Vice

by Nicole Marsh

  He explained until the forensics team is able to complete the full forensics work up on the victim and evidence found at the Club, he would feel more comfortable if his two officers stayed with me as a security detail, to ensure my safety. I let Chief know that I appreciated his concern and having a set of trained Officers with me would make me feel safer, both at my apartment and at the Club. I told him I have a guest room and a couch his officers can use and I appreciate their willingness to change their regular job duties keep me safe.

  The two cops haven’t seemed very put off from having to become my babysitters, which I’m grateful for. Cooper has kept up a steady stream of commentary since the moment we both stepped into my car. I keep glancing sideways at his face, he is very handsome, but not my usual type. He has plump, pouty lips with a narrow nose. Large eyebrows and sharp cheek bones. He’s nice to look at, but mostly I’m just thankful that he’s here to help keep me safe.

  We pull up to the parking lot behind Vice and I’m mentally making a list of all the things I need to do to get my home ready for my new house guests. First things first, I need to get both cops to sign a non-disclosure. It’s inevitable that they’ll see and experience the various rooms of the Club while they’re here as my security detail. The last thing I need on top of a murder investigation is two cops telling everyone they know, which probably includes many other cops, about what happens in my club. We’re well connected, but it becomes an issue if too many people start asking questions.

  Cooper and I get out of my car, with Alex exiting their unmarked sedan close behind us. “Alright, Gentlemen,” I address the Hot Cops, with my hands clasped together in front of me. “I have a couple documents for you to sign first, before I can allow you in my Club during our working hours. Would you like to start with signing the forms or grab some rest first and head down prior to opening tonight?” I ask.

  “How about you grab the forms and then we can have some time to review them upstairs,” Alex replies, “Cooper and I need to take shifts grabbing a few things from home so we have what we need to stay here for a while.”

  I nod, agreeing with Alex’s plan to accomplish a few things at once. I lead my Hot Cops in through the back door of the Club and wind my way through the halls towards my office. The cleaning crew made quick work of the mess from the masquerade and Vice looks good as new. There’s no evidence of the blood that had seeped into the floor by the dressing room either. I’m thankful that they were able clean it, without leaving a mark as a constant reminder for myself or the girls.

  We reach the door to my office, which I unlock, flipping the light switch on as I walk in. I stop short before making it completely through the doorway, letting out a small shriek.

  My office is a mess. Papers are scattered everywhere, my desk chair has been shredded and the stuffing thrown about the room. Books haven been pulled from their shelves and thrown about haphazardly. Pages have been ripped out and littered amongst the rest of the mess.

  I walk into the office and turn to the wall beside the door, I slide my faux bookcase to the left, away from its normal spot hiding the safe. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the safe is there, seemingly untouched. Not only is there a fair sum of money in the safe, but it also holds all of my client files in their paper and electronic forms. I save nothing to my actual hard drive. I am all about papers, thumb drives, and storing data in the cloud.

  Cooper and Alex are looking around my office, taking the scene in. Cooper speaks first, “Jenna, when was the last time that you were in your office?”

  I take a second to consider, before I reply, “About halfway through the statements, I brought in the bar proceeds from last night and placed them in the safe. I didn’t stop in here as much as I usually do throughout the night because we were busier than usual.” I pause for another minute to think. “The office wasn’t destroyed when I came in here, and I locked the door behind me when I left.”

  “This must have happened after everyone left the Club,” Alex interjects. “Do you have an alarm system or a camera in the office?” I shake my head no. He continues talking, while assessing the damage “It may be a good idea to look into some additional security precautions for the Club. After we get some rest, we can sort through this mess and you can see if anything obvious is missing.” Alex stops looking about the room and focuses on me, “Do you want to try to find a NDA in this mess or wait for later?”

