Scottsdale Sizzle: a romantic light-hearted murder mystery (Laura Black Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  ~~~~

  I drove into the alley behind the law office and pulled into my assigned covered parking space. Covered parking is essential in Scottsdale during the summer months. A car sitting in the full summer sun can easily have the interior go over a hundred and forty degrees. At those temperatures, lip balm, eye shadow, and lipstick all turn into a colorful liquid goo. Most everyone I know has at least one stain on her upholstery from leaving makeup in a hot car.

  I parked in between Lenny’s red Porsche 911 and Sophie’s yellow Volkswagen bug convertible. I didn’t see the black Range Rover, so I knew Gina hadn’t made it in yet. I also knew I wouldn’t see Annie’s sky-blue Fiesta since she was taking the week off for finals.

  I used my key and went into the office through the heavy security door in the back of the building. I walked past my cubicle in the back offices and went up to the front reception area.

  Sophia Rodriguez was sitting at her desk looking at pictures of some snowy mountains on her computer. Sophie is the paralegal and the receptionist for the law office. In addition, she’s also my best friend.

  Sophie grew up in southern California and spent her youth as a wild-and-free surfer chick living in Laguna Niguel. For rent money, she worked as a catalogue model and as a singer in a local punk rock band. She got married early then followed her husband out to Arizona. The husband soon became an ex-husband, but Sophie seems like a permanent resident. She is tall and thin with long black hair going halfway down her back. She has a smile that dazzles and whenever we go out, she always seems to attract a crowd of guys.

  Where I’ve come to appreciate the summer heat in Scottsdale, Sophie never has. I don’t think she ever will. She loves the warm winters, the gorgeous springs, and extended falls of Arizona. Sophie hates Arizona summers with a deep and sincere passion. I’ve noticed in the summer, she spends a lot of time daydreaming she’s somewhere else. Usually somewhere cold.

  “Do you know there’s a ski area in Colorado called A-Basin still open?” she asked as I walked over to her desk. “There’s one still open in Oregon too. They have a web cam and you can see people skiing over the snow on Mount Hood. I wonder what it’s like to live somewhere where it snows. I bet the people love living where it’s icy and cold all the time. I imagine they dance with joy whenever it starts snowing. I know I would.”

  “A lot of them seem to come down here for the winter, so maybe they all don’t love it.”

  “Well, I’d take the snow over living in a furnace.”

  “But Sophie,” I laughed. “Haven’t you heard? It’s a dry heat.”

  Sophie gave me a sour look that made me back up a step.

  “If I hear that ‘dry-heat’ shit one more time,” she said. “I swear I’m going to vomit. I don’t care how dry it is, when you live inside a big pizza oven it’s fricking hot.”

  “How’d your date on Saturday go?” I asked. “Weren’t you supposed to go out again with Michael?”

  Michael was a police officer Sophie had met while helping me with an assignment a couple of months before. Due to scheduling conflicts, the relationship had started out slowly but now had started to pick up some momentum.

  “Well, I was supposed to have a date,” Sophie said, “but the jerk canceled. Something about a change of shifts or something. I’m starting to feel your pain with the whole dating-a-cop thing. I ended up going out with the cougars on Saturday. I would have called you to come along, but I knew you had a date with Reno.”

  We met and became friends with a group of Scottsdale cougars a few months before. They were wealthy middle-aged women who liked to hit the high-end clubs and hook-up with guys half their age. They were a fun group to be with and Sophie and I ended up going out with them two or three times a month. When going out with the girls, we were known as their pumas or “cougars-in-training.”

  “How was it?” I asked. “Did you meet anyone?”

  “Not really. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out with the girls, especially now Jackie has started to come out again. But I’m starting to think being a puma isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

  “What’s not to like?” I asked. “Between the girls and the guys, you can go to all the best clubs in Scottsdale and it doesn’t cost you a thing.”

