“I’m guessing a guy like this must have had cash on him,” Tip said. “Which means somebody’s having a party.”
“Or buying a bus ticket to Atlanta.”
“Atlanta?”
Delgado shrugged. “First city I thought of.”
“I hate working with you,” Tip said.
Ben plucked a few hairs from the pillow case and the sheet and placed them in an evidence bag. “While you boys are arguing, you may like to know that your vic had sex with someone last night. And she didn’t bother to clean up. Oh, and she was blonde, as the hotel clerk said.”
“So she didn’t clean up, but she was smart enough to not want the body found right away.” Tip tapped the uni on the arm. “Griggs, get a picture of her from the cameras. See if the concierge knows anything about her, and then grab a couple of helpers and head down to Main Street. Let’s see if we can find Little Miss Prostitute.”
“That’s why people love you,” Ben said. “You’re so…warm hearted.”
Tip laughed. “You know we’re going to need DNA on the girl as soon as you can get it. If she’s a pro, we’ll probably find a match in the system.”
“We may not need to wait on DNA. It looks like we have a few prints. She tried to wipe them away but missed some. She may be a pro at something, but not at cleaning up a crime scene.”
“Don’t forget to turn off the lights when you leave,” Tip said, and headed for the door.
“Are you going somewhere?” Ben asked.
“I guess we gotta tell this guy’s wife or kids, or somebody.”
“It’s a wife,” Delgado said. “Coop texted me the information.”
“Texted you? You mean even Coop doesn’t love me?”
Delgado headed for the door. “Let’s go, temporary partner. But I’m driving.”
“Ben, call if anything changes on your report,” Tip said, and then he followed Delgado out the door.
“Doesn’t your car go faster than seventy?” Tip asked.
“If I pressed harder on the gas it would, but I don’t see the need. I’m not in a hurry, amigo.”
“Would you cut with the ‘amigo’ shit? I’m beginning to wonder if you’re even Mexican. I think you’re faking it.”
“Why would someone fake being Mexican?” Delgado asked.
“I don’t have the answer to that, but if anyone would fake it, it’d be you.”
“Where does this gringo woman live?” Delgado couldn’t hold in his laughter when he said it. Tip joined him.
“I’m glad my real partner’s coming back. I’d hate to be stuck with you.”
“Don’t lie,” Delgado said. “We shook the world on that last case.”
“I don’t know if we shook the world,” Tip said, “but we scared the hell out of some white-collar criminals.”
Delgado laughed again. “That we did, my friend. Now tell me where I’m going before we get to Dallas.”
“Exit at Cypresswood. It’s not far from there.”
Delgado exited the freeway and headed west on Cypresswood. About six miles later, he turned into one of the upscale neighborhoods and made his way to the Lipscomb house.
“Nice place,” Tip said. “If the lady who answers is young and blonde, we could have a case.”
The lady who answered the door was middle aged, with hair dyed brown—from the looks of it—and jewelry dangling from all the normal spots.
“May I help you?” she asked.
Tip bowed his head a little. “Ma’am, I’m Detective Denton, and this is Detective Delgado. Would it be—”
“Has something happened to Forrest?”
“Would it be all right if we came in, ma’am?”
She stepped aside, letting the door swing open. “I assume by your demeanor and the way you answered, that Forrest is dead.”
Tip didn’t know whether to reach for her to offer support or ask her if she’d killed him. “Maybe we should sit.”
“If you insist,” she said, and led them into a formal living room. “I assume you don’t drink on the job, so I won’t tempt you. Would you care for tea or coffee?”
“No thanks,” they both said.
She sat on the edge of a small sofa that appeared to be as rigid as she was, and reached for a half-empty glass of what looked to be scotch. She focused on Tip. “Well, get on with it. Is he dead?”
Tip searched for the right words, but realized what he said probably wouldn’t matter. He looked her in the eyes, and said, “Yes, ma’am. I’m afraid he is. He was found this afternoon.”
She raised herself up a little straighter and nodded.
Delgado said, “Would you like us to call someone, ma’am? A relative or friend?”
Mrs. Lipscomb took a sip from her glass and shook her head. “I’ll be fine, Detective. And as I’m sure you can tell, this is not a shock to me. I am curious, though. How did he die?”
Tip leaned forward a little. “It appears to have been a heart attack.”
“Was he found in a hotel room or his apartment?”
Delgado cleared his throat. “The Four Seasons, ma’am.”
She gave another nod. “He liked them young. That’s what attracted him. He stopped caring for me years ago.” She held out her arm. “As you can see, my skin isn’t smooth anymore. Once the wrinkles set in, Forrest was gone. He could barely stomach holding my hand.”
“When was the last time you spoke with your husband?” Tip asked.
“Last night,” she said, and paused to think. “I don’t remember the time exactly. It was sometime after eight and certainly before midnight. I’m sure if you check his cell phone, you’ll have the time.”
“He called you?”
She laughed. “Yes, Detective. He called me every time he was going to be with another woman. I’m sure a psychiatrist could find a deeper meaning in that, but it never fooled me. Not even the first time.”
“You think he was with another woman?” Tip asked.
