NOVEL WEB 2. Deceptions
My encounter with the annoying teen left me with more questions than answers. I was positive there was something up with that shop, but for now there wasn't much more I could do about it.
Instead I drove over to the hotel where I'd be staying and got myself checked in. It was a budget chain place, it wasn't in a scenic part of the town and my room wasn't anything special. I had a queen sized bed, a desk and chair, and a view overlooking the parking lot and the big box plaza across the road. I wasn't here for the view though, it was just a place to sleep and work. And they had a buffet breakfast in the mornings which was supposed to be decent.
I dumped my duffel bag on the bed and pulled out my laptop and the file folder, then got set up at the desk. I took my toiletries bag into the washroom, and also took a moment to hang one of the towels up covering the mirror in there.
It was one of my few affectations I suppose, and I still felt a little self-conscious about it. My therapist told me it wasn't a big deal though and I shouldn't worry about it. My reflection frequently triggered my dysphoria, so I avoided mirrors. I didn't have one in my washroom at home, apart from a small hand-mirror which I kept in a drawer and only used when necessary. Which was almost never. My hair was trimmed short so it was easy to maintain, and I'd long ago mastered the art of shaving without having to look.
Anyways I knew what I looked like. I was six-foot-four and slim, my face was long and narrow and my skin had a slightly tanned look. I kept my dark brown hair trimmed in a short 'regulation' cut, and was perhaps a little obsessive about staying clean-shaven. I usually dressed 'business casual', though for this assignment I was a little more casual than usual. I wore cowboy boots, jeans, a button-down shirt, and I had a fall jacket which was a few sizes too big but made it easy to conceal my weapon and cuffs and so on.
At forty-seven I was starting to gain a few wrinkles around my eyes and forehead, but generally my health was ok. Though my doctor and coworkers frequently told me I needed to start lifting and should try and gain a few pounds. Basically they thought I needed to 'bulk up' a bit.
Once I was settled in the room I sat down at the desk and powered up my laptop to do some research on that shop. I found their website, but it looked like it was set up about two decades ago and never updated since. There was no mention of the teen, the only staff named on the site was the owner Selene. The photos of the interior looked like the place did this morning, which confirmed my suspicion that it was badly in need of renovations.
Then I typed up my notes, including the address Skye gave me, and wrote out my suspicions that something was up with the place. I really didn't know what to make of the kid though. I'd had suspects or 'persons of interest' play with me like that before, but they tended to be hardened criminals with an overabundance of confidence. Or killers who thought they were too clever to get caught, or punks who'd been in and out of jail so many times they didn't care either way. It wasn't the sort of thing I'd expect from a young delicate-looking teen girl.
Finally I left the hotel and grabbed a bite to eat at a local restaurant, then drove back to the shop and parked in a spot at the north side of the parking lot where I had a view of both the front and back doors of the store.
For two hours I watched the place, and I didn't see a single person enter or leave. A few dozen people walked past, going through the alley between Main Street and the parking lot, but none of them went into the occult shop.
Just past five o'clock I saw the sign flip from open to closed and the lights went out. I waited for the teen to emerge.
And I waited, and waited.
At first I thought maybe she was cleaning up, or closing out the register. By six there was still no sign of her. By seven I started to suspect I'd missed her somehow.
I finally got out of my truck and walked over there and looked in the windows, but I couldn't see anything. I even used my flashlight and tried to check the place out through the windows, but that didn't work either. I didn't have any explanation for that, I knew the layout of the shop since I was there earlier but I couldn't even spot the cash register. I couldn't even see the displays that were just inside the window. There was just darkness inside, my flashlight couldn't pick out any details at all.
In the end I gave up. Either she was staying in the shop, or she'd somehow slipped away without my noticing.
I had dinner at another local restaurant, visited the liquor store and got myself a couple bottles of the hard stuff to help me sleep, then went back to the hotel to turn in for the night.
• • • • •
I was back at the shop Tuesday morning at ten sharp. The door was still locked when I got there, but within a minute I heard a clunk as it unlocked, and the lights came on inside. There was a middle-aged blonde woman there, she flipped the sign to open then motioned me inside.
As I entered she greeted me, "Good morning dear. You must be the detective? Skye told me to expect you, but I didn't realize you'd be here bright and early waiting for me."
She appeared to be in her mid forties, maybe a year or two younger than myself. There were a few grey streaks in her blonde hair, and she had a bit of extra weight around her midsection. She wore a long black dress and had a silver pentacle hanging around her neck by a black cord, and her name-tag identified her as Selene. I decided she looked attractive, but my main concern was if she'd be more cooperative than the teen.
The air was thick with incense again today, but instead of sandalwood it was patchouli this time. It wasn't as stifling as it was yesterday, I chalked that up to the teen being over-enthusiastic with the stuff.
