The Scarlet and the..... Grey? Part Six
Alex
closed her office door behind her, making sure to lock it. Alistair was sat at
his desk at the far end of the CID office, waiting for her as surreptitiously as
possible. Alex looked at him slyly, thinking up some excuse to allow him to
leave with her without looking suspicious.
"Alistair!
I didn't know you were still here. Look, I'm running late, but I need to talk to
you about Tim Bayliss. Do you have a few minutes?"
Alistair
got up and grabbed his coat.
"I
was just leaving anyway, Guv. If you're in a hurry, I can give you a lift home
if you like."
He
looked quizzically at Alex, challenging her to play along.
"Okay,
that would be good. Thanks. Night, Duncan!"
DC
Duncan Lennox nodded goodbye. There was definitely something strange going on
between those two!
Alistair
pulled the car away from Sun Hill Police Station, wanting to get away as soon as
possible. Alex snaked her hand onto his knee.
"I
suppose we ought to go to my flat tonight, I really do need clean clothes for
the morning!"
Alistair
smiled and stroked her hand.
"How
about we got to my place first, pick up some stuff for me and then I spend the
night at your flat? Does that appeal?"
Alex
nodded and leaned over to kiss Alistair on the cheek.
"I'll
warn you now, it's a poky little place, and it's in a total mess, okay?"
Alistair
laughed. Alex had never been the neatest person on earth, but that had been one
of her endearing qualities.
"Look,
you should know me well enough by now to know that I don't mind, okay? Shall we
get takeout or cook?"
Alistair
always had been good at changing the subject.
"I
think takeout might be a good thing tonight, I don't think I've got a clean
plate in the flat! Then again, I do only have 2 plates..."
They
finally reached Alistair's house, after much flirting and gentle touching.
"Look,
Alistair, I'd better stay in the car, otherwise we might not make it back to my
place tonight..."
She
kissed Alistair passionately as he got out of the car, letting her hand trail
between his legs.
"Alex,
you know what'll happen if you do that, don't you?"
He
grinned at her.
"Do
you really want to go back to your place, or am I going to have to drag you
inside and have you right now?"
He
kissed her again and got out of the car before he weakened.
A
few minutes later, he came bounding back down the steps of his house, dressed in
jeans, a rugby shirt and a long wool coat, a suit bag flung over his arm and a
bottle of wine in his hand. His hair was frosted with snow and Alex thought he
looked like an excited little boy looking forward to Christmas. He
unceremoniously dumped the suit, his coat and the wine on the back seat of the
car and sat next to Alex, grinning broadly.
"I
have a better idea than takeout. Why don't I take you out to dinner?"
Alex
looked at him in surprise.
"Isn't
that a little bit dangerous? What if someone sees us?"
Alistair
took her hand and squeezed it gently, stroking the side of her face with his
free hand.
"What
would life be without a little danger, Alex? Isn't that what you always used to
say?"
Alex
grinned as he reminded her of one of the last things she said to him back in
Perth, just before he resisted kissing her. At least he knew exactly what she
had meant by that now....
"Maybe
another night, Alistair. I really do need to go home and change out of this
bloody suit! Fancy some Thai food? There's a great little takeout just around
the corner from the flat."
Alistair
grinned as he gunned the engine.
"You'll
have to tell me exactly where you live, okay?"
Alex
nodded.
"Actually,
I only live about 5 minutes' drive from here. Turn left at the next traffic
lights, then keep going to the next set of lights, turn right and it's the first
house on the left. I've got the first floor to myself."
Alistair
pulled up outside a large, double fronted Victorian townhouse and gasped.
"You
call this poky? Christ, it's probably bigger than my entire house!"
Alex
laughed.
"It
is poky compared to where we used to live! Anyway, it'll do until I can get
somewhere better. Now, are we going in or are we going to sit in the car all
night?"
************
Jolie
unselfconsciously walked back into her large living room wearing nothing but a
towel and a smile.
"Why
so shy, Tim? You weren't like this in the park, chere!" she said, with a
knowing, wicked smile.
Tim
shuffled his shoes as he blushed and looked away.
"Uh,
I, uh, guess I don't normally do anything like this. Well, not for a long time,
anyway."
Jolie
smiled as she sat next to him.
"No
need to be frightened, Tim. We're both adults, and we're having fun, huh? So
what are you waiting for?"
Jolie
leaned in and kissed him passionately, letting her towel slip until it displayed
her pert breasts. She grabbed Tim's hand and placed it on her right breast. He
made no attempt to move it. Tentatively, he kissed her back, not used to women
being this dominant. Well, not since Emma Zoole, that is. Slowly, softly, he
toyed with her erect nipples as his tongue sought out the deeper recesses of her
mouth. Jolie gently unbuttoned his shirt and ran her long fingernails over his
chest, leaving pink welts in their wake.
Tim
gasped as she dug her nails in slightly deeper, causing an equal frisson of
pleasure and pain that he found so exciting. He moaned as Jolie kissed his neck,
letting her sharp teeth graze his jugular. He was unbelievably turned on again.
After the rampant sex in the park, where they could have been discovered by
anyone, they had bought burgers and ate them on the walk back to Jolie's
spacious flat.
