Damaged Amazon

by Kim Pritekel

  “So, one?” Cal asked, sitting slightly forward from his spot on the floor.

  “Um, yeah. We kissed.”

  “Holy cow! Not only are you the elusive roommate but you’re a virgin, too?”

  “God, dude. Lay off her,” Chad said.

  Cal smirked before taking a swig from his drink, wincing as the liquor went down. “Sounds like everyone has laid off her.”

  Nora was ashamed, and her blush was quick and hot. She glanced over when she felt a hand on her thigh. Sarah was smiling at her.

  “Ignore him,” she said softly. “He can be an ass when he drinks.”

  Nora nodded and gave her a small smile, not sure what to think when that hand remained there for a few more moments before it was taken away. It was only when it was gone that she was able to breathe. She took several quick swigs from the beer, regretting it as her head began to feel funny. A small giggle escaped her lips, making the group burst into laughter. Suddenly, she felt like laughing with them.

  “That is one helluva lightweight.” Chad laughed. “Your turn, gorgeous,” he said to Sarah.

  The group took several more rounds of questions and answers, all the while drinking, and to Nora, each question and its following answer got funnier and funnier. Some of the questions or directives were silly, some embarrassing, and some all-out lewd. All in all, she was admittedly having a good time. And now, on her third beer, it was Chad’s turn.

  “Okay, what we got here?” he said, unfolding his paper. He burst into laughter after reading it over quietly. “Okay, toots.” He pointed at Sarah. “I pick you for this one. ‘Choose a player to also choose a player to pantomime a sexual act, replete with grunts and groans.’”

  “Oh God,” Sarah groaned.

  “I think you’re supposed to groan during, not before.” Cal grinned.

  “Oh, fuck off, Cal. And, I know you wrote that one. Only you would use the word ‘replete.’”

  “Guilty!”

  “Crap.” Sarah pushed to her feet and reached down and grabbed Nora’s hand.

  “What, me?” Nora asked, eyes huge at the implication.

  “Come on, stud.” Sarah chuckled, moving past Tanya to the center of the small living room, only a few feet from the closest member of the group. “Come on, woman,” Sarah said loudly in a lame Texas accent. She hitched her thumbs suggestively in the waistband of her thin, cotton yoga pants. “Let’s get to the last of them dozen brats you wanted.”

  Nora laughed with the group, even as she felt like she was about to vomit and her nerves and uncertainty beat at her rib cage.

  Sarah fell to her knees and tugged Nora down with her, pushing her to her back. Nora giggled when Sarah put her hands on her knees and, with a dramatic flourish, spread them wide.

  “Oh my God!” Nora laughed, her pickled brain beginning to take her nerves away.

  Sarah moved on top of her, holding herself up on her arms, her hands planted on either side of Nora’s head. With exaggerated movements, she pretended to thrust into Nora, her hips moving high above her with each “out” motion. The group laughed at the raucous display.

  “Damn, Sarah.” Chad laughed. “You must have a ten incher!” This, of course, sent a new round of laughter and giggles.

  “Jealous?” Sarah asked with a grin as she glanced briefly over at him.

  There was a small part of Nora’s brain that was sober enough to realize what was happening and that her stunningly sexy roommate was on top of her, lewdly moving between her legs. Her giggles came to a slow stop when Sarah looked down at her and, for a moment, something passed between them. Sarah’s movements stopped briefly, and Nora gasped when she pressed down into her, sending sensation sprouting through every cell of her body. Her hands, which had been resting against her sides, tightened.

  A catcall and whistle from someone in the room seemed to break Sarah out of her daze, and suddenly she was back to her obnoxious movements and grunts, Nora taking a second to shake herself out of what had happened and get back into the ludicrous fun of it. She too began to groan and grunt loudly, her hips bucking wildly with Sarah’s crazed movements.

  With a loud, obscene groan, Sarah collapsed on top of Nora, panting loudly. “Was it good for you?” she asked.

  Nora giggled, wrapping her in a loose hug. “I’m feeling very knocked up.”

