by Joan Rylen
“Every minute sucks worse than the one before, but at least I have some help now. I have people handing out fliers in the Quarter and going door to door in other parts of the city.”
“That is fantastic. The more people who see her face, the better.” Vivian then told him about their adventures the previous day, from Trikki Vikki’s show to following Kevin to the pizza place. “Do you happen to know his last name or where he lives?”
“The cops aren’t telling me shit. I think the news people know more than I do, and that ain’t much.”
“We just talked with Antonio, and he said they’re working all the leads. The tip line is evidently bringing in some information, too.” She wasn’t about to tell him Antonio thought there was a problem with the investigation. “He mentioned something we thought was odd. He said Lala hated Daisy. Did you know that?”
Jason groaned. “No, she’s usually very friendly toward her.”
“That’s not what Antonio got.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I slept with La once about three months before I met Daisy. It wasn’t a big deal, you know. I got the impression she wanted more but it just wasn’t happening. I have another call, gotta go.”
Vivian turned to the girls. “Oh my god, he slept with Lollipop!”
“No wonder she hates Daisy,” Lucy said. “She was a jilted stripper.”
Kate got out her phone. “We’ve gotta find Lala and the brothers. We need to know if she’s dancing tonight and where, and their real last name and an address.”
“Even if we did get that,” Lucy said, “what are we going to do?”
“I am not going to another strip club,” Wendy said. “I’ve seen enough.”
“If she’s dancing somewhere you don’t have to go in, I will,” Vivian said. “We can follow her when she leaves.”
“I’m having flashbacks of cigarettes in my lap. I’m not sure this is a good plan.”
“It’ll be fine,” Vivian said. “We’ve gotta help Daisy.”
Lucy whipped out her phone. “Let’s just see what we can find on little Miss Lala.” She Googled Gino’s strip club and used it to get Lala’s Twitter handle. She checked her tweets and found out Lala was dancing tonight at Rick’s Cabaret on Bourbon, main stage at midnight.
“That’s easy enough,” Kate said. “We’ll be there.”
Wendy threw her napkin on the counter. “All right, fine. I can stand out on Bourbon with a drink at least.”
“You could get into more trouble doing that than going in the club,” Lucy said and laughed.
“True, but I’ll take my chances.”
“That’s decided, but for now, on to the brothers.” Lucy pulled up Trikki Vikki’s Facebook fan page.
Kate fiddled with her empty coffee cup. “What exactly are we going to do with that information?”
Lucy kept clicking. “Go to their house. Look around. Clint said they have a mess to clean up, and I want to know what it is.”
“You heard what Antonio said. Do you really think we ought to be doing that?”
Vivian shrugged. “We gotta do something. She’s a page six story right now. Below the fold.”
“That’s not going to cut it,” Wendy said. “Let’s go snoop.”
Lucy held out her phone. “You’re never gonna believe this. Check it out.”
She had pulled up a picture of Clint, Kevin and another guy on an airboat in a swamp. The caption read, “Gator huntin’ with the bros.” Kevin and Devin Smith were tagged.
“His last name is Smith,” Vivian exclaimed. “That damn Antonio!”
“Shut the front door,” Kate said.
“Last time I fall for that!”
They all got a good laugh. Lucy looked the brothers up on White Pages, then mapped it.
“This is in mid-cities,” Wendy said. “We can hit the streetcar and get over there pretty quick. We should probably wait until it’s dark.”
“What are we going to do in the meantime?” Kate asked.
“Where are the dream notes?” Lucy asked.
“Vivian has them,” Kate said.
Vivian pulled the crumpled paper from her purse. “I almost forgot to take this out of my skirt, but I remembered right before we left the room this morning.” She placed it on the table.
Lucy read it aloud. “Don’t be tricked. Flower petals will float and fly. You must look through the dense forest to see into the mirrors.”
Vivian tapped her fingers on the counter. “I feel like we’ve covered the tricked and flower petals as best we can, except for checking out Vikki’s brothers.”
