Cursed - Chapter 2

I arrived at S & M Bond Age as quickly as I could get through the crowds on the street. Jeff was sitting behind his desk with a file in hand. “Hey Nate, you weren’t kidding at how close you were.” He chuckled and handed the file to me along with the certification for permission to hunt the bail jumper down. “Your target is Donald McGilligan. The guy is accused of stealing jewelry from a private collection of one of the local jewelry stores. He got bailed out as soon as it was possible by a third party and then didn’t show up for court this morning.” Jeff sighs, “Big bond too, I need this guy back. There’s also a bounty on what he allegedly stole.” His mouth twitched in a grin. “If you find it you’d better give me a little percentage of it.” He showed me the amount and I whistled appreciatively. “Now it may be that this guy had nothing to do with the robbery, but you know what we say . . .”

“The innocent generally don’t make runners.” I nodded. “So odds are good that he’s got the jewels or knows where they are.” I grinned. “I owe you for giving me this one Jeff.”

“You and Laura are the best here, Nate. If anyone can find this guy and his loot it’s you two.” He grinned. “Everything I know about the guy is in that file. It’s not much but I’ve seen you manage with less.”

I looked over the paperwork and information. He was right, it wasn’t much and I HAD managed with less, but I really looked forward to this challenge. Stolen property bounties were something that came along so rarely . . . this one was going to really help with some things if I could find it. I knew I was grinning like a cat in the cream and I didn’t even care. “I’ll get right on it Jeff. You can count on us.”

“Always knew I could.” He grinned and sat down again, “Keep me updated on your progress.”
I nodded and grinned at him, “You’ve got it. You’ve made my day so much better Jeff, I totally owe you.”

“Find those jewels with the runner and consider the debt paid in full.” He winked, “Though I wouldn’t say no to a date with your lovely partner either.”

“Right. I’ll run that by her and get back to you on that one.” I tried not to roll my eyes but I was thinking no chance in hell Jeff, I know what a womanizer you are. She’d want no part of that even if she . . . I remembered what Dr. Morgan said and amended my thought . . . even if I was interested in men. “Talk to you later.”

“Later.” Jeff waved me off and went back to his paperwork.

I left the office with a spring in my step and whistling a little tune. Time to get some research done and start hunting. I went to a nearby café, ordered an early lunch and some coffee and started studying the file in earnest. Looked like the first place I needed to check out was his apartment. Odds were that he wasn’t there, but I had to start somewhere. I’d have to do that tonight, it always worked better if I could sneak in at night, also easier to find the runner if they DID go home if it was at night when they were relaxed and thinking that no one would be trying to find them at night. I ate and planned out my day. First I’d go and do a drive by to just see where the guy lived, then I’d go and check out his employer listed. Hopefully he or she would have some sort of information I could use. Coworkers were a good source of information as well, so that would be my second stop after staking out his home. I didn’t have a lot of time though, I didn’t want this guy to go across the border. That always made things FAR more complicated. He wouldn’t be able to get out by plane, but nothing could stop him if he wanted to take back roads cross country to a state I couldn’t get him in. I entered my route into my phone and got the directions I could. I’d cross reference them with the maps I had in the car when I was done eating.

There was a secondary phone number listed that only had a women’s name attached to it. It wasn’t the work number or the primary residence. It didn’t look like a cell number either. Hmmm . . . girlfriend perhaps? That would be a fantastic source if I could get to her. A lot of times these guys hid out with their girlfriends if they didn’t feel their own residence was safe. I was going to have to cross ref that phone number and see if I could get a location tied to it. Amy was the name next to the number. Well, Amy, I’ll probably be seeing you soon if I can’t find your boyfriend at his home tonight. I grinned in anticipation. Jesus, I loved the chase. Probably more than I should but I really liked that thrill as I got closer to my target. Nothing like it in the world.

