Jada stopped herself. “Fuck, did I just say that? I’m sorry, there is nothing fun about how your hottie’s dad died. Anyway, four years before Number Three died Armand drew a significant amount of money out of his trust fund. I knew the money went to some bogus LLC out of Delaware, but that means nothing; most LLCs in America operate out of Delaware. It took some digging, but it is the shell company for the Leather Library Gentlemen’s Club outside of Baton Rouge. That place is known for their high-end VIP cigar rooms, where most of the Louisiana state legislature will shell out ten grand for a bottle of booze, served to them by damn near-naked women.”
“Shoot,” Gianna drawled out. “It seems like everything revolves around sex. Do you think my mother ever worked there?”
“As far as I can tell, there was never any sex involved there. Instead, that place was used more for private meetings amongst the high-end political players of Louisiana. As for your mom working there? I don’t think so. But I do think that the clientele at the Leather Library were the same clients that Etta Rose had.”
“So basically, they were Mom’s clients,” Gianna whispered softly.
“That’s my two cents,” Jada agreed.
“But we already knew that, so why do we care if Armand has a stake in this club?”
“Armand has been useless since day one. Who he is today is who he was back then. He never mattered to his father, and we know this because he was never brought into the family business of politics. Instead, he was supposed to be in charge of the family farm, and even that he couldn’t hack. So I’m saying it’s pretty strange that at thirty-five he starts investing in a shady gentlemen’s club? Something isn’t adding up,” Jada insisted.
“Jada, I understand this new information about Armand is interesting, but I’m here to find out how my mom went from being one of Etta’s girls to a strung-out addict working the streets. You and I agreed that our best bet was tracking down known customers of Etta’s, or some of the other call girls she worked with. Or best yet, Etta Rose herself.”
“And that’s what you’re doing, Babe. According to that one call girl you interviewed, Lazar was one of the biggest customers back in the day, and he would throw big parties and hire out a dozen girls at a time. He’s still your best bet.”
“Well, okay then. I agree. And I have a plan.”
“Does it have something to do with you staying at the big house with Lazar out of town?”
“You know me so well.” Gianna grinned. “Lazar’s office is on the ground floor, and with the wind howling like it is, not even a Navy SEAL will hear me when I go sleuthing.”
“Whoa there, Nancy Drew, what do you expect to find?”
“I’m thinking that Lazar is old. Really old. Crypt Creeper is old. So I would bet my bottom dollar he has paper files. I have no idea what I’m looking for exactly, but I’m going to give this a shot. Tonight’s when Hurricane Helen is supposed to hit full force, so I’m going to take full advantage.”
“Is your phone charged?”
Gianna looked over to where her phone was plugged into the charger. “It’s charging now.”
“Girly, pick it up and tell me what percentage the charge is; you always run it down to less than ten percent.”
Gianna rolled her eyes and reached for it. “It’s at seventy-eight, smart-aleck.”
“You really need to learn how to swear. Okay, seventy-eight is good. I want you to take the phone with you, call me, and then keep it on mute. I want to be able to hear everything.”
“What good will that do? You going to call the cops and say, ‘Hi, I know it’s the middle of a hurricane, but my friend was just caught trespassing through somebody’s office, can you send help?’ Yeah, that sounds good.”
Jada bit one of her pared-down nails. “Fine, smartass, just Skype me when you’re done.”
“You’ll be asleep.”
“You better fucking Skype me, or I’ll fucking kick your ass!”
Gianna giggled. “Yes, Mom, I will. And don’t forget to do your part of the job. Find out everything you can on the hot SEAL.”
“You know what would help me with that research?” Jada asked.
“What?”
“Naked pictures.”
“Good night, Jada.”
5
Gianna used her phone’s flashlight to make it downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed the screwdriver that Sebastian had returned to the junk drawer, then headed for Lazar’s study. When she got there, she closed the door and turned on his two desk lamps. His study was huge; when she really looked around she realized it must have been another living room or drawing room at some point, and Lazar had turned it into his office. Figured. The man had an outsized ego, so he needed a humongous office that would fit his head.
She went around the desk and sat down in the old leather chair. It creaked with age. The desk didn’t have any kind of paperwork on it, just a leather blotter and four pictures in overly ornate frames. She already knew who everyone was because Lazar had told her. One was a picture of Lazar’s parents on their wedding day. That would be Sebastian Lazar Durand the First and his wife. They looked so stiff and solemn. Gianna hoped, for their sakes, that it wasn’t a precursor to things to come. Then there was a picture of Lazar and his wife Lorraine Beauregard, the typical Southern Belle. Lazar had told her all about Lorraine; that is to say, all about her bloodlines as if she were some kind of prized heifer that he had purchased. When Gianna had asked what she was like, what kind of mother she’d been or how she’d spent her days, Lazar had looked like Gianna was crazy. Just another reason she’d come to despise the old man.
The next picture was of Sebastian the Third. No wedding photo for him—he’d gotten a divorce, so his wife didn’t deserve any kind of remembrance. Jada had provided a lot of information about his murdered wife Pamela, including a picture. She had been a beautiful woman, both inside and out.
The last picture was of Sebastian the Fourth. It was his high school graduation photo, and he looked so young and solemn. She could see hints of the man he was to become, but life had definitely hardened him. She reached out and stroked his face.
“What happened to you?” she wondered.
Enough of this. She needed to get to work. She started to open drawers. Most of them were unlocked. They were mostly empty. She found cough drops, stamps, envelopes, paperclips.
“Ewww…”
She snatched her hand back when she realized she’d touched a treasure trove of used tissues. Seriously, he had a trashcan underneath his desk. Then there was the flask. On the right-hand side of the desk was a locked drawer. She looked at the screwdriver that was resting on top of the desk. If she used it, it would be pretty darned obvious that Lazar’s desk had been broken into. How could she explain that?
She took her phone off mute. “Jada.”
“What?”
“Can you google how to pick a lock? I have a screwdriver and could force the desk drawers open, but that would be kind of obvious.”
Jada sighed. “Facetime me so I can see the kind of lock we’re dealing with.”