Chapter 2
Steve picked up Maureen on time, and they proceeded to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts. Steve was very handsome dressed in his tux with matching accessories. He looked like Tom Cruise, except he was taller and stockier. Maureen looked absolutely beautiful in her black cocktail dress. It was sleeveless, held up by spaghetti straps and her full-figured bust.
When Steve arrived at her apartment, he tried unsuccessfully to convince her that maybe they should forget the Kennedy social and enjoy each other with some hot sex. Maureen’s reply was later, not now. That was the typical answer Steve was getting these days.
The crowd at the Kennedy Center was large both inside and outside. Tonight’s event was a charity auction to raise money to feed the homeless, but the auction actually consisted of male escorts putting their looks and bodies on the auction block for some female to bid on. Maureen, a member of the organization committee, had volunteered Steve to be a contestant. All the unmarried males—usually the cream of the area’s bachelors—had volunteered to help raise money for this function.
This was Maureen’s brainchild and she was determined to raise a record amount this year. Even the Vice President, William Anderson, was in attendance, supplying moral support to the male contingent in the audience. The champagne and hors d’oeuvres were tasty. (What do you expect at two hundred bucks a head?) The main lobby was filled with people. This was typical of such an event in the nation’s capital. Anybody who was somebody was there.
Steve and Maureen looked terrific as a couple, and they socialized with many people as soon as they entered the center. As they were sipping their glass of champagne before the auction, Steve wondered if someone besides Maureen would bid on him. He wondered who would be the lucky lady to have a date with him. Overall, he started to enjoy the festivities.
“Maureen, guess who wants to talk to you at this time about some big-time programming on prime time?” came the voice of her station manager as he approached them. “Peter Jennings and some of the ABC News staff want a word with you.”
“Excuse me, darling, I’ll be right back. Socialize and enjoy yourself,” she suggested to Steve. As she walked away and disappeared into the crowd, Steve slowly glanced around to see a familiar face.
“Hello, stranger,” a voice from behind could be heard. “Nice seeing you here.”
As Steve turned around, his eyes glanced upon the sexy lady he had met at the marina earlier in the day. She was wearing a white strapless cocktail dress, and she filled it attractively. It gave you the impression that her body wanted out of that dress.
“Well, nice to see you again, but you have me at a disadvantage here. I’m Steve, and you’re . . .” he asked in a flirting voice.
“The name is Vanessa, darling. I live in that floating apartment down by the marina. We met this afternoon…” she stated in a sultry voice. “Are you a contestant in the auction, Steve?” she asked with some excited anticipation in her voice.
“Sorry to say, yes, my fair maiden,” Steve jokingly voiced, “but I won’t raise much.”
“Don’t be surprised, my love. You’re the best here tonight,” Vanessa replied. She walked closer to Steve, grabbed his arm, and pleaded for him to take her over to the bar for a drink. He complied with her wish.
As they walked toward the nearest bar, Steve noticed that Maureen was approaching him. The look in her eyes showed signs of jealousy about Steve escorting someone who wasn’t afraid to act sexy in public, and Vanessa filled the bill completely.
“I see you found yourself a friendly hand to hold, my love,” Maureen remarked.
“Don’t be jealous, darling. You did order me to socialize, and I did,” Steve came back smartly, but with a smile.
“Well, I'm glad you found someone to talk to, for I’m going to have to leave for the station. It seems the head of the ABC News staff wants to view some of my work. Just think, Steve! ABC News wants to consider me for their Washington bureau. I would be working with Peter Jennings and Sam Donaldson!” she stated excitedly. “I’ll get home safely. I’ll see you at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch tomorrow at one, OK?” she pleaded, as she planted a good-bye kiss on his wanting lips.
She then looked at Vanessa, turned to Steve, and kissed him hard again. She then turned and walked toward her friends at the other end of the room. Steve ordered his drinks and proceeded to make the best of the night with Vanessa.
Just as Vanessa had predicted, it seemed that when Steve walked onto the auction stage, the bidding started to climb. Women who desired a date with this attractive white-tuxedoed stud were bidding dollars in a state of frenzy, but Vanessa was determined to win this prize. She was happy to write a check for over three thousand dollars to ensure her date with Steve. The look in her eyes told Steve what she desired that night. She grabbed him off the stage and planted a moist kiss on his surprised lips.
“I want my date tonight, Stevie,” she whispered in his ear. They walked to the bar for more champagne. Steve needed a drink at this time.
As Steve ventured over to the nearest bar, he noticed some unsavory characters standing near the cashier’s office. As his drinks were being made, a shot rang out, and Steve immediately turned toward the office. He reached into his vest and then remembered he wasn’t carrying his piece tonight. Two men came charging out of the cashier’s office with guns in hand and several bags of cash. Two more shots rang out, and the man with the cash bags fell to the floor. The other man, now in a frightened state, grabbed one of the guests and used her as a shield to move through the crowd.
Steve quickly darted out the side door of the center, and as he moved to the other end of the building, he borrowed a pistol from one of the outside security guards. As he approached the door to enter again, he was now behind the man with the hostage, and Steve recognized her to be Vanessa. She was scared and in tears, and the guy with the gun had it pressed hard against her head.
