She glanced down at his hands, a scowl flickering over her face.
“If you could get a photo of the guy, we’d make it worth your while,” I said.
Her gaze snapped to mine. “How do you plan to do that?”
I’d expected James to jump in and make an offer, but he remained quiet. I considered offering anyway, but I couldn’t see his face to gauge his thoughts and it didn’t feel right to offer her his money. “What do you want?”
“I want my new solicitation charges dropped,” she said, venom in her eyes, “but you’re pretty worthless there, aren’t you?”
So, she knew I’d left the force? Had she wanted me to help her sometime in the last five months and realized I couldn’t act on her behalf?
“Yeah, I guess I am,” I said matter-of-factly as she began to dance again, James’s hands still resting lightly over the strings covering her hips. “What else do you have in mind? More money?”
“I want my damn charges dropped,” she spat out, her body going still. “Those and the possession charge.”
I frowned. “What kind of possession charge?”
“I got busted with some ecstasy when they picked me up for solicitation.”
My brow shot up. “That’s new for you.”
Her glare deepened. “The guy was in his forties and had just gotten divorced. He asked me to get him something to make it a memorable night.”
“And you couldn’t rely on your skills?” I asked dryly. I shouldn’t be provoking her, but I felt helpless to stop myself.
“That’s your price?” James said flatly. “Your charges dropped? Both of them?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“And if Harper makes that happen, you’ll get images of the guy?” he asked. “Inside the club and outside with his car?”
“Harper’s not a cop anymore,” she spat. “She can’t make that happen.”
“Don’t worry about that part,” James said. “I’m more concerned about whether you can hold up your end of the agreement. How long do they keep the security footage?”
His request was pointless. Most systems didn’t store longer than fourteen days before recording over themselves.
“Maybe a month,” she said.
“Let’s be clear,” I said, my tone firm. “Your charges won’t be dismissed until I know you’ve got images.” Because she had to know the images were gone. She was stringing us along to get what she wanted.
She turned her glare to me. “I’m not handin’ anything over without knowin’ they’ve been dropped.”
I was about to tell her that wasn’t how we did things, but James spoke first.
“Then how about we work out an agreement?” James dug in slightly on her left hip, making her flesh pucker. “You get the images, then let us know. Once we’re sure they’re helpful, we’ll get the charges dropped.”
She released a soft gasp, and I preferred to think it was because she thought she might get her charges dismissed, not in response to his touch.
Still, I wasn’t going to waste our time on her bullshit.
I propped my hands on my hips. “Why would the manager keep the footage thirty days?”
She gave me a look of surprise. “What?”
“I’m not stupid, Dani. I know most places only keep their tapes for two weeks, so don’t bullshit us.”
“Shows what you know,” she sneered as she slid off James’s lap. “The owner keeps them for at least a month. There were some drug deals goin’ on out in the parking lot, and he had an arrangement with the narcotics department. If he gave them the footage, they’d look the other way with things goin’ on inside the club.”
