“You’re starting to bore me, baby,” Lavender said peevishly. “I didn’t think we were going to spend the whole evening talking. I figured a nice dinner and then a long slow ride, you know?”
Cordy took her face in his hands and kissed her. He dropped one hand to her right breast and caressed it softly, slipping his thumb inside one of the open patches. “Me too, mama. But I need to know, okay?”
She put her hand over his and tightened it on her breast. “Just so you know what you’re missing,” she said.
Cordy groaned. “Just a few more questions.”
Lavender sighed and let go.
They sat in his car in the Bellagio parking lot. Cordy drove the black PT Cruiser he had won on the slots of Sam’s Town two years earlier—the biggest jackpot he had ever scored. He pampered the car like a baby and always parked it in a far corner, safe from dings and dents. The leather interior smelled of salsa and cigars, his two biggest weaknesses after sex and gambling.
He tried to concentrate, which wasn’t easy, staring at the tight fabric on Lavender’s chest.
“Tell me again about the boyfriend,” he murmured.
“I only saw him once, Cordy,” Lavender said. “I’ve told you that three times.”
“And each time you remember a little more, mama. That’s the way it works.”
Lavender rolled her eyes. “It was a really hot night, just like this one. We were at the club. Christi and I both danced there, same shift. She was good, you know? She didn’t like it, not like I do, but she was real good. Anyway, that night, about a year ago, this guy came backstage at the club after she was done with her act and hung out with us for a while. No name or anything like that. But I remember Christi calling him an old boyfriend. That was funny.”
“Why?”
Lavender giggled. “’Cause he was so old. You know, old boyfriend. Get it?”
“How old?” Cordy asked.
“I don’t know. Forty. Fifty. You know, old.”
“What did he look like?”
“Oh, I don’t remember. Average.”
“Dark or light hair?”
“Uh, dark, I think. Graying, maybe. I don’t know.”
“Height?”
“Kinda tall,” Lavender said.
Cordy realized he was getting nowhere. “And you had never seen him before? Christi never mentioned him?”
Lavender shook her head. “Nope.”
“What about after? Did you see him after that?”
“Nope,” she said again.
Cordy took a new tack. “You called him creepy before. What was creepy about him?”
Lavender frowned. “He didn’t talk much. Christi was kind of ignoring him, and he didn’t like it. It looked like he really wanted to get her alone, and she obviously didn’t want that. Looked like two people in the middle of a fight, you know? Plus, he had this look in his eyes. Real intense. You know—creepy. If he wasn’t a boyfriend, I would have figured him for a stalker. We get a lot of that kind. But he had it bad for her.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, hey, this was the dressing room, you know? Half the girls were naked. Beautiful girls. Hell, I was naked, right in front of this guy. He didn’t react at all. Didn’t even see us. He didn’t see anyone but Christi.”
Cordy tried to imagine anyone not noticing Lavender naked. It was impossible.
“Do you remember what they talked about?”
“No. He sat off by himself, and every now and then, he would whisper something to her. But she mostly talked to the rest of us girls, not him. She was teasing him a little, I think. Trying to piss him off by ignoring him.”
“Did Christi ever have other boyfriends meet her at the club?”
“Never. That was the only time. I don’t think I would have remembered otherwise. Christi was a loner, a real cold fish.”
“How so?”
“Well, like I said, she was talking to us that night, not him. And that was rare. She didn’t talk much to the other girls. She came in, did her dance, and left, you know? Some of the girls thought she was a stuck-up bitch. Others thought she was ashamed.”
“What did you think?” Cordy asked.
“That girl wasn’t ashamed. You can’t be as good as she was and be ashamed. I think we were all just nonpeople to her. Didn’t exist at all. Hell, when I talked to her about my idea, she barely let me finish before slamming the door on me.”
“What idea?”
Lavender poked him. “A Web site. Online sex shows. Christi would have been perfect, and it would have made her a lot of money. But she said there was no way she was going to be seen on the Internet. That was funny, because guys could see all they wanted live and in person every night. That didn’t matter, though.”
“She say why?”
“No, just that she wasn’t interested. Period.”
“Uh-huh. Look, Lav, I’ve got to find this boyfriend. This Christi, she’s a puzzle, see? There’s nothing personal in her apartment. The way you describe her, she barely had a life. This boyfriend is the only clue we’ve got.”
Lavender shrugged. “I’ve told you everything I remember, baby. I don’t see how you’re going to find him. I mean, you could talk to the other girls who were there. A few of them might still be in town. They might remember something.”
Cordy nodded, knowing it was a long shot. “Okay, I’ll have you write down their names.”
“And maybe some of the other people at the club saw him. Bouncers, bartenders, waitresses. I left the club not too long after that, so he might have come back when I wasn’t there.”
“Yeah, that’s a start. I’ll run ’em all down tomorrow.”
“Sorry, baby,” Lavender said. “You look disappointed.”
“I am. This could have been a big break, but I’m afraid it looks more like a dead end.”
Lavender smirked. “I know how to make it up to you.”
She slid her tongue out between her lips and reached for his zipper. Effortlessly, she pulled it down. “You want some head, baby?”
Cordy was immediately hard. “Oh, yeah.”
Her fingers skillfully reached inside.
“Mmm, dessert,” she whispered.
Lavender’s upper body sank forward, and her hair tumbled over his lap. Cordy closed his eyes, waiting for the delicious warmth of her mouth closing over him. It never came. With a start, Lavender straightened up, and Cordy opened his eyes, enormously disappointed.
“What’s wrong, mama?” he pleaded.
She stared at him with bright eyes. “I may, I just may, have a picture of him.”
“Who?”
“The mystery man. The boyfriend.”
Cordy felt his erection wither, but his mind was excited. “A picture? Get out of here.”
“Yeah, yeah. We were clowning around with my Polaroid that night, making faces, shooting our tits and asses. I remember because Christi wouldn’t let me take her picture. Kept turning her back. But it’s possible creepy-face ended up in the background of one of the shots.”
“You still have the pictures?” Cordy asked.
“I think so. In my apartment. I have a drawer where I dump all of them.”
Cordy turned the key in the ignition, and the engine of the Cruiser fired into action. He clutched the wheel with tight fists. “Where’s your apartment?” he asked.
Lavender told him, and before she was even finished, Cordy rocketed the car toward the ramp that led out of the parking lot. The tires squealed, and the rear of the car threatened to fishtail.
“Don’t speed,” Lavender said, grinning.
“Why not?”
Laughing, Lavender pointed between his legs, where Cordy’s penis still dangled out of his pants. “Well, if another cop pulls you over, how are you going to explain that?”