*******

Donald’s residence turned out to be a rather nasty little fifties track house on the outskirts of town. One of those places that was being encroached into by shopping centers but just hadn’t been found out by the bulldozers yet. Probably was a nice place in its time, but time had not been at all kind to the neighborhood. I drove by slowly, keeping half an eye out for anyone watching me. Last thing I needed was to be targeted for robbery or stepping on some gang’s territory without permission. Most of the time I didn’t get mixed up with those types, but I’d had some run-ins when a bounty was a member of some gang or another. Not pleasant. I was starting to rethink my thought of coming here at night though, not really my idea of fun. I shook my head, no . . . I had to do this tonight, unsavory neighborhood or not. I'd come armed though, to the gills if necessary. With my vest, no question. It didn’t look like Mr. McGilligan was a gang member from what I read in the file Jeff gave me, he didn’t have the kind of rap sheet for that. In fact, he didn’t have much of a rap sheet at all. That was very odd now that I thought a little about it. A couple of parking tickets, one speeding ticket, and an accusation of major jewel thievery. It really didn’t add up to a major criminal, at least the types I’d seen in the past. Most guys I hunted down had a rap sheet that took its own folder.

I shrugged and looked at the house again. It seemed like the best way to get in would be through the backyard, looked like there were several windows back there that I could attempt to jimmy open. Plus I wouldn’t be exposed in the front. That front door was really visible to the road, too much so for my comfort. There was no car in front, but it could be in the garage, it didn’t look like a conversion like a lot of the places in the neighborhood. I looked around for Donald’s car down the street as I drove by, just to verify it wasn’t visible.

I didn’t see it at all so I continued down the road toward his place of employment. Another few miles into the industrial district. The nicer part of the industrial district actually, part that was being upgraded and gentrified. Old and beautiful brick buildings that had been made to hold business offices and lofts instead of the industrial factories that they were in the past. I rather liked the area myself, but I hardly got to go there. Nice to go to a nice neighborhood once in a while. I wondered what kind of job McGilligan had to be working in such a swanky area. Guess it was time to find out.

I parked nearby and walked toward the building in question. It didn’t look that adjusted from the factory that it was originally, although the brick was clean and every bit of glass was darkly tinted so there was no way of telling what was really going on in the building. The sign above the door declared in rather small, nondescript lettering that the business was a small film company called Samedi Entertainment. I adjusted my tie and jacket, making sure I looked presentable and professional. I had no idea what awaited me behind that darkened glass. Approaching employers was one of the more touchy parts of my job. Sometimes they were helpful, but other times they were belligerent and non-cooperative. It was a real crap shoot knowing what you were going to find. I opened the door and smiled in a very friendly way to the woman at the receptionist desk. It was fairly easy to be friendly since she was a bombshell of a red head in a slinky dress. She looked up at me in confusion, apparently people didn’t just drop in off the streets to this place.

I hoped I’d be able to sweet talk myself into being able to see the woman in charge. I nodded slightly and smiled at the red head, keeping my eyes up to her eyes. Yeah, I’d learned how annoying it was to talk to someone whose eyes were looking at my cleavage. “Hi. I was wondering if I could speak to Ms. Kinilian? I’m Nathan Landis from Jump Tracers.” I smiled and waited like I fully expected to be seen. It was always bad to show hesitation to a receptionist, they could sense fear and would come up with all kinds of excuses to get rid of you so you didn’t waste the boss’s time.

The slinky redhead smiled back at me and I noticed that parts of her face didn’t move like the rest. Botox hmm? Interesting. Lips looked a little full too, probably collagen. “Just a moment, let me see if she’s busy.” She got up and walked down the hall behind her desk and poked her head in the door. I watched her, wondering how much of her was artificial. Boobs definitely. Nose maybe. Ass possibly padded. She walked back with that practiced gait that accented every curve and I took notes wondering if I could manage that without looking like an idiot when I was in female form. It was very effective. She leaned down so I could get a good look down her cleavage and grinned at me, “Go ahead and go in Mr. Landis, Ms. Kinilian will see you.”

Well, that was easier than I anticipated. I walked past the plastic surgery queen with a friendly nod and a gracious “Thank you.” and entered the office she indicated. I got in the door and was amazed at the size of the office. The part I could SEE was bigger than my apartment! It was decorated with antiques made of dark woods and upholstered in amazing red fabrics. I felt like I’d walked into some sort of old house that had been turned into a museum. Even the carpets had an old worn but expensive look to them. It was a stark contrast from the reception area and hallway with its modern décor and shades of grey.

I was wondering if it was an office or a penthouse apartment when a husky, deep woman’s voice came from what I could only identify as a back area of the office, “I’ll be right with you Mr. Landis. Go ahead and have a seat.”

