Dyed and Gone to Heaven (Curl Up and Dye Mysteries, #3) Read online

  “There’s no time like the present to find out,” he told me. The look he gave me promised that he wouldn’t let up that night until I shared a new talent with him.

  Once we got home, I showed him how I could tie a cherry stem with my tongue and how useful a strong tongue could be once I had his dick in my mouth. I could honestly say that his case was the furthest thing from his mind right then. I also forgot to ask him how in the world Adrian found out about my pole dancing, but then I decided it didn’t matter because I trusted and believed in Gabe.

  I HAD MEANT WHAT I said about there being no point in calling in the task force on the weekend on just the discovery of Jonathon Silver’s existence. Time away from the job was important for a well-balanced, happy life. I was also right that my mind would constantly spin as I tried to figure out what role, if any, Silver may have played in his brother’s death.

  Instead of being angry that my mind was preoccupied, Josh went upstairs to his attic and began working on the painting for Adrian and Sally Ann’s nursery. It still blew my mind that Josh had created those gorgeous paintings. Why the hell would he hide that kind of talent in a room that only he saw? It was baffling to me. I also thought that it was slightly unfair that he had been blessed with so many talents when so many of us could barely walk and chew gum at the same time. I could lift weights and play a few sports, big deal. Josh lit up a room with his personality, made people feel good about themselves, and made it a prettier world with his hidden art. I just shook my head and went back to doing a basic internet search on Jonathon Silver.

  As I suspected, I hadn’t learned much from public databases. There were no mentions of Jonathon Silver’s name in any online or print articles. He didn’t appear to own any residential property in the northern counties of Kentucky or southern counties of Ohio. It was trickier searching for commercial properties unless you knew the address or the proprietor’s name. There were many sites that offered to give me the contact information for Jonathon Silver, but I wasn’t about to pay for it when I could get that information myself at the police station. I blew out a frustrated breath that what I predicted had come true—I knew absolutely nothing new. I had hoped to get a head start for our Monday morning task force meeting.

  “Why don’t you call John and ask if he wants to leave earlier tomorrow, so you have extra time to gather information before your meeting?” Josh asked. I wasn’t aware I verbalized my irritation for him to hear or maybe he read my mind. Was that another skill he had been hiding? I want sex. I want sex. I want sex. “Why are you making that cheesy porn face?” he asked me.

  I threw my head back and laughed at the confused expression on his face. “I was trying to see if you could read my mind because you commented on what I was thinking before I made the cheesy porn face.”

  “You want to watch cheesy porn?” he asked.

  “No,” I replied. “I want to know if you can read minds or if I talk out loud sometimes when I’m not even aware of it.”

  “You didn’t verbalize your thoughts out loud, babe,” Josh replied, shaking his head. “I’m not a mind reader either, but I could tell how anxious you are by the tenseness in your body and the way you keep tapping your pen on the notebook. So, why not give John a heads-up about who we saw last night and find out if it’s possible for you to pick him up earlier. If not, you can always go to the station early in the morning and get started on the background searches.”

  He was right, and I told him so. “I’ll go into the station early tomorrow and work for a bit before I pick him up. I can fill Dorchester in during the drive to Cincinnati.” I liked my temporary partner and didn’t want to screw up his weekend for no good reason.

  “Great. Now hopefully you’ll be able to relax and enjoy Sunday dinner with our friends,” Josh told me. He never failed to call Meredith and Chaz “our” friends, and that meant a lot to me. It made me feel like our relationship was more like a partnership, that we were truly one.

  “If not, I know what always makes me feel better.” I made the most lecherous facial expression I could. I narrowed my eyes into a sultry look that was supposed to be sexy and bit my lip. Instead of Josh jumping me as I’d hoped, he howled with laughter.

  “You look constipated,” he managed to wheeze out in between peals of laughter. “I love you so damn much, Gabe. Never change.” I was so glad I could entertain him, but damn my ego took a dive when Josh couldn’t tell my constipated face from my sexy face. His next words soothed my wounded pride. “You don’t need a sexy face for me to want to throw myself in your arms, Gabe. You just need to keep breathing.”

