“Should we split up?” Ryan asked quietly, before she could bring it up. “Whoever finds Matt Darcy first can give the others a heads up.”
Jessie and Kat nodded and they all headed off in different directions. Jessie made her way to a section of the club that had piqued her interest. It was the only area, as far as she could see, that had a man-made wall instead of rock. When she got closer, she noticed something odd.
There seemed to be a space between the human-built wall and the cave wall, as if there might be space in between the two. She looked for an opening, walking the entire length of the thing, which was a good forty feet. She ran her finger along the wall and noticed something else: it looked like wood but was actually made of some thicker composite. Finally, she found a spot at the far end of the wall where there was a narrow, easy-to-miss door. She grabbed the recessed handle and turned.
It opened without a struggle. She peered into almost total darkness. Quickly, she stepped in and closed the door behind her. She was about to use the flashlight on her phone when she got an odd sensation. First of all, this area was much warmer than the rest of the club. In fact, the air was heavy, almost to the point of being sticky.
But there was more. The room was clearly soundproofed, as all the vocal noise from outside had dampened as soon as she’d closed the door. But that wasn’t what had her blood pumping faster. Although she couldn’t hear anyone speaking over the music, she got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t alone in here.
The room felt thick with people, though she hadn’t heard a word. Then, as she strained to listen, she noticed something: a heavy sigh, then another one, followed by a soft moan and a barely audible whimper.
Her mind flashed to some of the past horrors she’d encountered—kids being enslaved and kept in darkened rooms, used for the grotesque pleasure of sick adults. The only thing that stopped her from immediately turning on her light was what Hugo had said before allowing them in. Surely, if there was some secret child sex ring being run out of The Cove, he would know, and if he was involved, he would never have let them down here.
Then the door opened as someone else came in. A thin stream of light snuck in, silhouetting what was happening before her. Jessie tried not to gasp.
As far as the eye could see, there were intertwined naked bodies lying on pillows, writhing about like a scene out of Caligula. Suddenly the humidity and moaning made sense. As best she could tell, these seemed to be consenting adults—a lot of them. She guessed that there were at least two dozen people in the room. She didn’t see anyone tied up and no one appeared to be in distress.
The door closed and everything was once again thrown into darkness. Satisfied that there was no crime taking place in here, she moved toward the exit as quickly as she could without risking tripping and drawing attention to herself. She brushed past the person who had just entered but said nothing. Once she found the door, she opened it and left without looking back.
The second she was out, the air became lighter and fresher. She gulped it down as she wiped a dribble of sweat from her brow. Now that she was safely out and confident that no one was being harmed inside, she let out a half-laugh at her reaction. She wasn’t a prude, but that had been well out of her comfort zone.
“Everything okay?” Ryan asked through her ear buds.
“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s just hope one of you finds Darcy, because if he’s in the room I just left, someone else is going to have locate him.”
“Why?” Kat asked.
“Because I stumbled into an orgy and I’m not going to be the one to break it up to look for him in there. That’s cop stuff.”
“Coward,” he teased, chuckling in her ear.
“Luckily you won’t have to,” Kat told her. “I think I spotted him. He’s on the second level.”
“There’s a second level?” Jessie asked looking up and seeing a small, overhanging balcony section she hadn’t noticed before. It was a good two stories above them and blended into the cavern so well that she didn’t feel too guilty for missing it.
“Yup,” Kat said, “and it looks like there’s another bar up there. From what I can tell, he’s alone.”
“Sounds like perfect timing,” Ryan asked. “Shall we go say ‘hi,’ Ms. Hunt?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Getting to the upper level balcony was an adventure.
It was only accessible by a narrow metal staircase built into the wall of the cave. Jessie let Ryan take the lead. When she followed, she gripped the thin rail tightly.
Kat stayed below. She wasn’t official law enforcement and her presence wouldn’t be appropriate. Besides, this way she could warn them if someone else from the group started upstairs. They were almost to the top when they heard Kat’s voice in their ears.
“I’ve located the rest of the gang,” she said. “Malcolm and Abby Andrews are on the dance floor. They’re all over each other. It’s either adorable or disgusting, depending on your perspective.”
Jessie was tempted to try to find them but thought better of it. She wasn’t looking down unless she had to.
“You see the others?” Ryan asked.
“I do,” Kat confirmed. “Bridget Newhouse just came out of the restroom. She looks pretty rough. Her eyes are puffy and she’s not dressed in fancy club attire. I think she’s wearing yoga clothes. She just sat down at a table with Ellie Darcy, who doesn’t seem anywhere near as broken up. She’s got a drink with an umbrella in it and she’s laughing at something. Apparently she’s not bothered by her husband being nowhere near her or by her friend crying over the loss of her husband.”
“Okay,” Ryan said. “Let us know if anything dramatic happens. Otherwise we’re about to talk to Matt Darcy.”
As they walked across metal floor of the second level, each step echoed. Jessie wasn’t confident that the thing was strong enough to support the weight of everyone up there. In addition to the two of them and Darcy, there was the bartender and a couple sitting at a small table in the corner.
Darcy was seated alone at a cocktail table with four seats, staring down at the giant, wave-deflecting window. He had taken off his sports jacket and his dress shirt was halfway untucked. His blond hair was plastered against his forehead. He was slumped over, his eyes were glassy, and his breathing was labored. He was very drunk. This was just what Jessie had been hoping for. If things went well, the guy’s inebriation would act like a truth serum.
“Hi, Matt,” Ryan said, plopping down beside the man. Jessie quietly took the other seat. After taking a moment to focus on the man suddenly sitting across from him, Darcy managed to find his words.
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded in a sloppy garble.
“Don’t you remember me?” Ryan asked. “I’m Detective Hernandez. I spoke to you and your wife after your visit with Honey Potter earlier today.”
“Oh yeah,” he said, vaguely registering the memory. “You’re looking into whether Scott was murdered, along with that hot profiler chick.”
Only then did he glance over and see Jessie. He looked mildly embarrassed.
“Hi, Matt,” she said sweetly.