Skin

by Patricia Rosemoor

  “I want to get to know you better, Lilith.”

  “I told you I can only stay for a few minutes.”

  “Over tea,” he continued. “High tea is so civilized, don’t you think?” Staring at her cleavage, he leaned forward and slipped a hand over hers. His palm was sweaty, making her skin crawl. “And I can tell you are the kind of girl who appreciates class.”

  Was he for real? Lilith laughed as she removed her hand and fussed with the vest, and inadvertently, the heart-half. “What? I have ‘class’ written across my forehead?”

  Paul’s gaze was caught by the movement, and then he stared up into her face as if judging her. A cunning expression quickly flickered across his features.

  “I want to take you to nice places.” He spoke as if her going out with him was a done deal. “We can start with The Plaza, say tomorrow afternoon.”

  “You want to go to a hotel? For tea?”

  He suddenly seemed off a beat, not quite the nice boy-next-door. “And finger sandwiches. I like the watercress and cucumber, don’t you?”

  He licked his lips, and she swore he giggled. Both of which gave her the creeps.

  Whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this. Anxious to get away from him, she sought an excuse.

  But before she could find one, he said, “Anna was nice, too. You remind me of her.”

  The reference to her sister grabbed Lilith’s full attention. Her smile faded. She was no longer amused. Too thrown to stay at the creep’s table, she needed to process this.

  What if he was the one?

  She rose and looked for an escape. “A customer is waving me over.”

  “Meet me in the lobby of The Plaza a little before four. And wear something conservative.”

  Lilith walked off, muttering to herself. “High tea at The Plaza. Either this guy’s nuts, or... this guy’s nuts.”

  But she couldn’t forget about the doubt he’d put into her, couldn’t forget the comment about Anna. Had it been deliberate? Or had he just been babbling? She might never know. Why, oh why hadn’t she stayed put? This was the first lead she’d gotten, and she’d blown it. She could take care of herself, so why had the little creep gotten to her?

  When she pulled herself together, Lilith vowed, she would try to find out whether Paul Ensdorf was merely weird... or capable of murder.

  Somehow she got through the next couple of hours. All the while, she was aware of Michael watching her work. Eventually she got used to it and simply ignored him.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if one of the dancers knew something about the predator at the club. Did they all have the same attitude as Hannah? Did they all crave power over the men who lusted for them? It didn’t seem so. As far as she could determine, Mariko was all about the money. To Caresse it was just a job. Melinda seemed to be trying to prove something to her brother. And the big surprise was Irene, who apparently saw stripping as an artistic challenge.

  When the last dance of the night was over, all the women gathered backstage in various states of undress. Several had tattoos, but one dancer had more ink than virgin skin. Unable to fathom why she’d want to look like a freak, why men would be attracted to tats on a near-naked woman, Lilith slipped out of her waitress uniform and into Hannah’s dress as quickly as possible. Still uncomfortable with the reality of these women’s lives, she dressed with her back to them.

  Why did they do this? They made enough money to get out and find a better life, so why didn’t they?

  Part of the answer was obvious. The place reeked of marijuana, and one of the dressing tables had some leftover powder. Did they all waste their money on drugs? Did Hannah?

  Removing her makeup looking in the room-length mirror, Irene asked, “So what did Paulie want, Lilith?”

  “Uh-oh, he didn’t waste any time, did he?” chirped Mariko.

  “Does he always hit on the new servers?” Lilith asked, hoping she sounded casual.

  “Only the really tall ones.”

  “Tall ones with dark hair,” Irene amended, patting her own blond curls. “Dancers, too.”

  “He isn’t the only guy who likes tall brunettes.” Mariko glanced pointedly at Caresse.

  She and Irene laughed as if sharing a joke. Lilith didn’t get it. Were they intimating Caresse was gay... or something else? Only guy? A transvestite? Caresse glared at them and didn’t crack so much as a smile.

