Read Polly Iyer - Diana Racine 03 - Backlash for Free Online Page B

Captain Craven and a couple of the commanders drop in occasionally with a few of the brass.”
    Miss Kitty leaned close to Lucier. “About every cop in New Orleans has passed through these doors.”
    “Did Chenault ever come in with another cop?”
    “Not that I remember, but you have to understand, I don’t follow the goings-on of my customers.”
    Emile snorted.
    Miss Kitty shot Emile a dirty look. “I don’t. The cops all talk when they get together. I overhear sometimes, but that’s all. I didn’t see Chenault super friendly with any of them. Saw him exchange words with Commander Lightner one time.”
    “Angry words?” Lucier asked.
    “No,” Miss Kitty said. “Secretive words. The commander kept looking around to see who was watching, like he didn’t want anyone to see them together.”
    “But nothing buddy-buddy with Moran?” Lucier asked.
    “Chenault admired his playing,” Emile said. “I never got the feeling there was anything personal.”
    “Me either,” Miss Kitty said. “Maybe they went out for drinks together after Keys got off. No crime there.”
    “What about the woman someone said Keys hung around with? Supposedly, she works here.”
    “That’d be Maisie,” Kitty said. “She’s one of the straight ones. She and Keys were just friends.”
    “Is she here?”
    “Not tonight. She’ll be at his funeral. We all will. I’m closing down the club until the party we’re having for him after.”
    “I’ll try to catch her there.”
    “Can’t miss her,” Emile said. “She’s white and blonde. Tinier than Miss Diana.”
    Diana listened while she snarfed down the plate of Cajun shrimp. “Did Keys have a locker here, someplace he stashed his things or changed clothes?”
    Lucier smiled, added a wink.
    “This is a small place. We have one tiny room in back,” Emile said. “Everyone uses it.”
    Lucier sipped his drink. “Mind if we take a look?”
    Miss Kitty and Emile exchanged glances.
    “Maybe you should get a warrant,” Emile said.
    Lucier nodded. “I can do that, and I’ll make sure we come during club hours.”
    Emile shook his head. “You wouldn’t.”
    “We have other employees,” Miss Kitty said. “I don’t want anyone to get in trouble if you find something you shouldn’t.”
    Diana saw Lucier go into thinking mode. She loved his methodical ways.
    “I’m only interested in Moran,” Lucier said. “You search. I’ll watch. How’s that?”
    Again, the two owners looked at each other.
    “What are we looking for?” Emile said.
    “We’ll know when we find it.”
    “Come on,” Miss Kitty said.
    Diana popped one more shrimp into her mouth before she followed Lucier.
    “See if you get any vibes,” Lucier whispered to Diana as they entered the small room at the back of the club.
    “Oh, like that won’t be obvious.”
    They spent fifteen minutes while Miss Kitty and Emile searched every corner of the room. All they found were changes of clothes and one cupboard where the ladies’ purses held nothing but some money and cosmetics. The only thing they found of Moran’s was a hat he sometimes wore during his performances. Nothing tucked into the hatband or inside the lining. The hat held no secrets Diana could detect. She roamed the room, touching the clothes and the pocketbooks, even got close enough to touch Emile, who spun around, frowned, and moved away.
    An image flashed across Diana’s eyes. So that’s what he’s hiding. Guilt was a strange emotion. One that allowed her to see a person’s secrets. She avoided looking at him, and when everyone was satisfied there was nothing, they returned to the Kabaret.
    “We’d better be going,” Lucier said. “Thanks for being accommodating.”
    “Would you have gotten a warrant, Lieutenant?” Miss Kitty asked. “Barged in with a forensic team during business hours?”
    Hesitating for a brief moment, Lucier shrugged. “Probably not. From what I know about Moran, he was too smart to stash something in a room