Chapter Three
Frank's face went white as he processed what Bess told him. He looked over at Joe and Parker who were waiting with bated breath. The initial shock was gone and Frank's instincts took over. He put his phone on speaker then spoke to her once more. "I need you to tell us exactly what happened, Bess."
"Okay," she sniffled. They could hear the music blaring and people talking around them but it suddenly got a little quieter as if she moved to a different spot. She explained what she knew then had Vanessa fill in the blanks. The three men listened intently with Parker closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. This was his worst nightmare coming true.
When Bess and Vanessa were finished, there was silence in the room. Frank was upset with not just himself but with the fact that Nancy's instincts were there and she didn't go on them. He looked to his brother who was already dialing their father on his cell phone. Parker, on the other hand, looked furious, his face red with rage something that was unusual for the normally happy man. He whipped out his phone as well and began dialing a number.
"Listen, Bess," Frank replied. "I want you to go find the nearest security guard or even the manager, Ben. They need to know what's going on and have them let my dad and Sam in. They're across the street from the club and Joe is calling Dad now. Meet them at the door if you can."
"Okay," she said. "Frank, I'm so sorry. I should have listened to her."
"I know, me too," he answered grimly. "We can't do anything now. We just have to pray that we find them before it's too late. Call us if you need anything more."
"I will."
The phone call ended just as Joe was getting done with his call to Fenton. Frank looked at Parker. "Do you think you'd be able to get a hold of your friend? He might be able to help in this."
"Don't you think I already tried that?" he snapped, throwing his phone onto the couch.
"What do you mean by that?" Frank inquired.
"Ben's not answering!" Parker shook his head. "First we have Nancy drinking too much and now one of my oldest friends isn't answering his phone!"
"Wait. You're accusing Nancy of drinking too much?" he cried incredulously, stepping up to the other man. "You know good and well she would never do that!"
"How do you know?" the young groom got in Frank's face. "You're dating her so of course you would defend her!"
"What about your friend then? How do you know he didn't have anything to do with the disappearance?"
"I trust Ben. I've been friends with him since high school. He would never do anything to hurt Candace! You're jumping to conclusions!"
"But it's okay for you to do it to Nancy?"
"Okay, okay," Joe interjected himself between the two men. The last thing he wanted was to be in the middle of a full-blown fight even though he knew Frank would probably win it in the end. Frank and Parker glared at each other as Joe continued. "Let's calm down a little bit and think about it. Parker, you know Nancy. She wouldn't drink a lot if she knew she had a job to do. She promised you she wouldn't and I don't believe for one second that she broke that promise which means more than likely someone slipped her a Mickey. As for you, Frank, we don't know if Ben had anything to do with this but if Parker trusts him, then so should we! You want to continue arguing over this that's fine but you're both gonna lose this battle. It's not what Bess or Vanessa believe either. We have no idea what happened but we are going to have to wait for Dad to call us. He told us to stay put. Now, can I leave you two alone while I go call Mr. Drew?"
"No, I'll do that," Frank said solemnly. He turned and walked away, the room suddenly growing quiet.
"You're right. I'm sorry," Parker conceded softly. "I shouldn't have jumped the gun on this. I know Nancy would never purposely put others in danger but Candace is my whole world and if something happened to her, I don't know what I would do."
"I understand, Parker," the younger Hardy said, placing a hand on Parker's shoulder. "If anything happened to Vanessa, there wouldn't be anyone who could stop from finding the bastard who hurt her. Both Nancy and Candace are strong and you need to be too, same as Frank. I swear though, Nancy is like a magnet for bad things happening."
Parker snickered. "You got that right." He paused. "So, your dad is on his way to the club?"
"Yeah, he should be in there by now," Joe nodded. "He'll give us a call when he knows more. We were told to stay put and call Mr. Drew to let him know what happened. Anything else is up to us."
Frank ran his fingers through his hair. He was frustrated at everything. Parker saying Nancy was to blame was uncalled for but then again his reaction to Ben was as well. It took every bit of him to keep himself from rushing over to the club to find clues but he knew it wouldn't do anyone any good if he went off like that.
