Death on the Strip (Death Card Series Book 1)

by J. S. Peck

  “Any time you’re involved in a meeting of any kind, set your phone up to record, if you can. Understand? Then let’s look at putting a special tracker on your car so I will be able to see where you are, okay?”

  “How are you going to do that? Don’t you need special equipment?”

  “No worries. I have a friend who’ll take care of everything. I’m going to ask you one more time, are you sure you want to continue helping me with this investigation?”

  “Absolutely! I believe the Chief of Police is involved somehow and if I can nail him…”

  “Wait! Why do you think that, Rosie?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said not wanting to wade through it all.

  “Does this have something to do with your fiancé?” he asked, intently.

  “How do you know about that?” I asked in astonishment.

  “Remember, I’m a newsman. I had a chance to read up on it when I was doing some research on the Chief of Police. I, too, believe he’s involved in some way.”

  “Oh,” I said, somewhat relieved to know we were on the same side of things. “What else did you find out about our wonderful Chief of Police?”

  “Quite a bit, actually. First of all, he claims that he is a graduate of Boston University, but he only completed two years there. He did so poorly that he was forced to join the marines to save himself from getting into more trouble with the police for drunken and disorderly conduct. He, himself, claims that becoming a marine saved his life. However, when digging further into it, I discovered that he was discharged early without any reason. Something is up with that.”

  “Who are his connections here then, I wonder?”

  “I don’t really know other than the obvious. I am going to be watching him closely the next few days. He seems to be ignoring the press who are asking questions about the murders. He has become very defensive about the police department in general. Something else is going on.”

  “What about your boss at Channel 5 News?”

  “Every time I mention anything about the murders, he just waves his hand at me and tells me to get out of his office. He says to find something better to report about. Very strange, don’t you think?”

  “More like he’s under orders from someone else,” I added, reflectively.

  “I think so, too. That’s why I am going to tail the Chief of Police for a while and see who his friends are.”

  “Have you been back to the Purple Passion Lounge?” I asked, innocently.

  Brian blushed and said in a strong voice, “I needed to talk to Tony and he’s been successful in ignoring me as a newsman. I think I should become a regular client. I’ll drop in for a drink or two at night. That way, when you’re working there, I’ll have already established myself as a regular. Good idea, don’t you think?”

  I chuckled to myself knowing he just wanted my approval for what he was doing. It certainly wasn’t up to me to approve or disapprove. Frankly, I thought there’d be value in having him there when I worked, so I nodded my head, answering, “Sure.”

  “By the way, when are you actually going to start working at the Purple Passion Lounge?”

  “In a few days. Probably Monday.”

  I stared at him until he looked at his watch and said, “Well, I guess I had better get going. Let’s stay in touch. I’ll call you tomorrow or you call me, okay?”

  “Sounds like a plan, Stan,” I replied with a smile.

  “Let me walk you to your car, then.”

  Brian took out his wallet and pulled some bills from it. Although we had only two glasses of wine, he was looking for our waitress to hand her an extra tip and an apology. I watched as Brian discreetly looked around searching the faces of the customers who were filing into the bar. I felt the hair on the back of my neck raise and looked back at the corner where we had been sitting. A rather large man had taken our spot and I could only see the back of his head, but something about him bothered me. I wasn’t sure what.

  They say that ignorance is bliss and now that I was aware that I could be in danger, I was seeing it everywhere.

  CHAPTER 15

  The next morning, Sophia was in a good mood and greeted me warmly. I, in turn, hadn’t slept very well and forced myself to respond with a cheery, “Good morning, Boss!”

  She was surprised at being called Boss. She responded with a chuckle, “That’ll be the day.”

  I followed her to the two desks where we’d been working the day before. She proceeded to hand me a file folder belonging to one of the PUP drivers. There was a second folder lying next to where the first file had been. “I want you to go through both folders and let me know if you see a difference between the two.”

  I hesitated then looked at her and said, “Okay.”

  I flipped open the first driver’s folder and studied it for a moment. There was simply one I- 9 form for verification and a W-4 form for payroll information. In addition there was a company form where the driver had filled in the requested information on make, model and year of car he would be driving, as well as a space for his cell phone number. There was also a number written across the top of the form that I couldn’t identify. There was no application or resume, no letters of references, no background check information and no drug tests verification. In addition, there was no proof of his current car insurance documentation. After scanning the file, I looked up at Sophia in surprise. “Oh my, Sophia, is this all there is?”

  “Just look through the other file and see if there is any difference,” she prodded.

  I laid down the first file and reached for the second. As I did so, I heard the back door of the office open and slam close followed by heavy footsteps.

  “Oh, dear. Just hide the files and pretend you are doing something else! Quick!” she added, hurriedly.

  “Good morning, sir! I didn’t expect you in today. Is everything okay?” Sophie called out as she immediately rose from her chair and headed to the back office.

  I couldn’t hear anything but mumbled sounds which rose higher in pitch. After a few minutes I heard heavy steps retreating to the back door. Then silence. Sophie returned a short while later looking a bit frazzled. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, and no. I’m in a predicament.”

