Las Vegas, 2010
Heidi Labeidi, the controversial proprietor of The Love Parlor, a popular gentleman's club on the outskirts of Las Vegas, was reported missing yesterday morning at five o'clock.
Miss Labeidi's bar manager, Stan Graves, returned from a two-week European holiday and discovered disgruntled staff members and inner company chaos. According to Graves, Miss Labeidi had been acting ‘somewhat peculiar’ in recent months, spending less time at The Love Parlor and relying on her staff to make deposits and handle customer relations.
Graves became concerned after he discovered Miss Labeidi had not visited the gentleman's club in over a week. Mr. Graves stopped by Miss Labeidi's luxurious loft in Las Vegas, let himself in, collected over a week's worth of mail and discovered her cat near death.
According to Graves, Miss Labeidi has few enemies but has been noted for her exorbitant spending habits. She's a suspected drug user and frequents the casinos whenever she isn't working. Graves said recent mysterious behavior concerned several of the women working for The Love Parlor. Employees contributed Miss Labeidi's recent mood swings to menopause, stating Miss Labeidi's change of life experiences were often intolerable.
Based on findings at Miss Labeidi's home, police are treating this as a missing persons case and remain optimistic. Those with information on Miss Labeidi's last known whereabouts are asked to contact the authorities as soon as possible.
Heidi eyed the open newspaper spread across her antique dining room table. Oh what she'd give to get her hands on Stan Graves! Stan not only arranged her disappearance, but he'd taken over her club, her home and even had the audacity to place Rocks, her beloved Persian cat, at the foot of her bed while he romanced one hopeful starlet after another.
To add insult to serious injury, ‘those girls’ who'd reportedly mentioned her mood swings—which she'd never had—were now laid up in her king-sized bed fucking the man she'd once loved.
Heidi plotted her revenge. Retribution tasted bitter until a woman had the chance to dish up a hearty serving for the man most deserving of a provoked woman's retaliation. Heidi would carefully plan a counterblow and when Stan least expected avengement, she'd propel some fundamental disgrace his way and watch the light dim from Stan's smug face!
No one—not even Stan Graves—had the power to destroy what she'd worked years to build. If Stan wanted to see a real change of life, he didn't have to go to all this trouble. Heidi would've gladly knocked Stan back down to nothing where he belonged.
Heidi narrowed her gaze on the article again. The audacity of those Las Vegas Tribune reporters! How could they do this and get by with it? To think the last thing anyone in Las Vegas would remember about her was that she was going through the change of life. Bah!
She'd let them see a new woman. Yes indeed, she'd show them what happened to those who messed with Heidi Labeidi. She'd show them all right, just as soon as she figured out how to let folks know she was still among the living.
That presented a slight problem. Technically, she was now considered a ghost and death wasn't easy to overcome.