Big Easy Escapade (27 page)

“I need a pen,” Kate said. Wendy dug in her
purse and handed her one.

They waited for Kate to write several things
on a napkin.

“She said Daisy is in danger. Find the
mirrors and find the soaring predator surrounding the ship.”

“Those damn mirrors are back!” Wendy said,
slapping the table. “I thought we had that figured out.”

“What the hell is the soaring predator?”
Vivian asked.

“Okay, one thing at a time,” Kate said,
tapping the pen on the table. “Where all have we seen mirrors? I
realize they were at Harrah’s and the cemetery. Where else?”

“There were a lot of mirrors at both of the
strip clubs,” Lucy said. “In fact, it’s all smoke and mirrors at
those places.”

Kate wrote that down. “We already checked out
all of that. We’ve got to be missing something.”

They sat for a minute. No one had any new
ideas.

“So what does this soaring predator shit have
to do with any of this?” Vivian asked.

“Let’s think about this logically,” Kate
said. “Eagles, falcons, hawks. What else?”

“I don’t know, I’m not National Geographic,”
Vivian said. “Let’s Google it.”

Lucy pulled out her phone and searched.
“There are vultures and dragons.”

“Dragons aren’t real,” Wendy said.

“Well nobody said the crap that lady was
talking about had to be real!” Lucy said.

Kate wrote it all down.

“Should we tell Antonio about the gypsy
lady?” Vivian asked.

“He’d probably think we’re crazy for even
listening to what she had to say,” Wendy said. “I mean, even I’m
kinda thinking that.”

Kate pointed back to the napkin. “What flying
predators surround a ship?”

“Eagles are in Alaska,” Vivian said. “And
don’t they nest by the ocean?”

“I think dragons are officially out,” Lucy
said.

“I get attacked by those annoying seagulls
when I’m at the beach,” Vivian said.

“Don’t feed them and you won’t get attacked,”
Wendy noted.

“This is going nowhere,” Kate said.

“Let’s check all of our pictures during the
trip,” Vivian said, pulling out her phone. “Scan through and look
for any with mirrors. Or birds.”

Everyone pulled out phones and cameras and
started searching. They couldn’t help but giggle now and then and
show the picture.

“I love this one,” Wendy said of the fake
vomit picture of Vivian. “Classic.”

“Ohhh, look.” Lucy turned her phone to show a
picture she had taken of Jason and Daisy that first night on
Bourbon. “You can tell they’re in love.”

That sobered them up as they continued to
flip through pictures.

Kate quit flipping. “I forgot about this
one.”

“Which one?” Vivian asked.

“It’s you talking to Angels, or Angel.” Kate
showed the picture of the winged dancer diving into Vivian’s boob
for money.

Vivian grabbed the phone and enlarged the
picture. “Holy shit, I have a double chin! Look at that!”

Lucy took the phone and examined it. “You’re
all hunched over and have your face buried into your chest as she’s
diving in. Of course you have a double chin.”

Wendy looked. “Kate Moss would have a double
chin in that pose. Chillax.”

Vivian looked at it again and felt under her
chin. Satisfied, she moved the picture around and noticed GQ in the
background. “There’s that dickwad, stuck-up guy who ignored
me.”

Kate took her phone back and zoomed in. “Oh
my god, this is it.”

K
ate
showed the girls the picture on her phone as they lingered over an
early lunch at Acme Oyster House. “I knew this guy was trouble.
Look at his tie tack.”

Vivian squinted. “Is that a ship?”

“Yes, that’s a ship,” Kate said, pointing to
the middle of the pin. “And the bird completely surrounds it. See,
its head is at the bottom and its wings go up and around the
sides.”

“Holy shit, you’re right, I see it,” Vivian
said. They showed Lucy and Wendy, who agreed.

“What could he have to do with this?” Wendy
asked. “I don’t see how he could have taken her. He was still at
the table when we went backstage.”

Vivian leaned her head back and thought for a
minute. “He had those other guys with him, though. We thought they
were bodyguards. Maybe they’re something else.”

“We saw him at Hotél Versailles,” Lucy said.
“We’re close by, let’s go see if he’s still there.”

Wendy asked for the check, then turned to
Vivian. “You should text Antonio.”

