Missing Persons - Ch.6 - Covering Up (Patreon)

=::= Danni Thomson's PoV =::=

Fuck! The whole time, that fucking cop had me going. His bullshit excuse about an 'incident next door' had me thinking he was talking about Mike's Bar. That shit-hole was always attracting trouble and I had no idea how they even stayed in business this long.

Then when I realized he was really here to inspect our place, I thought it was a health code thing. I was positive he was doing some kind of surprise under-cover health inspection. We weren't the only tattoo parlour in town, but we were the best and it wouldn't be the first time that fucker Grant tried some bullshit stunt to get us shut down. I wouldn't put it past him to make an anonymous complaint that we were reusing needles or some crap like that.

It wasn't till the cop left, when he stepped out the back door that it finally hit me. I caught the look on his face just before the door closed on him. He wasn't here about us at all. He was here because of Selene. He was trying to figure out how Selene's shop fit into the building.

Fuck fuck fuck!

Now I had to warn her, but with the cop out there I wasn't sure what to do. I knew she almost never answered her phone, otherwise I'd just call.

I paced back and forth for a few minutes, then finally made my mind up. I hurried over to the front door and locked it, and put up the 'out to lunch / back in thirty minutes' sign. Then I slipped on my jacket, grabbed my purse and went to the back door again, and gently opened it just enough to peek outside.

Thank fuck the cop was gone.

I slipped out then hurried to my left. I peeked around the corner into the alley but there was no sign of him there either. With any luck he'd fucked off back to wherever he came from. 

I honestly had no idea how Selene did it, but almost nobody ever figured out her store didn't fit. I'd been working with dad since I was sixteen, and in thirteen years I could only remember three times when someone noticed, and they all kind of freaked out and took off. When you finally saw it, it was the sort of thing that could break your brain. It totally threw me for a loop when dad first showed me.

After everything Selene did for me though, there was no way I could stay out of this. I had to warn her she had a cop snooping around.

With the alley clear I moved up and peeked in her window, and was relieved to find there was no sign of detective Collier in there either. I pulled the door open and stepped inside.

As usual the air was thick with incense. I had no idea why she burned so much of the stuff, but I could always tell when we got a customer who'd been in her shop first. I'd lost count how many new earrings I'd pierced for people with the smell of incense on their clothes. People who I was positive must have looked very different not long before they turned up looking for some bling.

It wasn't always girls either. We got quite a few guys looking for some bling or some ink after visiting Selene's store. Honestly it was really nice knowing how many people she'd helped. And I only knew about her because I got my own miracle, back when I was still in my teens. 

"Hello Danni," Selene greeted me with a warm smile. "What brings you here this afternoon?"

She was the same as ever, standing behind the counter in her black dress and wearing her pentacle necklace. In all the years I'd known her, she never aged or changed. Same with that little black cat, she'd been around for about nine years and she always looked the same too.

"Selene I came to warn you," I said as I moved to the counter. "There's some cop snooping around and I'm sure he's here for you? He bullshitted his way into our shop and I didn't realize till he left, but I'm positive he figured out how your store doesn't fit? He was checking out the back of our place, and the emergency door? Just from the look on his face I know he figured it out!"

She gave me a warm smile, "Thank you for your concern Danni, but I'm already aware of Detective Collier's interest in us. He was in here both Monday and Tuesday, Skye and I have already met him."

I frowned, "Are you in any kind of trouble? Is everything ok?"

"We'll be fine," she assured me. "I appreciate you and your father letting me share your back door, and I'm grateful you two have been such good neighbours. If worse comes to worse I can always move the shop but I don't think that will be necessary."

Her words didn't really set my mind at ease, "He's a cop though. If he's investigating you for some reason..."

"Don't worry about us hon," she assured me. "We'll be fine. If he comes to speak with you again, please cooperate and look after yourself, ok? I don't want to see you or your father getting in any trouble with the law, and certainly not on my account."

I sighed, "Ok... If you're sure?"

"Quite sure," she nodded. "Thank you though, I really do appreciate your concern."

I nodded slowly, then finally stepped back out the front door of her shop. I walked around to the front of the building and dug my keys out of my purse, then unlocked our door and took down the 'lunch' sign before making my way back behind the counter again.

All I could do was hope she was right. After what she did for me, I didn't want to see anything bad happen to her.

=::= Detective Collier's PoV =::=

I sat in my pick-up and watched as Danni emerged from the occult shop and headed towards the front of the building, probably to return to her own store.

Seeing her sneak out the back door then creep around to Selene's shop surprised me. I was just sitting there trying to calm down my frazzled nerves, but it was obvious Danni wanted to warn Selene about me. I hadn't expected that, but it made sense. 

