by anna snow
"It's because Gary was driving a truck for Fernando."
"And how do you know that?" Mandy asked.
"I kind of snuck into Fernando's apartment last night. I found his business book, and Gary's name was in it."
"Have you lost your ever-loving mind?" she asked. "You could have been killed!"
"I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going. But I got some information we needed. Gary was on the up and up with Fernando, which means Fernando didn't kill Tammy to get back at Gary for cheating him. But there's still reason to believe he could have killed both Kiki and Tammy."
Mandy listened intently as I told her my suspicions that Kiki was with Fernando simply for his money.
"So you think Fernando found out he was being used, killed Kiki, and then Tammy found out, and he killed her to cover his butt?" She shook her head.
"Exactly. But I need proof, and I've yet to find any."
She brushed her hair away from her eyes. "What about Rena?" she asked. "She had means and motive to kill the girls."
I shrugged and finished off my coffee. "I'm not sure, really. I highly doubt Rena killed the women, even though she voiced her opinion of the victims and seemed to want them out of the way more than anyone else. She's horrible, but I can't see her actually getting her hands dirty. According to their family and friends, the ladies didn't have any true enemies that they knew about."
Mandy pursed her lips and nodded her head. "I see what you mean."
I told Mandy about the money I found in Kiki's closet, and she whistled low.
"Do you really think she could save that kind of money in the short amount of time she had been working at the club?"
"I honestly don't know," I said. "But I have my suspicions. Now all I have to do is prove them."
"Where are you going to start?"
"The club," I said.
"But we've already checked out the club," she said with confusion.
"We checked out some of the customers and employees. We didn't have a chance to look through Kiki's and Tammy's lockers. The first time Kelly and I paid the Double Trouble Gentlemen's Club a visit, the dressing room area was sealed off because the cops hadn't released the scene. But Tyler let it slip that he had reopened them, so now we can get in and search the women's lockers if their families haven't cleaned them out yet."
"Are you thinking there may be some kind of evidence in them?"
"Maybe, but at this point I don't have any other options. Every other trail has been a dead end. I'm afraid this might be one that I can't solve." I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Bull-squirt."
I looked up quickly and spotted Mona who had entered the office through the back entrance.
"What?" I asked.
"If anyone can solve this case, it's you. I have every faith in you." She smiled and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Now, it sounds a little like you might be headed toward a pity party, so let's get this show on the road and find that killer."
I looked wide-eyed at Mona a moment longer then stood and shrugged. "Okay. You're right," I said. "But I'm going to need your help because there's no way in the universe I'm taking Mandy back out into the field, and Silas has some business to take care of today."
"Thank goodness," I heard Mandy mumble.
Mona's eyes lit up like the bulbs on a Christmas tree. For a minute I thought she'd start jumping up and down and clapping. Then her excitement faded. "Wait a minute. You're not going to make me sit in the car with the equipment and record everything like you always do, are you?"
I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head. "No. This time you're going to help from right beside me."
Her excitement returned. "What's the plan?"
"We're going back to the club. At this hour there should be less traffic backstage. That way we'll have a better chance at looking around than we would if we went during the evening hours."
"Sounds like a solid plan. But, what are we looking for exactly?" Mona asked.
"I've said this a lot today, but I have to say it again. I don't know. Anything out of the ordinary, anything that might lead us to who the killer might be."
"Let me recap to make sure I'm up to speed," Mona said and set down her coffee mug. "Fernando is currently lower on the suspect list than before, thanks to your little adventure that we will definitely be discussing later." She glared at me, obviously having overheard Mandy's and my earlier conversation. "And Rena is also on your list but much lower because you don't think she'd actually stoop to killing someone herself. Gary could still have killed Tammy because he was obsessed with her then killed himself out of sheer guilt, but that still leaves Kiki's killer out there somewhere and having two killers who like to use blow-dryer cords as murder weapons is highly unlikely. Does that about cover it?"
"That just about sums it up." I nodded. "Oh, and Dillion, the security guy at the club. We need to know where he was the night of the murders, considering his relationship with the girls. I know he said he wasn't around, and Cindy said she thought he was out of town at the time, but we need to know for certain where exactly he was and if there's anyone who can verify it. Cindy is supposed to be checking the old schedules to see if he was working those nights, so I'd start by calling her."
"I'll get on it right away," Mandy said. "I'll call Cindy and get his information so I can start digging."
"I would appreciate it."
Mona pursed her lips. "I don't know. I don't think Fernando is the killer. I can't explain why." She frowned. "But I think he's connected somehow. He is a drug dealer and had access to both women in the club."
"Well, since we're all on the same page, let's get this show on the road," I said.
"Wait." Mandy stopped us as we walked toward the door. Mona and I turned to face her.
"There's something that's been bothering me about Fernando. I didn't find anything of use on his phone, but…"
"What?" I asked curiously.
"Well, you said that he told you he used to work security at the club, right?"
"That's right." I nodded, wondering where she was going with her line of questioning.
