by Diana W
“Ok,” Lucas scanned the adjacent car for a minute and then went around to the passenger side and got in.
My fingers tapped against the steering wheel as I listened to him exchange words with whoever the guy was.
“That’s it?” He asked seeming surprised at whatever the guy’s response was. “Ok.” He removed the phone from his ear. “He’ll have an address for me in about thirty minutes or less.”
“Seriously?!” I perked up.
“Yeah,” he responded like he barely believed it himself. “I wasn’t sure how long a partial would take but he’s on it.”
“Oh, my God!” I grabbed him, throwing my arms around his neck. The joy of knowing we were one step closer to something, hell if anything, was all I needed to ignite some form of hope.
Lucas returned my hug with a strength that made me sigh. We pulled apart staring at each other, both relieved that our dead end was given a few more feet. Our noses were inches apart with our mouths skirting the line of inappropriateness. His lips were suddenly on mine and for a split second, I lost my sense of my awareness. The thought of Elliott bandaged up in the hospital smacked me back to reality.
I pulled away first, thoroughly embarrassed. “Lucas, I can’t.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Lucas adjusted his positioning in the seat. “I didn’t mean to.”
I nodded trying to assure myself that it was fine and it was cool. We got caught up in a moment that I was certain would never happen again.
“We’re just emotional,” I said calmly. “I’m sorry too.”
The awkward silence was enough to choke on until the ringing of Lucas’ phone started. I silently thanked the heavens for that.
“1655 Texas St. Got it. I owe you one man.”
I took my phone out and put that address in my GPS. When he hung up, I didn’t give him a chance to give out an order. I started the car already prepared to head in that direction.
Chapter 23
The neighborhood of the address we pulled up to was sketchy, and the looks we were getting from its residents were noticeably distrusting.
“You’re sure he gave you the right address?” I looked over to Lucas who seemed to be oblivious to the stares. I assumed Victoria would be near the University or at least in a student-populated area. This area and house still looked like it hadn’t recovered from Katrina.
“He’s never wrong,” he forcefully knocked on the blue paint chipped door.
When we didn’t get an answer, he did it again. I scanned behind us as a few passersby began talking to each other and pointing in our direction.
“I’m going to try the back,” he stated, already making a move in that direction. Rather than sit there and wait to surely get robbed, I decided to follow him.
Lucas opened the wooden framed screen door that was barely holding on and proceeded to knock. When we still didn’t get an answer, he turned the knob of the back door, which surprisingly opened it.
“We can't go in there,” I panicked. Of course, he knew the law better than I did but I’m certain this was trespassing.
“So, what would you have us do? Sit here and wait on her? Send her a letter and hope she answers it?” He replied sarcastically.
Rather than give him an answer backed by common sense, I chose to look away because I honestly didn’t have a timely alternative option to offer.
A rancid smell hit my nostrils as we stepped into the kitchen. I covered my nose and mouth with my hand, already assuming the worst. My stomach in knots as I followed behind Lucas, bypassing the sink of unwashed dishes. I watched enough crime shows to know this scenario was headed in a bad direction. My feet wanted to take off outside but I was honestly too frightened to.
“It’s the trash,” Lucas looked back at me seeming to read my thoughts. “You’d know if it was a dead body.”
“Jesus,” I wiped my hands over my face, still on the verge of crying from just the thought.
“She hasn’t been here for some days,” Lucas stated still poking around.
“How can you tell?” I asked naively as we moved from the kitchen to the bedroom.
“Trash hasn’t been taken out. Mail piled up in the mailbox in the front. Dishes piled up.”
As we continued walking further into the house, I froze at the sight of red handprints on one of the walls of the bedroom.
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” I pointed as my eyes followed the droplets of blood that disappeared towards the front of the house.
“Stay here!” Lucas instructed, pulling out a gun I didn’t realize was on him.
My entire body involuntarily shook as I stood there praying he didn’t find anything. Mentally, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
“It’s clear!” He yelled.
I carefully skirted the wall making sure not to interfere with the blood trail. I took notice of the items randomly scattered on the floor. "What happened?”
“Still trying to figure it out,” Lucas continued his observation.
Dizziness hit me and I felt like I was struggling to catch my next breath. “I’m gonna step outside,” I barely gasped out.
“You ok?” Lucas gave me a worried glance over.
“I just need some air,” I admitted. “This...this is too much.”
“Understood.” He nodded. “I’m behind you in a few. Gonna see if I can find anything else in here.”
I nodded in response and made my way out the back door. The first wave of fresh air was more than welcomed.
“You lookin’ for Portia?” I heard a raspy voice ask.
I looked over to see an older lady seated in a worn metal chair by the backdoor of the house directly to the right of Victoria’s.
“No ma’am. We were looking for someone named Victoria.” I corrected. I should’ve been nervous that she saw me leaving out of a potential crime scene but something told me she wasn’t the type to go running to the police.
She lit her long cigarette and took a deep inhale from it. “Portia. Victoria. Whoever the hell she is depending on the night. That’s who you’re looking for, right?”
