Look but Don't Choke

Chapter 21

            "Evie, where the hell is it?" Jackson and I stood huddled together in the alley on the side of Yi's market. The last smatterings of sunlight were ready to be smothered under yet another chilly night's sky and a swarm of mosquitoes began to rise up from the runoff of an afternoon sprinkle.

             "Where the hell is what?" I said though I knew exactly what he meant.

             "You know what I'm talking about," he looked around, lowering his voice as if he thought someone could hear us over the choir of crickets that sprung up almost out of nowhere. "Where's my gun?"

             "I--uh.."

             "Evie, I'm not playing with you. You're the only one who could have taken it. I want my shit back."

               "You're not even supposed to have it!" I was defensive for sure, but not wrong.

              "Shhhh!" 

              "Don't 'shhh' me. Do you know what could have happened if you would have been caught? You're a felon!"

              His face softened for the smallest moment before he doubled down. "You can't have it either. You don't have a license."

             "I didn't keep it." My heart skipped so hard I thought for sure that he would catch the lie. "I took it to one of those police buyback thingys. Told 'em my grandma died and I found it in her lockbox."

            "Grandma Sophie would whoop your ass if she found out you were telling people she was dead. You know how superstitious she is about that shit."

            "So you're not mad?"

            "Hell yeah I'm mad! Guns are expensive as fuck! You owe me money."

             "I'll pay you back," I said with no intention of paying him back.

             "You better." He sighed but otherwise dropped the subject. "Why didn't you ask Henry to do this?"

              I didn't really feel like talking about the fight we'd had...or how much it was killing me not to be able to talk to him. "He was busy. You're better at this sort of stuff than him anyway."

             "Okay. Why am I beating this guy's ass?"

             "You're not beating his ass, per se. I just need you to put the fear of God in him."

             "And why am I putting the fear of God in him?"

             "Because according to Manny a dozen roses were found with Abbey's body. Harley said he didn't buy 'em--he didn't even know about them, but Mr. Yi said he saw her stalker walking around in this very store the night she died with an arm full of roses. That can't be a coincidence."

              If Larry really had left the roses in Abbey's hotel room the night she died, then I was one step closer to figuring this all out. The problem was that Larry had displayed violent tendencies before when he'd caught me following him around. That's why I brought my favorite bruiser with me this time.

             "Why--wait a minute," He said. "Your boyfriend is the detective over the case?"

            "He's not my boyfriend, I mean you know--we're not steady or anything, but yeah."

            He got indignant. "What in the hell is the city doing with our tax dollars if they only have enough money to hire a single cop?"

            I snorted. "Jackson, don't make me laugh right now I'm trying to get in character. I need to look intimidating."