Murderous Profession

by D J Small

  “All the same,” Eliza said, forcing a cordial smile onto her face, “We would like to speak with him.” It irritated her to no end when people impeded on her work.

  The security guard picked up the receiver of the phone sitting on his desk. “I’ll give him a call.”

  Eliza gave him a tight smile and shoved her hands into her coat pockets, shooting Billy an annoyed glance. He grinned at her.

  A minute later, the guard hung up the phone. “He’s not answering, but I know he’s here. I’ll issue you a guest card so you can get to the residential floors.”

  The guard opened a desk drawer, and after a series of beeps Eliza heard the sound of a safe being opened. He began to type something on his computer, and as he did, he said, “Dax is on the thirteenth floor, apartment number thirteen fifty-two.”

  When he had finished with the card, he slid it onto the marble top of the desk, and Eliza picked it up. “Thank you.”

  She and Billy moved to the bank of elevators further behind the security desk. Billy pushed the up button and turned to her. “Think he’s heard?”

  Eliza shrugged. “I’m not sure. Was it on the news or in the paper this morning?”

  The elevator arrived, and after the mirrored doors glided open, they stepped onto it. Eliza swiped the access card the guard had given her over the reader and pressed the button for the thirteenth floor.

  “There was a small piece about it in the Daily,” Billy said. “I didn’t get a chance to catch the local news this morning.”

  Eliza grimaced. A homicide case involving a murdered sex worker was something that would definitely catch the press’s full attention, but thankfully, it seemed it hadn’t for now. She was grateful for that because it meant Captain Espinoza wasn’t going to be on her about keeping the details within the department. The story must not have been intriguing enough for the news outlets yet.

  A soft chime rang out when the elevator reached the thirteenth floor. “The piece in the Daily,” Eliza said, “how detailed was it?”

  “Just beat stuf—” Billy stopped short as the elevator doors opened, revealing a quiet corridor. He gave another low whistle as he and Eliza stepped into it. “Damn, this place is posh.”

  Eliza turned her head to the left, then to the right, taking in the hallway, which paled in comparison to the ones at her own building, and was a hundred times better than the ones at Angelique’s. A floor-to-ceiling window took up the wall at each end, allowing sunlight to illuminate the hall, and in the areas where the sun failed to reach, vertical rectangular light fixtures finished the job. Thick cream-colored carpet covered the floor, reminding Eliza of the plush carpet at Pleasure Inc.

  As they walked, Eliza scanned the generic paintings hanging at random intervals on the walls. Despite their boring nature, they appeared to be just as expensive as everything else in the building. Eliza and Billy had almost reached the end of the hallway when they found Dax’s apartment. Eliza glanced at Billy, and he swept his arm out towards the apartment door, gesturing for her to take the lead. She pressed the illuminated button next to the door.

  When a couple of minutes had passed and the door remained unanswered, Eliza pushed the doorbell for a second time. They didn’t have to wait long for the door to be answered this time. It swung open, and they were greeted by a man with dark brown skin. Much of his body was exposed, thanks to the fact that he wore only a towel and a smile.

  Eliza’s brain stuttered to a halt. She hadn’t been expecting a half-naked man to answer the door, and it seemed he had no shame about standing in front of her and Billy with his well-toned upper body on display.

  “Oh, unexpected visitors,” he said. His smile wavered a bit. “You’ve caught me at an inopportune time. Would you be able to come back later?”

  “Are you Dax Collins?” Eliza asked when her brain sluggishly resumed working again.

  “Yes. And you are?” His gaze flicked over to Billy, then slid back to Eliza. She didn’t miss the way his dark brown eyes looked her up and down.

  Eliza clenched her jaw and pulled out her badge, holding it out for Dax to see. “I’m Detective Miller, and this is Detective Chilowski. We have some questions for you.”

  “About?” His brilliant smile didn’t falter, which meant Dax had no idea about Angelique.

  Eliza mentally swore to herself. She drew in a breath and said, “An incident has occurred, and we need to speak with you about it.”

