Dancing In Darkness (4 page)

There came a time in every woman’s life when she had to make a change. Priscilla’s time had come when she was fighting being almost homeless, hungry and unemployed. She was thankful that Megan had called her to offer a chance. It wasn’t what she had wanted to do, but with the steady cash flow, it wasn’t that horrible. No touching, not completely nude, and hordes of half drunken men willing to spend their money on a woman they thought they might stand a chance with. Their stories were different but their thoughts were the same. If she used her body to profit from those thoughts, that was their problem, not hers.

Megan and Nina were sitting in the office, the music somewhat muffled from the sound barrier walls that been installed, when the phone rang.

“Nina’s.” Nina answered.

“Yes sir. This is Nina Powalski.” She said to the unknown person on the other end of the phone.

“Yes we do. No, she was here last night, but tonight she didn’t show up. What is the problem? If she’s in some sort of trouble I would like to know. I try to keep that out of here.” Nina went on.

The color drained from Nina’s face as she sat silently listening to the voice at the other end. She managed to whisper, “Thank you.” Hanging up the phone, she looked at Megan who sat wide eyed. “They found Zena Wilkins. She’s dead.”

CHAPTER FOUR

As the club came to a close for the night and the last of the clientele had left, two detectives from the West Palm Beach Police Department entered the building. Nina met them at the door and offered to be of as much help as she could. They introduced themselves as Detectives Mike Ward and Beth Tony. She introduced herself, “I’m Nina Powalski and this is Megan Dryer.”

“Ms. Powalski, I need to ask you a few questions and perhaps my partner could speak with your employees?” Det. Ward said.

“That’s fine. They should all be in the dressing room right now, with the exception of Dale, our bartender and Leon and Ed who are security.” Nina offered.

“Det. Tony, if you want to start getting statements from them before they head out for the night, I’ll start here.” He said to his partner.

“The dressing room is off to the left of the stage, you can follow the walkway all the way back.” Megan told the female cop.

“Now, when was the last time that you saw Ms. Wilkins?” He questioned the two women.

“She worked last night and left here just after two in the morning. She was gone first I believe.” Nina answered.

“And you Ms. Dryer? When was the last time you saw Ms. Wilkins?” He asked.

“I left early last night, so it was around midnight or a little after.” She replied.

“Were there any issues between our victim and any of the employees here?” He continued questioning.

Nina spoke up first, “No, Zena was well liked by everyone. She minded her own business and kept to herself a lot. Never had problems with other staff or clientele.”

“Zena was the most well liked girl here. She was kind and sweet, she took care of herself and this was her job. She didn’t see it as anything but that.” Megan added.

“Do you happen to have any closed circuit television tapes of last night? That could have maybe picked something up in the crowd that went unnoticed to the human eye?” He inquired.

“Yes, you can see Leon about that, he has all the tapes for the last thirty days. We keep them in case there is an issue.” Nina told the man.

Writing feverishly in his notebook, he took down names and statements, any details they might provide.

In the dressing room, Det. Tony knocked on the door. When she introduced herself and explained why she was there, you could hear the audible gasp from everyone. Priscilla looked up in disbelief. “I have to ask everyone a few questions. First I need to know when the last time each of you saw Zena Wilkins or spoke with her.” The detective told them.

Abi spoke up first, she was in tears. “Who could do something like this to Zena? She wouldn’t ever hurt anyone.”

“When is the last time you saw her?” Det. Tony asked Abi.

“I saw her last night, here at work. We all left around two or so.” Abi replied. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Everyone was along the same timeline. They had all worked last night and all left at the same time, with the exception of Nina and Priscilla. They left together after everyone was gone. Including Zena. Priscilla told the detective that it was almost two thirty when she and Nina left the club.

Detective Tony gave each woman her business card and asked that they call her if they had any additional information or could think of anything else that would be beneficial. Thanking them for their time, she walked out into the club.

As the detectives were getting ready to leave, Diamond spoke up. “What about Yvette? She was here last night, maybe she heard something?”

Nina added, “I didn’t think about that. Yvette Dornan, she had been employed here for quite a while. I had to let her go last night. She was the last to leave prior to Ms. Barnes and myself.”