The woman moved back behind the counter and I followed her over there then stood across from her. There was a cat on the counter today, that hadn't been here yesterday. It was small and black, and sat on a purple cushion at the end of the counter next to the window.
I showed Selene my badge as I identified myself, "Detective Collier, with the provincial police. I'm investigating the disappearance of councilman Phil Duncan."
"Yes," she nodded patiently, "Skye mentioned you were looking into that. Very unfortunate, I know a lot of local business owners are very fond of mister Duncan."
I raised an eyebrow, "A lot, but not you?"
She smiled, "I do my very best to stay out of politics, detective Collier. I will keep any opinions I have about mister Duncan to myself, be they positive or negative."
That didn't really answer my question, but she seemed to think it did. I gave her the same spiel I told the teen, "Duncan was last seen entering your establishment around two in the afternoon on September seventeenth. Can you tell me what he was doing here? How long was he here? Did you speak to him? Do you know where he went when he left? Or what time he left?"
Selene sighed, "That was eleven days ago detective, and I'm very sorry to say but it was a busy day. The full moon was on the twentieth, and after missing most of the summer we had a tremendous amount of business that entire weekend. I don't think we've been that busy in ages. I vaguely remember mister Duncan coming by, but I honestly couldn't say whether he bought anything or not, or if he was just browsing. Nor do I recall how long he was here."
I had my notepad and pen out again and I jotted down a few notes, including the words 'evasive' and 'runaround'.
"Can I get your full name please?" I asked her. "I'd also like the full names of all your employees."
She answered with a friendly smile, "No dear, I'm afraid not."
I frowned, "Excuse me?"
"I go by the name Selene," she replied calmly. "Or 'Madame Selene' when I want to be dramatic. It's the only name I'm known by. And if you want me to violate the privacy of my staff, I will need to see a warrant first."
I sighed, "Well can I at least get your home address? And a phone number, if you have one?"
Selene agreed, "That I can provide."
She went on to recite an address, it was a rural location outside of town. I wasn't familiar with it apart from being vaguely certain it was south and west of the town. She also gave me a phone number, which I took note of as well.
I asked, "So would you have any records of the councilman's business here? Do you keep records of your sales?"
"Oh," she looked apologetic as she delivered more bad news, "More than half our sales are cash transactions. And we don't keep track of our clients like that. Even on the card purchases we only retain the transaction slip."
"Do you have any security cameras?" I asked as I glanced around at the corners of the ceiling. I didn't see anything, but there was a chance they could be concealed if she had something.
"Sorry dear," she replied with a shake of her head. "I don't think we're really much of a target for crime, nobody's going to rob us for candles or incense. We've never needed cameras."
"You have jewelry in there," I gestured at the glass cabinet to my right. Then I gestured at the cabinet on the left, and the wall behind her, "Knives in there. And swords on the wall. Between jewelry and weapons, I'd have thought you might be a little more interested in the security and safety of your staff."
The woman seemed entirely unfazed as she replied, "Costume jewelry, the most expensive piece is under fifty dollars. The swords are unsharpened props, and the knives are ceremonial and religious in nature."
Her calm demeanour and the way she had an answer to everything was starting to get under my skin. Between her and the teen yesterday, I had the distinct feeling they were both hiding something and toying with me about it. And while I wasn't certain either of them had anything to do with the councilman's disappearance, I definitely hadn't been convinced they weren't involved either.
They were up to something, but so far that was the only thing I was sure of.
I kept my eyes on her for a few more seconds, then jotted down a few more quick notes. She'd confirmed Duncan was here that day, at least that was something. It wasn't much though, and I wasn't sure what else I could do here right now.
"You mentioned that Skye told you I'd be coming today," I commented as I watched her. "When did you speak with her?"
Selene replied calmly, "I didn't. She left me a note, I saw it on the register this morning when I got here."
I watched her for a few more seconds, then finally said "Thanks for your time. I'm sure I'll be in touch again."
She gave me a friendly smile as I headed for the door, "Have a nice day detective."
When I got back in my pick-up, I decided to go for a little drive around town. I didn't trust either Selene or Skye, so I'd go verify the addresses they gave me.
The teen's was nearest and I knew the neighbourhood so that was my first stop. Less than fifteen minutes later I found myself parked at the side of the road looking at an empty lot. From the way it was overgrown with weeds, I knew there hadn't been anything there in years. I made a note of that, then put Selene's address into my GPS and headed out to see if that was a real place.
It took me about a half hour to get to the right area, but what I found was the address itself didn't exist. It was a large untouched lot covered in trees. I couldn't see any sign there'd ever been any building on it. On one side the land was cleared for farming, and the other side held some large estate homes. But the location where Selene claimed to live was as vacant as Skye's address.
I made some more notes, then headed back to town.
