The Competition

by Marcia Clark

  When I went back to Shane, his head was hanging down and his expression was tortured.

  “Logan never brought a friend who talked guns with you? You’re sure about that?”

  Shane shook his head emphatically. “I don’t remember ever meeting any friends of his and I sure as hell didn’t talk guns with any other kids. I only talked to him because he was Luke’s brother.”

  I couldn’t think of a reason for him to hold back any names at this point. He knew he was on the hook for so much already, admitting that another kid was involved wasn’t worth lying about. He really didn’t know. But maybe he could help us find Logan. “Did Logan ever tell you about any places he liked to go?”

  “You mean places to hide?” I nodded. “No. And you gotta believe me, I’d tell you. I would. You’ve got to catch that kid, he’s a friggin’ maniac.”

  Coming from the man who’d given him the firepower, that was some kind of irony.

  57

  Shane rolled his head and stretched his neck. “You can take the cuffs off, guys. I’m obviously not going anywhere.”

  He did look uncomfortable. But I was fresh out of sympathy for gunrunners. “Who’s your connect?”

  Shane stared straight ahead. “Internet.”

  He might as well have been wearing a neon sign that said I’M GOING TO LIE NOW.

  “Let me help you with those cuffs.” I walked around behind his chair and held up my hand to Bailey for the key. She tossed it to me with a smirk. I unlocked the cuffs. Then ratcheted them down two notches tighter and relocked them. Shane let out a yelp of pain. “Not much better, huh? Sorry ’bout that.”

  I walked back around and faced him. “Let’s try that again. Who’s your connect?”

  Shane lifted his head defiantly. “I told you, I buy my guns on the Internet.”

  “Is that right? Then why’d you file off all the registration numbers?” That was a separate charge unto itself, and I could file one for each gun. Shane’s sentence could add up to serious double digits real fast.

  “That’s how they were when I bought ’em.”

  I stared at him. “Seriously, what makes you think I’ll believe such obvious horseshit? Because I’m female?” I folded my arms. “Or is it just that you’re that bad at lying?” Shane opened his mouth to protest. “No. Stop it. We don’t have time for this nonsense. That kid you called a maniac is out there planning his next massacre at this very moment. So start talking, and this time, go with the truth.”

  Shane squirmed in his handcuffs, trying to find a comfortable position. I could’ve told him not to bother. When I first joined the DA’s office, I asked a bailiff to cuff me to one of the chairs at counsel table so I could feel what it was like. He was happy to oblige. And then he and the clerk took off for lunch. Such funny, funny guys. For the next hour, I tried to wriggle my way out of them. I learned two things that day: those cuffs are damned uncomfortable and never trust a bailiff.

  Shane tried to flex his shoulders, but the electrical cord didn’t leave him any room to move. “You can’t do this. It’s gotta be, like, against the law.”

  “That’s cute. A lesson on the law. From the man who sold illegal weapons to a minor. Do you know how many years you’ll get just for bringing those assault rifles into California? Let alone for selling them to a kid? And then we can talk about filing off the serial numbers. By the time I get done stacking up all the charges, you’ll be facing close to a hundred years. And trust me, there isn’t a judge in the county who won’t max you out. Know why? Because you’re going to be Public Enemy Number Three. Right behind the two shooters. They couldn’t have done it without you, and I’ll make sure no one forgets it. In fact, some might even believe you knew that’s what Logan planned all along. That makes you a coconspirator. So tell me, who do you think is going to give a shit that your cuffs are too tight?”

  “Coconspirator! You’ve got to be kidding me. I didn’t know!” He looked from me to Bailey to Todd. “I didn’t! You got to believe me!”

  “Actually, we might. But I can’t speak for anyone else. Probably another DA will handle your case. And if they decide to charge you with conspiracy and you wind up in front of a jury? Conservatively speaking, I’d say you’re toast. Try to imagine how badly they’re going to want to string up anyone who so much as gave Logan directions to the bathroom. Now imagine how they’ll feel about the guy who gave him the guns.” Shane was shaking his head. “You paying attention? It’s important you stay with me here, because I’m talking about hundreds of counts of conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.”

