After they left, there was about two seconds of silence before Stewart spoke up. “What’s going on? Why was I called here?”
“Yeah? Me, too? What’s up, boss?” Cuddles asked.
Trent showed no emotion as he motioned for everyone to sit in the chairs he’d provided. He then sat behind his desk, straight and firm in his seat, and began to explain my stalking situation.
I thought he was filling in Stewart and Cuddles because they worked closely with me five nights a week. The detectives were silent but tense. Something was up.
When Trent reached the part of the story where this had been going on for months, and every text was from a different I.P. address making them impossible to trace, I heard Stewart shift in his seat. When I looked at him, he had an almost careless expression, like this story was boring to him.
Trent continued. “But one of my detectives is an expert at I.P. He worked for the F.B.I. He still has contacts there. Finally, we were able to get some information. Gil, can you tell us what you found?”
Stewart’s body went taut.
As Gil began to speak, I realized right then and there they had found out who my stalker was.
Then he said a name. “It all traces back to the I.P. address of Griff Simon.”
I cleared my throat. “Ozzy’s former dom.”
“Yes.” Trent nodded at me. “Go on, Gil.”
“I remember Griff,” Cuddles interrupted. “He was banned for life. He kept coming back and hanging out outside. I saw him a few times when security went out to speak with him.”
“Yes,” Trent said. “They were threatening to call the cops for loitering. He wasn’t technically trespassing unless he came onto the part of the sidewalk that hugs the building.”
“But a lot of people were involved in that,” Cuddles went on. “Why would he pick on Colin?”
“Maybe because I clocked him a good one in the jaw before I had security toss him, literally, into the gutter.”
Cuddles, frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“He couldn’t touch me,” Trent said. “I have too much security on all my devices. He couldn’t touch Ozzy because I hid him. I’ve still been hiding him. Colin was the easiest target.”
“Griff Simon.” I shook my head. “That guy was such bad news. He’d mishandled subs before.”
Trent broke in. “More than mishandled. He kept them locked away as slaves. Ozzy was kept in a room with nothing in it and starved for part of his so-called training.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said.
Cuddles leaned forward. “What can we do to help?”
Stewart said nothing.
“Has he been arrested?” I asked.
The detectives shook their heads. “He can’t be found. But it brings us to another point. Griff had help. Someone with access to Colin’s personal information.”
My gaze shot to Stewart again.
“Who?” Cuddles asked.
Gil looked directly at Cuddles and Stewart. “One of you two.”
“What?” they both said in unison.
Cuddles nearly started to choke. “I don’t even know Griff. Honest. I’ve been working here for almost as long as Colin. I wouldn’t ever help a bad dom out like that.”
“No. But we weren’t sure,” Gil said. “So we brought you both in. You and Stewart are on security cameras being friendly.”