Chapter 5 #2
Her apartment was a lovely space with polished oak floors and brick walls.
Floor-to-ceiling arched windows gave views over Deadwater and the river flowing into town.
Drawn to the sight, I gazed on the cobbled walkway below, the pink neon lights of the clubs flickering to life, though they didn’t open for a few more hours.
Cassie danced to the kitchen, overhead pendant lamps casting a warm glow on shiny chrome appliances. She flicked the button on the kettle, then smiled when another person entered the room. Riordan, her boyfriend, strode from the hall which I presumed led to the bedrooms.
His brown hair was ruffled as if he was just starting his day, which was likely as most of the crew worked nights.
He raised a polite hand in greeting to us and straightened his skeleton crew black t-shirt and the skull bandanna tied around his throat, then stepped into a pair of heavy motorcycle boots.
Cassie tracked his progress.
She was unapologetically obsessed with her boyfriend, and from the way he behaved around her, the feeling had to be mutual.
At the door, he paused and made a small gesture. Cassie flew from the kitchen and leapt at him. He caught her, her legs wrapping around his waist, while one of his hands cupped her backside.
She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll miss ye.”
“You’ll watch every move I make, wild girl,” he challenged back. But there was nothing besides fascination and heat in his reply.
He opened the apartment door and carried her into the hall.
Mila made big eyes. “Is it me or is it getting hot in here?”
“Couldn’t tell you. It’s been too long. I don’t know what hot is anymore.”
She laughed softly then settled on a cream sofa. “I remember you saying you were single.”
I took the seat at the other end and wrinkled my nose. “I was seeing a guy, but it didn’t work out. And he was more of the tepid variety.”
Mila twisted her lips in an expression of regret, but the haunted look I’d seen in her yesterday returned to her eyes. “About Convict’s rescue, I didn’t know Arran planned to use you like that. It wasn’t fair of him. Did it cause any issues with your dad?”
I huffed an unfunny laugh. Arran knew exactly what he was doing, and I couldn’t blame him for putting his friend’s safety over mine. I was an easy solution. My father hadn’t taken me into consideration when he captured the crew member.
Story of my life. He hadn’t taken me into consideration ever.
It was the reason Arran’s plan had worked.
I had the access to walk straight into the police safe house, including with a new crew member on my arm who nobody spotted.
The rest of the crew had gassed everyone inside, including me, knocking us out.
Meanwhile, Kane had raced through the building to spring Convict from an upper window.
It left me as just another victim, there in the city to see the Eden being brought up from the water.
The ship, belonging to Mila’s family, had been mysteriously blown up, and I was beyond certain it had been done to hide secrets.
With my access to police information, courtesy of the work my father gave me, I now knew the answer to one of those secrets. I hated how much it would hurt my friend.
I reached for Mila’s hand and squeezed her fingers. “No, my father bought the lie, and all’s well that ends well. But, there’s something else we need to discuss.”
She exhaled and sank into the cushions. “You mean the Eden? I had a call from the solicitor an hour ago.”
“They told you?”
“About the bodies? Yes.”
She seemed so heartsick, that crushing emotion threatened me again. “I’m so sorry.”
“Tell me what the police are saying,” she asked.
“From the reports I read, they said that raising the ship went quicker than expected, but the damage from the explosion which sank it was extensive. No crew was listed as being on board, but the bodies of four people were identified through the broken side of a shipping container.”
She paled and cringed. “Women.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded all the same.
Mila took a shaky breath. “I feel so awful for them. To have died like that. Do they know if it was the explosion or were they…? Was it the water?”
I shook my head quickly. Drowned, burned, or dead already. That was the speculation in the police chat. Bets were being taken. “They haven’t announced it yet. When I find out, I’ll let you know.”
“It’s so hard to imagine my grandfather would have anything to do with people trafficking. I know I keep saying it, but he was so decent and honest. He did everything for his family, as you’ve seen.”
The two of us had investigated just how much Marchant Haulage supported the wider Marchant family. So many relatives got regular payouts from the company which deepened the mystery over who might be trying to influence the business now it was on hold.
