Page 15 of Home Again

“You know that Sebastian Lazar Durand the Third was the old man’s golden boy. He was supposed to follow his daddy’s footsteps into politics. I figured it would be smart to check into Armand and see what he was doing around the time of Number Three’s death, and this is where the fun begins.”

Jada stopped herself. “Fuck, did I just say that? I’m sorry, there is nothing fun about how your hottie’s dad died. Anyway, four years before Number Three died Armand drew a significant amount of money out of his trust fund. I knew the money went to some bogus LLC out of Delaware, but that means nothing; most LLCs in America operate out of Delaware. It took some digging, but it is the shell company for the Leather Library Gentlemen’s Club outside of Baton Rouge. That place is known for their high-end VIP cigar rooms, where most of the Louisiana state legislature will shell out ten grand for a bottle of booze, served to them by damn near-naked women.”

“Shoot,” Gianna drawled out. “It seems like everything revolves around sex. Do you think my mother ever worked there?”

“As far as I can tell, there was never any sex involved there. Instead, that place was used more for private meetings amongst the high-end political players of Louisiana. As for your mom working there? I don’t think so. But I do think that the clientele at the Leather Library were the same clients that Etta Rose had.”

“So basically, they were Mom’s clients,” Gianna whispered softly.

“That’s my two cents,” Jada agreed.

“But we already knew that, so why do we care if Armand has a stake in this club?”

“Armand has been useless since day one. Who he is today is who he was back then. He never mattered to his father, and we know this because he was never brought into the family business of politics. Instead, he was supposed to be in charge of the family farm, and even that he couldn’t hack. So I’m saying it’s pretty strange that at thirty-five he starts investing in a shady gentlemen’s club? Something isn’t adding up,” Jada insisted.

“Jada, I understand this new information about Armand is interesting, but I’m here to find out how my mom went from being one of Etta’s girls to a strung-out addict working the streets. You and I agreed that our best bet was tracking down known customers of Etta’s, or some of the other call girls she worked with. Or best yet, Etta Rose herself.”

“And that’s what you’re doing, Babe. According to that one call girl you interviewed, Lazar was one of the biggest customers back in the day, and he would throw big parties and hire out a dozen girls at a time. He’s still your best bet.”

“Well, okay then. I agree. And I have a plan.”

“Does it have something to do with you staying at the big house with Lazar out of town?”

“You know me so well.” Gianna grinned. “Lazar’s office is on the ground floor, and with the wind howling like it is, not even a Navy SEAL will hear me when I go sleuthing.”

“Whoa there, Nancy Drew, what do you expect to find?”

“I’m thinking that Lazar is old. Really old. Crypt Creeper is old. So I would bet my bottom dollar he has paper files. I have no idea what I’m looking for exactly, but I’m going to give this a shot. Tonight’s when Hurricane Helen is supposed to hit full force, so I’m going to take full advantage.”

“Is your phone charged?”

Gianna looked over to where her phone was plugged into the charger. “It’s charging now.”

“Girly, pick it up and tell me what percentage the charge is; you always run it down to less than ten percent.”

Gianna rolled her eyes and reached for it. “It’s at seventy-eight, smart-aleck.”

“You really need to learn how to swear. Okay, seventy-eight is good. I want you to take the phone with you, call me, and then keep it on mute. I want to be able to hear everything.”

“What good will that do? You going to call the cops and say, ‘Hi, I know it’s the middle of a hurricane, but my friend was just caught trespassing through somebody’s office, can you send help?’ Yeah, that sounds good.”

Jada bit one of her pared-down nails. “Fine, smartass, just Skype me when you’re done.”

“You’ll be asleep.”

“You better fucking Skype me, or I’ll fucking kick your ass!”

Gianna giggled. “Yes, Mom, I will. And don’t forget to do your part of the job. Find out everything you can on the hot SEAL.”

“You know what would help me with that research?” Jada asked.

“What?”

“Naked pictures.”

“Good night, Jada.”