“Hold on, Detective Godfrey, give them a chance.” Day put both his hands up as if to calm everyone. This was all part of their act. He looked back at Lamar. “Come on, Lamar. You gotta do better than that, buddy. Give me something good and I’ll see what I can do for you. You and I both know that you’re holding on to that kingpin's ID. You were the biggest dealer on the street; you carried the most weight. Tell us who he is, and I swear I’ll do everything I can with the DA to get you a good deal.”
Day watched Lamar drop his chin to his chest and knew he was thinking it over, so Day decided to go in for the kill.
“Come on, Lamar. Do you want to walk out of here when you can still have some kind of a life? Or do you want to leave when you’re old and gray and your dick doesn’t work anymore? Just give us a name and where we can find him.”
“I want your word, Detective, that the DA is going to do a deal if he gives you a name,” the lawyer added.
“We want the name, a location, and how the drugs are getting in here. Or else you don’t get shit,” God growled.
“Detective Godfrey, that’s an awful lot of intel. What assurances are you going to give my client? Especially since his safety will be in jeopardy,” the lawyer responded.
Day watched God size up the pudgy lawyer. His hands were fat and his hot-dog sized fingers were clasped together as he stared up at God with light blue, beady eyes. God snarled back at him and Day knew he had to jump in now.
“We’re willing to offer twenty with parole in fifteen. That’s a damn good deal for murder one and possession, Lamar,” Day said in a low, sensitive tone.
“Twenty years, Day… come on, man!” Lamar yelled. “I can’t see myself even doing a dime in this place, man.”
“Well it’s good you can’t see yourself doing ten, because you’re doing twenty, asshole.” God laughed.
“Fuck. You. God!” Lamar stuck up his middle finger.
“Lamar, look at me, man.” Day interrupted. He looked into Lamar’s worried eyes; his lip trembled as the reality hit that he was indeed going to lose the next two decades of his life. Day played his sympathy card. “This is a good deal. I want you to be able to go back home and be with your mom and kid brother one day. If you keep your nose clean while inside, you can pull your fifteen and be out. You got a newborn son, man, he can still get to know you when you get out, he won’t even be in high school yet.”
A tear ran down Lamar’s face when Day mentioned his son. “You could be looking at life if you take your chances with a jury. You killed a kid, dude. Even though he was a small time runner, the parents thought he would eventually turn his life around… and they want justice. I begged the DA for this deal, but we need the kingpin’s name.” Day watched Lamar take a deep breath.
“His name is Joe Hansen, they call him Sandman.” Lamar looked up. “He’s dangerous and he’s got an army that’s not afraid to kill for him. Not too many people can get close to him. He’s got several houses, but his main one is on the coast.”
Day watched God move closer and stare into Lamar’s eyes. “Address.”
Lamar huffed. “2021 Palisades Drive.”
“Tell us about the shipments,” God said in a harsh voice.
“We want this deal in writing,” the lawyer started.
“Shut the fuck up,” God barked. He looked back at Lamar. “Tell us about the shipments. Who’s bringing it in where and when?”
Day wrote down everything Lamar told them. Finally they were going to nail this bastard. Day knew there was a kingpin… there always was. Lamar told them shipment times, ports, other big weight runners, and even the men that worked the docks that were on the take. They also got the next shipment date, which was a month from now… and it was a big one. It was going to require a huge multi-agency task force to pull off this seizure.
“Thanks, Lamar, you did the right thing,” Day said as he got up.
“Hey, Day, hold up, man. When am I going to get moved to the minimum security?”
“Go fuck yourself,” God said disgustedly; his handsome face a mask of hate.
Day turned around very slowly. They had their information, so good cop was off duty. He braced both hands on the table and lowered himself, firing a heated stare into the inmate’s worried eyes, and spoke in a fierce snarl.
“You shot a scared kid three times in the back when he tried to run away. You took his body and put it in a goddamn Dumpster like he was motherfucking trash. You sold coke to high school kids right before they walked into class. You put guns into the hands of kids so they could kill for you.” Day was in Lamar’s face now. “I hope you spend the next twenty years with your back against the fucking wall, asshole.” Day turned and left through the large metal door with God on his six.