by Robin Roseau
I couldn't believe the clubs were this squeaky clean.
The state Better Business Bureau also had nothing bad to say. It's difficult to operate any business without occasionally pissing off someone with a thin skin, and Red Tail had acquired a few complaints over the years. But they had been resolved amicably, and the BBB gave all the businesses an A rating.
I checked social media, Yelp, and Angie's List. Complaints were few and ratings were high, everywhere I looked.
I looked for dirt. And I looked. And I looked. Finally I leaned back in my chair. "Well, fuck," I said. I was saying that a lot lately. I sighed and powered down my computer.
* * * *
My phone rang, the ringtone distinctive. I took another slug of my beer before grabbing the phone. "Hey."
"Did you need a lawyer?"
"Not yet," I said. "But I'm taking a few days' leave."
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't be," I interrupted. "It was my choice."
I'd been dreading this call. I still hadn't decided what to tell her.
"Did you get anywhere?"
"It's only been one day."
"That's an interesting answer, Detective. Neither yes nor no. Did you?" I didn't want to answer her.
"I'm still looking."
"You think she's dead. That's why the police stopped looking, isn't it? But if she's dead, it's a murder case. Is this how the police department handles murder cases now?"
"When you called this morning, I was sure I'd be looking for a shallow grave. I'm not so sure anymore. She might be alive."
Her voice grew frantic. "Tell me. Teigan, tell me."
I hesitated then finally made a decision. "No." I shook my head, even though she wouldn't have seen me. "No," I repeated. "Whatever happens, this is the sort of case that drove me to white collar."
She was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I said. "I'll cope."
We were both quiet for a while. Then, in a small voice, she asked, "Do you need to come over?"
I thought about it. I really did. "No," I said finally. "But thank you."
"If it gets bad-"
"You know if it gets bad, I'll always choose to protect you, Beth."
There was a moment's hesitation. "I know," she replied.
* * * *
Hearing her voice wasn't easy. It was made harder because I was tired, dreading what I was going to find, but equally afraid I was going to fail. I didn't know how I was going to solve this case. I didn't know how I was going to beat a demon.
I finished the beer. One thing I did know: I wasn't going to solve it by sitting in my house, drinking beer. I got up, packed a cooler, grabbed my cameras and my overnight bag, and headed out.
I parked on the street around the corner from the bank, but with a clear view of the entrance to Club Vixen. It was late, but not that late. The club would be open for hours.
I set up the video camera first, poured a cup of coffee from the thermos, and then grabbed the camera. I switched lenses.
Then for the next four hours, I sat in my car. I photographed everyone who drew near the club. Most walked past. A few turned in. And I got others as they came out. I changed out the memory card when it filled. I changed the card on the video camera twice.
I stayed until long after the club closed, disgorging a knot of customers. I waited an hour, wondering when the staff would leave. But once the doors were closed, they stayed closed.
Eventually, exhausted, I drove home.
I couldn't use department resources anymore, but my home computer was no slouch. I loaded everything and then I told the system to begin doing facial recognition searches on the pictures I'd taken. I didn't expect to find anything useful, but it cost nothing to try.
I went to bed.
* * * *
"Detective St. Claire," came the demon's voice, right in my ear. Her tongue tickled me, and I found myself reacting immediately.
I looked, and the demon lay on the bed next to me. She was naked, and in the dim light, her eyes glowed. There was a flicker of reflected light off the scales of her breasts, her perfect, alluring breasts. I found myself staring at them.
"I knew you liked me," she said. "Imagine how good they would feel to touch. Imagine how good they would feel to taste."
Her tail drifted over to me, and she used it to peel the covers from my body. I didn't fight her. She laughed, and then she caressed me with the end of her tail. It tickled, but it felt good at the same time.
"You should give yourself to me now," she said. "You know I'm going to win eventually. Imagine how delicious it's going to be when I take your pliant body, when I claim you, when I invade you. Imagine your sweet surrender."
"No," I tried to say, but the words wouldn't come out.
Her tail rose to my lips, pressing against them. "Shh," she said. "Your struggle is lovely, but everything is inevitable."
"No," I tried to say. "No." But the words wouldn't come out. I tried harder. "No. No." Then I screamed, sitting up. "No!"
The room was dark, my heart pounding. I was alone.
"Dream. Fuck."
But I pressed my fingers to my lips. I could still feel the ghost of her touch upon them.
"Fuck," I said again.
I slumped back against the pillow, then rolled over, punching it a few times. I lay there for a while, unable to stop thinking about her.
Her.
Damn it! That was a dangerous word.
I wondered what her scales felt like. I wondered if she were scaly... everywhere. I swore.
"Think about... think about..." I didn't know what to think about. But I slept anyway.
Not for long. I traveled along a dark corridor. I knew something was pursuing me, something horrible. There were doors, but each one was locked. Behind me, I heard shambling, and I ran, trying door after door. I reached the end of the corridor and tried the handle. I burst through, slamming the door closed, only to find myself in the most garish bedroom imaginable.
It was red. Everywhere, it was red. The room was dominated by a large bed, but to the right was a cage, just the right size to hold a woman. To the left were a variety of restraints. Rachel was locked into one, bent over at the waist, naked, her ass her most prevalent feature.
