Chapter 3

Day Five

Julie woke up with a man in her bed for the second time in her life. Tommy was awake and leaning on one elbow looking down at her.

“You’re making a habit of sleeping in my bed,” she looked up at Tommy who still looked handsome even with tousled hair and sleepy eyes.

“How do we play this?” Tommy asked.

“The case?” Julie replied but she knew what he meant.

Despite the intimacy they had shared Julie was fully prepared for Tommy to behave like most men she had bedded. He might even be suffering post-coital regret. After all they had both drunk a lot before they fell into bed.

“Don’t be obtuse Julie, you know what I mean,” Tommy leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Before Gail went all fruitarian on me, we behaved perfectly professional whilst at work and were able to keep our work and home life separate. Besides I’m sure you wouldn’t want it getting out that you have slept with me,” Julie gave him a pinched smile.

Tommy smiled at the fruitarian reference from Notting Hill.

“I don’t want what we have to be a dirty little secret Julie. We really connected last night,” Tommy replied.

“But you are correct. I don’t see why we can’t behave professionally at work and what happens outside of work is nobody else’s business,” Tommy said soberly.

“Then it’s agreed. We’ll be fuck-buddies when we are off the clock,” Julie made to get of bed but Tommy pulled her back.

“Don’t say it like that. You know it’s more than that,” Tommy searched Julie’s eyes.

“Let’s be practical shall we Tommy. You live in Camden, I live in New York. Neither of us is going to move so we can be together and you’re not going to take me home to meet mom. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company while I’m here in Camden,” Julie reached up and kissed Tommy’s cheek and this time she managed to slip out of his embrace and pad away to the bathroom.

She came out freshly showered wearing the hotel provided terry robe and she fixed her makeup and hair while Tommy showered. When Tommy came out of the shower she was tucking her blouse into her navy-blue skirt. Tommy stopped briefly to kiss her cheek and squeeze her ass then he dressed.

“I’ll stop by my place to change and meet you at the precinct,” Tommy said and made to kiss Julie on the lips but she turned her head away so that the kiss landed on her cheek.

“Watch my lipstick Tommy,” Julie flinched.

Tommy shrugged. Julie was obviously already in ‘professional mode’.

At Police Plaza, as usual, Jack Shepard came sniffing around.

“Hey Tommy, how goes the case?” Jack asked as if they hadn’t had a falling out yesterday.

Julie made herself look busy but she could feel Jack’s eyes crawling over her body.

“You know I can’t discuss the case Jack,” Tommy aid staidly.

“Come on. Let’s let bygones be bygones,” Jack tried to wheedle his way further into the interview room, his fat neck swivelling to look at the crime wall.

“Who is Fleur de Lis? She another hooker friend of Stephanie Carter?” Jack asked.

“Come on Jack let me buy you a cup of coffee,” Tommy bundled Jack Shepard out of the interview room.

Tommy returned later and handed Julie a venti cappuccino in a takeout cup.

“Spit or no spit?” Julie gave him a wry grin and if they weren’t at the precinct house Tommy would have kissed her there and then.

Julie got the text from Fleur de Lis the next afternoon.

The text came from someone identifying themselves only as ‘Amanda’ who proposed meeting Julie in the bar at the Marriot Hotel at five in the afternoon which gave Julie and Tommy plenty of time to prepare. Tommy would tail Julie and she would use the Phantom software on her work phone so he could listen in and the conversation could be recorded.

“I’m still not a fan of you going undercover for Fleur de Lis,” Tommy griped.

“What else have we got Tommy?” Julie asked.

“If I can get access to Stephanie’s client list we should be able to find out who her clients were on the night she was murdered,” Julie said yet again.

Tommy was sulky for the rest of the day as they worked their way through the evidence they had so far. The DNA obtained from Stephanie Carter’s body was a busted flush as were the fingerprints and they had little else to go on and the phone that had been used to lure them into the trap at the warehouse had gone dead so they were running out of leads.

