Steamy Sisters (5 page)

She made her way over to his desk to leave a note, when suddenly she saw them. Her panties. She picked them up. They were wet, and she tentatively held them closer to her nose. They stank of liquor, and she looked at the bottle of brandy next to them.

Behind her, Richard let out a scream, and she spun around, her heart suddenly racing. Richard was hopping around on one foot, and trying to pull something out of his other one with his fingers.

“What is it?”

“I stood on some fucking glass,” he said, removing a two-inch shard from his heel, his foot and hand covered in blood. He hopped to the nearest chair and sat down.
 

Katherine rushed over to him and examined the wound. It looked worse than it was. She made sure the glass was removed, took the towel from around her neck, and wrapped it around Richard’s foot. “That’ll do for now. There’s some first-aid equipment in the kitchen.”
 

“Where the hell’s the guard?” asked Richard.

“I don’t know,” replied Katherine. “ But I’ve got an uneasy feeling about this. My panties are on the desk over there.”

“What?”

“Somebody put my panties on the desktop. And they’re soaked with brandy.”

“Brandy?”

“Yeah. There’s something wrong here. I think we should leave. Get back to town.”

“You think?”

“It’s for the best,” said Katherine. “Maybe it’s something and nothing. But this, and the mirror. I don’t know!”

“The weather’s pretty bad outside. We could always put in a call to the sheriff’s office. You know him, don’t you?”

“He’s an old family friend,” said Katherine, searching for the phone. “He’s been sheriff of Steamy Springs for years.” The phone was upside down on the floor by the side of the desk. She picked it up and dialled. Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing. There was no dialling tone. The connection was dead.
 

Richard got up from the chair and followed the phone cable to the wall. It was plugged in. “Looks okay. Maybe it’s the snowstorm. He peered out of small window. It was dark, but he could see that it was still snowing heavily.

“Do you have your cell?” asked Katherine.

“I left it with my work stuff, in the lounge. Yours?”

“Same.”

“Right. Let’s go and try the cells. If we still can’t get hold of anyone, we’ll try and get back to town. Sound okay?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

“We’ll have to take your SUV. I don’t think my Porsche is going to make it in this weather.”

“We should be okay. I’ve got snow tyres,” said Katherine. “Even if we can’t get to the town, we can make it to the the next hotel down.
The Mountain Inn
’s only about a half mile away.”

“Okay,” said Richard, taking hold of Katherine’s hand, leading them to the lounge.
   

As they left the guard’s office, Katherine glanced at the video monitors. “Oh my God!”

“What is it?”

 
She pointed towards the screen “One of the cameras is focused right on the kitchen table.”

“Shit,” said Richard, “He saw everything.”

They ran into the lounge and went straight over to the sofa, looking for their cellphones. They were missing. “I’m sure it was just here, on top of these papers,” said Katherine

“Mine as well,” said Richard.
 

“Maybe we can…” She stopped in mid sentence as the lights went out, and the double doors of the lounge slammed shut.
 

“Looking for these, are you?” said a voice from by the door,
 

They could see somebody standing in the semi-darkness about twenty feet away. His body barely visible in the firelight, his face obscured by shadow. He was holding something up for them to see.
 

“Who are you?” said Richard.

“Shut the fuck up, builder-boy.”

“Is that you, TJ?” said Katherine, standing close to Richard.

“You know its me, sugar. Who’d you think it was?”

“What are you doing, TJ?”

“I’ve come to claim what’s mine.”

“Put the light back on and give me the cell,” said Richard.

“I don’t think so,” said TJ Squires, throwing the phones into the corner of the room. “I may not have your college education, but don’t take me for some stupid fucker. Got that?”
 

He moved closer to them, and they could finally see him.
 

“What the fuck are you up to?” said Richard, in two minds as whether to try and hit the guy.
 

“Richard. No,” shouted Katherine, spotting the glint of metal in one of his hands. “He’s got something. A knife.”

TJ Squires held up the large cleaver and swiped it through the air, backwards and forwards. Making a hissing sound through his teeth. He laughed. “Still feeling brave, builder-boy?”

