Part 15 (2/2)
”Bri...” Tim looked at Steven. ”Oh, ha, ha, ha! Know what I just said? I think I got that wrong, you know? He actually said you were the best girlfriend he ever had. Yep, I think so.” Tim wiped sweat from his forehead.
”Yeah, I'm sure.” Brianna grinned.
”Tim, can I get some help here or what? The place is packed.” A female bartender pa.s.sed truckloads of drinks to groups of men.
”In a minute. Got a special customer.”
”Hey Steve, good to see you!” The female bartender winked. Brianna looked at him. Steven once again avoided her gaze.
Steven cleared his throat. ”Uh, Tim, we're investigating the rape of Cheyenne Wilson. We wanted to ask some quick questions.”
”It's a d.a.m.n shame.” He sighed. ”Cheyenne's probably the sweetest thing to walk in here. She never said a bad word about anyone. The customers go crazy over her routine even though she doesn't strip. She keeps her act clean and is just here to pay off some college loans or something. Says she's heading for New York City as soon as she gets the cash.”
Brianna looked at Steven. ”Well, uh, were you working yesterday?” she asked.
Tim nodded. ”But I worked only about an hour yesterday evening because I had a doctor's appointment. I was probably gone around seven. Cheyenne hadn't even come in then. She usually comes in at eight and dances for about an hour, so she's usually done by nine.”
”s.h.i.+t. So you weren't here to see if she may have caught the eye of the Albany Predator, huh?” Steven sighed.
”So it is the same guy? Why the h.e.l.l can't you catch him?”
”Well, it takes time, Tim.” Brianna smiled.
”All I know is that Cheyenne didn't deserve to be beaten and raped like that. She's a good girl, even if she is working in a place like this. But who can judge her, you know? s.h.i.+t, she's probably the only person I know who's already got a roundtrip ticket to Heaven.” Brianna and Steven exchanged glances. ”I wish I'd been here to see if this guy had been in the bar.”
”Well, was anyone here that may have been here last night?”
”Uh...” Tim pointed to an extremely thin waitress scrubbing a back table. She did her best to ignore the catcalls coming from the customers.
”Juney.” Steven nodded.
”So you know her?” Brianna scoffed. They walked toward her. ”Steven, for someone who doesn't come here often, you sure have a fan club.”
He walled his eyes. ”Okay, so I come here sometimes. Are you happy now?”
”No, I'm not happy to know my ex-boyfriend spent a bulk of his time at t.i.tty bars. Especially when he was with me. But since this is business I'll let you off the hook, for now.” She smiled. ”Excuse me?” She tapped Juney's shoulder. The skinny brunette nearly toppled over.
”Yes?” She looked at the handsome man beside Brianna. ”Detective Kemp! It's always good to see you.”
Brianna shook her head. ”I'm Detective Brianna Morris, Juney. We need to ask you some questions. It has to do with the Cheyenne Wilson case.”
”Uh...” Juney laid the rag on the table. She gestured for them to follow her. She led them to the restroom area. ”How is Cheyenne? I tried to call the hospital but no one would say anything.”
”Well, that's standard procedure during a police investigation.” Steven nodded. ”The hospital has been notified by us not to give information, unless it's family. She's recovering, though we don't know how long it will take. She was supposed to be released this evening. I'm sure you can visit her at home, but I'd give her some time. She's been to h.e.l.l and back.”
”Jesus. Cheyenne is probably the sweetest person you'd ever wanna meet. I was always telling her she's too good for this s.h.i.+thole. I truly admire her.”
”Why?” Brianna glared.
”Because she has dreams and she goes after them. If I could do that, you think I'd be wiping up beer in this joint every night?”
”So you're close friends?” Steven took out a notepad and pencil.
”Well, we don't hang out too much after work, but we're pretty cool. She stays to herself. She talks to me, and she used to be friends with Sheila who was another dancer here. She doesn't work here anymore.”
”Oh, got a better gig, huh?” Steven smiled.
”I wouldn't say that. She died last year. She had kidney failure. Cheyenne was pretty torn up about it. They were very close.”
Brianna sighed. ”Well, uh, we don't want to take up much of your time. We believe the man who attacked her was the Albany Predator. We hear a lot of regulars come in here. Did you get someone in here last night that may not have been here before?”
Steven interrupted. ”Or even a regular who seems kind of strange?”
Juney grinned. ”All the men who come in here seem strange. But I didn't notice anyone.”
”Juney, did you pay any attention to Cheyenne last night?” Brianna asked.
”Well, she finished her set and she talked to some guy at the bar. Other than that, nothing seemed different.”
”Well, what did he look like?”
”The guy at the bar?” She grinned. ”You tell me, Steven. You saw him, too.”
”Excuse me?” Steven chuckled. ”Where did you get that from? How would I have seen who she talked to?”
”Oh wait...” She batted. ”Guess that could have been around the time you left. You left around ten, I believe.”
Brianna gaped.
”Juney, what in the h.e.l.l are you talking about? I wasn't here last night.”
”Steven, yes, you were.” She laughed. ”I didn't work your table, but I saw you.” She pointed to the table in front. ”You sat right there. The next thing I knew you were gone.”
”Steven, what is she talking about?”
He sighed. ”I haven't a d.a.m.n idea, Bree. Juney, I was not here last night. You got me mixed up with someone else.”
”With those baby blues?” She pointed to his eyes. ”No chance. Why, were you on duty or something and you didn't want someone to know you were here?”
”I wasn't here last night.” He sighed. ”What the f.u.c.k is going on here?”
”Juney, are you sure, or do you just think you saw Steven?”
<script>