E is for Exposed (Malibu Mystery Book 5)

by Rebecca Cantrell

  The crowd loved it even more than the first routine. Finally, when the guys were back down to their posing pouches they gave a fairly chaste kiss to the lady they had pulled onstage and helped her back into the audience.

  It was raucous, and a little crude, but compared to Marcie’s video it was pretty tame. Maybe Sandy had been correct and Marcie had pushed things too far. That didn’t make the blackmail right or legal, but maybe she wasn’t an entirely innocent party.

  Pretty much everything Sofia had seen so far was kind of mainstream for this type of event. If anything, it was the ladies who had tried to take things too far with their pawing at the guys. A couple of times the guys had to grab one by the wrist and gently but firmly redirect her hand before it went somewhere it shouldn’t.

  It was definitely an act, and they were performing. Just as female strippers did. They made money by presenting a fantasy, but that was all it was.

  The next part of the act involved each dancer doing his own individual routine on stage alone. That gave Sofia the chance to watch Python more carefully. He didn’t seem any more or less outrageous or provocative than the others. But he definitely seemed to be an audience favorite. The whoops and wolf-whistles were louder than they had been for the others.

  He was probably the best-looking of the four. And he was the tallest. Judging by the bulge in his pouch, he wasn’t the best endowed – Jumbo took that prize – but he was in the top two. He also seemed to have another factor in his favor. It took Sofia a while to work out what it was.

  He was more confident. He made and maintained eye contact. He seemed able to make his audience feel that he was performing for them each individually. Maybe that was what had led to Marcie’s moment of madness.

  Their own routines over, they performed another three group routines and the show finished. The four guys stood there, slicked with sweat and out of breath. The same could have been said for the audience.

  The guys disappeared offstage, but the house lights stayed off. The crowd screamed for an encore and the Beef Cake Boyz duly obliged, reappearing for two more upbeat dance routines.

  The lights came back up. The crowd quieted down. As people started to head for the exits the announcer was back on the PA: “Ladies, if you would like an individual autograph or to meet with one of the Boyz they will be in the lobby in ten minutes.”

  Sofia’s ears pricked up. This must have been when Marcie had arranged her hook-up with Python, or where he had made his first move on her. Although she was exhausted, she was going to stick around.

  “You guys want to meet me back at the car?” Sofia asked Emily and her mom, hopefully.

  “No, I’ll hang out,” said her mom.

  “Me too,” said Emily. “Just to make sure you’re safe,” she added, a little too quickly to be convincing.

  The magic of the Beef Cake Boyz obviously worked, even when you knew how it was done.

  17

  If her mom and Emily wanted to stay, Sofia decided she might as well put them to work. Each of the four guys had a line where people waited to get a picture or an autograph. She asked her mom to get into Python’s line, while Emily took Highlander, and she waited to see Jumbo.

  “But isn’t Python the one you should be meeting?” her mom whispered. “He’s the one who’s blackmailing Marcie.”

  “Keep your voice down. I have a theory I need to test out. I’m going to circle back into his line once I’ve spoken with Jumbo,” Sofia replied.

  “What’s the theory?”

  “I’ll tell you later.” She was regretting she’d allowed her mom to come. Although, to be fair, her mom had originally roped her in.

  “Can’t you tell me now?” her mom asked.

  “Flirt with him a little bit. And make sure to flash your wedding ring. I want to see if he goes after married women.”

  “Smart. I like it.”

  “You want me to flirt with him too? I could join his line,” asked Emily.

  “Sure,” said Sofia. “But go up after Mom.”

  “What if he pulls out the whipped cream?” said her mom.

  “We’re in the lobby. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “But what if he does? I need to be prepared for every eventuality. Should I lick it off or not?”

  Sofia was starting to feel queasy again. “No!”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “No licking?”

  “No licking.”

  “But flirting’s okay?”

  “Yeah,” said Sofia.

  “I don’t think I can lick whipped cream anyway. I’m on a diet,” said Emily.

