was a stunning dancer at the club who
caught his eye immediately. He soon learned after a table dance from
Kicia that she was only 15 years old. The pimp Diggs Reale who, at
that time, owned and ran the Lucifer Club had managed to persuade
Kicia to start stripping at 14. He roped her in via her mother
Acacia, who Javier, the founder of the club, enlisted as a dancer
after he met her by chance on a trip to India in 1954. One year
later, Kicia was born, the offspring of Acacia's marriage to Black
Torpedo Ray, whom she had wed one week after meeting him.

Acacia knew her daughter
looked much older than her age, and she knew the next stop on the
illusory highway to fame and riches offered by Diggs was a life of
turningtricks. In 1971, Kicia's father was in prison, framed by
Diggs and Eli Singer; he and Acacia had divorced in 1958. Alec was
the first man Kicia had danced for that didn't immediately attempt to
score with her. She was fascinated by this 23 year old loner with
pale blue eyes and a swanky moustache and soul patch. At the end of
the evening, Alec bid her a fond farewell and she gave him her phone
number. He said he didn't know how much longer he'd be in Hallmark;
only that he would be back and look her up – and hoped she'd be in
school by then.

Three years later, Duarte
returned to Hallmark for phase two of the Marchessa's three mandates.
He decided impulsively to make it a stealth mission, mainly to get a
job in Hallmark and