Aura - Pt. 2

             It was a short drive downtown with slow drivers and NPR. Windshield wipers worked furiously to shoo away sheets upon sheets of rain as more fell to replace it. Dwight parked the car as close as he could get it. What followed was a disappointing moment of realization as he looked into the back seat. He had left his umbrella back at the office. For as smart as he was, he could be so forgetful about the little things sometimes. Luckily there was a three day old newspaper in the backseat of the dark blue Oldsmobile. It would save him some trouble.

            The heavy car door opened and the rain was warm as it pelted his neck and hand. Flimsy newspaper overhead for cover, he quickly shut the door and launched across the street, avoiding a small white jeep that only had one working headlight. The brick sidewalk was slick and darkened by the constant water, this part of downtown was mostly brick with green and red overhangs near the banks and restaurants. Christian Towers and the BB&T buildings loomed overhead, both over fourteen floors high.

            Ragnarok sat In between two older buildings in the downtown area. One belonged to a local school as a part of their offices, but the building didn’t see much traffic on the weekends. The structure to the right though was a dinner theatre called the Barefoot Tavern. Richtor took note of both buildings before looking up at the nightclub. The three businesses were all of a similar architectural style. The base of each was four layers of brick. The outside walls were solid stone with concrete corners and cast iron light fixtures that held dim yellow bulbs. For how extravagant the club was on the inside, the outside sign announcing it was a simple gray rectangle with red slanted lettering, Ragnarok. Dwight wondered who had come up with the name and how much they actually knew about Norse mythology.

            Two normal double doors with diamond shaped glass windows had been added recently. The handles were attempting to look ornate in their reflective gold plating, but thankfully that was the only part of the building that had fully been replaced for the most part. Detective Richtor hesitated before touching the handle. He felt uncomfortable, even though he knew he was in the right place.

            The doors opened into a lobby area that could have been mistaken for any other club in town. Past the desk were two entrances. The left doorway led to a bar area for those that where there more to drink and socialize, a medium sized room with yellow walls and a lot of old looking light fixtures. Behind the bar was a large well painted mural of Odin, the All-Father. He stood tall in dark colors with an ominous look and two large black crows with hungry eyes, one on each shoulder. Dwight paused to observe the painted mural before looking to those gathered in the room.

            He was staring into Odin’s eyes, transfixed on the ideas of Norse mythology when the voice of one of the officers snapped him back to reality.

            “So are the rumors true?”

            “Hmm,” he couldn’t muster much of a word, more a sound. He realized that the man in uniform addressing him now was Carter Bryan, a beat cop who had been on the force almost as long as he had. “I’m sorry, is what true, sergeant?”

            “Someone told me you were retiring at the end of the year.” His words sounded almost remorseful. Perhaps it was a sign that his time was soon to come as well.

            “No, I mean yes. That is correct. I’ll be gone at the end of the year or as soon as I can get all of my cases in order.”

            “Oh, and here they are slapping another missing person on the pile for you.”

            Dwight nodded and looked around at the others in the room.

            “Allow me,” Carter said as he pointed to each individual from left to right with a subtle gesture. “On the far end you have Hunter Stuart and the hot read head is Callie Wright. They’re two bartenders that were working the past couple of nights.”

            Dwight observed the male a female that were standing very close but off a bit from the others. They had been whispering to one another but ceased when they realized the attention was on them. Hunter was a little over six feet tall with his white hipster glasses and a bowl style haircut that was straight out of the 90’s. His hands were in the pockets of his skinny jeans and he shifted his weight back and forth from left to right, fidgeting nervously. Callie stood around 5’4 with three inch heels that didn’t match her jeans and UGA hooded sweatshirt. Her hair looked disheveled and only one hand had fingernail polish on it. They had all been called in for this and she looked like she rolled straight out of bed.

            “Then there is the DJ, a guy named Rick,” Carter paused and checked his pad to make sure he was saying the name right. “Rick Yoshida, he’s their regular DJ and sometimes bartender.” Yoshida was Japanese and Hispanic mixed. He had dark skin and jet black hair with brown eyes and a thin goatee. Dwight noticed the black cloth bands on his wrists and figured that they must have been for sweat while he was performing. The young man had several piercing and some sort of family crest tattooed on his neck that he couldn’t really make out due to the collar of the black button-up shirt he wore.

            “And then we have the two security guys that worked Friday and Saturday, Josh Bryant and Chris Lynch.” Carter pointed them out as he named them. All the while, the two bulkier men eyed the cops back just as harshly. “Bryant has some priors for B&E and concealed weapons cases, but he got off promotion about seven months ago.” Carter smiled. “And you should know Chris here. Chris is Jeffery Lynch’s cousin. You know Jeff, from Internal Affairs.”

            “Oh,” Dwight said with a soured tone in his voice. “I’ve met Jeff Lynch. He lives up to his name.” Chris Lynch was the one standing in front of him at the moment though; a young man who couldn’t be older than twenty-four at the most but was just as intimidating as his cousin. He stood at a little over six feet and was very athletic. Much like his cousin, he guessed the young pale kid spent a lot of time in the gym or on the basketball court. The other bouncer, Josh, was also probably a gym rat but his skin was covered in tattoos and a band-aid over his nose. It looked like it could have been broken recently. Both Detective Richtor and Officer Bryan took an extra long look at these two men and their stoic expressions.

