A Last Look or Two

"Hold up a second," Harvey said from just before where the path veered from the driveway toward the front door. "I want one last look before we head inside."

"We? I think we've pressed our luck enough tonight, Harv. In many, many ways," Cordelia stressed. "Besides, I'm freezing my butt off here."

Leaning to the side, Harvey couldn't help but shoot a wiseass comment back. "It looks as fine and tight as ever to me."

"Gawd, you're incorrigible, you know that?" the brunette responded, rolling her eyes.

"Why no, I've never, ever been called that before," the blond-haired man replied, cracking a grin.

"That's probably going to be the title of your biography someday," Cordelia remarked, glancing over at the front door. "Fine! But you better think up a damn good story for when we get back. People will have noticed that we both disappeared."

"Worried about Tyrell?"

"No, I'm not worried about my husband. I'm worried about my sister and brother asking questions."

"Don't be so worried about appearances. I'm sure Amelia and Giles have been distracted by poker chip counts rather than where their sister is at."

Expecting Harvey to head to their right, Cordelia took several steps before realizing that he'd gone the other way. Throwing up a hand in frustration, the light-haired brunette nearly yelled over the growing sounds of the wind and rustling trees. Catching herself, she glanced at the lakehouse's front door and nearby windows before scurrying over to Harvey. She reached him just as he started the turn around the east side of the lakehouse.

"We already searched this side, remember? It ended up with us playing voyeurs and getting caught!" Cordelia hissed.

"I want to start where I found the tracks and work our way behind the lakehouse. One has to figure that if the watcher came from the west side, then he wouldn't have crossed through the front yard," Harvey explained, suddenly veering off into the woods.

Shaking her head, Cordelia chose not to follow. Instead, she strolled down the side of the lakehouse, waiting for Harvey to re-emerge from amongst the trees. It took him far too long, in her opinion, to do that. Growing colder by the minute, the ex-Sugarbee bounced up and down on her heels in an attempt to stay warm. Eventually, Cordelia got that feeling up her spine that someone watched her. Turning toward the south, she found Harvey fifteen feet down the property, toward the lake.

"What?" she questioned.

"Nothing," Harvey replied before continuing after a short pause as he walked toward her. "Just imagining you bouncing another way."

"Please tell me you don't pick up models with lines like that."

"Oh, you'll find that cheesy pickup lines work wonders with models," Harvey replied, cracking that winning smile.

"I bet all that starving themselves affects their IQ level," Cordelia snapped out harshly. Unsure why she reacted that way, the brunette tried to change the subject. "Did you find anything, or are we done?"

"Now there's the bitchy version I remember from high school," Harvey said. Feeling playful, he slapped Cordelia's curvy ass, causing her to bounce into the air.

"Harvey Diamond! I'm a married woman," she hissed.

"Sorry, I'm still a little wired after not finishing before."

"Well, don't expect me to help you finish," Cordelia declared. "So, done or not?"

"Not. I found a few branches that were snapped off. It could be from the person or from all this," Harvey said, gesturing to the air and the blowing wind. "I'm leaning toward a person. So, I'm going to check the trees down further near the shoreline. Want to help?"

"No. There might not be many trees between the house and the lake, but that ground isn't flat. The hill doesn't drop down evenly, and tree roots are sticking up everywhere. Trust me. I repeatedly fell on a root growing up, and that was in the daylight," Cordelia recalled. "I'll take the deck and meet you on the other end of the house."

"Whatever suits you. I'm off to explore!"

Cordelia shook her head in amazement. Here's Harvey Diamond, one of the richest men in town, and one of the most envied, looking as happy as she'd ever seen him. Does Wasp Lake revert him into a kid? He seems to be having a blast. And that grin. I think this hunt is more entertaining to him than seducing a woman.

"Now I wonder..." Harvey trailed off. Standing among the tree grove, he studied which route a person might take if they didn't want to be seen yet wanted to watch the lakehouse. "What if..."

