John brushed his boot off in the grass as he hung up the phone and went inside to join his sister. “What was that about?” she asked, puzzled as to why he looked so confused. John motioned towards the door. “Have you seen his rosebeds?” Jayne shook her head as she hadn't paid much attention to them since her arrival. “They’re dead, like fried crispy dead. The soil is moist, but Ray said they look like they have not been watered in weeks.” Jayne was curious as to where he was going with this. “Come on, Jay Jay, think. Jason would never let them get to that state. Even if he would, his staff wouldn’t.” It was admittedly an odd thing to notice but he was right. I’ll see if I can get in touch with his landscaper and see the last time they were out?” She walked away to make a call as John whistled for the security officer in the foyer. He was a shorter man, maybe around 5’8? Stocky in the shoulders and very alert. His head had been on a swivel since John pulled up. “Hey, come over here for a moment.” The man did a quick look around before doing so. “Yes sir, what can I do for you?” John pointed towards the cameras inside the house. “I need footage from every camera that covers this property for the last month. I need to know who came in and who went out of this house. If someone did a u-turn in the driveway, I wanna know about it. Do you understand? Here's my number. Let me know when it's ready.” He sent the man on his way as Jayne made her way back. “Did you get anything?” he asked. “Landscapers haven't been out in a few days but they are sending me pictures of what it looked like before for comparison. Anything on your end?” she motioned towards the security guard. “I've been having them pull surveillance footage for the past couple weeks. Maybe that will show something.” Jayne nodded and crossed her arms. “Hopefully it's useful, you are paying them enough to be here.” She wasn't wrong. One of the first things he did when he found out was take steps to have the property secured. Paparazzi had a habit of climbing fences to get their shot. Jaynes' phone went off again and she pulled it from her purse. “Hey, I gotta go. One of the boys is running a fever and the nanny has to go soon. Pick this up again tomorrow with a fresh set of eyes?” John nodded and gave his sister a big hug. “It will be ok, Jay Jay.” She had been doing an incredible job with balancing everything but he knew it was alot on her. Between worrying about him, work, their mom, the boys, and Jason, she had a full plate. Jayne exhaled and let him hold her for a moment longer before pulling away and wiping her eyes. “I know, I just wish he would have at least said something to me. You were all the way in BFE, but I was right here, John. I have always been right here…” She began to sob as John lifted her chin. “Hey now, this isnt anyones fault ok? For all we know hes laid up in Cabo with some redheaded hottie sipping some frilly drink with an umbrella.” She chuckled a little, appreciative of his attempt to lighten the mood. “I love you, brother. Do you need a ride?” John ran his fingers through his hair and stretched. “No, I think I am gonna stay here tonight. They gotta get me that video and I wanna look around some more. Send me those pictures if he sends them tonight?” Jayne nodded as she grabbed her purse and headed out. John ventured into the living room and took a seat by the fireplace to try to make some kind of a plan here or they were all gonna be chasing their tails.
Jayne was waiting on the landscaper.
He was waiting on security footage.
There had to be something else to do. He stood up and looked around. Behind furniture, under furniture, under decor etc. Nothing. Geoffrey was exceptionally efficient, he would give him that. He had been Jason's go to guy ever since John left. GEOFFREY! John went out to the garage to confirm his suspicions. As he made his way across the driveway, his mind raced with what he might find. He input the keycode and the garage door rose up. As soon as he could get the lights to activate, he walked from one end of the building to the other. “I knew it!” Jason's sage green Audi SUV was missing. No signs of peel out, nothing that says a struggle had occurred. John breathed a sigh of relief. If the Audi was gone, then Jason was with Geoffrey. If Jason was with Geoffrey, that meant he was safe. More than anything he wanted to tell Jayne the good news but he stopped himself. He for whatever reason had this overwhelming feeling that he shouldn't tell anyone. That there was something deeper…much deeper at play here. He left the garage and locked it down behind him before making his way back into the main house. He was so excited he almost tripped over the rug in the entryway. Steadying himself on the wall, he used his foot to straighten the rug back. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed what looked like a small piece of paper under the edge of the rug. He knelt down and rolled it back, revealing a small business card. It was rather worn, possibly from the rain since the food was left open. He couldn't make out much. He picked it up, fixed the rug and went to look at it under a lamp. It was colorful, even if the colors bled together. He squinted to try and decipher the lettering.
“OK..NE..D..GER..”
