She clicked off and stowed the phone. She didn’t like the feeling she was having. Something was up, something wrong. She didn’t believe in coincidences. A man who looked just like the Pretender showing up where Fitz was stuck vacationing was too convenient by half-oh, God. She hadn’t thought about that. Fitz had said a part had broken on the boat. Could they have been sabotaged?
Just in case, she tried again. The phone rang and rang. There was no answer, and no voice mail. Nothing.
She swallowed back her worry. She had to trust that Fitz would be able to take care of himself. Maybe this was all a mistake. Or maybe the Pretender was sending her a message.
Which brought her back to the here and now. They still had too many unanswered questions. Why had Hugh Bangor been chosen? Why was his house defiled? Why had II Macellaio chosen him? A connection to his old lover? She needed to talk to Arnold Fay just in case. But there was another route she could explore, too.
She had a momentary qualm, then pushed it away. McKenzie was a big boy. He could take care of himself.
She entered the building and found McKenzie in the hall, grabbing them sodas.
“They’re ready for us,” he said.
“Great.” She accepted a Diet Coke. “Listen, I want you to do something for me. Spend a little time with Bangor. See if you can’t find out why he was targeted. It seems like a big chance to take, breaking into the man’s house. See if you can piece together what message II Macellaio was sending us.”
“You know, I was just thinking about that. There must be some connection between them, even if Bangor doesn’t realize it. I’m happy to talk to him some more. He seems like a good guy.” He looked away and she knew where this was going. McKenzie had caught Bangor’s eye, and the feeling was mutual. She decided to caution him again, and not just to assuage her own conscience.
“Listen, Bangor likes you. Just be aware that he may not be telling you the whole truth.”
“I’ll be on my guard. I’m pretty good at reading people.”
“Okay then. That’s your job for tonight. See what you can find out. Now, let’s go meet Mr. Hill.”
Gerald was in the homicide offices with a very unhappy-looking black man. He was a big boy, at least six foot three, heavily muscled, with creeping tattoos parading up his neck and down his arms. His shaved head was covered in a black silk doo-rag. He wore a dingy white wife beater tucked into a pair of low-slung Sean Jean black denim jeans, a massive crystal dollar-sign belt buckle holding the jeans in place, and white leather sneakers with no laces. He was nervous, sweating. Taylor raised an eyebrow at Gerald in question.
The vice commander just smiled.
“My boy here was carrying. He’s already done a stint in Riverbend, he’s on parole and knows better. I made it clear that if he tells you what you need to know, I might be persuaded to forget he was in violation. Just for tonight. He knows I catch his ass again and in he goes. Ain’t that right, Tyrone?”
The man mumbled something, and Gerald yanked at his arm.
“Yessir,” the man said again, clearer this time. Hell, Taylor didn’t even think man was right; he looked like a teenager. He was obviously intimidated. Good. That would do nothing but help them.
“Let’s go in the conference room. We’ll have more space.” And it would set Tyrone’s mind at ease a bit; she could tell he was jumpy as a cat on a hot roof. The threat of jail wasn’t always enough to get a confidential informant to speak.
Once the four of them were settled, Taylor sat back in her chair, trying to put him at ease. She adopted her most conciliatory tone.
“Tyrone, I do appreciate your being here. We want to capture the man who hurt Allegra. You might be able to help us. But first, can you tell me about a woman named Leslie Horne?”
Tyrone looked desperately uncomfortable and started to sputter. Before he said anything, Elm stormed in the room, shouting. They all jumped at the sudden intrusion.
“What are you doing? You can’t interrogate a murderer in here. He needs to be in chains!” He made a beeline for Tyrone.
Taylor stood, putting herself between her lieutenant and her informant.
“Lieutenant, this isn’t a murderer. This is a confidential informant working with the Specialized Investigations unit.”
“Don’t try to bullshit me, young lady. I know Dominick Allen when I see him. He’s been wanted by the New Orleans police for ages. We must put him in chains! We can’t let him escape again.”
Taylor looked at Gerald, who was shaking his head. This was the second time Elm had spouted off about New Orleans. What the hell was going on? Elm was quivering with his need to get his handcuffs on Tyrone, kept lurching around her trying to get to him.
“Sir, this man isn’t from New Orleans. He’s from Nashville. He’s a confidential informant named Tyrone Hill. He’s not Dominick Allen.”
Elm stood for a moment, staring through his bulgy eyes at them, then a frown creased his forehead. He calmed, staring at Tyrone. He still looked suspicious, but nodded and left the room. Taylor didn’t know what to make of the interruption. Elm was looking more crackerjacks by the minute.
She turned back to Tyrone, who was staring at the floor. She settled back into her chair.
“I apologize for that. Tyrone, listen. You obviously know Leslie Horne. Talk to me about her. Tell me who her family is so I can talk to them.”
“That man crazy. I ain’t never been to New Orleans.”
“I know, Tyrone. Don’t worry about him. Tell me about Leslie.”
“I’m her family. She ain’t got no one else.”
“What about Allegra? Were they friends?”
He hesitated, chewing a large dry spot on his chapped lower lip. “Yes and no. They fought like bitches in the wild sometimes, those two, then braided each other’s hair and went shoe-shopping at Payless. Never could figure out what set them off, other than the usual competition.”
“So Leslie was one of your girls, too, is that it?”
“Mebbe.” He looked genuinely upset, so Taylor softened her tone.
“When was the last time you saw Leslie, Tyrone?”
She could tell he was calculating the answer. “Just tell me the truth, okay? I’d like to find out who killed them.”
“Ha. Like you’d actually worry about some brother who killed a coupla black girls.”
Taylor slapped her hand on the table. “Actually, I do care. I don’t give a crap what color you are, and that kind of bullshit is going to get you absolutely nowhere with me. A crime is a crime, and it’s high time for you to tell me what I need to know. Now that we have that clear, when was the last time you saw Leslie?”
Tyrone looked impressed. She imagined he was thinking how much he could charge for her. But he quit the posturing, answered the question.
“Three weeks.”
“And you didn’t report her missing?”
“She were with Allegra.”
Taylor resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead. Of course Leslie was with Allegra. That’s how the timing was so perfect. He took two at once, dumped them one day apart. Who had died first? No way to know that until Sam determined the time of death through her tests, but they’d obviously died near the same time.
“They had a trick together?”
“Yeah. Some dude in one of them Pious cars pulled up to the curb asking for a date. He don’t look crazy or nothin’, so I let them go with him. Dat’s the last time I saw them.”
“What did he look like?” Taylor asked.
“Hell, I hardly noticed him. Meek. Brother, but a mutt. Medium build, light skin. That’s all I noticed. All I’m concerned about is the green, if you know what I mean.”
“Could you identify him if you saw him again?”
“Naw. Hell, he just drove up, flashed a wad of cash, asked for two. I didn’t pay him no attention. Though if he a killer and dat’s his car, not one he stole, he be one dumb bunny.”
Taylor laughed. “Tyrone, that’s something you and I can readily agree on. What do you mean when you call him a mutt?”