“I'm sorry?” I asked taking a step closer in her direction. “What do you mean by depending on the night?”
“You sho ain’t from around here,” she cackled to herself. “She’s a lady of the night,” she tried her best to sound proper. “Is that better?”
The lady didn’t even give me time to recover from that info. Yes, I thought Victoria was a hoe for messing with my husband, but I meant that figuratively.
“I ain’t seen her in bout a week now.”
Now that wasn’t adding up because I just saw her at the hospital only days ago. “You know where she went? Or have you seen anything strange going on with her?”
“I see ERRYTHANG baby. Strange ain’t so strange round here.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Some man been showing up here ever so often. Well actually, it was...”
“You ok?” Lucas’ hand touched the small of my back, making me jump.
“Uh yeah,” I looked back at him. I turned back around to finish my conversation. “You were saying?”
“Nothin’.” She went back to smoking her cigarette.
“But you were saying you saw,” I urged her to continue.
Without offering another word, she got up and went inside her house.
“What was that about?” Lucas questioned.
Utterly confused, I shrugged. “I’m not even sure anymore.”
Chapter 24
I approached my car and noticed a white piece of paper under one of the windshield wipers. I did a quick survey of my street for any sign of who could have left it and hesitantly opened it.
WE NEED TO TALK - J
My hands trembled at the signature. I rushed back into the house, back upstairs to the bedroom.
“What’s wrong?” Elliott asked noticeably alarmed.
It had been a few days since he’d been released from the hospital and we both decided it was best for him to fully recover at our o
wn house. Neither his apartment or the house could be considered safer than the other given everything that had taken place, so we opted for familiarity and the installation of a premium security system.
I couldn’t answer him and just handed over the paper as I sat on the edge of the bed near his legs.
“Let’s call the police,” Elliot placed the paper on the nightstand.
“And say what?” I challenged. “He’s smart Elliott. He didn’t write out his name and he knew not to text me. This is nothing in the eyes of the police. I told you what they told me the first time.”
He didn’t respond right away because he knew I was right. We both sat there for a minute in silence.
“Maybe I should just call him,” I looked over at him. It’s not like we had a plethora of other options.
“Absolutely not,” Elliott countered. “We learned what he’s capable of. There’s no way I’m letting you go anywhere near or talk to him.”
I sighed as the hopelessness set in. “We can’t just sit here and wait for something to happen.”
“I’m not proposing that but we need to be smart Cass. Plan properly,” he took my hand and placed a kiss on my palm. “I can’t risk losing you again.”
Elliott saying that was crazy to me when he was the one that had been lied on, harmed, and treated like filth by me. “I’m so sorry for all of this,” I teared up. I had so much regret and disappointment in myself when I thought about the past months. “If I could change things-”
“You can’t,” Elliott pulled at my hand to get closer to him. “The past is the past and every new day is a chance at starting over.”
I didn’t respond but I understood.
“Something is just off and I don’t know what it is. Every time we seem to be one step closer to an answer, five more questions pop up.” I stared at him. “Why would he be reaching out to me knowing I’ve already talked to the police?”
“People have done crazier things in the name of love,” Elliott reasoned. “You shouldn’t underestimate the magnitude of his feelings for you."
Love? Julian couldn’t possibly believe that after all of this that he was in love with me. He didn’t love me then. And after what I know he did to Shanice, he damn sure didn’t now.
“It’s not just the Julian situation that’s confusing me,” I hesitated. I was also referring to Victoria. I didn’t disclose what I learned about her to Elliott because I thought he’d been through enough. Throwing something else his way seemed wrong, but I needed his head in this with me.
“What do you mean?” He adjusted the pillow propped behind his back.
“I didn’t tell you, but I did find out more information about Victoria. Lucas and I found an address on her,” I uncomfortably cleared my throat. Her bloody hand prints were still on my mind.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me?” Elliott brows furrowed. “What happened?”
“She’s a prostitute and more than likely,” I gnawed at my quivering lip attempting to prevent myself from getting overly emotional. “More than likely dead,” I continued.
“Are you serious?” Elliott leaned forward even though I knew it still pained him physically.
“Yeah. Her next-door neighbor told me about her line of work and there was... blood in her house,” I wiped a stray tear. “It was awful.”
Elliott enveloped me in the tightest hug as I gave up on trying not to cry. “Cassie, I swear on my life I won’t let anybody hurt you.”
I cried even harder at that.
“Shhh,” Elliott rubbed my back. “We’ll regroup with Lucas and figure out a plan, ok?”
I nodded still in his embrace.
Denise and Gerald walked hand-in-hand out of the movie theater to their car. It was the same movie Gerald took Tyler to see but with his wife, it was an entirely different experience. This was their first step at attempting to understand each other better. Gerald loved all things comic books and Denise just enjoyed spending time with him outside of the house. Even with Denise asking questions about the movie while it played, an extreme pet peeve of Gerald’s, they both walked out of the theater satisfied.
