walk the night unprotected again. And she wasn't going to go through her transition alone.
God help her.
Butch finished processing Billy Riddle around six A.M. The guy was offended by the class of drug dealers and thugs he'd been put into the holding cell with, so Butch was careful to make as many typographical errors as possible on his reports. And what would you know, Central Processing kept getting confused about exactly which forms needed to be filled out.
And then the printers had gone on the fritz. All twenty-three of them.
Still, Riddle wasn't long for the station house. His father was indeed a powerful man, a U.S. senator. So some fancy lawyer was going to get Billy sprung quicker than shit through a goose. Probably in the next hour.
'Cause that was the criminal justice system for you. Money talked, and creeps walked.
Not that Butch was bitter or anything.
As he walked out to the lobby, he ran into one of their regular overnight guests. Cherry Pie had evidently just been released from the women's side. Her real name was Mary Mulcahy, and from what Butch had heard, she'd been working the streets for about two years.
"Hey, there, Detective," she purred. Her red lipstick had pooled into the corners of her mouth, and her black eyeliner was smudged. She would have been pretty, he thought, if she put the crack pipe down and slept for about a month straight. "You going home alone?"
"As always." He held the door open for her as they went outside.
"Don't your left hand get tired after a while?"
Butch laughed as they both paused and looked up at the sky.
"So how you been, Cherry?"
"I'm always good."
She put a cigarette between her teeth and lit it while eyeing him.
"You know, your palms ever get too hairy, you could call me. I'd do you for free, 'cause you sure are a handsome SOB. But don't tell Big Daddy I said so."
She blew out a cloud of smoke and absently fingered her ragged left ear. The top half was missing.
Man, that pimp of hers was a rabid dog.
They started down the concrete steps.
"You check out that program I told you about?" Butch asked as they reached the sidewalk. He was helping a friend start up a prostitute support group that would encourage women to get free of the pimps and out of the life.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Good stuff." She flashed him a smile. "I'll see you later."
"Take care of yourself."
She turned away and slapped her right butt cheek with her palm. "Just think, this could be yours."
Butch watched her sashay down the street for a little while. And then he got into an unmarked car and, on impulse, drove across town, back to the Screamer's neighborhood. He pulled up in front of McGrider's. About fifteen minutes later a woman in a tight pair of blue jeans and a black belly shirt came out of the joint. She blinked myopically at the brightening light.
When she caught sight of his car, she fluffed her auburn hair and walked over to him. He put the window down and she leaned in, kissing him on the lips.
"I haven't seen you for a while. You lonely, Butch?" she said against his mouth.
She smelled like dried beer and maraschino cherries, every bartender's perfume at the end of a long night.
"Get in," he said.
She went around the front of the car and slid beside him. They talked about how her night had been as he drove out to the river. She was disappointed that the tips had been light again. And her feet were killing her from running back and forth behind the bar.
He parked under the span bridge that crossed the Hudson River and linked Caldwell's two halves. He made sure they were far enough away from the homeless men lying in beds of rags. There was no reason to have an audience.
And he had to give Abby credit: She was fast. She had his pants undone and was working his erection with a good stroke before he even had the engine off. As he pushed the seat back, she straddled him and nuzzled his neck. He looked past her kinky, permed hair and out to the water.
The sunlight was so beautiful, he thought, as it dappled over the surface of the river.
"Do you love me, baby?" she whispered in his ear.
"Yeah, sure." He smoothed her hair back and looked into her eyes. They were vacant. He could have been any man, and that was why their relationship