Message-ID: <52795asstr$1136625003@assm.asstr.org> Return-Path: X-Original-To: story-submit@asstr.org Delivered-To: story-submit@asstr.org X-Original-Path: z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail From: "Wine Maker" X-Original-Message-ID: <1136613807.769215.310970@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2006 06:03:32 +0000 (UTC) User-Agent: G2/0.2 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com; posting-host=24.174.32.144; posting-account=lQ9acQ0AAABJInUbzelvor2A2ilH0RcZ X-ASSTR-Original-Date: 6 Jan 2006 22:03:27 -0800 Subject: {ASSM} Finding Elvis Chapter 01 (MF, MFF, Slow, Romantic Thriller) Lines: 621 Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 04:10:03 -0500 Path: assm.asstr.org!not-for-mail Approved: Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation X-Story-Submission: X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, RuiJorge Finding Elvis (c) 2006 by Wine Maker Email any comments to: wine_maker@eknifeshop.com with Finding Elvis in the subject. NOTE: This book is a sequel to The Lady in Blue here so go check it out, too. Chapter One: A Rude Awakening I didn't like having no idea how I had gotten someplace, but that's how I woke up in a Vegas shower. My name is Shauna Hawkins, or as I preferred, Hawk, and I'm a Lieutenant in the Homicide division of the Houston Police Department in Texas. Not that I was in Houston, or in uniform, mind you. I remembered coming to Vegas last week. The place was all it was cracked up to be and less. A real contrast between high class and low. Anything you wanted, you could get, and it showed. Bright, fast and decadent. I loved it all, and did it all, without doing anything illegal. We - Ted Stansbury, Lisa Davis and me - hit all the big casinos and the strip. Party goers having a good time thronged the streets. We kept a fairly low profile for a couple of days so that Ted could get back up to speed. He had been pretty banged up in a mess down in Houston last week. Then we decided to have a big night out on the town and see what we could find to do while getting totally trashed and without getting arrested. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea I'd ever had. At least, that was my thought as I woke up in the shower. I felt like I had been run over by a truck and the bathroom reeked of worship to the porcelain god. Actually, I smelled that way, too. I groaned and pulled myself to my feet slowly. I was mostly dressed but my shoes and underwear were missing. My dress was messy, but intact. Why I was there was anyone's guess, but since I was I might as well wash the remnants of last night's wild partying off myself. I stripped slowly and carefully, holding onto the wall to keep the room from spinning. Turning on the water, I soaked my pounding head and scrubbed the worst of the stench off of me. I thought I had learned this lesson in college. Hangovers should be avoided at all costs. I had only the very vaguest of memories of last night. Lots of drinking, walking (staggering really) up and down streets. Various clubs, cabs and throbbing music. And... I rubbed my head. And Lisa in a white dress. I stood bolt upright in the shower. A wedding dress! Still soapy, I turned off the water and slid into a robe before going out into the main room. One of the two beds was still made and the other was torn all to hell. Arms and legs still protruded from the sheets. A woman's hand was on top and there was a gold ring on her wedding finger. Shit. "Lisa, Ted. Wake up." I called out in a voice that made my own head throb. Groans came from under the covers. I grabbed the duvet and flipped it back. Ted and Lisa were both partially naked and tangled together. She lay on top of him, her long blonde hair spread over his muscular torso. Ted had a ring on his finger, too. Double shit. "Wake up." I shook them and they groaned. "I'm not kidding. Wake up." Nada. I pulled a mostly empty bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and set it down. Then I dumped the ice water on them. That did the trick. With screams, yells, and creative curses, both scrambled out of bed. "What the hell was that about, Hawk?" Lisa moaned, grabbing her head. Ted didn't even try to speak, he just held his head as though it would fall off. "Look at your hands. Both of you." Lisa looked at her hands and focused in on the ring with a look of confusion. "Where the hell did that come from?" Ted didn't seem to grasp the meaning of the ring either. "I don't know, but I have a vague memory of you in a wedding dress," I said. "Did we visit one of those speedy chapels?" Lisa blinked at me owlishly as I reached into the bed and picked up a used