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“So this is what you start with when you’re belly dancing,” she explained. “You go side to side.” After thirty seconds or so, she stopped and widened her stance, leaning forward. “Now you do the same movement, except instead of side to side, you go front to rear.”
“Holy shit!” One of the ladies pointed and laughed. “Baby got back!”
I didn’t know why anything to do with Louise Aster surprised me anymore. But sure as shit, she thumped her butt up and down, putting even Miley Cyrus to shame.
When she was done, the packed cell hooted and hollered, and an officer came back, looking unhappy to have had to get up from his desk.
“What’s going on here?”
One of the ladies winked. “Just talking about you, Officer Burrows. You know seeing your handsome face makes us girls rowdy.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, well, keep it down.”
The woman fluttered her false eyelashes. “Yes, sir, Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie.”
Officer Burrows frowned but walked back out.
Fortunately, Louise’s dance recital seemed to have won us some new friends. The woman hogging the bench moved over and patted the seat next to her.
“Come sit here, big momma. Queens don’t sit on the floor.”
After that, the vibe in the holding cell changed. Even the snoring woman next to me woke up once Louise told everyone she’d been arrested for indecent exposure. Frieda, the bench hog, seemed almost in charge of the place, and the other ladies seemed to know it.
“What are you in for, Frieda?” Louise asked.
“I hosted a card game at my house.”
“It’s illegal to play cards in the Bahamas?”
“Not for you. But gambling is illegal for residents.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
She shrugged. “It is what it is. They usually leave me alone, but every once in a while, they shut me down when they need money for extra expenses in the department. They confiscate all the cash on the tables and don’t arrest any of my players. They know none of them will make a stink about their money going missing, so no one comes in to claim it, and the department gets to keep it after a while.”
I made friends with a young girl who had been brought in a few minutes after Louise. Our cellmates all called her Mad Dog, and I found out it was because she collected the island’s stray dogs. Mad Dog had recently lost her job, and she could no longer afford dog food. She’d been arrested for stealing kibble. Another woman had been arrested for breaking into a house. She’d suspected her husband was cheating and followed him, then broke in and caught him in the act. The other woman involved had insisted on pressing charges.
I had no idea how long we were in there, because there wasn’t a clock and the police had taken my watch, but it seemed like it had to be morning by the time a guard came back.
Officer Burrows unlocked the cell door. “Eleanor Sutton and Louise Aster, you’re free to go.”
I climbed to my feet. “Did the embassy post our bail?”
“Nope. Some rich dude with an attitude.”
Louise rolled her eyes. “Sounds like one of my grandson’s friends.”
However it had happened, I was thrilled to get out. Louise and I said goodbye to our newfound friends and were taken to the property room where we picked up what was left of our belongings. It seems the little thieves had dropped my thong and Louise’s phone. I wasn’t sure if the person who had posted our bail would also stop at the police station, but it turned out he had. And the man responsible didnotlook happy.
Louise stopped short as we entered the lobby. “Beck, what are you doing here?”
CHAPTER 6
Beck
“SERIOUSLY, GRAM? WHATthe hell?”
“Don’t you use that language with me—or any woman, for that matter.” She turned to her partner in crime and smirked. “Except maybe in the bedroom. I like a little dirty talk.”
