She Had Her Reasons
What Cindy was about to learn was that some life choices are not interchangeable. While she had once traded her street life for the relative comforts of a massage parlor, she was now reversing course. And it was, to use a stock phrase, a jungle out there. Especially with the Alaska winter staring her straight in the face. The day she left Gentleman’s Retreat, Anchorage had a high of 21 degrees F. Wind speed reached a high of 16 mph. Wind chill? Yeah.
In her own telling, Cindy was traveling light. Notably, she recalls that she didn’t have much clothing. That’s pretty much the “on the lam” uniform. She did, however, have a fur coat. It probably saved her more than once.
In one of our first interviews, I asked Cindy why she left. Not just why she left, but why she left when she did. But this was a case where the cop had a little bit more insight. Sgt. Glenn Flothe had only recently served her with a subpoena, commanding her to testify at trial. To testify, in fact, against Robert C. Hansen. To make matters worse, he also told her that she was scheduled to be interviewed by Hansen’s attorney. Not the words she wanted to hear.
As Cindy said recently, “What’s the best way to get out of doing that?” There was barely a beat before she said, “Disappear.”
Cindy Paulson moves out of Gentleman’s Retreat, doesn’t advise Sergeant Flothe.
It wasn’t like Sgt. Flothe wasn’t already very busy. Trial prep is everything and this case promised to be the biggest of Flothe’s career. Fail and… Well, that was too dreadful to contemplate. Robert Hansen could… Well, who knew what he could do.
All Consuming Prep
Just the week before, Glenn had met with one of Hansen’s previous associates, who thought the man might be responsible for the disappearance of two girls from Seward, in the early 70’s. That same day, Glenn interviewed one of Hansen’s alibi witnesses — trying to locate a handgun Hansen had given him “for safekeeping.” It was a bust. Three family members identified three different weapons. Five days later, Flothe met with Frank Rothschild, the assistant D.A., to review evidence with Hansen’s attorney. Who, by the way, didn’t show up. And then it was on to John Sumrall, another of Hansen’s alibi witnesses.
So, yeah, busy. The last thing he needed was one of his key witnesses gone missing. Maybe is was just a fluke. A case of misinformation. Nope. Flothe’s informant called three days later, reporting that she was unable to locate Cindy. Said she’d been told she didn’t work there anymore. Whereabouts unknown. That meant only one thing: Drop everything else. Find Cindy Paulson, whether she was on the lam or not.
Usually who you’re looking for is there, but you got to talk to fifteen people before you find ’em.
Glenn Flothe, 1985
In Glenn Flothe’s telling, Cindy soon learned that he was looking for her. He finally found her at this dump of a club on Anchorage’s Fourth Avenue Strip. Here’s Glenn’s retelling of the story:
"She came out to find me. She's got a g-string, wearing a very thin top, her boobs are hanging out. Her legs were skinny, her skin was all white, she's got bruises all up and down her legs, her shins, her arms. She was shaking. Her hair was just a mess. She looked like death warmed over... She looked terrible. Terrible! She looked worse than when I first met her. She was going downhill fast...
The pressure was getting to her. She was having a hard time... So I asked, 'the pimp knows we're coming by to scoop you up?' Because I'd come by once a week to see her... But the pressure was, the pimp was worried that she was dumping on him."
SGT. GLENN FLOTHE INTERVIEW W/ LELAND E. HALE, NOVEMBER 1984
Cindy Sees It Differently
As far as Cindy was concerned, the pimp who ran Gentleman’s Retreat was unconcerned about her situation. He gave her a wide-berth, as it were.
Yeah, but he wasn't worried because I was never really around him. You know, he let me do whatever I wanted to do, buy whatever I wanted to buy. He just left me alone. You know, I was safe there. Yeah, I did my thing, he did his thing. I didn't have to bother with him because I had wife-in-laws.[1]
CINDY PAULSON INTERVIEW W/ LELAND E. HALE, JULY 25, 2023
So, the pimp was nervous. But, according to Cindy, her presence didn’t worry him in the least. Well… Both things can be true. Right?
[1] Wife-in-laws is the term used in the sex industry to refer to a cluster of women working for the same pimp. At Gentleman’s Retreat, there was, in fact, a hierarchy. Considering her state of mind – and the circumstances – Cindy was reasonably comfortable at the Retreat. She was one woman in a stable of several – and far from the most prominent. That honor was reserved for DeeDee who, in the colorful lexicon of prostitution, was the “bottom bitch” or the pimp’s main lady. Having several “wives-in-law,” as Cindy did, also meant that Billy Joe didn’t bother her. “I could go,” Cindy says, “four or five days without seeing him.”
Check Out Cindy’s Latest Podcast!
Purchase Butcher, Baker
Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.
NOW available: Kill Brother, Kill Sister, part three of my Alaska Trilogy. Don’t miss this one! Three millionaires face off and only one of them survives!
You can also order “What Happened In Craig,” HERE and HERE. True crime on Epicenter Press about Alaska’s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder.