by Joan Rylen
She looked in the closet and found several Middle Eastern-style, long-sleeved dresses and a black burqa neatly folded. She flung the garments to the floor but did not find anything useful to help escape.
How the hell am I going to get out of here?
A glimmer of silver caught her eye, and she knelt to look under the bed. Her Shoe-Be-Do shoe lay on its side, wooden heel just asking to be beaten into the window. After several blows to the glass, nothing happened except to flatten out the little plastic tip on the bottom of the heel.
Must be some special kind of glass to protect against hurricanes. Or prevent jumpers. Dammit!
Flinging the shoe to the floor, she walked into the bathroom and took a closer look at her reflection. Her face had been scrubbed of makeup. She touched the few freckles across her nose, then looked at her hair. The black dye completely covered her red. Not a speck remained.
She closed her eyes and sank to the floor in heaving sobs.
***
“What a load,” Kate said, frustrated. “Obviously that Voodoo woman didn’t have the gift. Or any gift other than bullshit.”
Lucy and Vivian stood across the street next to a walk-up daiquiri stop. “Whatcha drinkin’ there?” Wendy asked.
Vivian swirled her frozen turquoise drink around, then took a big sip. “Mmmm, it’s a blue Hawaiian, and it’s fantab. Want a sip?” She took another big drink, then got a brain freeze. “Ouuu! My dent!”
Vivian had an indention in the middle of her forehead that was only noticeable in pictures, especially if there was a flash. Everyone else in the picture would look great, but she’d end up with a glowing circle on her head.
Kate walked to the counter. “After that experience, I could use one of those.”
“Guess it didn’t go well,” Lucy said, swirling her drink with the straw.
“No, it did not,” Wendy answered. “The lady was just makin’ stuff up as she went along. She said Daisy was in Mexico and had the runs!”
“Maybe she meant she’s on the run in Mexico,” Vivian said, though she didn’t really think that.
“No, I fed her Mexico and Montezuma’s revenge. She took it from there. It was a joke.”
Kate turned around sucking on a purple concoction. She smacked her lips. “This is yum-ola.”
“If y’all are gonna be drinkin’ those, I vote for some food,” Wendy said, then grabbed Vivian’s blue drink and took a sip. “Mmmm, that is tasty.”
“Hang on to that while I text Adrienne and tell her we’re going to Kitty City tonight. See if they want to join the fun.”
They sipped and walked a few blocks and saw a place on the corner at Dauphine called Deanie’s Seafood.
“I could go for some fried shrimp,” Vivian said. “Let’s give it a whirl.”
There was no wait and the girls were seated right away at a bench that lined a large aquarium displaying glass fish, plants, crabs, shrimp and egrets.
They munched on the boiled potatoes that were served instead of bread, and ordered an array of shrimp. Fried, barbecued, blackened, stuffed. By the end, they were stuffed, too.
Kate put down her fork. “That hit the spot. We’ve got time to kill before Trikki comes on at Kitty City.”
“I’m not looking forward to this,” Wendy said. “We better find out some good info on this chick.”
“I have a feeling we will,” Kate said.
Vivian reached for her phone. “Let me call Jason, see if he has any updates.” He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Jason, anything new?”
“I think the cops have finally ruled me out as a suspect. They’re trying to find that dipshit Harry and now they’re looking into Vikki, too. Turns out she’s got two brothers in town who are big like the two fuckers who took Daisy. They’re trying to get warrants to look at Vikki’s financials along with her brothers and boyfriend.”
“We’re going to Kitty City tonight. Kate had a dream and we thought we should check Vikki out.”
“If the brothers are there, call the cops, then call me, then get the hell out of there.”
“Ouuu, watching their sister strip? That would be gross, but don’t worry about us, we’ll be on guard. Is there anything we can do for you?”
“No, Daisy’s family should be here first thing in the morning. My mom and dad will be here on the red-eye tonight, and the guys from my band are all on their way. They live local and we have a pretty big following. I’ve been doing a vlog and everyone is sharing it on Facebook, Twitter and among the music community. People are coming in from all over the country to look for her.”
