“Thank you. It’s Sour Diesel. The same kind you just bought,” she says, wrapping her lips around the joint and taking a long, slow drag.
“Awesome.”
“So, since when did my super cop get a sidekick glued to her ass?”
Taking a draw from the joint, a haze of smoke billows across the room. “It wasn’t my call. The department stuck me with him on Monday and worse; this is his first case.”
“Damn. So now you’re wiping this little fucker’s nose, and your superiors got you on this serial killer shit? That’s fucked.”
“Yup, tell me about it. All I can hope for is he doesn’t get me killed or does something stupid and get himself killed.”
“Let me guess. He’s one of those cops who came from a beach district or a ritzy part of town, right?”
My head rests against the couch. “He came from Clearwater PD Working in the beach patrol unit.”
“Fucking hell. They threw a lamb to the lions.”
“Yep. He’d better adapt quickly, or he’ll end up in the ground.”
It pisses me off to no end; the brass put a rookie on a case like this. I hope their damn media pandering was worth it.
I pull up the picture of the victim on my phone and hand it to Gill while taking another drag. “So, was he here earlier tonight?”
She nods. “Yeah, he was. All he did was drink and sob like a bitch outta her happy pills. He went to one of the rooms with one of my girls, and all Robert did was waste her time.”
“She working tonight?”
“Dragoness. Yeah, she was the one down on the stage.”
A cloud of smoke escapes my mouth. “I need to speak to her.”
“Okay, let’s go. I’ll take you to her dressing room, but make it quick. She goes back on in ten.”
Heading down the corridor laden with black carpet. Gill raps at the door with a number 2 engraved on it, and says, “Dragoness, you decent?”
“Yes. Come in,” a husky voice replies.
We enter the small living space, and there is a young, tall, slender girl she’s wearing black leather pants and a red leather bikini top. Her hands glide over her body, rubbing lotion on pasty ginger skin. She turns her body to pick up her pet python from the bed revealing a red dragon design sprawling across her whole back. The light glistening on her pale skin really brings out the red in the tattoo. A smile surfaces across her thin black lips as she wraps the snake around her shoulders. “Oh, hey, Devi. Nice to see you again. What’s up? You here for some fun again with one of our guys.” She lowers her head and beams a wanton smile. “Or do you want to explore your sexuality this time?” She has the front of the dragon covering her torso, and the wings span down her arms. The only thing that isn’t tattooed is her voluptuous alabaster tits.
“No. I need to talk about your client earlier tonight. Robert Stetson middle-aged man weightlifter type build. What time did he arrive?”
Dragoness scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Oh, Mr. Buzzkill, you mean. He got here roughly around eleven o’clock. He was here a long time before I took him upstairs. I got him upstairs, and all he did was drink and cry about his wife cheating on him. The whole time I’m thinking, just fuck me and leave already, or just leave. I-I tried giving him a bit of hydro to calm him down and loosen him up. Wait… you’re not gonna bust me, are you?” Her voice timid with paranoia forming in her eyes.
“No, I’m Homicide, not Narcotics. So you two didn’t do the deep and dirty?”
“Hell no! If I was a cold-hearted bitch, I’d made him pay for wasting my fucking time. I pulled his pants off and tried to give him a suck and tug to get him started, but the bastard pushing me away made that difficult.”
Damn, this guy must’ve really loved the bitch if he’s refusing to have his dick slurped by Dragoness. Rumor has it; she gives the best head.
“Did he leave with anybody or say he was meeting someone?”
She nods. “Nope. Not that I saw, why?”
“Mr. Buzzkill was murdered last night.”
Her eyes widen. “Holy shit! For realz! Damn, now I feel like a bitch for talking shit about him.”
“Don’t be. He sounded like a real Debbie Downer. Besides, you didn’t know he was going to be murdered.”
I turn to Gill. “Can I see your surveillance tapes for last night? Between Midnight and closing.”
She nods. “Sure.”
“Well, that was easy. You’re just going to let me view your tapes just like that, no warrant?”
“Yes, I don’t put cameras in my employee’s rooms. I’m not a perv after all.”
“Pfft, debatable.”
“Well, hell. I can’t help it I get all hot and bothered when you bring a man in here with smoldering good looks.”
Dragoness raises her index and middle finger and flicks her tongue in and out between them. “Devi, if you ever want to explore your sexuality, please come back.” She glances at my pelvic area. “I promise you won’t regret it. First-timers are on the house.”
I guess she is hopeful I’m in the closet, but it will always be a false hope. The thought of fucking a woman forces vomit to rise in my throat.
“We all have our dreams, Dragoness.”
Gill and I leave Dragoness, heading to the security room. “Bring my partner up here and try not to ravage him