“Why did you have to terminate her, Ms. Powalski?” Det. Tony asked her.

“She had some attitude problems with some of the girls. I just couldn’t allow it to continue and she wouldn’t stop.” Nina answered honestly.

“Was Ms. Wilkins one of those that she had an issue with?” The detective questioned.

“Not to my knowledge.” Nina responded.

“Alright, thank you ladies. If we need anything else, we will be in contact. Our condolences on your loss.” He said.

When the detectives had left the building, there was a combination of tears and sorrow in the dressing room. They all loved Zena. She had cared about them in her unique way. Priscilla obviously hadn’t had the chance to get to know her, but she knew that she was quiet and reserved when she wasn’t on the stage. There was no reason for anyone to want to murder her. It was a senseless loss made even more tragic by the lack of motivation for it. No one could understand what had happened.

Earlier that day a call came in through 911 from a man jogging along the trail through City Park. He thought he had seen a flash of color and on his return run, stopped to see what it was. Walking a few feet from the trail he found a woman’s body. Still dressed in bright pink sweats and a lime green t-shirt. She had been partially covered with leaves to hide the coloring of her clothes. Almost falling as he tried to get away, he dialed his cellphone in a panic.

When the dispatcher had narrowed down his precise location using GPS from his phone, she started to dispatch several marked units to locate him. The first officers to arrive spoke with him and he showed them where the lifeless body laid. Checking for a pulse, it only took the temperature of the body to tell him that they were dealing with a possible homicide. Informing homicide detectives, the officers taped off a crime scene around the body. The detectives could decide if they wanted to widen the perimeter.

“What time was she found?” Detective Tony asked the officers on scene.

“We were dispatched at eight twenty three.” The officer said.

“Go ahead and get the medical examiner and the crime scene investigators out here. We can’t move the body until they do what they need to. There is a tarp in the trunk of my car if you would grab it please. Also, go ahead and get a traffic unit on each end of the trail to close it down.” She told the uniformed officer.

“Yes ma’am.” He responded.

There was no evidence that either detective could find that the actual murder had taken place here. It appeared as if the body had been dumped post-mortem. Once the medical examiner and the CSI crew arrived, they would be able to move the body to attempt to locate any type of ID. It was a part of the job that Beth Tony couldn’t stand, notifying next of kin after a death. Particularly after a homicide. This woman, from first look, appeared to be in her mid to late twenties. She was well manicured as they could see from her hands and her hair for laying outside also looked well taken care of.

Upon further investigation, the CSI team discovered that she was in fact twenty five years old, her name was Zena Wilkins and she had a driver’s license out of Orlando, Florida. There were no family names stored in her phone, which was found in her pocket. They did know that she was employed as a dancer at Nina’s Place, and the fingerprint scan showed that she had been arrested once for a minor shoplifting charge almost six years prior. They knew that it would be difficult to conduct an investigation during normal operating hours of a strip club, so they chose to wait until closing time. It would be the best time to catch them all there without having to wait and speak to them one by one. The interviews they had that night would shed light on any future interviews if they were required.

The world kept turning for the women working at Nina’s. They were all saddened by the loss of one of their own, but it appeared to be a random act of violence. There were no leads or clues for detectives to go on and it seemed as if they had exhausted any possible scenarios that could have played out. Zena didn’t have any enemies, no one that she had even recently had an argument with. The subsequent search warrant served on her apartment led them nowhere. The case was turning cold quickly.

Seven weeks passed and Priscilla was packing up boxes at her tiny apartment. She had enough to move into a nicer, larger apartment as well as being able to furnish it sparingly. Nothing that was here was worth taking. She had borrowed a small pickup truck from Abi’s boyfriend and with his help they had carried all of the packed boxes and had them ready to go. Priscilla stood in the middle of the small living room and looked around. It brought tears to her eyes recalling the memories surrounding this place. From the struggle, to fighting off Mr. Wiley’s advances, to redeeming herself. For once she was glad to not have the security of a lease. It allowed her to leave at her discretion. She didn’t give him any notice, but she was paid up through the next day so she was free to leave.

