Juicy Secrets Forbidden Tales of Lesbian Love

For a brief description of what takes place in each of the previous chapters, visit this page.

For a list of the characters from the story you are now reading, visit this page. 

For a list of the characters from the previous two stories that you will encounter here as well, visit this page.

And now, dear readers, we make our way into the next installment. Read on…

by Rachael Yukey

It’s a nightmare, it’s a nightmare
She just won’t let me out of sight
It’s a nightmare, it’s a nightmare
She’s laughing in the dead of night
Gillan, 1981

Patty Spisak sat frozen, staring into Vicky Hanson’s eyes. Desire warred with fear, the latter fed by her instinctual avoidance of intimacy. It had taken her most of middle school to cease having panic attacks over the prospect of a hug, and this was something much, much bigger.

The guilt she still felt over the cruel remarks she and Sarah Spencer had made about Vicky and her big sister was not helping. Maybe Vicky had forgiven her, but for Patty, forgiving herself was another matter. If she gave it so much as a moment’s thought, her habitual inferiority complex gave way to outright self-loathing, making her want to curl up in a ball and die.

The way Vicky was caressing her cheek had Patty tingling deliciously, and the warmth of the pink-haired teen’s smile was equally enticing. But aroused though she was, the little voice in the back of Patty’s mind wouldn’t be silenced. What you did was stupid, and worse, it was mean. You don’t deserve this, you don’t deserve ANYTHING, you should just—

All of this flashed through her mind in less than a second, while Vicky’s question still hung in the air—which would it be, a kiss or a movie?

Enough! Patty silently hissed at that hateful little demon who lurked at the back of her mind. It was a trick her therapist had taught her. You have no power over me. She was already feeling calmer. None. So shut. The fuck. UP!

Giving her head a hard little shake, she leaned forward. “I t-think a kiss sounds like a lot more fun,” she murmured.

Vicky’s smile got bigger, and her thumb moved to brush across her tall friend’s lips. That simple caress was all it took for Patty’s considerable arousal to take control, driving the mind-demon back into her cave—at least for now. Her paralysis broke. She reached out to cup Vicky’s cheeks between trembling hands.

Vicky closed the last few inches between them, pressing her mouth against Patty’s. Despite the buildup, the contact caught Patty a trifle off-guard, with her lips parted slightly. The question of whether to close them or leave them open was over almost before it took form. Vicky answered it by taking Patty’s lower lip between both of hers, then Patty simply gave herself over to the moment.

Deciding to be brave, she caressed Vicky’s upper lip with hers. Vicky was quick to respond, her body shivering, her tongue darting forward to tease Patty’s bottom lip.

The effect was like a dash of kerosene on burning coals. Patty’s already considerable ardor instantly flared into an urgent, all-consuming need. More than this, Vicky’s response gave Patty a welcome surge of confidence.

Patty experimentally flicked her tongue across Vicky’s upper lip. Vicky’s mouth opened wider in response, and their tongues met. For once, Patty found herself not thinking, not analyzing, just feeling, allowing events to unfold without fear. She even made the next move, using the tip of her tongue to caress Vicky’s in a circular motion.

Vicky responded in kind, and Patty let her take the lead. The kiss rapidly escalated from tentative to eager, their mouths crushed together, tongues engaged in a lusty dance. Vicky slung both arms around the taller girl’s shoulders, while Patty’s hands moved from Vicky’s cheeks to the back of her head, fingers twisting into pink-dyed hair.

Finally they parted. Opening her eyes, Patty spied Crissy over Vicky’s shoulder. The blonde’s cheeks were flushed, her breath shallow.

Crissy saw Patty looking and flashed a sheepish grin. “I’m not even gay,” Crissy breathed, “but that was hot.”

Vicky twisted to look back at Crissy. “Care to try it?”

Crissy’s look turned contemplative. “I’ve never even kissed a girl before—”

“Well,” said Vicky, “now’s your chance.”

