I motioned toward a chair. We both sat down.
The teenager leaned across the table and said earnestly, “My girlfriend must have been wearing my pants earlier today.”
“Those pants might be a little big for your girlfriend,” I said.
“That pinche puta’s fat.”
“So what do you have for me.”
“What do you have for me, ese?”
“If you’ve got information that helps me solve the murder, I can talk to the DA before the sentencing. I can write a letter to the presiding judge. It all depends on your information.”
“Check it out. My information’s good. You can take that to the bank and cash it, ’cause it won’t bounce.”
“You hear about that murder on the hill Thursday night?”
“The white cop?”
“Ex-cop.”
“Yeah. I got a line on who shot him. I heard it was a guy from the Wilmington Insanes. Guy named Spanky. I normally wouldn’t drop a dime on a vato, but Spanky’s a buster, a total fool.” He stared at me for a moment. “Hey, you Mexican? Or half-Mexican? You look a little Mexican.”
I shook my head. “Who do you claim?”
“I don’t claim.”
I flashed him a skeptical look and pointed to the RBZ tattooed on his forearms.
“Don’t mean shit,” he said without much conviction.
“But you live in the Rancho Boyz’s ’hood,” I said.
“Yeah.”
“And they’re warring with the Wilmington Insanes?”
“So?”
“So you might have a reason to want Spanky off the streets. Anyway, is Spanky usually strapped?”
“Yeah.”
“What does he carry?”
“A three fifty-seven.”
I knew Relovich was shot with a forty, so I hustled the kid out of the interview room. The jailer led him down the hallway and returned with a skinny, jittery, black man in his forties wearing shorts, a Clippers T-shirt, and house slippers. He collapsed into a chair.
“For the last few hours I been thinkin’ on it,” he said. “I need help. I’m a dope fiend. I want rehab, but every time I get picked up they give me county time. Now, I know I’m facing hard time in the joint. They got me red- handed.”
“What were you holding.”
The man extended both his arms. “I had me a motherfucking smorgasbord. I had rocks to get my head up and some tar to get down. Gonna make me a speedball. Even had some chronic in my back pocket. So you can see why I’m ready to deal.”
“You hear about that murder Thursday night?”
“I heard about it. And I was out that night. I saw sumpin’.”
“About what time?”
“Midnight.”
“What you see?”
The man chewed on his thumbnail. “’Pends.”
“Depends on what.”
“’Pends on how you help me.”
“If you’ve got solid information, I’ll try to work it out so you can get treatment at Norco instead of doing prison time. I’ll talk to the DA on your case and I’ll talk to your probation officer.”
“Awright, then,” he said, chewing the cuticle. “I didn’t think much about what I saw that night until the next day when I hear this white cop been shot up on the hill. I needed a taste that night, you feel me? I don’t live but three blocks from that corner. I walk down, get me my taste, and woo, woo, woo. You know how it is. And I’m walkin’ back when I see these two mens makin’ for their car parked at the bottom of the hill. But they didn’t heavy through the ’hood. They kinda light-stepped it to their car, lookin’ around.”
“Can you tell me where their car was parked?”
He described the spot where the bloodhound’s trail ended.
“What did they look like?”
“The dude walkin’ toward the passenger side of the car was skinny and kinda tall. He looked Mez-can. The guy by the driver’s side was shorter and stout. Couldn’t get a good look at his grille, though.”
“Was he Mexican, black, or white?”
“Couldn’t tell. It was too dark.”
“Could you ID either of them if I showed you a picture?”
“Doubt it. Got only a glancing look at the Mez-can and no look at the other guy.”
Abazeda had dark enough skin to pass for Mexican. But, according to the DMV printout, he was five foot nine and weighed one hundred ninety pounds. He could hardly be considered skinny. Maybe he was the driver.
“Let’s give it a try,” I said, sliding the six-pack across the table.
The junkie squinted at each picture, before finally saying, “Can’t pick him out. Sorry.”
I pressed him, but he couldn’t provide more detailed descriptions. He did, however, recall that both were wearing dark stocking caps.
“Maybe them dudes were sailors, wearing lids like that,” he said.
“Were they carrying anything?”
“Mez-can guy wasn’t. Driver had something under his arm, like a box or sumpin’.”
“You see where they went after they got in the car?”
“Whipped around and busted a right. They gone.”
“Can you describe the car?”
“Dark car. Dark night. Couldn’t really tell.”
“You think of anything else, call me. Here’s my card. Memorize the number and rip it up. I don’t think you’d be too popular in here if someone saw that in your pocket.”
“That how you get yourself a righteous ass whuppin’. Or shankin’.”
I walked out of the jail and through the station to Walker’s desk. I told him about the two men the junkie described.
“You believe that junkie?” Walker asked.
“He may be holding something back. They usually do. But I think what he told me is on the level. Do these two guys fit the MO of any teams you know about?”
“No. But I’ll ask around.”
“You tired of interviewing crackhounds?”
“You got any more for me?”
“One. Young Mexican gal. Doesn’t fit the mold. Works as a secretary at a Torrance engineering firm and goes to community college at night. She’s not really sure she wants to deal. Kind of on the fence. I’ll bring her in. You’ll have to convince her to talk.”
I returned to the interview room and a few seconds later the jailer brought in the woman, who was in her early twenties and looked too clean to be a crackhead. She was dressed like a preppy and wore khaki slacks with a sharp crease, suede loafers, and a pale green V-neck Polo sweater. She had large, liquid brown eyes and wore her hair in a long ponytail.
Looking frightened she said, “I’ve never been arrested before. I’ve never even been in a police station before.”
“Why’re you here now?”
“This guy. I only dated him twice. He sent me down to the corner to buy some rock. We were going to party tonight.” She blinked hard, fighting tears. “I’m such a dang idiot.”
“I might be able to help you.”