“I don’t know what the dense forest is,” Kate said, frustrated. “Or the mirrors.”
“And what about float and fly?” Wendy asked. “Any other thoughts?”
Everyone was quiet.
A sound similar to a slot machine rang out next to Vivian. A lady down the counter answered her phone.
“Wait a second!” Vivian said, thinking about her numerous nights gambling down the street. “Harrah’s has a big wall of mirrors at the escalator going from the casino to the hotel. Maybe that’s it.”
No one seemed excited about this revelation.
“Maybe the dense forest is the swamp?” Lucy said. “A boat floats.”
“Yeah, but there’s a lot of swamp around here,” Wendy said. “Where do we even begin to start?”
Kate closed her eyes for a minute, then opened them. “Okay, Harrah’s is walking distance and the four of us can cover the casino. The swamp, I’m afraid, is beyond what we can do.”
Vivian stood up, clapped, then rubbed her hands together. “Ladies, break out your wallets. It’s time to go gambling!”
“Just keep in mind, we’re on a mission to find Daisy,” Wendy said.
“I know, I know, but the sound of slot machines is in my future.”
The girls paid the check, then made their way to Decatur, then North St. Peter to Canal. The bright lights of the giant Harrah’s globe beckoned Vivian, and she walked faster the closer they got.
She ran up the steps. “Take my picture!”
Kate pulled out her phone. “Only you would want a picture with a giant ball.”
Vivian could not deny this.
They went in but weren’t carded by security.
“Damn, we’re getting old,” Wendy said.
Once inside, Vivian led the way to the mirrored escalator. They rode down, then back up, then down again.
“Let’s take a picture like in that movie!” Lucy squealed.
“Like in The Hangover?” Kate asked.
“That’s it,” Lucy said and snapped a few shots.
“Excuse me,” Vivian said. “This was actually from Rain Man. The Hangover made a spoof of it.”
“Whatever,” Lucy said. The pictures didn’t get everyone in, so they rode up, then back down and tried again. Lucy was more successful the second time, so they rode the escalator up and stopped to regroup.
“The mirrors talking to you, Kate?” Wendy asked.
“The slot machines are drowning out everything. I got nothing.”
Lucy waved her hand in front of her face. “The smoke’s killing me. Let’s go.”
“Whoa ho ho ho,” Vivian said. “No need to rush this. I say we split up and search the casino for more mirrors. Or a forest. You know, these casinos can have some weird themed crap around. I’d hate to hurry and miss something.”
Lucy smiled. “You’re not fooling anyone.”
“I don’t have any idea what you’re implying.”
“Vivian, we know you’re just dying to throw some money into a machine. Any machine.”
Vivian pulled her best shocked look. “Moi?”
Wendy looked around. “I gotta go to the bathroom anyway. You’ve got 30 minutes.”
Vivian jumped up and down.
“Show us where you’ll be,” Kate said. “We’ll hit el baño, then walk around.”
Vivian took them to The Hangover slot machine and sat
down. “I’ll be right here. I like looking at Bradley Cooper, and that Asian guy cracks me up.” She whipped out her player’s card and put it in the machine, along with $100.
The display lit up. Welcome, Vivian!
“Anyone want a drink? I can order one on the slot machine!” Vivian worked on her order of rum and Coke as the others turned and walked away.
“Where’s the restroom?” Kate asked Lucy and Wendy, looking around. She felt a need to go toward the high-limit slots, she didn’t know why. They found the restroom and met right outside afterward.
“Is that slot machine a $100 minimum?” Lucy asked, pointing to a Lucky 7s nearby.
Kate walked over to it. “Actually, if you bet the max per spin, it’s $300.”
“Wow,” Wendy said, “Who does that?”
A purple-haired woman with tubing wrapped around her face connecting to her oxygen tank sat at another Lucky 7s. She stared intently at the spinning reels, continuously pushing the max spin button, lit cigarette in hand.
