Razor Sharp. Fern Michaels
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even called the girls yet. I have to tell you, she made me a little angry.”
“I don’t think they’ll fault you, I would have done the same thing,” Maggie said as she bit into her third cinnamon bun. “The president made you a little angry. So what’s the deal?”
“A scandal of mega proportions involving her brand-new administration. Actually, last night at Judge Leland’s retirement party, I heard some lavatory gossip but wasn’t able to follow through on it at the time. Then when I got home, Cosmo called, and, as luck would have it, he has a client who is tied to the scandal. He suggested that she consult one of the ‘very good lawyers’ he knows in D.C.”
“Cosmo’s in Vegas. How does that tie in to the president calling you in the middle of the night?” Jack asked as he contemplated a second cinnamon bun.
“What? What?” Maggie snarled.
Lizzie grinned. “It seems that our new president has an administration of perverts. It would also seem that a good many of them, like fifty or so, enrolled in the Happy Day Camp for some…unorthodox…uh…activities. It would appear that when Martine won the election, they, the perverts of the current administration, got carried away and had a little camp outing. Then they had another camp outing after Martine took the oath of office.” She waited for a reaction, and when she saw only blank expressions, she said, “A brothel. Happy Day Camp is a brothel in Las Vegas. Actually, it’s a little more than sixty miles from Vegas. As you know, prostitution is legal in Nevada in counties with fewer than 400,000 residents. However, when the madam was contacted to bring her dog-and-pony show to the nation’s capital, she balked, but they, the perverts, convinced her and her girls that there would be no blowback. It appears they were wrong.”
“Oh, shit!” Jack said.
“Wow! You were right, this is big stuff. Do you have names?” Maggie asked as she picked frosting from the remaining cinnamon bun. Jack slapped her hand away from it.
“I don’t, but Cosmo does. The madam is on the run and she gave him her books, financial records, and cell phones for safekeeping. The administration is trying to contain the situation, but the other side of the aisle must have gotten downwind of it somehow, and they’re going to blow it wide-open. I don’t know when, but I have to assume very soon. She’s going to end up being known as not only the first female president but, as Martine said, also she’ll be the laughingstock of the free world. Actually, the whole world.”
Maggie snorted. “They’ll go after the madam, string her up, and the johns will lose face, their jobs, and go on with their lives. Half of them will probably end up as lobbyists or CEOs. That’s how it usually works. Wait a damn minute here. Are you saying the president wants the Vigilantes to…cover for all those guys so they can keep their jobs and not embarrass her administration, meanwhile letting the madam get slammed into jail?”
“Yeah,” Lizzie said.
“Well, damn, I think the girls will take this one on for free. But no way are they going to do what she wants, pardon or not. By ‘books’ do you mean Cosmo has the madam’s little black books?” Maggie asked.
“Yes, and some of those clowns actually used their credit cards. The woman was no dummy, she made sure she got fingerprints of the whole bunch, and she’s matched them up to the payments. The reason she’s on the run is she was tipped off that this was going to go down. She didn’t waste a minute. She sent her girls off to the far corners of the globe, and she’s taken on a new identity. She also told Cosmo that copies of all the materials she gave him were on their way to the ‘intended recipients’—and then she winked at him and gave him the V sign! So Cosmo thinks she might mean the Vigilantes! How she would know where to find the girls I have no clue. However, there is every possibility she knows Rena Gold. You remember Rena, who helped us with that little caper at the World Bank and then again in Vegas when things went sour there last year? After all, it is Vegas. Anything goes in Vegas, we all know that.”
“What is the objective?” Jack asked in a jittery-sounding voice.
“What, Jack, are you so dense you can’t figure it out?” Maggie asked as she drained the last of her coffee. “The madam wants the johns to be punished. It’s as obvious as the nose on your face. She’s the one who, in the end, will hang by her toenails. She’ll be rotting in jail, and the politicians will be dining at the Jockey Club. Eventually they will all weasel their way back into some political arena. Think back to the D.C. Madam. She ended up dead, and you know there were some who said she did not take her own life. Did even one thing happen to her clients? I think not. Every single one of them is going on with his life, and she’s dead. D-E-A-D, Jack.”
“Cosmo said his client made mention of that, and those on her side of the fence said they do not believe she took her own life. But right now the D.C. Madam is not our problem. So, Jack, to answer your question, Cosmo’s client wants the johns to be brought up on charges, and she wants jail time for them. Or, she wants them…taken care of. She has no intention of going to jail herself. She provided a service, the johns paid. That’s her bottom line.”
“And as women you agree?” Jack asked tightly.
“Well, yeah,” Maggie drawled. “Guys who think they’re above the law need to get brought down a peg or two. If justice was doled out equally, I’m sure the madam, whoever she is, would take her punishment like any woman would. Favoritism will not work in a case like this.”
“And you don’t think losing a job, maybe his family, and his reputation is enough punishment for the john?”
Maggie got up, reached for the last cinnamon bun, and smashed it in Jack’s face. “Does that answer your question?” she snarled.
“You’re vicious,” Jack snarled in return as he licked at the frosting smeared across his lips. He then dunked his head under the kitchen faucet and dried off with a length of paper towels. “All I did was ask a question.”
“Yeah, well, it was the wrong question,” Maggie snarled a second time.
Maggie turned to Lizzie, and said, “I’m on it. When can you get me the names in the black books?”
“Hold on here, ladies. Isn’t that violating the attorney-client privilege?”
Lizzie smiled. Jack cringed. “She gave it up, Jack. We have permission to run with this. Cosmo said she’s one tough lady, and she ‘is not going to roll over and play dead for a bunch of dick-dead men.’ Those are her words, in writing. She okayed, in writing, for Cosmo to do whatever he had to do.”
“Okay, okay,” Jack mumbled. “What’s the plan? Just so you know, if the girls jump on this, I’m not budging without a plan. I know I’m speaking for Harry when I say we need a plan.”
Lizzie and Maggie both nodded. “I think a meeting is called for,” Lizzie said. “I have plans to fly to Vegas this weekend. If you all want to arrange a meeting on the mountain, I can attend via webcam. If there’s any way I can arrange for a meeting with our new client, I want to jump on it. The only problem with that is that we have no way to contact her. Cosmo said she’s gone to ground and will call in from time to time. I’m thinking she’s already out of the country since Cosmo said her money is offshore. That’s where she’ll head. Always follow the money. You know that’s the first rule. Maggie?”
“Hey, I’m on it. The minute you get me those names, we’ll start raising some hell. This city will tremble. I can see the headlines now!”
“Guess my work here is done, then,” Lizzie said. “You’ll bring Harry up-to-date, Jack?” Not bothering to wait for a response, she moved on to Maggie. “Stay in touch, and I’ll call the mountain and clue everyone in. Still no word on Charles, I guess?”
Both Maggie and Jack shook their heads.
All three left Jack’s house, and waited while Jack locked his door. Maggie headed toward her house, where her car was parked. Jack said his was parked on the next block and started to jog toward it before Lizzie could offer him a ride.