SPIRIT OF CONSEQUENCE (A Spirit Walking Mystery Book 1) (6 page)

Dodge took out his badge and showed it to the man. “I’m Inspector Benson.”

The man nodded. “Who would you like to speak with?”

Dodge held up the business card. “Miss Mona Person.”

The younger man grinned and glanced at the older gentleman. “She’s really busy right now getting ready for the party.”

“I love parties!” I said excitedly.

Dodge didn’t even glance my way. “I’ll make it as quick as I can.”

The older gentleman opened a small panel next to the door and pulled out a phone. He turned away from us and spoke into the phone. Then he nodded his head, hung up the phone, and faced us. “Miss Mona will see you.” He nodded toward the younger man and said, “Jordan will show you to her office.”

Jordan stepped forward and smiled. “My pleasure.”

“Jordan,” the older man said sternly.

“I know, don’t ogle the ladies. Deliver Inspector Benson to Miss Mona and get back down here.”

Jordan opened the door and held it for Dodge. Dodge hesitated for a moment and I stepped through first. He followed and then Jordan. We walked into a deep mahogany floored lobby area furnished in overstuffed leather couches and high-back chairs. Two chairs were occupied by elegantly dressed women, one in a slinky long green dress and the other in a similarly slinky long teal dress. As Jordan walked, he kept glancing back at the two women. Both of them waved to him. He winked at them and then took us to a man dressed in a similar black, red and gold uniform. He sat behind a large mahogany desk the same color as the flooring. At a quick glance, you might not even see it as it seemed to blend into the flooring. I guess it made the desk more discreet. 

“Inspector Benson is here to speak to Miss Mona,” Jordan told the gentleman.

“Thank you, Jordan. Miss Mona called down and asked me to tell you to escort him to the Green Room.”

“No problem.” Jordan stepped around the man at the desk and indicated for Dodge to follow him. “We’ll take the last elevator to the fourth floor.”

Dodge nodded and followed Jordan. I glanced back at the two young women who had been joined by an older man dressed in a black suit. Was he the first customer of the afternoon? I stopped and listened to the exchange between them. They were making small talk, discussing the weather and a current reality program. I hated those programs. They were all about people living vicariously through people on television. If you wanted to live life, you had to go after it yourself. That had been my motto when I was alive and it was the same now that I was dead.

Dodge coughed. He stood in the elevator with Jordan and the door was closing. He raised his eyebrows at me.

“I’m coming,” I told him and slid through the elevator doors after they closed.

When the doors opened on the fourth floor, we were greeted by another man in uniform. This place had more security than the police station.

“This is Inspector Benson. He’s here to see Miss Mona.”

The man nodded. “She’s waiting in the Green Room.”

Jordan turned left down the hall and stopped in front of a green door. Guess that’s where the room got its name.

Jordan tapped on the door and then opened it. We walked in behind him. Two large floral couches decorated the room, with a fireplace on one wall and an entertainment unit on the other. A beautiful woman sat on one couch. She had long brown hair, high cheekbones, and a body with curves in all the right places.

She stood as we entered the room and extended her hand. “Good afternoon, Inspector.”

Dodge walked across the room and shook her hand. “Thank you for seeing me.”

She motioned to the couch. “Let’s sit,” then to Jordan she said, “If you’ll wait outside, Jordan, you can accompany him down when we’re finished.”

“Yes ma’am.” He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The woman turned to Dodge. “Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”

“No, thank you,” he said as he sat down on the couch opposite Miss Mona. He glanced at me and then turned his attention back to her.

I walked over and slid into Miss Mona. I hadn’t been totally honest with Dodge. When I’m inside of another person, I can certainly tell when their body changes but it’s more than that. I can feel what they are feeling – anger, apprehension, sadness, elation, and even fear.

Miss Mona was none of these. Her pulse and body temperature were as calm as her tone when she talked, “What can I do for you, Inspector?”

“I’m looking into the death of Mandy Winters.”

