The in Death Collection Books 11-15 - J. D. Robb [26]
“Hinky-dink,” Eve repeated, slightly dazed by the tumble of words and information. “I appreciate you telling me all that.”
“Oh, I want to help.” Nancie leaned forward, leading with her eyes. “Rue said if any of us knew anything, we should contact you. Lieutenant Eve Dallas. And that we should answer all your questions and do whatever we could, because, well, it’s the right thing and you’re married to Roarke. He owns Purgatory.”
“I heard that somewhere.”
“Oh gee, I’d answer the questions even if you weren’t married to Roarke. I mean, it’s my civic duty and all, and Taj was a really nice guy. He respected your privacy, you know? Even in a classy club, some of the staff can take peeks when they’re not supposed to. But you could walk right in front of Taj naked as a jay, and he never looked. I mean he looked because you were right there, but he never looked. He had a wife and kids, and was a real family man.”
How did you shut this one off? Eve wondered. “Miss Gaynor—”
“Oh, you can call me Nancie.”
“Fine, Nancie, you were working last night. Was a dancer named Mitzie also on?”
“Sure. We work pretty much the same schedule. Mitzie left kind of early last night. She was blue, you know, because that asshole—excuse my French—of a boyfriend dumped her for some sky waitress. She kept breaking down and crying in the dressing room because like, well, he was the love of her life and all and was going to marry her and buy a house in Queens. I think, or maybe it was Brooklyn, and then—”
“Miss Gaynor.”
“I guess that doesn’t matter, huh?” she said with a cheery smile. “Anyway, Rue took her home. Rue’s really good at taking care of us dancers. She used to be one. Maybe I should call Mitzie and see how she’s doing.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.” A tangle of information it might have been, Eve thought, but it corroborated Rue MacLean’s alibi. “Why don’t you tell me about the last time you saw Taj.”
“Okay.” Nancie sat back, wiggled her butt into the cushions, and folded her hands, tidy as a schoolgirl, in her lap. “I had two shows that night, plus the two group dances, and three private performances, so I was kind of busy. On my first break, I saw Taj eating a chicken sandwich. I said, ‘Hey, Taj, that looks good enough to eat.’ You know, like a joke, because you make a sandwich to eat it.”
“Ha,” Eve managed.
“So he laughed a little and said that it was, and that his wife had made it for him. I got a soda pop, a Cherry Fizz, and said how I’d see him later because I had to go change costumes.”
“Did you talk about anything else?”
“No, just his chicken sandwich. Then I went back to change, and the dressing room was a real zoo. One of the girls, that’s Dottie, couldn’t find her red wig, and like I told you, Mitzie—”
“Yes, we covered Mitzie.”
“Uh-huh. One of the other girls, I think it was Charmaine, was telling Mitzie how she should say good riddance, which only made Mitzie cry harder, so Wilhimena, who used to be a guy but opted for the sex change, told her to shut up. Charmaine, I mean, not Mitzie. And everybody was running around because we had a group dance coming up. So we did that, the group dance, then I had a private. I saw Taj working the bar, and I waved.”
Her ears were going to start ringing in a minute. Eve was sure of it. “Was he talking to anyone in particular?”
“Not that I noticed. He had a way of working the bar so everybody had their drink and didn’t get all huffy. So I did the private for this businessman from Toledo. He said it was his birthday, but sometimes they say stuff like that so you’ll do extra, but Rue doesn’t want any of the dancers doing extra unless they’re licensed. He gave me a hundred tip anyway, then I had a turn in the spinner, that’s the level that revolves. I don’t really remember seeing Taj again till closing because we were pretty packed. I wanted another Cherry Fizz,