by D J Small
She deserved every bit of his coldness, but the thought of him not wanting to talk to her hurt. She hadn’t noticed the pain at the time of their conversation, but she did now, and it gave her the strong desire to chase after him and make things right.
Eliza started to make her way back to the bullpen, and Billy fell into step next to her. She glanced at him. “When we go see Veronica, I want to talk to her about the fight with Angelique I told you about last night. I also want to know how she got involved in sex work.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Billy said simply. Eliza was glad that he didn’t suggest that she sit down and cool off again. Work would keep her busy and prevent her from thinking about Dax and the emotions that wanted to get the better of her, and she planned to work until she passed out on top of her desk.
◊◊◊
The sun had just begun to set when Eliza and Billy exited the building that housed Pleasure Inc. Her lips set in a grim line, Eliza began to wonder where Veronica had gone. Stephanie, the receptionist, had informed them that she wasn’t in her office, and hadn’t been able to provide any further details. On their way out, Eliza had tried calling Veronica at the number she had given her, but it went unanswered. She and Billy were planning to stop by her penthouse before they went to go interview one of Angelique’s clients.
Eliza shuddered at the thought. Having interviewed several of her clients already, she really didn’t want to see another. The men creeped her out, and Eliza could understand why Dax didn’t like them.
Eliza bit the inside of her lip as her thoughts quickly moved to Dax himself. She didn’t know what she was going to do about him.
“You think she’s going to be at her penthouse?” Billy asked next to her, pulling Eliza from her musings.
“Not sure,” Eliza replied with a shrug as she slipped her hands into her pockets and hunched her shoulders to guard her face from the bitter wind that had begun to blow. “Okay, Stephanie confirmed the argument as well as Veronica being pissed about Angelique quitting and wanting to start her own firm, but how did Veronica know about Dax and Simon’s part in it, and where does Andre fit in all of this?”
Billy shrugged. “Couldn’t say, but does a psycho need much of a reason to kill? I mean, people have killed other people for just cheating.”
Eliza cocked her head and glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “Have you been watching Forensic Files again? As a cop, you should be embarrassed. You’re a disgrace to your badge.”
“But it’s so captivating. All the signs are there, yet people are so stupid.” Billy chuckled. “And you can’t say anything when you have a weakness for Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
They reached the car, and as soon as they were inside of it, Billy started it.
Eliza cranked up the heat and said, “That’s a comedy. Opposite end of the spectrum.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “All right, assuming Veronica is the one behind the murders and the break-in at Dax’s apartment, hurting Dax is the only motive I can see. Which gives us a logical reason for why Andre was targeted.”
“Why, though?” Billy asked, skepticism lacing his voice.
Eliza rubbed her hands together and blew into them. She really needed to replace the gloves she had lost last month. “That is the million-dollar question.” She pressed her lips together and drew in a deep breath through her nose, holding it as she fell into deep thought for a brief moment. She released it. “Let’s go back to the station and review the financials, call logs, and credit history for Simon and Angelique.”
Billy pulled away from the curb and asked, “Do you think we overlooked something? What about interviewing Angelique’s clients?”
Eliza grunted softly and said, “Angelique’s clients are a dead end, we both know that. I don’t think we’ve overlooked anything, but I do believe we should be looking at them from a new perspective. Before, we went over those records individually, and I don’t think we should have. I think we’re going to see some overlap when we look at them together.” She turned her head to look at Billy. “I think we’re going to discover that Dax, Angelique, and Simon were already moving ahead with getting funding for their firm.”
Billy frowned. “I thought they were only just starting the process?”
Eliza nodded. “They were, but I think Angelique took it a lot farther after she quit Pleasure Inc. I noticed an increase in her appointments around that time. I have another hunch that all of her recent appointments weren’t with clients from Pleasure Inc.’s client list. Dax told me that she didn’t do off the books clients, which leads me to believe that she had another client list but kept it somewhere else. That’s why we need to—”
Her phone started to ring, cutting her off.
“Who the hell is calling you?” Billy asked as he turned down a street.
Eliza pulled her phone out of her pocket. “It’s Thursday, so it’s probably my mom calling to remind me about dinner on Sunday.”
“When am I ever going to get invited to dinner?” Billy asked. “Your pops let his partner come over for dinner all time.” He grunted. “Jenkins was basically part of your family.”
“The key word there is ‘family’. You’re a pain in the ass.” A slight frown appeared on Eliza’s face as she read the words “Unknown Caller” on the screen. The fact the call was coming through on her work phone made the situation even more peculiar.
She answered the call and put it on speaker. “Hello?”
“Detective Miller,” a distorted voice said. “Since you have taken it upon yourself to be the protector of whores, I thought I should let you know that one of them is in danger.”
Eliza glanced at Billy, and he mouthed for her to keep talking.
“I’m not sure I know what you’re referring to, but if there has been an emergency, I advise that you call 911.”
“You know,” the voice continued as if Eliza hadn’t said anything, “for a woman who was raised in the church, I would think you’d be abhorred by the way these miscreants live their lives, but I guess you’re just as depraved as they are.”
