24

A text from Nick pinged her phone. Meet me at my house at 9 pm.

Meet for what? She glanced at the clock on her dashboard. It was 6:56 PM and she was almost to Freeport. She was hungry and tired. Grabbing a pizza to go and staying in sounded more her speed. As she was about to voice-text Nick back, another text came in from him.

And wear something sexy.

Emily immediately called him. He picked up after the first ring.

“Thought that would get your attention,” he said.

“I’m gonna pick up a pizza and head home. And I was planning to stay there. In cozy pants and a sweat shirt. So this better be good.”

“Were you this boring in Chicago, too?”

“It’s Sunday night. I’m exhausted.” And no, she hadn’t been this boring in Chicago. Brandon had had her out on the town every night off they could get. He loved city action, and she’d loved experiencing it with him. But that’s because there was always something new and different to do. Not so in Freeport.

“I’m not going to tell you, but I will give a hint. It’s a reconnaissance field trip for work.”

“Okay. Interesting. But all my sexy clothes are still in Chicago,” she said.

“Jeans and heels’ll be fine.”

“That I can do.” She hung up and dialed for pizza. She knew Nick would want some. Besides, it would be a shame, and pure gluttony, to eat it all alone. She didn’t mind being single right now, but she hated eating alone.

*   *   *

Quarter to eight, Emily arrived at Nick’s house with pizza, heels, and a fresh blouse. He opened the door dressed in jeans and a crisp white T-shirt, and his hair was wet with that just-showered look. And he had put on cologne.

“You look great,” he said, taking the pizza box.

“And you smell great.” Emily stepped inside. Since when did Nick Larson wear cologne?

As they ate, they chitchatted about the past few days, but despite her subtle—or not-so-subtle—hints, Nick would still not let on what their secret errand entailed.

At nine o’clock they left in Nick’s truck.

“Okay, I’ve tried to be good. What are we doing tonight?”

Nick held up a finger. “You’ll see when we get there.”

“Can you at least prep me? It’s not every day I put heels on.”

“I don’t want you overthinking this.”

Emily and Nick rode in silence for the next ten minutes as he took them outside Freeport. They were coming up to the Silver Slipper when Nick slowed down.

“Seriously?” said Emily.

“Don’t judge. Yet.”

The parking lot was full as Nick pulled in and tried to find a spot.

“What are we doing here?”

“Just trust me.”

“Are you kidding?”

He parked his truck on the far end of the lot. Emily was surprised Freeport could sustain a place like the Silver Slipper. Then a thought raced across her mind. What if she saw someone she knew? One of the county commissioners? What if word got back to them? Or any self-respecting person in Freeport? She crossed her arms and held her ground.

“I’m not going in there.”

Nick turned off the ignition. “Tiffani Parkman works here. I thought you could use your feminine wiles to see if you can get her to open up about where she was the day her sister disappeared.”

“You couldn’t have brought her into the station as per normal protocol?”

“She’ll tell you more than she would me.”

“These kind of girls can be pretty cagey.” Two of Emily’s med school friends had danced for their tuition. And there was no messing with them.

Nick unlocked the doors, but Emily didn’t budge.

“We go in separately. I’ll point out Tiffani and you approach her when she takes a break.”

Emily shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not going to stalk her. I’ll come up with my own plan.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Like you did with the Dobson case? How’d that work out, huh?” He was referring to her tangle with the killer who, a couple of weeks back, had murdered teen equestrian Julie Dobson. If she pressed firmly enough into her side, she could still feel the bruised rib where she had been struck as she defended herself.

“I caught the killer, so I’d say it worked out pretty well.”

Emily pounced out of the truck, heels pounding toward the entrance. It was a trek across the uneven parking lot, and her ankles were feeling the torque.

“I’m not letting you go in there by yourself.” Nick had caught up with her.

She stopped and faced him. “Wait in the truck. I’ll be right back.”

Emily diverted her path to the back of the building. She waited near the dumpster, as much out of view as she could manage. Just in case someone should exit. A dancer. A busboy. A patron.

Emily almost laughed out loud. If these covert operations were going to become a thing with them, they would definitely have to work out a better code.

She quickly entered and slipped down the sticky floor of the black-walled hallway. It was lit with three exposed bulbs. She could feel the music pumping through the balls of her feet. There was only one large dressing room at the far end of the hall next to a tiny, one-seater bathroom. Emily poked her head in. She recognized Tiffani from a childhood photo on Mrs. Parkman’s wall. Now, there she stood bared in her thong and pasties in front of a mirror as she wiped a layer of baby oil off her shoulders and arms.

