She found his parents’ names in one of the articles, Jerry and Elizabeth Duggins but it of course didn’t give their address. She returned to her original Connor Duggins search and found his social media profiles, but was disappointed that they were private. She was able, at least, to see a few pictures of him. One of them had been used for the news articles discussing his disappearance. The one in the paper had been cropped to only show a close up of Connor. But on his profile the full picture showed two other friends. Another guy and a girl in between them, they all had their arms wrapped around each other as if they were close. The tags in the picture named the other two, Amber Walters and Geoff Stinert. She wasn’t able to view details of either person’s profile, but she could message them if she needed too.
She wrote Amber and Geoff’s names down in Pan’s notebook and leaned away from the computer. Picking up where Pan had left off she paid careful attention to her handwriting for signs she was becoming disorganized or confused. So far, so good, she ran her hand over the fresh ink, smearing it a little. The sound of a door closing downstairs caused her to jump. Her heart kicked against her ribs as she made her way to the little window that overlooked the front of the garage. When she saw Xander she relaxed, letting out the breath she had been holding. He was unloading several bottles of what she assumed was lye. He was carrying at least five one gallon jugs around the side of the building when she hurried to put on her shoes and join him.
By the time she made it to the back of the garage Xander was standing, looking confused, and staring at his garbage cans. “Hey,” she said by way of hello.
He turned to her suddenly, “What did you do?” He sounded indignant and annoyed.
“Huh?” she stopped short and looked at him bewildered.
“Where did the body go?”
“Short Man?”
“What other body would I be talking about?”
Stupid question, she admitted to herself. “What do you mean where did the body go?”
“The barrel is gone…”
“Um, are you sure this was where you put it?”
“Of course! It’s not like I could confuse it with all the other bodies around here!”
“Stop yelling at me!”
Xander took a deep breath and Sydney could almost see him counting to ten. “I’m sorry. Did you do anything with the body before I got back—trying to help?”
“No.” Sydney waited for him to doubt her but he seemed to know it would be a bad idea.
“What the hell…?”
“Where could it have gone? He was dead, right?”
“Definitely.”
“The police?”
He looked around warily. “Well, seeing as how they haven’t stormed in here yet, I’m guessing no.”
“Them?” Sydney’s heart was beating harder and she was starting to feel light headed. She rested against the side of the building.
“Whoever that is…” Xander shrugged looking more angry than scared.
“What do we do?”
“Try not to get beheaded?”
“If that’s what they wanted, why haven’t they done it yet?”
“Maybe...hell, I don’t know,” Xander admitted once he realized he didn’t have a good answer.
“Let’s go back inside.”
Back in Xander’s apartment, they sat on the couch. The sun had set but neither of them bothered to turn on a light. “Did you see Shay?” she asked him. She knew they were both avoiding talking about the missing body.
“Yeah.”
“Were you able to contain her?”
“She has a lot of questions, but she listened to me. She knows I’m serious. She wants you to at least call her.”
“I will.”
They sat in silence for a while and Sydney was glad for the dark. She took a deep breath before speaking. She assumed she knew how this conversation was going to go, but she had to try anyway. “Xander?”
“Yeah,” his deep voice floated out of the dark.
“I know you don’t want to—and I appreciate it, I really, really do. But, please, just let me leave. Let me go away and try to draw who ever this this away from you and Shay. The fact that you want to help me means a lot to me...but if anything happens to Shay, or Zak...or you. I don’t think I can handle that. What you said before, that I make you feel normal. You do the same for me. You have kept me sane through all this, but I don’t want to ruin your life by—”
Sydney’s words were cut off by Xander pressing his lips against hers. Her breath caught and her stomach swirled. She loved the feel of his beard against her cheek and she rubbed her face against his. “Xander,” she gasped.
“Shut up,” he growled. He pulled her into his lap and ran his hands through her hair.
As her head spun she forgot all her arguments and pleas for him to let her go. She couldn’t think about anything beyond the moment—she didn’t want to think about anything other than his hands on her and the taste of his mouth. In one swift movement, Xander stood and wrapped her legs around his waist. The bed was only a few feet away and when he laid her down realized that she was making a bad choice by not stopping him. Even though she knew that, it didn’t stop her from yanking his shirt over his head and tossing it on the floor.
Their ragged breathing matched her pounding heart as Xander stared down at her. The dim moonlight that shone through the window reflected off his eyes making them nearly look purple. He ran his fingers up her sides lightly, lifting her shirt. Slipping it over her shoulders he tossed it aside and she grinned at the ceiling as he kissed a line from her jaw to her neck then to her chest. She arched her back to help him unfasten her bra and the cool air teased her skin. She had to stop herself from ripping their clothes off as the heat built between them. When she ran her hand down his chest to the button on his jeans he grabbed her hand and pinned it above her head.
“No, let me,” he breathed against her chest.
