AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Arlo didn’t make a move to take it. “You going to Rossignol?”
“Well, I have to—”
“That’s the hottest club on the strip. The boys always went there. Can I come with you?” he asked.
“I guess. Sure, that would be great,” she said with a shrug. She actually appreciated the company. Arlo, in his baggy jeans and backwards baseball cap didn’t look like he’d fit in at a high-end, exclusive club, either. “Do you know where it is?”
“Right this way.”
They walked down the block, Arlo pointing out different sights Franklin Tate and his boys used to talk about. Most of them were casinos or night clubs. About halfway down the block, he stopped at a building that looked as though it was carved from a block of obsidian. There were no windows, just a black, glossy front, and a word written in blue neon:Rossignol.
There was also a line of people waiting to get in, stretching out of sight, around the block.
“Popular place, huh?” Daisy said as they walked to the bouncer at the door. This one wasn’t as nicely dressed as the one outsideLe Blanc,but his face was a lot meaner. He didn’t look like he was about to take any crap from anyone. “Hi, uh . . . do you speak English?”
He rolled his eyes at her and pointed to the end of the line.
She held the business card in front of her and said, “I’m not here to party. I’m a private eye, investigating a murder. I was told that I could come here to ask some questions about one of your patrons—”
She faltered when she realized he was staring at the card in front of her. He plucked the card from her hand and read the back of it, then pushed aside the velvet rope, waving her through.
“Thanks,” she said, grinning back at Arlo.
When Arlo tried to pass through, though, he put a beefy arm up to stop him. “Just her.”
She gave him an apologetic look. “Just go to the hotel, and text me,” she said in a low voice, and headed into the fray.
The place was worse than a can of sardines, and some French song was blasting at a volume louder than a jet engine. Once again, the place was filled with rich and celebrity-beautiful people, all looking as though they belonged there. Fighting her initial instinct to turn and rush away, she squared her shoulders and found a path through the crowd, toward the bar.
When she finally squeezed to the front, she waved her hand until she managed to attract the attention of the bald bartender with tattoo sleeves up his arms. As he leaned in for her order, she said, “Can you point me to the escort service?”
He gave her a quizzical look, and she showed him the card from Arséne.
He nodded and pointed down a hall, to the side of the bar.
“Merci,”she said, fighting her way through the crowd once again, until she came to the narrow, dark hallway. The restrooms were there, so people were popping in and out. Beyond that, a couple was making out, pawing each other as if they weren’t in public. Then she saw a door. A couple of women were standing in front of it, talking.
One of them had long, raven hair, like the girl in the surveillance video. As Daisy looked closer, she noticed her small, flat, hip purse. She was sure she’d seen the girl in the video wearing that.
She made her way around various obstacles and approached the woman, who stared her up and down but said nothing.
Daisy held up the card. “Hi. Are you . . . ?”
The woman smiled sexily. “Six-hundred an hour,” she said in a heavily accented voice, leaning in. “I am Cass.”
“Oh, no. I’m not interested in hiring you. I just wanted to ask you some questions.”
Cass rolled her eyes. “I am not interested in making conversation,” she said, motioning to the door. “I’m working.”
“I understand. It shouldn’t take long.”
The door opened, and a scantily-dressed woman walked out. The next woman in line, in front of Cass, walked in. She sighed as the door closed. “I’m not saying anything. You can’t make me talk.”
“Fine. I’ll be the one talking, and you can tell me if I’m right. You spent time with this man on his private plane three nights ago,” she said, showing his picture.
Cass looked at it, but didn’t speak. She shrugged.
“You accompanied him and his friends on the plane, and partied with them.”
