Insufferable Proximity (68 page)

Julian could not stop the smirk, knowing exactly who it was. He knew his father and Heaven were very close, but as far as he knew, even his father had no idea who her mother was and no one that knew Heaven would ever suspect it. Julian watched as Coco stepped out of the limo, the only one wearing a stern look on her face and a dark charcoal suit. Then last but certainly not least, was Sybille, who was dressed in an elaborate stark white suit, a tiny top hat adorned with large white feathers perched on the front of her head, her inky-black hair fashioned in a 1950’s pinup style. Her long thick expensive faux mink coat dragged behind her as she walked with the regality of a queen.

“I know that woman.” his cousin Julius said with a grin.

“Me too.” said Royce.

“Over half the men in this state know that women.” Jameson said with a wicked grin.

“That woman is my fairy god mother.” his cousin Royce joked. “She has single handedly granted every one of my wishes.”

“I mean it’s always god to see the Madame, but why is she here?” Julius asked.

“Come on, you know the Madame has her ear to ground, she always knows what is going on around this area.” Royce said

“She probably knows someone who knows something.” Jameson grinned. Julian ignored them, choosing not to clear up Madame Sybille’s sudden presence, they would find out soon enough.

Alice stood by King’s limo, waiting in case he needed to go somewhere. She was worried about Heaven and wanted to offer any help she could. She was zoned out when she watched the limo pull up and automatically knew who it was. Stark white limo and a bevy of beautiful women, It could be none other than Madame Sybille. But what was she doing here? Had Julian enlisted her help to find Heaven? Did she know something? Alice prayed that she did.

“Madame Sybille!” Alice ran over to hug the woman who had helped her when she really needed help the most. Alice had been in a horrific relationship, had been beaten senselessly by her ex-husband and left penniless. She had nothing to her name and no one on her side, she had finally broken down, too tired to continue struggling to survive, she made the vital decision to go to the brothel.

Madame Sybille knew within the first ten minutes that the girl with the aura of depression, had come in desperation, and was still filled with fear as well as hesitation. Sybille had decided to offer her a job that would never invoke fear. Noticing Alice’s love of cars and her ability to fix any moving vehicle, she offered Alice her first chauffer position and a fat starting bonus. She had also told Alice of her potential, urging her to follow her dreams. Once Sybille learned Alice wanted to drive and fix race cars, she immediately enrolled Alice in a mechanics class. “How have you been? I’ve missed you!”

“Alice darling.” Sybille said with a warm smile, always having a special place in her heart for the smart girl with the amazing mechanical and makeup skills. “Things are not good right now.”

“What’s wrong, please, anything I can help you with.” she said with sincerity.

“I wish you could dear, but my daughter is-” she put her hand to her chest, feeling her heart start to race at just the thought.

“Sevigne is missing.” Coco walked up to stand next to them.

“Oh no.” she frowned, she had never had the pleasure of meeting Sevigne, but Sybille never stopped talking about her the entire time she worked there. “That’s an insane coincidence, my friend, is also missing. She’s King’s girlfriend.”

“Heaven!” that’s my Sevigne.” Sybille said.

“You’re kidding me, you’re Heaven’s mother?”

“Yes.” she said

“We need to go speak to the detective.” Coco said.

“I’ll show you the way." Alice said, taking Sybille’s arm but still flabbergasted by the news.

“Such a dear girl." Sybille nodded before turning to walk towards the large door. Two of the gorgeous women in white opened the door and held it while Sybille walked into the large house.

The girls circled Sybille as Alice went ahead and knocked on the study door, then opened it. The men in the room all stood up as the entourage of scantily clad women poured into the room, each as beautiful as the last.

The girls suddenly parted and Sybille stepped forward, walking straight over to detective Rogers.

“Detective Rogers, I am relieved to see that you are on the case.” Sybille said as the detective took her hand and planted a single kiss on top.

“I promise we will find your daughter.” he nodded.

“Quickly please.” she batted her eyes then turned to Ayden with a smile on her face. “Ayden, my dear friend, it is a pleasure to see you.

“The pleasure is all mine, as always.” Ayden held her hand up and then kissed it lightly.

“When I heard about Sevigne and Julian, I was shocked beyond belief,” she whispered, “but I think it is a good match.” she winked then turned to Julian, but instead of raising her hand, she took him into a quick embrace. “We will find her, Sevigne is much too strong to be held against her will for long.”

“I
will
find her.” Julian said with a conviction that gave Sybille a strong sense of hope.

“I know you will.” she sat down on the couch and looked at the detective. The girls had pulled out a large bottle of expensive wine, each girl holding a glass while one poured, handing the first to Sybille then distributing a glass to each man in the room. A few of the girls had pulled out a silver, collapsible table and set it up, while a few of the other girls pulled out a spread of various types of croissants, doughnuts, tarts, tiny cakes and slices of pie. “Now Detective, let’s discuss how we are going to find my only child.”

“Dad." Julian pulled his father to the side “you knew Madame Sybille was Heaven’s mother?” Julian asked his father.

“Of course.”

“Does Heaven know that you know?”

“Absolutely not. Sybille would never allow that. She was afraid that Sevigne would think that I gave her the position because of her mother.”

“And did you?”

“Sevigne is a genius, you know as well as I do that I would never hire her because of her mother. I was lucky enough to have that connection and I scooped her up before a competitive firm got their hands on her.”

***

Julian listened as his father explained the various anonymous packages sent to him at work.

“Detective, could I see you please.” The police officer asked and Rogers excused himself as he walked outside. Julian’s cousins Royce and Julius followed behind the officers.

“Look.” The officer pointed to the blood on tan interior of Julian’s car and the spot of blood on the gold rim of his tire. Rodgers took a good look and then looked up to Royce.

