The Case of Dixie's Christmas

Visiting hours ended at eight, so we met in the parking lot at Collingswood at seven-thirty. I wanted to take Dixie out in the group of visitors who waited until the last possible second before leaving. Jennifer was excited, just as I thought she'd be. Melvin was excited too, but that was because of the way Jennifer was dressed. I'd asked her to wear something sexy, but she was damn near illegal. The tight top was cut almost to her nipples, and she wasn't wearing a bra. I could see the outline of her nipple rings through the stretchy fabric. They looked like they had little Christmas trees dangling from the hoops. It was in keeping with the season, I guess.

Her little short skirt showed her ass cheeks if she bent over even a little. I about died when she got out of Melvin's pickup. She wasn't wearing any panties. There was just smooth tanned skin all the way from her spike heels to the little silver ring that glittered between her thighs. If that didn't divert the male nurses who watched the exit, they were either gay or dead.

My heavy coat concealed the dress and light trenchcoat I'd borrowed from Jennifer, and each pocket held one shoe. I hoped Dixie could walk in high heels. The flowers in the white box I carried hid the long brown wig I'd borrowed from Melody.

The nurse waved me to Dixie's room. Dixie was pretty alert, and her eyes flashed when I told her the plan.

"Good thing I stuck that pill under my upper plate tonight. They made me open my mouth to check. Let me have the clothes so I can get dressed." I handed her the dress and shoes.

At five to eight we were ready. Dixie looked a lot better. The clothes and wig changed her appearance enough I didn't think the staff would recognize her immediately. I only needed a couple minutes.

The PA system announced that visiting hours were over, so Dixie and I left the room. I went ahead and stopped with the crowd at the door. Only a few seconds later, Dixie tugged at my sleeve. I moved slightly back and put her in front of me. She was effectively hidden in the group who'd stopped to see what was going on at the desk.

Jennifer was playing her part well. She'd taken off her coat and was leaning against the nurse's desk. The view of Jennifer's breasts piled on the desk top wasn't doing much for the cute little nurse. She just looked disgusted. The male nurse at the door was almost drooling. Jennifer let her back sag just a little and two tight little butt cheeks peeked out from under the skirt. The second male nurse edged over for a better view and walked straight into one of the round columns that supported the ceiling. He stood up rubbing his head with his mouth hanging open. Something was starting to push out the front of his scrubs.

I edged us deeper into the crowd as the nurse politely told Jennifer that she'd have to come back tomorrow. Most of the people in front had seen all they cared to, and the mass of visitors began to file through the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jennifer turn in a huff, thrust out her breasts and walk to the back of the crowd. The male nurse at the door never took his eyes off her. We went past him and tried to look like normal visitors as we walked to the minivan. Once inside, I started breathing again, and we waited until Jennifer got into Melvin's truck. It was a relief when I pulled out onto the street and headed for Barney's. Joyce and Sheryl had agreed to let her stay there until we got all this sorted out.

"Young man, I know I should be thankful, but you have the worst taste in clothes of any man I've ever met. What hooker did you chase down to get these?"

"Sorry, I borrowed them from Jennifer. Oh, that's the girl who was at the desk when we left. She's about your size, so I thought they'd probably fit."

"The fit's not too bad through the waist and hips. The bust looks like I'm wearing a tent. Are those boobs really hers, or did she buy some surgeon a new boat? The dress is really short, too. Without this coat, I'd be freezing my ass off. With all that and these spike heels, I feel like a stripper."

I glance over at Dixie and saw her huge smile. She was enjoying herself.

"Now how would a woman like you know how a stripper feels?"

"Oh, that's how I met my husband. I was dancing in a club in Chicago right after the war. William was rather taken with me, if I might say so. He tipped the stage manager five dollars and came back to my dressing room. We got married a couple months later." Dixie chuckled. "Boy, was his family ever pissed."

I got Dixie inside Barney's just as Melvin and Jennifer were parking. Carla was already there with a suitcase. She took Dixie by the hand, and led her up the stairs to Joyce and Sheryl's apartment. Melody followed with her industrial-size case of cosmetics. When Jennifer and Melvin came in, I just pointed up the stairs. Jennifer went up, and Melvin and I went to the bar.

