Читать книгу When One Man Dies - Dave White - Страница 18
ОглавлениеThe sun was barely coloring the sky, and the sound of traffic was still light. It wasn’t even six. That meant the man he was looking for was still around. He always was this time of morning.
Jesus Sanchez made his way around the corner and froze. Bill Martin saw and nodded at him. Sanchez paled.
“Yo, what the fuck you doin’ here, man? Didn’t think you were into this shit anymore.”
Martin extended his hand; Sanchez ignored it. “I said, what the fuck are you doin’ here?”
“Need to ask you a few questions.”
“Yo, you ain’t a narc anymore.”
“I need to know who the big guy is these days,” Martin said. “Fuck if it ain’t me.”
Martin laughed. “You’ve never been a big seller. You never will be. Answer my question.”
Being out here felt great. You didn’t get this working small-time robberies in New Brunswick. Martin loved moments like this, just fucking with a witness or informant until you got what you wanted. Working petty shit stolen from a frat house was boring. This was great.
“Shit, man. You don’t gotta be like that. Michael Burgess, yo. Check in on him.”
“Never heard of him.” Martin dropped his cigarette on the ground.
“Yeah, you been away awhile,” Jesus said. “You still talk to your boy? You know, Jackson.”
“Who’s Michael Burgess?” Martin fumbled for another cigarette. “Man, that guy, he didn’t give you up, did he? But yeah, you still holdin’ a grudge like he fucked you.”
Maybe working this case wasn’t exactly as Martin had hoped. “Tell me about Burgess.”
“Man, you ever tell him about what happened? What you did?”
Memories rushed back to Martin, moments he’d long ago buried.
“No,” Martin said. “I never told him.”
“What you smiling for? You know I ain’t gonna tell you shit. I don’t have to.”
“I can find out about Burgess without you.” He inhaled some smoke. “You just gave me an idea. See ya around, Jesus.”
“Man, what are you talkin’ about?”
“You still see Donne?”
“Nah. Every once in a while walking up and down this block. But we don’t talk no more.”
“You decide to get friendly, don’t tell him you saw me.”
“Man, fuck you.”
Martin turned and walked back to the police station.