  Shane’s breath was coming fast and shallow now. “I didn’t know shit! They can’t convict me!”

  “Well of course they can. And my guess is they will. They’ll bury you so deep you’ll still be in prison when you reincarnate. So you can talk now and buy yourself a little goodwill. Or you can keep fucking with me and roll the dice with the twelve-headed monster. Your choice.”

  Shane shook his head slowly. “I can’t tell you. I’ll be dead.”

  “Oh, please, Priscilla, spare us the drama. You’ll be plenty safe. You didn’t think we were just going to take a statement from you and let you trot on home?” I shook my head. “You’re going down for those gun sales no matter what—”

  “You think they can’t get to me in prison?”

  “Who’s ‘they’?”

  Shane pressed his lips together. His face looked pinched.

  “We’ll make sure you’re housed in a safe place. Maybe federal custody. Trust me, by the time you finish your sentence, they’ll have forgotten all about you.”

  Shane dropped his head and sagged in his chair for several long moments. No one said a word. Finally, he cleared his throat. His voice was a hoarse whisper. “You got my cell?”

  Bailey held it up. “Give me the name.”

  “Jax. Jax Esposito.”

  Bailey started to scroll through his contacts. “How’d you meet him?”

  “At a gun show. He had a couple of guns that needed fixing. I fixed them and he paid me in cash on the spot. After that, he asked me if I wanted to help him get rid of some extra inventory. I thought, what the hell? Sell a few guns here and there, but man, I had no idea. Crates of the shit.”

  “What kind of guns?”

  “All kinds. You name it, he had it. Rifles, shotguns, AKs, revolvers, semi-autos. Dude even had a flamethrower. It was crazy.”

  “So how did you wind up buying enough to make a living?” Bailey asked.

  “Because I wound up providing…extra services. He was looking for a drug connection in the States—”

  “The States?” I asked. “Where’s he from?”

  “Mexico.”

  “And he was looking to buy?” Bailey asked.

  “No, to sell.”

  “What kind of drugs?” I asked.

  “Weed, yayo. I think pills too, but I’m not a hundred percent. Drugs aren’t my thing.” I raised an eyebrow. “Anymore.”

  “Yayo?” Todd asked.

  “Cocaine,” Bailey said. “Slang, taken from the Spanish word for ice, hielo.”

  “So what was the deal?” I asked.

  “I’d hook him up with a buyer in the States and he’d give me a sweet deal on guns.”

  “Sweet enough to let you resell for a fat profit.”

  Shane nodded. “I’ve been saving up to buy a place in Camarillo. I’ve almost got enough for a little two-bedroom near the airport.”

  “Had, Shane,” I said. “You mean had.” Shane sank in his chair and nodded. “How did Logan meet up with this Jax guy?”

  “How’d you know he met Jax?”

  Because Logan and his buddy had dropped the assault rifles Shane sold them at the school. Because they’d had two more when they did the theater shooting. Which meant Logan had to have bought two more after the Fairmont shooting. If Shane was telling the truth and he hadn’t sold Logan any more guns, then Logan had to have had his own connection. And being a Valley bo
y, as opposed to the son of a Mafia don or Yakuza oyabun, his opportunities to find gun connections were pretty limited. “Just answer the question. How did Logan meet this guy?”

  “The first time I met up with Jax to make the exchange—”

  “Guns for you, the name of a buyer for him,” Bailey said.

  Shane nodded. “I was nervous. I mean, I’d done some repair work for the guy, but this time we were making a deal, and it was pretty big, so I wanted backup. Someone else around just in case…”

  In case Jax decided to take the name and blow Shane off—or blow him away. “You brought Logan,” I said.

  “Yeah. Logan knew about my gun business already so I wasn’t worried about him going to the cops or anything. Plus, he was real tall, and with shades on he looked older—and kind of scary.” Shane stopped and shook his head. Even he couldn’t miss the irony of that statement.

