Salvation in Death (In Death #27)(109)

“Sure.” He looked puzzled by the question. “José Ortega—the old guy—kind of a big deal in the neighborhood. José was one of us. Soldado—I mean the old guy’s grandson was one of us. But the fact was, Lino said it was our place.”

Ripples, Eve thought. “Okay. So you heard Lino and Penny talking when you went into the basement, into the headquarters.”

“Yeah, like I said, it was a big place, lots of rooms, and corridors. I was heading for the war room. I was up, and I wanted in on the retaliation. Hell, I wanted to lead the charge. But I passed one of the flop rooms, and I heard them talking about how it worked. How planting the boomer at the dance got the community—that’s how Lino put it—the community involved. How they’d hit the Skulls now, and everyone would cheer. The Soldados would be heroes because everybody thought the Skulls attacked, the Skulls brought blood to neutral territory. And Penny said they should’ve used a bigger bomb.”

He looked down at his hands, then lifted his gaze back to Eve’s. Tears glazed it. “She said that. Said how Lino should’ve built a bigger boomer so there’d be more dead instead of just that little bitch Ronni. How a bunch of bodies would’ve gotten people really juiced. And he laughed. He laughed and said, ‘Wait a few days.’ ”

He reached for his wife’s hand. “Can I get some water? I think I could use some water.”

Peabody rose, walked over to fill a paper cup. “Take your time, Mr. Inez,” she told him.

“I couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe they’d do that. To our own. Chaz Polaro was in the hospital, and they didn’t know if he was going to make it. And they’re in there, laughing. They’re the ones who did it, and they’re laughing.

“It could’ve been me that night, dead or maybe dying. It could have been any of us, and he’d done it. They’d done it. I went in, so pissed off. They were on this old mattress we had down there, and she was mostly naked. I said, ‘What the f**k, Lino.’ I’m sorry, Connie, that’s what I said.”

Joe began to talk quickly now, pushing the words out, pushing the memories. “I said, ‘You f**king bastard, you set that boomer on us.’ He started telling me to chill, frost it up. How it was strategy, for the good of the gang, and all this bullshit. I told him to get f**ked, and I walked out. He came after me. We had a lot of words—and Connie’s going to get steamed if I say them all. Upshot was he told me he was captain, and I’d follow orders, I’d keep my mouth shut or he’d set Chávez on me. He said we were going to hit the Skulls and hard, that he’d already made the boomer for the hit. If I didn’t want him to shove it down my throat and hit the remote, I’d keep my mouth shut. I guess he wasn’t sure I got the point because I got jumped a few hours later, got the shit kicked out of me.

“I kept my mouth shut. I kept it shut and the next day Lino and Chávez took off. I kept it shut when Penny hunted me up and told me to remember it might be Lino’s boomer, but her finger was on the trigger now, and if I didn’t follow orders they’d do to me what she and Lino had done to her old man.”

“Hold it there a second,” Eve told him. “Did Penny Soto tell you what she and Lino had done to her father?”

“Hell, they bragged on it all the time. How they’d diced up Nick Soto. How they made their mark together.”

“Okay. Keep going.”

“I guess there’s not much more. A couple days after Lino left, the bomb hit the diner. And I kept it shut. I didn’t say anything to anybody, and five people died.”

“You knew about the second bomb beforehand?”

“Yeah, I knew.” He crushed the water cup in his hand. “I didn’t know the when and where, but I knew they were going to do it. I knew people would die, because Penny wanted bodies, and Lino liked to get Penny what she wanted. I didn’t do anything about it. I went and got drunk, and stayed drunk for a long time.”

“When did you last see Lino Martinez?”

“The day we had it out. I kept waiting for him to come back, but he never did. Chávez neither. Penny ran the Soldados for a while after, but it all fell apart. I got busted for robbing a 24/7, did some time. She looked me up when I got out to remind me worse things could happen than a beating if I ever thought about running my mouth.”

“Okay, Joe, let’s go over some of the finer points again.”

Eve worked him through it, then punched details. When she thought she’d run him dry, she nodded. “I want to thank you for coming in today. You’ve been a big help.”

He stared up at her when she rose. “That’s all?”

“Unless you have something to add.”

“No, but . . . am I under arrest?”

“For what?”

“For, I don’t know, withholding evidence or . . . accessory or something.”

“No, Joe, you’re clear. You may be called on to testify in court as to the statements you’ve made today. If so, will you testify in court as to the facts?”

“We’ve got three kids. I have to show them how to do the right thing.”

“That’s all I need for now. Go home.”

Eve stepped out, wound her way to Observation and Reo.

“He’s clear,” Reo said, “but if you think we can make and win a case against Penny Soto on the word and the memory of a former gang member, ex-con—”