Chapter 15
It was late at night and I opened my bedroom door. I frowned when I saw Mikey wasn't there. I went outside to ask Pete if he saw if he left or not.
I stopped in my tracks when I looked inside the car. It was hard to see but the street light illuminated it just enough for me to see Mikey in the front seat in Pete's lap, the two kissing desperately as the car rocked softly.
I hurried back inside the house, my stomach churning uneasily. Something about this made me feel so uneasy and I whimpered quietly as I went to my bedroom, grabbing my laptop. I searched for a while before I found the phone number I was looking for and dialed the number quickly.
"Jamia Nestor, private investigator," the lady answered.
"I-I need help," I said. "But I can't afford how much you charge."
"Well, what's the problem?" She asked.
"M-My boyfriend was kidnapped," I said.
"Have you already gone to the police?" She asked.
"Yes but they don't have anything," I whimpered. "A-and the director of the case is screwing my brother and the bunny men keep taunting me and they want me to kill my baby and they keep playing all these fucking mind games and I don't even know what's happening anymore and you charge a hundred dollars an hour but this has been going on for months and that's so much money and I don't even have any money and I'm not allowed to stress because I'm fucking 16 weeks pregnant but I can't not stress with everything that's going on and I just want my fiancé back again."
It was silent on the other end of the line and I sobbed.
"I'll work for free," she said. "It sounds like you really need me."
"I do!" I cried.
"Can I meet with you tomorrow?" She asked. "We can meet for coffee."
"I'm too scared to leave the house," I whispered. "But I'm also scared of being inside the house."
"Do you want me to come over now?" She asked. "I'm a really good detective, the longest case I've ever had was actually another disappearance of a kid, it only took eighteen hours and he was gone for seven months. Maybe I'll be able to find your fiancé by morning?"
"Please," I begged.
I told her my address and it was only a half an hour before she arrived. She was short with dark hair and and a pretty smile. I was glad when she didn't bring up anything about my baby bump.
"I'll get some coffee," I said. "How do you take it?"
"With cream, please," she said, sitting on the couch.
I went to the kitchen, glancing at the clock that said eleven at night. I sat our coffees down and grabbed my laptop.
"S-so my boyfriend, Frank, is in a band and he was on tour," I said. "And he went missing then a few days later I got some weird message from people and it was a video of him getting kidnapped. And the messages just keep coming and they've stolen things from my house and they even cut me with a knife."
I lifted up my shirt and showed her the cut made two weeks ago across my chest. I showed her all the videos and photos and messages, I even had the napkin with me.
"They haven't sent me anything in two weeks," I said. "I-I'm scared that maybe they killed him."
She bit her lip, typing on my computer.
"How many bunny men are there?" She asked.
"I-I think there was five, I'm not sure," I said. "The most I've ever seen at a time is five. Th-there could be more though."
She nodded as the door opened and we looked over at Mikey.
"Who's this?" He asked.
"This is Jamia," I said. "She's a private detective."
"I never saw her come in," he said.
"I'm pretty sure you weren't seeing anything other than dick," I muttered.
"What?" He asked and I shook my head. "Why do you need a detective? Pete's already working on the case."
"Well, he's seemed distracted lately," I stayed with pursed lips and he scowled. "You can sleep in my room."
Mikey walked off, shutting the door.
"That's the brother who's screwing the cop?" Jamia asked and I nodded. "And you don't recognize any of the people?"
"No, they all have masks on," I stated.
"But other than the masks," she said. "Like my boyfriend has a birthmark on his forearm. Can you recognize anything from other parts of their body?"
I looked at the screen where it was paused on the video. Some people had tattoos, none that I recognized. One looked like four different faces in boxes with other stuff around it, another had what looked like a tree going up his arm. The others were wearing long sleeves and I frowned.
"No, i don't recognize any of them," I said.
"If they have a medical record I may be able to track their tattoos back to their files and find out their identity," she said.
"Why didn't Pete ever do that?" I mumbled.
She typed away and I leaned back.
"Have you found out the gender yet?" Jamia asked, her eyes still glued to the screen.
"No, I have an appointment in two weeks to find out," I said, resting a hand on my stomach. "You don't think this is weird."
"I'm a private detective, i've seen some pretty weird stuff," she said with a small chuckle.
