Marlow raised his eyebrows at that. When he’d gotten there, it hadn’t looked as if much talking had gone on.
“What?” he asked.
“That they aren’t working with Piper,” Cade said. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and headed for his car. “The people in the car wanted the same thing from Lance as we did—whatever secrets Piper kept. They just weren’t going to negotiate on price. Your ex-boss just went from a potential threat to an asset. We need to speak to him.”
“Run.”
The old command echoed in Marlow’s ears as he stood on the sidewalk and watched Cade cross the road. His throat was dry, sticky when he swallowed, and his chest ached as if he’d just finished a race. That night had been the last time he’d spoken to Piper. It had been the last time he’dseenhim. Since Piper had cut a deal with the DA, Marlow hadn’t needed to face him in court.
It wasn’t something that Marlow wanted to change, but he supposed no one had asked what he wanted.
The headlights of Cade’s car flashed as he unlocked it, reflected back from the steel and glass in the security store window. He pulled the door open and then turned around to see where Marlow was.
“You in or not?” he asked.
Marlow rubbed his shoulder. It was an old habit. The scar tissue meant he couldn’t feel much but dull pressure as he dug his thumb into the flesh. “Not” was probably the smart answer; tap out now and leave the investigation to IA. Instead, he checked for cars and jogged over the road.
“Easier said than done, talking to Piper,” he said. “He’s refused to talk to anyone from the SDPD or the DA’s office since he was sentenced.”
Cade smirked and slid into the driver’s seat. “Lucky for us, I’m neither. We just have to wake someone up first.”
It turned out Maria wasn’t asleep. Her hair and makeup were perfect, even dressed in neat pink sweats and fluffy mules. In person, she couldn’t hide that under the soft edges, there was something hard.
“How dare you,” she said. “I’m a teacher. I have a reputation in this community, and your disgusting implications about my voluntary work are out of line. Get away from my house.”
She tried to close the door. Cade blocked it with his foot.
“I’m not a cop,” he said. “And Ned Piper isn’t much of a charity case, is he?”
Suspicion flickered over her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a flat, uninflected voice. It was an obvious lie. “Or who. I have a lot of penpals. Now get your foot out of my door before I call the police.”
She stamped on Cade’s foot. It would have been more effective if she wasn’t in her slippers.
“Go on,” Cade told her. He tilted his head toward Marlow. “It won’t take him long to get here.”
Maria glanced at him and then pinched her lips together. There had been something familiar about her when Marlow had seen her photo on Cade’s wall, but he’d not been able to put his finger on it. Not until she recognized him and pulled that sour, lemons on her tongue, expression.
The last time he’d seen her, she’d been a brunette with track-marks on her arms and thrift store jeans. Her eyes had been hard then too. She’d been Piper’s confidential informant—apparently, he’d pulled her out of an even worse situation—and always had the goods on trafficking schedules and bad blood between gangs that would spill over during the full moon. It had been profitable, since she’d also been paid by Piper’s less-than-savory clients to drop off that information about their rivals.
It looked like it still was profitable. As McMansions went, her house was on the low end of the scale, but it was a nice property for a Spanish teacher.
“Maria,” Marlow said. “Got the tattoos removed?”
She raised her hand to her face and then pulled it away as she thought better of it.
“That’s what the makeup is for,” she said. The careful polish on her vowels peeled off, and her old accent turned her voice hard. “You know this was a mistake, Marlow. Even if I knew anything, and for the record, I don’t, I’d not squeal. Not on Piper. I still owe him, and so do you.”
Marlow snorted. “He tried to kill me, Maria.”
Maria mugged surprise. “Did he?” she asked. “And how many times did he save your life? I figure you’re still the one in the red, Marlow. And I still know my rights. You probably aren’t even supposed to be here. So piss off.”
She shoved the door again. Cade grimaced as it crushed his foot and started to snarl something. He held his tongue when Marlow nudged him.
“Do you decide what Piper needs to know now?” he asked. “Because when I knew him, he liked to make his own calls.”
Maria looked sour and stepped back to let the door swing open. “Fine,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.”
She waved her arm in an exaggerated invitation for them to step inside. Once they were over the threshold, she glanced out into the street, pulled a face at the houses opposite, and slammed the door behind her.
