Hour Game

Chapter 39

Dorothea and Eddie Battle weren’t home, so King and Michelle drove to the Aphrodisiac that afternoon to speak with Lulu Oxley about the murdered exotic dancer, Rhonda Tyler.

The parking lot was already filling up with the lunch crowd when they arrived. As they walked past one of the bar areas, they caught glimpses of the nearly naked ladies dancing and the men staring and catcalling.

“I just don’t get the attraction,” said Michelle.

“The product isn’t exactly directed at someone like you.”

“Come on, are you saying you find watching something like that enjoyable?”

“No, but I’m afraid I’m in a minority among my gender.” He smiled and added, “That comes with being intelligent, sophisticated and sensitive.”

They were directed back to Lulu’s small, cluttered office, where they found her hard at work and not looking happy about being interrupted.

“I’ve told the FBI and Chief Williams everything,” said Lulu as she snapped her lighter shut and took a drag on a fresh cigarette.

“Well, we’re deputies now, so you can tell us too,” said King pleasantly as he showed her his badge.

She sighed, took another puff and sat back in her chair.

“In case you hadn’t heard, the surgeon general has proclaimed cigarette smoking really bad for you,” said Michelle, waving the fumes away from her face.

“The surgeon general doesn’t run a gentleman’s club,” Lulu shot back.

“We’ll be happy to breathe the secondhand smoke so long as you tell us about Rhonda Tyler,” said King.

“Okay, for the third time and counting, Rhonda Tyler aka whatever the hell her stage name was…”

“Tawny Blaze,” said Michelle helpfully.

“Right, good memory,” said Lulu, eyeing the woman keenly. “Anyway, she came to work here under contract. She stayed in one of the club’s rooms, but shortly before her stint was up, she told us she had another place to crash. She did her contract time, and that was the last I saw of her. We’d used her before, and she’d always acted like a real professional, never any problem.”

“Did she mention whether she had friends or family in the area?”

“Not to me. But with her line of work, family tends to shy away from you.”

“How about a man she might have met?” prompted Michelle.

Lulu tapped ash off her cigarette into an empty paper coffee cup on her desk. “Not that I know of.”

“Anyone else she might have confided in?” asked King.

“She might have talked to some of the girls.”

“Can we speak with them?”

“If you can wake them up. The ones who work nights don’t get out of bed until late in the afternoon. The lunch-shift girls are out onstage now.”

“We’ll give it our best shot,” said King.

“You do that,” said Lulu again, watching Michelle closely.

As they headed to the door, Michelle glanced back and saw Lulu’s hand disappear inside her desk drawer. When Lulu pulled it out, there was nothing in it. Michelle looked away before the other woman could see her staring.

Lulu said, “By the way, here’s a piece of information you might find interesting: the high-and-mighty Remmy Battle threatened Junior.”

Both of them stared at her as she summarized the meeting between the two, including Remmy’s offer to pay off Junior if he returned the stolen items.

“So she wanted something that was in the drawer, but didn’t care about her wedding ring?” asked a confused King.

“Apparently, the lady has something to hide.”

“Where will Junior be today?”

“Working a job in Lynchburg; you won’t be able to see him. But this evening he’ll be at the house he’s building for us.”

“Let me have the directions. And give me Junior’s cell phone number.” As she did so, King asked one more question. “Did Bobby Battle ever come here?”

Lulu seemed to be trying hard not to look surprised at the question. “I think I saw him around here a few times.”

“Recently?”

“What do you consider recently?”

“In the last couple of years.”

“I couldn’t say for sure.”

I’m sure you couldn’t, thought King. “Well, thanks again for all your help.”

“I’ll show you where the rooms are,” offered Lulu.

She led them upstairs and pointed to the hallway fronted by the red curtain.

“Good luck,” she said in a tone that didn’t sound like she actually meant it.

As King and Michelle started off, Lulu touched Michelle on the arm. “Uh, can I ask you a question?” she said.

“We’ve asked you enough, so go ahead.”

“You ever consider pole dancing?”

“Excuse me!” said Michelle, clearly stunned.

“It’s just that you’ve got the perfect all-American, girl-next-door, come-hither thing going on. That’s pretty rare in this business. You’re leaner than the other gals and a little light in the chest, but I don’t think the guys will mind once they see what you do have.”

Michelle’s face reddened. “You must be kidding!”

“The pay’s better than you think, and you keep all the tips you get. And you can pull the night shift and still work your regular job during the day. State law doesn’t allow total nudity in any strip club, so you can keep your G-string on. But the top has to come off, that’s club policy. No boobs, no bucks.”

Michelle smiled tightly. “Let me put it this way: the day you see me pole dancing with only a G-string on in front of a crowd of drunken morons is the day the sky falls and kills all of us.”

“I don’t know,” said King, who’d listened intently to this exchange. “I’d tip at least twenty bucks to see that.”