Chapter Two #2
“No.” I hit the end button on the phone.
Sis, what have you gotten yourself into?
I got up, went into the kitchen, and let Fenris out of his crate.
The Pomeranian ran out and started barking at me.
Yes, my sister has a Pomeranian named Fenris.
We had anticipated getting a much larger dog, but the condo had extremely strict rules.
Anyway, I poured out some food for him and Ounce, then sat down on the kitchen floor with my back against a wall, clutching the bat tightly. That is where the cops found me.
*
“Miss Williams? I need you to drop the bat.”
It took some effort, but I eased my grip from the bat and dropped it to the floor. It was just my luck; I would get shot by the people who were supposed to be helping me.
“Miss Williams, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I dragged myself off the floor. After the all-night drive, I was starting to run out of gas.
“Okay, a lot of people were worried when you left the hospital after being attacked. Can you tell us what happened?” I must have gotten a perplexed look on my face because he continued quickly. “We can get you some medical care. I understand you had been hurt quite badly.”
“I am Sah Williams. My twin sister, Nisha, disappeared from the hospital, not me.”
“Oh.” He stood for a moment like he had no idea what to do. “I need you to step out of the condo while we go through it and check for evidence. The detective handling the case is on his way, and he should be over to talk to you shortly.”
Well, that was an amazing display of empathy.
I walked out into the hallway; my confidence in my sister being found by the police was quickly waning.
I leaned against the wall with Fenris in one hand and Ounce in the other, while they ran a piece of tape across my front door.
As I reclined, I tried to watch every move they made.
I had practiced this a hundred times before to get a feel for how a professional did something, but this time, I was also trying to pick up if they found anything.
They did not seem to be having much luck.
“Are you Sah Williams?”
I jumped at the unexpected voice, and Fenris started barking at the sudden intruder into our personal space.
Standing next to me was a tall, dark-haired woman flashing a detective’s badge.
I prided myself on being observant and wondered how she had come up to me without me noticing it.
I just looked at her for a moment. She was tall, almost six feet.
Dominique would have described her as beautiful and statuesque.
She was well put together, and looking at her hands, she enjoyed a visit to the nail salon, but there was a dark feel to her.
She took off her fedora and inclined her head.
“Sorry, I did not mean to startle you, Miss Williams.”
“It’s fine, and everyone just calls me Sah. I am waiting for the detective handling my sister’s case. The other officer said he would be over shortly.”
The detective had an annoyed look on her face.
It was then I noticed the small pink, white, and blue flag pin on her lapel.
She was either transgender or an ally of the community.
I was open in my attractions and always made it to the pride parades, but I was mostly anti-social, so I had not met anyone transgender before.
I could not think of any reason her gender would impact her finding my sister, so I just hoped she was competent.
“Okay, Sah, I am Valeria Lawton, and I am the detective assigned to your sister’s disappearance. Sometimes, the people on the force get confused about my pronouns, but that isn’t important. Do you want to go down and get a cup of coffee?”
“I don’t really drink coffee, but sure…”
Valeria motioned to an officer standing by the door. “Hey, Polanski, can you take the lady’s pets while we step outside.”
I handed Ounce and Fenris to the officer with much barking and scratching and followed the detective outside.
Our condo was in a newly renovated section of the suburbs, and there was a coffee shop on the ground floor.
The detective got herself some sort of triple espresso or something, and I ordered a Coke, for which I got a disapproving look from the cashier.
We took our items and sat in one of the booths.
I took a drink from the can and looked down at Val’s hands.
They were well-manicured, but the knuckles were scraped like she had been in a fight recently.
I can usually get a read on people quickly, but she seemed a study in contradictions.
“So, when was the last time you saw your sister?”
“It’s been about a month. I have been living in New York and working on some projects. We talked about three weeks ago. Everything seemed fine.”
“Do you have any idea what might have happened to her?”
“No, I don’t; I don’t know anyone who would want her harm.
She was not involved in crime or illegal drugs, at least since pot got legalized.
She is not in debt and has no vengeful former partner who would want to do her harm.
Isn’t this what you’re supposed to be figuring out? You’re the detective.”
“Well, we don’t know what is going on. Your sister stumbled into a hospital emergency room, hysterical and bleeding.
Some animal had attacked her, probably a large dog.
Then, several hours later, she was gone.
There is no sign of struggle; she is just gone.
We have been looking for her. But we had no evidence of any foul play involved in her leaving.
We figured she got up and left; maybe there was a reason she did not want to risk running into the authorities. ”
“My sister is not a bad person and is not afraid of running into the cops.” I pounded on the table. “Maybe if you were not too busy getting manicures, you could get off your ass and do some police work and find her.”
Valeria looked down at her hands. “I don’t know your sister.
I am not implying anything, but we must investigate all the possibilities.
Most of the time, people are usually not even considered missing until twenty-four hours have passed.
Now, with your sister’s condo being tossed, we know there is more to this.
Your name is Sah, and your sister’s is Nisha. Where is your family from?”
I gripped the bottle of Coke tightly. Luckily, it was not a cup of coffee, or I would have been tempted to splash it in this chick’s face. “St. Louis, we are from St. Louis. Or do you mean, where are we really from? My mother was from Nepal if that is what you’re asking.”
“Look at me. My last name might be Lawton, but I am second-generation Mexican American. I know how that question feels, but your names are unusual, and there are bad people around who might take that as a motivating factor. We must consider that maybe a racist sicced their dog on her. Have either of you had any issues with people around here?”
I shook my head no.
“Okay, I will tell you this: I will do everything I can to find your sister. Do you have any other information that might be helpful?”
“Just this…” I played her the last message from Sah on my cell phone.
“No wonder you are so concerned. That must have been right before the attack. All right, I am going to list this as a possible kidnapping and pull in all the resources I can. Here is my card. If you think of anything, call me night or day. If I get any information, I will call you.”
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Nothing. Leave it to the professionals.”
The look on my face must have shown what I thought about that idea.
“Okay, talk to her friends and see if you can find all the places where your sister has been in the last forty-eight hours. That might give us a clue about what has happened to her.” She slid out of the booth and got to her feet.
” If anyone calls you, let us know right away. Don’t try to handle it on your own.”
“Why would someone call me?”
“You’re a best-selling author, right? This could be about money.”
“I’m not rich if that is what you’re saying. I can afford a roof over my head and a nice car, but I’m not Stephen King.”
“Well, to some people, anyone who has more than they do is rich, and someone might have thought your sister was their golden ticket.”
“Could be…hey, how did you know that I’m a best-selling author?”
“Dominique Fortune has fans in all sorts of lines of work.”