Page 19 of Wild Idol (Tyson Wild Thriller #82)
“ Y eah, that’s Sable,” Eddie said.
I sneered at him. “No. The other girl.”
He studied the image again. “Never seen her before.”
“That picture was taken in this club, wasn’t it?”
“A lot of people come in here.”
I told him about Haley’s ultimate fate.
He frowned. “That’s terrible. She looked so young.”
Eddie didn’t care.
“That was just a couple days ago. Do you remember who else was in here that night?”
He gave me a look like it was a silly question. “Come on. I’m a busy guy. One day blurs into the next around here. You can’t possibly expect me to remember patrons from night to night. ”
“I tried to talk to your waitstaff, but they told me you told them not to talk to me.”
“I tell all my people not to talk to cops. Nothing good ever comes from it.”
Eddie wasn’t stupid.
I fished a card from my pocket. “Get in touch if you can remember anything helpful.”
He took the card and smiled. “Don’t wait by the phone.”
I forced a smile, and we walked away.
JD and I stopped and talked to the basketball player, but he claimed never to have seen Haley. He wouldn’t have admitted it even if he did. Nobody wanted to get caught up in this drama.
We didn’t have anything better to do, so we ambled to the bar and ordered a drink. Jack told the bartender, “Eddie said drinks were on the house.”
The bartender had seen us have a conversation with Eddie and didn’t question it.
That sly grin curled on Jack’s face as he lifted his glass to toast. I figured we’d hang out in the club for a bit and see if we could stumble across anything.
We took in the scenery, and there was plenty to absorb.
A rather frisky woman took to the pole like a pro. Before long, she had stripped down to her lacy black lingerie. With stunning acrobatic feats, she wowed the crowd with her wares and received much applause after her impromptu show .
“I think we ought to hang out here more often,” Jack said in an understated tone.
A couple of chairs had opened up, and we decided to grab them. But a gorgeous brunette and her friend beat us to the punch. They flopped into the plush seats just as we arrived.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the brunette said. “Are these yours?”
“Yes, they are,” Jack said. “But I’m willing to sacrifice them for the greater good.”
“Oh, no. We’ll move.”
“Not necessary.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Her eyes squinted at him. “I know you.”
Jack smiled, waiting to see where this would go.
“You’re the singer for Wild Fury, right?”
“In the flesh.”
“How exciting! We’re planning on seeing the show at the Temple.”
“I’ll put you on the guest list.”
She and her blonde friend exchanged a look and smiled. “That would be super cool!”
“You were here the other night,” JD said, fishing.
“For the listening party? ”
“Yeah,” he said, going along with it. “I thought you looked familiar. You two tend to stand out.”
She smiled and batted her lashes.
“I’m JD, and this is Tyson.”
She smiled and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Evangeline, and this is Vesper.”
We exchanged pleasantries. The night was looking up.
JD pulled out his phone and displayed the image of Haley with Sable to the girls. “Do you remember seeing this girl that night?”
They both huddled around the phone and studied the image.
“No,” Evangeline said, then glanced at Vesper, who shook her head.
Vesper murmured, “Sorry.”
“That’s ok,” Jack replied.
“Who is she?”
Jack told her the story.
With wide eyes, Evangeline said, “That’s the girl!?”
“Yup.”
“I heard about that on the news. I thought she was found over at Beats.”
“She was. We don’t know how she got there from here.”
Her eyes squinted at him. “Why are you interested? ”
Jack displayed his badge.
“Oh. I didn’t know you were a cop.”
“Special Crimes,” JD said with pride.
“That must be exciting!”
“At times.”
“What’s going on?” a guy said in an irritated tone as he stepped to the group.
“Oh, hey, babe,” Evangeline said, trying not to look guilty. “This is JD and Tyson. They’re in Wild Fury.”
His face wrinkled. “What?”
“The band,” she said.
He didn’t care. “Come on. Let’s bounce.”
“We just got here,” she whined.
“And now we’re leaving.”
Evangeline frowned, then looked at Jack as she stood up. “I guess you can have your seats back.”
JD gave her a card. “If you remember anything about that night. Get in touch.”
“I will.”
“Dude, are you seriously hitting on my girlfriend in front of me?”
“Chase, calm down,” Evangeline said.
“No. I’m not going to calm down. I leave you for five minutes, and you’re flirting with some loser. ”
“I only see one loser here,” JD muttered.
That was all the invitation Chase needed to shove Jack. “Fuck you, old man!”
JD staggered a step back.
I took the opportunity to drop the guy and pin him to the carpet. “Coconut County, dipshit! You just assaulted an officer.”
“Fuck, bro! How was I supposed to know?”
Evangeline cringed.
“You going to chill out if I let you go?”
I had his arm wrenched behind his back, angling toward his shoulder blades. It wasn’t a pleasant position.
“Yeah,” he groaned.
The crowd looked on, momentarily stunned.
“You’re lucky I don’t take your ass down to the station. But I’ve got better things to do.” With caution, I let him go and stood up.
Chase climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. His cheeks were flush, and he looked around, embarrassed. He straightened his sport coat, then took Evangeline’s hand and pulled her away.
She cringed and said, “Sorry. It was nice to meet you both.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Chase snapped.
“You shut the fuck up!” she replied with a twisted face. Evangeline looked back at Vesper, who still lingered near us. “Are you coming? ”
Vesper’s sultry eyes flicked between the two of us. “I’m going to hang here for a minute.” She said to us, “I’m safe with you two, aren’t I?”
“Indeed,” JD said.
Vesper shouted to Evangeline, who was already halfway across the VIP room, “Text where you end up. I’ll catch up later.”