“I don’t respond to blackmail.”
“I understand. Thank you for your time.” I reached across the desk and hung up the phone before the clerk could talk to his dad. Cindy gave me a puzzled look. I just mumbled to her, “Wait for it.”
“Wait for what?”
Just then the phone on the reception desk rang. I felt a little smug when I said, “For this.”
The clerk answered the phone and spoke for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and handed me the phone. I heard the deputy press officer for the mayor of San Francisco say, “You were a little curt with me, Sergeant Boxer.”
“Look, this is important. We need to get to the point.”
Little said, “There’s no need to get the mayor’s office involved in this. If you’re just there to check on a girl’s safety—”
“Great, now talk to your son.” I thrust the phone back in the clerk’s face. As we were waiting for the clerk to get off the phone, I saw a heavyset man built like an NFL interior lineman step out of the elevator and start across the lobby.
Cindy said, “That’s him, that’s the man.”
I took a few steps in the man’s direction. “Excuse me, sir.” I pulled out my badge and said, “SFPD.”
The big man burst into a sprint and crashed through the front doors.
CHAPTER47
LIZZIE STROLLED THROUGHthe SoMa with the tall man who’d offered to buy her dinner. They were a few blocks from Market Street. It looked rough but a step up from the Tenderloin.
The man said, “You’re quite a beauty. Why don’t you come work with me?”
“Doing what?” Lizzie knew what the offer was. She could hear her grandma in her head telling her to walk away. Except if it was really her grandma, she’d have beenscreamingfor Lizzie to run. And then probably would’ve made her point with a pine switch.
At this point, Lizzie didn’t really care. She’d have a place and wouldn’t be hungry. Those were powerful incentives.
“Some modeling, some escort work at parties and such.”
“Just escort?”
“That’s up to you and the client.”
The idea made her nervous but didn’t scare her away. “And I can quit at any time?”
“Of course.”
They turned the corner. There was a lot more activity on this street. People dressed in casual clothes wandered in and out of the open shops, bars, and restaurants. It almost felt like a festival. A band played mariachi music at the far end of the street.
A little diner called Twain’s Inn with a cute red overhang and a couple of tables on the sidewalk sat on the closest corner. The man said, “That place looks good. Not much of a crowd either.”
Just as they approached the front door, two uniformed San Francisco police officers stepped outside.
The man with Lizzie didn’t hesitate to turn to the right. He hustled down a side street. It made her pause and stand on the sidewalk in clear view of the two police officers. The man called to her, but she didn’t move right away. Finally, in frustration, he continued down the side street without her.
The two police officers strolled toward her casually. The taller of the two said, “You okay, miss?”
Lizzie couldn’t help but look after the man just as he turned another corner.
The other cop said, “Did you know that man?”
Lizzie was torn. These two cops had just blown her chance. But they knew something was up. One of them took out a small pad of paper and said, “Do you need a place to stay for the night?”
She decided to give them her name and accept a safe room that wasn’t on the street.
