faceup. “Another dude’s been around here a couple of times looking for this one.”
“Red hair, short, wiry?”
“That’d be the dude.”
So Kyle had been looking for Haley’s sister. It answered one of Skye’s questions, but opened the door to another question—whether or not he’d ever found Jen.
“A friend of the family,” Skye said as she scooped up the three photos plus the picture of Tia and Angel and put them in her pocket. Then she turned to Big Daddy. “I’ve got to go visit with my friends at the bar about these other girls. The sooner I find out what happened to them, the sooner I can turn my attention to your—” she gave a half-smile, “—quest for justice. Maybe to help things along, your friend here could call me if he sees my girls. And maybe you’d let your girls know it’s okay for them to look at my pictures and tell me what they know.”
“So Big Daddy helps you find your girls and you help Big Daddy find the motherfucker who damaged his girls.”
“Something like that.”
“Big Daddy will let his people know.”
Skye finished the rest of the beer then put the bottle back on the table. “Thanks for the drink,” she said as she stood. “I’ll stop by and visit the girls as soon as I can.”
“Big Daddy’ll be in touch.”
For once Rico and Caldwell wore identical frowns when Skye joined them. “How can you sit at the table with that scum?” Rico asked. A muscle twitched in his cheek.
“Think of it as being undercover,” Skye answered.
His frown deepened. “It looked like you were doing business with him.”
“My business, Rico. And I’m not a cop.”
The bartender came over and asked her if she wanted something. She ordered another beer. “Get anywhere flashing Brittany’s picture?”
“You’d better not be carrying it.” Caldwell’s voice was hostile.
Skye grimaced. “This is getting old. For the record, the kids I’m looking for disappeared before Brittany did.”
“Who are they?” Caldwell asked.
“That’s privileged information,” Skye answered and the detective’s lips pressed together in annoyance.
“But they were into this vampire shit, right?” Rico asked. His expression was all-cop.
“Yeah,” Skye agreed. “They were.” She knew he’d run a check for missing persons when he got back to the station. She also knew he wouldn’t find anything. “Don’t guess you’d want to exchange information,” she ventured.
Caldwell’s frown was immediate. Rico’s eyes narrowed.
“Stay out of the Armstrong investigation. It’s an open case.” Rico’s voice was terse.
Skye studied him, wondered if he was uptight because he’d seen her with the pimp or because Caldwell was with him. She paid the bartender and took a swallow of beer. Rico’s phone hummed and he walked away without a word.
“Thanks to your stunt with the kid, the captain reamed his ass this afternoon.” Caldwell’s voice was hostile.
“And I thought aiding citizens was supposed to be a police priority.” Skye looked over at the detective, amused at how quickly Caldwell averted her eyes.
“Doesn’t it bother you that Rico got in trouble because of something you did?”
“Would it have been better if I talked to the kid somewhere else, privately?”
Caldwell looked like her head might explode any minute. “You don’t have any respect for authority at all, do you?”
“I play it the way I see it.”
“And you don’t care what happens or who gets hurt?”
Skye shrugged, growing tired of the conversation and the company.
“One step over the line and I’ll see that you spend time locked up.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Rico walked back over to the bar. By now Caldwell’s face was flushed and angry. “I read the transcripts. You had no right to tell that child to forget what she saw. You destroyed any
“Red hair, short, wiry?”
“That’d be the dude.”
So Kyle had been looking for Haley’s sister. It answered one of Skye’s questions, but opened the door to another question—whether or not he’d ever found Jen.
“A friend of the family,” Skye said as she scooped up the three photos plus the picture of Tia and Angel and put them in her pocket. Then she turned to Big Daddy. “I’ve got to go visit with my friends at the bar about these other girls. The sooner I find out what happened to them, the sooner I can turn my attention to your—” she gave a half-smile, “—quest for justice. Maybe to help things along, your friend here could call me if he sees my girls. And maybe you’d let your girls know it’s okay for them to look at my pictures and tell me what they know.”
“So Big Daddy helps you find your girls and you help Big Daddy find the motherfucker who damaged his girls.”
“Something like that.”
“Big Daddy will let his people know.”
Skye finished the rest of the beer then put the bottle back on the table. “Thanks for the drink,” she said as she stood. “I’ll stop by and visit the girls as soon as I can.”
“Big Daddy’ll be in touch.”
For once Rico and Caldwell wore identical frowns when Skye joined them. “How can you sit at the table with that scum?” Rico asked. A muscle twitched in his cheek.
“Think of it as being undercover,” Skye answered.
His frown deepened. “It looked like you were doing business with him.”
“My business, Rico. And I’m not a cop.”
The bartender came over and asked her if she wanted something. She ordered another beer. “Get anywhere flashing Brittany’s picture?”
“You’d better not be carrying it.” Caldwell’s voice was hostile.
Skye grimaced. “This is getting old. For the record, the kids I’m looking for disappeared before Brittany did.”
“Who are they?” Caldwell asked.
“That’s privileged information,” Skye answered and the detective’s lips pressed together in annoyance.
“But they were into this vampire shit, right?” Rico asked. His expression was all-cop.
“Yeah,” Skye agreed. “They were.” She knew he’d run a check for missing persons when he got back to the station. She also knew he wouldn’t find anything. “Don’t guess you’d want to exchange information,” she ventured.
Caldwell’s frown was immediate. Rico’s eyes narrowed.
“Stay out of the Armstrong investigation. It’s an open case.” Rico’s voice was terse.
Skye studied him, wondered if he was uptight because he’d seen her with the pimp or because Caldwell was with him. She paid the bartender and took a swallow of beer. Rico’s phone hummed and he walked away without a word.
“Thanks to your stunt with the kid, the captain reamed his ass this afternoon.” Caldwell’s voice was hostile.
“And I thought aiding citizens was supposed to be a police priority.” Skye looked over at the detective, amused at how quickly Caldwell averted her eyes.
“Doesn’t it bother you that Rico got in trouble because of something you did?”
“Would it have been better if I talked to the kid somewhere else, privately?”
Caldwell looked like her head might explode any minute. “You don’t have any respect for authority at all, do you?”
“I play it the way I see it.”
“And you don’t care what happens or who gets hurt?”
Skye shrugged, growing tired of the conversation and the company.
“One step over the line and I’ll see that you spend time locked up.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Rico walked back over to the bar. By now Caldwell’s face was flushed and angry. “I read the transcripts. You had no right to tell that child to forget what she saw. You destroyed any
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