I finally step in front of him. “I want you to answer my questions and if you lie even once, my friend gets to have his fun with you. He’s really looking forward to it.”
Brian looks over to see Justus still examining the tools like a kid at Christmas. He holds up a large handheld vise. “How big are your balls, dude? Like literally. Would they fit in this? I’ll bet I could make them fit.”
“I’ll talk!” the guy yells. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I swear!”
“Tell me about Isla.”
Confusion and terror war on his face. “What? I don’t…I don’t know any Isla.”
I glance over at Justus who rubs his hands together gleefully and scoops up the pliers.
“No, no, I swear I don’t know who you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of anyone named Isla. Unless she’s a hooker? I didn’t…I don’t ask their names.”
“You’ve been texting me about her.”
“You’ve got the wrong guy! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I walk over to the table and pick up a hammer, holding it out to Justus. “Kneecaps?”
Justus nods and smiles, accepting it. “You’re a fan of the classics. I approve.”
“No! Check my phone! I didn’t text anyone! Please,” he blubbers.
He’s telling the truth. I’ve been around hard men and he’sas far from one as you can get. There’s no way he’s with any of the traffickers. The piss running down his leg onto the plastic only reinforces that belief.
“You dropped a box off at Lucky’s Diner,” I tell him, keeping my voice calm.
He gasps and nods frantically, grateful that he has an answer to give. “Yes, yes I did that! Oh god, was there something terrible inside? I figured it was just dope or a gun she didn’t want to get caught handing off, you know?”
Justus’s eyes cut over to me.She. Are we dealing with a woman?
Brian continues to talk without me having to ask. “A woman paid me to deliver the box. She said to tell them it was for some chick she called Silver. Maybe it’s a stripper name or something, I don’t know.” He trips over his words. “I didn’t ask questions.”
Silver would shred this pathetic guy if she heard that. “Who was the woman?” I ask.
“I don’t know her or her real name. She’s a whore…a…a prostitute working the Moonlight Hotel in Paducah.”
Something cold slides down my spine. They used one of their trafficking victims. “What did she look like?”
He swallows hard. “Bad red wig,” he says quickly. “Like, obvious wig that was the color of a Coke can. She was average height, maybe five and a half feet? Big tits that were fake, I think. I don’t know. She sucked me off first. Afterward she said she wouldn’t charge me, and she’d give me a hundred bucks just to deliver a gift. I wasn’t going to pass that up.”
“Clearly it was a bargain,” Justus says.
“It was stupid! I’m sorry. I don’t know what was in the box. I didn’t text anyone. I don’t know who she is or Isla is. All I did was take the box inside, I swear.”
Justus looks over at me and sets the hammer down. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
“Listen,” Brian pleads. “I’m on probation. I don’t want shit to do with the cops. You don’t have to kill me. Just let me go and I won’t tell anyone anything.”
I scrutinize him for a moment and think about what he’s told me. His fear is real. He’s just an idiot they used to cover their tracks. Useless and not a threat.
“Please,” he whispers. “Don’t kill me.”
I glance over at Justus and see he’s come to the same conclusion. He nods at me.
“You’re never going to go near Lucky’s Diner again,” I order.
His whole body sags with relief. “I won’t! I won’t even go back to that county, I swear to god.”