Miss Mona’s body tightened, but then relaxed immediately. “She was such a wonderful girl.”

“How long had she been working for you?” Dodge asked.

“A little over a year.”

“And before that? Do you know where she came from?”

“Let me see.” Miss Mona got up, opened a small cabinet door and pulled out a phone. “Georgia, can you please bring me Mandy’s employment file? I might need the cross reference file, too. Thank you.” She returned the phone, closed the cabinet, came back and sat down. “My assistant will bring the files.”

“Thanks. Can you give me your own impression of Mandy?”

“Of course. She was a lovely girl. Worked hard and never complained.” This was the truth, so I didn’t signal Dodge in any way.

“Were there ever any problems with her?”

“No, of course not.” Miss Mona’s pulse skipped a few times. This was definitely a lie. I gave Dodge a thumbs-down.

He leaned back on the couch. “That’s not what I heard.”

Miss Mona was silent. Her stomach did flips – a good indicator that she felt apprehensive and unsure of Dodge’s intentions.

I slid out and said to Dodge, “She isn’t sure whether she can trust you or not.”

Dodge didn’t even look at me. He leaned forward and put his hand on Miss Mona’s arm. “It’s okay. Tell me what happened.”

I slid back in. Miss Mona sighed. “Okay, we did have a couple of problems with Mandy. Although, not actually with her but with a few of her clients.”

“Did they hassle her?”

Miss Mona nodded, slowly. “Yes. In the beginning Mandy was strictly a companion and not an escort.”

“No sex.”

“Correct. I insist that all of my girls spend the first six months being companions, taking etiquette and other classes, reading newspapers, and learning about the world. It gives me an opportunity to see how they interact with the clients and how moldable they are.”

“That makes good business sense.”

She nodded.

“What happened with Mandy?”

“Twice the men she spent time with tried to take it to the next level. She knew the rules. No sex without prior authorization from me. When she refused the men, they got physical with her.”

Dodge leaned forward. “I’m going to need their names and more details about the incidents.”

Miss Mona’s pulse accelerated immediately. There was a tap at the door. Miss Mona called out, “Come in.”

A tall woman, almost six feet, dressed in a dark blue tailored business suit walked in and handed Miss Mona a file. Her black hair was tightly pulled back in a rubber band, accentuating the tight lines around her mouth that appeared as soon as she saw Dodge. “Here are the two files you wanted.”

“Thanks, Georgia.” Miss Mona pointed to the couch. “Can you stay?”

“Of course,” Georgia said and sat down next to Miss Mona. Her tone was cool and clipped.

Then Dodge extended his hand to Georgia. “Inspector Benson, SFPD.”

She shook his hand. “Georgia Rion, attorney at law.”

Dodge tilted his head from Miss Mona over to Georgia. We hadn’t worked out this signal, but he must want me to jump ship. I slid out of Miss Mona and into Georgia.

He glanced at Miss Mona. “She’s your attorney?”

“Yes,” Miss Mona answered, and then turned to Georgia. “He would like the names of the two men who got physical with Mandy.”

Georgia shook her head and frowned, her pulse as steady as her tone. “Not without a warrant, Inspector. We can’t reveal our client list. It’s protected under the statutes that were instituted when prostitution was legalized.”

“But this was before Mandy was an escort,” Dodge suggested. “She was a companion and there’s no protection for anyone who sees her.”

Miss Mona’s eyes widened and she looked at Georgia. “That can’t be true?”

“Technically, yes,” Georgia said, with a cool glance at Dodge but her pulse rate accelerated. She was clearly pissed off at him. “But no one has ever enforced it before.”

“Look,” Dodge said. “I’m looking into two women’s deaths. Both were brutally murdered.”

“Two?” Miss Mona asked.

“Yes.”

Miss Mona looked at Georgia. “Another escort was killed?”

“No,” Georgia replied crisply, shook her head and her body relaxed, “it was just a street prostitute.”

