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first names appearing under each picture. When he clicked on one of the thumbnails, the escort's page would then open on the right- the photo enlarged for easier and better viewing.
    Pierce scrolled down the panel, looking at the names. There were nearly forty different escorts, but none was named Lilly. He closed it out and went to the brunettes section next. Halfway through the thumbnails he came to an escort with the name Tiger Lilly under her picture. He clicked on the photo and her page appeared on the right. He checked the phone number- it wasn't the same as his.
    He closed the page and went back to the thumbnails panel. Further down he came to another escort named simply Lilly. He clicked her page open and checked the number. It was a match. He had found the Lilly whose phone number he now had.
    The photo on the ad was of a woman in her mid-twenties. She had dark shoulder-length hair and brown eyes, a deep tan. She was kneeling on a bed with brass railings and was naked beneath a black fishnet negligee. The curves of her breasts were clearly visible. The tan lines of her crotch were seen also. Her eyes looked directly into the camera. Her full lips formed what Pierce thought was meant to be an inviting pout.
    If the photo had not been altered and if it was really Lilly, then she was beautiful. Just as Frank Behmer had said. Pure fantasy, an escort dream. Pierce understood why his phone had been ringing constantly since he had plugged it in. The wealth of competition on this website and all the others on the net didn't matter. A man scrolling through the photos- shopping for a woman, as it Were-would be hard-pressed to go past this one without picking UP the phone.
    ?Q
    There was a blue ribbon posted below the photo. Pierce moved the cursor to it and a pop-up caption said "photo verified by staff," meaning the model in the photo was actually the woman who had placed the ad. In other words, you got what you saw if you arranged to meet the escort. Supposedly.
    "Photo verifier," Pierce said. "That's not a bad job." His eyes moved to the ad copy below the photo and he scrolled down as he read it.
    Special Desires
    Hello, Gentlemen. My name is Lilly and I'm the most soothing, pleasing and down-to-earth escort on the whole Westside. I'm 23 you, 34-25-34 (all natural), 5-1 and 105 Lbs. and don't smoke. I'm part Spanish and part Italian and all American! So if you're looking for the time of your life, then give me a call and come visit me at my safe and secure townhouse near the beach. I never rush and satisfaction is guaranteed! All special desires considered. And if you want to double your pleasure, visit my girlfriend Robin's page in the Blonde Escorts section. We work together as a team -on you or ourselves! I love my work and love to work. So call me!
    In call only. VIPs only.
    Below the ad was the phone number now assigned to Pierce's apartment, as well as a cell phone number.
    Pierce picked up the phone and called the cell number. He got her voice mail.
    "Hi, it's Lilly. Leave your name and number and I'll call you right back. I don't return calls to pay phones. And if you're in a hotel, remember to leave your full name or they won't put my call through. Thanks. I hope to see you real soon. Bye-bye."
    Pierce had made the call before he was sure of what he wanted to say. The beep sounded and he started talking.
    "Uh, yes, Lilly, my name is Henry. I sort of have a problem because I have your old phone number. What I mean is, the phone company gave it to me- it's in my apartment and ... I don't
    know ... I'd like to talk to you about it."
    He blurted out the number and hung up.
    "Shit!"
    He knew he had sounded like an idiot. He wasn't even sure why he was calling her. If she had given up the number, there was nothing she could do about it now to help him except get it off the website. And that thought raised the primary question: Why was the number still on her site?
    He looked at her photo on the screen again. He studied