Sighing, Frank dialed Carson's number and waited. His heart pounded for he didn't know how the man was going to take the news.
"Everything all right, Frank?" Carson asked the moment he answered.
Frank was surprised that Nancy's father was still alert at the late hour and it took a moment for him to speak. "Uh, sorry, no, Mr. Drew," he said grimly. "I have some bad news."
"What happened?"
"Bess just called, sir," Frank reported. "She said they can't find Candace or…"
"I'm on way now, Frank," Carson interrupted him. Before Frank could say anything more the phone went dead.
He went back into the billiard room and plopped down into the recliner. Joe watched his brother and knew Frank was hurting. Parker stood by the window, staring outside at nothing in particular. Both men seemed to be lost in a world of chaos.
"What did Mr. Drew say?" Joe prodded gently.
"He's on his way," Frank replied monotonously. His eyes glazed over as he stared at the carpet.
"Snap out of it, bro!" his brother suddenly cried. Frank looked up at him though he didn't move. "Both of you! You can't sit here and sulk like it's the end of the world! We'll find them and they will be fine! But you're not going to help at all if you drown yourselves in your sorrow! When Dad calls, we are going to join in and find them no matter what he says! I know I'm not going to sit back and let it continue and neither should you!"
Frank took a deep breath and closed his eyes. They still didn't know what was going on but he knew his brother was right. He looked over at Parker who had turned around to face the brothers. The man also looked as if he had a change of heart. The two nodded silently in agreement. Their loved ones were missing and they were going to move the world to find them.
Fenton and Sam rushed across the street to Club Rex. The head of security met them at the door and authorized the bouncer to let the two men in.
"Thank goodness you're here, Mr. Hardy!" cried a frantic Bess the moment she saw him and Sam enter. Several clubbers walked by giving her strange looks as they passed. "We didn't know what else to do! We've looked everywhere!"
"Calm down, Bess," Fenton said gently. "It's a good thing you called Frank. I told them to stay at the Hawkley's until I call them again." He turned to the head of security. "Where's your manager?"
"I don't know, sir," the man shrugged. "No one has seen Ben in a while. I have one of my guys searching the building and another going through the tapes. We should be able to find out something here soon."
"Is that usual for him to disappear like that?" Sam inquired.
"No," the head of security shook his head. "He's usually all over the place unless he takes a smoke break but Ben is one of the best managers we've ever had."
"Okay," Fenton nodded. "Let me know if you find anything. I want the girls to take us to where they were sitting and we'll go from there. I do think though that the club should be closed and the police called. I don't think this is random."
"I'll make the call," the man agreed and walked away.
"Now, take us to your table and explain everything to me," he demanded to Bess and Vanessa.
The two girls nodded then led the way through the throng of dancers and drinkers to their private alcove where they found Stephanie and Amy sitting with someone they didn't expect nor want to see. Whitney Stanton was laughing with the two girls, each of them with a drink in their hand.
"Oh, there you are!" cried Amy. She looked around as if searching for someone else. "Where's Candace? We thought she was with you and your other friend."
"Oh, I'm sure she's around somewhere," smirked Whitney. "This is her party, you know."
"What are you doing here, Whitney?" demanded Vanessa. "I didn't see you on the guest list."
"I was just in the neighborhood with my boyfriend and ran into these two," the woman simpered.
"Jasper left earlier because he had to work tomorrow," Stephanie stated, "so we invited her to join us. Of course, it's up to Candace if she can stay but I don't see a problem."
"You don't know then?" Bess asked confused.
"Know what?" Amy asked alarmed finally noticing Fenton and Sam. "What's going on? Who are these guys?"
"Yeah, they're a little old don't you think?" Stephanie laughed.
"I know him," Whitney sneered at Fenton. "This is the guy that had Daddy force me to get a job. And Charlie."
"Whitney," Fenton nodded. "Nice to see you haven't changed. Good thing your brother has."
"Charlie was always weak," she waved him off. "So, where is Candace? Hiding from me as usual?"
"We don't know where Candace is," Bess said. "Or Nancy. We're worried about them. Vanessa said that Nancy wasn't feeling good so we were about to leave and when we got back, they were gone."