  “Oh, I love the free drinks and being treated so nicely by the bouncers and everything. The part I’m starting not to like is I’m only a puma and not a full-fledged cougar. The guys look at me as more of a consolation prize than anything else. I can see it in their eyes. First, they try with Jackie or Elle. If they strike out there, they take a shot at Shannon, or Sonia, or Pammy, or Cindy. If none of the cougars are in the mood to flirt with them, they come over to me. I guess I must have a look of hungry desperation that turns a guy on.”

  “I know Annie never minded being the puma of the group,” I said. “But I guess it’s not for everyone.”

  Annie’s a college student who works part-time at the law office, doing the filing and the admin. I’d met her while working on an assignment about six months before. She’d been friends with the cougars even before we had a chance to get to know her.

  “I know,” Sophie said. “Going to the clubs is fun and all, but I think I’m starting to lose interest in hooking-up with the guys. Meeting a guy and heading over to his place is starting to feel less like fun and more like work. I think I may be starting to look for an actual boyfriend again. Maybe even a long-term thing.”

  “Does Michael have any potential? You’ve been out with him six or seven times now. That’s a good sign.”

  “Well, Michael’s nice and I’m not embarrassed to be seen in public with him but I’m thinking he’s more for hooking-up than boyfriend material. He doesn’t really seem interested in anything other than drinks, dinner, and then a hop in the sack. At least he usually buys dinner.”

  “Well, what about Milo? You dumped him last month when he wanted to start getting serious. Maybe that’s what you’re looking for too?”

  “I don’t know. Milo and I get along OK, but somehow a low-level henchman in the mob doesn’t seem like a good move for the long term. Now, if I had a crime lieutenant, like you have with Maximilian, I could be a happy girl. That man is hot. What ever happened with him? Did you ever see him again after Jackie got kidnapped? That was like two months ago. You got real quiet about giving out the details on him.”

  “Nope, after we got Jackie back, I only met him one night for drinks. That’s been it.”

  “Well, at least you have Reno. He’s a fine looking man and you don’t need to make up stories when someone asks you what he does for a living.”

  “Umm, well, about Reno.”

  “What? What happened to Reno? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

  “We sort of had another discussion on Saturday.”

  “Was it a little discussion or a big discussion?”

  “Sort of a medium discussion.”

  “Was it about the same thing as always?”

  “Yup, he doesn’t want a girlfriend he needs to worry about. He says he’s constantly waiting for a phone call that I got shot, or stabbed, or kidnapped.”

  “He forgot blown-up.” Sophie said. “You were almost blown-up that one time, remember?”

  “He wants me to go back to being a bartender or something boring like that.”

  “You’d think he’d understand, being a cop and all.”

  “That’s what I thought, but somehow it only makes it worse. Every time something happens to me, someone in the department will rush to tell him about it.”

  “Well, you two always get back together whenever you have a ‘discussion’. It’ll probably work out this time too. When are you seeing him again?”

  “We’re supposed to meet tomorrow night for dinner at Frankie Z’s. Hopefully, he’ll still want to go. Whenever we have a discussion he’s skittish for a few days.”

  “Have you decided yet what you’re going to wear to Danica’s wedding? It’s a week from Friday and I st
ill don’t know what I’m going to wear. Gina’s not stressed about it, of course. She says she’ll root around her closet and come up with a dress. But it’s driving me crazy”

  “I know what you mean. We got the invitations a month ago and I still have no idea what to wear. But it’ll be great to see Danica and Muffy again.”

  We had met Danica and her fiancé Alex as the result of an assignment six months before. There had been the usual amount of mayhem, but things had eventually worked out for the best. We had also met Alex’s grandmother, a wealthy semi-retired land developer named Margaret “Muffy” Sternwood.

  I’ve always been a little disappointed I haven’t been a closer friend to Danica. She seems like a nice person and we get along well. Unfortunately, she works nights as a dancer at Jeannie’s Cabaret and our paths almost never cross. I was hoping we could rekindle our friendship at the wedding.

  “How’s Annie doing?” I asked. “Have you heard from her at all this week?”

