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Jude spoke to the drivers one by one, asking the recorded Baskin, Luus Avery told theo Baskin had wound up running errands for Avery hi up his glasses, which he had left in his apartner to a fabric shop, picked up special makeup for Sherry Blanco at a Fifth Avenue shop Finn had spentin his car; at four he had ency All three had returned their cars and clocked out by six A ned to Sherry Blanco; he returned her to her maisonette on Park Avenue at four-thirty, and returned his car Saan had driven Bobby Walden; Walden had left the set at seven, and the car had been turned in right after Eric Len had driven Angus Avery, and he verified that he had taken the director to speak at the dinner, and then brought hi that any man said contradicted what any other said All cars had been returned before nine-thirty the night of Virginia Rockford’s murder
When the intervieere over, Whitney asked Jude, "We’re heading to Not Your Ma up on Melody Tatu a pattern," he told her He shook his head "Ellis Sayer will make sure that no one leaves the city--and that Harold Patterson is available when I’m ready to drop in on hirioing to go just a little bit differently; Jude actually waited for her to grab her shoulder bag before heading out with his long strides
As they walked down to the car, he was on the phone with Hannah, having her draw up the address of the establishe of the old Five Points area It wasn’t just a strip club; it was one of the seediest joints Jude had ever seen The interior was dark and filled with curved back booths covered in some kind of black velvet that reeked, most probably there since the early seventies When he and Whitney entered, blinking to adjust their eyes to the darkness, it looked as if rats scurried away Giant rats; the clientele who had been in the club who, in all likelihood, had pockets full of drugs There was one wo--and far too slim to be an exotic dancer
Cocaine Cocaine took that kind of toll on the body, he thought
A woer She was the opposite of the wo--tall and buxole word to describe her, he would probably think, blowsy
She seemed to have radar for cops and ell on the way to absolute belligerence as she approached them
"You’ve just ruined our business for the day," the woman complained "Our permits are in order What do you want?" She looked fro Whitney up as a new morsel to put on the menu
"I wish I could ruin your business for eternity," Jude said, keeping his tone even "Are you the owner? Owner or , because it doesn’t look as if you’re on the drugs you get your girls taking--free, at first, I iet them hooked and they’re yours until they’re all used up"
She was angry, of course
"I am the owner, Myra Holiday What is it that you want--Officer?"
"Detective, Ms Holiday Detective Crosby And this is Agent Treratulations You’re a suspect in a ht a real reaction from her "Murder? No way in hell could we be associated with a ation"
Whitney arched a brow and lifted the newspaper with the picture of Sarah Larson
"Sarah quit She had so She toldplace--you ask the other girls--she left here about teeks ago, full of herself She said that she couldn’t tell us as going on, but that we’d be seeing her soon enough, and that we’d all be pea green with envy"
Whitney was angry, he saw, looking at the wo "You saw the paper--you saw the paper and you knew exactly who the wo the police!" she said indignantly
"Hey, I don’t want any trouble And you say she’s dead? Well, she was always after so to go anywhere with anyone She was gone froirls They’ll tell you that what I’o after anyone with money after you turned her into a junkie," Jude said, his voice soft
"I didn’t kill anybody!" the woed to kill a lot of wohout the years, Ms Holiday," Jude said "I’ll need a list of your regulars"
The woulars? I don’t have a list of any regulars What, do you think custo? I don’t have any lists And I didn’t call the police because Sarah Larson was just trouble A little bitch I haven’t seen her--I’o, and no one has heard froet soether for ation--and I’ for evidence Soood friends with souys, and…"
His voice trailed; the woman was suddenly white, and not because he had threatened her with a vice squad She was horrified
"You--you think that Sarah’sto do with…the women ere butchered You think that she was a victiust "She was murdered and dumped in the river, Ms Holiday, and you couldn’t even bother to identify her for the police We don’t know if her murder was associated with the other murder We do know that she’s dead, throat slashed, and that you’re going to cooperate in any way huirls, and to go over this place with a fine-tooth coet a warrant, I’ll make sure that I take so much of your time, you’ll be ready for retirement when I’m done"
"Whatever you want, whatever you want," Myra told him
Whitney brushed by her and headed for the skinny woe
"Hey!" Whitney called The skinny wo around the pole, eyes lackadaisical, ain