Act Normal, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 9

then you'll have to sleep together."

  I looked at Tehra. She was smiling. I shrugged. "Okay, We'll take it."

  The room wasn't anything fancy but it was tolerable. I turned on the TV and Tehra went into the bathroom. When she came out a few moments later she had changed into a pink pajama set with shorts and a tank top. My mouth fell open.

  “You brought pajamas?”

  She shrugged. “I like to be prepared for all eventualities.”

  Her legs were long and tanned. My pulse quickened. She moved quickly in behind me and started unbuttoning my shirt. I grabbed her hands.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just hold still,” she demanded as she jerked her hands free.

  I felt her inspecting my back. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in my shoulder. I jerked away and twisted around to look at her angrily. “Hey! That—”

  She was holding up with a pair of tweezers what looked like a small electronic chip. She handed me a tissue to wipe the blood that was trickling down my shoulder. The wound hurt like hell. "What did you do? What is that?"

  She put a finger across her mouth and climbed off the bed. I watched her in wonder as she took the device and set it on the air conditioning unit. When she returned, she pointed to her own shoulder and handed me a small knife and the pair of tweezers. My stomach turned at the thought of performing surgery on her. She pointed to a spot on her shoulder impatiently and then braced herself for the pain. I could see a dark spot which I assumed was the target of my surgery. I quivered slightly and then made a tiny incision above the chip. Then I plunged the tweezers into the hole and felt around carefully for the chip—trying not to cause Tehra too much pain. Once I had found it and gotten a grip on it, I pulled it out quickly.

  Tehra took the tweezers from me without letting loose of the chip and placed it next to mine on the air conditioner.

  When she got back to the bed she brought a tube of some sort of cream. She took a little and rubbed it on my shoulder where she'd made the incision. The pain immediately subsided. She motioned for me to put some on her incision, so I did.

  She laughed. "That better?"

  "Yes, what is that stuff?"

  "Healing ointment. It's good for minor cuts and scratches. By morning you won't even be able to see where I took out the chip."

  "Hmm."

  "The hum from the air conditioner ought to give them a good headache, don't you think?"

  "But won't they be suspicious?" I asked marveling at what she had done.

  She shrugged. "We're entitled to a little privacy, don't you think."

  "Sure, but—"

  "They'll just think there's some interference. It happens all the time."

  She put her finger over my mouth to end any further discussion of the matter and slipped behind me one more time. This time I felt nothing but pure pleasure.

  "Now I can give you a proper rub," she said matter-of-factly. "And we can talk candidly for a change.

  I sighed. "Sounds good to—oh, that feels so good. Ahhhh."

  "Just relax," Tehra said as she worked. "Breathe deeply."

  I started to respond but her caressing hands felt so good I could scarcely talk. They glided over every inch of my back and shoulders with expert precision. All the tension and anxiety that had been festering within me for months vanished. When she was done, she turned me over and started to unbuckle my pants. I grabbed her hands and stopped her.

  "That was great, Tehra. “I feel much better, but we should stop before we do something we'll regret."

  "I wouldn't regret anything we did," she replied.

  "Okay, then we better stop before we do something I'll regret."

  She sighed and rolled off me sitting Indian style on her side of the king size bed. "I don't understand why you don't want to have sex with me. Don't you like me?"

  "I do like you and having sex with you would be great, but I'm married. . . . Don't you feel bad about cheating on your mate?" I asked.

  "No. I'm not cheating. He can't get me pregnant, so I have no choice but to find someone who can."

  She said it as if it were an obvious fact. Our worlds were so different. It made sense, though. I could understand how fertility would be paramount on Tarizon, but this was Earth.

  "You want me to get you pregnant?".

  "Yes, of course. Every woman on Tarizon has a duty to get pregnant. I'm getting old and I have no offspring. I can't go home without at least one child."

  I looked at Tehra with wonder and amazement. Giving her what she wanted would be so easy. She looked at me with such expectation. It seemed so surreal to be alone with a woman from another world. This had to be a dream. Her deep blue eyes beckoned me and all my resistance melted away. I leaned over and ran my fingers through her smooth black hair. She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a wry smile.

