She waited until she had their attention.
“Yes, can we help you?” the women asked, stepping forward.
“You actually can. I’m investigating the abduction of a woman who was last seen here at your art class.” She pulled out a paper and showed the woman.
They both stared at it.
“I recognize her,” stated the man.
He now had Vivian’s full attention. “And you are?” she asked, pulling out her phone to take notes.
“I am Viktor Demetriev.”
She could tell by the thick accent, that he was right off the boat. “What can you tell me about that night?” she asked.
“The woman came in with someone else. At first, she was embarrassed that she had the seat right in front of me.”
Vivian stared at him as she waited for him to elaborate.
“You know, how do you say it?” He looked at the other woman and spoke rapidly in Russian.
She continued for him, “Her seat had the best view of his anatomy.”
“Ohhhh,” Vivian stated. “So, she was uncomfortable?” That made Vivian wonder why the hell she was taking a nude art class in the first place then.
“You can tell she was a decent person. Mostly, the women who come to sketch me are really here to see naked men, but she actually blushed. It was very sweet.”
The woman agreed. “Her drawing was horrendous, but at least she tried.”
Vivian made notes.
“You said that she is missing?” he asked.
“Yes, did you see her after the class?”
He thought about it. “I did. We all walked out together. Her friend wanted to know when else she could ‘draw’ me.”
Vivian got it. The friend was hitting on him. “Do the people that sign up for the classes have to fill out forms?”
“Oh yes!” the woman exclaimed. “We also get a photocopy of their driver’s licenses.”
“That seems a bit extreme.”
“You’d be amazed at the stalking that desperate women will do.” Viktor grinned at her. “We even had a woman faint once when I disrobed.”
She stared at him. Yeah, she’d seen him naked, and while his body was nice, it wasn’t enough to even raise her eyebrow. Now, Justin could make her pass out, easily.
“Yeah, okay. Can I get the name of the woman who came in with her? I need to question her in the investigation.”
The woman went off to get it. Meanwhile, the man moved closer to her. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful eyes ever?”
She didn't flinch. “Most people call them peculiar.”
“When you get off work, Detective…” He waited for her name.
“Detective Graves.”
“When you get free tonight, Detective, will you join me for something to eat? Maybe we can even have a few drinks and get acquainted.” He handed her a card after scribbling a number on it. “This is my private number. Call me.”
Yeah, that wasn’t happening. “Thank you, but I have plans for the evening.”
“Maybe another night then.”
“No, sorry.”
He didn't appear to take a hint. “A beautiful woman needs the attention of a sexy man to fill her time. I am very available to play the role of that man.”
Okay, enough was enough. “I’m actually in a relationship with someone.” Granted, she didn't really know what to call it, but maybe it would act as a horny man deterrent. Besides, she really had it bad for Justin, and he just did it for her.
He stopped as the other woman approached. “Here it is. Her name is Lori Wilmont.”
“Can I take this with me?” she asked.
The woman shrugged. “Go ahead. I hope you find her. She was a really nice person. I hope that this doesn’t act as bad publicity for our studio. We get lots of women here that come to take art classes alone.”
“We hope that we find her too, and I wouldn’t worry about it being a deterrent. After all, you have a naked male model,” she said, nodding at Viktor. He looked extremely proud.
Yeah, he was clueless.
Heading outside, she pulled her phone out to send a text message. There were three missed calls, all from Justin.
God, she hoped he was okay!
When Justin saw that she was going to be interviewing a nude model, his heart began to pound. Surely, he had read that wrong. He actually had to read it three more times as he parked his truck in the work parking lot.
Then, he started laughing. Of course she was only kidding. Oh, when he found her, Justin was going to tell her that it was a good one. If she was going to tease, he was going to get even. The Littlemoons were notorious for their practical jokes.
Just ask Tori.
Dialing Vivian, he left her a voicemail before heading into the building. He found it odd that she didn't answer, but then again, maybe this was part of the joke.
It must have shown from the look on his face, because his brother immediately picked up the tension.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Justin thought about it. “Vivian said she was going to be interviewing a nude model.”
Christina immediately chimed in cheerfully. “That makes perfect sense, since Tawny James was taking art classes before she went missing.”
Suddenly, Justin wasn’t finding this ‘joke’ funny at all. In fact, it was spiking his blood pressure. Out came his phone as he began serial dialing Vivian’s number.
Julian started laughing. “Oh, this is priceless. Karma is a bitch, and she’s looking for you, Justin.”
He wasn’t nearly as amused.
“I don’t believe that I’ve ever laughed when Tori went out and looked at naked men.”
Now, she began laughing. “You let your damn brother talk you into following me with a camera to take pictures of me meeting with my attorney. You were his stalking partner when he accused me of cheating on him.”
Julian stared over at his wife. He couldn’t believe at one time, he actually thought she’d ever cheat on him. Tori was the most loyal, loving, and dedicated person who he had ever met in his life. It was obvious that his past fears made him an idiot for a brief time.