“Uh, I don’t think so. If looks could kill
we’d be sprawled out on the Delacroix Highway.”

Kate put her phone away. “Let’s go ask the
doorman, maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll be the same guy from the
other day. He’ll remember us.”

They paid and walked the few blocks to Hotél
Versailles. The same doorman was on duty. They waited for him to
help a woman into a cab before approaching him.

Vivian put on her best smile and lifted her
head up so there was, for sure, no double chin. “Hey there. We’re
looking for a little information about one of the guests who’s
staying here. At least we think he is.”

The doorman, Gary, held his hands up and
started to walk past them. “I can’t give you any info on our
guests.”

Lucy grabbed his sleeve. “We think one of
your guests has kidnapped a friend of ours and we need to know if
he’s still here. If he’s still in town.”

Gary narrowed his eyes. “If he’s kidnapped
somebody, then why are you here and not the police?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Kate said and
started with Daisy disappearing and ending with the gypsy’s
message.

Kate was interrupted a few times as Gary
opened the door for guests and hailed a cab for one couple.

“We know this sounds crazy,” Wendy said, “but
we promise we’re not making it up.”

“Here,” Kate said and showed him the picture
of Vivian, the stripper and GQ. “Zoom in on him to see the tie
tack.”

Gary zoomed, but on the stripper. He grinned.
“I’m kidding.” He then moved the picture to GQ. He handed the phone
back to Kate and his demeanor turned professional. “I’m sorry,
ma’am, but I’d be risking my job if I told you anything.”

Vivian’s
heart sank.
He’s gotta help us!
“Gary, we don’t know what this girl is going
through. Is he abusing her? Raping her? Worse?”

Wendy chimed in. “And can you imagine the
torture her fiancé and family are experiencing, wondering where she
is and if she’s okay? I worried non-stop about my boxer, Luke, when
he went missing a few years ago.”

Gary sighed and looked around. He hesitated
before saying, “This better not get me fired, but Mr. Surendran’s
not here right now.”

“Thank you, Gary,” Vivian said and gave him a
side squeeze. “You don’t happen to know his first name, do
you?”

Gary laughed. “It’s Sonofabitch, or something
to that effect.”

The girls walked across the street to a
restaurant with tables on the sidewalk. They grabbed one and sat
down.

“I think we’ve gotta call Antonio now,” Wendy
said. “He already thinks we’re nuts. A little more loony info can’t
hurt. And now we know GQ’s name!”

Vivian agreed and placed the call. He picked
up right away. “We think we know who kidnapped Daisy. He’s staying
at Hotél Versailles and his last name is Surendran.”

“And you think this why?”

Vivian told him about the gypsy’s message and
discovery of the tie tack in Kate’s picture.

“So because a street swindler gives you a
so-called clue and you see a bird on a guy’s tie clip, you think
he’s a kidnapper.”

“It’s not just that. Our friend Kate has
these premonitions in her dreams. They never make sense at first,
but she totally called this one. She said there would be a soaring
predator, and look! The tie tack has an eagle or falcon or
something.”

Antonio didn’t respond.

“Can we at least send you the picture of the
guy?”

He was silent for a minute, then she heard
him take a deep breath. “Fine, send me the picture.” He clicked
off.

Kate sent it immediately.

“Now what do we do?” Wendy asked. “Just sit
here and watch the tourists go by?”

“If I don’t hear from Antonio in 10 minutes,
we’ll move on to plan B,” Vivian said.

“What’s plan B?” Lucy asked.

“I dunno, but we’ve got 10 minutes to come up
with it.”

Eight minutes later, Vivian’s phone chimed.
She read the message to the girls. “Diplomat from Kuwait. Immunity.
Must have substantial evidence.”

“What the hell?” Wendy said. “Diplomatic
immunity? Does that mean he can just go snatch women and get away
with it?”

Vivian’s phone buzzed. Another text from
Antonio.

Where are you??????

Kate pulled out her phone. “I don’t know what
all diplomatic immunity entails, so let’s look it up.” She scanned
the internet for a few minutes, then said, “Says it’s not a
get-out-of-jail-free card and most crimes involving diplomatic
immunity are petty, traffic tickets, shoplifting, etc.”

“What’s it say about more serious crimes?”
Vivian asked.

