Page 36 of The Perfect Prey

“That was our mistake,” Susannah said.

“Actually, it was my mistake,” Jessie corrected.“We should have just gone with you to get that memo last night and brought you straight here.But I misjudged you; I thought I could trust you.I won’t make that mistake again, especially because what we’re dealing with here is averybig deal.”

“What do you mean?”

“We didn’t reveal this last night but I’m going to tell you now,” Jessie said, leaning in close so that her face and Russo’s were only inches apart.“Two people were found dead—murdered—wearing those masks.And in the time since we last saw you, a third person was killed, also found in a mask.”

“Oh god,” Russo muttered.

“Yes,” Jessie continued, “and while we don’t know this for sure, we think there’s a good chance that they may have attended these parties.Of course it’s possible that they didn’t, but it sure seems like at the very least, their killer did.So you can see why it’s important that we learn as much about them as possible.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about people being murdered yesterday?”Russo asked.“If I had known how serious this was, I would never have kept anything from you.”

“We didn’t know if we could trust you,” Susannah told her, “not until you brought in that memo.How could we be sure you wouldn’t go to your boss or your client with what we said?”

Russo shook her head in frustration.

“You don’t get it,” she said.“My boss doesn’t know any of the particulars about this account.The guy is seventy years old.He is semi-retired and lets me handle all my accounts how I see fit.He knows the business gets cash payments for securing some fancy masks and helping coordinate some fancy parties for a client.Other than that, he’s in the dark and happy about it.He doesn’t want to ask any questions that could mess up this money regularly coming in.”

“What about the security guys?”Susannah wanted to know.

“My boss employs them, but they basically answer to me,” Russo explained, “and as much as possible, I keep them in the dark too.I didn’t want to inadvertently reveal something that could put the account at risk.So I keep everything close to the vest, not that there’s much to keep.I know a little more than everyone else, but not much.Like I told you, everything is done in cash.There are no names used.I rarely meet with the same person twice.It’s all cloak and dagger, which is another reason I don’t ask too many questions.It’s a little scary.”

“But youdoknow more than that,” Jessie reminded her.“You know where these parties are being held now.And it’s time that you told us.”

Russo squirmed uncomfortably, adjusting herself as much as she could while handcuffed to a metal table.

“Okay,” she said, sounding defeated.“All the parties in the last two months have been held at the same location.There’s a large, twenty-four-hour spa in Koreatown called Elite Spa.It’s very popular.I’ve been there myself once, for a bachelorette party.”

“This doesn’t sound like the kind of place that could offer the privacy that these party attendees would want,” Jessie noted.

“That’s what I thought too,” Russo said, “especially based on my personal experience.But it turns out that there’s more to this place than meets the eye.There’s an entire, hidden back area of the spa that’s not open to regular customers.It has its own entrance and is used for special, private events.I didn’t know it existed until my contacts for the parties showed me.There’s no way you would ever know it was there unless you had specific instructions and knew exactly where to go.I was only given that information because my team has to dress the location when we learned about a party that night.”

“So tell us about this place,” Susannah said.

“You access it through an alley behind the spa,” Russo explained.“The door says, “staff entrance.’Once you’re inside, there’s a long hallway that leads to a real back entrance to the spa.Before you get there, about halfway down the hall is a door that says, ‘utility room.’But it’s not a utility room.I mean, it looks like one when you first go in.There are cleaning supplies and mops and stuff like that.But all of that is just for show.I don’t think those mops have ever been used.There’s an inner door inside the room next to a metal cabinet.That’s what leads to the secret space.”

“What does that mean exactly—secret space?”Jessie pressed.

“It’s basically like a private nightclub,” Russo said.“It’s huge, with multiple rooms.There’s a bar in the large central open space, with about a dozen high-top tables.Then are a half dozen other rooms of varying sizes that extend off the main one, like sections of a spider web.Each room is furnished differently.One is all loveseats and couches.Another has small round-tops, like you’d finds in a comedy club.Others are a mix of the two.One room was completely empty until we added to it.”

The way she said that last line, with a hint of embarrassment, piqued Jessie’s interest.

“What did you add?”she asked.

“Beds,” she said quietly.“We brought in five rollable twin-sized beds.”

Both Jessie and Susannah were quiet for a moment.It was the detective who spoke first.

“So when you say that these are wild parties, what you really mean is that they’re orgies.”

“I don’t honestly know,” Russo said.“I’m called on the morning of an event and told to prep the place.I’m supposed to have everything done by mid-afternoon.I’ve never been there when the actual events take place.But like you, I’ve drawn a few conclusions.”

“Okay, but you have to be able to do more than just guess,” Jessie countered.“Not to be gross, but when you collect all the stuff you’ve dropped off, isn’t the furniture…soiled?”

Russo winced at the question.

“One of the items we’re tasked to bring to each event is a collection of plastic coverings.Imagine giant shower caps big enough to cover couches and beds.Having said that, we are also instructed to have a professional cleaning service care for every piece of furniture the following day.I don’t typically ask those cleaners questions, and they don’t share any details with me.”

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