“What am I going to do?” Justin asked.
Kane started laughing.
“Why are you laughing now too?”
He shook his head. “You can’t do anything. This is the whole male/female dynamics. You find a girl, and you try not to do stupid shit to mess it up.”
Christina stared at him. “Yeah, try being the operative word in that sentence.”
He grinned wickedly at her.
“Don’t worry, Justin. It’s only some really buff man standing completely naked in the middle of the room,” Julian stated, tormenting him even more.
Tori was used to the teasing between the men. “Justin, it’s an art class. You have nothing to worry about. Don’t let your brother get you all stirred up.” Then, she decided to level the playing field. “Maybe I’ll take that art class next. I love to draw and appreciate the male form.”
Now, Julian was staring at her openmouthed. “I don’t think that’s going to be happening, wife.”
She snickered. “Jules, your ears are all red.”
He changed the subject. “Let’s discuss work and not naked men.”
Tori winked at her husband, and then rested her hand on his thigh. She loved him more than anything in her entire life, and she couldn’t imagine ogling another man.
He was made for her. Ironically, you’d think that with identical twins, Justin would do it for her too, but he didn't. There was that tiny spark that lived deep down inside Julian that called to her. She liked to believe that they were made for one another from the day they were conceived.
Well, his half of the egg was meant for her.
“What did you find, Justin?” she asked.
He broke down the entire story. First, he told them all about the bartender calling Melissa Lagerfeld ‘hands’.
“So, she was a
manacuda?” Christina asked.
They all looked over at her and finally laughed.
“What? I worked with Elizabeth Blackhawk for almost three years. She liked to coin new phrases. I have a million of them ready to go.”
In honor of her friend, Tori offered the woman a fist bump. God, she missed her. She was going to have to call her later and see how she was doing. Last time they talked, she was still recovering from Ethan being abducted. It was a rough couple of weeks for all of them.
“Well, I’m not surprised that the woman was chasing down men. She lap hopped quite frequently. She started with Brock, went to Doctor Stewart, and then anything that she could find with a penis at the bar,” Julian stated.
Tori thought about it. “Can we tie Tawny to Brock?”
Justin leaned back in his chair. “We might be able to, since the men were both paramedics.”
It seemed like a logical place to head.
“Did the women work together?”
Christina had this one. “No. Tawny James, according to her social media page, was a dental hygienist.”
That gave them more reason to focus on Josh and Brock. “So that’s two careers that don’t really intersect.”
“No, they don’t,” Tori agreed.
“I’ll ask Vivian to check into it,” Justin stated.
Julian stared at his wife. When she was working things out in her mind, she’d go into an almost trance like state. She was definitely processing something right now. “Spill it.”
“I’m thinking about all the photos in Brock’s apartment. When you break up with someone, do you keep the pictures?”
The men shook their heads.
Christina snorted. “No, you dance naked around them as you hex them with a long painful life full of impotence.”
Kane Redwolf stared at her in horror that something that mean came from his little angel’s mouth. “Good to know for future reference,” he added. Not that he ever planned on breaking up with Chrissy. In fact, he had planned on just the opposite in the near future. He was just waiting for the right moment.
“Just saying,” she stated, as she winked at him.
“I don’t recall seeing any of Tawny there. I saw some redhead, and then Melissa,” Tori stated.
“We searched pretty far back on his social site and never saw anything with Tawny James referenced. So, I’d bet no on that, just because he posted just about everything else, why not her too?” Kane offered.
The men agreed.
“It looks like this is something we need to pass off on Vivian and the cops. We can’t take it any further,” Julian said as he leaned back in his chair.
“We need more to work with on this,” she stated.
“Yeah, let’s hope the detective is having far better luck.”
* * *
Her body was aching from being in the same position for this many hours. She wanted to get her arms and legs free, but she knew what would happen.
If she complained, he would drug her. So, she tried to fight the ache that was building in her body.
She watched him across the room. Earlier, before he came down the stairs, he had been talking to someone. There was the telltale click of a lock, then the opening of the door. Melissa was betting that she was locked away from whoever was on the upper floor.
What she needed to do, was bide her time. Maybe the person upstairs didn't know that she was down there. How, they didn't was astounding, but she was willing to wait until he opened the door before she began screaming like a maniac.
As he gathered his things, she tried to memorize everything about him. His clothing, his features and even his little quirks were all committed to her memory.
Melissa was going to beat him. She had no choice. The last place she wanted to spend her life was locked in a dog kennel. As he headed up the stairs, she prepared to scream bloody murder. She counted the steps and when the click of the knob was audible, Melissa began her shouting.
Almost instantly, she had his full attention. He came barreling down the stairs and straight at her. He grabbed a little bottle and shook it.
Shit, she knew she was going to be put to sleep.
Yet, she continued screaming.
