“Kill her?” Thorpe swallowed the two words along with his own bile.

“Yeah, man. They killed her. Killed ‘em both, I guess.”

“No guessing about it, shithead. Why would Stephen Price, the cop, want to plant dope in my house?”

“I don’t know. I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask. If Price knew what I know, I’d be dead too.”

“Tell me the rest. Tell me everything.”

“After they…did your family, they panicked. They forgot all about the dope they was supposed to plant in your house and took off. That’s when they called me and headed over to my place. They was jacked, started telling me what I just told you and was talking bout bouncin’. They was sayin’ how Price was going to kill them for fucking up. They was talkin’ about flippin’ the half-kilo to make some money while they got the fuck outta Tulsa. But while we was talkin’, Price calls them on their cell phone and asks what went wrong. They start to tell him the story over the phone, but he tells them they gotta meet in person. Tells them they can still fix this shit—make it look like the husband killed the family. Those two dumb fucks actually bought that line of shit and left to go meet Price. That’s the last I ever saw of ‘em. They was killed the same night. That motherfucker Price killed ‘em—I put money on it.”

“Where were they supposed to meet Price?’

“They didn’t say. I didn’t ask.”

“Did they realize they’d killed the wife and child of a police officer?”

“I don’t think so. They never said…I think if they’d known, they would have said.”

“How did Price get a key to my house?”

“Man, I don’t know...honest!”

“Kaleb, you said Damarius, Deandre, and you all ‘done work’ with Price before. What’d you mean?”

“Shit. Price was movin’ dope since we was kids. He the smartest of us…never got caught –well, least nothing his uncle never got him out of.” Stephen’s uncle was also a Tulsa police officer.

“We couldn’t believe it when he became a cop,” Kaleb added.

Neither could anyone else, Thorpe thought. ”He keep moving dope after he became a police officer?”

“He’d front us every once in a while—we’d pay him part of the bank. Some brothers was bitchin’ he took dope off ‘em and never puttin’ their asses in jail. Makes you wonder where that dope was goin’. We been tight for years, but lately he’s been hangin’ with a bunch of Nabahoods. Wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have something goin’ with them. Still, he didn’t move near as much shit after he went five-o. Didn’t wanna touch the dope anyway, maybe had other niggas movin’ it for him. I’m not sure, man…just rumors of rumors. If he was in the game, he was keepin’ that shit sealed.”

“Besides the Fifty-Sevens and the Nabahoods. Who else was Price running with?”

“Everybody. He even postin’ with Slobs.”

“What other cops do you consider friendly?”

“Shit, you knows already.”

“Pretend I don’t.”

“Besides Price? Phipps hangs with us Fifty-Seven Streeters. Pretty sure he might sell shit on the side or got some homeboys move it for him. He used to run with the Double D brothers, but not much when I was around.”

“Officer Andrew Phipps? Who else?”

“Man, a few ‘em that grew up in da hood—they ain’t just gonna forget where they come from. But as far as livin’ the life? Corn Johnson hangs with some ballas. He used to jack up some of ours for dope but didn’t arrest ‘em. Man, but lots of those guys don’t mess with you for nuttin’. Know they’ll be an Uncle Tom in the hood.”

“What about Stephen’s uncle, Marcus, he dirty?”

“Nah. He old school. He don’t fuck with us much either. Damn sure kick a nigga’s ass though. Good thing is, he don’t take you to jail—just kicks your ass and leaves you bleedin’ in the street.”

“Officer Charlie Peterson?” Thorpe asked.

“Same thing, his boys sling, but he don’t.”

“What are you forgetting to tell me, Kaleb?”

“Man, I told you everything.”

Thorpe paced the room like a caged animal. “I want you to sit still and think awhile. I have to do some thinking of my own. Don’t start running your fucking mouth until I tell you to. When I do, you better have thought of something else to give me.”

Thorpe sat on the bed’s cheap comforter and tried to gather himself. Why would Stephen Price, fellow Tulsa police officer, want to plant dope in Thorpe’s house?

Thorpe decided this wasn’t the occasion to dwell on Price. He needed to deal with more immediate problems, namely Kaleb Moment. He’d spent enough time in this motel room with his agreeable guest. Sooner or later his cooperation would end, and he’d have a dilemma on his hands. Thorpe had come here with the intent of killing Kaleb and had become infuriated during the man’s revelations, but the anger had been redirected. This kid had only stumbled across information he wished he’d never heard.

On the other hand, Kaleb had known the circumstances behind his family’s killings for thirteen months and offered nothing, not even an anonymous phone call.

Thorpe tried to place himself in his captive’s shoes. Had he been raised by the same people, in the same shithole neighborhood, he may have reacted identically. Thorpe realized he faced a similar crossroads now. What would the average parent of a slain child do with the information Thorpe now possessed? Most would probably take what they had to the authorities and hope for justice. But Thorpe hadn’t been raised like most people, and because of his job knew justice wouldn’t be served in this case—not unless he dealt it. All the information Kaleb possessed would be considered hearsay and wouldn’t be admitted in court. And that was if Kaleb agreed to testify in the first place. Besides, Kaleb was a known drug dealer whose testimony wouldn’t be trusted. The only two people who could directly testify against those responsible were killed the same night as his family.

Thorpe had a decision to make here and now: if he let Kaleb go, Thorpe would surely be headed straight for prison. However, if he killed Kaleb only to avoid being incarcerated, then he wasn’t any better than the shit bags he was hunting down.

Thorpe realized he’d been sledding down the proverbial slippery slope headfirst, but this was too much. He had to maintain some degree of self-respect even if it meant a lifetime behind bars. Thorpe could deal with prison, if first he got justice for his slain family.

Thorpe returned to his captive. “Mr. Moment, what do you want to tell me?”

“I swear that’s everything, man. I don’t know no more!”

“Kaleb, what do you think I should do with you?”

Kaleb had begun to relax ever so slightly, but after hearing Thorpe’s question the dissipated tension surged back into his body and facial muscles. A pulsating vein emerged above his sweaty brow. It was as if Kaleb hadn’t even considered he might be killed despite his cooperation.

“Relax, Kaleb. I’m not going to kill you.”

“Bullshit, man! You’re going to kill me.”

“I’ll tell you the truth, Kaleb. I was going to gut you right here on this sheet of plastic. But not now. I tried to look at this situation from your point of view, and I probably would have done the same thing—nothing. If you would’ve talked, they would’ve killed you. Besides, the two actual killers were already dead, right?”

“Yeah, man, that fo’ real. I—”

“Kaleb! Shut up and let me finish. I’m going to cut you loose because I think you got put in a fucked-up spot. However, someone like you is liable to see my generosity as a weakness.” Kaleb shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. “Kaleb, I said to keep your pie hole shut until I tell you to speak. As I was saying, a guy like you might see this as a weakness. The smart thing to do would be to kill you. But the right thing to do is give you a chance. Kaleb, you may’ve had a shitty life, but what you did with it was your decision. You chose to be a dope dealer, and you chose to be a snitch. Since you threw down your homeboys, I know you’d have no trouble snitching on me. Over the next few weeks, there’s going to be a lot of fucked-up shit happening, and you’re a smart enough guy to put two and two together.”