Holliday turned to Jessica and shrugged. “I’m all out. I’m going to have to hit an ATM.”

Jessica rummaged in her bag for her own wallet and pulled out another ten. Johnny Blue nodded and pocketed the cash. He drained the whiskey he’d been drinking before they joined him, then swapped the empty glass for the full one.

A redhead wearing a burgundy fishnet dress and black thong and nothing else appeared with a silver tray balanced on steepled fingers. She scooped up the empty glass and placed it on the tray next to a bottle of champagne and two flutes.

“Everything okay here, Johnny?” she said, eyeing Holliday and Jessica.

Johnny Blue made an O symbol with his thumb and forefinger. “Everything is A-okay, Lola. Will you be a sweetheart and keep an eye on my whiskey while I head out back for a smoke?”

“Sure thing, Johnny.” Lola threw another curious look over her shoulder before heading for another stage-side booth with the Moët.

“Is your name really Johnny Blue?” Jessica asked.

“It’s what everyone calls me, and it’s what I answer to.” He stood up. “Let’s go outside.”

They followed him down a dark corridor, past a men’s restroom, and through an emergency door out into an alleyway. Johnny Blue nudged half a brick against the doorframe with the toe of his loafers, propping the fire door open.

“Damn regulations mean a guy has to come out here every time he wants a smoke these days.” He produced a pack of Camels from his breast pocket and lit a cigarette, without offering one to Holliday or Jessica.

A smaller version of the neon palm tree sign at the front of the premises blinked green and yellow above the back door, giving Johnny Blue’s lined face a sickly, jaundiced appearance.

“So what you wanna know?” he asked.

“Anything at all you can tell us about Eleanor Lavelle from the time she worked here,” Jessica told him.

He snapped his fingers. “Lavelle. That’s it. Let me see that photo again.”

Holliday handed him the photograph, and he held it up to the light from the neon sign.

“Yeah, I liked her a lot,” Johnny Blue said. “She was all natural, both the red hair and the titties, and she had bundles of personality. When she joined you for a drink, you got the feeling she was enjoying herself, rather than just going through the motions like some of the others. I also liked that she used her real name, even though it wasn’t a particularly sexy name. None of this ‘Angel’ or ‘Coco’ nonsense. That, in itself, was sexy as hell.”

“How long did she work at the Tahiti Club?” Jessica asked.