Captured Innocence (CSA Case Files) (8 page)

Chapter Eight

Connor pulled his jacket closed around him, a meager attempt at warding off the biting sting of the wind.  Jax walked next to him, seemingly oblivious.  Connor had heard on the radio earlier that a small snowstorm was blowing in from the west.  Usually he didn’t mind the weather, but nothing had been going his way today.

“Taryn said that Greg
Winter’s trip got extended,” Connor said, coming to a stop at the cross section.  “Looks like he’s not due back until sometime next month.  She’s monitoring the situation.”

“
Do you think he’s delaying on purpose?” Jax asked, frosty condensation swirling in the air with each word. 

“
My gut is telling me he had nothing to do with it.”  Connor shoved his other hand in his pocket.  He’d walked out of his house without his gloves and now his fingers were stiff from the cold.  “When I spoke with some of the members of Masters last week, it seemed to be common knowledge that Marilyn was traipsing a little too far over the edge for Greg’s comfort level.  They parted amicably.”

“Speaking of parting ways, have you checked in with your pretty little vendor?”  The
crossing sign changed, indicating it was safe to traverse the intersection.  “I heard Crest giving Ethan orders to swing by her place.  I thought you had that covered, old buddy?”

Connor hadn’t really had a chance to go over specifics with Jax.  By the time he’d caught up on his sleep and read over the additional reports that Jessie had sent him, Connor had just enough time to take a shower and grab a bite to eat before
he and Jax headed into downtown.  They both lived southeast of the city, in a duplex they’d purchased during the second wave of housing troubles.  The location was great and they each had their privacy. 

“Lauren doesn’t feel her attack
is connected to our case,” Connor said, knowing he hadn’t fooled Jax in the least.  His frustration could be heard loud and clear. “I went to the hospital after your call last night.  The attacker didn’t come anywhere near doing what he probably wanted, as a taxi driver interrupted the mugging.  Lauren was pushed to the ground and hit her head pretty damn hard.  I stayed with her overnight, but by morning she’d convinced herself it was a random assault.”

“I have t
wo questions for you,” Jax said, reaching the other side of the road.  They were still two blocks away from their destination and Connor knew there was no getting around the upcoming interrogation.  “One: why have you let her get to you?  I can tell by the way you talk about Lauren that there’s —”

“Sex.  Plain and simple.”  Connor could feel the
cutting cold seeping into his bones and walked faster.  “It’s been a few months.  Cut me a break.”

“Well, then,” Jax said, keeping pace, “I guess I don’t need to ask the second one.”

They walked one block before Connor caved, but he couldn’t help himself.  The silence was fucking deafening.  He kicked himself for even asking, but Jax had that way of tripping his trigger.

“Fuck me,” Connor muttered, crossing the next intersection and not caring that they were jaywalking.  “Ask.”

“So Ms. Bailey says ‘no, thank you’ to whatever service you may have offered, and you just walk away?”  Jax shook his head as if he were disappointed.  Connor fisted his hand in his pocket.  Delivering a blow to his best friend wouldn’t help the situation.  “Shit, maybe Ashley did have you whipped.  Did she give back your balls when she left?”

“What the hell does that mean?” Connor asked, comi
ng to stand outside the door of Whip.  “I don’t even know her, for fuck’s sake.  Lauren had interactions with our murder victim and I was following a lead.  I offered to stay until we had verification that she wasn’t being targeted.  She said no.  She doesn’t want protection?  Fine.  It’s no skin off my back.  Crest has Ethan doing fly-bys anyway.  There’s not much more to be done.”

Connor yanked the door open for another fun-filled evening of questions and answers.  He liked it a hell of a lot better when coming to the clubs was a personal choice and didn’t involve interrogating people he’d come to know
in an entirely different way.  Jax walked in front of him, muttering something under his breath, but Connor ignored him and stayed where he was for just a moment as he tried to loosen his pent up frustration. 

Connor looked up, seeing t
wo submissives sashaying their way toward him.  He knew exactly what those long dress coats covered and decided tonight might be a good time to get back into the game.  He was a free agent, after all.

