Crime in the Club (The Bound Detective) (2 page)

As
Jane sat around, she felt a presence sit right next to her.  She started to feel a bit more irritable and immediately knew who it was.  She looked up, and there was Franklin sitting across from her.  She saw him looking directly at her with a friendly smile and Jane wanted to tell him to fuck off more than anything. 

“What do you want?”
she asked.

Franklin
beamed a smile at her and although Jane was pissed, she did have to admit he had a charming smile.

“
Oh, I just thought maybe we could discuss the case a little bit.  Plus, I had a question to ask you about something that did pique my interest a little bit,” Franklin replied.

“Well
, what did you want to ask?  I’m leaving in five minutes so I don’t have all day.”

“I wanted to know if you put it together yet or saw any continuity,”
Franklin asked her nicely.

“No. 
It seems like the males all went to the club, but the females didn’t.  That’s where the continuity seemed to kind of diverge,” she replied.

“I noticed that the club girls were near the other men.  The other club was only a block away.  I think the killer has it out for some of these people, including the women.  Why they want to get rid of the women as well as these men
, I don’t know,” Franklin explained.

Jane froze as she looked at him. 
She knew that was obvious, but she didn’t piece it together that maybe there was a revenge plot to this.  She didn’t want the man to show her up at all, so she played it off and pretended to be calm about things.

“I knew that all along.  You didn’t have to tell me,” she said.

“Well, I noticed that.  I didn’t know if you saw it too, but I thought that maybe that would help you.  Anyway, I think the best thing to do first would be to talk to a couple of the people there.  I think that’s still a great first step,” he said.

“No shit
, Sherlock.  That was what I was going to do,” she retorted.

“
Good.  I’m glad we’re on the same page,” he said.  Jane wanted to smack him across the face and make that fake little smile go away.  She didn’t like how calm and collected he was despite the fact that she knew he was a rookie and wasn’t afraid to say it.  She felt like she looked like an idiot in front of this man.

“Whatever
, I’m heading out,” Jane said.  She grabbed the file and was about to leave when Franklin stopped her again.

“So
, what did Thomas mean when he said that you have experience in the area?  Have you done cases like this before?” Franklin asked innocently.

Jane mentally froze for a second, thinking about what to say.  Sure
, she did have many cases where she did have to deal with the underbelly of the city and some of the districts with sex clubs and other such private matters.  However, there was another reason why, and that is because Jane was an exotic dancer for a few years while she was in college and knew how things were run.  She used that in solving cases, and Jane still was able to move her body like how she did when she danced in clubs during her college years.  Jane only did it to get through college and then after that destroyed the evidence.  However, she wanted to let Thomas know after the one time Jane solved a case because she knew the ins and outs of the industry.  It was apparent and although Jane didn’t want that part of her past to shine like a beacon, she did use it to her advantage at times.

Right
now, however, she wasn’t going to tell Franklin anything of the sort.  She was trying to show her superiority, and if he knew the truth, he could use that against her to get ahead and that wasn’t what she wanted.

“
It’s none of your business.  I just have solved a lot of cases of this sort before, so I know how they run,” she replied.

“
Oh, okay.  If there’s anything else, you can tell me.  I won’t say a word,” he said.

“T
here isn’t so stop trying to butt into my life.  I’m heading out,” Jane replied.  She grabbed the file and dropped off her cup, walking straight to the garage where her car was.  She was told in the file that she and Franklin were going to meet at 7 pm in a restaurant right by the club and walk from there.  Jane had more than enough time to get ready, but as she got in the car, she thought about Franklin and wondered just how things were going to go tonight.

When
Jane got home, she took a shower and got dressed in one of her fancy dresses that she used when she had to investigate.  Apparently, the BDSM club she was going to had a very fancy element to it, which was surprisingly different than the ones she had done to in the past.  Jane was ready for this, however, and she definitely was not just going to make heads spin, but it would also help her get answers.  She knew that most of the women there were bisexual, so they would easily answer the questions she had.  Plus, Franklin wasn’t bad-looking and was surely fodder for the whores there.

After Jane put her hair up in a
ponytail, she put on some makeup, making sure that she didn’t put on too much.  She didn’t want to seem trashy, but she also wanted to look a bit better and the makeup certainly helped her out big time.  After Jane finished up, she put on a pair of white stiletto heels and then put everything she needed in a purse.  It was small, but it had a ton of pockets and it allowed her to put her stuff in there easily.

After
Jane finished up, she looked in the mirror.  She had to admit that she did look sexy, and Jane hoped that it would be convincing enough for the patrons.  Jane didn’t want to seem like the type of girl who purposefully impressed people, but Jane knew that this outfit was going to make her into a bombshell for the night.  Jane was excited, and after the final trimmings, she headed to her car and started to drive to where the club was.

