Bury the Past

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: This chapter is a fairly serious chapter, delving into adult material. It's only this chapter, so here you are. You can skip it if you want, but there is a very important and very crucial element to the case mentioned here.

Chapter 8 (Questioning the Industry)

"You realize we're still under a lot of supervision," David remarked while walking the halls with Trina. She nodded, understanding that while David was the boss, he still had higher-ups monitoring the case as well because of the closeness they had to it. "It's a good thing, because defense lawyers would love to attack us for how close we are."

"That's why we're being professional about it." They had to be. They were being as careful as possible not to let their emotions get the better of it. This had to show, above all else, when they started questioning people. That would be happening fairly soon, because the techs found a file on Tori's computer with a list of names of people that came up as having worked with her and Andre.

Of this list of twenty-three people, about five were listed as being regular workers. Jeffery Scott, Abraham Wilkens, Maxine Davis, Lauren Bella, and Nelson Waters. These five were the persons of interest on the list. The other eighteen were being interviewed by individual officers, but Trina and David wanted to interview these.

First on the list was Lauren. Because it was uncertain whether or not Lauren would react positively to a male officer, Trina went into the room alone while David and a few superiors watched through the window. "So, Miss Bella." Trina walked around the table, tapping the folder on the table.

Lauren had pale, stringy red hair that wrapped around her neck like a scarf and tucked into her loose green shirt collar. Her pants were sloppy and her face was covered in an array of bumps and scars. "Call me Lauren." The girl's voice was nasally and her eyes were glazed over.

It pained Trina to see this, and horrified her to think that Tori could be like this one day. Not all porn stars turned out this way though, but many of them were often on drugs or victim of various abuses. "It says here you're thirty-two? Is that correct?"

"Yes." Lauren moved her frail wrist forward on the table, showing off her long acrylic fingernails. "Am I in some kind of trouble?"

"No, we're only wanting to ask you a few questions." She opened the folder and pushed the photos of Tori and Andre forward. Lauren studied them and her eyes lit up.

"Oh hey! I know them, I used to work with them. Great people really." Trina smacked her lips and raised her eyebrows.

"Can you tell me a little about them? How much did you associate with them?" Lauren scooted her chair up and leaned forward, taking the photo of Tori in her hands.

"We were good friends. They never did anything too graphic though. All very respectable." Trina squinted and raised an eyebrow up, concerned and confused about what was considered 'too graphic'. The porn industry didn't appear to have any boundaries for what was going too far.

"Between gross facials to rape fantasies, I'm not sure what you mean by too graphic."

"Right there." Lauren pushed her hand along the side of her head, dipping her fingertips under her hair. "She never did that kind of stuff. She never did anal or multiple people at one time. I don't think Andre would have let it happen. He treated everyone right, but there was a line I think he didn't want to cross. He didn't even let men have sex with her without using a condom."

"Who was in control? Do you remember? Whose idea was it?"

"Tori." Lauren nodded. Her answer took Trina by surprise, though she suspected she shouldn't have been too stunned. "She wanted the experience, she wanted to know what it was like. I think Andre only went along because she let him draw the boundaries…"

Nelson was next. Trina was stressed doing these interviews back to back, so fortunately she was able to switch out with her father. This time she watched while David interviewed, letting Lauren's interview sink in.

Nelson was a frail looking guy with a ball cap facing sideways. He had pale, pasty skin and looked far too weak to be their guy. "Tori was in control more," Nelson said to David, "But Andre had a lot of control too. Some of the guys really liked her, but they were jealous because Andre wouldn't let them go all the way with her." Trina narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

David leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingertips on the desk. "All the way?" Nelson folded his arms and nodded.

"Yeah man. Like, several people were told if they felt like they were coming close to finishing that they were to stop immediately and get away from her." David chuckled once and Trina started to smirk. Nelson raised his thin eyebrows and waved his hands in the air. "The dude could not stand it too much. I don't really get it, because they had a more open relationship."

"Open?"

"Yeah, both of them were screwing around. At least that was the impression I got from it." Nelson shrugged. "The chick was in the porn industry and he was a cameraman, do you honestly think they're going to have a normal and healthy relationship?"

She could see her dad was trying his best to remain calm, as he was being perfectly still and talking low while staring Nelson in the eyes. He had the utmost professionalism about him, so nobody could say he was too emotionally charged or worked up.