  “Nope, but since it’s finals week, she probably has a lot on her mind. Don’t forget she graduates on Saturday and she expects the three of us to be there.”

  “It will be great to see her graduate. I’m also looking forward to the reception at the Saguaro Sky. I’ve only been there a few times, but it’s always been gorgeous.”

  “I wonder if Jackie’s had time to do anything new with it yet.”

  Jackie Wade is one of the cougars we have recently gotten to know. As a result of an assignment a couple of months ago, we had helped Jackie take ownership of the beautiful Scottsdale Saguaro Sky Golf Resort. The graduation reception on Saturday was going to be our first time there since Jackie had become the boss.

  “Hey,” Sophie said. “Talking about parties reminded me your birthday is next month. We should go somewhere and do something. What about Vegas? We could drive up on a Friday afternoon and drive back on Sunday after we do a champagne brunch somewhere. That would give us like a day and a half to get into some serious trouble. I bet we could get into trouble in less time, but it’s better when you get into trouble slowly. You remember more of it that way.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Let’s keep it in mind. Speaking of trouble, have any new assignments come in? I’m beyond broke and the rent’s due soon.”

  As if hearing my thoughts, Lenny stuck his head out of his office. He saw me and smiled. As always, seeing him smile gave me a creepy feeling.

  “Laura, I’m glad you’re here. Come on in. I’ve got something for you.”

  Lenny disappeared back into his office. Through the open door, I heard the clink of ice cubes falling into a glass. I looked over at Sophie.

  “What’s up with Lenny?”

  “A courier brought over the settlement check from the Bowden/Martinez case about an hour ago. Lenny’s been smiling and in a good mood ever since he got it.”

  “That lawsuit was settled nine months ago, they’re only getting the check here now?

  “The wheels of justice.”

  I walked into Lenny’s office. He was sitting behind his desk with a half-full glass of Jim Beam in one hand and one of his high-dollar Cuban cigars in the other. He saw me and waved me to one of the two wooden chairs in front of his desk. He leaned back in his chair, took a long drag on his cigar, and blew a huge puff of foul smelling smoke into the air.

  He then waved his glass in the direction of the wet bar in the corner of the office, offering me a drink. I shook my head since it was still too early for alcohol. He shrugged as if to say, suit yourself. Setting down his glass, he picked up the check sitting on his desk, gently waving it at me.

  “This.” He gave a small chuckle. “This makes it all worthwhile.”

  “The final amount was good?”

  “Five point two million dollars.”

  Damn

  “And your fee is?”

  He took another puff on his cigar. “Well, you see, that’s the beauty of the situation. As of this moment, my fee is whatever I want it to be.”

  I raised my eyebrows, questioning both his ethics and his sanity.

  “But, I thought the fee was agreed to ahead of time,” I said.

  “Naaah, you don’t understand, that doesn’t matter. The agreement was only meant to ease the client’s mind. A beautiful work of fiction. I should know, I wrote it up. This is what matters,” he said, again waving the check at me. “For an attorney, this is the magic moment. This is why I worked nights and weekends for almost half a year.”

  I still didn’t get it. Lenny saw my confusion and went on.

  “You see,” he said, speaking slowly as if he was talking to an idiot. “The Judge ordered the respondent, Bowden, to pay five point two million dollars. Now Bowden has paid it. As far as Bowden is concerned, the case is over and if he never thinks about it again, he’ll be all the happier for it. Our client, Martinez, on the other hand, was never guaranteed to get a dime out of the lawsuit. When I go over tomorrow and hand her a check for over a million dollars, she’ll be so floored she isn’t going to quibble too much if she gets two million, three million, or four. Whatever she gets, it will be more money than she could have imagined getting in her entire life. I can keep whatever I want and call it a fee.”

  “And no one will complain?”

  “Oh, sure, some of her relatives will bitch a little my fee was outrageous, but the contract she signed states that in case of a dispute over my fee, the entire settlement will be held in escrow until the dispute is resolved. In other words, if she objects, she won’t see a dime until it goes through the system, which will take a couple of years. Besides, after Martinez starts promising to spread the settlement money around to her family, the ‘sue the lawyer’ talk will die down. It always does.”