  Worry creased her brow. She appeared to be weighing a decision. Finally, she asked in a low voice, “I need to be able to trust you, can I?”

  “Of course, you can,” I replied earnestly.

  “I don’t want a glib response, Rosie. Let me ask you again. Can I trust you completely?”

  “Yes, Sophie, you can. Cross my heart,” I replied, meaning it as I looked her straight in the eye.

  “Alright, dear. I believe you. There is something about you that makes me believe that I can trust you. That is why I thought it was a good idea to train you with what is going on at PUP. Let me explain a few things. I don’t know where else to turn.”

  “Sophia, you can count on me, honest.”

  “You remind me so much of myself at your age when I was filled with so much enthusiasm for life and believed the best of everyone.”

  She shook her head in dismay as she sat back in her chair recalling her memories. “I was just 18 when I first came to Las Vegas. I was so naïve about everything! I thought then I was beautiful enough to get whatever I wanted. For me, that was to be a big star on stage as a singer. Well, things didn’t go very well as you can imagine. Suddenly, I found myself pregnant, without a job. The only way left for me to bring in some money was to become a dancer in one of the older men’s lounges.

  It is there I met up with a man I thought wonderful at the time. I married him just in time so the baby appeared as if it were his. He and I both knew better, though. It didn’t seem to bother him at first. But as a few years passed, it became an issue with him. Anyone could plainly see our son didn’t look like either of us,
and my husband was constantly kidded about it by his friends. Especially since we had no other children of our own. One night, my husband lost control and smacked our son so hard it threw him across the room. I called the cops on him. My husband never forgave me. We were quietly divorced shortly after that incident. I haven’t seen him since.”

  She hesitated, “Do you want me to continue?”

  I couldn’t figure out where this conversation was going, but I was curious. “Of course, Sophia. Go ahead.”

  “Good,” she responded with obvious relief. “It was my boss who saved me. I began working for the company where I am now. There were only two of us in the beginning; the man you heard in the office earlier and me. Originally, he was a talent scout and agent looking for headliners for the Las Vegas strip. Back then, he had so many beautiful, young girls who needed money for one reason or another come to him for help that it was difficult for him to ignore. He soon realized he could solve both his and their financial problems by opening up an upscale lounge for men. The girls would act as hostesses, always remaining dressed and available for sitting with the men while they drank or ate their meal. Afterward, if requested by the man, they could dance formally with them to the sound of big band music or some of the other softer music. It was a kind of “old fashioned” club. Remember, in those days, everyone dressed in gowns and the men wore suits or tuxes.”

  She became lost in her story until I urged her, “Go on, Sophia, please continue.”

  “Making ends meet became harder and harder when our competition went into sexier means to satisfy the male clientele. To keep me on, my boss even gave me a small percentage of the business. That meant the world to me to be acknowledged in that way for we both knew he could never have kept the business running without me. Then we reached the point in our business where we had a choice to make. Although I was not happy about the small changes we made to make our lounge appear sexier, I went along with it. I thought we could keep everything under control and decent and make money. And we did … for a while.”

  Sophia looked nervously around almost expecting someone to listen in. “We continued to have some financial troubles because of increasing competition. Instead of closing the business while we were still ahead, my boss allowed a silent partner to join us. The odd thing is that I was never told or allowed to know who it is. That was part of the agreement. It still makes me mad to think of it! Now I’m so involved in all that’s going on, there isn’t much I can do to straighten things out. Just so you know, everything to do with him we reference as B. B.”

  My heart thumped so loud I thought Sophia must be able to hear it. I forced myself to remain calm and not act as if that reference meant anything to me. “Isn’t that strange?” I asked in a soft voice.

  Sophia continued. “I am determined to find out who that is. I don’t like being a part of this whole business of what’s going on at the Purple Passion with some of their drug issues and prostitution. It has become completely unprofessional and cheesy. Now we have PUP involved as part of it all,” she added with a disgruntled puff.

  “Hmm, so what are you going to do?”

  “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do! I’m going to find out who this B. B. is and give him more than a piece of my mind.”

  I watched as a grin spread across Sophia’s face as she laughed at herself for sounding so old fashioned. “I sound so stupid, I know.”

  I thought of the two young girls who had been involved with the lounge who were now dead. “Do you think any girl who works at the Purple Passion Lounge is in danger?” I asked, feeling leery of what I’d just learned.

  “Oh, no. Not at all. And Rosie, if I thought you’d be in danger in that position, I would rip up your employment contract right now! It’s only the girls who do more than dance who seem to get into trouble. They aren’t always ethical and the temptation of more money can sometimes get in the way. So no, my dear, in your position of hostess, I think you’re completely safe.”

  I wasn’t feeling so safe. With worry beginning to eat at me I asked, “So how do I fit into all of this, Sophia?”

  “I don’t want you involved in anything but keeping your ears and eyes open for who our silent partner might be, understand? Nothing else.”