"Why didn't Cindy tell you that he worked there before, and how did he go from security guard at a gentlemen's club to hotshot drug dealer? And didn't Dickie tell you that Fernando was a new player in town? How can that be?"
I thought about what she had asked for a minute then answered. "Just before you decided to bathe me with a tray of drinks, Fernando said that he worked security at the club a long time ago. Cindy has only been there a little over a year. So, I'm guessing he left before she was hired. That's most likely why she didn't mention it. She most likely didn't know, but I'll have to ask to make certain."
Mona propped her hands on her hips. "But why would Dickie say Fernando was a new player in town if he's been here for a while?"
"Again, I'm just guessing, but I think Dickie meant that Fernando is a fairly new drug dealer. As to how he went from bouncer to big-time dope pusher, I have no idea. That's something we'll have to figure out as we go."
Both women nodded their heads.
"I'll let you know what we find," I said to Mandy and preceded Mona out the office door and across the street to my car. Once inside we buckled our seat belts, and I pulled away from the curb.
"How are we going to get access to the backstage area?" Mona asked while she fluffed her big red hair in the visor mirror.
"I'm going to call Cindy. She seems to always be at work. Maybe she can help us get backstage," I answered while pressing the phone button on my steering wheel. Four rings later Cindy answered.
"Hey, Barb. How's it going?" she said, sounding as chipper as ever.
"Slow where the case is concerned, but I think I might be onto something. Do you happen to be at the club right now?"
"I sure am. Why?"
"I need to get a look at Kiki's and Tammy's lockers and the crime scene."
"Well, the police scoured the place before they took all of the cri
me scene tape down. I'm not sure if you're going to find anything that will help you, but I can get you backstage no problem if you think it's worth the time."
Tyler had let it slip that he'd already been by to search the place, so I was fairly certain I wasn't going to find a single thing that would aid in my investigation, but it was worth a shot.
"I don't know if I'll find anything of use or not," I admitted. "Tyler already searched the place, but at this point I'm willing to try anything."
"Roy isn't here right now, and business is slow," Cindy said. "Park out back behind the building where you did the other night, and give me a call when you get here. I'll let you in the building's back door."
"Thanks, Cindy. See you in a few." I changed lanes then took the upcoming exit. Fifteen minutes later Mona and I were parked behind the Double Trouble Gentlemen's Club, wondering what exactly we were looking for. I was under no assumption that we were going to find a letter of confession or pictures of the murders as they happened, but I had to cover all my bases, and searching backstage at the club was one of them.
"Let's do this," Mona said with a smile and more fervor than I was comfortable with. I wondered for a moment if I needed to explain to her that we weren't at the club to find, or make, trouble.
I decided against extinguishing Mona's enthusiasm. Instead, I fired off a text to Cindy then got out of the car and jogged through the rain to the back door.
We had barely reached the back entrance when Cindy stuck her head out. "Come on. Hurry." She motioned us inside. Once we stepped into the building, she closed the door and locked it behind us. "Sorry about that. I don't know when Roy is going to show up, and I couldn't let him see me allowing anyone in the back door," she explained.
"No worries," I assured her. "We just need to see the ladies' lockers and the crime scene. Then we'll be out of your hair."
She nodded and turned to lead the way toward the dressing room.
"Did you work here when Fernando was working security?" I asked.
"No, that was before my time. I didn't even know he had worked here." She looked over her shoulder at me. "Why do you ask?"
I shrugged. "It's my job."
She grinned. "Gotcha."
From the hallway I could see a small portion of the main floor of the club. Cindy hadn't been lying when she'd said business was slow today. On my previous visits the place had been packed, but now I could only see maybe a dozen or so patrons roaming around and having a good time.
"There's only five dancers working today, I'm just here for the next hour or so until the waitress scheduled to work today's shift shows up. She had a flat tire," Cindy explained. "Midweek gets a little slow during the day until around lunchtime, so you really shouldn't have any trouble while you're looking around."
She led us into the dressing room. "Roy comes and goes as he pleases, and if he catches you back here he'll be pretty ticked off, but I'll do my best to head him off if he shows up."
"Thanks," I said. "We'll hurry. There's not much we're likely to find here, but we have to look."
"I get it," Cindy said and nodded. She motioned to the tables and lockers located at the back of the room. "Tammy's and Kiki's lockers are the two on the very end, and their vanity stations are also the last two. The bodies were found just behind that changing curtain next to Tammy's station. Good luck," she said with a small wave as she left the room.
Once Cindy was gone, Mona turned to face me and rubbed her hands together. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.
I looked around at the somewhat messy area. "Keep an eye out. If anyone comes down that hallway, let me know, and then hide. I'm going to look through their lockers first." I stepped over a stray stiletto and hurried toward the bright pink lockers lined up against the back wall of the room as Mona hid her body behind the doorframe and stuck her head around to look down the long hallway.
Fortunately for me there wasn't a lock on either Tammy's or Kiki's lockers. I looked down the row and noticed that none of them had locks. Either these women trusted each other that much, locks just weren't allowed, or the police had removed them. I shrugged the thought aside and opened the last locker in the row. Blue glittery letters spelling out Tammy's name were scrawled across the front along with little butterfly and flower stickers. It was actually quite cute and not what I expected to see in a gentleman's club.
