Detective Lucero Lopez hung the phone up with the kid from the store. He sounded nervous and she wondered if there was something he hadn’t disclosed about his encounter with David Zima. Someone had leaked the story to the Greeley Tribune and gave them faulty information regarding the incident at the cellular store. She had a good idea in which two dirty cops leaked information about a shooting.
She spent all day Monday looking for a witness or anyone for that matter who actually heard gunshots fired in or around campus Sunday. Twelve thousand students attended UNCO, you would have thought someone would have heard gunshots if they occurred anywhere near campus. However, not a single call came into 911 except for Colton Bridges' call.
Lucero interviewed people from 7-11, Blackjack Pizza, and even the hair salon from across the street. Nobody saw the customer who walked into the phone store. Not one person. Granted, most people don’t pay attention to who is entering stores around them, but she’d hope someone would have seen a man bleeding.
Lucero went back to the store Sunday night and looked for a blood trail between the store and the parking lot, but found nothing of note, no bloody footprint, droplets, smears… nada. The lab came back with preliminary results that the blood came from a middle-aged male victim 45-60 years of age. It was still too early to get a positive match on David Zima.
Lucero ground her teeth thinking about David Zima. She wasn’t a missing person detective and yet Agents Black and White somehow got Capitan Johnson’s cooperation in a joint investigation. When Capitan Johnson said, “joint”, he should have said, “Detective Lopez, you do all the work and let these two fine outstanding members of our government know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it.”
Every time she thought of those two spooks her ears felt like flames were soon to burst from them. They were so sure the victim was David Zima that any time she suggested they broaden their search, she was rebuffed. “If they know so much, why aren’t they taking over the case so I can do something more productive?”
“Did you say something?” Detective Tena asked from the desk next to hers.
“It’s nothing, I’m still bitching about those idiots I’m stuck with.”
“It could have been worse.”
“How?”
“They could have shut you out and left you hanging.”
Lucero barked out a laugh. “I could only wish! Do you know how many leads I have? No? I have one lead and it was from those ass wipes who are making me chase ghosts. The kid has no clue who the victim was, the two offisewers are probably involved since they’re the ones who keep saying the victim was shot, and the two goons were most likely pulling their strings.”
“Offisewer?”
“New word for you? An officer who works within ethical codes he found in the gutter? No?”
“Lopez,” Tena said in a deep rumbling laugh, “I swear one day you’re going to be called into IA.”
“For calling them what they are?”
Tena leaned forward and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Listen, Lopez. We all bleed the same blue. You need to be a team player. Even if you think they’re crooked you can’t be saying this shit aloud. If you continue acting up, you’ll find yourself the center of the wrong kind of attention. I get that you’ve been a cop for years, but you can’t say this shit and you know it. Just be careful.”
Lucero ground her teeth again and felt a tension headache build. “I hear you.”
“Good. Then take my advice and run the dog and pony show for those Feds and be happy you’re not being benched.”
Lucero nodded her head slowly for Tena’s benefit, but she wasn’t happy and she doubted she could fake it.
“Anyway, you said you didn’t have any leads?” Tena asked. “What about that kid?”
“He’s hiding something.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know. I think Hernandez and White have him spooked. Cap said they had the kid face down in the blood when they arrived.”
“What would he be hiding?”
“What is everyone hiding? Look,” she lowered her voice, “Hernandez and White know more than their saying, the Feds know more and I’m 95% sure the kid knows more. The only one who’s in the dark here is me.”
“So fake the kid out. Make him think you’re in the know.”
“I don’t know what the know is to be in the know.”
Tena’s deep bass laugh thrummed in Lucero’s chest as he barked out a long laugh. A few seconds into his laughter, Lucero joined in and they shared a moment.
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“Look, kid—”
“I’m 34!”
“Right,” Tena rolled his eyes, “Look, kid. That young man doesn’t know what you know and what you don’t know. Play with him and see if he spills any clue as to what game you’re playing.”
Lucero gave Tena a questioning look, “you think I’m in over my head…”
“Don’t you? You’ve got the feds involved and you don’t even have a victim. They don’t stick their noses in local crimes. This is on a level you’ve never played before and you best watch your step. You’re a pawn in their chess game and you don’t even know your color.”
###
Colton pulled into the parking space behind the store and walked around to the front of the building. The parking situation near campus was limited so parking in front took up customer parking spots. Parking behind the store wasn’t horrible except during the winter since they never cleared the snow off. The air was chilled, and it felt like a football season. Not cold enough for ski season, but cold enough that enjoying a baseball game was hit and miss. Colton likes spring and fall in Colorado and didn’t mind a crisp air.
Two customers were waiting at the front door to make their monthly phone payments so he quickly entered the store and skirted around the super clean spot on the floor. The two Hispanic customers followed him in the door and sat in the chairs by the window while he counted the cash drawer. They didn’t speak English well and Colton recognized them as regulars.
Colton asked them in Spanish how he could help them once the drawer was open and their eyes lit up.
“Hablas español ahora?” a customer by the name of Luis asked in surprise?
