41

Three blocks west looked more like a blown-out Middle Eastern war zone than a good place to pick up johns, but there was a four-lane street and an abandoned ball court. The hoops were rusted rings standing guard over a lost court. Three benches lined the far part of the tarmac with three girls lounging on one. They noticed him coming.

“We don’t usually get white boys walking up around here.”

The one who spoke was not a pretty girl. Skinny. The way her shirt hung off her shoulder showed deep hollows around her collarbone. Her teeth needed work. But her clothes were clean and her makeup was freshly painted on light black skin. She didn’t smile or make any offers.

He must look too coppish tonight, even in jeans and a black T-shirt. The other two didn’t bother to get up, just shot him skeptical looks and went back to an animated conversation.

“I’m looking for a girl.”

“Aren’t you all?”

He smiled. “I mean I’m a private investigator from Las Vegas. I’m looking for Jelissa.”

She shrugged and looked back at the other girls, who’d stopped their conversation and were now paying attention. “Don’t know no Jelissa.”

Jim pulled a twenty out of his pocket. “She’s not in trouble. I think she might be able to help me find a missing girl. That’s all.” He waggled the bill in front of his principal interviewee.

She glanced back. One of the girls shook her head and turned to face the four-lane. A couple cars went by. They didn’t slow.

Jim pulled out one more twenty. “More than you get a trick, I would guess. All I need is a place.”

She snatched the money. “You shouldn’t flash bills around like that.” She tucked them in her shorts. “Do you know where you are? Gonna get yourself knocked over.”

Unfortunately, he did know where he was. “Surprised you care.” He held out his hands. “Where can I find her?”

“You better not be making trouble.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“No scouts round here. But I’ll tell you. Other side of that warehouse.” She tipped her hip to the right. No pointing. “There’s a little yellow door. She stay in there. You don’t tell her I said so, okay?”

Jim peeled off one more twenty. “Eat a sandwich.”

She huffed and pushed up her tiny tits. “Some like it thin. You want a fat chick, Candy over there is your girl. But I can take care of whatever you need, white boy.”

“I bet you can.” He knew there was no need to give these girls any advice. No need to try and talk them off the street. If their man was watching, just talking too long could get them beat. He’d seen enough of that in Vegas.

“Thanks,” he said loud enough for them all to hear. “You girls be safe.” He walked back across the empty courts to the dark warehouse. “Why does it always have to be a dark warehouse?” he asked no one.

But it was true. If he were to buy and renovate all the empty warehouses he’d been through in the last two years, he’d be a freaking billionaire. He slowed as he made his way alongside the building. Two stories at least, gray metal siding. No windows facing the side street.

He looked around the corner. Several men were hanging out in front of a faded yellow door. All looked to be bangers.

He was alone, without transportation. He texted the cross streets to the number on the cab driver’s card. Ready to go. And then he walked around the corner as if he belonged. He kept his head up, his stride loose and easy. One of the guys had gotten up and was already heading his way. The thug actually laughed when he realized what was walking his way. White man with no business on this block. He shook his head as Jim approached. Still smiling.

“Good evenin’,” Jim said as the kid came alongside. Didn’t keep eye contact, didn’t avoid it.

“Might be.” The kid kept walking. The kid’s gait slowed, probably turned to check out the interloper. Jim didn’t look back.

The other two thugs had already stopped whatever they had been up to by the time Jim reached them. One was sitting on a tattered folding chair. The other was on an overturned bucket. That one stood and faced Jim. He was very thick. And tall. So was Jim. His slap-jack was in his back pocket. Easy out if he needed it, but he prided himself on talking to people to get what he needed.

“Jelissa in there?”

Big boy took a step forward. “What the fuck you want with her?”

“Well, a visit, I suppose.” What else would a guy be looking for her for? Not really good business for a pro to have bodyguards outside turning away potential buyers. Unless she was on a known-customers-only basis these days. Happened.

“She ain’t seeing visitors. Go on outta here before I make you a stat, bitch.” A threat. A stupid one, but the big guy stepped closer to show he was serious.

Jim supposed he should be afraid. The moose had his hand behind his back. But then again, so did Jim. If he carried a gun, Jim would have only a second to act. Reacting would be too late.

If this guy wanted trouble, he was sure hesitating. His body language was all wrong. He was still standing head on. Open to all attacks. The man glanced back at the guy in the chair.

Jim addressed him. “I want to talk to her. That’s all. I’m a PI from Vegas. Just looking for a lost girl she might have known. Not a cop or anything.”

He eyed Jim. Assessing. “No lost girls around here.”

Jim huffed. “Nothing but lost girls around here.” He stepped to his right, around the big boy to address the man with the power. Guys with power never got up until their muscle had failed. “This is ancient history in your world. Seven years ago.”

