Red Man Down(61)

‘Come on, Ray, he brought the .22 home and then what?

‘His house was burgled that November. He had quite a nice little collection of firearms in a locked case. Case was shattered and the guns were gone.’

‘Banjo did the search that ID’d the weapon?’

‘Yes. Had all the information right there in his files, but Harry never put it in the case file.’

‘OK,’ Leo said. ‘So now all we need to do is answer the big question. What the devil was Frank Martin doing with a stolen gun?’

‘Maybe he never did anything with it,’ Sarah said. ‘Maybe that was somebody else.’

‘I know you want to believe that,’ Leo said, ‘but let’s stick with what we can prove today. Where did Jason go?’

‘He was fussing about how to find out who got Frank’s car, and I suggested he ask Chico. He’s friendlier than Cecelia or Pilar, and he would surely remember the negotiations.’

‘Which must have been a pip,’ Leo said.

‘Aren’t you glad you weren’t there? And since Oscar had about decided to talk to Chico about the famous farewell note, they went off together to Chico’s house. Listen, Leo, I need to tell you what I just heard from Marjorie Springer.’

‘Which of course I want to hear. May I just answer my phone first?’

‘Of course. When did a mere detective ever take precedence over a telephone?’ She walked toward her workspace, deciding to type up the interview with Marjorie while the facts were fresh. Not that it was probably as important as it had seemed when she first heard it, she thought, unloading her gear. The more she thought about it, every little lock-picking sap in town probably used the river stone trick sooner or later. Besides, her own phone was ringing.

‘Detective,’ the bells in Teresa García’s voice seemed a little muted today, ‘I hope I have not called at a bad time?’

‘Not at all,’ Sarah said, stifling the little buzz in her brain saying not now, not now. ‘You must call me whenever you have something to say.’

‘Well … I have just spoken to my daughter, Cecelia, and’ – she cleared her throat, an anxious sound – ‘she has spoken to Joey, I guess, by phone, and she urged me to consider that he is suffering very much in that jail.’

‘Believe me, Teresa, he may be discontented but he’s not suffering. He’s in one of the safest places he’s ever been in, well fed and cared for.’

‘I know. And I told her what you said, that he is safer there till you find the money. But she said, “They’ve had three years to find the money and they haven’t done it. Joey can’t sit in jail till they do.” She is determined to mobilize the family, to pool our resources and get Joey out of jail so we can … um … plan his defense.’

‘Has she hired a lawyer?’

‘No. She wants me to do that. She keeps insisting it isn’t right that we’ve turned our backs on one of our own. She asked me, “If it was you in there, how would you feel if nobody came to help you?”’

‘But you’re not robbing houses, are you?’

‘No. She can’t seem to see the difference. I know this isn’t your problem, but I’m so distressed I felt I had to talk to you.’

‘You were quite right too. Teresa, all I can say is that I believe we’re close and I hope you can persuade Cecelia to be patient a little longer.’

And I’m going to see if I can get the bail set higher.

She had just put down the phone when Leo’s voice boomed along the aisle, ‘Sarah Burke over there someplace?’

She poked her head out and yelled, ‘What?’

‘Come back, Jason’s got something.’

He was messing with phone buttons, transferring a cell phone call to his landline and then activating the speaker phone. ‘Now,’ he said as she walked in, ‘say it again so Sarah can hear.’

Jason’s voice sounded tinny through the old speakers. ‘Oscar and I are in Chico’s yard. We asked Chico who got Frank’s car, and Chico says Joey got it.’

Sarah leaned toward the phone and said, ‘Jason, does Chico know where the vehicle is now?’

‘You’re not gonna believe this,’ Jason said and broke up. Laughing so hard he became unintelligible, he choked out, ‘He keeps it—’ and dissolved into whoops of laughter that turned into coughing.

‘Jason, stop, I can’t understand you,’ Leo yelled, gritting his teeth.

‘Wait—’ Leo and Sarah stared impatiently at the ceiling, while sounds of coughing and then strangled choking crackled out of the phone. After what felt like a long minute Jason came back on, quiet and sober, saying, ‘I’m sorry, but it struck me funny so I laughed … and I guess I caused a dust storm in this yard. Hoo. Not gonna do that again.’