On the next evening, when Toby got home, his first question was, "Did you call that iron place?" Sam nodded. "And?"

"And I got some fascinating information."

When he'd called, he'd asked for Clark by name and had been told that Clark had retired several months earlier and was no longer there. When Sam said that he was Clark's cousin, he was transferred to the woman who had been Clark's secretary. She was quite happy-even anxious-to talk about Clark, but admitted-rather wistfully, Sam thought-that she didn't even know he had a cousin. Sam began to sense that she might have had designs on the man.

Clark, she said, had retired, and sold just about everything he owned, including his home. Then he'd moved off to what the secretary described as 'someplace warm, with palm trees.' She thought perhaps it was someplace in Mexico, but Clark had been a very private man and hadn't talked much about himself, his life or where he was going. He was just gone, and they hadn't heard anything from him, nor did they expect to.

"I'll bet he was gay," Toby said.

They went into the kitchen where Sam poured drinks. "You know, it must be hard, being gay in a small town-especially in a place like Wyoming. He traveled some, she said, for the company, so I guess he just kept under the radar at home and... met people when he was out of town." He handed Toby his drink. "Sad way to live, if you ask me."

"Me, too." He sipped at his drink and smiled. "Good. Thank you, Sam." There was a moment of silence while he savored the drink. "Did you find out if he was related to Martin?"

"I saved that part for last," Sam said with a grin. "The secretary was pretty sure Clark had a brother, but he never talked about him. She thought they'd been estranged for a long time and had nothing to do with each other." Sam's grin grew wider. "She also thought the brother lived in Southern California somewhere. She thought his name was Marvin or Melvin or something like that."

They stood in the kitchen, not saying a word, as it hit them. Finally Toby broke the silence. "His brother? That might explain why you mistook the man in the bathtub for Martin, but... his brother? He killed his brother?"

"I think it might be worse than that, Toby. The man I saw pulled out of that bathtub looked exactly like Martin. I have always had trouble with that look-alike trick idea. No, Toby, Martin killed his brother alright. Quite possibly his twin brother."

"That's almost too horrible to think about, Sam."

"But it's the perfect setup," Sam said. "No one at his company knows much of anything about him or his life, probably because he was gay, just like his brother. He retires and then comes down to Palm Springs to make one last attempt at reconciliation with his brother."

"And his brother sees a solution to his financial problems and kills him." Toby swallowed the rest of his drink and held out his glass. "I need another one, Sam. And make it a strong one, please."

Later, after dinner, Toby said, "You know, I wonder how he came to be circumcised? The brother, I mean, especially if they were identical twins."

Sam smiled at him. "She mentioned that he had been in the Navy. Maybe that's how."

"Huh? You have to be circumcised to be in the Navy?"

"Not exactly, but Harry had wonderful stories about Navy guys going in to have their tonsils removed and when they came out of the anesthesia they found they had also been circumcised. Harry said it was a fairly routine thing in the Navy. He said he once had to have a little hernia repaired, so he wrote Leave it alone and Do not touch on his dick. In ink." He laughed. "Harry got kidded in the showers for a month after. It seems he'd written it in indelible ink."

Toby laughed, picturing the scene. "Well, maybe so, but I'll bet we'll never know for sure."

"Change of subject. Did you get a chance to talk to your red-headed colleague?"

"Zach? No. He was off today. I'll try to catch him tomorrow. Now, what do you want for dinner?"

"You."

"Later. You need nourishment first."

He got both.

The next evening, Toby had good news.

"Zach loved the idea. Especially after I told him he'd be tracking down a murderer."

"I don't suppose he has any pictures we could use, does he?"

"No. I asked him. But what the heck, Tom and Dan, you know, next door to the house? They have a digital camera. Maybe we could get them to take some pictures of Zach."

"Good thinking," Sam said. "They're up in L.A. until next week, but I'll ask them when they get back. I imagine they'll be more than happy to take some pictures of a handsome red-headed man. He is handsome, isn't he?"

