“Uh, huh? Oh, okay, well, here’s where things get a little interesting. Parker and Baxter didn’t come to the hospital by themselves. They were escorted actually by a third man, who refused to give his name up. It was apparent that he knew Parker and Baxter, but he told the nurses that he was driving along and saw them getting jumped by a group of men, so he pulled up, causing the men to flee. He was the ordinary good, law-abiding citizen and dropped off two complete strangers at the hospital. Yeah, fuckin’ right, is what I say. He was right there at the robbery too. He just somehow managed not to get himself all jacked up. By refusing to give his name, he let us know that he’s just as shady as the two men he dropped off. He damn near fled the scene, but not before a security guard copied the license plate down. Come to find out, the car belongs to a female by the name of Shonte Stevens. We go question her, and she was a little bit more helpful than her buddy, but not too much.” He paused to collect his thoughts.
“She didn’t give up the name of the guy driving her car, but we found out that they were all victims of a home invasion and where that invasion took place. Off of Freemont. Rough area. Lot of drugs, lot of gangs, lot of guns. You wouldn’t want to raise your dog there, never mind your kids, but I don’t have to tell you guys something you already know,” he said, ready to break into another laugh until he noticed both sets of eyes focused on him that didn’t look amused at all. So he swallowed his giggles, cleared his throat, and continued. “But she still gave us a hard time. She refused to identify the man who was driving her car. She wouldn’t tell us who else was in the house, wouldn’t give us the exact location or the address. Even refused to admit it was a drug-related robbery. But we knew better. A neighborhood like that, I bet you anything drugs were involved.”
As McCarthy listened to the parole officer talk, he quickly came to the conclusion that Roberts wanted to be a police officer. He probably tried to become one but failed at the academy, so he decided to become a parole officer instead. McCarthy noticed how he included himself in with the Clark County police by saying words like “we” and “us.” Roberts looked like the type to just sit home and watch back-to-back episodes of Cops. He kind of felt sorry for the man with the snug-fitting pants and geeky laugh.
“Probably could’ve gotten more out of her, but she was rambling about us not doing anything about it and how her little cousin and the kid’s father were just killed in some other home invasion a couple days and we still haven’t solved that. As if people don’t get killed in Las Vegas on a regular basis.” Roberts snorted in a laughing manner.
“Did she say where that took place and whether it was connected to the beatings and robbery?”
“Nope. That’s all she said. Frankly, I think she was just blowing smoke to get out of cooperating. When the local cop I went with to question her asked if she would be willing to give a statement and testify, I didn’t hear her through all the carrying on and cursing she was doing in between. It was really difficult to understand her,” Roberts replied nonchalantly.
Reddick shot Roberts a look of disgust that went unnoticed by the parole officer. “Do you have a description of the guy who dropped the two victims off?” McCarthy asked.
“Yeah, between six foot two and six four, probably weighing between 220 and 240 pounds. A big fella. Really couldn’t see his face because he wore a hat pulled down low, but he was light skinned and had a goatee.”
“You get an address on the girl?”
“Sure did.” Roberts beamed.
“You mind getting it for us? Me and my partner would like to have a word or two with her,” Reddick jumped in. His patience with the parole officer was wearing thin.
“Not a problem,” Roberts stated, happy to be of assistance and involved with a somewhat big case. It made him feel important, like he was somebody. He disappeared into his cubicle within seconds to retrieve the address.
“So what do you think?” Reddick asked McCarthy, standing nearby.
“It’s hard to tell right now. The physical description of the driver didn’t help. We have to find out who else was in that house before we start assuming,” McCarthy replied. “I do want to find out about the woman’s cousin, though. Didn’t want to say it in front of Top Flight Security Roberts.” McCarthy let out a light chuckle.
Reddick joined him. “That guy was the epitome of trying too hard. But what are you thinking?”
“Not sure yet. It could be something, but then again it might be nothing,” McCarthy truthfully answered.
