Chapter 15
Drinking her morning coffee, Kara sits on her couch and flicks on the television, flipping through channels aimlessly until a headline catches her eye. She pauses on the local news, because they’re talking about The Warehouse Tortures and the now infamous Paxton Brooker.
It nags at her pride that she’s on the outside looking in on this now, waiting for updates in the same way the public does.
The blonde newscaster is eagerly speaking into the microphone as the crew walks past the rundown, abandoned-looking building in the south quarter of the city. The eerie building has become synonymous with the words pain and ruin. “In a wild turn of events, we’ve received word from a reputable source that a new witness has been found in the unnerving case of the Warehouse Tortures. With the last witness dead - her murder still unsolved, by the way - this is making the story heat up even more! As we understand it, this unnamed witness is going to be kept under police care for their safety-”
Kara stares with an open mouth at the screen. They’ve had someone else come forward? She thought the whole case was doomed after ‘X’ was found dead in her rundown apartment on the shady side of town, lips sewn shut, head separated from her withered, track-marked body!
“Our office was mailed a mysterious tape this morning, with the following recording,” the newscaster states before the visual on the screen changes.
It goes theatrically dark, with a distorted vocal recording being played. Kara listens with wide eyes. It sounds like a private police interrogation, something that shouldn’t even be in the hands of the press.
“What even is this? Who leaked the tapes?” Kara complains out loud, turning up the volume. “That’s completely out of line. That’s…that’s…” Someone in the precinct had to have snuck this out, against all the rules.
The voices on the tape are completely tuned in a way that makes it impossible to identify the speakers. Both sound male, despite the distortion.
“…Paxton Brooker knows about the Torture House and has been profiting off the pain and misery of others for a very long time. The Dark Mirage club is just the pleasant front, the place to test the waters of potential victims. There’s always someone with a kink that’s looking to go further, to go to the abyss. I would know; he subtly invited me to it when I mentioned I was looking to explore my sadism deeper-”
“You’re a sadist?” The interviewer’s voice is less distorted.
An uncomfortable pause. “There are few who can suffer as deeply as I’ve fantasized about making someone suffer. There are rules in the Dark Mirage . For the safety of those involved, you understand. Brooker mentioned to me that he knew of a place that would allow me to go ‘all the way’. I admit, I was intrigued by the prospect. It sounded too good to be true. I didn’t think there would be people so willing to undergo true torture…”
“What does ‘all the way’ mean to you?” The interviewer asks darkly.
A dry, muted sound of amusement. “I don’t think you want to know. You might not understand.”
The uncomfortable silence returns. “What proof do you have that he offered this opportunity to you?”
“Papered, signed proof. He was going to have me work there. It was part of an NDA. The pay was better than it was at the Dark Mirage . I was terribly tempted.”
“What did you do?” The interviewer sounds vaguely disgusted.
“I declined. I had a bad feeling about it, especially after Farrah Vincelli disappeared and returned to her shoddy apartment with a payoff, looking worse for wear.”
“Farrah Vincelli? The other witness who was murdered? A former member of the sex club?”
“The very same.”
The distorted interview ends, going back to the news reporter who starts babbling on about the horrifying developments, and what sort of sick people are hanging about the city-
For a few moments, Kara can only stare blankly at the tv screen, trying to digest all that she just heard. She dials the first person she can think of.
“I just saw the news; is this for real? They’ve found someone willing and able to pin Paxton Brooker?” Kara asks urgently when Detective Ray Wellis picks up. “Why didn’t you tell me? How long have you known?”
Ray is nearly silent on the other side of the phone, but she can hear his soft exhale, something weary in nature. He might be smoking. “It’s a recent development. We’re already scrambling to understand how this got leaked, the tape is supposed to be locked down. The press having it already is going to fuel fires and we haven’t been able to investigate far enough.” A silence follows. Then, “This case goes deep and dark. I didn’t tell you not just because I can’t , but because I don’t know if I can trust you.”
A rock plummets in her stomach, her throat working, feeling vaguely hurt. It turns into an ugly spike of red in her chest. Her voice is tight with restrained anger. “What the hell does that even mean, Ray? I’m not the enemy here, I’m from the original case against Paxton Brooker for Debra Mills. I want to see him go down more than anyone-”
Well. Maybe not more than the people who have actually been impacted by his dark, sleazy ways…
“You aren’t the enemy, Kara.” Ray sounds like he’s crashing down from too many energy drinks. “Don’t take it that way. This is a sensitive situation. We’ve already had one witness get her head lobbed off. We can’t afford to have this one get hurt too. This could be our last chance to tie this to Brooker.”
That softens the blow a bit. “Is the DA going to take this to court?”
“Let’s just say Paxton Brooker is likely to be under arrest soon. Don’t you mention that to anyone though. We’re still fighting the Feds getting involved. We don’t have true confirmation that this walked beyond State boundaries.”
Holy shit. Despite her desire to see the bastard go down, something just nags at the edges of her mind. “You said you didn’t have time to dig into this yet. How do you know this is real? What if it isn’t ?”
“We’ve been given relevant documents with Paxton Brooker’s signature on it-”
“Could that be forged?” Kara asks suspiciously.
A pause. “We don’t believe it is. There’s too much evidence against Brooker that paints a damning picture. But sure,” Ray concludes. “It’s possible . That’s why we didn’t expect this to get leaked, we needed more time to investigate.” He pauses then. “Don’t say any of this to anyone. Just. Keep it to yourself. Please. Especially not to your client.”
Ah . That’s the real reason he doesn’t trust her. Dieter.
“You know my client isn’t even implicated in this,” she replies numbly, too exhausted to fight this conversation again.
“He might not be on the stand yet, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be. Bittinger isn’t a saint, despite what his donations to various charities say.” There’s the sound of a siren going off in the background of Ray’s audio and for a moment, he sounds distracted, talking to someone else. Probably his partner, that dry-as-a-bone Collins. “I’ve got to go, Kara. Be careful, alright? Things are getting strange in this city.”
He hangs up before she can even say goodbye.
Sitting there on her couch, Kara’s mind churns slowly, replaying the disguised voice of the witness over and over in her head. Something isn’t adding up. Mentioning Paxton Brooker as the one to try and invite them to the Torture House? That’s not how ‘X’ made it sound. ‘X’ made it sound like a hostess at the club tried to reel her in. The other oddity is that ‘X’ called it The Room.
Kara frowns. Why would this witness be different from ‘X’? Is it because Brooker was offering them a torturer’s position? That is if Brooker truly did do as the witness claims. It seems appallingly bold, to make such an offer. Too obvious, too blunt.
But perhaps Brooker has dealt with so many morally bankrupt people that he just assumed someone who tormented others for kicks would be too interested to say no.
It’s a long shot, but she reaches out to the Private Investigator that she always used at Benson’s firm. There’s got to be a hole in this. A money trail that ends up nowhere…
The whole thing smells off. All this time and just now someone comes forward? Kara isn’t buying it.
She’d love to know Nick’s perspective. His client is under dark scrutiny now.