  “Go get in line,” Sofia instructed, before the conversation took an even weirder turn than it already had. The next time her mom asked her to help out a friend, Sofia would get her to speak with Brendan first.

  They each took up their positions in line. Sofia kept an eye on Python as he greeted each of his female fans in turn. Some perched on his lap for a selfie, but Sofia didn’t see any sign of whipped cream. Emily’s diet was safe.

  Her line edged forwards. She spotted the guy she assumed was the Boyz’s manager shuffling between them, hurrying them along, trying to keep the lines moving quickly. He was also keeping an eye on the credit cards and cash women were using to pay for getting stuff signed or a picture. It seemed like a lot was being paid in cash—five- or ten-dollar bills. Maybe, guessed Sofia, because some of the ladies didn’t want the transaction appearing on their credit-card statements.

  The line moved forward again. Sofia stepped slightly to one side. She craned her neck to see the women at the front. She studied their left hands, looking for wedding or engagement rings.

  Straight away she spotted an older brunette in a low-cut top. She was sporting a pretty serious rock on her ring finger. She perched on Highlander’s lap for a picture. She hopped off, kissed his cheek and that was it. The next in line moved forward to get a shirt signed. She was a petite redhead in her twenties who wasn’t wearing any ring. Highlander seemed to take a lot more time with her, even though he was only signing a shirt.

  There went that theory, at least for Highlander. Sofia ducked back into line before anyone noticed her staring. If someone recognized her from her old TV show, her cover might be blown. That would make any investigation a lot more difficult.

  Her mom was only three people away from meeting Python. She kept glancing around at Sofia. Sofia grabbed her cell phone, and quickly texted her. Stop looking back at me!

  She watched as the message pinged on her mom’s cell phone. She read it, looked over at Sofia and waved.

  Janet was not cut out for undercover work. That much was clear. Sofia saw her typing a reply.

  A second later it arrived. Chill out. They’ll know we’re here together.

  She kind of had a point. The three of them had arrived as a group and sat together during the show. They wouldn’t be ignoring each other in line. That would be more suspicious. Sofia was just nervous, and part of her was thinking she shouldn’t have dragged her sister into this.

  Highlander’s line seemed to be moving faster than the others. Emily was next to meet him. Sofia watched as her sister handed over a poster for him to sign. He signed it and leaned in to speak with her. Emily shook her head. He handed back the poster and waved for the next woman to step forward.

  Maybe he’d hit on her, thought Sofia. Emily wouldn’t play along with that, not even for Sofia’s sake.

  Emily walked back to her sister.

  “What did he say to you?” Sofia asked.

  “He said I was cute, and asked if there was anything else he could sign. Then he stared at my boobs.”

  Yuck. “Was he checking out your wedding ring?”

  “No, definitely my boobs.”

  “Huh. Okay.”

  “You want me to get in anyone else’s line?” Emily asked.

  “No, but thanks for helping out.”

  Sofia figured Emily had already taken on
e for the team. She looked kind of grossed out by the whole thing now. Sofia didn’t blame her. She had one more question, though. “Was he even Scottish?”

  “He had an accent, but it sounded like he was from the Valley,” said Emily. “And there was no way I was going to ask if he was a real Scotsman. He might have thought I wanted to check under his kilt. Listen, I’m going to wait outside, okay?”

  “Sure. We’ll see you there.”

  As a relieved-looking Emily headed for the exit, Sofia watched her mom reach Python. This should be interesting.

  Janet handed over twenty bucks. That was the rate for a picture. Python passed it back to the guy Sofia thought was their manager. He flipped the bills into a large plastic trash bag that was quickly filling up with cash, and went back to prowling behind the tables.

  Python waved Janet round his table. He sat, and she perched on his knee with a broad smile. He reached his arm round her. With his other hand he held up her cell phone and snapped a selfie. They checked the result together.

