Blood Remembered

by Douglas Pratt

"That didn't seem to stop him. I think he has been up here with almost every girl here. Not me, though."

  I was certain her integrity could be brought into question; however, I decided not to concern myself with anything so obvious.

  "Well, Mark used to be a good guy. He did like to party a good bit. Used to do some rolls with him."

  "Yeah," Trouble said, "he always had something. That's how he got along with most of the girls."

  "Really, so how much did he steal?"

  "I heard several thousand," she slid her hand over my crotch, "but I don't want to talk anymore. Don't you want to have some fun?"

  "Not now, would Jeff have killed him?"

  "Oh, I wouldn't think so. Who knows? People do some weird things for money."

  I looked at her and wondered if she caught the irony in her own comment. "How did you get into this business?"

  "Oh, I used to be a nurse," her story began. She talked for almost half an hour about her drug addictions, her forte in taking money for sex, and how she wanted to quit and move back home to Alabama, where her four-year-old daughter lived.

  21

  After Trouble had finished my "private dance", she gave me a kiss on the cheek and promised me she would leave on the first bus tomorrow to Alabama. I wished her my best but knew that if I came back next week she would still be doing this. We walked past the guard, where I dropped a five into his tip jar.

  I went back downstairs where I found Lisa sitting with another dancer and a fresh Smirnoff Ice in her hand and a half burned cigarette smoldering in an ashtray.

  "Having fun?" I asked.

  Lisa turned, "Oh yeah. This is Lavender."

  "Hi," I nodded to Lavender.

  She squirmed a bit, “I have to get back to work."

  She left quickly, and I looked at Lisa, "Did I interrupt something?"

  "Yes, you did. Did you have fun?"

  "Absolutely, it was very productive. How did you make out?"

  "Cute," Lisa sneered. "I made some friends and found out a little about Mr. Lofton."

  "Great, let's get out of here. I'll buy you dinner and we can share the gritty details."

  We stood to leave, and Lisa suddenly froze, "Max, that's Paul Grace."

  I turned in the direction of her eyes. A white-haired man in his late fifties was walking out of the door on the right of the bar with another man in his thirties.

  "Who is Paul Grace?" I asked.

  "He is the porn king of Little Rock. He is organized crime in Arkansas. He owns a ton of strip clubs, and supposedly several escort services and whore houses in nearly every county north of Little Rock."

  I watched the two men talking and walking across the room. Oblivious to the naked women and patrons around them.

  "We have to follow him." Lisa was excited.

  "No," I said sternly, "the last thing I want is to end up on the wrong side of a guy like that." That wasn't exactly the truth. I did not want to end up on Grace's wrong side, but I did think I needed to know more about him.

  "But he may be connected. This could be a real story."

  "Or a one way trip in a coffin. Besides one mystery at a time. The other guy interests me."

  "That's Jeff Thomas."

  I smiled at Lisa. It seemed she did get some good information from Lavender.

  Thomas and Grace were moving toward the exit together. Lisa looked at me as they walked out the door.

  "Okay, I guess we get to follow them." I stood up, "Stay with me."

  I guided Lisa to her feet with my hand at the small of her back. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close.

  "Max..."

  "Just shut up and start acting now," and I pulled her toward the exit.

  A moment later, we were standing in the open air. Paul Grace and Jeff Thomas were standing next to a car in a serious discussion.

  "We have to hurry," I mumbled, and I stumbled in the direction of Grace and Thomas. The looks on their faces said a lot. Grace was angry, and Thomas was fearful.

  We continued to move past them when Grace's voice rose. "I want it back. Find out where my money is." He suddenly quieted as if he realized he was getting too loud. Thomas looked as if he were consoling him on the loss of a loved one.

  A bustle of people came out of the club, and the two men stopped talking. Grace turned and walked toward a tan Lexus sedan. I hurried Lisa to the car, as Grace's Lexus left the parking lot. Jeff Thomas turned to go inside. He stopped and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit it and casually walked inside the club.

