Cry Me a River Read Free Page A

had to put up with. Strip off the layers of graffiti and you could get the entire history as different gangs warred to claim door stoops and cash registers as their territory. The beat cops in the ghetto and the barrio were cranky, overworked, and tense. The city was a pressure cooker, and the temperature was rising.
    “An informant linked the dealer’s death to the CholosRicos. Says he saw it. The dealer was in the Snake Eyes.”
    “That’ll mean payback,” Grace said. “The Snake Eyes will strike at the CRs.”
    The Snake Eyes were an all-black gang. The Cholos Ricos were Hispanic. They kept track of all the various infractions and insults they committed against one another in a complex system. In a different life, they could all be accountants.
    “Maybe it’s payback for a previous payback,” Ham said. “Escalation.”
    “Terrorism,” Grace said. “More bullets for innocent bystanders to dodge. Could the informant link either gang to Haleem’s killing?”
    “No, but maybe Rhetta can,” Ham replied. “Night crew is catching it,” he added. “We can stay home.” Meaning that they weren’t being called in to work it. Grace had mixed feelings about that. She wanted to see the face of the man who dealt slow death to boys and their mothers. But she was also overtired, starving, and wondering why Earl had smiled when she’d talked about the game. Anyway, with any luck, the dealer would be in the medical examiner’s freezer tomorrow, and she could visit him then.
    Grace’s stomach growled. “I gotta go.”
    “Yeah, okay.” Ham sounded surprised, a little hurt. “I get it. Rough night. That kid …”
    “Haleem,” she said. “That was his name. I’ll see you in the morning, Ham.” She made her voice gentle, then firmly disconnected. Hustled on over to the party and took the pizza slice and the paper napkin Earl offered.
    “They got him,” she said. “But you already knew that.”
    “I already did,” he confirmed.
    She appraised him. “Were you his last-chance angel?”
    He took a bite of pizza. “Who, Haleem? Or the dealer?”
    “Take your pick.”
    “Nope.”
    As she flopped onto the couch, Earl aimed the remote and the game zapped onto the screen—two teams of burly, padded college players whaling on each other. There’d be penalty flags and injuries, but by the end of it someone would actually win.
    Must be nice.
    They ate pizza. Gus got the crusts and a few hunks of sausage. He rested his gigantic head on Grace’s knee and she lovingly scratched behind his ears. Earl munched and watched the game. They were the Three Bears: Angel Bear, Sinner Bear, and Doggy Bear. The Sooners were ahead. Gus celebrated by burping and Grace did the same.
    When the commercials started up, Earl turned to her. “I gotta tell you something, Grace,” he said. “Things are going to get tough for a while.”
    She hesitated, then chomped down rebelliously on her third slice of pizza. “They already are tough, Earl. Okay? I don’t need tougher.”
    He gave her a look and shook his shaggy head. “I don’t have any say in it, any more than you do. I’m just letting you know.”
    She swallowed. “Why?”
    “Because you’re going to be in a position to do something about it.” He picked up a bread stick. “I love these things.”
    “That’s great, Earl,” she said tiredly. “That’s just great.” She took another bite of pizza and watched BYU make a touchdown. She groaned. Gus emitted a sympathetic sigh.
    Actually, the simplicity of sports was not so nice, if the wrong guys were the ones doing the winning.
    “You shouldn’t stay up too late tonight,” Earl added. “Get some rest.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Can’t you just
tell
me what’s going to happen?”
    He shook his head. “I don’t know, either. All God told me is that heavy winds are gonna blow. Time to batten down the hatches.”
    She took a swig of beer. “Or turn into kites.”

CHAPTER
         THREE
    That night