  Chuckling, Sarah left a quick peck on Nora’s cheek then jumped to her feet, reaching a hand down to help her up. The two shared a quick but meaningful look before returning to their seats.

  Chapter Seventeen

  From the locked door of room 213 was a trail of clothing across the maroon carpet with an art nouveau design through it. The pieces of a Gucci suit were strewn along with a simple dress of dark blue with tiny white dots decorating it. A pair of white high heels were intermingled with a pair of black Armani wingtips. A cream-colored purse hung halfway off an armchair, and an iPhone sat atop a briefcase that lay on its side, the phone lighting up as it vibrated its way to the floor with an incoming call. Navy satin panties were crumpled next to a matching bra. Finally, a pair of men’s briefs hung haphazardly off the king-sized bed that squeaked with a rhythm as old as time.

  ****

  Jill sat in the uncomfortable chair, one of her high heel-clad feet tapping nervously on the tiled floor beneath it. One arm was crossed tersely over her chest as the other held her phone to her ear, and her usually delicate, lovely features were turned hard and sharp.

  “Damn it,” she muttered, disconnecting the unanswered call. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the other number she’d already tried and called again. “Mary, this is Jill Lacey again, I’m sorry to bother you again. He’s not answering. Would you please have him call me the absolute moment you hear from him or he returns from his lunch appointment? Thank you, and you, too.”

  She glanced back over at the counter where the desk officer was typing away on his computer. She left him until her gaze landed on the closed door that she was told he would be coming out from. Nothing, still nothing. She’d been sitting there for more than an hour, bail already paid.

  “What the hell’s going on?”

  Jill turned to see Larry, Sr. storm into the lobby, dressed for golf. “I’m about ready to hit the damn green when I get you boo-hooin’ on the phone.”

  Jill pushed to her feet and walked over to him, accepting a quick hug from her father. “I’m sorry, Daddy. It’s Tyler.”

  “What? What did he do this damn time, and where the hell is his father? Why do I gotta be here?” he asked, looking around, his features tanned and leathery as usual.

  “Andrew is at some sort of lunch appointment. Tyler has been arrested—”

  “How much?” Larry, Sr. asked, bringing his wallet out of the back pocket of his cotton pants.

  “No,” she said, feeling exasperated, placing her hands over his. “I don’t need your money.”

  “Then, why the hell am I here?” he boomed, looking down at her with confusion in his eyes.

  Jill hugged herself, regretting calling him now. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said quietly. “I’m just”—she let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders falling—“I just don’t know what to do anymore. Neither Andy nor I know where to go with him.”

  “What did he do?” he asked, voice slightly calmer.

  “In his infinite wisdom, he and his friend thought it would be a great idea to steal a car from the school parking lot and go joy riding.” She glanced up at him and was shocked to see amusement in his eyes. “Daddy, this isn’t funny.”

  “No, no it ain’t. What that boy needs is a swift kick in the damn ass from that husband of yours. But, since he can’t bother to be around, he’s coming home with me.”

  “Daddy—”

  Jill’s words fell on deaf ears as Larry, Sr. marched up to the front desk officer.

  “What the hell do I have to do to get my grandson out of here?”

  ****

  Able to sit at last, Sarah let out a sigh of reli
ef and plopped down in her desk chair. She picked through the various messages and reports that had been left there for her. As she sifted through them, she grabbed the desk phone to check her voice messages. Hitting the appropriate buttons to dial in, she cradled the receiver between her ear and her shoulder.

  Listening to one message after another, she deleted those that weren’t important and grabbed a notepad and pencil to scribble notes down for a few that were. The message that caught her attention, however, was from Devon Hurley.

  “Hello, Detective Sanchez, this is Chief Devon Hurley. We met the other night over a torched apartment. Just wanted to say I hope you guys got what you needed and I’ll have a report sent to you directly of cause. I can tell you this, though, everything is pointing to arson, but I’m sure if you’re as good as your reputation says you are, you knew that. Oh, and how about lunch next week?”

