sentiment
either.
“ Trust me,”
he said, indicating that I should sit down again.
I almost choked on those words. I was as
likely to trust Dominic Caldwell as I was a politician’s promises.
Dominic obviously knew where my thought processes were going and I
saw his features tighten.
“ I would
suggest you accept my word in this,” he said grimly.
I sat down because I could tell that I didn’t
really have a choice.
“ Why are you
here?” I asked, pulling my hand back from where he was still
holding it.
He let go grudgingly. “Mr Pollard’s death is
quite inconvenient. We had been discussing a possible business
relationship.”
I couldn’t
help the look of distaste that crossed my face. “You were looking
into owning strip clubs?” I know that Dominic Caldwell was many
things but I hadn’t realized that he was involved in that
industry.
Dominic’s
face matched mine. “Of course not, but that land that the club sits
on is quite valuable. Mr Pollard owed me a considerable amount of
money and he was considering providing me with the land as
compensation.”
“For what?” I asked.
“ For
development. I am an honest businessman and I saw an opportunity to
expand into certain areas of Los Angeles. I have found lately that
this city holds some attraction,” Dominic said to me, his gaze
holding mine.
I swallowed. Dominic Caldwell made me
nervous, very nervous.
“ Why do you
want to talk to me?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“Having Mr Pollard pass away like he did, at
such an important part of the negotiations. I find that concerning.
I am curious as to what happened.”
“Why are you asking me?” I said. “Why don’t
you just go to the police or a private investigator or anyone else
but me.”
Yet again Dominic looked at me as if he was
having to explain things to a child. “I just want to know what you
saw and any thoughts you may have regarding Mr Pollard’s
unfortunate demise.”
I truly had to stop myself from sighing in
exasperation. “I don’t know anything. I was one of the people who
found the body last night. I’ve been working at the club for the
last couple of weeks. During that time I have found Hammy to be a
thoroughly disgusting human being. The fact he was murdered does
not surprise me at all. He was strangled with a whip that was used
in the dominatrix’s act. I have absolutely no idea who did this. If
you are looking for the killer the list could be a mile long.”
“Your boyfriend has no problem with you
working in a strip club?” Dominic asked in what I felt was a
totally unrelated question.
“ It’s not
like I was stripping,” I said tightly, refusing to answer the
question.
Dominic studied me carefully. “He didn’t know
did he?”
“ I am pretty
sure that my personal life is none of your business,” I said. “In
fact, there is no part of my life that is any of your business. If
you have issues with Hammy or if he owed you money then I would
suggest that you sort it out with his estate.”
“ That is the
thing,” said Dominic, as usual completely ignoring the fact that I
very obviously wanted to get away from him. “The wife with the old
will, it seems a little too convenient. It was my understanding
that Mr Pollard had developed a relationship with a young lady
recently and had been planning to change his will to leave her the
club if something unfortunate happened to him.”
“ Really,” I
said and wanted to kick myself. Unfortunately Dominic knew that I
had an insatiable curiosity. Already my mind was racing trying to
work out who the young lady in question could have been. I was
assuming that it was one of the girls from the club but maybe Hammy
had a hobby that I didn’t know about. People sometimes have a habit
of surprising you. For all I knew Hammy could have belonged to a
book club. I was doubting it, but I’d been completely wrong about
people before.
“ I prefer to
ascertain as much as I can about a situation before making my
either.
“ Trust me,”
he said, indicating that I should sit down again.
I almost choked on those words. I was as
likely to trust Dominic Caldwell as I was a politician’s promises.
Dominic obviously knew where my thought processes were going and I
saw his features tighten.
“ I would
suggest you accept my word in this,” he said grimly.
I sat down because I could tell that I didn’t
really have a choice.
“ Why are you
here?” I asked, pulling my hand back from where he was still
holding it.
He let go grudgingly. “Mr Pollard’s death is
quite inconvenient. We had been discussing a possible business
relationship.”
I couldn’t
help the look of distaste that crossed my face. “You were looking
into owning strip clubs?” I know that Dominic Caldwell was many
things but I hadn’t realized that he was involved in that
industry.
Dominic’s
face matched mine. “Of course not, but that land that the club sits
on is quite valuable. Mr Pollard owed me a considerable amount of
money and he was considering providing me with the land as
compensation.”
“For what?” I asked.
“ For
development. I am an honest businessman and I saw an opportunity to
expand into certain areas of Los Angeles. I have found lately that
this city holds some attraction,” Dominic said to me, his gaze
holding mine.
I swallowed. Dominic Caldwell made me
nervous, very nervous.
“ Why do you
want to talk to me?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“Having Mr Pollard pass away like he did, at
such an important part of the negotiations. I find that concerning.
I am curious as to what happened.”
“Why are you asking me?” I said. “Why don’t
you just go to the police or a private investigator or anyone else
but me.”
Yet again Dominic looked at me as if he was
having to explain things to a child. “I just want to know what you
saw and any thoughts you may have regarding Mr Pollard’s
unfortunate demise.”
I truly had to stop myself from sighing in
exasperation. “I don’t know anything. I was one of the people who
found the body last night. I’ve been working at the club for the
last couple of weeks. During that time I have found Hammy to be a
thoroughly disgusting human being. The fact he was murdered does
not surprise me at all. He was strangled with a whip that was used
in the dominatrix’s act. I have absolutely no idea who did this. If
you are looking for the killer the list could be a mile long.”
“Your boyfriend has no problem with you
working in a strip club?” Dominic asked in what I felt was a
totally unrelated question.
“ It’s not
like I was stripping,” I said tightly, refusing to answer the
question.
Dominic studied me carefully. “He didn’t know
did he?”
“ I am pretty
sure that my personal life is none of your business,” I said. “In
fact, there is no part of my life that is any of your business. If
you have issues with Hammy or if he owed you money then I would
suggest that you sort it out with his estate.”
“ That is the
thing,” said Dominic, as usual completely ignoring the fact that I
very obviously wanted to get away from him. “The wife with the old
will, it seems a little too convenient. It was my understanding
that Mr Pollard had developed a relationship with a young lady
recently and had been planning to change his will to leave her the
club if something unfortunate happened to him.”
“ Really,” I
said and wanted to kick myself. Unfortunately Dominic knew that I
had an insatiable curiosity. Already my mind was racing trying to
work out who the young lady in question could have been. I was
assuming that it was one of the girls from the club but maybe Hammy
had a hobby that I didn’t know about. People sometimes have a habit
of surprising you. For all I knew Hammy could have belonged to a
book club. I was doubting it, but I’d been completely wrong about
people before.
“ I prefer to
ascertain as much as I can about a situation before making my
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