“Who is this?” Eliza demanded in a controlled voice. The comment had hit a place that she was currently was struggling with due to everything with Dax, but she wasn’t going to let some weirdo bait her into saying something that would come back and bite her in the ass.
“I’ve already told you, I am a concerned citizen letting you know that one of your whores is in trouble.” An eerie chuckle came through the phone. “Do you know where your whore is, Detective? Tick-tock.”
The call ended and Eliza stared at her phone trying to figure out...
“Shit! Dax!”
She called dispatch and told them to put her through to the officer currently on duty for Dax’s protection detail.
While she waited for the line to connect, Eliza turned to Billy. “Call the tech guys and have them trace that last call. I want to know where that creep is ASAP, especially if they have Dax.”
Billy pulled the car over, and as he made the call to the technology division her call was answered.
“Officer Melendez.”
“Melendez, Detective Miller. Where is Dax?” She swallowed to keep her fear from taking control of her thoughts, but she didn’t know how long she would be able to prevent it from happening. It would be her fault if something happened to Dax.
“We’re at the gym, Detective. He said he needed to blow off some steam, and when I told him no, he threatened to go without me,” Melendez explained. The trepidation in his voice told Eliza that the officer probably thought he was in trouble.
Eliza shook her head and muttered, “Dammit.” She drew in a breath. “Do you have eyes on him?”
The silence that occurred after the question lasted too long for her liking, and Eliza raised her voice when she posed the question for a second time. “Officer Melendez, do you have eyes on Dax Collins at this very moment? Yes or no?”
“No, ma’am,” Melendez answered promptly. “He went to the locker ro
om fifteen minutes ago so he could shower and change, but he hasn’t come out yet.”
“You didn’t go with him?” Eliza asked in a low tone. She hoped the dangerous edge that laced her words conveyed how upset she was by his lack of regard for his assignment.
Officer Melendez sputtered a few times before he managed to get out, “No, ma’am. He refused to let me to go in with him.”
Still trying to maintain a tight hold on the anger rolling through her, Eliza inhaled a deep breath through her nose, then slowly released it. “Officer Melendez, get your ass in that locker room and see if he is still there. Do not disconnect this call. No matter the outcome, I will make sure that you are written up and reprimanded appropriately.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m going now.”
Eliza let her head fall back against the head rest and squeezed her eyes shut. Some of her anger was due to Officer Melendez not doing his job properly, but most of it was directed at herself. She had slept with Dax, insulted him, and then let him run off. This was all her fault.
“Detective Miller, I can’t find him.”
“Fuck!” Fear raced down her spine, causing goosebumps to break out over her body. The sound of her own rapid heartbeat began to fill her ears, but she held herself together long enough to give Officer Melendez quick instructions. “Call the station and tell them you need a warrant for the security footage at the gym per my request. Speak with the manager and ask about points of entry, and give me the address, Melendez.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After Melendez had given her the address of the gym, Eliza ended the call, forgetting about the threat she had made towards him.
“Dax went to the gym, and now he’s missing.”
Saying it out loud caused her fear to worsen, and Eliza felt her chest tighten, making it harder to breathe. She stared out of the windshield, willing her lungs to draw in a complete breath. Dax was missing, and it was possible the killer had him. Eliza’s breathing started to quicken, but she looked out at the street and found a bicyclist in the distance. Focusing on the person on the bike, she drew in slow, deep breaths. Now wasn’t the time for her to fall apart.
Feeling more in control, Eliza took one final deep breath then shook her head. She looked at Billy. “We’re going to the gym.”
“Absolutely,” Billy replied, peeling out of the parking spot they were in. Eliza gave him the gym’s address as he sped down the street.
“The tech guys are tracing the call from the creep. They’ve also put a trace on your phone in case the weirdo tries to call you again.”
Eliza nodded her head mechanically and stared out of the passenger window. She hadn’t fully registered what Billy had said; she was too busy trying to prevent her thoughts from going down dark paths. Repeatedly telling herself that nothing was going to happen to Dax soon became a mantra in her mind, but it did little to alleviate the fear and worry that gnawed at her. She had to get to him in time. There was no other option.
For the first time in a long time, Eliza turned to the one thing that gave her comfort when she feared the unknown. “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle,” she prayed softly to herself. “Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil....”
11
Three rows of four thirty-two-inch monitors were mounted on the front wall of the precinct’s technology department, and the middle four currently played today’s security footage from Dax’s gym. About two feet away, behind the computer console, Eliza paced the open space near Billy and the video analyst helping them. She glanced up at the monitors displaying the footage, then looked away. She didn’t need to see the video to know how Dax had been taken.
While speaking with the gym’s manager during her tour of the gym, Eliza had figured it out. Someone had entered the building using the back entrance where deliveries came through and had gone into the locker room and abducted Dax. The only thing she needed to know from the video was who it was and what they did to him—information she had needed the moment she found out he had been taken.
