We got back in Teddy’s ride and I gave him directions to the Steak n’ Egg, or as we called it on the force, “Steak n’ Puke”. It was a locally owned greasy spoon with a reputation for low prices and food poisoning. You could also get your eggs with a side of crystal meth if you knew the special of the day. We parked and I looked around. “Is the Bentley safe to leave unguarded here Ted? This isn’t exactly a nice neighborhood.”

“I wouldn’t worry Agent Renshaw. The car can look after itself.”

“Magic?” I asked.

“Magic.” Agent Ruthersford responded. “Anyone attempting to burglarize my vehicle will be in for a shocking surprise. I can also activate an enchantment that makes it appear less inviting for thieves. Nothing special.”

“Cool. How do those runes work anyway? You told me that magic takes power to operate.” We made our way to the front door of the diner. We had to step over a bum laying on the sidewalk.

“Runes are applied by the Bureau’s enchanters. They do take power and will eventually run out, depending on how much they are used. They need to be reapplied on a regular basis. You’ll find a maintenance card in your center console.”

“You boys think of everything.” I opened the door and we stepped inside. Conversation stopped for a moment, before resuming at a lower volume. I scanned the dining room. The floor was filthy and the patrons weren’t much cleaner. But at least it smelled like shit.

“Who exactly are we looking for,” Teddy asked.

“Billy has an ex-girlfriend. No, more like an on-again/off-again girlfriend. On when Billy had money. Off when he was on a drug binge. They have a daughter together. Cute kid. Ah, there she is.” I spied a blonde waitress coming out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food. Loretta was a willowy thing. Bottle blonde, heavy makeup, and a little too thin to be healthy. She was pretty though, if the dice had fallen a little different, I could imagine her on the cover of a magazine. Or at least a detergent commercial. As it was, she looked like she was living on borrowed time.

We made eye contact and she turned a few shades whiter. I led Ted over to the filthy counter and sat. Loretta dropped off her load at a nearby table and came over to us with the tray tucked under her arm. She stuffed some tip money into her apron pocket. “What do you want, Cash? I haven’t seen Billy and I don’t think I will. He owes me money.”

“Can you take a break? We need to talk outside.”

Her bunched brows dropped and she stared at me for a moment. She yelled in the direction of the kitchen, “Gail, cover table twelve for me, I am going out for a smoke.”

A short, dark-haired woman looked up at her with an annoyed expression. Then, she saw Teddy and me and gave a curt nod.

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We followed Loretta out into the parking lot. She leaned up against a car and pulled out a pack of cheap cigarettes. She lit one up and blew smoke at me. “So what is so important that you felt the need to tear me away from work. I got bills to pay you know.”

“Billy’s dead.” No point in sugar-coating it.

Her hands shook a bit and she took another drag. “For real?”

“For real. He got mixed up with some bad folks, Loretta. Real bad. We won’t ever find the body bad.”

“God damn it, Billy! I told you!” she yelled at no one in particular. “I told him,” speaking to me now. “I told him he was in over his head, but did he ever listen to me? Of course not. Billy always knew best.” She spoke rapidly and ended with a hitching sob. “What am I going to tell Cindy? She worships the ground he walks on, shithead that he is.”

“I don’t know Loretta, but listen. We need your help. We are trying to track down the people that killed him.” I grasp her by one shoulder. I needed to shake her loose before the grief got ahold of her. She'd have time to cry later.

She looked down at my badge and guns for the first time. “That ain’t your sheriff star Cash. Who’ya working for now?”

“Feds,” I replied. “I got promoted to the big time. This is important Loretta. We really need your help. These people are going to continue killing. What can you tell us about what Billy was up to?”

She took a shaky drag, nodding her head. “Yeah, yeah sure. Um, well everything was normal until a few weeks ago. He had come into some money. I think he hit an electronics store or something. Maybe a good burglary. He was bringing me a few hunah’ every couple days. We would get high. He told me that he met someone. A guy.”

“Who Loretta, who did he meet?”

“I don’t know, he never told me. But after that, he changed. He was calmer. Self-collected, you know. He stopped using but didn’t get dope sick. Least that I seen.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Teddy added.

Loretta looked at him like he had a third head. “But he was mean, violent. He hit me Cash. Billy never hit me. He told me that I was trash and that I needed to get my shit together. That he was big-time now.”

“Did he get new ink?”

“Yeah, yeah he did. Dark red tribal thing on his arm. It was ugly as hell. He was laid up a few days afterward. Like it really took it out of him. Come to think of it, that was about when he started acting different.”

“Did he say where he got the tattoo?”

“Nah, he didn’t talk nothing ’bout it. In fact, he changed the subject when I brought it up.”

“Was he hanging around anyone new, did he mention anyone?”

“No. No. He didn’t say anything about anyone. He was real tight. Lemme think.” Loretta took a long drag and crossed her arms. “I did drop him off at a warehouse on the way to work a few times. That was new. Honest Cash, I ain’t seen him in days. Since he beat me.” She touched her face.

“Did he say anything about the warehouse? What was going on there?”

“No, he never said not but could I give him a ride. I was hoping he got himself a real job, so I didn’t mind. It weren’t much out of the way.”

“Where was this warehouse?”

“It’s on Crenshaw. Near the Stop n Go.”

“I know the one.

“Still looked abandoned to me, but what do I know? Anyways, that’s where I took him. He’d find his own way home.”

“Thank you, Loretta. That’s a big help.” I took out my wallet and peeled off a hundred in twenty-dollar bills. I folded the cash and handed it to her. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Billy was a piece of garbage, but I know you two had something.”

She dropped her cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. She took the money and stuffed it in her bra. “He was always one step away from either prison or an overdose. I knew this day would come, was ready for it even. But it still stings, ya know? He was family, as fucked up as that is. And he was always kindly to me and his daughter, until recent. I think that hurts most of all, him raising his hands. That weren't Billy.”

She wiped away a single tear and gave me a hug, speaking awkwardly into my shoulder. “I know we ain’t always seen eye-to-eye Dep.” She leaned back and looked me in the face. “But you promise me. Promise me you’ll find the ones that did this to Billy." Loretta grit her teeth. "And you make ‘em pay.”

“I promise Loretta.” I looked from her over to Agent Ruthersford. “I think that’s kind of what I do now. Make ‘em pay.”