Nothing new came to light and to make matters worse the New York Times printed a follow up piece in the political commentary section.

SENATOR DE LORRAINE KNOWS MORE THAN HE’S SAYING

Captain James McElroy had received an ass-kicking from the mayor and because shit rolls downhill Tommy was called into the captain’s office to receive his own ass-kicking and was told to use any and all available means to solve the case and to keep the details under wraps.

Julie decided to present herself professionally but sensuously at her meeting with ‘Amanda’ and chose a black leather skirt, matching heels, a white silk blouse and red jacket. Her ensemble was tight fitting and designed to put on display her best features. Her makeup was on the heavier side but not outlandish.

She and Tommy tested the Phantom software in the car to ensure that it was working. Tommy would let Julie enter the lobby bar at the Marriott and meet with Amanda and then follow her in and find a seat at the bar where he could keep her under surveillance.

Julie entered the bar and quite a few heads turned in her direction. She looked stylish but could also be perceived to be a high-class hooker. A woman sitting alone at a table in the far corner beckoned to her and Julie took a deep breath and made her way over.

Amanda turned out to one of those women who could be any age from forty to sixty. She was dressed in a fashion-label pale pink tailored skirt-suit with a black satin camisole top. Her makeup was perfect and her blonde hair was piled high on her head in a Patsy Stone banged beehive. Her long legs were sheathed in glossy tan hosiery.

“You must be Julie,” Amanda air kissed Julie’s cheek and indicated for her to sit.

“I must say you look even better than your pictures,” Amanda complimented her.

“Ok let’s not fuck around. In your resume you say you’ve been employed in this kind of work before so you understand that confidentiality and tact are paramount. Fleur de Lis clientele are mostly the rich and famous and as our slogan says, we offer them whatever they desire,” Amanda took a tablet out of her large designer bag.

“You’re lucky in a way because I had someone with similar qualities to yourself on my books until recently but she is no longer with us. My intention is to offer you to her client list. She was younger than you but other than that I think most of her clients will be willing to date you as an alternative,” Amanda got right down to it.

“I’m staying at the Grand Hotel in a suite until I find somewhere permanent to live but it is discreet and will do for now,” Julie offered.

“Ok. Your application was submitted through Randy’s login so I assume he told you how we operate. I take it you will have no issue with providing your clients with the range of mind-altering and performance enhancing substances that we offer as a secondary leisure pursuit,” Amanda raised her brows as much as she could on her Botoxed forehead.

“I don’t use them personally but I have no problem supplying them providing I don’t have to procure them,” Julie chose her words carefully.

“But your hormone supplements do not affect your ability to perform?” Amanda was very forthright.

“Not at all. I can top as well as bottom,” Julie said and cringed inwardly knowing that Tommy was listening in.

“Ok, let us put you on a one month trial to see if we are a good fit. I’ll give you a login and password. When you login for the first time I will need your bank account details so we can pay you. You take one third of the fee and you keep any cash gratuity that the client gives you. Other than that you never handle cash,” Amanda got down to business.

“The subsidiary transactions made to purchase those substances you upsell are also paid for electronically and you receive one third of any sales made. Everything is done through the website and the app. We will seldom meet in person,” Amanda explained.

“You will however be given a mobile phone number to use in event of an emergency and one of Fleur de Lis security staff will arrive at your door as soon as possible. I expect a woman of your expertise should be able to de-escalate most situations without any fuss so only use the number in event of a genuine emergency,” Amanda said sagely.

“You are also responsible for your own health care. We require you to lodge proof of your PrEP prescription and a STI clearance medical certificate every four weeks,” Amanda added.

“Is that it?” Julie asked.

“That’s all,” Amanda stood up ready to leave.

“When you log in for the first time there will be instructions and procedures to follow but all going well you should be working as soon as the day after tomorrow,” Amanda dropped her tablet back in her bag.

