Mary's comment was laced with sarcasm.
Mary leaned against the counter and locked gazes with Grace. Grace watched Mary's line of sight focus on her side arm, then the gold shield attached to Grace's waistband. It was obvious to Grace that Mary questioned whether she was a cop or not. Grace reached into her coat pocket for her photo ID and business card. Mary seemed to accept the identification as authentic.
"The Marquettes want to find their daughter, and I understand after talking with Jerry that the two of you were pretty close. He seemed to believe you wouldn't hesitate to help in any way. I need to know where that club is and what goes on there."
"You couldn't handle it even if I could find out what club she was at. Her parents would freak if they knew what their precious daughter was into."
"What do you mean?"
Mary appeared hesitant to expand on the comment.
"Listen, Mary, I understand that the Marquettes don't like you, but my job is to try and find Celina, what happened to her and who's responsible. Now if you two were as close as Jerry insists you are, then there's no reason not to help me."
"I got a business to run and I don't need a bunch of cops and detectives stopping in and scaring away my customers."
"My concern is finding your friend and time isn't exactly on our side with cases like this. You know the deal, Mary."
Mary was hesitant a moment and Grace watched as she placed her hands on her hips and stared at Grace as if she exasperated her.
"There were two detectives in here already. I wasn't sure if I could trust them."
Immediately, Grace knew one of them had to be Mathews.
"We're all trying to help find Celina. Please tell me what you know and maybe a little more about this shop of yours."
Just then, a young woman came out from the back door and Mary asked her to cover the store while she took a break. The young blonde shrugged her shoulders and sat down behind the desk while she obnoxiously chewed a wad of gum.
Grace followed Mary through the back door and into a large room. There were a whole bunch of computers set up and about ten women all speaking seductively into the phones.
"It's a small yet lucrative business, and I couldn't exactly let the cops in on it. I pay enough people off to keep their mouths shut. Let's go into my office."
Grace listened to the X-rated phone conversations, the moaning and groaning from the ten women. This was crazy and completely unexpected.
"So was Celina working for you?” Grace nodded in the direction of the phone sex operators.
"Yes, she was. She knew the rules about not giving out any personal information or making dates with the clients. I really don't think that's what happened to her."
Mary closed the office door behind them and leaned against the desk.
Grace stood a few feet in front of her. “So tell me what you do think."
"If Jerry's right, and she went to one of the private clubs, then there could be a hundred suspects. The guys who are into women like this and who want to engage in more, let's say ... untraditional sexual acts, tend to swarm a new girl. I warned Celina about this, and she started to go more often. Then I think she met someone and they hit it off. I think she was happier with the mystery guy than with Jerry."
"He told me that Celina was seeing some big shot, rich guy, maybe an attorney. Do you know who this might be?"
"Honey, there are hundreds of big shot attorneys in the city. You would be shocked to see who hangs out at clubs like those."
"Do you go to those places? Can you find out which one she was at last and who she was with?” Grace asked.
"Do you really think Celina was taken by someone she met at a club?"
"I'm not sure, but it's a possibility and I want to be positive to investigate every lead thoroughly."
"I can try if you think it might help."
"It would help. I want you to be careful because I don't know who this guy is, or if he's even responsible for Celina's disappearance."
"Then why don't you come with
Mary leaned against the counter and locked gazes with Grace. Grace watched Mary's line of sight focus on her side arm, then the gold shield attached to Grace's waistband. It was obvious to Grace that Mary questioned whether she was a cop or not. Grace reached into her coat pocket for her photo ID and business card. Mary seemed to accept the identification as authentic.
"The Marquettes want to find their daughter, and I understand after talking with Jerry that the two of you were pretty close. He seemed to believe you wouldn't hesitate to help in any way. I need to know where that club is and what goes on there."
"You couldn't handle it even if I could find out what club she was at. Her parents would freak if they knew what their precious daughter was into."
"What do you mean?"
Mary appeared hesitant to expand on the comment.
"Listen, Mary, I understand that the Marquettes don't like you, but my job is to try and find Celina, what happened to her and who's responsible. Now if you two were as close as Jerry insists you are, then there's no reason not to help me."
"I got a business to run and I don't need a bunch of cops and detectives stopping in and scaring away my customers."
"My concern is finding your friend and time isn't exactly on our side with cases like this. You know the deal, Mary."
Mary was hesitant a moment and Grace watched as she placed her hands on her hips and stared at Grace as if she exasperated her.
"There were two detectives in here already. I wasn't sure if I could trust them."
Immediately, Grace knew one of them had to be Mathews.
"We're all trying to help find Celina. Please tell me what you know and maybe a little more about this shop of yours."
Just then, a young woman came out from the back door and Mary asked her to cover the store while she took a break. The young blonde shrugged her shoulders and sat down behind the desk while she obnoxiously chewed a wad of gum.
Grace followed Mary through the back door and into a large room. There were a whole bunch of computers set up and about ten women all speaking seductively into the phones.
"It's a small yet lucrative business, and I couldn't exactly let the cops in on it. I pay enough people off to keep their mouths shut. Let's go into my office."
Grace listened to the X-rated phone conversations, the moaning and groaning from the ten women. This was crazy and completely unexpected.
"So was Celina working for you?” Grace nodded in the direction of the phone sex operators.
"Yes, she was. She knew the rules about not giving out any personal information or making dates with the clients. I really don't think that's what happened to her."
Mary closed the office door behind them and leaned against the desk.
Grace stood a few feet in front of her. “So tell me what you do think."
"If Jerry's right, and she went to one of the private clubs, then there could be a hundred suspects. The guys who are into women like this and who want to engage in more, let's say ... untraditional sexual acts, tend to swarm a new girl. I warned Celina about this, and she started to go more often. Then I think she met someone and they hit it off. I think she was happier with the mystery guy than with Jerry."
"He told me that Celina was seeing some big shot, rich guy, maybe an attorney. Do you know who this might be?"
"Honey, there are hundreds of big shot attorneys in the city. You would be shocked to see who hangs out at clubs like those."
"Do you go to those places? Can you find out which one she was at last and who she was with?” Grace asked.
"Do you really think Celina was taken by someone she met at a club?"
"I'm not sure, but it's a possibility and I want to be positive to investigate every lead thoroughly."
"I can try if you think it might help."
"It would help. I want you to be careful because I don't know who this guy is, or if he's even responsible for Celina's disappearance."
"Then why don't you come with
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