Abandoning his search for tracks on the ground, Harvey dashed into the grass opening between the grove and the lakehouse. Moving in a herky-jerky fashion, the manhunter dipped his head low and raised it high as he sought to prove or disprove his new hypothesis. What if the man had used a tree in the back of the lakehouse to watch in a similar way as he did on the east side?

Having moved closer to the lakehouse, Harvey was near it enough to hear the sudden gasp. Turning, he saw Cordelia with a hand to her mouth as she backed away from a window. She moved far enough that her butt hit the railing, causing her to shoot her hand out to grab it for support.

Concerned about her behavior, Harvey hurried over the stairs leading up the deck. Similar to many of the cabins on the hilly shoreline of Wasp Lake, the Vandermeer lakehouse's first floor turned into the second story when it reached the back of the property. Unlike Harvey's and most other cabins, the lakehouse's walkout level didn't have any doors or windows. It seemed to serve as more of a proper basement.

"Cordy," Harvey whispered loudly as he finished climbing up to the deck. Already close to halfway down the length of the house, Cordelia either didn't hear him because of the distance or because of what startled her.

Giving quick glances into the wall of windows as he passed, Harvey sighed with relief that nobody appeared around to spot him and Cordelia. Recalling the layout from his few previous visits, Harvey discerned that the window that startled her belonged to the study.

Harvey's estimate proved correct as he took a short step to peek inside. The first thing he saw was Jeff's big, cloddy feet. Glancing back at Cordelia in curiosity, he didn't get any reaction from her. Wondering why his drunk friend sleeping it off would upset her, Harvey leaned over to see more of the room.

Following Jeff's legs, Harvey saw that his giant friend's half-hard cock sat exposed. A piece of timber that even impressed the well-endowed Diamond playboy, Harvey chuckled. He assumed that in Jeff's intoxicated state, he'd released his belt and button, allowing nature to take its course. And for his trouser snake to shock Cordelia.

Just as Harvey begin to turn back to his search companion, a tiny hand darted out to rub the cockhead. Immediately inquisitive, Harvey moved forward another inch to reveal the identity of the hand's owner. He saw the side of a highly frustrated Zarita's face. Harvey watched as the maid shot an angry look at Jeff's face while holding in a louder laugh. Jeff Lockett appeared either passed out or in such a groggy state that he couldn't get fully hardened.

"You think that's funny?" Cordelia hissed upon seeing Harvey's face as he moved closer to her.

"Zarita does deserve a bonus for all her hard work," he winked. "Unfortunately, her Paul Bunyan surprise doesn't seem up for it tonight.

"I don't care about Zarita. It's married people!"

"Oh, that? Don't worry. Jeff and Gabby have something of an open marriage," Harvey explained with a shrug.

"I'm talking about her!" Cordelia hissed loudly while jabbing a finger back at the window.

Realizing that he might have missed a detail, Harvey moved back toward the wall. Risking a much fuller looker, he nodded knowingly as he noted Cordelia's sister-in-law, Vivienne, seated in a leather armchair. Appearing bored, the blonde sexpot's phone held her attention. However, one hand caressed a breast, leaving Harvey to assume that she soon anticipated a show.

"You see?" Cordelia questioned sharply once Harvey returned to her side.

"Zarita having a hard time getting Jeff up so that Vivienne can watch? Sure, I see that," Harvey said, shrugging.

"B-But..."

"Man, Jeff's going to be pissed when he finds out that he missed a turn with that wild thing," he commented.

"W-Wild..." Cordelia trailed off as she regained her composure. "You don't seem too shocked by what you saw."

"And you seem far more shocked than you should be, Cordy. You know that your brother and sister-in-law like variety."

"I don't like my brother being cheated on!"

"Well, I wouldn't jump to conclusions about Vivienne's involvement. Her thing is usually to watch others. She's quite the voyeur," Harvey revealed.

