Chapter 14
It was Wednesday evening. Nick glanced sourly around the interior of his cabin and wished to hell he hadn't sprained his left ankle so badly. He still wasn't supposed to walk on it, but that was okay. It hurt too damned much, anyway.
Nona's visit the day before to the hospital had raised his spirits. Her vacation would be over at the end of the week. He was already overdue on his first engagement as a solo entertainer. He had had to wire his booker to hold up the opening date for a week.
Carl Hinton had been around again, too. It seemed that Nick was still a prime suspect in the murder of Zelda Nesbitt. He didn't want to use his alibi-Lucy. But he had to clear the air within the next few days. Hinton had told him the County District attorney was being pressured to clear up the mystery. Rape was a bad word. Yet if Nick opened his trap about where he had been that Wednesday night, at the hour Zelda was raped and killed, Lucy would be in a bad spot with Jud.
Jud was broadminded and he liked parties, but he liked to be in on them. The fact that his wife had entertained Nick alone would be hard for him to swallow. He would know only too damned well what had taken place with a wife like Lucy ...
And Lucy was mercurial. She might deny the whole bit. He really had no alibi at all that he could depend on.
It would be one hell of a note if he got convicted by a country jury for a rape and murder he hadn't committed. Of course he could appeal, but it would take money and time, neither of which he could afford.
Another thing bothered him. He hadn't made up his mind about Nona. She was one hell of a nice girl, the kind a man could lose his head over. Their long-postponed date was for tomorrow at the beach, if the weather was good. The days had been very hot. But he still couldn't get by without his crutches.
As often happens, a sprain was more painful than a fracture.
He hadn't had a chance for a good talk with Nona, much less anything more intimate. Lucy had been hanging around, and Ivy, now that Jud had gone back to town. He had got some work of his own done, and now he was impatient to be on the road again.
That Nona is something! he thought. Tomorrow I'll make up my mind about her. She's damnably soft and tempting. I had my hands on those high firm charmers and tasted the heat of her mouth.
She knew he was an entertainer, a man who would soon be gone and on his way places. Maybe she just wanted a good lay, a little vacation memory.
He remembered those enticing dimples where her slim waist met her bottom, the wide, girlish curve of her hips, her flawless complexion. Her occasional stutter didn't bother him-it evidently caused her more distress than it did others. Her shyness was refreshingly different, too.
Most of the women around were so wise and knowing-or at least they pretended sophistication. Lucy was a good example. She had never made it big.
Ivy? Nothing there had been resolved. He wouldn't mind giving her another whirl. He had found her quite responsive.
It rankled him a little that Jud and Lucy had thrown another party while he was out of action. Jud and Hugh had come back from the fire without a scratch. He was glad that Nona hadn't gone.
He found a book and moved his left foot into a more favorable position. Friday he had to go back and see the doctor, have the bandage on his ankle changed. Hell of an inconvenience. At least with his good right foot he could still drive his Ford. He wasn't entirely grounded.
He heard someone walking along the trail toward his cabin. He had closed the door against the coolness of the night air. He frowned, putting his book aside.
Light footfalls on the porch, a furtive rapping on the door. Hoping that it was Nona he felt a quickening of his pulse.
"Come in," he called out.
The door opened, and he had a small surprise-Ivy. She wore dark, form-fitting slacks and a sweater to match. The ensemble did what it was supposed to do for her figure.
"Thought I'd drop over and cheer you up, Nick," she drawled. "If you don't mind...."
"Hell, no!" he said, tossing the book aside.
"Glad I didn't run into any competition," she said with a little laugh. Her brown eyes shone in the subdued light.
"I don't run a bordello," he grinned. "Not with a ass ankle."
She drifted to his sofa, her body moving sensuously. "Something always interrupts," she said.
"Yes, we have been unlucky."
She laughed. "I'll mix you a drink."
"Okay. You can find all the stuff in the refrigerator."