Jane started to go into the underbelly of the city.  Jane was s
hocked that a nice restaurant could survive here, especially with the eyesores of all the trash that seemed to surround the damn place.  People wanted to keep it there instead of getting it cleaned up, and it did look dilapidated and looked more like a landfill in some places.  Jane continued to go into the restaurant as she parked in the secured parking area.

After Jane walked in
, she saw Franklin sitting in the front area.  They met up, and immediately Franklin’s eyes darted to her chest, which caused Jane to flush and cross her arms over.

“Are you ready to go?”
she asked curtly.

“
Yes, I am.  Sorry, I just think you look simply lovely tonight.  Pretty hot, actually.  You clean up nicely,” he said.

Jane flushed at the
compliment, but at the same time she was trying to figure out if the last sentence was an insult or not.  Jane didn’t have time to deal with the man’s bullshit right now and instead she was going to get ready for the investigation she was about to undertake.  She looked at Franklin with an impatient glance.

‘
Are you ready?”

“Yes I am
, Jane.  Very ready,” he replied.  Jane nodded and they walked out of there and down the street to where the club’s door was.  When they got there, they saw just one door and walked up to it.  The place didn’t look like a club at all but instead looked like someone’s bad excuse for a masonic lodge.  Jane tried the door but it was locked, and just as she pulled away, the top area opened and eyes looked at them.

“You police?”
he asked.

“No. 
We just heard about this club and we wanted to check it out,” Jane replied.  Thankfully, Jane left her ID from the station at home so she did look like a regular guest.  The door opened and the person looked at them.

“Let me see your IDs,” he said. 
Jane nodded and grabbed it, flashing it at the man.  Apparently, Franklin was also briefed on it, so he did the same thing.  The man smiled at them with a toothy grin, baring his shiny white and sharp teeth for them to see.  Jane was a bit freaked out out by all of this, but she tried to stay calm as she looked at the man.

“Good
, good.  Right this way, then.  I hope you enjoy your night here in our grand and very entertaining club that is ready to cater to your own personal pleasures,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Jane replied.  The two of them walked in and went up some stairs to a club door.  They opened it, and immediately they saw what looked like a dungeon.

There were contraptions everywhere that had people being bound up, with mistresses and masters having fun and teasing them.  There was even shock play that had to do with electricity and a woman looked like she was about to orgasm while another naked woman in just a latex mask started to have fun with her.  There was a man suspended with another man while he was whipping him and a woman getting off at that.  It seemed a bit too weird for Jane’s tastes and Franklin looked extremely complacent when he stared around at the place.  Jane grabbed the man and walked him over to where the desk was.  There was a girl in just a set of chains that didn’t cover her breasts, and when she saw Jane and Franklin, she couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

“Hello there. 
You seem pretty new to all of this.  I’m Scarlet.  How may I help you?” she asked.  She had a voice that seemed almost angelic, which was a complete contrast to the hellish area they were in. 

Jane started to look around, trying to figure out what to say to t
he woman.  There were many questions she could ask, but Jane knew that this woman was just a pawn and not the real person she was looking for.  However, Jane still had a use for her.

“Do you have a head girl?” Jane asked.

“We sure do.  The head of all of this is named Trisha.  She is up at the top of the stairs.  She is free, so if you want to see her you can.  She definitely has a lot of personal skills that judging from the looks of you I’m sure you’ll love,” the woman said.  It sounded so innocent but also very businesslike, like she was trying to sell puppies to them instead of sex.

“
Thanks.  We would like to see her.  Both of us,” Jane replied.

“Alright,” the attendant said. 
She grabbed the phone, but instead of calling her, she pressed a button and looked up at them with a smile.

“She is ready to see you
now.  I hope you have a great time,” the woman replied.

“Thanks,”
Jane said.  Jane and Franklin walked upstairs to what seemed to be an archway of fake fire.  It seemed almost demonic, and surrounding the arch were a bunch of pentagrams and different symbols that seemed straight out of a cheesy horror movie.  Jane didn’t know if she walked into a BDSM club or a satanic cult, but either way it did make her feel a bit awkward.  When they walked in, a buxom lady in a cupless corset and thong greeted them.  She had on a mask that covered only her eyes, and on her lips was blood-red lipstick that made her bright teeth stand out more.

“Hello there. 
Are you my next two guests?” she asked.

“
That we are. But we’re not here for some sort of fun that you’re thinking of.  We have a couple of personal questions to ask you,” Jane said.

‘What do you mean?” the woman asked. 

Jane looked at Franklin and he nodded in assent.  Franklin smiled at the woman and she immediately had a seductive grin on her face.

“We have a few personal questions to ask,”
Franklin replied.

