She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “I will.”
She drove the two blocks to Gabe’s house and pulled right in front, as if she had nothing to fear. Her hand had a slight tremble when she removed the keys from the ignition.
She marched past a typical Tucson front yard—a few scrubby cactus, gravel and a tangle of weeds spilling to the curb. She knocked on the door and held her breath, repeating in her head, This is just Gabe Altamarino, Melody’s boyfriend.
Blowing out a breath, she knocked again. They hadn’t discussed a plan B if Gabe wasn’t home, or worse, didn’t live here anymore.
The door creaked open, and a man stood framed by the doorway, yawning and scratching his bushy hair. Not Gabe.
“Hi, is Gabe around?”
The man poked his head outside practically over her shoulder, and she got a whiff of sweat and weed. “If you’re a student looking to buy, you don’t come to the house.”
She looked like a college student? She liked this guy—despite the sweat and the weed.
“I’m not a student. Gabe is, was, dating my cousin, Melody. I was in Tucson and wanted to touch base with Gabe.”
“Oh, yeah, man. Bad news about Melody. Gabe was destroyed.”
Jolene blinked. “I-is he home?”
“Naw, he went to University Ave. to hit up some bars and maybe do a little business.”
“Oh.” Jolene sawed at her bottom lip. “Do you know which bar?”
“There aren’t that many down there. He’s in one of them, or you could try coming back tomorrow. What’s your name?”
“Jolene. I’ll find him on University.”
As she drove back to the grocery store parking lot, she decided not to tell Sam that she gave Gabe’s roommate her name—just in case that was a stupid thing to do. She pulled into a space in front of the store where she saw Sam leaning against a pillar, drinking a coffee. He had another cup in his hand.
She put the car in Park, and it idled as he placed a cup on the roof of the car and opened the door. “I got you a latte. How’d it go? Not there?”
“I talked to his roommate. Gabe’s barhopping on University. I can catch up to him there.”
Sam retrieved the cup from the top of the car and ducked inside, placing both cups in the cup holder. “What kind of guy is his roommate?”
“Stoned.”
“That makes sense.” Sam moved the seat back. “This will make things easier. You look for Contreras in the bars, and I’ll tag along after you. Text me when you locate him, and I’ll saunter into the bar like a stranger—a stranger who can keep an eye on you. I like the idea of you meeting Contreras in a public place better than holing up with him in his house.”
“Oh...” she reversed and pulled out of the lot “...he knows about Melody’s death.”
“Because he heard or because he killed her?”
She parked the car a block away from University, as they didn’t want to chance Gabe spotting them getting out of the same car. Sam waited while she slipped out of the car and strode toward the lights and sounds of the main drag outside the gates of the university.
She didn’t have to turn around once. She knew Sam had her back and wouldn’t let her out of his sight. She could trust him—for that.
Most of the bars gathered on one side of the street with one big restaurant-bar on the other side, which catered more to the parents of the college students, especially at this time of year. Gabe wouldn’t want to show his face there and freak out Mom and Dad.
She tripped into the first bar, had a quick look around and slipped out. A bigger crowd in the next place had her squeezing between groups of students and poking her head into the patio area.
As she left that place, she spotted Sam sitting on a bench sipping his coffee. She looked away and ducked into the next bar where live music blared and frat boys shouted their beer orders to the bartender.
She squeezed her way up the stairs to the balcony that hung out over University. When she reached the top step, she scanned the students starting their school year off with a bang, the boys all male bravado, the girls flexing the power of pouting lips and bared midriffs. A few shell-shocked parents cropped up here and there, and the older hangers-on who flitted around the edges of university life to take advantage of naive girls and profit from misguided boys.
Her gaze skittered to a stop when she located Gabe, one of those hangers-on. She turned from the balcony and sent Sam a quick text that she’d found Gabe.
She smoothed her hands down the front of her denim skirt and launched herself into the fray. She wended her way to the table by the balcony edge, zeroing in on Gabe.
He must’ve felt her attention, as his head jerked up from his beer and his eyes widened. He half rose from his chair, plopped back down and sent the two boys he was probably scamming on their way.
Approaching his small table, crowded with empty beer bottles, she waved. “Gabe, do you remember me?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He coughed a smoker’s cough. “You’re Mel’s cousin.”
She indicated the chair. “Can I sit for a minute?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, sure. What the hell are you doing here? H-how’s Mel?”
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Gabe.” She flattened her hands on the sticky table. “I know you two were still seeing each other, and I know you know she’s dead. I just talked to your roommate.”
His eyes darted to the side and back to her face. He licked his lips. “How’d you know where I lived?”
“Melody.” She flicked her fingers, eager to move on. She had no clue if Melody knew Gabe’s address here