“One last thing. Any breach of client confidentiality or Fleur de Lis terms of employment will be dealt with quite severely. You’re a big girl, you understand that don’t you?” Amanda gave Julie a withering look and Julie merely nodded.

“Good. Welcome to Fleur de Lis,” Amanda offered her hand and Julie shook it.

Tommy watched Amanda sashay out of the bar and followed her as far as the parking valet but she didn’t pick up her personal vehicle, instead she slipped into the rear of a rented limousine and Tommy quietly cursed because he hoping to trace her plates. If they had more detectives working the case they could tail her. Tommy could try and tail her anyway but he decided against it and went back inside the Marriott to join Julie at the bar.

As he approached Julie he saw a tall handsome man talking to her. The man smiled at Julie ruefully and walked away from her table heading back to the long bar.

“What did that jagoff want?” Tommy asked pulling up a chair.

“He wanted to give me a thousand dollars to spend the night with him in his room. He thought I was a hooker,” Julie looked amused.

“Well you’re about to become one,” Tommy sniped.

Julie reached across the table and took Tommy’s hand in hers.

“We’re making real progress here Tommy. We might break the case,” Julie stroked his hand.

“But I don’t like the way we are going about it. What we are doing is illegal. You know that any evidence you get will be fruit of the poisoned tree. We have no warrants, no subpoenas, we’re operating off the grid,” Tommy squeezed Julie’s hand.

“Tommy, I don’t profess to know everything about you but I know enough about you that operating in the grey area of law enforcement is nothing new to you. All we need to know is who was with Stephanie Carter on the evening she was killed. We can make a case against him once we know who he is, especially if the DNA is a match. We’ll let the prosecutor’s office deal with the legalities,” Julie whispered.

“Let’s go back to my room and get started, we can’t do any of this in the precinct house; it needs to be off the books. I’ll make it worth your while when we’ve finished working. We can stop and get something nice to drink at the liquor store and I’ll spring for room service,” Julie leaned over the table and made to kiss Tommy but he flinched.

“We shouldn’t show any public displays of affection,” Tommy cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.

Julie was used to men not wanting to be seen being intimate with her in public even though it was doubtful that anyone in the bar had clocked her. She hoped that it was just Tommy wanting to behave professionally in public and not that. She really hoped it was not that.

“Amanda didn’t say anything to me that could be used to incriminate her. She chose her words carefully and deliberately. She’s no mug. There was no direct reference to drugs or prostitution,” Julie decided to change track.

“I told you that I don’t like the idea of you going undercover as an employee of Fleur de Lis. So far we have nothing concrete on them being involved in the murder or what happened to me in the warehouse,” Tommy sulked.

“But she did hint that she would be directing Stephanie’s clients my way. As I have said before, if I can get access to Stephanie’s client list we can start working our way through it and find out who her clients were on the night she was murdered,” Julie reiterated.

“What’s the plan? You going to fuck your way through Stephanie’s client list and during post-coital cuddling ask the john if they are a murderer.” Tommy quipped.

“I think we can come up with a better way of doing it than that Tommy. Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Julie snatched up her bag and made to leave.

Back in Julie’s hotel room Julie went to work. She found the link to the Fleur de Lis website and her login details in an email sent to the email address she had provided in her application. There was also a link to the Fleur de Lis app which she downloaded to her private phone.

There was no way that Julie was going to provide her personal banking details to Fleur de Lis. She found a bank that would let her open an account online provided she was willing to make an immediate deposit. She created the new account and deposited two thousand dollars of her own money and the account was created.

She was provided with an e-credit card which she stored in the wallet of her phone. She sent the bank account details to Fleur de Lis and received an instant reply acknowledging that the account had been registered in her name at Fleur de Lis and all payments would paid into that account.

On the Fleur de Lis app was a link to an electronic payment app which she downloaded. Clients would use the tap-and-go function to pay for any pharmaceuticals that Julie provided to them.

“You know that once you make a single drug sale you have committed a felony,” Tommy griped.