Melvin was on his third beer and I was nursing my second scotch when they came back down. If I hadn't brought Dixie there myself, I wouldn't have believed it was the same woman. Her hair was fixed and the dress she'd chosen was tasteful, but still sexy. I could imagine her fifty years ago, and it was easy to see why William Montgomery had brought her back to Nashville.

Dixie walked over to Melvin and me with the grace of the dancer she'd once been. She looked at Melvin for a second, then reached up and gave him a big hug.

"Melvin, you're a big man with an even bigger heart. Thank you for taking care of me that night. I was nearly frozen."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. Melvin turned the oddest shade of pink.

"And you, Mr..., you know, I never did catch your name."

"Just call me Jase."

"Well Jase, I don't know why you did what you did, but I thank you too. I think Vicki would have kept me in there forever if you hadn't helped me escape." Dixie flashed me a grin and a wink. "It was kind of exciting too."

I got the same hug and kiss as Melvin.

"Well, Dixie, we've still got some more to do to get you out of this for good. First, we have to call Harry and tell him you're OK."

I drove Dixie over to Harry's office the next morning. He was really happy to see her, but after a friendly hug, his courtroom demeanor returned and he got down to business.

"We thought we'd lost you. Now tell me what happened."

Dixie went through her story, and Harry took notes. When she finished, he ran his finger over the page, and smiled. "I'm going to call the D.A. and see what he thinks about all this."

The phone call went on for about five minutes.

"Well, without trying very hard, Dwight can find a handful of criminal charges against Vicki, John, and Dr. Winston. There are probably some more. He'll know better after he talks to you and Ling. Oh, Jase, he doesn't see any reason to charge you with anything. He does want to get your statement, though."

"Do we have to charge my son?"

"Well, Dixie, he's as guilty as the others. He didn't try to stop any of this."

"I know my son. He doesn't have the gumption to think all this up. It was all that witch he's married to."

"I'll give all this to one of our criminal guys. Since John didn't directly participate, maybe he can negotiate a plea. It'll do him some good, Dixie. He'll have to stand on his own two feet for a change."

By late afternoon, Dr. Winston and John had been arrested. Vicki was no where to be found. According to the nursing home, they'd called her at nine the night before to notify her that Dixie was missing. She told John she was going to Collingswood to find out what had happened. That was the last anybody had seen of her. I had a feeling she didn't really want to be found.

I took Dixie to the Chinese restaurant to reclaim Ling. He jabbered something at the other cook, ripped off his apron, and left with us. When I pulled away from the huge house on Englebrook, both he and Dixie were grinning from ear to ear and waving goodbye.

The next two days were boring as hell. I had no cases. Melody had gotten me the job at Grady's just so I wouldn't have to work over the holidays. She wanted me to rest. By New Year's eve, I had rested so much I was going crazy.

New Year's Eve at Barney's isn't the power-drinking, dance-til-you-drop affair the country-western bars stage, and it isn't the polished dinner at eight, and foxtrot 'til midnight the best hotels arrange. There are usually few drinkers at the bar. They've all stayed home to watch the big ball drop in New York, or paid upwards of a hundred a person for a few shrimp and a small bottle of champagne at the witching hour.

I knew Carla would be there, and I was looking forward to that. Melody would be there, too. She spent all day getting ready. When I went next door to pick her up, I had to whistle. She was dressed in a dark green satin sheath that molded itself to her everywhere. Her breasts rolled easily in some sort of trick bra. I wanted to bury my head in her cleavage until I turned blue. About seven, we walked over for dinner.

Joyce was decked out in shiny black pants, a black, strapless, corset thing of he same material, and glistening, black patent heels. She saw me staring and slowly turned all the way around before she walked over to my table.

"Well, whatcha think."

"Joyce, you look so great you make me wish I was a woman."

She laughed.

"Since it's from you, I'll consider that a compliment. Just wait'll you see Sheryl. She'll be down in a minute or two. Gotta New Year's Eve special on tonight. Two deep-fried chicken breasts with potato puffs. Sheryl calls it "Tits and Ass" 'cause if you line up two of the potato puffs just right, they look like a butt. I'll have Sandy get one started for you if you'd like."

"Joyce, I'd have your tits and ass anytime. Oh, and a scotch please. You got any Glenmorrow left."

"Yep, had two more quarts delivered today, just for my favorite detective. As for my tits and ass, dream on, Honey. You don't have the right equipment."

