Chapter 2
Carter
“Oh man, Car, have you seen this?” Roman shows me the screen on his phone.
“Someone posted here that this girl died a week ago in unknown circumstances, but get that, people are saying they’ve seen her after that in different places.
” I look at the picture of a blond girl in her late teen years or maybe early twenties and the face seems familiar.
I take all of her in and then it hits me.
“Oh my god, that’s my client. See that tattoo on her arm?
” I point at the detailed portrait of an old lady.
That’s her grandma. She took her in when her parents passed and they were besties ever since.
She even bonded with Gavin because of their similar background.
“Yeah, a month or so ago, I would recognize my work anywhere.” He enlarges the image for a better view.
“Holy shit, that’s an interesting coincidence.” He reads through the article again before continuing. “They say her name was Michelle.”
“Maybe, I can’t recall her name. Such a shame, I remember she couldn’t wait to show the portrait to her granny, poor thing. Maybe she stayed here as a ghost to be close to her or something.” I know I would stay and totally haunt his ass.
Finishing my breakfast, I stand up to put the plate away.
I open the cupboard in search of my coffee mug.
But it’s not where it usually is. “Huh.” I look inside the machine, maybe it somehow stayed there, forgotten, but no, it’s sitting all empty.
I put my dirty plate in since I’ve already opened looking around at the same time.
Nowhere in sight. “Huh. Have you seen my mug?” I ask my husband because he was the one on cleaning duty last night.
“I have. It’s in its usual place. I placed it there after unloading the dishwasher.” I look again, nope still not here.
“Huh, weird. I guess I need to stop for coffee on my way to the shop.” I shrug it off because my favorite mug gone missing won’t ruin my day.
I kiss Roman before leaving for work, lingering a little while I enjoy the taste of his lips.
“Will you be stopping by after work?” He usually does but today they planned special scary activities at the youth center where he works at, so he might stay there longer.
“Not sure yet,” He kisses me again before adding, “the kids are excited for today. If not, we’ll see each other at JACKs.”
“Send me lots of pictures, I’d love to see what Derek and James come up with.” Another kiss, and a smack on my ass sends me out the door.
The cafe around the corner from Savage Ink is full of people dressed up according to the occasion.
With my barbarian costume hung over my arm, I wait in line behind Little Red Riding Hood and right next to her a giant of a man with a wolf’s mask on his face and a chain leash around his neck.
I blink a few times because I thought my licking for an alpha/omega play was kinky but that’s some next level shit.
I would high five the girl if I wasn’t afraid of the wolf man biting my hand off.
My order is always the same so I don’t even bother with looking at the menu.
I use that time to judge all the costumes around me.
There is Thor, Superman and Witcher of course.
That white haired, sinful man has ruled the Halloween parties for the last few years.
A blond girl appears right behind him. Her face is hidden behind a Catrina mask but her shoulders are bare and there on her right shoulder is a face of an older woman, the same I tattooed on that girl who died. Is it…
“You’re next.” I jump at the voice from behind me and watch the guy who owns it disbelievingly. I look back behind the Witcher but there is no blond hair girl.
“Hey Carter, the usual?” I turn to Mike, the barista, and nod my head. Paying for my coffee I can’t get the image of that tattoo out of my head. I move to the pickup counter and there on the surface stands a cup with Michelle on it.
“Final call for Michelle.” Suzie, the other barista yells and I spin to see who is going to pick up the coffee. “Oh well, guess she got tired of waiting.” She spots me and smiles. “Oh, hey Carter. You’re usual?”
“Yeah,” I say absentmindedly. “Uhm, do you know who ordered this coffee?”
“No idea, but it’s been sitting here for quite some time now.” She empties the cup before disposing it to the trash. “Let me see if your order’s up.”
“Uhm, thanks, that would be great.” Come on Carter, get a grip. It’s because of the picture Ro showed me. I felt sorry for the poor girl so now she’s on my mind. It’s impossible it was the same tattoo or the same girl. Right? Right????