by Laina Turner
I just sat there dazed and put the phone back in my lap. Not because of his response. That was typical, and in his line of business, I understood. He couldn’t always drop everything for me. He had told me once he didn’t want to just send me to voicemail, so this was his compromise. I thought it was sweet of him at the time.
“What happened?” Jared said. “Did he answer? Don’t tell me you just hung up on him again.”
“No. He said he would call me back in five. He must be busy. What if he’s with a girl? How did I get talked into this? I feel so stupid.” I moaned, putting my head into my hands.
“Oh, stop. You should only feel stupid because last time you talked you hung up on him, and I am sure he isn’t with a girl. I don’t think he’s like that, and it’s clear he isn’t over you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, neither do you. And he’s never done anything to hurt you. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
I was jolted out of my negative thoughts by the phone ringing. It was Cooper calling back. Well, here goes, I thought, bracing myself. “Hello.”
“This is a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Cooper said, not sounding all too thrilled to be talking to me, though that was understandable given our last exchange. I guess I should’ve been happy he called me back at all.
“I need your help with something,” I blurted before I could lose my nerve.
“Have I missed something here?” Cooper asked. “Didn’t you tell me last time we talked that you wanted nothing to do with me and then you hung up? Or did I somehow misunderstand? I mean, I thought the words ‘We’re over, don’t call me’ meant ‘We’re over, don’t call me.’ ”
“Cooper, can we not talk about that right now? I need your help for my brother.”
“Presley, I am more than happy to help in spite of our last exchange, but I don’t feel I’m too far out there, wanting at least some sort of an apology.”
I covered the phone with my hand and whispered to Jared, “He wants an apology.”
“And you’re telling me this, why? Give him one. After all, you owe it to him. You know you didn’t mean what you said last time.”
“Some friend you are.” Turning my attention back to the phone, I said, “Okay, I’m sorry for hanging up on you last time. There. Happy now? Can we move on?”
Cooper laughed, breaking the tension. “Well, I guess I can accept that, for now, but we aren’t finished talking about this. Whether you like it or not. So tell me, why are you calling me? What’s going on with Jesse?”
“His girlfriend, Ashley, is missing, and we thought, well, Jared thought, you might be able to help. Maybe run a background check or something. You know, something that might give us a clue as to where she is.”
“Are you sure she’s not just off somewhere with girlfriends?”
“You don’t think we already thought about that?” I said exasperated. “She hasn’t shown up at work, or her day job at least, and no one knows where she is. Jared and I at first thought the same thing about her maybe just being off with a friend, but when we went to her apartment it had been ransacked and then, you’re so not going to believe this—” I paused, not because I didn’t want to tell Cooper about Ashley moonlighting, but because it just seemed surreal. I hadn’t really had a chance to think about it.
“Are you going to tell me this thing I’m not going to believe anytime soon?” Cooper asked, bringing me back to the conversation.
“Yes, I was getting to it. We discovered Ashley was stripping at a place called The Pink Pony, and Jesse had no idea she was doing it or why.”
“Presley, I can understand why that would bother Jesse, but what does that have to do with her missing?”
His nonchalance was starting to get annoying. “Don’t you think if she was hiding something like that from Jesse, the reasons for doing so could be the same reasons she is now missing? Besides, her apartment was destroyed, and the last time Jesse saw her was at her apartment and he said it was in perfect condition. It looked like blood was sprayed all over her place. Doesn’t that seem odd? People don’t usually get their apartments trashed if there isn’t something going on, and Jesse is sure she didn’t trash it herself. He said she was meticulous about her stuff.”
“Okay. I see your point. And yes, I will agree that the trashed apartment doesn’t sound good. What is it you want me to do?”
“I don’t know. The police won’t get involved yet. I thought this was your expertise. Why ask me?”
“Hey, you’re the one who keeps getting mixed up in this stuff. I thought you would have it all figured out by now.”
I rolled my eyes at Jared. I was going to have to make a real effort to be nice or this would escalate into a fight like it had the last time.
Jared obviously read her body language, because he whispered, “Be nice. We need his help.”
“Cooper,” I said with exaggerated sweetness, “I called because I wanted your expertise in this matter.”
“Well, if you put it that way. Can you give me her full name and social and or driver’s license number? I think maybe starting with a background check could be useful.”
“Jared, go ask Jesse if he knows Ashley’s social security number or driver’s license number.” I turned my attention back to Cooper. “What else do you need?”
“Nothing. For this anyway.”
“Cooper, don’t start with me.”
“Presley, it’s not fair. I deserve the courtesy of an explanation.”
Just when I was about to say for the millionth time that I’d already given him an explanation, Jared came back. “Here,” he said, handing me a piece of paper. “Ashley co–signed for Jesse to get this apartment, and all her info is on here.”
I looked at Jared quizzically. Interesting that this girl liked my brother enough to co–sign on his apartment but then hid so much.
Jared evidently could read her mind. “I know. Seems strange.”
“Okay, Coop. I have a rental application in my hands with all her info. Want me to read it to you?”
“Yep, go ahead. And know that you may have a reprieve right now, but we will talk about this.”
