Page 100 of Triggered By Love
She served him strong Cuban coffee with a piece of sweet bread and ate buttered toast with jam.
“Do you have more information on what happened to my nephew?”
“I might.” Jason set a folder on the table between them. “Did Joselito invite you to the fashion show last year?”
“He invited both me and his mother, but he never brought the passes. He said we should meet him near the Cube.”
The Cube at Alamo Square was a landmark sculpture of a giant spinning square located at the gateway between Noho and the East Village.
“Then what happened? Did he call you to explain?” He already knew that Popo had missed the show. Maybe Joselito knew something was going to go down and didn’t want his aunt and mother in the line of fire.
“No.” The older woman’s lips pursed. “We waited for him until well past the time of the show. He didn’t answer our text messages or calls.”
“So, you never got the passes and couldn’t get into the show?” Jason asked.
Popo shook her head with a frown. “He always returns our calls. We didn’t hear nothing from him, so we left. He never called, and then we heard from a friend he was dead.”
Jason’s scalp prickled at this new lead. “Who was the friend?”
“I think his name is Harv. He’s a dancer and knows some of the models.”
“Harvey Leach?” The prickles sharpened into daggers and dragged themselves down the back of Jason’s neck.
“I only know him as Harv.” Popo’s voice was stiff. “It might have been a stage name.”
“Does he look something like this?” Jason slid out the print of the partially completed painting. He’d stuck a piece of masking tape over the groin region.
Popo frowned. “They all look alike.”
“Who’s they?” Jason’s ears buzzed, and the prickles danced up and down his spine.
“The guys in that Broadway show. They’re like clones. Same height, brown hair, brown eyes. They even have the same haircut.”
“The chorus line of theSchitts of Fifth Avenue. Do you know all of them?”
She shook her head. “Only Harv. He showed me a picture of them rehearsing. He’s a nice kid. He felt really bad about Joselito. My sister gave her DNA, and they matched, along with dental records. It was a big blow.”
“Did they tell you time of death?”
“A range of dates. At first, we figured he never made it to the show, but Harv said he went to the show and the after-party. I don’t understand why he would have stood us up with no contact.”
Unless he was under duress, or someone had threatened him. Or he was in cahoots with Ernesto and gave him one of the passes to the show.
He wasn’t going to cast suspicion on Joselito, so he changed subjects. “Joselito was wearing a reptile-scale collar, like a bearded lizard’s crown. Are you aware of a play or show where he would wear one?”
“No. He wasn’t in any plays or shows. He’s not a dancer. He only modeled clothes. His stage name was Draco.”
“Did he also perform at parties and social events? Were you aware of any parties?”
“I’m sure the young men went to a lot of parties,” Popo said wistfully. “Harv heard I was distraught about Joselito going missing, and he told me to call the precinct about a body they found.”
“Did he tell you how Joselito got into the East River? The after-party for the show wasn’t on a yacht.”
Popo shook her head. “The police speculated that he might have gone to another party or left with someone he met. What did you find out?”
“I’m trying to pinpoint the reason he didn’t call you or your sister. There was a shooting at the show. Perhaps he got wind of it and wanted to keep you safe.” Jason showed her the enlarged image of Ernesto Gomez’s driver’s license. “Do you recognize this man?”
Popo shook her head. “No, not at all. He looks like a kid. Was he the shooter?”
