had found traces of occasional marijuana use in Shawna’s hair. But the word “occasional” was what caught in my craw. In the split second open to me, I decided to hedge my bet with a deliberately loaded implication. “Did she tell you she was eighteen?”
He ran his fingers through his hair, his head dropping briefly. “Oh, Jesus.”
Ron and I exchanged glances, suddenly unsure of which button we’d pushed—statutory rape, drug pushing, or murder. Whichever it was, I had to make a critical choice. Given his mood, he was liable to confess to something, and I had to ensure it would hold up in court. My two choices were either to make it clear he was free to go—and therefore not in legal custody—and then take advantage of his sudden relief to coax out an indiscretion, or to build on the pressure he was already feeling, inform him of his rights, and let him think we could do more right now than simply give him a tap on the wrist for smoking a joint.
I opted for the latter. “I better advise you, Mr. Redding, that you may be facing criminal charges, and that you have the right to remain silent, and to retain the services of a lawyer if you wish, free of charge if you don’t have the money. Do you understand that?”
Now the other hand joined the first in holding his head. “
Man
.”
“Do you understand what I just said?” I pressed him, increasingly satisfied with my choice.
“It wasn’t my fault—”
“Mr. Redding.” I bent over and put my face into his again. “Do you understand what I said?”
“Yes.” His voice was almost a croak.
I straightened, backed off, and sat in a chair across from him. “Good. Then do you want to tell us about Shawna Davis, or do you want to wait till you get a lawyer?”
He dropped his hands and slumped back into his chair, looking at me through a scraggle of hair hanging across his eyes. “I don’t have a goddamn lawyer.”
“We can get you a public defender.”
He stared at the ceiling a moment. Regardless of the outcome, I didn’t mind stringing this out. If he did opt for the lawyer, we’d take him down to the SA’s office, nail him for the roach, get a warrant to search this apartment, and maybe hit him with a felony if we found a big-enough stash. On the other hand, there was nothing quite like the spur of the moment to open a guilty conscience, so if he had something truly incriminating to say, I wasn’t about to stop him.
What he finally did say sent a faint chill down my back. “What the hell, it’s all over anyhow.”
“What is?” I asked, suddenly anticipating the resolution to Shawna’s death.
“The deal. It’s history, and if she wants to get me for rape, what the hell. She’s no fucking virgin, if that’s what she told you.”
My hopes crumpled within me. This wasn’t to be a murder confession.
Ron sensed my disappointment and took the lead. “Let’s start from the top. When and how did you two meet?”
Redding let out a big sigh. “Like I said, I was crashing at Messier’s place, playing gigs wherever I could. Shawna dropped in out of the blue. A friend of mine named Hugh Savage had given her my address. They went to high school together or something. Anyway, one day she showed up and just kind of moved in.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“You know. She had nowhere to go, no money, didn’t know anybody else in town. I kind of took her in. I mean, she wasn’t much to look at, but she was willing and able, and I had nothing else going… She
did
tell me she was eighteen.”
“What’s the deal you mentioned?”
“After a couple of weeks, she was getting to be a drag. Never left the place because she said her mom might’ve sent the cops after her. She just hung around, wanting attention. I mean, that’s okay for a while, but… Well, you know.”
Neither of us bothered commenting.
“So anyway, this guy I hear about’s got this good shit to sell—prime stuff at a low price ’cause he’s headin’ for
He ran his fingers through his hair, his head dropping briefly. “Oh, Jesus.”
Ron and I exchanged glances, suddenly unsure of which button we’d pushed—statutory rape, drug pushing, or murder. Whichever it was, I had to make a critical choice. Given his mood, he was liable to confess to something, and I had to ensure it would hold up in court. My two choices were either to make it clear he was free to go—and therefore not in legal custody—and then take advantage of his sudden relief to coax out an indiscretion, or to build on the pressure he was already feeling, inform him of his rights, and let him think we could do more right now than simply give him a tap on the wrist for smoking a joint.
I opted for the latter. “I better advise you, Mr. Redding, that you may be facing criminal charges, and that you have the right to remain silent, and to retain the services of a lawyer if you wish, free of charge if you don’t have the money. Do you understand that?”
Now the other hand joined the first in holding his head. “
Man
.”
“Do you understand what I just said?” I pressed him, increasingly satisfied with my choice.
“It wasn’t my fault—”
“Mr. Redding.” I bent over and put my face into his again. “Do you understand what I said?”
“Yes.” His voice was almost a croak.
I straightened, backed off, and sat in a chair across from him. “Good. Then do you want to tell us about Shawna Davis, or do you want to wait till you get a lawyer?”
He dropped his hands and slumped back into his chair, looking at me through a scraggle of hair hanging across his eyes. “I don’t have a goddamn lawyer.”
“We can get you a public defender.”
He stared at the ceiling a moment. Regardless of the outcome, I didn’t mind stringing this out. If he did opt for the lawyer, we’d take him down to the SA’s office, nail him for the roach, get a warrant to search this apartment, and maybe hit him with a felony if we found a big-enough stash. On the other hand, there was nothing quite like the spur of the moment to open a guilty conscience, so if he had something truly incriminating to say, I wasn’t about to stop him.
What he finally did say sent a faint chill down my back. “What the hell, it’s all over anyhow.”
“What is?” I asked, suddenly anticipating the resolution to Shawna’s death.
“The deal. It’s history, and if she wants to get me for rape, what the hell. She’s no fucking virgin, if that’s what she told you.”
My hopes crumpled within me. This wasn’t to be a murder confession.
Ron sensed my disappointment and took the lead. “Let’s start from the top. When and how did you two meet?”
Redding let out a big sigh. “Like I said, I was crashing at Messier’s place, playing gigs wherever I could. Shawna dropped in out of the blue. A friend of mine named Hugh Savage had given her my address. They went to high school together or something. Anyway, one day she showed up and just kind of moved in.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“You know. She had nowhere to go, no money, didn’t know anybody else in town. I kind of took her in. I mean, she wasn’t much to look at, but she was willing and able, and I had nothing else going… She
did
tell me she was eighteen.”
“What’s the deal you mentioned?”
“After a couple of weeks, she was getting to be a drag. Never left the place because she said her mom might’ve sent the cops after her. She just hung around, wanting attention. I mean, that’s okay for a while, but… Well, you know.”
Neither of us bothered commenting.
“So anyway, this guy I hear about’s got this good shit to sell—prime stuff at a low price ’cause he’s headin’ for
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