The contents of the locker were sparse. A purple feather boa, more tubes of ChapStick than I could count, a pair of old tennis shoes, a pair of yoga pants, and a baggy Johnny Cash T-shirt.
I had a feeling Tammy and I would've gotten along just fine. Too bad I'd never have the chance to meet her.
I closed the locker and moved on to the second one. I'd never seen so many shades of pink in one place. Light pink glittery letters spelling Kiki's name were diagonal across the door, much like Tammy's. Metallic pink stickers of high heels, purses, and lipstick covered the rest of the locker door.
"Still all clear," Mona called out to me as quietly as possible.
I looked at her and nodded then turned my attention back to the locker. The contents of Kiki's locker weren't much different from that of Tammy's either. Inside was a pair of red high heels, some amazingly short jean shorts, and a black crop top. I spotted a red purse in the bottom of the space behind the red shoes. A shot of excitement buzzed through me. I kneeled down and unzipped the small purse. My excitement quickly dwindled. The purse was empty except for a couple of hair ties, lipstick, and a compact mirror.
I put the purse back where I'd found it then stood and closed the locker door.
The song blasting over the speakers started winding down, and I knew that before long one of the ladies would be coming back to change clothing or at least take a break, so I put some extra hustle in my step and hurried over to the vanities Cindy had pointed out as Kiki's and Tammy's.
I looked over the top of the stations, but nothing stood out. Makeup covered almost every square inch. Brushes, combs, flat irons, and hot rollers were hanging from one side of the tables. I noticed Tammy's and Kiki's blow-dryers were both absent. Not surprising, seeing as they were used to kill the ladies and were more than likely in evidence lockup down at the police station. They were now murder weapons and no longer weapons used to create voluminous hair.
There was nothing of any use to me on either of the vanities, so I hurried around the changing curtain where the murders had happened.
The space was small. Only big enough for maybe two small people. It didn't look like anyone had been using this changing area, not like I could blame them. I wouldn't want to take the chance of changing clothing where two of my fellow co-workers had been killed only weeks before. It wasn't only a little sad but a mite creepy as well. I pulled the curtain back and reached out to touch Tammy's vanity. It was highly likely that the women were changing behind the curtain when their attacker came in and cornered them in the tight space. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the scene in my head.
The attacker came in, cornered the victim, the situation escalated, and he attacked her. Reaching from behind the curtain, the murderer grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, which just so happened to be the hair-dryer, wrapped the cord around the victim's neck, and strangled her.
I opened my eyes and hurried out from behind the curtain. As I made my way toward Mona, she raised her eyebrows at me. "Well? Did you find anything?"
I shook my head. "No, not that I really expected to."
"Now what?" she asked and peeked down the hallway again.
I thought for a minute. "Fernando used to work here."
"That's what you said earlier," Mona agreed. "You've got your idea face on. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that a peek into his personnel file might tell us something about him. Why he stopped working at the club, how long he worked here, and so on."
"Do you know where they keep the personnel files in this place?"
I nodded then stuck my head out of the room and looked u
p and down the hallway. "Follow me."
I turned to the right and jogged down the hallway to the last door on the left and jiggled the doorknob.
Mona leaned over my shoulder to get a closer look. "Can you pick it?" she asked.
"I could if I'd brought my purse in with me. I need a credit card or something."
Mona reached into her crossbody bag and pulled out her library card then handed it to me.
"Thanks," I said and took the card then set to work wiggling it in between the doorframe and knob. A few seconds later the door popped open an inch.
"Here you go." I handed the card back to her, and she dropped it back into her bag before following me into the darkened room.
Feeling along the wall, my fingers connected with a light switch. A moment later dim yellow light filled the room.
"We need to find Fernando's file and get out of here before someone catches us poking around."
Mona looked out the door then back to me. "Well there's the file cabinet. Get busy, girly."
The file cabinet drawer screeched when I pulled it out, and my jaw clenched at the terrible sound. Running my fingers along the files, I located the T-U-V section then thumbed through the files until I spotted Fernando's name.
Valenzuela.
"This is it."
Mona came to stand beside me and looked at the file over my shoulder.
"There." She pointed to a section I hadn't yet read. "Reason for leaving."
"He listed found better paying job as his reason for leaving the club," I said.
"I wonder if the better paying job he's referring to here on this sheet is the new drug dealing business he seems to be thriving at?" Mona asked.
"Most likely, but that still leaves the question of how he went from bouncer to drug dealer," I said.
"I can answer that."
Mona and I both jerked upright at the sound of the scarily calm male voice coming from the doorway. I looked up, and my heart sank.
A shorter man who looked like a bad John Travolta impersonator had his arm wrapped around Cindy's waist and a gun pressed against her side.
His thin greasy hair glistened in the dim overhead light.
Roy. The owner of the Double Trouble Gentlemen's Club.
