If that was true, it still didn’t guarantee the footage existed. Dani had said Wilhemina disappeared about a month ago.
“Well,” James said, “if he only keeps the tapes for thirty days, and your friend disappeared about a month ago, then I’d say you better not waste any time lookin’ for the right footage.”
She took a couple of steps toward the door, then turned back to him. “Don’t I get credit for tryin’ to get the video? It’s not gonna be easy.”
“This isn’t high school English class,” he said in a lazy tone. “I don’t hand out extra credit or participation trophies. I reward results.”
Her upper lip curled with disgust. “You’re a real asshole.”
“That’s a known fact,” he said, a menacing look covering his face. “Name’s Skeeter Malcolm, and I have quite the reputation.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “You’re Skeeter Malcolm?”
I stared at her in shock. Dani knew who he was? Sure, he’d made national news three years ago, but she wasn’t much into current events.
“How do you know about me?” he asked in a lazy, seductive drawl.
She hesitated, then said, “Razor.”
He leaned back, stretching an arm along the back of the bench. “And how do you know Razor?” He appeared utterly relaxed, but the gleam in his eyes was lethal.
The name meant nothing to me, but it appeared James had heard of him.
She shot me a nervous glance, her previous belligerence gone. When I gave her a cold stare, she turned back to James. “He comes around. He likes private dances.”
“With you?” James asked, tilting his head in challenge.
She drew in a shaky breath. “Used to be with me, but he prefers the new girls lately.”
I suspected that meant younger.
“And how did my name come up in conversation?” James asked.
She glanced at me again, this time addressing me. “Razor doesn’t like people talkin’ about him.”
“Most people don’t like to be talked about,” I said, “but you can’t drop that you know Skeeter Malcolm’s name and not tell us how you’ve heard of him.” I used the name he’d gone by in his previous life. No need to give anything else away.
“The real question is why you’re with him,” she said, looking me up and down. “Little Miss By-the-Books who doesn’t do nothing wrong. Why are you with a murderer and weapons dealer?”
The weapons dealing caught me by surprise, but thank God I’d entrenched myself in interrogation mode and gave away nothing. “I told you, I’m not a cop anymore.”
“So you turned to the other side?” she asked in disbelief. “You’re the last person I thought would go dark.”
“I haven’t gone dark,” I said flatly. “I’m just working from a different angle, trying to find missing girls who have been trafficked. Skeeter Malcolm has a similar goal, so we’re working together.”
A haughty look flitted over her face. “From what I heard when I walked in, sounds like you’re screwin’ him.”
I shrugged slightly, still keeping my bored expression. “What can I say? A girl has needs and he’s a good lay.” I paused. “But we’re getting off topic. How did you find out that Skeeter Malcolm is a murderer and a weapons dealer? I can’t imagine Razor just dropped that in polite conversation. Or pillow talk, for that matter.”
She glanced over at James, who still had his arm slung over the bench like he was enjoying a day at the park, but the look in his eyes remained deadly.
“I heard him tellin’ someone else over the phone.”
“What was he saying?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said in frustration, running her hand over her head. “He said something about Skeeter Malcolm was a dead man walkin’.”
“When was this?” I asked.