Richard backed away at the sight of the cleaver. It would take his hand off if he tried to wrestle it from him.

“Why are you doing this, TJ?” said Katherine, trying to reason with him.

“You should know, honey.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Think.”

“I have no idea.”

“You just fucked this asshole. Not just once. Three times,” shouted TJ Squires. “You fucking betrayed me.”

“What?”

“You belong to me, bitch.”

“You’re deranged,” said Richard. “She barely knows your name.”

“She’ll know me soon enough.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, TJ,” said Richard, trying to calm him down.
 

“Fuck you,” said TJ Squires, and he lunged at Richard with the cleaver.

Katherine screamed as Richard dived to one side and on to the floor, narrowly avoiding the blade hacking into his arm. Katherine backed away behind the sofa, trembling.

Richard tried to get to his feet, but wasn’t quick enough. TJ Squires was looming over him with the cleaver. Richard edged backwards along the floor, trying to escape this madman.
 

TJ Squires looked at the bloody towel around Richard’s foot and kicked it. “Not the only blood you’re gonna spill tonight.”

“For fuck’s sake. Why are you doing this?” shouted Richard.

“Didn’t I make myself clear?” said TJ Squires. “You messed with my woman. And now I’m gonna remove the offending piece of your body.”

Richard’s eyes filled with fear, and a cold sweat formed on his brow.

“That’s right, builder-boy. Maybe I’ll slice it off ,” said TJ Squires, running his finger along the cleaver’s blade. “Then I’ll fry it on the fire there, and she’s gonna fucking swallow it whole, since she likes the fucking taste of it so much.” He pointed the cleaver at Katherine.
 

Katherine held herself tight, trying to control her trembling

 
Richard managed to scramble to his feet, but was now backed into a corner. He picked up a chair and held it in front of him. TJ Squires took a swipe at the chair, and cut one of the wooden legs clean off. The cleaver was razor sharp. If it could do that to wood, bone and flesh was not going to be a problem. Richard couldn’t see a way out.
 
Desperately, he threw the chair at TJ, but he deflected it away with just a shrug of his powerful shoulders.

TJ Squires had the architect cornered like a hunted fox. Now he was going to rip him apart, before burying him in the foundations.

Richard was defenceless. Whatever he did, he’d get some part of himself sliced open. There was no hiding from the cleaver.

TJ Squires took one final look at Richard’s eyes, wanting to see the fear. He lifted the cleaver high in the air, preparing to swing it down on Richard’s head. He pivoted his torso so as to put the maximum amount of force into his blow, and his arm began its downward swipe. He then let out a dreadful scream.

Katherine smashed the red-hot iron poker into the side of TJ Squires’ head. The force of the blow knocked him sideways, and his swipe at Richard missed, embedding the cleaver deep in his own thigh. There was a cracking of bone and sinew, and blood spurted out and around the room. TJ Squires squealed like a wounded animal.

Katherine hit him a second time. Straight in the face. The heat of the poker searing his flesh, the strength of the strike, cracking his face open.
 
TJ Squires slumped backwards and crashed to the floor.
 
He was out cold.
 

Richard and Katherine didn’t want to wait around and see if he was dead or not. They picked up their cell phones, found the car keys, and bolted for the door. They jumped into the SUV, Richard driving, Katherine making a call to the Sheriff’s office.
 

The snow was still heavy, but the SUV handled well. Richard was used to driving in the mountains in winter. Ten minutes later they were at
The
Mountain Inn
, relieved to see the place alive with people. They were welcomed by the staff, who Katherine knew, and were ushered quickly into a private lounge.
 

Twenty minutes later one of the Sheriff’s Deputies arrived to talk to them, explaining that another four officers, including the Sheriff himself, had gone up to
The
Spa in the Clouds
.
 

They sat together on a sofa, both feeling lucky to be alive. Richard put his arm around her and she put her head on his chest. All they could do now was wait.

