by Graham, Jan
“Well, I haven’t seen her around, but I’ll ask some of the staff on duty. I’ll give Barry your order and get your coffee and see if anyone has seen her.” The woman patted Steve’s hand before walking away.
Steve watched as she spoke to whoever was behind the counter window that led to the kitchen. She then proceeded to talk to the two girls who were making up the numerous coffee orders. Steve assumed the coffees were takeaway orders for people on their way to open up the different shops in the centre. A young, scruffy guy looked over at him as he collected his coffee and began to walk over to Steve’s table at a leisurely pace.
“You were lookin’ for that hot chick in the picture, man?” he mumbled when he got level with the table.
Steve nodded.
“She was in the shop yesterday. I think I sold her a phone charger and somethin’ else. But I don’t know anything about her. Meg says if I see her again, I should tell her that her brother’s lookin’ for her.”
“Thanks, man,” Steve stated. “Hey, was she with anyone yesterday?”
“Nah, by herself, I think. Good luck finding her though, man,” the young guy replied as he walked away.
That covers the electrical store. Steve watched Meg approach. At least he assumed that was the woman’s name, courtesy of electrical boy. She had two coffees with her, and Steve wondered who had ordered the second one. He was the only customer in the store that had taken a seat. His curiosity was rewarded as she placed both coffees on his table and sat down in front of the cappuccino she had brought with her. The woman watched as Steve dumped five sugars into the small cup and stirred it slowly.
“I’m Steve,” he offered as she started eating the froth of the milky coffee in front of her.
“Meg,” she replied with a smile, placing the photo onto the table. “Well, the girls don’t remember her, but Barry does. He’ll bring your breakfast out and talk to you then. I sent young Jason over, but he’s in a dreamworld most of the time. I’m surprised he even remembered her.”
“He referred to her as the hot chick, so maybe it was more about hormones than a good memory,” Steve joked.
Meg laughed and started making polite conversation before proceeding to ask Steve how he was coping. Steve appreciated the woman’s concern. He began to realise how much he missed being able to talk to Kathy. She really kept him on an even keel, and the few weeks he had spent without her hadn’t been easy on him. He needed to get home and soon, even if it was only for a night or two.
As they continued to chat, Steve noticed a young girl walking over to them. She was thin and attractive, and Steve got the impression the young woman knew it. She was wearing a school uniform that was short enough to get her into all sorts of trouble with the wrong kind of man.
I’m officially old. At one time in his life, no skirt on a woman would have ever been too short. He took consolation in the fact that this was not a woman, which meant the skirt could in fact be too short.
“If your father sees you wearing something that short, he will have a heart attack.” Meg looked less than pleased with the young girl as she lifted the hem of the girl’s T-shirt and peered underneath it. “Unroll that waistband now, young lady, or you’ll be locked in your bedroom until you’re thirty.”
“You’re such a drama queen.” The young girl rolled her eyes at Meg before turning her attention to Steve. “I’m Bethany. Are you a friend of Dad’s?”
Steve glanced at Bethany’s stomach as she fidgeted with the waistband of her skirt. He saw the sparkle of a heart shaped jewel dangling from a piecing in her belly button.
“Steve.” He looked up at her and smiled. He wanted to add “I bet your middle name is trouble” but thought better of it.
“Steve’s looking for his sister. Have you seen her?” Meg pointed at the picture.
“Yeah, heaps.” Bethany didn’t offer anymore information.
“Well…” Meg made a gesture toward her daughter indicating more information was required.
“Oh, right…I think she lives past Baxter Road somewhere. She was on the bus yesterday when Tiff and I were going down to the dam. We got off at Baxter.”
“Was she alone?” Steve asked.
“Yesterday she was, but the time before that she was with two of the most gorgeous guys alive. They came here for cake and coffee.”
“Do you know who the guys are?” Meg asked the question before Steve had the chance.
“No, but they must like her a lot. Either that or she’s rich and they are just hanging around her for her money.”
“Why do you say that?” Steve had no idea how teenage girls’ heads worked, but this one’s seemed a bit defective.
“She had bags, and I’m guessing like four maybe five, all from the sexy underwear shop over there. So someone had money, and they weren’t afraid to spend it.”
Steve hoped when he and Kathy had kids they’d be boys. His head was starting to ache listening to Meg and her daughter talk. He drained the last of his coffee as Meg and Bethany walked over to the servery where three more young girls appeared from behind the kitchen doors followed by a man that even Steve would think twice about taking on in a fight.
Meg came over to tell Steve she was going to take the girls to school and would be back shortly. She introduced him to Barry and rushed out of the café, leaving the cackle of teenage girls ringing in Steve’s ears. Barry placed the breakfast in front of Steve and called out to Tracey behind the counter to bring two more coffees as he sat down.
Barry was at least six and a half feet tall. He was as broad as a bus but not fat, with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. When he first emerged from the kitchen, Steve thought he was wearing a long sleeve shirt, but once he was closer he realised the man’s arms were covered completely in tattoos and he was wearing a black T-shirt.