  “There’s something really weird about the little geek,” Caresse told Lilith.

  “I know what you mean,” Lilith said.

  She stood in front of the mirror, playing at fussing with her hair so she wouldn’t have to leave just yet. These women might all be acquainted with the murderer. If so, she had to know what they did.

  Mariko snorted. “Caresse don’t have nothing good to say about men in this joint.”

  The black dancer gave the smaller woman a threatening look that made her back off. To Lilith, she said, “You think real good before you socialize with anyone you meet here.”

  “Miz Paranoia.” This from Irene.

  “I got reason to be paranoid. We all got good reasons, huh? Three of ’em.”

  “Two. Only two are dead!” Lilith insisted.

  The room went quiet, each of the women suddenly concentrating on getting out of there.

  “Do any of you have reason to suspect one of the customers?” Lilith asked. “Or how about one of the employees? What about that Rudy?” She hadn’t forgotten him. Allie said he didn’t like redheads. “Is he into blondes or women with dark hair?”

  “He’s not into me, thankfully,” Irene said.

  If anyone knew anything more than that, she wasn’t talking.

  Frustrated by the silence, Lilith said, “We need to watch each other’s backs.”

  All that did was to chase the dancers away, leaving behind the smell of fear. The only one left was Caresse.

  “If one of them knew, she wouldn’t talk, Lilith. She would be afraid of being the killer’s next target.”

  “He’s not done with Hannah yet. Not according to the police.”

  “You mean Anna.”

  Lilith nearly choked on her gaffe. “That’s what I said – Anna,” she lied.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Caresse jerked open a big leather shoulder bag and threw in her makeup kit. Lilith caught a glimpse of a handgun before the flap descended to hide the weapon once more. She guessed Caresse had good enough cause for arming herself – who wouldn’t want protection under the circumstances?

  Lilith would rather depend on her learned street survival skills than a weapon that could be turned against her.

  oOo

  Chapter 10

  LILITH SLEPT most of the next day and didn’t roll out of bed until midway through the afternoon. She wasn’t used to waitressing or being on her feet wearing heels for hours. Today would be even busier. She had a class before work and before that an even more important mission.

  Normally, Lilith didn’t pick up Carmen, rather met the girl at the gym, but today she made an exception. Carmen’s future was at stake.

  The Vargases lived in a big apartment complex in one of the streets in Uptown that hadn’t yet been gentrified. The building was surrounded by scrubby grass and had one sad-looking tree in the courtyard. Lilith entered the litter-strewn hallway and was buzzed up to the third-floor apartment.

  How twelve people lived in a single city apartment, even a big one, was something she couldn’t fathom.

  Carmen met Lilith at the front door. “I told Mama you wanted to talk to her. I think she’s not too happy.”

  The teen escorted Lilith into the living area, whose floor was strewn with toys and three little kids.

  Balancing a baby on her hip, Mrs. Vargas awaited her with a sour expression. “What can I do for you, Miss Mitchell?”

  “I was hoping to talk to you about Carmen’s future. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

  The woman nodded and indicated she should sit. Carmen took the baby fr
om her mother, then rounded up her little brothers and sisters and escorted them out of the room.

  “Your daughter has a lot of responsibility for one so young,” Lilith said.

  “As did I. By the time I was eighteen, I already had her and was pregnant with her brother.”

  Which made Mrs. Vargas thirty-five with nine children to care for. She looked far older. Fine lines already radiated from the corners of her eyes and around her mouth. Her hair was already streaked with gray.

  “Carmen wants something different for herself.” Lilith tried to phrase this carefully, so as not to hurt the woman’s feelings. “What do you really want for her?”

  “I am a good mother!”

  “Of course you are, Mrs. Vargas. And I know things are difficult for you and your family. But if Carmen were able to finish high school and go on, things could be very different for her. And for your other children.”

  “You don’t understand. People here don’t have choices like you.”

