I wondered if Moves had also been working at Ortega’s Autos, and that would give me reason to believe that he certainly did know more than he was letting on. I was determined to find out what that was, but the only person that was going to be able to get close to them now would be Mona, because I had a feeling that Moves wasn’t going to want to see me.
“I think there may be a way that we can get to the bottom of this, Mona. If you’d be willing to meet up with your biker friend again, entice him a little more, maybe get a few more answers about what really goes on at Ortega’s Autos, it can really help me start to put the pieces together.” I thought for a moment that she was going to think it was a terrible idea and shoot me down right on the spot, but she stared back at me with a smile, and I knew she was going to be up for the job.
“If I can sleep with that guy, I’m definitely in. He was incredibly hot, and I don’t think anyone has ever taken me for more of a ride than he could. He is a biker after all,” she said, and I laughed.
“You’re crazy, you know that? Well, you already know that I think sex is overrated, but whatever floats your boat. If you’d be willing to get some more information for me, I would be eternally grateful,” I said with a smile.
“One of these days someone is going to come along and change your mind, Lacey. You just wait. Though I would love to do a little snooping for you. We’ll find out what’s really going on there soon enough.”
Fifteen
Moves
I’m starting to get a little antsy because I’m afraid that we’re not going to get anywhere in time for Chalupa’s case to go to trial. If we don’t come up with some substantial evidence, or find out who is really behind this, then we can kiss our freedom goodbye. If they take one of us down, it’s only a matter of time before they get to the rest of us, and we can’t let that happen.
I arrived at Hawk’s place that morning so we could start discussing the case, because we were running out of time, and we needed to get ahead of this before things eventually got worse.
When Hawk opened the door, he looked rather distraught, like he hadn’t slept in days, and I wondered what had gotten him looking so rough. It was just a few days ago that we were riding together, trying to figure out whether the girl I’d met at the bar was working for the government.
He opened the door wide so I could step inside, and I noticed that his house was much emptier than usual. I usually saw his wife roaming around, asking us if we needed anything before we headed out for the day, and I truly appreciated her hospitality, but the look in Hawk’s eyes told me that something terrible had happened, and he just didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk about the case at all.
“What’s the matter, Hawk?” I asked him, and he led me to sit down in his living room, where I waited patiently for him to tell me what was going on.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you when we went out on our little mission a few days ago, but I hooked up with a young chick there the other night when we were out at the bar, and it was the first time in a long time that I felt alive.” He looked at me with a pained expression. I nodded for him to continue. “It wasn’t until then that I realized just how terrible my marriage has been lately, and that it was hanging on by a thread, but it was evident that I wasn’t going to be able to keep it a secret forever.” Hawk was obviously finding this difficult. Although we were close, no, we were family, we didn’t talk to each other much about our private lives. We never opened up about emotional issues.
“She left me, Moves, and she had every right to. I thought that I was going to be much more broken up watching her walk right out that door, but I wasn’t. I felt relieved, and I know how selfish that sounds, but I just can’t help myself.”
I sat there completely understanding how he felt. I’d never been with one woman long enough to know what love actually felt like, but if there was one thing I could tell was that Hawk and his wife had changed over the years. They weren’t the same people they had been when they got married, and I’d had a feeling something like this was going to happen eventually.
“Maybe it was for the best, Hawk. If that girl made you feel alive again, made you feel like your life was worth living, then maybe it was a good thing that you two had that moment together, because you wouldn’t want to live out the rest of your days feeling trapped in your marriage, and neither would your wife,” I said, and he nodded at me.
“I know what I did was wrong, but to be truthful, I don’t regret a moment. The only thing is, I don’t even know if I’m gonna see that chick again. It was a one-night stand, and we both knew that. Wham bam thank you ma’am,” he chuckled.
“Listen, Hawk. I think you should ask her out. Did you at least catch her name?” I asked.
“Her name is Mona, like the painting.”
“Oh, great.”
“What is it?”
“That’s Lacey’s best friend. Like, the Lacey we just found out is an attorney at the DA’s office. Though it’s quite possible that Mona has absolutely nothing to do with how Lacey chooses to do her job, and in that case, I don’t see a problem with you seeing her again,” I said. “You just need to be careful, that’s all.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious, but I don’t even think she’d be interested in a guy like me. What could I offer her? She’s definitely out of my league,” he said, but even I didn’t believe that.
“You have to give yourself a little more credit, Hawk. You’re never going to know until you try. So if the opportunity presents itself again, I say go for it.”
Hawk nodded. “Okay, so now back to business. How did the meeting go with the contact that you had?”
“It was terrible. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would do anything to get Chalupa out, but I believe that my brother only recommended him because he was better than a public defense attorney, and no one else in their right mind was going to take the case out of the goodness of their heart,” I explained.
“Man, I really hope that this is going to work because I can’t imagine what’s going to happen if Chalupa gets put away.” Hawk sighed. “It’s going to give whoever is behind this the green light to keep framing us until every single last one of us is behind bars. We can’t allow that to happen, and if we want to have any chance of clearing Chalupa’s name, we’re going to have to solve this on our own.”
“We’re gonna get to the bottom of this. There is no way we’re letting Chalupa live out the rest of his days in jail for something he didn’t do. We’ll find out who's really behind this, and we’re going to make them pay,” I said, and Hawk smiled.
We have our work cut out for us, but hopefully we’re going to start getting a few answers very soon. We have to, otherwise we’re all going to be taken down.
Sixteen