“I think once I agree to a monetary transaction for sexual services I’ll have committed a crime Tommy. Our plan is to try to find the guy or guys who murdered Stephanie Carter by luring them into a honey trap. I have no intention of actually fucking the guy or selling him any drugs,” Julie said coolly.

“What if the murderer wasn’t a client? What if we have it all wrong? What if it was a jilted lover or a burglar or some psycho?” Tommy countered.

“Do you really think Stephanie’s murder wasn’t somehow linked to Fleur de Lis?” Julie asked.

Tommy shook his head. He didn’t have an answer.

The final step in setting up her profile on Fleur de Lis was to provide a nom de plume. She chose the name Candy and submitted it.

Tommy wasn’t drinking beer tonight. He acquiesced to drinking the Australian Pinot Noir that Julie had selected at the liquor store. They ate the best that room service had to offer: seared scallops followed by New York strip with all the trimmings.

They had kissed a little when they first entered the hotel room but Julie had work to do and then the food arrived so they didn’t have time for canoodling but Tommy had been studying Julie closely as she moved around the room. The tight black leather skirt kept riding up her thighs and Julie had to keep tugging at the hem to keep it down. Tommy found her long legs clad in the black sheer hose were a distraction as was the turn of her hips and the sway of her buttocks. Her perfume was alluring and further beguiled him.

Her red jacket was open and the swell of her breasts cupped in the lacy black bra was visible through the sheer white blouse. Her bangs framed Julie’s entrancing face, her eye makeup was heavy, her lips bright red; she kept playing with her hair and Tommy was becoming increasingly aroused. He could well understand why the man in the bar at the Marriott had mistaken Julie for a high-priced hooker.

They ate in the little dining nook and Julie collected the plates, cutlery and side dishes and put them on the tray and carried them into the kitchenette and Tommy’s eyes followed the curve of her buttocks and her coltish legs as she moved around the suite and he eased back his chair and followed her to the kitchenette.

When Julie put the tray on the marble counter he sidled up to her and pressed himself into her back. He leaned in and kissed her neck, drawing in her perfume as his lips nuzzled her soft delicate skin. Julie purred as Tommy put his arms around her trim waist and held her close. Julie could feel his steely rod pressing against her buttocks.

“I’m nearly done here,” Julie whispered, anticipating Tommy’s need.

Tommy unbuttoned her blouse and slipped his hands inside and caressed her breasts through the lace cups, feeling her nipples harden to his touch. Julie turned her head and Tommy found her mouth and kissed her. She tasted of sweet wine and expensive lipstick.

Tommy popped her breasts free of her brassiere and pawed at them, flicking her nipples until they were fully engorged. His crotch rubbed against her buttocks insistently.

“Wow! Let’s move this to the bedroom,” Julie’s voice was sultry with anticipation.

Tommy kept one hand on her breast, tweaking the nipple between his fingertips while the other journeyed down her body to her hip. He rested it there as he kissed her passionately, nipping her tongue gently.

“Let’s go,” Julie gasped as her excitement swelled.

Tommy kept her pressed against the counter as his hand slipped under her skirt and stroked her thighs. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and ground his groin into her.

Julie attempted to twist away from him and Tommy used his strength to keep her pressed against the counter as his fingers pinched her nipple and pawed at her buttocks.

“Come on Tommy, let me get ready for you and I’ll join you on the bed,” a little irritation entered her voice.

“Here,” Tommy growled and nipped at the back of her neck.

Tommy’s fingers circled her pert buttocks. Her panties slid over her pantyhose as he pawed at her; the rasp of her glossy satin panties rubbing against her nylons was audible above their heavy breathing.

“Not here Tommy. I’m not ready,” Julie began to struggle.

Tommy’s weight lifted off her and for a second Julie thought that Tommy was acquiescing to her desire to let her get ready for him and move to the bedroom and she smiled at the thought of pleasuring Tommy after a long hard day.

