Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“I understand, ma’am. But if you could just give him more time? He’s having difficulties right now. I’ll pay the current debt and take care of next month’s too, if necessary. How much does he owe?”
“Seventeen hundred dollars.”
“No problem. If you give me your bank information I’ll have that transferred to you today. How’s that?”
“Well, okay. But if he pulls any more stunts, he’s out.” She disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a slip of paper.
“Thanks very much, Mrs. Duncan. I’ll be back later this afternoon with the receipt so you know it’s been paid.”
She nodded.
When Connelly met his partner outside, Raoul acknowledged him with a lift of his chin. “What took you so long?”
If he told Raoul what he’d just done, he’d surely be in for the lecture of the century. And right now, he didn’t have the energy to deal with that on top of all the other crap they needed to sort through. “Did you drive?”
“Nah, I got a lift from Marcosi.”
“Hop in then,” Connelly said, rounding the hood of his car.
When they were both secure, Connelly pulled into traffic and headed toward the station.
“I take it by your less-than-chipper attitude something bad happened?”
“Don’t want to talk about it.”
“Uh-huh, you know that’s code for keep digging, right?”
“Leave it alone this time, Raoul.”
His partner was silent after that until they made it to the parking lot of the precinct.
“So, I got a couple leads to follow in the drug case. Keller’s been sleeping with one of The Vibe dancers named Lirim Savage. Last night, Jensen also suggested we should try looking at the prostitution angle.”
Raoul’s lips thinned and his eyes filled with suspicion, but whatever he was thinking he didn’t say it aloud. “I say we wrap up the shooting this morning. We’ve got an address finally, we’ll pick up the kid and interrogate him. Once we’ve got that handled we can look through the arrest records. During our lunch break we’ll see if we can track down this Savage guy.”
“Sounds good.”
“And, you know, whenever you want to talk? I’m here, brother.” Raoul shoulder-bumped him on the way inside.
“I know and I will, just not right now. I want to focus on work.” He needed to take his mind off of Azariah’s issues and the anger that hardened his beautiful face. Otherwise, he’d be on his doorstep again and this time he wouldn’t leave.
* * *
Turned out the kid spotted by the camera was the victim. It became clear as soon as his grandmother led them into his bedroom. He had a bloodstained bandage wrapped around his arm. They brought him to the station to make a statement, but he wasn’t talking. Typical.
There wasn’t much they could do unless he changed his mind, so Raoul gave him his business card and urged his grandmother to talk some sense into him.
After that, Connelly and Raoul combed through the records for a few hours but found nothing, which didn’t mean anything really. Keller’s file might be in there under a different name or he might never have been arrested. Around eleven, they called it quits, deciding to track down Lirim Savage.
“NYPD! Open up!” Raoul used his scary cop voice. “Mr. Savage, we’d like to ask you a few questions.”
There was a shuffle on the other side of the door. Connelly nodded at Raoul. “Mr. Savage, we know you’re in there. Don’t make us come back with a warrant.”
“Just a second, damn it.” The voice was muffled through the wood, but the annoyance was clear. It made picturing Savage and Azariah as friends easy. Which was worrisome for so many reasons.
The locks clicked and the door opened.
“What do you want?”
Raoul put a palm on the door and pushed. “Mr. Savage, we’d like to ask you a few questions. Can we come in?” It wasn’t really a question, because he didn’t wait for an answer before shouldering past Savage into the apartment.
Savage cursed. “No. Hey!”
Raoul didn’t listen and now Connelly had moved into position in the doorway so they were flanking the guy. The move had obviously flustered him. He puffed out a breath that caused his loose honey-blond hair to flutter around his face. He was thinner than Azariah but still had wiry hidden strength. He wore a loose shirt with a paisley pattern in wild colors and low-rise, hip-hugging pants. His large feet were bare.
Willowy, Azariah had said to describe him. Connelly would have used hippie, but that was probably an antiquated term.
“Mr. Savage, you are a dancer at a gay club called The Vibe. Is that correct?” Raoul asked.
Savage, caught between them, crossed his arms and did his best tough stance. “Yeah, why?”
“What is your relationship with a waiter going by the name of Keller?”
Connelly focused on the guy’s face, searching for any hint of lies or hidden agendas. Savage took in a quick breath a second before a mask of indifference came over him.