Beautiful No More

by MJ Nightingale

  The timing could not be worse. Her future and livelihood were once again at stake, and not only her own life, but the girls who worked for her as well. She just continued to do what her body needed to stay in her best physical form while he continued to watch her from below. She would have to put thoughts of Andreas Marino and her body’s reaction to him out of her mind. Her body wouldn’t be the one to betray her. He was an exceptionally fine specimen of a man. His rugged good looks, his chiseled face. It was like some of the statues she had seen as little girl, when her Grandmamma Sophie, and Grandpappa William had taken her to the Rijksmuseum to see the art. His body reminded her of the statues of The Two Temple Guardians. His physical form was perfection. His dark hair and skin all appealed to her. It was like he was carved from stone.

  She chanced a glance down the road and watched as he ran away, along the trails that bordered the island. He was easy on the eyes. He was very interesting. She knew men, well. She knew what they liked and what they desired. She could see it in their eyes and in the flaring of their nostrils, the movement of their facial muscles. But Andreas did not show the normal signs of men. She shrugged her shoulder. Perhaps, he was gay? Yes, that could explain it. And it also made her laugh inside. It would figure that the first man she ever found attractive would be gay. She shrugged and changed her stance to the other leg, shifting slowly to give each muscle a good stretch while the movement was made. Ah, Ongelofelijk! He was gay! But then on a good note, she though whimsically, she need not fear him either.

  Chapter 11

  Holy Shit!

  The first thing Andreas did when he got back to the office was to put in a call to a friend in Virginia. One of his friends had left New York to go work for the CIA. He hadn’t spoken to him in years, but was hoping he could get him some information about Catarina. A twinge of guilt hit him. Her life was her own and private as she had reminded him more than once. And this was not what she had hired him to do. But he would keep the information to himself. Despite her feelings, this case was personal for him—extremely personal. He needed to catch this monster and put that part of his past to bed. And, if it helped him to keep his family and her safe from Sal Mazzelli then he would do it, and apologize later if need be.

  “Hell No, if it isn’t Andy Marino. As I live and breathe,” the boisterous voice on the other side of the phone boomed into Andreas’ left ear. “How are you man? And what do you want? People from the past only call you when they want something,” he barked running all his words together as he had always done.

  Andreas laughed. Connor McGee was a 250 pound Irishmen who was rock hard, yet the biggest teddy bear you could ever meet. But his computer wizardry had landed him a great job in the CIA analyzing data at twenty five. He found it hard to imagine the bear behind a desk, but he was a bear. A teddy bear, and a grizzly. Maybe bigger.

  “You haven’t changed have you?” Andreas started. But knowing the man was busy, he cut to the chase. “And yes, I need a favor.”

  “Nope, I haven’t changed and neither have you. Still got your boxers in a bunch and it’s all business. All the time. What do you need?”

  Appreciating Connor getting right to business, Andreas jumped in. “I’m working a case. I think it’s connected to my parents’ deaths.”

  The man’s gravelly voice punched through the air waves. “Whatever you need, and whatever I can do.”

  “Thanks man.” The whole precinct had supported him in his investigation before. “But, I need this just between you and me for now. I’m not sure if it’s anything.”

  “Okay man. Give it to me straight.”

  “I need information on a Catarina Stone. Came to the US in 2004 or 2005. Went to business school here. She is thirty, thirty-one. From Amsterdam. That’s all I got.”

  “That’s not much. But her coming here from another county is a start. I will see what I can do, but with no numbers I can’t promise anything.”

  He heard the man typing on a computer already. “I understand. Find out what you can.”

  The typing stopped. “How do you think she is related to the earlier crime? She wasn’t even in the county when your parents were killed, right?”

  “Yeah, I know, but I got a feeling. Just run it anyway. Let me know as soon as you find something.”

  * * *

  Two hours later, he got a text from Connor. The message read, “Put paper in your fax machine. I hit the mother lode.”

  Palms sweating, Andreas went out into the reception area. Angela was quietly working away. She looked up when he came in. She must have noticed a change in his demeanor. “You okay?” she gave him an odd look.

  “Yeah fine, I have a fax coming in. Kind of personal.” Angela’s eyes rose sharply. Andreas rarely kept anything from her.

  Angela made a snorting sound. “Since when do you have anything personal going on?” When Andreas didn’t take the bait, Angela rolled her eyes, and exhaled in disgust. “I’ve got an errand to run. I could do it now,” she offered lamely.

  “Yeah, do it,” he replied distractedly, as she watched him put paper into the machine. A lot of paper.

  “Want me to do that first?” she asked as she saw him tear out several pieces he had bent by accident.

  “No, I got it,” he replied still focusing on the task at hand.

  “Whatever,” Angela replied and grabbed her purse from off of the floor beside her. “I’m taking my lunch too.”

  “Fine,” he waved her off.

  Slamming the door behind her, she thought, Andreas was a cranky SOB most of the time, but that, well, that was just weird.