I don't know how I knew it was Rachel. I couldn't see her face.
"Detective."
"Demon. Let her go."
The demon appeared out of the mist in the corner of the room. She was dressed in her suit, but there was no mistaking her appearance. She stalked closer.
"All right," she said. "If you take her place."
"No!"
She came to a stop in front of me.
"You know you want to, my pet," she said.
"No."
She gestured, and when I looked down, I was naked.
"If you didn't want to take her place, where are your clothes?"
"I-"
She reached into her pocket. When her hand emerged, she was holding a collar with a leash attached to it. She stepped right up to me, and I didn't even move as she wrapped the collar around my neck.
"No," I whispered.
She stepped away, laughing, and gave the leash a tug. Docilely, I followed her. Instead of taking me to Rachel, she led me to the cage.
"Get in," she said.
"You said you'd let Rachel go."
"And I will. Get in."
And I did.
When the steel door clanged closed, I woke, whimpering.
* * * *
I don't remember the third dream, but I woke up moaning, my own fingers taking the place of a very talented demon tail.
The dawn light was just brightening my windows. I didn't think the night would get any better, but I rolled over and closed my eyes.
My dreams gave me mercy after that, and I slept. It was full daylight before I next woke.
It took three cups of strong coffee and a long, hot shower before my brain began to work. I still didn't have
a plan. It wasn't like the academy offered classes in how to outwit demons.
Maybe I should have paid more attention to those brochures at Rachel's apartment.
I was half dressed when I sent Beth a text. "I need an appointment." The phone rang as I was buttoning my blouse.
"Are you all right, Teigan?"
"I'm coming over. You need to be there."
"You went back out last night, didn't you?"
"It's a business call, Beth," I said. "And I want you, not someone else."
"Teigan-"
"You, Beth. This time, you owe me."
"All right. Yes. Of course. I have an eleven o'clock, but otherwise I'm free."
"Half hour."
* * * *
She left me cooling my heels for ten minutes, but that wasn't bad. But then she was standing in front of me as I pretended to read a magazine in the waiting room.
"You look like shit."
I looked up. I felt like shit, but she looked amazing. She always looked amazing. She offered a hand and pulled me to my feet.
We didn't hug. We didn't exchange pleasantries. I followed her to her office. She closed the door and indicated a chair.
"If you need a lawyer, Teigan-"
"It will be you. Right now, I don't need much. Power of attorney."
"To whom."
"To you."
"Teigan, there are laws about this, rules of ethics. I can't represent you."
"Get a damned witness in here, and I'll beg you to handle this, Beth. I don't want anyone else."
"Teigan."
"Do you want me to find Rachel, or not?" I asked.
She said nothing but finally nodded. "What do you need?"
"Power of attorney to see to my financial needs," I said. "If I disappear-"
"What have you uncovered, Teigan?"
"If I disappear, sell the house. Move my money somewhere smart. I don't know what to do with the possessions. Keep anything you're willing to store for me. Donate the rest to a women's shelter, I suppose. Do whatever makes sense. I'll trust you."
"Teigan, you should get someone else."
"I don't want someone else!" I yelled. It wasn't in anger, and I'm sure she could hear the hurt in my voice.
"Have you been seeing her again?"
"What?"
"Her. Have you been seeing her again?"
"I haven't been back to her since the day you walked out. I haven't had anyone waiting at home I needed to protect."
Beth looked away. "Don't put that on me."
"I'm not. Stating a simple fact. I haven't been to see her."
"Are you sure-"
"Just do it, Beth. Please."
"Of course, Teigan. Give me a minute." She turned to her computer and typed for a while. Then the printer fired up. A minute later, she handed me a simple, two-sheet power of attorney. I read it through and reached for a pen.
"Wait," she said. "It needs to be notarized."
"I trust you, Beth."
"The firm will go ape shit all over my skinny white ass, Teigan."
"Fine," I said. "Whatever."
She picked up her phone, spoke briefly, and set it back down. "It will just be a minute. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
"No."
"I could refuse to do this-"
"But you're not going to."
She sighed. "You aren't responsible for protecting me anymore, Teigan."
"I'll stop protecting you when I stop loving you, Beth."
She looked away. "I shouldn't have called you."
"If you hadn't, no one was ever going to find Rachel. Yes, you should have called me. And the next time you need me, you'll call again."
She turned back, leaned forward, and tapped the paper. "You don't think you're going to be around the next time I need you. Do you think I want to trade you for my cousin?"
"I think when it comes down to one or the other, of course you'd trade me. It's the right decision."
"Teigan." Her voice held reproach.
There was a knock, and then the door opened. I turned to see two people step into the room. One was Beth's paralegal, an efficient woman named Betty. The other was Beth's arch nemesis in the company, a horrible woman named Kate. I knew both, and they knew me. They both stared.
"Look what the cat dragged in," Kate finally said.
"Kate," Beth said, "I need you to read this then verbally assure yourself Ms. St. Claire understands what she is signing. I then need you to both witness her signature, and Betty, you'll need to notarize it.
