"Hello," she said into the receiver, "This is Paula."
"Hi, Baby, Red."
Red, she thought, big ugly Red, one of Wade's "in crowd." She remembered him from the first, always hanging around, guarding Wade's precious body, and when Wade had turned her out, Red had been one of the first of the gang to take advantage of her new business. He had been rough and surly with her, and left her in a great deal of pain. But she couldn't hate him either, not since meeting Sammy. He was just another blob among the many blobs in her life.
"How's business tonight," he asked, wanting her to remember his superiority.
"Fair," she answered, wanting to say as little as she could to him.
"Well, I'm gonna make it better for ya," he continued. "We've lined up a helluva trick for ya. He's willin' to pay two bill
