Darlene patted the wig with her right hand.
“Why are you worried about cops? I don’t see any cops.”
“I can’t wait anymore. Do you want to do business or not?”
Darlene felt her stomach churning. So close. She didn’t want this one to get away. If she could just make him wait a minute. She was almost there.
Ortiz sat up when the Mercedes slowed down. He slouched back down in the front seat of the unmarked car when it sped up and drove on. This whole assignment was a waste of time, he thought. Busting some poor slob who wanted a little pussy and had to pay for it. That wasn’t why he’d joined the force. Why did they have to take him out of narcotics just as he was beginning to get some heavy action? And working with Darlene Hersch…Jesus H. Christ, if that wasn’t the luck of the draw. Miss Tight Ass herself. Then again, maybe she wasn’t such a tight ass. Sometimes it was the ones who gave you the hardest time that wanted it the most and just wouldn’t admit it to themselves. He wondered what she’d be like in bed. Good old Darlene. He chuckled to himself. Probably want to be on top. She sure acted like it most of the time.
There was that Mercedes again. And it was stopping. Ortiz sat up. Darlene was wiggling over and talking to the driver. He couldn’t see much of the guy from this distance.
She was leaning over now and resting on the ledge of the driver’s window. Must be a live one. Yup, she was patting her wig. Now all she had to do was get him to drive into the lot.
Ortiz was wearing a light jacket. His revolver was in a holster on his belt. He checked it. Someone who drove a Mercedes was probably going to be no trouble, but no use taking chances. Darlene was still leaning on the window. Nice ass. Even from this distance. Ortiz wondered what was taking so long. Christ, he was tired. He had a thing going with a cocktail waitress at the Golden Horse, and they had been at it all night. He yawned and shook his head. He should cut down. Too many women could kill you. Just like cigarettes. Still, he…What the-
Darlene was walking around to the passenger door and getting in. The car was driving off. Ortiz jammed his key into the ignition. The engine turned over and he started out of the lot. Shit! He remembered. The street was oneway, the wrong way. That dumb cunt. If he went around the block, he’d lose them for sure. It was late and the street was deserted. He made up his mind and wheeled right. His tires squealed when he made the turn. That stupid bitch. When he made his report she would be…Of all the dumb things to do. He picked up the radio mike. He might need assistance on this one if the Mercedes got too big a lead. He was about to make the call when he changed his mind. If he reported what was happening, it would be real trouble for Darlene. He didn’t want that. Besides, everything would be okay if he could keep the car in view.
He made the turn onto Morrison, and there it was. Two lights away, but there wasn’t much traffic. He relaxed and slowed down. He didn’t want the driver to spot him. Why did Darlene have to prove how hard she was? She wouldn’t be half-bad if she could get the chip off her shoulder. He’d bawl her out for sure once they made the bust. No, he’d have Sandra or Louise talk to her. She’d never listen to a man.
“What’s your name, sugar?” Darlene asked as they turned onto the freeway. The man turned his head and smiled. He had nice teeth. Straight and gleaming white, like a movie actor. A good-looking guy. She couldn’t figure out why someone that good-looking would have to pay for it.
“What’s your name?” the blond countered cautiously.
“Darlene.”
“A nice name. You shouldn’t wear so much makeup, Darlene. A pretty girl like you doesn’t need it.”
“Well, thanks,” she said, patting her hair as she looked in the rearview mirror. Ortiz was still there. Good. She had counted on Ortiz’s following her. She had been nervous until she spotted him when they turned off Morrison. He would be fuming by now, she thought with satisfaction. Well, fuck him. This was going to be an A-one bust.
“You look like you have nice breasts, Darlene,” the trick said without taking his eyes off the road. There was a hard edge to his voice when he said it, and Darlene felt uneasy for a moment.
“Thank you,” she said. “Do you have some special plans for them?”
The trick laughed but didn’t say anything. Ortiz was several car lengths back. A moving van changed lanes, and its width blocked the police car from view.
“Wife doesn’t treat you right, huh?” Darlene asked. The trick still didn’t answer, but he did turn and look at her. He was smiling, but there was no laughter in his eyes. They made her nervous and she felt a fleeting sense of desperation.
“Well, Darlene will treat you right. Now, just what do you want Darlene to do for you?” she said, making her voice low and sexy.
The truck was still blocking Ortiz’s view when the Mercedes turned onto the exit ramp. Ortiz swore and almost missed the turn. He still hadn’t got close enough to get the license plate, and he couldn’t afford to lose them. Traffic was heavy when he got to the end of the ramp, and the Mercedes’s lead was increasing. He finally pulled into the traffic and the Mercedes disappeared. He slammed his fist on the dashboard but continued to scan the neon-lit restaurants and motel parking lots on both sides of the street. Nothing. Nothing. Come on. Where are you?
Then he saw it. The Mercedes was just stopping in front of the office of the Raleigh Motel. Ortiz tried to read the license as he passed the motel, but the angle was bad and he was going too fast. Through the rearview mirror he saw Darlene getting out of the car. He pulled quickly into the McDonald’s next door to the motel.
“I don’t want to discuss business here, Darlene, but I can assure you that you will be paid well.”
They were off the freeway, and she couldn’t be sure that Ortiz had seen them exit. Damn that truck. There was something about this guy that was starting to bother her. He would not commit himself, and she was beginning to think that she had acted too hastily.
The trick turned the car into the parking lot of the Raleigh Motel. Darlene pressed the side of her purse and was comforted by the feel of the gun’s outline. Ortiz wouldn’t be frightened in a situation like this if he was busting a female prostitute. She looked out the back window. Where was he? She couldn’t see the police car anywhere.
“I want you to register for the room,” the trick was saying. “I’ll pull around and park.”
“I don’t…”
“There’s nothing to it,” he said, smiling and handing her a roll of bills.
Darlene took the money and slid out of the front seat. The trick drove toward the rear parking lot, away from the motel office. An old man in a plaid shirt was squinting at a used paperback through a pair of thick-lensed, wire-rim glasses. He looked up when Darlene entered.
“I’d like a room,” she said.
The old man slid a registration card across the desk without comment. She took a pen from a plastic holder on the desk and filled in the squares for name and address using her own name and the address of the North Precinct. It would be good evidence when the case came to court.
“Thirty-five bucks in advance,” the clerk said. He was looking at her breasts without the slightest attempt at concealment.
“How come you didn’t ask me how long I’m staying?” Darlene said as she laid down the money. The old man cocked an eyebrow at her, shook his head slowly, and took the money without answering.
“Second floor on the street side,” he said, handing her the key. The old man was reading again by the time the office door swung closed.
The office was separate from the motel rooms. Darlene crossed the parking lot and walked up the stairs past an ice machine. Her heels clanged on each metal stair and stopped when she reached the concrete landing that ran the length of the second floor on the outside of the building. Her trick was nowhere in sight. She paused outside the door of the motel room and looked down the length of the landing. She thought she saw someone standing in the shadows at the other end, but she wasn’t sure. She was starting to feel nervous again. This guy could be a freak. She decided to keep her hand on her gun. She could do it by simply putting her hand in her purse. She’d have to keep some distance between them.