Patty took care to keep her conflicting emotions from showing. The idea of watching Crissy and Vicky kiss was oddly compelling, but it was accompanied by a tinge of insecurity. At least Crissy has kissed someone before—how can I compete with that? She was sure to come off second-rate by comparison.

Vicky had already turned away from her, moving inexorably closer to Crissy. To Patty’s eyes, the two seemed almost magnetically drawn together, and she braced herself for the disappointment that had always defined what little social life she had, that feeling of always being the least important person in the room.

Vicky’s mouth closed over Crissy’s. The two kissed hesitantly at first, then with a growing confidence. It was a long, leisurely kiss, but without the raw passion that had occurred between Vicky and Patty.

Despite feeling somewhat marginalized, Patty had to admit that watching Vicky and Crissy kiss was getting her even more excited. She rested a hand on Vicky’s waist, waiting as patiently as she could.

The girls finally parted. Crissy gave her head a quick little shake. “Nice!” she breathed.

“As good as with a guy?” Vicky inquired, a teasing note in her voice.

“Different,” said Crissy, drawing in a shuddering breath. “But nice. I like them both.”

“Good.” Vicky turned around to face Patty again. “Now I want to watch you two kiss. If you want to, that is.”

Reaching across Vicky’s lap, Crissy placed her hand on Patty’s wrist. “Do you want to?”

Once again, Patty found herself locked in a brief internal conflict. She did want it, she wanted it all, but was dangerously close to an overstimulated state in which she’d simply shut down. She struggled with her fear for a few heartbeats, then threw caution to the wind. “Yeah,” she got out.

Crissy leaned across Vicky’s lap, and Patty met her halfway. There was no tentativeness in Crissy’s kiss; she met Patty boldly, mouth open. Patty decided to respond in kind, slipping her tongue into the blonde girl’s mouth. Patty felt Vicky’s fingertips tease her spine from behind, and found that to be even more exciting than the kiss. That feeling of overstimulation was slipping away, replaced by an elation that sat comfortably alongside her arousal. She was kissing and being kissed, being touched and enjoying it, and for this moment, Patty felt like the queen of the universe.

Then Crissy broke away, eyes shining, breath ragged. “Can I see you two kiss again? I loved watching that!”

Patty didn’t have to be told twice. This time she took the initiative, cupping Vicky’s chin in her palm and bringing their mouths together. Vicky was ready and then some, throwing both arms around the taller girl and drawing her close.

Deepening their kiss, Patty shifted her hands to Vicky’s waist, fingertips restlessly sliding back and forth just above the waistband of her friend’s fuzzy pajama bottoms. Without really meaning to, she tugged Vicky’s top up to caress the smooth bare skin underneath. Patty almost froze up when she realized what she was doing, but Vicky’s blissful purr made it clear that the girl enjoyed being touched.

But before Patty could take things further, Vicky’s lips were tracing her jawline, then moving down to the nape of the neck. A warm, soft mouth was brushing her sensitive skin, leaving kisses and playful love bites along the way.

Patty felt as if jolts of electric current were running from her neck, flowing straight down to what she thought of as the lady place. Her panties were wet enough to wring out like a washcloth.

Opening her eyes, the first thing Patty saw was Vicky’s ear, a few inches away from her mouth. On impulse, she captured the lobe between her teeth, giving it a light nip. A low moan escaped Vicky’s lips. Emboldened, Patty began nibbling her way up the back of the ear, reaching up to delicately trace the back of her friend’s neck with feather-light fingertips.

Vicky was moaning softly, slipping a hand beneath Patty’s plain white pajama top, her fingertips sliding across the taller girl’s belly.

Crissy chose this moment to heave herself from the couch, edge her way around the coffee table and perch on the edge of the love seat, staring wide-eyed at the two girls making out on the sofa.

Disengaging, they both turned to look at her. “You okay, Crissy?” Vicky got out. Her voice was slightly hoarse.

Crissy chuckled. “Just wanted a better view, is all. I’m enjoying the hell out of this.”

