Page 30 of Special Agent Joseph

“Okay. So you saw her.”

“Not really. But I know who did. There’s a-a new gang. Selling China junk in the hood. Deadly shit, man.” Once started, Geoff seemed wound up. “I heard them talkin’ about a cute chick they wanted bad, but she got away. Ran with some other dude. Betcha it’s her… that Lucy girl you all been lookin’ for.”

“Where did this happen?”

Geoff thought hard but shook his head. “Nah. I got nothing.”

“Who’re the boys in this new gang?”

“Don’t know that neither. Hey wait. One of them called another dude Bear.”

“Bear? You sure?”

“Yeah. Maybe cause he’s huge and walks like that. Cool, right?”

“If you say so. Anything else?”

“Nah.” Geoff slurped his coffee, dropped the mug onto the table and slipped the muffin into his dirty shirt pocket. Slyly, he held out his trembling hand. “I’ll keep watchin’.”

“You do that. Call again if you get anything else.” Joseph pulled out his money clip, peeled off two fifties, and handed them both to Geoff. “Get a meal and a bath man. You stink. And clean your teeth.”

Shock worked magic on Geoff’s expression. Those same coated, stained teeth beamed when he saw the amount. Quick like a rattler’s forked tongue, he snatched the bills and pushed his way out of the booth. Doubling over, he basically ran out of the place, chortling his glee.

Stunned, Joe looked at Megan. “Is it me or was that strange?”

“You’re the one who’s strange. I need to know… how did you contact Geoff if you didn’t remember him?”

“I told you. He reached out to me. I have a burner phone that I’m guessing we used to keep our stuff private. I found it in my things and kept it close. Earlier, I saw a text and followed it up. That’s when I saw Geoff’s message that we should meet. That he had some news on the missing girl I’d want to hear… for the usual price.”

“Which is?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“You know what, you’re weird.”

“Yeah? Thanks.” Joe took it exactly the way she’d meant it… as an endearing insult.

Shaking her head sadly, she stared at him to see if he was serious or not. “Unbelievable.” She blurted her thoughts outloud. “You know you won’t be seeing him again for a long time, right? A hundred dollars? Are you crazy, man? He’ll be blasted for a week on that amount.”

“Too much?”

“Uh, yeah.” She held up her fingers and started, using them to make her point. “First of all, he’s terrified of you, even if you didn’t notice. Second, no doubt he expected a tenth of what you gave him. And third, his info was pathetic… and he knew it. But he needed to score.”

“I felt sorry for him. He’s an ex-marine.”

Megan stared at Joe. “How do you know that?”

“His tattoo – basic boot, military style. Lots of the guys had that done.”

“And you know this… how?”

“Hell if I know. I just do. And actually, the kid did give us a good tip. In fact, a couple. If the girl he saw was Lucia, we know she’s around, hanging with some guy she met up with. And we also know a fellow called Bear saw her. Guess we have to find him and ask where they saw her last and if they know the dude she ran away with?”

This time Megan did laugh. “And you figure we’ll be able to just stop the next person on the street, and they’ll be happy to share what they know? Jesus, Joe. The folks down here don’t talk to people like us.” When she saw his confusion, she added, “Cops.”

“Geoff just did.”

“Because you paid him. And who knows if he told the truth.”

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