With time ticking past, I kept moving.
I visually inspected her kitchen and found a pair of gold earrings on the counter next to an empty wine glass. Nothing told me why she might have been abducted other than that her life of solitude made her an easy target.
Down the hall, I entered the bathroom and turned on the overhead light. Again, there was expensive jewelry next to the sink and makeup spread out everywhere, but I saw nothing I wouldn’t expect to find for a woman her age. No second toothbrush, no men’s deodorant, nothing. Why was Eva taken?
I collected her toothbrush, grabbed her medication from the cabinet and a few other things she requested and, when my hands were full, I walked to the bedroom in search of a bag.
Tossing the items on the king-sized bed, I raked my fingers over the down comforter and lifted the corner to see the white linen beneath. It was soft and cozy and added to the warmth of home. Then I turned my attention to the closet and began picking through her clothes. Eva had a great sense of style, but I knew how much these things cost. The sheer number of shoes and boots alone must have reached into the thousands of dollars. Where was Eva getting her money?
Setting my judgement aside, I laid the clothes on the bed with the pile of toiletries and turned to the dresser. Sliding the top drawer open, I immediately stopped when I came face-to-face with a dildo. Next to it were several sets of sexy lingerie, and suddenly I thought I might have found something of interest. Then I flicked my gaze to the desktop computer and saw the bigger picture I’d been waiting for. Was this what she was doing for work? It certainly seemed so.
Closing the drawer, I moved to her desk. On it was a webcam and next to it expensive lighting—both pointing straight to the bed. It was an oversight that I hadn’t already noticed them, and maybe if it weren’t for the chaffing on her wrists and ankles, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it.
I sat on the edge of her bed, stared at the webcam, and let my thoughts soak up what it was I was seeing. Could Eva really be selling sex through the internet? Anything was possible and looks could be deceiving.
I turned my head to the window and thought how her case was quite different from Megan Hines’s. There was a clear age gap between the two women, and everything I currently knew suggested they weren’t even related. But where did Jane Doe fit inside this puzzle? Could she be one of the missing persons? That was next on my list of things to do, but the one commonality they all shared was that they were very attractive women.
Needing something to put Eva’s stuff in, I turned to the closet and located a canvas tote. I was preparing to leave when I turned my attention back to Eva’s computer, nearly forgetting her cellphone. Unable to resist the urge, I wiggled the mouse and was surprised to see the monitor come to life—even more surprised to see it wasn’t password protected.
I set the tote at my feet and dropped my bottom into the chair. Clicking around the screen, an instant message popped up in the corner of the screen. I leaned forward and read it. I suddenly wondered if Eva was abducted at all.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
With the tote bag slung over my left shoulder, I locked up and walked to the elevator with my thoughts spinning. I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d just read—what this man said to Eva and what Eva wrote back. It wasn’t only the language they used that had me blushing, but the description of what she wanted him to do to her.
The elevator was waiting when I arrived. I stepped inside and asked myself if I could be wrong about Eva. Did she know what she was doing? There were so many questions I needed to ask and, in a way, I felt like we’d been duped. But I also didn’t want to assume anything yet and make Eva out to be at fault for something I knew little about.
The elevator slowed to a stop on the fourth floor, and the same tall man from the lobby stepped inside. His gaze fell to Eva’s bag and I wondered if he recognized it. Showing no interest in me, he turned around and faced the front. I studied his dress and the scent of his cologne. His shoulders were broad and his thighs the size of tree trunks. Did Eva belong here, or was she trying to be someone else? As I thought more about what I read on her computer, it was impossible to not envision a powerful, overly paid CEO on the other side of the message.
Once on the lobby floor, I followed the man to the exit. He turned left and I turned right. The sun glared, and I lifted my hand to my brow to shield my eyes.
Erin and Eva were still waiting in the car, and I headed toward them. A vehicle cut me off as I stepped off the curb, and the passenger stared. I suddenly felt like I was being watched. I looked around and concluded my mind was playing tricks on me.
I trotted across the street, dodging vehicles, thinking how being at Eva’s place had left me feeling unusually paranoid. I couldn’t explain why that was other than it being a result of past experience telling me I was entering somewhere I didn’t belong.
As soon as I was back inside the car, Eva asked for her medication. I gave her the bag and Erin asked if everything was fine.
“It hadn’t been broken into, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
While I was away, Erin had switched to the driver’s seat. She cranked over the engine and put the car in gear, merging into traffic. I made sure she knew where we were going—the morgue. She confirmed that and I turned to Eva and asked, “Who is Lewis Stark?”
Eva’s head snapped up. A look of guilt flashed over her eyes. It was clear she knew what I had discovered.
I said, “I saw everything, Eva.”
She turned her face toward the window and swiped a hand over her face.
“Is he the reason you can afford to live in a place like that? Maybe even pay your tuition?”
Erin kept stealing curious glances in my direction, wondering what I had discovered.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Eva said.
“What am I thinking?” My tone was much harsher than I intended, but there wasn’t time to beat around the bush with Megan still missing and Jenny now on that list. I needed to know everything, and needed to know it fast.
