CHAPTER
39
DOROTHEA AND EDDIE
Battle weren’t home, so King and Michelle drove to the Aphrodisiac that afternoon to speak with Lulu Oxley about the murdered exotic dancer, Rhonda Tyler.
The parking lot was already filling up with the lunch crowd when they arrived. As they walked past one of the bar areas, they caught glimpses of the nearly naked ladies dancing and the men staring and catcalling.
“I just don’t get the attraction,” said Michelle.
“The product isn’t exactly directed at someone like you.”
“Come on, are you saying you find watching something like that enjoyable?”
“No, but I’m afraid I’m in a minority among my gender.” He smiled and added, “That comes with being intelligent, sophisticated and sensitive.”
They were directed back to Lulu’s small, cluttered office, where they found her hard at work and not looking happy about being interrupted.
“I’ve told the FBI and Chief Williams everything,” said Lulu as she snapped her lighter shut and took a drag on a fresh cigarette.
“Well, we’re deputies now, so you can tell us too,” said King pleasantly as he showed her his badge.
She sighed, took another puff and sat back in her chair.
“In case you hadn’t heard, the surgeon general has proclaimed cigarette smoking really bad for you,” said Michelle, waving the fumes away from her face.
“The surgeon general doesn’t run a gentleman’s club,” Lulu shot back.
“We’ll be happy to breathe the secondhand smoke so long as you tell us about Rhonda Tyler,” said King.
“Okay, for the third time and counting, Rhonda Tyler aka whatever the hell her stage name was…”
“Tawny Blaze,” said Michelle helpfully.
“Right, good memory,” said Lulu, eyeing the woman keenly. “Anyway, she came to work here under contract. She stayed in one of the club’s rooms, but shortly before her stint was up, she told us she had another place to crash. She did her contract time, and that was the last I saw of her. We’d used her before, and she’d always acted like a real professional, never any problem.”
“Did she mention whether she had friends or family in the area?”
“Not to me. But with her line of work, family tends to shy away from you.”
“How about a man she might have met?” prompted Michelle.
Lulu tapped ash off her cigarette into an empty paper coffee cup on her desk. “Not that I know of.”
“Anyone else she might have confided in?” asked King.
“She might have talked to some of the girls.”
“Can we speak with them?”
“If you can wake them up. The ones who work nights don’t get out of bed until late in the afternoon. The lunch-shift girls are out onstage now.”
“We’ll give it our best shot,” said King.
“You do that,” said Lulu again, watching Michelle closely.
As they headed to the door, Michelle glanced back and saw Lulu’s hand disappear inside her desk drawer. When Lulu pulled it out, there was nothing in it. Michelle looked away before the other woman could see her staring.