Gray Days and Wicked Ways, page 2
part #4 of Layton Shayne Mystery Series
“I’ll see to it,” Chef Brogna said. “You go and wash your face and rest a while. I’ll stay out here with Brandon—we’ll be fine.”
Melinda wiped her face with her hand, walked to her son, hugged and kissed him, then walked down the steps of the porch. Her slim-fitting dress showed off her trim figure and long legs.
“Melinda’s always had a nice figure, except when she was pregnant,” Chef Brogna said. “Even then, she only gained the baby weight. You’ll have to excuse her, she’s really isn’t normally like this in front of guests.”
“What’s she usually like?” I said.
“She’s a liar!” Brandon said.
Chapter 2
Marine to the Rescue
CHEF BROGNA SAT next to Brandon, then spoke to him. “It’s not nice to call people liars, especially your mommy, Brandon.”
“She is a liar!” Brandon said. “She is! My daddy did send me a present and they took it like they take everything! It was a shiny, red, remote control truck!” He crossed his arms, angrily, rested them on his little chest, then scowled.
“Who took your truck, Brandon?” I said. “I’m a detective, maybe I can help.”
“I’m not allowed to say or they’ll hurt my mommy,” Brandon said.
“I think maybe you’ve said enough, Brandon,” Chef Brogna said. “We’re bothering this nice man.”
“Not hardly,” I said.
“You’re a liar too,” Brandon said to Chef Brogna, then slapped the chef’s hat off his head. “Everyone here lies!” He jumped out of the rocking chair and ran down the steps with Chef Brogna on his heels.
Alex had caught the last of things as he walked outside.
“What was all that about?” Alex said.
“I’ll tell you about it on the way to our room.”
“We need to park the truck in a different space first,” Alex said.
I forced myself out of the comfortable rocker and Alex and I walked down the steps and to my truck. We got inside and drove to one of the large, two-story buildings across from the main office and registration area. I parked the truck, we grabbed our bags, and walked up to the building. It was surprisingly large inside. Alex must’ve noticed my surprise and responded accordingly.
“These buildings are much newer—from the twenties and thirties. Only the main building which now holds the registration area, offices, and two dining rooms dates back to 1905.” He stared at me. “OK, you’re lost in thought. Tell me what happened while I was dealing with registration.”
As we walked up one flight of stairs then another, I told Alex about what I’d witnessed. When we got to room fifty-eight, Alex used the key in his hand to open the door.
“Hang on a sec,” I said, then put down my bag, picked Alex up, carried him into the room, and laid him on our king-size bed. He chuckled. After giving him a quick kiss I went back and grabbed my bag which was propping the door open. Once I’d locked the door, I kicked off my flip-flops, stripped out of my shorts and underwear, then pulled my shirt off over my head. Alex whistled, then spoke.
“Impressive, but I thought you carried someone into the room after you were married.”
“And when that day comes you can carry me into the room and throw me on the bed,” I said. We both laughed. “I’m gonna hit the shower. You’re welcome to come along and have your way with me.” I walked through the doorway across from the bed that led into the bathroom. Alex poked his head inside and looked at me.
“It’s a bit small for two. You shower first, Layton. And make sure you’re nice and clean so I can have a go at every inch of you.”
“You got it, babe,” I said.
Alex stepped out of the bathroom doorway and closed the door behind him. That was when I noticed how truly cramped it was inside the space. There was a pedestal sink, toilet, and shower with a curtain, but it was slightly uncomfortable for even just one person. I stepped into the shower and thoroughly and quickly washed off. After drying myself with a plush white towel, I tied it around my waist and stepped outside. “Next.” A naked Alex walked toward the bathroom and I took hold of his cock for a moment as he walked by me. We kissed, then I let him get on with business.
