Murder by Design Read online

  “We’re looking for a Dwight Rothman or a Darius Hellman. Do you know either of those men?”

  She nodded. “What have they done now?”

  “Uh, well, we really wanted to ask them a few questions,” Sam said. “But sounds like you do know them.”

  “They’re my grandsons, more’s the pity.”

  Sam glanced at Martin. “Do you know where we might find them?”

  “If you’d been here an hour ago, you’d have run right into them. But I don’t know where they get to once they leave here.”

  “Would you mind if we took a look around? They have a room here?” Sam smiled at the old lady to put her at ease.

  “I guess so. It’ll be a mess. I haven’t the energy to clean up after them anymore.” She opened the door wider. “Come on in.”

  Sam stepped inside and nearly tripped over a large gray cat that spat at him. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Didn’t see him there.” He produced his ID. “I’m Detective Sam Walker and this is my partner Detective Martin McCready.”

  “Pleased to meet you, I’m sure.”

  “So what do your grandsons do for a living, Mrs., uh…”

  She rolled her eyes at Martin. “Mrs. Bassinger…and God alone knows what those two do when they leave this house. Something illegal I bet, but long as I don’t know about it I don’t really care. They pay the rent on time so that’s good.”

  “Can we take a look at their room?” Sam asked.

  “Shouldn’t you have a warrant?”

  “We could get one, but seeing as we’re here…with your permission?”

  “Right. Okay then go ahead, but like I said it’s a mess.”

  Sam whistled softly as he threw open the door to the brothers’ room. Two beds almost filled the space and there were clothes, shoes and magazines piled on top of them and over the floor.

  “The only thing you won’t find in there is junk food containers.” Mrs. Bassinger peered into the room and shook her head. “I don’t allow them to eat in there. They have to use the kitchen. Don’t want no roaches.”

  “Good idea,” Martin told her, trying to squeeze in beside Sam. “How in hell do two big bruisers like them manage in here?” he whispered practically in Sam’s ear.

  Sam chuckled. “Dunno, but it’s the perfect cover for criminal activity. Tiny apartment, little old lady who answers the door.” He inched his way past the beds to a table covered in papers. “Look at this.” He held up a notepad. “Names and addresses of properties in Beverly Hills and Hollywood Hills.”

  “Are your grandsons in real estate?” Sam asked, grinning at Martin.

  “No, God knows what they’re in,” Mrs. Bassinger replied. “Probably clients.” She frowned, seeing Sam taking snapshots of the pages. “Should you be doing that without a warrant?”

  “What kind of clients?” Martin asked.

  “Oh, I have no idea.” Mrs. Bassinger fluttered her hands. “You boys are making me nervous. Maybe you should go.”

  “Okay, ma’am, and we thank you for your time.” Sam was about to head for the door when he caught sight of a tiny sparkle on the floor. He bent as if he was tying his shoelace and palmed the gem. When he straightened up he smiled at the old lady. “Thank you again, ma’am. No need to tell your grandsons we were here if it’ll cause you trouble.”

  “I think you’re right. They might not be too pleased,” she said, closing the door behind them.

  “And that’s an understatement,” Martin muttered. “What did you pick up?”

  Sam handed him the small jewel. “An earring. Seen it before?”

  Martin stared at it then at Sam, his eyes widening. “Fuck me. Looks like a match for the one Joey Carter was wearing.”

  “I’d bet dollars to donuts that it’s the same,” Sam said. “It might have got tangled in whatever either Darius or Dwight had on.”

  “A tweed bomber, according to Mikey. Yeah, it could have got caught in that and never be noticed. Just fallen off when he threw the jacket down. One look at that room and you know they never hang anything up.”

  “Okay, so we got our probable killer.”

  “Right. Only thing is we can’t use the list or the earring as evidence, seeing as how we had no warrant.”

  “We had Mrs. Bassinger’s permission. We’re good.”

  * * * *

  When they got back to the precinct, Sam took a moment to call Justin. “How’s it going, beautiful?” He kept his voice low as there were still a few officers and detectives wandering around or on their computers.

  “Hey, Sam, so good to hear your voice.”

  “You sound down. That boss of yours still giving you problems?”