Just then Roberts reappeared holding a small piece of paper in his hand. He handed it to McCarthy. “Yeah, I’m going that way. I could show you two how to get there.”
“That’s quite all right, sir. My partner and I will be fine, thank you. I’ll be in the car, McCarthy,” Reddick replied briskly in a no-nonsense tone before walking off.
McCarthy could see the disappointment in Robert’s face. He had served his purpose and was no longer needed. So McCarthy decided to stroke the man’s ego a little bit. “Thanks a lot, Officer Roberts. Your help is very much appreciated; and if this lead helps my partner and me crack the case, you will definitely get an honorary mention for playing a major role in helping us solve it.”
Roberts visibly puffed up and beamed like a child receiving a compliment from an adult. “Well, yeah, like I said, I knew something was up from the get-go,” he bragged.
McCarthy made his way outside, while at the same time checking out all the women who passed by.
“That guy was fucking annoying.” Reddick wasted no time expressing how he felt about the parole officer.
“Yeah, but if what he gave us pans out to be something, then he’d be a good annoying.” McCarthy looked at the glass as half full.
“Touché,” Reddick agreed. He backed out of the Clark County probation department and peeled out.
Twenty-five minutes later, McCarthy and Reddick were pulling up in front of the address provided to them on West Ogden Avenue. As they pulled up, both agents noticed how the once nice suburban area looked rundown and abused.
McCarthy rang the doorbell and, several seconds later, they heard a little kid’s voice question, “Who is it?”
McCarthy was about to answer when a female voice shouted, “Move, Omar! Get’cha little ass out of my way! That’s ya problem now, you’re too damn grown.” The door swung open, and a very attractive, light-skinned young woman faced Reddick and McCarthy. She instantly pegged the agents for what they were: cops.
“I thought I told y’all to leave me alone. I told y’all everything I know,” she said, annoyed.
“We’re sorry to disturb you, Ms. Stevens. I’m Agent McCarthy, and this is my partner Agent Reddick, and we’re from the Federal Bureau Of Investigation.” He pulled out his gold shield to support his claim.
She did a quick scan of the badge. By now, Reddick was standing in the background with his badge out as well.
“We need to speak to you,” McCarthy informed the young lady.
She frowned, a puzzled expression on her face. “The feds? What y’all need to speak to me about?” Shonte asked.
“May we come in?” Reddick asked.
“Yeah, but y’all got to cover those up. I got an eight-year-old son,” she commented, nodding to the agents’ guns. McCarthy and Reddick immediately zipped their coats up, hiding their firearms. They were soon escorted inside of the house.
McCarthy couldn’t help but notice Shonte’s body. Her breasts were stuffed in a tight tank top and looked ready to bust out at any second. And she had her smooth yellow thighs on display with a tiny pair of shorts that barely covered her ass, which was big, like her titties. Her son rushed over to Reddick.
His mom noticed too. “Boy, that ain’t your daddy,” Shonte said, grinning.
“Well, aren’t you an absolutely adorable, handsome young man,” Reddick replied, hugging the young boy. He turned to his mother. “He’s going to be a heartbreaker when he gets older,” he continued.
“Like f
ather, like son,” Shonte said with a saddened expression. “Omar, go in your room and play ya games. Mommy has to talk, okay?”
Omar glanced at Reddick once more then took off running to go entertain himself.
“So how can I help y’all?” she asked directly, sitting on the couch and folding her legs underneath her.
“Well, we heard you were a victim of a home invasion robbery. Now we’re really not too interested in the specifics, like the drugs that were in the house, or your little drug-dealing buddies you’re covering for. We just need to know who else was in the house with you that night. That’s it,” Reddick said.
“I told the other cops everything I know already, so I really think you’re wasting your time,” she replied with a casual, nonchalant air about her.
