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OVER THE NEXT WEEK, our lives changed incrementally as Tank, through a series of telephone calls, told Alex exactly where he stood in his investigation of Janice Jones.
The first call came the morning after we’d made love. We were walking hand-in-hand along the beach when Alex’s cell rang. He removed it from his shorts pocket, answered it, and hit the ‘speaker’ button so I could listen to the conversation.
“Tank,” Alex said. “Have you learned anything?”
“Let’s just say that finding Janice Jones isn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped.”
“Have you spoken to your friend? Rowe’s head of security?”
“He won’t talk with me now—and to be frank with you, I don’t blame him. Rowe is no fool. He knows that someone close to him ratted him out, and Brian is not about to risk his reputation or his job now. The only reason he shared anything with me in the first place is because he can’t stand the son of a bitch.”
“If he’s afraid of losing his job, I’ll hire him at once—and double his salary. Please tell him that. He will always have employment through me.”
“I’ll let him know. He’s a good guy. He’ll appreciate it. But if he jumps ship now, it would look too obvious, so he won’t bite. He won’t risk being found out, if only because his reputation is on the line, which means everything to people in our field.”
“Fair enough. So, without his help, what do you know?”
“It’s only been a day, but we haven’t been idle. First, we talked to the doormen at Jones’ apartment, all of whom gave us nothing, which suggests to me that Rowe has already paid them off.”
“What did they say?”
“That they all know Jones, of course, and they all said that, as far as they’re concerned, she’s a lovely person. When I asked them if they’d ever seen her with Stephen Rowe, each of them said that they hadn’t, even when I provided them with a photograph of Rowe, which they scrutinized a bit too long for my tastes.”
“What does that mean?”
“They were buying time to figure out how to answer my questions. But here’s the thing,” he said. “When someone lies to you, their eyes will go up and to the right, which points to the creative side of your brain. It’s a fleeting gesture, but if you know what to look for, you never miss it. On the other hand, when you need to retrieve a fact, your eyes will tend to flick up and to the left, as if you’re searching for a memory, which you are. With each question I asked them, all of these men looked up and to the right.”
“So, they were lying to you.”
“It appeared that way to me.”
“What other questions did you ask?”
“I asked if they knew where Jones had gone. A few said that they couldn’t reveal that information, which is true due to privacy concerns, but two gave themselves away by challenging me with a question of their own: ‘What makes you think she’s gone anywhere?’ I told them I knew that she was gone, and if they could help me out by telling me where she was, I’d make it worth their while. Each declined, though one man did hesitate before he refused the offer. So, once again, I know that they’re keeping quiet because of Rowe’s involvement.”
“Any way to shake them down?”
“I have my ways, but I’ll save them for later—when and if we become desperate. If we do, I’ll have a little talk with one of them. Since I wouldn’t want that conversation to occur at Jones’ building, which is outfitted with surveillance cameras, I’d need to do it where one of them lives.”
“You already know where they live?”
“I do.”
Alex looked at me with a raised eyebrow that seemed to say, What doesn’t Tank know?
“What else happened yesterday?”
“We went to the Hampton Inn Rowe and Jones frequented in Times Square.”
“Any luck?”
“Not yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m out of luck. They have a large staff, which likely rotates three times a day. I spoke to one of the managers and showed her Rowe’s photograph, and it was clear to me by the recognition in her eyes that she did know him—not that she’d admit to it. I pressed her and bribed her, but I got nowhere with her. She was having none of me. She shut me down.”
“So, Rowe got to her. Do you think that he got to the other employees there?”
“Maybe some of them, but there’s no way he could have gotten to everyone, Alex. That would be impossible. Someone will talk. I just need to find the right person who is willing to come forward with what they know to make a little extra cash on the side. All I need is one person willing to go on record that Stephen Rowe reserved a room at that hotel on a regular basis. If someone happened to see him with a woman, even better. But the very idea that he would rent a room during, say, the middle of the day, would be difficult to explain to his wife should you decide to reveal that information to her. As work shifts change, my men and I plan on going back to the hotel to talk with other employees. We’ll keep trying until we learn something. And I’m convinced that we will.”
“Why?”
“Because places like that don’t pay shit. Money talks. When I find the right person, it will make them sing.”
“Were you able to talk with any of the front desk clerks?”
“The manager wouldn’t let me. She said that if this is why I had come, then I should leave because the hotel operates under a strict privacy clause.”
“What’s next?”
“Molly’s Diner in the Village,” he said. “We go there tonight.”
“That should be interesting. Keep me informed.”
“Will do.”
“And thanks, Tank.”
“You’ve got it. We’ll get this done. Say hello to Jennifer for me.”
“She’s right here.”
“Hi, Tank,” I said.
“Jennifer. How is Maine treating you?”
“Perfect given the company. But I have to say that I’d like to be in the middle of it with you and your team. I hate that I’m doing nothing to help.”
“This isn’t over yet,” he said. “Who knows? At some point, you and Alex might find yourselves in the middle of it again. But first, do me a favor.”