“Hello, ladies,” Connor said, fla
shing his best imitation of one of Jax’s famous smiles. 

“Aren’t you Master Jax’s friend?” the svelte blonde said, batting her eyelashes.
  It was as if she’d brushed away any inclination he’d had to play.  Her false disposition became more apparent and Connor suddenly wanted nothing to do with her. “Is he here tonight?”

“That I am,” Connor repli
ed in succession, answering her first question.  “And he’s right ahead of you.”

As
he and the women stepped into the club, Connor was hit with the smell of latex, leather, and sex.  The same hint of orange soap fragrance wafted his way.  Whip was set up totally different than Masters in that it had a separate room for play.  The club wasn’t as big and had limited room.  In front of them was a sitting area with a small bar, which only contained non-alcoholic drinks.  This clientele leaned more toward edge play, since bodily fluids were permitted, making alcohol prohibited. 

“Master…” the brunette paused, waiting for him to fill in his name. 

“Connor.”  He took his time looking around, noticing a couple of people he knew and more that he didn’t.  He’d allow Jax to take the lead tonight, since it was obvious any questions coming from him would appear odd.  On second thought, seeing Alex Snyder by the bar might be just the thing they needed to give this investigation a kick in the ass.  That man was worse than Russell when it came to spreading stories.  He looked down at the brunette.  “What’s your name?”

“Juliet.”

“Is there a reason you haven’t removed your coat?” Connor asked, lowering his voice to indicate his disapproval.

“I was waiting on you, Master Connor.”

Connor snapped his fingers to the hostess, who’d been flirting with Jax.  It wasn’t until that moment that he realized Jax must have been coming here more often lately.  Was there something his best friend was keeping from him?  The hostess laid a hand on Jax’s arm as she bypassed him and came over to retrieve the coats from the subs.

He raised an eyebrow in question when Jax looked his way.  Connor could see that maybe he’d been too caught up in his own drama to notice what had been going on around him. 
His phone vibrated and he reached inside of his pocket.  He’d have to shut it off anyway, since the playroom didn’t allow for electronic devices.  Looking at the screen, he saw Ethan had shot him a text saying that Lauren was all snug in her apartment and that he was heading home for some shut eye. 

“Anything important?” Jax asked quietly, as he wandered over his way.

“No,” Connor replied and then shut down his cell phone.  He wished he could as easily shut down his concern for Lauren.  She chose this, though.  He also had a job to do.  There shouldn’t be any distractions.  “What about you?  That hostess seemed overly friendly.  Have you been playing here a lot?”

“No more than usual,” Jax replied, turning to the two submissives that were now standing
in nothing but black leather waist cinchers, laced-topped stockings, and high black boots.  Both women had framed their delicate bare pale mounds with hard dark leather.  The pair of them were a ready meal for any famished Dom.  Jax’s usual smile was absent.  Connor got the uneasy feeling that his friend wasn’t telling him something, but now wasn’t the time to address it.  “Very pretty, ladies.”

“Thank you, Master Jax,” the blonde replied, having already picked her Dom for the evening.  She was a p
ro and kept her eyes downcast.

“Shall we head on in
to the play area?”  Jax asked, taking the lead.  “I think you both need to have your bottoms warmed up, so we’ll see what we can do about putting a nice healthy glow on them.”

“You go ahead,” Connor said, indicating that Jax should take both subs with him.  “I need something to wet my whistle.  I’ll be in shortly.”

“No worries,” Jax replied, glancing toward the bar to see who was there.  “I’ll get these little subbies up to speed.”

“I bet you will.”  Connor laughed, keeping up the pretense. 

He’d give himself five minutes and if he wasn’t making headway with Alex, then he’d join Jax.  Connor made his way to the bar.  He held up a hand to the bartender and indicated he wanted to place an order. 

“What can I get you?”

“Club soda with a twist of lime,” Connor replied, knowing his voice would get Alex to turn his way.

