I dropped by the police station and took a squad car. If I was going to arrest Caleb, then it needed to be official. Johnson tried to convince me let him come along. “For your protection,” he said. I told him I was a big girl and could take care of myself. I drove over to the Black Widow abandoned warehouse. Nothing screamed criminal more than an abandoned warehouse. A line of Harleys were lined up outside confirming that I had the right place.
I sat in the car, both hands on the steering wheel, surveying the surroundings. Black Widow members went about their business, ignoring the obvious cop in their midst. They were used to this. I flipped over the sun visor and checked my makeup. “You can do this, White,” I said aloud. “No fear.”
I stepped out of my vehicle and walked over to the entrance, a hesitant hand on my holstered weapon. Nobody was going to surprise me today. A few members were crouched next to their bikes with tools littered all over the ground. I entered the warehouse and was transported to a nice-looking bar with pool tables. It was ten in the morning and the place was packed. Every barstool was taken and the pool tables were full of activity. “Enter the Sandman” by Metallica was blasting through the speakers.
“Eight ball, corner pocket,” a very tall and large man said. I recognized his face from the Black Widow file. He was Big Mike, the Sgt-at-Arms.
“You don't have the balls to make that shot,” another man with shaved hair replied. That was Tanner, the Vice-President to Caleb.
I watched for a moment as Big Mike bent over, pulled back the cue, and sent the ball flying. The white ball rolled to the corner and lightly tapped the eight ball, knocking it into the corner pocket. The large man stood up and grinned. “You owe me a drink.”
Tanner nodded and conceded, walking over to the bar. I approached Big Mike and asked, “Excuse me, I'm looking for Caleb.”
“Good morning, Officer,” he said, polishing the tip of the cue.
“Actually it's Sheriff.”
His eyebrows raised as he looked me up and down. “Well you sit tight, Sheriff, while I get the boss.”
I walked around the bar and everyone ignored me or they were too drunk to notice. Did they really do this everyday? A an older woman with sleeves of tattoos was behind the bar slinging the drinks. She stood out as the only woman from the Black Widow file: Claire, the den mother. She had such a sordid past that I couldn't read it all.
Caleb came out from a back room. He bit his bottom lip as he checked me out from head to toe. “Nice to see you again, Sheriff.”
I rolled my eyes. All men were the same. “Caleb, can we talk somewhere private.”
He bowed before me. “Of course, your Highness.” I followed Caleb into a meeting room with a large wooden table in the center. A large black widow spider was carved into the middle. These guys went all out with the theme. A row of picture frames of Black Widow members were hung on the far wall.
“What are these?” I asked, “Black Widow members of the month?”
Caleb shook his head. “Brothers we've lost.”
Oh shit! How could I be so stupid? “I'm sorry, Caleb. I shouldn't have asked.”
Caleb went to the last picture frame in the row. A man with glasses stared back at me. “Issac died last year.” He kissed his fingers and pressed them against the photo. Did this outlaw have a heart? Caleb glanced at me with dark eyes. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
I almost forgot the reason for coming here. I planted my feet on the ground and steeled myself. “I need to speak to you about the murder of Garcia of The Death Merchants.
Caleb motioned for me to sit down at the table and he took the chair next to me. “Yeah I heard about him. Shame for the Mexicans. They're whole organization is probably in disarray.”
“Don't play games with me, Caleb. It doesn't take a NASA scientist to figure out that the Black Widow MC was behind it.”
Caleb put his hand on his chest like he was hurt from a knife to the heart. “I'm offended that you would even come to such a conclusion. The Black Widow MC is here to help the community. I'll confess that we had a beef with the Mexicans but we settled it. We didn't have a reason to kill Garcia.”
This man wasn't very good at lying. He'd need more practice if he was going to stay the President. “Answer me this, where were you two nights ago?”
“At the Stinky Goat with the rest of the crew. We were there until the crack of dawn, drinking and fucking.” Caleb leaned towards me, his eyes gazing into my soul. I inched away until I was on the edge of my seat.