“It’s definitely blood.” He said.

“Then it’s definitely planted.” Royce informed him.

“What’s planted?” Julian asked as he walked towards the men crowded around his car.

“Blood on the inside of your car.” Julius answered his cousin and at that moment Julian ran over to his car, filled with fear at what he would find. Julian didn’t care if that blood made him the number one suspect, he was worried about Heaven and how much blood she had lost or how hurt she may have been. He felt no relief when he saw the tiny amount of blood, he could care less if it wasn’t enough to fill a band aid, he didn’t even want a scratch on her.

Detective Rogers had been a detective for a very long time and it was virtually impossible for someone to pull the wool over his eyes. He watched Julian’s expression change to sheer terror at just the mention of Heaven’s blood, it was a natural reaction of a man worried about his woman and an emotion that could not be faked. As far as Detective Rogers was concerned, Julian was not a suspect under any circumstances.

***

Heaven felt like she was floating in darkness. There was something wrapped around her that was holding her to the floor and preventing her from drifting up to the sky. The strong musty smell over took her senses and the thick cobwebs in her brain begin to disintegrate, allowing her lulled brain to perk up. The filmy gauze her mind had been enclosed in was now unraveling and she felt herself plummeting back to reality.

She awoke abruptly, her eyes blinded by the thick darkness as she inhaled the air, her starved lungs were begging for. She felt her heart race when he tried to move and found herself restrained. She tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness to see what was holding her down. Her arms and legs were bound to the old wooden chair she sat in, the thick ropes cut into her wrists and ankles, leaving her completely immobile.

She tried to scream, but the wad of material in her mouth prevented the sound from being heard. Her head was groggy and her thoughts were scattered, she couldn’t remember what had happened to her or how she got here. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep and waiting for Julian.

She felt her pulse begin to race as she heard the faint sound of footsteps drawing near her. She twisted her head from side to side trying to find what direction the steps were coming from and saw the dark shrouded figure emerged from the black shadows of the musty basement. She watched as the figure glided towards her, the long black robes shuffling on the floor with each fluidic like step. She watched in open fear as it settled directly in front of her, the flat black leather mask hid the culprit’s features and a slim silver box crudely attached to the mask, covered the mouth. The eyes were covered in a black, mesh-like material, but she didn’t need to see the eyes to know the figure was staring at her. Heaven was sure the stranger could hear her heart as it pounded viciously in her chest.

Just when she was sure that either a hand would reach out and grab her or her own heart would explode, the dark figure began walking backwards. Its masked face trained on her as it slowly disappeared back into the shadows on the opposite side of the room.

***

Julian decided to stay at Heaven’s house until she returned, he also decided to take some time off from work. He could not go there and sit in an office filled with potential suspects and be expected to keep his cool. The way he felt now, he would end up brutally interrogating everyone he worked with. Just the thought of not knowing who it was among them had him going crazy. However, knowing that one of those people had his girlfriend held hostage was making him homicidal. Each one of the employees had a different incentive to destroy Julian and abduct Heaven. Some had more than one motive, including his own brother.

He leaned back in the chair when he watched Petal and Alex open the side gate that led to the backyard. Petal sprinted over to him and Julian could tell by her eyes she had been crying all night.

“Please tell me it’s not true, tell me Sevigne is not missing!” Petal cried hard, her thick black mascara and her pale pink eye shadow leaving streaks down her face.

“How did you find out?” he asked.

“Madame called me to see if by chance Sevigne was with me or if I had seen her. She told me not to worry that everything was fine, but I just know something is wrong!” she cried harder, putting a thick ball of tissue to her nose. “I saw her limo out front, where is Madame?”

“She’s inside.” Julian finished and Petal sprinted towards the house.

“Are you alright man?” Alex sat down on the chair opposite from Julian.

“I’m fine.” he replied rather curtly and Alex pulled out a bottle of cognac.

“I’m here to help in any way that I can, you just let me know whatever you need, my friend.”

“Thank you.” Julian nodded, appreciating the offer, but not physically able to express his gratitude.

***

Heaven felt weightless and unfocused as she opened her eyes, she felt over tired and drugged. She looked around the room and saw the dark figure slowly walking towards her again, but this time she was more irritated by the dramatic displays and tried to yell from under her gag. The stranger stood before her again, this time reaching into a pocket in the robes and withdrawing a syringe. Heaven shook her head, trying to scream below the gag as the arm drew closer. She tried desperately to get loose, rocking back and forth in the chair as the figure effortlessly slid the tip of the needle into the side of her neck before disappearing back in the shadows. She was fighting hard to stay awake, but her eyelids felt as if they had been glazed in cement, and within moments she was asleep.

***

Ayden walked into work with a different frame of mind, everyone was a suspect and everyone would be treated accordingly. The first thing he and Fritz did was take attendance and were shocked to see not one absence, which meant if it was someone in the office, they were there right now while Heaven was being held against her will elsewhere.

***

Heaven woke up to find her nightmare hadn’t been restricted to an unconscious thought, she was wide awake and still tied to a chair. In a frenzy-induced attempt to get loose, she tried to rock the chair from side to side.

“You’ll just hurt yourself doing that, but you won’t get loose.” she heard the electronic voice announce through the room. It was a cheap imitation of an answering machine voice and Heaven frowned under her gag. She strained to see what direction the voice was coming from but the darkness was too thick to see anything clearly. “I tied you up extra tight.” the figure took a step forward, but not close enough for Heaven to see. Suddenly a bright spotlight came on, it’s hot light pointed directly at her, forcing her to squint. It illuminated the dark surroundings and she heard the footsteps behind her. “I know how determined you can be Ms. Deville and I can’t take the chance of you getting loose.”