"I'm sorry about freaking out on the phone," I apologized.
"That's what I'm here for," she said. "To help solve this problem and get your life back in order."
Jamia gave me a small smile.
"I know I can't pay you your usual fee but I can pay you something," I offered.
"Nonsense," she denied. "Not with that baby on the way. How about instead you pay me in food?"
"Food?" I asked.
"You'd be surprised how many people have me work for hours within their own house without even considering feeding me," she said.
I smiled and nodded.
"If you provide me food then I'll gladly work for free," she said.
I smiled, resting my head against the back of the couch. My eyelids felt heavy and I tried to stay awake but I couldn't. I watched her typing as I felt myself finally doze off.
"Guess who got Starbucks?!" Someone exclaimed.
I jerked awake just as the front door shut. Lindsey stopped in her tracks, looking at Jamia in confusion.
"Well, sorry, i didn't get any for you," Lindsey said.
I yawned, rubbing my eyes. Jamia was still typing furiously.
"This is Jamia, she's a private detective," I said. "I just want extra help and Jamia is really good."
She smiled as Lindsey handed me my Starbucks cup.
"Do you have anything new?" I asked.
"Um, I'm a little bit closer," she said. "He was kidnapped in Montana but I think he is somewhere in southern New Jersey or the surrounding states, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Maryland."
"So only a few hours away?" I asked and she nodded. "I-is that all you have? I don't want to pressure you or anything but I really want to be with him again, I love him so much."
Mikey and Lindsey walked out of the bedroom.
"What do you want for breakfast, Gee?" She asked.
"Pancakes," I said.
"Am I making for three or four?" She asked.
"Four," Jamia said.
I laughed quietly then frowned.
"Aren't you tired?" I asked.
Jamia brushed me off. "It's fine, I find this case really interesting. Sorry if that makes you feel bad."
I shrugged my shoulders and looked out the window. The police car was still sitting outside but it wasn't Pete this time
"So, where'd you run off to last night, Mikey?" I asked, giving him a knowing look.
"You know what, if you know anything then just fuck off," he said.
Lindsey looked confused and Jamia smirked.
"You're distracting him from doing his job," I said.
"What's going on?" Lindsey asked.
"Mikey and Pete fucked," Jamia stated.
"Why am I the one being kept out of the loop now?" Lindsey muttered as she opened the fridge.
"Oh come on, a little fucking isn't going to distract him that much," Mikey complained.
I crossed my arms, looking to see what Jamia was doing on the computer.
"You said they gave you a stuffed rabbit," she said. "do you still have it?"
Mikey nodded, going to the linen closet. There was a shoe box and inside was the rabbit.
"That's really where you put it?" I asked.
He shrugged and she picked it up with ease as I shuddered.
"How are you so comfortable with this?" I asked.
"Oh, my father was a hunter," she said. "He liked to stuff things he caught sometimes."
Jamia's hand ran over as she frowned.
"There's something inside it," she said. "There's a bump here."
Jamia pulled out a pocket knife and I covered my eyes as I heard something rip.
"Oh fuck!" Mikey shouted and Lindsey gagged.
I opened my eyes and saw Jamia holding a finger. It had two tattoos on it, an H and an R. I screamed, standing up and immediately running to Lindsey's arms.
"That's Frank's right pinky," Mikey whispered to the confused Jamia.
"That was in there the whole time?!" I shrieked.
Jamia set the things back in the shoe box, putting the lid on.
"They're smart," she muttered, not even seeming fazed.
"And sadistic," Pete added.
I was shaking as Lindsey rubbed my back and she kissed the top of my head.
"Let's get some food in you," she said.
"I can't, I'm gonna throw it up," I said.
My stomach was twisting uneasily and I felt dizzy.
"Sweetheart, I need you to relax, okay?" Lindsey whispered and I nodded.
I sniffled, my head resting on her shoulder as I hugged her.
"How long do you think it'll take to find him?" Lindsey asked.
"I don't know," Jamia mumbled. "Maybe a couple days?"
I whimpered and Lindsey ran her fingers through my hair.
"Come on, let's get you into a nice, relaxing bubble bath," she said.
I sniffled and nodded, stumbling off with her towards the bathroom.
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