Working vice was a universe away from writing parking citations. A few nights later I checked into the city's best hotel, wallet full of cash, wearing a suit worth a month's pay. Even my tie tack was top-of-the-line.
The department was covering the expense through a credit card account set up under my undercover alias. Not bad, spending other people's money. It was all necessary, of course. To bait the trap, I had to appear to be a successful executive with an out-of-town firm. I couldn't do that wearing jeans and staying in a flop motel.
My suite was not the penthouse, but it might as well have been compared to what I was used to. For half an hour I admired the gold bathroom fixtures, the view of city lights reflected in the river, the broad expanse of thick carpeting. This was my kind of luxury.
But I had a job to do. I pulled out a brochure from my briefcase. The item gleamed--the best paper had been used, and the logo was handsomely etched in gold leaf. Pinnacle Escort Services was well-named. It served the cream of society, specializing in the international traveller. Theirs was not a phone number available in the Yellow Pages.
Wiping the sweat from my hands, I managed to get my fingers to press the numbers. A cheerful, feminine voice answered on the second ring.
"My name is, uh, Robert," I began. Thankfully, my voice steadied as I gave my fake surname and the name of the actual Pinnacle client who had supposedly referred me.
The receptionist seemed to think my jumpiness normal. I relaxed as she patiently explained their policies in a smooth, welcoming tone.
"I would like to stress that what you're paying for is the young lady's time," she stated. "What you do during that interval is up to the two of you. Perhaps dinner, perhaps the opera, whatever." She gave no hint that the "whatever" included sex; we both understood what was being transacted here. Pinnacle played the game well--charging for specific "services" was solicitation and could lead to an arrest.
)
Bobby just been transferred to the vice squad, and has a chance to advance his career as a cop if he succeeds in catching the employees of a certain escort service providing more service than mere companionship. The question is, who's the bad guy here?
