Gold Viper Prospect. “As did Gomer. Obviously.”
“At least you know who they are.” He looked at Walters. “I see you brought back up this time.”
Tearing my eyes away from his biceps, I introduced Walters.
“I think we’ve met,” said Cole, pulling out a small lighter from the front pocket of his jeans. “You don’t mind if I smoke, do you?”
“Unfortunately, there’s no smoking in this building,” said Walters. “And we did meet before. The night your nephew and Old Lady were shot.”
“Patty is not my Old Lady,” said Cole, shoving it back into his pocket, along with a pack of cigarettes.
“You two broke up?” asked Walters.
“Our relationship ended the night she brought Billy to a kegger and almost got him killed,” said Cole, frowning. “I guess I should blame myself for not kicking her out of my bed, after our first date.”
“Do you think the guilt should only rest on her shoulders?” asked Walters.
“If she hadn’t brought him there, he’d have never been shot,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious.”
“You’re not going to blame anything on yourself or your lifestyle?” asked Walters.
“What do you know of my ‘lifestyle’, Detective?” asked Cole.
I cleared my throat and jumped back into the conversation. “You belong to a pretty notorious club.”
Cole looked at me. Unlike when he addressed Walters, there was amusement in his eyes. “Notorious for what?”
“Hell-raising,” I replied, noticing the warning look that Walters was giving me.
“Hell-raising. Can you be more specific?” asked Cole, innocently.
“Come off it, Johnson. You know exactly what she’s talking about. But, that’s not why we’re here,” said Walters.
“That’s right. We’re here to talk about the Devil’s Rangers. Speaking of them, did you ever find out who the shooters were?” Cole asked.
“No,” said Walters, watching him carefully. “Have you?”
“Nope,” said Cole, a look of irritation flashed across his face. “Believe me, we’ve tried.”
“Speaking of club activity, you switched sides,” said Walters. “Why is that?”
“The Gold Vipers are a better fit for me,” said Cole, matter-of-factly.
“And your sister is marrying the president,” I said. “That would have caused a lot of tension at family gatherings.”
“Definitely,” said Cole, smiling slightly.
“So you did it for Raina?” asked Walters.
“I did it for myself,” he replied.
“Because..?” prodded Walters, waiting for a better response.
“Just like I stated, they’re a better fit. We’ve already established that I didn’t come down here to get grilled about my club. I dropped by to help Detective O’Brien here. Do you want my statement or not?” he asked.
“Yes. We do,” said Walters. “I’m going to get some coffee first. Would you like any, Mr. Johnson?”
“Yes I could use a cup,” replied Cole. “Thank you.”
“How do you like it?” he asked.
“Black is fine,” replied Cole.
“You want one, too?” Walters asked me.
“No. Thanks,” I replied.
Walters left us alone, which I’d known that he was going to do. He thought that Cole would feel more open to talking if it was just the two of us. Pen was on the other side of the wall, listening in.
“So, why did you take off?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. I guess I was hungry at the time and didn’t want to spend the rest of the day down here,” he said.
“But here you are anyway.”
“Yep. Here I am,” he replied, staring back at me.
“Well, like I said before… I do appreciate it.”
“I know.”
I grinned.
He smiled back. “So, how did you find yourself in that situation, anyway?”
“I was there to pick up lunch.”
“And they just grabbed you?”
I knew that I could discuss what had happened before he showed up. “Something like that.”
“There’s more to it,” he replied, studying me.
I just smiled.
“The place had been evacuated pretty quickly, it looked