“Tiffani?” Emily said.

“Yeah.” She didn’t even turn around. She swiped the towel over her legs to degrease them.

“I was told you could show me the ropes,” said Emily, taking a step in.

“You new?” Tiffani glanced in the mirror and saw Emily standing behind her in the door.

“I hope to be.”

“Weird. Wanda never said anything about a new girl.” Emily was tongue-tied for a second. “But whatever. Probably slipped her mind. We could use a couple more girls. Who sent you?”

“Just … a friend.”

“Friend’s name?”

“I don’t think he’d want me to say.” She smiled coyly.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll figure it out.”

Tiffani studied Emily up and down.

“You have a good figure. What do you do?” asked Tiffani, rubbing off oil and sweat from her chest.

“I … I’m in school.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

“No, I mean moves.”

“Oh. I can … I was in gymnastics,” Emily lied. “And I was a cheerleader.”

“I can work with that. Wanda give you the paperwork?”

Emily shook her head.

“You look a little deflated. Up there.” Tiffani pointed to her chest. “Get a boob job.”

“Oh.” Emily swallowed hard. “Yeah. Maybe.” Tiffani pulled the hair from her brush and tossed it toward the garbage pail. It missed and landed in a clump on the floor.

“What’s your stage name?”

She hadn’t thought about that. Right. Okay. “What about Doctor … Dazzle?” That sounded so stupid! No way was Tiffani gonna buy it.

Tiffani dropped the towel on a nearby chair and turned around. “If you’re going with that, you should also get a racy doctor costume.”

“Good idea. I didn’t think of that.” Emily bobbed her head in agreement.

Tiffani slipped on a pair of sweat pants over her bare cheeks. Emily wished she would cover her upper half for dignity’s sake. “I’m heading out to take a smoke break. Talk to Wanda about the hiring papers, and then get back to me so we can schedule a practice session.”

“Yeah. Sure. Thank you.”

Tiffani was about to step out the back door.

“Tiffani?” Emily said, stepping in and closing the door to the club.

“Oh no, keep that open. Management doesn’t like us to have it closed.”

Emily cracked the door. She needed to get to the point fast. Before anyone came in.

“I heard about them finding your sister, and I’m real sorry.”

Tiffani’s face didn’t flinch. “Thanks.” She pawed through her bag for her smokes.

Emily had to up her charade game. “It’s probably pretty stressful. I can only imagine what you’ve been through.”

“Yeah, well, it’s no surprise to me. I always figured she’d been killed or something,” said Tiffani, tapping her cigarette pack on her palm.

“When was the last time you saw Sandi?” asked Emily.

“I dunno. You from around here?”

“I grew up here, but then left for a while.” Also not a complete lie.

“Did you know her? You look about her age,” asked Tiffani.

“I was a couple grades older. I knew who she was.”

“Well, I’m out,” Tiffani said, lighting her cigarette as she opened the back door.

“Do you ever replay that day in your mind?” Emily said.

“I don’t get what you’re driving at here, Doctor Dazzle. What’s with the deep dive into my personal life? I don’t even know you.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry. It’s just that I lost … someone close to me, too. I guess I kinda feel like a bond with you or something.”

“We’re not bonding.” Tiffani looked up at Emily with a suspicious glance. “You sure you aren’t with the police, Miss Nosy?”

“No. Of course not.” Emily forced a giggle.

Tiffani took a drag of her cigarette. Emily backstepped toward the door. She was walking a fine line, and she wasn’t sure where to go from here. She drew in a deep breath. “I better go find Wanda.”

Tiffani peered at her. “You look too put together to be a dancer in a strip club.”

Emily feared her gig was up. She had to think fast.

“You a cop or something?” Tiffani asked again.

“What? No!”

“You don’t look like the type who really wants to dance.”

“The … the truth is, I need to dance to finish college. I’m a bit broke at the moment, so I came home to save up,” said Emily with an air of confidence as she put her hand on her side and thrust her hip out a couple inches. “There. My dirty secret.” She threw her hands up and let out another squeaky giggle to break the tension.

Tiffani exhaled, filling the room with smoke.

She gave Emily a wry smile.

“I just hope they arrest that cop.”

“What cop?”

Tiffani took a step closer to her.

“Nick Larson. She went to his house after she got home from school. And that is the last time I saw my sister.”

“You think he killed her?” Emily feigned. “Why?”

