I leave her standing in the kitchen. She's scared, fighting every instinct she has to maintain control while the threat narrows around her.
But she's trying. When your carefully constructed world starts cracking at the foundations, that's all anyone can do.
The operative arrives within minutes. I brief him on internal movement protocols—Simone doesn't leave the guest house, doesn't approach windows, follows his instructions without question. He posts himself downstairs with clear sight lines to all entry points.
Only then do I head out.
4
LUC
The drive to Dominion takes fifteen minutes through afternoon traffic. The club is closed during daylight hours, but Margot's waiting for me at the private entrance when I arrive.
"Luc." She unlocks the door, gestures me inside. "How's Simone holding up?"
"About as well as expected." I follow her through the dimly lit hallway toward the private rooms. "Fighting protocols, testing boundaries, trying to negotiate terms she doesn't have leverage for."
Margot's smile is knowing. "Sounds like you've got your hands full."
"Nothing I can't handle." I pull out the technical equipment I brought for the sweep. "Rooms three, five and eight, right?"
"Yes." She leads me to the first room, unlocks the door with her master key. "These are the ones where Simone usually books sessions. Private, soundproofed, designed for discretion."
I step inside room three, scanning the layout. It's professionally equipped with suspension points, impact implements, and restraint furniture. Everything a serious player would need for extended scenes.
"Tell me about Simone's booking patterns for these rooms," I tell Margot. "How often? Which partners? Any regularity the stalker could have predicted?"
"She books private rooms frequently. Usually rooms three, five, or eight—she likes the larger spaces with more suspension points." Margot stops in the doorway while I start my sweep. "Almost always with Vincent. Occasionally solo sessions for rope practice."
"Predictable enough that someone watching the booking system could anticipate when she'd be here."
"Yes." Her expression tightens. "If they had access to member bookings."
"What about installation or repairs?" I check the ventilation grate first, find nothing. "Anyone coming in to work on fixtures or equipment?"
"We had HVAC maintenance about two months ago. He could have planted the cameras and simply waited until he had the footage he wanted." Her expression tightens. "Technician worked on the climate control system, had access to all the private rooms."
"I need his information." I move to the ceiling fixtures, testing for hidden cameras. "Employment records, background, how long he's been servicing the club."
"I'll pull the files." She watches me work. "Would that give him time to plant the cameras and collect footage before sending anything? Do you think it was him?"
"Whoever planted these cameras needed enough access and time to install them without raising suspicion." I find the first camera inside a decorative light fixture, small enough to miss on casual inspection but positioned for perfect angles on the suspension point. "HVAC maintenance would provide that kind of access. Makes him a person of interest we need to investigate."
I photograph the camera in place before removing it, documenting everything for Andy's investigation. I examine it carefully before extraction—sophisticated equipment, wireless transmission capability, compact professional-grade construction. Not something a casual stalker would have access to. This confirms our theory from the meeting.
"This wasn't amateur hour," I tell Margot. "Professional-grade surveillance equipment. Whoever planted this knew exactly what they were doing and had the technical knowledge to pull it off."
We move to room five, find another camera in the ventilation system. Room eight yields two more, both positioned for maximum coverage of the space. All professionally installed, all designed to avoid detection while documenting every intimate moment Simone spent in these rooms.
By the time I'm done, I've recovered five cameras and documented their locations. Enough evidence to narrow the suspect pool significantly.
"Your HVAC tech," I say as we lock up the last room. "When was he here exactly?"
Margot pulls up the records on her phone. "About two months ago. Two-day job, climate control upgrades throughout the facility."
"A couple days of unsupervised access to private rooms. That's our window for when the cameras could have been planted. I need his full background—employment history, technical training, and any red flags. And pull the member access logs for those same days. We need to look at everyone who had opportunity."
"Just regular member bookings." She scrolls through the logs. "I can pull the full list, cross-reference with members who have technical backgrounds."