“Anything,” I said.
“Take care of that shoulder of yours. Get better. Spend time with Alex. Know that we’ve got this on our end.”
“Any news on Cutter?”
“He’s getting better every day.”
“And thank God for that,” I said. “Do you know if we’ll see him soon?”
“Not sure, but there’s hope. Look, I should go. I need to meet with my team to brainstorm how we’ll handle tonight.”
“Call me if you have any luck,” Alex said. “I’ll have my cell with me at all times. If you find out something at the diner, don’t worry about the time. Just call me.”
“I’ll call if we have any luck. Otherwise, if you don’t hear from me, know that I’m still working on it.”
* * *
BUT TANK DIDN’T CALL that night. Instead, he called the next morning, when Alex and I were sitting at the kitchen island having coffee. When the phone rang, I turned to Alex, who was sitting in nothing but his boxer shorts, his hair tousled—and his eyes suddenly bright. The phone was beside him and he reached for it.
“It’s Tank,” he said.
“Fingers crossed. Can you put it on ‘speaker’?”
He did.
“How did it go last night?” Alex asked when he answered the phone. “I’m assuming not well.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re not finished with Molly’s Diner.”
“Why’s that?”
“It all comes down to lighting.”
“What does that mean?”
“Here’s the deal. During the evening, the lighting in the diner is dim. Very dim. The waitresses we spoke to were more than happy to look at Rowe’s photograph, and while three said they were fairly sure they’d waited on him and another woman before, in the end, they said that they couldn’t be absolutely sure. And I can see why. Last night, the diner was packed, which one waitress confirmed was generally the case at Molly’s, from the moment they opened the doors in the morning until they closed them at midnight. I had dinner there with three of my men for two reasons. First, we wanted to take separate tables and talk to the servers, which we did. Second, we wanted to watch how the servers interacted with their customers. What became very clear almost at once is that this place is so busy that there isn’t a lot of time for the servers to have idle chit-chat with anyone. That joint is nothing if not fast-paced and efficient—the perfect place to go if you just want to blend in with the crowd and become anonymous, which would have been one of Rowe’s goals.”
“But what if he took Jones there for breakfast?” Alex said. “Or, most likely, for lunch?”
“Exactly, which is why we’re headed back there today to talk with the lunch crew. There’s no hiding there in broad daylight. Even if the daytime servers are as busy as the dinner-hour servers, there’s a greater chance that someone from the lunch staff will recognize Rowe when we show them his photograph. And if someone does recognize him and they saw him repeatedly with the same woman, what I need to know from them is this—how did they read their relationship? Did they think that things were casual between them, or was there no question that they were behaving as a couple? That’s the juice I need in order for you to threaten Rowe. Otherwise, he could just say that he was there with a client, but even that comes with its own share of issues for Rowe.”
“It does,” Alex agreed. “Why would he be seen repeatedly with the same woman at a diner in the Village? How would he explain that to his wife? She would wonder why Rowe, of all people, would travel so far downtown to some little hole in the wall to meet with the same woman on several occasions when he’s used to dining at places like The Four Seasons. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he’s meeting that woman at that specific location for a reason. And because of that—even if the staff at the diner didn’t view them as being romantic with each other—you’ve got something on him, provided you can find someone who remembers them together and is willing to come forward with whatever she or he saw.”
“We’ll see how that goes.”
“You’re doing good work, Tank. What do you have planned for tonight?”
“We’re going to the strip club where Rowe first met Jones. If she’s been seeing Rowe for two years, my guess is that she’s been out of stripping for, say, a year-and-a-half or so. The club where she worked is one of the city’s best. Very high end. Gorgeous women, and extremely wealthy men happy to throw their money at them. In that kind of a situation, a girl can make several grand per night, so that says to me that there likely is very little turnover. I’m betting we can find several girls who do remember Janice. Maybe we’ll come upon one or two who are even still in touch with her. And if we do, then with a significant tip, we might just get tipped off as to where she is.”
“I think you’re onto something here,” Alex said. “Is this a private club? Are you going to have any issues getting inside?”
“It is a private club, but getting inside won’t be a problem.”
“How’s that?”
“Uh, let’s just say that one of my buddies happens to be a member.”
“You’re joking?”
“Hey, he’s a single guy and he makes a great living. I don’t judge. In fact, in this case, I’m grateful for it because guess what? He’s allowed to bring two guests with him—me and one of my men.”
“Tell me you’re not going to get a lap dance, Tank,” I said.
“I’m exclusive to Lisa, Jennifer—but I know that you were just joking. The man I’m bringing with me, however, is more than up for that. He’s single, and he’s as good as I am at pulling out critical information from strangers. Money truly talks in a setting like that, so we plan to spend plenty of money on the right person if we need to. Sorry, Alex—but that’s how it goes.”
“Spend whatever you have to. I sure as hell don’t care.”
“I didn’t think you would. Anyway, that’s where we are with everything. I’ll call with an update later tonight.”