“Move back or I’ll blow her head off,” he shouted.
“Stop right there, scumbag, or I’ll splatter your brains all over this room. Drop it now, before my itchy finger makes a move. Do it now,” Steve yelled. The man was so frightened that Steve would kill him that he dropped the gun but held onto Vanessa, holding her so tight that her breasts were popping out of her dress. Steve slammed his gun on this joker’s head and dropped him to the floor. Several local cops plus center guards immediately rushed up, and Steve ordered the man ‘cuffed and taken away.
Steve immediately picked Vanessa up in his arms and helped her rearrange her dress. He wiped her tears and held her to stop her sobbing and shaking. “Take me home, Steve, please,” she cried, and draped herself around him. Steve handed one of the officers his gun, gave them several orders to clean up the mess, and then proceeded to take Vanessa home.
• • •
When Steve arrived to work the next morning, the squad room was a beehive of activity. Several local television news reporters were waiting for Steve to arrive because he was the hero of the day for his actions last night at the Kennedy Center. “Steve, what did you do?” inquired Maureen as she greeted him at his desk. “You weren’t home last night when I called. Where were you?”
Before Steve could answer her questions, the cameras were now turned on, and the group of reporters were pushing upon him and throwing questions at him.
“One question at a time, please,” Steve stated calmly as he took a seat at his desk. “First, how’s the condition of the guard that was shot, and second, how is the scumbag I slammed last night? I haven’t read any reports on it yet,” he wondered.
“The guard was operated on and is in guarded condition, but it looks like he’ll survive. The ‘scumbag’ you clobbered is resting comfortably in the D.C. holding center,” Maureen answered quickly.
“What happened to the female hostage? People at the scene stated that you left with her,” a reporter asked. Maureen’s ears perked up as she heard that statement. She wanted to know about this woman. Who was she?
“The woman was shook up, so I did what any good, decent person would do. I assisted her home safely and made sure she was okay. She didn’t want to be involved in this matter, so don’t ask for her identity, please,” Steve told the reporters present.
One reporter yelled out a question: “Detective, how does it feel being a hero and saving someone’s life?”
“I did my job. What I’m trained to do, nothing special,” Steve replied, and with that statement he excused himself because he had an appointment with the coroner. As he passed Maureen, he told her he would see her for lunch as planned. She nodded, and the camera lights were shut off.
Steve rushed out of headquarters and walked the short distance to the coroner’s office. He was joined at this time by Linda, who patted him on the shoulder and congratulated him for his brave move the night before.
“There’ll be a commendation in it for you, Stevie-boy,” she remarked. “You know how the captain loves this kind of publicity.”
“Don’t make a big thing of it, please,” replied Steve as they entered the coroner’s office. They were quickly taken by the coroner into one of the examination rooms, where Laura Smith-Hughes’s body was kept. It was a cold room and smelled of chemicals and rotten eggs.
“You have my report in your hand, Detective Ciminelli. Ms. Smith-Hughes died from stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, but the chest wounds were fatal. She was killed sometime between midnight and three in the morning, and a sharp, thin blade was used. Our man has brown hair, and he had sex with the lady before he killed her. Sperm specimens were sent to the Norwood Lab for DNA testing. That’ll take about three to four weeks,” the coroner related to the detectives.
He then flipped the cover sheet off the body and lifted her right hand. “Our lady here gave our boy a good scratch, for we recovered some blood and skin from under her nails. Outside of that, I have found nothing extraordinary. Some alcohol in the stomach before death, and our Ms. Smith-Hughes was a user of cocaine, too, but not a heavy one,” finished the coroner as he covered the body up.
They left the examination room and returned to the coroner’s office. “You place the time of death sometime around one or two A.M. Our lady was keeping late hours with visitors,” commented Steve.
“Was she doing drugs last night before she died?” asked Detective Hannigan.
“All she had in her system is a week old. Her stomach revealed only her dinner—fish, probably lobster—and some alcohol. The lady liked vodka and lemon,” replied the coroner after glancing at his report.
“No major bruises to relate to a struggle except that she scratched the bastard, either during love-making or as he knifed her,” replied Steve.
“I would assume that to be correct,” related the coroner as he settled in his chair. “Our boy—and I'm assuming that a strong man did this, for the stab wounds are deep—enjoyed screwing her, and as she was relaxing on the bed, he did her in. He probably killed her with the first blow—that way, no sound or resistance from her. He caught her by surprise. She didn’t expect it. That’s why her eyes were open,” commented the coroner.
“Thanks Pete, the info is very helpful,” replied Steve as they left the office and headed back to the squad room at headquarters.
“Linda, when is her husband due in town?” asked Steve as they entered the police headquarters.
“He should be home now. I’ll call and set up an appointment to see him as soon as possible, like this afternoon,” replied Linda.
Steve sat at his desk and started to glance over his notes in his report file, wondering how many of Laura’s friends attended last night’s function at the Kennedy Center. She would have loved that kind of event, just like Vanessa did. Just the mention of Vanessa’s name, and Steve reminded himself of last night. What a night he had with her. Not bad for a broad her age.