  They seemed to be talking quite a lot, but Sofia was too far away, and the lobby was too noisy, to make out the conversation. Python kept a hold of Janet’s phone, and seemed to be playing around with it. He waved over the manager guy and got him to take their picture. Janet hopped off his knee and they were done. The next woman in the line stepped forward.

  Janet walked past Sofia. “Where’s Emily?”

  “She’s outside. How’d it go?”

  “He gave me his number,” her mom said, with a look of triumph.

  “Good job.”

  “Next!” Jumbo said, calling Sofia forward.

  Sofia had been so distracted by her mom’s news, she hadn’t noticed that she was at the front of the line. She stumbled forward, a little off balance. “Nice ears,” she told Jumbo, doing her best to be flirty.

  “Yeah, whatever,” said Jumbo.

  To be fair to him, it probably wasn’t the most original line.

  “Picture’s twenty bucks. Signings are ten dollars an item, unless it’s boobs. Those are fifteen.”

  Huh. He was all business. Sofia handed him a piece of paper. “You could put your digits on there if you like.”

  Jumbo took the paper, and looked up at her. “Yeah, I don’t think my boyfriend would like that.”

  Sofia wondered if he was actually gay, or whether this was his go-to line to fend off unwelcome approaches. She told herself it pretty much had to be the first. At least, she hoped it was. She wasn’t sure her ego could cope with rejection from a male stripper called Jumbo.

  Whichever it was, one thing was for sure: he didn’t seem like he was enjoying himself. She got a shirt signed, handed over the money, and headed back to the end of Python’s line.

  18

  Sofia got behind the wheel of Emily’s mini-van. Emily was in the passenger seat next to her. Their mom was in back. The atmosphere was a lot more muted than it had been on the way there.

  Overall, the evening had been a success. At least in terms of the investigation. Janet had really proven herself by getting Python’s number. That was great intelligence the agency could use.

  “How did you do with Python?” her mom asked, as Sofia started the engine and threw the mini-van into Drive.

  “Not as good as you.”

  “You ask for his number?”

  “Yeah, and flirted like crazy, but he was even colder than Jumbo.”

  “You think he only goes for married women?” asked Emily.

  “Kinda looks like it.” She was still stung by being rejected twice in one night.

  “It might not be that,” said Janet.

  They turned to look at their mom. “I’m just saying. Different men like different things. Maybe he likes a more mature lady.”

  Sofia could see where this was going. “Like Marcie?” she asked.

  “Okay, okay, point taken,” said her mom.

  “That was mean,” Emily whispered to her.

  “Hey, Mom was the one who dragged me into this,” she shot back.

  Sofia pulled out into traffic. Hollywood was still pretty busy. Their route back to the highway took them past the front of the theater.

  They stopped at a red light. Glancing over, Sofia watched as Python appeared from an alleyway at the side of the building. He was dressed in designer jeans, a blue shirt, and loafers. He was also wearing glasses. He looked completely different from his stage persona. More Clark Kent than Superman.

  The light went green. Sofia stayed where she was. Someone behind her honked. She pulled over to the curb to let them pass.

  “What is it?” Emily asked.

  Sofia shushed her.

  Python walked over to a Porsche 911 sports car. Sofia recognized it because Aidan also drove a Porsche. Only Python’s was black, and looked brand new. Those were expensive cars. Like a hundred thousand dollars.

  Python got in. A second later, the car roared into life and took off.

  Sofia quickly tapped the car’s details into the notepad application on her cell phone, and pulled back into the late-night Hollywood traffic. A few minutes later, they were on the freeway.

  Glancing over, and then into the back seat, she saw that Emily and her mom were both fast asleep. Like Violet and Van, they were much cuter when they were sleeping.

  19

  Two hours later, Sofia parked her Tesla in the upper parking lot of Nirvana Cove. She had dropped her mom off first, then Emily, and picked up her own car for the drive back to Malibu. Emily and Ray had suggested she stay over, but she told them she had a lot to do the next day.

  That was true. Tomorrow was going to be crazy busy. But she also needed time alone on the drive back to Malibu to collect her thoughts.