“I know he was. And she would have been young. Maybe that’s what killed him—trying to keep up with…whoever she was.”
“Do you have any idea—”
“Who it might have been?” she asked. “No. And I don’t care.” She took two swigs from her glass and stood. “And now, detectives, if you’ll excuse me, I have a funeral to prepare for.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tip said, and then he and Delgado followed her to the door.
Back in the car, Delgado headed back down Cypresswood Drive toward the freeway. “I think we about wrapped that up.”
“I’d like to talk to the prostitute,” Tip said.
“Corpus delecti,” Delgado said.
“What kind of garbage are you spitting out now?”
“No garbage. Corpus delecti. It means you can’t try a person for a crime unless you can prove a crime has been committed. I don’t see a crime here.”
“Don’t think you fooled me with that bit of wisdom, Delgado. I know you’ve probably had that memorized for years, and you’ve just been waiting to use it.”
While Delgado laughed, Tip cracked his knuckles. He intended to find out whether somebody had killed this guy on purpose.
And that prostitute is the key.
Chapter 6
Printed Money
Delgado’s phone rang as he neared the exit. “It’s Coop,” he said to Tip, and put it on speaker. “No hablo inglés.”
“Delgado, I don’t have time for your shit,” Coop said. “This is why I didn’t want you and Denton working together.”
“What’s up, Cap?”
“I’m getting pressure on the sticker investigation. It’s not just a matter of money anymore; we’ve got a guy in intensive care that may not make it, and we found boxes of stickers in his apartment.”
“Territory dispute?” Delgado asked.
“Right now that’s all we know. Finish up whatever you’re doing with Tip and get back on it. The Chief approved the budget. And we need someone who speaks Spanish.”
&nb
sp; “Who do I get to work with?”
“Take your pick—Rodriguez, Hernandez, Cruz…”
“Okay,” Delgado said. “I’ll let you know. We’re on our way.”
“Tell Tip to see me when he gets in.”
“Leaving me in the cold, darlin’?” Tip asked.
“I talked to Ben. How much help do you need to investigate a heart attack?”
“We don’t know what killed him yet, and besides, Gianelli’s coming down.”
“You better get clearance before you put Gianelli on a plane,” Cooper said.
“John already okayed it.”
“Stop calling him John. He’s the Chief of Detectives.”
“I know who he is, Cap, but his name is John.”
“I’m hanging up,” Coop said. “See me when you get in.”
“See ya’, Cap,” Tip said, and then to Delgado, added, “What’s this about a sticker investigation?”
“Bunch of crazy fucks counterfeiting inspection stickers for cars. Not to say we don’t need a criminal enterprise like that; damn stickers are expensive.”
“Can I quote you on that?” Tip asked.
“You heard it first from Ribs Delgado.”
“That’s sure to impress the media,” Tip said. “What’s the big deal with the stickers? Why the heat now?”
“It wasn’t a big deal until somebody realized they’re making millions. Now our good mayor is going nuts. That man hates losing tax revenue.”
“I’m sure he does,” Tip said. “It leaves him less to spend on whores.”
“You’re right about that,” Ribs said, as he came to a stop at a traffic signal. “Is your old partner really coming back, or did you say that to taunt Coop?”
“Gianelli told me this morning. I’m waiting on her to call with her flight.”
“How did you get that cleared?”
“John’s been working on it for a while. She impressed him on that last case.”
“Speaking of which, how’s she dealing with things?”
“I don’t know,” Tip said. “She’s not much for talking about personal issues, but I’m guessing she’s all right. She’s a tough one.”
“And how about you?” Delgado asked. “Have you forgiven yourself?”
Tip pressed his forehead against the side window and stared at traffic. “Still thinking on that. I should’ve put that case together sooner—shouldn’t have missed those clues.”
Delgado nodded and focused on driving.
A few minutes later, Tip’s phone rang. He listened for a few seconds, wrote something in his notepad, then said, “I’ll pick you up at baggage.”
Ribs looked over. “I guess she is coming.”
“Tomorrow morning,” Tip said. “It’ll be good to have her back.”
Delgado pulled into the station and parked.
“Are you going to see Coop right now?” Tip asked.
“She’ll have my ass if I don’t.”
“Tell her I’ll be by later today or in the morning. I gotta find a place for Connie to stay.”
“You got it, Tip. See you later.”
***
Captain Cooper was at her desk when Delgado walked in. “You wanted to see me, Coop?”
She took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and said, “Have you thought about who you want with you on this?”
“Not Rodriguez; she’d get me killed in an undercover situation. I think I’ll take Cruz.”
Coop nodded. “He’s good. And he knows the streets.”
Delgado sat in the chair across from her. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She opened a folder and set six inspection stickers on her desk. “Point out the fakes.”
He stood, looked at them, moved a few around. Walked to the side to get a different angle. “Damned if I can tell. These guys should be working on fifties or hundreds, not inspection stickers.”
“They’re playing it smart,” Coop said. “If they get caught counterfeiting money, it’s a federal offense.”
“From what I’ve seen, it’s going to be tough finding a jury where half of them don’t have these stickers on their cars.”
“Exactly,” Coop said, and pointed to a stack of boxes on the floor.