Whatever was going to happen when they did have a prime suspect, nobody could be sure. It would be too easy for a defense attorney to claim coercion, so they were going to have to be extremely careful. They needed a solid case as well so it wouldn't be just a confession that they had.

Jeffery was next on the list. He seemed healthier than the last two and was more built. There was a calmness in his demeanor, which was a bit surprising for someone being questioned about his relation to murder victims. "I worked with them for a little while," he admitted, "But then I stopped because the guy was getting too jealous and possessive." Jeffery crossed his arms and scoffed. "I mean what did he suspect? His chick had a taste for the industry, how long was he going to keep her from enjoying the finer bits of the industry?"

"Enlighten me on the finer bits." David had his hands closed together and raised in front of his face. An ink pen bounced between two of his fingers, and his narrow eyes peered over his knuckles. "You think he was keeping her from what, exactly?"

"Oh god everything." Jeffery laughed and waved his hand in the air. "I mean I get some people think releasing onto a woman is disrespectful and degrading." David closed his eyes and let out a grunt while Trina tried her best to stomach this without throwing up. "But he never would let that happen."

"Did she ever indicate she wanted to be treated to this…kind of behavior?"

"Um." Jeffery frowned and rolled his eyes. "No, but she was into porn man. It's a given that they understand this sort of thing is going to happen. Evidently they didn't get that memo." Jeffery sighed and shook his head from side to side. "Oh well man. I still don't understand why it mattered, they had an open fucking relationship. She was screwing other people, he had someone on the side, and both of them were dating the same damn person as far as I knew."

Trina turned her head, taking note to the mention of an open relationship yet again. It was interesting to hear this being brought up, and now to hear the two were potentially dating the same person, she couldn't help but to be drawn in.

Abraham made the same comment, but like the others, he couldn't elaborate. He did mention that he thought there was someone that the two were dating on the side, but not one hundred percent sure and couldn't say for sure who this person was. So for now, this person was purely speculation.

However, upon comparing notes with other investigators interviewing the others on the list, they found a growing number of people suggesting that Andre and Tori had an open relationship with at least one person they were dating simultaneously.

When it came time to interview Maxine, Trina wanted to focus on this mysterious relationship in hopes that they could zero in on a possible suspect. Maxine was fairly attractive, had long dark hair and hazel green eyes. Her skin was tanned and she looked relatively calm despite being told that two people she worked with had been victims of crime.

"Don't get me wrong, I am upset over this." Maxine looked down at the pictures in front of her with sorrow and grief. "I've seen it happen to a lot of girls-and guys-in the industry, but none as nice as Tori. She was a gem, but she was too nice for the industry and wasn't going to last much longer in it…"

"What do you mean?" Trina folded her forearms on the table and leaned forward. Her eyes slanted and her fingers curled inwards. "When you say 'too nice' and then follow up with 'not lasting much longer', it makes me curious."

"Oh." Maxine raised her eyes and smiled. "She was friendly and charming, liked to socialize and go parties with other rising stars. She was fantastic company, but she wouldn't do the things that some girls will. Whether it was anal, abuse fantasies, you name it-she wouldn't do it. She was like a rose, didn't want to be tainted by the wrong things." Maxine twisted her lips and closed her eyes. "Certain things disgusted her."

Trina was relieved, but at the same time, nervous. Maxine inhaled and ran her fingers down the edge of the picture. "So when I say she was too nice, I mean she was too innocent and pure for the industry. That upset a lot of people, but I don't know of anyone that would have wanted to hurt her over it."

"I see." Perhaps the clients or fellow workers weren't big suspects, but they weren't done being looked at. Trina tapped her note pad with her pen and pushed her tongue into her cheek. "Now, something we've heard multiple times was that she and Andre had an open relationship, and were having an affair with the same person."

"Oh yeah." Maxine nodded and started to chuckle. "They didn't talk much about her." Trina's eyes shot upwards and her eyebrows came together. "I think Tori just wanted to get the girl to experiment with a lesbian relationship, and even got her dating Andre too because he would take her out to a lot of finer places. I think she was more into the guy on girl thing, this lady, but I don't know. I know they were trying also to get her to experiment with having sex while being filmed."

