Page 13 of Bottoms
“She had woken up in the night for this one,” Colten said, showing us a note from Fynn about watching her lose her virginity. “She had been scared that someone was in the bedroom.”
Great, everyone got to watch except me.
“Is he going to kill her?” I asked, refocusing on the real problem. I looked at Tanner as he stood frozen with a dried butterfly held delicately in his palm. Switching my gaze to Colten, he looked like someone who just drank a cup full of poison right before he was offered asylum.
“He’s been known to keep people alive for extended periods,” Tanner said. But his voice was hollow as he set the butterfly down on her table before taking a heavy seat on the bed. His hands raked through his hair; a tell Tanner never seemed capable of vanquishing.
“That’s good, right? It means we still have a chance at finding her alive,” I said, trying to bring some scrap of hope into my partners.
“It means we might find her alive, but every day that she spends with him, the less likely the person that we rescue is the Nessa we knew,” Tanner sighed. He didn’t seem to know what to do with himself; honestly, that was one of the most disturbing parts.
“Cage.”
Looking at the officer who called my name, I turned away from the window and my thoughts. I volunteered to come in today. Let someone go home to be with their family, rather than surrounding themselves with folders filled with people who wouldn’t see their loved ones today.
“We got a match for the terrorist attack on the mayor, but you’re not going to like it,” Agent Smith said. Holding a manilla file in the air like some attention-grabbing discount sign.
“What won’t I like, Smith?” I said, pushing off from the desk to help me stand.
It felt like I watched from outside my body as I headed over to snatch the folder from Smith’s hand. Opening the folder, my sight came back to the correct perspective as I scanned the document until I found the section I was looking for.
Ryland Heights
“Shit,” I breathed.
“Yeah,” Smith laughed awkwardly. “I would not want to be you.”
“Don’t inform the press. Let’s keep this quiet through the holiday. That will give me time to question Mr. Ryland about the knowledge of his security team's actions and intentions.” I smiled reassuringly while patting Smith on the shoulder.
He gave me a nod of agreement.
I put the folder into the briefcase Colten had gotten me for Christmas a few years ago. Turning the lock to secure it in place. I grabbed my coat off my chair and hurried to put it on before grabbing the rest of my things and bolting from the office. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I sent a message on the secure app telling the others I was on my way with a lead. As I returned to Bottoms, I put my phone away. Determined not to look at any of the messages that vibrated my pocket. I would give the others a few minutes of excitement before I shattered their hopes.
Tanner and Colten sat as patiently as possible on the couch, waiting for me to arrive. The tree sat in the corner of the room, lit in uneven patches. All the ornaments Nessa had picked from the store were hung. Even the snowman dick had found a home on the back branches of the tree. I had insisted Nessa would notice if it was missing. There were a handful of elegantly wrapped presents underneath the tree. Nessa wouldn’t have liked that they were all for her, but that hadn't stopped us from placing them there last night after we finished putting her room back in order.
“Well?” Tanner asked. I could hear the hope in his tone.
“Ahh,” I started, fighting the lump in my throat. “The three in the alley are members of your father’s security detail, Tanner.”
I watched the slow transition of Tanner’s features as my words reached him.
“You have their names?” Tanner said, his tone void of any emotion.
I sighed, looking down at the briefcase before tossing it onto the couch next to him. He opened the lock and took the folder into his hands as if he was about to read a magazine in a doctor’s office. While he was busy flipping pages and slipping on the progress he had been making since meeting Nessa, I sat down on my couch. Shifting my attention to Colten, his body was stiff, and there was a look of hard determination in his gaze.
“Has anyone else seen this?” Tanner asked as he closed the folder and offered it to Colten.
“Smith,” I said, “but I asked him to wait to release the information until after the holidays, so I have time to question your father before it goes public.”
Tanner nodded, getting out his phone to furiously text. No doubt he was telling Mike to get his ass in here. After all, Mike worked for Ryland Heights. Colten finished his look through the documents, the information already committed to his memory. He had a photographic memory, and he used it to climb further up the rungs of society. He also used it to kill people. Only these faces were already dead and by his hands. The look on his face suggested he wanted to kill them a second time.
“Do you want to call your father to set up a meeting, or should I call him from the precinct phone?” I asked, rubbing my hands to dissipate the sweat that had started to form there. Nothing could make us wince, but we all held a place of fear and respect towards Tanner’s father.
“No, it’s Christmas. We already have an invitation to his dinner party tonight.” Tanner’s tone dripped with acid. He hadn’t returned to the mansion since his father started bringing in escorts for the events, but it would be the quickest way to have a word with him.
“Tanner!”Mr.Rylandexclaimed,splashing water with his excitement as Tanner opened the door to the indoor pool of his childhood home. The air at the top of the glass ceiling was hazy, with thick smoke from cigars held in the clutches of various businessmen. Several turned their heads at our arrival but did not move away from the tropical foliage that grew around the patio. Each man was paired with a woman wearing lingerie while being served drinks by more women in similar attire.
Tanner’s father waded through the artificial beach waters wearing a bright red pair of swimming trunks for the holiday. Two women hurried to put a thin black robe around him when he got out of the water. Without missing a single step, Mr. Ryland headed straight for us with his arms stretched wide for an embrace.