“Meg said you were hungry and way too skinny, so I doubled the bacon and gave you two extra sausages.” Barry’s voice had an undertone of concern.
“Thanks, man, it looks better than anything I’ve eaten in a month,” Steve said as he began to eat.
Tracey arrived with the coffees and went to take the order of a couple that had entered the café a few minute beforehand.
“How long have you been looking for her?”
Steve filled Barry in on the elements of Angel’s disappearance that he wanted him to know. Abusive boyfriend, went missing four weeks ago, not answering her mobile, worried the ex had done something to her, police no help, the phone call saying she had been spotted here yesterday. Barry seemed to buy all aspects of the story, and he even scoffed at the fact that the police were no help.
“Well, I’ve seen her twice. The first time she was with two men. They were well-dressed, clean-cut, and good-looking blokes, according to Bethany.” Barry laughed and shook his head. “She’s trouble, that girl of mine. They looked decent enough, but you could tell if you pissed them off they’d know how to handle themselves, especially the fair-haired one.”
“How did Angel look?” Steve asked, worried about who these men were.
“Angel, is that her name? A pretty name for a pretty lady.” Barry expressed his approval.
Steve nodded as he returned to eating.
“She looked in good health. I didn’t see that she was bruised or anything if that’s what you want to know, not that I could see. And she seemed happy to be with them. I couldn’t hear what they were chatting about, but it all seemed amicable. Having said that though, I got the feeling she was…what was it? It wasn’t fear, nervous maybe, a little unsure about them. When they left, I watched them walk away. One either side of her, you know, like a protection detail. I remember thinking that I pitied any man who tried to get past those two to get at her.”
“I have no idea who these guys could be. She doesn’t know anyone down here. At least I don’t think she does. What about the second time you saw her?” Steve frowned.
“Don’t look so worried, mate. I saw her yesterday, even spoke to her. She was relaxed
and seemed happy. Again, I couldn’t see any sign of injuries on her, and she had more skin exposed yesterday. Your sister, man, she’s a fine-looking woman. Not that I think you probably want to hear that.” Barry looked embarrassed as he continued.
“I was at the register when she was paying for her lunch. I said hello, that it was nice to see her here again. I asked where her two friends were today, and she said they were at work. She told me lunch was delicious. I said I’d be happy to make her lunch anytime, and she said she would definitely be back. I told her a pretty thing like her was welcome here any day of the week. She blushed and thanked me then wandered off.”
“So you flirted with her?” Steve tried to look like he was offended, but he probably just looked amused.
“What can I say? Like I said, she is a good-looking woman.” Barry shrugged and gave Steve cheeky grin. “I love Meg, but a man can still look.”
As Barry walked back into the kitchen, Steve mulled through all the information he had been given. Who were these two guys? If Hastings hadn’t put the hit on her, Steve would have assumed that these two guys worked for Hastings and were holding her somewhere. And the sexy underwear, it didn’t make sense. As Steve was paying for his breakfast, Meg arrived back at the café.
“Oh good, you’re still here.” Meg seemed flustered “Bethany said one of her friends had seen the dark-haired man at the hospital. She didn’t know if he worked there or was just visiting.”
Steve thanked Meg and left his mobile number with her in case Angel came back to the café. The rest of the shops didn’t give him much else to go on. The lingerie sales assistant confirmed a gorgeous man with dreamy eyes, curly blond hair, and a body to die for spent “hundreds!” on lingerie the other week. The book shop owner tried to be helpful but didn’t add anything new. He found a fashion store Angel had been in with her “husband” who had dark hair and worked somewhere locally. The most valuable piece of information was that Angel told the woman they lived about thirty minutes out of town.
Steve felt hopeful. He had a direction to travel, out past Baxter Road, and he also had a time frame to narrow his search down. Of course, that is if the information was accurate and providing Angel hadn’t made it up. If Steve new one thing about Angel, it was that usually Angel didn’t lie. She may omit details or just not talk about a situation, but every time he had ever asked her a question, to his knowledge, she had always answered it truthfully. He knew Angel wasn’t married, but he believed that if someone referred to the man she was with as her husband then Angel wouldn’t correct them.
Steve stopped into the newsagent on his way out of the mall. He needed some paper to write on. Kathy had often told him he was a visual being. Things became clearer as soon as they were out of his head and written down in black and white. He used the computer at work, but it didn’t fire his synapses as well as good old-fashioned pen and paper. He picked up a large sketch pad and headed to the counter. While he was waiting to be served, he noticed a display stand with key rings on it. As he spun the carousel style display around one in particular caught his eye. The sterling silver figurine hanging from the clasp was an angel. The face of the figure was looking downward, one hand holding the hem of her skirt, wings splayed out behind her. A dancing angel, now that would be much better than the key ring currently attached to Angel’s car keys.
Steve spoke to one of the bus drivers about getting a map of the routes. He handed him a timetable that had a map with the different routes marked in the back. There were only two buses that went past Baxter Road, and Steve decided to drive around each route later in the day. One of the routes took him out to the area that Christian and Daniel lived in, so he would leave that route until last thing and then go directly to their house. It was close to lunchtime, but given the pile of food he had consumed for breakfast, Steve decided to give lunch a miss. He made his way to the local public library. He found a desk in a quiet corner and started to make notes based on the morning’s information.
