eyes. Then all hell broke loose. The two sides went to war.”
He drew a deep breath, remembering.
“I decided enough was enough. I wasn’t going to stroll up to Salazar, introduce myself, and ask if he had a vacancy for a computer geek. Instead, I cut and run. But Salazar saw me.”
“Saw you.”
“Yeah.” Clune shuddered. “As I was running for the car. He yelled at his men to get me, but they were caught up in their shootout with Flowers’s men. I didn’t look back till I’d reached New York. Ditched the rental car along the way and swapped it for another. I was all set to arrange a flight back to Britain when I got mugged, and all my money and bank cards got taken. Now I’m stuck.”
“Hold on,” said Venn. “Back up a little. So you think this Salazar is hunting you? Because you’re a witness? Those guys who attacked you were Salazar’s men?”
“They must have been,” said Clune.
“How did he track you to New York?”
Clune raised his palms in a shrug. “They probably caught one of Flowers’s men and tortured him, got him to tell them who I was. I’d left a bit of a paper trail. The car rental firm, for one thing. Maybe they got my bank details, tracked the withdrawals I made from cash machines along the way.”
Venn said, “But what were you doing in Kruger’s place? When I found you?”
“Ah.” Clune looked shifty, as if he realized he could no longer claim he’d been there coincidentally, just looking for a place to bed down in. “I knew Flowers had a contact here in New York. A man called Stefan Kruger. I had a home address for him, as well as the address of his so-called furniture shop. I staked out his home, followed him on foot when he went out, trying to get up the courage to approach him. To tell him who I was, that I’d been an employee of Mr Flowers, and to ask if he could help me out at all. With money, protection, anything.”
“Let me guess,” Venn said. “You saw him get shot.”
“Yeah,” said Clune. “I was on the other side of the street from him, about to make contact. Then this car drove up. Tinted windows, so I couldn’t see who was inside, but there were several guys. Bam, bam. I got the hell out of there. Because I knew where his furniture store was, I decided to go there to see if he kept any cash on the premises. The killers, Salazar’s men, must have seen me at the scene of Kruger’s shooting, and tracked me to the furniture store. You and your partner turned up just in time.”
Venn said, “It doesn’t make sense. Why would they kill Kruger?”
“As I said, he was an associate of Flowers. Salazar might be eliminating everyone in his organization.”
Venn shook his head. It didn’t ring true to him. But he left it for now.
“So why’d you come here? To my house? Why not just turn yourself in at the nearest precinct house?”
“Because I need protection,” said Clune. “If I approach some police officer who doesn’t take me seriously, I’ll either be laughed at and sent away, or kept somewhere that isn’t secure, or something. I’ll be exposed. And those Mexicans will track me down and kill me.”
“But if this is all about a drug feud, the FBI or the DEA will get involved,” said Venn. “You’ll be under heavy guard. They handle people in your situation all the time.”
“No,” said Clune, suddenly vehement. “I’m out of my depth here. I need my name to be kept well away from all this.”
“Then what do you expect me to do?” asked Venn.
“Hide me,” said Clune. “Find these Mexicans and stop them. Find Salazar, and stop him. Then help me get out of here, back to England.”
If he wasn’t still furious at the kid’s invasion of his and Beth’s territory, Venn might have laughed. “Son,” he said. “I’m a New York City detective. My jurisdiction begins and ends here, in the city. I’m not going to go and take down a drug baron, or whatever he is, all the way over in Texas. That’s the Feds’
He drew a deep breath, remembering.
“I decided enough was enough. I wasn’t going to stroll up to Salazar, introduce myself, and ask if he had a vacancy for a computer geek. Instead, I cut and run. But Salazar saw me.”
“Saw you.”
“Yeah.” Clune shuddered. “As I was running for the car. He yelled at his men to get me, but they were caught up in their shootout with Flowers’s men. I didn’t look back till I’d reached New York. Ditched the rental car along the way and swapped it for another. I was all set to arrange a flight back to Britain when I got mugged, and all my money and bank cards got taken. Now I’m stuck.”
“Hold on,” said Venn. “Back up a little. So you think this Salazar is hunting you? Because you’re a witness? Those guys who attacked you were Salazar’s men?”
“They must have been,” said Clune.
“How did he track you to New York?”
Clune raised his palms in a shrug. “They probably caught one of Flowers’s men and tortured him, got him to tell them who I was. I’d left a bit of a paper trail. The car rental firm, for one thing. Maybe they got my bank details, tracked the withdrawals I made from cash machines along the way.”
Venn said, “But what were you doing in Kruger’s place? When I found you?”
“Ah.” Clune looked shifty, as if he realized he could no longer claim he’d been there coincidentally, just looking for a place to bed down in. “I knew Flowers had a contact here in New York. A man called Stefan Kruger. I had a home address for him, as well as the address of his so-called furniture shop. I staked out his home, followed him on foot when he went out, trying to get up the courage to approach him. To tell him who I was, that I’d been an employee of Mr Flowers, and to ask if he could help me out at all. With money, protection, anything.”
“Let me guess,” Venn said. “You saw him get shot.”
“Yeah,” said Clune. “I was on the other side of the street from him, about to make contact. Then this car drove up. Tinted windows, so I couldn’t see who was inside, but there were several guys. Bam, bam. I got the hell out of there. Because I knew where his furniture store was, I decided to go there to see if he kept any cash on the premises. The killers, Salazar’s men, must have seen me at the scene of Kruger’s shooting, and tracked me to the furniture store. You and your partner turned up just in time.”
Venn said, “It doesn’t make sense. Why would they kill Kruger?”
“As I said, he was an associate of Flowers. Salazar might be eliminating everyone in his organization.”
Venn shook his head. It didn’t ring true to him. But he left it for now.
“So why’d you come here? To my house? Why not just turn yourself in at the nearest precinct house?”
“Because I need protection,” said Clune. “If I approach some police officer who doesn’t take me seriously, I’ll either be laughed at and sent away, or kept somewhere that isn’t secure, or something. I’ll be exposed. And those Mexicans will track me down and kill me.”
“But if this is all about a drug feud, the FBI or the DEA will get involved,” said Venn. “You’ll be under heavy guard. They handle people in your situation all the time.”
“No,” said Clune, suddenly vehement. “I’m out of my depth here. I need my name to be kept well away from all this.”
“Then what do you expect me to do?” asked Venn.
“Hide me,” said Clune. “Find these Mexicans and stop them. Find Salazar, and stop him. Then help me get out of here, back to England.”
If he wasn’t still furious at the kid’s invasion of his and Beth’s territory, Venn might have laughed. “Son,” he said. “I’m a New York City detective. My jurisdiction begins and ends here, in the city. I’m not going to go and take down a drug baron, or whatever he is, all the way over in Texas. That’s the Feds’
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