  “You say the sweetest things.” I set my notebook and pen on the coffee table and pulled him until he was in my lap. “I love you so much, Sunshine, so I want to be better about leaving my work outside these walls.”

  “That’s not how guys operate, Gabe. Regardless of our profession, work drives us. You don’t complain to me when my last client’s appointment runs thirty minutes over so why would I hold it against you when you’re trying to solve a case?” What Josh said made sense logically, but in theory, it didn’t stand up. I saw too many relationships die for other officers when disappointment over canceled dates and late nights turn into resentment.

  “You have to let me know when something isn’t working right for us. I need you to tell me when I’ve done something to upset you, instead of suppressing things.” I ran my fingers through his platinum blond hair and smiled at the way his hazel eyes turned a shade darker with affection whenever I touched him in the simplest of ways. He was a man who was truly starving for love and affection when I met him, and I was a man with an abundance of love and affection to give to the right man. We were made for each other.

  “It’s like you don’t even know me.” Josh shook his head sadly. “Have you ever known me not to tell you how I feel in one form or another?” He hid behind snark when he felt most vulnerable, he got very quiet when he got angry, and expressed his love for me with his body—either during a dance, sex, or both. Technically, I would know by his reaction how he felt, but I would prefer that we just said what was on our minds. “I can tell how important this is to you. I will try harder to be upfront with you about my feelings without all the extra stuff tossed in.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Josh leaned forward and gave me a quick peck on the lips before he stood up. “I need to get started on dinner now, but we’ll talk about ways to relax you later.”

  “What are you fixing tonight?” I asked.

  “Roasted chicken, stuffing, green beans, and rolls.” He looked back over his shoulder on the way to the kitchen and said, “Apple tarts for dessert.” Josh laughed wickedly because he knew what cinnamon, apples, and pastry did to me. “I got you that fancy vanilla bean ice cream you like.”

  “I swear I’ve gained ten pounds since I started dating you,” I told him.

  “I guess we’ll just have to double down on your cardio workouts, babe.” He had a suggestion for every scenario, and for the most part, I found no fault with them.

  Meredith arrived at her normal twenty minutes before dinner, but Chaz wasn’t with her, and he didn’t show up during the final minutes of Josh putting his masterpiece together. I could see Josh and Meredith’s posture becoming more and more rigid from worry as time ticked by so I took the plates from Meredith’s hands.

  “Why don’t I set the table while you call Chaz to make sure he’s okay?” I suggested. It wasn’t like Chaz to be late, but both Josh and Meredith had remarked on separate occasions that he’d been running late in the mornings to open the shop. He seemed tired and quieter than his usual demeanor which earned him the nickname of Spaz.

  “Thank you, honey,” Meredith replied. “He never misses dinner and… hey, sweetie. Where are you? Dinner is almost ready, and we were getting worried. You fell asleep?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Tell him I’ll hold dinner for him,” Josh yelled over his shoulder.

  “Just
come on over, Chaz. Josh is holding dinner for you.” Meredith pocketed her phone and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Do you think he’s sick?” she finally asked. “The exhaustion and the dark circles under his eyes makes me think he’s sick.”

  Josh came out of the kitchen and pulled Meredith into a hug. “Let’s try not to jump to conclusions, okay? It’s obvious we need to have a come-to-Jesus talk with him because letting him come to us on his terms just isn’t working. Let’s wait until he has a full belly to strike.”

  “Deal,” Meredith said, nodding.

  The close bond of friendship they shared always made me smile. It made me even happier that they opened that circle to include me too. Still, I knew we could be heading into territory where my objectivity might come into play if Josh and Meredith didn’t get their way.

  It didn’t take long for Chaz to show up and I was shocked by his appearance when he arrived. His hair was sticking up everywhere, his eyes were red and puffy, and his skin had an unhealthy pallor. His clothes were rumpled, and he wore a look of complete bewilderment on his face. Meredith took one look at him and burst into tears.

