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Ralph had proot married He’d dropped out of the street scene, turned over his shops to his erous thing he did was trading on eBay

Until tonight

BY THE TIME RALPH CAME OUT of the bathroom, showered and dressed in a spare set of Sa chair oflike a low-rider engine insound and leapt to the floor as soon as he saw Ralph He padded over and began rubbing against Ralph’s legs

Ralph is allergic to cats Cats, of course, know this They think he’s the best thing since flaked tuna

"So what happened?" I asked Ralph "Exactly"

He faced the mirror, buttoned Sam’s linen shirt "I needed information"

"You must’ve needed it pretty bad"

He rolled the cuffs His unbraided hair y shoulders of the shirt

I’d always thought of Ralph and Saernaut aura that ca on Ralph The gray slacks sagged The cuffs crumpled around his bare feet, as if Ralph had shrunk in the shower I realized he would’ve done better in ht fit

"I’ve been accused of so," he said finally "Anashe found out about it I need to clear myself Zapata was my best lead"

"What’s the crime?"

He stared at the ht, down on South Flores--"

"I knohere Jarrasco’s is"

"He wasn’t there Two guys intercepted uy I recognized, one of Zapata’s enforcers They luredone pinnedknife You know Zapatawhat he likes his guys to do with knives I got one arun I don’t know--I didn’t have a choice I shot the thin guy in the gut, point-blank The big one released uess I ran"

His hands were tre on top of the dresser

"You sure he’s dead?" I said

Ralph nodded "Cops’ll be after me"

"It was self-defense, like you said" I tried to sound reassuring "Shooting one of Zapata’s goons--shit, police’ll probably give you aabout for that"

Without the glasses, Ralph’s eyes were unnerving--hot and raw, like holes in the ozone

"This crime you’re accused of," I said, "the one you don’t want to tell me aboutthe police have any evidence?"

"I shouldn’t be here, vato Shouldn’t get you involved"

"Don’t worry Whatever’s wrong--"

The doorbell rang downstairs

Ralph looked at the bedroo to see on this side of the house--just the old fire escape ladder, the backyard, the alley

"Sam and Mrs Loomis?" Ralph asked

I shook my head "Too soon I’ll check it out"

"It’s the police"

"It isn’t the police Just sit tight Watch my cat"

"That fire escape work?"

"Ralph--"

"I haven’t told you everything, vato If it’s the police, I can’t surrender"

The doorbell rang again

Robert Johnson said, "Murrrp?"

I scooped hiuysstupid"

At the bottoun box in my dresser drawer Ralph knew I kept it there He knew the combination My dad’s 38 had been confiscated after the Vale shooting, but I still had a 22 I didn’t want it in Ralph’s hands, the way he was acting

Unfortunately, I couldn’t turn back One of h the glass panel of the front door, waiting to be let in

"OPEN," DETECTIVE KELSEY GRUNTED AT ME through the screen door "Now"

For Kelsey, this was downright civil That made me nervous

Kelsey was an ex-SWATra on the lapel His eyes werehe examined was either a potential kill or useless He’d also been Ana DeLeon’s partner until she got promoted over him and became his supervisor

Alone, Kelsey wouldn’t have bothered me But the head of ho behind him, flanked by a couple of uniforms

I let them in

Kelsey took a seat on the sofa Lieutenant Hernandez drifted toward the fireplace and studied the labeled photos of Sam Barrera’s falared at me

"Look," I said, "if this is about the Vale shooting"

Kelsey picked up one of Mrs Loonified the knife scars on his fingers "You watch TV in the last hour, Navarre? Listen to the radio?"

So hookdifferent about the level of anger here--a barely restrained thirst for violence so strong I could feel it arcing between the four ed

Lieutenant Hernandez turned toward ray hair coelled He exuded such power and style he could’ve passed for an investrief-stricken "Mr Navarre, we’re looking for your friend Ralph Arguello We’re hoping you can tell us where he is"

Four sets of cop eyes drilled into me

"You ith his wife," I said "If Ana doesn’t know--"

"Navarre" Kelsey’s voice tightened "Just under an hour ago, at her ho Once in the chest She’s at Brooke Ar came into sharper focus--the bristle on Kelsey’s chin, Hernandez’s cologne, the sounds of traffic outside