Page 8 of The Midnight Delivery

“I just woke up, but if you give me a little bit of time, I can be there in about half an hour.”

#

IDON’T KNOW HOW Iarrived inside the gym. My feet seemed to have never walked on the ground as I entered the building, and as I greeted the detective in charge, my skin turned to mush. I was here only hours before, and watched my uncle take two bullets, one to his chest and the other to his head. I heard his dying word and listened as his breath escaped his body one last time. Now, I had to pretend it was all brand new to me.

“I’m sorry to have to bring you down here like this,” the detective said.

She was a beauty. Tall with an hourglass figure and dark features, I couldn’t help but wonder how she got into police work when modeling would have been a better fit. For her to reach detective level, despite her looks, meant she was not to be underestimated.

“Well, it’s not the way I planned to spend my day, that’s for sure,” I quipped. I decided to be as forthcoming and truthful with this woman as I could. Overt lies wouldn’t be helpful, but small, subtle ones might be enough to satisfy whatever questions she’d pose.

“You and me both,” she agreed. “Well, I won’t keep you long, Miss Munoz. Just a couple of questions for you.”

Here we go.“I’ll try to help you, though I don’t know how much I’ll be able to.”

“Understandable. How well did you know Mr. Munoz?”

“He’s my uncle, but not very well. We didn’t grow up with him around.”

“We?”

“My brother and I. Uncle AJ was off doing his own thing. I can count on one hand the number of times I spoke to him through the years.”

“And your brother. Did he have many dealings with him?”

She’s sharp. Definitely trying to get me to reveal something. I can’t let her. This is no different than when you’re dealing with the men. At least they’re obvious with what they want from you. Play the game, Ari. Less is more. Dustin doesn’t know anything about last night because he was too busy fucking. He can handle himself with this one.

“No. At least none that I know of,” I answered.Slow and steady on this one.

“Do you know if your uncle had any enemies? Anyone that might have threatened him, or wanted to hurt him?”

“Again, I’m sorry, Detective Rivers. I didn’t know my uncle very well, so I would hope not, but I don’t know.”

“When was the last time you saw your uncle?”

Think, Ari. She hasn’t mentioned his death yet, which means she’s fishing. There’s probably cameras somewhere around, and you didn’t pull the trigger. Be truthful, but remember less is more. Innocent people have nothing to hide.

“Yesterday, actually. My brother and I arrived in town, so we came here in an effort to reconnect with him.”

“And that was the last time?”

Shit. I don’t have an alibi. Dusty does, but I don’t. Fuck!

“What do you do for a living, Miss Munoz?” Detective Rivers asked, with a slight narrowing of her eyes.

“I’m an event planner.”

“Planning any events in the area?”

“I’m looking to expand, yes. Orias is my home. We were born here but moved to Cedoria when we were very small with our parents. Now I’m back, looking to pursue the dream, you know?”

“I get it.”

That seemed to put her at ease. I need to wrap this up.“Detective, you haven’t told me the reason you asked me here today?”

“We found your uncle this morning...”

As I listened to Detective Rivers recap what I already knew, while trying to act the part of the surprised niece, I noticed the time on the clock hanging on the wall over her shoulder. The Midnight Prize fight was hours away.

---