really good thing if you remembered tonight where the phone is. You think it all through, Emile, and I’ll see you in the morning.’
TEN
B efore dawn the next day Marquez eased over to the curb a block down from Soliatano’s house and turned his lights off. A lone streetlight shone at the far end of the block; it was dark here and he sat there with the engine idling, then turned it off and thought about what he knew and didn’t. He tried to get at what he sensed and watched as lights came on in Soliatano’s house and the sky whitened in the east and cold seeped into the car.
Not long after the front door opened and Soliatano came out with a dog. Here was a guy with a specialized, highly skilled job in a manufacturing facility that paid him well, who had gotten involved with illegal fish stocking to make side money. It didn’t seem to mean anything to him that the pike would kill off everything else in the river or that he left Enrique Jordan trapped in the pickup. He showed some emotion yesterday but that was probably born of fear of having his life disrupted and less about feelings for Jordan.
Soliatano was about money and staying out of jail and not getting charged with anything. His claim of sending documenting photos to Hauser might be true. Those he forwarded last night to him were shots taken at night and not much as photos go, but they had the same truck and the date of the first drop last week stamped on the photo. Good chance they were real and Soliatano was documenting to earn his money. Did that mean Hauser was legitimate and building his own case?
He watched Soliatano and the little terrier turn back this direction and work their way back down. Soliatano dropped a plastic bag with the dog’s poop in a garbage can and went back into the house. Marquez gave him fifteen minutes before calling.
‘You’re early.’
‘We’ll pick up coffee somewhere.’
When Soliatano got in the car Marquez asked, ‘How long have you lived here?’
‘About a year but it was my wife’s mother’s house. Stacey is six months pregnant and we’re going to raise our kids here. I rent where I used to live in Vacaville.’ He added as if he’d thought about it, ‘It’s better for a kid here.’
Then he went on: ‘I talked to my brother-in-law last night. He’s a lawyer. He said I shouldn’t do this ride with you and that you can’t charge me with anything because there aren’t any witnesses.’
‘How much does he know about Matt Hauser?’
‘Not much.’
‘Hauser could turn on you and testify against you. That’s a reason to talk to me now.’
Soliatano processed that then said, ‘I watch TV cop shows. I know you don’t control everything, but I need to know you’re not going to fuck me.’
‘I’m going to take care of you like you did Enrique.’
Soliatano didn’t like that but didn’t respond and they drove and talked and Marquez followed his directions to where the first stocking occurred and the fish allegedly died of a virus. Then they left the highway and tracked dirt roads, drove past almond orchards and down to the river to a forgotten boat landing where Soliatano and Jordan had backed up and emptied fish into the river.
Soliatano took him through the drop, bringing the pickup truck’s rear wheels all the way down to the water’s edge, opening the first cooler and bailing water out of it until they could tip the rest of the cooler water and fish into the Sacramento.
‘Those fish were swimming way too slow. They were already fucked up. We could tell.’
‘You realized they were sick?’
‘Yeah.’
‘This was the first drop and there’s only been one other?’
‘That’s right.’
The river was green and gray and lapped at rotted pilings. The ramp was in bad shape, cracked and broken and closed. When Marquez felt like he had all Soliatano was going to give him here, he turned back to the second fish stocking.
‘What happened when Enrique got killed?’
‘The truck slid
TEN
B efore dawn the next day Marquez eased over to the curb a block down from Soliatano’s house and turned his lights off. A lone streetlight shone at the far end of the block; it was dark here and he sat there with the engine idling, then turned it off and thought about what he knew and didn’t. He tried to get at what he sensed and watched as lights came on in Soliatano’s house and the sky whitened in the east and cold seeped into the car.
Not long after the front door opened and Soliatano came out with a dog. Here was a guy with a specialized, highly skilled job in a manufacturing facility that paid him well, who had gotten involved with illegal fish stocking to make side money. It didn’t seem to mean anything to him that the pike would kill off everything else in the river or that he left Enrique Jordan trapped in the pickup. He showed some emotion yesterday but that was probably born of fear of having his life disrupted and less about feelings for Jordan.
Soliatano was about money and staying out of jail and not getting charged with anything. His claim of sending documenting photos to Hauser might be true. Those he forwarded last night to him were shots taken at night and not much as photos go, but they had the same truck and the date of the first drop last week stamped on the photo. Good chance they were real and Soliatano was documenting to earn his money. Did that mean Hauser was legitimate and building his own case?
He watched Soliatano and the little terrier turn back this direction and work their way back down. Soliatano dropped a plastic bag with the dog’s poop in a garbage can and went back into the house. Marquez gave him fifteen minutes before calling.
‘You’re early.’
‘We’ll pick up coffee somewhere.’
When Soliatano got in the car Marquez asked, ‘How long have you lived here?’
‘About a year but it was my wife’s mother’s house. Stacey is six months pregnant and we’re going to raise our kids here. I rent where I used to live in Vacaville.’ He added as if he’d thought about it, ‘It’s better for a kid here.’
Then he went on: ‘I talked to my brother-in-law last night. He’s a lawyer. He said I shouldn’t do this ride with you and that you can’t charge me with anything because there aren’t any witnesses.’
‘How much does he know about Matt Hauser?’
‘Not much.’
‘Hauser could turn on you and testify against you. That’s a reason to talk to me now.’
Soliatano processed that then said, ‘I watch TV cop shows. I know you don’t control everything, but I need to know you’re not going to fuck me.’
‘I’m going to take care of you like you did Enrique.’
Soliatano didn’t like that but didn’t respond and they drove and talked and Marquez followed his directions to where the first stocking occurred and the fish allegedly died of a virus. Then they left the highway and tracked dirt roads, drove past almond orchards and down to the river to a forgotten boat landing where Soliatano and Jordan had backed up and emptied fish into the river.
Soliatano took him through the drop, bringing the pickup truck’s rear wheels all the way down to the water’s edge, opening the first cooler and bailing water out of it until they could tip the rest of the cooler water and fish into the Sacramento.
‘Those fish were swimming way too slow. They were already fucked up. We could tell.’
‘You realized they were sick?’
‘Yeah.’
‘This was the first drop and there’s only been one other?’
‘That’s right.’
The river was green and gray and lapped at rotted pilings. The ramp was in bad shape, cracked and broken and closed. When Marquez felt like he had all Soliatano was going to give him here, he turned back to the second fish stocking.
‘What happened when Enrique got killed?’
‘The truck slid
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