Gerald gave Denise a quick slap on the butt before he opened the car door for her. She giggled like a teenager as she got in, already planning to keep Gerald up all night since Tyler was by Gerald’s mother for the weekend.
Just as Denise closed her door, her mouth was immediately covered and something cold was placed on her temple. She tried to scream to get Gerald’s attention but it was too late, he was already getting in the car.
Gerald froze at the sight of the masked man holding a gun to his wife’s head.
“Close your door,” the man commanded.
Gerald obliged, fearful that if he didn’t, Denise would die. They picked the last movie of the night and he knew none of the few moviegoers would see them because of his chosen parking spot away from other cars. A practice he started after their Audi had been hit a few times by the car doors of others only months after they purchased it.
“Now listen to me carefully. You’re going to follow my driving directions. If you do as I say, I can guarantee you and your wife will make it home to your son.”
Denise’s body stilled. This man had to have been following them around to know about Tyler. She was trying to make out his voice but the mask made it muffled. How could she have been so careless? All the chaos surrounding Cass and she never thought it would extend to her.
“Ok,” Gerald spoke calmly not showing an ounce of how terrified he truly was.
He started up the car and pulled off, following each directed turn and stop precisely. Denise involuntarily shook as they traveled deeper into a heavily wooded area. Her eyes gravitated between Gerald and the road. They were in St. Charles Parish, an area she wasn’t familiar with but knew there were enough woods and swamps to become forever lost in.
“Take the left up here,” he shouted off another order that brought them on a deserted gravel road absent of any lights.
“Stop the car.”
Gerald did as he was told as his stomach sank. There was no way this man brought them this far not to kill them. The only thing he could think about was their son growing up without either one of them.
The guy removed his hand from Denise’s mouth and dug into his pocket, never removing the gun from her head. “Put this on her,” he tossed a zip tie onto Gerald’s lap. “Hold your hands out. Wrist together,” he instructed Denise.
Gerald gently grabbed Denise’s hands, brushing his thumb over them in an effort to show some sign of affection. He could feel her hands trembling as he locked the zip tie in place.
After it was secure, he instructed Gerald to get out the car. Denise screamed as she feared the worst of what that meant.
“I said get out the car!” The guy realized Gerald had yet to move probably coming to the same conclusion Denise had.
“Please don’t hurt him!” Denise cried as Gerald finally obliged to the demand.
“Move and I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in his head,” he shoved the gun further into Denise’s temple. He gave her a second to let that warning sink in and then exited the vehicle.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” the man barked at Gerald. As he did so, Gerald tried his luck at reasoning. “Let us know what you need and I’ll take care of it. Money, a car, whatever. I can make it happen.”
Ignoring him, he slammed Gerald onto the hood of the car igniting another scream from Denise. The guy tied his hands behind his back and stood him upright.
Gerald tried again, “Just take our car and go. We don’t even know what you look like.”
“Can’t do that," the guy said in route to pull Denise from the car.
“Why?” Gerald pushed growing frustrated as he watched Denise cry out from the guy pulling her by her hair.
“Because I need my bait,” he stood her next to Gerald. “Smile for the camera,” he snapped a picture of the two of them.
Chapter 25
I stared at Dan’s name on my phone as it rang for the tenth time today. I hadn’t touched my work for Sultry since the break-in and hospital stay with Elliott. I knew that Dan knew I was behind on some of the final deadlines I set with him, and by all means, he was the wrong person to do that with it. He was an all business kind of man and wiggle rooms weren’t his thing which I respected but the safety of my life was at stake and that wasn’t a subject I could casually throw out there in a phone call.
“Are you going to answer him?” Elliott questioned from onside me on the sofa. “You could just say you’re sick or something you know.”
“Sick?” I was almost offended. “Dan is a very understandable guy when he wants to be but sick wouldn’t cut it for him. Not when it comes to me. He’s seeing a real profit now. He’d feel like I robbed him if I don’t follow through. I’m sure he realized I’m avoiding him.”
Elliott nodded seeming to understand. “So, what are you going to do then?”
“Email more than likely. I could find some diplomatic way to let him know I'm still working on Sultry, but a family emergency happened.” I sighed. “I’ll figure something out.” I reached for my closed laptop that was resting on the coffee table.
“Well do ya thing,” Elliott barely did a lean over to me, but I knew that was his way of requesting a kiss.
Despite everything that had occurred, Elliott and I were growing closer by the day. His near-death experience could be deduced as the catalyst, but it wasn’t the only reason. Our love was finding a way to mend the pain we’d given each other. Through the uncomfortable truths and tears, there was a glimpse of solace. We had made it through ‘for worse’ and were holding onto the rising promise of better days. It had been an emotionally draining process for the both of us, but I think we realized that living without each other would be agonizingly unbearable.
I pecked him on the lips and then he carefully stood up. “It’s time for my nightly dose of feel goods.” He stated referring to the pain meds he’d been prescribed.