She was stunned to hear the mystery person was a woman and not a guy, but at the same time, she was learning a lot more than she ever expected or even wanted to hear. "So this woman. Do you know anything about her?" She breathed out slow and raised an eyebrow. "She got a name? Appearance?" Maxine scrunched her face and tensed her brow.

"Let me think." The woman turned her eyes to the photograph and started tapping her right hand on the table multiple times. "Um." The girl shook her head and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I really don't know. They kept it a secret to everyone, really. I seem to remember Tori saying she didn't want to spoil her by talking about her to some of the guys in the industry. I think she wanted to keep her pure or something, can't really say for sure."

Maxine raised her head, giving Trina an apologetic look. Trina sank in her seat a bit, tensing her grip on her pen. "I'm really sorry I can't be of more help." She didn't feel like she made much progress at all, but didn't want to let her frustrations show.

"It's okay, thank you for your time." She stood up and extended her hand. Maxine smiled politely and shook her hand as well. "If you think of anything, please let us know."

"I will, detective."

Trina hummed and tilted her head to the right. "You seem like such a nice woman, you know?" Maxine's smile grew a bit and she shrugged. "What's someone like you doing in an industry like that?"

Maxine frowned for a minute, taking a deep and slow breath. "I know it seems like we're all broken. Most of us are. A lot of the ones that let themselves be degraded and trashy, disrespected and abused, those girls tend to be the ones that are broken inside. They tend to be the ones who lose a good deal of self-respect."

Trina crossed her arms, humming to herself. "I see. So you're saying not everyone is like that?"

"Not everyone. Some don't know any other way to make money, some get into it like Tori did just because they wanted to experiment and see what it was like. Those girls are the ones that get addicted and start to get so deep they can't pull themselves out."

"Off the record…I wondered if I pushed her over the edge. I blamed myself, I still do."

"Don't." Maxine touched her wrist and looked into her eyes with a tender, gentle smile. "It's not your fault. You know, I asked her once…" Trina's heart quivered and her eyes started to glisten as the girl pulled her hand away. "I asked her why she was getting into the industry, and she told me she just wanted to try it out for herself. She didn't get in because of anyone, she didn't do it out of spite or anger towards anybody, she was just simply…curious…"

She felt a sudden jolt through her body and a relief of weight falling from her shoulders. "Thanks." She smiled gently, wiping her eyelids with a finger. "I wasn't sure what I'd do if I caused this somehow."

"You're fine, I think. Just find out who hurt her, give her some justice. I'll help out any way that I can." Maxine chuckled once and slowly shook her head. "The industry is often the cause of violence and death to a lot of girls, and guys, but I think in this case it might just be a small factor. I'm not sure really, but I don't know if the industry is truly to blame this time."

"It seems like a dangerous life."

"It is, really. A lot of people want to get out, I know Tori was getting tired of it herself but like so many, she didn't really know how to quit."

"What about you? Do you want to quit?"

"I do, I've actually been seeing a therapist. I gave Tori my recommendation to that therapist, but I'm not sure if she ever went to see her." Maxine squinted and hummed. "Dr. Rice. Dr. Regina Rice." Trina nodded once more.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to look her up."

"Be careful though. Dr. Rice is very strict about confidentiality. Unless you have a warrant, I don't think she's going to be willing to talk if Tori has gone to see her."

"I understand. I'll bear that in mind." As she escorted Maxine out and met with her father, she began feeling disheartened. David had his hands on his hips and was bowing his head and shoulders. "Twenty-three people and I don't think we're any closer."

He raised his head and lifted a hand up. "We have a mystery woman that absolutely no one seems to know a thing about, she might as well be imaginary." He was getting frustrated, clearly angry and hurt having to listen to all these people talk about his daughter. Trina was upset as well, but knew patience and calmness was the best and only way they were going to find justice for her sister.

"That person could be the missing link. Dad, if that person exists, she will be found." Trina smiled reassuringly and took a deep breath. "Hell, she might even make herself known to us anyway. If she was dating them both, it's only a matter of time before she comes in."

"Only a matter of time. Yeah…and the longer we take, the further away a cold-blooded killer gets." David brushed his forehead with his hand and started to groan. "I am not letting this one get away, I swear to god I am not letting this one get away."

Thoughts and opinions? We've learned a good deal here