She nodded and sat back. “I know. You’re right. How’s your head? Really? Tell me the truth.”
“I’ve been hit a lot harder, Alex. Don’t worry about me. But the thing is, Bogart was right. They could have easily shot and killed me. But they didn’t.”
“What does that tell you?”
“That they made a choice not to commit murder.”
“Unlike Walter Dabney, who chose to do that very thing.”
“Yes, he did. And I wish I knew why.”
“We have clues. We have some leads.”
“The clues keep eluding us. The leads keep falling away. That flash drive would have told us a lot. But now we’ll never know.”
“What I don’t get is how did they even know you and Todd were going to be out there?”
“I don’t think they did. The roads out there were pretty lonely and rural. We would have noticed someone following us.”
“How, then?”
“I think they were already there. I think they found Berkshire’s hiding place before we did and then set up surveillance on it. They apparently had already searched the place but didn’t find anything. We came along and found what they were looking for. And then they took it. So we probably did them a big favor.”
“We’re talking manpower and resources.”
Decker nodded. “And which also means it will be difficult to trace them. But it tells us for certain that Berkshire was involved with something pretty serious.”
“But from her past?”
“Yes.”
“So maybe these people have been looking for her?”
“They might have been, for years, perhaps. When she was killed her photo was all over the media. They might have recognized her.”
“But how did they find her hiding place so fast? They seemed to beat you to it.”
“Good question, to which I have no answer.”
They sat in silence for a few moments before Decker looked at his watch. It was after four o’clock.
“The Amayas will be home soon.”
“I know. When I found out Danny draws, I picked up a sketchpad and some charcoal pencils. Maybe I can use that as an excuse to visit.”
“Works for me.”
“And if he tells me who these guys are?”
“Then we’ll see what we can do.”
“He may be afraid to talk. They might try to harm him and Danny.”
“They already harmed him. And I have to think they’re just the muscle. Some of these local gangs are super-violent.”
“Well, they know who you are too, Decker.”
“I’m pretty hard to miss. But they know I’m with the FBI, so I doubt they’ll come after us.”
“That’s not guaranteed.”
“What in life is?”
She looked away. “I’ll go and talk to them this evening.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“But your concussion.”
“My brain will have had plenty of time to rest by then.”
“But I thought you wanted me to handle it.”
“I’ll let you do the talking. But like you said, I’m already involved after what happened. So I might as well follow it through.”
She grinned weakly. “So this will be a test to see how well you multitask too.”
“Let’s hope we both pass,” he answered.
CHAPTER
20
TOMAS AMAYA DID not look happy to see them standing in his doorway.
“Yes?” he said stiffly, staring at them. He had positioned himself so he was blocking their path into his apartment.
“Mr. Amaya, we met before. I’m Alex Jamison. I manage the building.”
Behind him Decker could see Danny Amaya poke his head around the corner.
“Yes?” said Amaya again, still blocking the doorway.
“We understand that you had an issue with two men in the parking lot yesterday morning?”
“Is-shew? No entiendo,” he added sharply.
“She means the guys who attacked you, Dad.”
Amaya turned to see his son standing behind him, holding a sketchbook in his right hand and a pen in the other.
Amaya started speaking rapidly in Spanish to his son, who paled, turned, and raced back into the shallow depths of the small apartment.
Amaya turned back to Jamison and Decker. “I have no is-shew with nobody.”
Before Jamison could respond, Decker said, “They attacked you, like your son said. The car they were in was stolen. They had guns. They’re bad guys, obviously. We can help.”
Amaya looked up at Decker. “I don’t need nobody’s help.”
“You needed my help yesterday,” replied Decker. “If I hadn’t intervened, they might have killed you.”
At this Amaya began to shut the door.
Decker wedged his big foot into the opening before it could fully close.
“What about your son, Mr. Amaya? What about Danny? What if they attack him next? You going to wait and let that happen?”
Amaya screamed, “Vete ahora. Ahora!”
Decker removed his foot and the door slammed shut.
Jamison scowled up at Decker. “Thanks for letting me do the talking.”
“He’s one scared and angry man,” said Decker as they walked back up to their apartment.
They turned when they heard footsteps behind them. At first Decker thought it was Tomas Amaya, but it was Danny. He had on faded jeans, a white T-shirt that accentuated how thin he was, and ripped and dirty sneakers that were too large for his feet.
“Danny, are you okay?” asked Jamison.
He nodded. “I’m sorry for how my dad was.”
“No need to be. He’s obviously in a difficult situation.”
“Do you know who those men were?” asked Decker.
Danny shook his head. “But I know my dad knows them. I’ve seen him talking to the shorter one in the parking lot. The big guy has been around too a few times. But my dad never lets me get near them.”
“Until this morning,” said Decker.
Danny nodded. “I was so scared. I…I didn’t know what to do.” He looked down. “I should have tried to help my dad, but I didn’t.” He looked up at them. “I’m not very brave, I guess.”
“You’re a kid,” said Decker. “I’m a big guy and even I was scared. And I had a gun.”
“Did your dad say anything to you about what those men wanted?” Jamison asked.
Danny shook his head. “One day my dad picked me up from school, but he had to go back to work for a bit. So he drove me there and I did my homework in the car. It’s at a building he’s working on near the waterfront. I saw the short man there. He passed in front of our car, but didn’t see me. He had on a suit and a hard hat like my dad wears when he’s working.”
“He was wearing a suit yesterday morning. You think he works at the building?”
“Or maybe is one of the owners?” added Jamison.
“I don’t know. He went up in one of the construction elevators.”
“Where exactly is the building?” asked Decker.
Danny told him and then said, “I’ve got to get back.”
“Wait a minute, Danny, I got this for you.” She pulled the sketchpad and charcoal pencils out of her handbag.
He took them with a look of surprise. “Why?” he asked.
“I know you’re an aspiring artist and I thought you could use them.”
“Thanks.”
Decker was studying the boy closely. “Where’s your mother?”