"All I know is the last time I saw Jamal, he was going out to look for her bag."

"Her bag, huh?"

"This red clutch bag she was wearing when she left here."

"Which was when?"

"Saturday night. Jamal drove her down the bridge." "Which bridge?"

"The Majesta." "What time was this?"

"They left here around a quarter to ten."

"What time did Stone get back?"

"Around eleven. He came to pick me up, take me to this party he arranged with some businessmen from Texas."

"How many?"

"The Texans? Three of them."

"Remember their names?"

"Just their first names. Charlie, Joe, and Lou." "Where was this?"

"The Brill. They had a suite there." "On Fawcett?" "Yeah."

"What time did you get there?"

"Jamal dropped me at midnight. I took a cab home." "When?"

"Three."

"What kind of car did he drive? Stone."

"A Lexus."

"Know where he kept it?"

"A garage around the corner. On Ainsley. Why?" "Might be something in it, who knows?"

He was thinking dope. There might be dope in the car. Jumbos on the bathroom floor and in the girl's handbag, this might've been a dope thing, who the knew, these people.

"You know the license plate number?" he asked. "No."

"Did they know him at the garage?"

"Oh, sure."

"On Ainsley, you said?"

"Yeah."

"You know the name?"

"No, but it's right around the corner from here."

"Okay. So you say you got back here around

three.

Was Yolande home yet?"

"No. Just Jamal."

"What time did Yolande get home?"

"She didn't. Next thing we know, two cops banging down the door."

"When was this?"

"Eight o'clock Sunday morning. Jamal though was this crazy Colombian crack dealer who said stole some bottles from him and he was gonna kill for it, which Jamal didn't, by the way."

"Didn't steal no crack from him, you mean." "Right. Still, Jamal popped four caps through door, thinking it was this crazy buck Diaz, but it was two cops instead." "Shot at two cops, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Not a good idea."

"Tell me about it."

"Who were they, do you remember?"

"Two guys from the Eight-Seven. One of them had red hair."

"Hawes, was that his name?"

"I don't know."

"What's Diaz's first name? The crack dealer."

"Manny. Manuel, actually. You think he killed them?"

"Well, I don't know. You tell me."

"I think he coulda killed Jamal, cause he's crazy, you know, and he thinks Jamal stole some shit from him, which he didn't. But I don't see how that ties in with Yolande or Richie."

"Richard. You know him?"