AJ flashed his badge to the officer sitting with her and explained that the detective had given his okay.
She pulled back, and Pax moved to her side. “Tell us what happened.”
The officer in charge of her stood and let Pax and AJ sit, but he stayed close to Teresa.
“Larks and Joey were going at it,” Teresa said, her face pale and streaked with tears. She clasped her hands together and laid them in her lap. “I kept my eye on them because I was afraid for Joey, scared Larks would pull a weapon.”
“Did he?” Pax asked.
She shook her head. “No, but there was so much going on around them, others fighting. It was hard to see, so I moved around the bar.”
AJ winced. “You could have gotten hurt.”
Her gaze shot to his. “I was fine. I can take care of myself.”
Pax leaned over and rubbed her back. “It’s okay. Go on.”
She swallowed and nodded, then wiped her palms on her jeans. “Joey didn’t kill Larks. One of his own guys did.”
“What? Did you see who?”
“Yes. But I don’t know any of their names. All I saw was this guy come up behind Larks and shove a knife into his back. Then he disappeared into the crowd.”
“Did he drop the knife?” AJ couldn’t believe this. One of the Fists killed their leader? Why?
“Not that I could see.”
“Could you pick this guy out again?”
She nodded.
“Stay here with her,” AJ said to Pax. “I’m going to talk to Joey.”
Detective Warner was with Joey, so AJ stood back and listened while Joey recounted the fight.
“It was physical, his fists and mine,” Joey said. “And that was all. I took a punch and went down. Then Larks went down on top of me. I thought he was attacking me, but he was deadweight. I felt something wet covering me. It was blood. A lot of blood. I threw him off me, but he didn’t move.”
Detective Warner wrinkled his nose. “But you didn’t see what happened.”
“Hell no.” Joey laid his head in his hands. “Larks rang my bell with that punch. I was trying to get my bearings again, swaying a little, and holding my arms up to ward off the next punch. By the time I cleared my head enough to get up, he was falling on top of me.”
“You moved him?” the detective asked.
“I had to move him to get him off me. But then when he didn’t come after me again—he was just lying there—I rolled him to the side, saw a rip in his jacket and blood pouring out. I guess he got knifed by someone. I laid him back down and felt for a pulse.” Joey held up his hands. “My hands were covered in blood. I knew it was bad. He was gone. That was right when you guys came in.”
Detective Warner stood as a couple uniformed cops appeared. “Take him to the station for further questioning. I want his clothes and hands tested. He’s already been read his rights.”
The cops nodded and grabbed a handcuffed Joey.
“AJ.”
AJ went over to Joey.
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t do this. On my mother’s soul, I didn’t do this. I don’t know who did, but it wasn’t me.”
AJ patted Joey on the back. “We’ll figure it out.” AJ leaned in further and whispered in Joey’s ear. “And don’t say anything else until you get a lawyer.”
After Joey left, AJ went back to Teresa. The cop watching her was talking to someone else. Pax and Teresa were huddled together, their heads bent, nearly touching. AJ pulled up a chair and Teresa cast a worried gaze at him.
“What did Joey say?”
“That he didn’t do it.”
“Did he see the guy?”
“No. He said Larks punched his lights out for a second. When he came to, Larks was already down. But he didn’t see who knifed him. He just turned him over and saw the blood and the hole in his jacket.”
“Damn.” Teresa dropped her chin to her chest and wrapped her arms around her middle. “This is bad.” She lifted her gaze to both Pax and AJ. “They aren’t going to take my word for it because I’m Joey’s sister. They think I’m lying to protect him.”
“I’m sure they’re going to question everyone who was here. Maybe someone else saw what you did.”
Detective Warner came back. “Ms. Oliveri, we’d like you to come down to the station and try to identify the man you say knifed Larks. We’re going to run through all the Fists we’ve recovered from the fight, see if you can pull any of them out of a lineup.”
“That’s fine.”
“We’ll come along, too,” Pax said.
Warner frowned. “You got a personal stake in this case?”
“We know the people involved, but our vested interested is in the Fists and their hierarchy. There’s a reason their leader was killed.”
Warner nodded. “Let’s go. Ms. Oliveri, you’ll have to come with us.”
She gazed reluctantly at AJ.
“It’s okay, Teresa. We’ll meet you down there.”
After they left, Pax turned to AJ. “You think she’s telling the truth?”
“Yeah. Teresa loves Joey, but she wouldn’t lie to protect him. She’d hate that this happened and she’d stand by his side, but she’d never lie for him.”
“You’re sure?”
AJ didn’t even have to think about it. He knew. “I’m sure.”
“Let’s go, then.”
AJ knew Pax wouldn’t wonder why they were getting involved. He understood friendship and bonds, knew AJ would do the same for him. It’s why they’d stayed friends for the past ten years. They had each other’s back, no matter what.
And it looked like they might be hanging around here for a while.
So much for vacation.
FIVE
TERESA GAVE HER STATEMENT AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, taking it slowly and step by step, recalling everything she’d seen since the fight broke out. She put herself in that place and time, visualizing everything.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been here, giving a statement. She knew how this went.
“The tattoo I saw on the guy was very specific. There was a tribal pattern that covered his entire neck almost up to his jaw. And he had a scar on the right side that went through part of the tattoo.”