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With its greasy food, loud music and...interesting selection of adult beverages, Joe’s Bar attracted a range of characters from serious pool players to those looking for a shady deal. Spencer and his colleagues
often kept it under close scrutiny. Certainly bodyguard Callum Colton, Marlowe’s twin, had been watching the bar recently after a suspicious character he’d been tailing was seen there. And it wasn’t unusual for the police to be called out to deal with a breakout of rowdy behavior.
“Now and then.”
“Have you ever told anyone in there that you needed money and you’d be willing to do anything to get it?”
Hannant puffed out a breath. “Jeez. Am I supposed to remember everything I say when I’ve had me a few beers?”
Spencer grinned. “I like that, Aidan. You should try it on the judge.” As Hannant squirmed, he became serious again. “Even if you’ve forgotten, can you be sure your drinking buddies will have such short memories? Especially when some of them may need their own favors from the police.”
“Look. I may have said a few things.” Hannant sounded miserable. “Boasted a little about some stuff I’d done in the past and not gotten caught. And yeah, I needed cash. Got into a few games of poker, and was having trouble paying my tab.”
“I’m going to need some more details from you in a statement. For now, I’m more interested in who you spoke to in Joe’s.”
“You make it sound like I sat down with some guy and talked one-on-one, but it wasn’t like that,” Hannant said. “I was just shooting my mouth off, you know? Talking to anyone who’d listen.”
That was what Spencer had been afraid of. Drunk and with an out-of-control mouth, Hannant could have been overheard by anyone who was in the bar that day. Spencer was right back where he’d started.
“Do you remember who was around?” Anyone from the AAG? He didn’t want to give Hannant that sort of prompt.
“The usual guys.” Hannant attempted a shrug, then winced. “And a few from that self-help place.”
In the chair next to Spencer’s, Katrina shifted slightly. Before she could speak, and jeopardize the inquiry, Spencer continued his questioning. “I need you to be more specific. Who were these people?”
“Give me a second. Some water would be good.”
“I’ve got it.” Katrina reached for the specially adapted bottle and held it to Hannant’s lips. Spencer was in awe of the way she could help a man who had put her in danger and then threatened her. It took a remarkable person to show that kind of compassion. He was figuring out fast just how special she was. And what a jerk he’d been for doubting her.
“That’s better.” Hannant leaned back. “Yeah. They started hanging around the place. What were their names? Randy? No. That’s not right. Randall. And his buddies. The one with the muscles and the cool dude.”
So Randall Cook had been visiting Joe’s Bar? It was an interesting piece of information. That made it seem likely that the “one with the muscles” was Bart Akers. But the “cool dude”? Spencer had no clue who that could be.
“Ken? Kenny?” Hannant mused. “I’d had too many beers by that time. Now I think of it, he was the guy who was doing the buying.”
“And this Kenny, you’re sure he was with the other two? The one called Randall and his buddy with the muscles?” Spencer asked.
“Could have been. Like I said, it’s a blur. I’m tired.” Hannant was starting to whine. “I need to sleep.”
Figuring that he’d gotten about as much information from him as he could, Spencer decided to leave it there. If he was honest, he hadn’t expected as much. Would what Hannant had revealed hold up in court? A man who’d admitted he was drunk had said two guys who could have been Randall and Bart might have heard him boasting about past misdemeanors. It was a big leap from that to linking the AAG to the threats against Katrina.
And the mysterious Kenny? If he existed at all, he could be anyone.
When they got outside the room, the expression on Katrina’s face told him she shared his frustration.
“He didn’t tell us anything we hadn’t already guessed,” she said. “What do we do next?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Let’s grab some lunch, then go back and check on Leigh, as planned. After that, we can find out if there are any AAG members called Ken or Kenny.”
“Police work is not as interesting as I imagined it would be,” she commented as they headed toward the exit.
He laughed. “Believe me, you don’t want to be around when things get exciting.”
Chapter 12
After they’d shared a pizza in Lucia’s Italian Café, Spencer suggested they head toward the opposite end of Mustang Boulevard. His reasoning was that Leigh had been working to a system that morning and, if he was correct, she should have reached Bubba’s Diner by that point.
“What if you’re wrong and we’ve lost her?” Katrina asked.
