Trail of Secrets(34)
Seth walked around the front of the car, leaned back against the fender and crossed his arms. “You don’t have to worry about her, Melvin. She’s all right. In fact, she’s the niece of a man maybe you’ve heard about—Judge Dan Lattimer.”
At the mention of Dan’s name, Melvin’s eyes grew wide. “Why you coming ’round here asking me about that judge?”
Seth shrugged. “Maybe because your name showed up in some of his files. I need to know if you’ve talked to him lately.”
Melvin shot an angry glance at Callie. “If you want to know all that bad, why don’t you just ask him?”
Seth was relieved to see that Callie didn’t rise to the bait, leaving the talking to him. “Because he’s not able to talk right now. It seems somebody shot him night before last. You know anything about that?”
Melvin’s eyes widened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Oh, no. I warned him to watch his back.”
Callie sucked in her breath, and Seth shot her a look that he hoped convinced her to remain quiet and let him handle this. He turned his attention back to Melvin. “You did? Then it seems you have some information for me.”
Melvin glanced at Callie once more before he nodded. “Yeah, but you know how these things work.”
“I do. You give me something I want, and I help you out with something you want.”
“That’s right, and I got me a need.”
Seth narrowed his eyes and frowned. “I figured you did. What is it?”
Melvin licked his lips and took a step closer to Seth. “My check don’t come until the end of the month, and I’m running a little short. How about helping me out?”
Seth cocked an eyebrow. “What do you need money for?”
“I need milk and diapers for my baby.”
Seth stroked his chin. “For your baby? Not for that habit of yours?”
Melvin straightened his shoulders and glared at Seth. “I told you. I quit fooling around with that stuff.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Melvin, and I’m sorry you’re running short on milk and diapers. I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll stop by Mr. Parson’s store and leave some money on an account for your wife to spend, but I’m going to tell him she can only use it for milk, diapers or baby food. Understand?”
Melvin nodded. “Yeah, man. I get it. You don’t have to worry. I’m gonna see my son is taken care of.”
“Good. Now tell me, how do you know Judge Lattimer?”
Melvin looked over his shoulder and inched closer to Seth. “Everybody around here knows him. When folks wanted a neighborhood center built for their kids, Judge Lattimer was one of the first to donate money, and he gave a lot of it. But that’s not all. After it was built, he started volunteering there. He’s helped keep a lot of kids out of trouble.”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“He coaches my little brother’s basketball team. I know it’s because of the judge that he’s been able to keep away from the gangs and stay out of trouble. So,” Melvin continued, “when word on the street said somebody had put out a hit on him, I let him know.”