Page 10 of Justice for Francesca

Livingston frowned at her.

“For adults,” Francesca hinted.

The agent’s eyebrow went up. “The kind I might take my significant other to on a special occasion? Or the kind I might take someone whowasn’tmy significant other?”

Francesca looked at Tripoli.

He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “No comment on either angle. I don’t interfere as long as people follow the house rules.”

“The victim downstairs was a highflier in society. Any celebrities on your membership list? Has to be hard to keep that a secret. People love to gossip.”

“Because the members want their own privacy respected, they respect each other. If they out someone, they also out themselves.”

“Reciprocity,” Francesca defined.

“Exactly. We have a rigorous application process. Background checks. Medical exams and regular testing are required for the BDSM clubs and Fantasy.” He held up his hands. “No HIPAA violation, I assure you. They just have to provide a signed affidavit from a doctor that they are healthy, drug-free, and disease-free every six months. We have ironclad NDAs, which we have never had to challenge in court. It also doesn’t hurt that our membership fee is high. Money talks.”

“How high?” Livingston asked.

“High.”

Livingston sat, waiting.

“Four figures high.”

“Four figures a year?” Livingston clarified.

Tripoli shifted in his seat, sitting a little taller in his chair. “Per month. Contingent on their medical report and a new background check.”

Livingston whistled. “Steep.”

“Identity and Elysium come with significantly lower membership fees, which are yearly. It costs a great deal to run an exclusive club like any of my properties. Especially if I need to guarantee people’s privacy.” Tripoli reached into his middle desk drawer and withdrew a flash drive. “Triumph made a copy of all our holdings and financials for you.”

Livingston and Francesca stood, and Livingston reached across the desk to take the proffered drive. Tripoli stood and held out his hand again. As Livingston took it, he gave Tripoli a gentle warning of their plans. “We’ll have more questions for you, and today, we’ll need to interview your staff who were here when the body was discovered. Tomorrow will be soon enough to talk to the rest of the staff as there’s a lot to go through here. Then we’ll work our way through the members as needed.”

“We’ll cooperate in any way we can. It probably goes without saying that our members would appreciate your discretion.Elysium is not a kink club, but some of the individuals may be members at our other clubs, which are a bit more unorthodox.”

“Understandable,” the agent replied. “We try to be unobtrusive whenever possible. Gawkers and publicity tend to muck things up when investigating.”

“I assumed that we would be shut down here for a bit while you’re working to find out who did this. I apologize, but I have to ask. Any idea how long you anticipate us being shut down?”

“No. It depends on what we find here.”

Tripoli nodded. “Understood. I just want to make sure my employees are taken care of for the duration. For some of them, this is their only income.”

“I assure you, we’ll work as fast as we can,” Livingston replied. “But we also can’t rush an investigation.”

Tripoli waved the comment aside. “I can afford to pay my employees their salaries while we’re shut down.”

The agent smiled. “Pays to be successful.”

“I try to be a good boss. Finding people you trust is difficult, and I don’t want to lose anyone due to a shutdown they didn’t create.”

Livingston nodded. When he turned to his partner, his smile disappeared. “I’m heading downstairs to check in with Calder. Make arrangements to view the records, then come downstairs.” He turned on his heel and showed himself out of the office.

After Livingston left, Tripoli rounded the desk to be on Francesca’s side again. As he looked at her, the silence in the office was like a heavy weight. Her work attire screamed empowered but was not the typical black-suited FBI gear. She wore a cream-colored blouse that looked like it was silk, chocolate-brown pants, and ankle boots that matched almost exactly. Her long blonde hair coiled into a neat bun at the nape of her neck. She was just as beautiful to him as she had been two years ago. Maybe more so. Still, as beautiful as she looked,an aura of exhaustion and wariness swirled around her. There was something else too. Something about her appearance, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I meant what I said. It’s good to see you again.”

Blonde hair hacked short. Skin pale. So pale, the blue of her veins showed through the skin. Track marks up her right arm. She whimpered in her sleep. His hand reached out to brush the backs of his fingers down the side of her face. Monitors beeping. IV pumping fluids into her dehydrated body. She looked so small and tiny lying there.

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