Lewis continued in the limo through a part of town that he preferred to pretend didn't exist. He had no choice; he had exhausted all other avenues for finding Trillium. By now Lewis was a nervous wreck.
He'd cajoled friends of influence on the police force to see what they could find out about Trillium's whereabouts but the end result was a void of information. She had not returned to his place, she had not been to her own flat in months, why he bothered to pay for it still was beyond him, she had not been to the office and as near as he could remember she didn't have anything on her except the trench coat.
She hadn't thumbed any money from the account he left for her to use either, not that she didn't have other ways of getting money but the thought of her putting out just for a few bucks bothered him. She was probably hanging out with one of her friends from the sex trade, although if she was then no one at the agency where they had met knew anything about it, and even less than subtle queries in that direction had turned up nothing.
He hadn't been able to raise Candace the whole weekend either. Wherever she was she obviously was having a good time, which he didn't begrudge her but he needed her now, more correctly he needed her contacts and researching skills to find Trillium.
In a fit of desperation Lewis had returned to the office very early Sunday morning because the only reference he had left was the security cameras. From behind his desk, in an office which held so many memories of Trillium, Lewis was filled with remorse for his latest behaviours. He watched as Trillium was shown on his monitor leaving his office, but he couldn't find her on any monitor for quite a while. A search jumped to her entering the frame from a work area and heading to the elevator, taking it to the carport and then getting jerked out of the Limo by the janitor.
The janitor? What had caused that? Lewis didn't even know they were aware of each other and here he was, physically pulling her from the car. Pulling her from the car and raping her. Rage filled Lewis as his head swam with it and a million questions. He continued watching until the janitor left and Trillium walked past the open Limo door and out, onto the streets.
The open limo door. Lewis remembered that. It was still open when he had finally left that night. Where had she gone? Why had the janitor left her like that? Why had he raped her? Lewis rose and headed out to find this janitor, confront him, and if need be having him arrested.
Of course, the janitor wasn't there. Even if it wasn't Sunday it was still too early for any of the staff to be around. But Lewis' head was spinning so badly with all this information that he prowled the building looking for the guy for almost twenty minutes without realising that he hadn't passed a single person.
Lewis thought of hopping in his Limo and heading out, he could access the security records en route, find the address of this janitor and go pay him a visit but again he ran into the same problem as he had before with the Detective. He didn't even know the guy's name. How could anyone be this rich and have, when they really needed them, no resources, no answers, nothing but an empty building? It was enough to drive someone kiwi.
Just then his watch beeped, someone had entered his office, and his security system, set in case Trillium returned, was letting him know. Bounding three steps at a time, because it was faster, or would have been were Lewis in any semblance of shape, he took the emergency stairwell up to the office deck and then stood there, clutching the wall while his lungs tried to get all the air they thought they needed.
Finally he staggered around the corner, past the beverage station and to his office where he found two women, neither of which were the ones he wanted although one would do.
There you are?!
What? Candace flustered a bit, were there an emergency, the place looked fine, no signs of damage or anything and despite his still heaving chest Lewis seemed alright, a little haggard looking but otherwise fine.
I need your help.
Help?
Trillium left and I can't find her.
The whore. Candace stood there unimpressed. What was his obsession with her? Can't you just call for another one?
I did, She frowned, of course he did, for such an enlightened guy Lewis could be a real jerk about things. It's not the same.
He turned to her, oblivious to Lucy standing beside her, oblivious of the intense glare that the ethereal creature was levelling at him, Lewis turned to Candace pleading. I need her. I know that might not make sense but it's not what she is, or what she does, it's her, and I miss that.
Candace was stunned. Maybe there was hope for Lewis after all.
I don't see what I can do. If someone wants to disappear..., well have you checked her place, her friends?
I don't even know her real name, Hanna... something, but yes, I've checked her apartment, my apartment, the agency, the police.
The police? Candace was even more surprised by this, if Lewis was willing to risk public scandal then she now knew this wasn't just an obsession but serious. She moved behind his desk and began to activate her data base links. She rather enjoyed the challenge of a puzzle, it had probably been what made her what she was today.
Ok, first thing, she began, we need to know her last steps, who saw her last, that sort of thing.
Lewis flushed but answered as plainly as he could, hoping to keep her from visiting the security cameras to witness it herself. She left through the carport ground level door to the street after a run in with that Janitor.
