“Just tell us what you know,” Garrett said.

Travis started out very slowly. “Banks be sayin’ that he wanted to produce me, nomasayin’?”

“Yes.”

“That he thought my shit was real good. The man had plans. He tole me his plans. He could do stuff.”

Decker said, “Rudy is a successful producer.”

“Yeah, that’s what he tole me.”

The three detectives waited. Martel said, “I need a smoke.”

Decker made a show of patting down his pockets. He found a cigarette and gave it to him.

A few drags later, Martel began to talk more quickly. “Rudy tole me that there was a problem with Ekerling. Y’see, Ekerling had my shit, and Banks tole me that I had gave permission to Ekerling to produce the CDs.”

“How did Rudy know that Ekerling had your demos?” Decker asked.

“I tole him when I met him. I tole him how the mofo dissed me, nomasayin’?”

“You told Rudy Banks that you had a deal with Primo Ekerling?”

“There was no deal. Ekerling blew me off. But Rudy sez that he can’t do my shit because Ekerling has the rights to the CDs and he weren’t gonna give us the permission back.”

Decker said, “Rudy Banks told you that he wanted to produce your songs but Ekerling owned the CDs and wouldn’t give you your rights back?”

Martel’s eyes clouded. “Yeah, zackly.”

“Why would Ekerling own your CDs?”

“’Cause Rudy said that it looked like we had a deal.”

“Okay,” Decker told him. “Go on. So you need Ekerling’s permission, but he isn’t giving it to you.”

“Yeah, zackly.” Another drag on his smoke. “So Rudy said that he would fix the problem if I would give him permission to fix the problem. So I sez, ‘Yeah, I give you permission to fix the problem.’ I don’t know what he means by fixin’ the problem, nomasayin’? I thought he just be talking as one producer to another. Maybe he get a lawyer or somethin’.”

“Makes sense,” Garrett said. “That makes total sense.”

When Travis stopped talking, Diaz prodded him to continue.

“Then…mebbe it was about a week later after we had had the conversation…yeah, it was about a week.” A pause. “We’re at the Bitty Bit party over in Hollywood at Citizen recording studio. Man, everyone was there. Everyone and everybody. Mo’ fine-lookin’ ladies than I ever saw in my whole life. Wearing fur and bling and…everyone was there.” His eyes got far away. “I’m eatin’ all this fancy shit, I’m drinkin’ all this free drinks, I’m chattin’ up the biggies…” A smile. “People listenin’ when I talk…it was fine.” He landed back on earth. “Rudy comes over to me and sez he got somethin’ big to do and he be back later to pick me up.”

Decker said, “How’d you get to the party?”

“Rudy took me. That’s why he come over to me and sez he’ll pick me up later.”

“Ah. Makes sense. So Rudy came over to you and said what…he had something big to do?”

“Yeah. He had somethin’ big and he pick me up later.” Martel scratched his cheek. “It must be like three hours later-the party’s still on and I’m havin’ a real good time. Rudy finds me, pulls me over, and tells me we got a problem.”

The detectives waited.

“I was drinkin’ lots, nomasayin’? I don’t be rememberin’ too clear.”

“Tell us what you remember,” Diaz said. “Rudy comes over to you and tells you that there’s a problem.”

“Yeah, that we got a problem.” Martel nodded. “He tells me that he went over to Ekerling to talk to him and get the CDs but there was a problem.”

“Rudy tells you this,” Diaz clarified.

“Yeah, Rudy. I’m talkin’ to Rudy. Rudy tells me that Ekerling was being a real motherfucker and wouldn’t be givin’ him no permission to produce my own CDs.”

“Okay.”

“Rudy was sayin’ that it was my CDs and Ekerling wasn’t being righteous, not givin’ me my own CDs back.”

“All right.”

“Then it all kinda gets a little fuzzy…I was drinkin’…mebbe doing some other shit.”

In other words, his brain was fried with mind-altering materials.

