Big Easy Escapade (10 page)

Wendy did, but after several attempts, no one
could agree.

“I think she’s yelling, ‘Just fucking do it,’
” Lucy said.

“It does kinda look like that,” Vivian said.
“But it also looks like, ‘You’re a fucking screw-up.’ ”

“He did look like a screw-up,” Kate said.

“Hard to tell, for sure,” Al said, “but it
does make you wonder.”

Adrienne set down her coffee. “Maybe my
brother’s team can make more sense of this. Let’s keep going.”

Wendy fast forwarded 22 more minutes when the
door flung open from the inside again.

And then they saw it.

T
he
girls, Al and Adrienne cringed at the sight of Daisy being carried
out the back of the club, arms draped over the shoulders of two
guys. Her head hung forward and her feet dangled between
them.

“She looks drugged,” Al said.

Adrienne’s eyes filled with tears. “That poor
girl. I can’t believe she’s number three.”

Vivian looked at her. “What do you mean
three?”

“Two other strippers have gone missing in the
past month. Both disappeared after work.”

Vivian’s heart dropped and she couldn’t
talk.

“Are those Antonio’s cases?” Lucy asked.

Adrienne shook her head. “No, different
jurisdictions, but I’m sure he knows about them. He’s probably
already asking the detectives working the other cases to share
information.”

“Three? So there’s a serial stripper snatcher
out there?” Wendy said, shaking her head.

“Not necessarily, don’t get worked up. Let’s
do what we can to help,” Al said and looked at the laptop.

They backed up the video and played it
slowly, second by second, squinting for clues.

Lucy pointed to the screen. “She’s only
wearing her one Shoe-Be-Do shoe.”

“Who are these guys?” Wendy asked. “They
don’t look like creeps; they look well dressed.”

“Well-dressed guys can be crazies, too,” Kate
said.

“Yes, but how did they get back there, and
what do they want with Daisy?”

“I feel like I should text Jason and tell him
about this,” Vivian said, picking up her phone. “Do you think he
knows already?”

Adrienne shook her head. “I doubt it. Most
likely the police consider him a suspect. That’s generally the way
it works in the beginning.”

Vivian set her phone back down.

“Yeah, but he was with us,” Lucy said. “When
the cop asked me that question, I told him absolutely not.”

“It’s just part of the job,” Adrienne said.
“I’ll call Antonio and ask him if Jason has been cleared as a
suspect yet.” She got out her phone and stepped away from the
table. She came back and said, “They’ve seen the video and are
trying to enhance it to pick up any details.”

“I wish I could zoom in and sharpen images on
this computer, but I don’t have that kind of technology. Not like I
need it for the mortgage business,” Wendy said, and she paused the
video.

“Let’s concentrate on what we can see,” Kate
said. She got a pen out of her purse and dusted sugar off of a
napkin. “Two guys, dark hair, wearing dark slacks and jackets,
pretty tall from the looks of it.”

“That’s not much to go on,” Wendy said.

“What else do we see?” Kate asked.

“They seem to know to hold their heads down,”
Vivian said. “We can’t see their faces.”

Al cleared his throat. “They probably knew
there was a camera out there. That’s why they’re doing that. These
guys aren’t your run-of-the-mill idiots like those other two
shmucks we saw earlier.”

“Maybe the police can pull a fingerprint off
the door,” Lucy asked.

Adrienne frowned. “I wouldn’t count on it.
They probably just leaned into it to get it open.”

Everyone was solemn for a moment. Wendy
rewound Daisy’s abduction one more time and played it at regular
speed. Still, everyone was quiet.

Kate clicked her pen, then started writing
again. “We have the flower guy, the two younger guys and the guys
who hauled her out.”

“What about Vikki and whoever she was yelling
at?” Lucy said. “I don’t trust that girl.”

“They are up for the Newcomer of the Year
award,” Adrienne said. “It’s worth 25 large.”

“Wow!” Vivian said. “That ain’t no chump
change. That’s a big deal.”

Al tapped the table. “It’s a lot of money,
but it’s all about the prestige for these girls. The winner will
make thousands more on the road all year. Big demand for her
shows.”

“Cha-ching! Sounds like motive to me,” Vivian
said.

