The Optogram Read online

  “Yeah, yeah,” said Dothan with a yawn. “I already figured I’d make up with some flowers or something. I hoped she would be just a little flirt and hurt in the office. Then she showed up in this tight dress and, well, what can I say? I would think at your age, you don’t need all the details.”

  “No,” said Agnes, lifting her palm, “you can stop right there. So, tell me. What about our dead girl?”

  “Well, Sibella was a hottie, with thousands of followers on social media.”

  “That’s all you got?”

  “No, I also found out her best friend, January Kinsie, is here in Seattle.” Dothan opened his laptop and browsed to one of Sibella’s social media sites. “I wrote to a lot of the friends who posted to her when she was alive. A couple of them messaged me back and told me to fuck off.” He tried not to laugh as Agnes’s eyebrows knitted together. “Sorry, you can wash my mouth out later. Anyway, they told me to leave them alone. I did get a positive response from that January this afternoon.” He opened a page of her provocative photos.

  Agnes scowled. “They seem to be birds of a feather, those two.”

  Dothan shrugged. “We have a date. I mean, it’s not a date-date, we’re just meeting up for coffee tomorrow at six o’clock. I told her it was research for a murder victim’s website.”

  “I wonder if the police ever considered her a suspect in Sibella’s death.”

  He laughed. “I’m sorry, what? You think a gorgeous woman with thousands of followers on every social media platform would have any reason to kill her best friend? That makes no sense at all. There’s hundreds of pictures of the two of them. Even on the day before her death, Sibella was posting about their plans to travel to Cabo.”

  Agnes shrugged. “January could have been jealous, who knows? I’m just thinking out loud.”

  “Not a chance. Sibella was a pretty girl, but she had nothing over January.”

  “Look, I’m not accusing your new teen crush of anything, but until you know what’s underneath that beautiful face, it’s better to stay at arms-length.”

  “I’m only meeting up with January to get information out of her.”

  “Yet you feel the need to defend her based on nothing more than seductive poses on a website. All I ask is, before you wave around what’s in your jock strap, you stick to our plan.”

  Dothan chuckled. “Damn, chill Agnes.”

  Agnes huffed. “So, while you’re charming her socks off, can you try to remember our goal is to find that table? When you finish prodding her about Sibella, see if you can direct the chat toward antiques. Do some research on old furniture and tell her you collect weird, one-of-a-kind pieces. If she’s seen it, I bet she’ll mention it.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I will. We should hit some antique

  dealers, too.”

  After digging her keys out of her purse, Agnes stood. “That’s a good idea. If it’s valuable, those vultures should know about it.” She straightened his blinds and made her way to the door. “Right now, though, I’m going home. I have to watch the news and feed the neighbor’s cat. Call me tomorrow after your coffee date and try to keep your zipper up, at least until you get some information.”

  “Why does this bother you so much? Are you jealous?” asked Dothan.

  “You’re pathetic,” said Agnes, shaking her head.

  He laughed. “No worries. I’ll call you.”

  “One more thing. No more repeats with Bekkii unless you want to put your internship on the line. I have to go.”

  Agnes dashed through the door, slamming it shut.

  ***

  The following day, Dothan arrived at the cafe at four minutes to six. He took hold of the handle of the heavy glass door and caught sight of his reflection, smiling as he smoothed the sides of his hair. It had taken the whole of Saturday morning to find the perfect outfit for this meeting with January Kinsie. How could she help but fall the moment she laid eyes on him?

  Dothan settled on a loveseat near the door. The two-seater allowed a perfect opportunity to sit close to January without becoming too obvious. He fidgeted on the soft cushions and rubbed his hands together, trying to calm his twitching fingers.

  There was no way he was going into a full-blown meltdown right now. Maybe a trip to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face could help him regain his composure and allow him to check his appearance one more time. It was important not a thread be out of place when he met her.

  While he was away, he needed to be sure none of the hipsters milling around the shop pirated his seat. Dothan grabbed a large plastic service marker from the counter. As he tossed the slick card onto the small coffee table in front of the sofa, it flew across the shiny wood and onto the floor. He grumbled and retrieved it, but bumped into someone as he stood and jammed his knee against the hard arm of the loveseat.

  “Why don’t you look where you’re going?” whispered Dothan.

  As he brushed his dark wash jeans, a length of hard-waxed hair fell across his eyes.

  “Are you all right?” said a soft voice.

  His eyes widened as he turned to face January Kinsie. “I…um, sorry about that.”

  “It was my fault,” she said. “Are you Dothan Knox?” Her dark red lips parted into a bright, perfect smile.

  “It is. I am.” Dothan adjusted his sport coat. “I guess you’re January.”

  She nodded and the mass of dark, glorious curls followed her movements. Extending her hand, Dothan stared at the long fingers with their manicured nails.

  Why are my hands so fucking sweaty?

  He wiped his palms against his jeans before pressing his trembling palm against hers.

