“Don’t you think I bloody well know that?” Birminghamdemanded. “I’ve questioned, I’ve talked, I’ve walked Swain’s Lane. I’ve sent mymen up and down the street, undercover, to check on the few possible suspects Ihave. Don’t you think I’m aware what we’re up against?” he finished in awhisper.
“Get your men out again,” Andre said.
“What?”
“We believe the women are being held somewhere underground,”Cheyenne said.
“Oh, right. You’ve been to see a few of my giftedfriends,” Birmingham said dryly. “The ground is crying. Right. Now, see, that’sthe very thing—”
“Not the ground, Inspector. Women. Women are being heldsomewhere subterranean. That, sir, would make it sound like the earth wascrying.”
Birmingham stared at him.
“Gentlemen,” Cheyenne interrupted. “More people are coming,and they’re all staring at us. We’re at a strip club. I suggest we leave, or goin. And my idea is that we go in since we’re here.”
They both looked at her, then each other, and nodded.
When they turned, Birmingham opened the door, allowingCheyenne and Andre entry first, then he followed.
The hostess looked a little concerned initially. But bothmen were stoic, and Cheyenne cheerfully asked for a table in back closer to thebar.
“Do you need to see a friend?” Cheyenne asked Birmingham.“You were with someone.”
He glanced around. “She’s headed back to get ready for theshow.” He lowered his voice. “I was talking to her about Mark Bower. Took me awhile to get her to believe I wasn’t after her to charge her with anything inany way. She told me his money is good—she just has to let him tie her up.”
“Sounds like the man made a drastic change,” Andre said.
Birmingham shrugged. “Maybe. But we don’t really know abouthis life before. And the thing is, he may be a little on the kinkier side asfar as his desires go, but—”
“Many are,” Andre finished.
“And if every man who went to strip clubs—or every woman,for that matter—came under suspicion, we’d never finish with the list ofsuspects,” Birmingham said.
Cheyenne nodded. “But you are watching Mark Bower.”
“And trying to see if this club is the link. Look, the youngwoman you just saw has been here a long time. She’s careful—she doesn’t wantthe place closed. She knows I’m a cop hunting a murderer, but she’s the onlyone around here who does. I trust her—as far as anyone can be trusted. A lot ofthe girls here go with customers—not from the club, but they make arrangementsto meet them.”
“Hiring prostitutes doesn’t make a man a killer,” Cheyennesaid.
“No. But…”
Once again, Birmingham looked pained.
“I don’t want to hurt the young woman,” he said. “If…she’salive.”
“What young woman?” Cheyenne asked.
“Edith. Edith Greenbriar,” Birmingham said. He stared atthem, one after the other. “Ah, bloody hell. I believe she came here, possiblylooking for work.”
“What?” Cheyenne raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I thoughtshe had money.”
“Doesn’t mean she didn’t want to live a little on the wildside,” Birmingham said. “I showed her picture to Annie—Anne Connor—the womanyou saw me with at the bar. I showed her all the victims and Edith Greenbriar.She said she thought Edith had been here before, but she couldn’t be sure. It’sstill…a straw. And, yes, I’m grasping at them.” He pulled out his phone as he spokeand then put through a call to his superior, asking that tunnels and anypossible underground locations surrounding the cemetery be searched.
She heard a protest over the line, but Birmingham said,“Please. Yes, some of our witnesses have been bloody bats, but they might haveheard something. Like screams of distress from those about to be murdered.”
On the other end, someone spoke again. Birmingham glanced upat Andre and Cheyenne.
“Yes, I’m with them right now,” he said. Then he ended thecall. “We’re in luck, mates. Some superior in the U.S. has spoken to someonehere, and… I’m to help you in any way I can. And if you were part of thesuggestion to search…well, then, it was a good one. Not sure if I resent thator if I’m grateful.”
“We’re only trying to help,” Cheyenne said awkwardly.
“Right. I know,” Birmingham said. “All right, I’m ready fora whiskey. What shall I get you? Something with a cherry on top, Special AgentDonegal?”
Andre laughed. “You can get me something with a cherry ontop. Like a soda. I’m driving on the wrong side of the street. Cheyenne couldprobably use a whiskey.”
“I think I should go with the soda, too.”
“You’re going to make me drink by myself?” Birmingham asked.“Just one. I drove out here alone.”
“Then I’ll have a whiskey,” Cheyenne said.
He went for the drinks and returned.
His friend, Annie, went on stage in a feathery outfit thatshe quickly began to shed as she did calisthenics around the pole.
She was a beautiful young woman, coordinated, lithe, andsexy.
She smiled, lowering her head. Both men watched her. Ofcourse.
Cheyenne assumed that was why she was the first to noticethe man who came in and stared at the stage, oblivious to the hostess, whospoke to him for a moment.
“Don’t look now,” Cheyenne began softly.
“Bower?” Andre said.
“No, it’s our man of optimism and faith and hope. ClarkBrighton.”
They both turned to look.
“What happened to don’t look now?” Cheyenne asked.
“Doesn’t matter. He’ll recognize us,” Birmingham said.
And, of course, he did. He motioned to the hostess that hejust wanted to go to the bar. As he headed that way, he nearly tripped overtheir table in his effort to keep his gaze on Annie where she worked the pole onthe stage.
“Hello, there,” he said, apparently not dismayed to see them.“Enjoying our more modern London sights, eh, my friends? Inspector Birmingham.”
“Didn’t know you came out here, Mr. Brighton,” Birminghamsaid.
“Clark, if you will!” He gave a little laugh, then joinedthem—without an invitation to do so. “Is there anything to give you more faithin life than the sight of a young woman at the height of her beauty?” He smiledat Cheyenne. “Sorry there are no men. Unless, my dear, you enjoy beauty in everyone.”
“Ah, yes, beauty. She is beautiful,” Cheyenne said.
“Spoken by a woman of beauty herself, I do say!” Brightonapplauded. “No reason for jealousy, you are well-aware of your own loveliness.Anyway, I shall grab a drink and join you again. I am surprised
