location?”
“No. I asked, and he said he’d explain everything. It took him a while to get started. We were sitting in his cab for about ten minutes, and I remember him telling me that he had made a mistake.” I closed my eyes again. “He handed me his cell phone and said I’d understand.” I paused. “Oh, shit. That reminds me, Uncle Ray…” I pulled Ricky’s cell out of my pocket and handed it to him. “The EMTs must have thought that was mine and put it with my personal belongings.”
Uncle Ray turned off the machine again.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to ask you if Ricky gave you anything, and you’re going to say yes and then identify his cell phone, and I will acknowledge receiving the phone from you. Got it?”
“Yes.”
He cued the interview back to pick up earlier and started again. “Interview was interrupted as the witness excused himself to get a glass of water. Mr. Donne, at any time during your meeting with Mr. Torres did Mr. Torres give you anything?”
“Yes,” I said, trying not to sound rehearsed. “He gave me his cell phone.”
“Do you have that phone with you at present?”
“I do.”
“Let the record state that the witness has just turned over the victim’s cell phone to this interviewer. Interviewer has placed the phone into a plastic baggie provided by Mr. Donne.” He looked at me and shook his head, meaning “not now.”
“What happened after Mr. Torres gave you his phone?”
“The next thing I remember is the sound of the driver’s side window breaking. When I looked over, Ricky—Mr. Torres—was lying facedown on his steering wheel. I didn’t hear anything … I didn’t know what…” I closed my eyes against a sudden urge to get up and run into my hallway. I willed myself to breathe slowly.
“Are you okay, Mr. Donne? Do we need to take a break?”
“No.” I took a deep breath. “I leaned over to see what had happened and then more shots were fired—a lot more shots. Like from an automatic. Pretty much the next thing I remember was waking up in the emergency room.”
“Can you state how much time elapsed between the shooting of Mr. Torres and the next series of shots?”
“Not exactly. But my best estimate would be less than ten seconds.”
“Did you sustain any injuries during this shooting?”
“Just a concussion. The driver’s air bag went off, causing his head to crash into mine. That’s when I became unconscious.”
Uncle Ray thought about that for a few seconds. “Have you anything to add at this time, Mr. Donne?”
“No. That is all I remember at this point.”
“Thank you.” He picked up the recorder. “This concludes the initial interview with witness Raymond Donne.” He turned the machine off. “Not bad, Nephew. Pretty much what you told me at the hospital. Except for the phone.”
“I didn’t know about the phone until I got back here, Uncle Ray.”
Uncle Ray picked up the phone and pushed the button that lit up the screen. He pressed another button. “Shit.”
“I know. Unknown caller. I tried that myself.”
He pressed another button. “Shit. All the recent calls, same thing.” He turned the phone to me. “Who’s the girl?”
I cleared my throat and told the truth. “I have no idea.” Most of the truth.
My uncle imitated me by clearing his throat. “But…”
“You remember Jack Knight?”
It took him a five count. “Jack the Whack?”
“That’s the one.”
“What about him? I heard he put in his papers a while ago. Big loss,” he snorted.
“He was here this morning. When I got home from the hospital.”
“You running a home for wayward ex-cops or something, Raymond?”
I decided to skip the beginning. “Jack’s a PI now and Ricky’s been picking up some hours for him. Doing some building incident reports, stuff like that.”
“What’s that got to do with the girl on the phone?”
Time for a little more truth. “Jack said it was something to do with a case Ricky was
“No. I asked, and he said he’d explain everything. It took him a while to get started. We were sitting in his cab for about ten minutes, and I remember him telling me that he had made a mistake.” I closed my eyes again. “He handed me his cell phone and said I’d understand.” I paused. “Oh, shit. That reminds me, Uncle Ray…” I pulled Ricky’s cell out of my pocket and handed it to him. “The EMTs must have thought that was mine and put it with my personal belongings.”
Uncle Ray turned off the machine again.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to ask you if Ricky gave you anything, and you’re going to say yes and then identify his cell phone, and I will acknowledge receiving the phone from you. Got it?”
“Yes.”
He cued the interview back to pick up earlier and started again. “Interview was interrupted as the witness excused himself to get a glass of water. Mr. Donne, at any time during your meeting with Mr. Torres did Mr. Torres give you anything?”
“Yes,” I said, trying not to sound rehearsed. “He gave me his cell phone.”
“Do you have that phone with you at present?”
“I do.”
“Let the record state that the witness has just turned over the victim’s cell phone to this interviewer. Interviewer has placed the phone into a plastic baggie provided by Mr. Donne.” He looked at me and shook his head, meaning “not now.”
“What happened after Mr. Torres gave you his phone?”
“The next thing I remember is the sound of the driver’s side window breaking. When I looked over, Ricky—Mr. Torres—was lying facedown on his steering wheel. I didn’t hear anything … I didn’t know what…” I closed my eyes against a sudden urge to get up and run into my hallway. I willed myself to breathe slowly.
“Are you okay, Mr. Donne? Do we need to take a break?”
“No.” I took a deep breath. “I leaned over to see what had happened and then more shots were fired—a lot more shots. Like from an automatic. Pretty much the next thing I remember was waking up in the emergency room.”
“Can you state how much time elapsed between the shooting of Mr. Torres and the next series of shots?”
“Not exactly. But my best estimate would be less than ten seconds.”
“Did you sustain any injuries during this shooting?”
“Just a concussion. The driver’s air bag went off, causing his head to crash into mine. That’s when I became unconscious.”
Uncle Ray thought about that for a few seconds. “Have you anything to add at this time, Mr. Donne?”
“No. That is all I remember at this point.”
“Thank you.” He picked up the recorder. “This concludes the initial interview with witness Raymond Donne.” He turned the machine off. “Not bad, Nephew. Pretty much what you told me at the hospital. Except for the phone.”
“I didn’t know about the phone until I got back here, Uncle Ray.”
Uncle Ray picked up the phone and pushed the button that lit up the screen. He pressed another button. “Shit.”
“I know. Unknown caller. I tried that myself.”
He pressed another button. “Shit. All the recent calls, same thing.” He turned the phone to me. “Who’s the girl?”
I cleared my throat and told the truth. “I have no idea.” Most of the truth.
My uncle imitated me by clearing his throat. “But…”
“You remember Jack Knight?”
It took him a five count. “Jack the Whack?”
“That’s the one.”
“What about him? I heard he put in his papers a while ago. Big loss,” he snorted.
“He was here this morning. When I got home from the hospital.”
“You running a home for wayward ex-cops or something, Raymond?”
I decided to skip the beginning. “Jack’s a PI now and Ricky’s been picking up some hours for him. Doing some building incident reports, stuff like that.”
“What’s that got to do with the girl on the phone?”
Time for a little more truth. “Jack said it was something to do with a case Ricky was
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