  * * *

  Angela was just returning from her errand when Andreas grabbed the file of papers and stuffed them into his drawer. The fax machine had gone quiet after forty minutes. He read as it came out of the rack. There were news clippings, foster care reports, school records, request for refugee status, a birth certificate sent from Amsterdam, psychologist affidavits, notices of sealed testimonies, articles about grand jury indictments, and an FBI investigation, protective custody relinquishment reports, immunization records, a medical examiners report, and naturalization paperwork. He read each report as it came out of the printer, the only problem was it was in the name of one Katy Stenen. It confused him as hell at first but he was beginning to connect the dots when the final document printed, thankfully before Angela returned, and it was a request for name change, and it was signed by a judge. Katy Stenen had become Catarina Stone.

  From what he could tell from his quick scan of the documents, this woman had gone to hell and back. And survived! And now she was the target of a serial killer. Couldn’t she catch a break? Fuck! He hadn’t really known her, but now, he wish he could un-know some of the shit he just read. Working vice for all those years, he had seen what he thought was the worst of what humanity had to offer, but what Katy or Catarina had gone through from her teenage years until she turned nineteen? Fuck! She was a child. He didn’t have all the paperwork, but he could tie it together fairly simply. The paperwork was dated from 1999 to 2004. She lied to him about when she came to the country though. She’d been in America since she was fourteen.

  From what he could gather, it seemed she had been a sex slave, brought to America in a box trailer along with several other girls from the Middle East. How she ended up there wasn’t clear. But apparently she was brought to the United States in 1999 according to her naturalization papers. That would have made her fourteen. The medical report was a physical and treatment plan dated the year 2003. Four years later. The psychologist report had been to age her out of foster care which she was put into, and then removed a month later due to aging out of the system. The newspaper articles showed an FBI task force taking down several homes being used as fronts for prostitution in the state of Maryland. Inside they found sex slaves. Young girls kidnapped from around the globe and who had been held in captivity for God knows how many years. One article claimed the girls were as young as nine and as old as 40. The owners and oper
ators were arrested and charged with countless crimes that included operating a prostitution ring, kidnapping, slavery, torture, rape, violations of countless state codes and statutes. She had not been deported though. Research showed her deceased father was an American, a soldier from the first Gulf War who had expatriated to Holland. She was allowed to remain in the country under refugee status, and then later granted citizenship due to her record of birth. The psychologist’s report indicated her family was deceased. Father deceased in 1985 the year she was born. Her maternal aunt and grandmother deceased in 1987. Her mother deceased in 1988. Her maternal grandparents deceased in 1994 when she became a ward of the state. Homeless for three years the report stated, and Andreas quickly calculated. She would have been 12. Then the words he did not want to see appeared. Kidnapped 1997. Then transported to America in 1999. A slave at twelve! Fuck!

  Could his mind erase any of what he had just read? He really needed a drink. This woman, how in the hell had she survived it all? He couldn’t fathom the strength it took to endure what she had endured. Survive? And she had! It was miraculous.

  But even though he felt horrible for what she had been through, he couldn’t help but wonder. How did Romeo fit into her life? Perhaps she was right and her past didn’t matter, and it was him whom Romeo was targeting. She just managed to get in the way, seen at a chance event they both had been to. But he was killing her girls, and he left her that note. In ink, a warning, not blood on the wall. No one else was warned in advance. Just her. Why was this monster targeting her? Was it Romeo? Was it some other monster from her past using the old murders to strike fear into the town, a copycat? If it was Sal, wouldn’t he have reached out to him instead, baited him once more like he had done before.

  Fuck it all to hell! He was going to get a drink. He thought learning about her past might bring him some clarity, some answers. All it did was create a whole new fucking set of very complicated questions.

  Chapter 12

  Exploring the Attraction

  “Mr. Marino,” the sensual voice called through the receiver.

  “Miss Stone,” Andreas was surprised to hear from her so soon. “Please call me Andreas, or Andy,” he added. “Is there anything you need?”

  “Um, Andreas,” she started then stopped. “I was hoping you could check on my apartment security system today. I feel it would be best for all if I were out of your hair so to speak.”

  “Uh, yeah, I can do that.” He took a breath. He didn’t like the idea of her being alone, even though this was the best security system money could buy. “I did call and they were expecting everything sometime today. I don’t know if it will be installed yet.” He paused and when she did not speak, he asked. “Is my family driving you insane?”

  Her tone indicated a certain level of tension which he had never heard from her. Before he left for work this morning he had gone to his room to shower. Cat had come down stairs and was having breakfast with Lisa. They seemed to be getting along fine. Both Bella and Ronnie had departed earlier for work, followed discreetly by two bodyguards, as was Johnny who had already left for school. He had given her his private cell phone number in case she needed anything or thought of something. He had asked that she stay in his home while he was at work and that he would check on her security system.

  “No. No. Not at all. I just do not wish to inconvenience you further.”

  He thought a moment before he surged forward, glancing down at his top drawer, where he had stashed her files. “I think you should stay at least until I’m confident that you will be safe and protected.” He heard her intake of breath, and the slow hiss of its release. He imagined her biting her lip.

  “I understand. Then perhaps before you go to my apartment, you wouldn’t mind swinging by here and escorting me to my home. I would like to pick up my computer and a few other essentials. I am still in the process of rearranging schedules, and cancelling appointments until this . . . is taken care of.”