  The Beef Cake Boyz show hadn’t been nearly as sleazy as she’d expected. It hadn’t been classy either, but she wasn’t sure there could be such a thing as a classy male strip show. Still, their performance had managed to tread a fairly fine line between raunchy and obscene.

  Where it had gotten interesting from an investigative standpoint was the after-show signing and meet-and-greet. There was no question that Sofia’s hunch about Python was right. He was deliberately targeting older women who were attached, and obviously so.

  Then there was the car she’d seen him in. The Beef Cake Boyz was obviously a money-making machine, but he was one fourth of the act. An act with a manager who seemed to watch the money like an eagle. There was no way that Python was being paid the kind of money he’d need to buy, or even a lease, a brand new Porsche. Not unless he already had money. In which case why was he doing that job?

  It just didn’t add up. Unless he had another stream of income. One that maybe came from blackmailing married women who saw the show.

  As she walked back down to her trailer, Sofia was thinking maybe this case could really cement her reputation. She had brought it into the agency. It looked pretty straightforward. And she had an idea how it could be resolved, without Marcie’s husband ever having to find out.

  If they could gather evidence Python had been blackmailing people, they could confront him with it. Along with an ultimatum that he either left their client alone or faced some serious jail time.

  Feeling pretty happy with herself, Sofia took out her key to open her front door. It was already unlocked. Her heart leaped until she remembered Jaxon.

  She pushed the door open and called out to him. He didn’t answer.

  She went into the living room. Jaxon was fast asleep on the couch. He looked so peaceful she didn’t want to disturb him.

  She took off her heels and put them down. She went into her bedroom, grabbed a blanket, walked back into the living room and placed it over him so he wouldn’t get cold. He stirred, pulling her in for a long, warm hug.

  “How was your night?” he asked her, still sleepy.

  “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” He smiled. She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

  Things were looking pretty good. Sh
e had a good case and right here on the couch she had her own piece of beef cake. Only her beef cake wasn’t just tanned, muscular and handsome, he was also a gentleman.

  20

  Sofia woke from a nightmare. In it, she was being chased by an angry elephant with huge ears. As fast as she ran, the elephant was faster. Glancing back over her shoulder, she could see it bearing down on her, its giant ears flapping as the ground trembled. Darting into a jungle to escape, she hid behind a tree. The elephant had disappeared. She was safe.

  Just as she was catching her breath, she felt something tighten around her waist. She looked down to see the huge elephant’s trunk winding around her. She tried to struggle free. It was no use. As it started to lift her off her feet, she woke up to find Jaxon spooning her, his arm around her.

  She quietly untangled herself from the handsome cowboy and walked into the bathroom. She peed, washed her hands, splashed some water on her face, and went into the kitchen to make coffee, pulling on a robe on the way..

  Fred was sitting on her front porch, no doubt waiting to be fed. He wasn’t her only visitor.

  Gray Cole, Hollywood A-list movie star, Nirvana Cove neighbor, and one of her best friends, was sitting on the porch. He was sipping tea and watching the sun start to burn off the marine layer. He raised his mug in a salute.

  “Morning, neighbor,” Sofia greeted him.

  “How come you’re up so early?” he asked.

  Gray was more of a night owl than a morning person.

  “I was going to ask you the same question.”

  He shot her a wolfish smile. “Who said I’ve been to bed?” He folded his arms. “Now, what’s your excuse?”

  She told him about her nightmare, then about Jumbo and the strip show. That meant she had to explain the entire case.

  The good thing about Gray was that he absolutely loved gossip, but he was entirely trustworthy. It helped that he was keeping one of Hollywood’s biggest secrets. Despite being a heart-throb to women around the world, Gray was gay, in the closet, and planned on keeping it that way for as long as he could. He knew, as did Sofia, that his being gay would be accepted, but it would also hurt his power at the box office, limit the roles he’d be offered and the money he could make. Plus, he figured that his private life was his business, which Sofia could relate to.