“You look so tense
, though.  I bet you need to have a little bit of fun there.  You look like your body is in dire need of a…release,” the woman said.  She moved her body against Franklin and ground her hips against the man’s crotch.  He just stood there looking stoically at Trisha who looked a bit displeased with this.  She stopped after a moment and looked at Franklin with a frown.

“You don’t like me?  Would you like me to do it to
your girlfriend instead?” the woman asked.  Before she stepped one foot closer, Franklin responded again.

“Actually
, we wanted to ask about the recent murders that have occurred around here in the last few weeks.  I’m sure that you’re probably familiar with them since they have occurred right by your humble little club.  Scarlet told me that you run this place, so we wanted to ask a few questions regarding that and what you know about what’s happening with this,” Franklin explained.

The woman froze and looked at
Franklin.  She definitely looked as though she had seen a ghost and in a way, she definitely seemed like she had never been asked questions like this before.  However, before Franklin continued, the woman smiled calmly.

“I don’t know anything about them. 
I’m just a worker here.  Although I do run the club and I do have a lot of things to handle, I don’t get into the messes that meddlesome police officers love to get into.  I’m just a woman who loves to have sex and this is my personal little jewel,” the lady replied.

“I get that
, but you do realize that you probably will start to lose business when word gets out that people are getting murdered at your club, right?  You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Jane said.

“Why do you care?  Who the hell are you?”

“I’m just a woman who knows a lot about the law and I was interested in if you know any information.  Apparently, there’s also a bounty on the person who solves the case and finds the ones guilty, so I thought that I could indulge in some pleasures while trying to earn some money as well,” Jane replied.  The whole bounty thing was a complete lie, but it did put Trisha at ease.  Trisha moved her hand away from the call button and looked at them with a wary glance.

“Alright.
I believe you. Now, what do you want to ask?” she said.

Jane smiled and started to talk.  She was going to be the interrogator and not
Franklin.  Even though he did handle the thing initially, he brought on too much suspicion.  It wasn’t a surprise, though; he was a rookie and Jane was a veteran at investigations and a master at getting the information she needed.

“
First of all I wanted to know where you were each of the nights of the murder.  They all happened so close, so I was wondering if you or any of the other girls had a night off or were gone for whatever reason,’ Jane asked.

“I know that I was here each of those days, but I would have to check the roster to see who
else didn’t show up.  From there I can tell you more information,” the woman said.

“Good.  Do that for me
, please,” Jane asked.  The woman looked at her with a gaze of nervousness as she grabbed a book and started to flip through the pages.  Jane told her the dates again and after about a minute of awkward page flipping and cursing, the woman found what she needed.

“
It seems like all my girls were here except for Alice,” the woman said.

“
Where is Alice at right now?” Jane replied.

“She’s probably in her room.  I know according to Scarlet she checked in
but that’s all I know,” Trisha replied.

Jane smiled and looked to the doorway, nodding towards
Franklin.

“You think you can talk to her? 
And hopefully don’t fuck it up and scare her off?” Jane said.  She looked at him with an icy glance but the man seemed to be unfazed about it.

“Sure.  I can at least try,”
Franklin replied.

“Good.  Get out of here.  I’ll meet up with you in a bit,”
Jane said.  The man nodded and walked out, heading down to where Scarlet was to set up an appointment.  Jane turned to Trisha and looked at her with a curious glance.

“So what is your specialty?”
Jane asked.

“Oh
. I do just about everything, but my favorite is bondage,” the woman replied.

“
That’s interesting.  Do you have a list of all the male patrons you’ve seen?”

The woman looked at her with a nervous glanc
e but shook her head.  “I don’t. Sorry. If I knew that all of this was going to happen, I would probably have done so.  I hope you’re the only one who bothers to take on the bounty and try to figure it out.  I don’t want to have to answer a ton of questions each and every day about it,” the woman said.

“
So, if we can wrap up the case you won’t have to.  But I do have a couple other questions if you don’t mind.”

“What are they?”

“I wanted to know how popular the place was.  Do you get a lot of business?” Jane asked.  She sat down on one of the seats and looked at the woman with a curious glance.

“
Honestly, not really good so far.  We wanted to help make the business a bit stronger so we started to do some promoting underground.  We don’t want the police to know yet and I’ve been very good at getting them off of my backs so far,” Trisha explained.

“How so?”

“I’ve told them that I’m handling the investigation personally so I don’t have to have them come into my club.  The BDSM elements out there in the dungeon are safe but the private girls are all illegal because we do take money for our services and that is prostitution.  We don’t want to cause trouble in that regard, but we don’t need the police snooping around, either, so that’s why I’ve been very wary and security has been stronger recently,” Trisha replied

Jane mentally chuckled at the fact that the woman even mentioned that. 
Tight security her ass, that’s for sure. 

“I’m glad you’ve taken precautions. 
But if things do get worse. do you think you can hold them off for a while longer?” Jane asked innocently.