  “Weren’t you worried Logan might cut you out? Get rid of the middleman and make his own deals with Jax?”

  “Of course. That’s why I never left them alone.”

  “Never? Your back was never turned? Logan never had a second to slip Jax his phone number, or vice versa?”

  Shane frowned. “No…well. I guess I can’t say for sure.”

  Bailey and I exchanged a look. Logan was a lot smarter than this nimrod. Plus, he knew that he’d need to restock his arsenal after the school shooting and wouldn’t be able to go back to Shane. “Whose idea was it to bring Logan to that meeting with Jax?”

  “Uh, mine. And his. I told him I was about to score the guns he wanted but that I needed some backup, because the guy was kind of shady.”

  “And Logan said he could be that backup.”

  Shane nodded. “Yeah.” I inclined my head—‘get it?’ He expelled a long breath and turned his head away as he muttered, “Fucker played me.”

  Big-time. I took Shane’s phone from Bailey and looked at the entry for Jax. The area code was for Riverside, a few hours south of La Conchita. “You know what, Shane? You need more guns. And right away.”

  58

  Bailey tapped me on the arm. “Can we powwow for a minute?”

  “Sure.” I turned back to the bound-and-cuffed Shane. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

  “‘Don’t go anywhere,’” Shane said. “That’s a real knee-slapper. Who knew you DAs could be such a laugh riot.”

  Bailey pulled me into the bedroom. “I like your idea of a setup with Jax, but I think we need to take a minute and decide what we want to do with him, assuming Shane can arrange a meet.”

  “My guess is that Logan has to hook up with him again to restock. So, we put a bug on Jax and follow him until they meet.”

  “But what if Logan’s already met with Jax?”

  Then the next shooting couldn’t be far off. That was probably true regardless. I knew that. We all did. But somehow, Bailey’s words brought the urgency home in a way that made my chest tighten. “Then we’ll need to squeeze the guy. Find out everything he knows about Logan. See if he knows what Logan’s planning.”

  “And Logan would tell him because…?”

  I exhaled sharply and shook my head. “You’re right. He wouldn’t necessarily.” I started pacing. “But this Jax guy’s the most solid lead yet. We’ve got to do something with him. And thanks to Shane, we’ve got leverage.” I stopped pacing and looked at Bailey. “But Shane’s got to be the one to talk to Jax, find out whether he’s met with Logan.”

  Bailey frowned. “I really hate to rely on him for something like that. Why don’t we just bust Jax and force him to cooperate? Like you said, we’ve got the leverage. Shane’s testimony alone will nail him—and he’ll probably be carrying something we can bust him for.”

  “What if he won’t deal?” Criminals aren’t the most logical bunch. You can’t count on them to act in their own best interest—let alone figure out what that is. “Besides, setting up Jax as a decoy is our best shot at catching Logan. And we have to use Shane to do that.” Bailey didn’t look entirely convinced. “How about this: if he tells Shane there’s no plan to meet up with Logan again, we bust him. I know it’s risky to let Shane set this up. But if it pays off, it’s more than worth it.”

  Bailey reluctantly nodded. “But we’ll need serious backup,” she said. “This Jax character might bring friends. A lot could go wrong. How about I call Graden and get him to give us Harrellson and a couple of others?”

  I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.”

  Involving Graden was a good news/bad news proposition. If he liked our plan, it meant we’d be covered both physically and politically if anything went wrong. But if he, or more likely someone above him, didn’t like it, we’d be shut down. And there were some pretty obvious reasons for the brass to nix the idea. It was a risky gambit, planting a bug on a known drug and gun seller. If we lost him, or if he found the bug before he met with Logan, he’d be in the wind. In which case we—or at least LAPD—would be on the hook for losing a major player. The potential shitstorm of blame was incalculable.

  So odds were, we wouldn’t get approval. But this was the only move we had. We needed to make it, and make it fast. Bailey and I and the shrinks agreed that Logan wasn’t about to end his siege on a dud like the Cinemark Theater. He was gearing up for another, and probably bigger, round. This might be our best—and maybe only—chance to prevent it. If we asked for permission, we’d be shut down. We couldn’t afford that.