I sighed. The things I did for family.
Chapter 7
Where are you?” Anna exclaimed.
I had just called her to let her know what was going on with Ashley, and I could tell she was annoyed we had ditched her by the pool. But really, how mad could she be? She was the one at the pool, while Jared and I were looking for Ashley and trying to calm Jesse down. Though after what we found at her apartment, I was a lot more worried than I had been prior.
“Sorry, but we have a bit of a crisis here.”
“What’s going on?”
“Ashley is missing.”
“So that’s why she didn’t show up last night. But, what do you mean by missing?”
“I mean she is missing. No one has heard from her, and she hasn’t shown up for work or contacted Jesse, and get this”—I lowered my voice—“we went to her apartment, and it was torn apart. More so than my apartment last month when that Peter guy broke in, and there was blood all over.”
“Oh my God, Pres. What do you think happened?”
“I have no idea, but we called the cops,” I said, filling her in on the rest of the details.
“Do I need to postpone the wedding?”
“No, no. I don’t think Jesse would want that. Besides, you have family here, and logistically it would be a nightmare. I promise I won’t let you down with my maid of honor duties.”
“Oh, please. I’m not even worried about that. You take care of Jesse and find Ashley. I really like her.”
“I know. Me, too. I’ll call you later. I know we are supposed to go out to dinner tonight, but not sure we will be able to.”
“Don’t worry about that. The last thing I need to do is eat anyway, and I am more than confident the guys can amuse themselves down in the casino. Keep me posted.”
&nbs
p; “I will.”
I talked Anna into coming back to The Pink Pony with us later that day to try once again to talk to Michelle. Frankly, I didn’t have to try to hard. Anna thought the adventure would be fun. Another great I–got–married–in–Vegas story. I felt a lot more comfortable with her being with me, so I wasn’t the only female at our table. But to be honest, there were a lot of couples in The Pink Pony. Another weird thing, in my opinion, but to each his own.
“I don’t think any less of these ladies here,” I said. “Hey, we all have to make money, and I, for one, would love to have more money. I even admire their confidence in being naked and the fact that they work out and eat right to look this fabulous. But I still have a hard time understanding how anyone could take off her clothes in front of these gross guys.”
“Just because these men like to look at naked chicks while they eat lunch doesn’t make them all gross. Look around. They’re mostly businessmen,” said Anna.
“You know, Presley, it’s just a job,” Jared added. “A job like any other. Being a greeter at Wal–Mart would suck because look at all the crazy people there. But they just ignore it. It’s a means to an end. I bet these gals don’t even think about the guys being, well, gross guys. They probably think of them as a commodity. It’s just something they do to make money. Like a Wal–Mart cashier.”
“I guess you’re right. Do you suppose we should go ask the bartender if Michelle is in yet?”
“Good idea. Look,” Jared said, nodding his head in the direction of the bar, “it’s the same bartender from last night. You know, the one with the bubbly personality?”
“Let me go ask him this time. Maybe it takes a woman’s touch,” I said, winking.
“I’ll come with you,” Anna said.
“It’s going to take something,” Jared said. “Maybe you should’ve worn a top that’s little more revealing.”
“Nah, he sees T & A all day,” I said. “I bet he’ll be more turned on by my lack of cleavage showing.”
“Sure, if you say so,” Jared said skeptically.
I walked to the bar and leaned against it, looking at the bartender to get his attention. He walked over and set a cocktail napkin down in front of me. “What can I get ya, doll?”
“I would like two rum and Cokes and some information, doll,” I said. The bartender looked at me strangely. “I know about the two drink minimum. I thought I would just hurry up and get it out of the way.” I handed him a twenty as if I didn’t have a care in the world.
“Frequent these places a lot, do ya?” he said. I was sure he could tell the type who were the regulars of these places, and I definitely didn’t fall into that category.
“Maybe.”
He slid me two watered–down rum and Cokes and just stared. Did he want a tip or something? Maybe, just maybe I would think about it if he gave me any useful info.
“So listen…what’s your name?” I said.
My question was met with a blank stare. I wondered if it was the difficulty of the question or that he didn’t want to tell me his name. “I would bet this is only the second time you’ve been in a joint like this.”
I looked at him, surprised. “You remember me?”
“Of course I remember. I never forget those who don’t look like they belong in a low–class establishment like this.”
Was that a compliment? At least I was going to take it as such. “Come on, your name can’t be that bad. Mine’s Presley. I was named after the King of rock and roll. Really, it can’t get much worse. This is my friend Anna.” I was trying to be friendly, but it didn’t really seem to be working.
“Sweetie,” he said.
“Excuse me?” Did he really just say Sweetie? This six–foot–plus guy as wide as a refrigerator, bald, covered in tattoos, was named Sweetie? No way. I must have heard wrong.
“That’s what the girls call me,” he said.
“Okay, Sweetie.” I would call him whatever he wanted to get him talking. “Is Michelle working tonight?”
Again he just stared at me. It was starting to make me uncomfortable. It seemed very scrutinizing. “Which Michelle? We got two.”