condom, with the end split, and tossed it into the trash. "I don't think so," she said. "I don't really remember much after we started clubbing. God, my head's pounding. I've never had so much to drink." "Ted? How about you tell us what happened last night?" I asked. He pulled himself together, though he was still staring at the ring. "I don't remember either." He looked at Lisa. "Did we get married?" Lisa picked up a towel and scrubbed her face. "I dunno, but I think the real question is *who* got married?" Ted and I looked at her in confusion until she grabbed my hand and put it in front of my face. I stared at the same style gold ring as they wore, snuggled onto my own ring finger. Triple shit! "Hold it," Ted said. "Let's not get carried away, okay?" He scrubbed his face with his hands. "I need to shower, then I need to eat. Then we can figure out what we did last night. Care to join me, Lisa?" Lisa waved him on. "Go ahead. I need to sit down and think. I'll shower in a few minutes." She dropped onto the edge of the bed. I sat down beside her and put my hand on her knee. "Lisa, this doesn't mean anything. I don't care if this *is* Vegas, you can't get married if you're drunk off your ass." She looked up at me, her face a mask of uncertainty. "But, Hawk, I can see myself marrying Ted. I know it hasn't been so long since I met him, but I feel like I've known him forever. Even if I was drunk when it happened." She looked down at my hand. "But what about you? I know you like Ted, but I can't see you marrying him. Not enough estrogen." I laughed and instantly regretted it as my head began throbbing again. "Ohhh, geeze. Yeah, I'm afraid as much as I like him, or you for that matter, it wouldn't happen. You're too in love with each other and I'm not that into men, even if it is fun with Ted. In my heart, I know that if I ever fall in love, it will be a woman. I just don't have the same kind of emotional connection with men." Lisa looked relieved, though she tried to hide it. She didn't want or need someone else mucking up her relationship with Ted, and I had no intention of doing that to them. "Don't stress, Kid. If it happened, I'll have it annulled faster than the Houston Texans can lose a football game," I said with a grin. I stood up and began gathering my remaining clothes. I found my shoes and underwear beside the bed and got them all together. The shoes went into the closet, the clothes into a trash bag for washing. I stood for a moment, looking at myself in the mirror. Long black hair, a body that was slim and muscular to the point of being more girlish than womanly. I wish I had bigger tits, but where would I put them when I wasn't using them? Lisa padded into the bathroom to clean up with Ted, and to talk privately about the situation. That was okay. I was a guest in their relationship and they had every right to be worried about this. I had best start getting to the bottom of this. We had been toasted last night, so there would no doubt be a wealth of clues around to help us sort out where we had been. God knows, I'd investigated enough crimes to know just how much of a trail drunks leave behind, no matter how clever they think they are. And we hadn't been trying to hide anything, I'm sure. Searching around the room for a few minutes turned up several items of interest. A memory stick for a computer (of which we had none), a matchbook for a club by the name of Memory Lane, and a receipt from Zales for three wedding bands. I whistled at the cost and the fact that the purchase had taken place at two in the morning. An all-night Zales? Only in Vegas. I set the evidence on the dresser and took a few minutes to ring up room service. "Front desk," a young sounding man said. "Hi, this is room 236. Do you folks have a morning after kit?" I asked. I could hear a whisper of humor in his response. "As in a hangover remedy? As a matter of fact, we do. Water, aspirin and vitamin C. I'll have some brought up, if you like. Breakfast, too? Something light?" "Make it for three and thanks. Cure and food." I hung up and went into the bathroom, making enough noise so I wouldn't be spying on them. It turned out that they were already toweling off. "I ordered something for the pain and a light breakfast we can either eat or not. Ted, look, I..." He held up his hand and covered my lips. "You don't need to sway anything. We'll sort this out, no matter what actually happened last night. Don't "what if", Hawk." I nodded and opened the shower door. "I need to finish my shower. I'll be out when I feel human again, so start without me." As they went back into the main room to dress, I dropped my robe and stepped into the shower, turning