Kate scrolled down the webpage. “It can be
revoked, though it’s tough and circumstances must be very
serious.”

“Kidnapping is serious!” Wendy smacked her
hand on the table. “Let’s get Antonio some proof that Sonofabitch
has Daisy, and he can get that shit revoked!”

“I’m totally with you,” Vivian said, “but
how?”

“I have an idea,” Lucy said with a little
mischief in her eye. She turned and looked at Kate. “But it’s kinda
risky.”

T
he
doorman at Hotél Versailles, Gary, introduced Lea to Kate. “Lea’s
our new housekeeping supervisor and a very good friend. I’ve told
her the situation and she’ll help you find what you’re looking for,
inspector.”

“Thank you,” Kate said and smiled at Lea.

“
Yes,
follow me and we’ll make a quick stop in housekeeping so you can
review items there. Then we’ll move to the
12
^th
floor.”

“Perfect.”

Kate
glanced back at Wendy, who was still across the street. As she
walked inside and into the lobby, she saw Lucy sitting on the
couch, holding a newspaper. She looked into the
Gallerie
de Glaces
and briefly made
eye contact with Vivian, who sat at the bar and twirled a curl on
her finger. Nervous habit.

Lea used her badge to buzz the security door
that led to an employees-only area of the first floor. They walked
past noisy kitchens, an engineering office, a security station and
banquet area before coming to a large laundry room with several
industrial-sized washers and dryers.

“Mmmmm, smells good back here,” Kate said.
“Thanks for helping us with this. I know you’re putting your job in
jeopardy.”

“This is a really great job, but there will
be others,” Lea replied. “I just keep thinking, what if it were me?
I’d want someone on the hotel staff to help.” They approached the
long row of shelves with lost and found items. She looked through
the odds and ends and pulled out a briefcase. “This should work.”
She yanked off the identification tag. “What else do you need?”

Kate felt her iPhone in her pocket. “A
clipboard and paper, pen, tape measure, bobby pins, ponytail
holder, a stepstool, and perhaps, that?” she asked, pointing to a
black suit jacket.

“Sure.” Lea pulled it off the hanger and held
it up to her. “It’s going to be big, but it’ll work well
enough.”

As Kate used bobby pins to hold her hair in a
bun, Lea clicked around on the computer. “Looks like Mr. Surendran
hasn’t received any housekeeping services in the last four days
other than requesting extra towels.”

“That time frame coincides with when Daisy
was taken.” Kate slid on the jacket and adjusted her sleeves. “How
do I look?”

“Like no inspector I’ve ever seen.” They both
snickered.

***

Vivian
sat at the bar in the
Gallerie de Glaces
. A trifold mirror was across from her and
she could see Lucy in the lobby, fanning herself with the
Times-Picayune
. Vivian
hopped up and went over to her. “I’m going crazy in there, worrying
about Kate. We shouldn’t have sent her up.”

Lucy quit fanning. “She’s smart and she’s
with Lea. They can bullshit their way through this.”

Lucy’s confidence didn’t help Vivian feel any
better. She looked at Gary, who looked away, and she could see
Wendy at her post across the street. She scanned every car, every
face that went by. Sonofabitch wasn’t getting past her.

Lucy flipped through the paper. “I can’t
believe there’s no mention of Simone being found yesterday.”

“They probably didn’t find out about it until
past deadline,” Vivian said. “I’m going back to my spot.”

“I only have great ideas. This is gonna work.
Don’t worry.”

***

A do-not-disturb sign hung off the doorknob
to suite 1217, registered under Mr. Sonu Bhavesh Surendran.

That does sound like Sonofabitch
, Kate thought.

Lea knocked. “Housekeeping.” The door wasn’t
answered right away, so she rapped again.

A stocky Middle Eastern man in a suit
answered.

Lea flashed her badge and said, “Sorry for
disturbing you. This is Inspector Kate Jameson with City Code
Compliance. There was a fire here last month and she needs to
verify we have corrected all issues. We need to come in.”

The man studied Lea and then glanced at Kate,
unimpressed.

Kate stood on her tippy toes, trying to look
into the room. “The fire started in this very room, and I’m here to
ensure that the hotel is in full compliance with the fire code.”
She flashed her library card.