Stripped

by Stacy-Deanne

  “We don’t get to see Jonathan then we’ll leave and come back with a warrant.” Dee sat against the ivory pillows.

  “Fine.” Shauna shrugged one shoulder. “Have a nice day.”

  “We’ll talk to you,” Connie said. “Dee, the case is what’s important here.”

  “Fine.” Dee yanked her pencil out the pocket of her maroon slacks.

  Shauna turned toward Emma and Ana, holding her hands out to them. “Ladies?”

  The women took Shauna’s hands and helped her to the mahogany glider where she sat erect, batting her eyes.

  “What’s this about Autumn being murdered?” she asked with a severe lack of sympathy.

  Dee relayed what they knew about Autumn and her involvement in The Circle, observing Shauna.

  Shauna cut her gaze to Tran who looked as annoyed as she did at the interview. “You can’t think Jonathan had anything to do with this, do you?”

  “It’s our job to find out,” Connie said.

  “Jonathan loves us,” Shauna protested. “Doesn’t he, ladies?”

  “Yes, Mistress,” Emma and Ana said.

  “Wow,” Dee whispered.

  “Jonathan protects us,” Shauna said. “Unlike those in the outside world. He’d never hurt us.”

  “How did you feel about Autumn?” Connie asked.

  “Me?” Shauna stiffened. “She was my sister.”

  “Your sister?” Connie asked.

  “Not by birth.” She huffed. “We’re all sisters here.”

  “Oh.” Dee grinned, chewing on her pencil. “Opposed to in the outside world?”

  “Detective Quarter.” Shauna batted her long eyelashes. “I’m sure the concept of how we feel about each other here is foreign to you. That’s the problem. We love each other on a level those outside The Circle could never understand.”

  “Don’t give me that crap. You can play your little games here at the compound all you want but this is a murder investigation, and I’d suggest you take it serious.”

  “I’m trying to explain our ways.” Her voice remained robotic.

  “Love is love, okay,” Dee said. “Either you love someone or you don’t. Obligation can’t force love.”

  “Never mind.” Shauna snickered at Emma and Ana. “She’ll never understand.”

  Dee examined Shauna’s pale skin. “We need to gage if you’re a suspect or not.”

  “Suspect?” Shauna slouched, seeming to show concern even if it were for herself. “I did nothing to Autumn.”

  “You’re the Head Mistress, meaning you’re above all these women?” Dee asked. “Are you Jonathan’s lover?”

  “We’re all Jonathan’s lovers,” Emma interjected, causing Shauna to give her the side eye.

  “I see.” Dee jotted Emma’s words and Shauna’s reactions to them. “So you all have romantic relationships with him?”

  “We all share him sexually if that’s what you mean,” Shauna said. “But for his heart, I’m the only one who claims that prize.”

  Emma and Ana grimaced.

  “Jonathan’s a very attractive man,” Dee said, his electrifying, silver eyes alive in her memory from when she’d seen his website. “Don’t you all get jealous of each other?”

  “Never.” Shauna scoffed. “More proof you don’t get our world. We don’t have those negative feelings because we live on a higher, spiritual plane. It’s an honor for us to have Jonathan’s attentions, we want to share him, not limit the love he provides.”

  “Someone’s cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs,” Dee whispered to Connie who shook her head.

  “We get the feeling that Autumn was closer to him than even you, Mistress Shauna,” Connie said. “Is that true?”

  “No one is closer to him than me in that capacity.”

  “Not what we heard.”

  “Then you heard wrong, Detective Wilks.” Shauna let out an exasperating sigh. “This isn’t getting us anywhere.” She stood, her dress snagging on the chair. “I’ve told you everything. We had nothing to do with Autumn’s death.”

  “It’s thirty-two of you, right?” Dee asked. “You can’t speak for every woman here. We want to talk to them and Jonathan.”

  “We don’t have to speak to you.” Shauna mocked. “This is Broadville Port not Baltimore. You have no jurisdiction.”