Eva said in a meek voice, “That I’m whoring myself out.”
I shared a knowing look with Erin. Erin’s eyes rounded and she kept both hands on the wheel as she drove. Eva was right, I did think she was whoring herself out. But it wasn’t a baseless assumption. The instant message I saw was evidence to back my claim.
I asked, “Did you meet him online?”
“It’s called sugaring.” Eva was playing with her cuticles as she explained how her goal was to leave school debt-free. “Men pay me a monthly allowance for my company.” She lifted her eyes and gave me a coy look. “I hang off their arms during dates and laugh at their stupid jokes. That’s it.”
“And sex isn’t implied?” I thought back to the webcam and lighting.
“Of course it is.”
My shoulders slumped. I barely knew this girl, but I was disappointed with everything she was telling me. How could she? There was a better way to get herself through school, didn’t she know that?
Eva continued, “But, like in any relationship, it isn’t guaranteed.”
We listened without judgement as Eva listed off her reasons for going down this path. I watched her and suddenly understood her motivation. The work—if that’s even what it could be called—required the least amount of her time for the highest possible earnings. But what surprised both of us was when Eva said she had fun with it.
“At first I thought I would only be dating creeps,” she said, “but instead, I was matched with genuine guys. Guys I liked. And they really cared about me, treated me with respect, and became my friends.”
Erin said, “And you failed to mention this to anybody because…”
“Because it’s no one’s business what I do.”
My eyebrows pinched. “Or is it, because its borderline prostitution.”
Eva shot me a look. I’d taken it too far—jumped the line of trust I’d worked all day to achieve. Eva pursed her lips and looke
d away. It wasn’t my place to have an opinion. Thankfully, Erin reeled her back in before we lost her completely.
Erin asked, “How many men were you dating?”
Speaking to the window, Eva said, “Two.”
“Maybe one of them learned about the other and got jealous?” I said, needing to find a reason she was abducted—some common thread between these other missing girls.
Eva insisted this wasn’t the case, but didn’t have the evidence to prove it. In her eyes, there was no way either of the men she was dating could have kidnapped her. “I would have known if it was them,” Eva said.
“Maybe it wasn’t them, but someone they know? Someone they put up to it?” I said. “Because, the way I see it, this gives motive to someone to want you all to themselves.”
Erin asked, “Eva, did you deny either of the men any of their requests?”
“If what you’re asking is if I ever told them no, then the answer would be yes.”
I took a deep breath before asking, “Did you have sex with either of these men?”
Eva’s eyelids hooded as she bowed her head and nodded yes.
“Was it Lewis Stark?”
Eva released a shaky breath and said, “Yes. I had sex with Lewis.”
Chapter Forty
The medical examiner’s office was only a short drive north from Eva’s apartment in University. As soon as Erin parked, I requested to speak to her outside—alone.
Eva had gone silent since revealing she’d had an intimate relationship with her client, Lewis Stark. I was afraid of pushing her away, losing her trust, but hoped that giving her some space would allow for her to seriously think about what was at stake and how she could help us catch who might have abducted her—if she really was kidnapped.
With our feet on the ground, we stepped away from the car with Erin whispering, “Well that changes things.”
“We have to question him,” I said, telling Erin in greater detail about what I saw inside Eva’s apartment—including the webcam and lighting.
“Wow. It’s worse than I thought.”
“Only if I’m right,” I reminded her. “I don’t want to discredit her story, but if Stark took things too far even with her consent and she later regretted it…well, where’s the line? Is she still a victim? If she froze out of fear, is that consent?”
“I’d like to talk with the man she didn’t sleep with before spending our energy going after Stark.” Erin pushed her fingers through her hair and we both understood how powerful jealousy could be.
“I’m with you there,” I said. “But there is something else. That phone call I took earlier,” Erin nodded and indicated she knew what I was referring to, “it was Susan. Her goddaughter’s friend was reported missing this morning by her mother.”
“How old?”
“Seventeen.”
“Name?”
I told her Jenny’s name and said I was still waiting to hear back from King. I’d sent him a text as soon as I could, hoping to learn more, but wondered if he’d heard about it himself. Instinctively, I turned my palm and checked my phone. Still, nothing.
“That makes a hat trick,” Erin said.
I shook my head no. “I don’t think Eva’s case is related. Maybe Megan’s, but not Eva’s.”
“Because you think she might have faked her own abduction?”
“That, and because it’s nothing like what we know about Megan.”
“I can’t live with three, Sam. We need to get this story out. It might stop whoever is doing this—at least temporarily. Maybe even give us a chance to catch up and have the police capture this person.”
“Or it could put these missing girls in further danger if they’re not dead already.”
Erin turned to the nondescript redbrick building and I watched her gaze crawl up the windowless walls. “I don’t know, Sam, maybe we’re wasting our time by being here.”
“It has to happen now,” I said, looking to the medical examiner’s office. “Jane Doe is connected to one of these girls. I don’t know how, but she has to be.” As soon as I said it, I wondered if Jane Doe was sugaring like Eva.