I looked at the chairs. They looked so expensive and old I was actually afraid to sit in them, I kept thinking an alarm would go off if I got too close like at the museum. Finally I took a deep breath and sat down gingerly in a chair just in front of the huge mahogany desk that took up a good third of the front part of the “office”. Frankly I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a bed and a full kitchen in this place, hidden behind the wood paneling. The whole room screamed “ostentatious” and I was dreading facing the woman who owned it, fearing it would be some old actress who had had so much plastic surgery that her face resembled a cats from all the pulling of the skin back to smooth out the wrinkles.

I looked up when I heard footsteps on the carpet and was pleasantly surprised when the owner of the office came into view. She was neither old nor overly made up like her receptionist. She was dressed expensively though, no question about that, and sexily but not overtly so. She had short black hair that framed her pale face perfectly and grey eyes that looked as though nothing escaped their gaze. I was pretty sure, after closer but subtle inspection, that there wasn’t anything artificial about her figure, but I’d been fooled before so I reserved judgment. Not that I’d get a chance in hell of verifying any of my conjectures, but it was fun to ponder the possibilities anyway.

She smiled at me as she walked over to her desk. “How can I help you, Mr. Landis? I don’t recall ever meeting or speaking to you before.” Her smile took up all of her face and her grey eyes glittered at me as she sat down and looked at me. She was suspicious but seemed willing to play the gracious hostess for now. I could work with that.

“No, I don’t believe we’ve ever met, Ms. Kinilian. I’m actually here to discuss one of your employees.” I continued to smile warmly and slid Donald’s picture toward her across the desk, nearly losing my precarious seat on the chair I was sitting on. “He was recently in a bit of trouble and posted bail. He didn’t come to court when he was supposed to and so I was sent out to find him and find out why. I was hoping you might be able to give me a lead of some sort?” No point in blabbing the whole business if she didn’t know, I didn’t like bad mouthing people to their employers, even if they were complete criminals. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.

“Oh! This is Donny! What did he do?” She was looking at the picture closely and obviously recognized him. Was that a flash of annoyance that went across her face initially? Maybe. Hard to tell. “He hasn’t been at work for a while but he’d called and told me he had a family emergency he had to deal with.” She pouted and handed the picture back to me. “Well, I don’t see why I can’t help you, since it sounds like he was lying about the family emergency.” She definitely looked annoyed now, but not at me which made me strangely pleased. She was very easy on the eyes and I found myself trying to figure out how to extend this interview. Didn’t my shrink say I should spend more time in the company of women? This was just the kind of woman I would love to spend more time with. Too bad she was WAY out of my league.

I pulled myself out of my daydream and addressed the lady in question, “I really just need some leads as to how I might get hold of him really. Addresses, friends, coworkers, anything you can give me would really come in useful. He needs to turn himself in or he’s going to be in bigger trouble than he is now.” I handed her my card. “Call me if he does call in or show up to work? I’ll make sure he gets to the proper authorities.”

“You won’t hurt him, will you?” Her eyes were wide as she took my card and flipped it slowly in her fingers, she had very thin and dexterous fingers by the look of it. Very pale skin as well. “He’s really not a bad guy and he’s an amazing employee.”

“No ma’am, I won’t hurt him if he comes quietly, and even then the damage would be superficial at worst. I’m not in the business of killing people, I just want to bring him in so he can face the charges against him and go through the court system properly.” I smiled reassuringly.

“Please, call me Micah, Mr. Landis. May I call you Nathan?” Her smile became a little more smoldering and I found myself blinking in astonishment. Was this woman flirting with me? Not that I minded, but surely she had better prospects than a bounty hunter.

I smiled back and decided to flirt back. “You certainly may, Micah. You have a name as beautiful as you are.” Ew . . . did I just say that? Yeah, I did, and I think I really meant it too. I raised an eyebrow at her and gave her what I thought was a sexy grin. “So, do you think you can help me out with this little problem with your employee?”
“Oh . . . I think I can help you there, and with a few other things as well. Why don’t you come back later tonight when I’m off work and I’ll show you what I have?” She was full out seducing me now, at least that’s what it seemed like, and I was more than happy to go along for the ride. Unfortunately the timing was lousy.