  Sarah’s finger hovered over the delete option, but she hesitated. Instead she listened to the message again, this time taking down the provided cell phone number. She sat back in her chair and looked at the number, taking in the ten digits. With a shake of her head, she crumpled it up and tossed it into the trash can next to her desk. Turning to a report that had her interest, she gave a side glance to the trash can before she reached over and plucked the scrap of paper out, pocketing it.

  Once she’d pushed thoughts of the cute little fire chief out of her mind, she redirected her attention to the mess on her desk, reaching blindly to her desktop computer to turn it on as she made piles based on importance.

  “Good morning, Sarah.”

  She glanced up. “Hey, Mark.” When he indicated she should follow him to his desk, she scooted back from her own. “What’s up?”

  “We gots uglies,” he said cryptically. He grabbed and extra chair and slid it next to his. “Have a seat. I have a lot to tell you.”

  Sarah said nothing as she got settled next to her partner. She watched as he clicked on a few things, opening one file after another before a spreadsheet appeared on the screen. Her dark gaze scoured the hundreds of cells, some containing numbers, some full words or names and yet others, what seemed to be code.

  “What is this?”

  “What was on that thumb drive found in Bella’s teddy bear,” Mark said, glancing at her. “Sarah, these are the records of what is turning out to be a massive drug-dealing ring, starting from somewhere in Mexico all the way to Canada. I brought Dennis in,” he added, meaning the most experienced narcotics officer in the department. “Dennis recognized a lot of these names and knew some of this code. He’s sent a copy of this to the DEA and is opening up a whole new case on this.”

  Sarah brought a hand up, stroking her chin as she scanned the material before her. “This is what they were after,” she said solemnly. “Why the place was torched and, I’d wager, why Shannon was taken.”

  “I agree. But was she involved?” Mark asked, raising bushy eyebrows as he sat back in his chair, studying her. “The sister said she’d been involved with drugs in the past and she has a record, so…”

  Sarah continued to stroke her chin, no longer seeing the screen. She shook her head. “Something feels wrong here, Mark.”

  “Yeah? Your Spidey sense going off?” the older man said with a grizzled grin.

  After a moment she nodded. “There’s a couple people I need to talk to again,” she said absently. Her brain spun while she pulled a plan together.” As she pushed up from the chair, Mark’s desk phone rang.

  “Sloan.” He listened to what was said on the other end, his gray eyes darting to Sarah who was looking down at him. “Yeah, we’ve got a case that might match her…Yeah, go ahead and send us what you’ve got. Thanks, bye.” He cradled the receiver and stood from his chair. “We need to get some DNA.”

  He reached down and opened the drawer in his desk where Sarah knew he kept all their active files for easy access. He pulled one out and tossed it across his desk. Sarah looked down at the picture paper clipped to the file, a dazzling smile meeting her gaze. It was the same photo she had.

  ****

  “Andy, I know I left you a message, but Jill called again—” Mary jumped at the slam of her boss’s office door, only able to stare.

  ****

  Andrew threw his briefcase onto the leather couch in his office and walked over to his desk, slamming his iPhone to the top before plopping down in the chair. His eyes were closed as his hands came up, covering his face for a moment before they fell to his lap. Glancing over at his phone, he sighed.

  “Shit,” he blew out before grabbing it.

  ****

  “You got those, sweetheart?” Nora asked, glancing down at her niece who was holding the stack of Missing flyers she’d printed out at the FedEx shipping center.

  “Uh-huh,” Bella said with a big nod, which made Nora smile.

  “Okay, hand me only one this time, ’kay?”

  With another big nod and some maneuvering, the five-year-old managed to peel off one of the pages. On it was a photocopied picture of Shannon, taken only three months before, with a description of all her vitals as well as the last day and place she was seen. Included was information to call with both Nora and Sarah’s numbers.

  Tucking the top of the page between her teeth, Nora tore off a piece of packing tape then taped both top and bottom of the page to the phone pole where they stood.

  “Will this bring Mommy home?” Bella asked, looking up at Nora with big, sad eyes.

