Free Enduring Service by Regina Morris Page A

His hand raked through his white hair as he stared at Raymond for an answer.
    Dixon noticed Raymond rub his temple. Dixon figured Raymond’s ability to read minds and thought patterns must be heightened at the moment with so many emotions in this room. He watched as Raymond left the conference room with a grim look on his face.

Chapter Eleven
    Dixon went with the team to Fang Manor to search for more clues. Sulie was a private person, never allowing anyone to enter her bedroom. But today, that was going to change. The mansion where they lived had three stories and Sulie’s bedroom was on the same level as the kitchen in the far northwest corner of the house on the first floor. Three of the walls of her room were painted pink, with the fourth one painted a darker raspberry. Mint green curtains hung in the dual windows with lace sheers. The decor reeked of dainty and feminine touches.
    The room sparkled with cleanliness and order with neither a single book, nor an article of clothing, lying in the wrong place. The team stared at one another as they stood in the room.
    “This is a lot of pink,” Sterling said. “Like a Barbie doll house.”
    Ben shook his head. “This isn’t what I would have expected.”
    From the hallway, Kate’s voice drifted into the room. “Is there any news on Sulie?” she asked as she rubbed her large pregnant belly and entered the room.
    “Nothing yet,” Sterling said, taking a step towards his wife. She stood a tall 5’ 7” and carried the twin babies low in her womb. Her dark brunette hair was pulled into a bun and Dixon thought she looked very maternal.
    “You should lay down and take it easy.” Sterling said. “You’re only five or six weeks away from delivering.”
    She patted his shoulder and gave him a wry smile. “I was heading upstairs to lay down. I wish I could do more to help.”
    “We’ll find her,” Sterling assured her, giving her belly a gentle rub.
    She turned and looked over to Dixon. “I didn’t realize you were here. I just finished some lunch and would have offered you something.”
    Dixon had barely heard his name but glanced over to Kate. All pregnant and nursing vampires ate human food and he appreciated the offer. But he couldn’t eat anything right now. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
    “Just don’t mess up her stuff. You know how she gets when she’s angry,” Raymond said as Kate turned and left the room.
    “If there is anything too personal for you guys, I can look at it,” Alex said. “She may feel better with another woman…”
    “No,” Raymond interrupted. “Nothing is too personal. We’re getting her back and every inch of this room is going to be turned inside out. Just put everything back, so when she returns everything will be as she likes it.” His voice trailed off and Dixon heard him choke out his words. Alex crossed the room and put her arms around her husband.
    “She’ll be back,” Alex said encouragingly.
    A moment later, Raymond broke the embrace and walked toward the closet. “I’ll search through the clothes she wore the last few days. Maybe she put something in a pants pocket or something that may give us a clue.” The hamper sat just inside the closet. He dug through it, taking each article of clothing out carefully.
    This was Dixon’s first time in Sulie’s room and he noticed items such as the lace doily on the furniture and other knick knacks Sulie had bought with him while they went antiquing over the years. He studied the room and noticed the lacy throw pillow which lay on the bed. He had given her the cushion as a birthday gift so long ago that he didn’t even remember when he had given it to her. The teddy bear he gave her last fall when they went to a nearby carnival was lying on the pillow. He surveyed the room and noticed many trinkets he’d given her over the years. Some seemed worthy of keeping in his mind; others, like the program to the ballet performance they attended five years ago, were not. The