Page 42 of Concealed in Death

“Huh?”

“The Sanctuary, a shelter for youths in need.”

“Oh, the dump over on Ninth. Sure, we did some repairs and crap there. So what?”

“How many times did you go there without Mr. Fine?”

His face, sallow, soft—perhaps once reasonably attractive—pulled into really hard lines as he thought.

“Why would I do that?”

“To see the pretty young girls, Clip. Like Shelby, the thirteen-year-old you bartered brew for sex with?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If she said I did, she’s a liar.”

“Like Mook?”

“Yeah. Fuckin’ A.”

Eve leaned forward. “I’ve got witnesses, on both counts, Clip. Lying to me isn’t going to help, and with your record, I can send you away for a good, long stretch.”

“Wait a minute. Just wait. I told you Mook had her tits right out there. That was just a misunderstanding. That’s it.”

“And Shelby?”

“I don’t remember her name.”

“So there was more than one minor you traded brew for sex with.”

“No. Jesus. And it wasn’t sex. It was a bj. That’s not sex.”

“You’re stating that a minor female in residence at The Sanctuary fifteen years ago preformed fellatio on you in exchange for alcohol?”

“It was a blow job.” He looked momentarily and sincerely horrified. “We didn’t do nothing weird like that thing you said. It was a straight bj.”

“In exchange for alcohol.”

“It wasn’t alcohol. It was just a couple brews.”

She wondered why this go-round half amused her, but tried to shortcut it to the point. “Let’s put it this way. The minor female gave you a blow job in payment for a couple brews.”

“Yeah. That’s all it was.” He sat back, obviously relieved all was clear. Then jerked up again. “And wait. It was like all that time ago, right? So there’s like a statue of limits on that, yeah?”

“That would be statute of limitations.” She slid the ID shot of Shelby Stubacker across the table. “Is this the minor female?”

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to remember—oh yeah! Yeah, this one. She was a steamer. And she asked me about the bj and brew.”

“She was thirteen.”

“Said she was fifteen.” Folding his arms over his thin chest, he nodded in satisfaction. “Told you she was a liar.”

“And that makes such a difference, that you solicited oral sex from a girl you assumed was fifteen.”

“She already had a nice little rack on her.”

Eve simply stared at him until he blinked.

“How many times did you trade her a couple brews for a blow job?”