Page 181 of Little Sunshine
Wes wasn’t amused at the waste of time. “Jesus appeared to him on a piece of toast and said it was his calling in life. What does it matter?”
“Because he has the means to pay someone to do his dirty work.”
Never. That’s my favorite part and the whole reason I deal with the rest of it.
“So coming from money is a crime now?” Wes asked.
“He also has connections.”
“Also not a crime.”
“It is if he utilized those connections and money to arrange the murder of his girlfriend’s estranged mother.”
“It’s also a crime if he rides a camel on the highway. Or hula hoops on Freemont St. If we’re going to sit here listing off all the hypothetical crimes my client could commit, I’m going to need a coffee.”
The agent’s focus went to me. “Did you spend some time in your basement while you were at Moonlight last night?”
That time, my gut didn’t prickle.
It tightened with anger because there was no way that was a coincidence.
Must be cheese around because I smell a rat.
Officer Boden looked like he was fighting not to roll his eyes as he shared, “Every casino in this city has a room like that.”
“What goes on down there?” the agent pushed.
“Laundry,” Wes said.
“What I find myself wondering is, if you’re willing to rough up people for cheating or not paying their loans or what have you, then what would you do to the woman who cost you fifty grand?”
That’s it. That’s where I’ve seen him before.
The gate guard who was way too chipper.
Clearly, he’s good at his undercover act because he’s a miserable asshole in real life.
“Which is it? Is he outsourcing the violence with his money and connections or is he a Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robot punching machine? Since there doesn’t seem to be any facts or that pesky little thing known as proof attached to any of this, my client and I are leaving.” Wes stood and I followed his lead.
Agent Nash kept talking. “It must’ve made you pretty ticked that you dropped that much money, just for Veronica to run right back to Abraham.”
Caught off guard, I couldn’t hide my surprise at that.
That dumb bitch got two steps from the end of the maze just to turn back instead.
The agent’s gotcha smirk dropped at my genuine reaction. “You didn’t know.”
“I didn’t, but I also don’t care. I didn’t pay the money for her.”
He ran a palm down his face. “Start at the beginning.”
After getting the okay from Wes, I kept it succinct. “Veronica told my girlfriend she owed someone. To keep Veronica’s bullshit away from my girlfriend, I paid it.”
“That’s a lot of cash to drop because of a woman.”
“Then you haven’t met a woman like mine.”
“Have you been back to Eternal Sun since then?”
