“Huh… I hadn’t thought of that, but it might be worth looking into. I don’t have his vest or anything like that. Do you think Austin has them?”
“If he kept them, I’m sure he’d give them to you if you asked. But all the paperwork should be filed with our team. I’ll look into it and let you know.”
“Okay… sure.”
He smiled, thinking that it would be nice for Coco to do what he’d been trained for. The dog was too young and too good at what he did to retire. Plus, I had a real knack with animals. I’d be a real asset for the team, and he hoped I’d agree. “Great. I’ll give you a call.”
I nodded and started toward my car, with Coco at my heels. Lance watched us go, and I sent him a wave before shutting my door. As I drove away, I let out a sigh. What had just happened? Sure it would be nice for Coco to do the whole search-and-rescue thing, but did I need one more thing on my plate? Not really.
But it would be nice to help find missing children, right? Maybe it was something Josh would be interested in? Of course, he was probably too young, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. Still, I wasn’t going to cross it off, I mean… it couldn’t take that much time to help with a search once in a while.
I made it home with time to spare, and decided to make a sandwich. Before I got started, my phone rang, and I quickly answered. “Hey Shelby, this is Bates. We’re bringing in a couple of gang members for questioning in the case we spoke about. Can you come down to the precinct?”
“Uh… sure. Give me about twenty minutes.”
“Great. See you then.”
With my appointment an hour away, it would be cutting it close, but talking to a few gang members shouldn’t take too long. I told my kids I had to go in early, and, instead of a sandwich, I grabbed a granola bar and a soda, and headed out.
I made it to the precinct right on time and found Bates waiting for me outside the interrogation room. He motioned me over and filled me in. “We have two known gang members here, but we’ll interview them one at a time. I think we can get this one to talk, so we’re starting with him.”
“Okay.” At my nod, Bates opened the door and led the way inside. The kid sitting at the table looked like he was Josh’s age, and it unsettled me that he was so young. Was interrogating him without his parents even legal? The kid wore a graphic t-shirt and shiny gym shorts. His hair was cut short, and his dark eyes held defiance, as well as a healthy dose of fear.
Bates sat down, and motioned to the chair beside him. After I took my seat, he began the questioning.
“So Elijah…. You know why you’re here?”
“I didn’t do nothin.’ You got nothin’ on me.”
“We know that, stupid. You’re not in trouble, but you will be if you don’t tell us what we want to know. Got it?”
Elijah stared daggers at Bates before glancing down at the desk. “Whatever, man.”
“Look at me,” Bates demanded. He didn’t speak again until the boy met his gaze. “This is serious. A known drug dealer got popped yesterday, and we think you know something about it. Like I said, you’re not in trouble. We’re just looking for information about who killed him.”
Bates opened the file folder he’d been holding and shoved an eight-by-ten photo in front of Elijah. It showed Tommy lying in a pool of blood, with his eyes wide open in death. Elijah stiffened, but from the dead man’s crumpled form, he didn’t recognize him as part of his gang. Still, the blood and purple shade of the man’s skin, sent shivers up his spine.
“You know that guy?” Bates asked. Elijah shook his head. “Maybe you don’t recognize him with all the bullet holes. Here’s another photo.” Bates shoved a mugshot in front of Elijah. “His name’s Tommy Demarco. Now do you recognize him?”
Elijah sat back, barely glancing at the photo and trying to act cool. “I don’t know who he is. He doesn’t run with my crib.”
“Maybe not, but you still get drugs from him.” Bates tapped his finger on the bloody photo. “He goes by Slasher.”
Recognition leapt into Elijah’s eyes. He tried to hide it, but it was too late. “Yeah… maybe I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know who killed him. I wasn’t even there when it happened.”
He was thinking that Slasher was slangin’ keys and smack, so he had a free pass in their hood. Only, that night, Slasher wasn’t selling to any of them.
I didn’t understand what that meant, but I did pick up that the boy had been there and heard the shots. He’d also seen a car drive away.
Bates glanced my way, so I took over the questioning. “Even if you didn’t see who killed him, you were still there. You heard the shots and took off. But wasn’t there something else you were interested in? Why don’t you tell the detective what it was, so you can get out of here?”
The kid’s brows jerked up. Damn. How did I know? “Uh… I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Oh come on… tell us about the car.” He swore in his mind, and I winced. “It won’t hurt to tell us something we already know. And… it would help you a lot… but only if you want to leave.”
If we already knew, he didn’t see the harm in admitting it. “It was a f-in’ BMW. Who drives a BMW into our hood?”
“That’s a good question,” I agreed. “Did you see the driver?”
“No… after the shots, we took a break.” But