Reddick kept his piercing gaze locked on the younger woman. “No, you didn’t, Ms. Stevens. You told them what you wanted them to know. But you didn’t tell them everything. Like I said, my partner and I aren’t interested in your drug-dealing friends. That’s the local authorities’ problem, not ours. You can keep on loving the hooligans and hoodlums. Believe me, sister girl, I’ve been where you are at right now. And hopefully you’ll learn sooner instead of later, and hopefully you don’t have to learn the hard way. But I’m not here to preach to you, either. Me and my partner here are only interested in the people responsible for the incident. We just need you to confirm.”
McCarthy sat back and admired Reddick’s technique, acting as if he already knew who was in that house that night, but really having no idea at all. It was an age-old cop trick, but it still worked to this day. It was a shot in the dark, but it worked wonders on Shonte, who momentarily lost her game face and stared at Reddick. It seemed as if she was shocked that Reddick could know about Koko. In seconds, she regained her composure, and the game face returned, but by then it was too late; the damage had already been done.
McCarthy felt like they hit the jackpot.
“Why you think I know something? I told you before I don’t—” Shonte said with a wary expression on her face. Before she could finish her sentence, Reddick cut her short.
“Please let us ask the questions, Ms. Stevens. What we need for you to do is tell us everything you can about the night,” Reddick instructed.
Shonte’s wary look turned into an angry one. She didn’t like the tone in which Reddick was speaking to her. “Look, I answered all I’m going to fucking answer,” she spat. “I don’t appreciate you coming up in my house grilling and chastising me like I’m some damn child or a criminal. With all the motherfuckas out there gettin’ away with murder and shit, I’m sure you can go out there and do your job and catch you some real criminals to interrogate.” She tore into Reddick like hot slugs.
McCarthy contemplated stepping in and saving Reddick, but instead, he sat back in amusement. He could tell by her facial expression as she spoke that Reddick had gone too far and crossed the line when he interrupted Shonte. He had a feeling she wouldn’t take too kindly to it. He wished he could’ve pulled out his phone and taken a picture of Reddick’s face as Shonte continued. “I haven’t done anything wrong, and I pay my damn taxes to the government. But you motherfuckas wanna come up in my shit like I’m the bad guy,” she ranted. “What y’all need to do is go out there and find the sons of bitches who killed my cousin and baby father instead of worrying about some niggas who got their asses beat.”
Her last remarks caught McCarthy’s attention. He had gotten so caught up in the exchange between Reddick and Shonte that he had forgotten about a theory that had crossed his mind earlier when the parole officer was conveying to them what Shonte had claimed to him. That was his cue to chime in. Knowing he had to do some damage control since Reddick had gotten her riled up, McCarthy went into his “good cop” mode.
“Ms. Stevens, my condolences to you and your family,” he began.
Shonte directed her attention to McCarthy. She grimaced and nodded. “Thanks.” Her response was abrupt and dry.
Seeing that she was receptive, he continued. “I won’t even pretend to begin that I know what you’re going through, but I can only imagine. Seeing your little boy back there, the thought of him without a father is very disheartening. I have a little girl myself, who’s in the hospital as we speak, fighting for her life, and there’s nothing I can do to help or save her.” McCarthy couldn’t believe he had just disclosed that to her. Just hearing his own words about his daughter nearly caused him to choke up. He fought back the emotions that were trying to surface. Although he was trying to make a connection with her to get her to open up to him, at that moment, McCarthy realized just how hard it was for him dealing with his daughter’s medical condition.
Sniffling, he continued. “But if the roles were reversed, I know my little girl would be devastated and heartbroken if she ever lost me.”
Shonte sat misty-eyed as McCarthy spoke. Even Reddick, who sat across from Shonte, had to hold back his emotions as he listened to McCarthy.
“Now, there’s no other place I’d rather be than by my little girl’s bedside right now but, instead, I’m out here trying to solve a case bigger than you can probably even imagine, because I took an oath to protect and serve. And my baby girl knows and understands that. I don’t know if you told your boy, and as a mother, that’s your choice to decide how and when, but it’s our job to seek justice and, if it’s in our power, bring those responsible for such crimes to justice. I won’t sit here and sell you any dreams or offer any false hopes, but I have a strong feeling that you may have some information that can not only help with our investigation but also help catch the people responsible for the robbery and assault on your boyfriend and his friends and killing your cousin and kid’s father. Now, if you can tell me anything about their deaths or the home invasion, I’d greatly appreciate it.”
