“Were you interested in entering into a similar arrangement?”
“No. That is not my type of business. I’m just here hunting,” I said thinking that I might as well call it what it is. “For information.” I added to be polite.
Kasim laughed. “I understand and naturally respect that.”
“I was informed that you were a man who would.”
“From what Mr. Thompson tells me, you’re the man I needed to be talking to all along.”
“That depends on what you had in mind.”
“I have many friends and business associates that enjoy gambling. I was speaking with Mr. Thompson about the possibility of setting something up. But he told me that he needed to talk to you.”
“I can definitely be of assistance with that. In fact, I can also provide security and entertainment as well.”
“Excellent. Many of my associates also have a taste for the company of black women,” Kasim said.
“I am sure that we can come to some sort of understanding and set that in motion for you,” I said.
We stayed there with Kasim, hammered out the details and made some arrangements before we left and caught the train back uptown. But we were no closer to finding out who had Whitey killed and why.
Chapter Twenty-two
When we got back uptown and got in Bobby’s car, we rode around to a few places, talking to people about Vance and what his connection was to Whitey.
It was after two in the morning when Bobby parked in our spot in the alley across the street from The Late Night. We had been hanging out at Cynt’s, so it had been a couple of days since we’d been there. In addition to the regulars that come there just to be seen standing outside, there was a line to get in both The Late Night and The Blue Room.
Me and Bobby waded through the crowd, saying what’s up and shaking hands with the fellows and got hugs and kisses from the ladies until we got inside. The first person I saw was Detective Kirkland, in my spot, and he was coming straight at me. “Mike Black,” he yelled over the music.
“Detective.”
“And you must be Bobby Ray.”
“I am. And you must be Detective Kirkland.”
“Kirk will do,” he said and turned to me. “Where you been, Black? I’ve been looking but hadn’t seen you around for a while.”
“I’ve been traveling, Detective. I needed to get away, so I spent some time in the islands.”
“Had to get away, huh?” the detective nodded. “Is there someplace where we can talk, and I don’t have to yell?”
“We can talk in my office,” I said and led the way. And with that, I knew that he wasn’t there to arrest me. Cops only wanna talk when they don’t have anything solid to go on.
“I’m gonna run to the bathroom and join you two in a minute,” Bobby said.
“Don’t get lost,” the detective told him.
On the way to the office, I saw Freeze, made eye contact with him and he started making his way through the crowd to get to me.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Let’s hope,” I said and discreetly handed him my guns.
I continued walking toward the office and when I passed the bar, I saw Detective Sanchez. He was Narcotics, a nice guy as far as cops are concerned, but he was a no-nonsense cop. If both him and Kirk were here, it wasn’t good for me.
“Black,” Sanchez said and fell in behind us.
When we got in the office, I took off my coat and sat down on the couch. Sanchez sat down next to me, while Kirk chose to stand in front of me. I looked at him, tried to get the measure of the man that stood before me. The fact that he had hooked up with Sanchez spoke volumes.