a mom purse, full of all sorts of weird stuff. A Swiss Army knife. Hand sanitizer. Granola bars. Condoms. A flashlight.”
A shake of the head cut off her rambling. Great timing, since Trina was running out of things to list. Although she did remember one time Darcy pulled an entire package of balloons out of her purse. Kind of like Hermione’s magic sack in the last Harry Potter book. Just not as comprehensive.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll need to buy some better concealer, I guess, but I’ll be fine. Thanks.” With a polite nod at Darcy, she started to walk away.
Crap. She wasn’t in the mood to chat. Which meant Trina didn’t have the luxury of slowly working around to the point. Of course, it also meant she had nothing to lose by diving straight to it. She reached out a hand to snag the side of Leilani’s white tank to stop her.
“I, uh, expected to see you yesterday. At the arcade.” Trina tried to wink knowingly. Except she couldn’t wink. Never had been able to. Damn. A knowing wink seemed like a really useful P.I. tool. “I heard you’d be there.”
“From who?” Leilani shot back with a frown.
It wasn’t a denial. Which was practically the same as admitting it, according to Joe’s rules on how to interpret hinky situations. So Trina waved her hand in the air, trying to look breezy and in the know. “The short guy. He told me.”
“You were going to meet Ralph, too? Man, I can’t believe he pulled you in so fast.” She shook her head. “Ralph DiNunzio might not look like much, but he can sure sucker a desperate girl.”
“Sucker? You think I’m being scammed?”
“I think we’re the ones taking all the risk. You don’t see Ralph sporting a black eye, do you? Nobody works him over when things go south. I was just a little late. And now I lose at least three shifts because nobody wants to watch a stripper whose face takes all the attention away from her boobs. How is that fair?”
Trina wasn’t rolling in dough. She never had any trouble paying her rent, but changing jobs so often didn’t give her the chance to build up much of a safety net. Listening to Leilani, though, made her want to rush to the nearest ATM and give the battered girl every cent in her checking account.
Darcy pulled out a chocolate bar and offered it to Leilani, who ripped it open and immediately bit into it with a moan of delight. After giving her a chance to swallow, Darcy asked, “Did Ralph do that to you?”
A roll of the eyes accompanied her next bite. “Of course not. He’d need a stepladder to belt me in the eye.”
“Who then?” Trina put a hand on the dancer’s shoulder. Not just to establish contact, but because she really thought Leilani needed some comfort. “Maybe we can do something. Say something to stop it from happening again. Stand up to him. Get some help.”
“I don’t need help. Are you trying to make even more trouble for me?”
“No, of course not.” But she could tell she’d lost her.
“Thanks for the candy. Keep your head down, Trina.” Leilani hurried away.
“That was heart-wrenching,” said Darcy.
“Yeah.” This wasn’t just a potential case anymore. It wasn’t limited to money changing hands under the sticky tables at Club Eden for God knows what. Now it was personal. Somebody who was willing to hit a woman generally didn’t stop at a black eye. Trina volunteered at a battered women’s shelter back in Baltimore, and knew how quickly violence could escalate. It didn’t matter how many days she’d have to keep working at the club. Trina wasn’t leaving until she found out who beat up her friend, and why, and put an end to it.
Darcy pulled out her phone and held it out. “Well, do you want to call Brad, or should I call Coop?”
“What for?”
The look on Darcy’s face was the same one she’d worn in high school, when Trina had zoned out during history class and told the teacher that Christopher Columbus landed at Plymouth Rock. “To arrest that
A shake of the head cut off her rambling. Great timing, since Trina was running out of things to list. Although she did remember one time Darcy pulled an entire package of balloons out of her purse. Kind of like Hermione’s magic sack in the last Harry Potter book. Just not as comprehensive.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll need to buy some better concealer, I guess, but I’ll be fine. Thanks.” With a polite nod at Darcy, she started to walk away.
Crap. She wasn’t in the mood to chat. Which meant Trina didn’t have the luxury of slowly working around to the point. Of course, it also meant she had nothing to lose by diving straight to it. She reached out a hand to snag the side of Leilani’s white tank to stop her.
“I, uh, expected to see you yesterday. At the arcade.” Trina tried to wink knowingly. Except she couldn’t wink. Never had been able to. Damn. A knowing wink seemed like a really useful P.I. tool. “I heard you’d be there.”
“From who?” Leilani shot back with a frown.
It wasn’t a denial. Which was practically the same as admitting it, according to Joe’s rules on how to interpret hinky situations. So Trina waved her hand in the air, trying to look breezy and in the know. “The short guy. He told me.”
“You were going to meet Ralph, too? Man, I can’t believe he pulled you in so fast.” She shook her head. “Ralph DiNunzio might not look like much, but he can sure sucker a desperate girl.”
“Sucker? You think I’m being scammed?”
“I think we’re the ones taking all the risk. You don’t see Ralph sporting a black eye, do you? Nobody works him over when things go south. I was just a little late. And now I lose at least three shifts because nobody wants to watch a stripper whose face takes all the attention away from her boobs. How is that fair?”
Trina wasn’t rolling in dough. She never had any trouble paying her rent, but changing jobs so often didn’t give her the chance to build up much of a safety net. Listening to Leilani, though, made her want to rush to the nearest ATM and give the battered girl every cent in her checking account.
Darcy pulled out a chocolate bar and offered it to Leilani, who ripped it open and immediately bit into it with a moan of delight. After giving her a chance to swallow, Darcy asked, “Did Ralph do that to you?”
A roll of the eyes accompanied her next bite. “Of course not. He’d need a stepladder to belt me in the eye.”
“Who then?” Trina put a hand on the dancer’s shoulder. Not just to establish contact, but because she really thought Leilani needed some comfort. “Maybe we can do something. Say something to stop it from happening again. Stand up to him. Get some help.”
“I don’t need help. Are you trying to make even more trouble for me?”
“No, of course not.” But she could tell she’d lost her.
“Thanks for the candy. Keep your head down, Trina.” Leilani hurried away.
“That was heart-wrenching,” said Darcy.
“Yeah.” This wasn’t just a potential case anymore. It wasn’t limited to money changing hands under the sticky tables at Club Eden for God knows what. Now it was personal. Somebody who was willing to hit a woman generally didn’t stop at a black eye. Trina volunteered at a battered women’s shelter back in Baltimore, and knew how quickly violence could escalate. It didn’t matter how many days she’d have to keep working at the club. Trina wasn’t leaving until she found out who beat up her friend, and why, and put an end to it.
Darcy pulled out her phone and held it out. “Well, do you want to call Brad, or should I call Coop?”
“What for?”
The look on Darcy’s face was the same one she’d worn in high school, when Trina had zoned out during history class and told the teacher that Christopher Columbus landed at Plymouth Rock. “To arrest that
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