  Her skin was white as milk and without a single blemish. I wanted to touch it, to feel its texture. How could I be sitting next to a woman from another planet and not examine her? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I reached out and ran my hand down her cheek. It was as smooth as silk. She turned her head and kissed my fingers.

  My gaze went to her breasts and down to her stomach. I hadn't noticed it before but she had two slits on either side below her breasts. They were about eight inches long and opened and closed as she breathed. I lowered my hand and ran my finger across one of them. Tehra began to moan.

  "What is that?" I said softly.

  "A slova, but you would probably call it a gill," she replied. "I'm one-eighth Seafolken."

  "Seafolken?" I asked.

  "Yes, that is a race of humans on Tarizon who live in the sea. They are a superior race so it is a great honor to be part Seafolken." She extended her legs and spread her toes. There was a thin membrane between them. I stared at them in shock.

  "So, you're a good swimmer then," I stuttered.

  She laughed. "Oh, yes. I can swim half as fast as I can run and I can stay underwater for nearly ten minutes."

  "Jesus!"

  "So, do my fins turn you off, as they say here on Earth?"

  "No, not at all. They're kind of cute. It's just that I've never seen anything like this before. It's going to take a little getting used to."

  She retracted her toes and pulled her legs up to her chest. She seemed a little depressed. "Can I touch them," I asked.

  She gave me an amused look and then extended her legs again and laid back on the bed so she was lying flat on her back. I crawled over and began examining her feet carefully. The skin was tough and a little course. I ran my fingers over every inch of them. When I looked up, her eyes were closed. She seemed to be enjoying my explorations so I ran my hands along her thighs looking for other parts of her anatomy that might be different, but everything else looked normal.

  I felt bad that I'd given her such a clinical examination when the only thing on her mind was getting pregnant. I couldn't give her what she wanted obviously, but I decided it wouldn't hurt to at least show a little tenderness. I crawled up beside her, leaned over, and kissed her gently on the lips. That was my big mistake. Her eyes opened and she smiled up at me. Then before I could pull away she'd wrapped her hands behind my neck, pulled her lips to mine, and plunged her long reptilian tongue into my mouth. I felt a needle-like prick and then an incredibly wonderful feeling came over me. I tried to move but I my body wouldn't respond. Soon I drifted off into unconsciousness.

 

 

  24

  Funding

  Paula Waters

  When I got to the office on Friday, I looked in on Stan and Tehra to see what they were up to and discovered they were working frantically on Ben Stover's chapter 11. There were records strewn all over the big conference room and Stan was barking orders to Maria while Tehra was pouring through a tax return looking for something Stan needed. I decided not to interrupt them.

  I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked back to my office to check
my messages. The phone slip clip was bulging as usual. I pulled them off and began sorting through them. They all looked uninteresting except one that stuck out like a coyote in a chicken coop. It was from Ricardo Richmond and there were two big dollar signs next to his name. In the main body of the message it said he was calling about the Walter Stanley defense fund. I quickly dialed the number. It was the law office of Richmond, Jones, Fennell & Smith. I asked to speak to Mr. Richmond. The receptionist put me through the usual screening drill and then let me through.

  "Ms. Waters. Thank you for returning my call."

  "Well. All those dollar signs intrigued me."

  He laughed. "Yes, that trick always works."

  "So, what's this about the Walter Stanley Defense Fund?"

  "Oh, yes. I got a call from someone who is very interested in insuring that your client gets a fair trial. I'm sure there are others who feel the same way, so this person thought it would be good to set up a trust to help fund his defense. They have asked me to be trustee and I have on my desk as we speak a check in the amount of $25,000."

  "Wow! I'm speechless."

  "Well, I doubt that, Ms. Waters. I happen to know you were expecting a spontaneous outpouring of support for your client. Anyway, according to the terms of the trust I'm to pay any bills you send me for costs and expenses incurred in Mr. Stanley's defense."

  "Twenty-five thousand, huh?"

  "Yes, of course, that's just an initial contribution. I'm sure other contributions will be forthcoming if the need for them arises."

  "Well, you know how a murder trial can go. I'm afraid it could get expensive."

  "That's okay. Just keep your receipts. My