As she was presented with the mugshot, Nadia could not recognise who this might be. The face was round with heart-shaped lips and slanted eyes, there was nothing she could say that she remembered about anyone she had met. The girl was slightly big with straight hair and a caramel complexion.

According to the info, this mugshot was taken when she was about 16 and went to juvie for an assault charge in which she had beaten up a girl at school.  She was shocked to see that a girl with such an innocent face would be capable of such violence, she would've been about the same age as Jordan at the time so she was young enough to be her sister.

It was clear that something in her life made her this way and she wondered what Jordan saw in her or if he even knew this about her. Maybe he did since he never told Nadia about Maya so this could be a plausible reason as to why he never mentioned it.

" I don't recognise her at all, detective. Were you able to find out any more info about her other than this?"Nadia queried, looking to the detective for answers.

"Unfortunately, not, Ms Asante. This is all we could get and the laptop didn't yield any more information than what you previously mentioned. I will say that we can at least keep an eye on Ms Bailey but she'll probably look different from this mugshot since it was a few years ago. At this point, she's at least 21 so it might be hard to spot her but we will do our best." DC Isley reassured her.

Nadia took one last look at the mugshot, noticing a beauty spot on the right side of Maya's lip and it was shaped similar to a heart. That was a detail she would remember if she ever saw her in real-time.

" Thanks, detective, I will be on my way now" Nadia got up as he escorted her out of the police station. She didn't know what to expect at first but she wasn't happy that this was all she could get.

Taking her mind off the case, she drove towards the nail salon. She needed to occupy her day in some way and what better was there to do this than doing custom nail sets, making her customers happy.

As always, the nail salon was buzzing with customers, chatting and getting their nail techs. Lisa, Tina, Maria and Cara were at their usual stations, conversing with those they were attending to. The only person Nadia didn't see was Erica which was unusual, the younger girl was always so diligent about being here and doing her job.

" Have you seen Erica?" Nadia questioned Lisa.

" I think she's in the staffroom or the ladies, I'm not sure" Lisa responded, looking at her boss.

"Oh ok, thanks for letting me know" Nadia patted her shoulder before going towards the staffroom.

She walked in and saw Erica pacing the room, clearly very angry about something. She thought it was strange but she approached anyway.

" Are you ok?" Nadia queried, eyeing her curiously.

Embarrassment crawled over Erica's face as she noticed Nadia was talking to her. She tried to smile a bit but it was clear that it wasn't real.

"Erm, yeah. Just some family troubles" Erica quietly recalled finding out that her little plan didn't work. Kane had got the charges dropped against him and she was more than pissed that she had to deal with this any longer.

" Oh, I hope everything is ok?" Nadia came close to her, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder.

" In time, it will be. I'll be back on the shopfloor in a second" Erica reassured, wiping her tears.

" If you need a few more minutes, you can have it. I know how hard you work so I trust how you conduct yourself. Take a deep breath, have some water and get back to being the best nail tech I know other than myself" Nadia chuckled, grabbing some water.

Erica laughed in response, feeling eternally grateful that she had the honour of working for such a cool person. It made her happy but in the back of her mind, she was struggling to keep up this charade.

She just hoped that Nadia wouldn't notice the way she was losing composure anytime soon.

Nadia watched the younger girl leave quickly, shaking her head. She was sure it was probably boyfriend troubles but she didn't want to say.

Making her escape back to her nail station, Erica had the misfortune of bumping into Shante. She simply excused herself but Shante watched as she scurried like she was running from something.

Something seemed off about her to Shante, she couldn't quite place what it was that disturbed her about Erica but she would make sure to find out soon enough.

Approaching the office, she saw Nadia relaxing in her office chair, staring at the ceiling.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Shante sat across from her, it was clear that this whole thing was taking a toll on her.

"Huh? Oh, Shante. When did you get here?" No longer in a trance, Nadia smiled at her friend.

"A few minutes ago. Any news?"

" Well, I did get to see what Maya Bailey looked like. Here" Nadia showed the picture she took of the mugshot when the detective wasn't looking.

Shante scanned the image, noticing a striking resemblance to Erica. She couldn't be sure but that beauty spot looked similar to the one she just saw on Erica a few minutes ago.