She rose gracefully, in her languid manner. She came over to stand beside his chair. She leaned down. "I haven't forgotten how close we came."
"Right." He sniffed her perfume. He slipped his arm around her waist. She swayed closer.
"I still think I can show you a good time, honey," she breathed, her parted lips moving nearer.
He remembered how he had made love with her at the beach and up in the bushes. Why not again? She wasn't like Nona, but she had a lush appeal all her own. Tonight she seemed more excited. Her fingers caressed the nape of his neck.
Her mouth came down, over his, moist and hot. He felt a little shiver run along her tall, generous figure. Her scented, sweatered mounds drew his hand.
Her lips softened. A small, hungry sound rose in her throat.
"Ummmm," she breathed, lifting her mouth at last. "I'll mix the drinks, now."
He let her go. He watched her wiggle into the kitchen area. He reached out from his chair, flicked on his stereo set. He had been listening to some old Glenn Miller recordings. Those would make a good background for dalliance.
He stretched out on the sofa. He looked down at his bandaged ankle and wondered how he would make out with this hindrance.
He heard the rattle of the back door.
"What're you doing?" he asked, quite sure he knew.
She laughed. "Checking the lock!"
From where he sat he couldn't see into the kitchen, only a corner of it. He heard the Yale snick into place. Ivy was being very careful.
Maybe a girl like Ivy was better for him than a young filly like Nona. Ivy was out for fun only. She was about his own age. She had been married. She had been around. He wasn't sure he wanted to be shaken up by an innocent beauty like Nona.
He cared for Nona and that would lead to complications.
The music drifted soothingly about the room. Sure, he would keep the date with Nona. He wouldn't hurt her that deeply, but for the rest.. .
The kitchen light went out and Ivy glided into sight, a tall drink in each hand.
"I used the vodka," she said.
"It blends good."
She swung down beside him.
"It makes me hotter, too," she murmured.
He laughed. "With some, it's gin."
"I know, but vodka's my choice...." She pressed her long thigh against his leg. "Now, we can pick up where we left off! How many days ago was it?"
"Too many," he said, gallantly. He knew she had been with Hugh over the weekend-and possibly with Jud, too. What did it matter? "This ankle might be in the way."
"Darling, I think I can work something out."
They drank, resting. "I know you're a clever girl," he said. He dropped his left hand on the sculptured curve of her thigh. She stretched, flexing her legs, permitting them to spread.
He coasted his hand along the slacked hug of her tights.
She gave a little pleased sigh. "I hope we don't have any more gunshots-or fires!"
He got rid of his empty glass. His right hand was free now. He lifted her sweater slowly. Her lips worked along the line of his jaw. He reached her bra, found it whisper-thin. She shivered. He fondled her breasts, feeling her nipples expand, enlarge. He pulled the sweater higher until it cleared the jut of her treasures.
I wish this were Nona, he thought, realizing now he wanted her more than he cared to admit. Well, there was tomorrow-and Ivy was here now.
She wanted sex only. She had told him she didn't care to marry again. He wondered idly why he felt just a trifle guilty about cheating on Nona.
He found the little hook that would open her bra. He released the filmy halves and her silken mounds surged out into his hand.
"Ohhhh-I" she whispered. "I've waited and waited for this, darling!"
At that moment his eyes wandered toward the darkened kitchen area, drawn by an ever-so-slight movement there in the shadows.
He saw something there, barely outlined-a familiar even if vague silhouette. Lucy!
He remembered the opening and closing of the back door ... and he experienced a light shock. What the hell was this? He swung his eyes away, not wanting the slender girl to know she had been discovered.
Ivy and Lucy had cooked this up-for extra thrills. He smiled to himself. He decided he would give the frustrated, picture-taking housewife something to remember.
Nona wouldn't pull anything like this. He decided that, compared to the two broads in his cabin, he liked the shy blonde even more.