He ripped open the cage and yanked her head to the side. As she fought him, he got the water to her mouth and began dumping it down her throat. She choked and sputtered as she prayed that she’d get most of it out of her mouth.
Then, he began to hurt her viciously by pressing her head to the metal. Slowly, the will to fight drifted away, as he began to win this round.
“I hate you,” she hissed, when he had managed to force her to drink the drug laced water.
He only laughed. “Yeah, well if you pull that stunt again, you’re going to join Tawny in her watery grave.”
The room wavered slightly. Damn, she’d swallowed too much. Her arms became heavy and all fight left her.
“Now, let’s clean you up and spend some private time together,” he said, as he uncuffed her wrists. “Since you wanted my attention so damn bad, you now have it.”
She fought to stay awake and fight him as he lifted her into his arms. Melissa knew what was coming, as he laid her on the mattress in the corner.
Changing her mind, she began praying to escape into sleep.
Closing her eyes, the screaming continued. Only this time, it was locked deep within her head until the darkness claimed her once more.
* * *
There was one more stop on her list before she could call it a night. Vivian needed to interview Tawny’s friend and fellow art aficionado. As she headed to the woman’s address, her mind was on other things.
Mainly, Justin Littlemoon and how her palms got sweaty when she thought about him. She didn't know what fate had planned, but Vivian was suddenly glad that she didn't have to face this all alone.
Knocking on the door, she could hear footsteps running to answer it. Out of self-preservation, her hand went to the butt of her gun, just in case.
The door was flung open and a woman stood there with a tear stained face. “Who are you?” she asked, through the tears.
“I’m Detective Graves, and I’m investigating the abduction of Tawny James. I need to ask you a few questions.”
The woman nodded and reached out to pull her inside.
“Oh, God! This is all so horrible!” she exclaimed as she practically dragged Vivian down the hallway to her living room. “I can’t believe any of this is happening. I just saw Tawny last night!”
“Yes, that’s why I’m here. I know that in this difficult time, people prefer not to be bothered by the police, but time is of the essence.”
The woman nodded. “Yes, anything to help!”
They both sat on the couch facing each other, and finally Vivian began her questioning, “Tell me about your evening.”
“We started out at the art studio. We often take classes there because it’s,” she paused, “fun.”
Vivian somehow believed that it had everything to do with Viktor Demetriev and nothing to do with the art aspect. “Okay, tell me about that.”
“Oh, Tawny didn't want to take this class. I kind of feel bad, because I pressured her. She was very uncomfortable with the nudity.”
“Yes, the model you were sketching mentioned that she looked uncomfortable.”
“Oh, he’s so dreamy. I think it’s his accent.” Then, she realized that this wasn’t about her libido and instead it was about her friend. “I mean, it’s a great class.”
“What happened afterwards?”
“We were walking out, and I didn't want to go home, so I suggested we all go get a drink.”
“And?” she pushed.
“Tawny wanted to leave, but then she had gotten the text from Josh saying that he was working late, so she came with me.”
Vivian scribbled notes down in her little note pad. “Where did you go?”
“There’s this one bar we always hit up. They pour the best drinks and the bartender is
super friendly. It’s called ‘Entourage’.”
She had heard of it. “Okay, so you’re sitting in the bar, did anyone bother Tawny?”
Lori Wilmont shook her head. “No, we drank two each, and then headed out. She drove, so Tawny dropped me off at the art studio around eleven forty five.”
“Okay. Did she wait for you to get in your car or…”
Lori thought about it. “She waited until I got safely in my car. I locked the doors and headed out of the parking lot behind her. She turned down Wilshire and I went the opposite direction.”
“Was anyone following her? Did you see anything that made you suspicious or that looked out of place?”
The woman shook her head. “No, it was just an average night where nothing was any different.”
“Okay, how about Josh? What can you tell me about their relationship?”
It didn't take her long to begin gushing on about the man who was crazy about her friend. “He is so romantic and sweet. Tawny loves him to death,” and then, she paused. “She is still alive, right?”
Vivian kept her face neutral. “We believe so. We found no evidence to suggest otherwise.”
“Okay, good. Anyway, Josh treated Tawny like she was gold. When they met, it was like love at first sight, and they were inseparable. You could tell that they were meant to be together.”
She continued scribbling notes. “And they’ve been a couple for how long?” Vivian tried to keep it in the present tense, since the woman was giving her good information. One slip of the tongue, and she could lose her to the grief.
Lori thought about it. “I think at least two years. Wait, it was more than that. They had two Christmases together.”
Vivian appreciated the information. “Did she mention that anyone was giving her a hard time?”
“No, and she would have told me. We worked together at the dentist’s office. We spent all day together and talked nonstop about pretty much everything.”
Vivian could see that. The woman in front of her was definitely social. Standing, she held out her business card. “If you hear from her, or think of anything, please give me a call.”
Blood Red Rage (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 1) Page 17