She didn't want to blurt anything out until she had some confirmation so she bit her tongue and smiled tightly.

"Hmm," She responded.

" That's what I thought too, I don't recognize her from anywhere, to be honest. It makes this investigation that much harder because where do I go from here?" Nadia pondered.

"I see where you're coming from, I wish there was a little more info too. But maybe, it's time to take a little break and get away from this" Shante suggested.

"Really, Shante? At a time like this? That would be silly, I need to stay focused on what matters" Nadia dismissed her.

"Think about it, Nadia, a little break will give you more clarity and make you less stubborn, you need real rest anyway" Shante folded her arms.

Nadia looked at her, deeply sighing. She knew that Shante was right, it had been a while since she just got away for the sake of it. Plus, grieving and investigating weren't a great mix for her mental health right now.

" Ok, if I do this, where will I go? What will I do? Also, I left Erica here to manage things a bit more than I should do, I feel like-" Nadia listed all her reasons but Shante wasn't hearing them.

" Erica is more than capable of taking care of the shop and she seems to do that without any issue so that's not a good excuse. Plus, I will handle what we'll do and where we'll go since you look like you're about to panic and no one needs that right now." She stated.

Nadia nodded in agreement, knowing this break would relieve much of the tension she had been holding onto.

"Ok, let's do it"

A week went by and Shante was waiting at the nail salon for Nadia as she needed to pick something up from there before they headed to the country hotel that Shante had booked for them. It had a state-of-the-art spa as well as an inclusive weekend package for two including dinner at their 5-star restaurant.

She heard the office door open, seeing a nervous-looking Erica entering. The younger girl merely smiled as she looked for something in the nearby chest of drawers.

She eyed her skeptically.

" Looking for something?" She questioned.

"Um, yeah. The key to the staffroom" Erica responded, evading Shante's piercing glare.

Shante looked around to see that the key in question was on Nadia's desk, hidden under her keyboard. She pulled it out with the key tag, holding it up for Erica to see.

Erica leaned to get it but Shante held it back as she squinted her.

" You know, you look so familiar to a girl I heard about. What's her name again? Er...Maya! That's it, the resemblance is crazy. Do you know her?" Shante interrogated her. Erica looked like a deer caught in headlights as soon as she heard that name.

"Maya? Umm...I don't think so. Is it got something to do with Jordan?" Erica cursed herself silently as she realised what she just blurt out.

" I never said it was about Jordan. Why? Do you know something?" Shante got up to tower over her.

" What? No. Could I please have the key? The girls are waiting" Erica asked anxiously.

" Sure" Shante handed it, watching her scurry away just as Nadia walked through the door.

"What's that about?" Nadia quizzed her.

" Nothing, she's just jittery I guess. Ready to go?" Shante grabbed her suitcase and bag.

Nadia went to her desk to get her spare phone charger in the desk drawer.

" I realised I forgot it as soon as I left. Let's go" 

Nadia said goodbye to the girls and left with Shante in her car since she decided to leave her car at home.

The drive wasn't too long as they took the motorway and two dual carriageways to the beautiful sprawling country estate that had been turned into a luxury country hotel. They were greeted by the valet who took the car as the porter collected their luggage onto the trolley.

" Welcome to Willmore Country Hotel, we are pleased that you will be staying with us for two nights. I will check you in and give you your key cards" The hotel receptionist stated with a smile.

" Thank you" Shante extended her gratitude.

After checking in, they got to the deluxe double room that had two plush double beds, a cosy living room with a large plasma TV and a beautiful bathroom with dual sinks and a shower bath.

" Thank you, Shante. This is nice!" Nadia beamed as she looked around before plopping onto a bed near the window.

" For you, I'm happy to. We both needed this because lord knows that I can't deal with any more client briefs right now. Being a freelance journalist can be a bit much sometimes" Shante professed, lying on the bed next to Nadia's.

" We're going to have a good time decompressing and switching off from the world" Nadia expressed, thinking about how nice it was to pause everything for a moment and just live.

" That we will" Shante agreed.