Vicky’s eyebrows went up. “You can’t really join in from there, though. Don’t you want to?”

“I’m having more fun just looking, I think. How weird is that?”

“That depends on how far this goes,” said Patty, then clapped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks coloring.

“Relax, Pats,” said Vicky. “It’s a good question, actually—what’s everyone here comfortable with?”

Patty let her hand drop into her lap, giving Vicky a grateful smile.

“I have a feeling that if I wasn’t here, you two would already be bare-ass naked,” Crissy declared. She let out a bark of laughter. “If you’re holding back because of me—well, don’t, okay?”

“Oh, I want to tear this girl apart,” Vicky confirmed. “You too, actually—but I don’t want to do anything anyone isn’t okay with.”

“What do you want to do, Patty?” asked Crissy.

“I just—” Patty hesitated, then plunged ahead. “I wanna follow this road as far as it goes. I’m so—you know—”

“Turned on. We all are,” said Crissy. “My only thing—we know where this is going, and it’s making me crazy hot, but I’m honestly not sure if I’m ready to do stuff with another girl just yet.” She grinned. “Guess I’m bi-curious, just not bi-ready.”

“So we stop here and watch a movie—?” said Vicky, challenge in her tone.

I knew it was too good to be true; Patty did her best to hide her disappointment. Later for other stuff, she admonished herself. She strongly sensed that there would be a later, that Vicky wanted it as much as she did. Then Crissy surprised her.

“No, I don’t mean that,” she said. “I’m totally getting off on this. Maybe that’s weird, but we’re all getting our freak on, right? Maybe that’s mine tonight. Can I just hang out and watch while you guys do—whatever?”

Vicky answered by trailing her fingertips up Patty’s arm. The tall, thin girl didn’t even try to suppress a delicious shiver. Leaning in, she planted soft kisses across Vicky’s eyebrow. With a shuddering sigh, Vicky allowed her eyes to drift shut.

“That’s so fucking hot,” Crissy murmured. “Wanna go to my room, so we have some space to get comfy?” Without waiting for an answer, she got to her feet.

Hand in hand, Vicky and Patty followed the shapely blonde down the hall. The moment the door was closed behind them, Vicky turned to the gangly brunette and pulled her close, standing on tiptoe to kiss her.

There was no more hesitation on Patty’s part. Placing one hand on the small of Vicky’s back and the other on her neck, she bent the shorter girl backwards, returning her kiss with a ferocity she’d not have thought herself capable of.

Vicky fumbled for the hem of Patty’s t-shirt, pulling the garment up as high as she was able.

Patty experienced a momentary twinge at the thought of having her breasts on display, but shoved her fears aside. Definitely NOT the time to be shy, girl. Taking a step back, she wriggled her top up and off, then dropped it to the floor. Fighting an impulse to fold both arms over her chest, she stood motionless, yet trembling inside as she let her friends look, desperately hoping they liked what they saw.

Despite being only fifteen and remarkably thin, Patty’s breasts were ripe, round, and full. Vicky ran both hands up the softness of Patty’s belly until she was cupping them, her fingers caressing and teasing. With a rapturous sigh, Patty closed her eyes and tipped her head back. When Vicky’s thumbs brushed her nipples, she whimpered, “Oh, my God,” and went up on her toes.

Now Vicky was wrapping her arms around the tall girl, moving forward to take the tip of a breast into her mouth. Patty buried her face in the petite girl’s pink hair and moaned as Vicky swirled her tongue around the stiffening nipple. A moment later, Vicky switched to the left breast, giving it the same loving treatment.

Patty twined her fingers through Vicky’s hair, then was distracted by a shaky whimper from the double bed.

Glancing up, she saw Crissy lounging against the wall, thighs spread wide, hands busy under her shirt, kneading and caressing her tits.

Crissy noticed Patty looking and grinned. “You two are just so fucking hot,” she murmured. Vicky swiveled her head to see what Crissy was doing. “Now there’s an idea,” she said, then tugged the baby blue nightgown over her head and cast it aside.

