Chapter Five.
Lio was waiting as we approached. His face was set in a severe expression, and I kept glancing at the alley with apprehension. My steps slowed of their own accord, and Dakota placed a reassuring hand on my back. Did I honestly wish to dredge this shit up? Beside Lio stood another guy dressed much the same as his partner. Both wore cowboy boots, pressed trousers, a shirt and a suit jacket. Lio grinned and put a hand out.
“Hi, Janey, nice to finally meet you. Damn, I couldn’t believe it when Pyro told me who you were.” I smiled at the detective and shook his hand.
“You’re a freaking chameleon, woman. Never would have guessed you were Janet Revers,” Lio’s partner commented, referring to my appearance. I thought his name was Phil Gold.
“Thanks,” I replied. I kept my gaze away from the alley and felt my fingers tremble in Dakota’s.
“Are you okay? This will be hard, but we’ll need every detail you can remember,” Lio said.
“Yeah, I can handle this,” I whispered and realised I could. I was stronger now and could offer a statement.
“Janey, it’s your show,” Phil announced and moved out of the way. Determined, I stepped into the dark alley.
“Lio, I walked past, returning to the library after eating a late meal. The library was shut, but I’d left my car there. As I passed the alley, I heard voices and thought it might be somebody lying in wait to steal my bag, so I hung back and listened. I was ready to run if someone pounced on me.” I took a deep breath.
“You’re doing fine, Janey; continue,” Phil urged.
“Two men were fighting. One claimed he didn’t have the payment, and the other was demanding it. The guy making demands for the money said that Tanner wouldn’t wait forever, and he needed a down payment, or Tanner had given orders to take something.”
“Tanner?” Lio interrupted.
“Yes, he mentioned Tanner. The man replied he’d get Tanner the cash by the end of the week and that he had a job planned. The other guy called the victim Warren and declared Tanner was finished waiting for Warren and his empty promises. Warren then called the other person, Line, and I thought that was strange, but I realised that was his name. Warren said to tell Tanner that he’d pay interest. I heard the sounds of fighting, peeped around the corner, and saw Line beating up Warren. After a while, Line stopped and spat on Warren and announced he’d better have the payment, or Warren’s pretty wife was next.” I drew a deep breath as I envisaged Warren lying on the ground, covered in blood.
“Janey, you’re doing okay,” Phil said as I turned and burrowed into Dakota.
“Line started heading in my direction, so I ducked down and hid behind the trash cart. I heard a sound and a click, and when I peeked again, Line was facing Warren, who’d drawn a weapon. Line laughed and called Warren a fucking idiot, and then there were two shots. Line had fired on Warren, but I couldn’t see a gun. I made a noise, and Line turned and spied me, and I spotted two holes in his coat. At the time, I didn’t know what that meant, but it meant he must have shot Warren through his coat. Line cursed, and I began running. He chased me, but I made it to the car and sped away. By the time I got to the police, as I was so scared I got lost several times, an hour had passed.”
“That’s understandable, Janey,” Lio agreed.
“Yeah, well, it took four hours for me to convince the officer that I wasn’t hysterical nor idiotic, and I’d seen what I claimed. The guy accompanied me back to the alley, and there was nothing there, no blood or body. Nothing. The cop told me off for wasting his time and then drove me back and gave me a warning.”
“Asshole,” Dakota muttered.
“Three days after that, I thought someone was following me, but I couldn’t see anyone when I looked. My house was broken into several times, and things moved around, but nothing was stolen. I kept getting hang-up calls at work, and then I was driven off the road. Each time I reported the incidents, the same cop told me to stop seeking attention. In the end, I quit trying and was about to run when I read the article with Dakota. And you know what happened after that.”
“Can you show me where Warren was lying, Janey?” Lio requested. Numbly, I pointed at a spot, and Phil walked forward, drew a bottle from a bag, and began spraying it everywhere.
“It dark enough for luminol?” Dakota asked.
“Yeah, just, we should see something,” Lio replied.
“No shit, the alleys lit up like a Christmas tree,” Phil exclaimed. I peered at where I’d pointed and saw a dim blue glow.
“Fuck, that’s too much blood. Call in forensics and uniforms to lock this place down,” Lio said with a snarl. Phil moved to the side and pulled out his phone.
“Gonna need to ask you to wait on the street. Please don’t go anywhere, but it will be worth it.” Lio grinned and walked us to the entrance. Phil returned and roped off the crime scene, and we waited while Lio took me back through my statement and asked more prying questions. He was so good that he drew answers out of me I didn’t realise I had. Two uniformed cars arrived halfway through, and I cringed when I recognised the officer who’d taken my report.
He swaggered towards us, eyebrows raising when he saw Dakota and me, but said nothing as he approached Lio. Lio glared, and the swagger disappeared a little. Phil stood watching the idiot, whose name I remembered was Houser, with arms folded and a dire look on his face.
“Tell me, Houser, did a Janet Revers report witnessing a murder here roughly seven months ago?” Lio stated without preamble.
“Yeah, the woman was attention-seeking. I came and checked the alley over and found nothing. Are you telling me we’re here about Janet Revers’ complaints? Guess she reported it to you now, Hawthorne? Ms Revers called in several reports. None were proven and was a waste of police time and energy. In the end, I threatened to arrest her, and she stopped her bullshit,” Houser replied, swaggering again.
“Luminol just lit up down there, a whole fuck load of blood that could only be caused by a person bleeding out,” Lio bit out. Houser stepped back.
“What? Bull!” he exclaimed.