I didn’t really buy into the whole thing, but there was no denying she had the details right.
I tried to clear my head and let it all go. I dozed off and woke in the morning with the sunrise. The amber rays filtered through the blinds.
I pulled myself out of bed, went through my morning routine, and headed down to the galley to fix breakfast. I rousted JD outof bed, and we chowed down on the sky deck. We crunched on bacon and shoveled scrambled eggs into our mouths and sipped gourmet coffee. Not a bad way to start the day.
Sufficiently caffeinated, we pulled ourselves together and headed out to find Cliff Pollard.
22
We caught up with Cliff in his roach-trap of an apartment at the edge of Jamaica Village. It wasn’t the best part of town.
The brown cinderblock building wasn't much to speak of. There were four units down and four units up. The paint was peeling, and it was in need of a power wash.
I put a heavy fist against the door, and Cliff stumbled down the foyer a moment later. "Who is it?"
"Coconut County!" I shouted through the door. "We just have a few questions for you.”
"I don't talk to cops."
"Ray Coleman is dead.”
Cliff went silent for a moment. He flipped the deadbolt and pulled the door open. His concerned eyes flicked between the two of us. "How did he die?”
"It’s my understanding there was a little bad blood between you two,” I said.
"Yeah, so. He fired me. Am I supposed to like the guy?”
"From what I hear, you were showing up to work intoxicated, stealing, doing all kinds of unbecoming things.”
He scoffed and dismissed the notion with a headshake. "Where'd you hear that from?”
"Is it true?”
"Hell no, it's not true.”
I regarded him with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Cliff was a shaggy-looking guy with long, curly brown hair, a trimmed beard, and tattoos under his eyes in script. That was a commitment. Kinda hard to get a corporate job with his appearance. Then again, I don't think Cliff had a Master’s in Business Administration.
"Did you threaten Ray?" I asked.
"No. I thanked him when he fired me,” he said, thick with sarcasm. “He opened my world up to new opportunities."
It didn't look like he’d found a new job yet.
"You want to tell me where you were last night?" I asked.
"I went out drinking with some friends."
"Who?”
"Friends.”
"I need names and numbers.”
Cliff's face wrinkled. "Man, you think I'm lying?”
"You look like a trustworthy guy," I said, trying to keep a straight face. "I just need to verify.”
