Disclaimers: See Chapter One If you have good or bad things to say feel free to email me at henleyac@yahoo.com.
Chapter Ten
Vivian sat at the table as Quin introduced her. She scowled at Marco, silently vowing some kind of retribution for him leaving her behind at the warehouse. "How's the nose?" She questioned with a sneer. The well dressed black man beside the drug dealer snorted.
"It's an improvement." He slapped Marco hard on the back.
The slender blonde on the other side of Quin smirked then extended her hand toward Vivian, "An honor to meet the woman who finally put him in his place. I'm Ms. Smith."
Vivian accepted the hand and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you." Out of the corner of her eye she spotted some kind of silent exchange between Marco and the handcuffed man she had yet to meet. She jerked her head all the way to the right and frowned, "And who are you?" She questioned the handcuffed man.
Quin leaned forward, "Brandon Crane," she supplied.
"Oh really?" Vivian smiled evilly and leaned closer to the man, "I have a car you might be interested in."
Marco cringed as the rest of the table's occupants became excited at this news. Quin banged the table surface with the flat of her hand, causing empty and full glasses to jump and tip. "Shut up!" She fixed those making the outburst with a stony glare. Quin cocked her head at Vivian, "You have the Jag?" A smile that would tame the devil was her answer.
"I can't believe my dear friend Marco didn't tell you." The blonde looked at the drug dealer, "Unless he has some kind of fucked up idea about the contents of the trunk."
Marco huffed and crossed his arms. "Bitch."
Vivian launched across the table knocking over any glasses that survived Quin's pounding. Her fist caught Marco square in the chin. Quin pulled her back into a chair and looked at her, concerned. "I'm okay." The blonde pulled at her sweater, straightening it. "I'm okay." She repeated.
Quin didn't let go of Vivian's arm right away. There was a lot of tension in the muscles under her hand; The woman nearly radiated with energy. Quin dipped her head and spoke softly to her lover, "Hey. Its alright." Dark blue orbs turned toward her and blinked.
Vivian studied the face of Quin McKee for a long moment, and wondered if it would be too cliché to drag the smaller woman off to the bathroom for a fast and heated toss. She felt like she just needed to have some kind of personal contact with Quin and soon. "I'm okay." She repeated again softly letting her voice drop a bit lower. "I'm tired of this particular game Quin McKee."
Marco was being checked over by his comrades. Horatio waved off Quin's silent question of concern and sat back in his chair. If this was McKee's new lover they were certainly a pair to be dealt with. He made a mental note that if it came down to it he preferred to handle them separately. He glanced at the drug dealer who was rubbing his quickly bruising chin and dabbing at his fat and bloody lip with a paper napkin. Definitely a divide and conquer situation with these two, he thought as he held up a spent glass of whiskey for a refill.
Marco mumbled around the loose teeth in his mouth and nursed his lip. How the blonde had gotten the drop on him twice was beyond him. It certainly wouldn't happen again. The sooner this whole deal was over the sooner he could get even with the woman.
"We're done here tonight. Marco and Crane, come with me." Quin let go of Vivian's arm and stood. "I'll talk to you two tomorrow morning," the brunette nodded toward Horatio and Ms. Smith. Her words were clipped and strained. "Get going." She stepped around Vivian and unlocked the cuffed man while whispering in his ear.
Vivian watched as Crane paled and nodded. He held his hand out in front of him. Marco didn't know what was happening until the cuff was around his wrist attaching him to Crane.
"What the fuck?" Marco jerked his arm causing the short link of chain to tighten and Crane to groan in pain as his much abused wrist was jerked forward.
Quin grabbed the cuffs in the middle and pulled them roughly toward her and down. "I don't like being lied to Marco."
The man looked to disagree but seemed to think better of it as a low growl came from the blonde behind McKee's shoulder. "I'm cool." He held up his hand, "Take it off."
Quin jerked the chain back down. "No." She turned her back to the two men and looked at her lover, "I have a place not far from here, will you come with me?" She wasn't going to assume anything at the moment.
Vivian knew in her heart that she wanted to be with the brunette despite the last nine days. There was no hesitation. "Yes."
Quin's mouth quivered into a smile as she sighed with relief. She turned back to the two men and explained the rules for the evening. Their protests died quickly as the PI elaborated on the consequences of not behaving when they got to her house, she pulled on the chain causing the men to follow. Now all she had to do was convince the blonde she was truly sorry. Quin frowned. Just how on earth am I going to apologize for all this crap? She thought as she found Vivian's hand, squeezing it gently and inwardly rejoicing as that little squeeze was returned. She guided the group out of the club into the cool night air.
Marco kicked at the closed bedroom door and banged upon it with his un-tethered fist. "You suck McKee!" he yelled at the door.
"Would you calm down." Crane jerked on his end of the cuffs.
"Shut up faggot." Marco seethed then gave the solid door one more kick. He turned to survey the room. A double bed took up most of the space. A small wooden dresser was beside the door and another door was opened so he could just make out the porcelain toilet of the bathroom. There was a second closed door that he assumed was a closet. Marco sighed.
"Let's make the best of it." Crane suggested.
