'So what's the plan?' I asked.
'OK, here's how we need to play it. If we single her out of the group,
she's going to use us as a way to get props from her friends. We've
got nothing on her, so once she calls our bluff, it's over. I'll play
it nice and tell the group they need to stop blocking the sidewalks.
Get them to move on. Maybe we'll have a shot then at talking to her
alone. You act like you're my partner.'
It was the last part I couldn't go for. I was pretty sure my boss
wouldn't approve of one of his deputies impersonating a police officer.
When Tommy was through teasing me about always following the rules, we
agreed I'd fall back while he tried to break up the group.
He wasn't in uniform, so a couple of the less savvy kids didn't realize
Tommy was a cop as he approached them. 'Hey, man, spare some change?'
one of them asked.
'Not today, dude.' Tommy flashed his badge. 'But I do have a tip for
you. Mounted patrol should be coming by in a few minutes. Why don't
you guys hightail it out of here before they give you a hard time.'
The one I was pretty sure was Haley piped up. 'What do you care?'
'Honestly? I don't care whether you go to juvie or not. But the
officers doing the rounds today are coming up on reporting time, and I
got a bet with a buddy at the precinct that their unit's not going to
meet their enforcement quotas this month. Listen to me or not. It's
up to you.'
That did the trick. The kids slowly started getting up, collecting
their blankets and bags, and walking in separate directions in smaller
groups. Haley started to cross the street to Pioneer Square. 'Haley,
hold up,' Tommy called after her.
She swung around toward us, throwing a large handbag over her shoulder
and placing her hands on her hips. 'I knew you guys were full of shit.
Give me a break. Alright, man?'
Tommy held his hands up in mock surrender. 'We're not here to hook you
up on anything. We wanted to see if you could give us some help with
something.'
Hands still on her hips, she rolled her eyes and laughed to let us know
that the notion of cooperating with the police amused her. She nodded
in my direction. 'Yeah, and what's she here for, fit me for my Girl
Scout uniform?'
I had some damn good tacos going soggy on my desk. The last thing I
needed was for some twit to patronize me, but I did my best to keep the
anger out of my voice. 'I'm Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid.
Sergeant Garcia and I
were hoping you could talk to us about something that happened Saturday
night to a girl you might know, Kendra Martin. Take a minute with us,
and we'll buy you some lunch. You could probably use a bite to eat.'
She raised her eyes toward Tommy with anticipation. He picked up on
the cue. 'Twenty bucks to hear us out. Up to you whether you stay
after that.'
The cash worked. We sat with her on one of the brick steps in Pioneer
Square and explained that we were investigating the assault on Kendra
Martin and thought she might have heard something on the street about
it. We didn't tell her that Kendra had told me that they were friends
or that I had pictures of her getting it on with the Tasmanian Devil
guy. She stared at us through hard eyes, lips pressed into a straight
line, as we described the violence inflicted upon Kendra. I thought I
saw her take a quick downward glance and a small swallow when Tommy
told her that a man named Frank Derringer had been arrested and
charged.
Tommy made a soft play to get information from her. 'Anyway, I've
asked around the patrol officers and they tell me you know about as
much as anyone does about what goes on with the kids down here. If you
can give us anything on this guy Derringer, or any other guys who might
be into doing this kind of thing to a girl, we'd keep your name out of
it.'
'I don't believe you, but since I don't know nothing about it, it don't
make a difference, does it?' Haley pulled the twenty bucks Tommy'd
given her from her front pocket and shook it in front of her as she
stood to face us. 'Thanks for the twenty bucks, though. Losers.' She
made the shape of an L on her forehead with her thumb and forefinger,
just in case we missed her point.
We didn't try to stop her as she walked away. It was clear that we
didn't have whatever it might take to get Haley Jameson to betray the
life she'd committed herself to.
'Lost cause' Tommy sighed 'but, hey, at least we gave it a shot. I'll
flag it in PPDS for someone to call me if she gets popped for anything
down the road.'
'Tommy, I know we were only using the case to get a conversation going
with her about vice, but I got the impression she knew something.'
He shrugged his shoulders. 'Possible. Guy like Derringer might get
