“You know her name, don’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“You knew her previous to last night?”
“Yes.”
“From?”
“This is difficult, Detective.”
“Just answer the question.”
“I don’t want unnecessary trouble for someone. These girls have enough trouble just turning tricks. They don’t need to be accused of murder, just because someone offed their pimp.”
Detective Kona looked off in the direction of where Gina’s crew was working. “Is it someone in your crew?”
She chuckled. “Definitely not.”
“Did you somehow meet her in the bar on one of your visits there?” he asked.
Gina shook her head. “I met her at the Tanizawa house last Sunday.”
“Was she with someone?”
“Harry.”
“Harry as in Harry Tanizawa?” he asked.
“It was Holly that Chuck was pushing around last night, the one that started the fight between him and Candy.” Gina already felt regret for ratting on a woman that didn’t have the arm strength to club someone to death with a single swing. “Look, I don’t want to make trouble for them, okay? They’re my employers, and for the most part, good people.”
“I want to get this straight,” Kona said. “Holly was in the bar last night, the one Harry owns, dressed like a hooker and got smacked around by a known pimp named Chuck, who by the way is now dead?”
“Right.”
“And Holly is in some way involved in a personal relationship with Harry?”
“They sure looked chummy on Sunday.”
“Curiouser and curiouser,” Kona said while taking a few more notes. “Interesting how she’s turning tricks in Harry’s bar in the evenings when he’s not around, and being friendly with him on weekends.”
“Do you think he knows about that?” Gina asked.
He shook his head. “I doubt it.”
“Maybe I’m trying to be protective of those girls in Chuck’s stable, but I’m wondering if he might’ve just spilled some ice on the floor and slipped on that?”
“I asked Harry about ice in the bin, and he said they emptied and drained it every night, and either he or the other morning bartender filled it again in the morning. Some sort of health code.”
“Maybe he spilled ice when he emptied it, and slipped later?” she asked.
“The floor was dry, no puddles anywhere in the bar area in the morning. According to Harry, the floor would still be wet in the morning after nights when it rained. Humidity, I guess. Not enough time to evaporate.”
“According to Harry? He doesn’t know his girlfriend is turning tricks behind his back, in his own bar. What good is he as a witness?”
Gina’s crew had quit for the day and were slowly leaving, each of them waving goodbye to her. Before she could get in Flor’s car, Detective went to Clara and pulled her aside.
“Just a few questions about something. I can give her a ride home later,” he told Flor.
Florinda tried to argue from the passenger seat, but Flor put the window up and drove off. To Gina’s eye, it looked like a spat started before they were even on the bridge.
The three of them went back to the house to sit in the shade and have something cold to drink. Gina decided to sit on the side of the table with Clara.
“Clara, I’m Police Detective Michael Kona. I’m sure you’ve seen me here at the house in the last few days?”
“What do you want me for? I didn’t do nothing.”
“I know you didn’t. I’m just trying to fill in some blanks with an investigation. Do you mind helping me?”
Clara looked at Gina for a second, who nodded back to her. “I guess it’s okay.”
“I won’t beat around the bush. Miss Santoro has told me about how you used to work for Danny. He was the man that was found on her front porch last week, right?”
“I guess so.”
“You recognized him as Danny? You got a good enough view at him?”
Clara took a lock of her hair and wound an old curl around her finger. “Yeah, it was him.”
“Do you know his last name?”
“Nobody knows anybody’s last name in that business. We hardly know each other’s real name. We all used each other’s street name.”
“What was your street name?” he asked.
“Do I have to tell you?”
“Why wouldn’t you want to? You don’t do that for a living anymore, right?”
“No, but it was a stupid name.”
“Okay, enough of that,” Kona said, turning to a fresh sheet on his pad. “For the record, did you kill Danny?”
“What? No!” Clara ripped off what sounded like verbally abusive language aimed at Kona in Filipino. She didn’t stop until Gina patted her hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. No, I didn’t kill him.”
“Do you know who did?”
“Someone at the park?”
“At Kapalama Park? You can verify he was living there recently?”
She nodded. “For the last couple of months.”
“And you’ve been taking him cheese sandwiches?” he asked.
“I wish it could’ve been more. He didn’t deserve to live that way. He wasn’t a bad guy. He just wasn’t any good at being a businessman.”
“Just to verify, he’s the father of your baby?”
Clara nodded. “He came to Flor’s house one day when they were at work. He’d just quit being a pimp. He was still healthy and strong then. He was pretty good looking, before he got sick.” She looked at both Gina and Kona with pleading eyes. “Please don’t tell Flor or Florinda about him. They don’t know nothing about the father.”
“I don’t have any reason to,” Detective Kona said. “But you’re sure neither of them knows?”
“You think Flor might’ve killed Danny?”
“He’s your brother-in-law, right? And Florinda is your sister?”
Clara started a new tirade in Filipino, then switched back to English. “Are you accusing my sister of something?”
“Wouldn’t it seem reasonable that an older sister would defend her little sister in a situation like this?” he asked. His tone was a little too smug for Gina’s tastes.
“Detective Kona, I’m an older sister to a younger sister, and I can assure you that no matter what happened to her, or how pissed I was about it, I wouldn’t resort to murder. I seriously