  He could concede to that. He would feel safer if he was the one to escort her there. Even with the security system though, the fact that Sal had left a note on her door disturbed him. Greatly. He wanted to inspect it himself. “Sure, I can do that. I should be home within the hour.”

  Her mood seemed to brighten. “Very good then. Goodbye, Mr. Marino, er Andreas,” she corrected herself before hanging up.

  Yes, the woman was an enigma. He shook his head and finished filing the document the courts needed to be sent electronically on the Thornton case. After another perusal of his email, he shut down his computer and headed out, but not before locking the top drawer of his desk.

  Angela had already left for the day, so after quickly closing up the front of the office, he keyed in the code, armed the security system, and locked up.

  * * *

  Once home, Andreas found Catarina ensconced with Lisa in his study. He said hello, told them he would take a quick shower and change and be down in a minute. Lisa informed him that both Gio and Johnny were home, and Gio had gone upstairs to change as well.

  When he asked about Nikko and Blaze, she said that both had taken their wives out for an early dinner and a movie. He nodded and then climbed the stairs two at a time.

  Seeing the two women together touched him. They had been laughing, but immediately changed topics when he entered the room. He was mildly curious to know what they had been laughing about. Her laugh was warm and sweet. And it was the first time he’d heard it. He found himself contemplating how he could hear it again, but then in an instant her past came rushing back to him, and he wondered how she could laugh at all. He hated knowing what he knew about her. No woman should ever have to experience a life like that.

  That made him think of Lisa, Gio’s wife. For the last ten years her life had not been an easy one either. She had been married to a brutal man who had abused her in vile ways. She had survived, and then Gio rescued her from that life. But, Catarina was different. From the age of nine she had been on her own, and he was sure many, many more men than just one had abused her. Those thoughts created a fire in his gut. A burning rage at all the vile people in the world. He couldn’t fathom what turned some men into revolting monsters and perverse sociopaths.

  Opening the door to his room, he was immediately caught off guard by the scent of her perfume. It reeled his senses. He hadn’t expected her to permeate the very air he breathed, in his home no less. He inhaled once more, and took comfort in it. Here she was safe. No one would harm her here. He already had a good security system, and he was making arrangements to strengthen it. Inhaling once more, he was surprised it didn’t bother him more than he thought it would, a women taking over his personal space.

  Yes, he’d had woman here before, but nothing overnight. He didn’t like the turn of his thoughts, and feelings, so he quickly disrobed and made his way to the shower putting it on blast and stepped in. The welcome heat and spray reinvigorated him.

  The shower was done perfunctorily and leaving the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around him, he went to his room to pick up his clothes and find something less formal to wear. He was shocked by the presence of Catarina sitting on his bed. The thought of taking her immediately came rushing into his brain. He dared not look down and willed his body not to react. But the woman was so stunning. She wore Capri leggings and a simple pleasant blouse in a pale gold that revealed just a bit more of one shoulder than the other.

  “Cat, I am surprised.” He tightened the towel that clung to his hips.

  She laughed. “Sorry, I came up when Gio came downstairs. I wanted to give the newlyweds a bit of privacy while their son did his homework.”

  “I’m sure they would not have minded the company.” Andreas glanced at his dresser across the room, right in front of where she sat.

  She laughed again. She saw where he was looking and found it quite amusing that he was disturbed by her presence. She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, and it made Andreas’ blood burn. “I know men enough to know when on
e wants to ravage a woman.” His heart thundered in his chest. “And your brother, well let’s just say, he was polite, but when I excused myself he was also very pleased.”

  The woman had baited him. For god sakes, she was something. His eyes narrowed at her. He laughed at the way she had expressed herself, and the way she had fooled him. Maybe she wasn’t so different from other woman after all, he thought. His pulse began to quicken as he began to walk towards her. Two could play her game.

  “Are you laughing at me?” she asked as he stopped to pick up the clothes he had discarded at the foot of his bed. He saw her tongue dart out when he bent over, her eyes briefly scanning him.

  He was honest with her, but stepped back and made his way to his large closet. They both needed a bit of space. He stepped into his closet. He would change inside. From behind the closed door he called back, “The way you speak, I don’t know, it just struck me as amusing. You have a bit of an accent.”

  “I think you have an accent,” she called out a tad louder than her normal speaking voice so he was sure to hear her. She had to suppress a giggle that was about to overtake her. She and Lisa had been talking about Andreas when he walked in on them.

  “Hey,” he peeked from behind the door. “Now, you’re laughing at me.” He smiled though. Her hand was covering her mouth. Who did that when they laughed? He shook his head in wonder at her.

  “Yes, and no,” she continued to laugh at the man who receded back into the closet using his own words against him.

  “May, I ask why you’re laughing at me. Is it my accent?” he asked, coming out of the closet pulling a clean dark charcoal t-shirt over his still wet hair. His eyes dilated when he noticed her eyes flare at the sight of his naked torso flexing. He thought he detected something when he bent to pick up his clothes, but he had just seen it again. It pleased him that her mask had slipped, and she did find him attractive. He most assuredly found her attractive.