  Dax’s smile dropped a little, but before he was able to respond, a woman inside his apartment called out in a singsong voice, “Dax-a-million...”

  “Yeah, Dax, where’d you go?” another voice joined in, this one sounding as though it belonged to a man.

  Dax turned to answer the people inside his apartment. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He turned back around, his gaze returning to Eliza. A cordial smile spread across his face. “I’m sorry, detectives, but I’m currently entertaining clients, and will be for the next hour. However, once I am finished, I can come down to the station to speak with you.”

  “Dax, Jarod and I are going to start round two without you!” the woman in the apartment shouted.

  Dax chuckled and shook his head. “I will give you both spankings if you start without me!” he shouted back. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he kept them on Eliza and added, “Or perhaps that’s what you’re hoping for?”

  There was laughter from inside the apartment, and Dax softly chuckled again. Eliza pulled out her card from the wallet that held her badge and extended it out to him. “You can come down to the station when you’re available. We’ll be there late.”

  Dax took the business card and stared at it, tapping his index finger on the side of it. He grinned at Eliza. “I will be there as soon as I can, Detective Legs.” The sudden nickname threw Eliza off guard, making her start a little, and the grin on Dax’s face doubled in size.

  “Enjoy your day, detectives.” He moved out of the doorway and closed the door.

  The second the door had shut, Billy burst into a fit of laughter. “Detective Legs? Wow.”

  His laughter and hearing the horrible nickname again brought Eliza back to herself, and she narrowed her eyes at Billy. Hearing him use it was worse than watching him eat like a pig.

  She swatted his arm. “It’s not funny.” Billy continued to laugh, and she shoved him backwards. “Come on, jackass. We have two-hundred-something clients to go through, and we need to match them up to the names in Angelique’s book.”

  Billy’s laughter died, and he groaned. “You really know how to ruin a guy’s fun.” He chuckled to himself again. “I’m sure if you tried to be surly with Dax, he would find it entertaining.”

  Eliza glared at Billy as he got lost in another fit of laughter. Moving quickly, she stalked down the hall and away from him, forcing Billy to run after her. Even if he could help them with their case, Dax Collins was someone Eliza didn’t want to deal with. He was a top-tier slime ball, and she wanted to hit him in his smug face. The thought gave her a nice, happy place to think about, ridding her of the sleazy feeling her encounter with Dax had left behind.

  ◊◊◊

  An agonized groan from Billy broke Eliza’s concentration. Annoyed by the interruption, she tore her eyes from the list of Pleasure Inc. clients she had been reading and glared at him.

  When he finally looked across their desks and saw the irritation on her face, Billy gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry.” He dropped the papers in his hand and let out a frustrated breath. “This is so boring, and pointless. We can’t decipher the notes in Angelique’s appointment book, and none of the names in her client book match to the ones on the official list from Pleasure Inc. We’re grasping at straws, Eliza.”

  Eliza held his gaze. Unfortunately, Billy was right. They were no closer to piecing together Angelique’s final hours, which meant they didn’t have any leads on who would have possibly killed her.

  Letting out a deep breath, Eliza combed her fingers through her long jet-black
hair. “You’re right.” She gestured towards Billy and remarked, “What’s the point in keeping records if you can’t link the client to the sex worker they saw, and vice versa? It makes no sense, and I think it’s a way for them to skirt the law.”

  “Or,” a voice said behind her, “it’s a way to give clients total anonymity.” Eliza turned in her chair to see Dax swagger his way over to her and Billy’s desks. “Tell me, Detective Legs, if you were someone who paid for sex, would you want it to become common knowledge that you frequently visited a sex professional who specialized in scat or piss play?” He grinned. “By the way, we all know that’s right up your alley.”

  Billy stifled a snort of laughter, and Dax continued to simply grin at Eliza. “It’s bad enough people have to pay for sex and be put in some database; why add insult to injury?”

  “Mr. Collins,” Eliza greeted him stiffly as she mulled over his line of thinking. It made sense, but at the same time it was a loophole in recordkeeping ordinance, which also annoyed the piss out of her.