Once I heard Alex turn on the shower, I looked around the room. It wasn’t a bad size. There was the king-size bed anchoring the room, night tables on either side of the bed and a wide dresser on the wall next to the bathroom. To the side of the door was a table and chairs and in the corner a microwave sat on top of a small refrigerator. I walked to the window, pushed the curtain aside, and looked outside. We had a view of the pool area. There was nothing particularly interesting outside so I went to my bag in the corner, opened it, and pulled out a trinket I’d brought with me. After placing the trinket on the small table in front of the window, where Alex would see it, I got my travel case and located my bottle of lube. Once I’d generously applied some to my ass, I lay stomach down on the bed and waited. It wasn’t long before I heard Alex shut the water off. The bathroom door opened and Alex chuckled. He’d spotted the faux green-eyed lady statuette I’d bought at the site of our case involving the zombies. Now, I wondered if he’d take the hint.
“I feel a strange power coming over me,” Alex said, then giggled. “It’s the green-eyed lady getting me too horny for words.”
I held back a laugh and lifted my ass in the air. Alex kissed it, then entered me fast and hard. He didn’t stop thrusting into me until he came, then we switched places. When we were done, we lay back in each other’s arms.
“I love you, Alex,” I said, then kissed him.
“I love you too, Layton. I don’t think we did too badly for being only the two of us this time.”
“We never do ‘too badly’ for being just the two of us,” I said. “You felt perfect inside me. Maybe you need two of us now since Forrest, but….”
“Fool,” Alex said, then kissed me.
“It’s OK if you missed him, you know,” I said.
“I did and I didn’t,” Alex said. “It’s sort of hard to explain. Didn’t you miss him at least a little.”
“Yes and no,” I said, then chuckled. “Having two men inside me felt pretty damn good that time the three of us did it. But having you all to myself is swell too. No… that didn’t come out right either. I liked how the three of us—you, me, and Forrest—shared everything together. It’s more that—”
“You have something else on your mind,” Alex said. “The boy downstairs.”
“He’s the son of a Marine and he needs help,” I said.
“That pretty much says it all, then,” Alex said. “How do we even begin to help him? He’s a kid and he called his mom a liar and she and the chef called him a liar.”
“I never said that they called Brandon a liar,” I said, holding Alex tighter. “Chef Brogna just said they shouldn’t talk about certain things. That’s different than calling the kid a liar.”
“I thought maybe the chef was being nice,” Alex said. “Someone must be lying.”
“Not necessarily.”
“But, either the kid got a gift or he didn’t,” Alex said. “So that means there is a lie somewhere.”
“Somewhere… maybe. But, Alex, I believe Brandon. And you didn’t see Melinda. She was clearly distraught. Her tears weren’t just a show put on for my sake. Something else is going on here.” I turned on my side and spooned against Alex, kissing his neck. “How’s about one more round, then a nap?”
We did exactly that and woke in time to get dressed for dinner with Frankie and Jimmy. The two of us picked out shorts and deck shoes to wear. I’d opted for a snug white Polo shirt, while Alex chose a yellow, cotton, button-down shirt. I walked behind him and kissed his neck as he buttoned his shirt.
“The green-eyed lady’s power hasn’t worn out over me yet,” I said. “Can’t we be a little late?”
“No, we can’t,” Alex said, then kissed me. “But there’s always after dinner. Frankie and Jimmy’s is a little far to walk to from here at night, so we’d better drive.”
“OK,” I said. “Maybe when we get back we can go down to the pool, it’ll still be early. Tomorrow we can walk around Mt. Ore and see the sights.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me. Are you going to be keeping an eye out for a red, remote control truck?”
“I will be,” I said.
“Marine, turned detective, Layton Shayne to the rescue,” Alex said.
FRANKIE AND JIMMY’S restaurant up the hill from the inn was crowded, but the hostess on duty ushered us straight to the small courtyard for dining in back where Frankie was waiting. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The white color highlighted his perfect tan and thick dark hair. When he saw us, Frankie smiled and waved. The hostess seated us, smiled, then left.
“You lazy bastard,” I said to Frankie. “What’re you doing here relaxing when the joint is so packed with patrons?”
