Dancing In Darkness (9 page)

“No, I’m not okay at all.” She admitted as she fell against him and cried hard.

“We need to get you in the car right now and go straight to the police.” He wasn’t leaving her any room for argument. “Do you have the paper with you?”

“Yes sir, I do.” She showed it to him but he wouldn’t touch it.

“In case there are fingerprints on it, this way it should be just yours and whomever wrote it.” He told her briefly.

“That makes sense. I’m so sorry, I should have listened to you. I need to call Nina and see if she will close for a couple days. Plus someone needs to get to Abi and let her know. This isn’t going to end well unless someone is caught.” She stammered through her tears.

Dialing her phone while he drove, she waited on Nina to pick up. Finally there was an answer from the other end.

“Priscilla, is everything okay?” The woman asked.

“No Nina, it isn’t. Adam is taking me to the police station right now. I need you to close the club for a day or two and if you could find Abi and make sure she isn’t alone.” Priscilla almost begged her.

“What the hell happened?” Nina asked, “And of course I will.”

“I went to lunch with Adam and when he brought me home, there was a note laying on my kitchen counter that says, you’re next.” Priscilla explained quickly.

With an audible gasp, Nina replied. “Oh dear God. I’m going to get Abi and her kids right now. Please let me know when you get to the police department. Even if you can’t call, shoot me a text.”

“I will. It should only be a couple minutes. I am going to take Adam up on his offer of staying out at his place. It’s very secure and no one would know where I am.” She said as she looked at him.

He looked pleased with her decision and let his mind run as she talked on the phone. Who the hell would want to kill all of these women and why? He would never understand violence. Especially when it wasn’t deserved. He didn’t know any of the other three women, but he knew this one, somewhat, and couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to harm her. He pulled into the police station parking lot and told her to hang up. Walking into the entry they used the keypad and asked the dispatcher for Detective Beth Ward.

CHAPTER NINE

The lady at the desk asked them to have a seat and she would see if the detective was available. Priscilla didn’t give her a chance to say anything else, “Tell her it’s Priscilla Barnes and I have information about the murders of the three exotic dancers found in the park. She’ll know who I am.”

The lady turned away and picked up a phone. It was a matter of seconds before Beth Tony opened the door and asked the pair to follow her. Instinctively she knew something was wrong. The young woman was shaken and had been crying, her coloring was off since she had seen her that morning. Opening the door to a much smaller interrogation room, she asked them to come in and have a seat.

“Ms. Barnes, what is the problem?” Tony asked her.

Spilling out her entire story she told her what had happened. When she showed the note to her, she immediately asked who all had touched it.

“I’m the only one that touched it in my apartment. Adam wouldn’t touch it so his prints wouldn’t get mixed up on it.” Priscilla told her.

“That’s good, the less contamination the better. I need to grab an evidence bag and some gloves and I will need you to provide a set of fingerprints for yourself if you don’t mind. I’m sorry, Mr…” She asked, not sure of the gentleman’s last name.

“Linston.” He replied.

“Mr. Linston if we could get a set of your prints as well, that would eliminate any extra work at the apartment. I am going to have a couple marked units head that way to secure the scene. If you could please give me a few minutes to get all of this started.” Tony asked them.

“Detective, please could you check someone to check on my friend, Abi Martinez? I have her address in my bag somewhere. She’s the only other dancer left from our night shift, other than myself. I am really scared for her and her kids. I know that Nina was going to try and go pick them up, but just in case.” Priscilla looked at the woman with pleading eyes.

“Yes, I’ll get someone to check on them. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She said as she walked out of the room.

Suddenly, Priscilla felt all alone. It was a tiny room and she had a touch of claustrophobia. With her stress levels already running at full gauge the room felt like it was closing in on her. Adam stood up and walked to her, pulling her against him so that her head was resting on his stomach. It was a genuine action that made her feel comfortable and safe.

The door opened and Det. Tony started to speak, “We have a unit going to check on Ms. Martinez and her family, we have a unit going to Nina’s Place and we have two marked units and our crime scene investigators going to your apartment to try and find evidence there. Now, if you two would follow me, we will go get you printed so I can get this paper in for prints.”

As they walked down the hall Priscilla caught sight of Mike Ward, Tony’s partner and the one that had treated her like shit that morning. She wondered if Adam knew who he was, because there was a slight hesitation when the two men noticed each other. Priscilla didn’t say anything about it, but she definitely would when they were safely back in the privacy of his car.

