Damnation Street

45.

There was a little fat man hopping around the middle of the floor. He was pulling his jockey shorts over his leg, then up to cover his bare ass. When Weiss came in, he grabbed the rest of his clothes off a chair and held them against his chest. Weiss stood aside and the man carried his clothes out into the hall without saying a word.

Weiss shut the door on him. He faced the girl in the redspangled panties.

They were in a narrow box of a room. The bed, a queen size, almost filled it. There was a two-drawer bedside table with a lamp and a radio and a vase of flowers on it. There was a window, covered with blinds and with some kind of lacy stuff draped over the top of it. Betadine, baby wipes, condoms, and a pair of fur-covered handcuffs were piled discreetly in a little wicker basket in a corner on the floor. A cheap blanket-a trick towel-lay over the floral bedspread. It had a gray stain at the center of it.

Weiss went to the basket. Reached in, pulled out a baby wipe. He swabbed the blood off his hand. The cut wasn't deep. The bleeding was almost done.

He lifted his chin at the whore. He was still out of breath. "Listen…," he said.

Tense, the whore gestured to the bedside table. Weiss looked. He saw the lamp, the radio, the vase. But he knew how these places worked. There was an intercom in one of the drawers. The madam would sit in her office and listen in while her whores negotiated the price of their party. That way, the madam knew the girls weren't holding back her share.

"I guess everyone can listen, then," he said.

"I don't want any trouble," said the whore.

"Yeah, I got that message."

"I mean, you know…"

He nodded curtly. He knew. She didn't want the Shad-owman coming after her. She'd tell him whatever he wanted to hear as long as he would keep the killer away.

He looked down at her. He felt suddenly weary. He was weary at the sight of her, skinny as some child on a charity poster, but with that fake blond hair and those fake tits hanging out as if she didn't give a damn. He could see how scared she was. Julie had warned her he was coming and had warned her about the killer trailing in his wake. She was scared as hell, and Weiss was using that to get her to talk. That made him feel weary too.

The killer's right, he thought. We make a good team.

"Olivia called you," he said.

She nodded eagerly, her sharp ferret features going up and down fast. He wished she'd cover herself.

He tossed the bloody wipe back into the basket. "Just tell me where Julie is and I'll get out of here."

The hooker's shoulders came up around her ears. "Christ, I don't know that. She doesn't tell me that. She just calls."

"You mean she hasn't called since you talked to Olivia?"

"Right. Not since her sister. Right."

"So that's why you had them set the muscle on me."

"I didn't know what to do. Olivia told me you were coming, and I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I was scared if you came, then

… you know… he would come too…"

"So you didn't give Julie her sister's message."

"She hasn't called," the whore said again. She was almost pleading.

Weiss rubbed his eyes. Weary. "She's gonna call you, though-right?"

The girl looked around as if she'd find the answer in the little room somewhere. "I guess so. I guess. I don't know. How can I know? She always does."

Weiss had his breath back finally. His heart was slowing down. "All right. I get you. It's all right."

"She just hasn't called. I'd tell you. I would."

"All right. I get you. It's all right." His eyes went around the room as he thought it over. "I saw a motel on the way in," he said. "The Frontier."

"Yeah, sure," said the whore. "I know the Frontier."

"Call me there. When she calls you, you call me there."

"Okay. Okay, I will, I swear."

"And tell her what I said, what her sister told you. She can play it either way. She can stay or go."

"I will. I'll tell her. And look, this guy…"

"He won't touch you. Just do what I tell you, you'll be fine."

"I will. I'll call you as soon as I hear. I swear." She was that afraid of the killer. She'd do anything Weiss told her.

"All right," he said. He looked at her. He couldn't keep his eyes from going down to her naked tits. She responded with a gesture. It was just a small motion of her hand, but he knew she was offering herself to him. That's how scared she was. She'd do anything.

"Just tell her," said Weiss. "She can wait for me or not. Stay or go. Either way, this is the end of it."