Page 19 of Strip Search

Shrugging, Becka lit up a cigarette. I tried not to make a face. I hated the smell, but it was her house. “She liked the money.”

“You don’t have any idea where she went or why?” She’d already said she didn’t, but I was hoping for a different answer.

“I wish I did. Like I said, she owed me rent.”

“I’m at a dead end following my sister’s trail. The only thing I was able to find out from the dancers at Dalton’s was about that recurring customer I mentioned. I’m going to strip there this week to try and find out where she might have gone.”

Becka smiled. “You’d do that for your sister?”

If I was being honest, I was doing it for me too. I had wanted to dance on the stage and now was my chance. Of course, the men at the club weren’t buying tickets to see myCabaretnumber. But the thought of being watched and an object of desire was appealing, and part of me wanted to see the lust in Miles Carvello’s eyes again.

“Once I get an exotic dancer to let me subcontract with them.”

“I’ll hire you for a small weekly fee.”

“How small?”

Becka thought about it. “A hundred dollars a week. Pay me the first week right now and I’ll send the paperwork over to Dalton’s tomorrow.”

“You got a deal.” I shook her hand and handed her a hundred from my rapidly dwindling pile. I hadn’t been in Vegas a full day and I already spent half the money my mother gave me.

“Why do think dancing at Dalton’s will help find your sister?”

“I’m hoping her mystery man will come back and I can ask him some questions. Maybe Lisa will show up.” I shrugged. “I’vegot two weeks before I have to get back home. I’ll be able to gather more clues at Dalton’s than I will in my hotel room.”

“Just be careful,” Becka said. “Miles and his security team are the best, but even they can’t be everywhere. That part of town isn’t the greatest and if it’s not gang problems, it’s the drugs.”

“Was Lisa using?” I didn’t think she was. If I hadn’t taken her to get her stomach pumped, I would never even had asked.

“She had a full prescription of oxy, but I think that was just for her knee.”

If she was taking opioids for the pain, there was something really wrong. When she was working, it had been hard enough to get Lisa to take an aspirin.

“Was there anything out of the ordinary going on with her in the days leading up to her moving out?”

“I’m sorry I’m not more help,” Becka said. “We both worked nights and kept to ourselves. We shared a meal or two and hung out with drinks in front of the television a few days a week, but we weren’t close. I did get the feeling that she was very unhappy and was trying everything she could think of not to be.”

“Did she ever mention money issues?”

“No.”

“Did she leave a forwarding address?”

“No.”

I pushed down the frustration. It wasn’t Becka’s fault that Lisa was Lisa. It just made me crazy. Reaching into my purse, I handed her my business card. “If you can think of anything else, please give me a call. And if you see Lisa, tell her we’re worried, and a quick phone call would go a long way.”

“I will,” Becka said. “And maybe I’ll come by and check out your gig at Dalton’s.”

“You better be a good tipper,” I said.

Chapter Seven

Miles Carvello

I deliberately scheduled Jackie for the shit shift, noon to six p.m. It would very nearly guarantee that she’d have a hard time booking a VIP lounge or a lap dance. Even though it was a Friday, things didn’t get going until later. Unless she was aggressive, she’d collect the tips from the horndogs around the stage and escape their greedy hands mostly unscathed. I wasn’t sure why I cared so much, but the thought of someone else’s hands on her soft skin made me want to punch something.

Of course, I hadn’t counted on Darcy and the bachelor party to come in this early. And it figured that they now took up the entire first row around the stage she was going to use. They ordered beers and tipped the waitress a fifty to keep them supplied.

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