the water up to the hottest temperature I could tolerate and stood under the pelting heat, letting my mind clear. Ted was right. This wasn't a life ending crisis, but I was disturbed that I might have ever been drunk enough to get married at all. That pointed out to me that I had some thinking to do about what I really wanted out of life. I didn't give my word to anything lightly. Even when I was drunk. When I finally couldn't take the heat any more, I turned the temperature down and gave myself another good soapy scrubbing. Considering what I had looked like when I woke up, I decided to wash my hair, too. It would take a while to dry, but I bet people would appreciate me not smelling like stale booze. Once I was done, I wrapped my hair in a towel and dried off. Slipping my robe back on, I went into the bedroom. Room service had put in an appearance while I was out. Toast, eggs and juice were set out on the table and both of my lovers were already eating. A large glass of water and some pills were set beside my plate. Sitting down, I swallowed the pills and drank my water. I didn't know if I could finish it all, but I had to eat something. Ted looked a bit more human than Lisa did, or I felt for that matter. He looked at me over his toast. "I thought our investigative days were over. Guess not. Well, Hawk, what do we do first?" "The first thing we do," I said sopping up my egg yolk, "is not get carried away. I'm sure that nothing irrevocable happened. We just need to figure out where we went and what we did. A contract is voidable when you are drunk," I said, looking at Lisa, "even marriage contracts. If that is what happened." Lisa nodded. "And then what?" "Then, I track us down. We have some clues to work with." I gestured to the receipt and memory card. "We'll need a computer to look at the card. Since I can't imagine we found a computer to haul around, it may be from a camera. Pictures might show us more. I bet the front desk can point us in the right direction." Ted looked at the clock on the dresser. "This town is awake all the time, but the people that were out late might not be up for a while. And don't forget we have to fly back to Houston tomorrow. So, that really doesn't leave us a lot of time to find the answers." "Yeah, but let's give it a try before we give up," I said. "Eat up so we can get moving." We finished eating and dressed for a walk around town. I snagged up the receipt and memory card. When we made it to the posh lobby, I waved the card at the desk clerk. "Morning, Sport. I need to check this card for pictures. Can you point me to where I can get a computer to read it?" He politely pointed out into the street. "Turn left and go up two blocks, Miss. There is a CVS Pharmacy that has a machine that reads them and lets you choose which pictures to print." "Thanks!" With that, I led the trio out and into the street. The traffic was light and the foot traffic was even lighter. "Looks like this town sleeps in," Lisa said, smiling at the doorman. "Yes, Ma'am. The place won't get rolling until the evening." He tipped his hat to us. "Excuse me, who would have been on the door last night, late. Say a couple of hours before dawn?" I asked. "Tim Weatherspoon, Ma'am. He'll be back again tonight at midnight." "Thanks." The air wasn't nearly as bad as the smog in Houston, so the walk was rather enjoyable. Ted and Lisa had their arms around each other and I walked beside them. The CVS was impossible to miss. We strolled inside and to the photo department. As advertised, there was a machine to check the card for pictures. I slid the card into the machine and it brought up thumbnails of about two dozen pictures. Damned if it didn't look like a wedding to me. I had it print them all so we could look at them more closely. Ted and Lisa crowded around as the pictures began printing. "Oh, shit," Lisa said, seeing herself in a wedding gown. "Where the hell did I find a wedding gown in the middle of the night? And what did I do with it? It's not in the room." Ted looked at another picture incredulously. "Is that someone dressed like Elvis? We were married by The King?" When all the pictures were printed, it sure looked like a wedding to me. Ted and Lisa's. I let out the breath that I had secretly been holding. Ring aside, it looked like I hadn't gotten hitched after all. Whew! "Yeah, it sure looks that way," I said. "I think I was the bridesmaid. You want your ring back? Polygamy *is* illegal, you know." Ted rolled his eyes. "You'll get yours, Hawk. One day, you'll settle down and I'll laugh my ass off." Lisa slapped his arm. "That's not funny, Ted!" He raised his hands in self-defense. "Okay! I take it back! I'll