  Nora knelt down so she was on the girl’s eye level. She smiled at her, bringing up a hand to brush some hair out of those eyes. “Let’s hope so, sweetie.” They’d already had a meltdown that morning, Bella shattering into emotions when she saw her mother’s picture staring back at her. “Come on. Let’s go to the building where the nice man said we could put one on, okay?”

  They made their way down the sidewalk to a local candy store called Taffy’s where an excited kid—or big kid—could get any number of candies, cotton candy, flavored popcorn, and chocolates. It was a favorite for their ice cream on a hot summer day. On this day, Nora had promised Bella the choice of any candy she wanted if she helped her with the flyers, an offer no five-year-old could refuse.

  Bella handed her another flyer as asked and Nora held it in place with a hand as her other hand came up with a piece of tape. She was startled when another hand appeared right above her own. She glanced over and saw Sarah.

  “Hey,” she said quietly, feeling a bit awkward after their last parting. “Glad you called earlier.”

  “Hey. Glad I caught you in town.” Sarah gently took the flyer from Nora’s hand. “Can we talk for a minute?” she asked, indicating Bella with a small movement of her head.

  “Yeah,” Nora said, hearing the seriousness in her voice. “Hey, Bella, you ready for that candy now?”

  “Yeah!”

  Thirty-five minutes later, the trio sat on the outside patio table, Bella happily swinging her feet to and fro as they dangled off the chair and enjoying the sucker ring Sarah had bought for her. It had taken forever for the child to choose, but she seemed quite happy with her selection.

  “Did you thank Sarah for your sucker, Bella?” Nora asked, a vanilla ice cream cone in her hand.

  “Thank you, Sarah,” Bella said, her lips already as red as the sucker. “Are you going to find my mommy?”

  Sarah gave her a winning smile. “I’m gonna try,” she said, reaching across the metal lattice table to tweak Bella’s nose. “I’m gonna do my bestest.”

  Bella giggled. “That’s not a word!”

  “It’s not?” Sarah asked with feigned surprise. “I thought it was.”

  “No,” Bella said with a vigorous shake of her head.

  “Well, guess I’ll have to work on my words, huh?”

  Bella nodded, the sucker back in her mouth.

  Nora watched the two interact, and it touched her heart. She knew Sarah, the oldest of seven, had several nieces and nephews, and she was well-versed in kids. Nora
was charmed. “Thanks for the ice cream,” she said softly, lifting her cone in emphasis.

  “No problem,” Sarah said with a small smile. “I’m saving this bad boy for later.” She tapped the white paper bag sitting on the table, which contained a dark chocolate-and-orange truffle.

  “So…” Nora drawled, eyeing her with a bit of trepidation.

  “Nora,” Sarah said, turning to face her. They both glanced at Bella to see she was happily sucking on her ring pop and watching a couple of birds peck at some dumped popcorn on the sidewalk.

  “Did you find her?” Nora asked, almost breathless for the answer. She could tell there was something different in Sarah’s demeanor.

  Sarah sat back in her chair, leaning slightly in Nora’s direction. “Nora, I need a DNA sample,” she said quietly.

  Nora felt her entire world go dark and nearly dropped her ice cream cone. If it hadn’t been for Sarah reaching over and steadying her hand, she would have. “What? Why?”

  “Preferably from your dad or Bella. But, it’s necessary.”

  “I can give you one,” Nora said, feeling numb. “I can’t put Bella through that.”

  “Honestly, you, Jill, or LJ would be our last resort. Bella or Larry, Sr. is truly what we need.”

  It took Nora a moment to find her voice again, but eventually she nodded. “I’ll talk to my dad.”

  “Okay. If you can get him to help us out, we’ll need him down at the station for a cheek swab.”

  Nora nodded, brow drawn as she was deeply troubled. “Should—” She stopped as her voice cracked with her rising emotion. She couldn’t let Bella see it. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Should we stop?” she asked, nodding her head toward the stack of Missing posters and roll of tape sitting atop them.

  Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know. It can’t hurt, right?” She reached out and gave Nora’s arm a gentle squeeze and tweaked Bella’s nose again. Grabbing her bag of goodies, she pushed up from the chair. “I’ll see you two ladies later, okay?”