But it’s not the first time Jaz and I have been at the houses of the rich and famous, and when we come closer to the double doors that lead to the inner bowels of the building, memories of an old crime come floating back up. TKB, the kissing bandit was infamous for breaking into the the most exclusive of houses and steal the panties off the sleeping ladies of the mansions. Though we never found his hide out, he sent us pictures of his panty-wall, each pair of panties displayed there, had a name and date. The tabloids had a fieldday when the received the pics and discovered the hidden secrets of the dames of Achat City.
Before either of us can touch the bell, the door is opened by a man, classically dressed as a butler. His arrogant look elts like snow in the sun when he sees our badges and quickly he lets us step inside.
“I will see if mr Temperance can receive guests. Please wait in the lobby”
Without waiting for an answer, he turns and walks off with a determination as if he owns the mansion. Jaszmin parks herself on one of the leather seats in the lobby and picks up a beauty magazine, flipping through the pages until she reaches a lingerie section. Her voice calls me to her just as I was about to pick up a leaflet that caught my on one of the tables placed decoratively in the room.
“Johnny-boy, take a look at this? Wouldn;t you love to see me wear this?”
I lean over her shoulder and look at the sexy set she pionts out in the magazine, momentarily distracted by her deep cleavage, an extra button opened while we were still in the car. The preparation to meet mr Temperance, also known as mr Playboy, her skirt is hiked up another 3 inches, allowing almost to see her slim panties when she crosses her legs. I am tempted to kiss her soft neck, but aware of being at work, I just let my warm breath slide over her skin, seeing her nipples peak in reaction to the soft brush of warm air.
“Most definitly Jaz, go and order so you can wear it for me this weekend.”
She looks up and mouths a thank you when the doors open and the butler returns.
“Mr Temperance will see you now, detectives. If you would please follow me?”
Again he simply turns and heads out the hall, through wildly decorated double doors, down a corridor with large glass windows covering one side, the other plain white, only decorated with a ‘Venus de Milo’ reproduction as centerpiece. Two double doors ar at the end of the corridor and while he knocks, the butler opens the door and announces our arrival.
“Mr Temperance, the two officers of the NSPD, detective Venice and Strike”
As we enter the room, behind an enormeous oak, antique desk, Baz luhrman is leaning back in his leather desk chair. The slothful, puffy face, thick wet lips hanging down, give him the look of a bulldog, almost expecting drizzles of slime to drop from the corners of his mouth. The figure of his body adds to the likeness, thgick stubby fingers, his wrists undetectable, his blown up stmach resting against the edge of his desk, even in his reclined postion. His study is located at the back of the main building and the floor-to-ceiling sliding windows offer a stunning look on Achat City to one side, and the bay with the marina on the other. The ‘Mathilda’ can even be seen as a little white spot hugging the kay, surrounded by the aqua blue of the water.
“Show them in Jeeves”
The butler steps inside the room and waits for us to enter and immediatly Jaz and I let our eyes flash through the room, a habit that all cops have when the enter a new location.. The office is almost empty, just a big desk to the left of the center, offering a look out the windows but set to the side not to dominate the room. The main focus of attention is a long table on wheels, with the slender, naked figure of an asian looking girl stretched out on a black satin sheet. Decorated with sushi and fruits, her body is used as a living plate. The girl lays perfectly still, just her chest rising and falling, her gaze locked in with nothing particular on the ceiling. Her delicacies are hidden with the food displayed on her sensuous frame, though the glance of mr Temperance on her body tell us that this is only temporary. He pushes himself from his chair, his puffy face turning red with the effort.
“Good afternoon detectives, nasty business on the Mathilda. How can I help you with your investigation?”
The voice of Baz Temperance is surprisingly pleasant, a deep, warm timbre making it pleasant to listen to him, without the need of understanding each word he says. The charming tone and depth of his voice are complimented with deep, warm brown eyes. It’s not surprising this man has ruled the toy-industry of Nymphomania, his charm is overwhelming. Mr temperance laid the foundation for his riches with producing condoms, waited for his brand to become a Brand, and then started to expand and advertise additional products like massaging and lubrication gels, simple vibrators and cock sleeves that were sold over the counter of drugstores and supermarkets, instead of the dodgt sexshops where usually such items were purchased.With breaking the taboo on these products and marketing them in places reachable for everyone, he made it to the top of richest and most influential people of Nymphomania.