“Ummm, the one with the big, well you know,” I said, more than a little embarrassed, which was stupid. I mean boobs were boobs. Not a big deal. “You told my friend last night to talk to Michelle. That she might know where our friend Ashley was.” I pointed over my shoulder to Jesse and Jared.
“Lady, they all got big boobs in here. But you must mean Michelle G.”
“Yeah, okay. Is she here tonight?”
“I can get you introduced to Michelle, ya know, and make sure she doesn’t sneak out the back again. I can do that for ya, on one condition.”
He was obviously aware of what had happened last night. No surprises. I guessed bartenders usually knew everything that went on. I was finally feeling like I was making progress with Sweetie, but the condition made me a little nervous. What could he possibly want from me? “And that one condition would be?”
“You’re cute. You go to the Sunday night all–you can–eat rib fest at the Golden Corral with me, and I will see to it Michelle talks to you. I can’t guarantee what she’ll say, but she will talk.”
Jared walked up behind me and overheard the bartender ask me out. He could no doubt see I was about to freak out, so he answered for me. “Presley loves ribs. She would be delighted.”
Sweetie didn’t seem to find it at all odd that Jared answered for me and took it at face value. “Okay. Meet me there at seven. I know it’s late, but it’s the best time to get there. After those senior citizens. You don’t want to mess with them.” He winked.
I gave Jared with my best WTF stare. I was going to say yes, anyway. After all, I needed to talk to Michelle, and if I needed to take one for the team I could do that. But I would’ve preferred to answer him myself.
“Oh stop,” Jared hissed. “You were hesitating.”
I turned back to Sweetie. “Seven it is. Now where is Michelle?”
Sweetie walked out from behind the bar calling out to the other bartender that he would be back in a sec. The other bartender didn’t look too happy about it but didn’t say anything. I had a feeling not many people disagreed with Sweetie—as nice as his name might make him sound. He nodded his head as if to say follow me. I looked at Jared. He shrugged. So we followed.
Sweetie walked to the back of the bar and through a door marked employees only. The same place Jared had walked through the night before. I assumed this was where the dressing rooms were. Would the girls be okay with a couple of strangers coming back to their private dressing area? As we walked in, the girls looked up, saw it was Sweetie, and turned back to what they were doing. They didn’t seem too concerned at all.
“’Chelle, you need to talk to these folks.”
“Yeah. Says who?”
“Me, that’s who. None of this sneaking out again.”
’Chelle gave Sweetie a dirty look but didn’t seem to refuse, which I found strange. Was she scared of him or just respectful? Whichever, I wasn’t going to argue.
“There ya go, doll. ’Chelle will talk to you. Now don’t forget our date tomorrow.” With that, Sweetie turned around and walked out, leaving me and Jared to deal with the not too pleased Michelle.
“Didn’t you get the hint yesterday?” she said. “I ain’t got nothing to say.”
“Yes, you do, or you wouldn’t have ducked out like that; we’re not stupid,” I said, trying to act tough. “We just want to find out what happened to our friend.”
“Listen, I don’t know what happened to your friend. Just leave me out of it.” Michelle started to turn away from us.
“Listen, yourself, sister,” Jared snapped. I was impressed. This wasn’t like Jared. “You do to know something, and Sweetie told us you would talk. Now, I don’t know what the deal is with you two, but Presley here has already agreed to go to the all–you–can–eat ribs fest with him, and you are going to talk.”
“You
’re kidding me.” Suddenly, Michelle had an attitude change and seemed very interested in what Jared had just said. “You really agreed to go out with him?” she asked skeptically.
“Yes, I did. He seems nice, and a girl’s got to eat.” I wasn’t dying to go out with this guy, but I didn’t like the way Michelle seemed to take it. He wasn’t that bad. Not bad at all really. Just different from what I was used to.
“He is a nice guy. He’s just really shy. I can’t believe he asked you out. Wow. He must really have the hots for you. Okay, fine. What do you want to know?”
“Where is Ashley?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t seen her in a few days, and that’s the truth.”
“How long has she worked here?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve been here almost a year and a half, and she was here when I started.”
“Did she have any regulars or any enemies? Anyone who maybe paid too much, or the wrong kind of attention to her?”
“Not that I know of. Everyone liked Ashley. She’s beautiful and nice. She always knew how to handle the real assholes. She always said she felt sorry for them if they had to come here and didn’t have someone to go home to. She talked a lot about this guy she had to go home to as she put it. She seemed to really dig him.”
“That’s my brother Jesse. At least I hope it is. That’s why I’m here. Jesse hasn’t heard from her in days, and he’s worried sick.”
“Yeah, Jesse. That’s the name. She was always talking about that guy.”
We talked to Michelle a few more minutes but didn’t really find much out. I had a weird feeling that she knew more than she was telling us, but I was just happy she hadn’t bolted out the back room yet.
We finally left but by the time we got back to Jesse’s apartment he had already left to work the graveyard shift. One he said he enjoyed even if the hours kind of sucked. That the weird people who came out that time of night were entertaining and that was why he liked his job and had lasted longer in it than any job in the previous few years—the interesting people. Well, the interesting people and his girlfriend Ashley.
