by Ivy Nelson
“I want to come out with a statement on this monster terrorizing deviant women.”
Bradley cringed inside but kept his expression blank. “Sir, that’s a bad idea. At least to phrase it like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“It sounds like you are trying to vilify or blame the victims. Murder is murder no matter who the victim is.”
“Well we can work on the language, but I want to come down against this vile community. This BDSD or whatever the hell it is. It disgusts me. Sorry. I know you said you enjoy it but at least you keep it in private. Some of these places are just broadcasting it all over the place. Where is the legislative team on my bill? I want to put out a statement soon.”
Bradley stiffened. He wanted the man to forget about this idea. “I have a meeting with your legislative director today. Let’s take it to Charlie and see what he has to say. You know Sandra isn’t happy about this either. She’s already given me an earful about you talking to the press without her.”
Atleigh rolled his eyes. “Fine. Talk to Charles, but I want to make an announcement soon.”
Bradley agreed, and they moved on. A little while later the senator stood to leave.
“Tell Sandra I want to see her before I leave for the airport please.”
Bradley nodded.
The man was so exasperating sometimes. What on earth am I going to do with him? It wasn’t the first time he had asked himself this question. He believed in loyalty, but how far was that supposed to extend?
“Everything all right, boss?” Adara asked, when she poked her head in his door.
He nodded and motioned for her to come in.
“I’m sure you’re probably already done with the briefing book, but can you do another pass and include anything that mentions me or these murders?”
“Of course, I already caught some of them just because where you’re mentioned the senator also comes up.” She was twisting a bracelet on her arm as she spoke. “Um,” she paused, still twisting the trinket around her wrist.
“What is it Adara? You can ask me anything.”
“I just… I shouldn’t. It’s inappropriate.” She blushed.
“You have questions about the club?” He wondered if Michael had mentioned he was a member. He doubted it.
“Just forget it, I’ll get you the briefing as soon as possible.”
She rushed out of the room before Bradley could stop her.
A half hour later, he was sifting through Adara’s well organized briefing. Virtually every local blog and newspaper had picked up the story, but so far it had stayed out of the national headlines. It wouldn’t last long though, someone was bound to ask the senator about it in front of the cameras today. It would be important to talk to Darci. Hopefully she wasn’t being bombarded with questions. Trying not to dwell on it, he set up meetings with Charlie and Sandra. Time to clue them in on what might happen over the next few days.
• • •
Jim Perkins pulled Darci into a hug as soon as she came into the office.
“Darci, I’m so sorry about Elise.”
“Thanks, Jim. I’m sorry about the extra security. I know it makes things awkward around here.”
“Nonsense. I’m glad you’re being protected. Besides, now I have a chance to visit with Peter.”
She settled into her office with coffee and her to-do list. At the top, was tracking down Tessa. After so many no-shows and lack of contact, it was probably time to put her case on the back burner, but Darci was connected to the girl. Her story was so similar to her own it didn’t seem fair to let her slip through the cracks. There was still no answer when she tried calling her, so she left a voice mail and sent a text before moving on to the next task.
An hour into writing an op-ed on why the proposed bill on pornography would do more harm than good, Peter stepped into her office with a folder in his hand.
“I need to show you something, Kitten. Did you text Elise on Friday night and ask her to come to your apartment?”
Her eyes grew wide.
“No, of course not! Why would I do that?” He opened the folder. It was a copy of texts sent to Elise’s phone. Sure enough, there on the page was a text that appeared to be from Darci. It reminded her of the Facebook message she got on the way to the club. She pulled her phone out to show it to Peter.
He examined the message and clicked on the profile image. It led to a brand new, practically empty page. The killer had created a fake account and stolen her profile picture. It hadn’t dawned on Darci that there was no message history.
Fuck. It was all a setup. Darci's stomach lurched, realizing the killer had used her to lure Elise to her death. Peter took down her Facebook information and stepped out to relay it to police. An hour later, he came back.
“One more thing for you to look at, sweetie,” he said, sliding a grainy security camera image in front of her. “Do you recognize this woman?”
She gasped. “That’s Tessa Heath.”
“So, it’s not Theresa Holden?”
Darci started to shake her head but took a closer look.
“I guess it could be. I mean I’ve only met with Tessa once. And I only saw Theresa once or twice in college. When I knew her, she had long blonde hair, but the height and weight are about right. I don’t understand any of this, Peter.”
“Me either, Kitten but we’re going to get to the bottom of it. This helps. It could be that the call from Tessa and your lunch weren’t accidental. If Theresa was as angry as you say, she could have been planning revenge for years.” He planted a kiss on her forehead and stepped out again.
Feeling helpless, she buried her head in her hands. She wished she could know for certain if Tessa and Theresa were the same person. The name similarity was a bit suspicious when she stopped and thought about it.
An idea came to her. In college, she had worked for the school newspaper and yearbook committee. At the time, they had been making the move to switch everything to digital, so most yearbooks were online. Maybe she could find a picture of Theresa. She frantically typed the school’s URL into the address bar. Within minutes, she was browsing the yearbook for her freshmen year. When she got to Theresa’s name, her face paled. She ran out of her office and found Peter.
