CHAPTER FOUR #2
Ellington arrived right on time and I welcomed him inside.
“Appreciate you taking the time to see me, Ms. Weaver,” he began.
“Of course,” I said, gesturing for him to follow me to my small back storage room and office area. “Halloween is a busy day for us here, so we have to be quick.”
He nodded and gave me a friendly smile. “I understand.” As he considered the back room he smiled. “This is a nice, tidy workspace.”
“Thank you,” I said, willing myself not to be nervous.
“This won’t take much time. As I said, it’s only a couple of follow up questions for you.”
“Whatever I can do to help,” I said. Going for a casual sort of vibe, I walked across the room and leaned a hip against my desk.
“Lorna had me pull her store’s rear door security camera footage a few days ago,” he said.
“Oh?” I asked, hopeful that he had learned something.
“There’s video showing Dex going up your exterior stairs earlier this week, around seven pm.”
“I wasn’t aware Lorna’s security camera covered the stairs to my apartment.” Hell’s bells, I thought, studying his face. He knows.
“According to the footage,” he continued, “Dex arrived at about the same time the pizza delivery guy dropped off food to your apartment.”
“That’s correct.” I nodded. “I’ve already told you, Mr. Ellington...Dex, Taylor, Toni and my cousin Circe all came over for pizza that night.”
He smiled and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I found it interesting, Ms. Weaver, that while the rest of your guests left around a quarter to nine, Dex doesn’t appear on the security footage again until around five o’clock the following morning.”
I blew out a long breath. “Is that when he left?”
“Yes. There’s a time stamp.”
“Show me, please,” I asked.
Silently, Nash turned his cell phone around to allow me to view the time stamped footage.
First there was Circe, Toni and Taylor, all leaving together; and then I watched as he fast forwarded the black and white video of Dex coming down the bottom half of my metal staircase the next morning and walking around the side of the building and out of frame.
For several seconds it was silent before he asked, “Ms. Weaver, why did you lie about when Dex left?”
“I didn’t lie,” I said, doing my best to stay calm. “What I said was that he ‘left a bit later than everyone else.’”
Nash closed up the video on his phone and gave me a steady look. “How long have you and Dex been a couple?”
“We’re not,” I said. “A couple.”
“Okay, let me rephrase. How long have you and Dex been sleeping together?”
I flinched.
“Did something happen that night between you and Dex?” His voice was compassionate. “Did he hurt you?”
“No!” I said immediately. “It was consensual. He did not physically hurt me.”
“How long have you two been involved?”
“Aw, fuck it,” I said and blew out a long breath. “There’s really no easy way to do this, is there?”
“Talk to me,” he said. “I won’t judge. Tell me what you know. Anything might help me figure out where he’s gone.”
“The truth is, Mr. Ellington, I had been attracted to Dex for a while...and after everyone left that night, he made it clear that he was interested too. And so...I...I mean, we...” Catching myself stammering, I stopped and squared my shoulders.
“It’s okay,” Nash said. “Go on.”
“Dex ended up staying the night. I didn’t mention it to anyone because, well, it had just happened, and it was humiliating to wake up alone after spending the night with a new lover—” I stopped as my voice had gone up.
“I see.” The PI surprised me by reaching out and giving my shoulder a consoling pat. “And he didn’t text you or leave any sort of message?”
“I found a note on my kitchen table,” I admitted.
“It said: Gotta go. Something came up, and I’m sorry.
” I forced myself to take a deep breath, hoping to calm down.
“At first I thought maybe there had been a problem at the bookstore and he’d gone to repair it...
Which makes me sound pretty stupid and na?ve, doesn’t it? ”
“You’re not stupid. Or na?ve,” he said.
“Lorna and Circe don’t know about any of this…Dex and me situation,” I told him. “It’s beyond awkward.”
He nodded. “I understand why you didn’t say anything to them.”
“I suppose they’ll have to know now though, won’t they?” Then something occurred to me. “Well shit. Lorna probably already figured it out. I’m sure she looked at the security footage herself, didn’t she?”
“She did.”
I closed my eyes in mortification. No wonder Lorna had barely spoken to me in the past few days.
“Do you still have the note that he left you?” he asked.
“I do.”
“I’m going to want that.”
“I can run up to my apartment and get it for you.” I pushed away from the desk I’d been leaning on. “Is it okay to ask if you have any leads?”
