leave.
She made her way across the bar. “Is there a problem?”
“That’s an understatement,” Tuck began, glancing at Jodi. He looked concerned. He turned his attention back to the blond woman. “I’m not going to call the cops on you, miss. I just need you to explain what happened.”
The cops? Jodi stiffened. What was going on?
The woman trembled. Her friend rubbed her back. “You’re freaking her out. Back off,” she told Tuck.
He shook his head. “Not a chance. My job is to clean up this bar by catching the asshole who’s selling illegal substances from inside the establishment. So, keep talking.”
The blond woman sobbed and wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to get anyone into any trouble,” she whimpered.
Jodi set a hand on the table. “Someone catch me up. What happened?”
The friend looked at Jodi. “Kathy was supposed to pick up some diet pills from some guy tonight. Not a big deal. He didn’t show. She’s upset. She doesn’t need you people all in her face.”
Tuck took a deep breath. “Ma’am, with all due respect, I’ve spent weeks trying to catch the dealer you were meeting tonight, so unless you want me to call the cops so you can give your statement to them instead of me, I suggest you lose the attitude and give me every single detail about the hookup.”
Damn. Jodi was impressed. Judging by the pale complexion on the blonde’s face, his plan would probably work.
She was crying softly now, wringing her hands. “The cops?” Her lips trembled. “Over some diet pills?”
“Illegal diet pills that are putting women like you in the hospital. It’s just a matter of time before someone dies.” He spoke slowly and succinctly, scaring the hell out of these two women.
“Jesus,” the blonde said. “You think I could have died? From diet pills? Several of my friends are taking them. They gave me the guy’s name and number. Everyone said they were perfectly safe, and I can see the results. They work. My friends are losing weight.”
Jodi felt sorry for this woman who didn’t need to lose a single pound but lived in a world where people made her think she did. Jodi thought she’d better interject with a softer approach. “Ma’am, it’s a serious situation. Have you noticed any of your friends having mood swings or acting erratically?”
Kathy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe? I just assumed everyone is stressed from school and stuff. We’re college students. We get overwhelmed. Sometimes we lose our temper.”
“Well, I hate to tell you this, Kathy,” Tuck inserted, “but a lot of that rage is from the diet pills, and we just can’t know for sure what might happen. A number of women have found themselves in the ER with stomach issues, headaches, confusion, blurry vision. The list of possibilities is long.”
Fresh tears fell down Kathy’s face and she sniffled. “I didn’t know all that.”
“Now you do, so count yourself lucky and don’t take the stupid pills.”
“Okay. Can I go now?” She grabbed her purse from the back of her chair.
“No. I have a few more questions.”
“You’re scaring her,” the friend stated.
“Good. I might save her life.” He directed his attention back to Kathy. “Do you have the number you called?”
“Yes. Sure.” She grabbed her phone from the table, opened it, and tapped the screen a few times before holding it out. Her hand was shaking, but Tuck pulled a pen from his back pocket and wrote the number on a napkin.
Jodi was pretty sure it was the same number the police had already. “So, you called that number and a man answered?”
“Yes. He told me how and where to send him the money and he would slip the pills into my purse here tonight.”
“Specifically tonight?”
She nodded. “He said he would be here Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I chose Friday night and let him know what I was wearing. He didn’t show or didn’t find me.”
“When did you confirm you would be here tonight?” Tuck asked, his voice calm.
Jodi was silently freaking out, and she wondered if Tuck was thinking along the same lines as her.
The woman’s voice trembled. “Earlier this afternoon. Please don’t call the cops. I’ve never been in trouble in my life. I swear. I didn’t know.”
Tuck narrowed his gaze at her. “You knew enough. You knew the pills were illegal or you wouldn’t have been getting them under the table like this. Anything you have to buy from the black market is not going to be safe. Please promise me you will throw that