Free Lethal Instincts by Kasia Radzka Page B

watching her, but all eyes were on the next job. She wore jeans and a T-shirt and jacket, so no one could mistake her for a pro as she made her way down the street. But it didn’t stop the random hoots and call outs which she ignored, and carried on with what she came to do.
    The women had already started coming out from the safety of their flats or rooms, or from wherever. Lexi noticed the disparity in ages. From those who looked far underage to those who should have known better were hustling on the streets trying to make a few quid. Their eyes glazed over from either drugs or alcohol, or simply the allure of making some quick and easy cash. Although Lexi would not consider it easy money. The price of dignity and self-respect were too high. But everyone had their own reasoning, she wasn’t there to judge.  
    “Have you seen this person?” Lexi asked a girl who looked barely legal. Her blond hair curled to look like one of Charlie’s Angels, her tiny body covered by a tight mid-riff sparkling top and an even shorter mini skirt, her stilettos making her at least two inches taller than Lexi.  
    “How much you gonna pay if I say yes?” she said, her words slurring.  
    Her eyes were glazed over more than Lexi had first noticed. She was high on something and there was nothing Lexi could do about it. She wanted to help her but how did you help someone who wasn’t prepared to help themselves?
    She thanked the girl, gave her ten pounds and told her to go and get something to eat. Lexi heard swearing behind her and saw that the girl did not move away from her corner. Instead a pimp came by, took the money and left the girl standing there waiting for the next score to come by and use her expertise, whatever that may be.  
    Lexi shook her head. It made her sad, the way people destroyed their lives. So much potential ruined by stupid choices.  
    Lexi was going to approach another girl, just twenty yards in front of her, when a car pulled up and the girl leaned in to the window. Lexi didn’t catch what she was saying but she guessed that a transaction was being made. Twenty seconds later, the door opened, the girl got in and the car sped off to an unknown destination. Either way the client would be satisfied and the girl would make her dough for the night before a pimp took it away from her. She hadn’t spotted any pimps out in the open but they were there, watching, observing, making sure their business performed.  
    Lexi carried on, she had spoken to a dozen women who had given her the same response. For fifty pounds they’d tell her anything she wanted to hear. That wasn’t the information she was chasing. She moved on checking the bars and clubs without yielding a result.  
    After another hour she took a break and walked into a coffee house that opened till late. Patrons filled the premises, the smell of brew wafted in the air. She ordered a coffee and wondered if she should be coming up with plan B. Walking the streets was not working. She wasn’t surprised. It was likely that even if they did know something, they wouldn’t talk. The risk was too great, especially for fifty pounds. They were in this lifestyle for life, and there was nothing Lexi could offer them to get them out.  
    She considered the familiarity of the place. Back home there wasn’t a red-light district per se, sure there were certain spots women and pimps operated from but nothing of this magnitude. The major capitals were another story, they had their own areas where it was better to keep away from once the sun went down.  
    “Word’s going round you’re looking for someone.”
    Lexi turned to see a woman looking her up and down. She stood maybe five foot five in heels, wearing tight leggings and a gold singlet that accentuated her frontal assets. Her eyes didn’t wash over like the others. The woman didn’t look high, and if she was, she knew how to handle it without getting noticed. She could’ve been a prostitute but she could have