I assumed her dad also knew Selene, maybe the two of them were subletting to her after all. Though I still had no explanation for how. There was no possible way to explain how the two shops could exist in the same place.

Though it did explain why the property management place never heard of her or her business. Putting aside the impossibility of the situation for now, the building really did have only two units, only two tenants.

So Selene either paid the tattoo place, or maybe she didn't pay rent at all. Maybe that's why Gloria couldn't find the business license either. Maybe it didn't exist.

I could have left it at that but I remembered, both times I mentioned the store Gloria got a funny look on her face. She knew the place. She even tried half-heartedly to steer me away from it. Maybe Danni wasn't the only one in town looking out for the mysterious Selene. 

It wouldn't be the first time that sort of thing happened. I'd seen it a few times in my years as a cop. Usually it was someone prominent, the mayor or maybe a preacher or a doctor. They'd be well known, loved, respected. And whatever they were up to, be it murder or child abuse or whatever other sick shit it happened to be, everyone would rally around them. You'd get nothing but lies and runarounds.

That might even explain why the local detachment had come up with nothing on the Duncan case. If Selene did have something to do with his disappearance, maybe people were helping cover it up. Same with the other two dozen missing people.

The question now was what should I do about it.

I could head back home with what I had, tell my boss about all the other missing persons, but then what? I needed more. Right now I still had nothing but a gut feel and a lot of coincidences and circumstantial evidence.

And what the hell would I say about the shop itself? There was literally no way to explain that without winding up booked for a psych assessment. 

I must have sat there in the parking lot for another ten or fifteen minutes just running backwards and forwards through the whole thing in my head, then finally came down to one conclusion. If I could get someone to flip and tell me the truth, that would be enough. If I had a witness, that would convince my bosses.

And the only person in town I knew well enough to maybe have a chance at getting the truth out of them was Gloria fucking Mills.

Shit.

My drive back to town hall included a detour to the liquor store. I picked up another bottle of single malt 'sleep aid' because whatever happened next I had a feeling I was going to need it.

It was about three in the afternoon when I parked my pick-up and made my way into the building. I went straight back to the records office, where I found the cute young receptionist talking with Gloria. 

They ended their conversation when I arrived, and as she left the office the receptionist said "I'll talk to you later mom."

"Ok Tammy," Gloria replied. 

Once we were alone I looked at her and asked, "Your daughter? None of my business, but I guess you got married?"

Gloria nodded, "Yes. I kept my maiden name, but Tammy uses her dad's surname."

I really didn't know what to say so I just shrugged, "Congratulations. She's a beautiful girl."

"Thank you Raymond," Gloria smiled slightly. "If you're back already for that business license, I'm afraid it still hasn't turned up yet."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," I sighed as I closed the door to her office. Then I turned and gave her a serious look, "Gloria will you level with me? I know something's going on in this town, something unusual, and it has to do with that shop. If you work with me, I can help. I can protect you if you come forward."

She sighed, "Oh Raymond... It's nothing like that. I don't expect you to believe me but I promise you it's nothing at all like you're thinking."

"Is that so?" I asked. "I'm thinking I have a list of twenty-three missing people over the past two decades. Councilman Phil Duncan is the most recent, but there's twenty-two other names on that list. Only thing they all have in common is they vanished in and around that occult store. If those people are dead, that's twenty-three counts of murder, and anybody who helps cover that up is going to be indicted when the shit hits the fan."

There was a look of surprise and confusion on her face, and unless she'd been taking some serious acting lessons over the last thirty years there was no way she could fake that. She had no idea about the missing persons.

That left me even more confused. She was obviously helping cover something up, but if it wasn't the disappearances then what the hell was it it? What was it about that shop that people wanted to keep hidden?

"Raymond I swear I don't know anything about missing people or murders," she stated in a firm but quiet voice. "If I did I'd tell you in a heartbeat."

"Then what the hell are you hiding? What's going on Gloria?"

She hesitated, and I lowered my voice as I demanded "Damnit you owe me! After everything, you owe me! Tell me the truth Gloria!"

"Ok," she sighed. "You won't believe me though, but I swear to you this is the truth."

She paused for a deep breath then said, "It's magic, Raymond. Real actual magic. The woman who owns that shop, Selene... I don't know what she is but she's powerful. She sells magic, actual spells. She helps people. Her magic can literally change reality."

I sighed and rolled my eyes "Oh bull shit Gloria! This is what you call the truth?"

"It's true!" she insisted. "I know it's true Ray! I... I bought one of her spells. Reality changed for me."

"Oh yeah?" I asked. "How exactly did it change for you?"

Gloria took another deep breath, she looked anxious and embarrassed as she started to talk.