just laugh the next time she gets caught up in something she never saw coming." Then he laughed. "Well, now what? The jewelry store or shall we start interviewing Elvises?" "The jewelry store might be easier. We may have to come back tonight to catch someone that saw us." We paid for the prints and made our way back to the hotel. The desk clerk called us a cab and we drove to the address on the receipt. Ted had the cab wait for us. The store was a swanky place. A man in a suit met us at the door. "My name is Charles. May I help you?" "Yeah," I said. "I need to know who helped us with a purchase we made last night." I handed him the receipt. Charles looked it over and handed it back. "That looks like Carl Daniels' employee number. Is there a problem?" I smiled. "You could say that. My friends apparently got married and don't remember it. We're trying to trace our movements last night and we may have mentioned it to him. When does he come back on shift?" He smiled, but it was restrained. "Actually, this isn't the first time I've heard a story like this. A number of people every year come in under the influence and get wedding rings. What's odd is that it looks like you bought three rings." He quirked an eyebrow. "Care to enlighten me about that?" "Yeah, well, I don't really know, but I should return mine. It seems I was left standing at the altar," I said, handing him the ring. "I'd like to get it refunded to Ted's card, please." "Of course. Come with me. I'll see when Carl's back on shift while we take care of this." We stepped over to the counter and he examined the ring, comparing the receipt and his inventory. The refund was taken care of promptly. He checked a clipboard behind the counter and nodded. "It looks like Carl clocked out at eight am and will be back at midnight. I'll call him after he has had some sleep and see if I can get you an answer before then. Do you have a number where I can reach you?" "Call and leave a message for us at our hotel," Ted said and gave him the number. "Leave a message for Ted Stansbury." "Of course, Mister Stansbury. Is there anything else I can assist you with?" "Do you know of any chapels where people get married by Elvis?" Ted asked. Charles tilted his head back and laughed. "This is Las Vegas, Mister Stansbury. There are hundreds of them scattered across the city. Can you be more specific?" Ted slid the pictures across to him and the man examined them before shaking his head. "I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I don't know the gentleman. He does look like The King, though. The thin King." Ted scowled, but he didn't really mean it. "Thanks for your help." We went back to the cab and I looked at them over the roof. "Not much we can do before we get more information. If it was real, it'll be filed at City Hall, but usually they're mailed in. So, it won't be there yet. This is our last day in Vegas, and I don't think we should let this disrupt seeing the sights." Lisa nodded vigorously. "Yes. Let's go to the strip and see some more." Then she looked at Ted. "If we did get married, this does not count as the honeymoon, Skinflint." She grinned. "I think Niagara Falls might fit the bill, though." Ted rolled his eyes and laughed. "Get in." We walked the strip, ate lunch and walked some more. It felt like I was back on the beat. The whole place was gaudy, even the cheap joints. I decided it was fun to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here. Give me Houston any day of the week. When it was getting dark, we took a cab back to the hotel and hit the desk clerk up for messages. Surprisingly, there was one for me along with the hoped for message for Ted. While Ted called the number on his, I read mine with growing confusion. It read, "Detective Hawkins, you don't know me, but I have heard about you. We are staying here at the same hotel. I recognized you yesterday from newspaper articles regarding your recent case in Houston. If it is not too much of an imposition, I would like to invite you and your friends to attend a private gathering in the main dining room tonight. I would be in your debt if you humored an old man like me this once. Please, bring your friends. I would dearly love to speak with you all. Eight pm. Hans Werner." I looked up and glanced at the clock. About an hour till then. The name was flitting around the edge of my mind. It was elusively familiar. I leaned over the desk and waved at the clerk. "Help me out. Hans Werner. Who is he?" I asked. "Mister Werner is involved in a number of businesses. He is very wealthy and lives in Texas..." I held up a hand. "That did it. Thanks, it's all coming back to me now." I remembered him