Fannie took the call back at her office at Vienna’s, which she had fumigated, painted, and filled with brand-new furniture after those shitbirds J. B. Hood and Wes Taggart vacated the premises. Ole J. B. Hood in a pine box somewhere in Alabama and Taggart now sitting in the county jail, probably with his teeth kicked in by the sheriff. As Ray came on the line, she stood from her glass-top desk and wandered out to the catwalk that looked over the show floor. It was a few hours from opening. Two new hires were vacuuming and scrubbing down the leather chairs of last night’s party fun, men spilling drinks and exploding like champagne corks all over her rugs and finery. Damn, it was hell keeping a class place in north Mississippi.

“Sweet baby.”

“Money is time, Ray,” she said. “What you got for me?”

“Maybe I just wanted to thank you,” Ray said. “Tell you how much fun I had at your last visit. Mimosas. Bloody Marys. Maybe take you for a big T-bone dinner at the Como Steakhouse and get you some New York cheesecake for dinner.”

“I thought you liked cherry pie, Ray.”

“Sometimes it’s so damn hot, I just might burn my tongue.”

“Shush your mouth,” Fannie said, spotting a nasty new stain on the rug leading into the VIP room. She whistled for one of her workers, a Mexican man named Jorge, and pointed to the stain. “I just might blush.”

“Since when?”

“Money,” Fannie said. “Time.”

“You’re gonna have a couple guests check in at the Golden Cherry tonight,” Ray said.

“OK?”

“They won’t be in town long. But perhaps you can arrange for some company to help them while the time away.”

“How important?”

“Why’s that matter?”

“Depends on if you want the damn Junior Varsity or my starters, Ray,” she said. “My talent doesn’t come cheap. Longer I keep those girls off the floor, the less we all make.”

“Whatever they want,” Ray said. “Just make sure they’re girls you can trust. They may have to account for some lost time in the next twenty-four hours. Good to know they were being serviced all throughout the day.”

“Oh, shit,” Fannie said. “What the fuck is going on now?”

“Don’t you worry your pretty red head a bit,” Ray said. “I can’t tell you what’s happening, but you’ll sure like the outcome.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

“And spoil the surprise?” Ray said. “Not a chance, doll.”

EIGHT