“I’ve seen her more than once.” Peter closed the distance between them and pushed her back into her office.
“Explain.” He was in all business mode now.
“At the benefit the night Marlie was killed. She was the coat check attendant. Then I saw her again on the train. It’s Theresa. Tessa is Theresa. She looked different when I had lunch with her. Maybe she was wearing a wig, I don’t know. But it was her. I know it.”
“This is good, Kitten,” Peter said. He squeezed her shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m going to update Michael.”
Just then, her phone rang.
The name on her screen made her smile. “Hi.”
“Hey, gorgeous. Are you OK?” Bradley asked.
“I’ve been better. It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Have you checked out the news today?”
She hadn’t and told him as much. “I just haven’t been up to reading about Elise yet. Is there something I need to see?”
“Unfortunately, my connection to Peggy, you, and the lifestyle has come out. It hasn’t hit national news yet, but it’s all over the local gossip blogs and newspapers.”
She closed her eyes. They had known this day would come.
“I’m sorry, Bradley. Does the senator know?”
“Yep. Confronted me about it as soon as I got to the office. He was oddly understanding. He swears he won't fire me. Mostly because he thinks if he does, I’ll go work for my dad.”
Darci laughed. “Well, maybe he’s smarter than I give him credit for then.”
“For now, I’m just staying out of the spotlight. I was about to resign as chief of staff and step up as campaign manager, but we’re going to name a deputy campaign manager instead and wait on
that for a few weeks. The good news is that means I won’t be traveling with the campaign for a while.”
“I’m so sorry, Bradley. I know you like being on the trail. I don’t like the idea of doing anything to help Atleigh, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you. I’m sure my name is all over the papers today too. Lucky for me, I have bodyguards to keep the reporters at bay.”
They spoke for a few more minutes and she relayed the information about Tessa before Darci hung up and got back to work. She finally convinced herself to read some of the articles floating around. So far it wasn’t a major story, but it wouldn’t be long.
As she read, it occurred to her that Bradley’s parents would know about his involvement in all of this. She wondered how they would feel. They seemed open-minded, but they were still parents who probably didn’t want that many details about their son’s sex life.
Toward the end of the day, she e-mailed Bradley with a few ideas. Instead of distancing himself from the lifestyle, perhaps he needed to go a different route. Maybe she could talk Atleigh into attending a fundraiser for the ACSL with Bradley in attendance as the keynote speaker. She highly doubted the man would go for it. In the senator’s mind, the ACSL was a vile group that wanted to decriminalize prostitution and encourage everyone to be gay. It just wouldn’t do for the Republican front-runner to be associated with such an organization. She rolled her eyes just thinking about it.
Bradley picked her up from work at six. Rather, Bradley and four bodyguards picked her up from work, but Bradley was the only one she cared about. “I feel like the damn president with a motorcade with all this fucking security,” she whispered to him in the backseat.
“I heard that, Kitten. We had a deal.” Peter spoke from the front passenger seat in a disapproving tone. Darci blushed and cringed. How would Bradley react to Peter using his nickname for her along with his “Dom” voice? Turns out it didn’t faze Bradley at all. He just quirked an eyebrow up at her in clear agreement with the man in the front seat. She sighed. After the conversation this morning, she should have known there would be no winning with these two. At least Michael wasn’t here also.
“Sorry, Peter. I’m just tired, and I hate being smothered.”
“I know baby, but I would rather you be a little smothered than have you be dead.” This time it was Bradley that spoke. His words made her grimace. He was right, and she was rather fond of not being dead herself.
“So, what did you think of asking Atleigh to do something with the ACSL?” she asked, trying to shift the topic away from murder.
“I don’t know, baby. It’s a great idea, but I’m not sure if Sean will go for it. He wants me to stay out of the spotlight, not put myself in the middle of it.”
“That’s kind of what I figured. But I thought you could at least honor Peggy. You wouldn’t have to be open about your involvement in the club, just acknowledge that you two had a relationship that was consensual but different.”
They agreed to talk about it again after the senator was back in town. But right now, Bradley told her he just wanted to get her home and naked. Darci wasn’t sure how she felt about that with the goon squad having doubled in size and Peter hanging out in Bradley’s study. It wasn’t long though until he had her squirming under his skilled fingers, and she had forgotten all about the men in the other room. The next day, she went to work feeling a little lighter. Somehow, he had that kind of effect on her.
Halfway through the day, her assistant poked her head in the door. “I have Governor Givens on the line asking for you. Isn’t he running for president?” Darci paled. Oh Shit. What could he possibly want with me?
“Um, that’s fine, Kimberly. I’ll take the call.” She picked up the phone when it rang. “Governor, good to hear from you.”
“Please, call me Steve. Listen, I was calling to tell you I’m sorry about this mess you’re having to deal with. I saw the news about your friend Elise.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you. I’m assuming you’ve read about Bradley’s involvement.”