He started with the dates she had accessed her bank account and the stores he knew she had visited. Angel was with two men. She hadn’t changed her appearance since she left. The old photo of her had been easily recognisable by the witnesses he spoke to. Yesterday she was described as looking happy and relaxed. There was no sign of harm or fear when she was with the two mystery men, but she had seemed nervous or unsure of them not long after she arrived in the area. She had been gone for roughly three weeks and had only been to a supermarket once. Apart from that she had eaten at a café twice and bought clothing, underwear, and books. Someone had to be feeding her, or she was somehow using cash. Definitely not her own. The woman lived on a shoestring budget when she was with Samuel, and the bank records Trevor had acquired showed she had no significant savings, especially after paying for Barnard’s funeral. The house had shown no indication she had left in a hurry. She had taken her newly purchased heap of junk car, but there had been no recorded sightings of it in the time she had been away. There were also no known petrol purchases. Yesterday she had travelled to the mall by bus. So where was the bomb she had bought? Possible deduction…
Maybe she sold it and has been living on the cash.
Then Steve felt like he had been hit by a bolt of lightning. Eating at cafés, shopping for clothes, reading books, looking happy and relaxed. It was as if Angel was on holiday. No change in her appearance and all her belongings still in the house she shared with Barnard.
Oh my God, she doesn’t know Adrian has put out a hit on her. She’s having a holiday.
“Fuck,” Steve swore under his breath. “You’re going to die and you don’t even know it.”
It made sense. Why return a message that says someone can help and keep you safe if you don’t know the amount of danger you are in. Angel had told Steve that she believed Adrian would kill her, but it certainly appeared she didn’t think it would be this soon. Angel wasn’t being stubborn about accepting help, she didn’t know she needed help.
He flipped the page of scribble over and started writing down information of the two men. He started making a list for each. Dark-haired man, tall, good-looking, works at hospital, gives impression he can handle himself if needed, purchased dresses and other clothes, has disposable income, protective posture when walking with Angel, mistaken for husband.
Steve pondered the list. If this man was mistaken for her husband, did the couple somehow give the sales assistant the impression of intimacy with each other?
Maybe Angel has met a new lover… or two. Steve moved on to the next man’s details.
Blond, curly hair, tall, good-looking, dreamy eyes, a body to die for, protective stance when walking with Angel, works, can definitely handle self if threatened, lots of disposable income, spent hundreds on lingerie.
There was the same theme, intimacy. The lingerie was obviously for Angel, well, unless Mr. Dreamy Eyes was a cross-dresser. Why buy lingerie for a woman if aren’t expecting her to wear it for you?
Oh, Angel, you naughty girl, are you having sex with these two men?
Steve couldn’t help but smile at the thought. If they were treating her well, then Steve hoped she was enjoying herself. She deserved a nice man, or possibly in this case two nice men, who bought her gifts and treated her like the special creature she was. But who were these two, and how did Angel know them?
Steve drew a link between the two descriptions and started writing again. They know each other, live locally, possibly together. Angel is staying with one or both men within a thirty-minute drive from the mall who are happy to share the same woman, protection detail stance, protective of Angel, can handle themselves in if threatened or in a fight.
Steve looked at his list. The personal characteristics indicated men who were confident, self-assured men. Did walking beside Angel in a protection detail stance mean they had military, police, or security training? Or was it a dominance thing, ownership or a high regard for women they were intimate with? Steve certainly understood the dominance aspect.
He always stayed close to Kathy, his hands usually resting in the small of her back when they were in a mixed setting, particularly with other Doms. Christian and Daniel always used to flank their last lover when they were out in public, as much as she hated it. But he wasn’t talking about Doms, was he?
“Are you two in the scene? Have you been trained in defence?” he asked the paper in front of him, looking at the information again.
Steve took a deep breath as he looked at the list once more. He had an increasing feeling of unease. Surely, he couldn’t be right. The newly formed notion pulsed into his mind. He cautiously wrote the names Christian and Daniel to the side of the page. He wrote the characteristic applicable to each brother under their names.
Fuck…Fuck…Fuck. Steve couldn’t seem to get any other word to enter his head.
He stood up and started pacing close to the library desk, stopping every so often to glance down at the page. He needed to think clearly. He sat back down and turned the page over to expose a fresh work space.
Steve hadn’t seen the brothers since Daniel’s homecoming. Could they have found Angel and got her to their home in that time?
Of course they could. They are the fucking Shore brothers, and women throw themselves at them.
But where would they have met her?
“Of course, they must have met her at the fucking Dungeon, on the night of their party. You idiot!” Steve let his head fall onto the desk and banged it quietly a few times. He remembered them disappearing downstairs at one stage throughout the evening and then the conversation he had with them the next day.
“We met our future lifelong love last night. She is beautiful, cheeky, totally sexy, and perfect for both of us.”