In answer King reached inside the drawer and pressed the buzzer they’d found there earlier.
“I hope this second warning doesn’t confuse the girls, but at least all the johns have already left the joint.”
Lulu’s mouth dropped open but she quickly recovered. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Sit down, Lulu,” King said very firmly. “We’re here to help you. But if you try to bullshit us even a little bit, we’ll just tell Todd to come in here and take over. And then it’ll be out of our hands.”
Lulu stared fiercely at them but finally sat down, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
“If you want to light up, feel free; we might be here awhile.”
Lulu did so, sucking in the smoke and then purging it out her nostrils.
King sat back in his chair. “Okay, explain the setup.”
“It’s not what you think,” Lulu said.
“You’re far too smart to do it the old-fashioned way, so I’m sure you have something very creative. I’m anxious to hear what it is.”
Lulu looked nervously at them. “I’ve worked hard for years to build up this place. Long hours, ignoring my kids at times, and Junior too. I’ve got ulcers and a two-pack-a-day habit. Sure, I’m the minority owner but I really run the place. My partners spend most of their time in Florida. But they’re always on me to keep pushing up the profits so they can buy bigger boats and better-looking wives. More, more, more—that’s all I hear.”
“So you came up with ways to do that with the dancers?”
“My partners suggested it actually. I didn’t want to do it but they insisted. Said they’d find another manager who would, and get rid of me. But any girl who didn’t want to do it didn’t—no questions asked. I wouldn’t back down on that.” She hesitated and then said, “If I tell you…”
“Lulu, like Sean said, we’re here to help you,” said Michelle.
She suddenly yelled out, “Why? Why do you care?”
King answered, “Because we think you’re basically a good person and a mother with three children who need you. You’ve been under tremendous pressure and you just lost your husband. What you tell us goes no further, you have our word.”
Lulu took a deep breath and began. “No money exchanges hands between any of the girls and any of the men. We… well, we formed a club of sorts. The members pay an initiation fee to the club to join and then a monthly amount based on… well, based on usage. We book it as business networking.”
“Well, that’s certainly an original way to network. Go on,” said King.
“It’s a fairly large sum, so the clientele is limited and of a certain level.”
“Translation: wealthy guys looking for some action in bed,” commented King.
“Anyway, with their membership they have access to the girls by appointment only. The members are given special words to tell the girls so they know it’s okay. They all use protection and there’s no dangerous stuff allowed. Anybody gets rough with one of the girls gets kicked out for good. But we’ve never had any problems. The dancers who participate get extra pay.”
“Pretty creative, but it’s still illegal, Lulu. This could shut the club down and put you right in prison.”
Lulu lit another cigarette and looked like she might be sick. “I know,” she said in a trembling voice. “God, I knew this whole thing was stupid.”
“And the buzzer in your office is connected to the rooms, to alert the girls and their clients if there’s a problem, and they clear out through the rear exit.”
“Yes,” Lulu said miserably. “And I have people keeping an eye on the entrance to the hallway from time to time.”
“So how did Kyle get through, then?”
“The lady left a note and a picture of Kyle telling me he was okay.” She put her cigarette out. “I can tell you this much. There was someone who followed Kyle in the night I saw him. One of my lookouts told me about it later.”
“That was Sylvia Diaz, the doctor Kyle works for.”
“Name sounds familiar.”
“She’s the local medical