  “Would you like to sit down?” Dothan made a quick, sweeping gesture toward the loveseat. “I’ll go order our coffees. What can I get you?”

  January lowered herself to the cushion with the grace of a queen, crossing her elegant legs to expose just a hint of thigh beneath the body skimming sheath. “They have the most wonderful oolong tea here. If you wouldn’t mind, I would love a cup, please. No sugar.”

  He stared into her large dark eyes, fascinated by the flecks of shimmering gold and red reflecting the harsh lights of the cafe. Everything about her was perfection, from the dimples in her smile to her dark golden skin glowing with an ethereal aura.

  “Dothan?” asked January.

  “I…yes, of course. One oolong, plain. I’ll be right back. Won’t be long.”

  Pull yourself together.

  Dothan left his order with a server and moved to the end of the queue of people awaiting their drinks and pastries. He ducked into the men’s room to check his appearance and cringed at his reflection. So much for a brilliant first impression. The fallen hair had glued itself to the side of his head.

  With the crisis resolved, he returned to the open area and peered at the beautiful woman waiting for him.

  “Boatland!” shouted a server. “Boatland Lox? Boatland?”

  Burning with embarrassment, he grabbed the tray and sneered at a pair of teenagers snickering behind him.

  Chill. Keep it together.

  Dothan seated himself beside January. The cup rattled against the saucer as he handed the tea to her. He smiled as he lifted his overfilled cup of coffee to his lips, but the scalding liquid splashed onto the front of his white shirt. January grabbed a napkin, dabbing at the splotches around his abdomen with her elegant fingers. Despite the humiliation, his body responded, and he took the damp paper from her.

  “Thanks, but that’s not necessary.” Dothan folded his hands over his groin. “I guess this just isn’t my day.”

  January sat next to him on the loveseat and took a sip of the tea, leaving a ruby imprint on the cup. “I know what you mean. Maybe this meeting will bring us both better luck.”

  She patted Dothan’s knee and he tensed.

  Luck
isn’t the effect you’re having at the moment, he thought.

  “Tell me more about your project,” said January. “I’m fascinated.”

  Dothan smiled and moved into his prepared speech. “Well, as part of my senior project, I wanted to write software to help the families of homicide victims. The way media glorifies only the killer has always disgusted me. I figured if I could build a user-friendly platform for the families and friends of the dead, it would keep their stories fresh in the public eye and create a hunger in the masses to know more about the individuals.”

  Holy shit, I almost believed it myself.

  The stain had darkened on his shirt as it dried, and he pulled the edge of his fitted jacket tighter around him. “I’ve just begun the work of collecting as much personal information as I can about a small group of victims, and I wanted to focus on your friend’s case first, as she already has a massive social media presence. I hoped you could help me understand the person.”

  “I could go on for hours about Sibella,” said January. “She was beautiful, inside and out, with such a wonderful heart. I still miss her every single day.” Her eyes glazed with tears. “You’re so right. Everyone forgets about the victim over time, even the police. There’s been no movement on her case in over a year. I still call the detective a few times a month, but he just pawns me off, saying that they’re doing all they can.”

  Dothan moved closer to January. “Maybe my project can help kick-start it again by making sure Sibella’s name stays out there.”

  January lifted her deep velvet eyes, and Dothan ached to

  embrace her.

  “I can’t tell you how much that means to me,” she said. “All I seem to hear anymore is to let it go. Let it go? How could I? She was my best friend, and I loved her so much. Living without her has been a hell on earth for me. Even though it’s been two years since she died, I still walk by her desk expecting to see her.”

  “You worked with Sibella?”

  “Yes. We were both employed by Conscentiam in the Acquisitions Department. I was her manager.”

  What? Bonus!

  Not only could he score with this gorgeous, extraordinary woman, she could fast track him into a dream company.

  “Do you…still work there?”

  January nodded. “It’s not the same without Sibby, though.”

  Dothan placed his hand on top of hers. “I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you, but I can try to see your friend isn’t forgotten.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.” January gazed into his eyes. “May I ask you something?”

  Dothan nodded. If you ask me to take you home, I would do whatever you wanted.

  “I don’t believe the police have done a thorough job in investigating her murder. They don’t have your amazing talents, though, and I wondered…I hoped you’d be interested in helping me search for information they might have missed.”

  Oh, damn, twist my arm.

  Dothan flashed his most attractive smile. “I’d be very interested.”

  “It’s such a relief to find someone who understands what I’ve been through. I’ve felt so alone in all of this.”

  January squeezed his hand. Her touch electrified his body.

  She lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m making quite a fool of myself, but this means so much to me.”

  “No,” said Dothan. “Not at all. I would think it’s pretty normal to still grieve when there’s been no closure.”

  “Sibella’s parents stayed in contact with me for a while after she died, but they stopped calling after they got her pension money and life insurance. I didn’t mind their silence, but my obvious eradication from their lives broke my heart. It was the same way Sibella’s followers on social media deserted her. One minute there are hundreds of memorial messages, and the next they seemed to get bored and drift away. Now there’s almost nothing posted on the anniversary of her death.”