Marco growled and held up his index finger and leveled it at the smaller man. "Do not even think about touching me in any way." He pulled the man with him to the bed. "Stay on your side. I'll stay on mine."
Crane slid onto the bed from the foot of it on his back. He arranged the pillow under his head. "She'll come for us tonight." He said then yawned.
"I know." Marco replied as he placed his pillow between himself and crane, Then bent his arm under his head. There wasn't anything else to say, Tomorrow would come regardless of anything they did tonight. Rest was the best course of action. He let out a long yawn.
Quin paced the room. Vivian watched her go the seven paces between the door and the wall. The blonde was reclining on the bed dressed in a pair boxers and t-shirt, her head propped up on the palm of her hand. Quin would stop and look at her every so often as if she was going to say something. Vivian let her head drop on the bed and rolled onto her back. "Quin, just come over here and say whatever it is you want to say."
The brunette stopped and turned toward the bed. "Are you sure?"
Vivian's head turned just enough to look at the PI. "I'm positive. You're making me dizzy."
Quin rolled her eyes and moved to the bed. She flopped down turning on her side so she was facing her lover. "I'm sorry."
"Okay." Vivian replied.
Quin raised her eyebrows. "Is that it?"
Vivian mimicked Quin's raised eyebrows, "Do you really want me to elaborate?" A slow nod answered her. "Okay. Let me recap my week for you. Your mother is a mean asshole. You left me. I'm cold. Driving in the snow sucks. Sally Usher and I are going to have words. Your brother Michael is a real piece of work. I stole a car full of heroin. I beat up a drug dealer. My hand hurts. I really hate drug dealers. I chased you all over this damn city. I can't get warm. You fucking left me! And I'll tell you one more thing. I am leaving to go back to LA after this little adventure is over."
Quin blinked as she processed Vivian's litany. "By yourself?"
"That's up to you. I'm not some little fragile flower that needs protecting and I thought we had agreed that we were going to try the together thing. I might have misunderstood, but I'm pretty sure we had an understanding."
"I should have confided in you." Quin stated.
"And?"
"Given you a choice?" The brunette answered uncertainly.
Vivian sat up and slapped her hands flat against the mattress. "YES!"
Quin pulled back a little not sure what Vivian's next action would be.
"For the love of Pete, Quinlan McKee! I knew you could learn." Vivian smiled over at the brunette. "So lets recap shall we? We're a partnership. We decide things together."
Quin's dark head nodded quickly up and down.
Vivian turned on her side as she sank back down to the mattress. "Now. Tell me everything you know."
"Jacob is missing. He took his mother's car about two weeks ago and hasn't been seen or heard from since. He also took checks from his father's business that he cashed in various amounts totaling nearly two million dollars." Quin took a deep breath and started again. "I traced him to Brandon Crane."
"The guy handcuffed to Marco." Vivian stated as fact.
"Yes. He's into everything in this town, prostitution, drugs, gambling. There's not a vice that Crane isn't involved with."
"How did Jacob get involved with Crane?"
Quin shrugged her shoulders, "Some third party mystery woman who is a silent partner of Crane's. She hooked Jacob and Crane up in Los Angeles . She also hooked Crane up with Franklin ." The PI fell silent.
" Franklin ?" Vivian's head tilted.
" Franklin was Crane's hookup in the department."
"Wait. Franklin was on Crane's payroll?" Vivian began to wonder just how dirty Franklin was.
"No. The mystery woman's. Franklin belonged to her it seemed, before Crane even decided to venture west."
The blonde sat up on the side of the bed with her back to Quin. " Franklin killed Grace, Crane was under Franklin 's protection. Your nephew is involved with Crane." Vivian listed her facts aloud trying to make sense of it all. She looked down at her hand and ticked off fingers with her thumb starting with her pinky. "The mystery woman has a connection to Franklin, Crane, and Jacob." Her thumb hovered over her index finger. "Grace was onto Franklin ." Her thumb touched down to meet the tip of her finger.
"Crane told me his partner was worried about Grace, seems that Grace was onto the mystery woman." Quin added quietly.
Vivian turned around and crossed her legs underneath her, "So Franklin killed Grace."
There was a long silence between the two women.
"Shit." Vivian finally said running her hands through her long blonde hair. "Shit."
Quin rolled onto her back. Tucking her arms under her head. "Yeah."
"There's a lot of drugs in that car Quin.- Million's worth. This woman isn't playing games." Vivian stretched out beside Quin and laid her head on the brunette's chest.
"Where is the car?"
"Cookie has it."
"Southside Cookie?" Quin questioned.
"Hooker, short, brunette, feisty?"
Quin smiled, "That's Cookie. You can trust her."
"She has my cell phone. We just have to call her." Vivian yawned and snuggled closer to the brunette.
Quin was making plans in her he as she wrapped one arm around Vivian and made slow circles on her back. "We'll arrange the meeting in the morning, and use the car as bait."
"I don't trust Marco." Vivian mumbled.
"I know. But he's what we have."
"Don't like him." Vivian added.
"Sleep Viv. Tomorrow you can hit him again."
"Promise?"
Quin chuckled. "I promise."
