Read Online C'est la Vie (Raja Williams Series) by Jack Thompson - Free Book Online

drinks. However, Vinny had a break just after the midnight show, giving her time to snoop around. She had noticed waitresses dropping small packets onto tables or into customers hands when serving drinks. That had to be how the drugs were being distributed. She had to find a way to get a few samples. She identified two particular waitresses, Oceane and Freda, and waited until one of them headed to the back on a break. Freda, an athletic brunette who looked like she might have done some bodybuilding, turned in her receipts and headed to the dressing room. Vinny followed and sat down next to her. Vinny began rubbing her head.
    Freda took the bait. “What’s the matter, chère , rough night?”
    “My head is killing me, and my feet aren’t doing much better,” said Vinny. “I don’t think I got enough sleep last night. I’m dead tired already.”
    Freda reached into her apron pocket and tossed a small packet on the table in front of Vinny. “Take one of those. It’ll give you the boost you need. But only one, you hear?”
    “What is it?”
    “Nothing dangerous. You heard of drone?”
    “No.” Vinny had in fact heard of it. Drone was short for Mephedrone, a nasty variation in the amphetamine class that was popular as a club drug.
    “It’s a mild form of speed. Just what a girl needs to get through a long night.”
    Vinny held up the square plastic packet and looked at the contents. There were two pale blue tablets inside. “How much do I owe you?”
    “Never mind. Just keep it to yourself, okay?”
    “Sure, thanks.” Vinny got up and went into the bathroom. She pocketed the pills and came out a minute later.
    “Remember, only one until you get used to them. Give it a little time,” said Freda, “and you’ll be feeling a lot better.”
    Vinny nodded and, after adjusting her outfit in the mirror, went back out onto the floor to waitress. Just after one in the morning Bruno sneaked up behind her. “How is your first night, ch é rie ?” he whispered intimately in her ear.
    Vinny could feel his hot breath, and the hair on her neck stood straight up. She steeled herself and turned around slowly. “So far so good,” said Vinny, trying to back away from Bruno. He grabbed her at the elbow and pulled her closer. “I’ve gotten no complaints from the customers. Let’s keep it that way, ma chérie .” He squeezed hard deliberately and then let go.
    “Thank you. I’ll do my best,” said Vinny. Picturing several ways she might cripple Bruno allowed her to smile while she said it.
    Bruno smiled back and walked away.
    At four in the morning Vinny’s shift finally ended. The bar closed and the customers began thinning out. Her feet felt like lumps of throbbing lead. She had pulled three hundred euros in tips but at a steep cost to her sense of decency. Her estimate of blisters and bruises said that she had one for every single euro she had earned. She sat down and watched the other waitresses and dancers changing into street clothes, too tired to do the same herself.
    “First night?” asked a gorgeous redheaded dancer who sat next to her wiping off rouge.
    “How could you tell?” Vinny chuckled at hearing the disgust in her own voice. When she looked up the redhead was smiling.
    “Antoinette,” said the redhead by way of an introduction. “Are you a dancer?”
    “Everyone else seems to think so,” said Vinny.
    “It’s how Bruno operates. He doesn’t usually hire waitresses. He only hires girls he wants to dance. Thinks he can charm them into it. More like scare them. Although it does pay better. You’ll see.”
    The metro train got Vinny within three blocks of Raja’s flat, and she dragged herself the rest of the way on foot. Raja was sound asleep. Vinny was soon to follow.

Chapter Nine: Margaret Meets Her Captor
    When Margaret awoke for the second time, light streamed into the room from a window above her on a side wall. She was alone in a small, plain, bare room with shelves running floor to