“Yes, that’s honestly why I’m calling. I’m wondering if he’s talked to you about what he wants to do. I tried to talk to him about working for me again, but he’s still against it.” So, he had talked to his parents. That’s good. With all the sexing last night she had forgotten to ask.
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable getting involved in that fight, Sir.”
He laughed. “I understand. I just want what’s best for my boy. I don’t like the idea of him being dragged through the mud for his personal life choices.” Could this call get any more awkward?
“He hasn’t exactly asked for help, but I’ve been trying to come up with ways to help him spin it since I’m having to do damage control for my office anyway,” she told the governor.
Then she told him about her idea to have an ACSL fundraiser for the victims' families with Bradley in attendance. He thought it was a clever idea. “Bradley will kill me if he knows I’m talking about this with you, Steve.”
“I’ll keep this talk to myself, but if you need my help with anything, just let me know. You’re a bright girl. If I thought I could get you to leave your place with the ACSL, I would hire you.”
She laughed. “You’re just being nice.”
“Not at all, and I’ll make you a deal. If Atleigh says no to your idea, how about the ACSL throws an early endorsement my way and I’ll do the event. It may not be as strong of a statement coming from me, but I’m Bradley’s father and I met Peggy once. Just think about it.” He met Peggy? Bradley’s mom made it sound like they had never met any of Bradley’s other girlfriends.
“Wow. Definitely. I have to run it by my boss, but yes we’ll consider it.”
They said their goodbyes, and Darci laid her head on the desk. It was going to be impossible to keep the phone call from Bradley. The smart thing to do was call and tell him about it now. Then he couldn’t be mad at her for hiding something from him. Last time she kept something from him it had taken a few days to sit comfortably. Thinking of that now made her wince. She sighed and picked up the phone.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” she said instead of hello.
“Well that’s a terrific way to start a conversation.”
“I’m serious. I need you to promise.”
“I’m going to regret this but fine. I promise. Now spill it,” he demanded.
“Your dad called me.” The line was quiet for a minute before Bradley spoke again.
“Yep, I regret it.”
“Now wait a minute. I didn’t call him. He called me,” Darci pointed out.
“You didn’t have to take the call.”
“I should at least get points for not hiding it from you.”
He laughed. “You’re right, baby girl. I’m sorry. Tell me what he said.”
She recounted their conversation. He kept his word and didn’t get mad at her. She had a harder time convincing him not to call his dad and yell at him.
“By the way, he said he met Peggy,” Darci said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me. She’s worked for a lot of politicians and done tons of fundraising for them. Their paths are bound to have crossed.”
For some reason, Darci felt much better.
“Oh. OK that makes sense.”
“You sound relieved. You wouldn’t be jealous, would you?”
She scoffed. “Me? Never.”
He laughed. “Sure, whatever you say gorgeous. You heard my mom, I’ve never introduced a girl to them. Don’t worry. You’re something special.”
She giggled. “I’m glad you think so. I need to get back to work.”
Chapter Forty-One
Sean Atleigh wanted nothing to do with Darci’s idea of putting Bradley front and center at an event honoring the victims. It had been three days since she had pitched the idea and, in that time, Bradley told her the senator was consulting with a crisis management firm. Someone Sandra knew.
Darci worried that such a firm would suggest that
he distance himself from her, but he insisted that was not a thing she needed to worry about. Now, she sat at her desk reading the firm's website worrying anyway. Her phone rang, and she absentmindedly picked it up.
“Darci, Hello it’s Steve Givens again.”
“How are you, sir?”
“Listen, I wanted to ask what you thought about me sponsoring an ACSL event in conjunction with Marlie Dixon’s foundation. We’ll turn it into a big fundraiser. I heard Atleigh turned you down and won’t let Bradley be a part, but I think if I jump in and do what you were proposing it can still help my son, with the added benefit of giving me some exposure.”
“I love the idea, Steve. I’m just not sure Bradley would go for it. Maybe if you go directly through Jim instead of me. Then it won’t look like I’m working against my boyfriend.”
Darci hung up the phone after a few more minutes of conversation. This was about to get awkward and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. She knew Bradley wouldn’t fault her for wanting to work with his father instead of his boss, but he still wouldn’t like it. She would have to find a delicate way to tell him.
It’s not like she would be on the man’s payroll. The plan was for Steve Givens to be a guest speaker at the next ACSL charity event which would raise money in honor of Marlie Dixon’s foundation, a charity all three dead women supported. Atleigh turned them down so why not ask his competition? She shook her head. This would be a tough conversation. She thought about picking up the phone and calling Bradley but decided it might be a conversation best had face-to-face.
• • •
Bradley slammed his office door. This was turning into a day from hell. His boss wouldn’t budge on the ACSL fund raiser and the crisis management firm Atleigh had hired was trying to pressure Bradley into issuing a statement distancing himself from the club, and the dead women, and worse, from Darci. He told them there was no way in hell that was happening. He was looking forward to going home and losing himself in his girl. It was the only thing keeping him sane at the moment. It would be a long night though, because he had to prepare an advance team for the senator’s next trip out of town.