these two were.
“I’ll tell you, lieutenants. I’ve had my fill of revenge over the years.” I looked C-Rod right in the eyes. “And it doesn’t satisfy.”
C-Rod tried looking mean and unimpressed, but I could see in his eyes that he agreed with me on some level, and if he was angry about anything now, it was that he agreed with me.
Shields nodded at me. “We know about your service, Porter. I spent some time over there myself during the first Gulf War.”
“Then you might know what I’m talking about.” But I was still looking at C-Rod.
C-Rod pulled his eyes back to mine, and something flickered in them, something that looked like anger, fear, and regret all balled up together. He said nothing, but swallowed hard. “So let’s hear the rest about the garage,” he said.
I looked to Shields. “Scalzo left the garage last night. He seemed to have received an important call about somewhere he had to be. I don’t know who or what. I left about five minutes after he did.”
“If we find this garage, we going to find extra bodies?” C-Rod asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, let’s hope not, for your sake.” He glanced at Shields and then looked back to me. “So after you got out of there, where’d you go?”
“Home.”
“Anyone vouch for that?”
“My neighbor, Hector Garcia. He was with me until after midnight.”
Shields wrote that down. Then he looked up. “You know a guy named Don Alexi?”
It took a second to place the name, uttered by Scalzo as he was giving me a beating. “Not really.”
“Not really?” C-Rod asked.
“Not really. I’ve heard of him. I don’t know him.”
Shields and C-Rod exchanged glances, asking each other if they had any other questions.
I stood. “Am I free to go?”
Shields nodded back. “Yeah, just don’t go far.”
“You both should know,” I said, “that I’m probably going to be working this case, too.”
C-Rod rubbed his chin. “Free country. Just don’t get in our way.”
Shields stood to show me out. C-Rod remained seated. He took out his phone and started dialing as the door closed behind me. Shields led me by a row of cubicles, and when we turned, we passed Mitchell’s office. I wasn’t surprised to see Dane Parker in there. They were really chatting it up like long-lost friends. They looked to be about the same age, and I wondered if they’d gone to law school or ever worked together.
Shields walked me to the office lobby. “So, this same lawyer hired you to stay on the case?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
“Well, what C-Rod said is right. Don’t get in our way.”
“That won’t be a problem,” I said.
“And let me know if you find anything helpful.”
I nodded. “Sure thing.”
Shields turned, but I called him back.
“Any chance you could get me in to see the crime scene?”
He grinned and shook his head. “Sorry, Porter. You should know better.”
I should have, and I did. But his eyes told me a lot about our level of trust.
Outside, I was hit by a few gusts of humid wind from different directions, vying for my attention. They dissipated as quickly as they hit me, almost like a prelude to the few cracks of thunder that ripped through the sky. The funny thing was, the sky above me was blue and I could feel the August sun tearing into my back. I walked a block south on Twiggs and from there I could see a few thunderheads rolling in from the southwest. It was probably storming in St. Pete right now, and we’d be getting our share of it soon.
Before I went any farther in the investigation, I needed to get up to speed on the lawsuit. The clerk’s office would be closing in ten minutes, so I’d have to settle for reviewing the court file in Mattie’s office. And I had a few questions for Mr. Wilcox himself.
I didn’t call to tell him I was on my way.
CHAPTER NINE
Wilcox & Associates, P.A.
As the rain came down, I ran a few blocks south to the Hilton, where I knew a
“I’ll tell you, lieutenants. I’ve had my fill of revenge over the years.” I looked C-Rod right in the eyes. “And it doesn’t satisfy.”
C-Rod tried looking mean and unimpressed, but I could see in his eyes that he agreed with me on some level, and if he was angry about anything now, it was that he agreed with me.
Shields nodded at me. “We know about your service, Porter. I spent some time over there myself during the first Gulf War.”
“Then you might know what I’m talking about.” But I was still looking at C-Rod.
C-Rod pulled his eyes back to mine, and something flickered in them, something that looked like anger, fear, and regret all balled up together. He said nothing, but swallowed hard. “So let’s hear the rest about the garage,” he said.
I looked to Shields. “Scalzo left the garage last night. He seemed to have received an important call about somewhere he had to be. I don’t know who or what. I left about five minutes after he did.”
“If we find this garage, we going to find extra bodies?” C-Rod asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, let’s hope not, for your sake.” He glanced at Shields and then looked back to me. “So after you got out of there, where’d you go?”
“Home.”
“Anyone vouch for that?”
“My neighbor, Hector Garcia. He was with me until after midnight.”
Shields wrote that down. Then he looked up. “You know a guy named Don Alexi?”
It took a second to place the name, uttered by Scalzo as he was giving me a beating. “Not really.”
“Not really?” C-Rod asked.
“Not really. I’ve heard of him. I don’t know him.”
Shields and C-Rod exchanged glances, asking each other if they had any other questions.
I stood. “Am I free to go?”
Shields nodded back. “Yeah, just don’t go far.”
“You both should know,” I said, “that I’m probably going to be working this case, too.”
C-Rod rubbed his chin. “Free country. Just don’t get in our way.”
Shields stood to show me out. C-Rod remained seated. He took out his phone and started dialing as the door closed behind me. Shields led me by a row of cubicles, and when we turned, we passed Mitchell’s office. I wasn’t surprised to see Dane Parker in there. They were really chatting it up like long-lost friends. They looked to be about the same age, and I wondered if they’d gone to law school or ever worked together.
Shields walked me to the office lobby. “So, this same lawyer hired you to stay on the case?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
“Well, what C-Rod said is right. Don’t get in our way.”
“That won’t be a problem,” I said.
“And let me know if you find anything helpful.”
I nodded. “Sure thing.”
Shields turned, but I called him back.
“Any chance you could get me in to see the crime scene?”
He grinned and shook his head. “Sorry, Porter. You should know better.”
I should have, and I did. But his eyes told me a lot about our level of trust.
Outside, I was hit by a few gusts of humid wind from different directions, vying for my attention. They dissipated as quickly as they hit me, almost like a prelude to the few cracks of thunder that ripped through the sky. The funny thing was, the sky above me was blue and I could feel the August sun tearing into my back. I walked a block south on Twiggs and from there I could see a few thunderheads rolling in from the southwest. It was probably storming in St. Pete right now, and we’d be getting our share of it soon.
Before I went any farther in the investigation, I needed to get up to speed on the lawsuit. The clerk’s office would be closing in ten minutes, so I’d have to settle for reviewing the court file in Mattie’s office. And I had a few questions for Mr. Wilcox himself.
I didn’t call to tell him I was on my way.
CHAPTER NINE
Wilcox & Associates, P.A.
As the rain came down, I ran a few blocks south to the Hilton, where I knew a
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