Page 22 of All He Sees
Nicky and Ken shared another look.
“What were you going to do?” Nicky asked.
Pedro sighed, biting his lip. “I was gonna rob the store, all right? But I—I chickened out. I couldn’t even do it. There, are you happy now?”
He glanced between Nicky and Ken. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! But I didn’t do nothing to that girl—I swear. I just—I just broke the camera because I was gonna rob the place, okay? That’s all—“
Nicky, unsure of what to think, glanced at Ken. He raised an eyebrow.
"So why did you 'chicken out'?" Nicky asked.
"Because I suddenly remembered what happened when I was a kid," Pedro said. "You know, before I fell into that gang? I didn't have nothing—and I was desperate. But I got caught. And I almost went to jail because of that. I didn't wanna go back to jail, okay? I just wanted the stuff from the store so I could get the hell out of Vale. I didn't wanna hurt nobody. So, I wasn't gonna be on that footage—I was gonna take what I could and leave."
"Okay," Ken said, eyes wide. "Okay, so you didn't do it. But what happened to Mira?"
Pedro looked at the photo of Mira again. "I don't know," he said. "I really don't. It's—it's a shame, isn't it?"
"What is?" Nicky asked.
"That girl," Pedro said. "She was just… so beautiful. I saw her around town sometimes when I was still living here. She walked by the store—she was so proud. And I never would've hurt her. I swear."
"Do you know who did?" Nicky asked.
"I haven't a damn clue. You've gotta believe me. I had nothin' to do with this. And you can't arrest me because I planned on doing something I never even did, right?" He looked between them. "Can I go? I wanna go home, man. I'm not a criminal. I swear."
Nicky observed him. She wasn't sure if she bought this whole act at all. And Pedro was clearly a criminal in many ways.
"So, you did know Mira," Nicky said. "You saw her around."
"I, well--yeah, man, I'd see her walk around sometimes. Or a girl who looked like her."
"But you had nothing to do with her disappearance," Ken said.
"No! I'm tellin' you, no!"
"Then why did you run from us?" Nicky asked, leaning forward. "If you were so innocent, why did you run?"
"Because I didn't want to go to jail!"
"Yet you run around committing crimes,” Ken said. “Seems like a bad plan for someone who doesn’t want to be behind bars.”
Nicky sighed. She did not want to deal with this for much longer. "Listen, Pedro. We're just trying to get to the bottom of this, and you're going to help us."
"Yeah, man," Ken said. "Help us figure out who kidnapped Mira."
"No!" Pedro insisted. "I told you--I did nothing to that girl!"
Nicky and Ken shared another look. Nicky then faced Pedro and said, "Pedro, where were you on the morning of August 18th?"
Pedro hesitated.
"And let me warn you," Nicky added on, "anything you lie about--anything--will not look good for you. We'll find out. The FBI is very proficient at tracking people down."
"I was at my brother's house," Pedro said. "I was just hangin' around all day. Mike would vouch for me."
"And where does Mike live?" Nicky asked. "Does he live in Vale?"
"No! It's two hours away, man, I wasn't anywhere near Vale!"