He repeated the letters in his head a few times, not able to make much out of it. He turned the card over and saw what looked like a phone number. Right as he was about to dial it, his phone went off. He had a text message. “Hey stranger, wyd?” Followed shortly by a peeking emoji. He sent back a question mark, as he didn't have the number saved in his phone. The person responded with “You know, if you dance with a girl under the stars, it's only polite to remember her name.” John smiled. Dawn. Sticking the card in his wallet for the moment, he informed the guard he was turning in for the night and headed to a guest room. He wanted to give her his undivided attention and since he finally had some good news, he wasn't going to pass up a chance to talk to her. “Hey, you. I was just about to take a shower and turn in. Wyd?” The telltale three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen. He went into the bathroom to get a towel and turn on the water so it would be warm by the time he got in. His phone dinged from the bedroom. He took off his shirt and undid the button on his pants before going to pick it up off the nightstand. “Prove it” with a winky face. John laughed and headed into the bathroom to take a picture of the shower running. Debating heavily on whether or not to include his current state of undress in the picture, he sent “Ok”, followed shortly by the selfie. Dear God, he sent a selfie to a girl. A bathroom selfie at that. Feeling nervous, he sent back a peeking emoji. Praying he didn't do too much, he waited for her answer.
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Dawn laid in bed with Chonk, waiting for John's response. “He’s nice, you'd like him.” She said to the feline as she rubbed behind his ears. Her phone vibrated and when she opened the message she almost dropped her phone. Scrambling to get it, she spooked Chonk who then lept/rolled off the bed and abandoned their cuddle session. There, on her phone screen, was a rugged half nude picture of one of the most eligible men in the city. Squealing slightly, she plopped on her bed on her stomach and crossed her ankles like a schoolgirl. She typed up and erased her response before settling on a fire emoji with a “good evening to you too Mr. Divine.”
“I was wondering if you'd like to hang out tomorrow? That is if ur not too busy? “
John thought for a moment. “Sure, what did you have in mind?”
“Up to you, I know you have a lot to focus on right now and wanna keep a low profile so I'm good with whatever.”
“I will probably have to spend a chunk of the day looking at all the security footage, but we can grab something to eat?”
“Sounds good, send me the address?”
“I'll come pick you up.”
“Well fine then, Mr. Fancy pants lol.Ill see you tomorrow.”
They bid each other goodnight and John finally went to take a shower. Happy to end the day with something to look forward to around here for once, he got in bed and fell asleep.
CRASH! Hundreds of pieces of Swarovski crystal shattered across the tile. Bourbon flowed down the painting that unfortunately hung in its path of destruction. A paired glass followed suit. House staff ducked out of the way. Ms. Divine was having one of her tantrums again and they all knew better than to get in her way. “HOW DOES NOBODY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE YET?! WHAT AM I PAYING YOU FOR?!” she was screaming into the phone. No trace of her son or her brother. “IF YOU DON'T FIND ME SOMETHING IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS, YOU WILL BE BACK TO FILING BOOKS AT THE PUBLIC FUCKING LIBRARY!” She slammed the phone down on the table and got another glass. Fuming, she hastily poured herself another drink. A maid was trying to slip out the side of the parlor. “Here. Now.” She pointed her finger to the seat next to her. The maid wasn't sure what to do. Figuring it best to just go along with it, she took a seat.
“What's your name? Have you been here long?” She poured the girl a drink. “Naomi, and about 8 months.”
“Do you think I ask too much?”
“Ma’am?”
“Do you think me…difficult?”
Naomi shook her head no.
She began to pace the room.”Then tell me why my children hate me. Why is it that my son…who's been gone for years by the way with no card, no phone calls, nothing, is suddenly back. Not only is he back, but he's been here for 2 days already, has picked up some slut off the street and neither of my other children said anything?” Naomi wasn't sure what she wanted her to say. “Come now, I asked you a question. “Maybe…you don't have a good relationship? I mean…” Tyra Divine's neck turned red. “Do you think I am a bad mother then? That my children despise me? What could they possibly hate me for? I've been there for them since the day they were born. I have protected them from themselves and for what? Nothing.” Naomi was frozen in her seat. “I ruined my body for them. I have done nothing but sacrifice for them, just for them to run off with some tramp waitress.” She set the bourbon back in the liquor cabinet and closed it, pausing a moment before turning around. Everyone fails to meet my expectations. Why should my children be any different?” She waved the poor girl away. Drink in hand she made her way to her study and closed the door. She picked up the phone and called one of her sets of eyes about town. “I want them to be followed. I don't give a damn if you have to camp out in the fucking yard. Find them, and don't let them out of your sight or someone else will come up missing in this town.” She hung up the phone. She stared into the flames emitted from the fireplace. If only they knew what she had done for this family. They should be grateful. That bastard coming to town threatened to ruin everything. When she found her weasel of a brother, she would flay him alive if he didn't tell her what he had done. Why else would Jason up and leave? She had fought too hard to be where she is today just for some fat fuck like him to tear it all down. None of them had any right to take any of this from her. Nobody had any idea what they were up against but if they didn't stay out of her way, they would find out.
