Darek turned and saw a display of large, needle-like rods. “What are these?”
The guy's eyes lit up. “Those are sounding rods.” He opened the case and took one out, handing it over the counter to Darek.
“And what are these for? Body piercing?” He’d noticed a display for piercing out in the lobby. It had never been his thing, and he didn’t have a single piercing on his entire body.
The man giggled. “No, they aren’t sharp, as you can see.” He tapped his finger on the blunt end. “These are made specially for penis insertion.”
Darek went pale. “You mean this gets stuck in a penis? Like through the piss hole?” He was not only shocked, but outraged.
Lizzy gripped his hand and squeezed. “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s not much on CBT.”
Darek didn’t even know what CBT was.
“Yes, some people find it very intense and stimulating.”
Lizzy noticed a pair of high heels with large spikes on the sole, as well as a stiletto heel. “These look like they could do some damage.”
“If you’re not careful, yes, they could. My domme nearly punctured my nut sac with a pair just like them.” The boy tucked his chin and then fanned himself as he blushed. Darek felt his face turn blistering warm.
Lizzy glanced over and patted his back. “I’d like to know more about the collars. Are they available for custom order, and who makes them?”
“Why, yes. Victor is the talent behind those. Aren’t they stunning? I want one so badly, but they are really expensive.”
“I can imagine.” Darek looked at the tooling on the leather, the added studs and crystals, as well as the daintier ones that had lace and decorative stitching. The letters were either embroidered in cloth or tooled into the leather. Some had buckles and others lobster claw clasps. There were chokers, too, and some were even fancier, in gold and sterling silver.
“Eli?” A voice sounded from the other room, and a young woman walked in, scowling at the younger male. When she saw Darek and Lizzy, her eyes went wide. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen years old, with crayon-red hair and piercings through her dimples. “Eli, I need you to go take care of the register. I’ll handle these clients.” Her voice was firm, and Eli scampered away like a mouse.
“Are you interested in purchasing a collar?” She had a worried look on her face, and it didn’t escape Lizzy.
“Would that be a problem?” Lizzy asked.
“No, it’s just that our owner is the one who usually approves the orders, and he’s not around today. He’s gone out of town.”
“We came in hoping to talk to him,” Lizzy said. “Do you have any idea when he’s going to return?”
“No. I don’t.” Her eyes shifted to the back room, and Lizzy gave Darek a knowing look.
“Well, I’m Detective Blake, and this is Agent McNamara. We’re investigating a crime.” He took the envelope from Lizzy and opened it up to take out the photo.
The girl stared at the envelope and swallowed hard, like she knew what was coming. Darek had to ask. “Have you seen these already?”
“The dead girl from the news, right? I saw them. I didn’t know blood could be so dark.”
“These are different images. No blood, just a tattoo. I want you to look at it and tell me what you think of it.”
The girl closed her brown eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them and looked down at the image.
“Is this Victor’s mark?” Darek said with a firm tone as he pointed out the tiny V.
The girl held out her arm, and it was covered with inky swirls of rose vines, and Darek spotted the tiny V next to one of the thorns. “He did mine. That’s his signature.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t see him doing anything like this.” She held her hand to her stomach.
Darek felt pity for the girl. The man was obviously someone she looked up to, whether it was a healthy relationship or not. “I’m sure you can’t. And we aren’t sure who did this, but I need him to contact us as soon as possible to clear his name and tell us anything he might know about it. Is there anyway we can call him?”
“I have his number, but he doesn’t like to be disturbed unless it’s an emergency, and he hasn’t been answering his phone.”
“I’m going to need you to give me the number,” Lizzy said.
The girl shook her head and started shaking so badly that Darek wondered if she’s been abused by the man. “I’m not supposed to do that.”
Lizzy pegged her with a hard stare. “I’m not asking. I also need your name.”
“I’m April.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Is there a book around here, April, where Victor keeps information on the people who order his collars? Surely, there is some record of payment, special instructions, and designs?” Darek hoped if he kept pressing, the girl would snap.
The girl shook her head again. “It’s not here. That’s why I was worried you’d want to order a collar. Victor took the book with him.” She must have known how guilty that sounded. The guy leaves and takes his order book, the only thing that might connect him to the dead girl.
Lizzy leaned in closer as if to intimidate the girl. “Does he take it often? Or does it usually stay here in the shop?”
“It usually stays here, unless he’s going to meet with a client.” Fat tears ran down the girl’s cheeks.
Lizzy’s hand cracked down on the counter. “Fine. Now about that number. I’m going to need an address as well. You can cough it up, or I can get it on my own.” She was done playing nice. Darek glanced up to see that Eli was peeking around the corner.
April turned and spotted Eli. “I don’t have his address. I’ve never been to his house. But I do have the number.” She jotted it down on a pink post-it and passed it over to Lizzy.
“Thank you,” she said, tucking it into her pocket. “Eli?”
He sauntered over and took April’s hand. He stared down his nose at Lizzy as she looked him up and down.
“What do you know about a girl named Alicia David?” Lizzy asked.
“I heard about that on the news. I don’t know her.”
“Have you ever seen her come into the shop? Did Victor make an appointment with her for the tattoo? Do you have any record of it around here?”
“No, I would have remembered her. I work the ink side, and April here works the kink side.”
“Do you happen to know Victor’s address?” Lizzy asked.
The guy seemed just as terrified as the girl. “No, I wish I could say I was that close to Victor, but I’m not. He’s very particular about his private life, and well, my mistress would never allow me to go to another Dom’s home.”
“Not even socially? Not even your boss’s house?” Darek found that hard to believe.
“Some don’t understand our relationship, but it works for me.”
“Until she steps on your balls with spiked shoes and punctures a nut, right?” Darek didn’t care how insulting he sounded, and Eli turned his nose up and rolled his eyes.