  If it all went south and I wound up fired, so be it. Better that than knowing I blew a chance to stop more carnage. “We could get some…unofficial backup. Let me make a few phone calls.”

  Bailey raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Hurry.”

  “You know, mija, at some point a debt is paid. Done with. I can’t always be bailing you out of shit.” Luis Revelo, shot-caller for the Sylmar Sevens gang, spoke patiently, as though explaining the facts of life to a dimwitted younger cousin.

  We’d met when he was suspected—wrongly—of having raped the daughter of a wealthy doctor and businessman who turned out to have unfortunate “associations” that linked him to child pornography and murder. I cleared Luis of the rape, and in return, he tricked out my Honda, which had been badly vandalized during the case. Luis planned to go into marketing and give up the gang life. He was aiming for an MBA and had just finished his second year of community college with a 4.0 average. He looked like a shoo-in for acceptance to the University of California in Los Angeles. But he still had to pay the rent. For himself, his mother, a few cousins, and assorted others.

  So for now, he was still the gang leader. Which had made him a great source of information for me in past cases. Right now, it meant that he had the firepower and the manpower to provide serious, if potentially overzealous, backup.

  “What do you mean always?” I said. “I ever ask you for backup before? And besides, I saved your life. Remember? I’d say that means you’ll be owing me for a while.”

  “Aww don’ zaggerate. No jury woulda convicted me. Susan woulda told ’em I din’t—damn, I mean didn’t do it.”

  This is so typical. Win a case, it was a no-brainer anybody could’ve won. Lose a case, it’s all you. No matter how you slice it, we never get credit.

  “You didn’t seem so sure of that when you kidnapped me just so you could beg me to help you.” Luis had had a couple of his soldiers scoop me off the street so he could plead his case to me privately. Lucky for him, I was open-minded enough to listen. Also, they had guns.

  “I said I was sorry. An’ we jus’ snatched you for a little bit. You gonna keep bringin’ that up forever?”

  Why stop when it worked so well? “You know, Luis, another prosecutor, who didn’t have such a highly developed sense of humor, might have actually filed charges for that ‘little’ bit. You don’t realize how fortunate you are that it was me and not some hard-ass.”

  “Yeah, you’re cool, I know that. But look, it’s bad
for my rep to be hanging around with a DA. I got my name to think of. I got to keep respeck in the ranks. You feel me?”

  The burdens of leadership could be daunting. “Respect, Luis. Anyway, this is for the shooting at Fairmont High. You hear about that?”

  There was a long pause. “Shit, everybody heard about that. Why din’t you say so? Those pendejo motherfuckers. Whadda you need?”

  59

  When I came out of the bedroom, Shane was complaining loudly that he had to use the bathroom. He’d been stuck in that chair for more than an hour. It was possible he was telling the truth. I looked at Bailey. “Do we let him?”

  Bailey shrugged. “Your call. Just keep in mind, we’re taking him to this meeting with Jax, and it’s a very long ride. And I don’t intend to make any rest stops.”

  Todd spoke up. “Since we’re going to have to use my car”—Todd looked at Bailey—“we can’t use your cop car. I vote we let him answer nature’s call before we leave.”

  “It’s unanimous, Shane,” I said. I opened my purse and pulled out my gun. “But no one’s going to mind shooting you if you try to run.”

  “I can count. I know I’m outnumbered.”

  Bailey untied him, cuffed his hands in front of his body, and let Todd escort him. When the bathroom door closed, she whispered to me, “So what’d you work out for backup?” I told her about Luis. She reared back and stared at me. “Are you out of your mind? Bangers? Who’s going to protect us from them?”

  I was saved from having to answer that rather excellent question by the emergence of Todd and Shane from the little boys’ room. Todd got him reseated and cuffed in the kitchen chair.

  Shane gave Bailey a pleading look. “Can we do without the cord? I’m obviously not going anywhere. Besides, I’m kinda working for you guys now.”