  “Please, Detective. Dax.”

  Eliza stood from her chair and moved closer to him. Making a conscious decision to not call him by his first name, she said, “Mr. Collins, I appreciate you coming to talk to us.”

  Dax flashed her a smile. Eliza assumed it was one that made other women swoon, but all it made her want to do was take a lye bath.

  “When an attractive detective requests an audience with me, I tend to put everything on hold for said detective.”

  “Except when you’re entertaining clients,” Eliza said, slipping her hands into the front pockets of her pants.

  “My clients will always come first,” Dax stated. “They’ve paid for my company, so I think it’s fair that they have my undivided attention.”

  Not fully trusting Dax, Eliza studied him with a skeptical gaze. He was slicker than a conman, and had a coy response to all her questions. Determined to make him sweat, Eliza turned on her heel and said, “Let’s go and talk privately.”

  “Alone?” When she looked over her shoulder, Eliza saw Dax glance at Billy.

  She faced Dax fully and gave him a careful once-over, tilting her head. He had on a stylish ensemble which consisted of tailored black slacks, a lightweight gray turtleneck sweater, and an unbuttoned black sports jacket. A leather jacket of the same color hung over his arm, and Eliza was pretty certain the shoes he had on were worth more than what she made in two months.

  Dax was a pretty boy, and Eliza was confident that she could take him if he tried to do anything to her. She hadn’t even factored in that he was shorter than her.

  Eliza and Billy looked at each other, Billy’s right eyebrow arched as they had a silent conversation. Eliza gave him a cocky smirk, and Billy responded with an acquiescing nod.

  Eliza turned back around and picked up a folder that was sitting on her desk, waving it at Dax. “Right this way, Mr. Collins.”

  The two of them went into an empty conference room at the back of the bullpen. As Eliza closed the door, Dax hung his leather jacket on the back of the chair that was closest to it. He sat down and crossed his legs, smiling up at Eliza as she walked by him. “Well, Detective, you have me at your disposal.”

  “Mr. Collins, according to public records, you are a registered sex worker. Do you have a license to engage in such work?” Eliza asked, not bothering to indulge him with anymore pleasantries as she stood next to the metal conference table.

  Dax studied her for a moment, then asked, “Have I been reported? Are my credentials in question?”

  “No,” Eliza replied casually.

  “Then yes.”

  Eliza opened the manila folder in her hands, and as she skimmed over the information Billy had found on Dax, she said, “But you’re not affiliated with any of the city’s sex firms. Why is that?”

  Dax uncrossed his legs and leaned forward to rest his arms on the metal table. “I’m a freelancer, but I am exploring my options at the moment.”

  “Freelancer?”

  Dax nodded. “Yes, I work for myself while doing all the pesky administrative tasks.”

  Eliza sat down in the chair across from him and asked, “What do you mean by ‘exploring your options’?”

  “I’ve been meeting with different firms to see if they’re worth joining,” Dax explained with a smirk.

  “Is Pleasure Inc. one of those options?

  The smirk faltered, and Dax leaned away from the table, sitting back in the uncomfortable chair. He brought his right ankle up and rested it on top of his left knee, then laid his arms on the metal arms of the chair and locked his fingers together, resting his hands on his midsection.

  In the same instance that she took in his manicured fingernails, Eliza noticed a shift in Dax’s demeanor.

  “What’s this about, Detective? Why does the NYPD suddenly care about my business matters?”

  Eliza drew in a deep breath as she decided which route to take. Bluntly telling him that Angelique had been murdered would bring the whole conversation to a sudden halt and possibly cause him to leave. Dancing around the truth and questioning him before he knew didn’t seem right to Eliza, but she needed information. She gave herself another second, then asked, “Do you know of a woman by the name of Angelique Robinson?”

  Dax’s demeanor shifted again, but instead of becoming more guarded, he relaxed in the chair and began to laugh. Eliza couldn’t figure out why he found the question to be funny, and the longer Dax’s laughter went on, the more irritated she became, which wouldn’t help either of them in the long run.