  “Like me? If anyone understands being desperate for a different life than she was dealt, I do, Mrs. Vargas. At least your children are loved and protected. I had to escape my old life, and I did so by going to school.”

  The woman’s expression changed at the revelation, and Lilith sensed a tentative connection.

  “You think this is possible for my Carmen?”

  “She’s a very smart girl. She wants to go to college. I’m sure she can get a scholarship. At least she could go to one of the city colleges. I know it’s a sacrifice for you, but think of the future. If Carmen could get an education, she could get a really good job. And she wants to help her brothers and sisters do the same.”

  “They’re not like her. Not ambitious.”

  “And they never will be if you don’t give Carmen the chance to set the example. Don’t take away her dreams. Just think about it, please.”

  An excruciating few seconds passed before Mrs. Vargas nodded. “I want my children to have more than this,” she said, looking around at the tired furniture in the too-crowded apartment. “I’ll talk to my husband.”

  Lilith hadn’t realized how tense she’d been until the woman agreed. Carmen had come to mean a lot to her. She’d been trying to do for the girl she mentored what she hadn’t been able to do for her own sister.

  They were barely out the door and into the courtyard before a cautious Carmen asked, “So what did Mama say?”

  “She promised to speak to your father.”

  “Yes!” Carmen hugged Lilith and danced around her. “I knew you could do it!”

  “Nothing is settled.”

  “But it will be.” Carmen threw her arms around Lilith’s neck and nearly strangled her. “You’re the best!.”

  Her euphoria lasted all the way to the gym.

  It was only when they were changing clothing in the locker room that Lilith’s mood darkened. Another early morning dream of her sister’s murder had haunted her on and off all day, and now the memory returned.

  By the time she got to the mat, she was worrying again about what might have happened to Hannah. As she warmed up with Elena as her partner, she was wondering if Hannah could have gotten free of her kidnapper if she’d known how to fight back. And as Lilith fought Jack, he became the nameless padded man in her mind.

  Then became something more sinister.

  The man who had taken her sister...

  A killer...

  Pumped, she let loose with a viciousness she’d only dreamt about all those years when dealing with her brutal stepfather. This was for real. She snap-kicked his kneecap and followed with a double strike to his nose and throat.

  He went down.

  Blind with fury, she sat and kicked him in the head with her heel... kicked again... and again... and again...

  ...until voices around the mat finally got to her.

  “Lilith, please!” the instructor pleaded. “Stop!”

  Lilith jerked to an uneasy stop.

  The man who’d volunteered to be a punching bag scooted away from her. And all around the mat, the women were staring at her, their expressions shocked.

  Abruptly, Lilith came out of the zone.

  Horrified at her own actions, she rose and offered Jack her hand. “So sorry, Jack, I don’t know what got into me,” she lied.

  Jack refused her help and got up himself, removed his head padding and threw it to the mat. Giving her a disgusted glare, he turned his back on her and strode off toward the men’s locker room.

  All eyes were glued to Lilith. She closed herself off from the stares. Seconds later, she was being escorted to the locker room, Elena holding one arm, Carmen the other.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Elena whispered.

  But Carmen seemed pumped rather than disturbed. “Nobody better mess with you!”

  A stricken Lilith looked at Elena, but her friend had nothing to say, so Lilith quickly showered and dressed.

  Surely Elena understood her fear and frustration for Hannah. Lilith had spent more than half her lifetime under the thumb of a man who made her fear him, and just when she thought she had the fear conquered, it came rushing back to haunt her. She knew how to fight – she’d just proved that. The problem was calling up the will at the right time.

  On the person who deserved it.

  “Are you going to be all right?” Elena finally asked when they were ready to leave.

  “I don’t know, Elena. I’m trying.”

  But she didn’t feel all right. Blind rage had given her focused strength, but now that her adrenaline had plummeted, she was uncertain not only of herself but of her decision to act as a lure for whoever had Hannah.