She sighed as he closed his mouth over her nipple and she tightened her legs around his waist. The cool air of the apartment caused the warmth of his mouth on her skin to feel like it was melting into him. He ran a hand over her over breast and down her stomach. He dipped his fingers under the waistband of her pants until his hand was in the small of her back. Cupping her butt he pulled her higher onto the bed. He knew she wanted him to rip her clothes off, but he was drawing this out, making it last and it was a sweet agony.
He slid his hand around her waist again as he pressed his lips against hers, sucking at her bottom lip and nipping it lightly. He took his weight off her but she kept her legs open for him as his hand dipped lower. She tipped her head back when he sank his finger inside of her. Her body shivered as her ache eased and she pulled him closer. It only took moments before her body found its climax and she let out shuddering groan against Xander’s neck. When she opened her eyes he was watching her and instead of feeling uncomfortable, she found it incredibly erotic. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
He raised his hand and slid his finger into his mouth without breaking eye contact and she whimpered helplessly. The intensity of his gaze made it hard to breathe and when he pulled at her pants she struggled to help him get them off.
The sound of the phone ringing was like ice water being dumped over them. “Fuck,” he growled.
“Just ignore it,” she panted.
“I can’t. Shay is the only one that has the number,” he mumbled against her neck.
“Dammit,” she whined even though she knew it had to be important if Shay was calling. It had better be a fucking emergency, she thought to herself bitterly.
Xander pushed himself up regrettably. “She wouldn’t call it if wasn’t serious.”
Sydney fell back against the bed as Xander answered the phone with a barked greeting. “Hello?” She couldn’t hear what was being said, but she felt the mood of the room shift. “Fuck,” his teeth were clenched and she could hear the alarm behind the word. “Go to Zak’s. Please, just listen to m
e. Close the store for a few days and go to Zak’s. Maybe you guys can go visit his sister or something. Please, Shay, for me and Sydney. Thank you.”
When he hung up the phone she sat up. “What happened?”
“She’s pretty sure someone was following her.”
“Oh, god, is she OK?”
“Mad more than anything. But yeah, she’s OK.”
“Is she going to Zak’s?”
“Yeah, she promised she would.”
“Good. Dammit,” she punched the bed and Xander flopped down next to her.
“It’s going to be OK,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“No, it’s not.” She refused to cry. “This just keeps getting worse and worse. I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
“We are going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen. We keep moving forward, remember.”
“Right,” Sydney muttered. The mood was ruined and Sydney knew they wouldn’t get it back tonight. “Let’s get some rest if we can. I want to track down Connor’s friends or family tomorrow and see what we can find out. I just want this to be over.”
Chapter Thirty Two
The next morning Sydney was up early. As usual, she didn’t feel rested no matter that she had gotten over eight hours of sleep. Her head was hurting and the ibuprofen she had taken still wasn’t helping. She was searching the web for Connor’s parents when Xander sat up in bed. She smiled at his ruffled look. When she woke up they had been wrapped around each other and it had felt wonderful. Together they had created a warm cocoon that felt safe and comfortable—at least until reality came crashing back and her morning serenity was cast off completely.
“What are you doing?” he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes with both hands.
“Trying to find Connor’s parents.”
“Any luck?” he slid out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen area to make coffee.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure they live in the burbs. Duggins isn’t that common of a name and they were in the white pages.”
“So, are we just going to walk up to their door and start asking questions?”
“I thought we could pose as private detectives,” Sydney grinned at him.
“Hah! How do we do that?” he leaned against the counter waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. The warm bitter scent began seeping about the room giving Sydney hope that the caffeine might ease her headache.
“With these,” she held up two small pieces of paper. “I made fake business cards. We are part of Oklahoma City Private Investigations.” She got out of the chair and handed him the business cards. It hadn’t take a lot of effort to design the fake cards. Xander had a decent enough printer in his office downstairs and even heavy duty paper. The hardest part had been cutting them out smoothly.
Xander grinned and she wasn’t sure if it was because he was impressed with the cards or the fact she was only wearing a tee shirt and panties again. Cupping her ass he pulled her close and kissed her roughly. “Mmmm,” he sighed. “Well done.”
“Me, or the cards?”
“Both,” he grinned.
“I win,” she muttered, realizing too late she spoke out loud.
“What?”
“Uh, nothing,” she started to back away but he caught her by the wrist.
“You win what?”
“Uh,” she laughed lightly. “The game.”
“Game?”
“Yeah…”
“What game?”
“Just...our game. You know...when you get one over on me, or when I beat you…”
“At what?” he was somewhere between confused and disturbed.
“Just...everything. I had a good idea this time. I solved a problem. So I win”
“I-what...who’s winning?”
“You are, for now.”
“That’s just...stupid.” Xander was indignant and turned away from her to make his coffee.
