Читать книгу Don’t Look Twice - Andrew Gross, Andrew Gross - Страница 17

CHAPTER TWELVE

When Hauck got back to the station, Sunil and Munoz were sitting in interview room one.

“I think Sunil’s got something to tell you, Lieutenant.”

The manager of the Exxon station nodded sheepishly as Hauck stepped in. “Lieutenant…” He drew in a fitful breath, his dark, round face showing barely more life than when he’d come up from behind the counter a couple of hours ago.

“I didn’t have any idea that this was what this was about, Lieutenant. I thought this was all over…”

Hauck sat on the edge of the table. “Thought what was over, Sunil?”

The Pakistani swallowed.

Munoz leaned against the wall. “Tell him, Sunil.”

“Okay…” Sunil ran a hand through his dark, thinning hair. “I’ve been here thirty years, Lieutenant. I operate this business. I’ve never been in trouble with the law…”

“I know that, Sunil.”

He nodded. “This young girl, the one who died. The one in the newspaper you found. This Josephina…My son, Azzi, he knew her. He was in school with her.”

Hauck suddenly realized where the man was heading. “He was there with her that night? At the pool?”

Sunil slowly nodded. “Look, he’s a good boy, Lieutenant. He’s no trouble, you understand? He does well in school. He’s already taken his SATs. They were just kids. Messing around.”

“What do you mean by ‘messing around,’ Sunil?”

“I mean, it’s not like he was doing drugs or tried to hurt someone. There was a whole group of them who were there. Six. When he came home that night I could see in his face that something was terribly wrong. During the night he came into my room. He told me what had happened. How everyone had run. We called the police. We told him he had to take responsibility. We told him he could not hide behind his friends. Azzi was the only one who came forward. He didn’t mean to run away that night. He was just scared. It was a boy’s reaction. You understand this, Lieutenant. Sometimes boys do stupid things…”

“No one’s judging what he did, Sunil.”

“Yes, I know that, Lieutenant. You’re fair. You’ve always been fair. But not everyone is. Where we live, we are the outsiders. He was afraid. Not just for him. For me. Afraid it would hurt me. What I’d worked for. We said we would help make restitution. Did anyone else? We never consulted a lawyer.” Sunil’s face was caught between remorse and anger. “He was all the way on the other side of the pool, Lieutenant. That poor girl, they were just horsing around.” He shook his head. “Why would they do this to us? Why…?”

Hauck felt the pieces starting to fit. Sunil’s face was like a sheet of wax. He took a sip of water.

“Was anyone threatening you over this, Sunil?”

“Threatening?” His eyes were round and startlingly white against the dark color of his skin. “Where we live, it’s not the most settled neighborhood, Lieutenant. There are clashes. They have gangs. There were accusations. Many of them. The girl’s family, they were upset. Who can blame them? She was by all accounts a good person too. Her brother, he might have said some things…”

Hauck leaned forward. “Name those kinds of things, Sunil.”

The Pakistani looked up, a little scared. “I don’t want any more trouble, Lieutenant. Enough is enough. I just didn’t think…” The manager was still in the blue Exxon work uniform, his name emblazoned on his chest. “When I saw your daughter lying there, I was so scared. Then that poor man…” He ran two hands over his hair and sank back in his chair. “Yes, there were threats. They called us names. Pakis…Pakis, Lieutenant! I’ve been living in this country for thirty years! The girl’s brother…people told us he was in some kind of gang. They are commonplace up there now. My son stood up, Lieutenant. He came forward. We offered to make restitution. The others…” Sunil shook his head. “Why would they want to take this horrible thing out on us?”

“I’ll talk to someone on the force up there, Sunil. I’ll make sure they station someone outside your house.”

“It was an accident.” The manager somberly shook his head. His eyes were round and sad. “Now look what it’s done.”

Outside, Munoz asked Hauck, “You still want us to take a look into Sanger’s case files?”

“Not any longer.” Hauck shook his head. “But grab your jacket; we’re going to take a ride.”