It had been two hours since the world had come to a complete standstill. Two hours since that creep had called Eliza from an untraceable number, and two hours since Dax had been abducted.
Guilt weighed heavily upon Eliza, and it took all of her willpower and focus to remain standing.
If Dax...
“What the hell is taking so long?” she snapped at the analyst, unwilling to finish the thought that threatened to destroy her.
“Detective, their security footage isn’t split up, and they had four cameras.” the soft-spoken woman explained as she continued to watch the screens. “Those same cameras ran twenty-four hours a day, so it will take some time—”
“I don’t have fucking time,” Eliza interjected, cutting the woman off. “The longer we sit here watching this shit, the higher the possibility of—”
She stopped. She couldn’t do it. There was no way she could voice the words that had caught in her throat. Doing so would give them life, and the chance to become reality. Keeping them to herself would allow them to remain an idea, a possibility. A possibility that would not happen.
Billy got up and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he stepped in front of her to bring her pacing to a halt. “Why don’t you get some air, and something to eat? You’re going to drive yourself insane.”
“How about you go get some air, Billy?” Eliza countered as she moved away from him. “I’m not going anywhere until we find out what happened to Dax and save him.”
“Detective Miller,” Captain Espinoza called as she entered the room. “You are dismissed for the rest of the evening.”
Eliza narrowed her eyes at the woman. Her commanding presence demanded respect, and if you defied her, she would ruin your career, but in her current state of mind, Eliza didn’t care. All she cared about was finding Dax. “Captain, I can’t leave. I’m in the middle of an investigation. A key player in our case has gone missing, and I think the same—”
Captain Espinoza held up her hand. “I have read the reports, Detective, and I am still telling you to leave. It is obvious this case has put you on edge, making you a liability.” Her chestnut eyes cut into Eliza as she continued, issuing a threat which was more of a promise. “If you choose to not follow orders, then I will have no choice but to place you on administrative leave. You will not be reinstated until you have cleared a psychiatric evaluation.” The two women stared each other down, but Captain Espinoza held firm. “The choice is yours, Detective.”
Eliza’s lips pursed, and her brows furrowed. Hot anger ran through her as she continued to glare at her superior. Deciding to keep her mouth shut, but still angry at being dismissed, Eliza turned, yanked her coat off the back of the chair she had been sitting in, and stormed out of the room. She took long, fast strides as she stalked out of the station, fuming over what had just happened. This was her case, dammit, and she had every right to stay. Who cared if she snapped at people? She needed results, and she needed them now.
Once she was in her car, Eliza didn’t know what to do. Going home with Dax missing felt wrong, and the longer she thought about it, the more she realized nothing would feel right until she knew he was safe.
Frustrated, Eliza hit the top of her steering wheel with the heel of her palm. It took her a moment to gather herself, but once she had, she started her car and left. She had to leave. If she didn’t, she would have gone back into the station and told Captain Espinoza to screw herself, which would have definitely ended her career, making her completely useless to Dax.
◊◊◊
Lost in her thoughts about the case, Eliza drove aimlessly around the city. She went over each piece of the investigation in her mind looking for something she could have missed or hadn’t dug deeper into. Veronica Hillbrand was one of those things, and Eliza hoped Billy would find something on her. She had tried calling him a few times since leaving the station to get an update and discuss the Veronica angle, b
ut the calls had gone right to voicemail, causing her anger to come back in full force. Eliza continued to drive as she kept examining and re-examining every aspect of the case inside her mind.
Thirty minutes later—and an hour after leaving the station—Eliza parked her car and walked to the closest intersection, looking up once she stood on the corner. The building that housed Dax’s apartment looked like an imposing well-lit beacon made of steel and glass, but at this moment, it was also a haven for her.
Eliza walked across the street and entered the building. She pulled out her badge for the guard as she approached the security desk and showed it to him. “I need to get up to the Collins apartment,” she demanded. “An officer should be posted outside it.”
The security guard nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Two of them.” He went into a drawer, then held out an access card for Eliza to take. As she did, he said, “I’ll call Officer Peterson. Shall I let him know who’s coming up?”
“Detective Miller,” Eliza replied, twirling the blank white card between her fingers. “And they have keys to get in?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Eliza gave him a curt nod. “Thank you.”
She left the desk and headed for the elevators. When she got to them, Eliza pushed the up button and stared at the digital panel that displayed the building’s floors. She didn’t know why she was here. Perhaps it was guilt, or maybe it was despair. Eliza frowned. No matter the reason, she didn’t care. There was only one thing she cared about at this moment.
The elevator, came and she got on it, pressing the button for Dax’s floor after passing the access card over the reader.
Eliza gently chewed on the inside of her bottom lip as the elevator came to a stop with a soft chime, and she got off it as soon as the doors glided open. The two officers standing outside of Dax’s apartment weren’t hard to miss as she walked down the quiet hallway. Coming up with an explanation for why she was there wasn’t going to be a problem, since it was her case. Eliza just hoped they didn’t ask any questions.