Closing the door behind her for the final time, she walked down the stairs and dropped her key in Bill Wiley’s box. This was no longer home. She found a nice one bedroom apartment closer to the club, but on the other side of the intersection which changed the demographics greatly. It was in a better neighborhood without being pretentious. The rent was slightly higher, but it was extremely livable. It was comfortable, with clean carpets, fresh paint, appliances that worked and hot water on demand. She was thankful to be going. The unpacking wasn’t thrilling, but it was something that she had to do. They had to get the truck unloaded, she had to be at work in a few hours.

“Priscilla, when you get a minute could you come see me please?” Nina asked her when she walked in.

Some of the regulars that were there earlier in the evening were sitting around the bar drinking their poison of choice. They all spoke to her, said hello, asked her when she was coming home with them. She’d always reply with a slightly sarcastic answer. Usually that being, “I go home with you every night, in your dreams.” Then she would smile and walk away. The crowds had grown and much more money flowed from clientele to club since she had come on. She had single-handedly picked up business for a club that she never intended to stay at.

“I’ve got a little time now, what’s up?” She asked Nina.

“Come up to my office, I’ve got some things to discuss with you.” The older woman told her. “Oh for God’s sake, don’t look like that. It’s not bad news honey.” She said at the expression on Priscilla’s face. It was obvious that she expected bad news on a regular basis. She had to get over that.

“Don’t scare me like that.” She laughed. “I just got all my boxes into the new place and thought, holy shit, I won’t be able to afford it without this job.”

“No, I wanted to talk to you about that in fact. You are doing amazingly well here. For yourself and honestly, for me as well. Attendance is up, tips are up, drink sales, it is crazy insane. I’ve tried for years to boost this club and you have done it for me.” Nina told her, pausing before she continued, “There has to be a way for us to grow from where we are now. You would be an integral part of that.”

“I’m not sure I understand?” Priscilla stated.

“I think it’s time that I looked at investing more into the club. We have a great set of ladies, we have good clientele, but we could do better. I’ve been looking at several larger venues that are up for lease. They aren’t far from here, but the socio-economic difference could be a huge game changer for everyone involved.” Nina said.

“Wow. I don’t know much about the business aspect of this, but if you think it would be a good thing, I would support your decision.” Priscilla told her.

“You would play a large role in the move. You would become the featured dancer, which for all intents and purposes, you already have. I would hire in someone to groom you in the art of choreography, pushing you towards perfection. Someone who could give you the much needed direction to go from here.” The older woman said.

“Where is there for me to go other than where I am? I mean, I dance. That is what I do.” Priscilla said.

“That is what we have to work on. Honey, you can only go up from here.” Nina responded. “Now get down there and get to work.” She said with a wink.

“Hey, do you think I could do bottle service tonight? I’ve put it off all this time, but I think I’m ready.” Priscilla asked her. “As long as security is around somewhere close and the price is right.”

“Of course. I think there would be many of those guys dying to buy a bottle. Just remember, one sip from a glass and find a way to dump it. Drunk doesn’t look good in a situation like this.” Nina warned her.

“Got it. I don’t drink much anyway so we are good on that front.” Priscilla laughed. “I need to get or I won’t be ready.”

“Get out of here. Handle your business girl. You are simply amazing.” Nina said as she winked at the younger woman.

Making her way to the dressing room, Priscilla ran into Megan. “Hey have you seen Diamond tonight? She’s up first and she hasn’t made it in yet.”

Priscilla thought for a minute and told her, “No, I haven’t. Give me a minute to sit this stuff down and I will try to call her.”

“Great. Let me know. If not, I’m going to need you to go on first if you don’t mind.” Megan said.

“No worries, I don’t mind.” Priscilla smiled at her friend. “You know, you are going to have to come over soon for a drink or something. The new place and all.”

“Yes! Just let me know when.” Megan agreed.

Priscilla tried to call Diamond several times that night between her sets. There was still no answer. If she hadn’t heard from her by the end of the shift, she was going to drop by her house and see what was up. It wasn’t like her to just not show. For now, Priscilla had to get herself together to go out and attempt her first night at bottle service. Most of the girls managed to get two or three per shift, she had to at least get that many. If they wanted time with her personally, they were going to purchase a bottle. It was a pretty simple game plan. For the price of the bottle, they had fifteen minutes of her time.