After drifting around the Near North Side, putting his head in Smoky Gooden’s policy joint, passing some genial semiprofessional chitchat with elements of the MPD Morals Squad on their way in and out, listening in on a Bronzeville establishment or two, the Flame, the Polka Dot, the Moonglow, Hicks rolls into Arleen’s Orchid Lounge a little before midnight.
