Street Rules

He waved an arm at her and started shuffling down the hall, but Frank grabbed him.

'Uh-uh. Gloria you might want to ask everyone to leave.'

'Fuck you. This is my house.'

'Whatever. Your brother wants to tell you something.'

His chocolate-colored eyes filled with fear again. Gloria saw it, and said, 'Tell me what, pendejo?'

He turned to Frank, pleading, 'You promised you wouldn' tell nobody!'

'I'm not.'

She turned him toward Gloria, who was rising off the couch, coming toward him.

'Hijo?' Claudia asked.

Gloria was shorter than Tonio, but wider, thicker of arm. She stood under her half-brother's chin. 'Chingado,' she warned making a fist. 'Que lo dijiste?'

'Nada,' he quavered. 'I didn't tell her nothin'. Esta loca, ella.'

'Tell them, Tonio.'

Gloria growled in Spanish at her friends. They grabbed their babies and left in a hurry. She turned back to her brother and shoved him. He stepped backwards and she followed, shoving him again.

'Que hiciste? 'she shouted at him.

Putting his forearms up as if to block a blow, he insisted he hadn't done anything. Claudia came between them, staring up at her son. She said something Frank couldn't hear and Tonio answered, 'Mami, I had to. She knew!'

'Hijola!' Gloria screamed, launching herself at him like a heavy-weight contender. She slapped his head with arms like windmills and when he tried to defend himself she pummeled his belly. Dazed, Claudia walked back to the kitchen. The kids froze in their play, mouths loose and eyes wide. Frank followed Claudia. She was sagged over the sink.

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'What could you do?' she shrugged, resigned always to the worst.

'I could have helped you.'

'Like he helped?' she hurled. 'Like any jura ever helped us?'

'Maybe no other cop's helped you, but I did. I cut you plenty of breaks, you know that's true. I've never jacked you, Claudia, or any one in your family. I've always been firme with you.'

'You're still a cop. Just like him.'

Gloria screamed into the kitchen, raging at Frank, 'There! Are you happy now? You got your answers, eh? Are you happy? Eh? Eh? Is that what you wanted?'

For a crazy second it looked like Gloria was going to swing at her, but before she could, Claudia snapped, 'Bastante!'

She ordered her daughter to leave them in peace, to go from the room. Eyes rabid, Gloria backed out. The two women stood alone in the kitchen. All the babies were crying and they listened to Gloria soothe and scold them at the same time.

'What you gonna do now ?' Claudia asked tiredly.

'I don't know yet. This is all your word against his. I've got to check some things out.'

'He'll kill us if he thinks you know.'

'Claudia, if this is true, I don't want him to know. But I need your help with that. I have to know everything you know. I can't help you — or protect you — unless you talk to me.'

Frank pulled out a chair. 'Tell me everything. From the beginning.'

Chapter Twenty-six

A sleepy voice answered, 'Hello?'

'Hey, Joe. It's Frank. Did I wake you up?”

“Matter of fact you did. It's . . . four o'clock your time. What's up? Must be serious for you to call me.”

“It is. Listen.'

She told her old boss who Tonio had implicated as his sister's murderer, continued after he'd whistled.

'I was with Claudia and the kids all night. This started years ago, when he was with Narco. He had the contacts, Barracas had the dope, and Claudia and her brothers ran it. Claudia'd send the kids out on deliveries. Gloria did it until she had the babies, then Placa had to do it. Over the years he and Barracas got pretty big — Christ, I don't even want to know how big. By now Barracas knew the contacts and he wanted to muscle our boy out. That ended with Barracas and his family dead on ground.

'So now all the running's left up to Claudia and the kids. Well, to Placa really. She was doing most of it. She hated it and he's made it pretty clear what'll happen if they didn't say 'How high?' when he says 'Jump.' But she was gonna rat him out. She was always so fucking proud.'

'Tell me something.'

'Yeah?'

'Why do you believe them? How do you know they just aren't throwing shit at you?'

She told Joe how she'd been at the Estrella's until two in the morning. They were whipped, even Gloria, who'd cried, then lashed out at Tonio again. In a monotone, Claudia narrated what had been happening all these years. As she talked, Tonio or Gloria would throw in a detail. Frank hadn't wanted to believe them, but everything fit, and after a career spent weeding truth from lies, she was convinced.

'Got any wits?'

'No. That's the bitch. Seems she'd just gotten home Saturday from making a big delivery for him when he calls and says he's got a client in Hollywood who needs dope pronto. Placa was pissed. She'd just gotten home and now she had to go out again. Claudia gave her the stash and she slammed out of the house. That was the last they saw her. He must have picked her up on the way to the bus stop. She probably knew right off she was fucked, but she got in anyway. First mistake. Should've run then. But she didn't. He drives her where he wants her. Takes her .25 away. Fucks her. Then somehow she gets away from him but she's a loose cannon now and he knows it. Grabs the .25 right there. Pops her. Just another drive-by. Only two wits saw he was parked there. Couldn't make the car, but they said it had a round back, not a square one. Guess what he's driving this year. A brand new Lincoln.'

Frank paused.

'He called her out of the house, Joe. Premeditated.'

'You can't prove that.'

'Not yet,' she repeated. 'I pulled a search warrant. Bobby and Nook confiscated a bunch of her stuff. They went through some of it but got derailed by a redeye last week. I came back to the office after I got done with the Estrella's. I've been going through the rest of it. She had two notebooks from school. They've got hexes and curses all over about 'the fucking pigs' and 'chotas die, 187 LAPD, the LAPD struck out. Then I saw this really heavy impression on one of the pages. I shaded it real light with a pencil. His name was all over the page. She was furious. She had the motive to cheese him out, and knowing her, she would have. And the motherfucker knew,' she sighed.

Frank explained how Claudia had produced two photos of him taking money from Placa. Tonio had taken the pictures and though the quality was poor, both subjects and their activities were clear. Gloria had found them under her sister's underwear, snuggled next to a .22. When she'd found them she'd come screaming to her mother, threatening to kill her brother for being so stupid. Tonio hadn't wanted to take the pictures, but Placa made him, calling it their seguro, their insurance.

'I'm thinking that was what she wanted to show me Sunday morning. If they were insurance she was keeping for a rainy day, they'd have been hidden somewhere safe, not right next to her gat.'

'Okay, okay. Maybe you can get him on extortion. How's that prove he capped her?'

Frank squeezed the bunched muscles at the base of her skull.

'It doesn't. I don't have anything to pin his balls to the wall with. Not yet.'

Joe didn't say anything and Frank asked, 'Still there?'

'Yeah, yeah. Have you told anybody about this yet?'