She smiled at Melody.

"Now, if you're interested, I could talk to Sherry. She likes you."

Melody giggled.

"I'll have tits and ass, too, and a glass of white wine. Oh, and I'm interested, but I don't want to come between you and Sheryl."

"Honey, if we do it right, we'll all come together. Let me know if you change your mind. I'll go give Sandy your orders. It'll be about twenty minutes."

Carla joined us a few minutes later. Her entrance reminded me of the first time I'd seen her. She almost floated to the table on her stylish silver heels. The dress she wore was also sliver, well... a little of it was silver. Shiny, diagonal, silver strips covered her sexy parts. The rest was flesh-colored mesh that hugged her like stretchwrap. Joyce whistled when she came over.

"Damn Carla, don't go outside in that or you'll get arrested. Oh, I get to play the cop. I think you need to be patted down, maybe even strip-searched.

"I'm planning on it, but I know a detective who does it much better than any cop." She grinned wickedly. "Of course, a female cop would be a new experience for me. I might enjoy it."

Joyce snickered and repeated her spiel about tonight's special.

"Already got both and don't need more, especially not more ass. Does sound pretty good, though. You have any honey-mustard for the chicken?"

Joyce walked off to deliver the order to Sandy. Carla giggled.

"You know, I'll bet Joyce is a handful. One of these days, I might just have to find out."

"Oh, thinking of joining the women's club, are we?"

"Jase, darling, just wait until you take me to your apartment tonight. I'm gonna show you everything I've been thinking about since Christmas Eve. You'll want to sleep for - "

It's a good thing she stopped talking, because I'd stopped listening. Sheryl had just walked into the bar. You have to understand that Sheryl is a jeans, sweatshirt, and soft-shoe gal. It wouldn't surprise me if she even slept like that. This was a different Sheryl.

Her long, blonde hair hung in soft waves over her bare shoulders. The simple black dress fit her curves like it was painted on, and had I known the artist I would have shaken his hand. The hem stopped about eight inches from her knee, and revealed a pair of shapely, slender legs clad in black stockings. I could just see the lace tops peeking out beneath the dress and the effect was incredibly erotic. She, too, wore black heels, and although she seemed a little unsteady in them, they finished the look of complete sensuality.

I knew I was staring and I didn't care. So was everybody else. Sheryl looked embarrassed when she walked over to say hello.

"What's wrong, Jase. Haven't you ever seen a woman before?"

"Well, yeah, but damn, Sheryl. I've never seen you like this before. You're absolutely gorgeous."

"Thanks. That's what Joyce said too, but I wasn't sure. I just felt like dressing up tonight for some reason. I'm glad you appreciate it. It won't do you any good, but I'm still glad."

Carla, Melody, and I had finished our dinner, pronounced it delicious, and were sitting and listening to the music coming from Joyce's portable CD player. I felt Carla's knee against mine. It had been too long since she'd spent the night. I was usually a wreck for a couple days afterward, but it was always worth it.

The door opened and a huge man in a black suit walked in, looked around suspiciously, and then stood to the side. The only reason I knew it was Melvin was the snake tattooed on his forehead. I waved and he grinned back. Just then, a small, beautiful, silver-haired woman walked through the door. It was Dixie. The rhinestones that covered her gold dress glittered back the blue and red light from the beer signs over the bar. With sensuous grace, she walked to Sheryl and hugged her.

"See, Sheryl, I told you you'd be pretty. You really ought to get something besides those old jeans. You have a great figure and you need to show it off once in a while."

Dixie waved for all of us to come up.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?"

Joyce said it for all of us.

"Dixie, of course you're welcome, but you're hardly just anybody."

"That's nonsense. I'm not really any different than you. I remembered that this week. I found a group of people who didn't know much about me, but still cared enough to risk helping me. I won't ever be able to thank you enough, but I thought I should at least let you know I appreciate you all very much. Ling, would you give me their gifts?"

There were five envelopes. Joyce opened hers and sat down hard on a bar stool. She didn't say anything. She just motioned for Sheryl to open hers. Sheryl landed harder than Joyce did. "Two weeks in Greece?", was all she could say.

"There's a little island off the coast you two might like to visit while you're there. It has an interesting history I think you'll enjoy. I went there myself once and sampled the culture." Dixie giggled. "I found it rather refreshing."