“Connor
Ortega?” Alex asked, surprise lacing his voice.  “Shit, man.  I haven’t seen you around in months.  Weren’t you playing over at Masters?”

“I took a break from the scene,” Connor replied,
surprised that he didn’t mention Ashley.  “Jax and I are hitting the clubs tonight though.  We might even end up over there later tonight.  Anything new?”

“
Other than your pal Jax learning his way around fire play?” Alex said, laughing.  “Man, he did a scene a few weeks ago that people are still talking about.”

Connor nodded, muttering his thanks to the bartender for the drink that was set in front of him.  He had no choice but to act like he knew what Alex was talking about, but felt his temper rising that Jax hadn’t handed
that information over himself.

“Have you been over at Masters?  I hear Joel is pissed off that he’s losing clientele.”

“Joel doesn’t get pissed,” Connor replied, knowing for a fact that the owner of Masters was as laid back as one could get.  “Why?  Is Gerry spreading rumors again?”

Joel
Summit and Gerry Mason had been business partners for years until they had a falling out over money.  They went their separate ways years ago, until Gerry somehow came up with enough cash to front another club.  Where Joel was smart and knew that two clubs would only bring in more business from out-of-towners, Gerry was still in the mindset that if he stole enough members, Joel’s business would close.  At least, that’s what rumor said.  Connor had always maintained neutral ground, but preferred the clientele over at Masters.

“
Hell, no,” Alex replied, taking a drink of soda straight from the can.  “Gerry’s been lying low.  I ran into Beverly the other day.  She mentioned that she overheard Joel say that his numbers were low.”

Connor could tell by Alex’s body language that he was waiting for him to ask why Gerry had been lying low, but knew he’d get more information if he were to walk away.  Knowing that drinks weren’t allowed inside the play area, Connor finished off his club soda and smacked the glass on the counter.

“Masters looked busy when I was there last weekend,” Connor said, taking out his wallet and leaving a few ones to cover his tab.  “Jax is waiting for me with two subs that are clamoring for attention, so I’d better head in.”

“Hey, you
’re a private dick, right?” Alex asked, lowering his voice and stepping closer to prevent Connor from leaving.  Snap.  And there lay his prey.  He knew that Alex couldn’t allow a murder that happened a week ago to go without comment.  “Do you have any insight on the Marilyn Sweeney case?”

“I work shit jobs, Alex.  You know, cheating spouses and deadbeat dads.”  Connor shrugged.  “I heard about what happened, though.  It’s a shame.  I thought Terry was a good guy.”

“That’s why Gerry’s lying low,” Alex said.  Now they were getting somewhere.  Connor nodded to a member he vaguely remembered from Masters as the man walked by, giving off the impression that what Alex was saying was of no interest.  “The police were here asking questions about Terry.  Gerry had to hand over his member list and it turns out that Marilyn wasn’t on it.”

Connor knew that wasn’t true, as Taryn had hacked into both clubs’ computer systems and garnered every piece of information they might need.  Marilyn Sweeney’s name had been on that list.  Had Gerry taken it off?  If so, why?  Not wanting to appear over eager for answers, Connor reached around Alex for the peanut dish and tossed one into his mouth.

“Really?” Connor asked.  He popped another peanut.  “Well, like I said, I’ve been out of the scene for a couple of months.  The way you can gather information, maybe you should be the private investigator.”

Alex’s chest ballooned with the fake compliment, but it did what Connor hoped it would do.  Within seconds, he revealed that
Gerry said Marilyn played at Whip as a guest and that he’d been trying to pilfer members away from Masters. Alex continued to drone on until Connor knew there was nothing else to gain.  Taking his leave, Connor walked through the long, heavy red velvet curtain into what resembled a dungeon. 

Cages were situated in each corner, holding submissives
that were either being disciplined or punished.  The middle of the floor held a suspension area where a sub was currently hanging and being subjected to a cane.  From her cries of pleasure, it didn’t seem that she had an objection.  The place felt crowded, but each roped-off section had enough room for play and the dungeon monitors looked to have things under control.