  “’Fraid so, but I don’t want to bore you with that, not when I only get a few minutes of your time.”

  “I’m sorry ’bout that. Martin and me will be winding this up in a few. I know it’s late, but I could drop by if you like?”

  “Like? I would love that, Sam.”

  “Good,” Sam said, pleased as punch at Justin’s enthusiasm. Once again he was getting hard just talking to Justin—or was it the anticipation of what they could share? Either way, he wouldn’t be getting out from behind his desk until he absolutely had to.

  After he finished the call with Justin he and Martin drew up their statements about what they had uncovered during their shift…the information from Mikey regarding the possible connection between Joey Carter and the Rothman/Hellman brothers. They included their suspicions that one or both of the brothers might also be responsible for Joey Carter’s murder.

  Hoskins had left them emails reminding them of Sanders being questioned in the morning at eleven a.m. and to be there to answer any further questions the interrogating agent might have.

  “So who’re you having all these little tête-à-têtes with on the phone, my man?” Martin asked as they left the precinct. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed those whispered conversations and that goofy smile on your face. ’Fess up now, boy. Who is it you’re seeing?”

  Sam groaned. “You’re gonna tell Liz if I tell you and next time I see her she’ll want details.”

  “Never mind her. I want details!” He grinned at Sam and squeezed his shoulder. “So there is someone, huh?”

  “Real early in the game to say we’re seeing each other, but yeah, there is a guy.” Oh, boy, is there a guy!

  “Fantastic. And just when were you going to share this news with your best partner ever?”

  “When it got a little more, you know, solid.”

  “Solid? What is it now, like jello?”

  Sam chuckled. “No definitely not like jello…it’s just too soon to talk about it. You’re the first to know, if that makes you feel better about it.”

  “Hmm, that’s something, I guess. Well, Liz will be delighted to know it’s finally happened.”

  “Martin. Let me be the one to tell her.”

  “Well, you better figure on doin’ it tonight, ’cause soon as I walk in the door she’ll know I have something to tell her. She can read me like a book. I have no defenses against her nosiness.”

  “Not tonight. Next time we’re together.”

  “Okay, partner mine. I’ll see you tomorra. Should be interesting.”

  “At the very least. G’night, Martin.”

  “’Night, Sam.”

  Chapter Nine

  Sam made good time over to Justin’s place. Seeing Justin, holding him, kissing him would be the perfect antidote to the end of a shitty day. Those kids out there setting themselves up to be taken advantage of, often lost and alone…when he dwelt on it too long it near broke his heart. It could’ve been me…thank God for Kenny and his family, or I might have been the one out there all those years ago trolling the streets along with all the other lost boys.

  Okay, he couldn’t meet Justin with an air of depression hanging over him. Justin had sounded as if he needed some cheering up, too. He put a bright smile on his face as the door was swung open.

  “Hi,” wa
s all he managed before Justin was in his arms and their mouths were meshed in a kiss that left him in no doubt that Justin was pleased to see him. More than pleased if the hardness behind the skimpy shorts he was wearing was any indication. Sam let himself be pulled into the living room. His T-shirt was tugged up over his head and thrown to one side. Then Justin’s lips were on Sam’s neck, his throat, his chest, his nipples and he could do nothing but give himself up to the visceral sensations that holding this lithe and supple body pressed to his own brought him.

  “Justin,” he breathed into his lover’s mouth.

  “Yeah, I know.” Justin’s whisper tickled Sam’s lips “I’m so glad you’re here.” He leaned back a little. “I waited, thinking you might want to shower.”

  “That’d be good.”

  “Together.”

  “That’d be even better.”

  Sam stepped out of his boots, jeans and briefs while he and Justin hurried to the bathroom, despite the fact that they had their arms around each other. Amazing what you can do when you’re good and eager…

  Once they were inside the stall and the hot water cascaded over them, their bodies came together in a bone-crushing embrace that had Justin writhing against Sam and his tongue searching out every corner of Sam’s mouth. When they came up for air, Sam reached for the bodywash and upended the bottle over Justin’s chest then rubbed it all over his torso down to his cock and balls. He skimmed his hands down the length of Justin’s spine then cupped his sweet ass, pulling him in tight, fingering the cleft. Justin whimpered and pressed down into the pressure of Sam’s finger, drawing him in. Their bodies slid together, their erections ground against each other and the urge to fuck Justin overwhelmed Sam.