"Wonderful to know," Cordelia responded sarcastically.

"Granted, we did the same not too long ago. However, Vivienne tends to partner up with other women most times. From what I understand, she rarely is with another man."

"Oh, of course. And would I be wrong in assuming that you were one of those rare men?" Cordelia questioned, unhappily folding her arms.

"Let's just say that I've been in Jeff's position and things escalated," Harvey attempted to explain diplomatically. He felt a twinge of embarrassment at the stern look he received back. "Uh, how about we move along?"

"That sounds like a terrific idea," she spat.

While Cordelia marched past the study's windows, Harvey risked another glance. What he saw slowed him down for a moment. Vivienne could barely be seen as she stood in the hallway while holding the door closed enough to block anyone's view of the study. An angry Zarita had risen from her knees as she hurriedly thrust Jeff's dick back into his pants. Vivienne must have told Zarita to move faster as the maid appeared to hiss in response to her employer's words.

Hmm, I wonder what's going on? Harvey mused. He didn't have long to consider the matter as Cordelia's falling to the deck drew his attention.

"Hey, what happened?" he inquired, moving near her.

"I...I've had it with this damn night!"

"I guess you didn't need a tree root to fall, now did you?" Harvey joked, holding out his hand.

Cordelia slapped it away.

"No, what I didn't need to see was my brother having sex!"

"Really?" Harvey responded as his eyebrows raised up. That his interest had been peaked came across as obvious to the sitting woman. She let out a loud huff in response as he moved to see for himself.

Looking through the sliding glass door of the master suite, Harvey paid little attention to the naked Giles standing at the foot of the bed. No, his attention became laser-focused on the woman on all fours in front of the lakehouse's owner.

Neck-length brown hair and a toned figure gave away what Harvey should've known from the start. Giles' lover had to be Sybil Gettinger. The only other woman left unaccounted for at the moment was his other sister, Amelia. And Amelia Ridge wasn't a cheater. Sybil Gettinger definitely was one.

Blue eyes scrutinized every inch of exposed skin. After nearly three decades of desiring even a glimpse of Fred's older sister's naked body, Harvey felt both the expected thrill and a touch of disappointment. All the jogging certainly pays off, Harvey evaluated. His gaze continually returned to a pair of impressively large and firm breasts that hung down. They dangled between jigglings as Giles teased Sybil with pauses between his thrusts.

The disappointment inside Harvey's gut began to gnaw at him each time those fantastic tits swung back and forth from Giles' thrusts or slaps to Sybil's toned ass. Disappointment that his first view of Sybil's naked body didn't occur while he fucked her shifted to envy. Envy rapidly turned to jealousy and jealousy to anger.

Spinning around on a dime, Harvey stormed over to Cordelia. Reaching down, he grabbed her hand, yanking her off the deck. Once on her feet, he didn't let her hand drop.

"Let's go," he brusquely ordered.

Taken aback by the change in Harvey's demeanor, Cordelia didn't speak until they'd finished the last section of the deck and descended down the west side stairs. Once on the ground, Harvey continued to pull the brunette over toward the woods.

"Stop!" Cordelia ordered, snapping Harvey back to reality. Finally able to, she yanked her hand free. "What's your problem all of the sudden?"

Feeling like a spurned teenager, Harvey mumbled a few undecipherable words.

"Are you jealous of my brother?" she challenged, assuming correctly that his pride had been wounded. "Is she one of your lovers?"

"No," Harvey muttered, looking down.

"Well, you shouldn't be. Sybil Gettinger is a slut."

"Hey, that's--"

"No, she's a slut. Not only is she cheating on her husband with my brother--I assume that she's not in an open marriage too, right?" Not waiting for an answer, Cordelia continued. "That whore also blew Austin Rusk in the bathroom earlier."

"Wait; what?!" Harvey's head swung back up as the past vanished.

"Probably fucked him too, but I wasn't interested in waiting around to find out."