  I glance around and spot a few NDAs still laying in a pile on the floor by the corner of the desk. I snag two pf the agreements and two pens from the floor. I hold everything in my left hand, then hold it up, so the cops can see the papers. “Let’s take these upstairs, and you two can take your turns grabbing your things.” I instruct, deciding its best just to follow the plan we made before we came into the office, “I agree that we should all get some rest before we deal with this. It’s been a long night and I’m exhausted.”

  I’m preoccupied thinking of who could have wandered into my office, but the truth is the Bottom Floor wasn’t reopened until after I left the club. I had requested one of the security guards lock up the club after everyone was out, but there is no way for me to know if a straggler was left inside, or if the doors weren’t locked properly. Versus the option that the destruction of my office was a malicious act.

  Plus the cleaning crew came after the Club was closed. I’ve never had an issue with them in the past, but I make a mental note to give them a call and make sure that no one new was assigned to my Club that may be responsible for the damage to my office.

  My cops shuffle out and I lock the door behind us, leading the way back through the club and then up the outside stairs to my apartment. We get to the landing and I let the three of us in through the door. I breathe out a small sigh of relief when I get inside and the front rooms of the apartment appear untouched.

  Despite the appearance that everything is okay, Cooper and Alex instruct me to lock the deadbolt on the door, and wait beside it while they ensure the apartment is empty. I wait for the few moments it takes them to check the two bedrooms, the bathroom and a half and my few closets, before they state that it’s safe for me to move away from the door.

  I head into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, setting the NDAs and the pens salvaged from my office on the dining room table. Cooper and Alex join me in the kitchen, but Cooper stays standing. He announces that he’ll run home to go grab his things first. Alex sits down at the table and pulls over one of the NDAs to review as I let Cooper out and lock the door behind him.

  Alex takes his time, clearly reading every line, as he slowly flips through the five page document. Once he finishes reviewing it, he looks up at me and asks, “Is this necessary?”

  “My Patrons expect their privacy. It’s a large part of the allure for the club.” I turn away from my coffee preparations to look at Alex while I respond, “Every person who wants to enter the club has to sign one.”

  Alex nods his head, the looks back down to sign the line on the form. “Coffee?” I ask holding out a mug. Alex accepts the mug with a small smile. He immediately takes a sip, cutting off my question about cream or sugar.

  Meanwhile, I start prepping my cup of coffee with a healthy dose of creamer. Okay, okay. I prep my cup of creamer with a small shot of coffee.

  I pull out the dining room chair across from Alex and sit down at the table. I want to talk about the sleeping arrangements before I get everything set up for the Cops that are becoming my temporary roommates. “I only have one guest bedroom, but the couch should be an okay option as well. It’s pretty large and comfortable,” I tell him as I point at my sectional.

  “Is there anything we can pull into your room?” Alex asks, and I glance up from my coffee at him, “It would probably be best if one of us slept in the room with you, in case anyone attempts something at night,” Alex explains.

  “I have a small sofa in my room,” I admit. “It probably won’t be the most comfortable sleep, since you and Cooper are both so tall,” I
say with a shrug.

  “I’m sure we’ll survive,” Alex replies with another small smile.

  We sit in the kitchen for a while sipping on our coffees in comfortable silence. I rinse my mug and place it in the dishwasher, then excuse myself to change and find some bedding to make up the couch in my room as a small bed. I head to the cupboard in the hall and grab a few blankets and a pillow and place them on the couch in my room. I also grab a few spare towels and place them on the bathroom vanity in case the guys need them.

  After prepping the couch, I head into my bathroom and scrub my face clean. Then slip into some sweats. I stand in my room for a minute, a thousand thoughts flying through my head. Last night feels so surreal, like it happened to someone else. I feel like I should be more afraid. That I should be worried about what the girl being murdered in my club and the note both mean, but right now I’m just exhausted.