now. Hans Werner, billionaire. He was almost a rich as Bill Gates, if I remembered the article I had read a few years ago correctly. He came to the USA with his parents from Nazi Germany during World War Two and built a small fortune into one of the largest business empires in the world. Very reclusive. Very high society. Why was he wanting to speak with a homicide cop from Houston? Ted interrupted my thoughts by hanging up the phone. "I have it. Carl said we were going to a place called "His Majesty's" over near the business district. We can catch a cab and be there in half an hour." The desk clerk startled a bit at the name. "I'm not sure how much good that will do you, Mister Stansbury. It burned down some time this morning. It was in the paper." "What?" We all asked. He reached under the counter and set the paper on the desk. The picture of a burned out building was on the cover. I read the story rapidly. The fire started about six am. No one was injured, but the police were calling it arson. We all looked at one another, a bit stunned. "Well," I said at last, "I guess that we will have to track down the owner tomorrow and find out who was working that night." Lisa looked a bit distressed. "But we have to be on the flight tomorrow morning! I have to be back to work." I waved my hand. "I'll move my flight back and you two can go home. I have a few more days of mandatory vacation time left and I can track it down." Ted frowned. "You're sure?" "It's fine," I assured him. "I love a good mystery. In any case, I have some news of my own." I passed them the invitation. "Jesus!" Lisa said after reading it. "Do you know who that is? He's richer than God!" Ted nodded his agreement. "A very powerful man," he added. "Do you want to go?" I asked. They nodded. "We need to go start getting ready right now," Lisa said insistently, dragging Ted toward the elevators. I smiled at the desk clerk. "They act so married, don't they?" He nodded and smiled, making me laugh. In an hour, we were dressed and outside the dining room. Lisa was in a sheath-like dress of dark blue. She looked fabulous. I was in my uncomfortable heels and the only other dress I had. A little back dress. It was slit up the side high enough that I didn't dare wear anything but a thong and the neckline plunged low enough to show off my average breasts as long as I had no bra on. Like now. I would have rather worn the other dress but it was still nasty. Ted was in his nice suit. The door was closed with a man in a suit standing outside it. A dark suit, like the secret service wore. And he was carrying in a shoulder holster. I shook my head and took the lead, handing him my note. "Shauna Hawkins and friends. We're expected." I said confidently. He nodded. "You're on the list, Detective. Please go right in." "Thanks." I opened the door and we stepped inside. The room was filled with people. The glitterati. The cream of society. There were more noses in the air than I could count and my clothes seemed tawdry. Those closest to the door turned to sniff at us. I felt my temper start to fray. Lisa took my hand and led us in, looking around. We moved into the crowd but didn't mix. Oil and water, I suppose. People eyed us curiously, and we were quickly labeled as the help. That was obvious when some dowager asked me to be a dear and run to get some more champagne from the kitchen. My snarl was cut off smoothly by an older man in a sharp gray suit. "Lieutenant Hawkins, I'm so pleased you could join me." "Are you Hans Werner?" I asked, a bit more abruptly than was probably wise with someone as powerful as he is, if it was him. "Yes," he answered, unperturbed by my sharp tone. "Please, come and join me at my table. It will be less crowded and more peaceful." He nodded to the now simpering older woman and led us through the crowd that seemed to part before him like the Red Sea. "You must be Lisa Davis and Ted Stansbury. I am so pleased to meet you both." The table we were going to was the only one in the room. Six chairs were set around it, but no one was sitting at it. Hans pulled out a chair for me and Ted sat Lisa. When Hans settled, a waiter appeared as if by magic to take our drink orders. "Can I get something to eat, as well?" I asked. "It's been a long day." "Of course! Anything you like," Hans answered. I ordered some wine and a sandwich. Ted and Lisa did the same. Hans ordered a brandy. "I'd order some Stansbury wine, but I doubt it is served so far from home," Ted joked. "I have tried it and found it very good," Hans admitted. "You make a fine wine, Ted. May I call you Ted? Lisa? Shauna?" They nodded and I shook my head. "Call me Hawk. Only my mother called me