Chapter Six: The Naked Truth

Steve stretched his long, lithe body out on the recliner seat in the brand new hot-tub that he and Mark had recently purchased and sighed with pleasure. It had been an

extremely busy day for, despite aching all over, Steve had still carried out all the chores he had planned. Amongst other things, he had picked up some dry cleaning, bought some personal items and made sure that his car was full of gas (there was nothing he hated more than being low on gas). After all of that, he had been more than ready for dinner at Bob's. Steve grinned as he remembered Amanda's disgust with him when he taught CJ and Dion how to make their juice bubble by blowing down their straws.

He leant his head back onto the soft, cream cushion and reached out his left hand to press one of the buttons on the in-built keypad. Immediately, slow, gentle bubbles issued forth from the numerous nozzles set around the interior of the tub. Steve had, before getting in, changed the direction of the nozzles so that the jets played on the parts of his body which needed them the most, the soles of his feet, the backs of his thighs, his very sore derriere and shoulder blades. For a while he lay there allowing the bubbles to massage him and then depressed the button again, the jets increased their intensity.

Eventually the water and bubbles caused Steve's body to relax and, like Mark's had earlier, his thoughts travelled back five years.

Alexis Morganstern sat on the expensively upholstered sofa staring out across the sand towards the ocean. Her body was rigid with tension and she fought to stop her gaze from drifting towards the eaves where she had so recently seen Fred hanging. Even the thought of it caused her to shudder and she pulled her cashmere wrap closer around her shoulders.

The past thirty minutes had been the most frustrating that Steve could remember for a long time. Although, by and large, Alexis had answered his questions, Steve sensed in her an underlying current of reluctance and, finally, he had said so.

Alexis finally turned to face Steve and said, "You are right, Steve. There is something and it isn't something that I am proud of. In fact, I am downright ashamed of myself."

Steve's brows knitted together in confusion at these words and Alexis, seeing this, continued, "I am ashamed because I was having an affair with Fred."

"Really?" Steve was very surprised for the impression that he had of the Morganstern's was that they had had a very happy marriage, "How long had it been going on?"

"For quite a while," Alexis replied.

"Did your husband know about it?" Steve asked.

"Yes, he did," Alexis answered then, seeing the look that crossed Steve's face, continued hurriedly, "No, Steve, Bert wouldn't kill Fred."

"What makes you so sure?" Steve responded, interested to hear what Alexis had to say.

"Bert found out about the affair when he was going over the books." Alexis said.

"I am afraid that I don't understand," Steve replied.

"Fred had been embezzling money from the business to buy me gifts," Alexis spoke quietly.

"You weren't aware if this?" Steve questioned, a little of the disbelief he felt creeping into his voice.

"No, Lieutenant," replied Alexis, a touch of asperity in her tone at Steve's unspoken implication, "I did not know anything about it."

"You didn't think that the gifts Fred was giving you were more than he could afford?"

"I didn't even think about that," Alexis said, unaware that Steve's view of her was changing by the answer.

"So Bert found out about the embezzlement," Steve said, "How did he find out that it was Fred that had been stealing the money?"

"They only have a small number of staff," Alexis replied, "so it was very easy for Bert to discover the culprit."

"What sort of business is it?" Steve wanted to know, adding apologetically, "Sorry, I'm sure I should know."

"We sell stationery, office supplies and equipment to local businesses and studios." Alexis answered.

"Right," Steve replied, the tone in his voice clearly indicating his thoughts.

"The quality of our goods is second to none, Lieutenant." Alexis snapped, "Bert and Fred built up the business from nothing and they almost worked themselves into the ground doing it. The name of Morganstern Supplies is known all over Los Angeles as the company to go to if you want high quality goods. We number some of the most influential companies in LA on our client list. Chief Masters purchases our products too."

"So what was Bert's reaction?" Steve asked.

"As you can imagine," Alexis said, "he was incredibly upset and angry."

"What did he do?"

"He threatened to call the police and have Fred arrested unless we called a halt to the affair."

"And did you?" Steve wanted to know.

"We had no choice." Alexis answered, "Fred didn't want to go to prison and none of us wanted the business dragged through the dirt from a court case."

"What happened about the money?"

For the first time that afternoon, Alexis' face showed a measure of positive emotion.

"Bert is a wonderful person," she enthused, "and he loves me very much. The three of us sat down and had a long talk. Bert forgave the both us for the affair. He and Fred worked out a schedule of payments so that the money which had been taken would be paid back into the company."

"He sounds like quite a special person," Steve spoke, although his private view was that no-one could be that forgiving.

"He is," Alexis smiled, "that's why I can't understand . . ."

"Can't understand what?" Steve prompted.

"He argued with a member of his family so badly when he was younger and he can't even bear to hear the name mentioned now. Apparently they haven't spoken since." Alexis looked across at Steve and continued, "He couldn't have killed Fred, Steve, I just know it."

By the time Steve came out of his reverie he had been in the water so long that his skin resembled that of a seriously dried out prune. Deciding that he had better get out of the water, Steve swung his feet around until they touched the bottom of the tub and he carefully stood. It was fortunate that the hot tub was situated adjacent to the beach, for the sight of Steve's vigorous, naked body rising up from the water would have had any unsuspecting female jogger tripping over her trainers.

Treading carefully down the steps, Steve's bare feet dug into the sand allowing the grains to rise up between his toes. He wrapped a towel around his hips and made his way into his apartment, leaving deep indentations in the sand to be replaced by large, sandy footprints across his carpet in a trail to his bedroom.