“Aren’t you in the wedding party?”
“Sure am.”
“So is Carrera. That should be fun for you guys.”
“How did you?—”
“Ever since he’s been back, you two have been hating on each other so hard, I knew it was only a matter of time.”
“There’s a razor-thin line between love and hate.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Providence said.
Slash spent the afternoon hell-bent on finding the owner of Blue Suit. She jumped on a website that provided legal records of every Virginia business. She found no listing of any business, company, or organization named The Blue Suit Club, so she changed the search criteria to include a DBA. Also nothing.
“C’mon, where are you?” she murmured.
She entered Karen Woodside in the Managing Partner search field, hit enter, and got a hit.
“Yes.”
Karen Woodside was listed as the Managing Partner of Silver Lips, located in Arlington, Virginia. It was listed as a nightclub, not a strip or a gentlemen’s club. Karen had been the Managing Partner for the past five months.
Next, Slash went hunting for the previous owners. They’d relocated to South Carolina, so she called the only number listed for them.
It rang, a woman answered.
After introducing herself as MB Graves from the Arlington Business Board, Slash confirmed she was speaking with the former owner of Blue Suit.
“My husband and I owned the business for years,” the woman said.
“We’re updating our system,” Slash lied, “and I wanted to confirm the name of Karen Woodside as Managing Partner.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Did you also work with another person during the sale of Blue Suit?” Slash asked.
“No, just Karen,” the woman replied.
“Is she the sole owner?”
“I thought so. Hold on, let me ask my husband.” A few seconds later, the woman said, “My husband said she mentioned having a silent partner. I remember during settlement she left the room to call someone, but I don’t remember who she called or why.”
Slash asked a few more questions, but the woman remembered nothing more.
“I can look for Karen Woodside’s number if you need to talk to her,” said the woman.
“We’ve got it,” Slash said. “Thanks for your help.”
Slash hung up, pushed out of her chair, and walked outside. The humid summer air felt great compared to the air-conditioned building. While pacing, she thought about how Greg left Jericho Road, walked out of the parking lot, and disappeared.
Find him.
Determination had her yanking open the door in search of Danielle Fox. She found her working away in her office.
“Hey,” Slash said from the doorway.
“Hi,” Danielle said. “I’ve missed you around here.”