“I’m afraid I really can’t come back tonight.” She pouted prettily and I groaned inwardly and grumbled about my damn curse yet again. “But I would be more than willing to come back tomorrow during the day?” Yeah, that would go over well. I resigned myself to another missed opportunity for a little hanky-panky.

She looked thoughtful and then smiled, “All right I’ll see you tomorrow then. What time?” Her pose was completely provocative. “I can have Angela make an appointment for you.” She stood up and walked over next to me, “I really look forward to seeing you again, Nathan.”
I stood up. She was remarkably tall for a woman. I was 6 foot and she could look me in the eyes easily. “I actually look forward to it as well. You’ve been very helpful . . . Micah.” I took her hand and in a strange impulse I kissed the back of it rather than shaking it. “Thank you. I’ll be back here around noon if that works for you?”

She beamed at me and didn’t take her hand away, “I will see you then, Nathan. I’ll be sure to have all the information you need about Donny. And if he calls or contacts me between now and tomorrow I’ll make sure to let you know.” She leaned a little forward and her breath in my ear gave me a thrill. “I can’t wait.”

I grinned, “Neither can I.”

******

The rest of the day was rather uneventful after meeting Ms. Micah Kinilian, just the normal prep work for a little snooping and hunting for my target. I had everything together by the time the sun set and then got geared up. I unfortunately had to have two sets of gear for myself. I wished, yet again, that my size didn’t change so dramatically.  I was shorter and thinner but more buxom and hippy as a woman so I couldn’t just wear the same gear as I did in my normal shape. I took a deep breath and forced my boobs into the bullet proof vest. I wasn’t taking any chances tonight in that neighborhood. I had my gun in its shoulder holster, all ID in case I got stopped by the cops and all my tools and other gear. I did a double check and then headed out the door. I was hoping that “Donny” would be at home and that would be the end of the matter, but then I realized I wouldn’t have an excuse to see Micah. I changed my mind, hoping Donny wouldn’t be anywhere in sight.

I got to the neighborhood, parking my car in the best lighted area I could find, which happened to be the shopping center a block away. Thankfully my car wasn’t one that anyone would even attempt to steal; it wasn’t worth shit, drove like a tank, and was falling apart but it ran and it was solid so it worked for me. It was also big enough to hold anyone I took in and hold them securely. I locked it and headed toward the house, keeping my attention on my surroundings. I knew better than to think that my work clothes disguised my nighttime femininity, so I always kept an eye out.

The house wasn’t dark but the single light didn’t seem to indicate anyone was in there. Just for the heck of it I knocked and waited. No one answered and I didn’t even hear the tell-tale signs of someone running or hiding. I went around the back of the house and was surprised to find the back sliding door unlocked. It was closed so it wasn’t the sign of someone having run for it.

I slid on my gloves and then carefully slid the glass door open, “Donald McGilligan? I need you to show yourself and surrender!” No answering sound at all. I peered around the house. It looked like the place had been completely ransacked. Oh fucking hell . . . that’s just great. The last thing I needed was to get accused of something like this. I looked accusingly at the wreck inside. How was I going to do this now? I needed information but if I went in there I’d probably get accused of doing it myself. Unless . . .  

******

I checked my watch. It had been an hour and a half since I called the local police force. I really didn’t want to be waiting here in the dark but I needed to see what was going on in that house and having a group of law enforcement chaperones was the best answer I could come up with. I had called and let them know I had been peeking into the window of the house looking for my target when I noticed the house looked like someone had turned the place upside down and shook it like a snow globe. Thankfully it was Mathew who answered, he had a teeny little crush on Laura so I was able to convince him to come check out the mess and let me tag along. I sighed and leaned up against the shadowy side of the house. No doubt someone had been looking for something, the question now was had they found it and were there any clues in there I could get to help me find McGilligan? There had better be, this place was giving me the creeps. At some point forty minutes or so ago a chill went up my back and I swear I saw the shadows moving in a way they weren’t supposed to. I drew my gun and hollered for someone to show themselves, then realized I was actually threatening a tree shadow. I needed sleep, no question.