“Okay, then,” said Patty, shucking her pajama bottoms. Now she and Vicky stood facing each other, wearing nothing but panties, Crissy looking on appreciatively.

Deciding it was time to get comfy, Patty seized Vicky’s hand and led her to the bed. Crissy drew her legs in to make room until she was crosslegged against the wall. Vicky stretched out, resting her head on a pillow and beckoning Patty to join her.

Patty got on her knees, straddling Vicky’s hips, resting both hands on the pink-haired beauty’s taut belly. “Um, Vicky? Can I touch your boobs—”

“Yeah!” Vicky gasped, and Patty moved her hands those last few inches, lightly running her fingers over Vicky’s small but perfectly formed tits. Patty thrilled at the soft, smooth feel of the luscious globes under her fingers, as well as the ecstatic sounds Vicky made as she felt the girl up.

Patty couldn’t remember ever being this aroused. Her long fingers roamed freely, tracing and caressing the circumference of those pert little tits, then pausing to tweak and tease the nipples.

“Oh, god, that’s making me wet,” Vicky murmured.

“Yeah, me too,” said Patty.

“Me three!” Crissy pronounced. The other two looked in her direction just in time to see the blonde remove her PJ top, roll it into a ball, then toss it across the room into a laundry hamper. “Swish,” she said.

“Great aim,” Vicky told her. “Your tits are pretty nice, too.”

“For sure,” agreed Patty.

“Great tits all around,” said Crissy.

“But you’re still less naked than we are,” Vicky informed her.

Crissy raised an eyebrow, gazing defiantly at her friend as if accepting a challenge. “Oh, yeah?”

Twisting sideways to extend her legs, she lifted her butt, shucked off her pajama bottoms and panties in one shot, then turned back to them, cross-legged and lounging back just enough to put her cunt on full display. Her pubes were a few shades darker than the hair on her head, and the slightest hint of clitoral hood could be seen between her nether lips.

“Whoa,” Patty got out.

“Now who’s wearing too many clothes?” declared Crissy.

Patty shuffled back until she was straddling Vicky’s knees. She rested her hands on Vicky’s hips, fingertips lightly touching the elastic waistband of her friend’s panties. She forced herself to meet Vicky’s gaze; eye contact never came easily for her, especially when she was nervous. The gleam in the girl’s eyes went a long way towards stilling Patty’s fears. Inexperienced though she was, the serious, intense look of lust was impossible to miss.

Running her fingers along the waistband of Vicky’s panties, she managed to ask, “Can—can I take these—”

Vicky let out a single laugh. “It’s super sexy that you’re asking, but—God! Yes, please, girl. Take them off!”

Giving a low, throaty laugh of her own, Patty hooked her fingers into the elastic and tugged. Vicky lifted her ass, then drew both legs up, helping Patty get the garment free of her legs and feet. Patty rocked back, pausing to look her new lover up and down. Vicky’s glorious nudity, laid out on the bed for her to see, was even more of a thrill than their kissing and touching had been. Patty’s eyes strayed to Vicky’s pussy, which she’d shaved into a landing strip in emulation of her sister Julie.

“You’re so beautiful,” Patty murmured. “I can’t believe I get to see all of you.”

“Now it’s your turn, girl,” said Vicky. “C’mon, get naked!”

Patty slid to the edge of the bed, stood, and shoved her panties to the floor in a single defiant motion. She made to clamber back onto the mattress, but Vicky stayed her motion by grasping her wrist.

“Hold on. Let me look at you for a second,” Vicky murmured. Look, she did, her hungry eyes roving the tall, dark-haired beauty. Patty felt tremendously self-conscious, yet incredibly sexy. No matter her nerves, there was no mistaking the desire on Vicky’s face as the girl’s eyes perused her naked form. Vicky allowed her hand to stray to Patty’s knee, then slowly inch its way up a thigh. Patty trembled as that hand just barely slipped by her mound to splay out across her belly. Oh my God, so close.

