Synopsis:
Tonight, the girls have gone downtown to try their luck. Jim followed them into the hotel and watched as they picked up their first customers of the night. Meanwhile, someone was standing behind Jim.
Chapter 12: The Virgin Stripper
Su Lin stood behind me, a happy, welcoming smile on her face. She looked good. The form fitting red minidress she wore complemented her honey complexion, vivid makeup and black hair. I invited her to sit down and signalled to the waitress.
"I'm glad to see you again," she said. "Are you going to become one of my regulars?"
"I don't know," I said. "I guess it depends."
"On what?"
"On you," I said. "Did you call the studio?"
"Yes, I did," she replied. "I talked to a woman named Carol. I told her what you said, and she invited us to a party. It sounds pretty wild, I don't know. . ."
"Did you ask Stick?"
"Yes. He was sort of bummed. I guess he figured they wanted a cripple around just to make the place look good in case it got raided or something."
"Is there any way I could talk to him?"
She looked at me for a moment. I tried to guess what she was thinking. Then she said, "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Why don't we get a room and give him a call?"
"This must be a slow night?"
"No, it's early." She gestured around the room at the dozen or so solitary drinkers sitting at scattered tables and the four customers sitting at the bar. "These are traveling salesmen on a tight budget," she said. "The party crowd won't come in until around midnight."
"So you've got some time to kill." I said.
She smiled. "I guess you could put it that way."
I shrugged. My ladies were getting screwed; why shouldn't I? Su Lin would be a hell of an improvement over my right fist. "OK," I said, "I'll be right back."
I went out to the desk and checked in. Then I went back to the bar and told Su Lin the room number.
She nodded. "OK, honey, I'll be right up. I want to tell Bob where I'll be in case another regular wants me."
It was obvious that she still didn't trust me. The part about letting Bob the bellman know where she would be true, but it was for her protection, not because of pending business. I wondered briefly if Louise was also in business with Bob. If not, I was sure she soon would be; Bette, too.
I went up to the room, and took off my jacket, tie, and shoes. Then I stretched out on the double bed to wait for Su Lin. As I lay there, I reflected that my two girls were also stretched out on unknown beds in this or similar hotels nearby.
Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. If she had given me more time to brood, I might very well have pulled up stakes and gone home.
I heard a soft tap on the door, and quickly opened it. Su Lin slipped in and closed the door behind her.
"Jim," she began tentatively, "there are just a couple of things . . ."
At least she remembered my name. But she wasn't yet passing out free samples. I took out my wallet, and handed her a $50 bill. "Is that OK?"
She looked unhappy. Clearly it wasn't what she had expected, but she nodded. "Do you still want to call Stick?" she asked.
"Yes"
"OK." She wrote the number down on a piece of hotel stationary.
I dialed the number.
"Hello?" It was a man's voice.
"Hi," I said, hoping my voice exuded confidence and charm. "Is this Stick?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I'm the guy who told Su Lin about the movie deal. She said you weren't too hot on the idea, so I thought I'd give you a call and see if I could answer any questions you might have."
"Is she there?"
I coughed to cover my hesitation. How do you answer a question like that? I wrote on the notepad, `Does he know you're here?' Su Lin shrugged. Suddenly, I had another thought about something I should have asked her earlier. "Excuse me, Stick," I said, deliberately making my voice croak. "Some beer just went down my Sunday throat." I made throat clearing sounds as I scribbled on the pad `Does he know you're pregnant?' She nodded.
I decided to play it safe. "I'm OK, now, Stick. Yeh, she's here."
"Tell her to go in the other room. I don't want her to hear this."
"OK," I said, just a minute. I put my hand over the mouth piece and said to Su Lin, "He wants you to go in the bathroom."
I waited five seconds. "OK, Stick. She's gone."
"OK. Now I don't know you, or anything about you; except that my wife is fucking you. That part doesn't bother me much. What does bother me is that she's carrying our baby with her while she supports us doing the only thing she's really good at.