“I’m afraid it may take some time to work this whole thing out,” Peterson said. “If you’ll just cooperate and answer our questions, we’ll be able to get you out of here much faster.”
“Let’s start with the coke,” Petrocelli said. “How long has your husband been storing it in your basement?”
“Coke?” Lisa tried to think. “He doesn’t do drugs. He has nothing to do with that.”
“What do you take us for?” Petrocelli shouted. “We’re not stupid. Your husband has been one of Seattle’s major distributors for years.”
“No, we have a child. Jimmy wouldn’t do drugs.”
****
After two hours in the interrogation room, Lisa was exhausted. She still had no idea what they wanted from her. How could she give them information she didn’t have? Jimmy was not a drug dealer. She had no idea how the guns had gotten into her basement. She didn’t know any of Jimmy’s business associates.
Jimmy was a legitimate businessman. He ran an import/export business from their home. They could check out his computer if they liked. It had all the records.
No, she didn’t know when Jimmy would be back. He worked like that. Sometimes he’d be gone a couple of days, sometimes a couple of weeks. He didn’t know when he left where his trip would take him. It just depended on the kinds of deals he found.
For some reason, that horrible little man didn’t believe her. The big detective was nicer. He tried to help, but every time he did something nice, the little district attorney yelled at her.
And the way he looked at her, like she was naked. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
She was in tears when she was returned to the holding cell.
“How ju doin,’ Mama?” Angie asked.
“I . . . I don’t know . . . It’s . . . it’s awful. They’re accusing Jimmy of horrible things.”
“Where is ju husband? How come he’s not here to bail ju out?” Angie sat down on the bench next to Lisa.
“He’s away.” Lisa wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’ve got to call him. He’ll know what to do.”
“Ask for ju phone call. They gotta let ju make one phone call.”
Angie put her arm around Lisa’s shoulder and pulled her close. Lisa’s head slumped down on Angie’s shoulder.
****
East Los Angeles
“Absolutely not,” Mama’s voice rose. She almost never raised her voice. “I won’t have my eighteen-year old son traipsing around the country by himself.”
Mama, Guillermo, Esperanza and Papa sat around the table in Mama’s kitchen. Coffee and pan dulce was the breakfast of the day. Later they would have a more substantial meal before El Chaparral opened.
“Mom, it’s no big deal.” Guillermo casually pulled at a cuerno de manzana. “Everybody does it. Eddie, Chappo and Tony are up for it. They don’t have any problems with their parents.”
“I don’t care what everybody does. You’re my son. You’re only eighteen. When you’re twenty-one you can go out and kill yourself if you want, but until then, you do what I say.”
“Dad?” Guillermo turned to Papa.
Papa sat silent, just looking off into infinity.
“How old were you and Papa when you took of for the US?” Guillermo asked.
“That’s different,” Mama said. “People were a lot more mature in those days.”
“It’s not different. You were sixteen. Papa was eighteen. You didn’t tell your parents. You just ran away.”
Mama looked to Papa. He sat stone still.
“I had your Papa. He was smart and strong.”
“So, I’m not smart and strong? And we’re not moving to a new country. We’re just taking a road trip. Lots of guys do this when they graduate.”
“Papa?” Mama took her husband’s hand.
“Guillermo is right, corazon. He is a man now. He needs to get out. On his own. When Ted was eighteen, he went to Seattle, to school. It’s time for Guillermo to start making his way in the world.”
“Just don’t get into trouble, Raton,” Esperanza said. She knew that Papa would have the last word. “You stay safe. I’m not going to come bail your scrawny ass out if you get in over your head.”
Hacker For Hire (Ted Higuera Series Book 2) Page 31