“Were there other things you helped her with?” Gretchen asked.
“Like what?”
“You tell us,” Josie said.
“I don’t know. I guess. I gave her rides and stuff. Sometimes I picked up some groceries or cigarettes for her. That kind of thing. She was in real bad shape, and her kid was all over the place. Vera had a hard time controlling her. She was something else.”
“Beverly,” Josie said. “How well did you know her?”
“Not that well.” He noticed them staring at him intently and added, “I ain’t no pervert, so don’t even think that. She was grown up but too young for me. Plus, she was Vera’s kid, you know? I don’t mess with shit like that.”
“You sure about that?” Gretchen asked. “Because we’ve got evidence that Beverly was fixated on you.”
“That wasn’t my problem. That kid was wild. She wasn’t really interested in me, anyway. She was trying to piss Vera off. I never gave her anything to work with.”
“What does that mean?” Josie asked.
He blew out a loud breath. “It means that she flirted with me every chance she got but only when Vera was around to see it. I made sure to shut her down every time. I tried telling Vera that she only did it when Vera was there, that it was fake, to get a rise out of Vera, but she didn’t believe me. That kid wouldn’t give me the time of day if her mom wasn’t there to witness it. She wanted to make Vera jealous. No way was I getting in the middle of that. I didn’t need that crap, and like I told you, I’m not a perv. I don’t mess with young girls. That ain’t right.”
“You never had sexual contact with Beverly Urban?”
“Of course not! Even if I wanted to—which I didn’t—Vera would have kicked my ass.”
“Did Vera ever talk about Beverly’s father?” Josie asked.
“Not at first. But then right before she did her disappearing act, she tried to tell me that the kid was mine. Crazy, right?”
Josie said, “Was she your daughter?”
He gave her an incredulous look. “Of course not. Vera and I were together a few times, but I never got her pregnant.”
“How do you know?” Gretchen asked.
“’Cause I know, okay? I can count.”
“You remember precisely when the last time you were with Vera in a sexual way was?” Josie asked.
“No, no. I just know it couldn’t have been me, okay? I don’t remember dates and stuff. Just that at the time when she told me, I knew it couldn’t be me.”
Josie said, “Would you be willing to give a DNA test?”
“Does it hurt?”
“No. It would be a simple cheek swab.”
“Sure, whatever. I don’t care.”
Gretchen took out her notebook and pen. She flipped to a clean page and jotted down some notes. “Great. We’ll have a couple of officers from our evidence response team come by your place and do the test. Try not to run from them.”
“Does that mean you’re going to let me go?”
Ignoring his question, Gretchen asked, “Do you know if Beverly was involved with anyone? A male?”
“Hell if I know. Look, I know you gotta do your job, ask all these questions and stuff, but I don’t know what you want from me. Me and Vera were friends. I dealt her some drugs over the years. When she was at the salon and going to these drug parties. Then I didn’t see her for a long time. She got in touch after she had back surgery. I kept her out of pain as much as I could. I helped her because we were friends, even though she was behind in paying me. Then one day she was gone. Never saw her again.”
“Do you have any idea where she might have gone? Was there anyone who might have helped her move away? Anyone you can think of who might have offered her financial help?” Josie asked.
Again, Silas laughed. “Financial help? Vera owed everyone money. She had a real problem by that time. I always thought that was why she left. I thought she took her kid and found some place to lay low.”
“Did she have other friends that you know of?” Gretchen asked. “Besides you?”
He shook his head. “No. She was private. The last time I saw her, her only real friend was Percocet. So are you gonna let me go or what?”