  “Yes, please,” Justin whispered.

  “What, you’re reading minds now?”

  “Only dirty ones,” Justin said, chuckling.

  Sam growled and shoved his finger farther up Justin’s ass, curling it over his prostate and wrenching a long moan from him.

  “Jesus, Sam…I’ll come too soon if you keep doing that. I want that big cock of yours up there.”

  “Dirty boy.”

  “Your dirty boy, Sam.”

  “That’s right.” He tightened his arms around Justin and pressed his lips to Justin’s mouth, tangling their tongues together, kissing him long and hard, reveling in the feel of Justin’s roving hands as he caressed and stroked Sam’s body.

  “Come on,” he said, breathing heavily. “Let’s get you dried and ready for me.” If anyone had told him he’d be rampantly horny and have the wherewithal to perform close to ten times in three days, he’d have laughed in their face. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe it, but standing there running a towel over Justin’s limber body, the evidence of his readiness pressed against Justin’s thigh, what was there to not believe? What’s that old saying, ‘All it takes is the right one’ or something like that?

  “There you go thinking again. I can practically hear the gears turning.”

  Sam laughed and slapped Justin’s butt. “I hear you thinking, too, you know.”

  “Yeah, well, now is the time for action, not thinking.” He jumped into Sam’s arms and wound his legs around Sam’s narrow waist. “We can think and talk after you’ve fucked me.”

  “Wanna rim you first,” Sam murmured, laying Justin on the bed face-down. “You like it?”

  “Oh, yeah, specially the way you do it.” He turned his head to look at Sam. “You sure you haven’t had a whole heap of sex before me?”

  Sam chuckled. “I’m sure. You’re just lucky that I love spending time exploring you. I’m learning as I go.”

  Justin laughed. “So, go, Sam, go.”

  Sam dived in and Joey squirmed under him as Sam scoured the cleft between Joey’s buttocks with his tongue. Sweet… He palmed each butt cheek, parting them to gain better access to the sensitive nerve endings surrounding Justin’s hole. Justin groaned and his hips bucked when Sam pushed in, using the tip of his tongue to probe and tease.

  “Sam, Sam,” Justin moaned, raising his ass to encourage Sam to go deeper. Sam held Justin’s hips steady and he plunged his tongue in and out of Justin’s ass. Justin’s body tensed and he gripped the sheet under him while he keened out a low cry of ecstasy. Sam reached for the lube and condom on top of the nightstand. Justin jumped when a cool, lubed finger replaced Sam’s warm tongue, but he was smiling when Sam turned him onto his back. He raised his legs and hooked his ankles over Sam’s shoulders, watching avidly while Sam sheathed and lubed himself. Sam leaned forward, placed a hand on either side of Justin’s head and pushed forward. He loved to see the look in Justin’s eyes as he penetrated him. That blink of surprise, the slow widening of his pupils when pleasure hit and the gleam that filled them as Sam slid all the way in.

  “Saaam,” he breathed shakily then wound his arms around Sam’s neck and joined their lips together in a kiss that was tender at first but when their bodies moved to an erotic rhythm, that kiss became demanding, bruising, in a clash of lips, teeth and tongues. Lust-driven, Sam rammed his cock deep into Justin’s heat, every thrust bringing him closer to the point of no return. Justin clung to him, his arms and legs wrapped tight around Sam’s torso. Sam eased one hand between their bodies to grip Justin’s erection, which was slick with pre-cum.

  “Come with me,” he whispered in Justin’s ear.

  As the rhythm of their lovemaking increased its pace, Justin arched his body into Sam’s, clinging to him like a limpet, riding the bucking motion of Sam’s thrusts and claiming each one with an upward push of his hips. Sam pumped Justin’s cock, willing him to climax as the urge to come overwhelmed him. Justin came first, calling out Sam’s name when his hot seed jetted from him and coated his chest. Sam was ready now, unable to fight the spreading tingling that coasted down his spine and wrapped around his balls. He plunged again and again inside Justin until with a wild cry he came, his orgasm wrenched from with mind-blowing force

  Panting, he gazed down at Justin’s face, which seemed to him to be even more beautiful, his cheeks flushed from his climax, his lips swollen from the myriad kisses they had shared. He dipped his head to reach the glistening pools of cum on Justin’s chest and trailed his tongue through them then placed a kiss on Justin’s lips. Justin opened to him and their tongues tangled and Justin tightened his arms around Sam as they shared Justin’s salty essence.