Toby just rolled his eyes. "You'll just have to wait and decide that for yourself."

On Friday, there was a Prime Timers mixer at a restaurant called Peter's. Peter's was a few miles down the valley so they decided to skip it. It was a good thing they did, because Toby was late getting out of his office. When he got home, he just had time for a quick shower and a change into shorts, polo shirt and sandals. They arrived at Duane and Howard's only a couple of minutes late.

Over dinner they got onto the subject of Martin. Sam, backed up by Toby, told them the suicide wasn't what it appeared to be. When he said he thought the body had been that of Martin's brother, Howard said he wasn't surprised.

"Why do you say that?" Toby asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Martin was a nice enough guy, but there was something about him that put me off." He laughed. "Maybe it was because he borrowed money from us and never paid it back. He just ignored the whole question of it."

Duane smiled. "Yeah, he fucked us and didn't even say thank you." He turned to Sam. "Have you told the police?"

"Yes, but they aren't too interested. Our friend on the force said he thought he was going to have real trouble convincing anyone to put out a warrant on a guy just because he isn't circumcised. Especially a guy who's nowhere to be found."

"No, Sam. We'll find him. I'm sure of it," Toby said. He explained to Howard and Duane the plan he and Sam had cooked up. "So once we get his picture taken, we can put them on a couple of websites, and sooner or later Martin is going to find it. Then it'll only be a matter of time."

Duane poured a little more wine in their glasses. "Two things," he said. "Number one, when you write his profile, make him from out of town. If he's from Palm Springs, Martin may not bite, thinking the guy is a refurbished trick he's already had. Number two, have this guy's pictures taken by José-you know, the good-looking Chicano guy who lives over by the other pool."

"He's good at it?" Toby asked. "We were going to ask the guys next door to the house, but only because we know they have a digital camera."

Both Duane and Howard shook their heads. "You want José. Come on upstairs and we'll show you why. He took a couple of shots of us."

"Oh, no you don't, Howard," Duane said. "I want to see their reaction, too, so you three will just have to sit and enjoy your wine while I clean up."

He was fast, Sam had to give him that. Fast and organized. It wasn't more than ten minutes, and it was all done. Then they all trooped upstairs to the master bedroom.

"There," Howard said, pointing to a large, framed photograph of himself and Duane. They were standing, in profile, facing each other and holding hands. The more Sam and Toby looked at it the more they could see that the two men were in love and were lusting after each other. Not that they were obviously erect but there was something about the way they were looking at each other that said, I love you and I'm going to have you, and said it loudly. It was a breathtaking picture.

"Here's another," Duane said, handing them another large, framed picture. In this one Howard was standing behind Duane, looking over his shoulder. Duane's hands covered his dick but somehow they knew he was hard. The expression on both their faces left no doubt that Howard was inside him.

"My God, that's sexy," Toby said. "He captured exactly what you guys must have been feeling."

"Yeah," Howard said. "That's the kind of work José does. He gets to the essence of the subject."

They stood there, studying the pictures for a moment. Then a quick look passed between Howard and Duane, and Duane broke the silence. "If... If this is ever going to happen, it should probably happen now." He popped the top button of his shorts and looked from Sam to Toby and back again. "What do you think?"

Toby looked at Sam for a brief moment and then followed Duane's lead, unbuttoning the top button on his shorts and taking the zipper pull in his hand. "We think it should happen."

Both Duane and Toby were hard before they even finished undressing. Sam and Howard took marginally longer, but they were all standing proudly out by the time they got on the bed.

They weren't in any hurry and spent time exploring each other, celebrating their maleness and the pleasures they could bring to each other. When their excitement was at a peak they shared some lubricant and then made love, Sam over Toby and Duane over Howard. They watched each other and heard each other and then, after a long while, let the pleasure overwhelm them.

Afterward they showered together, but the shower would only hold two, so Toby showered with Duane and Sam with Howard. While two were in the shower, the other two were outside, often mimicking what was happening in the shower. It was a great deal of fun with a lot of affection thrown in for good measure.

