26.
“I can’t hold them for long,” Jesse said.
He and Crow were in his office. The Francisco women, mother and daughter, were in the squad room with Molly and Suitcase Simpson.
“Part of a criminal conspiracy?” Crow said.
“I don’t think that statute covers the intended victims,” Jesse said.
“At least you could put a cop with them,” Crow said.
“Yeah,” Jesse said. “I can. And I will. But if either or both decides to run off, my cop can’t stop them.”
“You got them now,” Crow said.
“For questioning. They can leave when they want to.”
Crow didn’t say anything.
“Why do you care about any of this?” Jesse said.
“Why not?” Crow said.
“Why’d you take the job in the first place? You need the money?”
“Hell, no,” Crow said. “I came into a lot of money, ’bout ten years ago.”
“So…?”
“Being rich can get boring,” Crow said. “I like to work. Francisco leads me to think there might be some push and shove when I found the women. He led me to believe that somebody might be with them that would need to be…” Crow made a small rolling gesture with his right hand. “Removed.”
“And that would be your kind of work.”
“It would,” Crow said. “I’m very good at it.”
“So you took the job because you wanted to get into it with somebody?” Jesse said.
Crow shrugged.
“No point being a warrior if you can’t find a war,” he said.
Jesse stared at him.
“Warrior?” Jesse said.
“I am a full-blooded Apache warrior,” Crow said.
Jesse looked at him for a sign that he was joking. There was no sign.
“And warriors don’t go to war against women and girls,” Jesse said.
“No,” Crow said, “they don’t.”
“That’s why you let those women hostages go, ten years ago,” Jesse said, “off the boat.”
“I like women,” Crow said.
“If the money had been on shore with Macklin,” Jesse said, “would you still have let them go?”
Crow smiled.
“Can’t go back and do it different,” Crow said.
Jesse nodded. Crow was silent again.
“So how come you decided to look for the Francisco women here?” Jesse said.
“Francisco said he thought they’d be here.”
“He say why?”
“Nope.”
“You ask?”
“Nope.”
“So how’d you find them?” Jesse said.
“Kid charged a big TV set for her boyfriend on one of those satellite credit cards, you know, bill goes to Daddy. Daddy calls me and I run it down. Thing was too big to carry. It was delivered to a gang house in Marshport.”
“So you went there,” Jesse said.
“Yep.”
“Alone.”
“Yep.”
“How’d you get them to tell you where she was?”
“I had to shoot one of them,” Crow said. “Their bad man, guy named Puerco.”
“Pig,” Jesse said.
“You speak Spanish?”
“Used to work in L.A.,” Jesse said. “Had some time in Boyle Heights. Self-defense?”
“Of course.”
“What gang?” Jesse said.
“Never mentioned their name.”
“Where were they?” Jesse said.
“Dump at the end of an alley called Horn Street. Twelve-A Horn Street.”
“Horn Street Boys,” Jesse said.
“You know the gangs in Marshport?”
“Like to keep up,” Jesse said.
Molly came into the office.
“The women are asking for a lawyer,” she said.
Crow studied her.
“Tell them that they can go after they talk with one more cop,” Jesse said.
“Who?”
“Who’s on the desk?”
“Peter Perkins,” Molly said.
“Okay,” Jesse said. “Send Suit out front. Tell Peter to ask them anything he can think of.”
“Peter doesn’t know the case,” Molly said. “He doesn’t even know their names.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“We don’t get them a lawyer when they ask, any case we bring into court gets tossed.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jesse said. “We’re not bringing a case against them.”
“We’re just stalling,” Crow said, “until we figure out what to do.”
Molly turned and looked straight at Crow.
“We?” Molly said.
Crow smiled at her.
“So to speak,” he said.
Molly smiled back, and turned and left. Crow watched her go. Jesse was pretty sure she was swinging her hips more than she normally did.
Jesse said, “What do you want out of all this, Crow?”
“I want these two broads to be okay, and have that be my doing.”
“Because?”
“I told you,” Crow said, “I like women.”
“Or you don’t,” Jesse said.
“Don’t?”
“Because they aren’t worthy opponents,” Jesse said.
Crow shrugged.
“What do you think of the men in their lives?” Jesse said.
“Don’t like them. Don’t like Francisco. Don’t like the gangbanger.”
“Because?”
“Because the gangbanger’s a punk,” Crow said. “And Francisco is a liar.”
“You ever wonder why he hired somebody like you to find his daughter?”
“I figured he might want somebody killed along the way.”
“And you were willing.”
“I was willing to take his money and see what developed,” Crow said. “I’m not willing to kill a couple women.”
“For the moment,” Jesse said.
Crow shrugged.
“’Course, the daughter could turn out to be some sort of hole card for you,” Jesse said.
“Could,” Crow said.
“You think the mother would abandon her daughter?” Jesse said.
“They do sometimes,” Crow said.
“I know,” Jesse said. “But often they don’t. Maybe we let them go, what happens. Kid isn’t going to leave the boyfriend. Mother isn’t going to leave the kid. Boyfriend’s not going anywhere. Most gang kids never leave the neighborhood until they go to jail.”
“Yeah?”
“So they stay right here while I figure out what to do about a couple things,” Jesse said.
“Like what?”
“Like how to help them, and what the hell you’re up to.”
“What if she moves in with him?” Crow said.
“We know where she is,” Jesse said.
“Not much of a life on Horn Street,” Crow said.
“Not much of a life on Sewall Street, either,” Jesse said.
“There’s bad and there’s worse,” Crow said.
“Won’t be forever,” Jesse said. “Once I get it figured out, we’ll go take her away from Horn Street.”
“And if she won’t come?” Crow said.
“We make her.”
“Man, you are cold,” Crow said.
“Keep it in mind,” Jesse said.
“How come you’re going along with any of this?” Crow said.
“Girl’s a mess,” Jesse said. “Her old man is in the rackets in South Florida…”
“Her old man is the rackets in South Florida,” Crow said.
“…and her mother’s a drunk,” Jesse continued. “Kid needs help. And you seem like you might give her some.”
Crow nodded.
“Okay,” Crow said.
“Let’s be clear,” Jesse said. “I don’t trust you.”
“Be crazy if you did,” Crow said.
“I don’t believe this is pure concern for the Francisco girls,” Jesse said.
Crow shrugged.
“Don’t matter too much what you believe,” Crow said. “Thing you can trust, though. I keep my word.”
Jesse nodded.
“And you keep yours,” Crow said.
“You think?”
“I know you, Stone, just like you know me. We been listening to the same music for a long time.”
“And we know all the lyrics?” Jesse said.
“All the ones that matter,” Crow said.