CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“No. No way,” said Mike shaking his head.
“I didn’t suggest that I would go,” smiled Everest. “He would recognize me and so would the women if they’re present. I was speaking with some others. Mila, Addie, Piper, and Lucia. They were all former federal agents or police officers and are clearly capable women.”
“Well, there’s no denying that,” said Eric, “but I doubt if their husbands would be happy about sending them into a male strip club.”
“Unless they worked at the strip club,” smiled Piper. Rory stood behind her frowning but he couldn’t deny it might be a good idea.
“Babe, as much as I love that you love my body, I’m a bit old to strip in a club,” said Rory in a husky voice.
“Nonsense!” said Everest. “If you look at their webpage you’ll see that they have two strippers who have snow-white hair and aren’t half as physically fit as you are. Women go in there because they want variety and I’m certain that Samantha and Abigail would be the same way.
“I just think that if you could speak directly to Jordan he might tell you what you want to know. He’s not incredibly intelligent and I don’t mean that in a cruel way.
I think he’s a man that’s always gotten by with his physique.
He probably thinks that he is the one controlling Samantha and Abigail and I doubt very much if that’s the case. ”
“I don’t know, Everest,” said O’Hara. “I’m with Rory. We’re a bit old to be swinging around a pole.”
“I need you to trust me in this,” she said staring at the men. “Look, even if you didn’t want to dance…”
“Strip,” frowned Bron.
“Strip,” she smirked. “You could be a bartender or security.”
“She’s right,” said Hex. “It’s a way to get in there and speak to him. Colt whispered Jordan’s name before he died. We suspect he’s the killer and that’s enough for us to get in there and speak with him. If the two women are there, then we can get to them as well.”
“We?” frowned O’Hara. “I don’t see you stripping to your tighty-whities. We’re the ones wearing thongs and twirling around a pole.” The others chuckled and shook their heads.
“Well, if you don’t want to be there that’s fine,” smirked Piper. “I don’t mind watching the other dancers and seeing what’s out there. If Jordan wants a nibble, we can always get a private room.”
Everest hid her smile, looking down at the table. Mike leaned closer, whispering in her ear.
“You have no idea how dangerous this is.”
“Like fucking hell you will,” said Rory. “I’ll do it. So help me if one of those drunken women touches me I will lose my shit.”
“They’re not allowed to touch the merchandise unless they book the private rooms for more than an hour, which only tells me it’s not for private lap dances.”
“We might have to do that to get him into a room alone,” said Addie. “I’m not crazy about the idea but knowing that Magnus will be there makes me feel better. If we were to get a private room with Jordan first, Samantha and Abigail would be forced to either leave or choose someone else.”
“Colt said she always chose the two of them. He’s gone and if Jordan isn’t an option, believe me those two women will want another distraction. I know it’s risky and if I could, I’d go with them.”
“No you wouldn’t,” growled Mike. She turned to him with a sly grin.
“Don’t boss your elders,” she smiled. He leaned forward with a dangerous grin.
“You’re going to like how I boss you around.”
“Eww, children present,” said Bron. The others just chuckled shaking their heads.
“Bite me asshole, you’re older than me,” said Mike.
“It’s a great idea but we have to be sure that they’ll even hire us,” said Rory.
“Oh, you’re hired,” said AJ peeking around the corner.
All eyes turned to him with a menacing expression.
He was grinning from ear to ear, but that grin was wiped off his face quickly and he cleared his throat.
“Sorry. I just thought we should speed things up. I submitted your applications, did a little finagling behind the scenes, and you’re hired. ”
“The owners of the club is an organization or man called TMCheed, all one word,” said Hiro.
“Wait. What did you say?” asked Everest.
“TMCheed, just like it sounds,” said Hiro.
“Can it be a coincidence that if you unscramble those letters you get Med-Tech?” All eyes turned to her then back at Hiro who was frantically typing on the computer.
“Who is Med-Tech owned by?” asked Luke.
“Private equity firm. It doesn’t give a name, just private equity.”
“Keep digging,” said Eric. “This feels like it’s getting deeper and deeper and we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.”