“I’m glad you’re pushing the issue. Based on what little we’ve seen in the media, these other two girls haven’t gotten much attention, and Daisy needs all of our help. But she’s going to be okay, hang in there.”
“Thanks, Vivian. I’ve also gotten a local printer to donate 10,000 fliers. We’re going to plaster this town with her picture.”
“Damn, you’ve been busy!”
“She’s my everything. I’m going to find her. In the meantime, you guys stay out of trouble.”
“We’ll be fine. We use the buddy system!” That got a small laugh out of him and they disconnected.
Vivian shared the conversation with the girls. “He’s on a mission and sounds fired up. He has a purpose.”
She paid their dinner tab with their trust fund card and they headed back to Bourbon. A few doors down was a souvenir shop.
“Let me run in here and knock out gifts for the kids,” Vivian said.
The doors of the shop were lined with funny T-shirts. “I got Bourbon faced on Shit Street.” “FEMA – Fix Everything My Ass.” “I put Ketchup on my Ketchup.”
Vivian took a minute to read a few before moving to the kids T-shirts. She didn’t find anything for her kids, so she went back outside empty handed.
“Strike out?” Kate asked.
“Nothing reached out and grabbed me. Gotta keep looking.”
“There’s a neat shop on Royal that I’ve been to before, Forever New Orleans. Let’s go there,” Wendy said and led the way.
“So how are things with the kids, Rick, the…uh hum…marriage?” Lucy asked.
Vivian threw her head back. “Uhhhh. It’s stupid. The SPS interjects herself into everything. I swear she goes to the kids’ activities just to make herself look like the good stepmom. What she looks like is an idiot. A rude idiot, at that.”
“Stupid swimming pool slut,” Lucy said.
“What do you mean?” Kate asked Vivian.
“She came to Audrey and Lauren’s dance recital, but left early. She came to the Audrey’s PTA performance, but looked beyond bored. I seriously think she’s going just to show the world ‘I’m here so suck it.’ ”
“Is she nice to the kids?” Wendy asked.
“They don’t really talk about her, which I guess means she’s not beating them or anything like that.”
Kate gasped. “You don’t think?”
“No, Rick wouldn’t let that happen.”
Kate was relieved. “Okay, good.”
They arrived at Forever New Orleans which had an excellent, kid-friendly section. Vivian picked out a cute Alex the Alligator book for Ben, a stuffed sea turtle for Olivia, hair bows with crawfish on them for Lauren, and a Mardi Gras mask decorated with peacock feathers for Audrey. “The kids are going to love these.”
“Good job, momma,” Wendy said. “I was thinking about getting something for Lizzie.”
Wendy’s niece, Lizzie, had been diagnosed with a rare form of adrenal cancer at six-months old and not given much of a chance to live. Her parents didn’t accept that fate and took her to the Burzynski Clinic where she had been getting Antineoplaston treatment for the past two and a half years.
“How’s she doing?” Kate asked.
Wendy smiled and showed them a picture. “The tumors in her liver are gone and there are only two left in her lungs, but they’re shrinking. She’s going to beat this!”
; Lucy took Wendy’s phone and enlarged the picture. “Wow, she looks great. Doesn’t even look sick.”
Wendy looked at the picture again. “She doesn’t act it either. Into everything.” She turned her attention back to Vivian. “What do you suggest for her?”
“Look at the little book I bought.” Vivian pushed a lever on the side of the alligator head at the top of the book and its mouth opened and closed. “Hours of entertainment.”
“Special book for a special niece. Sold.”
Chapter 20
Shopping out of the way, Vivian, Wendy, Lucy and Kate walked to Bourbon and down a couple of blocks, and there it was. Kitty City. Hot pink neon lights reflected off the murky puddles in the street.
“This isn’t going to be one of those live sex act places, is it?” Lucy asked.
“Guess we’re about to find out,” Vivian said.
