but she knew there was no way to communicate to this sweet young Vietnamese girl that she was investigating a murder in her spare time. “Let’s just say that when my vacation week comes up in March, I’ll be good and ready for it.”
An hour later, refreshed and reinvigorated as a result of Minnie’s strong and skillful hands, Cooper drove to Ashley’s house in order to commence with dinner preparations. As she washed plum tomatoes for the field greens salad, she couldn’t help replaying the scene in which Edward and Nathan had introduced themselves, shook hands with one another, and gotten down to brass tacks on Miguel’s case as though they were old friends.
It was only when Cooper recounted the exact comments made by Hector during the creation of her forged documents in the back room of Doc Buster’s Video that they realized an important detail had been overlooked.
“And then he muttered something that sounded like China blanca but I couldn’t be sure,” Cooper had said as she’d finished relating her final words with Hector.
Edward had been steering a wedge of pizza toward his mouth, but he dropped it back on his plate with a wet thud. “China Blanca? That’s China White. And he wasn’t talking about a country, either.”
“What is it, then?” Ashley had demanded.
“Black tar, diesel, smack, brown sugar, chiva, junk.” Edward picked up his pizza and began to eat, his gray eyes distant. “Heroin. Good sh—ah, stuff, too. China White is pure as Arctic snow.”
Nathan had gaped at Edward in astonishment, but Cooper’s only reaction had been to say, “So we can assume that Miguel’s extra money came from being involved in illegal drugs. Great. Time to tell McNamara and Wiser what we know.”
Edward had shaken off the idea immediately. “What do we know? That Miguel Ramos might’ve been a runner. He didn’t deal. He was small-time. A little fish. Doesn’t help the cops a bit. They don’t know who the kingpin is or where he’s at. I gotta go to a shooting gallery and find out who’s importing the China White.”
“A shooting gallery? You’re going to fire a gun?” Ashley had been nonplussed. “Like for target practice?”
Wiping his hands on his napkin, Edward had stood and indicated that it was time for him to leave. “No, darlin’. This kind of gallery uses needles, though there’s plenty of heat there, too. Folks pay to shoot up in a protected environment. Sometimes they buy the drugs there, too.” He rose and clapped Nathan on the back. “Nice to meet you, man. Catch you later, ladies.”
Once he’d gone, Nathan had turned to Cooper and said, “Interesting fellow,” and then he’d also departed, claiming he needed rest from three straight days of physical labor.
“They’re fleeing from you like flies from the swatter,” Ashley had teased on her way out the door.
Now, twenty-four hours later, Cooper was in Ashley’s kitchen rubbing olive oil into a fortune’s worth of lamb chops while her sister trimmed a bouquet of long-stemmed, winter-white roses. Cooper didn’t regret her offer to cook dinner for Ashley, but she desperately wished she could spend the evening in quiet reflection instead. The last few weeks had been tumultuous, and if she could just focus on something uplifting, like her Corinthians Bible study assignments, she knew the ongoing drama of Miguel’s death wouldn’t seem all-encompassing.
Several times throughout the day, Cooper had removed Rich Johnson’s card from her wallet and smoothed her fingers over the embossed black letters. He headed up the city’s special drug task force unit, so it made sense to tell him about Miguel’s connection to the heroin known as China White. True, she had nothing more to offer than a mumbled Spanish phrase, but perhaps it would be enough of a lead for someone as dogged as Officer Johnson to follow. However, she’d promised to give Edward until the end of the week to come up with a more definitive clue and was now forced to keep her word, despite the fact that she worried about his safety and his proximity to the vices of his former way of life.
“Didn’t I buy lovely chops?” Ashley asked, breezing into the kitchen with all the glamour of a movie star. She wore a cashmere sweater in a rich indigo hue, a shimmering gray skirt, and a diamond and pearl necklace that would have made Liz Taylor jealous.
Cooper nodded. “You look gorgeous, sis. What’s your pre-dinner game plan?”
“Cosmos in the living room.” Ashley removed chilled martini glasses from the refrigerator.