I said to the woman, 'How about you?' I showed her the picture. 'You ever see her'.''
'She don't know nothing,' the man said.
I ignored him. I looked at the woman. She shrugged. The man moved more fully between us. 'I say she don't know nothing,' he said. 'She don't talk. I talk.' His shoulders were sloping and the neck that showed at the open collar of his coat was thick and muscular.
'I noticed that,' I said.
'You fucking with me, man,' he said. His dark eyes gleamed at me.
'Not me,' I said. 'I'm just looking for this little girl.' 'How come?' 'Parents want her home,' I said.
'They think she around here?'
'Yeah.'
'And they don't like their little sweetie giving blow jobs in the back seat of some John's car?' he said.
'.Yeah.' 'Ain't our problem,' he said.
'No. It's mine,' I said.
'They paying you?' he said. The woman stood motionless, hugging herself, shivering, paying attention only to the black man. Like an attentive dog. That's probably where she got the scar near her eye. Obedience training.
..Yes… 'Whyn't they come look for her themselves? I had a kid run off, I'd go get her myself. I wouldn't waste money on some shoofly.'
'Too busy, probably.' I said. 'Maybe too scared. Guys like you would scare them.'
“I don't scare you'?' he said.
'Not very much,' I said. He grinned and took his hands out of his coat pockets. In the right hand was a brown leather sap. He tapped his palm with it. I reached out with my left hand and snapped it away from him.
'Reflexes,' I said. 'You spend your time pushing around drunken high school kids and your reflexes go.'
He looked at me with his eyes half shut.. I was about three inches taller than he was and he had to look up slightly. Never an asset.
'Quick,' he said. He looked at the woman. 'See? I told you he ain't no tourist.' As he talked he was absently untying his belt that held his trench coat closed.
I said, 'If you open that coat I will clean your teeth with your sap.'
He was indignant. 'What's the matter with you, man?' he said.
'If you got a piece,' I said, 'it's dumb to keep it buttoned up under your coat.'
He looked at my coat. It was hanging open. 'I got no piece, man,' he said.
'I do,' I said. 'And now I got a blackjack too.'
'You asking for a lot of trouble, Jim.'
'I can handle a lot of trouble,' I said. If only I still smoked. A line like that needs cigarette smoke curling around it. 'While we're waiting for it to start, why don't you take a walk?'
'You keeping the sap?' he said.
'I'm going to count five. If you're still here, I'm going to rattle your face with it.'
He raised his hands slightly, 'All right, man. All right, be cool.' He jerked his head at the woman.
'No,' I said. 'Just you.'
He put one hand out to take the woman's arm. I flicked the blackjack out and tapped him on the forearm. It was a light tap, but the weighted head of the thing would make his arm go numb.
'One,' I said. 'Two.'
He turned and walked down the street away from us. There was no expression on the woman's face. She still hugged herself and shivered. 'He ain't gonna let you roust him like that,' she said.
'I think he just did.'
She shook her head. 'Nope. He gotta be first man. Specially in front of one of his girls. He be back.'
'You know the girl,' I said.
'What's the difference?'
'I'm worried about her. She's sixteen and tricking in the Zone.' 'Little blond honky do it, everybody gets worried. How come you ain't worried about me?'
'Nobody hired me to worry about you,' I said. 'You want to retain me?' 'I seen her around,' the woman said. 'Suburb pussy.' 'Who's her pimp?'
She shrugged again. 'Red, maybe?'
'Red got a last name?'
'I don't know. White dude, red hair.'
'Coincidence,' I said.
