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“I don’t know Gloria Stitch,” Lula said, “but I know Hooter Brown. We go way back. I wouldn’t mind saying hello to Hooter.”
I handed her Hooter’s file. “Give me an address.”
“He’s probably working now,” Lula said. “He’ll be hanging infront of one of the coffee shops by the government buildings. He’s not high on the food chain of drug dealers but he has a decent piece of real estate on account of the big guys pushing the good stuff don’t want to bother with the a.m. trade. Hooter fills in that spot and helps the bureaucrats get through the day with a little coke and a lot of weed.”
I took Hamilton to State, headed across town, and cruised the area around the government buildings.
“There he is,” Lula said. “He’s on the corner, in front of the office building with the scaffolding.”
I pulled up next to him and Lula rolled her window down.
“Hey, Hooter,” she yelled. “How the hell are you?”
Hooter looked over and grinned. “Hey, ho,” he said. “What’s up? You want some blow?”
“I don’t do any of that,” Lula said. “I get high on life. Get in the car. I want to talk to you.”
“You giving out for free?”
“You wish,” Lula said. “I don’t do any of that anymore either.”
“Well what good are you then?”
“Get in the car and you can find out.”
Hooter sauntered over and got into the back seat.
“Whoa, bitch,” he said. “There’s a dog back here. That’s out of my comfort zone.”
“That’s Bob,” Lula said. “He’s cool. And you don’t be feeding him anything bad. Anything bad happens to Bob on your account and I’ll hold your ugly stump of a nose until you’re dead.”
Hooter was smiling. Lots of incredibly white teeth against very dark skin. “I’ve missed you,” he said. “Where’ve you been? I heard you were working on the wrong side of the street.”
“You mean the cop side?”
“Yeah.”
“Stephanie and me are working for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds.”
“That kind of straddles the line,” Hooter said.
“You missed your court date,” Lula said.
Hooter gingerly patted Bob on the head. “It was at an inconvenient time. I’m a wage earner. I gotta make a living. Besides, the poor dumb bastards who work in the big gray building across the street count on me. How they gonna get through the day without Hooter’s help?”
“I hear you,” Lula said, “but you have to reschedule.”
“Yeah, I know the drill,” Hooter said. “Give me another hour to work and then I’ll go to the courthouse with you.”
“No way,” Lula said. “We’ll come back in an hour, and you’ll be gone.”
“Girl, you got mean when you stopped being a ho,” Hooter said.
Hooter opened the car door, jumped out, and took off down the street. Bob jumped out and took off after Hooter.
“Damnation,” Lula said, wrenching her door open, hitting the ground running.
I cut the engine and ran flat out after Lula. I followed Lula around the corner and almost crashed into her.