  As he caught his breath, Dax said, “What has she done, and how much is bail?” He chuckled and shook his head. “She is going to owe me big time for this one.”

  “So, you know her?” Eliza pressed. His response had her going back to him being Angelique’s boyfriend, which was going to make the conversation much more complicated.

  “Know her?” Dax repeated with another brief laugh. “Detective, that woman has been a pain in my ass since I moved to the city twelve years ago.”

  That answered one of her questions. “What is your relationship with Ms. Robinson? Are you her boyfriend?”

  Dax’s deep laugh filled the small conference room once again, and Eliza scowled. The inappropriate response was eating away at the little bit of patience she had managed to pull together for him. Dax held up his hand as his laughter diminished to a soft chuckle.

  “Forgive me, Detective, but your question regards something that hasn’t been relevant for the last four years,” he explained between chuckles. He cleared his throat. “Angelique and I aren’t in a relationship. After our second attempt at one, we realized we’re better as friends than lovers. She is my best friend.” Dax gave Eliza a flirtatious smirk. “I tend to have a preference for stubborn women with hard shells.”

  Eliza narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a long second. She pulled a pen out of her pocket to write some notes on the inside of the manila folder. “And you said you’ve known her for twelve years?”

  “Yep. She’s the one who showed me the ropes of the job. Angie’s been protecting me for the longest time. We take care of one another, you know?” The affection in his voice made Eliza lift her head, and when Dax’s eyes met hers, she saw the worry in them. “Detective, what’s going on? Is she in serious trouble?”

  Eliza stared at him, dreading what she needed to do next. It was obvious that Dax had a close relationship with Angelique, and she knew he would be devastated by the news.

  Eliza exhaled a heavy breath and stood up from her chair. She walked around the table, and when she was close enough to Dax, she leaned against it. He looked up at her expectantly, and Eliza compartmentalized her emotions so she could tell him the awful news. “Mr. Collins,” she began gently, “Angelique was murdered yesterday evening.”

  Dax drew in a sudden breath, and his eyes grew wide.

  “A neighbor discovered her body,” Eliza continued. “They were supposed to go to dinner together.�
��

  Dax’s wide, brown eyes remained on her, and Eliza watched as tears filled them. “No,” Dax said with a shake of his head. “No, you’re lying.”

  “Mr. Col—”

  “No!” he shouted as he stood abruptly from his chair and walked to the corner of the room. “You’re lying. Angie can’t be dead.” He started pacing the length of the small conference room. “She can’t be. She can’t...” Dax’s head snapped up, and his gaze grew intense as he looked at Eliza. “I want to see her.”

  The request was one that Eliza got frequently from the loved ones of murder victims. It made the news real for them. Most of the time, she couldn’t grant it due to the usually horrendous nature of the victim’s death, but this time was different. “I will make sure that you see her after we finish here.” She moved to the chair he had vacated and pulled it out. “Take a second and sit down. We have enough time.”

  Dax’s eyes remained fixed on her for a few seconds, but after a moment he gave a curt nod and moved back to the chair, sitting down in it. Eliza walked back to the other side of the table and sat down in the other chair. She gave Dax another second. Though the pain on his face had lessened, he still looked lost.

  Eliza cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  The hollow words seemed to have no effect on Dax, and he continued to stare down at the metal table.

  “Mr. Collins, I have a few questions to ask you if you think you’re up to answering them,” she said softly.

  Dax let out a humorless chuckle. “I think I have to. When we were working the streets, Angie made me promise that I would avenge her death if anything ever happened to her.” He lifted his head, and a sad smile graced his features. “I’m still not putting on a latex suit for that wench.” Dax sighed, and his levity disappeared as suddenly as it had come. “Go ahead with your questions, Detective.”

  Eliza watched him drop his gaze back to the table, then asked, “What do you know about Angelique’s clients?”

  “Not much,” Dax replied quietly. “When we talked about our clients, we gave them code names.”