They went down to the booking and holding area to be fingerprinted. It was a process that neither of them had ever been through and especially from the other side of the law. It only took a few moments to do, they were digital and simply had to be scanned. Priscilla was thankful because she hadn’t been too fond of the ink idea. Of course she had only seen it on television. Adam went second and they were instructed to wait for the detectives.

“I’m sorry Adam, I should have listened to you the first time.” She sounded contrite.

“It’s okay, I’m just glad that no one was actually in there. I don’t know how I missed that or if I would have even said something about a paper on the counter top.” He told her. Reaching out, he gently pushed the hair back from her face and put it behind her ear.

“I have no clothes at all. I just left like you told me to.” She whispered.

“They are just clothes. We can get you some. I’ll give your sizes to one of my staff and they can pick up some things that will hold you over until this ordeal is finished.” He assured her.

“Oh, I think I can manage to go shopping for my own clothes.” She said.

“Really? You think this is the right time to go shopping? No, they can do it and I am putting my foot down.” He told her bluntly.

“Yes sir.” Was her only response.

Even sitting in the middle of a police station, with a woman that had just received a note from a serial killer, the words yes sir escaping from her lips turned him on. If any words could be an aphrodisiac for him, those were it. He resisted pushing the envelope and scaring her off. So he let it go at that.

When Det. Tony returned to tell them she had everything she needed to write up the report and they were free to leave, Priscilla informed her that she wouldn’t be returning to her apartment. “I don’t feel safe staying there.” She admitted.

“I don’t blame you. Will you be staying with Mr. Linston?” She asked Priscilla.

Before Priscilla could respond to the question, Adam spoke up and answered the question for her, “Yes, she will.”

“I’ll still have my phone with me in case anyone needs to reach me. I won’t be working at Nina’s Place anymore until this is resolved either.” Priscilla added.

“Ok, thank you Ms. Barnes. I want you to know that we are doing everything in our power to find this person.” Det. Tony told her.

“Thank you. Three good women are gone because of this monster.” Priscilla said.

Leading the pair out to the main entrance, Det. Tony offered her a piece of advice, “If you need to go back to your apartment for anything, please do not go alone. In fact, I would prefer it if you contacted us so we could have an officer meet you there and clear it before you enter.”

Priscilla nodded her head in agreement and the two left the building. Reaching the car, he opened her door for her. She gave him a half smile and he knew that she didn’t have it in her for a full one. If you received a death threat from a serial killer who had already killed her friends and coworkers, you wouldn’t smile either. It just wasn’t there.

Starting the car, he spoke softly, “I’m so glad that you weren’t hurt. I don’t know what I would have done.”

She looked at him sitting next to her and knew that he was telling the truth. He would have been devastated. “I wasn’t and that’s all we can be thankful for. I should have listened to you.”

“Let’s go home. At least your temporary home. I hope you will be comfortable there.” He said.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. There was no awkwardness to it, they were two people lost deep in their own thoughts. While it might have been two different topics they were thinking about, it came back to they were both thinking of her. It wasn’t until they made the turn onto the tree lined drive that Priscilla spoke. “Oh this is spectacular. I knew the other night it would be beautiful, but I couldn’t have even imagined this.”

“I told you it was breathtaking.” He answered.

“Indeed you did.” Came her reply. She was lost in the beauty surrounding her.

Finally arriving at the main entrance, Priscilla attempted to keep her awe in check. This home, if you could call it that, was mesmerizing. Getting out of the car she noticed the entrance. From the large stone boulders that lined the pathway, to the oversized carved wooden doors surrounded by the most extraordinary stained glass window arch she had ever seen. The work was impeccable.

Today, there wasn’t a butler to open the door for them, although she was sure that at any second there could be someone there if he called for them. Before he closed the door behind him, he scanned the surroundings for any vehicles or anything out of the ordinary. When he was confident that there was nothing, he closed the heavy doors and secured them with the locks.

Priscilla walked slowly around the large foyer examining the artwork. While she was here the other night, she hadn’t had a chance to see anything. If she did see it, she was so nervous that she couldn’t recall seeing it. That thought process led her to a question. “Adam, can I ask you something?”

“Ask me anything you would like.” He told her.

“What about the parties, if I’m here that long? Would I still do them or would you find someone else?” She questioned.