Finally I saw a patrol car headed toward the house and stopped out front. I walked out from under the shadow with relief, never so happy to see Matthew Gervais in my life as he stepped out of his car and smiled at me. “Hey Laura. Nice of you to call, even if it is for business.” He winked at me, “Hunting for someone in this neighborhood isn’t the smartest idea at night, especially in that skin tight getup.” He grinned.

Skin tight? I looked down. It most certainly wasn’t skin tight. It was snug so nothing would catch . . . I looked a little closer and realized that I’d never looked at myself in the mirror as a female wearing this outfit. Fucking hell, I must look like a cat burglar. I never thought to check. I sighed, I really needed to pay more attention to how I dressed when I was a woman. “I brought protection.” I thumped my chest before he could make some remark that would make me report him to his boss. “Thanks for dropping by. The sliding door in the back is open.”

Matt chuckled as he followed me. “Didn’t want to go into the house by yourself in case your target turns out to be hiding in there?”

I turned and answered him as sweetly as I could, “No . . . but I didn’t want to go in there in case he was dead and I might get blamed for it. You know me, I always try to keep out of trouble.” I smiled and went around the tree that had nearly given me a heart attack earlier.

“Yeah, you miss a lot staying out of trouble though.” Matt got ahead of me and got to the sliding door. “Wow, you were right, this place has been completely trashed.”
“You think? Well, Mr. Law Enforcement, let’s get in there and see what we can find out.” I gave him a gentle push.

Matt was not what you would call the best man for the job in terms of detective work, but he was the best man in my opinion for this situation. I figured I’d be able to find out what I needed and he would just report to his superiors that it was just a trashed house that belonged to a criminal. No competition that way. He turned on the lights and started to clear out the rooms of suspects, or at least if there had been suspects, while I looked carefully around looking for clues. The house had been decorated like the owner was an old lady, not a 30 something male. Doilies, knick knacks, bric-a-brac, flowery wallpaper, the works. Of course everything was shredded and destroyed completely. The furniture was all wrecked, the wallpaper had been torn off the walls in some places. Whoever did this was more than thorough, they seemed to be bent on destruction. I walked over to where I thought the dining room table should have been. There was nothing there but splintered wood and scattered papers. I looked a little closer. One of the papers had a familiar name on it. Samedi Entertainment. I moved the papers slightly with my foot. It was an uncashed paycheck. That struck me as very odd, why would anyone who wanted to make a run for it leave such an easy source of money? Things weren’t adding up. I took a quick picture of the check, just in time for Matt to come back from his perimeter search.

“Place is empty, Laura, but it’s really trashed. I’m going to have to call the detectives in on this one, since he’s a suspect in a crime.” He chuckled and looked around. “Can’t even tell if the place has been burglarized, there’s so much crap here.”

I sighed in resignation. “Thanks for the backup Matt. I was hoping I’d find him here and get him back to jail where he belonged, guess I’ll have to keep looking.” Discouraging, but I wasn’t going to give up yet.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I stiffened up a tad, “You’ll find him. You’re the best in the business. Hell, my superiors said that we should start using you and your boss as consultants.” He patted my shoulder, “Little extra money in that for you as well.” He grinned at me like he was the one that had planted that idea in his superior’s heads. He might have, actually.

I gave him a nice smile, “That’s actually very nice of them. Thanks again, Matt. I’ll talk to you later.” Then I did something I’d never done before, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Hell, he did deserve some sort of thanks and this was probably as far as I was going to go for him, but it was something.

Much to my embarrassment his cheeks turned red and he grinned at me, “You’re welcome. I’m always happy to help. Now get going, Laura, I’ve got to stick around and guard the crime scene. Good night.” His smile was bright and I had a sudden pang of guilt for getting his hopes up.

“Night.” I waved to him and then sprinted back to the car, my mind a swirl of theories. Time to get home and decompress and process. I just wished I could shake the feeling that someone was watching me.

*******

The next morning, after some rather fitful sleep in which I dreamed that shadows were chasing me (I really needed to get more sleep than I had been of late) I did a little research into who actually owned the house Donny was living in. Turned out it was once owned by his grandmother who left it to him. I left a little e-mail for my buddy in the Planning Department to see if he could find out whether or not she had any other properties. Donny might be hiding in one of those since he obviously wasn’t at his home. I then went to my second plan, to find the girlfriend. Luck was with me as the phone number listed was actually a home address and not a cell phone. Another rotten part of town, unfortunately, but perhaps if I went just at sundown as Laura I’d be a little less threatening to a young woman. There was always hope, right?