“You want to be touched there, don’t you?” Vicky asked in that alluring murmur.

“I—I want to touch you there,” said Patty, a tremor in her voice.

Grinning, Vicky took Patty by the wrist, guiding her hand in the direction both girls wanted it to go. Patty knelt on the edge of the bed, hovering over Vicky as her fingertips made contact with bare belly, then continued their downward journey. Her hands were beginning to shake, and Vicky couldn’t help but notice. Shifting her grip from Patty’s wrist, she took the dark-haired girl’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You okay?” she asked hesitantly. “Are you sure you want this?”

Patty nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. Tugging her hand from Vicky’s grasp, she slid her fingers down those last few inches. Vicky raised her hips and sucked her breath in through clenched teeth as Patty caressed those moist, silky pussy lips. Tracing her middle finger down the slit, she felt a delicious thrill course through her at the wetness that instantly coated her fingertip. Vicky whimpered. Bracing herself, Patty eased that finger between the labial folds, pausing when she found the hard nub of the clitoris. She traced a slow circle around it, eliciting a thrust of the hips and a harsh, shuddering breath.

“Is that good?” Patty whispered, still drawing circles.

“Mmm-hmm,” Vicky responded, her lips pressed tightly together.

“You want me to do more?”

“Anything you want!” gasped Vicky, her hips rising once again from the mattress.

With a tremulous sigh, Crissy impatiently swept her bangs to one side, the other hand busy between her thighs. Patty glanced up to see Crissy furiously masturbating, raptly watching the show she and Vicky were putting on with eyes wide. Crissy’s face was flushed, her mouth slack.

Surrendering her inhibitions, Patty impulsively decided to do what she’d always fantasized she would if given free access to another girl’s cunt. Moving fast to get there before she chickened out, Patty slid down the bed, spread Vicky’s legs open with both hands and settled between them on her belly. She took a deep breath and lowered her head, thrusting her tongue between Vicky’s slick, sweet pussy lips.

“Oh, okay,” Vicky gasped, then Patty’s tongue brushed across her clit, and her breath hitched. “D-don’t stop,” she stammered, winding her fingers into Patty’s hair.

Operating on instinct, along with what she’d observed in a few dozen girl/girl movie clips, Patty went to work on Vicky’s clit, circling it with the tip of her tongue, then taking up a swift back and forth motion.

“Holy crap,” Vicky moaned, her pelvis shifting in response. “Th-that’s really good, Patty. Ooohh!”

Struggling to keep her mouth where she wanted it, Patty gripped Vicky’s bottom, holding the smaller girl in place. Vicky wrapped both legs around Patty’s shoulders,  cries and gasps escaping her parted lips.

As she made love to another girl for the first time, Patty felt the fire within her own body rise to the boiling point. Every nerve ending tingled, every sense was utterly and enticingly alive. The taste and smell of Vicky’s cunt, the sweet sounds of ecstasy she made, the muscles of the girl’s buttocks contracting and releasing in her palms… these things and more pushed Patty to what felt like a higher state of being.

Nirvana, she told herself. That’s what the Buddhists call it. The Sikhs, too. 

Her own pussy was drenched and throbbing like crazy. Patty knew that when it was her turn to get licked, it wouldn’t take long to reach the pinnacle.

Vicky was now panting hoarsely with every breath, thrusting her hips. Patty hung on for the ride, never slackening her pace or losing the rhythm.

“Oh God, I’m gonna come,” Vicky murmured, almost matter-of-factly. But there was nothing matter-of-fact about the moans that broke from her throat as she reached her moment. She cried out over and over, grinding her pussy against Patty’s mouth, then abruptly subsided, her muscles going slack.

Patty set her down all the way on the bed, sliding up Vicky’s body until she was lying atop her, nuzzling the nape of her neck.

“Oh, God, kiss me,” Vicky mumbled.

