Third Party by Brandi Reeds

Author:Brandi Reeds [Reeds, Brandi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

JESSICA

I report to the firehouse for my shift and settle in to wait for an emergency.

For the third time today, I call up the articles I saw on Jack’s laptop and reread them. It seems a girl who used to dance at the Aquasphere Underground—her call sign: Babydoll—is suddenly missing from the scene. This lends credence to what the gossip columnists have been reporting since day one: that Babydoll was none other than Margaux Stritch. The Akerses deny she worked there. But if she was the performer who has suddenly disappeared, some portion of the underground claim they know who killed her—the guy who lost control with her during a performance led by Ms. Gail Force. In which case, Gail Force might know who killed her, too.

The trouble is that the Aquasphere culture is anonymous. I looked into it. Everything underground is executed on a cash basis. They take credit cards, but most people who go there don’t want to leave a paper trail. So they pay cash for an annual membership just to step in the door. The membership is tracked with a bar code. There’s no name attached to it, so members are known only by their codes. They pay a nightly cover. In cash. And then . . . anything goes. The article quotes someone as explaining that the man who lost control with Babydoll lost privileges, but if he wanted to, he could simply enroll again, pay another membership fee, and receive a new bar code.

Which means, if he did kill her, he could do it again.

I text Kirsten: Did your husband ever go to the underground club at Aquasphere?

I’m figuring that Jack’s been there, even if he doesn’t want to admit it to me. Depending on whether his hair sample matches the DNA found on Margaux’s body, his interest in Margaux’s case could range from a mild curiosity to murder in the first.

I log on to the Aquasphere Underground Online site and again pay fifty dollars for access. I try again to garner information about what may or may not have happened in that club.

Sexy451: Looking for Gail Force.

I wait.

Sexy451: Does anyone know what happened to Babydoll?

I wait.

My phone rings. It’s Decker. I answer, “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I say. “Have you found another Arlon Judson yet?”

“No, ma’am,” Decker says. “But I’m on my way to sit down with that lawyer.”

“Kirsten’s husband?”

“Yes.”

“What can I do to help?”

“I just wanted to call. To see how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know you’re pissed at me, Jessica.”

“I’m over it. You actually had some valid points. Purely circumstantial, but . . . I get it. It’s fine.”

“I’ve got Ollie working on who owns the apartment. Thanks for providing the unit number. It’ll help rule him out.”

“I hope so.”

“I wouldn’t be this far with the Stritch case without your help. I want you to know it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Maybe you’ll let me take you out for dinner when all this is over. To say thank you.”

“Are you asking me on a date? Like, a real date?”

“I guess I am.

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