Last Diner Standing Read Online Free PDF Page A

eyeballing us like a chained Rottweiler stares at his neighbor’s cat.
    “Why did you call me Elizabeth?” Roxy asked.
    “I couldn’t sleep the other night so I read Pride and Prejudice,” I said.
    “I saw that movie. So, Crystal Waters? That can’t be her real real name.”
    “It does seem contrived. And it sounds like she was pissed off enough to hit Asshat. Now we just have to find out what she was doing last night. Because according to Jess, she wasn’t here.”
    We stepped outside to thick, gray clouds rolling across the sky. The brisk wind carried a scent of cigarette smoke and Roxy stopped in her tracks.
    She clasped my arm. “Can you smell that?” She lifted her nose in the air and wandered around the corner of the building, like a hound dog on a trail.
    I hustled to catch up.
    She stood beside the DJ I’d seen inside earlier. Clad in a black and white racing jacket, he leaned against the building and puffed. Roxy looked at him longingly.
    “Hello,” I said.
    He took a drag and blew the smoke away from us. “You the new girls?”
    “Nope. Looking for Destiny,” I said.
    In his early thirties, he had pale skin, a healthy five o’clock shadow, and a unibrow. “Haven’t seen her in a few days. She got mad at her old man and Freddy kicked her out.”
    “Do you know where Ass—Sheik—got the money he was throwing around?” Roxy asked.
    “Nope, but he was making it rain like a thunderstorm. Must have won the lottery or something, because he didn’t have any limits that night.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    “He took six strippers to the VIP room. Was in there for over two hours before Crystal showed up. That kind of entertainment ain’t cheap.”
    Roxy moved closer to him and took a deep breath. “That smoke smells so good.”
    He smiled. “You want one?”
    “She’s quitting.”
    Roxy glared at me, then sighed. “Right.”
    I leaned my shoulder against the wall and faced him. “So, Destiny—Crystal, had a fight with Sheik. She was mad about the money?”
    He laughed and dropped the cigarette on the ground. “Among other things. He was cheating on her. Again. But then she was always getting some on the side, too. Dancers like to bitch and gossip and the word going around was that Crystal’s sugar daddy dumped her. So when Sheik shows up, paying attention to other chicks, she went nuts. Threw a mini bottle of Cristal at his head. Bouncer hauled her into Freddy’s office and she stormed out ten minutes later.”
    “Who was her sugar daddy?” I asked.
    Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looked toward the road. “Who did you say you were?”
    “I’m Elizabeth,” Roxy said. “But you can call me Beth.” She was getting into this.
    “And I’m Jane. I’m trying to find Crystal. Sheik’s in a coma and I have a few questions for her.”
    “You two detectives or something?”
    “Nope,” I said. “So who was she seeing and who was Sheik cheating with?”
    He laughed. “Crystal was very…generous to her customers. That’s why she’s the most popular dancer here. Made her quota and then some. But with Sheik, the question isn’t who he was cheating with.” He leaned toward me and I got the full effect of his cigarette breath. “But who wasn’t he cheating with?”
    He moved around me and sauntered off.
    I hated it when people gave murky answers to very simple questions.
    “He could have been more helpful,” I said.
    “He probably wanted you to tip him. They expect money from the girls to get a good slot, you know.”
    “How do you know so much about strippers?” I asked.
    “I’ve known a few.”
    I dropped Roxy off at Ma’s and when I got home, I phoned Janelle’s cousin, Sondra. Since she wasn’t home, I left a message. Not only did I want to quiz her about Asshat, I wanted to check on Janelle’s kids. They must be scared to death—their mom in jail, their dad in the hospital. I needed to find some suspects other than Janelle. Maybe then the cops would