Patty obliged, and Vicky drove her tongue into the girl’s mouth, purring contentedly as she tasted herself. They kissed long and tenderly, then parted as they became aware of Crissy’s purrs of pleasure. Their friend was pressing her head against the wall, fingers a blur between her legs, eyes fixed on the lovers stretched out in repose.

“Are you about to come, Crissy?” asked Vicky.

Crissy let out a short, sharp cry as she pressed two fingers deep into her cunt. She drew them slowly in and out, a squishy wet sound accompanying her movements.

“Not yet,” she breathed. “I’m edging right now.”

“I need to come!” Patty blurted, instantly berating herself for blurting the first thing that popped into her head. God, so lame.

But Vicky just grinned. “Sit on my face,” she commanded.

Patty gave her head a quick shake. “Huh?” Then she realized what Vicky meant; she’d seen it in a couple of porn videos. Getting to her knees, she scooted upwards, then lowered herself to the girl’s full, beautiful lips. Vicky grabbed her ass, pulled her close, then took that first luscious lick.

The feeling of a warm, wet tongue sliding across her clitoris for the first time in her life drew an instant, powerful reaction from Patty. An intense burst of pleasure surged through her, and she moaned aloud. The next wave tore another cry from her lips, and she began to rock her hips against Vicky’s busy tongue. Her earlier assessment had been correct; she wasn’t going to last long at all.

Sure enough, all at once she felt an orgasm rising, so fast and intense that it stole her breath away. Patty began to howl—just letting it ring out, for once not self-conscious, for once not giving a fuck who heard or saw.

A matching wail from a short distance away drew her eyes to Crissy, who was fucking herself with one hand and rubbing her clit with the other in a frenzy that was swiftly mounting into rapture.

All of a sudden, Crissy was there. “Oh God, I’m coming I’m coming I’m coming!” she wailed.

Then Patty was coming too—powerful, ecstatic convulsions taking control of every muscle in her body. The two girls moaned in tandem, crying out repeatedly in the throes of their passion, with Crissy’s voice subsiding moments before Patty’s climax waxed and waned.

A twinge of dizziness hit Patty when she opened her eyes, as if the world had come unmoored from its axis. Placing both hands on the bed before daring to move, she dismounted Vicky’s face, then collapsed alongside the shorter girl in a sodden, panting heap.

Through the haze, she felt Vicky draw her close in a tight, comforting hug. Patty returned it, suddenly fighting back tears of joy. These were tears that came with the realization that so much of what she’d assumed about herself was wrong, and maybe she wasn’t a loser after all. Vicky sure doesn’t think so, she told herself, resting her head on the girl’s shoulder, and neither does Crissy. A tear threatened to spill over, and Patty surreptitiously brushed it away. Maybe I’ll have a good cry when I get home, she decided, but not right now. This had been a night for the shedding of inhibitions, but she couldn’t discard them all at once.

Crissy was still lounging against the wall, her grin befitting the cat that ate the canary. “So… I guess I’m a lesbian voyeur,” she said, laughter in her voice. “Who knew?”

“Maybe so,” Vicky purred, placing a hand on her friend’s thigh, “but if we do this again, I’m totally gonna want to taste that pussy of yours.”

“M-me too,” Patty chimed in. “You’ve got a great body, Cris.”

Crissy reached up to cup her left breast, giving her friends a sultry smile. “Well, I’m not saying no…”

***

Ellen Brentshaw picked her way across the living room of her dilapidated double-wide, taking care to skirt the rotted, spongy spot in the middle of the floor, courtesy of a roof leak her late and not terribly lamented husband had never got around to fixing. A month after his passing, she’d used his meager insurance payout to recoat the aged sheet tin. No more drip-drip-drip, but the goddamn floor was already shot. And moldy, too; you could smell it. Oh, well.