            “Then we have the owners, the last two over here. Caleb Tufts is here on the left and Ricardo Richardson, they call him Big R or Rico. They both co-own the club and that restaurant two streets down on Poplar St., Lucieno’s is the name of it.” Caleb Tufts was mixed also with smooth fare skin that he took care of. He was wearing a pink polo shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of Vans. Currently, he was running a purple pick through his mini-fro, watching the police officers with his hazel colored eyes as Rico whispered something to him. Ricardo was Puerto Rican, though he didn’t look it with his pale skin and brown curly hair. His attitude on the other hand came through very clearly by the expression on his face. He was dressed in a grey hooded sweatshirt and wind pants, looking as if he had just come from the gym. His sneaker was tapping against the linoleum slightly, impatient.

            Dwight and Carter stood there for a moment in silence. There was a strong tension in the air as everyone was silent and the two policemen approached the group. Detective Richtor pulled a small notebook from his pocket and began to write some things down, observations he didn’t want to forget; the rest he could get from Carter later. Dwight glanced at one of the other uniformed officers that were there.

            “Keep them company for a moment won’t you, Officer Bryan and I going to do a walk through real quick.”

            There was an almost collective sigh or grunt of disapproval from those being held there, now forced to wait a little longer. The officer nodded to him and Dwight motioned for Carter to follow into the next room. Both came in with their notepads out, Carter reading off of his and Dwight placing different notes onto the other.

            “This is the main dance floor area,” Carter told him as he waved his pen around in a pointing motion. It was a large room that you could enter through the bar area or take the second door in the lobby down a short hallway to skip the bar if you wanted. Two exits that led to one, something to keep in mind. The colorful lights were all off in favor of the few florescent white bulbs that lit the room. They could all be seen though, reds, greens, yellows, and blues that could be mixed and matched and spun on different types of devices to rotate them from the ceiling. There were colored lights on the walls and strung up around the bars and other doorways. The large bar in this room was shaped like a long boat to fit with the Viking and Norse themes. It was different and the spouts had been built into it in a clever design. Other murals of Thor and Loki claimed a wall. The artist had taken advantage of the large canvases he had been given, they were well done. There were also several steel cages that those who wished to dance as an exhibition could climb in and out of. Two were next to the DJ booth, which was raised above the dance floor. The paintings around the booth drew attention to his position, like he were a high priest or reigning god, distributing sound to his subjects.

            “This is where the subject spent most of her time from what I gathered. It’s their main attraction and had the most eyes on it throughout the night.”

            Dwight nodded. He peered behind the bar as they passed it. The large area had a tiny, almost invisible stairwell that lead down into the storage room. Like many of the other older buildings around this area, that was a common feature and meant that there was likely another exit down there as well. He would want to look at that later.

            The two walked through the hallway with the bright neon lights that held three doors. On the left side of the hallway were the two gender-split restrooms with the doors open so that the two could see in. On the right was a small storeroom closet that held all of the cleaning supplies and boxes of toilet paper.

            That hallway led into the back room, a second dance floor and bar area with its own music and a large mural of Hel. The background of the full wall mural was a dark image of the underworld done with grays, blacks, and a deep purple at the top. The image of Hel sitting upon her throne took up the center. The figured had a dread gaze with eyes that formed small skulls and features that looked like stone. She was almost lying across the metal chair with green cloth draped over her and one breast exposed in its proud plump pose. A skeleton knelt at her throne served her, keeping those that begged for mercy away. A dark raven sat upon her shoulder, contrast to bright blonde hair. By her side, a wolf lingered with hungry eyes, already contemplating devouring those whom she would find unworthy.

            The other black walls held neon paint and strings of hanging lights. The back room was smaller with its own bar that wasn’t themed, just brightly lit with green and purple lights. The double doors that lead out the back and the door to the right beside them that gave entry into the office were painted black. Only an exit sign gave note that there were doors over in the far back corner. Dwight took note of the office but headed to the double doors first.

            “So this is the exit they think she was taken through?”

            “Right,” Carter said. “It would be the easiest way to sneak someone out if you timed it right.” He opened the door for them to walk out. “It’s the least watched.”

            A parking lot that was shared by multiple businesses in that area was revealed. It wasn’t too bad looking in the day time, but Dwight noticed several busted out lights and two pretty intimidating alleyways.

            “Not too safe at night, I’m guessing.”

            “You’d be right detective. Anything could have been waiting out here for that girl.” Carter shut the door.

            Detective Richtor took one last look around before stepping towards the opened door of the office. Glancing in he ran everything he had just seen back over in his mind.

            “So what do you want to do now?”

            “Use this office to interview them, but keep them waiting a few more minutes while I set up, will you Officer Bryan?”

            Carter smiled, “yes sir.”