that one night

It was one of those lazy weekdays. Chyna, Anna, Light were just figuring out their week’s plans when Elly came into the room and asked if anyone would be free to attend to a guest later that evening. Anna and Chyna agreed, but little did Chyna know that this was going to be the beginning of one of her most difficult times while at TGC. Dressed to kill, the two ladies showed up at the dot of 9pm.

The guest was a certain Mr Williams, not someone they were either familiar with. Not all the patrons of TGC were always around or regular. From the moment Chyna saw the man, she felt something was wrong about him. But the professional she was, she didn’t let her feelings show. The two girls did their work marvellously, catering to his whims and fancies, being tipped generously while at work. And about two hours later, while they were about to wrap things up, Mr Williams asked if he could speak with Chyna in private. Her red flag alert was up immediately, but given that she didn’t want to create a scene, she followed him out.

He walked till the end of the street, away from the club’s entrance, and stopped right at the edge of the cliff. And then he turned around and stared at the gorgeous woman.

“Yes, Mr Williams?” She asked the rotund man who looked creepy from the word go. 

“You don’t remember me, do you, Chyna?” Mr Williams asked her, his eyes barely leaving her curves. 

Chyna felt her entire body go cold. It was nippy outside and Chyna was barely covered. “Should I?” she asked nervously.

“Well let’s just say your father won’t be happy to see you here,” he said with a chuckle.

“My father? What the hell do you mean?” Chyna was now seriously worried. She realised who he was. The shady realtor from back home who donated heavily to the church to keep his reputation in order. “Oh come on now, Chyna. You know if I went back and told your father what you were doing here, he would be in so much trouble with the church.”

Chyna clenched her jaws. “You will do no such thing.” Clearly he had no idea that her father already knew but if this horrible man made the news public, her family’s goodwill would be ruined.

Mr Williams inched closer to her, his breath reeked of alcohol. “But we can work around things I suppose…” he ran a finger up her bare arm. “How about we meet in private another day and come to sort of an agreement? It will be a win-win situation.”

Chyna cringed. “Please do not touch me. And no, I cannot come to any agreement with you.” She tried very hard to keep her calm. But this man was scaring her.

Mr Williams suddenly grabbed her by her arm and pulled her closer, “Oh come on Chyna, isn’t that what you do here as well?”

Chyna wanted to scream. But she really needed this to go away. “Let me go!” she muttered under her breath. And then she realised she had to run. Pushing him hard, she just turned around, took off her shoes and ran back to her apartment. Breathing heavily, she was deeply concerned about the consequences. Changing out of her work clothes as fast as she could, she picked up her phone and tried to call Aiden. But his phone was unreachable. “How do I fix this now?!” she just muttered to herself.

A few days later…

Aiden was frustrated. This Williams wasn’t exactly one of the high rollers and this additional headache, right before his trip, was not what he needed. After chatting with the Police Commissioner for a few, he decided to bring the girls in. It’s best to keep things transparent, he reminded himself. As much as possible.

Anna and Chyna were called in and as they sat across from Aiden, both looked nervous.

Aiden: Ladies, this is a problem that won’t go away by itself. So I would really like it if you told me exactly what happened. And don’t leave out any details.

Anna: Well, Elly came to us the other day and said she needed a couple of girls to entertain one of the members. Light was already going to see Suri’s show and the two of us were left. So we volunteered…

Aiden: And then what happened?

Anna: Not much. We did as told, and the man tipped us well. And then…

Anna turned to look at Chyna, a bit confused, “Didn’t he speak with you, Chy? Maybe you know something more?”

Chyna felt her blood turn cold. “Well… it was nothing really, nothing that I could not handle. He made some advances and I turned him down. That was it.”

Aiden was concerned. For some strange reason he felt something didn’t quite fit in here. TGC patrons never made ‘advances’. But then again, if the young detective from earlier was right, Williams did have a questionable character.

He looked at Chyna, his voice low and soft. “Chyna, are you sure that is what happened?”

Chyna nodded. Aiden sighed, and then reminded the girls that the police would be questioning them either way. “Eleanor would be there with you of course. But unfortunately, I won’t be able to come along. But trust her, she’s the best we got.”

With that he stood up and thanked the girls and as they were leaving, Chyna turned around and blocked his path. “May we speak?” she asked him. Aiden nodded and took her to the side and they spoke for a long time. Aiden heard her out patiently but inside his blood was boiling. Too bad the man was already dead or else he’d have taken him out. “Breathe, Chyna. I’ll handle it.”

Chyna felt a little better and left and Aiden picked up his phone and dialled Eleanor. “We have a problem. The girls are going in for questioning tomorrow. We better all be on the same page.”

With that Aiden spoke to their lawyer in great detail, leaving nothing out.

The following morning, Anna and Chyna along with Eleanor showed up at the station. Commissioner Dylan was waiting. He had decided to take up his case personally, given the dead man’s history and the FBI being interested. Anna’s interview ended quickly but Chyna’s took a while. She seemed nervous and stuttered a lot.

Dylan: You do realise this death is suspicious, don’t you, Ms Chyna? We cannot leave any stone unturned. So it would be in your best interest to come clean. Where were you after the show?”

Chyna: I have said this before and will tell you again, I left. The man did try to talk to me. He was drunk and was being obscene with me. I snubbed him off and left!

Chyna was getting worried. She had stuck to her story as told but she was always worried about police officers. Commissioner Dylan leaned forward and looked at the dusky beauty, “So you did talk to him? Is that when you pushed him off the edge?”

Eleanor jumped out of her seat. “That’s enough Commissioner. You cannot be leading her. I think this interview is over for now. Maybe we’ll come back when you have more relevant questions to ask.”

Chyna: I did NOT push him!!

Dylan softened his tone. “Alright alright. You did not push him. But someone did. He did not walk off the edge of the cliff willingly. And since you were one of the two to see him alive last, what are you not telling us?”

Eleanor: It could have been anyone, officer.

Dylan: But it’s not anyone Ms Eleanor. TGC is heavily guarded. People cannot just walk in, or at least that’s what Mr Skarsgard had said earlier. Lord knows what goes on in there but if no one can come in, it has to be an inside job. So, I am asking you again Ms. Chyna, did something happen?”

Chyna took a deep breath and spoke slowly, stealing a glance at Eleanor every now and then. “The man asked me if I would offer him something I could not. He was lewd. I turned him down. Yes, we did argue but I left and had no idea what happened after.”

Dylan nodded slowly and then stood up. “That’s all for now ladies, but Ms. Chyna, I would strongly advise you not to leave town. We are still waiting for the autopsy report.”

Chyna shrugged. “Where would I go?”