Chapter 14

The rain was gone. The sky was clearing rapidly. From the couch in the front room of my apartment I was able to see the moon shifting around behind the cloud clumps.

I'd turned on the radio and it was playing softly. A short time ago it had been midnight and they'd given the news, a long with the weather report.

"Today, Monday, was to be a beautiful day. No rain. No smog. Lots of sunshine." And I still didn't have a client. But I had Honey.

After she'd made the telephone call from Nora's house, we'd all assembled in the front room. It was Honey who brought out Nora's clothes, as well as her own. I just sat there, holding the automatic, watching as they got dressed.

It was a reverse strip tease. Very entertaining. And it was a nice way to kill time until the police arrived.

Jenks had led the pack.

After I'd given him the complete story and they'd taken Nora away, I took Honey away. Back to my apartment. As I sat there on the couch now with my feet propped up on the coffee table with a scotch in my hand, I'd been listening to the shower. Now it was turned off. I figured that Honey had begun toweling dry.

"Lincoln! Would you look at me!"

I looked up and saw her coming into the front room. She'd just stepped out of the shower; but she hadn't toweled dry. She was a golden goddess with the droplets of water still clinging to her skin.

The big bath towel was draped around her shoulders. It wasn't that big. It didn't cover up the front of her at all. And that's what she was looking at-at that moment.

There was a black and ugly bruise on the top of her left breast. Another one was on the right side, at about the fifth rib. A big angry blotch of black was about six inches inside her left hip, and a bit downward.

Honey was standing spread-legged. There were a number of small dark bruises on the inside pf both thighs. And way up, high in the crotch.

Honey wailed, "What am I going to do?"

"On you, they look good, Honey."

"But — for my opening. I can't dance topless with all these bruises over my body!"

"That's true, Honey."

She was fidgeting with her wonderful hair again, the fingers of her hands moving it away from the sides of her face. She was really something.

"Come here," I said.

Her glance caught and held mine. "I don't know if I trust you, Lincoln."

"You can trust me."

"I know," she said softly. "But what do you intend to do about it?"

"Well, first of all," I said, "I intend to kiss all your bruises and that will make them feel better."

Her face was radiant. "I like that."

"Already you're committing yourself."

"No." She was shaking her head. "I committed myself to you a long time ago, Lincoln."

Slowly she pulled the bath towel away from her shoulders. She took a couple of steps, dragging the towel along the rug as she moved. Then her fingers let it drop to 'the floor; and she was coming towards me, seductive, exciting, the fire evident in her eyes.

For the first time in my life I was thinking about Nancy's robe and clothes hanging up in my closet, and that it was time that I got rid of them.

Gently Honey, the bare one, lifted the glass from my hand and set it on the coffee table. And then her slim golden hand was on my shoulder, pushing me backwards, and I went willingly.