Tommy’s hand left her breast and his arm circled her waist. He pulled her away from the counter, her heels skittering on the tiled floor. He pushed down on her back and kicked her heels apart and rucked her skirt up around her waist exposing her curvaceous buttocks clad in the black, lace-trimmed panties.

“Tommy no!” Julie said, exasperated at Tommy’s insistence.

“You wanna pretend to be a whore; then I’ll treat you like one,” Tommy grunted as he yanked at her panties, pulling them down to the top of her thighs.

Julie’s face was pressed into the countertop as Tommy used all his weight to hold her down with her back bent and her spread legs apart. She heard the ominous sound of his zipper and then he tore a little hole in the crotch of her pantyhose.

“No Tommy, I’m not ready,” she beseeched him as she felt the head of his cock press into the crevice of her buttocks.

He pressed his glans into her sphincter and Julie hissed and gyrated her buttocks to prevent him entry. Julie constricted her sphincter as Tommy tried to force his way inside her. Tommy was frustrated and he searched the countertop and saw the little butter dish on the dinner tray. He scooped up the remaining butter and smeared it on his swollen phallus, desperately trying to hold Julie down as he did so.

This time his cock slid into Julie’s rectum easily and Tommy pushed it all the way into her until his groin nestled in Julie’s soft, pantyhose-sheathed bottom. He gripped her hips and stayed perfectly still, trying to suppress the orgasm that threatened to erupt as Julie’s tight sphincter constricted around the base of his penis and her rectal muscles clutched at his shaft and glans.

When Tommy’s cock slid into her ass Julie knew that the fight was over. He’d won and she surrendered. Tommy would have to deal with the consequences of entering her unclean because as soon as his cock opened her sphincter and his glans pressed on her prostate she became concupiscent. Her cock hardened and her testes descended as ripples of pleasure spread from her rectum to her groin.

She pushed back against him.

“Come on then Tommy, fuck me,” Julie wriggled her buttocks.

Tommy held Julie by the hips and began to slam his cock in and out of her tight passage, the sensation was overwhelming. Her anus caressed his cock in a velvet grip and her gossamer-clad bottom squirmed against his groin when he fully impaled her.

“You whore!” Tommy hissed and fucked Julie with a series of long deep thrusts.

Julie released her penis from the confines of her pantyhose and stroked it viciously as she felt her climax rushing upon her like an oncoming train.

“Well fuck me like a whore Tommy! Give it to me you cocksucker!” Julie pressed back against him and began to writhe as she felt Tommy’s cock judder inside her anus.

She sobbed as her orgasm blossomed and her senses became overloaded with the intensity of it. Her cock throbbed and her anus palpitated, the sensations of Tommy expressing himself deep inside her, her buttocks pressed against his goin with his glans pushing on her prostate caused her to cry out at the intensity of it. Ropes of semen erupted from her throbbing cock. She whipped her hand back and forth as her juices spattered on the counter wall and tiled floor.

Tommy held onto Julie like a bucking bronco as she shuddered and bucked against him. His cock felt like it was about to burst and then he experienced the sweet release of orgasm as his seed spewed forth from his quivering manhood. At that instant in time he both loved and loathed Julie.

She had fought him valiantly and then surrendered utterly to him.

He held onto her tightly as he ejaculated every scintilla of his essence deep inside her, the cloying stench of her musky semen invaded his nostrils and he knew that she too had climaxed. His fingers dug into her hips as he deposited the last of his spend in her warm, tight channel.

Julie stayed bent over, her breathing jagged, her body spasming even as Tommy pulled his cock out of her with an audible plop. She felt the mess he had made begin to dribble down her thighs. The piquancy of butter, semen and ordure drifted upward from her crotch and she reached down and pulled up her panties tightly. She kept her skirt rucked up out of the way of the mess.

“What the fuck was that Tommy?” she said between jags of hyperventilation.

Tommy’s head was bowed. He’d never felt so sated whilst at the same time felt so ashamed of himself.

