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"Where she wasTres, I just told you--"

"Ralph would never shoot his wife Which ht there, isn’t he?"

"Yeah"

"You want me to call the police for you?"

"No"

"Tres--"

"I’ll call you tonight Take care of yourself I love you"

I hung up and tried not to look at Ralph

"She wants you to sell me out," he said "I don’t blame her"

"They have DNA on you for Frankie’s murder"

"I know"

"What do you mean, you know?"

"Ana told me She’s my wife, vato"

"She was about to naate Ana didn’t believe I killed Frankie I gave her a DNA sample myself ’cause I kneouldn’t match up Somebody in the department framed me"

"Conspiracy theory Great defense"

Rage sparked in his eyes "Ana trusted ot to do the same"

A few blocks over, a cop siren sounded Probably it had nothing to do with us, but it got

"Come on," I said

Ralph didn’t h to kill Guy White’s son?"

"Maia talked to Kelsey He said Frankie gave you the money for the pawnshops You never toldbusiness It was his idea We had a deal"

"What kind of deal?"

Ralph shifted his weight to his back foot, like he was getting ready for a punch "All I’ht I’d killed his son, I wouldn’t still be breathing"

The siren got louder,ure out what

I grabbed his arht hours, Ralph Then Kelsey makes the DNA test public After that, I wouldn’t count on Mr White’s good graces"

We took the steps down to the Riverwalk, ducked under the Coe A siren echoed off the sides of the buildings Tires slashed across the asphalt above

As the noise faded, Ralph sat on the edge of the cistern that fed into the river

I’d always found it odd that these little fountains had been installed under the bridges--in the darkest grimy places where tourists were least likely to stop

"The whole SAPD hates uts," Ralph said "You know that, vato Ever since I married Ana, any one of them would love to fra No cop would do that

The trouble was I kne the cops felt about hiht

Ralph cupped his hand under the stone lion’s mouth "Let’s say a cop killed Frankie"

"Ralph--"

"Just listen, vato Last night, Ana knew She kneho did it, but she didn’t want to tell me She’d already warnedthat Why would she not tell me who the killer was?"

"She was afraid of what you’d do"

"Maybe," Ralph conceded "But I think she was having trouble turning in a fellow officer That wouldn’t be easy for her She’d need a lot of tiiving him a chance to come clean I know she would"

"Ralph, that’s so da on the case for weeks If she was getting close to discovering this guy, he could’ve found out He could’ve gotten into the evidence rooet some of my blood, and I’ve been served warrants for DNA for other shit before They probably got a sa down there"

"They’re supposed to destroy stuff like that"

Ralph laughed "Yeah, right Next you’re gonna tell et access That’s a joke Soo o From an old murder case This shit is absolutely undetectable Really bad news And it just disappeared They hushed it up, but if that stuff can walk out the door, what’s a little DNA saloith desperation, the kind of look a psychotic gives you when he’s explaining the logic that holds together his drea about this," I told him "You have somebody in mind, don’t you?"

"Kelsey," he said instantly "He hates me He hates Ana"

I shook ine him as a murderer

"He started on the force the same year Frankie White died," Ralph said "I checked on it First patrol duty, Kelsey had a run-in with Frankie"

"Be hard to find a cop that hasn’t had a run-in with the Whites"

"Yeah, but you know Kelsey He holds a grudge Those scars on his hands, vato You ever wonder where they caot to leave the case to Maia She’ll figure out the truth There’s not much we can do from here"

"I want to see Ana"