Read Online Murder on a Hot Tin Roof by Amanda Matetsky - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Amanda Matetsky
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well-built, most sexy guys of all. A lot of them live in the Village and a whole flock of them live right here on Christopher Street. They’re always prancing by these windows on their way to and from one place or another.
“On normal days,” she went on, “there’s a constant parade out there. And all these chairs and tables here, right inside the windows? They’re like the bleachers. On normal days they’re packed with enthusiastic . . . uh . . . spectators.”
“What do you mean by normal days?”
“I mean days when it isn’t over a hundred goddamn degrees in the shade. And when it’s not the Fourth of July weekend. The bleachers and the runway are deserted today because every homo who has two nickels to rub together is out on Fire Island. And all the others are tucked away at home, sitting naked in front of the fan and soaking their feet in ice water.”
Or being grilled about a murder by a hotheaded homicide detective , I brooded, thinking of Willy.
Abby started chowing down again. “So, what’s your excuse?” she asked between mouthfuls. “Why did you want to come here? You certainly aren’t in the market for a homosexual lover. Or a male model. And don’t give me that crap about how it looked like a nice place to eat, either. Because it doesn’t. And it isn’t. The food stinks to high heaven,” she said, forking a huge pile of gray string beans into her mouth.
I nibbled on my roll and took a sip of iced tea. “It was something Willy said,” I told her. “He mentioned that Gray had been bussing tables here. I thought I’d check the place out and see if that was true.”
“It was true all right. I could have told you that. Jeez, Paige, why didn’t you just ask me? I would have given you the dope, and then we wouldn’t have had to come here to eat!” She took another bite of meatloaf and chomped it eagerly.
“So you knew that Gray worked here?”
“Of course I did. This is where I met him. I was about to start working on a new illustration, and I needed a new model, so I came here to check out the chicken run. But then I saw Gray clearing the tables, and I really dug the way he looked, so I skipped the whole sidewalk show and asked him to pose for me. I had just landed a cover assignment from Real Men magazine.”
“So what did he say? Did he accept?”
“In a flash.”
“When did this happen?”
“Oh, a couple of years ago. Right after Gray moved from Brooklyn to the Village. Both of his parents were killed in a car accident, so he packed up his meager belongings and moved to the city to start a new life—to pursue the acting career his parents had never approved of. He was working as a busboy just to pay the rent while he took acting lessons and went on auditions. When I offered him ten dollars to pose for me, he pounced on it like a hungry tomcat.”
“Ten dollars an hour? Wasn’t that a little high for somebody with no modeling experience?”
“Well, yeah, but Gray was so gorgeous he was worth it.” Her eyes lit up and her lips curled into a sinful smile. “He was worth it in other ways, too.”
Oh, brother , I groaned to myself. Doesn’t her libido ever take a nap?
“Other ways?” I said, widening my eyes in imitation innocence. “What other ways do you mean?” Though I knew all-too-well what Abby was hinting at, I wanted to make her say it. That way, she couldn’t get mad and accuse me of making snide remarks about her sex life.
“Oh, shut up, Paige!” she snapped. “You know exactly what I mean. And your cute little Shirley Temple act is getting on my nerves.”
Curses, foiled again.
“I slept with Gray once or twice,” she went on, “and that’s all there was to it. He was a good lay and a great model. We didn’t stay lovers for long, but we did remain friends. He kept on modeling for me, too.”
“So, Gray wasn’t a homosexual?”
“No way, Doris Day!”
“But he worked here at Stewart’s,” I said, wondering
“On normal days,” she went on, “there’s a constant parade out there. And all these chairs and tables here, right inside the windows? They’re like the bleachers. On normal days they’re packed with enthusiastic . . . uh . . . spectators.”
“What do you mean by normal days?”
“I mean days when it isn’t over a hundred goddamn degrees in the shade. And when it’s not the Fourth of July weekend. The bleachers and the runway are deserted today because every homo who has two nickels to rub together is out on Fire Island. And all the others are tucked away at home, sitting naked in front of the fan and soaking their feet in ice water.”
Or being grilled about a murder by a hotheaded homicide detective , I brooded, thinking of Willy.
Abby started chowing down again. “So, what’s your excuse?” she asked between mouthfuls. “Why did you want to come here? You certainly aren’t in the market for a homosexual lover. Or a male model. And don’t give me that crap about how it looked like a nice place to eat, either. Because it doesn’t. And it isn’t. The food stinks to high heaven,” she said, forking a huge pile of gray string beans into her mouth.
I nibbled on my roll and took a sip of iced tea. “It was something Willy said,” I told her. “He mentioned that Gray had been bussing tables here. I thought I’d check the place out and see if that was true.”
“It was true all right. I could have told you that. Jeez, Paige, why didn’t you just ask me? I would have given you the dope, and then we wouldn’t have had to come here to eat!” She took another bite of meatloaf and chomped it eagerly.
“So you knew that Gray worked here?”
“Of course I did. This is where I met him. I was about to start working on a new illustration, and I needed a new model, so I came here to check out the chicken run. But then I saw Gray clearing the tables, and I really dug the way he looked, so I skipped the whole sidewalk show and asked him to pose for me. I had just landed a cover assignment from Real Men magazine.”
“So what did he say? Did he accept?”
“In a flash.”
“When did this happen?”
“Oh, a couple of years ago. Right after Gray moved from Brooklyn to the Village. Both of his parents were killed in a car accident, so he packed up his meager belongings and moved to the city to start a new life—to pursue the acting career his parents had never approved of. He was working as a busboy just to pay the rent while he took acting lessons and went on auditions. When I offered him ten dollars to pose for me, he pounced on it like a hungry tomcat.”
“Ten dollars an hour? Wasn’t that a little high for somebody with no modeling experience?”
“Well, yeah, but Gray was so gorgeous he was worth it.” Her eyes lit up and her lips curled into a sinful smile. “He was worth it in other ways, too.”
Oh, brother , I groaned to myself. Doesn’t her libido ever take a nap?
“Other ways?” I said, widening my eyes in imitation innocence. “What other ways do you mean?” Though I knew all-too-well what Abby was hinting at, I wanted to make her say it. That way, she couldn’t get mad and accuse me of making snide remarks about her sex life.
“Oh, shut up, Paige!” she snapped. “You know exactly what I mean. And your cute little Shirley Temple act is getting on my nerves.”
Curses, foiled again.
“I slept with Gray once or twice,” she went on, “and that’s all there was to it. He was a good lay and a great model. We didn’t stay lovers for long, but we did remain friends. He kept on modeling for me, too.”
“So, Gray wasn’t a homosexual?”
“No way, Doris Day!”
“But he worked here at Stewart’s,” I said, wondering
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