Tuesday August 27th – 11:18 A.M. – Brooklyn
West 12th Street – Foxy
Lady Gentlemen’s Club
Kelli found a spot down the
street from the club entrance and parked. Chris and Paul pulled in behind her.
On the sidewalk, they looked the place over. “You sure about this information,
Chris?”
“The guy is reliable. If he
says Rozhkov is here, then he is.”
“Okay, let’s hope he’s right.
Paul, you and I will take the front door. It looks like the main part of this
club is on the second floor, but I’m not sure about the rear exit. Chris, check
the back for any exits.”
“You think he’ll run? I
thought your guy said he wanted out.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just cover
the back anyway,” she said as she turned and headed toward the club.
As they neared the entrance,
Chris stopped and looked at the back of the building. “Looks like three doors
on the ground level, dead end,” he said and turned back toward Kelli and Paul.
“If our guy does run, this is the only way out.”
“Okay, you stay here while
Paul and I see if we can’t flush him out.”
Chris nodded and stepped
through the gate. “I’ll be ready.”
Paul reached the entrance,
pulled the door open and waited for Kelli. “You really think this guy is going
to roll on his boss?”
She looked up at him as she
stepped inside. “We’ll know when we get in here.”
Inside, they were greeted by
a petite brunette behind a small counter. The woman stood as they entered and
smiled. “Hi, welcome to Foxy Lady. If you’re here for our lunch special, we
don’t start serving until twelve.”
Kelli looked up at Paul,
shook her head and turned back to the young woman. “Actually we’re on Police
business,” she said and flashed her badge. “We’re looking for someone and it’s possible
that he could be here.”
The woman looked at them, her
eyes flicking from one to the other. “There’s not going to be any trouble, is
there? We don’t want trouble,” she said and swallowed hard.
“No, there won’t be any
trouble. We’re not here to arrest anyone; we just want to ask this man some
questions.”
The woman slowly nodded, the
color returning to her face. “Well, okay, as long as there’s no trouble,” she
said and waved them in.
Kelli pushed
through the beaded curtain and headed up the flight of stairs. As they topped
the stairs, Kelli stopped and bunched her nose at the smell. Cheap booze and stale perfume. Three men
waving dollar bills sat at the main stage as a well-endowed young blonde in a
G-string spun around a silver pole. Kelli shook her head and continued
searching for Rozhkov. “Do you see him?”
“No, but
this is a big place. Looks like there are more stages on the other side of this
one,” he said as he weaved between tables.
Kelli
nodded and followed him past the main stage and into the rear of the club. As
she came around the main stage, she spotted Rozhkov sitting next to a smaller
stage watching a particularly voluptuous red head gyrate her hips. She walked
up to him and stopped a few feet away. “Nikolay Rozhkov, NYPD, we need to talk
to you,” she said as she stepped up behind him.
Rozhkov
leaned his head back slowly, looked up at Kelli, turned and looked at Paul. “I
am thinking I am not having choice,” he said and stood. He turned and faced
Kelli, towering over her. “What is it you are wanting?”
Kelli
took two quick steps back and looked up at him. “Why don’t we go outside and
talk, it’s a little noisy in here.”
“I am
being comfortable here. If you are wanting to talk, we talk here,” he said and
plopped back into his chair.
Kelli
looked at him, then looked at Paul. “Okay, Rozhkov,” she said and sat next to
him, “we talk here.”
“What is
it you are wanting to know? You are after boss, no? If I am talking to you,
then I am wanting protection.”
“You tell
me what you know about Irina Senkin and then we’ll talk about protection. Do
you know who killed her?”
Rozhkov
lowered his head, closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes, I am knowing. She was such
pretty girl, sweet. It is shame she is killed like that,” he said and looked at
Kelli, tears forming in his eyes. “Before I am saying more, you are giving me
protection from these people.”
“Fine,”
she said and nodded as she turned toward Paul. “Paul, call the lieutenant, see
what we can do about putting Mister Rozhkov up for a few days,” she said and
looked back at Rozhkov. “This had better be worth it, Rozhkov. Come on,” she
said and stood, “time to say goodbye.”
“If I
must, but I am really wanting to stay here,” he said as he pulled a dollar bill
out of his pocket and stuffed it into the G-string of a passing dancer. “Such
pretty girls, they always remind me of Irina.”
“Wait,
did she work here?”
“Da, this is where I am first meeting
her, long time ago. She was new to country and trying to get sister out of
Russia, so a man brought her here and she is put to work. At first she is being
afraid, but then she is meeting me and I am treating her like little sister,
making sure no one is giving her trouble.”
“So you
protected her. Your friend Vasily said you were a good man.”
“Not good enough, I could not keep her from
being killed,” he said and hung his head.
