Intimate Relations, Rebecca Forster [best ereader for manga .txt] 📗

a lot of money for anonymity, and she didn't care. She was so brazen. So entitled." Bev rolled her eyes. "I thought I'd taken care of the problem, but that guy picked her up like she's something special. I don't know what happened after that. I went inside, and figured that was that."

"Then how did she get upstairs?" Cori said. "Nobody saw her go through the front door."

"How would I know?" Bev said. "I'd never been to that place before."

"And..." Cori twirled a finger, urging her to pick it up.

"And the party was going the way those things go. The men were getting antsy because whatever was supposed to happen wasn't happening. It was late. I went to the bathroom. I came out. Another girl was waiting to go in, but that's when the crazy guy goes off.  We're hanging back, and this girl says 'I hope Cami's okay'. She thought she saw her upstairs when she was looking for another bathroom. She told me not to say anything because we weren't supposed to be up there.”

"And you didn't think to stay put considering there were cops all over the place?" Cori said.

"The uniforms were busy," Bev said. "I thought I'd see for myself what Ms. Cami was up to. If I'd known you were up there, I wouldn't have gone."

"Who was the woman in the back?"

"They call her The Madam." Cori gave Bev a look, but it wasn't enough to get her to change her tune. "I'm telling you what they call her. Try talking to Asylum. Maybe they give out the girls' real names. I don't know what the protocol is for the women."

"And the Asian guy who had helped Cami after you pushed her around?"

"He's not Asylum." Bev dismissed the question as if it were an insult. "You can spot a player a mile away, and he isn't even close."

"And you're sure you don't know him?" Cori pressed.

"I'm sure." Bev lifted her chin and her eyes narrowed. She was annoyed until she was enlightened. Her head went up and down slowly. "Oh, you think I'm trying to protect him. You don't think he owns this place, do you? Not likely. I do have some standards."

"So who does hold the deed to this place?" Cori asked.

"I figured you already knew since you're a hot shot investigator." Bev unfurled her legs. "It's Jeremiah Stotler."

"Why does that name ring a bell?"

"He is only the biggest name in PG films. The man makes billions. Did you see that front door?"

"Yes," Cori said, still not getting it.

"Didn't you ever take your kid to see The Baby Jungle movies? That front door is masterpiece; it's an homage to those movies."

"I hated those movies, and so did Amber," Cori said.

"But you bought a ticket like a billion other people," Bev said. "So I guess you could say you're paying my rent."

"Was Cami trying to move in on you?" Cori asked.

"Hardly a move on me. I saw one of the other girls try to make a move on her, and Cami made her cry.  And if she put the moves on Jeremiah, he would have turned her down. He may make movies for kids, but he doesn't screw them. I don't know how old she really was, but Cami was a brat."

Bev took a minute. She drummed her fingers on the table.

"Look, she was a blackmailer. Her greatest joy in life was ruining people. I heard she tried to shake down a televangelist. I don't know if it's true, but rumor has it he paid her big bucks not to out him about Asylum."

"So Stotler is Asylum?"

"He is. That's where we met," Bev said. "We were already seeing each other when Cami set her sights on him. He took her threats seriously, so I did too. All those mommies and daddies would be upset if they found out how he was spending his free time. Not to mention the fact that this info would come on the heels of the scandal with that little girl who starred in Girl Fun Two. She was turning tricks on the side. Granted she was eighteen..."

"I thought she was twelve," Cori said.

"So did the guys she was doing." Bev rolled her eyes and smirked. "But that's not the point. The point is, Jeremiah is the final word in wholesome family films.  All that politically correct outrage could bring him down like that."

Bev snapped her fingers, pushed aside her drink, and dropped her feet to the hot concrete. She worked her towel like a puppet pulling its own strings as she leaned forward.

"I'm exactly where I want to be, Cori. I wasn't going to let that stupid girl ruin it all just so she could get off."

"And the man who tried to intervene?"

"I told you, I don't know who he is and I don't care. He just kept whimpering like a girl and fretting. It was disgusting. What kind of man acts like that?"

"You got me," Cori said. "I wouldn't know how to whimper if you paid me."

"Are we done?" Tired of the interrogation, Bev sat up straight in her chair. She cocked an eyebrow at Cori.

"One more thing. I'd like to talk to the man of the house," Cori said.

"He's at work."

"Then I guess that's where I'll have to see him." Cori stood up and draped her jacket over her arm. Bev got up too, suddenly serious and surprisingly sweet.

"Cori, don't screw me if you get in to talk to Jeremiah. Okay? Say you heard about Cami from someone else. I mean, he's the one that filled me in on her. I don't know if he meant me to keep it to myself or not."

"The police don't volunteer information," Cori said. "But you made a good call telling me what you know. After all, you're the only one that we can prove laid hands on a dead woman."

"You've got to be kidding," Bev threw her head back and laughed. "Did you see how I looked when I