  “So good,” Sam murmured on Justin’s lips.

  “Yes, you are,” Justin replied.

  Afterward they lay side by side, arms around each other, Sam’s lips pressed to Justin’s temple, and once again Sam marveled at just how amazingly perfect the sex was he had with him. Best sex ever…

  “Yes, it is,” Justin murmured. “The very best.”

  “Did you just read my mind…again?”

  “No, you said, the best sex ever and I agreed. What, you didn’t mean to say it?”

  Sam chuckled. “I thought I was thinking it. Must have slipped out.”

  “You’re funny.” Justin kissed Sam’s chest. “Funny and fantastic.”

  “But I meant it, Justin. Truly, every time with you, it’s the best I’ve ever known.”

  Justin raised his head and smiled at Sam. “I like that.” He parted his lips, an invitation that Sam was not about to refuse. Their kiss was sweet, tender, yet with an underlying layer of passion that made Sam feel things he’d never felt before Justin. Despite the vagaries and stress of working in law enforcement for the last few days, he’d also experienced a sense of euphoria, and he couldn’t remember having that feeling…ever.

  Justin climbed on top of him and, before he could say ‘sex’, they were doing it again.

  * * * *

  “So tell me what happened that made you unhappy today.” Sam thought after that second round they should take it easy and talk for a while.

  Justin sighed. “Not unhappy…frustrated. The woman I work for is kinda nuts. Last week she fired me then called and said she’d made a mistake a
nd would I come back. I have nothing else so I said yes, and this morning soon as I got there, she starts telling me my designs are no good…the same ones she wanted me to leave behind. We got into a bit of a spat. Paula, her secretary, told me she’s having marital problems, but why take that out on me? Honestly, Sam, I have to look for something else. She gets me mad, and I don’t like working in that kind of atmosphere.”

  Sam stroked Justin’s hair and kissed his forehead. “Yeah, it’s shitty when you don’t enjoy going to work.”

  “I love what I do, Sam, but not where I’m doing it.” He pushed his head into Sam’s stroking hand. “I just have to keep on putting my résumé out there and pray that something good comes along. I mean…” He smiled into Sam’s eyes. “It could happen. I prayed for someone like you, and here you are.”

  “You and that silver tongue,” Sam said smiling.

  “Every word is true.” He kissed Sam. “But you…you have a whole lot more going on than I do.”

  Sam nodded. “Martin and I are investigating a case of a murdered kid who got mixed up with the wrong people.”

  “Oh, God, that’s terrible.”

  “Yeah, he was only eighteen, homeless, hustling to get by…”

  Justin sighed. “God, and here am I thinking my life is hard, and what do I have to complain about really? A whiny bitch of a boss is all, but there are kids out there whose lives are in actual danger and they have no one to turn to. At least I know if I’m ever in trouble I have my family…and now you, of course.” He laid a gentle kiss on Sam’s lips.

  Sam tightened his arms around Justin. He couldn’t imagine what kind of trouble Justin could get himself into, but he was right—he’d be there for him, no matter what.

  * * * *

  Sam met Martin at the precinct at ten-thirty in the morning. They had spoken on the phone to arrange their day. First, be available for the time when Sanders would face Captain Hoskins and an investigator from headquarters who would have been apprised of the charges to be brought against Sanders. That guy was already in Hoskins’ office, presumably going over the necessary paperwork. Once whatever would happen to Sanders was out of the way, they were going back to Mrs. Bassinger’s apartment for, no doubt, a confrontation with her grandsons. Sam wondered if she’d mentioned their visit to the guys, and somehow he doubted that she had. She hadn’t come across as super happy to have them living with her and certainly didn’t approve of their life choices. Still…blood often proved to be thicker than water.