  “Yes, I understand.” I was actually beginning to get excited about being the hostess at the Purple Passion Lounge. It would provide me the perfect opportunity to scout around the lounge without being obvious. I was going to love taking that B. B. down for sure if he was the cause of Melissa and Sally’s murders! I was eager and my heart pounded at that thought. I was liking this aspect of my detective work already.

  “Well, I suppose we’d better get back to the files, okay?” asked Sophia

  “Sounds good to me,” I responded, eager to see the difference between the two.

  As I mulled through the second file, it seemed only slightly thicker with just two extra sheets above and beyond what had been in the first file – an application and a copy of the driver’s auto insurance. Still no resume, no letter of reference, no background check and no drug test verification. “Sophia?” I called out.

  “Yes, Rosie.”

  “I understand that all the PUP drivers are independent contractors. Is that right?”

  “Yes, they are.”

  “Does that mean they don’t need to complete the other documents?”

  “Although we have them complete an application just to have the information, we don’t put it into their file. Should we need to hand over the files to any authority, we don’t want to confuse them, having them think that any driver is an employee. So we keep them separate in the file cabinet. Remind me to show you that later.”

  “Hmm. I guess that makes sense. Other than the application and insurance form in the second file, they seem alike. That is, except for two things.”

  “Yes?” asked Sophia.

  “Number one - the first file doesn’t have the driver’s insurance form and, number two – in the first file, there is a separate number written on top of the automobile form. What is that for?”

  “Ah,” she said. “Good. I’m glad you asked me. That is the number for us to override their tracking number.”

  “How come they all don’t have one?”

  “Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to know when I noticed the first one. When I asked my boss about it, he simply said, “Sophia, we have known each other for years now, right? As much as I don’t agree with everything that’s going on, there are a few things I absolutely won’t discuss with you. This is one of them.”

  After I got all huffy and puffy with him, he turned to me and said in a soft voice, “I don’t want you to get hurt. The more you don’t know, the better off you are.”

  My mind raced with different thoughts, not all pleasant. Something was not right. “Sophia, are you sure that you should be poking around? Remember …’curiosity killed the cat’…”

  She turned to me, forcefully reminding me, “But, ‘satisfaction brought him back’. No, Rosie, I have had enough. I have to get to the bottom of this.”

  We looked through a number of the other files. I began to type into the computer some of the drivers who had an override number written across the auto information page. We laughingly named it, “Mince Meat Pie,” since that is what we hoped B. B. would be after we caught him. We then put that document into a desk top folder we labelled “Recipes,” believing that no one outside ourselves would be interested in opening the folder.

  I downloaded some other recipes from the internet and added them to the Recipe folder to make it look more official. Sophia called out, “I’ll finish up. You’ve had enough. Call it a day. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I felt mentally and emotionally exhausted. I was more than glad to head home. What would tomorrow bring? For some reason, I felt it wasn’t going to be good.

  CHAPTER 16

  B
rian called me on my car phone on the way home. “How was your day?”

  “Interesting, to say the least. How was yours?”

  “Not much going on, to be honest. It seems that everyone is willing to let things slip by as though nothing like the death of two woman – two prostitutes, they’ve now named them - just happened. Simply old news and not a priority. I thought this evening I would head to the Purple Passion Lounge for ‘investigative’ reasons.”

  I smiled to myself and chose not to tease him about his choice of words. “Okay, then, let’s meet up tomorrow to review where we are. Sound good?”

  “If I can make it after a long night of spending time with all that sexiness,” he teased.

  Immediately irritated, I said, “Oh, for God’s sake, Cowboy!”

  “Oh, my! Testy, are we?”

  “Just tired.” I sighed, now annoyed with my foolish reaction.

  “Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow or better yet, why don’t we meet at Sam’s at 5?

  “I’ll be there. Have fun tonight,” I added and quickly hung up so I wouldn’t have to hear what he had to say about that. I was definitely tired and a bit cranky, too.

  After typing my notes of the day into my computer, I took Sweet Pea for a quick walk before dinner. Afterwards, we snuggled in for a movie on Netflix. To my surprise, I immediately fell asleep and woke up after the movie had ended with a message across my television screen asking if I was still there.

  I dragged myself to bed and collapsed onto it without even brushing my teeth. Sweet Pea looked at me in surprise. She was used to my nightly rituals and knew something was off. I cuddled her next to me and closed my eyes again, off to a dream land that was anything but peaceful.

  I kept dreaming of all types of cats, even the cartoon cat Felix, always with the words curiosity and satisfaction twirling around in all kinds of unpleasant ways. Once again, I dreamt of the funeral scene where I couldn’t see who was in the casket. I tossed and turned until I woke up around 4 o’clock. I couldn’t get back to sleep. After 30 minutes or so, I finally got out of bed. Before heading downstairs for a cup of coffee, I looked at Sweet Pea laying there peacefully on the top of the bed with one eye open watching me. She was there to stay, not about to get up this early.