  “Sugar, get in the car, and I’ll take you to the ER right now,” she told him. So much for waiting until after dinner.

  “I’m not sick,” Chaz told her. “I was just up late last night—well, early this morning—playing video games.”

  “Video games?” Meredith’s tone and demeanor had changed from distraught to disbelief in a second.

  “Yeah, it helps me relieve stress,” Chaz said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “Stress?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips. I could tell she was about to give Chaz a piece of her mind. I opened my mouth to do my peacekeeping routine, but Josh shook his head. As much as I loved Chaz and Meredith, he knew them a lot better than I did so I heeded his warning.

  “Yes, stress,” Chaz said defensively. “I don’t have a built-in stress reliever,” Chaz said, pointing in my direction, “like Jazz does, and I’m not as kickass as you are. Nothing seems to faze you, Mere.”

  “That’s a bunch of bullshit if I ever heard it. Don’t make excuses for bad behavior and then play the poor pitiful me card,” Meredith told him. No lie, I took a step back because I hadn’t seen her so angry in the short time that I’d known her. I would’ve agreed with Chaz’s assessment that nothing got her down until I saw her in action. “Josh and I have been worried sick to death about you for months. You’ve turned us down to go out, you’ve been late to work, you’ve been absent-minded at times, and you nearly missed Sunday dinner with your family. You look physically ill right now, baby,” Meredith added, but with a softer tone of voice. “What can we do to help you?”

  I saw all the starch fade right out of Chaz. He pulled a chair back from the table and flopped down in it. Josh and Meredith moved to stand on either side of him. Meredith ran her fingers through his hair, and Josh rubbed his back.

  “I feel so immature and ridiculous, but that’s what I’ve gotten caught up in,” Chaz said. He looked up at Josh and then Meredith. “I’m sorry for worrying you. I promise you that I’m not sick and I’ll do better about getting to work on time.”

  A sudden thought occurred to me while the trio made up. “What game are you into these days?” I asked. What was the likelihood that Chaz was the same guy that Kyle had been playing with online?

  “World of Warcraft,” Chaz replied. Same as Kyle. “I know, you probably think I’m acting like a ten-year-old.”

  “No, I don’t think that. You’re not the only guy I know in this town who’s hooked on that game.” Josh narrowed his eyes at me as he considered my words.

  “You don’t say?” he asked.

  “I just did,” I replied smartly, earning myself a glare from my guy.

  Chaz looked back and forth between us in confusion. “Um, I hate to break up whatever is going on here, but do you think we could eat now?” he asked. “I haven’t eaten all day.” As if to emphasize his misery, his stomach growled angrily inside his thin frame.

  “I do believe Gabe and I can table this discussion until later,” Josh said somewhat huffily as he returned to the kitchen.

  We gathered around the table, Meredith said grace, and then we began passing around the platters and bowls of food. Conversation lulled while we piled our plates high with food but kicked into higher gear once we’d had a few bites. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told Josh on numerous occasions that he made the best food I had ever eaten. I would’ve been happy to worship his skills in silence, but I didn’t consider myself to be a rude person. I answered whatever questions I could about my time working on the task force, which basically left me with discussing the people I worked with rather than the details I had discovered, which weren’t many. So, I stuck with discussing the individual personalities and skill set of the members.

  Josh snorted when it came time to talk about Paul. His reaction drew odd looks from Chaz and Meredith. Paul and I had hooked up once after my breakup with Kyle. Somehow Josh knew it immediately the night he and I ran into Paul at Vibe. I momentarily thought Josh would get mad that I had kept the secret from him, but I assured him that I made Paul aware that I was off the market. That seemed to be enough for Josh, who then asked me to take him to a hotel and fuck him like a stranger. What could’ve been a big fight turned out to be one of the most memorable nights I had with him.

