James’ heart clenched. “We got him killed.”
“He blew up your girlfriend,” Sophie reminded him.
“He was used as a tool to hurt Mandy,” James said. “He’s not the one I’m after. While I’m not thrilled with him running around, he’s not the one I want.”
“We need to know who hired him,” Sophie said.
“Do we have any idea who he trusted?”
Sophie shook her head. “I do have another idea.”
“Grady says you’re full of ideas,” James said. “What have you got?”
Sophie pointed to a spot over his shoulder, causing him to swivel and follow the line her finger was drawing in the morning sky. “The prostitutes?”
Three women, all scantily clad, were standing under a streetlight and watching the commotion.
“I think they prefer to be called women of the night,” Sophie said, her tone dry. “They’re always walking up and down this road. People pay for an hour of their time, and then park down here to stay out of sight from the patrol cars. I think it’s mostly a hand job and blow-job thing.”
James rubbed his unshaven chin, Sophie’s idea taking form. “They might have seen something.”
“They might not tell you without some form of … financial incentive,” Sophie said.
“Yeah, I figured.”
“I think they’re going to be more willing to talk to you than me,” Sophie said. “I don’t have the right parts. Just be prepared, you’re probably going to want to shower when you’re done.”
James glanced at the women and then back at Sophie. “Let’s not tell Mandy about this, shall we?” He could already picture her face, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
James left Sophie to continue hounding the police force for information and made his way across the street, trying to look unassuming as he approached the women. His efforts were for naught.
“Hello, honey,” one of the woman, a platinum blonde with an impressive set of … lungs … greeted him. “Are you looking for some company?”
James forced a smile onto his face, one he’d been told on more than one occasion could be deemed as charming. “Actually, I’m looking for information.”
“Are you a cop?”
“He looks like a cop.” One of the other women, a brunette with an ugly scar near her hairline, was watching him with suspicious eyes.
“I’m not a cop,” James said, holding up his hand in a placating manner. “Although, I do need to know about the dead guy over there.”
“He was shot,” the blonde said. “We didn’t hear the gun go off, but that’s what the cops said.”
“I know. I need to know who shot him.”
“What makes you think we know?”
“Don’t you guys know all and see all?”
“Maybe.”
James reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He looked inside, pulling out two hundred-dollar bills and handing them over. “Did you see anything?”
The blonde took the money, tucking it into her ample cleavage before fixing him with her best come-hither smile. “He was arguing with someone.”
“At first, we didn’t realize there was someone there,” one of the other women said. “That dude talked to himself a lot.”
“When did you realize he was talking to someone else?”
“It was a couple of hours ago,” the blonde said. “He was talking to a woman.”
James cocked his head to the side, his heartbeat increasing. “A woman? You’re sure?”
“You couldn’t mistake that voice for anything else,” she said. “They were fighting about him screwing up some job.”
“Tell me exactly what you heard,” James instructed.
“It was a lot of nonsense at first,” she said. “He kept demanding payment for something, saying it was supposed to be put in some bank account and it wasn’t, and the woman refused to give him anything because he screwed up and let some bitch get away. Those were her words, not mine.”
“Was there anything about the woman that you recognized? Any identifiable marks or anything?”
“She was just a woman,” the blonde said. “If it’s any help, I think she was kind of old.”
“How old?”
“I don’t know, like sixties old,” the woman said, shrugging.
“Hair color?”
“It was dark.”
“Fat? Skinny?”
“She wasn’t skinny, but she wasn’t really fat.”
James nodded, figuring he had gleaned as much information as he could from the women. He pulled another hundred out of his wallet, pairing it with a business card. “Thank you. If you remember anything, give me a call.”