"I'm an international realtor," he said.
With my interest piqued, I asked, "I've never heard of something like that. What does that entail?”
The cocktail waitress returned promptly with our drinks in hand. She set them on the table and scurried away before relaying the price. Across the room, the music turned to a quieter house beat. No dancers graced the stage.
Must be an intermission.
"Well, clients come to me in search of real estate abroad, and I work with local agents in that part of the world. Then, once the sale goes through, me and my firm get a cut of the deal. It's quite an interesting job. Not many people get to travel the world and make money at the same time.”
His hand rested on my arm now as hunger resonated inside his eyes. A fire burned within the pit of my stomach. Maybe it was the wine, but I couldn't be certain.
"What's the most beautiful place you've visited?" I asked.
"I only just returned from Seoul a few days ago, actually. I hadn't been there yet, and it was incredible.”
Seoul. A few days ago?
My heart pounded inside my chest. I reminded myself to take a breath. I brought my wine glass to my lips and tasted the dry but flavorful liquid against them. I wanted to finish the entire glass in one sitting but needed to keep at least some of my wits about me.
"I've never been. Do you have any pictures?”
Hayden pulled out his phone and scooted closer to me. He opened his Photos app with a smug expression.
"Here's the Jongmyo Shrine. I visited a few other places, but this was by far my favorite."
"And, you said you were there this week?" I gulped.
"Yes, I only returned to the country two days ago.”
Two days ago, Callie was already dead. Was Hayden lying to my face right now, or was he out of the country during Callie's murder?
"Busy man," I said.
The music returned as a remixed Lana Del Rey song crooned through the speakers. The lighting overhead turned to dark blues and greens, which illuminated the stage for the girls' return.
Hayden leaned in closely. I could feel his warm breath against the nape of my neck. Goosebumps trailed down the length of my arms. "I simply enjoy the finer things in life," he said. "That's why I want to take you home with me.”
Time came to an unexpected halt. Frozen. What should I do? What could I do? The man beside me captivated me beyond belief, but he could be a murderer. Grief rippled through my heart and shred its chambers. I wanted Zac; I needed Zac right now. He'd know what to do. But he was gone.
Hayden's phone vibrated loudly on the table where he'd set it after showing me his photos from Seoul. Annoyance etched itself into his flawless skin. He glanced at the Caller ID and rubbed his temples.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have to take this, but we'll pick up where we left off once I come back?" He massaged the top of my hand with his thumb.
I nodded. "Sure, no problem.”
Hayden gently kissed my cheek. I closed my eyes, immobilized by his touch. Then he stalked off toward the exit in the back of the club as though he owned the place.
If there were ever a sign, this was one of them. If Hayden was out of the country during Callie’s murder, then he couldn’t be the one responsible. Every moment I wasted on a false flag was another moment to let the real killer slip away. I finished my glass of wine, opened my phone and ordered a Lyft.
Eighteen
The next morning, I pored over my laptop and scoured Callie's Facebook profile again. A mug of steaming coffee sat beside me. My hands shook as I held the mug. After a few sips, I put it back and rifled through my purse. At the very bottom were two small containers. I twisted the tops off and let the clear liquid burn the back of my throat before I turned back to my computer.
I remembered the events from last night and truly believed Hayden could be my guy. I mean, women feared him, and he was in a position of power. But if those photos were recent, and his story wasn't a lie, he wasn't even on the same continent during Callie's murder.
He could have lied to you.
I sighed and opened a new tab in my internet browser. I typed in the web address for Google and then searched "Hayden International Real Estate Keygate.”
I didn't know his last name, but I hoped this would be enough to pull something, anything up on him. Sure enough, in less than a second, dozens of search results populated before my eyes. I clicked the Images tab on the search engine's site, and photos of the handsome man I met last night graced my computer screen. I clicked on one picture, which I recognized to be the same he showed me outside a famous landmark in Seoul. The image brought me to his company's website. Underneath the photo was a caption and a description of the landmark and the estimated value of the property he sold during his trip to Seoul this past week.
Unless Hayden was an evil genius, he couldn't have been the one who killed Callie. I'd fallen down a rabbit hole that happened to be a dead end. Now I had to pull myself out and find another avenue to investigate.
Callie's death was constantly reported on. It was all over social media, the five, six and eleven o’clock news, and in all the papers of the surrounding counties. In such a small town, where things like this almost never happened, death was a big deal. Then, when you threw in homicide, it would likely be the story of the year. My phone alerted me when the local paper, The Keygate Daily, posted their articles online. I devoured anything with a mention of Callie. In a small town like this, nothing was kept a secret, so if there were any hints of progress in the investigation, it would easily make its way into the Daily.
The latest article read:
The investigation of a homicide in Keygate grows stale.
Late last week, deputies responded to a call requesting a welfare check. Upon entering the home of Callie Jacksun, officers reported the woman was deceased, and the medical examiner determined the cause of death was homicide by strangulation.
Sergeant Morton has confirmed no suspects have been taken into custody at this time.
"We are doing everything we can to find out who did this. We want to bring justice and peace to Callie and her family," Sergeant Morton said.
If you have any information about the murder of Callie Jacksun, please call our tip line or send an anonymous text to the number below.
As much as I wanted to know who the Keygate PD talked to already, if anyone, I knew I couldn't interfere in their investigation. However, it didn't technically stop me from working on my own. I couldn't pull myself away from this. My heart ached to know what happened to the little girl I once knew. I wanted to look into the eyes of the person who watched the life slip away from her. In law enforcement, you can't catch every single bad buy, but it feels damn good when you catch one.
I re-opened the tab of the site where Callie solicited men for phone sex or whatever she happened to advertise. As much as I wanted to learn more about the site and how it worked, revulsion seeped into my mind to think of Callie on here talking to grown men. I scrolled to the top of the page to see a few different sign-in options. One read Partner Login and another read User Login.
So, you couldn't partake in all the site's features without a user ID and password. Made sense—if people wanted to pay to watch, or whatever, they needed an account.