Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 27)

“Living with,” Nicky said.

“Single but dating,” Olaf said.

Nicky pressed his leg tighter against mine, which meant I’d tensed. I did my best to relax and be grateful that Olaf had at least added the single part.

Brianna flashed that smile again, but this time there was a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Living in sin, my mother called it.”

“My dad’s not too fond of it either,” I said.

Olaf looked at me. He actually opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it.

Brianna had seen the interaction. “You didn’t know her daddy disapproved?”

“We’re not each other’s usual partners. About the night of the murder,” I said, hoping to forestall any more personal questions aimed our way.

It was like all the light just drained out of her face. The makeup looked flat but not harsh, which let me know that she was wearing more base makeup than I’d thought at first. Why was she wearing this much in the middle of the day at home? It did hide whether she paled to match the grim look in her eyes. Maybe she’d worn the makeup like camouflage to hide her expressions while we questioned her?

“Jocelyn talked Marcy and me into a night on the town like we used to do when we were all single.”

“Talked you into? So this wasn’t common for the three of you?” I asked.

“Not anymore. I don’t think the three of us have gone out without spouses or kids since the twins were born.” She smiled at her babies, who were dropping more Cheerios than they were eating and gabbling to each other in their baby language.

“So, over a year,” I said.

Brianna nodded and looked back at us with the glow of her smile still on her face. “Jocelyn said she missed the old days, and so did I. I’m not sure about Marcy. She always had to get a little drunk to get wild, but Joshie and I were wild in our day.” She looked at the babies again with a serious look on her face. “God, I hope neither of them takes after me—not in that way at least.” She looked almost scared. If we hadn’t been investigating a murder, I might have asked what put that look on her face, but I had to let it go and concentrate on the night in question.

“Jocelyn says you went to a club.”

Brianna flashed that smile again. This time the look in her eyes was more than mischief—something untamed, naughty, not evil but a look I’d seen before on people who really were wild. Not the get-drunk-or-high-and-do-things-you’ll-regret wild, but the kind that doesn’t need an excuse, just an opportunity. Nathaniel had that look, and so did Nicky. I had to fight not to glance at him. If that was really part of Brianna’s personality, she was going to have a tough time being a traditional wife and mother.

“Dare I ask what kind of club the three of you went to?”

“Strip club,” Brianna said. The two words had a relish and happiness to them that seemed to fill her up until a little wiggle ran down her body so she moved on the couch without using hands or feet, just her wiggly core.

I dated women as well as men, and I suddenly couldn’t help thinking that Brianna might be interesting in a nonbusiness kind of way. I pushed the thought aside, but it was in there now, and I couldn’t unthink it. Even though I wouldn’t act on it, it was still there, and it would make the rest of the interview weird for me. Would I have been less weirded out if she’d been a man who made me think about sex? Yes. I’d only added women to my dating pool in the last few years. It was still new enough to throw me off balance sometimes.

“Watching men take off their clothes,” Olaf said, and there was just the faintest hint of disapproval.

I doubt that Brianna heard it, because she aimed that smile at him.

“No, my husband didn’t like the idea of us watching other men, so we compromised and went to see women take off their clothes.”

Her brown eyes were luminous with the happiness of saying it or of doing it. Was she just one of those people who enjoyed doing things that most people thought were risqué? I’d met people who liked to shock others. If she only knew that I was engaged to three men, and two out of the three were exotic dancers . . . Brianna couldn’t shock me or out-thrill-seek me, but she wanted to, so I’d keep my mouth closed and let her.

Olaf and I started asking the routine questions about when Brianna and her friends had arrived at the club, how long they’d stayed, et cetera . . .

“Can anyone verify how long you were at the club?” I asked.

“I’d think most people in the club would remember us.”

“Strip clubs get pretty crowded,” I said, “especially on a weekend.”

“Oh, they’ll remember us,” Brianna said with such relish that I knew she wanted to tell us the details, or maybe she wanted to tell someone the details, not necessarily us.

I smiled at her, because this made her more alive than even looking lovingly at her twins. Some people are wired that way.

Olaf