Bob Moats - Jim Richards 01-03- 3 for Murder Box Set

by Bob Moats

  “Well, he finds you interesting, too,” I offered. Her eyes grew a bit larger on that. I continued, “You should give him a call and ask to confer about the case over a coffee or maybe drinks, if you indulge. I think he’d be agreeable to that.”

  “I’ll do that. Thank you for the heads up, Mr. Richards.”

  “Oh, please, call me Jim.”

  “Well, call me Lynn, then.” She smiled, turned and walked down a corridor, to her office I imagined. Probably rushing for the phone. Poor Deacon. But now I had her on our side. I’m so devious at times it amazes me.

  I sat in my car in Metro parking and looked through my contact list on my Palm. Aaron’s number was still listed. I was glad I hadn’t cleaned out my list. Aaron was one of Nicky’s personal assistants back when I was there, before Kris Wallace came along and took over.

  I called him but got a recording saying the number was no longer in service. It was five years, so I wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t the best for taking care of finances, and Nicky fired him for supposedly doing too many drugs. That was stupid, because it was Nicky who was supplying him with the drugs. Aaron was pretty independent, and Nicky didn’t like it, couldn’t control him.

  I drove out and headed to an animal rental place that Aaron used to work for. They rented animals to shows, and you could get anything from Boa Constrictors to tigers. Anything wild or exotic. I found the building and went in the front door, working my way through cages of birds, snakes and small predators. The placed smelled like it needed a good hosing down.

  “Can I help you?” a voice came from behind a stack of cages with tons of rabbits. A skinny, poorly dressed, pale man came wandering out.

  “Yeah, I’m looking for Aaron Goldman. I’m a friend who worked with him back in 2003.”

  “Wow, man, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a few years myself. Last I heard, he was working for that chick that does exotic dancing with boas, the real kind.” He smiled a toothy grin, missing a few.

  “What’s the name of the dancer?” I asked.

  “She went by Wanda Wicked, over at the Pink Slipper Lounge. It’s a strip club.” I knew the place, never been there, but knew it.

  “That’s all you can tell me about him?” I pushed.

  “All I can remember, sorry.”

  I thanked him and left. I sat in my car thinking about that strip club. Buck would want to go with me on that. I remembered back to my younger days working at a design shop in Warren, Michigan. I worked the afternoon shift making the strips for billboard signs, and when we finished for the night, the four of us who worked there would head down Van Dyke Avenue and hit the strip clubs between 10 Mile Road and Seven Mile. One place in particular we hung out at was the Duchess Lounge. There was this really beautiful, short, blond-haired girl named Pixie working there.

  I had an image in my memory of her one night when she was dancing to “Lady” by Styx. She did this sort of veil dance under a strobe light. Twirling, spinning as the music got faster, she would do all these acrobatics, and it just mesmerized me. I never forgot her or that dance. Every time I hear that song, I think of her. I came out of my trance and drove out of the parking lot.

  I decided that it was time to go catch Nicky’s show, but incognito, so he didn’t know I was there. I wanted to see if he had finally changed his act. I could do the damn thing by heart. I heard it six nights a week for months. It was also the same act I saw him do about twenty years ago at a comedy club in Detroit. I guess when you have something that works, why screw with it.

  I went back to the convention center, flashed my exhibitor badge, and went in. There was a good crowd around Penny’s booth. She saw me and got a big smile on her face. I walked up and said aloud in front of the crowd, “Excuse me, ma’am, may I kiss you?” I grabbed her and bent her over the table, planting a big wet one on her. I let her up, said thank you, and walked away. I had to get her back for the little things she pulled on me. Deacon was off to the side laughing his head off as I came around the crowd. He shook my hand.

  “Nice one.” He laughed.

  “Have you had any calls from a certain detective lately?” I inquired.

  “Why, yes, Sergeant Carter called me about a drink tonight around 10 to discuss the case. I think there’s more to it than just discussing. I invited her to go to my sister’s show, then I would let Maria drive herself home and I would continue the discussion with Lynn.” He smirked.

  “Ah, now on a first name basis.” I grinned. It never occurred to me that the name Sergeant Carter was the same as the character on the old Gomer Pyle show. I hoped she didn’t get kidded too badly about it. I didn’t want to tell Deacon that I had something to do with his date, but she would have gotten around to it eventually. I just pushed it.

  “Does Maria know you’re meeting up with the hussy?” I asked.

  “She does, and I said I’d never speak to her again if she queered the date,” he growled.

  “Where are Buck and Maria off to?”

  “They’re exploring the place. Maria’s been friendly with Buck since I told her about Lynn and me. I hope she isn’t going to do something stupid. I feel sorry for Buck.”

  I told Deacon about my visit to Metro with Weber and Carter and my journey to find Aaron. I explained to Deacon about Aaron’s part in this. Buck and Maria were just coming out of the crowd, and I asked Buck if he would like to go visit a strip club tonight. He said he’d be delighted, and as we talked I felt a whack to the back of my head. It was Penny with a stack of brochures in her hand.