Later, over a brandy in the living room, they decided it would happen again.

On Sunday afternoon, Sam and Toby found José at the pool, dangling his legs in the water and watching the guys swim and play. They talked for a bit, and when Toby asked him to dinner he jumped at the chance.

"I hear you're a damn good cook, and, boy, could I use a good meal," he said.

"You don't cook?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I can make a few things, but it's no fun to cook for yourself, so mostly I nuke something from the frozen-foods department."

"Well," Toby said with a smile, "you may be disappointed tonight. We're grilling hamburgers."

They had a drink and talked with some of the other men for a while. José disappeared for a bit, and they assumed he'd gone to have a shower... or more. Sure enough, when he reappeared, he had a very satisfied smile on his face.

Later, over burgers and oven fries, Sam and Toby told José what they thought had happened in Martin's condo that night and what they wanted to do to find him.

José, like Howard, said he wasn't surprised. "He was awfully good in bed," he said, "but he was kind of desperate, too. I know he needed money, but Jesus, I didn't think he'd kill for it. You're really sure about this?"

Sam looked at him. "You've had sex with him, right?" José nodded. "Describe his dick."

José laughed. "Well, let's see. It was pretty good sized, fairly long, but not too thick. And it was always clean. I watched him in the shower, washing his foreskin, although I think maybe a lot of that was just showing off."

"Yeah, well, that's the thing. See, the guy who died up there in Martin's bathtub was circumcised."

"You're kidding!"

"I'm not. I was there. I saw him, and he definitely didn't have a foreskin."

"We think he was Martin's brother," Toby said. "His twin brother."

José whistled. "You think he killed his own brother? Man, we got to find him. I mean... His brother? Jesus."

"That's what we're trying to do. That's why we need you to take some pictures of a friend of Toby's." Sam explained about setting up a profile on a couple of websites to smoke him out.

"And we want you to photograph him," Toby added. "We saw a couple of pictures you did for Howard and Duane, and they were awesome."

José thought for a moment. "I hope your friend is a redhead," he said to Toby. "Martin has a real thing for redheads."

"Oh, he's got red hair, all right. Bright red pubes, too," Toby said. "So when can you take his picture?"

"Wednesday would be good. At my place. Unless you want to do it at the pool."

"No. Your place would be better. We don't want Martin to recognize anything," Sam said. "He might get suspicious."

On the next day, Toby asked Zach if Wednesday would be okay. Zach gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up.

On Tuesday, Sam went out to the house. Bill was helping a couple of his workmen nail up sheetrock but took a break to show Sam what they'd done. Sam was impressed. He was more impressed when they went outside, and he saw that the new pool had been gunited.

"It's bigger than I expected," Sam said, pacing along the lap-pool part. "I'm going to have to get into better shape to do many laps in this thing."

Bill laughed. "Oh, I don't know. You must be in pretty good shape now-to keep up with that boyfriend of yours." He thought for a moment. "How come he doesn't shave?"

Sam smiled. "He does shave, every couple of days. He just does it with a number-one clipper and then uses a safety razor on his neck. He thinks it makes him look older and more mature. I think it makes him look sweet and sexy."

Bill shrugged. "Whatever." He turned back to the pool. "The plasterers come tomorrow. It'll be prettier after they finish. Filled with water, too. You can't swim in it for a couple of days, until the water gets changed. Maybe next week, late."

"Won't it be a little cold? Even with this heat?"

"No, it'll be just about right. We're putting in solar panels, remember?"

That had been Toby's idea; Sam never would have thought to do it, even though Tom and Dan, next door, had them. Toby said it'd let them swim nearly all year around and not cost a fortune in gas for a heater.

"Well, it's really coming together, isn't it?" Sam said.

"Sure is. We'll be locking it up in the next day or so. Oh, that reminds me, come on inside."

Inside, Bill sorted through some hardware and handed Sam a key. "Once it's locked up, this'll get you in the front door. I know how much you guys like to come out here on weekends."