  “Eh, before you try to tell us about our jobs you should know what you’re talking about first,” Dee said. “In a murder investigation, jurisdiction doesn’t limit us speaking to anyone who has something to do with this.”

  Shauna stuck her chin out, jaws flexing. “We’re done here.”

  “Fine.” Dee stood, putting the pad and pencil in her pocket. “But, tell Jonathan we’ll be back soon and we expect him to speak to us. If not we’ll come back with a warrant and not only talk to everyone here...” She looked at Tran, Emma, and Ana. “But, we’ll search this entire place.”

  Shauna crossed her arms. “We don’t want cops snooping around here.”

  “Then Jonathan needs to speak to us.” Dee handed Shauna her card. “Have a good day.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jonathan watched Dee and Connie walk out the mansion through surveillance on his office computer.

  He snickered, drawn to the sensuous black cop who threw her weight around as if she owned the world. “You’d be fun to tame.” He ran his finger down the screen, imagining touching her.

  Shauna burst through the frosted-blue door, panting as if she’d run a marathon. “Were you watching the whole time?”

  “Of course.”

  “So you heard them then?” Shauna stomped to the desk. “They want to get a warrant, Jonathan. They want to come back and search the place.”

  “She said they’d do that if I didn’t comply.” He smirked, closing the laptop. “I had no issue with talking to them but you insisted I didn’t.” He took her hand and her face relaxed. “You don’t have to protect me, Shauna. What’s the harm in me speaking to them?”

  “You don’t need to be tainted by that one.”

  “You mean Detective Quarter?” He rocked in the suede red recliner.

  “She thinks we had something to do with Autumn’s death. Can you believe that?”

  “I have no worries because I didn’t do anything to Autumn.” He raised his thick eyebrow. “Did you?”

  “No. How could you ask me that?”

  “I’m not accusing you but you’re so wound up about this.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, Jonathan struggling to read her thoughts.

  “This is serious.” She touched the desk. “What if we go to jail?”

  “If neither of us did anything wrong, then you shouldn’t worry.” He laughed, throwing up his arms. “I’m not worried.”

  “You’re never worried.” She moved from the desk, rolling her eyes. “And look at me. I let a few minutes with outsiders bring in negativity.” She closed her eyes, humming. “I have to meditate—”

  “She’s sexy, isn’t she?” He laid his head back, staring at the gold, flush mount ceiling light. “Detective Quarter?”

  “Sexy?” Her nostrils flared. “Sorry, if while being accused of murder I didn’t have time to check her out.”

  “Such venom in your voice, Shauna.” He stopped smiling. “You’ve forgotten who you’re speaking to?”

  “I’m sorry, Jonathan.” She bowed. “I meant no disrespect.”

  “You’re forgetting your place more and more—”

  “No.” She gave a shaky smile. “I’ll never forget my place.”

  “We don’t worry.” He squinted. “We don’t fret. We don’t let outsiders get into our heads. Stay grounded.”

  “Yes.” She nodded, swallowing. “That’s why we need you in our lives, Jonathan. You remind us of what’s important.” She went to the door.

  “Shauna?”

  She turned sideways. “Yes?”

  “Did you kill Autumn?”

  She flinched, a bead of sweat drizzling her face. “No.” She tu
gged on the doorknob.

  “Something else bothering you?”

  “They tried to make it look like I was jealous of her, but I have no reason to be. We don’t get jealous but even so...” She rushed back to him, a look of pleading in her eyes. “I know you love me more than you do the rest of them.” She walked around the desk and placed her hands to his cheeks. “I know, Jonathan.”

  “Course I do.” He gripped her neck, lowering her head for a kiss. “You’ve been there for me through everything no matter how much it tested you. Don’t worry, Shauna. No one could ever take your place.”

  She smiled, blushing.

  ****

  “What did you think?” Dee drove onto the highway after exiting Jonathan’s property. “They’re something else, aren’t they?”

  “Definitely strange.” Connie opened a Snickers bar and bit into it. “They live in their own little world.”