“To protect the pack.”

“What pack?”

“If you don’t know, you’re dumber than I thought. You went to Freeport High. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Tiffani mopped her moist brow with the back of her hand and took another drag. “Your little boyfriend, Nick Larson, sent you in here, didn’t he? Doing his dirty work.”

Emily had to keep her jaw from dropping. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t act dumb, Doctor Dazzle. I mean Dr. Emily Hartford.” Tiffani’s triumphant face turned to Emily. “You’re that crazy girl who ran away from home after her mom died.”

Emily felt sucker-punched.

“Someone needs to look into Nick as a suspect.”

“Nick has an alibi for that afternoon,” said Emily with a cool tone.

“Of course he does. He’s not going to admit he got rid of my sister to save his name. And the names of the pack.”

Emily’s mind flashed back to the image of Nick and Ross talking together secretively the night before. As farfetched as this theory might sound, nothing at this point could be dismissed. Truth and lies were strange allies. A queasiness rippled through Emily’s stomach.

“I’m sure Nick didn’t kill your sister,” Emily clarified.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But he knows who did. That’s how the pack operated. They all know. And they’re protecting Sandi’s killer.”

Tiffani looked away with a half shrug that didn’t exactly instill confidence in her belief. Yet it did raise a flicker of doubt in Emily. Was Rosy Ross one of the pack members?

Tiffani caught Emily looking at her and glared back.

A topless curvy redhead in silk hipster briefs poked her head into the room. “Hey, Tiff, I need to run out a second. Cover me?”

“You got it.”

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” The redhead ducked out.

“Oh, God … Carly … wait!” Tiffani grabbed a T-shirt and flung the door open, jumping into the hall to stop her. “Put this on, for God’s sake. It’s chilly out there.” She wadded up the shirt and threw it at the half-naked girl. She held the door open and turned to Emily. “Now that you’ve used up my entire break, I’m gonna take a piss and you’re gonna get outta my sight. Got it, Doctor Dazzle?”

Emily stepped into the hall. Tiffani wasn’t rattled an iota from this conversation. When she stepped back into the dressing room, she closed the door and locked it.

Utter failure and embarrassment.

Emily hoofed it back outside and across the parking lot. She glanced over to where Carly was shutting the back passenger door of a black Lexus. The same car Emily had seen at Pinetree Slopes. Carly clicked the fob and the lock alarm sounded once, and she pranced back toward the club. Emily watched until she disappeared inside. Then she hustled to Nick’s truck, where he was waiting for her.

“You saw that, right? Tell me you just saw that,” Emily said breathlessly as she dove into the passenger’s seat. “It’s our Lexus.”

Nick started the engine. “How can she afford a Lexus on stripper wages?”

“Tips?” Emily raised a brow.

“She must be good at what she does,” said Nick.

“Not Lexus good. These aren’t your Miracle Mile clients. She has to have a sugar daddy,” Emily ventured.

“More likely,” said Nick, holding a concerned gaze on Emily. “So, what happened in there?”

“Later.” She peeled her feet out of her heels. Felt so good.

Nick pulled out of the drive, and they sped away.

“Nick, have you hired that attorney yet?” Emily asked after they rode in silence a few minutes.

“Not yet.”

“Have you inquired into getting another detective from the state police post to take over this case?” She wasn’t going to back down on this.

“I was thinking about deputizing you.”

“Ha-ha. Let’s also see about getting you a shrink.”

“I’m serious. You did a great job on the Dobson case.”

“No, Nick. Tiffani thinks you killed Sandi.”

“Ridiculous. Based on what proof?”

“She said Sandi went to your house after you dropped her off. She said you were part of the pack.”

“She’s lying. Case closed.”

“Why would she lie?”

“That’s what we need to find out,” said Nick.

“And this is why you can’t bring Tiffani in to talk to you about it, isn’t it?”

“It’s her word against mine.”

“This is exactly why you need an attorney,” said Emily, feeling the heat rise up her back and into her neck.

“Sandi never came over that day.”

“What’s the pack?” asked Emily.

“A stupid high school urban legend.”

“Enlighten me. I love a good tale.” The sarcasm spilled over.

“It was a stupid name designation. It meant nothing.”

“Were you part of it?” she asked.

“There was nothing to be part of.” Nick pressed his lips together and clenched his jaw until the muscles flexed. “Was Ross part of the pack?”

Nick’s silence told Emily what she needed to know. There was more to this pack stuff than he was admitting. And he was still sworn to its secrecy.