****
“Chip told me the good news,” Kasey said.
Lindsey frowned, holding her cell phone between her shoulder and ear as she rummaged around in her locker for her lunch box. “News?”
“You and Pie. How you’re together now.”
“Oh, that was old news.”
“Hello. Last I heard you two were going on a date and now you’re going to be his old lady. Come on, Lindsey. How is that old news?”
“Sorry, we’ve had an entire weekend together. See, old news.”
Kasey sounded annoyed, which only made her smile more. “It’s really good news. I admit, it was scary you know, having all the club watching me as Chip did his business.”
Lindsey wrinkled her nose. “You make it sound like a dog taking a crap.”
“No, you know what I mean. I’m not into the whole exhibitionism. It was hot though, being with Chip like that.”
“I’m going to be honest, I’m really not looking forward to it.”
“You’re not?”
“Not really. Pie and I are together now, and even though I love being all kinky, this is going to be something new, you know. That alone makes me worried.”
“You’ll be fine. It does feel different. When I first heard about it, I was not into that at all. Then Chip explained it to me, and suddenly it seemed to make sense.”
Lindsey chuckled. “I couldn’t imagine you going the whole way with them watching.”
“I did. Chip was really good though. He made sure I was covered and only he got to see me.”
She’d always found Kasey to be a little prudish. Kasey was a little bigger than she was, and often tried to hide those curves where Lindsey was happy with herself. She had nothing she wanted to hide, and often was more than comfortable with her own skin.
“Are you going to volunteer to see me get taken?” Lindsey asked, chuckling.
“There you go with all that sexy talk. I don’t know how I put up with you.”
“You love me oh, so much, so don’t even start with that.” She heard a little cry, and her heart clenched. “How is little Liam?”
“He’s a fighter, all right. He’s trying to get everything in his mouth, teething like crazy.” She heard Kasey do some baby talk.
Finding her lunchbox, Lindsey turned around and saw two men dressed in suits in the doorway.
They asked her for her name and held up a badge showing they were from the police force.
“Lindsey, what’s that?”
“I’ve got to go. Talk soon.”
Marie was there. “Lindsey, these are two detectives that want to talk to everyone about Richard.”
“Richard?”
She hoped they didn’t see how nervous she was.
“Yes. They’ve gone through his office. You haven’t been in there, have you?” Marie asked.
“When I came back after being sick. I went in there for an appointment book,” she said.
“We just have a couple of questions for you, Miss, if that’s not too much trouble.”
“Sure, Lindsey won’t mind. She’s eating her lunch. You can take Richard’s office. He’s not using it.”
“I don’t understand what this is about,” Lindsey said, not wanting to go with them. It could only mean trouble for her, for Pie, for everyone.
No!
This couldn’t be happening.
She was happy, in love, and ready to share her life with Pie. Not have to deal with this fucking asshole who was better off dead. She didn’t need to see all the files that Pie saw. She’d witnessed the anger in his eyes once he’d been with Diaz. She’d been working for a monster and hadn’t even known it.
“We just want to ask you a couple of questions. It needs to be in private as well. You can eat your lunch.”
The thought of eating anything turned her stomach.
Ignoring that sickness though, she followed them through to Richard’s office. She noticed several of his things had been removed and there was also police tape.
“You’ve been working for Richard Strong for some time now, correct?” the detective on the left said.
“Yes. I’ve been wanting to work elsewhere and find another job, but nothing else pays as well.”
“Why would you want to change jobs?” the detective on the right asked.
“I’m working in a plastic surgery clinic. Clients that come here want perfection. I’m okay with my self-esteem most days, but there are some it gets to me.”
“Understood.”
She didn’t even know who spoke then. She picked out her sandwich and nibbled it.
Question after question was fired at her, going from her interactions with Richard to how she found him as a person? Did she encounter any clients’ complaints about him? Any personal grievances?
“Look, with all due respect, as far as I know, he’s away on an extended vacation. I don’t know what this is about?” Lindsey said.
The two detectives looked at each other. “Prior to his extended vacation, Richard Strong was under investigation for the rape of three women, with allegations of stalking and indecent assault, as well as intent to blackmail.”