"What?" Amy looked startled. Stephanie's smile disappeared when she realized the seriousness of the situation. Only Whitney looked as if she didn't believe a word of it. "We have to find them! Candace's wedding is tomorrow! Does Parker know?"
"So none of you have seen either Candace or Nancy?" Fenton asked watching the girls' reactions closely.
"No," the girl replied. "Candace is one of my closest friends. If I saw her leaving, I would have gone after her. You…you don't think the creepy Bridal Killer took Candace, do you?"
"That may be a possibility," he said grimly. "When was the last time any of you saw them?"
"Right here," Stephanie answered, her face pale. "We were going back out onto the dance floor."
"I was so occupied with the music, I didn't realize they weren't with us," stated Amy.
"Me too," Bess agreed guiltily her head slightly bowed.
"I was with them when Nancy started feeling woozy," Vanessa piped in.
"Nancy was woozy?" Fenton repeated. "Did she drink too much or something?"
"No," Bess shook her head emphatically. "She had a shot of tequila, a margarita, and two glasses of water. That's it."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" cried Whitney. The others looked at her in alarm. "Nancy obviously can't hold her liquor. She's probably in the bathroom puking her guts out with Candace right there with her."
"We checked the bathroom already, Whitney!" Vanessa yelled. "They weren't there. Now tell us, oh great one, what else do you have in your bag of tricks? Do you happen to have another psychic vision that they're sitting right behind you still? You don't even belong here! You know good and well that Candace didn't want you to be a part of tonight or you would have been invited! You just can't get over the fact that she's marrying Parker and you're still nothing!"
"How dare you speak to me like that, you little leach!" the woman squealed. "Candace doesn't deserve someone like Parker! He deserves someone better, like me. He knows it and I know it."
"Okay, enough!" boomed Fenton annoyed. He glared at Whitney. "You can go. Obviously, you're not wanted and your presence is not helping the situation."
"Fine," Whitney huffed. "Who wants to be around you losers anyway?" She grabbed her purse and stormed away.
"Man, what a bitch," muttered Sam.
"I'm sorry," Stephanie apologized. "We didn't know she was going to act like that. Amy and I were friends with Whitney in high school. We only met Candace through Parker and we like Candace. She's nothing like the snobs that run with Whitney."
"It's okay," Fenton stated, his blood pressure boiling. Something was off with that girl and he was determined to find out what. For now, his focus was on finding out what happened to Candace and Nancy. "Did Candace drink a lot tonight?"
"No," Amy shook her head. "The last drink she had was an iced tea. Not the Long Island one."
"I get it."
"So Nancy started feeling woozy but Candace was okay?" Sam inquired looking at Vanessa. She nodded solemnly.
"I shouldn't have left them," Vanessa cried. "It's all my fault! I was literally gone for a few minutes. How could they have disappeared so quickly?"
"I don't know," Fenton said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, "but we're going to find out."
"Mr. Hardy?" called a voice behind them. They all turned to see the head of security coming up to them, his face set. "The police will be here soon but I think there's something you need to see."
"Sam, stay here with the girls and get some more information," he ordered. His partner nodded as Fenton leaned in. "Maybe have Bess and Vanessa show you where they went when they went searching. I want to know as much as we can to find those girls."
"Will do, Fenton."
Moments later, Fenton followed the head of security in the manager's office. It was a small room on the second floor of the club overlooking the dance floor. Fenton could see Sam talking to Bess and Vanessa while Stephanie and Amy spoke quietly together. He wondered about Candace's friends but he couldn't think of a reason as to why they would want to harm their friend.
"Over here, Mr. Hardy," the man gestured toward the console where several video screens showed black and white pictures. It was a CCTV setup which meant it could have been tampered with at some point though Fenton knew that security wouldn't have invited him into the room if they didn't have something to show for it.
"What is it that you found?" he asked, leaning toward the screens.
"We found out where your missing bodyguard is." The man hit a button and one of the screens came to life.
