Velocity (Karen Vail #3)(20)

Vail flipped the photo over and handed it to him. “Know this guy or seen him around? Name’s Roberto Hernandez. Also goes by Robby.”

There—a narrowing of his eyelids.

“Should I?”

Vail tilted her head and leaned forward. “I’m a federal agent and I asked a question. That usually means you give me an answer, not another question.”

Guevara held his gaze on the photo a long moment, then lifted it closer to his face and studied it.

“What is it?” Vail asked.

“Obviously,” Guevara said, “he’s someone important to you. A witness?”

“A friend and colleague. He’s gone missing. I figured you might know something about it. Do you?”

He handed back the photo to Vail. “And why would that be?”

Vail stepped forward. “See, there you go again. Answering my question with a question.”

“Is that a crime?”

Vail looked over at Dixon. “What we’re investigating is.”

“Really,” Guevara said. “And what is it you’re investigating?”

Dixon craned her neck around. “Where’s the ladies’ room?”

Guevara held Dixon’s gaze for a beat, then said, “In the front. Toward the office.” He cricked his head back over his right shoulder. Dixon walked off in that direction.

“We’re investigating the disappearance of Roberto Hernandez,” Vail said. “I thought that’s obvious, since I told you he’s missing, I’m showing you his photo and asking if you’ve seen him.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t. Haven’t seen him and don’t know him.”

Vail stepped closer. “I don’t believe you.”

“Oh yeah?” Guevara asked. “That’s a shame.”

In one motion, Vail reached for her Glock and cleared leather in record time. Stepped forward and slammed the muzzle not so gently against Guevara’s prominent forehead, driving him back into the fender of the adjacent rig.

Guevara’s eyes bugged out—but he wasn’t afraid. Vail sensed anger, not fear.

“Are you fucking out of your mind?”

“You know what, Mr. Guevara? Yes, I am out of my mind. I’m goddamn pissed. My friend is missing and I think you had something to do with it.”

“What does it take to get through to you? I told you, I didn’t know the guy.”

Vail held the Glock in place. “We’ll see about that.”

Guevara laughed. Mocking her. “I think you should remove your gun from my face, Agent Vail. I haven’t done nothing wrong. And you’ve got no proof I have, or we wouldn’t still be standing here. Would we?”

Vail’s eyes narrowed. She felt her blood pounding in the arteries of her head. What am I doing? What can I possibly gain?

“How did you know Ray Lugo?” she asked.

Guevara’s eyes narrowed. “Past tense? Is Sergeant Lugo dead?”

Vail cursed herself silently for being so careless. At present, until they knew who all the players were, it was best everyone thought that Lugo was still alive. “Answer my question. How well do you know him?”

“What makes you think I know him?”

Vail clenched her teeth and dug the Glock’s barrel into Guevara’s forehead. “Don’t fuck with me. I’m not in the mood!”

“He’s a cop. First time I saw him was when you walked in here couple days ago.”

“Bullshit.” Vail twisted her wrist, the Glock’s metal now digging into the skin and muscle of Guevara’s face. He winced and wriggled in pain. If she didn’t draw blood, he would have a substantial bruise there by this evening.

“Why don’t you ask him?”

“I did. He said you two knew each other when you were kids, teens working on vineyards. He’s a good man. I believe him.”

“Fine. Yeah, I think that’s right. I knew he looked familiar when he walked in. I couldn’t place the face.”

“You’re such a piece of shit,” Vail said. “And you suck at lying.”

“Did you know, Agent Vail, that I have security cameras hooked up all over this warehouse?”

Vail had seen the cameras in the parking lot on her last visit, but she hadn’t noticed any inside. But it made sense. With so much invested in the rigs—and without the trucks there was no business—of course Superior would have instituted interior surveillance measures.

She stood her ground. There was nothing she could do now, in the eyes of the law—or in those of her ASAC, Thomas Gifford—that would worsen her situation. Short of pulling the trigger.

In a low voice, Vail said, “If I find that you had anything to do with Robby Hernandez’s disappearance, I will find you. Where there aren’t any security cameras. And if any harm comes to Robby, harm will come to you.” She added pressure to her weapon. Guevara squinted away the pain. “You understand me?”

“You got it all wrong, Agent Vail.” He locked eyes with her. “But I hear you. Loud and clear.”

Vail splayed open her free hand, placed it against Guevara’s chest, and pushed herself away from him. She kept the Glock in her right hand, her index finger hovering over the trigger rather than in a safety position by the outside guard.