“I’m currently reaching out to his family. But that’s not a simple thing. I’m trying to see if they’ve heard from him.”
“What?” I blinked at that information. “Dex doesn’t have any family.”
“Ms. Weaver,” he began and then switched to my first name. “Kate, are you aware of who Dex truly is?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know Dex’s full name?”
“Of course I do. It’s...” I trailed off as my face flushed in embarrassment. I’d always simply assumed his last name was Dexter and that Dex was a nickname. By the old gods, I’d fallen into bed with a man whose full name I didn’t even know…
“Kate?”
“No. I don’t suppose that I do.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “What is his full name?”
“Beauregard Poindexter III.”
“The third?” My mouth opened and closed several times as it sunk in. “Beauregard Poindexter III? Are you telling me that his people are the Poindexters?”
“Yes.” Nash nodded. “But according to Lorna, they are estranged.”
I stood there and stared at him, even as my brain whirled. Lorna knew. She knew his family connections, and yet she never told Circe or me. Is this why she was so worried when Dex went missing?
“I take it, you’ve heard of the Poindexters?” he asked.
“Lord almighty, they’re one of the more wealthy and powerful families in the Birmingham area!”
He nodded. “That they are.”
Which meant that this was potentially more serious than I’d first realized. “Do you think his family has something to do with Dex being missing?”
“Dex’s father, Beauregard Poindexter Junior, passed away last week. The funeral arrangements have been announced in the paper and online this morning.”
“Shit,” I said, feeling the blood drain from my face. “Is Dex suspected in his father’s death?”
“No,” Nash said quickly. “No, he’s not. However, now Lorna is not the only one searching for Dex,” he continued quietly. “Now his family is as well. In fact, I have to be in Mountain Brook within the hour to speak with them.”
“Oh, I see,” was about all I was able to say.
“Were you aware that Dex had done time in rehab?” Nash asked me next.
“Yes,” I said. “He’d told me that he’d been sober for a couple of years now. And I saw nothing to indicate otherwise. He went to meetings and a support group once a week.”
“Were you also aware that the Poindexters cut him off financially when he left rehab the last time?” Nash asked carefully.
“He never spoke about his relatives,” I said honestly. “I had no idea.”
“From what Lorna told me, after rehab, Dex lived rough, on the street or couch surfing with friends. He picked up odd jobs for cash and that’s how—”
“She met him,” I finished.
When Nash asked me again for the note, I nodded.
“Let me go and fetch that for you,” I said. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll be back in a few moments.”
“All right,” he said.
With a nod I walked straight to the rear delivery door and opened it. I went down the concrete step and spotted Circe outside, stacking broken down cardboard boxes over at her building’s delivery door.
She took one look at me and frowned. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Later.” I waved her off and raced up the metal stairs to my apartment. A few minutes later, I returned with the note tucked in my dress pocket.
“Here,” I said, shoving the note at Nash. “I don’t know how this will help but take it.”
His fingers closed around the paper. “Kate, it wasn’t my intention to embarrass you—”
“I was already embarrassed before you started asking questions,” I said with a sad laugh.
“You know that I’ll be sharing this information with the police if asked.”
“And Lorna,” I said.
“Yes, definitely with Lorna.”
“Of course.” I smiled but didn’t mean it. “She’s the one paying for your services, isn’t she?”
He shot me a look for my phrasing, but instead of replying he simply inclined his head and let himself out of the back room. I escorted him to the front door, unlocked it, and held it open.
“Thank you for your time—” he began.
I closed the door in his face before he could finish speaking. After securing it, I spun away from the door and managed about three steps before Circe appeared out of thin air, right in front of me.
With no time to react, I bounced right off her.
“Why was the PI back?” she demanded as she gripped my elbows to steady me. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said far too quickly.
“I know your face, cousin,” Circe said. “You’re upset. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m an idiot, Circe,” I said in a wobbly voice, as the lights above us began to flicker.
“Who hurt you?” she demanded, ignoring the flashing lights.
“I got played,” I said and my voice cracked with emotion.
Circe pulled me in for a hug. “What happened? Talk to me, damn it.”
“Please don’t think less of me,” I said, as one of the lights blew with a muffled pop.
“Never,” she insisted. “Kate, we’re more like sisters than cousins, and I love you. Spill.”
“I haven’t been completely honest with you or Lorna,” I began as we walked over to her shop. “The night y’all came over for pizza...”