“He owned a landscaping company, that’s how I knew him.” Greg chewed on his nails as he spoke. “Kings Landscaping, he called it. He was asking me if I had any family that could use his business. Oliver didn’t see Mario’s reaction to his hand holding, so I wasn’t surprised when I spotted Oliver trying to talk to Mario before he left. My window was open, and I heard most of the conversation. I think Oliver had asked him for rates; apparently his parents were looking for a good landscaper. Well, Mario nearly spat in his face. Only hit the poor kid’s shoes because there were so many people out on the street at that time. Of course, none of us cowards said anything. I ran to the window to see what was going on. I’ll never forget the look on Oliver’s face. All he wanted was to hire the guy.”
“Were there any other words exchanged?”
“No. Mario got in his truck, and Oliver just stood there. His friend came running out, thank goodness for him. I think that kid saved Oliver on multiple occasions.”
“Derrick?”
“No, it was his best friend, I think. Don’t really remember his name.”
“Do you know if Mario ever crossed paths with Oliver again?” I asked. This was good. I felt like I had uncovered a gleaming gem underneath a pile of useless dirt.
“He worked all up and down the block. He’d come around all the time. He probably knew all of our schedules down to the hour, and he had to have definitely seen him again after the incident. I never witnessed them speaking to each other again, though.”
The gem was looking bigger and bigger by the second. Why hadn’t Oliver mentioned this guy before? Their paths had to have crossed.
“I’ll have to have a chat with Mario.”
“Please do. I can’t believe that whoever’s behind the attack still hasn’t been caught. Poor Oliver. He must be living in such fear.”
I didn’t offer anything else. Although Greg seemed to be innocent and genuinely cared about Oliver, I still wasn’t here to be friends with him. My job was to get to the bottom of this before it happened again to someone else.
“All right, I think we’ve covered everything I needed for today.” I got up from the couch, Greg following me. He appeared relieved that this was over.
“Thank you for allowing me to help in whatever way I could.”
As I was leaving, Greg reached out and grabbed my hand, letting it go when I turned to him.
“Please, tell Oliver that I’m so sorry for everything I put him through. I really,reallyam.”
He was almost in tears. I nodded and told him that I would pass on the apology. I figured it would not only help Greg, but it would help Oliver, too. He was the kind of guy who took apologies to heart, and I knew that hearing about Greg’s change of heart would lift a weight off Oliver’s shoulders.
I’d see him tonight, and I already couldn’t wait. It was still early in the day, though, and Mario Reyes was turning into my sole focus.
* * *
Stonewall Investigations wasbusy when I walked in, finding Holly’s desk swamped with papers while a couple of people sat on the couches in the waiting room. They looked my way with excited glances. Unfortunately, my schedule was booked up. It was one of the worst parts about my job, not that there were many bad parts to begin with. But the fact that I couldn’t help every single soul that walked through our doors bothered me.
“Hey, Beck,” Holly said as I walked past her desk. She readjusted her red headband, which was starting to fall onto her eyes. She was still wearing a smile even though it seemed like the stress was seeping out of her pores.
“Holly, anything I can help you out with?”
“Oh no, just a bunch of paperwork I’ve got to handle and an insane schedule I’ve got to balance. Thank you, though! I really appreciate it.” She flashed an even bigger smile before turning her attention back down to her desk.
I left her to her work and went through the hall to my office. That’s where I spotted Shiro, looking like he was heading to the beach in short pink shorts and a black tank top. “Working hard, huh, Shiro?” I teased.
“Working hard on this tan,” he said, stretching out a leg that was as pale as a piece of loose-leaf paper. He started cracking up.
I covered my eyes and stepped back. “Bloody hell, I can’t see anything. I think a flash grenade just went off in here!”
“Okay, I’m not that pale, calm down.”
We both started to laugh. Shiro was one of the detectives I’d gotten closest to over the year or so of working here at Stonewall. He was a great guy and was always quick with a joke. Not to mention, he was a genius detective and never failed to close a case in record time.
“Hey, you two.”
The voice surprised me. It was Jonah who popped out of his office behind me, his head peeking out from the open doorway.
“I want to be part of the fun,” he said.