  Maybe I should go law school.

  “You said you have something for me?” I asked.

  “A new client, Lester Murdock, will be in town for a few days,” Lenny said. “He’s cleaning up some issues surrounding an inheritance. It would be good if he had someone who knows the city to show him around and help him out. I was thinking having you do it would be better than hiring out a driver.”

  “You want me to babysit?”

  “Yeah. But don’t think of it as babysitting. Think of it as earning a paycheck. There aren’t a lot of cheating spouses needing to be caught at the moment. You have one, Gina’s working on two, and that’s it. But trust me; with what I’m going to bill this guy, it’ll be worth you babysitting him for a few days. Besides, you always like doing good deeds and helping to save the world. Maybe helping out this guy will count towards that.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think it will. Am I only supposed to drive him around?”

  “That and help him out. His grandfather died a few weeks ago. They read the Will yesterday and our client apparently inherited some very valuable things. He’s in town from Chicago to pick them up. His attorney’s an old friend of mine. I got a call this morning to see if I knew someone local to drive him around.”

  I sighed and registered defeat. “Where‘s he staying?”

  “He’s in one of the high-dollar suites up at the Tropical Paradise. He got in late last night but he should be up by now. I’ll call him and let him know you’re coming.” He wrote down the room number and handed it to me.

  “It figures,” I said with a laugh.

  “What? Something I should know about the Tropical Paradise?”

  “Nope, it just brought back some memories.”

  The Scottsdale Tropical Paradise is one of the nicer golf resorts in Arizona. It’s owned by a group called Scottsdale Land and Resort Management, Inc., which is run by Anthony “Tough Tony” DiCenzo. In addition to building and running golf resorts, he’s also head of the largest crime family in Scottsdale.

  As a result of events during some of my previous assignments for Lenny, I’ve gotten to know Tough Tony and some of his associates. This included his second in command, a gorgeous man named Maximilian. I’ve had a few adventures with Max and I know he’s in
terested in me in a way that goes beyond the strictly professional. Tony has his business offices in the Tropical Paradise and I’ve been to meetings with him there more than once. Now I was headed back to the resort. Hopefully, I won’t run into Tony, or Max.

  Two

  I walked out the back door of the office toward my car. As with most mornings in June, the weather in Scottsdale was beautiful. There wasn’t a trace of a breeze and there wasn’t a single cloud in the deep blue sky. The temperature was still climbing and I knew it was going to be another sizzler.

  A perfect day for keeping the tourists away.

  ~~~~

  I drove up Scottsdale Road and pulled into the main entrance of the Tropical Paradise. As always, I was impressed with the beauty of the resort. The landscaping from the main entrance to the central reception building has a tropical rainforest theme. I love the groves of bamboo, the bright green plants, and the colorful flowers. It always amazes me how they could take three hundred acres of dry desert and seemingly transform it into a beautiful tropical island.

  I parked in one of the side lots, down the hill from the main reception building. I found a resort map posted on a sign and located Lester Murdock’s room. Fortunately, it was only about two hundred yards away in a cluster of luxury bungalows.

  The path to the suite took me next to a huge resort pool. The water reflected the deep blue color of the sky, with dozens of queen palms, date palms, royal palms, and maybe a hundred lounge chairs surrounding the perimeter. There were already twenty or thirty tourists sunbathing and splashing in the water. Even though it was early, the pool bar seemed to be doing a brisk business. The water looked inviting and I wanted to flip off my shoes and settle down in one of the lounge chairs.

  Maybe a piña colada would be a good way to start the day?

  Instead of indulging with a cold drink, I continued down the sidewalk, between rows of towering date palms. On either side of the sidewalk were clusters of orange lantana, pink oleander, and colorful bird-of-paradise. About fifty yards away, a landscaper was mowing an open field of Bermuda grass. I took in a deep breath, both to take in the wonderful smell and to steel myself. A babysitter I was not.