Slowly he combed the building, sometimes gagging on the rot around him. They looked, they cooperated passively, a few even smiled, but the story was the same. Lindsey was a nonentity in Hotel Hell.

The building turned icy, the stench stronger as the night winds died, leaving only stagnant chilled air. But noises returned as word passed that the stranger was only showing a picture. A few even came up to him, volunteered to look. Never saw her, man. The sounds grew boisterous-cackles, cries, retching, pissing. After canvassing all five stories, he felt fatigue begin to hood his eyes.

He’d try again next week. There’d be new kids and some old-timers returning to the fold. He put the picture away, heading for the door but stopped suddenly. It was involuntary-a psychic paralysis that froze the muscles of his calves.

He gasped as he stared at her. A moonbeam hit her smack in the face, illuminating her in deathly grays.

The girl’s mouth was agape, framed by lips of orange: eyes dull and lolling. She had it all-the angle of the cheekbone, the point of the chin. But it was the hair-flaming red tresses setting off a pale, freckled face-that made his heart take off.

Cindy!

She was wearing a green sequined halter and an orange mini-skirt. She caught his eye and lowered her lashes. When he didn’t move, she made a funny face, swung out her hip and undid her halter, giving him a full view of voluptuous breasts. Cupping one in each hand, pinching pink nipples, she sashayed over slowly, seductively.

“Twenty-five dollars,” she whispered.

He wanted to kill her.

Blinded with fury which he knew was irrational, he tried to stalk away, but she caught his arm. He turned, threw her against the wall, and slapped her hard, feeling the sting radiate through his hand. He grabbed her wrists.

“I’m a cop, you stupid fuck!”

The animal in her took over. She opened her jaws, hissed, and bit his right forearm through the jacket sleeve. He yelped and released her wrists, but she’d become wild, clawing and scratching, ripping his jacket. He managed to shield his face with his bare arm, but she continued attacking, raking the skin of his forearm. In desperation, he backhanded her, and she went flying across the hallway and into a wall.

Oh shit, he thought.

He started to approach her, but she scrambled to her feet and fled.

His arm was wet, crimson, and shaking. Reaching for a handkerchief and finding nothing, he took off his jacket and tried to staunch the flow.

You stupid shithead, he thought to himself. To let a dumb hooker get you like that. Your daughter is a good kid. Why the fuck do you go looking for trouble when there is none?

He peeled back his soaked jacket. His arm was still bleeding although the scarlet stream had reduced to slow seepage. The flesh had already begun to swell and throb. He had to get out of there.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye and felt he should say something, but nothing came out. It was she who approached him, offering him a roll of bandages. He took it with a nod and began to wrap his wounds.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

“I’m sorry I hit you like I did,” he said. “I was just trying to get you off of me.”

“I’m sorry I bit you like I did,” she said. “I was trying to get you off of me. You scared the hell out of me.”

“Where’s a twenty-four-hour pharmacy?” he asked.

“Don’t know.” She pulled out a cigarette. “You gonna arrest me?”

“No.”

“Are you really a cop?”

“Yes.”

“Whacha doing here?”

Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out Lindsey’s picture. The redhead cautiously approached him to take a look.

“Don’t know her,” she said. “How long has she been missing?”

“She’s not missing. She’s dead.”

The girl shuddered. He looked at her and saw a deep red palm print spread across her face.

“I slapped you pretty hard,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Are you kidding?” She shrugged. “Man, that’s just a warm-up for half the kinkies I get.”

He shook his head in disgust, at the perverts, at himself.

“Why’d you stare at me like that?”

“You remind me of my daughter.”

She let go with a machine-gun laughter.

“I’ve heard that before.”

He pulled out his wallet and flipped to Cindy’s picture. The girl’s eyes increased several diameters.

“God, I really do.” She grinned. “No wonder you went cuckoo. Who’s the black-haired girl? Your other daughter?”

He frowned.

“My girlfriend.”

She giggled.

“Sorry.”

“I’ve got to go.” He straightened up and began retreating.

“Hey, Cop or whatever your name is?”

“What?”

“Give me the picture of the dead girl. I’m more likely to dig up dirt than you are.”

He handed her the snapshot of Lindsey and his card.

“Decker,” she said out loud. “It says here you work Juvey.”

“I’m on loan to Homicide.”

“Okay, Decker,” she announced. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Kiki. But you don’t contact me. I contact you.”

“Fine,” Decker said. “Bye, Kiki.”

“Hey, don’t informants get paid?”

“Only if they produce.”

“Where are you going?”

“To take care of my arm.” He walked away, but she followed him. A fucking gosling, he thought. She’d imprinted.

“Maybe I do know where a pharmacy is.”

He said nothing.

“Hey, ya know, you gotta get an antibiotic for the bite.”

He spun around. “Are you infected with something?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t have AIDS or anything. Least not that I know of.”

Swell.

“It’s just that bites are dangerous,” she went on, “even if the person isn’t sick. I know that because a whole bunch of my johns bite me all the time, and if it wasn’t for antibiotics, I’d be dead probably.”

He resumed his pace.

“Hey, Decker, c’mon.”

He kept walking.

“I’ll look for this girl…What’s her name?”

“Lindsey Bates.”

“Yeah, Lindsey Bates. I got sources, you know.”

He was outside of the building. Jesus, even Hollywood air felt good.

“Hey, Decker, you got a spare dime or something?”

He turned the corner and started sprinting up the quiet street, embarrassed by the hooker on his tail. Then he stopped abruptly and pulled out his wallet.

“Come here,” he said, crushing a five in his fist. She held out her hand and he dropped the ball of money in her open palm. “Now don’t ask me for another thing or your tail’s in Juvey Hall.”

“On what?”

“Soliciting.”

“Bullshit. I just said-”

“Kiki, I’m a cop. You’re a hooker. No one’s going to listen to you. If I say you were soliciting, you’re going to be busted for soliciting. Then it’s Juvey Hall or foster homes or back to your old man, who’s probably been raping you since you were ten.”

The girl’s face grew glum.

“You must have worked a lot of Juvey.”

He was silent. He knew it all too well.

“I’m real sorry about your arm, Decker.”

“I’m sorry about your face. Keep yourself out of trouble, huh?”

“I’m gonna find her, Decker. You’ll see. I got contacts.”

He slipped into the Plymouth, found a nearby pay phone, and reported the dead girl he’d found in the building to Hollywood Division.