They unpacked a few things before dressing in robes for their massage session in the room. Two massage therapists came by with mobile massage tables and set up their stations.

Mellow meditation music played as the room was illuminated with sweet-smelling candles. Nadia enjoyed the tension being released from various parts of her body as the therapist dug and kneaded the stress away.

By the time they were done and packed away, Nadia felt like a new person. She hadn't realised how tense she had been and enjoyed feeling more loose. 

They ordered some room service and ate the delicious food before retiring to bed.

The next morning came and Nadia was awoken by the sun coming through, she stretched out before she got up. Shante was already up, having ordered some breakfast for them.

"Morning" Nadia couldn't help but grin.

"Wow, she smiles. It feels like a lifetime ago since I have seen you do that." Shante smiled back, sipping some warm tea.

"Haha, very funny. What's on the itinerary?" Nadia queried, sitting beside her.

" Well, we have a tennis session and a spa slot for the sauna & steam room before having dinner at the restaurant to end the day" Shante listed all the details, excited for the day ahead.

"Oooh nice, I'm excited"

"As you should be, let's have some breakfast and get ready"

They enjoyed a hearty breakfast before having their shower and changing into cute tennis outfits.

Their session with a renowned tennis coach was the light-hearted fun that Nadia needed. 

After that, they enjoyed an hour slot in the sauna and the steam room, letting the heat and steam melt all that stress away. 

By the time evening hit, they had changed into flattering evening dresses as they made their way to their dinner reservation. They were seated by the window that overlooked the beautiful garden that had been adorned with outside lights.

" Thanks for this, Shante. This has been such a wonderful break, I needed this you know" Nadia sipped her wine.

" I'm glad you enjoyed it and now when we get back, you can approach everything with more clarity. I know that this will be solved soon" Shante grabbed Nadia's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

" Yeah, I hope so"

" It will be" Shante reassured her.

Their food came in no time as the waiter put down two plates of steak and fries. Nadia's plate had truffle cheese on the fries with garlic sauce whilst Shante's plate had parsley garnish with ranch dip.

They ate quietly, enjoying how flavourful their food was. Shante's mind wandered back to her conversation with Erica, she had contemplated this entire break about whether it was a good idea to bring up her thoughts.

She knew that she had suggested to Nadia to take her mind off things but this had weighed on her the whole time. She needed Nadia to know because something didn't seem right to her about Erica.

"Nads, I know this break is about forgetting what's going on but I feel like you should know this. There's something weird about Erica, something that unsettles me and when I asked her about Maya the day I was waiting for you at your office, she looked like she had seen a ghost. She's so nervous all the time and I don't think she can be trusted" Shante voiced her concerns, looking at the blank look on Nadia's face.

Nadiad didn't know what to say to that, it just seemed strange that Shante would even make such a statement. She continued to eat as Shante became defeated at her lack of response.

The silence was deafening as they finished their food and returned to the room. Changing into their pyjamas, Nadia sat on the sofa, legs crossed as she waited for Shante.

"Why would you say that? I mean, she is managing my nail salon and you think she can't be trusted?"Nadia asked incredulously.

" She rubs me the wrong way, Nads. I just know that she knows something about Jordan"  Shante expressed.

" You know this how?"

" When I asked about Maya, she instantly responded with 'Is it something to do with Jordan?'. I never asked about that, you don't think that's weird?" Shante looked at Nadia hopelessly.

Nadia thought about it for a minute but it just didn't add up for her, Erica couldn't have known much about Jordan since he only visited the salon infrequently and she had never seen them talk to each other.

" I mean, it's strange but that doesn't mean anything. Perhaps, she thought you were talking about the case?" Nadia dismissed her.

Shante threw her hands up, confused as to why Nadia wasn't convinced.

" You should've seen her face, I'm telling you that she knows something" Shante declared.

" Just drop it, Shante. I'm too tired to deal with this." Nadia got up and went to her bed.

" But-"

"Drop it!" Nadia exclaimed, lying in bed with her back towards Shante.

Shante let it go and simply got in her bed.

The weekend break was not the success she had hoped for.

..........................................................................................................................................................

Just 4 More chapters before the book ends!

Let me know your thoughts and vote.

Love, Tam xx