Page 82 of Search My Soul
“You good?” Duke pressed, shifting in his seat.
“Yeah, I’m straight. I’m ready to get to the bottom of this shit so I can handle it. Salvador has been on my ass lately and I’m not feeling it.” I understood why Salvador was concerned because if there was an enemy lurking, then they posed a threat to our organization.
“All right. Well, let’s head inside and get this shit over with,” Duke urged. Instead of responding, I simply nodded my head before opening my door. I already had enough on my plate rightnow, and this detective bullshit was an inconvenience I didn’t need.
Duke and I were both armed, but I also had Huncho and Mace posted up in another car. I was certain they wouldn’t be needed, but Huncho wasn’t trying to hear shit about staying behind. The moment I stepped into the building, I glanced around. One could never be too comfortable in any situation, and with the way things have been going lately, I couldn’t afford to be too comfortable. It appeared to be a normal office with a secretary sitting at the front desk. I wasn’t a fan of killing women, but if push came to shove, I would do whatever was needed to protect myself.
“Welcome, gentlemen. Who are you here to see?” she asked with a small smile on her face.
“We’re here to see Detective Welsh.” My jaw flexed just saying his name. I had no idea who this mothafucka was, but he was about to find out exactly who the fuck I was.
“He’s expecting you. Come right this way,” she instructed as she stood up from her seat. Duke gave me a look as the two of us followed behind her. I cracked my knuckles and tried to calm my thoughts.
“Mr. Welsh, your guests have arrived,” the secretary announced. She stepped back so we could go inside the office.
“Ah, hello, gentlemen.” The short Italian man stood from his seat with a disingenuous smile on his face. He held his hand out, but I stared at it as if it was covered in shit.
“Very well then. Why don’t you two have a seat, and we can get right to business.” There were two chairs sitting in front of his desk so we each took a seat. I wasn’t in the mood for any small talk and I’m sure he could sense my impatience from my expression.
“It’s nice to finally get to meet you in person. You are a very popular man around this city.” He tittered. I glared at him withmy head tilted. This mothafucka really thought this shit was a game.
“Look, I don’t know what the fuck you think this is, but I’m not in the mood for this shit. You reached out to my people and said you had some information that I would find useful. Either get to the reason I’m here or I’m gonna get up and leave. My time is valuable, and I get real angry when people waste it. I’m sure you can understand that, can’t you, Mr. Welsh?” I gave him a warning look and watched as he squirmed in his seat.
“I understand. Well, I’ll get right to it then. You are not the person I’m after. You are simply a small fish in a great pond of criminals. I’ve been investigating Salvador Alvarez for many years, and he has managed to evade any convictions.”
“What the fuck does any of this have to do with me? I don’t know anybody named Salvador, and I damn sure don’t know what their connection to me has to do with anything.”
Salvador was very cautious so I knew if he had any information on him, it wasn’t something that would be useful. We only held meetings in Columbia, and even then, he made us go through three levels of searches and scans before we could even get in the room to make sure no one had phones, weapons, or wires.
“Mr. Taylor, I admire your loyalty, but that won’t get you very far when you’re in a maximum-security prison for the next sixty years. As I mentioned before, you are not the one I want. All you have to do is cooperate and we both can come out of this on top.” Duke chuckled under his breath while I stared blankly.
“I don’t know what you want me to say. Like I said before, I don’t know who you’re talking about. You made it seem as if you had some information regarding my family and their safety. However, you have yet to say anything useful. I’m gonna go ahead and head out before you waste any more of my time.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It would be in your best interest to work with me because when things hit the fan, I’ll be able to persuade the DA to offer you a reasonable plea deal.” I could hear the underlying threat in his words, and I found it to be humorous. My grandfather schooled us on the manipulation tactics of law enforcement long ago. It was the reason we paid such a hefty amount to get the mayor and police commissioner in our back pockets. I made sure that my people were covered even when they fucked up.
“Mr. Welsh, I can appreciate your dedication to your job and your hunger for a big break. However, you are barking up the wrong tree. I am simple businessman, and outside of beating a few niggas asses, I can assure you that I haven’t committed any crimes. Besides, you are nothing more than a private investigator. A small fish as you so eloquently put it. You can’t persuade anyone to do a damn thing. Please make this the last time you reach out to me about this subject.” Duke and I both stood from our seats, but the words he blurted out halted me in my tracks.
“I know who shot your cousin!” I turned back to face him, this time with a menacing glare.
“What are you talking about?”
“I-I was trailing you and it led me to his house. Something told me that I should stake the house out so that’s what I did. I filmed the whole interaction, and I’m willing to share it with you. However, I need you to work with me.”
“I already told you I can’t help you. I can’t tell you about shit I don’t know.”
“You filmed a crime and didn’t report it? Isn’t that shit illegal?” Duke pressed.
“It wasn’t like I was expecting things to happen the way they did. I thought about leaving, but I figured you would want answers later on.” I knew enough about the law to know he wasbullshitting. However, I decided to play along so I could obtain the information I needed.
“Where is the film?”
“Well, I was hoping?—”
“Let me explain something to you, Mr. Welsh. I don’t make a habit of asking twice. Where is the video?” The tone in my voice must have shocked him because he flinched.
“I understand how upsetting things can be, but I assure you I am not the enemy here. I’m simply trying to do my job.”
“The video.” I tapped on my Audemars Piguet to let him know he was once again wasting my time.