“I said—”

“Who you want from that long ago, darling?”

They all jerked around. A beautiful woman stood in the yellow door. She was in a bright green wrap with African designs. Her makeup and nails were immaculate. She glowed compared to the dank and dirty of everything surrounding her.

Jim gave her a little bow of the head. “She went by Elizabeth.” He pulled out the picture of Sophie and Dan. The big guy took it and handed it to Jelissa.

She held tight to the door frame. Her wrists looked thin. All of her looked thin, weak, though well-disguised in cosmetics. Not skinny like the girl on the bench. This was gray and hollow thin. Jim recognized cancer when he saw it. Yet she held a lit cigarette. Time must be running out for Jelissa.

“She got out.”

Jelissa nodded. “She did.”

She shooed the man from the folding chair. “You two go down the corner.”

They balked, but she insisted. Her word obviously carried some weight. “Why you looking for her?”

“Her family’s looking for her.”

“That a lie, baby.”

“So you knew her pretty well?”

She took a long toke. “You got one more chance and I call the boys back.”

Hard ball. Sometimes the truth can be an ally. It was hard to tell when. But this time the choice was easy.

“You’re right. It was a lie.” He folded his hands in front of his jeans button. He would deliver the information as if it could be bad news for Jelissa. “She’s wanted for killing about fourteen people. Some from this neighborhood back then. Now she’s stalking a boy from her youth. We’re trying to stop her from killing him.”

“So you are a cop?”

“Nope. Just a guy who fucked up and needs to set something straight.”

She eyed him carefully. “That is the truth. Probably in more ways than one.”

He wasn’t sure if he reeked of a fuck-up or if she had immaculate people skills. Perhaps both.

“He’s not a pusher?” she asked.

“The guy she’s after? No. Simple cowboy. She killed his sister too.”

Jelissa looked down. Flicked her ashes to the dirty concrete at her feet. “I learned a great lesson from Eliza.” She took out another cigarette and lit it, offered Jim one. He took it. She lit his too.

“Thanks.”

She nodded. Cool. Collected, she was. “She told me how to take back what belonged to me.”

Jim almost laughed. “Didn’t go telling you to kill your pimps, did she?”

She gave a quick raise of the eyebrows but didn’t answer. “Things have changed in this neighborhood over the years. I can now keep the really bad element out. The girls get a bigger take. It’s safer. As safe as this life can be on a girl.” She looked back at Jim. “Eliza told us how to do that.”

Dang, crazy bitch did have a soft spot for the downtrodden. “And it looks like you’ve done a hell of a good job. Whatever she said to you was good advice. But she’s off the chart now. Killing anyone in her way. Cut the throat of a guy in his backyard.” He let that sink in. “Another couple young girls who were just out for a party. Now she wants this guy because he was nice to her when she was a kid.”

“That don’t sound like her.”

“She’s changed. Very delusional. She’s switched identities several times.” He turned to face her. “Jelissa, I’m not a cop. I’m just trying to get her trail. None of the work you’ve done here”—he made a circle with this finger to indicate the neighborhood—“is in jeopardy.”

“You gonna kill her?”

“No.” If I get the chance, hell yes.

“Killing people for no good reason ain’t right. I done a lot of talking to kids and parents in this area to make that point. We are getting better.” She stood and gingerly paced a few steps back toward the door. “But I don’t know where she at. Haven’t seen her in years.”

“You made this place safer.” Even if it was by killing off the worst of the bad element. But that wasn’t his business. “Tell me this. Takes money to make these kinds of changes. ”

She looked away. Had she gone to the extremes Sophie had? She was trying to clean up her neighborhood, save some young girls, and he respected that. Small-time vigilante like Jelissa was okay with his moral code. Too bad Sophie had not taken the same road.

“She teach you to protect your cash?”

She shrugged.

“How did she teach you to hide the money? Can’t leave it around here in boxes.”

“In the bank, of course.” She smiled. “In my momma’s name. High-interest CDs.”

And the woman still lived in this bleak neighborhood? Maybe she just worked down here now. “In your mother’s name?”

“Yep.” She took another hit and blew slow, dancing smoke rings. “Sure you ain’t a cop?”

“Nope. No interest in what you’ve accomplished here, Jelissa. I just want to stop a guy from getting dead.”

“Okay. It was mamma’s name, only I switched that up too. Flipped the names around. Easy enough nowadays to use it without ever going to the bank. Use my iPad to do all the banking. Cash goes in the ATMs.”

“Brilliant.” He dropped his cigarette butt on the ground, stood, and stomped it out. “Thanks, ma’am.”

“You want an escort out?”

Car lights turned off a side street. The cab. “No thanks, my ride is here.”

He gave her a pantomimed tip of the hat and got in the cab.