The picture was in black and white and there was no sound but the picture was good quality. It looked like a back alley of some sort and a man burst out of the door followed by a bigger man. The smaller man looked like he was petrified by the bigger man whom Fenton recognized as Jax, the bodyguard Senator Hawkley hired for the evening. Jax advanced on the other man who conveniently kept his head down and his back to the camera, almost as if he knew it was there.
The man seemed to be trying to talk to Jax but it was unknown as to what was being said. Then bodyguard lashed out, making a wild swing at the man but he ducked at the last minute. Seconds later, there was a flash of metal and Jax stopped abruptly, a look of shock etched on his face. His body seemed to shudder then fall to the ground where he lay unmoving.
The killer looked around, still keeping his head down and clear of the camera then moved with precision. With unknowing strength, he moved Jax's body, dragging it down the alley before lifting it into the dumpster nearby. Picking up his knife, the killer sheathed it then strolled back into the club as if nothing happened.
"Is there anything more?" Fenton asked after a brief moment. His heart was pounding and he was worried that he was going to see something far worse than what he just witnessed.
"Yeah," the head of security nodded. He fast-forwarded the video coming to another young man who walked out of the club. "That's Ben, the manager," he pointed out. They watched as Ben pulled out a cigarette and began puffing on it. "He's a heavy smoker but we're not allowed to smoke in the club. Ben tends to go out back in order to smoke. It's usually his break."The two men continued to watch as three more people came out of the club.
Ben was around the corner looking at something before he came back around. Fenton looked closer at the three people, two women and one man. The man had changed slightly but he had a feeling it was the same killer from before. The height proportions and stance were the same. The two women Fenton recognized instantly. One was holding up the other but it was definitely Candace and Nancy. He could tell something was wrong with Nancy by the way she was standing.
The killer stopped seeing Ben standing before them. The manager approached, almost demanding what was going on. That was when the killer struck again, wielding his knife once more. Ben went down, holding his throat where the knife cut. Candace turned and tried to open the door again while Nancy tried to stand her ground as best she could. The killer came toward them as Candace pounded on the door. Nancy took a fighting stance though she swayed dangerously. As he got closer, she was able to punch him only once, knocking him backward. When she tried to do it again, Nancy's energy seemed to diminish and she was on the ground before she could do anything.
Candace desperately tried to get back into the club as the killer grabbed her from behind. He dragged her away from the door, a hand over her mouth with what Fenton saw was a cloth. Candace struggled to get away until she lost the battle, conceding to whatever the killer had on the cloth. He disappeared for a few seconds before returning to where Ben was. The killer picked up the manager and took him to the same dumpster where Jax was located then returned to Nancy. He knelt next to her as if contemplating then put her over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner. Moments later a set of headlights came on and an old beat-up car went down the alley and disappeared into the night.
Fenton was breathing heavily as he watched the scene unfold. Candace and Nancy's disappearance was no accident. The Bridal Killer had struck again only this time, Fenton was determined to hunt him down and put him behind bars before he had the chance to hurt the girls. The question was would they make it in time?
Author's Note:
That was a doozy! I had so many scenarios for this part, some of which were written on paper however I chose this one because it seemed to fit with what I want the killer to eventually do later on. Believe me that has changed too so many times! Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter and a special thanks to everyone who left a review! I am so humbled by your words of encouragement and I love reading your own thoughts as to what will happen. Probably didn't see this one coming, huh? As for Jax, Drumboy100 was correct in saying that he virtually is a Star Trek red shirt. And poor Ben! He got it worse than Jax! There will probably be more too, just so you know. Plus, you're going to have to wait to see who the killer is. A lot of you are on the right track but I'm not saying who is and who isn't! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We took our girls to what we call Streets of Treats. It's where the local businesses pass out candy for the kids as they walk through the streets. It's an annual thing that we have been doing since our oldest was a year old and we never miss it! It's a good thing they still had it too! My oldest decided to be a Minecraft YouTuber (joy) but she put her own costume together while my little one was Wonder Woman. The kids had a blast and this momma had a nap afterward from all the walking! Lol! And the little one too of course. Anyway, have a great week! I hope to get out the next chapter here in a few days. I'm trying to keep to a schedule to about two updates a week unless I have the time for a third or no time at all! Until next time, God bless!
