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We both emptied a clip in them.
When it over, I drove Black home. I asked him, "How’d you know Banks started dealin’ again?"
Black just looked at me like I was stupid or something. "I know everything that goes on in my organization. Remember that. Never get to far removed from anything you’re in charge of, Nick."
Mrs. Childers was right I knew exactly how Chilly handled his business. But by now, she was talkin’ all over herself, "The story goes that you and Bobby Ray fell out over some woman and you cut out."
"True story." It made me a little uncomfortable that she knew.
"Tell me about it, Nick."
"You seem to know the story, so there’s nothing to tell."
"There’s more to your dark side. That the family you don’t like talking about, Nick?"
"If you really gotta know, yes, Mrs. Childers, that’s the family I don’t talk about. I ran out on Black when he needed me most."
"Mike Black," she said in a way that made me a little jealous.
"You know him?"
"Of course I know him, everybody knows Mike Black. After Chilly made peace with him, we got invited to all his parties. He always threw the best parties. He used to have them at some mansion out on the Island."
"I r
emember those parties. Those were the days. But those days are dead and gone. You and I need to focus on the here and now. I need to know how to find Rocky."
"Rocky doesn’t come around much. He just shows up when he needs to. I really don’t know how to contact him. Even though he buys from Chilly, he doesn’t like him."
"I haven’t found anybody who does like your husband, Mrs. Childers. But we’ll pass that for now. How does Rocky do business?"
"He usually sends somebody."
"Do you know if he knows Pamela Hendricks?"
"If he knows her, they met the same way, at one of our parties."
"It’s not gonna take the cops long to put all this together and tie it all back to Chilly. But that’s what you wanted, isn’t it?"
"Yes, but there is no evidence. Nick, I’ve seen Chilly walk in and out of jail too many times to be excited about this. If they pick him up now, it will just make him mad and he’ll take it out on me."
"You’re right. Rocky is the one who’s tailor made to step off for this."
"What do you mean?"
"Two women OD on cocaine, both of them know your brother. Rocky, his childhood friend is a dealer and one of the dead women works in a bank. It has money laundering written all over it. What is Jake’s involvement in this? I know. You don’t know, but if I do find him, he is poised to take a fall for conspiracy."
"I never thought about it that way. Nick, you just have to find him."
The longing in her voice set me off.
It made my will stronger, more determined to find him. Mrs. Childers was right about one thing, as far as the evidence went; none of this had anything to do with Chilly. The more I thought about the transcript and that thing about problems being taken care of, the more I was convinced that it was Jake he was talking about.
With all that had happened, I had completely over looked the one person who might be able to put all this together for me.
Lisa Ellison.
She would be my target for the night.