“Even I need to take a break sometimes,” Frankie said. “We have a great new hostess… and my eyes and ears are everywhere should I be needed.”
“You look good, Frankie,” Alex said. “And happy as always.”
“Yes,” Frankie said. “What do I have to complain about? The restaurant is doing well, home life is good. And the party at Carson Court was fantastic… no?”
“Despite the ghosts and all, it was pretty damn great,” I said, then smiled. “I hear you’re the go-to guys for next year’s party.”
“Yes,” Frankie said. “Mrs. Carson and her granddaughter were very pleased. Jimmy will come out at some point tonight and say hello.”
“Is he happy?” I said.
“Of course,” Frankie said. “He has me and all this.”
“How stupid of me to have asked,” I said and chuckled.
Someone came by to take our drink orders and once we’d placed them we continued talking. Alex informed Frankie that we were going to be daddies and Frankie responded enthusiastically.
“I’m genuinely pleased for you both. Children are a blessing. Jimmy and I have talked about having one or two as well. Maybe in another year or so we’ll try to find a surrogate.”
“That would be great,” I said. “Our kids could be friends then.”
“I just thought of something,” Frankie said. “Not to be rude, but should I have congratulated three of you rather than two?” Alex told us about what happened with police officer Forrest.”
“It looks like three may be the right number in at least my personal life,” I said. “And that’s fine by me at this point.”
“I’m beginning to see how that number seems to follow you around, Layton. But Forrest is very easy on the eyes and a nice man from what I’ve seen.”
“You’re correct on all counts,” I said.
Our drinks arrived, we ordered our food, then talked about different things for a while. Jimmy came out of the kitchen to say hello, hugged us, then sat for a moment.
“Do you miss Shelby at all, Alex?” Jimmy said.
“To be honest I haven’t had the chance to miss anything,” Alex said. “I do have to go back and get my car and other things out of storage there, but so far I haven’t had time or a real need for anything—well, anything, but this guy.” He held my hand then smiled.
“I know how you feel,” Jimmy said. “I guess you’re going to be so busy with Carson Court that you won’t even have time to think about Shelby.”
“I haven’t really thought much about the court yet,” Alex said. “And it’s filling up quickly.”
“So we’ve heard,” Jimmy said. “I’ll say again that it was nice of you to let Mrs. Carson stay.”
“She’s moved into the guesthouse which is no problem at all,” I said. “The main house is plenty big for Charity and Linus to move into, as well as Forrest should it come to that.”
“Do you think it will… come to that?” Frankie said.
“Despite what I’ve been told about a cure for what we feel, my gut tells me it will come to that,” I said.
“And has your gut always been right?” Jimmy said.
“Only about one-hundred-percent of the time,” I said. “I only seem to get into trouble when I don’t listen to my gut.”
“Well, I’d better get back to the kitchen,” Jimmy said. “It’s always great seeing you guys. And Forrest is welcome here with the two of you any time.” He hugged us, then started to walk away, but turned back to address me. “And, Layton, don’t worry. I have a piece of Torta di Zabaglione with your name on it.”
“Thanks,” I said. “That is always appreciated.” I smiled at Jimmy before he turned and walked away.
“You should appreciate it,” Frankie said. “That dessert is very popular.”
“It’s a good dessert,” I said. “Tell me, Frankie, what do you know about the Mt. Ore Inn?”
“Do you mean what do I know or what have I heard?” Frankie said. “There are things I know and things I’ve only heard gossiped about. Why do you want to know?”
I told Frankie what Melinda had told me about gray days and wicked ways, then about Brandon and he didn’t seem shocked by any of it.
“You don’t seem surprised at all, Frankie,” Alex said.
“Well, we’ve tried to deal with the inn—helping them cater a large anniversary party and one wedding, and at first things went well,” Frankie said. “Melinda was alright, but things changed. Supposedly her husband cheated on her with another woman when he got back from Iraq and Melinda won’t let him come around anymore.”
