Page 154 of Dancing for the Minotaur

After she let the front desk know she was there, she waited for only a moment before a woman with short, dark hair wearing a dark blue pantsuit came through a locked door and approached her.

“Terra?” she asked.

“Yes.” Terra swallowed hard. “Um, that’s me.”

“I’m Detective Ramirez.”

The woman held out her hand and shook Terra’s in a businesslike way. She was somewhere in her forties, Terra guessed, with sharp brown eyes that missed very little.

“Come with me,” she said briskly. “We need a little more privacy so we can talk.”

Terra followed the detective through a series of corridors until they reached a small interview room. It was quieter and less intimidating than she expected, with a plain table, several chairs, and a single monitor mounted on one wall.

“Have a seat,” Detective Ramirez told her.

Terra sat on the hard wooden chair. The detective remained standing for another moment before pulling out the chair across from her. She leaned across the table and pinned Terra with her eyes.

“I’m going to be direct with you,” she said. “We have your former employer, a Monstrum by the name of ‘Taurex,’ in custody.”

Terra’s stomach tightened and her heart seemed to miss a beat.

“What?” she asked, not wanting to believe it. “Why?”

“He’s being charged for the murders of Viktor Orlov and three men who worked for him,” Detective Ramirez said.

Terra stared at her, not sure what to say.

The detective watched her carefully, obviously gauging her reaction.

“You’re not surprised,” she said flatly.

Terra swallowed.

“Well…no,” she admitted.

Detective Ramirez steepled her fingers and frowned.

“Why not?”

“Orlov was stalking me,” Terra told her. “He had been stalking me for months.” The words came quickly now, tumbling out of her mouth in a ragged explanation. “Then he kidnapped my children! He was holding them hostage unless I gave him what…what he wanted.” She squeezed her hands into fists until they ached.

“And how does Mr. Taurex tie into that?” the detective asked.

“He got them back for me—got my kids back from Orlov,” Terra answered. “I didn’t ask exactly how, but, well…”

Her voice trailed off. She didn’t want to say anything to incriminate the big Monstrum.

Detective Ramirez sat back, looking thoughtful.

“So you knew Orlov was obsessed with you?”

“Well, I knew he was stalking me,” Terra admitted. “I just hoped he would stop and leave me alone after I, uh, stopped stripping. I used to work at The Doll House,” she added.

“Yes, we know.” The Detective nodded shortly. “So you knew he was coming after you—did you report it?”

“I should have.” Terra looked down at her hands. “But at first, I thought he was just a creepy customer at the club. Then he showed me a picture of my children that he’d taken outside my house. I was going to report him, but I figured he’d leave me alone after I stopped dancing.” She shook her head. “I had no idea he’d go so far—that he’d kidnap my kids—or I would have tried harder to get someone to listen to me.”

The detective was quiet for a moment. Then she sighed.