Standing outside the door and trying to lure in dollar bills was a dancer in high-heeled, black patent leather boots with a string around her neck, the middle of her back, top of her waist, around her thighs and down her crack. She turned to greet the girls when they walked up, revealing the thin strap in front, barely covering her nipples, and a small flap of fabric covering her coochie.
“We love the ladies, no escort needed,” String girl said and handed them a postcard of Trikki Vikki. “We have a special treat tonight, but there is a two-drink minimum.”
Vivian said thanks while Lucy snickered and Wendy started to laugh, then tried to cover it up with a cough.
Once inside, they found a table close to the stage. The current feature, a spiky-haired, flat-chested girl, looked stoned. She was using the pole more to hold herself up than to dance.
Vivian couldn’t help but think of Josh Weathers’ song, “What Does It Mean To You,” as she looked around. His lyrics rang true for the girls here, You know your momma raised ya better. None of them looked happy to be there. Eight hundred dollars a night, opens up your days. And you got them bills you just…got to pay. Brand new Benz sittin…in the driveway, but that’s probably why they were.
Vivian laughed to herself. I doubt these girls are pulling in $300 a night, much less $800. Her attention was diverted by the waitress in a red pleather dress with keyhole cutouts around the navel and cleavage. The girls ordered a round of beers, and Vivian looked at the waitress like she must have misunderstood the order when she set glasses not much bigger than a shot glass in front of them.
“Sixteen dollars, please,” Pleatherette said.
“Uhhh, we ordered four beers,” Vivian said.
“Yep, that’s it. Sixteen dollars.”
The girls paid, shot their beer, then ordered their mandatory second round. Vivian scanned the crowd for big guys. Instead she saw two big girls in matching shirts, Bitch 1 and Bitch 2. They sat stage left and had their attention focused on the stoned dancer. One of them noticed Vivian looking at them and waved.
Vivian gave a hesitant smile.
The music changed to Marcy Playground’s “I Smell Sex and Candy.” A big-busted, solid black dancer sauntered on stage wearing a candy-striper outfit and carrying an oversized candy cane, the kind in yards around Christmas. She shimmied, swiveled and swung, never dropping her prop.
The Bitches were front and center, ready to give Candy a treat. Bitch 1 was tall, probably 5-9, with dirty blonde hair. She frantically waved a dollar in the air as Candy danced over, removing her striper layer and revealing a G-string as yellow as a banana Laffy Taffy.
Lucy leaned over to Vivian, nodding her head in approval. “You have to admit, that’s a good color for her.”
Bitch 2 was shorter with dark, country-girl plain Jane hair. She was more discreet with her dollar, gently placing it in Candy’s taffy string.
Instead of walking back to their table, the matching Bitch set took the spot next to Vivian and the girls, who all looked at each other and shared a moment of mortification.
It won’t last long, Vivian thought.
Bitch 2 leaned over to Vivian. All Vivian could see was the giant cold sore on her lip.
“Hey there, I’m Tereza. This is Susie.” Bitch 1 lifted her chin in a nod. “Are you here to see Trikki Vikki?”
“As a matter of fact, we are,” Vivian answered, trying to look at her eyes and not her nasty lip. “We saw her last night, too. She’s something else.”
“Can I buy you a drink?”
Vivian held up her shot glass of beer. “I’m set. Thanks, though.”
Bitch 2 rubbed Vivian’s arm. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
Bitch 1 hit 2’s arm. “What the fuck are you doing? Flirting with this straight bitch right in front of me?”
Bitch 2 shoved her chair back, which fell over. “I’ll talk to whoever I want to talk to. What’s your problem?”
The bouncer was suddenly between them. “That’s it. You’re out.”
Bitch 1’s eyes flashed and she shoved her girth against him. “This is bullshit. We haven’t done anything. We bought our two stupid drinks.”
“Out.” The bouncer stood his ground and pointed to the front entrance.
Bitch 2 stormed off and Bitch 1 got in his face. “You’re messing with the wrong bitch.” She turned and walked out.
At the door, Bitch 1 broadsided a familiar face.
Adrienne shoved her back. “Watch where the fuck you’re goin’!”