“Jonathan Smith-Hughes will see us at his estate around three this afternoon, Steve,” announced Linda. “Forensic and I.D. reports are here, too.” Steve checked them out with Linda to see if something new would shed some light on this murder. “Nothing new here,” Steve told his partner. “Only one set of prints that weren’t the victim’s. The FBI is searching for its name right now.”
“That cigarette butt was an English brand called ‘Dukes and Lords,’ sold in every tobacco shop in town,” Linda chimed in. “Not too much to go on. Many people in this town, foreign and American, smoke that brand.”
“Looks more and more like a love triangle killing, but we don’t have all the parts to the triangle except one,” replied Steve. “Any report from the blues checking out the apartments across from 3E?”
.“No peeping Toms yet, Steve. These people sleep when Laura Smith-Hughes entertains. She wasn’t the noisy type. Very quiet and genteel, like most rich bitches are,” Linda sarcastically stated.
“Wow, it’s nearly one. I have a lunch date to be at, partner. See you back here before 2:30, OK?” Steve commented as he grabbed his suit coat and headed out the door for the Hard Rock Cafe to meet Maureen for lunch.
When Steve entered the cafe, he found out that Maureen had arrived earlier and was seated in a booth in the rear. When he approached the booth, he leaned over and gave Maureen a very passionate kiss. She enjoyed receiving it. Steve could see it in her eyes.
“I have already ordered BLT’s for us, honey, with a draft to wash it down,” Maureen stated as she reached to grab Steve’s hand.
“How did your interview go with ABC News last night? Have they offered you a job?” questioned Steve, hesitant to know the answer.
“They want me to start after the first of the year. Steve, I’m going big time, nation-wide on ABC,” Maureen stated with much excitement. “I’ll be doing the weekend news for now, but who knows? Maybe someday prime time with Peter Jennings.”
“I’m happy for you, sweetheart,” Steve gestured as he kissed her hand. “Of course, this’ll put you in a higher tax bracket. Maybe you’ll think of living together with someone special, maybe even marrying him. Connie Chung is married,” he continued.
“Is this a proposal, Mr. Ciminelli?” Maureen replied with a smile.
“It sure is, beautiful. Make me an honest man and a stay-at-home type of guy,” he replied. “Well, do I get an answer?”
“You’re serious?” queried Maureen. She was very surprised, and her face showed it. “Well?” Steve asked.
“It’s yes, you wonderful hunk, but I want some time to have a proper wedding, OK?” she replied.
Steve smiled and reached across the table to kiss her. “I can’t believe you said yes, Maureen. What brought this change in you?”
“Darling, I may be blind sometimes, but I’m not stupid. After seeing you with that woman last night, it made me think about what I could lose. You’re a great guy, Mr. Ciminelli, and I realized this morning how much I love you,” said Maureen with a loving smile.
Steve looked at his watch, stuffed the remains of his BLT in his mouth, and excused himself to get back to work. “I’ll see you tonight, sweetheart. Your place around eight.”
“Don’t have dinner. I’ll make something special for tonight. Just bring your toothbrush and razor,” she suggested as Steve reached over and kissed her moist lips hard. She returned the kiss the same way.
Steve rushed back to headquarters to pick up Linda and found her waiting by the door. The drive to Fairborn Lea Estate near Annapolis, Maryland, took a while because the outbound traffic from Washington was very heavy today. They arrived at the Smith-Hughes estate about thirty minutes late. Steve and Linda were rushed to the mansion library, where Jonathan Farnsworth Smith-Hughes was anxiously waiting for them. “Sorry we’re late,” Steve commented as he introduced himself and Linda to Mr. Smith-Hughes.
“Take a seat, Detectives. Now, how can I help you in solving this terrible crime? Laura didn’t deserve to die that way,” he replied with a sense of compassion. “I have been in Chicago on business until your people contacted me yesterday.”
“This may be hard for you at this time, but we need to know who your wife was having an affair with? Who were her gentlemen friends that were her lovers too?” asked Steve.
“First name on that list is William Anderson,” Jonathan Smith-Hughes quickly remarked.
“The Vice President?!” Linda stated in surprise.
“It started when he was a senator, and winning the second seat on the ticket with Patterson didn’t stop it. She’s been seeing him on a regular basis the last four years,” commented Smith-Hughes. “We separated several years ago because of that affair and her relations with other men in Washington. I hate this area and always will.”
“Besides the Vice President, who were her other men friends in this area?” asked Steve politely. “You can put Senator Klausburger near the top. He introduced Laura to the First Lady and that social group on Pennsylvania Avenue,” Mr. Smith-Hughes remarked.
“How come your wife was living in your residence in Washington instead of here?” questioned Linda.
“Laura requested the change four months ago so that she would be closer to her friends. I like the quiet of the country, so I moved back here,” answered Jonathan Smith-Hughes.
Steve checked with Linda and discovered that they had covered all the bases, so they decided to leave. As they approached the door to the library, Steve asked the following question: “Do you smoke ‘Dukes and Lords’ cigarettes, Mr. Smith-Hughes?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t smoke at all,” he replied.