Chapter 10 #2
“There was a dancer here,” she said. “Wilhemina, but her stage name was Nova Lux. One night she didn’t show up for work, but that’s not all that uncommon.
But the night before, a super creepy guy was interested in her.
He refused to pay for anything extra—no lap dance, no private room, nothin’—but he kept staring.
He only ordered one drink and stayed for about an hour and a half.
We all talked about him after he left. How he was a cheap weirdo who couldn’t afford us.
But then Willy didn’t show the next night, or the next.
Her roommate said she just disappeared. Left her stuff and everything. ”
“You don’t know who the guy was?” James asked.
She shook her head. “But one of the girls heard him talkin’ on the phone while Willy was dancing. He said somethin’ like, ‘She’s perfect. Just what the client ordered.’”
I shot a glance at James. His expression was grim.
“Do you know if anyone reported her missing?” I asked.
Dani rolled her eyes. “Why bother? It’s not like the police are gonna do anything about it. Willy’s no one. Just an exotic dancer with no family and no money.”
As much I hated to admit it, she had a point. Even if it was undeniably wrong.
“How long ago did she disappear?” I asked.
She made a face. “About a month or so ago?”
“Did she have a boyfriend or maybe an ex?”
She shook her head. “No. We teased her about not having a man in her life, and she said the men oglin’ her were all the men she needed.”
“And she hadn’t mentioned anyone watching her or stalking her? Maybe waiting outside the club after she left?”
“No.”
“Do you have a photo of Wilhemenia?” James asked. “We can look for her while we’re lookin’ for Penny.”
Dani started to shake her head, then stopped. “Wait. There’s a photo of her on the wall by the entrance. She’s the redhead.”
James gave a curt nod. “And what about the creep who was interested in her?”
“No one got a photo of him, if that’s what you’re askin’. It’s not like we have pockets to carry our phones.” She gestured to her skimpy outfit. “Speakin’ of which, I can give you a lap dance while we chat,” she said, running the back of her fingertips over his cheek.
“I appreciate the offer,” he said, giving her an expressionless look, “but any information you can provide is worth what I’m already payin’.”
“Consider it a bonus,” she said with a sly grin, then glanced back at me. “It might help shake something loose.”
I wanted to say, like your boobs out of that skimpy top, but was smart enough to keep my mouth shut. I only hoped I looked unbothered.
“Go for it,” I said dryly, leaning my shoulder into the wall. “Whatever helps us find your friend and the teenage girl we’re lookin’ for.”
I’d hoped my comment would help her reevaluate, but if anything, it incentivized her more.
She straddled James’s lap, resting her hands on his shoulders.
Great.
“What about security cameras?” James asked in a bored voice as she began to dance on his thighs.
“In this room?” she asked, then stood and turned around, shaking her ass in his face. “Or the club?”
“Inside and outside of the club,” James said, acting like he was making idle conversation. “A place like this must have cameras.”
“Sure.” She settled back on his lap, her back to him, and started humping his crotch. “But I don’t know nothin’ about that.”
“Someone has to,” he said.
“Sure, the manager and the owner. Oh, and Tony, the head of security, but he’s not gonna pull it up. Not for a missin’ girl.”
Because they were replaceable. A dime a dozen. They wouldn’t waste their time on a girl they barely saw as human.
“What about some of the other women who work here?” James asked. “Surely, they want to help find your friend.”
“She’s not my friend,” Dani said as she grabbed his hands and put them on her hips. She carefully arranged her hands over his.
“You do realize there’s a no-touching rule,” I said dryly, crossing my arms over my chest.
She glared at me in defiance. “Only if I don’t want it.”
It occurred to me that she must have heard me ask him not to cheat on me, so she was doing this to get to me.
The question was why she was pissed at me.
I tried to remember our last interaction.
I’d dropped by her apartment and asked if she knew anything about a man who spent time at the club.
I’d shown her a photo, and she’d denied knowing him.
She’d been short with me, but I’d chalked it up as irritation that I was bothering her.
I hadn’t thought I’d actually pissed her off.
James kept his hands on her hips, but his fingertips didn’t dig in, and it didn’t look like he was putting much effort into holding her.
She glanced down at his hands, a scowl flickering over her face.
“If you could get a photo of the guy, we’d make it worth your while,” I said.
Her gaze snapped to mine. “How do you plan to do that?”
