Don't Look Twice

Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross Page A

Book: Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross Read Free Book Online
Authors: Andrew Gross
Ads: Link
But I ask you not to transfer anything to him physically or it will have to be confiscated.”
    Hauck looked in. A guard with a Taser was positioned behind Vega.
    â€œYou’re about to meet ground zero of the human race, Lieutenant. Ready? I hope you didn’t eat before coming…”
    The warden nodded to open the door.
    Vega was in an orange jumpsuit, seated at a metal table. He had a smooth, chiseled face, tattoos on his neck, a shaved head, a scar that ran from under his nose to his upper lip.
    A uniformed guard who looked like he could bench-press most of South America stood in the corner with a stun gun tucked in his belt.
    Hauck took a seat in one of the chairs across from him. “I’m Lieutenant Hauck. This is Detective Munoz.”
    Vega showed his wrists, making a show of the rattling of chains. “Sorry if I don’t shake hands.”
    â€œI’m the head of detectives in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, Mr. Vega. We’re here to talk with you about a drive-by shooting that took place there last Saturday morning, at an Exxon station in town. A bystander was killed, who turned out to be a prosecutor out of the U.S. Justice Department in Hartford. Are you familiar with this incident, Mr. Vega?”
    â€œJeez, I heard the price of gasoline is sky-high out there,” he said, shaking his head, “but that’s a bit crazy, no?”
    â€œThe shooter was Hispanic,” Hauck went on, ignoring the remark, “and wore a red bandana over his head. Are you getting where I’m coming from, Mr. Vega? As he drove away, he shouted the name of a local girl. Josephina Ruiz, who, it turns out, was a teenager from Bridgeport who was accidentally drowned last summer at a public pool. Is any of this starting to ring a bell?”
    â€œSorry to bring you all the way down here, Lieutenant.” Vega jangled his chains. “But in case you hadn’t noticed, my alibi’s pretty tight.”
    â€œWe know your alibi’s tight, Mr. Vega. Later on that evening, another Hispanic male, also in a red bandana, was observed tossing a package into a Dumpster in Stamford. Inside the bag was a Tec-9 automatic that turned out to be the murder weapon.”
    â€œYou making some kind of a fashion statement, Lieutenant, with all these bandanas? ’Cause if you are, I know I can fit you out in one just right.”
    Vega blew a kiss at Munoz. “What about you, jefe ?”
    Hauck went on, placing a hand on Freddy’s forearm to hold him back. “The vehicle spotted at the Dumpster in Stamford was a tricked-out Jetta with a blue and red cross on the back. The car was traced to a Hector Morales in Hartford. Mr. Morales is from the same town in the Dominican Republic that you hail from, has a rap sheet that reads like a novel, and is a known member of the DR-17 gang.”
    â€œYou come here with some kind of question to ask me?” Vega rocked back. “’Cause I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but, you know, it’s like almost time for Ellen and I was hoping to get in a little dancing. Got it? Talking to the police, without a warrant, ain’t exactly a credo with me.”
    â€œ My question, Nelson”—Hauck leaned forward, trying to cut through the prisoner’s smirking glare—“is what connection was there between DR-17 and Josephina Ruiz? This thing won’t be going away, Mr. Vega. I can put together a case right now against Morales that ties you in as an accessory after the fact. If it turns out Morales was in contact with you while you were in here, maybe more. The FBI’s all over it. A federal prosecutor was gunned down, Mr. Vega. If he wasn’t the intended target, then you don’t need that kind of attention at all, do you? Not on top of all you’re facing here.”
    â€œLemme get this straight.” The gang leader bunched his lips and nodded. “You come all the way down here like Homeland

Similar Books

Losing Hope

Colleen Hoover

The Invisible Man from Salem

Christoffer Carlsson

Badass

Gracia Ford

Jump

Tim Maleeny

Fortune's Journey

Bruce Coville

I Would Rather Stay Poor

James Hadley Chase

Without a Doubt

Marcia Clark

The Brethren

Robert Merle