“His old business partners kept records.”
For the first time, I heard a note of fear in her voice. “The Agrellas.”
“Yes. The Agrellas.”
Her eyes fixed on me through the drifting smoke. “…is it true what they say?”
“I don’t know – what do they say?”
“That your boss… ‘retired’ his old business partners.”
I shook my head. “No. In fact, it was the Agrellas who betrayed my boss. They were killed by someone else they were working with.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, obviously not believing me.
“You have nothing to fear from my employer,” I reassured her.
“Uh-huh,” she repeated in the exact same tone of voice. “Wasn’t it your employer who drove all the pimps out of town?”
“It was.”
“Did the pimps have ‘anything to fear’ from your employer?”
“That’s different. Don Rosolini wants to stop the victimization of women such as yourself, so he forced out the people responsible for it.”
“I didn’t have a pimp, so it didn’t affect me,” she said, taking another puff. “But it affected some of my friends.”
“I see. Do you – ”
“One of them was beaten up last week by a customer of hers.”
I paused a second, angry at the piece of shit who’d hurt her friend.
Then I said, “I’m sorry to hear that. She should go to the police and report the man.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to change anything,” Luna said darkly.
I frowned. “I don’t understand. Do you want us to – ”
“Look,” she interrupted, “I have something to say. I hope you’ll convey it to your boss and let him know that I mean it with all due respect.”
“Alright… go ahead.”
She took a sip of her wine as though steeling herself, then set down the glass.
“I’m going to take you at your word and believe that everything you’ve said is true. That your boss wants to right some wrongs and do some good.
“But runningallthe pimps out of town wasn’t the way to do it. Yes, I know your boss is trying to get rid of violent men… but in this line of work, there’salwaysviolent men. Some of them are customers. As bad as the pimps are, they fuck up the violent customers so they’re afraid to try anything. So when your boss ran all the pimps out of town, he left a lot of women exposed.”
“Are you saying heshouldn’thave tried to help?” I asked coolly.
“I’m saying that throwingallof themout was like using a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel. I’m guessing your boss is too busy to concern himself with details like that, but if he’s trying to help women on the streets, it’s things likethatthat actually matter.”
I couldn’t argue with what she was saying.
“As far as the money,” she continued, “I’ve been doing this since I was 19. I’m 31 now. I don’t know how todoanything else.
“If it was just me, I might try. I might take the money and make a go of it. But I have a little girl to support.”