  Grace was already gone, and Lisa seemed disappointed that we didn't follow him.

  "How about dinner now?"

  She smiled, "Okay."

  We drove downtown and found a nice Italian restaurant. We found a nice booth in the corner. I ordered a bottle of Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir while we perused the menu. Lisa was quiet and it gave me a minute to mull over a few things in my mind. It took only a second to decide on the bow tie pasta with shrimp and cream sauce.

  It did seem that the money that had bounced in and out of Lofton's account had probably come from Grace and Thomas. An excellent motive for a porn king to kill someone. But it was apparent Grace was still missing his money. It also seemed too obvious. This was interesting.

  I had to see if Grace was involved, but even more important, I had to find the money.

  22

  I wanted to get inside Jeff Thomas’ office. Unfortunately, I either had to take Lisa along for the ride, or I had to drive an extra hour in order to take her back to her car and get back here. I was a little pressed for time so I decided to count her in on the job. Besides it wouldn’t hurt to have someone know what I was planning on doing, in case the plan backfired.

  After dinner, we drove back toward J.T.’s Club. I gave Lisa a rundown of my intentions, which would only break a few laws.

  “What are you hoping to find?” Lisa asked.

  “Your big story,” I answered as I pulled into a parking lot a couple of blocks from the club. “If Grace is connected to Thomas and if Lofton stole money from Thomas, then one might wonder if Lofton stole Grace’s money. Porn kings don’t often like having their money stolen from them. That kind of thing can cause problems.”

  “So are you looking for a paper trail?” she asked.

  I parked the car and got out. I reached into the glove compartment and pulled the handless attachment for my cell phone. I connected it to my cell phone. I normally cannot stand the thing. It screams pretentious.

  “What do you have planned?” she asked.

  “I want you to stay here in the car. Drive around for a bit. Just stay within a few miles of the club so we can get out of here quickly.”

  I slipped the receiver in my ear. The earpiece was extremely small so it was unnoticeable. The microphone was the size of a button and was easily hidden.

  “How long will this take?” Lisa asked.

  “It’s about three hours before the club closes. I figure that Thomas will leave before closing. If I can get into his office before the club closes then hopefully I can be out within a couple of hours.”

  “If not?” Lisa asked.

  “If not, then I hide until everyone leaves, and then I search the office.”

  “It’s a good thing you fed me before we sleuthed around. Otherwise, I might have gotten grumpy before we were finished.” Lisa pulled her cell phone out of her purse.

  I smiled and whispered, “I always feed a girl before I let her commit larceny.”

  I got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. I opened the door and motioned for Lisa to get out.

  “You might as well drive. I don’t want the doormen to notice the car, so you are going to drop me a little closer to the club. I will walk from there.”

  Lisa nodded and quickly moved to the driver seat.

  As she shut the door, I asked her, “You do know how to drive a stick, right?”

  “I can drive anything with wheels.”

&n
bsp; “Okay,” I conceded, “but watch the shift pattern. BMW has a very tight pattern, and the reverse is opposite what you are probably used to.”

  Lisa started the car and backed out onto the street. She seemed to grasp the shift pattern quickly. At least, she didn’t give any indication that she couldn’t figure it out. However, Lisa struck me as the type to never admit to failure.

  She drove two blocks down the street before I told her to stop. I dialed her number. It rang once, and she turned it on. I quickly slipped out the door. As soon as I shut the door, Lisa continued down the road.

  “You’re clear,” I said casually into the mike.

  “Good luck,” she answered.

  J.T.’s Club was in a fairly industrial neighborhood. Most of the buildings were warehouses and businesses that closed up at five. Some were vacant buildings. There were few lights illuminating the area, and the few that were lighted cast dark shadows across the empty parking lots.

