Page 32 of The Killer’s Mark

Ryzcek picked it up. Studied it. Nodded. ‘That’s me.’

‘We’re looking for the woman.’

‘Who is she to you?’ he asked carefully.

Poe said nothing.

Ryzcek gave him a look. ‘Don’t tell me, a distant relative of hers has died and she’s set to inherit a fortune.’

‘Nothing like that.’

‘Then what?’ he said sharply.

Poe took a risk. He hadn’t intended to mention Esmerée. He thought the fewer people who knew about her the better. But for some reason he liked Ryzcek. He’d made a mess of his life, but it kind of wasn’t his fault. He’d been suckered into an industry that considered him a disposable asset. If he didn’t turn up on set one day, no one would go looking for him. They’d just move on to the next idiot who couldn’t see two years into the future.

‘I’ve been hired by a young girl, Mr Ryzcek. She wants me to find her mother. We believe the woman you filmed this scene with is her mother.’

‘Seriously? This isn’t just some messed-up psychological manipulation because of what I told you about my daughter?’

‘I can get her on the phone if you want,’ Poe said. ‘Although I have to warn you, I don’t think she likes you very much.’

‘She doesn’t, Poe,’ Bradshaw said. ‘She described Mr Ryzcek as a “senile lardass”. Do you remember?’

‘I do, Tilly.’ He caught Ryzcek’s eye. ‘Tilly says the things others won’t.’ He paused a beat. ‘I’m sure that has value.’

Ryzcek patted his stomach. ‘I am carrying a bit of timber,’ he said. ‘And if I was having sex with her mother, perhaps it’s better if I don’t speak to her.’

‘Tell me what you know, Mr Ryzcek,’ Poe said. ‘When you saw that picture, you weren’t surprised. It was almost as if you’d been expecting someone to come looking.’

Ryzcek held his eye. Didn’t look away. Didn’t blink. Eventually he said, ‘I’ve been expecting someone for a long time, Mr Poe.’

Chapter 24

Poe shared a glance with Bradshaw. She shrugged. He said, ‘Why do you say that, Mr Ryzcek?’

Ryzcek stared into his coffee. Seemed to be figuring out how to explain it.

‘I’ve been doing this for the best part of thirty years,’ he said. ‘And during that time, I’ve performed with over a thousand women. They fall into a surprisingly small number of categories. The rarest beast is the nymphomaniac. The woman who does it because she loves sex, and she loves the exhibitionist aspect of it. Loves that men will be watching her over and over again. Fantasising about her. The most common group is the women who are skint, or more likely, have a boyfriend or husband who’s skint. They might do one scene, they might do three or four, but they aren’t looking for a career.’

‘Is it worth it, financially?’

‘No,’ Ryzcek said. ‘They’re exploited. Unless you’re a megastar – and there are only a handful of them and they’re mostly in the States – all the girls are exploited.’

‘And the other types?’

‘There are the businesswomen. The ones in charge of their own destiny. They build up a decent online following, then offer a subscription service. Exclusive content, that type of thing. That’s a side-hustle for most of them, though. Little more than a calling card. What they’re really after is punters.’

‘They’re prostitutes?’

‘If that’s the only word you know for men and women working in the sex industry. Some of these girls – and I use that term loosely, as some are in their sixties – charge one, two, even three grand a visit.’

It made sense, Poe thought. Get their customers all hot under the collar and then tell them they can have a drop of the real thing, but only if they pay through the nose … ‘Any more types?’ he asked.

Ryzcek nodded. ‘The ones who aren’t in charge of their own destiny. They come in looking like whipped hounds and they’re never on their own. They always have a minder. The minder completes the consent and health forms. The woman signs it so it’s legal, but she never reads it. Just signs where the guy points. And it’s the guy who gets the money, not her.’

Poe nodded. Flynn had said that women were trafficked into the country to make pornographic films.

‘Tell me about the woman I’m looking for,’ he said. ‘Why have you been expecting someone?’