Dodge stood and his tone elevated. “Street girl or not, she didn’t deserve to be killed any more than one of your escorts.”

Georgia’s entire body tightened and her face flushed hot with anger. She didn’t like him, not one little bit. She started to speak, but Miss Mona put her hand on her arm. “He’s right, Georgia. Another woman’s been killed and we need to give him whatever information we can.”

Georgia turned to Miss Mona, her pulse skipping a few beats. “Make him get a warrant, Miss Mona. If we give in this time, the police will think they can come in and get whatever information they want, whenever they want.”

Miss Mona looked from Georgia to Dodge, who was still standing. She motioned for Dodge to sit down. “Georgia, would you leave the two of us alone?”

Georgia’s nostrils flared and her body tensed, again. “Miss Mona, this is not a good idea.”

“It’s okay, Georgia.” Miss Mona glanced toward the door. “If I need you, I’ll call.”

Georgia stood and glared at Dodge. Her inner temperature rose with her anger. It was like standing in a sauna. She clenched her fists. If looks could kill, he might get his wish and be six-feet under.

As she exited the room, I slipped out. “What a bitch!” I said and strolled across the room. “And she hates you, too.”

The edges of Dodge’s mouth turned up slightly and then he turned back to Miss Mona. “I appreciate any help you can give me.”

As I slid back into Miss Mona, she opened the file and thumbed through it. She pulled out several pieces of paper and handed them to Dodge. “This is Mandy’s employment application and the reports from her two disputes.”

Dodge glanced at the folder in Miss Mona’s hands. “And the rest?”

“Get a warrant, Inspector, and you can have the rest.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Can you tell me about Mandy’s last day?”

Miss Mona opened the file. “Sure, but no names.”

“Any information will be better than what I’ve got now.”

“She had two clients that day.”

“Slow day?” Dodge grinned.

Miss Mona frowned. “I don’t work my girls like horses, Inspector. Two is the maximum number of clients anyone can have in one day.”

I slid my head out. “You’re upsetting her, Dodge. Don’t be an ass.”

“Sorry,” Dodge said to me.

Miss Mona reached over and patted him on the leg, reacting to his words. “It’s okay, Inspector.”

“What time did she see her clients?”

“She had one appointment at noon. They went to lunch and then spent some time together.”

“And the other?”

“Four o’clock for dinner, a play, and for the rest of the night.”

I glanced at the file. Mandy’s first client had been a man named, Matt Brewson, and the second, Ruiz Juarez. I didn’t recognize either one. Then Miss Mona looked at a piece of paper in a second file on her lap. Across from Ruiz Juarez’s name was another name I certainly did recognize. The next interview would be much more interesting.

Dodge leaned forward. “Can’t you tell me that person’s name?”

Miss Mona’s pulse elevated, but I didn’t sense that she was lying, just not willing to give Dodge any information. “I’m afraid not, Inspector,” she told him.

“The ME puts her death around two in the morning. Would she have still been with that second man?”

“It’s possible. When someone has an escort for the night, it’s up to them when they leave. I’m afraid, without a warrant, I can’t share that person’s name with you.”

“If I get a warrant, I’ll go through all of your files, not just Mandy’s. Is that what you want?”

Miss Mona’s pulse settled down. She’d made up her mind not to say anything and that was that. “No, but I still can’t tell you the gentleman’s name.”

“Even if he’s a killer?”

I slid out of Miss Mona. “She means it, she’s telling the truth, and stop badgering the woman, Dodge.”

Dodge scowled at me, “But --”

I smiled and strolled toward the door. “Besides, I recognized the name.”

As I went though the door, I accidentally passed directly into Jordan, who was talking to one of the ladies I saw earlier downstairs. Now, his emotions were very easy to read. Accelerated pulse rate, short shallow breaths, and a warmth that spread all over his body – it was better than lobster and the best champagne. Normally, I wouldn’t have deliberately gone into anyone who felt this way, but I closed my eyes and reveled in his senses.