The Hinky Velvet Chair by Jennifer Stevenson Read Free Book Online

a deep breath. “That sounds dangerous!”
    “It is. That’s why so many people prefer mystery novels,” he
said, looking deep into her eyes. “Or playing cards.”
    Virgil clapped his hands. “Cards! I want poker!” he cried as
if he, too, preferred cards to sex in extradimensional space. “Griffy, get the
table ready.”
    “I — I need to go to the kitchen,” Griffy said, and Clay saw
that her feelings were hurt.
    “We can play three-handed,” Clay suggested.
    Virgil doddered. “Of course! Do you know milking-stool
poker? Three handed. Sudden death. Good way to lose a lot of money,” he said
with a senile chortle. He patted Sovay on the hand. “You can trim the pants off
me, young lady.”
    Sovay laughed. “I can try!”
    Griffy blundered away from the table.
    Clay was heartened to find that Virgil didn’t object to
skinning his golddigger at milking-stool poker. He followed Virgil’s signals.
Between them they took six hundred dollars off the lovely Sovay.
    She only laughed and paid up on the spot.
    Cash, he noted. Hm.
Wonder which room she’s in.

Chapter Six

    To Jewel’s relief, Randy submitted beautifully to the
haircut. He didn’t even make remarks about the sexual orientation of the
hairdresser. Jewel sat for a trim.
    “Pretty quiet in here, Leo,” she said. For a Michigan Avenue
salon, it had a lot of empty chairs.
    “Business sucks,” Leo said, concentrating on Randy’s head. “Ever
since Bruce let that kid in here, we’re in the toilet.”
    Jewel got goose bumps. “Bad stylist?”
    “Bad peddlar. Came by a month ago selling love potions,” Leo
said, giving her a heart attack, “and since then we see fewer regulars every
week. Bruce claims there’s no connection.”
    Bruce, snipping away at Jewel’s hair, murmured, “I don’t see
the connection.”
    But Jewel saw. Buzz was at it again.
    Leo said, “I ran into one of my regulars at the chocolate
counter at Neiman’s yesterday. She’s missed three appointments. Her hair and
nails were a mess. Know what she told
me? ‘I like myself the way I am.’ Did you ever? I said, ‘Darling, it’s not
about who you are, it’s about what you look like to other people,’ and do you
know what she said? ‘If I love me, they’ll love me.’” He shook his head. “This
was a nice haircut once,” he said to Randy. “I’ve never seen a cut like this.”
    Bruce glanced over at Randy. “Where did you have it done?”
    “London,” Randy said, watching the scissors flash in the
mirror.
    “Figures,” Leo said.
    Jewel wondered how Buzz could be singlehandedly undermining
the beauty industry in the most expensive neighborhood in Chicago. When she
caught up with him again, she would ask him.
    An hour later she parked the Tercel a block from the
Thompson residence on Marine Drive, which acted as a frontage road for Lake
Shore Drive. “You don’t say anything. You don’t talk about the department. You
stay out of my way.”
    Randy nodded. Too excited to argue, she guessed. Poor guy. I guess I haven’t been respecting
his personhood. He looked seriously hot in that Blass suit. It was too nice
a suit for a city worker. Alas, he didn’t own anything else appropriate, so
they were stuck with it.
    She felt seriously hot, too, but that was because her
pantsuit was plastic.
    Wow, the Thompson place was one of those limestone landmark
mansions with a lake view. Marble front steps. Woof.
    She led Randy up the steps. He knocked.
    An actual butler answered the door. Jewel blinked. Randy
cleared his throat and she sent him a shut
up look.
    “I’m Senior Investigator Jewel Heiss with the Chicago
Department of Consumer Services. I want to see Mr. Virgil Thompson. In private.
Official business.”
    The butler shut the door in their faces.
    “You should have permitted me,” Randy said. He knocked again,
pushing Jewel to one side.
    The butler opened the door.
    Randy said in his most languid tone, “Lord Pontarsais to see
Mr. Thompson.” He flicked