Stalked

"You're kidding."

"No way. We don't want people having an attack of the guilts and suing us, and we don't want loose lips spreading this around all over the city. Members sign similar documents, too, when they join. Plus a code of conduct."

"Good luck litigating those contracts."

Sonia smiled. "Well, I don't think we'd take anyone to court, but signing the docs makes people realize how serious we are about confidentiality and responsible behavior."

Stride tried not to laugh at the irony. "Even so, everyone who's there on a given night knows who the alpha girl is."

"Not necessarily. We don't give people a name if the alpha girl is an outsider. They'd have to know her or recognize her from outside the club."

"Or follow her."

"I suppose so."

"Do you keep records of members and who attends individual parties?"

Sonia nodded. "Absolutely. I keep that on our home computer upstairs. We don't want any legal hassles over the club, so we're fanatical about records, contracts, nondisclosure agreements, background checks, etcetera. We keep all that stuff. No one has ever challenged us, but we're ready if they do."

"How secure is your computer? Do you have a wireless network?"

"Are you kidding? Not a chance."

"How about an Internet connection?"

"Well, yes, but it's totally secure. I had Byte Patrol install the most sophisticated firewall available. It's about as hacker-proof as you can get. Believe me, no one got the information out of our computer."

"That leaves the members," Stride said.

Sonia frowned. "I told you, we vet them."

"I'm going to need names."

"Oh, shit, there's got to be another way."

"No, we have to interview them all."

"Look, you said two alpha girls were assaulted," Sonia argued. "We don't have the same members at every party. Different people come, depending on their schedules. I can get you the names of men who were at both parties with those women, and that should narrow it down."

Stride nodded. "I'll start there, but give me the whole list. All the members, and all the participants at every party. Include the alpha girls, too. I'll need to talk to all of them, because I need to find out if anyone else was assaulted." When Sonia hesitated, he added, "I'm not kidding. I'll go to court, and I'll splash this all over the papers if I have to."

Sonia got out of the chair. "It'll take me a few minutes," she said in a pinched voice.

"I've got time."

Ten minutes later, Sonia came back with a sheaf of papers in her hand.

"This is everything. Look, I'm begging you, be discreet. Delmar will kill me if this gets out."

"No promises, Sonia."

He found the lists for the two parties where Maggie and Katrina were alpha girls, and it took him only a few seconds to compare the names to see who had been at both events. Other than Sonia's husband, Delmar, there were only four men who were present both times.

Three names he didn't know.

The fourth was Tanjy's ex-boyfriend. Mitchell Brandt.

32

Serena didn't have the same feeling of being watched as she climbed the steps of the courthouse. She hoped that destroying the GPS device had given her a temporary escape from the blackmailer's prying eyes.

The photograph he had given her was now in a large manila envelope addressed to Dan Erickson, marked personal and confidential. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing by keeping Jonny in the dark, but she didn't see any alternatives. She couldn't destroy Dan's life if he was guilty of nothing more than kinky sex practices. The trouble was that Tanjy was dead. A photo like this would vault Dan to the top of the suspect list, if only because he would do anything to keep it hidden. Even so, Dan was a client. He was paying her. Until she knew something different, she couldn't expose him.

In Dan's office, Serena handed the envelope to the receptionist and told her to take it inside. A minute later, she came back and told Serena to go in. Serena closed the office door behind her and clicked the lock in place. Dan was standing behind his mahogany desk, with the photograph in his hand. His other fist was clenched. He took the envelope and photo to a crosscut shredder on the wall and fed them in. The machine whirred as it diced the evidence. He checked the bin to make sure the papers had been cut into confetti, then whirled around on Serena.

"Where the fuck did you get that? What are you trying to do to me?"

Serena held up her hands. "Blackmail is an ugly business. I told you it was going to get worse."

"He gave this to you?"

She nodded.

"How did he get it?"

"You'd know that better than me."

"This is a fucking disaster. You realize that, don't you? A disaster. What does he want?"

"One hundred thousand dollars."

"Son of a bitch." He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Are the two of you in this together? Are you gaming me?"

Serena came closer and slapped his hand away. "Don't insult me. You're lucky I didn't turn this over to Jonny instead of coming here. And I'm going to tell Jonny all about it unless you can convince me right now that you had nothing to do with Tanjy's murder."

"That's crazy."

"Then tell me about you and Tanjy. Is the photo legit? Is that you and her together?"

Dan shoved his hand back roughly through his blond hair. "Yeah."

"Did you rape her?"

"Hell, no. Rape was her fantasy, remember? This was just a game. We went down there in the middle of the night, and we took pictures."

"Do I have to tell you how incredibly stupid that was?"

His cheeks were tomato-red with fury. "No, I knew the risks, but Tanjy was worth it."

Serena didn't need details. "How did you and she hook up?"

"I met her in the dress shop. We had chemistry."

"Did Lauren know?"

Dan snorted. "No one knew."

"Well, someone did. You could have destroyed your career. You still might."

"That's why I broke it off. I ended it months ago."

"Despite the great sex?"

Dan went to a cabinet and opened the bottom door, revealing a small refrigerator. He extracted a bottle of Bombay gin from the freezer, filled a lowball glass with ice, and took a long drink. He extended the bottle to Serena, and she shook her head. "The whole fake rape thing was a nightmare," he said. "I couldn't afford to keep the affair going, not after all her rape fantasies came to light in the press."

"Weren't you afraid she'd go public about your affair after you dumped her?"

"Yeah, but she didn't have much credibility left. No one would have believed her."

"Except she obviously had pictures."

Dan shook his head. "I went to her place. I had a key. I deleted all the pictures from her digital camera and from the hard drive."

"Shit, Dan, do you know how easy it is to recover deleted files?"

"Not for Tanjy. She was beautiful, but she was hopeless about technology. She had to have someone show her how to do everything. Believe me, she couldn't have found those files again."

"Someone did."

Dan gestured angrily, and gin slopped over the side of the crystal. "No one knew the pictures were there! She and I were the only ones who knew about that night in the park."

Serena shook her head. "Wrong."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Tanjy really was raped. It happened in Grassy Point Park, just like in that photograph. Do you think that's a coincidence?"

"Oh, bullshit," Dan insisted. "The rape story was a lie. Tanjy made it up."

"Jonny already knows about two other victims. We think Eric was helping Tanjy find out who assaulted her. That's what got both of them killed."

"The rape was a fantasy," Dan insisted.

"Did Tanjy tell you that?"

He hesitated. "No. She always swore it really happened."