Kate underlined Vikki’s name on her napkin.
“We need to let Antonio know.”

“He’s a good detective. I guarantee he
already knows all of this and more,” Adrienne said.

Kate clicked her pen again. “Shouldn’t there
be video of the valet area or parking lot? We have video of the
back.”

Al shook his head. “Two of the monitors were
black, which makes me think a coupla cameras are out. It’s gotta be
the parking lot and the valet.”

Everyone groaned.

“I imagine Gino’s going to get some shit from
the cops for that,” Al said.

Lucy snapped. “Oh, wait a second. The gypsy
lady.”

“What?” Adrienne asked.

“She said Daisy’s job would put her at risk,
or in danger, or something like that. I can’t remember exactly. But
we should go find her.”

Vivian was doubtful. “I don’t know. That’s
pretty vague.”

“She was right about you, wasn’t she?” Wendy
asked.

Vivian looked down at the ground, then nodded
her head.

Al called for the car, and soon Tony pulled
up and the group piled in.

“Can we drive by the gypsy lady’s corner, see
if she’s around?” Lucy asked.

“Absolutely,” Al said. “Tell Tony where.”

Tony drove around the Quarter a bit, going
down Royal and Bourbon and back and forth on side streets, but they
didn’t see the fortune-teller, so Tony dropped the girls at their
hotel.

Wendy got out of the limo, then turned back
to Adrienne. “Get the scoop from Antonio in the morning and give us
a shout. We’d like to help all we can.”

Adrienne pointed her blinged-out finger at
her. “I’m on it.”

“ ’Night!” the girls called as Tony shut the
door, then they went up to their room.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Vivian said,
sitting on the bed.

Lucy poked her head from around the corner of
the bathroom, rubbing makeup remover on her eyes. “I think it was
that Trikki bitch. Did you see the way she looked at us?”

Wendy pulled off her shoes. “She could just
be a really big bitch.”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot riding on
winning,” Kate said.

“I’m too tired to think about it anymore,”
Vivian said, lying back on her pillow. “And yet, I’m wired. I hate
this feeling.”

Lucy emerged from the bathroom. “Next.”

Vivian got up and grabbed her jammies. “I
don’t care if y’all come in. I’m running a hot bath.” She went in
and started the water. Kate and Wendy came in together and did
their nighttime things. Vivian watched as Wendy removed her
contacts. “I don’t know how you do that. I could never stick my
finger in my eyeball like that.”

“Eh, it’s no biggie. I’d rather stick my
finger in my eye to take out a contact than wear glasses all
day.”

Vivian shuddered. “Twenty-twenty, baby. At
least for now.”

“Just you wait. I hear at 40 you’ll wake up
and need bifocals.” Wendy said and shut the door behind her. Then
she opened it again. “Enjoy your soak.”

Vivian undressed and stepped into the hot,
bubbly water. It took her a second to sink down into it, but she
eventually acclimated. She squeezed out a washcloth, leaned back
and placed it over her face.

I wonder what the kids did today? I hope Rick remembered to
give Audrey her allergy medicine. He always forgets shit like that.
And it’s not like that bitch is going to help with anything like
that
. She took a deep
breath, enjoying the warm humidity of the washcloth.
Thank goodness I
know where they are at least and that they’re safe. But poor Daisy.
I can’t even imagine what she’s going through. Or Jason, or her
family. It’s unbelievable
.

Vivian
dipped the washcloth back into the steaming water, squeezed and
reapplied it to her face. She sunk a little lower in the tub, her
blonde curls falling into the water.
We’ve got to
help.

After a cry and a 20-minute soak, she got out
and finished getting ready for sleep. The room was dark as she made
her way to the bed where Lucy was snuggly tucked away. Vivian tried
to get in without disturbing her. Lucy didn’t move.

As she lay there, thoughts of Daisy popped in
and out of her mind. She finally reached for her phone and texted
Jason.

Any updates? Any news? We’re here for
you.

She put her phone on vibrate and placed it on
the nightstand, feeling a little better. She heard Kate mumbling
and then say, “I’ve missed you.”

Vivian couldn’t help but smile as she drifted
off.