"Austin and Sybil? And you know this how?" Harvey questioned sharply.

"My brother's stupid fascination with glass doors led me to accidentally see a pair in the bathroom on this side," Cordelia pointed to the west wall. "Curiosity led me to stick around just long enough to hear them talking."

"Austin and Sybil?" Harvey repeated, his voice rising. "Why that little shit!"

"Whoa, watch it, Harv," Cordelia warned, noticing his fists clench in fury.

"That little fucker is cheating on Lacey! I've known her since...well, forever. She's practically a sister to Whitney. And she's possibly the sweetest person that I know."

"Uh, yeah, that's teenagers for you," Cordelia immediately regretted her comment. "I mean, at least it's not Whitney."

"Whitney? Whitney can handle herself. I'd be more worried about the cheating bastard getting murdered in my house before she ever shed a tear. But, Lacey doesn't deserve--"

"Hold on. I'm not sure how willing Austin was as a partner. He seemed very hesitant from what I overheard," Cordelia added. "Now, how about you simmer down, and we can go back inside? I'm not joking when I say that I'm freezing my butt off."

"You can. I'm going to go find out where this asshole pervert came from," Harvey declared, his chest heaving as he continued to fume.

"No, you're coming with me," Cordelia stated, becoming the one to grab his hand. "The guy couldn't have parked his car at the Zurbruggs. That locked gate is right by the road. If he'd been parked there, I bet one of the rangers would've noticed."

"Maybe he parked further down and cut through their property. Or he picked the lock. Perhaps he--"

"Harvey, unless that man had a key, he didn't come from the Zurbruggs. Your guess that he parked in one of the semi-secluded spots on the north side of the road is likely correct," Cordelia reminded him gently with a similar tug on his hand. "Now, it's getting worse out here. The last thing anyone needs is you getting hit in the head with a falling branch."

Shooting one last lingering look at the treeline, Harvey sighed. "Fine," he said in agreement with a disappointed voice.

Wasting no time, Cordelia continued to pull Harvey around to the front of the lakehouse. She cared little over who saw her holding the playboy's hand. What mattered most was getting inside and warming up. Also, she attempted to block out what she'd seen in the two rooms. Melly's going to get an earful, whether she likes it or not. I'm going to need someone to talk to, or it's therapy for me. Eww, I can't believe I saw our brother's dick. I feel gross.

By the time they finished hanging their coats up in the foyer closet, Harvey had calmed down. Usually a laidback kind of a guy, he still considered his options over what to do about Austin's behavior.

"Zarita must have gotten Jeff up to play as she's not here," Cordelia whispered. "That girl has an uncanny knack for showing up in the foyer out of nowhere."

"So I've noticed. But I think something else is up," Harvey remarked, holding a finger. Listening intently, they could hear loud voices from the kitchen. "I guess we're about to find out."

"Hopefully, whatever happened, it kept people from noticing our absence," Cordelia continued to whisper as they headed down the front hallway.

Even before they saw an irate Edward Laffont, they heard his bitching. A sinking feeling formed in Harvey's stomach. He knew the likely cause for the string of reprisal threats.

A standing Rusty appeared first in their sightline. He stood next to the kitchen table, looking downward as he attempted to calm the situation down. Zarita appeared next, scurrying from the direction of the refrigerator with a bag in one hand and a towel in the other.

"I don't see the problem," Vivienne said in her thick French accent. "I find battle scars to be sexy."

"Battle scars?! The son of a bitch sucker punched me!" came the muffled reply.

Harvey groaned as he finally saw Eddie seated at the kitchen table. He pulled a bag of melting ice away from his face as Zarita handed him a new one. Laying on the table in front of him was a bloody towel. His eyes flashed in anger as he spotted Harvey.

"Diamond, there is going to hell to pay if I have a broken nose!"

"What happened?" Harvey asked the question that he already knew the answer to.