“No.”
“Why not?” They both asked in unison.
“For the same reason I didn’t tell them before. Just like I predicted, Braden and my dad got all protective. If I told them about the first one and my suspicions, Braden would likely have all three of those schmucks investigated. I want to do this low key.”
“Is your dad hiring you a bodyguard?” Jess asked.
“No, but we’re getting a new handy dandy alarm system and Braden and I will be seeing more of each other. Oh, and I almost forgot! He wants Mark to hang out with us next weekend!”
“What are we going to do about the party?” Cam asked.
“We’re going to have to get him onboard. Hopefully, we can convince him to help us and not to tell Braden. It might work out even better since Cole knows your voice too and if Marla were there she would probably recognize you even in a mask. Mark may have to be the one to go in with Jess. I think that you and I should still dress the part, though, just in case we have to get close to help them.”
“Derek will vouch for me and the organizer knows him. Fanny Hill is a fake name by the way. Apparently it’s the name of some classic erotic novel. The woman who organizes the parties prefers to remain anonymous.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Jess said dryly. “Derek won’t say anything about the fact that I’m not really married and he won’t be there so it doesn’t matter if Mark goes in my place. We just have to pay the fee.”
“How much is it?” I asked.
“Three hundred bucks. It would have been more if I’d have wanted to use the house services, if you know what I mean. Supposedly Fanny Hill provides professional company for guests willing to pay extra. I don’t think that’s common knowledge, though, even in the community.”
“Fanny Hill — even if it is the name of an erotic novel that’s still a stupid-sounding pseudonym. She couldn’t come up with anything better than that?” Jess commented.
“What, like the Merry Madame?” I joked. “Don’t worry about the fee, by the way. It’s on me. Don’t say I never gave you anything. What else did you find out about this party?”
“Jess told you that next week is a full costume party?’
“Yeah. If Jess is going to treat Cole like a bad little boy we should get some stern-looking school teacher clothes. Maybe you and Mark can dress up like school boys or something.”
“Great,” Cam said without much enthusiasm.
“What? You would have rather been a pirate?”
“Maybe.” He smiled. “Would you be a wench?”
“It doesn’t matter what we are, actually, since we’re just dressing up in case something goes wrong and we have to try to get in or at least blend in outside this place. I should probably pick out something dominatrix-like too though.”
“Anyway,” he continued, “I set up a special e-mail account and I’ll get the location of the party and a code that morning. That night we’ll show up at nine and they give the doorman the code. They go in and from there it’s just like a cocktail party except that there are rooms where people have sex and do kinky things publicly and there are other rooms where they can do them privately if they prefer. He said that we could expect to see about twenty people there.”
“What if Cole’s with somebody?” Jess asked.
“Then you’ll have to distract her. Maybe Mark…”
“Could solicit a prostitute?” Jess asked.
“They’re not all professionals.”
“Right. Maybe he could just publicly screw an amateur.”
“Okay. Maybe not. We’ll play it by ear.”
“Speaking of prostitutes, what are we doing to get Marla’s sample?” Cam asked.
“Well, if her parents cut her off and she needs money she would probably be just as happy for a chance with you, Cam. You could go to her place and distract her, and Jess and I could sneak in and try to find something with her writing on.”
“Um, Gab?”
“Yes, Jess?”
“When you say, “sneak in” do you just mean trespass or actual breaking and entering? And when you say, “find something,” are you talking more like theft or receiving stolen property? Just asking.”
“Okay, technically, this may sound kind of illegal.”
“Cameron, let me just turn this into a teaching moment. When Gabrielle says something sounds ‘technically kind of illegal,’ that’s the same thing as ‘illegal’.”
“Okay. I have another idea then. Anything that’s thrown away is considered abandoned property. If she puts her trash out on the curb then it’s not on her private property and we’re not trespassing or stealing.”