Vivian thought she was dreaming. She fought to end the dream and wake up, her eyes struggling to open in the darkness. A faint red glow engulfed her. Trying to move her arms and legs, Vivian found them tethered together and behind her; she was hog tied. Darkness came again as she rocked backwards, and It was then she realized she was in a car trunk. Vivian tried to figure out how she got into this predicament.
She went to bed with Quin, that much She remembered clearly. Vivian recalled their conversation and snuggling up to the PI before drifting to sleep. That was it. She closed her eyes and thought hard on it but nothing was clear. Then she became angry. Vivian drew in a deep breath and screamed. It didn't take long for the car to slow to a stop. She heard mumbled cursing and a car door slam. Blackness descended upon her just seconds after the trunk lid opened and a large fist connected with her head.
Quin could hear her cell phone ringing nearby somewhere. Her head throbbed as she fought to open her eyes. She blindly reached for the phone from her position on the floor at the foot of the bed. The small phone scooted out of her reach as her finger tips just brushed it sending it further across the wooden floor of the bedroom. The ringing ended for a moment. Quin basked in the welcome silence as she took stock of herself. Besides the pain in her skull she had a dull throbbing in her injured shoulder. Her legs felt like lead and her feet tingled. Someone had whacked her good on the back of her head. She couldn't sense anyone else in the room with her and that was alarming since Vivian should be here with her.
Her cell phone rang again. She groaned as she rolled over and grabbed it. She opened it and pressed it to her ear. "McKee." She hissed.
"Are you missing something?" The voice asked on the other end of the phone.
"You're a dead man Crane." Quin quickly looked at her cell's phone display for any information about the number Crane was calling from. The word 'PRIVATE' scorned her. She placed the phone back to her ear.
"I don't think you should be threatening me McKee. Here's the deal. The car for the slut."
McKee closed her eyes. "When and where."
"I'll call you back." The line went dead.
The PI rolled to her stomach and pushed herself up to a standing position. Her head felt fuzzy and she fought the urge to vomit. Quin took several deep breaths while she probed the back of her head. She sat on the side of the bed and rested her head in her hands.
"Vivian." The blonde's name was a mere whisper from her lips. She picked up the cordless phone from the night stand and dialed a number from memory. The line rang busy. She hung up and tried another number.
Busy.
She tried four more numbers. Three were all busy, one was disconnected. She threw the phone down. It slid across the hardwood floor and slammed into the wall. Quin stood and paced. The battered phone blared its off the hook tone as she walked from the door to the window and back again. She stopped and stared out the window, The sun was just beginning to rise. The sky was clear and brightening from a dark purple to a turquoise blue. Quin spun and retrieved the phone, resetting the dial tone. She dialed another number. Holding her breath as she waited to see if it would ring; She exhaled as it did.
"Schmek." The cop's gruff voice answered.
"I need help." McKee stated as clearly as she could to the man on the other end of the line.
Vivian came to consciousness slowly, taking inventory of herself. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. If possible, she would have placed her hands between her legs, where she knew she would have found blood and semen, and tried to wipe away the evidence of the assault. She jerked as a hand caressed her head in comfort. It was then she realized her head rested on someone's lap.
"Vivian?"
The blondes eye's fluttered open at the sound of Di's soft voice. "Where am I?"
"We're not sure." Di answered.
Vivian moved her shoulders and whimpered in pain. "Fucking Marco." She hissed between clenched teeth. Then she thought about what Di had said. "Who is we?" She questioned.
She moved her head a little to see Michael sitting against the wall opposite them, he gave her a thin smile and a small wave.
"Welcome back." He said softly, looking at his hands. "I'm sorry about…"
Vivian's eyes closed. "I'm sure there wasn't anything you could do." She took note of his state of dress. A sleeveless t-shirt and dress slacks. She looked down at the light blue dress shirt that was draped over her. "Thanks for the shirt."
Michael nodded.
"Vivian, they want to know where the car is." Di said, while still stroking the blonde head in her lap.
Vivian shifted a little. "I don't know where it is."
The door to the small room slammed open. Michael jumped to his feet and charged the large man who entered. He was soon subdued by two more men who were both twice his size. The first man pointed at Vivian. "The boss lady is ready to talk to you." He took two steps forward and pulled the blonde up by her arm, she had little choice but to follow. Michael's shirt fluttered to the floor as she was dragged naked from the room.
Vivian did her best to keep up with her handler. The floor was ice cold and her bare feet ached with numbness as she slipped in puddles of unknown fluid. She could feel the sticky mess between her legs as she walked, and Bile rose in her throat as she dry heaved. The man didn't even miss a beat as he continued to drag her down the dark hall.
They rounded a corner into a large room. She was thrown into a circle of light with two chairs facing each other. Collapsing into one of the chairs. Her handcuffs were unfastened.
"Cover her up for Christ's sake."
Vivian froze at the sound of the voice. She'd heard it before, briefly, a few moments over a week ago. There was no denying who it belonged to. A rough wool blanket was thrown at her and she quickly drew it around herself.
"Now Ms. Walsh, let us talk about where my merchandise has gotten off to."
End part ten