Page 33 of Commit
He hangs up, making me growl as I get dressed and shove my cell phone into my back pocket. Heading downstairs, I consider letting Starling know I’m heading out, but in the end decide against it in case she’s fallen back to sleep. I grab my keys and jacket and walk out to the car, starting her up and speeding out of the driveway, my aggression pushing me to drive faster than I usually would.
By the time I make it to the club, I’m ready to rip someone’s head off. I pass through security with a grunt and find Kenzo up in Atlas’s office.
“Don’t you have your own office?”
“I like it here better.”
“You sound like a teenager who doesn’t want to leave home,” I say, sitting down in one of the chairs.
“So now you’re an expert on teenagers?”
I glare at him, but he just smiles.
“Okay, let’s get this shit over with. I want to be at home inside my woman.”
“You’re the one who wanted me to come over now when it could have waited until tomorrow. Fuck knows she won’t be any less dead.”
“Shut the fuck up and look at what we have, then you can go back to your babysitting duties.”
My fingers twitch with the urge to pull my gun and shoot the asshole. Kenzo tends to have that effect on people.
He hands me a tablet before tapping something into the laptop. The tablet lights up with screenshots of five possible suspects. I examine each of them closely, but none of them look familiar, not that I can see all their faces.
“Why these guys?”
“Three of them are delivery drivers that brought large crates of alcohol in. One is part of the cleaning crew hired to replace Trix, and the other is a man, judging from his size and build, carrying a big-ass bag.”
“Who the fuck brings a gym bag to a strip club?”
“Yeah, I wondered the same thing. I don’t know who the guy is. He has his hood pulled up over his head, covering his face, but a bag like that would make him memorable. Hopefully, someone downstairs remembers him and can give us more.”
I look at the bag. Although it’s not the best shot, it does look heavy. Still…
“You really think there’s a body folded up in there? He doesn’t even look like he’s straining.”
He shrugs. “Stranger things have happened. I’m not ruling anyone out until I’m one hundred percent sure they’re in the clear.”
I lean back and blow out an exasperated breath. “You said you were looking into her. You know what she’s been doing for the last five months?”
“A couple of girls said they heard a rumor that she was turning tricks over near the bridge on Industrial.”
“Stripping is one thing, but hooking is something else altogether. Atlas pays his girls well, so for her to go from here to there, I have to assume drugs were involved.”
“You notice any track marks on her body?”
I forgot he hadn’t seen her. I think back and shake my head. “No, but that doesn’t mean much. Not all druggies use a needle. And those that do, some hide it, shooting up in places like between their toes. Atlas might have seen something I didn’t. Did the cleaners get rid of her, or is she on ice?”
“On ice. We’re not sure what we’re dealing with right now, and if another body turns up, we might need her.”
“I’m still hoping this is an isolated incident.”
“Whether it is or isn’t, it seems Atlas was the target. Nobody brings a dead body to a strip club unless it’s fucking personal.”
“And trying to figure out who Atlas pissed off will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”
“You’re telling me,” he grumbles.
“What’s your gut saying?”