“No,” Alaina said, her voice tight.

“Then Mud’s guys must have broken in when they came to look for them,” Neely Kate said.

Alaina continued into the bedroom. The bed was unmade, and the whole room smelled musty. Drawers were partially open, and clothing hung over the sides. A pile of clothes filled the open closet.

“This is Nikko’s room.”

“This is hopeless,” Neely Kate whispered in my ear. “How can we tell if they looked for anything, let alone found it?”

I had to admit she was probably right. “Did Nikko have places where he hid things? Like if he didn’t want anyone to find them?”

“No,” Alaina said. “He didn’t have anything worth hiding.”

“Well, thanks,” Neely Kate said, disappointment heavy in her words. She headed down the hall with Alaina, but I looked around the room, trying to figure out where Nikko might have hidden something.

On closer inspection, I realized the top mattress had been shifted. Nikko might be a slob, but I couldn’t imagine anyone willingly sleeping on a crooked mattress.

I took two steps and stopped.

Mud’s men had been searching this space for something other than Nikko.

I wasn’t sure how skinny he was, but there was no way he could hide under the mattress or even under the bed for that matter. The box springs were on a frame that was barely six inches off the floor.

“Neely Kate!”

She was back in the doorway in seconds. “Did you find something?”

“I don’t know.” I showed her the mattress and told her my theory. “This confirms they were looking for something.”

“I think you’re right,” she said. “But what on earth were they looking for?”

Alaina had followed Neely Kate and stood behind her.

“Alaina,” I said. “What did Nikko do for Crocker?”

She shook her head, her eyes getting hard. “He never worked for that looney tune. My brother’s smarter than that.”

“Okay,” I drawled. “What did he do for Crocker’s men? I know his car parts ring was pretty well done by the summer.” Which meant all that was left were some drugs and fencing stolen goods.

She grimaced, and I could tell she didn’t want to tell me.

“I’m not gonna judge him,” I said in a soft voice. “I know two people who worked for Crocker—a guy I work with and my ex-boyfriend. And I don’t hold it against them. They both got out. Just like Nikko.”

Neely Kate shot me a look of surprise, but didn’t correct me. Technically Bruce Wayne and I did work together. And Joe had worked for Crocker. He just happened to be undercover for the state police at the time.

“Nikko told me they had expanded their drug business into meth. Nikko helped deliver it.” An angry look filled her eyes. “But he wasn’t a dealer, so don’t you be thinking that.”

I held up my hands. “I don’t doubt you.”

Tears filled her eyes. “He’s really done it this time, hasn’t he?”

I gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t know.” I paused. “You said Nikko and the sheriff’s department didn’t get along. Did they know about his association with Crocker? Or was it something else?”

She started to cringe, then stopped herself. “Nikko’s always liked to stir up a little trouble. But nothing really bad,” she insisted. “Just some cow-tipping and TPing the high school principal’s front yard. Mischief.”

Neely Kate shifted her weight. “What about Mud?” she said. “I mean maybe Nikko really did try to go the straight and narrow and thought his job at Gems was really a bartending job. But what if Mud found out he worked for Crocker’s guys? Maybe he wanted information on how the whole racket was run.”

Alaina shook her head. “That’s crazy.”

I wasn’t so sure Neely Kate was far off from the truth. “Alaina, you said someone besides Mud runs Gems, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t know who.”

According to Skeeter, the person who’d opened the place did it to try and put him out of business. “There’s not enough clientele to support two strip clubs. So why would the owner of Gems open it? Why go to all the trouble?” I asked.

Both women looked at me with blank expressions.

“They came here looking for something. I bet they think Nikko had something from his time with Crocker’s guys, something that might help them take down Skeeter Malcolm. He’s the new king of Fenton County, and he got there by acquiring Crocker’s business. There’s a bunch of people who are unhappy about that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were trying to take him down.”

Neely Kate’s eyes pinned me with a steely gaze. I was gonna catch hell when we left.

Alaina shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know how that helps us.”

“I don’t know yet either, but can you think of any hiding places Nikko might have?”

“No.” She sounded disappointed.

“Well, if you think of something, will you let us know?” Neely Kate asked.

“Sure.”

We looked around for another ten minutes, turning up nothing. Digging through Nikko’s filth made me feel guilty for bothering Mason about leaving his dirty socks on the side of the bed. After the break-in last night, I had the sudden urge to talk to him.

We went outside, and Neely Kate and I walked around, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Not that either one of us had a clue of what to look for. We were woefully out of our league.