Jolie
had disappeared to take a bath more or less as soon as they had got in through
the door, leaving Tim alone to explore the flat. Voodoo images were everywhere,
making Tim wonder exactly how deeply involved she was with the practice of this
ancient art. He had sprawled out on her squashy sofa, almost falling asleep
before Jolie had come out almost naked from the bathroom and woken his desires
once more. As he sucked a hard nipple into his mouth, he couldn't help noticing
a large picture of Damballah, the Snake God, over the fireplace...
************
Alex
and Alistair were sprawled on the polished wooden floor of Alex's living room,
sensually feeding each other spoonfuls of Moo Pahd Prik and Gaeng Den Gook. It
had been years since they had shared a takeaway and a video, but it had never
been as sensual an experience as this. The whole meal was punctuated with
kissing, flirting, stroking, touching. Their desire for each other was palpable,
the whole room sparked with the sexual chemistry between them.
Alex
had changed into a long navy blue skirt that brushed the floor and a soft blue
polo neck rib top. Her feet were bare and she had pulled her hair back into a
messy ponytail. Alistair couldn't resist admiring her body. She had put on
weight since he had left Perth, making her body somehow very real, but no less
beautiful. Her hips had a luscious flare to them, giving her a voluptuous look.
Alistair thought that she had never been more beautiful than she was right now.
The
remains of the takeout littered the floor. Music was playing softly in the
background and the lights were turned down low. Soft noises were coming from the
massive sofa in the centre of the room.
"You
know, I wish I'd kissed you that night?"
Alistair pulled back from Alex long enough to see the look on her face.
"I
wish you had too, but we're different people now. Who's to say it would have
worked out? And who’s to say it’s gonna work out now?"
Alistair
leaned in and kissed her again slowly, not wanting to answer.
"I
know, but can we no' gi' it a try, huh?"
Alex
smiled.
"That's
all I wanted to hear you say."
She
reached her small hand behind his neck and pulled him down for another kiss.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sound of Alistair's cellphone.
"Mmmm... I'll ignore it.... whoever it is'll go away sooner or later..."
He
slid his hand slowly up Alex's leg, enjoying the feel of the silky smooth skin.
The phone kept ringing, kept ringing.
"Damn...
whoever that is ought to be shot," said Alex, in frustration.
Finally,
Alistair picked it up from the floor.
"Greig...
Tim! What's up?" Suddenly, both Alistair and Alex were fully alert.
"Okay,
I'll be there as soon as I can. What's the address?"
He
signalled for Alex to get him some paper and a pen.
"Okay,
I'll be there in about half an hour. I'll call the D.I. and let her know what's
happened, and I'll pick her up on the way."
Alistair
looked crestfallen as he turned back to Alex.
"Tim's
at Jolie's flat. He's seen the symbol that's been scribbled next to the bodies.
I said we'd be there soon."
Alex
sighed as she wandered into her bedroom to find some trousers and shoes. All
thoughts of an intimate evening alone vanished as they prepared to work the
murders.
************
Jolie's
flat was warm and cosy. As Jolie led them into the living room, Alistair noticed
that she was wearing only a flimsy silk robe, and Tim's shirt buttons were awry.
Alex had put on a pair of black wide legged trousers and blue suede skate shoes,
and had bundled herself up in her long wool coat and a navy blue scarf and
gloves. The snow was melting in their hair as they sat down near the fire.
"So,
where's this symbol and what does it mean?"
Alex
was blunt as usual, desperately wanting to get home and carry on where she had
left off with Alistair. Jolie got up from her seat net to Tim and pointed to a
painting over the fire.
"That's
Damballah the Snake God, and basically, he's the Voodoo god that allows for
souls to be controlled and the creation of zombies. The symbol here," she
said, pointing at a crude symbol in red and grey, "is the one that's been
found next to the bodies. Is that right, chere?"
Tim
nodded.
"This
is the symbol that's traditionally associated with the trapping of a mortal soul
for future use or torture. It's some real heavy shit if this is involved.
Obviously, the person doing all of this knows exactly what they are doing, and
this makes them both dangerous and powerful."
Jolie's
voice was barely above a whisper now, and you could see the fear etched on her
face. She sat heavily beside Tim, and he took her hand to try to stop her
shaking.
"I'm
not sure I want to get any further involved in this," said Jolie, a quiver
in her voice.
Alistair
looked intently at her. Her exotic eyes were shining with tears, something had
clearly rattled her.
"Look,
you're involved now whether you like it or not. I asked you if you would help,
and you said you'd do anything you could. I'm going to hold you to that, Ms
Thibideaux. We need your expertise on this, okay?”
Alex
smiled at Alistair as he took total control of the situation. This was a side to
him she hadn’t seen until yesterday in the office, and she rather liked it.
“Now,
is there anything else, or can the rest of this wait until the morning? I was in
the middle of something when you called,” said Alistair, impatience etched on
his face.
Tim
looked at Jolie, who shook her head.
“Sorry,
Alistair, I just thought you ought to know. Alex, sorry if we disturbed you as
well. See you in the morning.”
Alex
smiled at Tim and Jolie, and patted Tim on the arm before turning to face the
older woman.
“Make
sure he gets home, okay?” she said, with a knowing grin.
Jolie smiled back.
“And you make sure you get some sleep… you look a little tired!”