word blanco, but she couldn’t be sure.
“Well, I’m looking for him, too,” Cooper pressed on. “Bastard owes me money.” She put on her best indignant frown.
Snapping a few photos, Hector laughed. “Man, you look pissed! They wouldn’t let you look like such a she devil down at the DMV. I should know—mi tía works there. Give Hector a smile, mamacita.”
Cooper did as she was told and within twenty minutes, she was handed a new driver’s license and Social Security card for a woman by the name of Erica Rollins.
“You’re good,” she blurted in astonishment and Hector grinned.
“Top-of-the-line equipment,” he said, his chest puffed out with pride. “ ’Cept for the Social. I didn’t have to make that one and Erica won’t even know someone else is usin’ it.” He smirked.
So he’s got stolen IDs, too, Cooper thought and did her best to look impressed by the variety of Hector’s wares.
As she and Edward made to leave, Hector grabbed her by the coat sleeve. “You tell Miguel I’m ready to whip his ass on the court again.” His dark eyes met Cooper’s and then he glanced back over his shoulder toward the beaded curtain. “You’ll never see a single buck of what Miguel owes. Forget about the money. I’m telling you this because I like you. You try to get paid, you get snuffed. You hear me?”
Suddenly, there was a distinctive throat-clearing sound behind Miguel. The store clerk was giving Hector a ferocious stare.
“You come back if you need more of Hector’s perfect papers, sí?” The young man gave her a little shove toward the front room.
It was clearly a dismissal.
Climbing into Edward’s cab, Cooper suddenly felt exhausted. The press of bodies in The Flood Zone, the conversation with Rich Johnson, the harshness of the winter air as they’d walked to Edward’s car, followed by an illegal transaction in the rear of a grimy store had left her drained.
“You did okay in there,” Edward spoke to her for the first time since they’d entered Doc Buster’s.
Cooper was warmed by his praise. “What’s mica?”
“Spanish slang for IDs. I greased that guy’s palm in the club bathroom and he told me about the video store. I’ve seen him around. He’s kinda the go-to guy for this part of the city. You want something—he knows where you can get it. He gets paid by the customer and the seller.”
“Did he know Miguel?” Cooper asked hopefully. She hated to think that the evening’s efforts were fruitless.
“Just that he remembered sending him to the same video store about six months back. Says he never forgets a face.”
Edward pulled into the parking lot behind The Flood Zone. He kept the engine running but released his seatbelt. Cooper had been wondering how the night would end and what demands Edward might make on her for assisting with the investigation. Part of her wanted to bolt from the car, but her body betrayed her and she turned to him—fearful, uncomfortable, and yet filled with desire.
At that moment, there was a knock on Edward’s window and Cooper let out an involuntary cry of alarm. A face appeared on the other side of the glass. It was Rich Johnson.
The undercover officer slipped into the backseat and popped a stick of gum into his mouth. He was as refreshed as Cooper was drained. “So what movie did you kids rent?” he questioned casually, as though it weren’t after midnight and they weren’t sitting in an idling car in the middle of a dark parking lot.
“Nothing looked good,” Edward replied flatly, but Cooper’s heart was in her throat.
Am I going to get arrested? she wondered and held her breath.
“Nobody’s made a decent movie since Forrest Gump.” The policeman leaned forward and handed Cooper a business card. “In case you ever need to reach me.”
He clapped Edward on the shoulder. “Colonel. I’ll spread the word about your cab service. I know some women who’d feel safer calling a stand-up taxi service late at night. I’m certain they’d be in good hands with you. Have a nice evening.”
Cooper exhaled and dug her truck keys out of her purse. “That’s it? He’s just going to let us go?”
“It’s how he works.” Edward gazed out into the starless sky. “And he hasn’t let us go. He’s going to show up again without us even knowing. I told you, he’s freaking Batman.” He sighed. “And now the Dark Knight has got his eye on you.”
9
“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of