'Walking through this thing blind as bats.'
'As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. So let’s look at what we got.'
'Okay. We got bodies. All tied up, all shot in the head-executed. Those are the hard facts. Beyond that, what we got is that we assume they were executed during a drug robbery. We got a crack head who gave us the name PR. That was confirmed by the Evans girl. But so far, finding him hasn’t turned out to be shit.'
'You’re right. Other than the bodies, all we got are a bunch of assumptions,' Kirk said.
'So what we got is zip,' Richards added.
When they got to the apartment they found detectives Goodson and Harris standing in the hallway. 'Not these two assholes,' Kirk said to Richards.
'Hey, what was that you told Black; they’re good cops.'
'I was lying. Bobby was right, they couldn’t find pussy in a ho house.'
Richards laughed. 'Be nice.'
'I am,' Kirk said.
It wasn’t that they were bad cops; they were just more than willing to take the shortest, easiest route to closing a case. And if that meant dumping a tough case on some other detective, they wouldn’t hesitate.
First thing Kirk noticed as they approached the door was that it appeared to be kicked in. In each of the cases there were no signs of forced entry, which suggested that the shooters were allowed to enter. Either because they knew them, or they were expecting to do business.
Kirk pointed the door out to Richards. Harris started trying to push the case off on them as soon as they were close enough to hear. 'I know you guys been workin’ these drug-related robbery murders. I think this might be another one.'
'Tech’s been here yet?' Kirk asked.
'Not yet; busy day. Reyes and his team are on their way,' Goodson said.
'Pat.'
Richards went in the apartment while Kirk stayed in the hallway with Goodson and Harris. Not that he thought they would leave, but there was no point running the risk. Besides, since the CSI team hadn’t been there, he didn’t want to take the chance of inadvertently disturbing what might be evidence. The fewer people entering the crime scene, the better.
Five minutes later, Richards came out. 'What you got, Pat?'
'Two black males; both shot in the head.'
'Just like your other cases, right?' Harris said.
'Wrong.' Richards turned to Kirk. 'Other than the fact that they were shot in the head, the similarity ends there.'
'What makes you say that?' Goodson asked.
'The victims were shot while sitting on the couch. Not on their knees like the others. Their hands weren’t tied behind their backs. Oh yeah, there’s at least an eighth of coke on the floor, probably from the coffee table that was turned over next to it. Near as I can tell, those guys were playing video games and getting zooted when somebody kicked in the door, turned over the table and shot them in the head.'
'Sounds like there is no connection to our case at all,' Kirk said and started walking down the hall.
'Sorry. Guess you’ll have to put in some work on this one,' Richards said and followed Kirk down the hall.
'Got anything on the Lucas case yet?' Kirk asked as he walked.
'Nothing but dead ends,' Harris shouted back.
'Yeah, but we’re on top of it,' Goodson said and laughed as he entered the apartment.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Black received a call on Bobby’s phone from Eddie Domingas, letting him know that Cruz Villanueva was having dinner at La Caridad Restaurant on West Kingsbridge Road. When the call came Black, along with Bobby and Wanda were at a meeting with their financial advisor, Meka Brazil. She was discussing offshore investment possibilities for the group to consider.
'There’s a company that makes multimedia switching gear for cable companies that recently received certification for its Safari C3 product line in Russia, through the Ministry of Communications.'
'That sounds promising,' Wanda said.
'It has the potential to be. Especially when you consider Eastern Europe has a ways to go in terms of communications infrastructure to catch up with the rest of the world, any long-term investment represents a significant opportunity,' Meka said. 'Then there’s wind.'
'Wind?' Bobby asked.
'The United States, Russia and Canada have the greatest capacity for wind power. In the Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk region. The problem is that a lot of the area available for wind power in Russia is far from major cities. As the business capability in the region improves and construction of new transmission lines moves forward, those companies can begin servicing some of the major cities. '
'It’s something for us to think about,' Black said. That’s when Eddie called and Black and Bobby left.
When they got to La Caridad they spotted Cruz seated at a table with another man and two women, having dinner.
'That’s him. Come on,' Black said, and he and Bobby started for Cruz. As they got closer a man stepped out to block their path. 'Where you think you’re going?'
'Over there,' Black said and pointed at Cruz.
The man put his hand on Black’s chest to stop him. 'Nobody goes back there,' he said.
'Okay.' Black grabbed the man’s arm then twisted it behind his back. Black tightened his grip. 'You tell Cruz that Mike Black and Bobby Ray would like a few minutes of his time,' Black said and let go of the man’s arm and pushed him toward Cruz.
The man walked away shaking his arm as he went. He went to Cruz’s table and whispered in his ear. When he pointed in their direction, Cruz looked up and saw Black and Bobby standing there.
'Shit,' Cruz said and leaned close to his partner Jorge. 'What the fuck they doin’ here?'
'I don’t know,' Jorge said.
'Let them come,' Cruz said, and the man went to get Black and Bobby. When he got close to them he signaled for them to follow him.
Cruz saw them coming. 'Stay close,' he said to Jorge, and he and the women got up from the table.
'Hello, ladies,' Bobby said to them as they passed. Both ladies smiled and kept walking.
Black and Bobby got to the table just as the busboy came to clear it. Black and Cruz looked at one another. No one moved or said a word as the busboy did his work. When he was finished and left the table, Black and Bobby sat down. Jorge stood next to the table.
'Mike Black and Bobby Ray, huh? My Uncle Hector used to talk about you guys all the time,' Cruz said.
'How is Uncle Hector?' Bobby asked.
'He’s doin’ good. My uncle is a great man.'
'How’s your Aunt Nina?' Black asked.
Cruz looked at Black. 'She’s good, too.'
'You tell her I asked for her,' Black said and thought about the last time he saw Nina. It was right after Shy was kidnapped in the Bahamas. The kidnappers left the island by boat and headed for Miami.
When Black, along with Bobby and Nick, got to Miami, he stopped at La Covacha to ask Hector if he knew anything about the kidnapping. They checked inside and then went out on the patio, but Hector wasn’t out there so they went back inside. That’s when Black saw Nina coming out of the VIP room and make her way to the bar. Black walked up behind her.
'Hello, Nina.'
Nina closed her eyes and her head drifted back at the sound of his voice. 'Hello, Black,' she said without