Chapter Six

TJ Squires lay on the bed in his cell at the State Penitentiary. After attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon , and violation of his parole, he wouldn’t be going anywhere, anytime soon.
 

He didn’t remember much about the night he was arrested at the hotel. He’d woken up hours later in a cell at the county jail, with his thigh bandaged up, a broken nose and cheekbones, five missing teeth, a ten inch diagonal burn across his face, and the mother of all headaches. He was still getting the headaches now.
 

He was probably looking at twenty years, every day of it on twenty-three hour lockdown. He cursed that bitch of a boss and her asshole boyfriend, and he vowed that one day he’d get his revenge.
 

“I declare The Spa in the Clouds officially open,” said Katherine Chase, cutting the ribbon in front of her.
 
The assembled guests clapped and cheered, eager to look around the new hotel.

Robert Chase put his arm around Katherine. “Well done, Kate. I always knew you’d pull it off.”

“Thanks Daddy. Do you like it?”

“It’s great. A fantastic addition to the family empire.”

“I hope it will be,” said Katherine. “Me and Richard are really going to try and make this the place to be.”

“Don’t go putting my other hotels out of business,” said Robert, laughing.
 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” said Richard. “And talking of other properties, I hear you’re planning building some luxury lodges on the other side of town.”

“Could be.”

“Need an architect?”

“You offering?”

“Well, I’m gonna be around here quite a bit from now on,” said Richard. “I’ll need something to keep me busy.”

“ You’re moving your office from Tahoe?”

“That’s the plan,” said Richard, looking at Katherine. “Now that I’ve got a reason for staying in Steamy Springs.”

“Let’s talk about it next week,” said Robert Chase, seeing an old friend over the other side of the room “You two enjoy your party. The real hard work starts tomorrow.”

 
Katherine locked arms with Richard. “Well, we did it. Finally.”

“
You
did it,” said Richard. “It was your project.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you, though.”

“We make a good team, huh?”

“Yeah, I think we make a pretty good team,” said Katherine. “And not just at work, either.”

Unlawful Entry

Chapter One

Jessica Chase left the small boutique clutching a bag containing her purchase, and made her way back to her Jeep. As she was crossing the road she heard a voice call out to her.

“Hey Jessica. You been buying something to surprise me with?” said a man, leaning out of the window of a Chevy Tahoe.

Jessica turned quickly to see who it was, her long blonde hair swishing through the air and falling around her shoulders. Her eyes settled on the Chevy and its driver, sunglasses covering his eyes. Who was it? She wasn’t sure.

He lifted up the dark shades and smiled. “Recognize me now?”

“Caleb?”

He nodded.

Jessica hurried over to to the SUV, slightly bemused that she was feeling excited to see him. “Caleb. Is that you? I haven’t seen you in…what…two years?”

“Been a while, Jess,” he said. “Too long.”

“What are you doing? Did you leave the Sheriff’s Department?” she said, gesturing at the blue Chevy he was driving.

“No. Still there.”

“You on your day off?”

“No. I’m working right now.”

“Last time I saw you , you were driving a black and white.”

“Yeah,” said Caleb. “That was back when I was on Patrol. I just made Detective. About three months ago.”

“Congratulations,” said Jessica. “So. Are you on a stakeout or something?”

“Nah, I was just passing, when I saw you go in the store.”

“You don’t miss much. Guess that’s why you made Detective so quickly,” said Jessica, looking back at the lingerie boutique she had just come out of.

Caleb laughed. “You know all the residents know each other’s business in Steamy Springs.”

“You’re right. Sometimes I think I should stay in LA.”

“Can’t keep away though, huh?”

“Guess it’s in the blood.”

“Well, your family do own just about everything in the town.”

“Not everything,” replied Jessica. “Just some of it.”

“Most of it.”

“Okay.
 
Most of it,” said Jessica, letting the shopping bag twirl around her suntanned legs.

Caleb nodded. “You must have finished college by now. You coming back home? Or staying out in California?”

“I don’t know. Haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m just back for the summer,” she said. “ Maybe I’ll stay. Depends.”