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I wondered about John Collins’ surly attitude, but decided I could excuse it. He had a hard job to do. In his eyes, I was just a complication that made his job more difficult.
As I drove away from Skid Row, I watched for any signs of Licorice Billy. He wasn’t there and neither was the man I'd talked to the last time I was here. The whole place looked to be deserted. I figured I had Agents Collins and Stanton to thank for that.
Then I started thinking things through. The fact that Ricky Thomas had supposedly died in just the same way as Homeless John didn't add up for me.
I drove straight to the precinct house.
# # #
"Hello, Laila. You're getting to be a pretty frequent customer. What can I do for you today?"
Chief Hayes's desk was piled a little higher than I'd previously seen it. I planned to make my visit short, so Thor waited in the car.
"How many homeless are found dead in West River each year?" I asked the chief.
He shook his head. "Most times, the answer is zero. Maybe one, at the most. Other homeless people have died over the years, of course, but they were in a hospital or a shelter when it happened."
Chief Hayes settled back in his chair. "I have to tell you, though, that we've never had two of them discovered dead within days each other. And for the same reason. This may surprise you, but generally dealers are very careful when self-administering."
"Then – how do you explain how the two of them died?"
"Laila, it’s entirely possible that someone down there injected heroin into both of those homeless men. I have information that I can't disclose to you, except to say John had only the one needle mark on his body, while Ricky Thomas was an obvious user on a daily basis."
My eyes widened at that news. "Don’t get your hopes up, Laila," the chief cautioned. "There's no concrete evidence yet. It's just a theory. The people down there are in a constant state of survival. If a drug deal goes bad, it could set someone off enough to harm a rival – or even get him out of the way permanently." He paused, looking at me before continuing his thought.
"And, while you seem to strongly think that John was clean, it could also mean that he finally cracked. Perhaps even with the goal of dying. If not, the two similar deaths could indicate that there's a stronger than usual batch of heroin going around. Even an experienced user could overdose. And certainly a new user."
"Did Ricky Thomas have many enemies down there?" I asked.
"None that surfaced, but dealing isn't exactly a friendly business. I’m sure he upset some people at one time or another. They're not exactly pals out there on the streets, and it only takes one time to push some people over the edge."
He looked up at me. "I can also tell you, Laila, that wit
h his being the second case within just a few days, we are investigating both deaths in more detail."
I gave him a slow grin. This conversation was all I needed. Even the Chief of Police was hinting at the premise that John had not died of a self-inflicted overdose of heroin.
When I left the precinct house, my mind was still working overtime. My thoughts went to another piece of this puzzle: Licorice Billy.
I knew that Billy and John had definitely argued and did not get along. And I knew that Ricky and John had been seen together in front of the broken-down grocery store, too.
I had some updating to do on my cork board.
Chapter Twenty Four
It was good to wake up to a day off. I really needed the headspace to figure some things out. The more I thought about the people on the streets down in Skid Row, the more I couldn’t see any of them committing murder. Stealing maybe, but not murder. If any heroin was available, I wondered if a street person would waste it injecting somebody else.
I grabbed Thor’s leash and we headed for the dog park down the street. He was overdue for a run and I needed thinking time.
Thinking about my conversations with Chief Hayes, I wondered what it was that he couldn’t tell me. I knew there was no way I'd get it out of him.
I let Thor off his leash inside the gate of the dog park. Right away my cell phone rang, and without even glancing at it, I answered it happily, hoping it was Daniel.
But it wasn't.
"I know where you live. I know where you are right now. Back off – or else!"
The phone went dead.