A run in?
I think... he groped for the right words, neutral ones that would convey what information was necessary , they had flirted with each other on occasion. Despite his attempts to control his emotions, he was seething. That morning he... came onto her.
He tried to rape her. Lewis turned on Lucy with daggers in his gaze while an expression of 'How dare she' collided with a 'how could she know'.
Is that true? Candace asked stunned. Lewis looked at her blankly and nodded as tears began to well up in his eyes.
Seething tears, the kind he hadn't felt since he was eleven and the victim of bullies, angry and unsure how to process his feelings, and immobilised by his own rage. His jaw was clenched and his body nearly shook. I want to talk to that janitor. I want to...
Candace stood but didn't approach Lewis; she was too scared to.
I don't know if that's a good idea, Lewis.
Lewis erupted, He drove her away! Maybe he followed her. Maybe he...
Lewis... It was Lucy, calmly standing beside him.
He looked at her and slowly he realised who she was. What are you doing here?
That's a long story, Candace interjected, she's on a... quest.
I can help you find her.
You know where she is?
No. Not as such. But I know the paths of the whore and the janitor have not finished crossing yet.
That's pretty intangible and Candace said as much but it had given Lewis hope, and calmed him down, so she called up the company records and cross-referenced to the contract firm that they hired for cleaning and was building the sneak on a repeater through their confidence files when she remembered that they'd had to bond the guy and had done so on their own dime. She closed the query and launched their bonding records and in seconds she had all the particulars, name, address and personal info, including a photo of their man. Benedict Secord.
It's on your TimePad and in the Limo records. She confirmed triumphantly to Lewis who glanced at his Chrono display and nodded.
It would have taken me forever to do this. Humility. Wow. All sorts of surprises were coming from the boss today.
That's what you pay me for, whore searching.
He looked at her disapprovingly. She smiled, A joke. I'll keep at it, see if there's something else I can find. What did she leave with?
A trench coat. She could tell the way he said it there was nothing else, no surprise really, Trillium had sat in this very room in nothing on most of the time and was frequently padding around the rest of the building that way.
Candace started to shake her head but then remembered her recent escapes with Jack. A brief moment passed as she entertained the idea of stripping and working in this very office the rest of the day au natural. She'd be surprised if Lewis cared one way or the other and it was perfectly legal now but it wasn't her style, not here anyway.
Lewis started off but stopped when he felt the presence of Lucy behind him. You should stay. He didn't want witnesses.
I need to come with you, both for myself and for you.
He didn't feel like arguing with her or anyone else and was about to slap her down verbally when their eyes connected and time froze long enough for him to realize she was right. He turned and nodded letting her follow him.
They went to his side elevator, his personal direct route to the Limo below and with her beside him he couldn't help but be reminded of Trillium.
They entered the carport but this too was an area she had never been before and she paused to look around at the industrial emptiness as he stood at the open auto-cad door waiting. She caught his eyes, saw his impatience and moved to enter the Limo.
Her first observation was that this vehicle was much more comfortable than the cabs she'd taken with Candace, the seats were much more plush and for a moment Lucy wanted to remove the constricting garments and experience this ride in her natural comfort.
Her second observation was how much smoother this vehicle was and how little effect the ride had on her compared to the first trip. She watched the city glide past through the tinted windows of the Limo then looked over at Lewis.
If she returns to you it cannot be as before.
Lewis looked at her. What?
Before she was as chattel, if she comes back to you it must be as partner, if not equal then dependant.
Lewis thought about this.
You will no longer be able to take her as you demand but only as she bequeaths.
They rode in silence for a moment then Ricker said, I don't see what business it is of yours.
We know of your pain Lewis and your path. In each relationship there is usually a taker and a giver but if one gives too much then a bond is broken and a new covenant must be formed. She may not wish to return to you but if she does it will be as anew.
You're talking like a psychic, you know that?
When one speaks of the mysteries of life how else to express them than through riddles.
I read that once, in a fortune cookie I got with some Jamaican food.
The auto-cad continued onward as the two sat there in silence.
As the car moved through town, slowly fighting the days shopping traffic his mind remained intent on his thoughts and oblivious to the growing storm clouds being drawn over the CONEDEX Building behind him.
