Dying For LA by Ian Jones (top fiction books of all time .txt) 📕

shaped stage in the far corner complete with shiny poles and a bar along the back wall. There were booths along the remaining walls and tables dotted around the centre. Next to the stage was an archway with ‘Private Invitations’ written across it.

There were a few guys scattered around, some watching a girl in zebra stripe knickers do her stuff to a pop song John vaguely remembered.

There was nobody at the greeter station, it was still early but a slim middle-aged woman wearing way too much make up hurried over when she saw them entering, another one too long under the sun lamp.

‘Table or booth?’ she asked. ‘No food until seven.’

‘Table’s fine, and I think we’re ok for food,’ replied Reed.

The woman looked up at him in wonder.

‘Jeez, I’d love to take you home! I’d get some peace at last,’ she muttered, and led them over to a table toward the stage.

‘Thanks,’ John said. ‘Can we get a couple of beers, and any chance we can see the manager?’

Her eyes flicked around the room.

‘Maybe. I don’t know that he’s in.’

‘Well, do you think you could look? It is important.’

‘Sure, why not.’

She tottered off on high heels, head held high, still believing she looked twenty-one.

Reed looked all around him.

‘Man, these places are all the same. It doesn’t matter what city, what country you’re in, they’re all identical.’

‘Yeah. How do you want to play this?’ John asked.

‘How about you take the lead, and I’ll chip in when I think it’s needed? I meant what I said, I’m forever in these places.’

‘Ok.’

The woman returned, and placed two cold bottles of Miller in front of them, condensation running down the outside. A man followed her over, older, tall, heavy build, long grey hair in a ponytail. He leaned on a chair back at the other side of the table.

‘What can I do for you fellas?’ he asked.

‘We just need a few minutes. We need to ask you a couple of questions about Deanna,’ John told him.

The man rubbed his head with both hands, and thought for a while, eyeing John and Reed carefully, then sighed and sat down, laying his arms on the table. He had a badge with ‘Manager – Rob Johnson’ pinned to his plaid shirt.

‘What do you want to know? I guess you know what happened to her.’

‘Yeah, we do. And it wasn’t what the press are saying. I can’t go into any details, I’m sorry, but it’s a lot more than a bunch of crazies with machine guns in a subway,’ John replied.

Johnson looked surprised, then leaned forward, cupping his face in his hands.

‘Ok, say I buy that. Why?’

‘We think that she was paid to marry an army major.’

Johnson shook his head.

‘Yeah, I wondered, that wasn’t really Deanna, it made no sense. She wasn’t interested in men, other than the ones paying her.’

‘Yeah, we’ve been told about that. Look, we just need some help. People are dead. Did she mention any money to you?’

Johnson looked off into the distance, clearly weighing everything up in his mind. He sighed again.

‘Actually, yeah. She did. Look, I liked Deanna. She was hard work at times, her own worst enemy, but she was here a long time. I never had no problem with her.’

‘What did she say?’

‘About a month ago she told me her troubles were over. They needed some cash and now they had it.’

‘We know all about Madeline, did you know her well?’

‘Oh yeah, she would often drop in here. I liked her too. She was tough, for sure, but the money was so Maddie could make a home for her daughter. They used to talk about that all the time.’

‘Did Deanna tell you about the wedding?’

Johnson frowned.

‘Yeah, she did. Not much, but she told me about it.’

At last. Someone knew something.

‘What did she say?’

‘She told me that Maddie had been approached at Caesars, a while back. Marry this guy and get paid for it. But Maddie had some problems at Caesars, there were a couple of guys or something, some shit happened I guess and she didn’t want to be around there no more. Whoever was setting this up was always there. Anyway, she took Deanna with her and she said that she would do it.’

‘Caesars? What’s the connection?’ Reed asked.

Johnson shrugged.

‘That’s where Maddie was approached about doing it in the first place. She’s a great looking woman, shit, was, been around a while, and a lot of people know her. But she needed to get away from the hotel, or someone there most likely, I don’t know why. There was some trouble I guess. But it was cool for Deanna, so she took it on.’

‘Any idea how much we’re talking about?’ John asked

Johnson stared back at him.

‘Forty.’

Reed whistled slowly. Johnson nodded.

‘Yeah, it was a lot.’

‘Do you know the guy who put all this together? Did you ever see him, or maybe her?’

‘It was a him, and no I never met him. But it took Deanna longer than she promised. A lot longer. The guy turned up at their apartment. Deanna called me, I said get the cops. I’m not superman, I was worried.’

John and Reed looked at each other. At last things were clicking into place.

‘Any idea why they went to LA?’ Reed asked.

‘No, well, not really. They went a couple of times recently, Maddie had been told about somebody there, who was going to help with her daughter. Some attorney I think. But Deanna didn’t really say much about it.’

Johnson looked at them levelly.

‘Listen, I got no idea who you are, but you ain’t cops. You ain’t carrying neither. So I’m gonna take a chance, I could be really fucking up here. Go see Paul Faber at the MGM.’

‘Who’s he?’

‘Security manager. He’s a good guy, drops in here after work. Real friendly. He knew Maddie pretty good, looked out for her, he might have some idea about who you’re looking for. He’s another one who’s been around a long time, knows everybody. If you’re straight with him, he won’t