He puts on the left-turn signal when he hits 12th Street, waits until it’s clear, and makes a U-turn to head east on U.

“Where is this place?” I ask.

“Old abandoned building on Sixth, just off Florida.”

“What makes it so popular that he hoofs it all the way down there to smoke?”

“I can only assume it’s because it’s gettin’ harder to find a safe spot to smoke. All this construction. Everything getting bought up like it is.”

“How big’s the building?”

“Just takes up a portion of the corner is all.”

“Let’s see how it looks when we get there.”

“What you plan on doing if you see him?”

“Have to play that part by ear, but whatever I do won’t burn you, so don’t worry.”

“Yeah, right.”

Old man’s starting to get bothersome, and I have a feeling this is gonna be another waste of time.

Traffic is already bad, and it isn’t even evening rush hour yet. It takes longer than it should to get there. Diamond’s right; there’s too much damn construction in this city.

Lot of pedestrians are out, but guys like Biddy know how to walk the streets. They’re the ones walking the curb, using the trees, the posts, and the parked cars as cover. It’s like they had special training at their own academy. Prison academy.

When Diamond hits 6th Street, he goes south. Damn, he was right. I need to drive around the city more. There was a time not so long ago when I would have counted a dozen abandoned buildings and row houses by the time we hit 6th. Instead it’s little coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques. Homes with well-kept front yards. Prosperity.

“There it is there,” he says, directing me with his head.

It’s a large two-story detached home. All the windows are boarded up. By the looks of it, crackheads won’t have much longer with this place, either. A contractor’s sign has been posted in the front yard.

“Make this left so I can get a view of the side and back.”

Couple of questionable characters walking side by side on the sidewalk on the S Street side of the house.

“You know those boys there?”

“No.”

They cross 6th and continue west on S. Don’t know if they just came out of the house or not, but when Diamond makes the turn it appears that the only safe way to gain access is from S Street, at the rear of the house. It’s too close to the neighboring house on the 6th Street side. Looking at some of the beautiful homes and landscaping here, I gotta assume I made a good investment with my house. Who fucking knew?

“If you back into the cut up there and come back this way, there’s a parking space across Sixth right at the corner.”