"You look ridiculous," Brian whispered harshly under his breath, adjusting his sunglasses on his nose as he and Nick walked down Rodeo Drive. 

Nick took his attention away from the lavish shops and scantily clad female shoppers to shrug at his friend, "I think I made a much better effort at going incognito than you did. Besides, I don't know how you didn't realize I did this for you! You're the only one who can see me!"

Brian's eyebrow slowly rose up his forehead, arching high, "You dressed up for me?"

Nick adjusted the neck of his sweater and brushed away imaginary lint from the sleeves, "Well I wouldn't say that, but I tried to look nice."

Brian let out a long sigh, taking another moment to look his friend over. When he'd told Nick he planned to look inconspicuous when they went out, he never meant he would be dressing as if they were off to rob the Louvre. Brian had donned a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses, making him less recognizable but Nick (who he wasn't even aware had a variety in his wardrobe) was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, jet black pants, black turtleneck, and the piece de résistance…a beret, "Well when you're finished stealing the Mona Lisa, you know where to find me," he shook his head then continued walking down the busy street.

"Oh funny, you're a riot," Nick muttered, reluctantly following behind the shorter man.

Brian suddenly gasped, “There she is!” he announced, abruptly stopping dead in his tracks. 

Nick, who was completely unprepared for Brian’s sudden halt found himself sauntering straight through his friend as if he were not even there. Spinning around Nick’s eyes were wide and he gave Brian a look of complete concern.

“Wha…” Brian sputtered, “What was that?”

“I didn’t know you were stopping!”

“You…that was…” Brian suddenly shuddered, a chill running down his spine, shaking him to the core, “I thought you were solid?”

If he could have, Nick was sure he would be blushing, “Only if I think about it, if you catch me off guard I’m not really all that solid.”

“Never do that again,” Brian requested, realizing why that night on the porch Nick had seemed so unreal and foggy.

“I’ll try,” the tall blonde assured his friend. He was overwhelmingly embarrassed at what had happened, feeling as exposed as if he were walking naked down the street.

Brian looked in the spot he’d been previously gazing at before he was rudely invaded and his face dropped with disappointment, “She’s gone!”

Despite the fact that Valerie had specifically asked that they left Toni alone, Nick and Brian found themselves compelled to at least see what she was doing. They thought that an impromptu stakeout might open some more doors for them. They needed to know that Toni was going to be a worthwhile ‘witness’ and would have information they could use, and in order to find out those things they needed to see her, regardless of what Valerie wanted. They had no idea why Toni had made it through the night that had cost Nick his life, and only hoped that something might give away what had really gone on that night if they saw what she was doing with her time. 

Finding her hadn’t been too difficult. Toni still worked at the same job she had when Nick was alive. She was obsessed with the fashion world so it was her dream job to be a clothing buyer. Nick had spent a lot of time throwing his name around with a lot of people to get her a job at Mystique, one of L.A.’s most exclusive boutiques. Toni’s job required going to smaller shops to get designers to sell some items exclusively through Mystique so she spent a lot of time out of her office, basically shopping around. 

A quick phone call to Toni’s office pretending to be her brother had told them she was headed to a lunch meeting in Hollywood, and from there they’d followed her all over while she shopped. Brian was beginning to wonder what they were truly accomplishing on their little expedition and he was very close to turning around and going home. Something was keeping him there though. He wasn’t sure if it was for Nick’s sake or if it had something to do with the little tingle at the bottom of his stomach. It was like radar going off in his body, a strong signal telling him he was on the right track to something – he just didn’t know what that something was. 

“I think she went in there,” Nick said, pointing to the storefront next to where they’d last seen the woman.

Brian squinted against the bright California sunshine, trying to follow Nick’s finger, “We’re not going in there,” he stated firmly, noting the eager look on his friend’s face.

“It’s going to look worse if we stand outside the door and stare at the windows,” Nick commented, dragging the smaller man along by the arm.

