“El—”
“I tried to do him a favor, and he repays me by making me look like a fool to Leslie! I have a system of debits and credits with that man, and I always make it a point that he owes me far more than I owe him. Karl futzed that up. Next time I see him, I’m gonna raise some hell on his ass.”
“You can’t, El.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because he’s dead.”
El paused. She seemed to register, for the first time, Dash’s tear stains, then the pain in his eyes. Her expression softened.
“Well, shit.” She opened the office door wider. “Come on in.”
10
Dash sat on the windowsill in Leslie Charles’s office just like he did the night before and explained the whole story, including Horace seeing Karl on Leslie’s telephone. El was sitting in Leslie’s desk chair during this tale of woe.
When he finished, she sighed. “Les will not be happy when he sees that bill. You know that boy didn’t call anybody in the next few blocks, so it’s long-distance.”
“He was trying to warn somebody, but I don’t know who.” Dash looked at Leslie’s phone sitting on his desk. He nodded towards it. “Think we can ask the operator where that call was placed last night?”
El hooted a laugh. “I doubt it. How many people are in this city? You know those poor operator girls transfer at least a hundred calls a day.”
“You’re right,” Dash said. “He didn’t mention any names to you, by any chance. A Tyler Smith? A Miss Avery?”
“Nope, just someone named Pru.”
“Pru?”
“Short for Prudence, I imagine. Sounds like a white bull, the way he was describing her.”
“How so?”
“She wore suits. He said she wore them better than he did.”
Dash nodded to himself. “There was a woman in a tuxedo last night in my club. She was with the female impersonator Walter was looking for.”
“Might’ve been her.”
“So if Miss Tuxedo is Pru, that makes the female impersonator Miss Avery,” Dash said. “Why was Karl mentioning her suits?”
El adjusted herself in Leslie’s desk chair and crossed her legs. “Because she was in a trouser-wearing profession. According to him, Pru’s an attorney.”
Dash blinked. “An attorney? A woman lawyer?”
El nodded. “They got those now. Not sure who would hire them, ’cause men only want to do business with other men.” She tapped Leslie’s desk. “This one is a prime example of that. Do you know how long it took for him to get used to dealing with just me? Damn near a year and even then, he still has his bad habits. The amount of training I have to do with menfolk, I swear. Slow and ungrateful learners. No wonder I don’t want them in my bed.”
Dash wasn’t listening all that closely. When she paused to take a breath, he asked, “Why was Karl gallivanting around town with an attorney?”
El shrugged. “He didn’t say.”
Dash leaned forward. “Did he say anything else about her? What law firm she works for? Where she lives?”
“Nope. Only that Pru’s plan failed. Kept muttering it under his breath. ‘It didn’t work, it didn’t work.’” She flicked a look at Dash’s confused face. “I take it you don’t know what that means neither.”
“He said a lot of things last night that were odd. First, he said they chose my club because it was a special occasion. Then he said he was thinking about changing his name and starting a new life.”
“Running from something.”
“Or somebody.”
“His brother’s a good guess.”
“He knows!” Karl had said. “He knows!”
Dash asked, “And he never said anything about this plan?”
El paused a moment to think. “I got the feeling there was something he wanted to tell but for whatever reason, he couldn’t get the words out.”
“His brother said Karl had something this Miss Avery wanted.”
“Walter didn’t say what it was?”
“Not a word.”
“Huh. If I were a gambling woman, I’d say it was money.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s the only thing we all spend over half our lives chasing!”
“True enough. Still. Seems a bit excessive given the lengths Walter is going to get it back.”
“Unless it was substantial.” El blew out a breath. “Lord, Dash. You are in some kind of mess. And I don’t know a cop who could help you out of it by locking up Walter for blackmail without locking you up in the same breath for degeneracy.” She hesitated. “Walter doesn’t know Karl came up here, does he?”
Dash shook his head.
“Neither do the cops?”
He shook his head again.
“Thank God for that.”
He looked down at his shoes. They were in desperate need of a shine. “And Pru was the only name Karl mentioned? I know I’m asking again, but I want to make sure. Not a Miss Avery? A Tyler Smith?”
“Nope on both counts.”
“What about a Zora Mae?”
A slight pause. “He didn’t mention her but . . .”
Dash looked up. “You know who she is?”
El replied, “I think the better question is how do you know who she is?”
He explained about the cards Karl had.
“I see,” El said. “Why would a small white boy be working for her?”
“Who is she, El?”
“She the premier party girl of Harlem. Hosts rent parties, theme parties, and from what I hear, certain specialty parties.”
Dash caught her hint. Naked petting parties. “So is she a . . . ?”
“She calls herself the ‘Baroness of Business.’ Not sure what this boy was doing with the likes of her.”
“Handing out her rent party cards, at the very least. Could he have gone to her? He said she didn’t take in strays, but maybe he had to work for her last night.”
“Like I said, he only mentioned Pru. And then he disappeared.”
“I see.” Dash gathered his courage, knowing El wasn’t going to like his request. “El, how do I find this Zora Mae?”
El closed her eyes. “Dash, listen to me. You do not want to mess with that one. She’s
