thinker. Macias and Sandor
were both experienced and smart. Fuentes was probably the smartest, a slim
serious college boy who watched everyone and everything.
“As Señor Obregon
said, I’ll be acting lieutenant.” Emilia marveled at how calm her voice
sounded. “There’s going to be a lot of media attention, he says, so we want to
do this right.”
She took a deep
breath, clutching the clipboard tightly to disguise the fact that her hands
were shaking. The hostility in the room was nearly overwhelming. Silvio looked
furious, as did Rico. Fuentes looked at the other detectives, seeming to study
their reactions.
Castro sat on his
desk, noisily chewing bubblegum. His partner Gomez had a deck of cards in his
hands, shuffling them over and over. Loyola folded his hands expectantly while
Ibarra looked bored. Macias and Sandor were hunched together as if guarding a
secret. They were often together like that, when Sandor wasn’t complaining
about the copier or something else unlikely to ever be fixed, as if they were a
small detective force apart from the rest of them. They were also both college
men.
Emilia checked her
watch as if she was brisk and efficient and not scared. Ideas from other cases
and what she knew of the various detectives’ strengths and weaknesses began to
bubble up. “We’re going to stay on track. Silvio can take the hotline and the
murder board. Fuentes, you go with Portillo for the hotel interviews. Talk to
all the guests before somebody checks out. Talk to their security, too.”
Silvio turned
around and started looking at a notice from the norteamericano Federal
Bureau of Investigation that had been hanging on the bulletin board for the
last six months. Gomez’s cards fanned together with a snap inside the bridge of
his hands.
“Loyola and
Ibarra, you’ve got forensics. Fingerprints and computer, right?”
Loyola nodded
once.
Emilia ground on.
“Macias and Sandor, you’ll hit the apartment building, see if you can find
somebody who saw him leave. Talk to the people who run the building’s marina.
Who was there last night. Who usually took out the Inocente’s boat and when.
How do boats get in and out.”
“Do they have
security cameras at the marina?” Macias asked. Silvio shot him a look.
“That’s a good
question,’ Emilia said. She silently vowed to someday thank Macias for taking
her seriously. “You’ll need to find out, see what they have after 10 pm.” She
looked at Gomez and his maldita playing cards. “Gomez and Castro, check
out Lt. Inocente’s wife’s alibi. Said she was at a charity ball. I’ll give you
her ticket. We need witnesses, times she came and went. Who she was with.”
“Oh, yes,” Silvio
said to the bulletin board. “No doubt this is a domestic killing.”
“We’ll tie up all
the loose ends,” Emilia shot back.”
“What about you?”
Rico asked.
“I’ll follow up
with the brother and talk to the coroner.”
“What about el
teniente’s cases?” Castro called out.
“I’ll check those,
too.” Emilia swallowed. She was surprised no one had walked out yet. “Start
asking questions of all your regulars, see if there’s anything. Get the word
out that we want tips from people who were around Punta Diamante last night
after 10 pm.”
“You think we got
snitches in that neighborhood, Cruz?” Gomez drawled. His cards ruffled
together.
“Whoever got him
probably doesn’t live there,” Emilia countered.
Silvio finally
turned and leaned against the bulletin board. “Anything else?” he asked
roughly.
“I’ll need a
volunteer to help search Lt. Inocente’s office,” Emilia said. Her glance
flickered over the detectives, wondering if anyone had some crisp counterfeit Estados
Unidos bills in their pocket. Maybe whoever volunteered had been in on
something with el teniente and was now worried that it would be
discovered.
“I’ll do it,”
Castro said.
He shoved himself
off his desk and walked over to her. Emilia’s heart
were both experienced and smart. Fuentes was probably the smartest, a slim
serious college boy who watched everyone and everything.
“As Señor Obregon
said, I’ll be acting lieutenant.” Emilia marveled at how calm her voice
sounded. “There’s going to be a lot of media attention, he says, so we want to
do this right.”
She took a deep
breath, clutching the clipboard tightly to disguise the fact that her hands
were shaking. The hostility in the room was nearly overwhelming. Silvio looked
furious, as did Rico. Fuentes looked at the other detectives, seeming to study
their reactions.
Castro sat on his
desk, noisily chewing bubblegum. His partner Gomez had a deck of cards in his
hands, shuffling them over and over. Loyola folded his hands expectantly while
Ibarra looked bored. Macias and Sandor were hunched together as if guarding a
secret. They were often together like that, when Sandor wasn’t complaining
about the copier or something else unlikely to ever be fixed, as if they were a
small detective force apart from the rest of them. They were also both college
men.
Emilia checked her
watch as if she was brisk and efficient and not scared. Ideas from other cases
and what she knew of the various detectives’ strengths and weaknesses began to
bubble up. “We’re going to stay on track. Silvio can take the hotline and the
murder board. Fuentes, you go with Portillo for the hotel interviews. Talk to
all the guests before somebody checks out. Talk to their security, too.”
Silvio turned
around and started looking at a notice from the norteamericano Federal
Bureau of Investigation that had been hanging on the bulletin board for the
last six months. Gomez’s cards fanned together with a snap inside the bridge of
his hands.
“Loyola and
Ibarra, you’ve got forensics. Fingerprints and computer, right?”
Loyola nodded
once.
Emilia ground on.
“Macias and Sandor, you’ll hit the apartment building, see if you can find
somebody who saw him leave. Talk to the people who run the building’s marina.
Who was there last night. Who usually took out the Inocente’s boat and when.
How do boats get in and out.”
“Do they have
security cameras at the marina?” Macias asked. Silvio shot him a look.
“That’s a good
question,’ Emilia said. She silently vowed to someday thank Macias for taking
her seriously. “You’ll need to find out, see what they have after 10 pm.” She
looked at Gomez and his maldita playing cards. “Gomez and Castro, check
out Lt. Inocente’s wife’s alibi. Said she was at a charity ball. I’ll give you
her ticket. We need witnesses, times she came and went. Who she was with.”
“Oh, yes,” Silvio
said to the bulletin board. “No doubt this is a domestic killing.”
“We’ll tie up all
the loose ends,” Emilia shot back.”
“What about you?”
Rico asked.
“I’ll follow up
with the brother and talk to the coroner.”
“What about el
teniente’s cases?” Castro called out.
“I’ll check those,
too.” Emilia swallowed. She was surprised no one had walked out yet. “Start
asking questions of all your regulars, see if there’s anything. Get the word
out that we want tips from people who were around Punta Diamante last night
after 10 pm.”
“You think we got
snitches in that neighborhood, Cruz?” Gomez drawled. His cards ruffled
together.
“Whoever got him
probably doesn’t live there,” Emilia countered.
Silvio finally
turned and leaned against the bulletin board. “Anything else?” he asked
roughly.
“I’ll need a
volunteer to help search Lt. Inocente’s office,” Emilia said. Her glance
flickered over the detectives, wondering if anyone had some crisp counterfeit Estados
Unidos bills in their pocket. Maybe whoever volunteered had been in on
something with el teniente and was now worried that it would be
discovered.
“I’ll do it,”
Castro said.
He shoved himself
off his desk and walked over to her. Emilia’s heart
Similar Books