  I tilted my head to the side and considered his facial expressions. It was one of those times that I needed him to tell me how he felt because the expression on his face gave nothing away. I learned firsthand at my parents’ house just how brilliantly Josh could play poker. I filed away a mental note to ask Josh about the situation with Paul later and finished telling Mere and Chaz about the rest of the team.

  “It sounds so…” Meredith broke off as she thought about the words to use.

  “Miami Vice,” Josh supplied for her.

  Meredith laughed. “I was going to say exciting, but I guess that works too.”

  “Task forces are only fun when the actual busts are made,” I told them. “Until then, it’s a lot of boring legwork and planning. It often feels like you take one step forward and ten steps back.”

  “Blissville must seem dull in comparison to Miami,” Chaz tossed out there.

  Had I not been looking into Josh’s eyes just then, I might not have noticed the subtle tensing of his body when he heard Chaz’s comment.

  “Quite the opposite actually,” I told Chaz, “and there’s no place I’d rather be.” Well, maybe someplace naked with the man I loved, but for the moment I’d settle for being in the same room with him.

  Josh smiled sweetly at me then said, “Who wants to play Monopoly after dinner?”

  We all groaned because Josh killed us every single time he played, demonstrating how good his business skills truly were. I blew out a resigned breath because it looked like I wouldn’t be getting my guy naked for quite some time.

  IT WAS MORE THAN just my ears that perked up when Gabe announced he knew another guy in town who was hooked on playing World of Warcraft online. It wasn’t jealousy, but intrigue that prompted my response to his statement. I recalled that Gabe once mentioned that there was an online gamer that caught Kyle’s attention. What if the world truly was smaller than we thought? I was sure the odds of Chaz being the same guy that Kyle met online were slim, but that didn’t mean impossible. Besides, I saw the attraction between Chaz and Kyle whenever they were in the same room together. Hell, Kyle had noticed Chaz when he was in a relationship with Gabe, not that he ever acted on it or behaved inappropriately. Quite honestly, a hot-blooded gay man would notice the attractiveness of another if there was breath in his body. There was nothing wrong with that.

  I had planned on bringing it up as soon as our friends left, but then jealousy surfaced during our dinner conversation. I was ashamed of my reaction to hearing Paul’s name, even though I realized it was a human reaction that most people would feel. I wasn’t most peop
le. I’d been through too much bullshit to let petty jealousy get in the way of my happiness. No matter how much I tried to reason with my heart, the damn thing still hurt in my chest. It appeared that I still had a long way to go before I wouldn’t feel inadequate compared to Gabe’s past lovers.

  I didn’t like feeling the way that I did, and I wanted to postpone being alone with Gabe for the first time since we started dating. A sure-fire way of doing that was to play Monopoly with them. Look, my friends and Gabe had wonderful qualities but being business savvy wasn’t among them. It was like taking candy from a baby, but I went easier on them to drag out their misery and buy myself some more time before I had to act like a mature adult. It was so brutal that my sexy detective preferred to take his time in jail rather than play against me. Gabe assured me that he wasn’t placed in general population during his three turns.

  “Have mercy!” Chaz threw down the remaining $7 to his name. As frustrated as he sounded, the smile on his face warmed my heart. It was amazing how much better he looked after a good meal, dessert, and the company of people who loved him.

  “That’s what he said,” Gabe replied, nodding in my direction. Chaz and Meredith snorted at his joke. Gabe sent me a playful wink before he removed his game piece from the board and tossed it into the box. “I’m out.”

  Meredith double tapped her fist against the dining room table. “Me too.” She looked at her watch and remarked how late it was. “At least we’re off tomorrow.”

  “Some of us are working,” Gabe reminded her.

  “True,” she replied with a grimace. “I’m sorry we stayed so late.”

  “It’s ten o’clock, Mere. Even geezers like me can stay up that late and still function the next day.”

  “I’m so glad you woke me up, so I didn’t sleep through dinner,” Chaz told Meredith. “I would’ve gladly missed out on the Monopoly, but not time with my best friends.” Chaz hugged each one of us tight enough that I wondered if something else was going on with him. I had to accept his reasoning or risk an argument.