Angels in Disguise by Betty Sullivan La Pierre Page A

draped in yellow police tape across the entry and front lawn.
    This didn't look good, so he phoned Detective Williams on his cell. “Hey
    Williams,” he gave Derrick Althusser's address. “What gives?"
    Hawkman could hear the detective rustling papers. “Appears the man overdosed. Got a call this morning from a neighbor. Said he couldn't rouse his buddy, and they were due on a job."
    "Did the guy find him inside?"
    "No, said he couldn't get Derrick to answer the door. It worried him, because he knew he messed with drugs, so he went back to his place and called us from there. Sure enough, we broke open the door and found him on the living room floor dead. Why are you interested?"
    "He's one of the men in the sketches I showed you."
    "I thought one of them looked familiar, but I couldn't place him at the moment. And I didn't have the report in front of me. The artist did an excellent job. Now that I think about it, looked just like the guy."
    "You sure he died of an overdose?"
    "Haven't gotten the autopsy report back, but his body had all the earmarks."
    "Find anything in his room that might connect him to Carlotta Ryan?"
    "Haven't finished investigating the scene yet, but so far, nothing."
    "Let me know, if you do."
    "Sure thing."
    Hawkman made a U-turn and headed out of the complex. He could mark Derrick off the list. But it did indicate Carlotta might have used drugs. He'd talk to Paul about any suspicions he had about his wife using narcotics.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    Hawkman drove toward Alfonso's place. When he came within sight of the man's apartment, he noticed a white van in front with one of those magnetic signs on the side that read “Handyman for Hire". Easy to remove if you're doing a drug run, he thought, as he parked alongside.
    He reached inside his jacket and released the velcro catch off his shoulder holster. “Can't be too cautious,” he muttered. Buttoning his jeans jacket at the waist, he climbed out of the 4X4. On the way to the entry, he flipped on the voice activated recorder in his pocket.
    Alfonso opened the door on the second knock. A towel hung around his neck, and his hair dripped with water as though he'd just stepped out of the shower. He gave Hawkman a questioning look. “Yeah?"
    Interesting, Hawkman thought, as he noted the man had a fresh haircut and had shaved off his beard and mustache. The scar down his cheek stood out like a piece of shiny silk. “You Alfonso Gomez?"
    "If you want a job done, you need to call and set up an appointment."
    Hawkman flashed his badge. “No, I'm a private investigator and need to talk to you about Carlotta Ryan."
    The man's face paled for a split second, then recovered quickly. “Don't know her."
    He started to close the door, but Hawkman blocked it with his foot. “Yeah, you do. Carlotta's daughter identified you as Jack Smith."
    The man's eyes narrowed. “Oh, yeah? Well, I ain't Jack Smith either."
    "The mug shots at the police station proved you're Alfonso Gomez. And you've been in trouble with the law a couple of times."
    "So have a lot of other guys in this town."
    "Look, Alfonso, we can banter back and forth or I can call the police and let them question you. I thought maybe you'd be a little more cooperative. Not too good for business to have a bunch of cop cars sitting in front of your place."
    He let out a grunt. “Okay, so what's the deal about Carlotta?"
    "She's been missing for over a week. The family's concerned and we're trying to find her."
    The man's eyes opened wide with a hint of fear. “Hey, I had a short fling with the woman a few months ago. It didn't work out and I haven't seen her since."
    "How'd you meet her?"
    "She set up an appointment to have her garbage disposal fixed. I went over and repaired the damn thing and before I could get out the door, she came on to me like a hot potato.” A smug grin lit his lips. “Hey, she's got a beautiful body and showed most of it in her short skirt and sexy top. Boobs hanging out all over