the one who got away

VII

The two arrived at Blue Moon Bar around 7 pm, and the building was quickly filling with people. The dance floor was being occupied by a man and woman duetting Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John. All of the bar stools were filled with people drinking and chatting with one another. Beatrice eyed the booth where she had met Chris, that was currently being taken by two men. She turned her attention to Connor, whose his face seemed paler than usual. Although he was more outgoing when it came to speaking to law enforcement, Connor was a nervous wreck when it came to loud and sociable places such as the bar.

"Are you feeling okay? We can do this tomorrow when there are less people," Beatrice elbowed Connor to get his attention. He was as stiff as a board. He contemplated for a moment before he shook his head and speed-walked to the bar. Beatrice followed behind, looking behind her shoulder as the place made her feel uneasy.

Connor stood at the edge of the bar when he was approached by one of the female bartenders. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail, her face caked with goth-looking makeup, and she was wearing a low-cut shirt and booty shorts. Her expression perked up a bit when she noticed Connor, which seemed to be the only reason she took interest in speaking to him.

"What can I do for you, baby?" She smiled, grabbing a shot glass from under the counter. "You look like you could use a drink."

"Actually, I'm on the job." Connor flashed the bartender his badge. "I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me?"

The woman leaned across the counter and propped her face in her hands. Her shirt was hanging noticeably low to where her bra was showing. "Anything for you, sugar. What do you want to know?"

Beatrice did not like this, but she was going to let Connor handle it. She left Connor's side and walked towards the stage as the two were finishing their Elton John song. When Beatrice was walking, she bumped straight into another woman who was seemingly not paying attention. The woman stumbled back and blinked her eyes. She was a little taller than Beatrice and had short blonde hair in a bob haircut. She had winged eyeliner that shaped her green eyes and wore a sparkling blue dress.

"I'm sorry about that," Beatrice apologized. "I guess I wasn't really paying attention."

The girl stared Beatrice down for a moment before grinning. "It's okay! Accidents happen." She stuck out her hand in front of her. "The name's Ellie."

Beatrice hesitantly shook Ellie's hand. "Beatrice."

She turned to depart from her interaction with Ellie before Beatrice felt a hand grasp around her wrist. She spun around and Ellie was standing in the same spot, now holding onto Beatrice.

"I didn't even get to talk to you," Ellie pouted. "How about we sit and talk?"

Beatrice attempted to snatch her arm back, but Ellie tightened her grip. She turned to where Connor was standing for help, but he was clearly occupied by the bartender. She redirected her attention back to Ellie.

"Ellie, as much as I would love to talk to you, I'm actually here for work so I—"

"Let me give you my phone number then!" Ellie chirped, fishing for something in her pocket.

"No really, it's okay." Beatrice pleaded, faking a smile to hopefully drive Ellie away. It was not working in her favor.

"Come on Beatrice, I just want to be friends." Ellie was now pulling Beatrice towards a booth.

"Ellie, seriously, I said no," Beatrice attempted to back away, but Ellie snatched her forward and squeezed her arm tighter. Her skin was turning white from the pressure.

"Do we have a problem here?" Connor's voice demanded from behind Beatrice. "Let go of her. Now."

Ellie loosened her grip around Beatrice's arm and stared down at her. "I'm keeping an eye on you, Adams." With that, Ellie exchanged looks with Connor before leaving the bar.

Connor looked to Beatrice and then to her arm that was quickly returning to color. "Are you okay? Who was that back there?"

Beatrice blinked for a moment to resurface back to reality. She did not know what to say. She worked for the state – in fact, deals with criminals all of the time – but suddenly was completely helpless with her interaction with Ellie. To be truthful, she did not even believe she was attempting to get away as she was terrified of who was holding onto her.

"Bea?" Connor asked again.

"I-I'm fine," Beatrice stammered. "I don't know what that was."

Connor was not satisfied with that answer.

"Who was she? What did she want from you?"

Beatrice began to walk out of the bar and motioned for Connor to follow. When they stood outside on the pavement, the two searched their surroundings for any sign of Ellie. She was nowhere to be seen. However, that was not saying much, as the sun had completely set which resulted in the only light being emitted by the streetlamps.

"She said her name was Ellie," Beatrice exhaled a sigh as the two approached Connor's SUV. The two climbed in the car and immediately locked the doors behind them. Beatrice assumed the interaction freaked Connor out as well. "I don't know her last name. She wanted to talk to me and when I refused, that was when she was becoming agitated."

Beatrice thought about her interaction when she remembered a key detail she had completely disregarded. I'm keeping an eye on you, Adams. Despite the cryptic message, Beatrice realized that she had never told Ellie her last name. How did Ellie know to call her Adams? There was something about Ellie that did not sit right with her.

Connor shook his head and looked out his window. "I can put her name out and—"

"It's not a big deal," Beatrice interrupted. "Can we just drop it? Please."

"I'm not dropping this because I want to," Connor exhaled and started backing the SUV out of the parking spot. "Did I tell you what I learned from the bartender?"

"What? Besides her phone number?"

Connor scoffed, as if Beatrice had just insulted him. "I—No, I didn't get her phone number. But I did find out that he left here the other night with a woman with short blonde hair. She couldn't give me a good description of her but it something's better than nothing."

Beatrice nodded. ThankGod the bartender didn't recognize her.