“I’m sorry Julie, I just lost control. I couldn’t stop myself,” Tommy whispered, his breathing still jagged.

“Well I’m using the bathroom first, so you can clean up in the kitchen sink or stand around with a dirty cock waiting to go next,” Julie scowled.

Tommy watched Julie walk almost bowlegged to the bedroom, still unsteady on her feet and then he looked down at his groin. He had to suffer the indignity of kicking off his shoes and taking off his pants and underwear whilst keeping his penis away from his clothing. Lucky for him he was still semi-erect, although his erection soon shrivelled when he awkwardly put his privates under the cold water from the kitchenette spigot. He found some dishwashing detergent under the sink and thoroughly washed himself.

Julie emerged from the bedroom dressed in a chiffon nighty and clean panties. She smelled of bath soap and her hair was wet from the shower. She found Tommy sitting on the couch with his head in his hands and Julie sat down beside him.

To her amazement she found that Tommy was weeping. He screwed his knuckles into the corner of his eyes to stem the flow of tears.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, around a crying jag.

Julie had come out of the bedroom angry but her anger dissipated and she sat down beside him and she put an arm around him to comfort him. He nestled his head in her shoulder.

“See what I mean about becoming my father,” his voice muffled against her neck.

“It was just a little roleplay Tommy. I would have spiked you with my heel if I really didn’t want you to fuck me like that,” Julie said and they both knew that what she said was a half-truth.

She led Tommy into the bedroom and undressed him then she put on a show as slid into a pair of gossamer flesh-toned stockings and slipped on her high heels. She joined him on the bed and this time they made love, they didn’t just fuck.

Day Six

Julie had received another email from Fleur de Lis overnight advising her to login and activate her account. She called Tommy who told her that he would check in at Police Plaza and then join her in her hotel room. What they were doing now had moved out of the grey area and bordered on entrapment and was possibly felonious.

Julie made coffee and ordered breakfast from room service and logged into her Fleur de Lis account. There was a link provided for Julie to upload copies of her PrEP prescription and latest STI clearance medical certificate.

The dating apps that Julie used didn’t require any such formality. You selected an escort, you paid for his services by credit card, you fucked and if he was any good you tipped him. Julie deliberately chose different men each time to provide her with what she needed. She had no interest in establishing any sort of relationship with any of the men who serviced her needs.

But having sex with multiple partners came with associated risks, as she’d discovered in the period when she became dangerously promiscuous after being raped by the frat boys so she had regular check-ups. She had been prescribed PrEP since adolescence and was fanatical about taking the medication at the same time every day.

Julie’s last check-up had been just before she left New York and she took photographs of her PrEP prescription and her STI clearance certificate and uploaded the JPEG images. This was a calculated risk because she would be providing Fleur de Lis with documentation that contained her real name but she had come this far and Fleur de Lis guaranteed that their confidentiality agreement worked both ways.

By the time she had showered and dressed she had received a reply advising her that her profile was now active and instructions on how to pick up her first supply of pharmaceuticals. She was provided with a four number combination for a luggage locker at Camden Union Station.

She went alone to pick up the drugs because if it was a trap she didn’t want to implicate Tommy.

There was no trap and Julie dropped the Ziploc bag that she found inside the storage locker into her purse without inspecting the contents. She drove back to her hotel and put the drugs in her hotel safe. She had no intention of selling any but she was sure that Amanda or one of her minions would check to make sure that Julie had taken possession of them.

Tommy arrived looking tired and moody. He kissed Julie perfunctorily and she made him coffee and explained to him where she was at.

“Now that you have taken possession of the drugs you have committed a felony,” Tommy grimaced as he sipped coffee.

“Come on Tommy. Undercover cops and DEA agents make drug deals every day in the performance of their duties,” Julie replied.

“Yes, but if you on sell them on to clients you’re effectively a drug dealer,” Tommy countered.

“We’ve already crossed the Rubicon, Tommy. There’s no going back now.” Julie said testily.