  “Maybe it’s because they just didn’t know her like you did. You grew up together, didn’t you?”

  January nodded. “We lived just down the street from each other in Oliver, Missouri.” She smiled. “The only contribution our town made to history in its fifty years of existence was that it ceased to exist. They annexed us into Altamont, the city next door. After that, they wiped Oliver from the maps.”

  She took her lipstick and an ebony compact from her black leather handbag. Her lithe fingers wrapped around the bright brass tube. As she ran the creamy stick over her full lips, Dothan fidgeted and crossed his legs. “Both our families were dirt poor,” she continued. “That was why we became friends. Well, that and we were both bullied for wearing secondhand clothes and eating butter sandwiches for lunch. When we got older, though, things changed. Sib is…” January stopped. “Sibella was a beautiful woman.”

  “As are you,” said Dothan. He clenched his jaw after realizing he spoke his thoughts out loud.

  She smiled. “How kind. Thank you. I will admit there was no shortage of boys once we became teenagers. After high school, we watched our friends pile into trailer parks and produce one child after another, and we both knew we wanted more than that. I remember her mentioning modeling school, but I had bigger dreams. After I started at the state college, I encouraged her to join me there and we both graduated with business degrees. When I started working for Acquisitions at Conscentiam, I implored Sibella to apply.”

  “It must have been culture shock for you both coming from the midwest to Seattle,” said Dothan.

  “It was amazing, better than anything we could have imagined. Sibby fell into our new life.” January shook her head with a smile. “There was no halfway with that girl. She worked hard and partied almost every night, but she also watched over me.” She dabbed at a falling tear with a paper napkin.

  “You said you both worked in the Acquisitions division? What does that department do?”

  “We’re responsible for finding new products for the company. After we connect with the intellectual property owner, my team moves forward with wining and dining until we close the deal.”

  “Did Sibella have the same job as you?”

  January shook her head. “I’m in management. Sibella was a sales associate. I remember what a beautiful innocent she was at first. Instead of taking the easy way and using her beauty to close a sale, she researched and planned, providing spreadsheets and documentation. She became so good at it, her commissions soared above everyone else. Sib had a bright career ahead of her, if only…” January’s voice drifted off and she closed her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” asked Dothan.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s hard. I still get flashbacks of her laying on a slab in the morgue. With no next of kin around, the police asked me to identify her body. I can’t shake that image.”

  Dothan shivered. I know that feeling all too well.

  “That’s a hard picture to rid yourself of once you’ve seen it,” he said.

  “It was horrible, and her face…oh god, her face.” She covered her eyes and took a breath. “I’m so sorry, Dothan. Maybe it’s best that we stop.”

  No, no, please don’t leave.

  They stood, and January smoothed her black dress. His eyes followed her palms as they moved against the soft fabric.

  “Are you sure I can’t get you another tea before you go?”

  They stood, and January smoothed her black dress. His eyes followed her palms as they moved against the soft fabric.

  “No, thank you,” she said. “I have a meeting at work soon. You’ve been so sweet, listening to all of this. When would you like to begin? I can bring some things with me, photographs and such.”

  “How about we meet for dinner, say, next Saturday night? I could text you the name of a place. Let’s just discuss some ideas first and go through stuff another time.”

  “I’d like t
hat.” She smiled and pressed her lips against his cheek. “I’m so happy you contacted me. You’ve lifted a terrible weight from my shoulders.”

  His body tingled as he mumbled a goodbye. She walked away, leaving a cloud of sensual fragrance, and he lowered himself to the sofa.

  A word he had never spoken to another human being swirled through his thoughts.

  Dothan was in love.

  Chapter Five

  The unobtainable ghost of January’s exquisite form swirled through Dothan’s dreams throughout the long, restless night.

  The morning found him even more determined to lure her into his bed. With the fantasy of their next meeting filling his thoughts, he grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

  Dothan slid into an empty seat on the bus and laid back his head.

  I guess I’d better do something about Bekkii, he thought.

  Desperation made her easy, unlike the high-maintenance women he seduced when he was flush with cash. He could recoup her affection with a cheap bouquet or anything from the markets near Dunlevy, and by mixing in a suitable amount of remorse, she would never see through the deception.

  The bus jerked as it came to a stop. Dothan merged with the crowd moving along the sidewalk. He paused in front of Conscentiam, watching the unending stream of people climb the concrete stairs and cross through secure barriers to enter the citadel of technology.

  Money, fame, and January waited in those buildings for the day he proved his software was the next best thing in criminal forensics. The search for the strange table wedged into Sibella’s retina could be difficult, but uncovering how the object related to her death might be impossible.

  While finding the strange table wedged into Sibella’s retina seemed impossible, there was too much to lose if he did not succeed. When he had located the object, it should be simple for someone of his superior intellect to unravel her murder. The answers were there, he just had to piece together the facts in the same way he architected software.

  First, though, he had to face the girl who had run crying from his apartment.