  The club was an almost welcome sight of lights and activities after a block of dark quiet. I casually walked across the parking lot to the door. There was a different doorman checking for minors. I walked up and flashed my license. He checked the age and pointed me inside. I walked inside and found a different girl taking money for cover charges.

  I wasn’t in the mood for any socializing, and I wanted to avoid both Trouble and Lavender. However, once I was through the door I was caught by a girl who was looking for a drink. The beer girl stood by the door, and I ordered two Bud Lights. I handed the stripper her beer.

  “Wanna dance?” she asked me.

  I gave her a shrug, “Not right now. I just want to drink my beer.”

  She took the rejection nonchalantly and turned away.

  I rolled my eyes and said loudly, “You’re welcome for the beer.”

  She turned back, “Oh, thanks.” And she walked away.

  I walked around and scoped the building’s layout. The office that Grace and Thomas had walked out of was on the other side of the bar. I moved through the throng of people grouping around one of the satellite stages close to the bar.

  “Lisa, can you hear me?” I wanted to check in regularly with her to keep me at ease.

  “Yeah, barely. I am getting a lot of noise too.”

  “Not much I can do except ask the deejay to turn down the music.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t want you to draw suspicion.”

  I smiled to myself and said, “Yeah, cause my talking to myself seems normal.”

  “Somehow, I doubt anyone is looking at you. Unless you went into the wrong club.”

  I made it across the room where I could have a clear view of the office door. It was down a short hall. It also looked extremely difficult to access without someone seeing me. I moved a little closer and took a swig from my beer. I could probably get in quickly without too much unwanted attention as long as the door wasn’t locked. Then I would have a problem. It would not take me long to pick the lock, but it would take long enough that someone would notice.

  “Lisa,” I said.

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s going to take a minute to get inside. The office is too visible.”

  “You need a distraction?” she asked.

  “If you have one handy, yes.”

  “Give me a minute.” She hung up on me.

  I sat down at a table and drank the rest of my beer. I had no sooner set the empty bottle down than did a waitress appear wearing black stockings and black strapless teddy.

  “Do you need another beer?” she asked.

  I nodded, and she turned to head to the bar.

  I waited for my beer and my distraction patiently. I scanned the room and counted four bouncers standing around looking buff. Adding the one at the door and the two watching the private dance area gave me a total of seven. Maybe eight, if one was on a break somewhere. I did not see any sign of the two dancers that Lisa and I had talked to earlier. It’s possible that they had already gotten off, or they could be upstairs entertaining some businessmen. As long as they didn’t see me, I felt safer in remaining anonymous.

  The phone buzzed, and I slid my hand down quickly to answer it.

  “You should have a distraction in a minute.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I called the fire department.”

  The waitress returned with my beer. I paid her without tipping. I didn’t want her rushing back to me every few minutes. Then I waited.

  I didn’t have to wait but a couple of minutes when the music stopped and the deejay came over the speaker.

  “Everybody please listen up,” he announced, and the entire club began looking around questioningly.

  “The fire department has arrived and asked us to evacuate quickly due to the report of a fire.”

  The girls and patrons quickly began milling about aimlessly. The deejay continued speaking, “Please exit calmly. We will continue selling beer in the parking lot. This shouldn’t take long, and we can get back to partying.”

  The crowd began moving toward the door, and I made my move to the office. I pulled my set of picks from my pocket as I walked toward the door. I gave a quick knock and received no answer, so I proceeded to pick the lock.

  It took only a few seconds to line the tumblers up, and I opened the door and slipped inside as the rest of the crowd pushed through the exits. I relocked the door and hit the lights.

  The office was grimy. There was a desk in the corner with a computer on it as well as a large collection of papers. A couple engaged, no doubt, in marital relations adorned a calendar on the wall. A file cabinet was sitting beneath the calendar. A small copier sat next to the file cabinet. The other wall had an armoire with a 35 inch Sony television in it. A large overstuffed couch sat opposite the armoire.