Day 3

V
ivian
stirred at the noise of her phone buzzing, indicating a text
message. She started to roll over and ignore it but then thought it
might be Jason responding to her message from the night before. Her
eyes still closed, she fumbled on the nightstand for the phone.
Jason.

no ransom, no calls. no word. this is
BULLSHIT.

they r moving n slow motion. pissing me
off.

Vivian:

We’ll work to get updates from Adrienne. Hang
in there!

Jason:

called n da troops. family, friends, fans

who will get shit done. have to find her.

Vivian placed the phone on the nightstand and
kicked back the covers as Kate emerged from the bathroom holding a
coffee cup. “Wasn’t expecting to see you up so early.”

“I wasn’t expecting to be, but I just got a
text from Jason. He’s ticked off and calling everyone he knows to
help.”

Wendy removed her sleep mask and sat up.
“Maybe we should Google those other two missing girls?”

“Great idea,” Kate said as she set her coffee
down. “Let me run downstairs and get a paper.”

Lucy plumped her pillow behind her, pulled
her phone from underneath it and started searching. Wendy got out
her laptop and connected to Wi-Fi.

Vivian clicked on the TV, found local news
and put it on mute. A sports guy was talking Saints, so she clicked
around. Nothing. “Y’all found anything yet?”

“Here’s a story from a week ago, but it
doesn’t say much,” Lucy said. “Looks like the other two worked at
different clubs, one out by the airport and another in the Lower
Ninth. The first girl, Lisa Miller, was white, 26, disappeared
almost four weeks ago. The other, Simone Hitchens, was black, 31,
and went missing a week and a half ago after her shift.” Lucy
showed the pictures of the girls.

“Any description of a suspect?” Vivian
asked.

“Not yet. Says no witnesses.”

Kate came
back through the door carrying the
Times-Picayune
. They
caught her up on the story as she flipped through the paper. “I
can’t believe this. Daisy’s disappearance is buried on page six.
Whatever happened to ‘if it bleeds it leads’?”

“What’s it say?” Vivian asked. “Read it out
loud.”

“The headline is ‘Third dancer missing,’ ”
Kate read, then continued. “Daisy Easley is the third exotic dancer
to go missing in less than a month. Easley, in town for a
competition, was taken from the French House early this morning.
Police believe the kidnapping could be related to the
disappearances of two local dancers and are looking for links in
the cases.”

Groans.

Wendy pulled up a video clip of the
early-morning local news. The girls hovered around her computer as
it played.

The reporter stood outside the French House
giving a brief statement about this being the third dancer missing
within a month, but this time from the warehouse district. His
white teeth were a stark contrast to the predawn darkness behind
him.

“Police are giving out few details at this
point, but the tip line is open. Police hope someone knows
something that will lead to the perpetrator.”

The screen flashed with the phone number.

“We’ll share more details as they become
available. Back to you, Becky.”

“Really? That’s it?” Vivian said when the
video stopped. “That was 30 seconds.”

“And we didn’t find much on the other two
girls at all,” Wendy said and closed her laptop.

Kate said, “I don’t want to freak y’all out
any more than you’re already freaked out, but I had one of my
dreams last night.”

Lucy got up and stretched. “Which dead
relative visited you?”

“Aunt Mimi. She was always an eccentric
one.”

“Did she tell you where Daisy is?” Wendy
asked.

Kate reached for the notepad on the
nightstand. “Not exactly, but I wrote it down. Aunt Mimi held my
hand and looked me in the eye, then said, ‘Don’t be tricked. Flower
petals will float and fly. You must look through the dense forest
to see into the mirrors.’ ”

“What the hell does that mean?” Wendy asked.
“I appreciate your relatives’ help and all, but couldn’t they be
more specific? This ain’t a Nancy Drew novel.”

Kate shrugged. “I know. They just don’t work
that way.”

Vivian reached for Kate’s note and ripped it
off the pad. “Let’s think about this.”

Kate pointed to the paper. “Obviously the
tricked is Trikki Vikki. But does it mean that she’s tricking us,
or to forget her as a suspect?”

“I don’t know, but at this point I don’t
think we can rule her out,” Vivian said. “What about the float and
fly?”