Sydney hadn’t realized just how dumb keeping score was until trying to explain it or having someone else know about it. “Sorry.” She sat back down at the table with her own cup of coffee.
Xander stood at the counter glaring at her while she jotted down the Duggins’ address. They lived about thirty minutes away and she hoped their trip wouldn’t be in vain. She glanced up to see that Xander was still giving her the stink eye. “Xander,” she began.
“Don’t. I don’t want to even talk about it right now.”
She sighed. “I know it’s dumb.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“OK.”
“I’m going to take a shower. We should leave soon.”
Sydney decided to wait downstairs for Xander. She was dressed as nicely as she could with her limited supply of clothes. A pair of nice jeans, black dressy looking boots and a black nylon rain coat over a red sweater. She hoped she looked professional enough that the Duggins’ would believe she could be a PI.
In the garage she ran her hands over the paintings stacked in the back, the ones Xander had told her he wasn’t ready for her to see. It seemed like that had happened light-years ago, not just a week. She jumped when he spoke from behind her.
“I told you those were off limits. He didn’t sound angry anymore, just tired and resigned.
“I didn’t look,” she assured him.
“Better not,” he pulled her close and rested his chin on her head. “I get that you feel...like you’re playing catch up or that you are at a disadvantage. But I’m not keeping score, you don’t need to either. We are in this together. I don’t know what game you think you are playing...but you’ve already won it.” A lump grew in Sydney’s throat and she couldn’t respond but she nodded. “So, let’s go,” he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards the truck.
***
Less than an hour later they were parking near the address Sydney had found online. “Do you think they will believe we are private investigators?” she asked.
“What do private eyes look like?” Xander asked.
“I have no idea.”
“They probably don’t either.”
“Good point.” She looked at Xander’s clothes and noted that he had dressed more professional looking as well. He was wearing jeans, a black leather jacket and a long-sleeved blue button up that was tucked into his pants and he had made an effort to brush his hair. She grinned as she looked him over.
“What?” he asked noticing her looking at him.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit,” he narrowed his eyes.
“You look like such a nice young man dressed this way,” she snorted.
He pushed her against the truck and leaned over her. “Baby, I’m a bad man.”
“Oh, no, I disagree.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, you are good. Really good.”
He winked at her. “Damn straight,” he replied, trying not to laugh.
Taking a deep breath they both started for Connor’s parent’s house. They didn’t park directly in front of the house because, no matter how much he loved his truck, and neither of them thought it looked like something a PI would drive.
Standing in front of the door, Sydney realized how flimsy this whole plan was. Why in the hell did I think this would work? They are going to know we are full of shit and call the cops. She tried to take a calming breath but it felt more like a hiccup. Xander, picking up on her nerves, placed a hand on her shoulder for support. With the other he leaned forward and pushed the doorbell.
“No backing out now,” he announced.
Less than a minute later Sydney heard footsteps behind the door before the locks were disengaged. Through the crack a woman who was probably in her early fifties peeked out at them cautiously. “Can I help you?” she asked.
Syd was surprised by how steady her voice sounded. “Mrs. Elizabeth Duggins?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“Are you Connor Duggins’ mother?”
“Oh, god,” the woman
opened the door wider. “Have you found him?” Her eyes were watery and her dark brown hair was speckled with grey. Her clothes were chosen for comfort and not fashion—baggy yoga pants and sweatshirt.
“No, I’m sorry,” Sydney told her gently. “My name is Amy Freedmont and this, she motioned towards Xander, is Thomas Trent. We are with Oklahoma City Private Investigations. We are investigating the disappearance of Tasha Crowl.” She held out one of the cards she had made and as she hoped the woman only gave it a cursory glance.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know her.” The woman was confused and hesitant.
“Well, we were wondering if we might be able to ask you some questions. We think Tasha and Connor’s disappearances might be connected.”
“Oh-oh, well, OK, come on in,” she stepped back and held the door open for them.
The house smelled musty as if it hadn’t been cleaned in a while and for some reason Syd thought that’s what sadness must smell like. The curtains were shut causing shadows to blanket the living room. The woman motioned towards the couch and Sydney and Xander sat on the edge while Elizabeth sat on a loveseat that shared a corner with the sofa. “Thank you for talking to us,” Sydney began.
“I just hope I can help,” the woman’s voice waivered. “I think the police have given up,” her voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she told her.
The woman wiped at the corner of her eye. “Thank you. Now,” she took a deep breath. “What can I do for you?”
“Can you tell us about the circumstances surrounding Connor’s disappearance?”
She took a deep breath. “He left work at his normal time and never made it home. No one remembers seeing him and he hasn’t shown up on any security cameras. There haven’t been any John Doe’s admitted to the hospitals. There haven’t been any bod-bodies found that match his description,” she stuttered. “It’s like he just dropped off the face of the earth.”
Don't Let Them Find You Page 20
