ISBN: 9781616504403 | Length: 91,000 words | Ebook Page Count: 274 | Publication Date: February 4, 2013
Copyright 2012, Rachel Green
All rights reserved, Lyrical Press, Inc.
Rebecca snorted. “You can’t blackmail me. I stay on the right side of the law. The line may wobble one way or the other but I pride myself in never crossing it.” “Honestly, I’m only looking into John’s death.” Meinwen crossed over to the bank of cameras. Did any of them record John with an angry client? “Do you keep the tapes for these?” Rebecca blew smoke out of the window before she glanced her way. “It’s all digital. We pay an off-base firm a monthly fee for back up and storage. It streams continually to their servers.” “Does it cover every room?” Meinwen spotted a sticker on one corner of the monitor and made a mental note of the service number. She had a nagging feeling she recognized it. “No. Only the lobby, staircases, dungeon and playrooms. Mostly it’s there to monitor for antisocial behavior, fires, that sort of thing but we track the playroom scenes in case of lawsuits. We had someone claim they were physically harmed once and we were able to prove otherwise.” “I see.” Meinwen played with the controls. “Is it possible to go back over John’s sessions? Perhaps there’s a clue to his killer there.” “No. If the police produce a warrant, it clears me of breaching data protection. I can give them the tapes, but not you.” “I see. Very wise, I suppose.” Meinwen turned and leaned against the bank of monitors. “Still, it galls me to know the answer could be right there, just waiting to be spotted.” Rebecca’s phone rang. “You’ll have to remain galled.” She answered and listened for a few seconds before responding. “Down in a moment.” She terminated the call and smiled at Meinwen “This should take the edge off your frustration. Your pony’s ready.” They went back down the stairs to the stable yard where Rebecca put a hand on Meinwen’s arm to stop her going any further. “Charlotte?” The stable woman, Meinwen supposed she’d be called the groom in this situation, led Dafydd out by a pair of reins attached to a metal bit in his mouth. “Wow.” Meinwen stepped forward. The bit, coated in rubber lest the steel chip Dafydd’s teeth, was attached to a leather halter over the Welshman’s cheeks and jawline, a separate strap connecting each to another terminating on the bridge of his nose. The whole assembly was fastened with buckles at the back of his head and finished off with blinkers for his eyes and a pair of perky horse ears made of leather. His hands were fastened behind his back, another loop of leather around his biceps forcing his chest to jut out. His calves and feet were encased in soft leather boots fashioned to look like hooves. It was hard to tell his expression with the bridle and blinkers but at least he wasn’t grimacing. She took that as a good sign. He looked marvelous. All the strength and power of a virile man but harnessed to her every whim and desire. “Don’t they hurt his feet?” She marveled at their small size. Dafydd was standing on tiptoe, the heels of the boots unsupported to give the appearance of hocks. “It takes a little getting used to but well worth the effort.” Rebecca nodded to Charlotte, who handed the reins to Meinwen. “Take him around the yard, see how you both feel about it.” “Thank you.” Meinwen pulled down Dafydd’s head to kiss his nose. “Hello, Sausage. Are you going to be my pony forever and ever?”