  “If you weren’t so cute, I’d have hit you with a chair. Every man out there who saw that wanted to kiss me. Smart ass.”

  “Well, next time you’ll remember not to take a beer out of my hand and walk away with it,” I snarled.

  Buck piped up, “Jim’s taking me to a strip club tonight!” I wished he hadn’t done that, but the man was excited. It was almost charming, a big muscular biker having such innocence about him, but I wouldn’t mess with him.

  “Oh, now we’re going to a strip club? I always wanted to see the inside of one of those.” She grinned and pinched my arm. I flinched.

  “It’s all in the line of duty, purely an investigating trip.” I hid my smile and looked serious. She pinched me again. “Ow, cut that out!”

  “You were planning on telling me this?”

  “Of course. I would never go investigating without my lucky woman.” I covered my head and moved my arms away from her. She giggled.

  “Maybe I could learn a few moves from the strippers. We could install a stripper pole back at the house.”

  My mind wandered, thinking about Penny circling a stripper pole. I changed the subject.

  “I think tomorrow night we should all go to see Nick North’s show so you can get a feel for him. I need to disguise myself so he won’t spot me.”

  Penny said there was a theatrical make-up booth in the convention that specialized in disguises for actors. We could hit them before we left tomorrow night. I said great, and I said I would get us tickets for tomorrow night. Maria spoke up and said she could get us in free, that she knew the guy at the ticket reservation counter and he had a certain number of comp tickets for each show. She said she would call him. I said that would work, too, but if it didn’t, I’d pay for it.

  Deacon asked if it would be all right if he invited Lynn to join us. I thought that would be a great idea, keep her interested in Deacon and she could see Nicky in action. I told Deacon it would be fine to ask her.

  It was about 9 p.m., and Deacon and Maria had left around 7 p.m. to go do her show where Deacon was going to meet up with Carter. Buck was dreaming about Hulk Hogan whom he did talk with again at the show. The Hulk had pulled Buck into his booth and had pictures taken of the two together. Buck even put on the head rag so they looked alike. However, at the moment he was dreaming of the strip club.

  Penny said her producer was in heaven with three offers to syndicate the show. She said she was nervous about it. I told
her she would be great at it. Things had slowed down at the booth, and I said I didn’t think it would kill anyone if we left a little early. Penny told her producer she was a bit worn and she was going to take off. He said to go rest, he would see her tomorrow, and then he went off to schmooze some more.

  We packed it in and headed out Paradise Road to where the Pink Slipper was. Penny was all excited since she never had been in a strip club before. I had told her of my exploits on the way over, and she was impressed that I had seen so many boobies in my life. She asked if she stacked up to any of them. I feared for my life should I get the wrong answer, so I diplomatically said she had a great rack. That pleased her.

  “Why are we going to look for this Wicked Wanda?” Penny asked.

  “That’s Wanda Wicked, and she knows a guy who worked with Nicky. I need to find that guy. He knew more about Nicky than most people. He seems to have disappeared, and I was told he last worked for Wanda. I hope she knows where he’s at.”

  Buck was in the back. “We want to see a Vegas strip club, too.”

  “Well, Buck, we’re here,” I announced as we pulled into the drive and parked towards one side. There weren’t a lot of cars in the lot. I figured the economy was slowing down business. We got up to the door and the bouncer said the lady was free but we guys had to pay $20 each to get in. I flashed him my I.D. and said we needed to talk to Wanda in regard to a murder. He hedged, and then I said I could call in Captain Weber or Detective Carter of Metro if he needed more convincing. He was silent for a minute, then he waved us in.

  I thanked him, he nodded, and I asked if Wanda was working tonight. He said she was. We entered the dark building and saw lights flashing and flowing around the ceiling and walls. There were three stages with men seated around them, all smiling and stuffing dollars in g-strings as the women wiggled their asses in the men’s faces. Penny held on to my arm tightly. I asked her to loosen up just a little. She did.

  I asked a waitress which girl was Wanda, and she said she’d be on the center stage in five minutes. We went and sat at the stage, and the attractive girl dancing smiled at Penny and came over to shake her boobs at Penny. She shook them fast and asked if Penny liked what she saw. Penny laughed and asked, “Are those things real?” The girl just stared and moved away. I snickered, and Buck guffawed aloud.

  I leaned over and said, “I love you.”

  “This is fun,” she said and asked for a dollar. I had a bad feeling about why she wanted it, but gave it to her anyway. She waved it at the girl who came back over and bent her butt to Penny. Penny shoved it in her thong. She laughed out loud and asked for more dollars. I couldn’t stop laughing and gave her all the dollars I had in my pocket. Penny was busy stuffing the money in every place the girl had available.

  The girl was really getting into Penny now. She stood on the counter and shimmied her crotch towards Penny’s face. Penny started to reach up towards the girl’s butt. I grabbed her hand, saying they frown on touching. She said damn. I was wondering about Penny now. The image of a three way popped into my mind. I had just managed to clear that image out of my head when the song ended. The girl smiled, leaned way over and kissed Penny on the lips, said her name was Tiffany, then ran off stage. I was sweating a bit just watching the sexual exhibition. I looked at Penny. She was smiling. I needed to have a long talk with her. Buck was speechless, had no comments, just looked at Penny with wide eyes.

