Read Online Femme Noir by Clara Nipper - Free Book Online Page A

saw her rise and throw her trash away and get a refill on her strawberry soda. She sat and took a long gulp.
    “You got a cigarette?” I asked desperately.
    “Don’t smoke.”
    I sighed. “Neither do I. Okay, what don’t I know about Michelle?”
    “More like, what do you know?”
    “Nothing?” I guessed.
    Sloane grinned and touched her nose. “The chick is nasty. She’s a liar.” Sloane let that sink in. “She’s never even been to Oakland or Madison. And she ain’t poor. Her family is one of the wealthiest in town, maybe the state. The McKerrs. Heard of them? Oil dynasty. She disowned them long ago over some scandal and has been grifting ever since. They disowned her right back. I think everybody was after Michelle for one reason or another. I heard she tried her hand at some powerful blackmail. A senator or something. Blood to her daddy. She’s never worked a day in her life, just a scammer. She lived off you, didn’t she?”
    “Yeah, but she was going to school, she worked part-time, she was gonna—”
    “No, she wasn’t. That’s played. Check it, man. She’s a student who ain’t never spent an hour in class. She fed that line to every girlfriend she’s ever had. She gets some old textbooks on the cheap and she stays gone at the same time every few days and nobody is the wiser. Why did you break up?”
    “She stole from me, I cheated on her.”
    “Nice. Guarantee she cheated on you too. While she was supposed to be in class, she was hooking up and gettin’ her freak on.”
    “How do you know all this?”
    “Been knowing her and her family all my life. We went to school together.”
    “You went to school together? She’s that rich and went to public school?”
    “No.” Sloane appraised me coolly. “I went to private school. Hated every minute.”
    “How do I know you’re not lying?”
    “You don’t.” Sloane shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t think it’s my place to tell you. But you can always check on what I’ve said and it will hold up. Just like anything Michelle ever told you will break down if you look.”
    “I’m kind of doing the amateur sleuth thing. Is there anyone else who might know more?”
    “A regular gumshoe all the way from LA.” Sloane leaned forward. “What do you think you’re gonna find out? Where your money is? Who she sold your soul to?” Sloane laughed. “Her roommate might have something for you.”
    “Roommate?” My eyes sharpened. “Roommate or roommate? ”
    “What do you care? You broke up. She’s dead, and you’re on to better things. Am I right?”
    “Well…”
    “Her name’s Amber. She works at this freaky bookstore, Light and Love. The landlord kicked her outta her place ’cause Michelle didn’t pay the rent, so I don’t know where she’s staying, but you can catch her at work.”
    “I thought Michelle was staying with you?”
    “She was because she had moved out of their place and stiffed Amber, which I did not know. With everything that has happened, my old place gives me the creeps. I won’t live there anymore. Amber is flaky about living quarters, so try her at the bookstore.”
    My head was reeling. But when Sloane stood to leave, I had the presence of mind to grab her solid arm and say, “Hey, I might need to get hold of you again. Can I get your number?”
    Sloane grinned and said, “You can reach me at Max’s.” She patted my shoulder and left. I gritted my teeth. Was this the butch who kept Max? Was Max all hers? Images of their sex haunted me and made me miserable in a million ways and completely oblivious to the large family behind me. I pictured Sloane’s strong, dark hand sliding up Max’s plump, pale, parted thighs. I imagined all the things Sloane would make Max do. Take that off; no, let me rip it off you. Come here. On your knees. Sloane getting a handful of Max’s hair and making her arch until her raspberry nipples reached for the ceiling. Chocolate fist, auburn hair, the colors in my mind were