'We got us a pimp,' Wanda said.
'Bet he don't think of it that way,' Hawk said.
'What's his name?' I said.
'Chuckie. Either you gentlemen going to fuck one of us?'
'I don't think so,' I said.
'
'Cause if you ain't you best be moving along. Chuckie don't like us, you know, ah, wasting time with people ain't customers.'
'Where is Chuckie?'
'Around. Keeping an eye on things.'
'So if we stay here for a while, Chuckie will show up and tell us to move along.'
'That what he usually do,' the blonde said.
'But you two looking kind of big and quick.'
'You think we'd scare him off?'
'Chuckie bad,' the blonde said.
'But there two of you…'
I nodded.
'Hawk,' I said.
'Why don't you sort of even the odds for Chuckie.'
Hawk nodded.
'Ladies,' he said, and started walking toward Park Square.
'You want Chuckie to hassle you?' Wanda said.
'I want to meet him,' I said.
'Chuckie's pretty mean,' Wanda said.
The blonde reached over and felt my bicep.
'Oh!' she said.
'Maybe this be something.'
Wanda felt my bicep too. The two women giggled.
'You know who Chuckie works for?' I said.
'Chuckie don't work,' Wanda said.
'We work.'
'You know who Chuckie pays off?'
'Naw, man, don't know nothing 'bout that stuff.'
A dark Pontiac Bonneville drove slowly along Charles Street, and slid into the curb beside us. A tall high- shouldered black man got out and walked around behind the car and stopped beside me.
He had on a black and red leather warm-up jacket and a red do rag on his head. First Deion, now the world. His arms were a little too long for the jacket and his wrists where they showed below the cuffs were thick.
'You a police officer?' he said.
'No.'
'Then you looking to have yourself some fun?'
'Nope, just passing the time of night with these ladies,' I said.
'Well, sir, these ladies are mine, you know what I mean, and they working, so they don't really have no time to be passing.'
'You Chuckie?' I said.
'You best move along,' Chuckie said, ' 'fore you get your white ass fucked up.'
'Now, see, that's the trouble with you pimps,' I said.
'You got no judgment. You always play the race card too early.'
The two hookers had moved back a little toward the doorway to watch. They were excited.
Chuckie raised his voice and moved very close to me.
'I don't want you bothering my whores,' he said.
'Who runs prostitution these days, now that Tony's in jail?' I said.
'Don't know no Tony,' Chuckie said.