Martel said, “Rudy be sayin’ that Primo got all wired. Then bam! Primo starts coming at him with a blade. He starts swipin’ at him. So Rudy defended hisself.”

“What did Rudy tell you he did to Primo?” Garrett asked.

“That he shot him in self-defense. ’Cause Primo kept comin’ at him with the blade.”

Decker said, “I’m confused. Who shot Primo?”

“Rudy shot Primo. They was only the two of them.”

“Got it,” Decker said. “Rudy told you that he shot Primo in self-defense.”

“Yeah.” Martel tried the story on for size and liked it. “That’s what Rudy tole me. That he shot Primo out of self-defense. But now there was a problem, nomasayin’?”

“What was the problem?”

“That he had to get rid of the body and that I had to help cuz it was my fault that it happened in the first place. Cuz this was all about my CDs and that’s the way a white jury was gonna see it.”

The detectives nodded encouragement.

Martel sighed. “So Rudy tells me he parked Ekerling’s Benzene a few blocks away. He had gave me the keys and told me to dump the car somewhere in the ’hood. And for my efforts, he gave me a couple hundred bucks. And he sez if anyone axe me where I got the money, just tell ’em from drugs, nomasayin’?”

Decker said, “Weren’t you curious why he had Primo’s Mercedes-Benz and why he wanted you to ditch it?” When Martel just shrugged, Decker said, “C’mon, Travis, you must have figured it out. Which ’hood did he want you to drop the car in?”

“Huh?”

“Did he tell you to dump the car in Hollywood or South Central?”

“He sez to dump it in my ’hood at Jonas Park. That it would look like some nicca boosted the whip, made a deal down there, and left the car cuz it was hot.”

“Lots of drug deals at Jonas Park?” Decker asked.

“Whatever you want.” Martel paused to organize his thoughts…or to concoct a plausible story. “So I call up Gerry from someone’s cell at the Bitty Bit ho’down and I tell him I gonna pick him up and we gotta go dump a Benzene somewhere in the hood.”

“Okay.”

“So I go pick up Gerry and we go cruisin’ in the whip and then we go to dump it in Jonas Park. But then we don’t got anyone to take us home, nomasayin’? I ain’t gonna ask no runner for a hike.”

“Let me see if I understood you correctly, Travis.” Decker tried to keep his face even. “Rudy gave you the keys to Primo Ekerling’s car.”

“Yeah.”

“Where was the car parked?”

“Down the block.”

“Down the block from the Bitty Bit party.”

“Yeah.”

“So you took the car with Primo Ekerling’s body in the trunk of the car and called up Geraldo Perry-”

“No, first I call up Gerry and then I took the car.”

Decker said, “Yes. Sorry. First you called up Gerry using someone’s cell at the Bitty Bit party and told him you had a Mercedes-Benz with a body in the trunk that you had to get rid of and you were going to pick him up.”

“I didn’t know there was no body in the trunk. Just that I had to dump the whip.”

“Whose phone did you use?” Garrett asked.

“Wha?”

“You said you called up Gerry at the Bitty Bit party. Whose phone did you use?”

“I don’t remember. Some ho.” He seemed annoyed by the question.

Decker said, “So you picked up Gerry and you two are riding around with Primo Ekerling in the trunk of the car and…then what happened?”

“We take the whip to Jonas Park to leave it there. But once we there, there ain’t no one to get a hike from. So Gerry sez we got the Benzene, let’s cruise and have some fun. And I figure, the man is dead, it don’t make no difference now.”

Travis Martel had just contradicted himself with the admission that he knew about the dead man in the trunk.

“…we take the whip back to the Bitty Bit party, but by then it was almost two in the morning and all the food’s gone and all the liquor’s gone and Gerry…” He leaned forward. “See, we be riding around for over two hours, so Gerry’s hungry and tells me he’s in the mood for pancakes. So we get back into the whip and ride around until Gerry sees Mel’s. So he sez, ‘How ’bout Mel’s?’”