What are the motifs in Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley?

From the start of the novel, Easy shows a cunning mind. When assigned to find Daphne Monet, he asks patrons of John's whether they have encountered a woman named Dahlia or Delilah. Later, when he must locate Frank Green, Easy does not go around to bars asking where he can find the man but rather how he can buy himself some bulk whiskey.