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“Benny?” The woman’s thin lips pulled down in a deep frown “Don’t sound like something Shawna would do. She ain’t crazy about being a mother, but she wouldn’t put him in danger.”
Just sell drugs out of her apartment, invite strange men to spend the night, and send her son out to deliver crack on his bike. Anger surged through Daniel. He tried to breathe through it, but the smell of grease made him want to gag. “You’ve been visiting her on a regular basis.”
“So? Visiting a friend in prison a crime?”
“Not yet. What did the two of you talk about?”
“None of your business.”
“She’s dead.” Detective Cooper spoke for the first time. He placed his hat on the counter in front of him and ran his hand over the top as if to remove any dust particles.
The coffee cup Juanita set on the counter in front of Katz clanged against the saucer, sloshing liquid over the side. “You’re lying. I just saw her last week. She was fine. She was putting together an appeal. She was gonna get out and get her kid back.”
“Not anymore.” Katz smirked and dumped sugar in his coffee. “Guess that leaves you with the stash.”
“What stash?” Juanita picked up a washcloth from the sink. She began wiping around the large coffeemakers that lined the back wall.
“Barrera’s product.”
“I don’t know nobody named Barrera. I ain’t got nobody’s product.” She twisted the washcloth between bony fingers. “I told you guys when you arrested Shawna, I didn’t have nothing to do with her side business.”
“I didn’t believe you then, and I don’t believe you now.” Katz took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. “You make this last week?”
“Fresh every morning, just like the sign says.”
Daniel didn’t have the patience for this small talk approach. “I believe that as much as I believe you don’t know what Shawna was up to. Who else knows where the stuff is?”
“I have no idea.”
Katz chuckled. “Juanita, I bet if I get a warrant to search your apartment, I’m gonna find your own little stash. I bet you’ve got some in your purse. I bet I’d find a dime rock in your pocket right now. Detective Cooper, what do you want to bet?”
“Well, I’m not a betting man. However, I’m fairly certain you’re right, Detective Katz,” Cooper said. “I think you should get yourself that warrant. Maybe we’ll find what we’ve been looking for.”
“I ain’t got it.” Juanita’s face puckered. “I ain’t.”
“Something happens to Benny, you’ll be responsible.” Daniel let the heat of his anger fuel the words. “You said Shawna wouldn’t endanger a child. What about you? Do you want to be responsible for the death of a child? Can you live with that? What kind of monster are you?”
The woman rubbed red-rimmed eyes. “All right. All right! I bought from Shawna. But I never sold. I wasn’t involved in her business. I told her she was making a pact with the devil when she got involved with Barrera, but she wouldn’t listen. She wanted out of this hole so bad, she would’ve made a deal with anybody.”
“What was she planning before she was arrested?”
“I don’t know exactly, but it was big. She was excited. She said she had her ticket out of this joint, and as soon as she had her score, she’d be gone. Her and the kid. She was going to California. She was going to get a job on Rodeo Drive. She talked big. It was just garbage.”
“She have a partner? Somebody she was working with?”
“I don’t know.”
“Juanita, you might want to think a little harder.” Katz pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of his belt and laid them on the counter. The woman’s gaze fasten on the shoulder holster visible under the detective’s jacket when he moved. “I can charge you with being an accessory to kidnapping. Mighty hard to get your fix in jail.”
“No, you couldn’t. You got no evidence. I ain’t done nothing.” Her gaze darted from left to right as if searching for an escape route.
Katz stood, shook out the handcuffs, and took a deliberate step toward the end of the counter. “Watch me.”
“Okay!” Juanita began to back up. “There was a guy. A skinny Mexican. He came in here a lot toward the end. Always sat in the back, in the corner. Shawna never charged him. He always ate half a dozen donuts all by himself, one right after the other. It was kind of sickening to watch.”
“Name, Juanita, name!” Katz eased around the corner of the counter, ignoring the glare from her coworker, who stood watching the exchange with obvious interest.
“She called him Jugo. That’s all I know.” Her hands fluttered to her face and dropped to her apron. “I’m telling you, that’s all I know.”