  “Girl.” Dee got in the middle lane behind an empty bus. “What did you think of Shauna?”

  “Might be hiding something.” Connie licked nougat off her lips. “For someone who doesn’t get jealous she got jealous when we mentioned Autumn.”

  “Her face turned white as a sheet.” Dee flicked her signal on and switched into the next lane. “Don’t tell me they don’t get jealous of each other.”

  “You think Jonathan’s attractive?” Connie watched her out the corner of her eyes, chewing.

  “What?”

  “You said he was when we were questioning Shauna.”

  “So? He is.”

  “But, it was the way you said it.” Connie tilted her head. “As if you were interested.”

  “You want me to throw you out this car?”

  “I didn’t mean interested romantically but in knowing more about him.”

  “If you’re worried about me getting sucked in you don’t know me well at all. You gotta be crazy to fall into a cult. Did you see those women? Acting like Stepford wives and shit.” Dee turned off the highway onto a quiet street. “I can’t stand men like Jonathan who prey on vulnerable people. It’s abuse if you ask me.”

  “A lot of normal people fall into these groups.” Connie crunched nuts. “They don’t all have issues. Sometimes people just need a place to belong and these unions provide that.”

  “They brainwash people.” Dee shook her head. “The people think it’s a choice to stay but they’re manipulated from the first moment they meet someone like Jonathan. I can see how it can happen though.”

  Connie fixed her seatbelt.

  “It’s not just that he’s good-looking but he has this presence about him. This aura. Even on the website it leapt from the screen.”

  “Really?”

  “His eyes are so magnetic. It’s like he looks into you instead of at you.” Dee caught Connie’s bewildered expression. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Connie squinted, her head rocking with the car. “No reason.”

  ****

  That night, Sylvia peeked into Grayson’s living room made of wood-panel walls with a packed bookshelf in the back that took up half the room.

  “Are you all right, Dee?” she asked. “You sure I can’t get you anything?”

  “No, uh...” She placed the half-done manuscript on the table and crossed her feet at the ankles. “Is he coming out or what? I’ve been here ten minutes.”

  “He should be out the shower by now.” Sylvia twisted toward the stairs that led straight into the room. “I’ll go check.”

  “No need.” Grayson’s voice bellowed from the top of the stairs. “I apologize for having you wait.” He walked downstairs with his robe exposing his toned pecs and white jockey shorts.

  “Jesus.” Dee grimaced. “Put some clothes on, Grayson.”

  “Why?” His mouth rose in the corner as he tied the robe. “It’s not like you haven’t seen all this before.”

  Sylvia fidgeted. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “We will.” Grayson smiled.

  Sylvia left.

  Grayson stalked toward Dee, wobbling his head. “What? Seeing me half naked too much for you to take?”

  “I didn’t come here to play games.” She got off the suede, floral sofa that forced vibrancy into the room. “On the phone, you said you had information that might help my case but if that was bullshit then I can—”

  “All right, all right.” He exhaled, his hair plastered flat from being wet. “But, don’t you still find me attractive?”

  “You got one minute to tell me what you got to say or I’m gone.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Grayson sat in the swivel chair in front of his computer. “I researched Prisha Banerjee.”

  “Who?”

  “That’s the woman who disappeared after leaving The Circle.” Grayson ran his fingers through his slick hair. “The one Autumn told me about. Prisha’s family is from Telangana in South India but her father brought the family to America when Prisha was a baby.”

  “Okay.” Dee sat on the couch, contemplating the information. “Did you find anything about her outside The Circle?”

  “That’s what’s strange. I checked every social network and Google and besides her being mentioned with The Circle, nothing. It’s like she doesn’t exist outside of that.”

  “This is interesting but if you’re connecting this to Autumn—”

  “Jonathan did something to Prisha.” Grayson made eye contact. “Even Autumn said Jonathan is possessive. What if Prisha wanted to leave and he wouldn’t let her?”

