Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #2: Books 5-8 (A Dead Cold Box Set) Blake Banner (read out loud books txt) 📖

“Victor Street. It’s like White Planes and Morris Park, where they meet? Just kind of there.”

“And who else was there?”

“No! I mean, nobody. I mean, you know, a friend might have dropped in…” She began chewing her lip. “But it was just me and the guys…” She grinned at me and then at Dehan.

I asked her, “Who dropped in?”

“Um, maybe Jack? I’m not sure, you know, we got pretty maggot.”

“You got what?”

“Maggot, off our faces, wasted…”

“Drunk.”

“That’s the one.”

Dehan put both hands palm down on the table and stared at them like she was wondering what they were doing there. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight, Lynda. Eight or eight thirty, Luis and Sebastian turn up at your place on Victor Street, and the three of you settle down for an evening of drinking. You all got very drunk and maybe your friend Jack paid a visit.”

“Uh-huh…” She looked at me with her eyes, then back at Dehan.

“How long did they stay?”

“Few hours. Like I say, we got pretty mag… pissed, drunk.”

I leaned forward on my elbows, grinned. “So you had good fun. It was a good evening.”

She liked that and smiled back. “Oh, deadest!”

“So how come Jack didn’t stay?”

“Um…” Again her eyes swiveled, first to Dehan, then back to me. “He was…um…”

I gave a small laugh and raised one hand. “Lynda, stop.” She closed her mouth. “Between us, Detective Dehan and I must have over thirty years experience doing this job, in the Bronx. How many liars do you think we have interviewed in this room over that time? If it were just two a week—and believe me, it is many more than that—that would be over three thousand. And just about every one of them was a better liar than you. You are a really bad liar, Lynda!” I laughed in a kindly, uncle-ish kind of way. “That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing, right?”

She nodded.

“Now, listen to me, you are probably not in trouble. If you are, it’s probably not serious trouble. But keep bullshitting us and you will certainly end up in real bad trouble. So, quit stalling and tell the truth. You understand me?”

She looked like she understood me, but wasn’t necessarily convinced.

“Well, Jack doesn’t really like Luis much? I mean, I am really sure that he would not do anything. I mean, I know he wouldn’t. But like, when he saw Luis was there, he just chucked a fuckin’ spas and left.”

Dehan pinched the bridge of her nose. “Chucked a spas?”

“Yuh, fuckin’ wobbly right there! I mean, who fuckin’ needs it, right? I told the fuckin’ dickhead to buzz off and go home.”

“He got mad and you told him to leave?”

“Too right.”

“And he left?”

“Yeah.”

“What time would that be, Lynda? Please don’t tell me you were maggot and you don’t know. This is a murder enquiry. Make an effort.”

She gave me a sheepish smile. I gave her a wink.

“Well, I suppose, we’d had a few grogs by then, so it would have been after ten? Maybe half ten, half eleven…?”

Dehan’s face was tight. “What does that mean? Half ten, half eleven…” She shook her head. “What does it mean?”

I smiled. “It means ten thirty or eleven thirty. Lynda, I’m having trouble with something. See if you can help me. Do you drive?”

“Back home, yeah.”

“You don’t own a Toyota?”

“No.”

“So, if Luis and Sebastian are,” I smiled, “off their faces and totally maggot, how did they drive to Hunts Point in a Toyota Corolla?”

“I don’t know, honest to God, I don’t.”

“OK, Lynda. Let’s talk about something else.” I scratched my chin and realized I needed a shave. “How long have you and Luis been stealing drugs from the pharmacy?”

Her eyes went like saucers, the blood drained from her face and she started shaking her head. “No! No! No way! No! Not me! You got the wrong person! I never done that! No way!”

I ignored her and pressed on. “How about Jack? Did he buy the stuff from you? Is that why he dropped in, to collect the merchandise?”

Her voice had become shrill. “No! Look! This is bollocks! I ain’t stupid! How fuckin’ stupid would I have to be to do that?”

I continued to ignore her. “How about Angela? Did she distribute the stuff in Hunts Point?”

“Who?”

“I told you you’re a terrible liar, Lynda. Cut it out. Tell me the truth. You had a deal going, you and Luis, Jack and Angela. How much were you netting a week?”

“Stop it! You are wrong! This is bullshit!”

“Was Sebastian involved?”

“No! Look—nobody was involved! It just didn’t happen! Check with the fuckin’ pharmacy, for God’s sake! There are no missing supplies!

I nodded. “We plan to. Where can we find Jack? Has he got a surname?”

“Oh, that’s fuckin’ ace! He’s going to love me, isn’t he? Sending the fuckin’ Jacks round!”

Dehan sighed. “Jacks?”

I smiled at her. “Jack Law, the cops. Why would he have a problem with the law coming ’round?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “You know anyone who actually welcomes you when you turn up unannounced? ‘Oh, hey, look! Put the kettle on, it’s the fuzz!’”

“So where can we find him?”

“Look at me! Minding my own fuckin’ business, I have a couple of grogs with some mates, and next thing, you’re trying to frame me for drugs trafficking and fuckin’ murder!”

“Take it easy. Nobody is trying to frame you. What’s his surname, and where can we find him?”

“Fuckin’ strewth!”

Dehan spoke softly, “Lynda…”

Lynda stared at her.

“Jack…?”

“O’Brien. Hunt Avenue, 1719 B.”

“Cell phone?”

She recited it. Dehan wrote it down and said, “You’d rather we didn’t tell him who gave us