“It’s not you people will think badly of, it’s me and I’ll take my chances thank-you-very-much!” Brian tried to argue but Nick was still yanking him firmly in the direction of the large glass doors. 

Brian was grimacing as the huge doors opened they stepped into the bright, colourful store. By the cash, by the racks, in the changing rooms, he knew they were there - women. Women were everywhere and he swallowed hard, glancing over at his friend whose ridiculous grin told him he would get no sympathy there. 

“Good afternoon!” a saleswoman suddenly appeared, looking cute and perky, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, “Welcome to Victoria’s Secret – can I help you find anything today?”

“Um…” Brian’s eyes went wide, staring at the girl, “I’m just browsing, uh, looking, uh, for someone else not for me! I don’t wear women’s underwear.”

Nick died laughing right along with the attractive salesperson as Brian stumbled all over his words, obviously embarrassed to be in a lingerie store, “Well if you need anything let me know!” she piped, a huge grin plastered across her face.

“Yeah, thanks,” Brian muttered, drawing his eyes downward. 

“Oh boy, you are red as a beet,” Nick laughed, still looking at the women who were walking around the store. A few had looked in Brian’s direction when they walked into the store as any woman would when a man suddenly entered their territory but the attention had drifted off after a few moments. 

The two of them started walking through the store, pretending to look through some pajamas while checking out some of the women in the store to look for Toni, “You just wanted to come in here so you could go into changing rooms.”

Nick gasped and Brian thought he might have insulted the younger man, “I never even thought of that! I’ll be right back!” he said, suddenly rushing off to the changing area.

Brian rolled his eyes, “Oh god, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Brian?”

He froze, his hand still gripping a silky pair of pajamas. He slowly turned, not sure if he should even respond to his name, “Yes?”

“I thought that was you,” Toni said, crossing her arms over her chest, “Funny seeing you here.”

“Looking for a present for Leighanne,” Brian lied, trying to hide his nervousness. He glanced around quickly for Nick, wishing he would for some reason come back. It was too ironic that the second his friend stepped away would be when he was spotted by the person they’d been following all day.

“Is she here?” Toni questioned, following Brian’s eyes as he glanced around the store.

“Oh, no, I was just looking around…for ideas,” he excused, taking a moment to look the woman over. She had always been striking; the complete opposite of anything Nick had ever dated in the past. She was a tall girl but had a medium build, far bigger than any of the size negative ones Nick had dated in the past but by no means was she fat. High cheekbones, green eyes, an olive complexion and long dark brown hair gave her a very Mediterranean appearance. 

“Been a long time,” she commented idly, pulling her long ponytail over her shoulder. 

Brian nodded, “You should have kept in touch,” he said, taking note of her expensive clothing. She could have easily gotten what she was wearing from work but even with her staff discount Toni was far from wealthy and would never spend her own money on things like clothes and shoes, that was what Nick was for. 

“I could say the same to you,” Toni said coyly, crossing her arms over her chest casually. 

“So…what have you been doing?” Brian questioned, trying to make leisurely conversation. 

Toni laughed and turned to look at a lazy negligee on the rack, “You should know Brian.”

Brian blanched, his heart speeding up gradually, “Sorry?”

“Why are you following me Brian? I saw you earlier, and have seen you multiples times today. You haven’t done a very good job of hiding yourself, and it’s hard to not notice you muttering to yourself in the middle of the street.”

“I’m not…coincidence…” was all he managed to get out, sounding utterly unconvincing. 

Toni’s expression turned serious and she got very close to the man, not wanting anyone to overhear what she was saying, “I don’t know what you think you’re doing by following me around but it’s been a year, and there’s nothing I can tell you that I haven’t already told the police. I heard you were pretending to be some sort of detective but I never actually believed you would be so completely unable to get over him. Nick is dead, and you need to stop following me around.”

“Why would you think this has something to do with Nick?”

She laughed and shook her head, “I’m not stupid Brian. You never even spoke to me when he was alive, so I can’t think of any other reason why you would want anything to do with me now that he’s gone. I hate to break it to you Brian but like I have told everyone thousands of times, I don’t know anything about what happened to your friend.”

