Seven Women: An Erotic Private Investigation

Chapter 19…

“It’s like a movie,” is Amelia’s commentary.

The police come and reports are filed; we’re all asked questions and we give them our accounts of the story. One of the detectives on site smirks when I show him my P.I. license. “Always good to play hero in front of a bunch of lasses, eh?” He winks at me.

The man, who’d been stalking Holly over a computer and now in real life, is taken away. Holly assures us that she will be pressing charges profusely. “I want that asshole put away,” she says.

“He’ll be doing some time,” another detective tells her. “Breaking and entering, intent of assault and harm, compounded with the sexual harassment charges from your job. He’s going down.”

Right. He’ll cut a deal. They always do. This is a busy city with very crowded courts.

The whole process takes a little more than an hour. The seven of us are left alone. Maybe we could pretend as if none of this ever happened. I could. The mood of the group isn’t the same. We’re all sobered up now, that’s for sure.

“Leonard,” Holly says, “am I glad you were here. All of you. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened to me if I’d been alone.”

“Don’t think about it at all,” Lisa tells her. “If you dwell on what might’ve happened, you’ll go nuts.”

“It’s hard not to,” Holly says.

Sheila looks at me and says, “The man of the hour.”

I wave a hand. “Can I get a drink?”

“Whatever you want,” Holly says, and she’s at the bar.

“Tequila tonic,” I say.

“Me, too,” from Amelia.

“Whatever you want,” Sheila says. I don’t know what she’s getting at.

“I don’t understand how that sonofabitch got into my place!” Holly says.

“He’s a hacker — a good one,” I say. “He got past the doorman — not always a hard thing to do. You have a keycard slot — he knows electronics. How he got in is no mystery, and he’ll probably tell the cops. He’ll want to brag.”

“You come across a lot of this in your profession?” Lisa asks me, the writer at work.

“Actually,” I say, “no.”

“In any event,” Holly says, “I’m glad you were here. I’m grateful, really.” She hands me a drink.

“I’ll bill you,” I say seriously.

She looks at me.

Smile. “Kidding.”

There’s a tense silence, the tension from elsewhere. Then they all laugh — hollowly.