Page 72 of The Liar

“Let me just grab a jacket,” she said, smoothing her clothes. “It’s cold outside.”

“Good idea.”

She left the room, and I slung my own jacket over my shoulder, holstered my handgun and double checked that I had everything I needed. I met Joanna in the living room.

“My car?” I asked.

She nodded. “You’ll fly under the radar better than me.”

She unlocked the door and let herself out of the apartment. I followed, locking it behind us again. We walked together to the car, and I automatically got into the driver’s seat and leaned across to open the passenger’s door.

“Is the brothel in the same neighborhood as the strip club?” Joanna asked as she got in.

I waited for her to shut the door before backing out and pulling onto the street. “It’s a couple of blocks away, where there are a few more residential buildings. Myunderstanding is that it’s close by so that escorts can easily take clients from the strip club to the brothel if they need to.”

“So, it will be easy to drop by and ask if Portia is around,” she said.

“Yeah, but let’s save that for a last resort. The fewer people aware of a connection between Portia and me, the better.” Introducing myself to her acquaintances would only endanger her more.

I parked behind the Red Door, in the darkest corner of the parking lot, away from prying eyes, and sent a message to the number Sapphire had called from to let her know we were there. She emerged through the back exit a few minutes later, drawing a coat tightly around herself as she hurried across the asphalt on three-inch heels.

She opened the back door and climbed into the car. The scent of her perfume—sweet and floral—wafted through the vehicle.

“Something strange is going on,” she said, not bothering with a greeting.

I turned as much as I could to face her. I recognized her immediately, although I hadn’t put a face to the name. She was a pretty black woman with long, dark hair that fell around her shoulders and a plump lip caught between her teeth.

“How do you mean?” I asked.

Sapphire glanced at Joanna and frowned. “Hey, you’re that detective lady.”

“I am,” she agreed.

Sapphire narrowed her eyes at me. “Why did you bring her?”

“Because she’s my wife, and we were together when you called.”

“Oh.” She seemed to accept that. “Like I was saying, something is off tonight. Portia has been asking questionsabout Sasha’s death. They were close, so that’s not surprising. We all want to know what happened. But then she didn’t turn up for work, and now she isn’t answering her phone. When I asked the boss whether she’d called in sick, he was really squirrelly about it.”

“Squirrely how?” Joanna asked.

Sapphire pulled a face and looked over her shoulder, as if worried Keenan might be able to hear her. “He said she hadn’t called in sick but that there was no reason to worry. He was really calm about it though. Usually, if someone isn’t here, he loses his shit because everything has to be rearranged last minute.”

“So, you think he knew not to expect her ahead of time?” I didn’t like the thought of that.

Sapphire shrugged. “Maybe.”

“So, how come you called me?” None of Portia’s friends should’ve known who I was, let alone had my phone number.

She looked uncomfortable. “She told me that if she ever went missing, or if something happened to her, then I should contact you. She didn’t tell me why. Was I right to call?”

“Yes. Thank you, Sapphire.” I supposed I couldn’t be annoyed with Portia for sharing my number under those circumstances.

“Are you her boyfriend?” she asked, glancing at Joanna apologetically.

“No, just a friend. Did she have a boyfriend?” Because she never mentioned one to me.

She shrugged. “Not that I know of, but most of the girls here like to keep their personal lives private.”

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