“Are those filled with stickers?”
“To the brim,” Coop said.
Delgado whistled long and low. “That’s a lot of money.”
“A lot,” she said. “They were found in the apartment of Edward Martin, who is now recovering at Hermann Hospital.”
“Does Martin have a sheet?”
“He’s clean. And I suspect his real name is something more like Eduardo Martinez, seeing as how he doesn’t speak English. Or at least, he says he doesn’t.”
Delgado looked at the stickers on the desk again. “I guess you want me to go beat it out of him while he’s in ICU?”
Coop laughed. “That’s exactly what I want you to do, but since we can’t…how about you find Cruz and go speak to Mr. Martin in his native language? See what you can find out.”
“We’ll have this case solved in two days.”
“Solve this in two weeks, and I’ll buy you dinner.”
“Write that down, Cap. I’m gonna hold you to it.”
“Where’s Denton?”
“He said to tell you he’d be by later or in the morning. He’s working on getting Connie a place to stay.”
Coop put her glasses on and looked at Ribs. “Is she really coming down?”
“She called to confirm half an hour ago.”
Coop shook her head. “I wish somebody would fill me in on some of this shit.”
“Go easy on Tip; he’s got a soft shell.”
“Get out of here, Delgado.”
He grabbed one of the stickers from the desk and headed for the door.
“Where are you going with that?” Coop asked.
“Interrogation technique,” he said. “Besides, Rosalee’s car expires next month.”
Coop threw a pen at him. “Call me when you get something.”
Delgado picked up Cruz, and they went to the hospital. Edward Martin, or whatever his name really was, lay awake but he was unwilling to talk. Delgado and Cruz stood on opposite sides of the bed. “There’s no sense in saying you don’t speak English, Martin, because we both speak Spanish. One way or another, you’re talking.”
“No hablo inglés,” Martin said.
“Hablo español,” Cruz said, and leaned close to Martin’s face. “I don’t care what language you use; just start talking.”
Martin stared at Cruz, then at Delgado. “I guess I’m fucked.”
Delgado smiled. “Guess you are. So tell us who beat the shit out of you and left you for dead.”
Martin shook his head in such a way that he didn’t need words to get his message across.
“Somebody did this to you, and you’re protecting them?” Cruz said.
“Are you afraid?” Delgado asked. “We can get you protection.”
Martin looked up. “There’s nowhere to hide.”
“Once they find out we got your stickers, they’ll be back,” Cruz said. “You know that, right?”
“They’ll be back no matter what.”
Delgado pulled a chair up close and sat on it. “Let us help you.”
“Lawyer,” Martin said.
“Do you have one?” Cruz asked.
Martin managed to shake his head. “Get me one.”
Ribs headed for the door. “I’ll tell you what, amigo. How about you get your own?”
“Tell the nurse to get me a phone,” Martin said.
A nurse greeted Delgado in the hall. “Did you get anything out of him?”
“He wants a lawyer,” Ribs said, and then hugged her. “How’s my favorite cousin?”
“I’m fine, but I see you’re still full of it. Or is everyone your favorite cousin?”
“Danette, this is my partner,” Ribs said. “You can call him Cruz.”
She shook hands with Cruz an
d then turned to Delgado. “I don’t know if this means anything, but when he first came in, he kept mumbling something. It sounded like he was saying El Terrible.”
“El Terrible? You’re sure?”
“Positive. I remember thinking, he’s right—whoever did this to him must have been a terrible person.”
Ribs shot a glance at Cruz. “Does that mean anything to you?”
Cruz shook his head. “I never heard the name, but I’ll ask around.”
Delgado kissed Danette on the cheek. “Tell that no good husband I said hi.”
“Say hi to Rosalee,” Danette said, and walked down the hall.
“Come on,” Delgado said to Cruz. “There’s a waiting room down the hall.”
“I’m getting coffee first,” Cruz said. “You want any?”
“Hang on, and I’ll go with you. I need to call Tip first.” Delgado punched in the number and waited for Tip to answer. “Did you find a place for Connie yet?”
“Still looking.”
“Don’t be trying to sneak her into your house. I’ll tell Elena.”
“I bet you would too. Jealous shit.”
“Tip, have you ever heard anyone mention a person named El Terrible?”
“No. Why?”
“We’ve got a guy down here in ICU. He’s probably on his way to the morgue, but he won’t talk. One of the nurses said that when they brought him in, he kept mumbling about El Terrible, but he hasn’t said shit since. Except ‘lawyer.’”
“Figures.”
“Just thought I’d check. Hope you get a case soon.”
“At least I don’t have Cruz as a partner.”
“I heard that, Denton,” Cruz called.
“Imagine that, and I didn’t even say it in Spanish.”
“See you later,” Delgado said. “I gotta call Coop.”
Cindy answered. “Captain Cooper’s office.”
“Is Coop busy?”
“She has people with her. Want to leave a message?”
“Tell her we’re at the hospital, but Martin lawyered up.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“Thanks, Cindy, and will you transfer me to Julie?”
Julie picked up right away. “Detective Hector Delgado,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
Bullet From Dominic Page 4
