It was obvious that she’d been coached to be careful when someone else initiated this kind of discussion. Hannah leaned in even closer, trying to seem conspiratorial.
“You know, about the dates.”
Elodie nodded as if this was the first she’d heard of it.
“What are you reconsidering?”
“I think I might be into it,” Hannah said. “I mean, I already see older guys sometimes. If I can get more out of them than just a nice dinner and free drinks, that’s something I might be interested in.”
“What’s your name again?”
“Hannah.”
You’re not a cop, are you, Hannah?” Elodie asked. “You know you have to tell me if I ask you that.”
“I didn’t know that,” Hannah said. “I’m not exactly up on police procedure. But no, I’m not a cop. I’m just a girl who doesn’t have enough cold weather clothes and wouldn’t mind an occasional tanning session.”
Elodie stared at her, trying to gauge whether Hannah could be trusted. Hannah looked back, intentionally projecting a mix of apprehension and excitement, though she felt none of the former and only a bit of the latter. She did her best to keep her disdain hidden. The idea that this silly teenage half-pimp could see into her soul was laughable. If she could, she’d already be running away screaming.
“Here’s the deal,” Elodie finally said, apparently convinced of Hannah’s credibility. “Based on these guys’ tastes, you might be a little old. When do you turn eighteen?”
“Next spring.”
“That’s cutting it close,” Elodie noted. “But something about officially being underage makes a big difference to them, so that works in your favor. Plus, you have a lot of the qualities they like—tall, blonde, pretty, green eyes, athletic figure. A lot of the clients are foreign and don’t see much of that in their countries. I could set up a meeting with my contact and see what he thinks. Interested?”
“I guess,” Hannah said, keeping a bit of trepidation in her tone. “When?”
“How about after school today?” Elodie asked. “He could pick us up in the parking lot and drop us back afterward.”
“Wow, that’s fast.”
“It has to be,” Elodie said. “This isn’t a small operation. There’s a girl like me on half the campuses in the city, mostly the schools with girls who look like you and me. We bring candidates to our contacts, who decide if you’re a good fit. They don’t have time for girls who aren’t sure. There are benefits if you do well—travel, that kind of thing. But you need to show Rico that you’re committed.”
“Rico?”
“That’s my contact. He doesn’t like it when I waste his time so I don’t. I’ve brought him twelve girls since January and he’s taken on nine. That’s a solid record. I don’t want to mess it up. So are you up for this or are you gonna chicken out when it gets real?”
“I don’t chicken out,” Hannah said, flashing her best “I’m in” smile. It seemed to work.
“Good. I’ll meet you in the guest lot after school. Take this stuff,” she said, handing over a plastic bag.
“What’s in here?” Hannah asked.
“Some hair ties, barrettes, and a Catholic school–style miniskirt. After school lets out, put your hair up in pigtails and put the barrettes in. Wear the skirt. You want to sell yourself from the second he sees you. It’s too bad you don’t have braces.”
“Sorry,” Hannah said.
“That’s okay,” Elodie replied, not picking up on the sarcasm. “Just giggle and squirm a lot. Even Rico can be played if you know what he likes.”
Hannah nodded. If there was one thing she was good it, it was playing people.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“So Jensen’s in the clear?” Karen asked in disbelief.
Jessie had just returned to Central Station and was sharing what she’d learned at the estate with Karen and Jamil.
“If Brittany is to be believed, then yes,” Jessie answered. “And I didn’t get the impression that she was making it up.”
“Is this Brittany?” Jamil asked, directing their attention to an image on one of the four monitors on his desk in the research room.
Jessie confirmed that the woman, scantily clad and splayed out on a bed beside Rance Jensen, was her.
“Then that just about seals his alibi,” Jamil said. “This is from Jensen’s Instagram, posted at two fifty-seven a.m. on Sunday morning. I wasn’t sure it was legit until now. But there are three others just like it that suggest he was quite busy at the time of the murder. Shall I show them to you?”