Death of an Escort by Nathan Pennington Page B

burst."
    It wasn't winter. So, it couldn't be
freezing. How else did pipes burst? "I don't understand," I
said.
    "Neither do I," she said. "I've got a plumber
on the way, but the water damage is massive. You should be
here."
    In the middle of the road, I did a u-turn and
headed home.
    The water damage there was extensive. After
several hours, the plumber told us that a pipe was defective, and
had merely given way. Then he admonished us never to buy cheaper
pipes made in China. And he shook his head like we were idiots.
    The rest of the day was spent working with
contractors and the insurance company.
    The next day, I called my client Macy.
    "We need to meet," I told her. "We need to
review, and I've got more questions for you." About that
button.
    "Hi Ray," she said. "I'm out of town."
    "Out of town?"
    "Charity work," she said. "We'll have to meet
when I get back. Oh, I have to go."
    She hung up. Charity work?
    Next I called Brass Works Wholesale.
    "Is Mr. Richardson in?"
    "Yes. Who's calling, please?"
    I hung up. I'd go see him in person. The
drive all across down didn't take long. The time was about ten in
the morning (I'd gotten up late), and the rush hour traffic was
gone.
    At Brass Works, I parked in one of the three
visitor spaces at the front of the parking lot. I went in.
    The receptionist looked up and smiled at me.
This one looked different than last time. "Yes?"
    "I need to see Mickey," I said.
    "Do you have an appointment?"
    "This isn't business," I said. "It's
personal, and I'm not taking no for an answer."
    I walked by her into the office. The last
thing I saw on her face was confusion and indecision.
    I pushed Mickey's door open and walked
in.
    He looked up. "You, again?"
    "It's me," I said. "We really need to
talk."
    "I have a business to run," he said.
    "No, let's talk," I said. "Let's talk about
TrueVoyeurLive.com."
    His face changed. There was fear and anger.
It reminded me of a cornered animal.
    "So, you know about the site?" I asked.
    "You need to leave," he said.
    I sat down. "I visited the site, and I found
out that you have to subscribe to see the good stuff. So I
did."
    "You what?"
    "I subscribed," I said. "The trial, you
know?"
    He stared at me. The fear was growing in his
eyes.
    "And I found out that one of the models on
the site was Kelly Brandt, your fiancée," I said.
    Right now, he looked much paler than when I
entered, I thought. It seemed like the color was draining out of
him.
    "Here's the thing," I said. "I couldn't
verify that the site was yours, but I got pretty good reason to
think that it is."
    "Oh yeah?" He asked. There was a tremor in
his voice.
    "The ownership of the site is marked as
private. But that's only for civilians," I said. "Any domain
registrar can see the real info. Of course, that would assume that
you put in the correct info in the first place. You probably
spoofed it. If you didn't, that would have been stupid on your
part."
    He cleared his throat.
    "Now," I said. "Let's get to the interesting
part. Kelly is a model on the site. She's not identified by name.
None of the models on the site are, but you know that."
    "I really don't know what you're talking
about," he said.
    "I don't believe that, and I'll explain why
in a moment," I said. "But let's stick with Kelly Brandt for a
moment. There is a page that was supposed to go up with a video of
her on Saturday. That's the day she died. The page is there, but
the video isn't."
    He stared blankly, but it wasn't at me. He
was staring off at nothing.
    "I need that video," I said. "Give it to me,
please."
    "There isn't any video, and I don't know what
you are talking about," he said again.
    "Then explain to me how," at this point I
slowed way down emphasizing each word. "Explain to me how you have
multiple fiancées in town. Explain to me how you are dating a
stripper at the same time. And explain to me how they are all
models on this site and have no idea that they are. Explain that to
me."
    "You're crazy," he said