The knock came again just as she was tottering up to the front door. “Hold your horses!” she snapped, twisting the deadbolt back with a loud click. She pulled the door inward, and her daughter brushed past her into the house. At age forty-seven, Shannon was beginning to go to flesh, and trying to hide it with clothing a couple of sizes too big. The faded green t-shirt and thrift-store jeans hung off of her in a most unflattering way.

Shannon strode straight across the room, the floor sagging to an alarming degree when she trod upon the water-rotted patch. “Jesus,” she muttered, taking a skipping step to get out of the danger zone. “You really need to get that fixed, Ma.” She plopped unceremoniously onto the couch.

“You got the cash for it?” Ellen retorted, shuffling her way back across the room.

Ignoring the invitation to part with hard-earned legal tender, Shannon rubbed her eyes, then fixed them on Ellen as the old lady settled into her venerable but still comfy old glider. Shannon, Ellen reflected, had been a real head-turner when she was young, and would still look pretty damn good if it wasn’t for the extra pudge she was packing.

“It’s worse than we thought, Ma,” Shannon said after a moment’s silence.

Ellen narrowed her eyes. “Worse how?”

“Our guess was right—the feds have someone new working for them. Some broad. Whoever it is took a guess at what kind of car our boy was driving, got hold of some gas station cam footage, and that’s how they tracked him down. We’re just goddamn lucky he’s careful around security cams. They didn’t get a fix on his face.”

Ellen raised her eyebrows. “And just how in the dickens do you know that?”

“I fucked a sheriff’s deputy.”

“That’ll get the job done,” said Ellen, absentmindedly scratching her ear.

“They have to have made the connection, Ma. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“You always knew someone might. What’s your point?”

Shannon blew out her breath. “After fifteen years, I didn’t think it was all that likely. Or that it’d happen that fast. But even with that—Mister Two-pump Chump said this lady breezed in and blew the whole thing open in a couple of hours. Good thing that guy at the service shop didn’t like the pigs, or our boy would’ve been caught for sure.”

Ellen nodded slowly. “So who is this girl?”

“The cops don’t have a name. Sounds like none of them actually saw her or talked to her; just the feds. The deputy said the agents talked about this bitch like she was queen mama of The Three Investigators. What worries me is they still might have her trying to hunt us up.”

Ellen shook her head. “I’d be surprised. They got their little lambs back, didn’t they? They’re always stretched thin, that’s how you kept ahead of them before.”

“Until we fucking didn’t.”

Ellen’s gnarled fingers probed around on an end table for a pack of cigarettes. Between the arthritis and the now-constant tremors, it was a chore shaking one out and lighting up, but as always, she managed. She took a long drag, then blew out a plume of smoke with a deep, contented sigh.

“You’d have stayed ahead if a certain dumbass hadn’t left his squawk box where a little lamb could put hands on it,” she pointed out.

Shannon pursed her lips and said nothing, unable to argue the point.

“Point is,” Ellen went on, “little lambs back, no good leads, onto the next case. Unless you think there’s something in the car that might tell a tale…?”

“Shouldn’t be.”

“Then what’re you worrying about?”

“The stakes going up. We got caught once. Don’t think it can’t happen again.”

Ellen’s mouth tightened. “Have you stopped to think that maybe you have enough, and it’s time to stop?”

Shannon gave her head a hard shake. “It isn’t enough. Not until the shroud is finished, Ma. I’m not even close.” She looked down at her hands. “Besides, I don’t think he can stop. It’s—it’s oxygen to him. And I have to help whether I’m finished or not, because if he gets picked up—”

“So what’s your plan?”

“We need to find out who this new super-sleuth is.  See what we have to do to un-sleuth her.”

“You mean kill her.”

“If we have to.”

Ellen took another drag on her cigarette. “You got a plan for getting a name?”

“Not yet. But I will.”

“So figure it out, then we’ll chew the fat some more.”

“Fine.” Pushing herself off the couch, Shannon launched herself across the room, nearly falling on her face as the center of the floor sagged beneath her sneaker.

“Jesus Christ, Ma.”

Soon to come: Chapter Twenty-Three!