“You wouldn’t have a long way to go to get here or to get home. I mean that is entirely up to you and what you are comfortable with.” He explained.

“I don’t think I would be uncomfortable doing it, I was just curious.” She sighed.

“Let me show you your room and then I’ll take you on a grand tour of the rest of the house.” He noticed her slight hesitation. “I won’t show you ‘there’ if you don’t want to see it. Again, I want you to be comfortable.” He said.

With a slightly bigger smile this time, she added, “Oh no. I want to see it. If I’m going to be here, then I should at least know where everything is and more importantly, what everything is.”

“Good girl. That’s the way to look at it. There is nothing here that should scare you.” He smiled back at her. “Now come on and I’ll show you to your room. A little later we can go out and walk the grounds, if you like. It really is something to see. The only thing I ask is that you do not go out there alone right now.” He told her.

“No, I don’t want to go anywhere alone right now. Even out here. This whole mess is ridiculous. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life and I’ve been through some crazy shit.” She shook her head as she spoke. “I was wondering how I was going to be able to attend Megan’s funeral services, but I don’t think I am even going to be able to do that.”

“I’m sorry, but I think you are making the right decision as hard as it is. If you go and the killer is there, because we don’t know who he or she is, and they see you with me, they will know where you are.” He agreed.

He pointed her in the direction of the huge, sweeping staircase to the right. “After you my dear.”

Everything about this house was perfect. There wasn’t a detail that had been missed and it was spotlessly clean. The bannisters looked to be hand carved and the spindles as well. Again, at no loss for artwork the home was tastefully yet elegantly decorated. The painted and textured walls were works of art on their own. She couldn’t imagine the time it took to build and complete this home. With even more of a twist to it, she knew that in the interior, behind closed doors and walls, was another entire section of home. It could have been used for anything. A safe room area, hidden wing for older teen’s privacy, if he had kids, anything. It was unbelievable. He chose to use it for a dungeon. That still threw her for a loop trying to comprehend that. Intrigued her, but confused her.

Coming to a stop outside of the second door on the right he looked at her. “I hope you will find this suitable.”

She couldn’t imagine finding any room here unsuitable. He slowly swung the door open and he heard her breathe in as she put her hands to her mouth. Before her was a room that she didn’t know could exist. It was very large, bigger than her entire apartment. There was a sitting area off to her right, with a bar and a built in coffee maker. The furniture was overstuffed and welcoming. The crystal chandelier that hung gracefully from the ceiling caused prisms of light to bounce off of the walls as the sunlight hit it. The one thing that caught her attention immediately was the bed. It was incredible, as if it were straight out of a fairytale. It was raised and had two steps leading up to it. The white carved headboard and footboard offset by a huge canopy. She loved it.

“You’re going to make it so I don’t want to go home.” She smiled, her eyes filled with tears and it confused him.

“You don’t like it?” He asked her solemnly.

“Oh I love it. I absolutely love it. I guess these are happy tears because there is no reason for me to cry.” She continued, “I didn’t meant to say that, of course I will want to go home.”

“I’m not bothered either way.” He admitted. “I’ll leave you for a few minutes to get accustomed to it and look around in privacy. While you are doing that, I will have Marta go into the city and pick you up some clothes.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I mean, I appreciate everything. Sorry, I’m rambling, it must be the stress.” She whispered.

After he left the room she began to look around. If the bedroom was amazing, the bathroom was simply to die for. She didn’t like those words at the moment, but they were appropriate. Incredible. The walk-in shower with multi heads, the bathtub that was roomy enough for four people at least, the heated marble flooring, the carved vanity. Just stunning. From there she made her way out to the balcony off of the sitting area. She could easily spend hours sitting and watching the world around her, as long as she was doing so from right here. This was her perfect spot.

Finding her surroundings to be beyond compare, she walked back into the room. Stretching out across the bed to see how comfortable it was, she closed her eyes for a second. Between the stress, the early morning, and the afternoon’s events, she was exhausted. It wouldn’t hurt to rest for just a minute. When Adam knocked on the door an there was no answer, he opened it slowly and peeked his head in. What he saw, melted his heart. There she was across the bed, sound asleep. He couldn’t make himself wake her. Taking a light blanket from the linen closet he draped it over her gently so as not to disturb her. He would let her sleep while he took care of some things himself.