“And I’m going to speak to his parents as well. Put the fear of God in them. Maybe they know where Kevin is. Someone sure as hell has to.”
It was less than ten minutes to the parole office. Eddie gave the huge man at the desk his name and who he wanted to see. He was directed up to the office and went inside. The place was stacked with files and papers, the classic look of someone vastly overworked.
“You must be Detective Harper.” He held out his hand. “Jake Childs.”
“Good to meet you. Do you know if he’ll show?” Eddie asked.
Jake nodded. “He’d better. He only has an additional month of probation and then he’ll be out of the system. If he doesn’t show, I call the police, and you all will hunt him down.” He sat. “What’s this all about?”
“We’re trying to find Larry’s brother, Kevin, in connection with a murder, money-laundering, and a ton of other things.”
Jake sighed. “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me. According to Larry, it was his brother that got him messed up in the theft he was convicted of in the first place. There’s no love lost between them as far as I know. So, if he has an inkling of where his brother is, he’ll probably tell you. At least that’s the impression I have.” Jake checked his watch just as the door opened.
“What’s all this? I didn’t do anything.”
“We aren’t saying you did. This is Officer Harper, and he has a few questions for you.” Larry was instantly on his guard.“Part of your probation is to assist law enforcement whenever possible. So, sit down and answer his questions.”
Larry sat, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve held down a job and done everything I was supposed to. I haven’t even come close to doing anything wrong, not even speeding.”
“Do you know where your brother might be?” Eddie asked, coming right to the point.
“Son of a bitch—I don’t have a clue. And if I did, I’d tell you just to keep that asshole out of my life. He came to me maybe three weeks ago looking to borrow money. I sent him packing, and I ain’t seen him since. He said he was going to be coming into a load of cash and wanted a thousand. Do I look like I got that?” He shook his head. “Then when I told him no, he started acting all put out, like I’m supposed to be his goddamned bank.”
“Where did you meet him?” Eddie asked.
“He came to my work, and I got in trouble for it. I’ve been working hard and doing everything I can to rebuild my life. I got a month left on probation, and I ain’t going back to jail for nobody. People have come up to me, wanting me to do shit, and I tell them to go fuck themselves. They think because I got out that I’m gonna do shit for them, and I’m not.” He pulled out his wallet and took out a picture. “I got a girlfriend and I really like her. She seems to like me, too, and is willing to look beyond my past. So I told Kevin to go fuck himself, and he eventually left. I ain’t heard from him since.”
“How would you get in touch with him if you needed to?” Eddie asked. “You have to know his friends or people he would know.”
Larry sighed. “You could try Martha Connely. The two of them always seemed to run hot and cold. Zach Midas, he lives west of the capital building somewhere. He and Kevin were budding criminals together. The guy has to have a record of some kind. I deleted Kevin from my phone when I got out.”
“Okay. Is there anything else you can tell me?”
Larry shook his head. “Nope. My folks don’t know where he is neither. Not after he did shit and let me take the fall. Is there anything more that you need from me? I want to go home, and I’m supposed to have a date tonight.”
“No.” Eddie handed him his card. “Just call me if you see him or if he contacts you again.”
“I will.” He took the card and slipped it in his pocket. “What do you want Kevin for?”
“He’s a person of interest in a murder. You or anyone you care about does not want to have anything to do with him.”
“Whoa…,” Larry said, standing and taking a step back. “If I see him, I’ll call right away. Now can I go?”
Eddie met Jake’s gaze. “Yes. You can go. I have that you checked in and that you cooperated with Officer Harper here. We appreciate it. And remember, probation prevents you from being around known criminals.”
“I know. I’ll call if he comes around.” Larry left the office, and Eddie shook hands with Jake and left as well. On a hunch, he went to his car and followed Larry as he turned out of the parking lot. He didn’t stay too close but wondered where he’d go. If he knew where his brother was, he was willing to bet that would be his first stop. But he drove to an auto garage, presumably where he worked, so Eddie continued on back to the station.
“The brotheris a dead end. He hasn’t seen Kevin in weeks, but the last time he saw him, Kevin tried to borrow money on the pretext that he was going to have a real score soon. Sounds like he was expecting to get a real big payday from someone.” Eddie sat next to Marty, who was playing games on his phone.
“Do you believe him?” Marty asked.
“What he said goes along with what we know, and I followed him. Larry went back to work without stopping anywhere. Can we get logs from his phone to see if he called anyone?”
Brian placed a report on his desk. “Already done. He hasn’t been on the phone all day. He didn’t call his brother.”
“Then that helps back up what he told me. What about the parents?”
“They say they last heard from Kevin ten days ago. He tried to borrow money from them too. Struck out there as well,” Brian said. “They gave me the names of some of his friends.”
