’s she doing?” Harry asked.

“Swimming.”

“She’s exercising?”

“Yeah, she’s on her 50
th
lap,” he lied and shut the door.

I heard another door slide open.  This sound came from the poolside apartment that was being used by my ex-husband, Luke.  Long story short: he left me for the pickle heiress he was flying, and she dumped him.  He was living here until he could get a decent deposit together for a place of his own, or find another woman to live with.

“What’s all the shouting about?” he asked.

“Friday night concert equals Saturday hangovers,” I said.  “I didn’t know you were back?”

“One of our passengers missed the flight to the mountains.  We turned around and will be taking her there this evening,” he explained.

Luke Lathen was a corporate pilot.  He flew the rich and richer anywhere and at any time.  He had landed another Florida-based situation, much to my disgust.  True, he could now resume the tuition payments for the kids, but our jointly-owned property gave him the right to the pool house.

“How was the concert?” he asked.

“Great, your son was marvelous.”

“Was it his band?”

“No.” I filled him in on Alex’s temporary position and Harry’s and my job.

“Gee, that sounds interesting.”

“I have to have a meeting with Harry and share notes sometime today.  I was just relaxing first.  Getting the kinks out.”

“Don’t stay out too long.  It looks like your neck is getting a little red,” he warned.

I put my hand to my neck.  “I’ll go in now,” I said, sliding off the raft and wading towards the stairs.  “Harry’s making sausage if you want to join the boys.”

“Nah, I’m going to get something to eat at the airport.”

This was code for: he was going to lunch with a woman.  He was dressed to the nines, and he had on cologne.  I now understood the clues that I should have picked up on years before our divorce.

I toweled off and entered my suite of rooms, making sure to lock the door after me.  The men in my house had the tendency to just walk in without knocking.  I walked into the bathroom and saw what I had suspected outside.  My sunburn was actually beard burn caused from Sidney and my lovemaking this morning.  I was lucky my face wasn’t all red too.  I got in the shower and turned the water a bit colder than I was comfortable with.  I had to calm myself down.  Damn, that Sidney had done a number on me.

~

Harry and I sat together, he at the desk (he got there first) and me on the small sofa facing the desk, in the den.

I gave him all the information I learned from Sidney.  He, in turn, gave me the gossip he learned last night at the party.  “I concentrated on learning as much as I could about Meyer since he was the target of the falling light.”

“But he’s not the target of the saboteur,” I corrected.

“Last night he was.”

“Granted.  I have a theory that whoever is sabotaging the band doesn’t want to physically hurt Elijah, just keep him in line and away from touring.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Aside from being set up for Karen’s murder, Elijah’s been out of the fray.”

“How would dropping a light on Meyer stop the tour? Elijah would just get another drummer to fill in.”

“I don’t really think he would, but if he did, no insurance company is going to insure the concerts.  I bet a dollar that the next concert is going to be postponed if not canceled.  I’m surprised that Simon’s accident hadn’t already nixed the tour, insurance wise.”

“Their manager has deep pockets,” Harry said.  “Perhaps he paid to have the agent look the other way.  Didn’t Sidney take the blame for the power surge?”

“Yes he did.  Do you think the manager paid him to take the blame?” I asked.

“Seems to fit.”

“I have to disagree.  Sidney really seems to think he was to blame.”

“You could be too close to see the truth of this,” Harry commented. “Perhaps Sidney wants the tour to fail.”

“You may be right that I could be too close, but I’m also in a unique position to judge his character, and sorry, Harry, Sidney’s not ‘in on it.’  He has a percentage of the profits if the tour is successful. Why would he sabotage that?”

“Okay, let’s table that for now.  Mandy’s mother was there last night. Did you run into her?”

“I may have in the restroom by the stairs, but I’m not sure.  Anyway, I didn’t talk to her. Why?”

“I kept hearing about an ‘effing redhead’ who was after Elijah.  Evidently, Caroline saw the two of you together.”

“Not last night.  Wait, Elijah kissed my cheek in the lizard lounge.  I thought that was out of character for the man I went to dinner with.”

“Lizard lounge?”

“Band suite.”

“Oh,” Harry said and started laughing.  “I do see what you mean, all the booze and the flirting going on.  I swear that Manuel’s fiancée is younger than I am.”

“There were two coked-up young women in the suite’s bathroom before the concert.  I wonder if one of them was Manuel’s fiancée?”