“It’s very possible that he didn’t and it was done without his knowledge.” Even as I said the words, I didn’t truly believe them. I just wanted to comfort her.
But Mila’s expression darkened. “I’m not so sure anymore. He hid a whole sibling from me.”
“Kane? I remember you saying you only met as adults.”
Why did his name make my belly flip?
“No. We found out at the meeting yesterday that our father had a third child. I have a sister, older than me, I think. She has voting rights, so the meeting ground to a halt because she needs to be found. Her name is Darcy. Yet another secret.”
Surprise pulled me up short.
My mind spun, making connections that felt too far-fetched to be real.
Mila shook her head, getting my reaction wrong.
“It’s crazy, I know. We have to find her if we’re going to get through the vote and have the company up and running again, but honestly, I’m not that motivated anymore.
Not after the repeated kicks in the teeth I’ve had from trying to help my family.
How many people knew? How many people lied?
It’s a good thing Kane is taking the lead in the sister hunt.
I feel bad for her as well, but right now, I want to hide away from all of it. ”
Oh. My. God.
I was right. Kane was hunting for a woman. Energy bounced through me at my discovery and the dozen ideas combining in my head. But at the same time, what if I was wrong?
He hadn’t told her. Mila didn’t know.
Mila’s phone rang. She rolled her eyes and showed me the solicitor’s name onscreen, then stood to take the call by the window.
Cassie reappeared and skipped back to the kitchen, her lips bee-stung from her extended goodbye to Riordan. The kettle had boiled, and she readied three cups then poured in hot water, bringing them over to the coffee table when she was done.
I thanked her and picked mine up, warming my hands on the lovely-smelling fruit tea.
On her phone, Cassie activated a video feed then set it on the coffee table, propped against a decorative skull which itself sat upon a romance novel with a half-naked man on its cover.
On the screen, the warehouse’s CCTV showed staff readying the clubs for the evening. Riordan appeared in a corridor, and Cassie sighed happily now she could see him again.
I got back to my first objective, even more important following Mila’s unknowing revelation. “Have you heard anything from Dixie in the past few days?”
She shook her head, her black curls flying. “Not a thing. She’s not in work and she isn’t answering messages, which is odd because she’s one of the most talkative people I know. For her to go silent is unnerving. I’m worried.”
“I am as well. I’m trying to find her.”
Relief shone in Cassie’s blue eyes. “I’ve talked to the dancers and sex workers about where she might be.
Do you know what’s weird? Everyone knows and loves Dixie, but nobody actually knows her.
Not whether she had any family, or where she hung out when she wasn’t in work.
Probably because she was always here. She was even sleeping over at the warehouse for a while, but the room she was using on the camgirls’ floor only had clothes and makeup in it. I already searched it.”
“This is hers, isn’t it?” I brought the tablet out of my bag.
Recognition brightened Cassie’s expression. “I gave it to her for work. How do ye have it? It’s one of the things I searched for.”
“I went to her flat. According to her neighbour, the landlord was going to empty the place, so I went in. Do you know the passcode?”
If she was bothered by my breaking into Dixie’s home, Cassie didn’t show it. While I lived on the fringe of the criminal world, she was fully immersed. The woman had killed in the past. My actions would be a drop in the ocean.
“Not a clue. It was used for stock ordering down in Divine, I think. I asked for a spare, and one of the women who works there showed Dixie how to get into it. Manny, who runs the security team, might be able to reset it.”
I tapped the screen, activating the skeleton crew logo that I’d stared at in frustration last night. “If there are clues on here, resetting it might wipe them. Do you remember who gave it to you? Maybe she still knows the code.”
“I do. Her name’s Molly. Let me see if she’s around.” She made a phone call. “Molly? It’s Cassie from the warehouse. No, nothing’s wrong.” She explained the problem then put the call on loudspeaker, saying she was with me.
Molly’s voice came on the line. “I’m really sorry. I used to kind of draw it on in a squiggle. Muscle memory, you know? Without it in front of me, I can’t remember the numbers.”