At ten o’clock I finally remembered that I had made an appointment at noon to see Ms. Kinilian. I showered and put on one of my nicer outfits. Not a suit, but dress pants, a nice shirt, and a tie with a nice jacket. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked good. Then I realized that I really avoided mirrors when I was Laura. Maybe that’s the kind of thing Dr. Morgan was talking about. I guess I needed to start paying more attention to myself when I was female, especially after Matt’s comment about the skin tight outfit last night. I think I really needed to go out with Ms. Rose and get some . . . I winced inwardly . . . girly outfits. I made myself presentable then hopped into the car for the drive to Samedi Entertainment. I wondered if this little meeting was going to be as interesting as I anticipated. Micah certainly seemed to be implying that something more than talking was going to occur. I wasn’t going to hold my breath, but I was still a little excited and nervous.

I parked the car and meandered down the street toward the office. I was a tad early so I walked slowly, enjoying the fact that I didn’t have to be completely alert, safety in numbers and all that. My neck prickled when I was a block away and I looked around for anything suspicious. Nothing. Strange.

I entered the office and the red headed receptionist was wearing a slinky green dress now. She smiled at me, “Hello again Mr. Landis, Ms. Kinilian is expecting you. Go ahead back.”

“Thank you.” I nodded to her, smiling then strode down to Micah’s office. My heart was pounding in such a weird way. I took a deep breath to try and get things under control then knocked politely.

“Come in, Nathan. The door is open.” Her husky voice gave me chills and it took me a bit to get the door opened. The office hadn’t changes since yesterday but the lighting seemed slightly different, giving it even more of the impression of an old fashioned study/parlor and less like an office. Micah was sitting at her desk with a slight smirk on her face and a fairly full folder in front of her. The desk was high enough that I couldn’t see what she was wearing other than the silver grey blouse. That would have given me some sort of hint as what exactly she had in mind. Skirt or slacks was as the question running through my mind as I sat down.

“Nice to see you again, Micah. I see you have some information for me.” I smiled as I appreciated her appearance again. The only thing that really amazed me was how pale she was, especially with that beautiful dark hair of hers. She slid the folder towards me with a smirk, breaking me out of my reverie.

“This is all the information I have on Donny, I take it you have haven’t found him yet?” She raised an eyebrow at me, obviously curious.

I shook my head as I opened and glanced at the file, verifying that I knew most of what was in there, “No. My partner checked his home address with no luck.” No point in telling her about the state of his house, she seemed to like the guy and I didn’t want to worry her further.

Micah looked at me with her eyebrow arched, obviously curious about my partner, “Oh? Any leads?”

“Maybe. I’ll have to see if they pan out. Can I take this with me?” I held up the folder.
“Of course. Bring it back when you’re done though, I need some of that for tax purposes.” She leaned forward slightly, “I trust that’s all the business you felt you needed to discuss?”

I slid the folder into my messenger back and looked at her, trying to determine what her intentions were, “I believe that’s all the business I can think of . . . I really appreciate the assistance.” I got up out of the chair and hesitated.

She stoop up when I did and I was hard pressed not to lick my lips at the sight of her ivory legs sticking out from a very tight and short red skirt. That answered that question. “Good. Then perhaps you’d like to just . . . keep me company during my lunch break?” She walked past me, brushing her hand along my waist until it was just above my ass, then patted my ass gently as she passed headed to her door. Micah’s hand hovered over the lock as she raised her eyebrow questioningly.

I cleared my throat, was this really happening? I was conflicted in my mind about the scenario, but my mouth decided not to wait for a decision, “I’m free until five. I’ve got an appointment to get to.”

The lock clicked home and suddenly I was face to face with the most beautiful woman I’d ever met. Her grey eyes were full of mischief as I felt her hands encircle my waist, “Well then, I think we should take this opportunity to get to know each other.” I could feel her breath on my lips and her body pressed up against mine in a very satisfying manner.

I ran my hands up her back, grinning as my brain kicked all common sense to the curb. “Sounds like the best afternoon I could imagine.” I captured her lips with mine and found myself lost in sensation and not even caring about the consequences.