Chapter 77
MAGGIE CHIN AND I were able to find the club in the warehouse easily from the man’s little sketch of the streets, showing which shops were on which corners. I suspected the man was used to dealing with people who needed things explained simply.
The nondescript entrance featured a door with no sign.
We waited in front for a minute, trying to figure out how much information we wanted to spill to find Leonard Barr.
I was about to ask Maggie a question when we heard a thundering clap of music that lasted only about two seconds. It literally made the door pulse.
I abandoned any pretext and opened the door.
The place was exactly as advertised: a simple warehouse with an open two-story space.
There was a makeshift bar across the back wall and a dance area set up in the middle.
Mismatched tables and chairs were spread haphazardly across the otherwise bare concrete floor.
There were a number of people working in the space.
Two men and a young woman were fiddling with some sort of sound system all the way on the far side of the warehouse.
Several other people were sweeping the floor or stocking the shelves behind the bar.
One of the people near the sound system flipped a switch, and once again the speakers boomed.
Being inside the room this time made it much more intense.
I couldn’t imagine what the warehouse would be like filled with people.
A tall man in his mid-twenties standing near the sound system noticed us and marched over. He had wire-rimmed glasses and a silver ring through the center of his nose. He shouted at us, “Who the hell are you? Get outta here!”
I find it’s always best to ignore people who are shouting at you. Responding doesn’t do any good and generally makes them much more upset. Maggie silently agreed with my strategy. We waited patiently until the young man came right up next to us.
“Are you deaf? I said get out of here,” he repeated.
Maggie flashed her ID quickly. “If you’re serving alcohol, I’ll need to see your license and certificate of occupancy.”
That shut the man up quickly.
Maggie didn’t let up. “I also need to see a complete list of employees. I’ll be conducting random interviews. In addition, I’ll need your exact hours of operation and the safety precautions you’re using for the crowds that gather in here.”
Now the lanky hipster was at a loss for words. “I, um, I’m not sure, um, where all that stuff is. It might take me a while to find it.”
Maggie said, “Let’s start with the employees. I’d like to speak to those three first.” She pointed at two women behind the bar and a heavyset man working on the sound system. “One at a time.”
When the hipster didn’t react, Maggie said, “Are you deaf? I told you I wanted to speak to those employees right now.” She didn’t raise her voice, but her strict, administrative tone was terrifying. At least to a city employee like me.
The three employees shuffled toward us. The young heavyset man didn’t seem bothered by talking to us or too concerned about getting back to work. He asked what we needed, and we showed him a picture of Leonard Barr and told him he went by the nickname Pry.
The man said he might have seen Barr in the club over the past few weeks but couldn’t be sure.
The two young women watched their coworker walk away, then had a quick discussion about who would be next to speak.
Finally the shorter of the two, a girl in her early twenties whose black hair had a pink fringe around it, sauntered toward us.
I noticed a snake tattoo that crept up her neck and disappeared into her hairline behind her ear.
She said, “I just want you to know up front that I hate the government and especially cops.” Then she shouted out, so that everyone in the warehouse could hear her, “Fuck the police!”
Only a few people in the warehouse even looked up. No one cared.
I didn’t even care and I am a cop.
Maggie asked, “Have you ever seen this man?” She held up Leonard Barr’s mug shot. “He goes by the name Pry. We’re pretty sure he parties here.”
The young woman sneered, “Are you kidding me? Why would I tell you anything? I’m invoking my Fifth Amendment right.”
Maggie let out a sigh and said, “I’m not asking you to incriminate yourself. I’m just asking if you’ve seen this guy. This isn’t some shitty crime movie. It’s important that we find him. All we’re asking is if you’ve seen him.”
The young woman glared at Maggie. She folded her arms and started tapping her foot. Maybe she didn’t think we were smart enough to catch the subtle hint that she was done talking. Maggie waved her off.
Finally, the last employee stepped up to us. She was about the same age as the other young woman. She had long brown hair, a pretty face, and told us her name was Toni Attalah. “Toni with an i.”
Maggie went through the exact same exercise, showing her the photo of Barr.
Toni took a good long look at the photo. When she glanced up, I saw her eyes were wet. She took a second to look all around to make sure no one had wandered close to us.
“I don’t want this to be, like, a big thing with any of my coworkers. So can we keep this quiet? I mean real quiet?”
Maggie said, “We can be out of here before your boss even returns with the paperwork I asked for.”
Toni sniffled and wiped her eyes with her palms, then leaned in close.
In a low voice, she said, “I know Pry. I went home with him once. Well, not home—he took me to this place that’s, like, just a storage unit with a bed and a little space heater.
It was kind of creepy, and when I saw it, I tried to leave. ”
Maggie said softly, “Did he hurt you?”
Toni shook her head. “He grabbed me by the wrist but let go when someone walked by going to another storage unit. I left, and I’ve ignored him every time he’s come in since. Which has been a lot.”
She described exactly where to find the storage company.
It was called Sal’s Storage, and it wasn’t too far from where we were right now or from the construction company.
It made sense to be so conveniently located.
“As you come through the gate, there are, like, four or five storage units on your right. I think his stepfather rents all of them. Pry’s in one of those. ”
Maggie thanked her, then quietly said, “If you want to yell at us, we’ll walk out of here like frightened dogs. Might make you look better in front of your friends. Learned that trick recently, from a community college security guard.”
Toni had a sweet smile. She tried to hide it and nodded.
Maggie and I turned and walked quickly to the door. As the door closed, I heard Toni yell, “And don’t come back!” Good enough.