The bouncer jumped between them and kept shoving the Bitches out the door. Al pulled another table and two chairs over to sit with Vivian and the girls.
“I can’t believe I’m in this place,” Adrienne said, inspecting the surroundings. “I feel like I should disinfect the seat.”
Lucy passed her an antibacterial wipe. “I used one, too.”
Adrienne took it and cleaned her hands. “Thanks, sugar.”
Vivian took in the sticky residue on their table and cringed, then hugged Adrienne’s neck. “So good to see y’all! Thanks for meeting us at this sleazy joint.”
Al smirked. “I’ve been in worse.” He looked up at the current feature on stage. “On second thought,” he joked.
The stripper was too thin, too drunk and too uncoordinated.
“I think she’s the in-between entertainment,” Kate said as she finished off her itty-bitty beer.
“We need something better goin’ on over here,” Al said, looking around for a server. She arrived and he ordered two bottles of champagne. “Don’t give me the cheap shit, either.”
After the waitress walked off, Wendy asked Al, “Any updates from your friends?”
“Word on the street is there is no word on the street. My guy that knows the lead detective on Simone Hitchens’ case got some info, but it’s nothing Antonio hasn’t told us.”
A man emerged from a metallic fringe curtain hanging near the back of the stage and sat down at the table the Bitches had vacated. Vivian immediately recognized him from the security video.
Chapter 21
Vivian leaned forward at the table at Kitty City, being careful not to lean her arms on the sticky surface, and said as quietly as she could to the girls, Al and Adrienne, “Look who just sat down!” She casually tilted her head toward Trikki Vikki’s boyfriend.
Wendy said under her breath, “Vikki must be coming on soon.”
Trikki Vikki’s boyfriend looked over at Vivian.
They locked eyes and she smiled. We need this guy. “Hey there,” she said, holding up her tiny beer.
“Hey.”
Vivian discreetly pulled her shirt down to flash more cleavage as the waitress poured her a glass of champagne. She waited for Vikki’s boyfriend to get his bottle of beer, then she leaned over with her champagne. “I’m Vivian.”
“Clint.”
She held up her glass to toast his. “To a great show.”
He seemed to like that and clinked her glass, then took a long draw. After a moment he said, “You don’t seem like the usual crowd.”
I need an excuse, quick! Oh! “We work fo
r Gino over at the French House. He’s got us scoping new talent.”
“This next girl will be the best of the night. Vikki can pull some tricks out of her hat, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, we saw her last night at Gino’s. She rocked the house.”
Clint puffed his chest out. “Yeah, that’s my lady.”
“Are y’all just passing through town on the exhibition tour?”
“Yeah, Vikki’s gonna win that title in Vegas.”
“She winning enough to put y’all up somewhere nice while you’re here?”
“It’s some little place in the Quarter. We only need it to fuuuuh - sleep.”
Vivian laughed and toasted him again, then got up. “I hear ya. Be right back.” She ran her hand across his shoulders, letting her fingernails tease, and looked at the girls. “Buddy system.”
Lucy and Adrienne popped up, then followed her to the back, where the facilities left much to be desired.
“What the hell are you doin’ flirting with Trikki Vikki’s boyfriend?” Lucy asked. “She’ll kill you.”
“I’m trying to get some information. They’re the enemy, remember. I just want to know where they’re staying so we can check it out.”
Adrienne checked her lipstick in the mirror. “Antonio will know, but after y’all showed up at Harry’s hotel today, he’s not going to tell either of us.”
“Dammit,” Vivian said, using her foot to push open a stall. “I wish I didn’t have to go!” Her thighs burned from the hovering. As she washed her hands, she was grateful there was soap in the dispenser.
The three of them went back together, and as Vivian walked through the club she was surprised at the crowd. She did a double take at Antonio sitting at a table, alone, in the far right corner. She instinctively started to wave but Adrienne pulled her hand down.
Vivian pulled her chair closer to Clint as she sat down. “Is Vikki coming on soon?” Before Clint could answer, Gwen Stefani’s “Holla Back Girl” started playing.