  I hear Cooper returning through the front door, so I head back towards the kitchen. I call out to them as I walk, “Hey guys, I am going to lay down and grab some sleep. The couch in my room is set up with a few blankets and a pillow for one of you. The guest bedroom is also made up.” Once I get in the kitchen and can see the guys, I continue telling them about their new temporary home, “The set up in here is a bit weird. The main bathroom with a shower is off the Master bedroom. I laid some towels out on the vanity, in case either of you want to take a shower. If there’s anything else that you need, feel free to help yourself.”

  Both of the guys nod their heads and call out a thank you.

  I head back into my room and crawl under the covers. Within minutes of my head hitting the pillow, I’m pulled into a deep sleep.

  «»«»«»«»

  A loud ringing noise to my left startles me out of a deep sleep. I groggily throw my hand out to the nightstand, grasping around until I find the source of the noise. My hand hits my phone, I pick it up and lay it near my face to answer, “Hello?” I rasp out. My voice sounding throaty from sleep.

  Katia’s overly chipper voice is on the other end, “Hey, I texted you like a hundred times. What happened after you left with the cops? Are you okay?” Her voice sounds upbeat, but concerned and suddenly I feel so guilty for not checking my phone last night. I don’t think I looked at it after I left the bar.

  I take a second to clear my sleep-dry throat before I reply, “Hey, sorry girl. I didn’t check my phone at all. Last night was a lot to take in.” I pause while she makes a sympathetic noise of assent, “I made it back to my apartment in one piece, and the cops are here at my house with me.”

  Katia giggles, “Ooh naughty girl.” I can hear her smirk over the phone, “That’s not your usual style. What made you decide to bring BOTH cops home??”

  I laugh at her insinuation, “Not like that.” Behind me I can hear one of the guys grumbling on the couch, probably still tired and annoyed that my phone call woke us both up. I decide maybe it’s better to talk in person anyways and offer, “Why don’t you come by for some lunch in about an hour? We can talk about everything you missed.” I pause before asking another question that I’ve been worrying about since the girl was found in the Club. “Have you seen anything negative about the club, or anything in the news?” I ask with concern.

  Katia informs me all of the girls have been posting the pictures they took from before and during the event. She said the reaction has been incredibly positive on social media, with tons of likes and Patrons making sly comments about the exclusive event. After telling me the reactions to the photos, Katia continues to reassure me, “Everything happened so late, probably two-thirds of the guests, if not more, were already gone by the time the body was found and the cops showed. I haven’t seen anything on the news, I talked to Trent before I left though and he promised to keep it all hush, hush.”

  Katia is great at finding true words of encouragement during times when I’m stressed out about my business. Her words are kind, but also true. I agree with her assessment about the timing, “Yeah, I will never be glad that someone was found dead in the club, but I’m grateful it didn’t happen earlier in the night. And I’ll need to find a way that we can thank Trent.”

  We hang up with the agreement that Katia will come over in about an hour. After I drop my phone back onto my nightstand, I sit up in bed and glance over to my couch.

  I almost start to salivate at the sight of Alex, in just a pair of shorts with a blanket tangled around his legs. I could get used to waking up with a couple of hot cops in my apartment with their bodies on display. Alex is built. His eight pack appears highlighted, glinting in the sunlight seeping in from the windows. His broad shoulders and built arms make me want to go curl up with him on the couch, letting him hold me and keep me safe. I continue my perusal until I reach his face, my eyes take in his square jaw, his broad nose, and prominent brows which are a shade darker than his hair. I stop once I focus on his eyes, which are openly staring at me. When our gazes connect and his lips turn up into a smirk.

  My cheeks heat up, and I know they’re tinged red. I let out a small, embarrassed laugh at being caught checking him out. I look away from Alex and proceed to stand up and stretch out a few of my sore muscles, then head into the bathroom to hop into the shower.

  I emerge refreshed and energized, ready for lunch with Katia. I’m walking into my bedroom, lost in thought, still wrapped in a towel, and run right into a warm wall of muscle.

