Nico eyed two doors that stood side by side. They had to be a coat closet and a bathroom. Nico figured either was good enough to keep the dog safe while they explored. As he walked to the farthest door on the left side of the hall, he noticed the dog’s rhinestone collar had a small heart-shaped tag with his name inscribed on it.
Nico laughed softly.
Mal frowned at him. “What’s so funny?”
“This little demon’s name is Venom,” he said as he opened what turned out to be a bathroom door, setting the small ball of fur in the bathtub before closing it again.
“Like from Marvel?” Mal asked.
“Yeah, probably. Fitting, I suppose.” Nico said. “Should we split up again?”
Mal nodded. “I’ll take this side, you take that one?”
Nico nodded, then headed down the hall to the open door at the end. It proved to be the bedroom. He started in the en suite bathroom, taking only a minute to marvel at the enormous tub. It was orgy-sized. He opened the medicine cabinet, but there was nothing super shocking. The usual pain relievers, an almost full bottle of Ambien, two types of cold medicine, and a small brown vial filled with tiny blue pills that could have been anything or nothing.
Under the sink, he found a heating pad and a first aid kit that rivaled Freckles’. It had everything from Band-Aids to something that would keep someone from bleeding out if they were shot. He was freakishly prepared for a lunatic.
In the bedroom, there was a closet full of expensive clothes, no less than twenty pairs of designer sneakers, and two suitcases perched on the top shelf. Nico pulled the first one down. Its weightlessness told him it was empty. He checked anyway but only found a baggage claim ticket. He put it back and pulled the second one.
This one was much heavier.
His breath ticked up in anticipation, pulse fluttering. Was it drugs? Guns? Money? Gold bars? He grimaced. A dead body? He really didn’t want it to be a dead body. He took a deep breath, then thumbed open the two locks, flinging the top back before he could chicken out.
Nico wasn’t proud of his reaction. His hand flew to his chest, clutching his metaphorical pearls. Of all the things he’d expected to see, this definitely wasn’t on his list. Nestled in the oversized container was what appeared to be a mobile sex shop. It wasn’t a suitcase so much as a toy box. Custom made by the looks of it.
He was honestly impressed.
There were little elastic bands that kept Frankie’s collars, cuffs, plugs, and paddles secure and organized. There were also two fleshlights, four boxes of condoms, anal beads, cat ears, abutt plug with a tail, and an entirely unnecessary amount of lube.
“Find anything?”
Nico gasped like Mal had caught him doing something scandalous. When Mal hooked up one very judgmental brow, Nico said, “Uh, maybe?”
Mal peered over his shoulder. “Wow, that’s a pretty sweet set-up. Wonder where he got it?”
“I know, right?” Nico said. “That was my first thought, too. I bet it’s custom. Rich people blow their money on all kinds of crazy shit. You should see his bathtub.”
“That’s…a lot of lube,” Mal noted.
“Right? Like what does one person need all that lube for? Unless he was planning on using it to coat a slip-n-slide, there’s no way one person could possibly need all that.”
Nico was just about to close the suitcase when he saw it. “Check it out.”
He held up the vial for Mal to see. His brows went up in surprise. “Poppers?”
“What would a straight guy be doing with poppers?” Nico wondered out loud.
Mal shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t discriminate?”
“We love a bisexual icon, but I have a lot of questions, none of which have to do with Amy. I don’t think.”
Nico snapped a couple of pics, then let Mal carefully put the suitcase back before closing the closet. The two searched the drawers and found designer underwear, overpriced workout gear, a few jockstraps, and a lot of knee-high socks. Nothing that screamed psychopath.
“Did you find anything?” Nico asked once they’d returned to the living room.
Mal shook his head. “Nothing. While this place definitely looks more lived in, there’s nothing suspicious that I could find. Even his bills were a snooze.”
“This sucks,” Nico muttered. “Why are these dudes so boring? Like I wasn’t expecting to find Amy tied up in the closet or anything, but something? Anything? What the fuck? Maybe she really did just disappear into thin air.”