“That’s an explosion waiting to happen,” Wendy said, then directed them out of the area.
A loud crash to the right got Kate’s attention. She looked toward the commotion and stopped in her tracks, shocked at who had a hand of cards and a pile of chips.
***
Daisy devoured her breakfast but didn’t drink the coffee or orange juice that had been delivered. She didn’t trust them not to roofie her again. The food made her feel better physically, but as the day wore on, she felt worse and worse emotionally. She had searched the room again, looking for anything to help her break out, use as a weapon or write a note to post in the window. Nothing had magically appeared.
Having no resources other than herself, she could think of only one other option. She opened the curtains and took off her shirt and bra. Maybe she could catch the attention of someone in the two-story building across the street, or on Chartres, who would be offended and call police. Either way, surely security would come to the room and she could escape.
Daisy waved frantically for 20 minutes, always listening for the lock. No one noticed her. Arms tired and getting frustrated, she dragged the desk chair to the window and stepped up. She pressed her chest against the glass and looked down. A tourist had a camera with a long lens pointed down the street.
Point it this way! Point it this way!
He slowly turned and angled the lens to what seemed like her direction. She started jumping on the chair, waving and boobs bouncing. He lowered the camera and looked at the hotel, then lifted it again and adjusted the focus.
He saw me! She started waving frantically again and mouthing the words help me. She pointed to him and drew an S-O-S in the air. She clasped her hands together under her chin and begged for his help. He lowered the camera, then lifted it again toward her. She repeated everything, but this time instead of S-O-S, she indicated 9-1-1 with her fingers. He let his camera hang around his neck and pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket.
Daisy put her shirt on and felt a wave of relief when a police car pulled up and her favorite tourist walked over to it. Then came a quick click of the lock and the door opened. She flinched and was too scared to get off the chair.
“Get down, now!” a burly Middle Eastern man yelled, running into the room.
When she didn’t move, he slung her over his shoulder and threw her onto the bed. She squirmed trying to get away. The doorbell to the suite rang and he threw his hand over her mouth and whispered, “I will end your life right now if you move.”
The pressure of his weight was already choking her, so she stayed still. The door to the room closed and she heard muffled voices and eventually laughter. A tear slipped from her eye and rolled into her hair.
The guy eased his hold on her and whispered, “Do not do that again. Sonu will not be pleased. He will kill you.”
The calm the man exhibited as he lay on top of her and the coolness of his voice scared her.
He shoved off her and stormed out. She saw the handgun in the small of his back and decided to stay away from the windows, knowing that Sonu’s men were keeping watch outside. Instead she paced the room, ran in place, did some lunges and a few pushups to keep herself from going crazy. She listened at the door for any noises in the rest of the suite but couldn’t hear anything but the television.
Chapter 26
Kate swatted at Wendy and Lucy. “Look! Look! Look! It’s Hairy Harry!” She pointed to the hairy guy at a poker table, drenched in the drinks the waitress had been carrying. He looked like the only sleep he’d had was between hands at the poker table, and he still wore the same clothes as the night Daisy was kidnapped. His hair, which was bad to start with, didn’t need any gel to stay slicked back it was so greasy. Harry was crumpled, crusty and cranky.
He threw in his hand and stormed off to the restroom.
“I think freshening up is a lost cause at this point,” Lucy said, scrunching her nose even though they were too far away to smell him.
Wendy looked shocked. “We’ve got to get Viv.”
“Y’all stay here. I’ll run get her,” Kate said and took off.
Vivian kept hitting the spin button, even though she saw Kate darting across the casino in her direction.
Dammit, she found the dense forest or something. She pretended she didn’t see Kate coming.
“Viv! We saw Harry!”
Vivian pushed the max bet button. “Who?”
“Hairy Harry! Come on!” And with that, Kate hit the “cash out” button.
“This thing was about to hit!” Vivian yelled.
“You’re about to get hit if you don’t get up!” Kate said.
