“There’s a notice over by the bar,” Vincent said, “a little card. It says please turn the lights off when you’re not in the room. To conserve energy. They’ve got, what, about a thousand lights on downstairs all the time.”
“At least,” DeLeon said. “Yeah, it’s a crazy place to be.” He brought his polished boots off the table, rose without placing his hands on the chair. “What can I fix you?”
“Scotch,” Vincent said, looking at LaDonna, moving toward her now. “What’s the matter?”
“She’s all shook up,” DeLeon said. “Like Elvis use to say.”
“I was almost killed,” LaDonna said.
DeLeon looked over from the bar. “Now, now, don’t lie to him, girl. Tell the truth.”
“Well, I could’ve been,” LaDonna said. “It was just like I kept thinking it was gonna happen. Remember?” She held her drink on the back of the sofa now, her body turned as she looked up at Vincent and he looked down the front of her purple dress. She seemed too healthy to be sad.
“I remember,” Vincent said.
“Well, it happened.”
Vincent looked at her face, her eyes. She had been crying-that’s what it was. He realized what she was telling him and said, “You were there, with Ching? You and Jackie?”
“She was almost there,” DeLeon said. “Hey, you heard already?” He handed Vincent his drink, stood close to look down at him, without expression now. “So you in with the police, they tell you things… Well, I guess that’s okay. Sit down, my man, we got something to discuss… LaBaby, you go on in the bedroom and rest. Be good for you.”
“God,” LaDonna said, “I keep seeing it.”
“Girl, you didn’t see nothing. Go on in there, close your pretty eyes. We look in on you, see you’re all right.”
She left her shoes on the floor, came around the sofa with her mournful look, barely moving. Vincent gave her a pat on the shoulder. She looked at him with her poor-me eyes, trying to smile. What was sad, she was too big and well built to be a baby doll. DeLeon followed her to the bedroom, told her yeah, leave the light on if you want; no, I won’t close the door all the way. Coming back he said to Vincent, “My, but that’s a fine titsy young woman, ain’t it?”
“She needs help,” Vincent said. Maybe he could talk to her. He came around to the sofa as DeLeon got in his chair. “What’re you, about six-five?”
“And a half, in my socks.”
“And you weigh about two fifty.”
“If I take off some excess.”
Vincent leaned forward to place his drink on the glass table, reached under his coat then and drew the Smith automatic from his hip. He laid it on the cushion next to him, hand remaining on the grip.
“Now I’m bigger than you are,” Vincent said. “I can ask why you think you can walk in here and make yourself at home. And if I don’t like what you say, or even your tone of voice, I can throw your ass out and complain to the management.” There, he had to say that. But then had to add, “Even though I’m curious. Even though you’ve got my full attention.”
DeLeon smiled. “You’re my man. I knew it. I knew soon as you scammed your way in here, got the free ride. I said to myself, here’s the thinking man’s policeman. Let me apologize to you, all right? One, for decking you the way I did, I am truly sorry. And two, for coming in here. See, I had to look after LaBaby. Was suppose to take her home, all the way down to Longport. But I had to see you right away on something can’t wait. Otherwise-I would never walk in without you invite me otherwise.”
Vincent said, “That’s not bad,” brought his hand away from the gun and picked up his drink.
“It gets better,” DeLeon said. “Cops told you about the Ching shot dead, huh?”
“As a courtesy,” Vincent said. “But you must know more about it than they do. You say you were almost there, you must’ve been close by. Is that right?”
“I wasn’t almost, I was. I was there. You understand me? I saw it. LaBaby and Jackie, they’re in the car having a fight ’cause she don’t want to go in. So Jackie send me in the restaurant, tell the Ching they be in directly. I’m there, I see little Ricky big as life walk up and shoot him. Man. I never seen anything like that before.”
“Not like in the movies,” Vincent said.
“Not anything like it.”
“So you got out a there.”
“Wait and let me tell it, all right?”
“I’m sorry. Go on.”
“I see Ricky do it.” DeLeon paused. “But Ricky don’t see me. You know what I’m saying? I’m over behind the coats hanging up, by the hall to the side door there. Ricky comes over, he’s going out. Left the gun on the table. He still don’t see me till he’s right like here in front of me. I step out, I give him one. Drop him like a sack of shit.”
Vincent raised his eyebrows. “That must be where it comes from, sack the quarterback.”
DeLeon’s expression became thoughtful. “Hey, I believe you right. Yeah, drop him like a sack…”
“But Ricky wasn’t there when the cops arrived.”
“Uh-unh. You know why? I took him with me. Jackie don’t know it; LaBaby, she don’t either. I brought him out, hid him in the trunk of the car.”
Vincent said, “You took him with you.”
“In pain. I give him a little more elbow than arm. See, and I went low to compensate for him being short as he is. You understand me? Little motherfucker’s built to the ground. I believe I cracked his jaw, I might also’ve separated his shoulder or broke it. He was in pain.”
“He still in the trunk?”
“No, I moved him, I put him in a storage room down it’s by the garage. He can’t get out, but to make sure I got the La Tunas to keep an eye on him.”
“The band?”
“Yeah, see, three of those La Tunas, they’re Rastafarians. You know what I’m saying? From Jamaica, wear the dreadlocks, how they do their hair?”
Vincent was nodding.
“They believe Haile Selassie, man use to be king of Ethiopia? Was God. Don’t ask me why but they do. They find out I’m from over there originally, born there, they want to build an altar, man, set me up on it and blow ganja at me. They think I’m Jesus.”
“You’re bigger,” Vincent said.
“They all fucked up with weed, but they nice boys.”
Vincent said, “Can I ask you something? Why you brought Ricky here?”
DeLeon straightened in his chair. “You don’t understand? You don’t see the possibility looking at you?”
Vincent shook his head. “Not right off.”
“I brought him for you, man. Make it up to you for what I did, for hitting you just ’cause that fatso told me. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“You’ve giving him to me?”
DeLeon seemed surprised now. “You’re looking for who killed your friend Iris, right? Well, here’s Ricky, man. Talk to him. Ask him things while he’s in terrible pain, he’ll tell you. You understand me? If he didn’t do it he’ll tell you who did. There isn’t anybody else could know but Ricky. Man, I’m giving you this. Take it, you don’t owe me nothing.”
“I appreciate it,” Vincent said. “But I already talked to him.”
“You did?”
“He doesn’t know anything.”
“Wait now, he’s got the desire. I mean he’s crazy enough.”
“I know that.”
“I saw him kill a man, the Ching.”
“I might’ve given him the idea,” Vincent said. “But he didn’t do Iris. No, I had a long talk with him.”
The room was quiet. Vincent got up, he took their glasses to the bar and poured scotch over ice. DeLeon said, “You way ahead of me, huh? You know things I don’t.” Vincent told him about his talk with Ricky, sitting in Ricky’s car in the rain. DeLeon grinned. But wait now. What was he going to do with Ricky? Vincent said, drop him off at a hospital, the cops would find him. DeLeon said he could step on Ricky’s knee first, so he wouldn’t walk out on his own. Vincent said, “I wouldn’t.”
DeLeon said, “You way, way ahead of me, ahead of Jackie, ahead of everybody. He shook his head saying, “All this hip shit. You understand what I mean? The casino business, all this razzle-dazzle. All the people thinking they know everything. Now you, I see you go about quietly doing your business, I know I been exposed to Jackie too long.”