Red Man Down(13)

‘Boss, we’ve got the video,’ Sarah said.

‘I know. But juries like eyewitnesses and you never know what’s going to end up in court. And Oscar, you go after Lacey’s wife – or ex-wife, it sounds like, OK?’ There was a funny little frisson around the table – everybody’s head up suddenly, the same expression of disbelief on all their faces. Did Delaney really mean to say that to Oscar? Or give him that job? Sarah saw Jason nudge Ray’s elbow.

Oscar Cifuentes was famous throughout the department for two things: his prowess with the ladies, and how close he had come to losing his spot on the homicide crew when his first case there had collided with his colorful romantic life.

‘Find her,’ Delaney said, his preoccupied face innocent as a choirboy’s, ‘and get her take on the marriage and why they broke up. It won’t be the whole truth, of course, no divorce story ever is, but it’s a place to start. Well, um, and Sarah, since you’re free for now, see if you can find any more of Lacey’s family and ask them what they think happened to Ed. Did they see the wreck coming? Can they explain what made a good cop go nuts like this? Anything you can find.’

He looked around. ‘That goes for all of you. Look for neighbors, colleagues in clubs, drinking buddies … Jason, see if you can find out where he was selling his copper wire and the rest of the trash, will you? Keep picking every brain you can find because I smell a bad story coming and I’d like to see us get a handle on it before the TV guys start having fun with it.’

Gathering up papers, he sailed into his office, leaving a momentarily speechless crew behind him.

Oscar Cifuentes walked into the break room as Sarah started on the second half of her sandwich and said, ‘Well, Sarah, you brown-bagging again today?’

‘Today and forever, probably,’ she said, getting up when the kettle whistled, pouring water for tea. ‘Will and I bought an old house and we need to completely remodel the kitchen. We hope to get it done before the hot water heater dies.’

‘Keeping house is so much fun, isn’t it? OK if I join you?’ That was a rhetorical question; Oscar Cifuentes had self-confidence enough to be always sure of his welcome, especially with women. He pulled out the gloriously greasy cheeseburger he had obviously just bought from the In-and-Out up the street and wiped his hands contentedly on a couple of paper napkins. ‘I got a question.’

‘Just one? Most people will have more. Makes everybody kind of paranoid, seeing a good cop go down the tubes like that.’

‘Was he such a good cop? All those happy years I worked in Auto Theft, I never realized how much hot news I was missing. All I know about Ed Lacey is what I’ve read in the paper. Did you know him?’

‘About like I knew you in Auto Theft – just to say hello. But you don’t get on the training crew till you’ve shown some chops.’

‘I guess that’s right. You know, I didn’t think about it till we were done talking in there, but then I remembered I know one of his aunts. Cecelia … you might want to talk to her, what do you think? I forget her married name but it’s probably changed by now anyway … Seems to me she was just getting divorced when I dated her a few years back.’

‘You dated Ed Lacey’s aunt?’ Sarah brought the tea back to her place. ‘Wasn’t she kind of old for you?’

‘No, actually she’s a couple years younger than Ed was … it’s one of those big Mexican families like you hardly ever see any more. Vicente García was the papi – he’s no longer with us. His first wife died and after a couple of years he started all over with a younger wife. Eddie’s mother was one of the older girls in the first family and Cecelia was one of the second bunch.’ He shrugged. ‘I could probably get on the grapevine and find her.’

‘And you’d be glad to do that, to help me jump-start my search for Lacey’s family,’ Sarah said, watching him thoughtfully over her Swiss cheese on rye, ‘in return for which favor, exactly?’

‘Hey, hold your fire, I come in peace,’ Cifuentes said, hands up, trying for the easy joke. Then, beginning to twitch under her unrelenting stare, he said, ‘I just thought maybe you wouldn’t mind riding along with me while I interview Ed Lacey’s wife.’ He studied his fingernails. ‘Ex-wife, actually. Angela.’

‘Oscar,’ Sarah said, ‘if you know so much more about this family than the rest of us do, why didn’t you speak up in there?’

‘Well, see,’ he re-crossed his legs and looked out a window, ‘the thing is I dated Angela, too, a long, long time ago, before she met Ed. Just a couple of times, but … the second date I took her out dancing and one thing kind of led to another …’