Lawyer Trap

13





DAY THREE–SEPTEMBER 7

WEDNESDAY MORNING


Teffinger parked his pickup on Davica’s cobblestone driveway, killed the engine, and walked past the water feature. It looked to be an authentic Italian fountain with nude women pouring water out of jugs, very tastefully done. The smell of fresh-cut grass perfumed the air. Flowers colored the grounds, clumped in groups like throw-pillows that had been tossed exactly where they should be.

The place oozed money at every turn.

How much, he couldn’t even imagine.

He rang the bell and when Davica answered, she hugged him. Not sideways, like a friend, but straight on, pressing her breasts into his chest. Teffinger saw it coming and did nothing to stop it.

She wore a white T-shirt that barely covered her ass. He couldn’t tell if she wore a bra or panties.

“You’re in a good mood,” he said.

“I was wondering when you’d come back.”

Teffinger smiled.

“Why, did you miss me?”

She walked as he followed, then turned and said, “How could I miss you? I didn’t even throw anything at you.”

He laughed.

“A sense of humor,” he said. “I like that.”

They ended up outside at the pool. She dangled her perfectly tanned legs in the water while he sat near the edge, staying high and dry, holding a piping-hot fresh cup of coffee. The Colorado sun brought the autumn air to the exact right temperature.

Teffinger took his sport coat off and threw it on a chaise lounge.

“So are you here to interrogate me or screw me?” she asked.

“I only have a license for one of those,” he said.

“The second, I hope.”

He shook his head and then got serious. “Just out of curiosity, do you know anyone named Tonya Obenchain? She’s a real estate agent.”

She didn’t answer.

Instead she slipped off the edge of the pool and splashed into the water.

The T-shirt floated up around her.

It became immediately apparent that she wore no bra or panties.

Just the T.

She kicked out, then swam back and folded her arms on the edge of the tile.

“No, I don’t. Why?”

He swallowed.

“We came across her body yesterday,” he said. “About a hundred feet from where we found Angela Pfeiffer. She was buried about six inches under, the same as Angela.”

“You’re kidding.”

No, he wasn’t.

Davica dunked under the water and kicked off the side of the pool, getting halfway across before she surfaced. There she went into a perfect overhand stroke. At the other end she stopped, took her T-shirt off, and threw it onto the concrete.

Then she swam back, pulled herself out of the water, and sat on the edge of the pool next to Teffinger.

She turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes.

She didn’t have a hair on her body.

Not anywhere.

Then she looked at him. “I didn’t kill Angela and I sure as hell didn’t kill any real estate agents, either.”

“I’m not saying you did,” Teffinger said. He didn’t exactly know how to ease into the next question, so he just asked it. “Just to be clear, you and Tonya Obenchain were never, you know …”

“What? Lovers?”

“Right, that.”

Davica laughed.

“Women aren’t like men, Teffinger,” she said. “We remember the names of the people we sleep with. So I can definitely say no, we weren’t. Besides, real estate agents are boring. I like dangerous people. Bad boys and bad girls.” She ran a finger down Teffinger’s chest. “People like you.”

“Me? I’m not dangerous.”

She looked him in the eyes.

“You’re a guy on the edge, Teffinger, and you know it. You won’t end up boring me. That’s why we’re going to be lovers.”

Teffinger was about to say something, but she stood up, walked over to the chaise lounge, lay down on her stomach, and stretched out.

“You got me all stressed out,” she said. “Now you owe me a backrub.”

He knew he shouldn’t, but he walked over, put his hands on her shoulders, and kneaded her muscles.

“I love it when I’m right,” she said.

“Just don’t spread it around,” he said.

“Give me a full-body massage and I won’t.”

He worked his hands lower down her back, not knowing where he’d stop.