“It’s kind of hard to deliver a birthday gift if you’re not allowed to come around,” Alex said.
“But Melinda was still expecting one and was disappointed it didn’t come,” I said. “I wonder if she expected her husband to mail it or give it to someone else to bring over.”
“Good luck to him,” Frankie said. “There’s not a single person over at the inn I would trust right now.”
“What do you mean by that?” I said.
“I mean that Melinda’s surrounded by people who put their own interests first,” Frankie said. “There aren’t many of the workers there I would trust.”
“She’s not good at picking help, huh,” Alex said.
“The problem is that she’s not really running things anymore. The inn belonged to her husband’s family. Her husband is the oldest son, so he inherited it. Rumor has it that the younger son Jack has always wanted to get his hands on it. He’s the one pretty much running things now and he’s doing a lousy job of it.”
“He’s hard to deal with, huh?” I said. “Any chance he could’ve set his brother up to take the fall.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Frankie said. “Maybe gray days really do bring out the wicked ways in people. There certainly seems to be a lot of wickedness occurring down at the inn.”
Chapter 3
Black as Night
WHEN ALEX AND I got back to our room at the inn I was so full I threw myself down on our bed, rolled over on my back, and put my hands on my stomach. “That was sooo good, and I’m stuffed,” I said.
Alex lay down on his side next to me, looked down at me, and smiled. “You do appear very content, Layton. And the food was superb as always. I guess you’re too tired to go down to the pool.”
“Nope,” I said. “Just give me ten.”
I changed into a tank top and blue trunks and Alex changed into significantly smaller, square cut, baby blue Speedos and a T-shirt. Alex was too much for me to resist and I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and hugged him. He turned and we kissed for several moments. His mouth was my tongue’s second home, it was so warm, wet, and welcoming. We finally parted, slipped into flip-flops, and grabbed a couple towels.
IT WAS ONLY EIGHT o’ clock at night by the time we made it down to the pool area. I opened a black iron gate which led into the concrete area surrounding the large pool. We placed our towels on a lounge chair and took off our flip-flops. My back was to the pool when I heard small, wet foot steps sloshing toward me.
“Hi, Mr. Detective! Hi!” a wet Brandon said as he stood next to me getting me wet as he waved excitedly. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter, then handed it to me. “Is that enough to hire you, Mr. Detective? I got it out of my piggy bank.”
I took the quarter, slipped it in my pocket, checked around for an adult supervisor or babysitter, then looked down at Brandon and patted his head.
“A quarter is exactly my going rate to take on cases for birthday boys,” I said.
“Yay!” Brandon said.
“Are you alone out here, kiddo?” I said.
Before he could answer, a young, barefoot woman in a bikini top, and denim shorts with the top button undone entered the area. She had black hair with purple streaks that was pulled back into a ponytail.
“Well, hubba, hubba,” the girl said, checking Alex and me out. “Is the lil guy bothering you two, gentlemen?”
“No, but it’s lucky the lil guy didn’t drown out here by himself,” I said.
“He’s a real good swimmer, and I was just gone for a second,” the girl said. “I’m Lacey Cooper, are you two a couple?”
“Hi, Lacey,” I said. “That’s an awfully personal question considering we just met.” I took off my tank top and put it on the lounge chair. “My name’s Layton by the way and this is my partner Alex.”
“He’s a detective,” Brandon said.
“Lord knows we could use a decent one around this place with all the shit that’s going on,” Lacey said. “Layton, I think gay guys are totally hot. It’s just us out here tonight, so if you two feel like getting frisky, I don’t mind.”
“What I feel like is taking a dip in the pool with a certain birthday boy.” I messed up Brandon’s hair with my hand and he laughed. “I’ll race you to the shallow end, buddy.” Brandon ran toward the shallow end of the pool, but I was feeling slightly more mischievous. “Hey, Lacey, check this out.” I turned to Alex, gave him a long wet kiss, then looked at Lacey and winked.