My hand was shaking as I opened the envelope. Two weeks on the French Riviera! Carla held her airline ticket next to mine. We had adjoining seats in first class.

"Before you two go, I'll give you directions to a little beach I know. The owner is a personal friend of mine. You'll not be disturbed."

Melody shrieked. "Rome. I'm going to a spa in Rome."

It got quiet and stayed that way until Dixie piped up, "Is this a New Year's Eve party or a wake. Turn up the music and lets dance."

The little woman's stamina was amazing. By twelve, my feet were about done in, but Dixie was still going strong. So was Melody, but in a different way. She'd introduced herself to Ling and asked him to dance. They'd been together the whole night. When Joyce put in a CD of slow R&B, Melody pulled Ling against her. They kind of stood in one place and rocked back and forth. When the song ended, he looked up at her. She bent over and kissed him.

Dixie sat down beside me and took a sip of her bourbon.

"Well, looks like Ling's gonna get lucky tonight. Hope Melody doesn't suffocate him with those big jugs. He'd be hard to replace. The way Carla's dressed, it's a safe bet you're going to do a little horizontal mambo yourself." Dixie grinned. "If I was a few years younger, I'd join you." She kissed me on the cheek.

The party broke up about one. Melody got in the front seat of Dixie's Town Car with Ling, and I walked Carla to my apartment with my arm around her waist. She snuggled contentedly against my shoulder.

"Dixie is quite a woman, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. Melvin say's she's thinking of going to the big bike rally at Sturgis with them this year."

"No. Dixie rides a motorcycle? Uh, Jase, you suppose she'll go topless like some of the women do there?"

"Melvin found an old Harley in her garage. It belonged to her husband, but I guess she rode it as much as he did. Melvin'll be riding the new one she told him to order. He's a little disappointed that they can't ride all the way, but Dixie says her butt isn't padded enough to ride that far. Ling will drive them up in a motorhome with the bikes on a trailer. As for topless, after seeing her dance tonight, it wouldn't surprise me a bit."

"I'm glad she has a bodyguard now. A bodyguard would have stopped all this from happening. I doubt many people would mess with Melvin."

"Nope. Just looking at him would scare them off. He's tickled to death about his job. All he has to do is live in a mansion and make sure nothing happens to her. He and Jennifer will get to go all over the place for nothing. Oh, by the way, Jennifer says Dixie is helping her with her dancing. Hard to believe that sweet little old lady started out as a stripper, isn't it?"

I locked the office door and took off my coat. Carla had already disappeared into the apartment. A long, shapely leg peeked out from the bedroom doorframe. A hand appeared. The hand crooked an index finger at me. I followed. When I walked into the bedroom, a naked Carla wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. Her nipples were rock hard and bored into my chest. I felt her straddle my thigh and begin rubbing herself on my leg. Just about the time I thought my cock would rip through my pants, she let me go.

"Jase, remember what I said, back at Barney's?"

"About showing me everything you'd been thinking about."

"That's right." She started unbuttoning my shirt. "I've been all alone for a whole week, and all I could do was lay in bed at night and dream. Did you rest like I asked you to?"

She was purring like kitten. I had a fair idea of what was coming. It was probably going to kill me, but at least I'd die happy. Carla had finished with my belt and was pulling down my zipper.

"I rested two whole days. I'm so rested and relaxed I can hardly move."

Her soft hands wrapped around my cock and squeezed gently.

"This doesn't feel relaxed. It feels all nice and hard."

"It won't be for long if you keep doing that."

"Oh yes it will." She giggled. "Vee haf vays uf keepink you zis vay."

My slacks fell around my ankles at the same time Carla dropped to her knees. She hooked her fingers in the waistband of my shorts and pulled them down. My cock hung up at first, and then bobbed free. Carla caught it between her lips.

For a second, I thought of asking her what she'd dreamed. I forgot about that, and about everything else, when she pushed me deep into her throat and swallowed. The shock wave had just about subsided when I felt a slight vibration. Carla was humming. The humming got louder. I didn't recognize the tune, but then I couldn't hear very well at the time. There was this pounding in my ears. I hoped it was my heartbeat. It was either that, or there was an artillery battalion right outside my bedroom.