Before he finished, Shonte was already in tears. The news about his daughter had hit home for her. She too had lost her daughter, to what they call SIDS—sudden infant death syndrome—just a year prior to having her son Omar. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, Shonte cleared her throat. “I brought her to the house,” she admitted.
Both McCarthy and Reddick’s eyes widened.
“I met her at a club down on Freemont, and we began talking. She told me she was from California and just relocated out here to get a fresh start. Said she had recently gotten out of an abusive relationship and was looking to try something different.” She looked from Reddick to McCarthy before she continued. “We started seeing each other. Low-key, though, because I have . . . well, I had a dude.”
“Did you tell her that your boyfriend sold drugs?” McCarthy’s question made Shonte flinch, because she had tried her best to protect La France from the law even though, ever since the robbery, he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.
“Um, I’m not really sure. I think I might have, ’cause I wanted her to know I was involved with somebody from the door and that he was from the streets so there wouldn’t be no misunderstanding. I had never cheated on La France.” Shonte winced, realizing that she had just given up his name; but she continued. “I never cheated on him for the nine months we were together. Even though I’m almost positive he can’t say the same thing. But once I laid eyes on Lacey, I just had to have her. She was that banging. I don’t even fuck with bitches like that, especially no white ones. No offense.” She was staring at McCarthy when she apologized.
“None taken.” He smiled as she continued.
“Every once in a while when I’m feeling crazy; but Lacey was like a breath of fresh air for me. Sweet and sexy. Intelligent and hood at the same time and that combination drove me crazy. So I began creeping with her. But she insisted on meeting my man. At first, I was kind of scared, but I finally broke down and introduced them. Excuse my French, but La France almost bust a nut on himself when he saw her, and he don’t even like white bitches either. He tried to get at her but—”
“But she refused to have sex with him, saying t
hat you were who she wanted, right?” McCarthy pried, cutting Shonte off.
“Yeah, how’d you know that?” Shonte asked.
“Just a wild guess. Tell us about the robbery,” McCarthy said.
Shonte began replaying the horrible night for the agents, telling them about how two bodacious masked women had made their way up into the house and pistol-whipped Ty and knocked out Irv but told them he was dead. And how they had stripped the men naked and used her and Lacey to help pull the robbery off.
“How much did they get, Shonte?” McCarthy asked.
Shonte hesitated at the question.
“Shonte, we’re not interested in locking up you or any of your friends. Truthfully, we just want this Lacey chick.”
McCarthy’s insistence put a worried look on Shonte’s face. “Why y’all want Lacey?”
“I’ll answer that question after you answer mine. How much?”
“Well, they took all of our jewelry and whatever money we had on us. Plus they took some drugs and twenty Gs from my boo.”
Shonte’s answer made McCarthy’s eyes stretch wide, and he stared over at Reddick, who mouthed, “Sweet mother of Jesus.”
“Now, answer my question,” she demanded of McCarthy. “Why y’all so interested in my peoples Lacey?”
McCarthy stared at Shonte for a few seconds as he considered her question, and he realized that there was no easy way to break it to the younger woman. She had been played, used like a pawn in a chess game. So he just came out with the truth.
“First off, she’s not your peoples. Far from it. Lacey set up you and your boo to get robbed. Now, before you start denying it, just think logically for a second. You meet this beautiful girl at the bar. She appears out of nowhere. You two hit it off. Well, at least that’s the impression she gave you. If you hadn’t have been involved with your little drug-dealing friend, she wouldn’t have given you the time of day. She was way more interested in him and his money than you. That’s why she insisted on meeting him, ’cause it was him she was after all along. How long had you known her before the robbery took place?”
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