I’d expected James to jump in and make an offer, but he remained quiet. I considered offering anyway, but I couldn’t see his face to gauge his thoughts and it didn’t feel right to offer her his money. “What do you want?”
“I want my new solicitation charges dropped,” she said, venom in her eyes, “but you’re pretty worthless there, aren’t you?”
So, she knew I’d left the force? Had she wanted me to help her sometime in the last five months and realized I couldn’t act on her behalf?
“Yeah, I guess I am,” I said matter-of-factly as she began to dance again, James’s hands still resting lightly over the strings covering her hips. “What else do you have in mind? More money?”
“I want my damn charges dropped,” she spat out, her body going still. “Those and the possession charge.”
I frowned. “What kind of possession charge?”
“I got busted with some ecstasy when they picked me up for solicitation.”
My brow shot up. “That’s new for you.”
Her glare deepened. “The guy was in his forties and had just gotten divorced. He asked me to get him something to make it a memorable night.”
“And you couldn’t rely on your skills?” I asked dryly. I shouldn’t be provoking her, but I felt helpless to stop myself.
“That’s your price?” James said flatly. “Your charges dropped? Both of them?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“And if Harper makes that happen, you’ll get images of the guy?” he asked. “Inside the club and outside with his car?”
“Harper’s not a cop anymore,” she spat. “She can’t make that happen.”
“Don’t worry about that part,” James said. “I’m more concerned about whether you can hold up your end of the agreement. How long do they keep the security footage?”
His request was pointless. Most systems didn’t store longer than fourteen days before recording over themselves.
“Maybe a month,” she said.
“Let’s be clear,” I said, my tone firm. “Your charges won’t be dismissed until I know you’ve got images.” Because she had to know the images were gone. She was stringing us along to get what she wanted.
She turned her glare to me. “I’m not handin’ anything over without knowin’ they’ve been dropped.”
I was about to tell her that wasn’t how we did things, but James spoke first.
“Then how about we work out an agreement?” James dug in slightly on her left hip, making her flesh pucker. “You get the images, then let us know. Once we’re sure they’re helpful, we’ll get the charges dropped.”
She released a soft gasp, and I preferred to think it was because she thought she might get her charges dismissed, not in response to his touch.
Still, I wasn’t going to waste our time on her bullshit.
I propped my hands on my hips. “Why would the manager keep the footage thirty days?”
She gave me a look of surprise. “What?”
“I’m not stupid, Dani. I know most places only keep their tapes for two weeks, so don’t bullshit us.”
“Shows what you know,” she sneered as she slid off James’s lap.
“The owner keeps them for at least a month. There were some drug deals goin’ on out in the parking lot, and he had an arrangement with the narcotics department.
If he gave them the footage, they’d look the other way with things goin’ on inside the club. ”
If that was true, it still didn’t guarantee the footage existed. Dani had said Wilhemina disappeared about a month ago.
“Well,” James said, “if he only keeps the tapes for thirty days, and your friend disappeared about a month ago, then I’d say you better not waste any time lookin’ for the right footage.”
She took a couple of steps toward the door, then turned back to him. “Don’t I get credit for tryin’ to get the video? It’s not gonna be easy.”
“This isn’t high school English class,” he said in a lazy tone. “I don’t hand out extra credit or participation trophies. I reward results.”
Her upper lip curled with disgust. “You’re a real asshole.”
“That’s a known fact,” he said, a menacing look covering his face. “Name’s Skeeter Malcolm, and I have quite the reputation.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “You’re Skeeter Malcolm?”
I stared at her in shock. Dani knew who he was? Sure, he’d made national news three years ago, but she wasn’t much into current events.
“How do you know about me?” he asked in a lazy, seductive drawl.
She hesitated, then said, “Razor.”
He leaned back, stretching an arm along the back of the bench. “And how do you know Razor?” He appeared utterly relaxed, but the gleam in his eyes was lethal.
The name meant nothing to me, but it appeared James had heard of him.
She shot me a nervous glance, her previous belligerence gone. When I gave her a cold stare, she turned back to James. “He comes around. He likes private dances.”
“With you?” James asked, tilting his head in challenge.
She drew in a shaky breath. “Used to be with me, but he prefers the new girls lately.”
I suspected that meant younger.
“And how did my name come up in conversation?” James asked.
She glanced at me again, this time addressing me. “Razor doesn’t like people talkin’ about him.”