they’re giving us the three monkey routine—see no evil, hear no evil—then I lay it on ‘em that they’re looking like our prime suspects. That they cut Danny Duncan out of the business to keep overhead down. Then they just caved. Started crying, blubbering in Spanish, snot runnin’ all over. Man, they were just pitiful.”
Noah gave Lewis the nod and she picked up the story.
“Yeah. Turns out they didn’t want to be in business with Danny anymore, not because of the money but because of auntie. They’re afraid of her. Especially now with Danny dead. They claim she’s a witch and that she’s been planting curses on them. The one dude, Hernandez, he found a black cat hanging from his porch one morning, then a few days later he steps on this little sack under the door mat. He said he paid his neighbor to throw it away for him.”
“What was in it?”
“Damned if I know. He didn’t even want to touch it. A week later someone had laid powder all around his house. He said it was dirt from a graveyard and that if the person it’s meant for steps in it he’ll the within the week.”
“So’s he still alive?” Frank scoffed.
“He didn’t step in it. His wife saw it first, had a heart attack.
They’re scared. That old Mother Love’s got ‘em pissing in their pants. They got two Rottweilers in the yard and can’t figure out how someone’s puttin’ all this shit around without settin’ the dogs off.”
“Did you see any of this stuff?”
“Just some of the powder by the side of the house. Why?”
“Go back and get a couple clean samples from around the house.”
“For what?” Noah asked incredulously.
“Just to have. Make sure chain of custody’s clear on it.”
“Oh, let me see. First it belonged to some dead guy in a cemetery, then MLJ dug it up at midnight, then she turned into a bat and sprinkled it around their house, then we got it. That’s pretty clear.”
Frank ignored the sarcasm.
“What else did these three stooges say? And did you get to Carrillo?”
“Carrillo’s in Mexico, supposedly. Left the day before Danny went down. Evidently Echevarria—I’d say he was the bolder of the two, wouldn’t you?” Noah asked Lewis.
“Yeah,” she chorded, “he only went through one box of tissues.”
“Evidently he went to Mother Love’s after Danny ended up gutted in Carrillo’s driveway. Told her they meant no disrespect and kissed her ass a couple times. They promised to be good boys and it’s been quiet since then. No dead cats or graveyard dirt.”
Frank asked, “So what do you think?”
Lewis looked to Noah and he was about to speak, but Frank said, “Lewis. It’s your case.”
She swiped an embarrassed glance around the table.
“We know from his sister, Echevarria, and Hernandez, that the vie was planning on going into business on his own. Not only would that be cutting into his aunt’s profits, but it would be disrespecting her right on the street. She couldn’t let that go down. It seems to me like Mother Love’s our best suspect. There’s nothing else pointing us another direction.”
Frank raised an eyebrow at Noah.
“What she said,” he answered.
“All right. Let’s ride this pony. But carefully. That woman’s kept her nose clean this long because she knows what she’s doing. We’ve got to have a full arsenal before we hit her with anything.”
Noah interrupted, “And even then she’ll probably still slither out of the charges.”
“Maybe, maybe not. If we give the DA enough material, they might be able to do their job.”
“For once,” Lewis grunted.
“This bad attitude I’m hearing? Mother’s not psyching you out, is she?”
Lewis shook her head and Noah answered, “No, but you’ve gotta admit we don’t exactly have a stellar conviction rate for her.”
“Harvey Keitel’s got a great line in Thelma and Louise” Frank said to her glass. ‘Brains’ll only get you so far and luck won’t last forever.’ Keep the faith.
Noah gave Lewis the nod and she picked up the story.
“Yeah. Turns out they didn’t want to be in business with Danny anymore, not because of the money but because of auntie. They’re afraid of her. Especially now with Danny dead. They claim she’s a witch and that she’s been planting curses on them. The one dude, Hernandez, he found a black cat hanging from his porch one morning, then a few days later he steps on this little sack under the door mat. He said he paid his neighbor to throw it away for him.”
“What was in it?”
“Damned if I know. He didn’t even want to touch it. A week later someone had laid powder all around his house. He said it was dirt from a graveyard and that if the person it’s meant for steps in it he’ll the within the week.”
“So’s he still alive?” Frank scoffed.
“He didn’t step in it. His wife saw it first, had a heart attack.
They’re scared. That old Mother Love’s got ‘em pissing in their pants. They got two Rottweilers in the yard and can’t figure out how someone’s puttin’ all this shit around without settin’ the dogs off.”
“Did you see any of this stuff?”
“Just some of the powder by the side of the house. Why?”
“Go back and get a couple clean samples from around the house.”
“For what?” Noah asked incredulously.
“Just to have. Make sure chain of custody’s clear on it.”
“Oh, let me see. First it belonged to some dead guy in a cemetery, then MLJ dug it up at midnight, then she turned into a bat and sprinkled it around their house, then we got it. That’s pretty clear.”
Frank ignored the sarcasm.
“What else did these three stooges say? And did you get to Carrillo?”
“Carrillo’s in Mexico, supposedly. Left the day before Danny went down. Evidently Echevarria—I’d say he was the bolder of the two, wouldn’t you?” Noah asked Lewis.
“Yeah,” she chorded, “he only went through one box of tissues.”
“Evidently he went to Mother Love’s after Danny ended up gutted in Carrillo’s driveway. Told her they meant no disrespect and kissed her ass a couple times. They promised to be good boys and it’s been quiet since then. No dead cats or graveyard dirt.”
Frank asked, “So what do you think?”
Lewis looked to Noah and he was about to speak, but Frank said, “Lewis. It’s your case.”
She swiped an embarrassed glance around the table.
“We know from his sister, Echevarria, and Hernandez, that the vie was planning on going into business on his own. Not only would that be cutting into his aunt’s profits, but it would be disrespecting her right on the street. She couldn’t let that go down. It seems to me like Mother Love’s our best suspect. There’s nothing else pointing us another direction.”
Frank raised an eyebrow at Noah.
“What she said,” he answered.
“All right. Let’s ride this pony. But carefully. That woman’s kept her nose clean this long because she knows what she’s doing. We’ve got to have a full arsenal before we hit her with anything.”
Noah interrupted, “And even then she’ll probably still slither out of the charges.”
“Maybe, maybe not. If we give the DA enough material, they might be able to do their job.”
“For once,” Lewis grunted.
“This bad attitude I’m hearing? Mother’s not psyching you out, is she?”
Lewis shook her head and Noah answered, “No, but you’ve gotta admit we don’t exactly have a stellar conviction rate for her.”
“Harvey Keitel’s got a great line in Thelma and Louise” Frank said to her glass. ‘Brains’ll only get you so far and luck won’t last forever.’ Keep the faith.
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