“All right. Anything I should do while I wait?”
“Keep an eye on Eva,” I said. “I shouldn’t be long.”
Erin locked eyes with me and I turned to the entrance. The police were working faster than usual on these crime scenes, and I needed something more than Eva to point us to the whereabouts of Megan Hines.
I moved up the ramp and entered the building through the green heavy metal doors. The halls were empty and as bright as a hospital corridor. I worked my way as deep as I could before getting stopped by security working the desk.
“I’m here to speak with Chief Medical Examiner, Leslie Griffin,” I said.
The woman in uniform picked up a phone from the desk and made the call. Eleven minutes passed before I saw Griffin heading my way. She greeted me by name, and said, “Long time no see, Samantha. I assume you’re here because of the missing girl you’ve been writing about?”
We’d known each other for nearly a decade working the crime beat and had a mutual respect for each other’s work. I appreciated her cut-to-the-chase style. It always made things easier when needing to get to the bottom of a case.
“That’s why I’m here,” I said, stepping out of ear shot from security. “Last night there was a body found in Park Hill. I need to know if it was her.”
“If it was, you would have been one of the first to know.”
Disappointed, I turned my head and swiped a hand over my hair. Then I asked, “So you retrieved nothing last night from Park Hill?”
“Honey,” Griffin tilted her head to the side, “I’m going to need more information to go on than that.”
I gave her the best description I had of Jane Doe based on what Allison told me. Leslie shook her head no and I asked, “How many Jane Does did you get last night?”
Griffin’s eyes widened and told me how they had been overrun by the opioid epidemic. Then she followed up with a frown, saying, “Sorry, Sam. There’s no record a person by that description ever made it to the morgue.”
Chapter Forty-One
Naomi prepared to leave Mr. Helton’s office but was stopped by the sight of Principal Wair entering the classroom. Two men wearing suits, badges clipped to their belts, followed close behind and Naomi knew these were the cops Charlie had warned her about.
Principal Wair said, “Naomi, could I speak with you?”
Mr. Helton stepped in front of Naomi and asked, “May I ask what this is about?”
Without taking his eyes off Naomi, Wair said, “It’s a private matter.”
Naomi hid behind her teacher with her gaze cast to the floor, her heart hammering in her chest. One of the cops introduced himself to Mr. Helton as Detective King. “We’d really like to speak with Naomi alone.”
A rush of activity passed through the halls. The noises quieted down and Mr. Helton swiveled to face Naomi. She silently pleaded with him to say no, but she could see he had no choice in the matter.
“You can use my office,” Mr. Helton said to the detectives, and Naomi’s heart sank.
Detective King stepped forward and motioned for Naomi to take a seat inside. Naomi fell back into the chair and watched Mr. Helton leave the classroom with Principal Wair. The other cop introduced herself to Naomi, speaking in a soft, nonthreatening voice that had Naomi scared to know what she was about to tell her. To Detective King’s imposing appearance, Detective Gray was warm and welcoming. Naomi wanted to tell her everything.
“Can you keep the door open?” Naomi asked King.
King paused, thinking about it before latching it shut. “It’s best we keep this conversation private.”
Naomi swallowed and sheepishly cowered when she thought about the photo Mr. Helton just showed her. She was embarrassed she’d let Jenny talk her into taking it and knew the fallout was yet to hit.
“What’s this about?” she asked. “Did I do somet
hing wrong?”
“We’re here because your friend Jenny Booth is missing.” An uncomfortable silence followed. “Do you know where she is?”
Naomi’s chest squeezed. Her eyes were glued to her fidgeting fingers and she was nervous to say anything that might get Jenny in trouble.
Gray leaned forward in her seat and rested her elbows on her knees. Looking Naomi in the eye, she said, “We’ve already spoken to her mother. It’s okay. You’re not in any trouble. We just want to bring Jenny home. Don’t you?”
Naomi nodded.
“What do you know?” King asked.
Naomi flicked her gaze up to him. “There’s not much to tell.”
King was leaning his shoulder against the wall. He folded his arms and said, “You parted ways after volleyball practice, correct?”
She suddenly regretted lying to Ruth Booth. Naomi had seen Jenny after practice. She knew she had to do right by her friend and come clean. “We went out last night.”
Naomi watched the cops exchange a glance. They didn’t believe her. And with good reason—her story had changed.
Gray asked, “What were you two doing?”
When Naomi blinked her eyes, she saw Mr. Helton standing at the counter of Burger King. She mentioned volleyball practice with Coach Bennett, and how they went to Burger King for fries and a milkshake after.
“After practice,” King stressed. Naomi nodded. “Just you and Jenny?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t meet anybody else?”
“No,” Naomi said. Then she told them that Jenny just disappeared from the gas station.
“And you didn’t think to tell her mother?”
Naomi shrugged. “I thought she’d told me her plans, but I just forgot. She was texting all night with some guy and I thought maybe he picked her up while I was in the bathroom.”
MAD AS BELL Page 10