* * *
THE NEXT TIME TANK called, it was past three in the morning. When his cell started ringing from the bedside table, Alex immediately woke up and swung around to reach for it. He answered it with the ‘speaker’ function active so I could hear what Tank had to say.
“Sorry to be calling so late,” he said. “But this can’t wait.”
“You sound upbeat,” Alex said.
“That’s because I am.”
“What happened today?”
“It’s more like what happened about an hour ago.”
“What happened an hour ago?”
“Enough to bring you home tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Alex said.
“That’s right. After what happened tonight and my talk with Blackwell a moment ago, it’s clear that you both need to come back to New York as soon as possible. It’s already set up. Your plane leaves at nine. You’ll be here by mid-morning.”
“You’ve talked with Blackwell?” Alex said.
“I had to talk with her before I called you. You’ll see why in a minute.”
Alex sat up in bed and leaned against the headboard. With my arm strapped in its sling, it was a struggle, but I did the same.
“All right—back up,” Alex said. “What happened at the strip club?”
“Epifania Zapopa happened at the strip club.”
“Epifania Zapopa was there?”
“No—Epifania Zapopa used to work there. Several years ago, when she first came to Manhattan, she was dirt poor—we all know that. What we didn’t know is that she stripped at night while cleaning homes during the day. And for about a year or so, she stripped right alongside Janice Jones. From what I heard tonight, they were friends.”
“You’re kidding me?” Alex said.
“I’m not. After getting a lap dance from one of the girls and giving her a thousand-dollar tip, my man was able to get her to talk. Sure, she remembered Janice. She said lots of the girls would remember Janice. Plenty were unhappy when she left the club because, and I quote, ‘she met that rich older guy, who stole her away from us. We loved Janice.’ I asked her what the man’s name was, but she didn’t know it. I showed her Rowe’s photograph, and that stopped her cold. I knew she recognized Rowe on sight, but she told me that the club had a strict privacy policy that she had to follow. And no, no amount of money would ever change her mind about that because this was how she made her living and the income was too good for her to take such a risk and jeopardize her job. I asked her if she thought any of the other girls would be willing to speak, but she said that she doubted it for the same reason. And then she seemed to take pity on us and said, ‘Look, find a woman by the name of Epifania Zapopa. She used to work here. She and Janice were close. Now that she’s out of the club, maybe she’d be willing to talk with you because the rules no longer apply to her. Besides, she’s so fucking rich now that she can say whatever the hell she wants—no one can touch her at this point. I think she and Janice are still friends, but who knows? I don’t. I haven’t seen either of them in, like, forever.’”
“I can’t believe it,” Alex said. “Epifania Zapopa—a stripper?”
“I can believe it,” I said. “She’s a beautiful woman. She came here with nothing, and she did what she had to do in order to survive. The loose cannon of Park Avenue continues to surprise.”
“So, where do we go from here, Tank?”
“The reason I’m bringing you home on such short notice is because we need to get to Epifania. I called Blackwell before I called you for a reason. I wanted to know the fastest and easiest way to get to Epifania. Blackwell said that the woman is a confirmed social butterfly and that her calendar is likely packed. So I asked her if there were any big events coming up that Epifania might be invited to. She said that Henri Dufort is having another one of his big bashes later tonight. Naturally, you and Jennifer are invited. Blackwell has the invitation list and she found Epifania’s name on it, which says to me that Henri doesn’t blame her for what happened to his father the night Audric went out the window. I need you to be at that party and to talk with Epifania so we can potentially find out where Janice Jones is living now.”
“We’ll need to start packing now,” I said.
“I know this is sudden,” he said. “But if you want to meet this head on, then you need to reach out to her, and Henri’s party is the perfect opportunity to do so. You’ll be able to find out what she knows about Jones. If they’re still friends, there’s a fair chance that Epifania knows where Jones is living now. And if she does know—and if she’s willing to spill the details we need about where she’s living—then that’s just gravy. If we get lucky, we’ll go to Janice and we’ll appeal to her to help us.”
“I still can’t get over the fact that Henri invited her to the party considering what happened to his father,” I said.
“He obviously doesn’t hold Epifania accountable,” Alex said. “I think his invitation is his way of recognizing the truth—Audric encouraged Epifania to sit on his lap before his wheelchair went haywire. If you remember, she didn’t want to do it.”
“She didn’t,” I said. “And even when she did agree, you could tell that she was only trying to appease him. So once again, Henri proves that he’s a class act.”
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Tank said.
“You will,” Alex agreed.
“Jennifer, Blackwell said that you’ll need to be ready to do some shopping. You’ll need a dress. New jewelry. She has some ideas. And then Bernie will tend to you before the party.”
“I’m all over it,” I said. “Sling and all. Do you know if Rowe will be there?”
“He will.”
“Perfect,” I said. “I, for one, can’t wait to see him again.”
“Why do I suddenly feel like it going to be one of those parties?” Alex said.
“Because nobody puts baby in the corner,” I said. “And you’re my baby. So get ready for some fireworks, because at that party? I plan on bringing a rocket launcher with me.”