  She couldn’t shake the doubt. It followed her into Club Paradise. Storing her emotions to some far corner of her mind, she changed into her uniform and entered the lounge. She didn’t get far.

  Halfway to the bar, a balding customer sitting alone at a table grabbed her by the wrist. He whirled her into his lap against his paunch and wrapped his beefy arms around her, saying, “Honey, I got something for you.”

  The confidence she’d had an hour ago was gone. Her pulse rushing, she gasped, “Let go of me!” To her horror, Lilith suddenly felt weak, like in the old days with her stepfather. She couldn’t find the strength to push herself away from the repulsive man.

  “Oh, now don’t be like that.” He pulled her closer, his whiskey-breath nearly choking her as he said, “I have plenty of money,” right in her face. “You’re just my type.”

  “You’re not mine.” Panicked, she struggled against him, her hands ineffectively pushing at his chest. His arms around her were like steel. Forgetting everything she knew about defending herself, Lilith went light-headed.

  Before she could pull herself together, she heard a firm “Let go of the lady” and glanced back to see Michael standing over them.

  The customer tightened his grip. “Who the hell are you?”

  Michael grabbed the man by the throat and jerked the man’s head back. His expression grim, he glared down into the man’s beady brown eyes threateningly. “I said let go.”

  The arms binding her immediately loosened.

  Her heart thumping wildly, Lilith jumped to her feet, and Michael released the man even as Sal rushed up to them followed by a bouncer.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Sal demanded.

  “I was doing his job.” Michael indicated the bouncer.

  “Whatsamatter, Sal?” the customer whined. “Your girls too good for the regulars now?”

  Lilith recovered her breath. “I am not one of Sal’s girls. I serve drinks. Period.”

  With a look of gratitude and a mouthed thank you for Michael, Lilith stalked off, but Sal caught up to her, grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. “Hey, Tommy’s a good customer.”

  Her anger restoring her confidence, Lilith pulled her arm from his grasp. “That doesn’t mean he gets to handle my merchandise. And neither do you.”

  “Tommy can afford to
handle anything he wants, know what I mean? And you oughta be nicer to the man who pays your salary.”

  Lilith controlled her mouth. She couldn’t lose this job. Not now. Not until she knew Hannah was safe. But afterward...

  She gritted her teeth and raced away from Sal, not to the bar, but back to the dressing room, where she threw herself into a chair before the mirror. Angry with herself for caving to fear the first time she’d had to face it in the club, she said, “I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!”

  Caresse sauntered in and checked her own makeup case. When she couldn’t find what she wanted, she went through Mariko’s case, seemed to be examining it thoroughly before borrowing a blush.

  As she swiped some color across her dusky cheeks, she said, “Had a little trouble, huh?”

  “I freaked out because the customer surprised me is all.”

  “Uh-huh. I didn’t think you’d worked a joint like this before.”

  “I’m that transparent?”

  Putting down the makeup, Caresse appeared serious. “You got options, you know. Go back to whatever it was you were doing before you get immune.”

  The dancer seemed to be the most likely person to care about her sister. “That girl who disappeared... Anna... was she immune?”

  Caresse stared at her via the mirror. “She was a lot like you, honey. Tough on the outside, but on the inside, well, she just tried not to show it.”

  “Sounds like you really knew her.”

  The dancer shrugged. “As well as anyone around here knows anyone, I guess. Gotta go. I’m on next.”

  After Caresse left, Lilith took a big breath and regrouped. She was going to have to play nice with the customers just like Hannah had, or she wouldn’t tempt the kidnapper-killer to come for her. Straightening her hair and putting on another coat of lipstick, she readied herself for another try at the big room. On the way out, she passed Mariko, who had just come off stage. The other dancer didn’t say anything, merely gave her a look that told Lilith that Mariko didn’t think she would last.

  But Mariko didn’t know her.

  No matter that she’d had a setback; Lilith wasn’t the teenager who’d had to escape her home to survive.