On Wednesday after work, Zach followed Toby home, having changed into a pair of shorts and a tee shirt at the hotel. He was well over six-feet tall, and, as advertised, he had red hair, cut fairly short. He also had an infectious smile, green eyes and, from what Sam could see, a very nice body. If that doesn't smoke Martin out, nothing will, Sam thought as they shook hands.

Over a cold dinner of green salad and shrimp, Sam decided that not only was the man handsome, he was also intelligent and well-spoken. He wondered if he should be worried that he was a friend of Toby's. When he asked Zach if he minded if they came along to watch, he shook his head.

"Who knows," he said with a laugh, "I might need chaperones."

When they got to José's, they were welcomed in and offered drinks. José took them into the living room; he didn't take his eyes off Zach.

One wall of the living room was covered with a light-blue sheet. This, José told them, was to be the background for the pictures. Later, on the computer, he could add any sort of background they might want.

He started by taking a couple of shots of Zach in his clothes, then wearing just his shorts and finally naked. Zach didn't seem in the least bit self conscious about being naked in front of them, but neither did he seem to be showing off. He and José seemed almost to have developed some sort of silent communication, the way they worked together.

After a couple of close-up shots of Zach's dick and coppery pubic hair, José paused and looked at Toby. "In your profile of him? Make him married. Martin is almost as hot for married men as he is for this." He ran his fingers through Zach's pubic hair. Zach didn't flinch but, Toby noted, his dick began to fill out.

"Then he needs a wedding ring, doesn't he?" Sam asked.

José paused and looked Zach up and down. "Wait, I think I have something that'll pass for a wedding ring." He went upstairs and came back with a plain silver ring which he worked onto Zach's finger. Zach held it up to the light and admired it. "Beautiful," he said.

Zach did several poses holding his dick, which highlighted his pubic hair and showed off the ring. Both Sam and Toby noted that José seemed to have a large knot in his shorts.

"Can I let it get hard now?" Zach asked. "I don't think I can hold it off much longer."

José glanced at Sam and Toby, then back at Zach. "Yeah, now would be good. Do you want some help?" He didn't wait for an answer, he simply fell to his knees and took Zach in his mouth. Zach's dick cooperated almost instantly.

Well, Sam thought, looking at Zach's erection, that should be enough dick to satisfy anyone, even Martin.

José took a couple of pictures and turned to Sam and Toby who were sitting together on the couch. "Uh, look guys, this is going to take a while, so if you have something you need to do, just go ahead."

Zach nodded. "Yeah, go on, guys. I'll see you at work tomorrow, Toby."

They got the message. They went home to do what José and Zach were presumably going to do.

On the next day, when Toby came home from work, he kissed Sam and said, "He's still wearing the ring."

Saturday night they went to Spencer's for dinner. It was becoming a favorite place, and Henry was their favorite waiter. They had a good time, and both of them realized how comfortable they were with each other. They went home and to bed with a glow of contentment.

The next morning they were lying spoon fashion, and Sam pressed his hardness against Toby.

In a sleepy voice Toby said, "We just did that, Sam."

"I know, but I want to do it again. Can we?"

By way of answering, Toby pushed back, slowly opening for him, still slick from first time. Sam entered him slowly and easily.

They took their time with it, climbing the peak almost to the top and then backing off, each knowing exactly where the other one was. It was Toby, finally, who lost control, but Sam sensed it and they fell together, in a long spiral of pleasure.

They lay quietly for a time, still connected, savoring what they'd just done. Without disengaging, Sam pulled himself up on his elbow and nibbled at Toby's ear. "Let's get married."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Canada? Spain? Holland? I just want to be married to you, that's all."

Toby twisted his head around and kissed Sam. "How about here? We can't get married, but we can be domestic partners. It's almost like getting married."

"Okay." Sam flexed in him. "But then I want to go to one of those other places and get really married. Maybe all of them." He flexed again.

"Sam? Can you... Again?"

Sam moved in him slowly. "For you, again, and again, and again."

The next morning Sam called Alistair.