Page 14

The twink wore a variety of rings on his hands, one oneveryfinger, in fact. Most were jewel encrusted. His eyebrows were plucked to within an inch of their life, and even at his young age, it appeared he’d had some work done. He had overly plump lips, and I suspected he had cheek implants as well. Electrolysis ensured that he didn’t have a beard, or for that matter, a single hair on his smooth face or belly. I had no doubt they were a couple.
“This is my boy, Trevor,” Leopard said, turning to look at the youngster.
The boy held out a hand manicured with sparkly, pink polish, looking bored. “Trevor.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand.
He offered it to Miguel next. “You’re hot.”
I wanted to laugh at the expression on Miguel’s face.
“Thanks.”
“Won’t you please come back to our office?” I said, holding out a hand.
“Thank you!” Leopard boomed.
“Daddy,” Trevor said, “you’re being too loud.” He sounded like he needed some sleep, had a hangover, or both.
“I’m so sorry, precious,” Leopard replied, draping an arm over the young man’s shoulder as they followed Miguel back to our office while I took up the rear. Leopard kept talking as we walked down the hall, saying something about them being out late at a club whose name was familiar to me. If there’d ever been any question that they were a gay couple, that removed all doubt.
“Sorry, I was going to ask if either of you would like some coffee or a soft drink?”
The boy scoffed but Leopard smiled sweetly. “I don’t suppose you have any Perrier? If not, I’ll take a bottled water.”
“Let me get that for you. Please…have a seat,” Miguel said, pointing to the chairs in front of our desks. He practically ran out of the room, leaving me alone with the couple. They sat in front of my desk and Leopard immediately took his boy’s hand. I sat down behind the desk and Leopard leaned forward, smiling kindly.
“First, let me ask for your forgiveness. Mr. Huerta was kind enough to call me back, but I couldn’t get out of my yoganidrasana pose fast enough. I decided the matter we need to discuss couldn’t wait for an appointment.”
I was about to ask what the hell the yogan thingy was, when Miguel walked back into the room, holding two bottles of water. He handed one to each of them before sitting down at his own desk. I noticed Leopard smile at him while Trevor stared at the label of the generic water in his hand. He sniffed in disgust and set it on my desk, before pulling his phone out of a miniscule fanny pack he wore and began scrolling. Apparently, the Walmart brand of water wasn’t his cup of tea.
“Mr. Leopard was just telling me he was sorry he missed your call,” I said to Miguel.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Miguel said. “We’ve been out all afternoon. I was about to call you back.”
“I’m so sorry about that,” Mr. Leopard rushed to apologize. “It’s just that you called while we were in yoga and well, anyway, I was in this incredibly hard pose and—”
“They don’t care about your stupid yoga, Daddy,” Trevor chided, rolling his eyes.
Mr. Leopard colored, looking embarrassed. I felt sorry for the guy. But then again, I’d never understood why so many older guys thought the only way to feel relevant was to shack up with young twinks, showering them with money, and spoiling them rotten. I glanced over at Miguel, who had an unreadable expression on his face. I was pretty sure he was thinking the very same thing.
Mr. Leopard cleared his throat.
“I’m so sorry for just dropping in on you like this but as soon as I learned there was someone out there looking for poor Tawny’s ruby, I just had to call you.”
“Tawny Flores?” Miguel asked.
“Yes! Her husband, Benedict—oh, my poor, poor Benedict—was a dear friend of mine and when he passed away, well, you have to know, I was bereft…bereftI tell you!”
“Yes, it is sad,” Miguel said, somehow keeping a straight face.
Mr. Leopard nodded. “Terrible, just terrible. Who knew poor old Benedict had a bad heart? It just popped. I didn’t know a heart could just pop!”
Neither did I but what did I know. “So, was that why you called? To find out some information about our recovery of Tawny Flores’ ruby?”
“Oh, no! I must confess, I am intrigued by what you two gentlemen do.” He waved a hand between us. “But I’m here because I also had a gorgeous diamond pin stolen from my house…before I could even have it reset in platinum. The diamonds are nearly flawless. But you see, those beautiful stones are set in gold which is very dark. And well, as soon as I heard that dear, sweet Tawny hired someone to get her ruby back, I knew I needed to call you the instant I had the chance.” He had his hand on his bare chest as he leaned toward me. “You can help find it, can’t you? Like you’re doing for poor, sweet Tawny?”
The guy talked so fast, it was hard to follow. He was definitely excitable. “Yes, I—”