Loves Me Not

FIFTY SIX

AFTER
DETECTIVE BRETT PORTER

The second thing on my to-do list is to have a little chat with Belmont again. After all, he knows Rodriguez, so who knows what else he's hiding?

I decide against bringing him into the station, only because it's a media storm out there and I know they'll have his face splattered in the papers yet again. I'm not jumping to conclusions and I also don't want the press ruining any leads I may have. So for now, I try to keep this as low-key as I can.

Wednesday afternoon, I call and give him a heads up that I'll be dropping by. We haven't spoken since he left the station inebriated the day of her funeral. This should be interesting.

He opens the door and I can't read his facial expression. He's clearly unamused and wants nothing to do with me. Unfortunately for him, he's a key player in this investigation and I feel he knows more than he's leading on.

We sit in his living room and he nurses a cup of coffee. I skip the small-talk and dive right into it.

"What haven't you told me about Catalaina?" I say.
He stares at me. "I've told you everything I know."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes."
"You seem to have omitted the part about her selling drugs."
I watch him, waiting for a reaction. His facial expression changes, looking perplexed. "Pardon?"
"You failed to mention that small detail, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Drop the act, Dominic. We've already found everything."
"What are you saying? Catalaina didn't sell drugs."
"You're really telling me that you weren't aware of that?"
"No?"
"Well," I pause, trying to maintain the upper-hand I thought I had. "She was. And I believe it was because of you that she got herself into this mess."
"How are you trying to involve me in something that I wasn't a part of?"
"Because the two of you have a mutual friend. Tony Rodriguez."
His face falters upon hearing the name. "Cat knew Tony?"
"She more than just knew him. He was supplying her with drugs."
"But Cat didn't do drugs?"
"No," I say. "She was selling them."
He seems to be getting more bewildered each time I provide him with a new piece of information. "What?"
"She must have gotten in contact with him through you."
"No. No, there's no way. They didn't even know each other. I only brought her around him a handful of times and they never met face-to-face. That's impossible."
"It's not impossible, actually. Because she got in contact with him, set up a meeting, and subsequently began selling drugs."
"She contacted him?"
"Yes."
"God dammit," he brings his fist to his mouth and turns to the side. "She went behind my back."
"So you admit that you know Tony Rodriguez."
He looks back up at me. "You told me I didn't need my lawyer present for this visit."
"You don't," I say, but he's probably right. "If you don't have anything to hide, that is."
"I've already told you!" He nearly yells. "I'm not hiding anything! I've told you all that I know!"
"I'm not here to bust you for possession or distribution," I say cavalierly. "The only thing I care about is finding out who did this to Catalaina."
"And I'm telling you," he says firmly. "I don't know. We've already been over this. I fucking loved her. And I'm fucking devastated that she's gone. I want to find out who did this to her just as badly as you do. But you sitting here interrogating me like I'm the bad guy isn't working. Can we please establish that and work together to forward this investigation instead of running in circles, reiterating information that we already know isn't true?"
"Sure," I say. "If you can provide me with information that holds some sort of value, perhaps I'll consider your words. But trust isn't easily given. You have to earn it. Think you can do that?"
"For her," he says to me. "I'll do anything."