“Can I bring it to you?” I asked.
“Sure! Except I’m not working at the warehouse tonight.” She rattled off an address in town where she’d be at eight.
Cassie thanked her and hung up. Her expression turned pensive. “You think Dixie’s in real trouble?”
“I believe she might be hiding. I don’t mean to be secretive, but I don’t want to share this any more widely. If I’m wrong, it could cause issues for someone else.”
Cassie mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key. “I’ve tried calling and messaging her countless times. I miss her a lot.”
“I do, too.”
Across the room, Mila paced heel to toe in front of the window, listening to her caller and responding with terse replies.
“How did you become friends with Dixie?” Cassie asked.
“You know I provide information to Arran? I was waiting outside his office one evening, and she sidled up to give me some advice.” I put on her voice. “Don’t flirt with him, he’s got a new woman.”
“Always with the gossip. There’s nothing she loves more than having juicy details to share.” Cassie’s fleeting amusement dropped. “She told me a few things before she vanished. Actually, before she was attacked.”
I leaned in, clutching my mug.
“She wanted time off to do something cagey. She wouldn’t tell me what, but promised that if she needed help, she’d ask. Then she got hurt and her personality changed. Her spark had gone, and she refused to discuss anything after.”
My heart beat faster. “You think that’s to do with her disappearance?”
“If it isn’t, I’m going to have to hang up my Skeleton Girls Detective Agency crown. I wish I’d pushed harder, but I was trying to give her the space she needed to heal. Instead, I let her down.”
Mila came back to join us. She dropped into a seat and picked up her tea. Taking a sip, she griped about the fact the solicitors had gone from avoiding her to begging for help.
Thankfully, Cassie rolled with the conversation change, heeding my need to keep my search on the downlow.
I hardly heard in my battle to contain my rush of thoughts. I got it now, the reason why Kane was so intense and so private about what he was up to. His family was at the heart of this. Still, if I was wrong, it could hurt Mila, which meant keeping a lid on my guessing game until I had the facts.
One thing was certain: I needed my car back.
First to go see Molly and get the code, then second, to pursue Dixie wherever she’d gone.
A knock on the door brought Convict into the apartment and Mila directly into his arms. The way Cassie and Riordan interacted was like magnets crashing together.
An unstoppable and uncontrollable draw. With Mila and Convict, it was more like a connection.
Both of them taking a breath of relief at being back in each other’s orbit.
I wish I knew what it was like to be wanted in the same way the two couples had with each other.
No, needed was a better word. Like they were only complete when together.
I’d never experienced anything like that, just like I’d been a stranger to good sex.
My overblown emotions killed off my last relationship, and it was possible I’d never get the chance again.
“Ready to go home?” Convict asked Mila softly. A bruise stained his forehead next to where a scar ran into his dark hair.
I hoped my father hadn’t done that, though it wouldn’t surprise me.
She nodded then glanced at us. “Sorry to love you and leave you, Skeleton Girls. Lovelyn, I just wanted the chance to thank you. We can have a proper catch-up in a day or two.”
I took a final sip of my tea and stood, setting the mug down. “I’d love that. I don’t have a lot of time today either. I need to bus it to Leith to fetch my car. I’ll walk out with you.”
With another hug from Cassie, we headed to the main corridor that separated the Divine and Divide clubs on the warehouse’s ground floor.
Kane emerged from the management office. I shivered. He smirked.
Mila addressed her brother. “Are you busy?”
He shrugged. “I don’t officially start work for a couple of hours. Why?”
Her eyes twinkled. “Lovelyn needs a lift to get her car from Leith. Considering all she did for the skeleton crew yesterday, I think it’s the least you can do.”
Kane’s smug gaze returned to me again.
I stared right back, challenging him. Mila slid a look between us, her eyebrows drifting up. But she was way off the mark. So was Kane if he thought he was the hunter.
A whole lot had changed in the past thirty minutes.
Another of his shrugs had me leading the way outside. And when he once again ordered me, “Get in the car, Lovelyn.”
This time? I didn’t hesitate.