"Well, well," said Kate. She stepped forward, took the other guest chair, and reached for the paper. I slid them closer to her then waited while she read it. It didn't take long.
"Do I have a new client I didn't know about?" Kate asked.
"Just do this for me, Kate," Beth said.
"Why me?"
"Because no one on the planet is going to believe you conspired with Beth against me," I said. "I would think that was obvious."
"I suppose it is," Kate agreed. "Fine. Ms. St. Claire, do you know what this is?"
"It's a power of attorney to manage my assets in the case I become unable to do so. Sell the house, dump the rest, and carefully invest it on the chance I return."
She reviewed the papers again. "You understand this comes into power if you are not heard from for more than three months."
"Yes."
She looked at Beth. "You didn't specify what steps she will use to assure us she's not at all missing."
Beth colored. It was endearing.
Kate looked back at me. "You will speak to me via voice no less frequently than once a month, and I want to physically see you four times a year."
"For which I'm sure you'll charge me. I'm a cop. I can't afford-"
She waved it away. "Make those in person meetings over a meal, and we'll call it even."
I stared at her.
"Just a meal, Officer," she said.
"Detective," Beth corrected.
"My apologies, Detective. A meal. My treat, even. I won't even pressure you to talk about anything you don't wish to discuss."
"Fine," I said. "Thank you."
The two lawyers talked back and forth. Beth printed out new copies. Kate reviewed them. I read them. I signed. Kate signed. Betty notarized. Kate, Beth, and I all got copies. Betty left. Then Kate asked one more question.
"Do I want to know what's really going on?"
"No," I said simply.
Kate stared at me for a good fifteen seconds. "You look like shit." She looked at Beth then back at me. "There's no way Beth would take you as a client." She looked back at Beth. "She has something over you."
"She's doing me a favor," Beth said.
Kate waved her copy of the agreement. "Is this related?"
"Yes," Beth said. "Kate, drop it."
"I don't think so," she said. She read the contract again. Then she looked at me. "You think you're going to need a lawyer. Or worse."
"I'm not breaking any laws," I said. "I wouldn't involve Beth in something like that."
Kate nodded. She waved the paper. "If you need a lawyer, it will be me."
"It will be Beth," I said firmly.
"It will not," Kate said. "It will be me."
"I don't trust you, Kate."
"Teigan, she's exceedingly good," Beth said quietly.
I turned back to Beth. "It's you, or I'm walking out."
Kate made a disgusted sound. "Both of us?" she asked.
"I can't afford both of you," I said. "I can't afford one of you."
"Pro-bono," Beth said.
Kate raised an eyebrow then nodded. "For old time's sake," she said. "Pro-bono."
I looked back and forth between them. I didn't like taking charity, but if I needed them, it would be while doing this for Beth in the first place. Finally my gaze settled on Beth, and she nodded. So I said in a small voice, "Thank you."
* * * *
With Kate gone, Beth and I stared at each other
for a minute. Finally she asked, "Are you going to tell me what you've found?"
"I need a promise, Beth." She frowned but nodded. "If I disappear, you let this go. You don't come looking for me. You don't ask any questions. You let it go. You let Rachel go."
"Teigan." Her voice broke.
"Promise me, Beth."
She let out a disgusted sound. "You're still trying to protect me."
"Damned right I am," I said. "And you're going to let me."
"From what, Teigan? From what? What mess has my cousin stepped into?"
"Promise me, Beth. If I disappear, you'll drop this. I need to know you'll be safe."
"That's not your responsibility-"
I slammed my fist against her desk. "Yes it is!"
She wasn't impressed by my expression of frustration. She didn't even startle. But I'd never been one for such symbols of aggression, and she knew it.
"Promise me!"
"All right, Teigan," she said. "I don't like it, but if you disappear, I'll drop it. I can't believe-" she broke off, shaking her head for a moment. "Will you at least be careful?"
I nodded.
She leaned back in her chair. Her tone changed. "Are you seeing anyone?"
"What?" I asked, surprised at the question.
"It's not that hard a question, Teigan. Are you seeing anyone?"
I looked away, not wanting to answer. "No," I said finally. "The occasional encounter."
"No one to go home to? No one to help?"
"White collar," I said, all the explanation that should be necessary.
Beth nodded again. "Then when you need someone, you come to me. Me. Not her. That is the price of the promise I just made. Or I retract it."
"Beth-"
"Just about this, Teigan. I'm not trying to get back together. But you're going to need someone, aren't you? Even if this ends well, you're going to need someone. You come to me."
I turned playful. "Maybe Kate-"
Beth stared at me for a moment then laughed quickly. "Yes. She's the nurturing type."
We chuckled together for a moment before I nodded. "I'll be fine," I said. But I knew I wouldn't be. I wondered if I'd keep this promise. Time would tell.
* * * *
I did more research. I didn't learn anything. This was going to go back to old-fashioned police work.
One-by-one, I visited each of the Red Tail businesses. I didn't ask about Rachel Spencer. But I stopped by each one, learning the neighborhood, taking a great many pictures, and then stepping inside. I got coffee. I had a couple of meals. Over the next few nights, I had a few drinks.