Page 41 of Dead Man's List

Kit wanted to sigh. Heroin was a hard habit to break. “Julie said you were her supplier.”

Ace opened his mouth, then closed it. A moment of silence passed while Kit waited him out. “I never sold to her. I gave it to her at first, but I stopped because I could see she was hooked. That’s why she started stealing from her mom and her aunt, even before we both went into rehab. I tried to get her to stop.”

“I saw that in your texts. You told her that money from the trailer wouldn’t last her for a month.”

Ace sighed. “It’s the truth. She lived with her mom. She had no idea how much it costs to live on your own. Everyone thought I was a bad influence on her. They think I got Shell hooked, but it was the other way around. Shell got me hooked so that I’d score for her. I have a job. I make decent money, so she got me to buy it for her. When I stopped, she got mad. Said she’d find someone else to buy for her. She said she’d dump me if I didn’t start buying for her again.”

“Did that make you angry?” Kit asked, keeping her tone mild.

“Of course it did. But not so much that I’d ever hurt her. Look, I know that I look mean. I got tats. I swing a cleaver for a living, but I’m not…like that. I didn’t hurt her. I’d never have hurt her.” He swallowed hard. “Who killed her?”

“We’re hoping you can help us find out,” Kit said.

“What do you want to know?”

“Did she tell you who she was meeting Tuesday night?”

“No. She just said it was a customer who asked if he could get a discount if he paid her in cash. She was going to take the four Gs and run. She was fed up with her mom’s rules, her aunt’s rules. She wanted out.” He sat up abruptly and groaned, holding his head. “Wait. Wait a minute.”

Kit took a step back just in case the alcohol he’d consumed made a reappearance.

“Not gonna puke,” he muttered. “Fuck, my head hurts.”

“You drank a lot of booze,” Kit said, hoping she sounded both sympathetic and judgmental at the same time. “You’re lucky you’re not kneeling in front of the toilet right now.”

“Nah. Drank the beer first. Got a buzz. Beer on whiskey, mighty risky.” He laughed, but it was more like a sob. “Whiskey on beer, never fear.”

“Are you going to tell me something?”

Ace half snarled. “Gimme a minute. Brain’s not…braining.” He took a few deep breaths, then gasped softly. “Right. There’s a camera. At her aunt’s body shop.”

That had been spray-painted over, just like the camera at Munro’s house. “Not usable footage.”

“Not the one that nerd Bran installed. The oneIinstalled.”

Kit hoped she hid her surprise. “Why did you install a camera at Jennifer’s Body Shop?”

“Shell said that Bran had come on to her. That he groped her the day after she got out of rehab, when she went back to work. I was so fucking pissed at that nerdy piece of shit. But Shell lied a lot. I wanted to be sure before I punched his lights out.”

“You installed a camera to check on Bran?”

“And Shell. I wanted to be sure she was okay. Bran never touched her, not that I saw. But Shell never knew about that camera.”

“Where is the camera?”

“In the parking lot.”

Yes.“You got the feed for those cameras?”

“On my laptop. It’s in the bedroom.” He lurched to his feet, weaving dangerously. “Fuck.”

“Do you need me to walk you back there?”

“No. I know my rights. You need a warrant for that.”

“We’ll wait here,” Kit promised. “Just don’t fall and knock yourself unconscious. I need that feed.”

Ace seemed to think that was hilarious. He laughed like a loon. “I might like you, except you’re a damn cop.”

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