  I decided to go for the file cabinet first. I pulled the drawer and was pleased to find it unlocked. I opened it to find the employee records. I flipped through the folders until I found Lofton’s file. I pulled it and looked through it. It read that he had been fired, but made no mention of as to why. His date of hire was six months earlier. His last day worked was nine days ago. His marital status stated he was single. Otherwise, there was nothing of interest in it.

  I flipped through several more folders. Most were records of the dancers and bartenders. I found a couple of folders for a bouncer or two, but none contained tax records. Only a few photos of the bouncers in flagrant delectico with girls I could only assume were dancers.

  The next drawer really was just as interesting. Unfortunately, it was not helpful either. It was filled with pictures of Thomas with several of the dancers and a couple of the bouncers. Apparently, Jeff Thomas likes to play for both teams.

  The third drawer was financial records. I quickly moved through the records. Some were tax records. I found a copy of the business license stating the club operated under a company called Orion Incorporated. There was no more paperwork on Orion Incorporated.

  I looked through the last drawer and found only some personal papers belonging to Thomas. Most were credit card bills and statements. Thomas was probably using money from the club to pay his debts.

  “Max,” Lisa’s voice sounded in my ear. I jerked in fright, having forgotten that she was listening to me move around.

  “Yeah,” I answered in a hushed tone.

  “Everyone’s going back into the club.”

  “Thanks,” I replied. “Great distraction, by the way. You’ll have to tell me about it later.”

  “Finding anything?”

  “Not really.”

  I moved over to the computer. I hoped there would be some e-mail or message that Thomas had forgotten to erase. I had my doubts but it was a chance. I booted the computer and waited for the system to come online.

  I began to rifle through the desk drawers while I was waiting for the system to boot. So far, I found little more than a collection of paperclips and some staples. In the side drawer, I found some papers and a Smith and Wesson .45 hidden
beneath them. I closed the drawer and glanced at the screen. The Windows symbols popped us indicating

  the computer had booted up.

  I started on the Eudora program on the desktop. I opened the program and clicked on the first mailbox.

  “Checking your email?” a voice said.

  I looked up to see the office door open and Jeff Thomas standing there with one of the muscle bound bouncers.

  “Crap,” I muttered under my breath, and I replied as drunkenly as I could sound, “I was...uh... looking for the bathroom.”

  “Did you find it on my computer?” he asked scornfully.

  “I...just thought I would check my email,” I offered.

  “Jason,” he said to the chunk of muscle standing behind him, “let's see if you can convince him to rethink his story.”

  I didn’t have to rethink my story. I was pretty sure my story, and not to mention my body, was too thin to hold up to Jason’s idea of interrogation. When Thomas and Jason stepped into the door, Thomas pushed it closed. They stood between me and my only way out. I decided that honesty might be prudent considering the current state of affairs.

  “Okay,” I confessed, “I am looking into the murder of Mark Lofton. It’s been alleged that he embezzled some money from this club. That might give you motive, Mr. Thomas.”

  “Are you a cop?”

  “Yeah,” I lied, thinking honesty was often overvalued.

  “Got a badge, officer,” Thomas asked.

  “Not on me, but my backup outside will be happy to raid this club if you want.”

  I was hoping Lisa was hearing me, but so far, I had gotten no response.

  “I don’t think we have to worry about that. Jason, get him out from behind my desk.”

  Jason moved toward the desk with an angry look of someone who really enjoyed salting slugs as a kid. I really didn’t want to take another beating so soon after my last, but Jason outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds, and it appeared that it was mostly muscle.

  “Let’s reconsider this,” I pleaded.

  “I did,” Thomas said.

  I grabbed the drawer to my side and yanked it open. My hand curled around the .45 in it, and I raised it quickly. I trained the sights on Jason, who stopped mid-step and stared down the barrel. I flipped the safety off and gave a big grin.