Chapter 7
We caught up with Blake at Tidal. It was a casual seafood joint on the water with a large deck. Small bands would play in the evenings, mostly yacht rock. Blake tended bar.
The place was packed with the lunch crowd.
JD and I made our way up to the counter, and I flashed my badge.
"What can I do for you?" Blake asked when he approached.
He was a handsome man in his late 20s with dark hair, chiseled features, and piercing brown eyes. He was about 6’2” and seemed to get a lot of tips from the ladies.
A flatscreen behind the bar was tuned to a sports channel. By his demeanor, I figured he hadn’t heard the news.
I broke it to him as gently as possible.
He stood there in a daze for a moment. An obnoxious, drunk woman shouted a drink order at him, but he ignored her. Finally, Blake snapped, "I'll be with you in a minute!”
She made a face and left the bar.
Blake shook his head. “I don't understand. Who would do something like that?”
"I'm hoping you might be able to help us with that.”
He thought for a moment.
"Did he have any enemies?”
Blake hesitated, then shrugged. "Define enemy?”
"Somebody who’d want to beat him to death with a racket.”
His eyes rounded.
I shouldn't have told him the details. It just slipped out.
"Where were you last night?" I asked.
"Here. I worked until close. 2:00 AM. It was probably 3:00 AM by the time I got out of here.”
"How much cocaine was Liam using?”
Blake frowned, then admitted, "You know, just a little here and there,” he said, trying to minimize it. “I don't think he had a problem with it. Not that I saw.”
"Was he dealing?”
After another hesitation, Blake said. "A little. You know, just an eight ball here or there. That kind of thing. All those ladies like to toot it up. But it's not like they were fucking crackheads or anything.”
"You know where he was getting his supply?”
"I have no idea.”
I didn’t buy it.
"When was the last time you talked to Liam?"
"I think it was yesterday,” Blake said. “We were supposed to hit the clubs this weekend.”
"Did you guys go out and party a lot?"
A grim smile tugged at Blake's lips. "Yeah. He was my best friend, man." His eyes began to mist, and he wiped them dry with his fingers. His face reddened. "Sorry, I'm getting a little choked up."
"I'd worry about you if you didn't. Tell me about his clients at the club.”
"What do you want to know?”
"I want to know which husbands might have had a reason to kill him."
Blake's mouth tightened. "I figured that's where you were going with this. Liam never really went into specifics, but he was getting a lot of ass. I mean, I do okay in here, but he was slaying it.”
"You got any names in particular?”
Blake shook his head.
"You know if anyone found out about the affairs he was having?"
"You mean like pissed-off husbands?"
I nodded.
"He never said anything to me about it. I mean, most of those guys are soft and out of shape.”
"It seems like somebody was in good enough shape to kill him.”
Blake frowned.
"I need to find out the name of his dealer."
"You think this could be drug-related?"
I shrugged. "Maybe he owed his dealer money. Do you know if he was having money problems?”
Blake went silent for a long moment. “Well, he bought that watch. It was like fifty grand. I don’t know what he was thinking.
I mean, nobody cares. Certainly not those people.
He was never going to be one of them. You’re just a hired hand.
I don’t care if he was banging them. They were never going to see him as anything more.
He got caught up in that nonsense. He could have bought a nice fake for a grand. You can’t tell the difference.”
“So he took on more product from his dealer?”
“I think he was looking for other places to unload the stuff.” Blake paused. “Here’s the thing with rich people. Money doesn’t matter to them. A couple hundred, a couple grand—it’s not a big deal. So they feel no urgency to pay it back.”
“He sold on credit?”
“Those women are good for it. They’ll pay eventually. But he couldn’t harass them for it. They’d get him fired from the club if he became a pain in the ass. I’m telling you, it’s a different world.”
“So, he owed his dealer money.”
“I think he was a little behind. Yeah.”
“I need a name.”
Blake cringed. He did not want to give it up.