“I know more than you think I know,” Brian suddenly blurted out viciously, knowing immediately he had made the wrong decision in revealing that kind of information.

Toni stared into his eyes with a stone cold gaze then suddenly turned and started walking out of the store quickly, her shoes clicking soundly against the floor. 

Brian followed her to the door, watching the woman as she walked across the sidewalk and straight into a luxurious town car, chauffeured of course, “Where the hell is Nick,” he muttered, turning back into the store to find his ghoulish friend. 

***

Nick gazed out the window, not too far from where Brian had stood just moments ago. He watched the woman he once loved rush into the dark car and he wondered what Brian had said to her. He’d seen them speaking from across the room but was too terrified to make his way over to them. For some bizarre, unknown reason he wanted so badly for Toni to be able to see his body and hear his words and he didn’t want to be disappointed if he went over to her and found that things weren’t that way at all.

He should have been angry with her, he should want to demand she tell him why she didn’t protect him – she had sat by idly and let him die! Those weren’t the things he imagined himself saying to his former lover though, instead he wanted to tell her he missed her; the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she had (once) loved him. He may have been without his senses but he still had feelings, strong feelings, that despite the fact that she’d cheated (because he was no saint), and ultimately gotten him killed, were still longing to have her back. He craved the closeness, the passion, the desire that went along with loving someone and he wondered if this was all part of what Flora had told him to look out for. Things he would always want in the living world that he would never be able to have. 

“There you are!” Brian said quietly, catching his breath from his long trek around the store, “Let’s get out of here,” he suggested, heading for the door without Nick’s approval. 

Back on the crowded sidewalk they walked quietly and without a purpose for the first time that day.

Brian curiously watched tourists pose in front of stores, wanting to prove to their friends back home that they’d really seen places like Armani and Chanel where there was sure to be celebrities spending ridiculous amounts of money just inside the posh looking doors. 

“She’s still with him,” Nick suddenly spoke, throwing his beret to the ground as they walked, obviously done playing dress-up for the day.

“How do you know?”

The younger man shrugged, “I could just tell. The way she acted, the clothes, the chauffeured car, everything told me that she hadn’t left him yet. She’s living his life.”

“Living his life…you don’t even know the guy.”

“I know enough.”

Brian took a moment to watch Nick, wondering if that was depression he saw on the man’s features, “That’s a good thing though right? That she’s still with him? That means we have more of a shot of finding something,” Brian offered but Nick wasn’t convinced. 

“How can she stay with him knowing what he did to me?” Nick questioned rhetorically, knowing that the only person who could answer that question was Toni.

“Maybe she doesn’t know?”

The other man’s face was void of expression and he blinked once, then twice, at Brian, “Yeah I’m sure she thinks it was purely coincidence that the night I disappeared was the same night she saw me get beat up and abducted from a parking lot.”

Brian took a sharp breath, “Excellent point.”

“What did she say to you?” Nick finally asked as they reached Brian’s car.

Brian took his time opening the doors of his black BMW sedan before answering his friend, “Essentially she told me Val was right.”

Nick raised an eyebrow, silently asking the older man what he meant.

“She knew we were following her,” Brian explained as he started the car then pulled out onto the busy Hollywood streets.

“We?”

“She knew I was following her,” he corrected, “Somehow she heard I was asking questions about your case and she thought I was going to question her about it.”

Nick scratched his blonde head in thought, “So why did she practically sprint out of the store?”

Brian sighed heavily, “I screwed up big time.”

“What did you do?!”

“I might have implied I knew more than she thought I did about your murder.”

Blue eyes wide Nick gaped across the car towards the driver’s side, “Shit! Valerie was right! We should have never gone to talk to her; she has every reason to run now that she thinks we’re onto her!”

Brian nodded solemnly, gulping back his embarrassment, “As much as I hate to admit it…Val was right and now I might have just fucked everything up.”