Pike tipped his head toward the other girls.

“Those your sisters?”

“No, sir. That’s Lureen and Jonelle. They’re my friends.”

“Which one of those trailers does Ms. Williams live in?”

“The one up front. That’s the big one.”

“Does Moon live with her?”

“He’s in the back trailer, the one with the dogs.”

Pike hadn’t seen dogs when he passed the yard.

“He has dogs?”

“Those pit bull dogs. Those dogs are mean. Uncle Davis told my mama if she ever saw those dogs running loose, she had to call him right away.”

“You know who lives in the other trailers?”

She screwed up her face, then shook her head.

“Was a lady in one and Jonelle’s cousin lived there for a while, but they moved out after Moon came home.”

Moon had brought a blight to the neighborhood.

“What’s your name, blue girl?”

“I’m not supposed to tell my name to strange adults.”

Uncle Davis again.

“You probably shouldn’t be talking to strangers, either.”

“I’m not stupid. You get out of that car, I’ll ride away as fast as I can. Lureen and Jonelle over there, they’ll call my Uncle Davis, then you’ll see.”

“One more thing. Have you seen Ms. Williams or Moon today?”

She circled a couple of times, thinking, then shook her head.

“No, I sure haven’t. I haven’t been down that way today. I was at school, and then I was at Jonelle’s, and Lureen just came over so we’re going to her house.”

Pike said, “Okay, then. You have a nice time at Lureen’s.”

“You watch out for those dogs.”

Pike decided he didn’t have much time as the three girls rode away. They would probably tell Lureen’s mother, and Lureen’s mother would probably call the blue girl’s mother, who would call Uncle Davis. Uncle Davis would probably send a patrol car by to take a look.

Pike waited until the girls disappeared, then idled forward and parked alongside the Riviera. The edge of Mildred’s yard butted against city property where the off-ramp looped down from the freeway, and the rear of the property backed against what appeared to be a large storage facility. Pike saw no dogs, though the last trailer was surrounded by its own taller fence. Pike slipped his .45 Kimber under his belt at the small of his back, clipped the Python to his belt under his sweatshirt, then hopped the first fence into Mildred Williams’s yard.