Vivian recognized Kate’s kick-ass voice and stood up, grabbing the receipt and her player’s card before she was hauled away.
They made it back to the restroom just as Harry emerged, stumbling a bit, looking down at his shirt.
“Harry, what are you up to?” Vivian asked in a friendly manner.
He looked up, not able to focus, blank look on his face.
“It’s me, Vivian. I met you at the club the other night.” She lied.
“Oh yeah, how ya doin’?” He looked at the other girls, not recognizing them, either.
“Looks like you’ve been on a poker streak,” Wendy said. “You been winning?”
He pointed his index finger at her. “Yeah, baby. Winning.” Then he stumbled to the left.
Vivian reached for him, then thought better of it. “Why don’t you join us for a few minutes at the bar? We’ll buy you a drink since you got us one the other night.”
He put his arm around Vivian and Wendy. “I’m buying, baby.”
Vivian gagged but walked with him. It’s for Daisy. It’s for Daisy.
They sat down at the bar in front of the video poker machines.
“Round of Goldschlager,” Harry yelled at the bartender, then said to the girls, “It has real gold in it.”
The bartender grabbed the bottle from the freezer and poured five shots.
“Wow, Harry,” Wendy said. “You must be loaded.”
Harry didn’t catch the sarcasm. He shrugged and picked up the clear liquid with gold floating flakes.
“To wishing Harry good luck,” Vivian said and slammed it back.
Kate took a sip, then set the drink down on the bar.
Wendy winced. “Cinnamon’s not my thing. Can’t do it.”
Lucy licked her lips, then said to Harry, “So whatcha been doing? Because I’ve gotta say, you look like you’ve been run over by a Mardi Gras float.”
Harry hung his head. “It’s been a rough few days. Rough few days.”
“Do you not have to be at work today?” Kate asked.
“The fucking deal… just can’t.”
Vivian asked, “Is everything okay?”
“The love…love.” He started blubbering.
Vivian felt sorry for him and shoved a few napkins his way.
He dabbed at his nose. “She was taken from me.”
“Who?” Kate asked.
“My Daisy.”
“That’s horrible,” Vivian said. “Who took her away from you?”
His cheeks flushed red and he wadded up the napkin, throwing it to the ground. “Ever since that drummer, she’s been different. I shoulda known he’d take her away. One way or ’nother.” He picked up Wendy’s shot and threw it back. “Jerk.”
“You poor thing,” Lucy said.
Vivian eyed Kate’s un-shot shot. We gotta get outta here. This guy doesn’t know squat.
He started crying again. “She was the only one who cared. She loves me, I know it. After I got divorced she would listen and make me feel better. I love… I love… I love her.”
Vivian placed Kate’s shot in front of him. “Harry, you hang in there. We gotta go see somebody about something.”
He just nodded, staring into space, and wiped away a tear.
Vivian cashed in her receipt, then led the way to the Canal Street exit. When they sat down on the steps outside, Vivian pulled out her phone and texted Adrienne.
Just ran into Hairy Harry at Harrah’s.
Drunk, depressed and desolate.
Def not the kidnapper.
“Well, that’s that,” Kate said. “The mirrors brought us to Harry. We’re down to the last of my dream. The forest.”
None of them had any new ideas there, so they walked across Canal, heading back into the Quarter.
Just past the yogurt shop, an obnoxious guy at a kiosk waved brochures of some local attractions at them. “Where y’at? I have the tour for you.” He handed Kate a brochure, and the girls kept walking.
Kate flipped it open and stopped a moment later. “Wait, maybe we do need to do this.”
She held out a pamphlet for a cemetery tour. The inside of a tomb adorned with mirrors in all shapes and sizes was the centerpiece.
Kate tapped the picture. “I feel like we need to go here.”
Lucy and Wendy were okay with it, but Vivian hesitated. “It’s just a bunch of people put to rest above ground, as opposed to six feet under. It’s because the ground is below sea level.”