  “Just because you can’t find her on Facebook doesn’t mean Jonathan did something to her. We need facts.” She stood, gesturing to the computer. “Not theories. I’ll see you.”

  “You have more tools at your exposure than I do. You can check Prisha out.”

  “I don’t have time to chase this when I got a murder to solve.”

  “What if Jonathan killed Autumn?” Grayson rubbed the nape of his neck. “This could be connected.”

  “All right.” She held her waist. “I’ll look into it. We went to the compound today.”

  “Did you?” He sat, eyes wide.

  “Grayson, it’s nuts. They’re living in their own world. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “I told you.”

  “There’s this one chick called Mistress Shauna.” Dee paced, pointing. “And they treat her like a queen. And, that house.” She waved her hands. “It’s gorgeous. More beautiful than on the website. Going there defied everything I imagined.” She rested her hands on the curve of her back. “The whole thing is mystifying.”

  “In a good or bad way?”

  “Huh?” She dropped her shoulders.

  Grayson propped his arm on the back of the chair. “You seem taken by all this.”

  “Are you kidding?” She faked a laugh. “I think it’s ridiculous, that’s all. You know me, Grayson.”

  “I do.” He nodded. “You’re tough on the outside but the most vulnerable person too.”

  “I’m not vulnerable.”

  “It’s why I fell in love with you.” He smiled. “You have so many sides. What did he say?”

  “Jonathan? We didn’t meet him. Shauna claimed he didn’t wanna talk to us.”

  “Probably because he killed Autumn.”

  “Thanks for telling me about Prisha.” She drifted toward the table. “If he did it I’ll get him, don’t worry.”

  “You will.” He winked. “You’re a great cop.”

  She got the manuscript. “This your latest project?”

  “You can call it that.” His face brightened. “I’ve only written five chapters. What do you think so far? I know you read it before I got in here. You were always sneaking peeks at my unfinished manuscripts.”

  She smiled, thumbing the pages. “It’ll be another masterpiece.”

  “Masterpiece?” He stretched, loosening his robe. “I haven’t had one of those in a while.”

  “Tell me when it’s published.” S
he set it on the table. “So I can be the first to get my copy.”

  “How about I give you a copy?” He lowered his head, glaring through his lashes. “In person.”

  “I...” Her hands shook. “I’d better go.”

  “You don’t have to.” He leapt out the chair. “Please stay.”

  “Why?” She turned her back to him.

  “Because you want to?” He cupped her shoulder from behind, smelling of Irish Spring soap. “Don’t you, Dee?” He brought his mouth to her ear, whispering through his soothing breath, “I miss you so much.” He swept his hand around her waist. “I’ll never love another woman the way I love you.”

  “Stop, please.” She closed her eyes, heart pounding.

  “I can’t stop.” He sucked her earlobe, enveloping her in his scent. “And, you don’t want me to.”

  “Winston...” She moaned, melting from the touch of his masterful lips. “I love him.”

  “You love me.” With his arm locked on her waist, he forced her around, smashing his chest against her tingling breasts.

  Her gaze locked on his dry lips that begged for her mouth underneath the graying goatee. “Grayson.”

  He lay his warm mouth on hers, guiding her lips open with his tongue.

  Dee released a soft moan, bringing her hands to his shoulders and holding her against him, savoring that faint peppermint flavor on his breath.

  “Mm.” She pushed back, unleashing his lips. “Oh my god. What are we doing?”

  “What we wanna do.” He grabbed the back of her head, forcing her lips toward his. “Come here.”

  She tossed her head in the opposite direction. “Have I lost my mind?” She let go of him, huffing and puffing.

  His chest heaved as he tilted his head back, eyes narrowing.

  “I got to go.”

  “Dee.” He reached for her.

  “No.” She slapped his hand away and ran out the room.

  ****

  Dee tangled her fingers in Winston’s curls as he licked the moist opening between her thighs until she burst. “Oh.” She let him go, reaching for the wooden headboard behind her.

  “Woo.” Winston lifted his head from her thighs, forehead full of sweat. “Feel good?”