“Good afternoon mr Temperance, how galant of you to see us. We understand you are a very busy man, so we will keep it short.”
Jaszmin takes a step forward, blocks the sushi girl from the view of mr Temperance, modeling her body in such a way that her luscious figure becomes the focuspoint of the corpulent man. His eyes start to glisten as he looks her over, lingering longer at her chest and the curve of her buttocks then meets her eyes again with a dastardly smile on his lips. In my mind I immediatly see a picture of him rubbing his hands, eager to mount Jaz from behind after he tied her naked to the bed. With a shrug of my shoulders I banish the picture from my mind and look around while Jaz focusses on mr Temperance.
“Where were you last night mr Temperance? We understand from your wife that you were here?”
“Yes, I spent the night at the lodge, as I usually do in this time of year. The marina is too hot for my taste, I’d rather be between the trees”
“I am sure that with all this staff around, it will be no problem for anyone to vouche for your presence, mr Temperance?”
Jaz intensifies her look, cold and piercing, but is met with a growing smile on mr. Temperance’s face. Slowly he steps passed her, making sure he rubs against her arm, then picks up a set of chopsticks and lifts a piece of nori maki from the girl’s pelvis. He dips the little roll into her belly button, soaking it with soy sauce before he quickly slips it into his mouth.
“No, that will be no problem. You can ask my secretary, ms Facile. She will tell you I spent the night in her bed”
I see the surpressed surprise in Jaz’s eyes as she hears his blatant confession of adultry, but she adjusts perfectly. I smile, she’s getting to be a great detective. I see her move again, stepping closer to mr Temperance, drawing his attention away to the delicious girl stretched ou on the table.
“Do you have records of the crew of the Mathilda? It is possible that one of them organised this burglary. As it does seem organised with the evidence we have gathered so far.”
“I doubt anyone in the crew organised this, I hired them myself and onlt very rarely do I make a mistake in that regard. But I will have the records sent to the precinct.”
Mr. Temperance moves past Jaszmin again, this time brushing his shoulder against her breast as he leans in again and picks off another sushi, this time revealing the sex of the girl, partially hidden in the shadows of her thighs. While he dips into her belly button again, he keeps his eyes locked in with the smooth, clean shaved area between her legs while the girl keeps her gaze locked at the ceiling, not even flinching under his look.
“We were not able to find anything missing on the Mathilda. Have you heard from your crew that something was taken?”
“No, they informed me that everything was still there, not even the fridge was touched. Just a big mess, made worse by the crime scene technicians. But I guess they just had to do their job.”
“Have you ever been at the Achat Bar & Grill, mr Temperance?”
I take over the questions from Jaszmin as I feel her look, seeing mr. Temperance lean up again, deliberately brushing his arm against Jaszmin, his move interrupted as he turns to me and looks into my eyes.
“I’m not sure where I go out has a direct link with the burglary, do you? But to answer your question, The Ice House is more a place for me.”
“We have information that suggests there is a link with the Bar and Grill, mr. Temperance. And we are looking at it from all angles. I think that for now we know enough, please call us if you think of something that might help our case.”
Reading the body language of mr. Temperance, I feel that he is more interetsed in the features of mypartner and the girl on the table, as in answering our questions. The fact that his ship was used for an orgy, doesn’t seem to disturb him. Maybe not surprising for a man that spent almost his whole life emerged in sex. Through his products and his apparant sex drive. If he is connected with the crime, he is hiding it extremely well.
“Actually, there is something that might be of interest. I received this in the mail a few days back. I have no idea what it means…”
He shuffles behind his desk and opens a drawer. He pulls out an envelop, takes out a pice of paper and lays it down on the desk. Then he steps back to let us have a look.
“It’s just a bunch of numbers and math has never been my forté. I have always been better at physical activites.”
He grins as Jaszmin leans in over the paper, eyeing her cleavage while she looks at the piece of paper…