“Supongo que sí,” Colton responded without missing a beat.
“Miguel el gringo no es tan estúpido como era ayer,” Luis said to the other customer, and they both started laughing at Colton’s expense.
“Luis, you’re English was always worse than my Spanish. If I was stupid for not knowing Spanish what does that make you?”
“Colton, me acabas de llamar stuipo?” Luis asked looking pissed off and Miguel took a step closer to the counter.
“No—” Colton sighed and then repeated his earlier statement in Spanish. Luis stared at him for an uncomfortably long time and then both he and Miguel broke out in laughter.
“I understand English, Pendejo. I choose not to use it here. The girls are prettier and you’re not my type,” Luis burst out laughing.
Colton, Luis, and Miguel took care of their needs and talked about mundane topics while flitting between English and Spanish. Colton was amazed and surprised at how well he understood and spoke Spanish. He’d always known there were subtle differences in the languages depending on the country you hailed from, but Miguel complimented his accent.
Lucy came into the store around noon and they spoke in Spanish whenever there were no customers in the store. Lucy wanted to know how he learned Spanish so fast, but he couldn’t give her an answer that made sense. He stuck with the lie of him having a dream in Spanish and understood it in the morning.
He learned Spanish overnight and although Lucy thought Colton’s story was shit; She had no way to explain his sudden understanding of Spanish. Colton spoke it better than her and she was born there. Although she spoke Spanish her whole life, there were things that Colton said that she would have said differently with a mixture of English and Spanish words. Colton didn’t do that unless there were no Spanish words for it. She had grown lazy and would say ‘cellular data’ rather than ‘datos del celular.’
###
Colton’s heart skipped a beat when Detective Lopez walked into the store during a time he was helping a customer activate a new phone. Lucy wasn’t busy, so he asked her to take over so he could talk to the Detective.
“I thought you said you were working alone today?” Lucero said as soon as they were in the back office area.
“So did I, but I’m glad she came in today since we are somewhat busy.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she replied while waving her hand as if she didn’t care what I said, nor believed a word of it. “Colton, what did David Zima hand you?”
“Who?”
Lucero pulled out her cellphone and pulled up a picture of David and turned the phone back to Colton.
“Hey! You found him! Is he okay?”
“No. What did he hand you?”
“I already told you and the other cops. I opened my hand and it was empty. He didn’t give me anything?”
“Why was he being chased?”
Colton narrowed his eyes at Lucero. “Chased?” He shrugged. “I don’t know about being chased, shot, stabbed, robbed, mugged, beaten, or fucked. We literally didn’t say hardly anything to each other.”
Lucero stared at him and he started to sweat. “It’s the ‘hardly’ part I’m interested in, Mr. Bridges.”
“It’s Mr. Bridges now? Not Colton?”
Lucero’s facial muscles tensed. “Don’t be a smart ass, kid. I know you’re holding something back and I need to locate Mr. Zima. He could be dead for all we know. If you’re hiding something you could be charged with a crime for obstruction.”
Any nervousness Colton felt before, vanished with the implied threat. “Listen, Detective. I’ve been straight up. I called the ambulance, I was thrown to the ground by asshole cops, and now you’re threatening me with obstruction? I think we’re done here. I do hope this David guy is all right. However, at this stage, I fail to see how threatening me for withholding…what? It doesn’t matter. I think we’re done. Contact my Dad if you need anything else.”
Lucero sat still without moving, partly in a state of shock, and partly pissed off. She ran through several scenarios in her head of different things she could say and quickly crossed off the ones where insulting and threatening this snot-nosed college kid was listed. She took a gamble and came clean.
“Please, sit back down. I’m sorry.” Colton sat back into the chair he had just vacated. “As I was leaving the other day, two federal agents approached me outside your store and asked for information about Professor Dávid Zima. They knew your John Doe’s name and knew he was here. I’m trying to save you the hassle of dealing with the feds. If you know anything. ANYTHING. It’s best if you tell me now before they come asking.”
Colton’s anxiety returned. Feds? Shit! “Look. The only thing he said to me that I left out of my statement—”
The office door opened suddenly, “Colton! There are two guys from Homeland Security looking for you?”
“They with you?” Colton asked Lucy. She shook her head and started to stand. “Tell them I’ll be right out.”
Lucy left and Colton stood to follow, but Detective Lopez grabbed his arm and stopped him from going out of the back office. “Hey, I — I don’t think they’re from HSA. Keep your mouth shut. Let me do the talking.” Colton started to walk out again when she grabbed his arm again. “Wait. What did Dávid Zima say to you?”
“He,” Colton stopped and had a quick debate inside his head, “he said not to let them know I have it.”
“Have what?”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you. I had nothing in my hands when Officer Dumb and Dumber took me to the ground.”
Detective Lopez thought for a few seconds before finding her resolve. “Don’t tell them. I don’t know who they are, but… just stick to your original statement. We’ll talk again.”
When they emerged from the back office, Detective Lopez grabbed Colton and pulled him to the ground as the two men whom she’d never met before pulled out guns and opened fire.