  I throw both hands out to help me recover my balance and they land against rock hard pecs. Hands are placed firmly on my biceps to help steady me as well. My cheeks lightly flush again, as I apologize, “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  I hear a chuckle. When I look up, I see Alex with his eyes focused on my chest. I clear my throat to get his attention and his eyes snap to my face. Now he has a bit of red cresting his cheeks and I’m the one smirking.

  Alex lets go of my upper arms and winds his way around me, heading into the bathroom. After he passes, I call out, “Coffee?”

  He replies with a, “Yes, please.” Right before shutting the bathroom door and starting up the shower for himself.

  I get dressed while I muse about having the guys over in the apartment. So far, the guys rooming in my place hasn’t been bad. Having eye candy around is an unexpected perk. One thing that will probably lose its appeal quickly is sharing the one and a half bathrooms in the apartment. The one shower thing isn’t a big deal for one person, but it could easily become a frustrating situation for three people. I decide not to dwell on the potential shower issue and vow to address it when, if, it ever becomes an issue. Who knows how long the guys will even be staying here. If it’s just a few days, we’ll definitely be able to deal with it. We’re all adults, after all.

  I head into the kitchen and start up a pot of coffee, then turn to open the fridge and assess our food options. My food supplies are running a bit low, I decide just to make some breakfast food and we can eat brunch.

  I’m scrambling eggs and frying up bacon when a knock sounds at the door. I move to put down my spatula on the spoon rest, in order to head over and open the door, when Cooper bursts into the kitchen and demands that I let him answer it. I shrug and resume cooking brunch for everyone.

  From the corner of my eye, I see Cooper opening the door. Stifling a laugh, I watch as he stands with the door half open, his hand on the handle and his jaw on the floor. He looks stunned at the vision of Katia standing on my porch with the sunlight streaming in behind her.

  After waiting for a second on my porch, Katia finally asks Cooper, “Can I come in to see Jenna?” Cooper nods before he opens the door the rest of the way and stands to the side, speechless, letting her pass into the apartment. Katia shoots me a wink before dropping her work duffle behind the couch and pulling out a chair at the dining room table.

  I let out a laugh. This isn’t an abnormal reaction for men when they see Katia, but I’m glad to witness it from Cooper. It makes him less imposing cop and more human. I file this moment away for later, so
that I can tease Cooper about it when Katia isn’t around. I understand his surprise and awe though. Katia is a vision. Even dressed casually. Today she’s in skinny jeans, demure (for her) black heels, and a black tube top. Her blonde hair cascading around her shoulders and down her back, her face lightly made up, but she still looks like she just returned from a fashion show.

  Luckily Katia is used to the attention and doesn’t bring it up. Instead she asks Cooper a few questions, which helps to smooth over the door incident and seems to make him loosen up a bit. Cooper, Katia, and I chat about light topics as I finish making brunch. Soon we’re joined by a freshly showered Alex, who introduces himself, but then doesn’t give Katia a second glance. That was an abnormal reaction to Katia, I note.

  While I’m plating up food fort the table, Katia helps with the place settings. The guys keep us entertained through breakfast, telling us their worst patrol stories. We laugh while munching on breakfast and the whole morning feels so lighthearted and normal.

  After we finish eating, the mood turns more somber when Katia asks Cooper why he and Alex are staying at my place. I knew it would come up eventually, but while we were eating I’d forgotten about the events from last night. I can understand why Katia is curious though. It’s time to talk about the time at the station yesterday. I tell Katia about my conversation with Matt and the note that they don’t want to release to the press, which contributed to Matt’s concern for my safety.

  After I finish telling her the entire story, Katia asks me softly with a concerned look, “Are you okay, J?”

  “I think so,” I reply. “I don’t know what this person wants,” I hesitate before continuing to voice random thoughts that I’ve been mulling over since this morning, “And I feel so guilty about that girl. I think she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” I think for a second before I list my final thought, “It’s so odd, that she was dressed just like me. I think once we find more answers and hopefully a lead, I’ll feel better about the whole situation.”