Page 80 of The Dollmaker

“Seemed safer that way. All the kid knew was he was selling a bag. I told him to make the exchange and bring me the money. It was an easy job.”

“The kid didn’t question you?”

“It took a little convincing at first, but I got him to agree.”

“You had no idea who was on the other end of this deal?”

“I only communicated directly with him once.”

Sharp simply waited.

Dillon tugged at his collar. “By phone. Frances gave me a number to call after our renegotiation. I called and we spoke. He was okay with the new price, and we set up the meet.”

“So you sent Terrance because you got a bad vibe about the caller, right?”

“It’s a vibe I get. I’ve learned not to ignore it.”

“So you sent your son.”

Dillon shook his head. “I really thought it would go down fine.”

“No, you didn’t. You sensed trouble and sent your kid to take the heat.”

Dillon held up his finger. “That’s not fair. You make it sound cold-blooded. The kid wanted to go. He wanted to make money so he could buy his grandmother a dryer.” Dillon ran his fingers through his dark hair and smiled. “He loved that old bitch.”

“She loved him.”

“No, she didn’t. Taking him into her home was another way she was sticking it to me. She never thought I was good enough for her daughter.”

Sharp didn’t respond.

“I really figured the worst that could happen was an arrest, maybe a night in jail, and then it would be like nothing happened.”

“Terrance would have lost his scholarship.”

“He didn’t need college filling his head with stuck-up ideas.”

“Where was Terrance supposed to meet the buyer?”

“An alley near Seventeenth Street in Richmond.”

“I want an exact location.”

“Why do you care where the meeting took place?”

He’d bet money that was the spot where Terrance had been knifed to death. “I care.”

“In Shockoe Bottom near the train tracks.”

“Why would this guy turn on Terrance?”

“Terrance can be a talker. He never knows when to shut up. I told him to keep his mouth shut. Shit, I must have told him twenty times. Don’t talk. Grab and go.”

“When Terrance didn’t show up with the money, what did you think?”

“At first I thought he was stiffing me. I called him a couple of times, and when he didn’t answer, I drove by his grandmother’s house. I didn’t see him.”

“That didn’t set off any alarm bells?”

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