Dinner Party Mystery
A Girl Friday, Risk Versus Reward crossover story.
*
Chapter 6: The Dragon Lady Part Deux
Juliet
I touched my fingers to Miss Chowdhury's business card, the one that she had slipped into the inner pocket of my thrift store suit coat as she kissed me adieu. My hand brushed against my still erect nipple as I did, giving me a pleasant, tingly reminder of our brief time together. I'd never really considered myself a maven in the kitchen, that was Charlotte's department, but I was seriously looking forward to taking some cooking classes from this woman.
Charlotte had already finished laying an extra five lashes on the lovely pink bottoms of Miss Chowdury's trio of sous chefs. Charlotte gave me a wink and a sly grin as I walked from the kitchen—probably striding in slow motion, at least I was in my mind—while I wiped my mouth and chin with the back of my hand. It wasn't not just Miss Chowdhury's kitchen creations that had me looking forward to a little one on one culinary instruction.
"You look happy." Charlotte was still grinning.
"And I suppose fifteen lashes on three gorgeous, young behinds was a hardship for you."
"I never said that." Charlotte leaned in to kiss me. "You taste like curry."
"Now who's being culturally insensitive?"
Charlotte's smile fell. "I didn't mean it that way. I meant after what we ate for—"
I silenced her protest with another, longer kiss. "I know, honey. Now let's go interview the dragon lady."
Charlotte's elbow connected suddenly with my ribs. "Not nice, Juliet."
The two of us took turns elbowing each other all the way up the stairs, all while grinning like fools.
* * *
It wasn't hard to find our two remaining suspects. I just followed the sounds of Miss Natasha's gasping, followed by moaning, followed by giggling. That was not something I ever would have expected from the woman, to hear her giddy like a school girl. She always seemed so even keel. Devious sometimes, yes, but always in control and never one to lose herself.
As we got closer, I had a strong suspicion as to what was causing it all. I heard a crack that sounded like twelve inches of hardwood on skin, another gasp and moan, all wrapped up in a cloud of lust. The stink of sex in the air was think enough to cut with a knife, or to poke holes in, like Desi's pie. I strongly suspected there was much more of the poking going on as Detective Charlotte and I approached the door separating us from Miss Natasha's home office.
I looked over at Charlotte. Surely, she had to have some inkling of what was going on behind that door. But, surprisingly, the Charlotte who lost her cool at dinner and nearly sent everyone packing was nowhere to be seen. Instead, my fellow detective's face was serene, almost angelic, as she moved her fingers toward the office doorknob.
"Shouldn't we knock first?" I asked.
Charlotte looked at me and then fingered the lapel of my thrift store suit. "We're hard-boiled detectives, Juliet. We don't knock."
"Okay..."
While I was busy checking my emergency stick-on mustache to make sure it wasn't falling off again, Charlotte's shoe had already connected with the door. It swung open fast, and with a bang. It was the kind of noise that left me thinking about how I might be filling a doorknob-sized hole in the plaster. But, when I saw the room's two occupants, my thoughts turned and my jaw dropped.
Miss Natasha is endowed with what is perhaps the most fabulous chest I have ever seen in my life. She has admitted that it's not one-hundred percent what the good lord gave her, but that has never stopped me from staring like an idiot any time those tits came out to play. And tonight was no different. Miss Natasha's flushed and heaving chest was out on full display, except for a bit on the right side that was blocked by the dragon lady's fingers roughly tugging at her nipple.
I looked at Charlotte, expecting a crimson face and steam coming out of her ears, as she marched forward to smack to hell out of the woman who held Charlotte's wife on her lap and pinched at her flesh like it was a toy. I didn't witness any of that. I saw Charlotte's lips spreading and starting to turn up at the corners. She quickly straightened them out again.
"Freeze, dolls," Charlotte said, in her hard-boiled detective voice. "Somebody here's had their fingers in Desi's pie and ain't either of you gals goin' anywhere until I get a confession."
I looked at Charlotte. She was still trying to play the hard-ass, but there was a twinkle in her eye. I looked at Miss Natasha next—like besides just her tits—and her brow was all scrunched up like she'd just been busted in the back seat of her prom date's car. And I don't think the mention of Desi's pie factored into that look at all. Dragon Lady, on the other hand, simply looked mildly amused as the situation played out.
"And just what do you think I'm going to confess to, little one?" Dragon Lady had her gaze locked on Charlotte.
Charlotte never missed a beat. "The pie tasting, toots. I know you had your finger in Desi's pie tonight, and I aim to prove it. And I know your little naked floozy here was in on it too."
From the expression on her face, Miss Natasha had apparently worked out any trepidation she had about the current situation, and focused her attention strictly on the word floozy as she raised an eyebrow at Charlotte.
Charlotte walked forward. "Stand up. Detective Juliet needs to measure your fingers."
Don't throw me in the middle of this,
is what I thought as soon as the words left her mouth.
"That might prove somewhat difficult," Dragon Lady said. "We are currently joined at the hip, you might say."
Miss Natasha's face flushed a deep red.
"Listen, doll," Charlotte said. "Stand up so my associate can measure your finger, else I'll come over there and drag you out of that chair and into a cell downtown, capisce?"