Shauna." "Of course," he nodded. "Hawk it is. I'm sure you are wondering why an old man like me asked you here. I must admit it is all curiosity on my part. I do hope you don't mind, but I have always been fascinated by crime and conspiracy. I've read the stories of what happened back home, and when I saw you here, I simply couldn't resist asking to hear about it in person. Will you oblige an old man in his whimsy?" I felt what heat I had melt away. He was so much like what I would imagine a grandfather would be that I couldn't hold his curiosity against him. A glance at Ted and Lisa told me they felt the same way. I nodded my head. "Sure. For you, anything." The next hour went by quickly. We told our stories, ate his food and answered his surprisingly sharp questions. A woman in her fifties, dressed to the hilt, short, thin and (to my mind) arrogant, walked over to the table. "Hans, the guests are getting restless. You should wrap up your little detective gathering and see to them." Her eyes raked over me and I could almost sense a silent sneer. An instant dislike gathered in my stomach. Hans didn't seem to notice the byplay. "Everyone, this is my wife, Kit. I actually should tend to seeing more people." He stood up and shook each of our hands. "Thank you for coming on such short notice and indulging an old man." He turned to Kit. "Have you seen Gretchen? She's very late and I do hope she won't miss out." The cold glitter in Kit's eyes flashed and was gone. "No dear, I suppose she must have found... other entertainment." This time, she did sniff. Hans turned red. "I won't have that! She is my daughter and ever since her mother passed away, she has been... Never mind." He bowed to us. "Please stay and enjoy the party. Thank you again." He stalked off. Kit looked down her nose at us. "Yes, please stay and enjoy yourselves. It's obvious that you won't get to mix with this class of people again anytime soon." She stalked off at a tangent to Hans and I started forward, ready to tear a strip off her. Lisa grabbed me. "Let it go, Hawk. That won't gain you anything. What a bitch!" Lisa said. "Screw them, let's blow this popsicle stand," I snarled, stalking back toward the entrance. People damned well got out of my way. A murderous glare pierced anyone too slow or too stupid to move fast enough. The door opened as we were coming up to it and I was stopped dead in my tracks at who came in. Ted bumped into me and stopped to stare right along with me. A tall woman, about my age came in. She was in a sheath dress like Lisa's, but in dark red. Unlike Lisa, hers was cut to flaunt her assets. The slits in the side came up so far she couldn't even be wearing a thong. The neckline plunged to the center of her stomach and showed a generous helping of her bra-less breasts. Generous breasts, shown almost to the nipples. Her blonde hair was piled high on her head and done in intricate rings. Her hourglass figure was hypnotizing. I could tell from her athletic legs, she either danced or did some other workout regularly. Her creamy skin seemed to glow with health. And she dripped sex appeal. Lisa poked me. "Close your mouth before something flies in, Hawk. You, too, Ted." My mouth snapped shut, but I couldn't stop looking at her. She was like nothing I had ever seen in person. I was so blown away, that I gawked. She smiled and walked slowly toward me. The sway of her hips flashing fire in my stomach. Her smile was like the sun. "You don't look like you belong in this gathering of old sticks." Her hand took mine, though I wasn't sure that my hand was answering my brain. "I'm..." From my left, Kit zipped into view and almost shoved me back to confront the Goddess in front of me. "Gretchen, you slut," she hissed. "Take your whore ass right back out that door this instant!" Gretchen just smiled. "Well, well, if it isn't the wicked bitch of the west. Why don't you just run off and make sure Daddy hasn't hooked up with someone else and dropped your sorry ass." She looked at us and said, "Don't mind my stepmother. A house fell on her sister." Kit slapped her, hard. Gretchen turned back slowly and her eyes sparkled with hate. "If someone found you dead, would anyone blame me? I could kill you and no jury would convict me." She shoved Kit and the older woman stumbled back before howling and throwing herself into Gretchen. They went down in a tumble of scratches and hair pulling. -- Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: | | FAQ: Moderators: | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |ASSM Archive at Hosted by | |Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}| +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+