CHAPTER 41
Cassie, Harper, and Cain walked out of Spivey’s with three large cups of dark roast and a handful of granola bars. Cain unwrapped one and took a bite. He couldn’t remember his last meal. What or where. Was it even today? He finished the bar in three bites, tossed the wrapper in a street side trash container.
“You think Jason really knows anything?” Cassie asked. “About the murders?”
“Based on what we found in his phone,” Harper said, “he plays second fiddle. Tommy ran the show.”
“But he knows something,” Cain said. “I got that feeling when we talked with him. Seemed he gave up just enough for us to go away.”
“You think he’ll be more forthcoming now?” Cassie said.
“With your powers of persuasion?” Cain said. “Definitely.”
She laughed. “And if I fail, you can always threaten to cut his eyes out again.”
“Or turn Harper loose on him.”
“Me?” Harper said.
“She’s much more dangerous than I am,” Cain said. “She just looks innocent.”
As they entered the PD, Poppy smiled from behind the welcome desk.
“Anything new?” Cassie asked.
“Not that I’ve heard.”
Cassie glanced toward Cain and Harper. “Poppy actually runs everything around here. If she doesn’t know something, there’s nothing to know.”
“She’s just being nice,” Poppy said. “I mostly push papers around and answer the phone.”
“Which makes you the hub,” Cain said.
Another smile from Poppy. “I like that.”
“Okay, Captain Hub,” Cassie said, “we’ll be down in the conference room. Jason Epps is coming in. At least he better. Let me know when he does.”
They barely got settled around the long wooden table that dominated the room when the com-line of the phone near where Cassie sat buzzed. She answered, said, “Send him back.” She looked at Cain. “It seems you got his attention.”
Jason appeared at the open doorway, slid to a stop. “I’m only going to talk to Chief Crowe.”
Cain kicked a chair back from the table. “Take a seat.”
Jason hesitated, then sat. “Okay, what do you want?”
“Tell me again,” Cassie said. “Where exactly were you when Tommy Finley and his family were murdered?”
Good move, Cain thought. Knock him off-balance. Put him on the defensive. Make him reconsider lying.
“Like I said, over at Big Bill’s. Go talk to Mr. Keener. He’ll tell you.”
“I did. He says you were there until one. Just like you said.”
“Okay. So why am I here?”
“Here’s what this smells like,” Cain said. “You and Tommy Finley do business with a group over in Memphis.” Jason started to say something but Cain raised a hand. “Tommy, or maybe both of you, decided you could do better. Hooked up with someone over in Knoxville. Memphis decided that poaching their business wasn’t allowable so they sent a crew over to send a message.”
“I told you, I didn’t know much about any of that. It was all Tommy.”
“That’s what you said earlier over in the park.” Cain removed one of his throwing knives from its secret leg compartment. He flipped it and snatched it from the air by the handle. Repeated the maneuver. “Remember what I said would happen if you lied?”
Jason scraped his chair back. “He threatened me, Chief. Said he’d cut my eye out.”
“You’ve got another one,” Cassie said.
Cain liked Chief Cassie Crowe more and more. She had guts. No love lost for dirt bags like Jason.
“You ain’t going to do nothing about it?” Jason asked.
“I’m more curious about your answers than I am any perceived threat.”
“You see, Jason,” Harper said, “the murder of the Finley family, and Mr. Shaffer, and the abduction of Dr. Buckner are all part of the same package. What we want to know is who did it, and we think you know the answer.”
“I don’t.”
“Then you’re the most clueless individual on the planet.”
“Listen, I’m telling the truth,” Jason said, now talking faster, tension in his voice. “Tommy ran everything. I simply worked with him. He’s the only one that ever talked with anyone from Memphis. I never did. I never met them.”
“You never received any supplies?” Cain asked.
“Never.” He swallowed hard. Sweat formed on his upper lip. “They wouldn’t allow it. At least, that’s what Tommy said. He said they’d only deal with him.”
“And who are they?” Cassie asked.
“Aren’t you listening? I told you, I don’t know any of them.”
“And they haven’t contacted you?” Cain said.
“No.”
“Like I told you earlier, they will.”
“Well, I won’t talk to them. I’m done with all this.”
Cain leaned back, examined Jason. He was scared. Terrified about now. Time to crank it up.
“You do see that you’ll have no option, don’t you?”
Jason stared at him.
“They’ll need a new boy over here. It’ll either be you or someone else. If it’s not you, you’re a liability. A source of exposure. You see where this is going?”
Jason’s head dropped. “Jesus.”
“Did you ever hear any names?” Harper asked. “Did Tommy ever let one slip?”
Jason looked up. The internal war waging in his head was evident on his face.
Cain flipped and caught the knife again. “Let me remind you, you’re under oath here.”
Jason sighed; his shoulders sagged. “I don’t want anything to do with this.”
Cain placed the knife on the table, the point directed at Jason. “Here’s the problem. Life choices always have consequences. You chose to enter this world and here you are. It’s all on you. They know who you are, where you live, probably a lot more than you can imagine. You’ve seen firsthand what they’re capable of. You’re only way out of this is if we can find them and take them off the board. Understand?”
Jason took a couple of deep breaths, trying to settle his nerves no doubt. Gather the spine to cross a threshold. His personal Rubicon, as it were. “Tommy mentioned two names. Jessie and Dalton. I don’t know any last names. That’s all I know.”
“They’re his Memphis suppliers?” Harper asked.
“As far as I know.”
Cain reiterated that Jason could expect them to contact him and if they did he should agree to whatever they said and then call
