She sat opposite me. Even seated she was still tall. There was a poise and grace to her every movement.
"So, what can I do for you Miss, Luthi, was it?"
"That's right." Her voice was measured, controlled; a singer's voice. Even in just two words it seemed to dance in the air to my ears, drawing me in like the siren-calls of the legendary angels of Iego. She pursed her lips; those succulent and enticing black lips, before continuing, as if forming the right words in her mind. "I'm being blackmailed."
"I see."
A silence hung in the air for a moment. The gentle hum of airspeeders passing outside and the heavy pattering of rain were an intermittent staccato of static as the wind gusted against the window.
"It's one of the regulars in the club I sing at." She eventually said, after a few heartbeats that seemed to last far longer.
"Regular enough to have a name?"
"Opun Mcgrrrr, but everyone calls him Heater."
"That's an odd thing to call someone."
"I didn't pick it."
A name alone wasn't much to go on. I needed more information, but I knew that pressing her for it wouldn't help. She had to tell me in her own time. I opened the middle drawer of my desk and pulled out a half-drunk bottle of Abrax cognac.
"Drink?" I offered, setting two glasses on the desk.
"No, thank you."
"Suit yourself." I poured myself a glass of the amber liquid, and took a sip. It was sweet, and smooth, and it burned as it went down.
"He's got holos of me and him... together" she said, her voice wavering. "Says he'll make sure everyone in the district sees them."
"Unless?" Interlocking my fingers, I leant forward, resting my elbows on the desk.
"He didn't say."
"I see." I said again.
A blackmailer without demands. Strange but not unheard of. Possibly an inexperienced criminal that played his hand early in an attempt to scare his victim. Looking at the togruta woman, it had clearly worked.
"Please, help me." she continued. "Heater's not a good man."
"Few on Nar Shaddaa are."
She stared at me with her wide brown eyes, pleading. "They say he used to run with Jabba."
"I see." That caught my attention. Since the death of the Hutt crime lord on Tatooine three years ago, the galactic underworld had been plunged in a power struggle to fill the slug-shaped void in a twisted parody of what had happened to the Empire over the same period of time. Whilst Imperial admirals-turned-warlords fought with the self-proclaimed 'New Republic' over the Core Worlds, anyone who had the ambition to stake claim on a slice of Jabba's 'empire' was here on Nar Shaddaa; at the heart of Hutt Space.
"You should take it up with the Hutt families then."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"The Hutt's won't do a thing in New Vertica." she shrugged her delicate shoulders, and the one of the straps of her dress slid down her arm. She didn't fix it.
"I suppose that's true enough." And it was. The district of New Vertica was functionally independent from the rest of Nar Shaddaa, so long as it paid it's dues. The rest of the moon-wide city was presided over by the Hutts, but New Vertica had its own merry band of crooks pulling the strings. This wasn't a case I should take. The Hutt kajidics could be worked with. They had an order to things, it was why I'd set up shop on this stone-mite infested moon in the first place. The other galactic criminals; Black Sun, the Zann Consortium, even the likes of Abdi-Badawzi, they all played by their own rules, and were unpredictable.
I closed my eyes and, against my better judgement, nodded.
"I'll help you Miss Luthri, and get this Heater off your back." I said, taking another sip of cognac. "But my services aren't cheap."
"I understand. How much?" she replied. I saw sorrow in her doe-eyed expression. Maybe, just maybe, a glimmer of something more than that too. I didn't want to extort the poor woman, but I still had to make a living.
"My standard fee; 100 credits a day, plus expenses."
For a less wretched creature I'd happily have charged double. But I felt sorry for her; perhaps I was growing soft. She nodded her acquiescence.
"You should probably stay away from the club and lay low til this is straightened out. Do you have somewhere you can stay?"
"I've got a friend that lives in Ko Hentota district"
"Good. Stay with them for a few days. Send a message to my office comm unit when you're there and I'll get in touch when I have something." A calm relief washed over her face.
"Thank you Mr Maarloch." She punctuated the words with a soft, inviting smile formed by her shining black lips.
"One last thing." I interrupted as she began to stand. "Heater; anything you can tell me about him? Any distinguishing features?"
She hesitated a moment.
"He's middle aged, pale, short..." Her voice trailed off.
"That's rather vague."
"I'm sorry. Humans all look so similar to me." she smirked and shook her head. I smirked back.
"I think that'll be all Miss Luthi. I'll start working on your case right away. Travel safe."
"Thank you" she said again, rising from her seat.
She ran her hands down her lithe body smoothing out the creases in her dress, and it took all my willpower for my eyes not to follow. I breathed slowly as she walked towards the door. The staccato of her boots, clinging tight to her slender legs, as they clacked against the floor echoed down the hall.
Quickly topping up my cognac, I sighed heavily. I should have listened to my gut and turned the case down. It was purely business, I told myself, but deep down I knew better. Smitten wasn't a word I'd use to describe myself often, but now it was fitting enough. I raised the glass to my lips, finishing the drink in one smooth and fiery mouthful. It was time to get to work.
I grabbed the control fob for my airspeeder, and put the cognac bottle back into the desk drawer. A few button presses later and I had keyed for the computer integrated into my desk to give me directions to the Violet Poolia club. It was about a standard hour away to the north, if I took the most direct route, but I had somewhere I needed to stop at first. The cognac burn was still settling in my gut as I walked out my apartment, and headed towards the speederpad.