  The lights dimmed and a spotlight came onto the curtain at the back of the center stage. Over the speakers came the voice of the D.J. announcing the arrival of Wanda Wicked. Everyone cheered, including Penny. The curtains parted, and there stood a well-built female with jet-black hair, Goth style make-up, black lips and eye shadow, a tight white bustier, long, white gloves and wrapped in a Boa Constrictor.

  She ran forward to the center of the stage as the lights danced and played on her gleaming body, did a couple of spins and started to gyrate, playing with the snake. She looked well oiled. Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” blared from the hidden speakers as she and two other dancers on their own stages spun, bounced, stretched and exposed to the music.

  I pulled out a ten-dollar bill and waved it up to her. She crawled over, snake and all. I played a bit with the bill until she was close enough to hear me. “I need to speak to Aaron Goldman. Know where he is?”

  She writhed a bit then said, “You a cop?”

  I said, “Private.”

  She grabbed the bill and said he was in the back. She moved away and did her thing some more.

  I leaned over to Penny and Buck and told them I was going in the back to see Aaron. I said for each one of them to keep their hands to themselves and behave. Penny looked disappointed but said she was enjoying watching. I saw a curtain that girls were going in and out of and headed that way.

  There was a big burly guy seated close by, and when he saw me heading in that direction, he got up and blocked my path. I said to him, I just want to see Aaron. He asked who I was, and I told him. He said wait here and went back. A couple seconds later Aaron ran out and excitedly came up to me.

  “Jimmy, damn good to see you! Come on back.” We went into the inner sanctum of naked women. I was ready for anything.

  *

  Chapter Eight

  The place looked like a locker room with make-up tables. Aaron led me to a small, closet-sized room in the back. The door had Wanda Wicked printed on it. We went in, and he closed the door, told me to sit, and said it was great to see me again.

  “Sorry for the cramped room. The other girls don’t like snakes so they put Wanda back here in her own little room. How you been?” His eyes looked glassy, but he still had the friendly face through the scruffy beard. He was a skinny, smallish man with thinning hair and grey eyes that showed years of drug abuse. I recognized the blank look and drab eyebrows.

  “I’m good, playing private eye now, licensed. I thought you might help me. Remember Lisa James?”

  He perked up. “Hell, yeah. Too bad what happened to her.” His smile dropped.

  “Well, I have a suspicion that Nicky was involved with that. Can’t prove it yet, but I’m working on it.”

  He sat back in his chair, looked at the wall for a moment, then turned his weary eyes to me. “I know he had something to do with it. Well, not him personally, but he knew about it after the fact. I got people who talk to people who know people, and it is said he wanted her out of his life. She was getting too bossy and wanting him to get rid of Sue. But Lisa wouldn’t go away. I heard she was with St. Nicholas the night she vanished into the desert. But the cops say he proved he was in California on business. I don’t know who is covering for who, I just know that old Nick was involved, but I can’t prove it.”

  “I heard she may have been pregnant. Any word on that?” I inquired.

  “I heard from a hairdresser she used that it was possible,” he answered

  “Tell me everything you heard from all your contacts. I’ll listen.”

  “Well,” he said, leaning back again, “I heard from one of my associates that he saw them up top of the Stratosphere, having a meal, then Nick wanted to go on that crazy roller coaster up there, but she didn’t want to go. They fought a bit and then left. The valet said they sped out heading north, the last anyone saw her. Cops said they had reliable witnesses and credit card receipts from California saying he was there. My friends here are just waiters and valets. They don’t hold much water for proof.” He looked a little pissed.

  I asked who his friends were at the Stratosphere, and he gave me their names. We talked about old times and how we’d been doing since, and then Wanda blew in. I said my good-byes to Aaron and went back to my seat. Penny was still bouncing in her chair, and Buck said he had to restrain her a couple of times to keep her from jumping up on the stage. Penny whacked him and gave me a cute little smile. “We really need a stripper pole back home,” she said. I said we needed to get out of there, and despite her protests, we left.

  It was now after
11 p.m. I drove Buck back to Maria’s house and pulled in the drive. Maria was on the porch, just sitting. We walked up to her, and she seemed a bit miffed.

  “I don’t think Frankie and that woman even stayed for the whole show. I was watching them through the curtain before I went on, and she was just all over him. It was disgusting.”

  I reminded her, “I thought we agreed that Deacon, I mean Frankie, needed a little romance in his life.”

  “Yeah, well, she just seems too aggressive for him.”

  “Maria, he’s aggressive enough himself, he can handle it.”

  Maria told Buck to sit next to her. He did, and she put her head on his shoulder. I knew it was time to leave them to other ventures, so I told Penny we should be leaving and before she could say anything I turned her and pushed her to the car.

  “You don’t have to push. I wanted to talk to Maria a minute,” she protested in the car.