Charly was out of the kitchen and coming up behind Boone when he peeped out of his peephole. She realized he had his gun at his side, which only reminded her of the danger that still lurked around them, and then he relaxed. And opened his door. But he kept that gun at his side.
When Charly realized the man at the door was the guy with the dreadlocks who had been at Rita Mae Brown’s family home, she relaxed too. But not entirely. Why would he be coming there?
“What is it?” Boone asked him.
Dreadlocks glanced at Charly. “May I come in?” he asked.
“No,” said Boone firmly. “What is it?”
“I heard they shot Dalbert,” Dreadlocks said.
“Who shot him?” Boone asked.
“His boss is who I’m willing to bet.”
Boone and Charly both frowned. “His boss?” Boone asked. “Who’s his boss?”
“Lester P,” said Dreadlocks.
“Lester Pataki?” Charly asked before Boone could. “You’re saying the vice-chairman of the Saint Christopher board of directors is a drug dealer’s boss?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” said Dreads. “Lester P always been Dalbert’s supplier. He runs the drug trade in Hemingway. You wanna know how that opioid crisis got so bad around here, look no further than Lester P. He got those doctors to prescribe all of that Vicodin and oxycodone and all of those pain killers to drug addicts like it was cotton candy at the fair. He’s the man you need to arrest.”
“Why didn’t you mention his name when you were talking to me at Rita Mae Brown’s house?” Boone asked him.
“Cause I knew your mind was already made up,” Dreads said. “You had Amos Yerkson behind bars. Like most cops, the case was closed as far as you were concerned.”
“Why didn’t you mention his name to me?” Charly asked him. “My mind wasn’t made up.”
“But you didn’t have the power to do nothing. I figure you hook up with Dalbert, he’d tell you what you needed to know. Instead you hooked up with Chief, and let him tell you what you needed to know when he didn’t know squat either.”
“Watch it,” Boone said to him.
“I’m just telling you what I know,” said Dreads.
“And how do you know this?” asked Boone.
“I’m not gonna lie, I used to send clients Dalbert’s way, okay? I used to do that, sure I did. And Dalbert wanted me on his payroll. He’s the one who told me about Lester P. But I wasn’t going out like that,” Dreads said. “People wanna poison their systems, fine. But I’m not selling that poison to them.”
“Anything else?” Boone asked him.
“Nall, that’s it.”
“Don’t leave town,” Boone said. “I may need to talk to you again.”
“Where I’m going?” Dreads asked as he turned to leave.
“And Malcolm,” Boone said, calling him by a first name Charly didn’t know herself.
Dreads turned back around. “Yeah?”
“Why would you come all this way just to tell me that?”
“Because Dalbert pumped that poison into Rita Mae’s system when I told his ass to let her be. Now he’s dead and nobody’s gonna pay for her death? That’s why I came here.”
Boone nodded. He was going to tell Malcolm to never come to his home uninvited ever again, but he didn’t want Charly to think less of him. They needed the info he gave to them. That was why he remained silent as the young man left.
Boone closed and locked his door. Charly looked at him. “You believe him?” she asked.
“About Pataki? No,” said Boone.
“But how would you know if he’s telling the truth or not?” Charly asked. “He sounded convincing to me.”
“He was convincing alright. He convinced us of his lie. But my experience tells me Pataki’s not that kind of guy.”
“Or that you made up your mind that Amos is Rita’s killer, and therefore you aren’t interested in any other scenarios? I hope that’s not the case.”
Boone was a little hurt that she would think of him that way. But he realized their relationship was still brand new. They were still getting to know the heart and soul of each other. “I’ll check it out,” he said. “But in the meantime,” he said, pulling her into his arms, “you, young lady, will be going back to my parents’ home.”
“I can’t. I’ve got to be at the church. The grief counselors are coming, and Dr. Dorsett put me in charge of spearheading the effort.”
“Okay,” Boone said, proud that she was taking the bull by the horns. “Good. But I’ll take you there, and I’ll pick you up. I do not want you to hang outside under any circumstances. You understand me?”
She nodded. “I understand that you think you’re the boss of me,” she said with a smile on her face.
“I think it?” he asked her, kissing her. “No, ma’am. I know it!” She laughed. He slapped her behind and stared at it as she headed back to the kitchen and to their breakfast.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Boone’s truck stopped outside of the law office of Les Pataki. Dontay Culpepper, whom Boone asked to ride shotgun with him, got out on the passenger side. Dontay felt honored that the chief would ask him to accompany him, and not one of the more seasoned vets. But he was realizing what the seasoned vets already knew: Boone was always giving Dontay the choice assignments. Boone always had Dontay accompanying him. To the veteran cops it wasn’t fair. He should get in line like they had to. But to Dontay, it was God’s grace. He lived his life in faith and trust and hard work. It was paying off for him.
Les Pataki’s secretary allowed them passage into Les’s office, and neither one of them accepted his offer to have a seat. And as usual, Dontay thought, his boss was no brownnoser. He got down to business and told Pataki exactly why they were there.
And Pataki was insulted. “It’s a bald-faced lie!” he said. “I’ve never been involved in any drug trade or drugs of any kind in my life!”
“Then why did your name come up?” Boone asked.
“How should I know? Somebody’s lying on me!”
“Or you aren’t telling me the whole story. Perhaps if I take you downtown, you will.”
“Downtown? You mean arrest me?”
Boone nodded. “Interrogate you, and yes, if I’m not satisfied that you’re coming clean, arrest you.”
Pataki couldn’t believe it. He had to sit down before he fell down. This could get out of hand! “Okay,” he said.
Dontay was surprised. He was going to come clean? Really?
“Tell me,” Boone said.
“I’ll admit I had her, too, but I never gave her any drugs or anything like that.”
Dontay looked at Boone. Did he miss something? But Boone was puzzled too. “You had her too?” he asked.
“Yeah. Every powerful man in this town had her, Chief, except maybe you and your cousin. But we all had her. Not just me!”
“Are you saying Rita Mae Brown was a prostitute?”