The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) 📕

“My pleasure, sweetie.” I lift my head and nod to Teresa and Michael. “Sounds like a plan.”

Lunch arrives while we’re making small talk, mostly about the heat, which Michael says is unseasonable. They’ve ordered seafood and salads from a local restaurant and once I try a few bites, I can’t believe we’re missing out, no matter what the rest of the excursion’s eating.

Since it’s just the four of us, I hand-feed Emily. Scallops ceviche marinated in mango and lime. Crab cakes with a tangy bite of blue cheese. Lobster burrito. Even a pinch of fried plantain, just for the taste since there are plenty of calories in this meal and I know she doesn’t eat a lot of fried foods. Hand-feeding her is as gratifying as I imagined. She kisses my fingertips after each bite. Closes her eyes in delight at each new taste. When she opens her eyes for the next bite, they’re adoring, above a cheeky grin.

Michael and Teresa watch us with smiles but don’t interact themselves in any way I’d consider Dom-sub. It reminds me of dinner at the captain’s table our first night on the cruise.

“I thought from the briefings that most of the senior staff were in the lifestyle,” I say to Michael as I’m holding a glass of iced water for Emily to sip. “Did I get that wrong?”

“Most of the senior Pink Pearl people are, but not all of the ship officers. Captain Lopez is a Domme and you might have come across her partner, Tu, who works in the marketplace.” I shake my head; neither Emily nor I have explored the bondage marketplace yet. Michael continues, “Obviously, we wouldn’t employ anyone who has a problem with kink, but the ship officers are there to sail the boat, not play with the passengers.”

That’s probably a wise hiring policy, but it makes me wonder if the officers are oblivious to things that someone in the lifestyle would be sensitive to.

“Including Dan Reyes?”

Michael nods. “Dan’s recently divorced but as far as I know his relationship was vanilla.”

Why doesn’t it surprise me to hear the asshole’s recently divorced? Or, if I’m being charitable, maybe he’s an asshole because he’s recently divorced. Either way, he’s an asshole, and since he still hasn’t sent me the information I asked for, he’s an obstructive asshole.

“Any chance of a conference call with Ed while the ladies are shopping?”

Teresa wipes her mouth and sets her napkin beside her empty plate. “I think that’s our cue, Emily.”

Emily nods. “Just a minute, please.”

She does the plate ritual that I’ve taught her. Carefully. Perfectly. Scooping the crumbs into the napkin she folds onto my empty plate. Little sweetheart. I stroke her hair when she finishes, draw her to me, and kiss her forehead.

“Think of a reward I can give you before dinner, little angel.” I tip my head so I can look into her eyes. “Stay alert while you’re shopping. Phone and credit card go where?”

She taps between her breasts.

“Good girl. You don’t get separated from Teresa, even for five minutes. If anything happens, call me and stay where you are. I’ll find you.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“That’s my girl. Have a good time.”

She beams and kisses my cheek before skipping out, arm-in-arm with Teresa.

“Teresa’s been to Cabo several times. She won’t take Emily anywhere unsafe.”

The whole world is unsafe for my little girl, but I’m not sure Michael would understand, so I let it go. “Anything we need to go over before we call Ed?”

“Just what we discussed yesterday. If you had any questions?”

What we discussed yesterday, at some length, was Emily’s panic attack. “No, you steered me in the right direction. It was an old trauma. We talked it through. I’ve got a good idea of where her triggers lie now. I appreciate that something that deep doesn’t get resolved with one good talk, so I plan to continue working on it with her. If she has another panic attack, I’ll encourage her to get counselling.”

“Good, good. She seems much better today. Talking it through with her Dom may be enough, but if it isn’t, I can recommend some kink-friendly therapists in your neck of the woods.”

“Thanks, Michael. And thanks again for making a cabin-call.”

He chuckles. “My pleasure. So you’re up to speed, I’ve circulated the report on Geoffrey Sayers, our guest with renal failure. He’s stable but the function in both kidneys is poor. It’s too early to say, but I suspect he’ll eventually need a transplant.”

Not good news. Kidney transplants are expensive. The insurance guys won’t be happy. “Was it definitely the brick?”

“Like Black, Sayers had complicating health conditions, specifically, high blood pressure. That does a number on the kidneys. His last exam was two years ago. He missed his annual last year because he was on the cruise.” Michael rolls his eyes. “His ACR and GFR results from two years ago showed slightly elevated proteins but not enough to warrant medication. His doctor gave him the standard advice about a low-salt diet.”

“Was he on medication for the high blood pressure?”

“Diuretics. He wasn’t good about taking them, if the rate at which he refilled his prescription was any indication. He complained several times to his GP about the side-effects. Guess what he was prescribed?”

Unable to guess, I shake my head.

“Viagra. The side-effect he complained about the most was erectile dysfunction, so his doctor gave him a scrip for Viagra. That prescription, he refilled regularly.”

“Any of our other victims take Viagra?”

“Black. The young one, what was his name? He was on Cialis.”

“Kam-Magruder,” I supply.

I’ve always considered him an outlier. He’s fifteen years younger than any of the other victims. Where the only picture I could find of Black was the profile on his company website, Kam-Magruder has multiple social media accounts. They show a slender man in his early thirties who rarely smiles and plays a lot of tennis. Until I interviewed Chrisjean Olsen, I thought Kam-Magruder was an outlier as a bottom, too, since there are pictures of him with