Collateral Damage by Austin Camacho Page A

The District….”
    â€œYou broke your word, Jones,” she said, moving past him toward his front door. One foot inside, her eyes met Cindy’s. Irma stopped in her tracks, taking in the food on the table and Hannibal’s half finished meal. “Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize.”
    Cindy recovered quickly, standing and offering her hand for Irma’s reluctant shake. “No bother, come on in. I’m Cindy Santiago, and I didn’t realize Hannibal’s acquaintances included famous TV news reporters. Won’t you join us?”
    â€œOh no, I couldn’t. I mean…”
    â€œWhat do you mean by that?” Hannibal asked, closing the door behind himself. “I keep my word with everybody, even pushy reporters.”
    The three of them stood there for a moment, Irma’s eyes bouncing from Cindy to Hannibal and back. Then Cindy turned to the cabinet over the sink.
    â€œI’m getting another plate. You can speak plainly to Hannibal, Ms. Andrews. I promise not to get involved.”
    â€œWell, that does smell delicious, and I love Mexican food,” Irma said, pulling a chair out but still standing. “But I hate to intrude. I just wanted to ask Mister Jones about a story. A story that he assured me he’d call me about if anything came of it.”
    Hannibal returned to his chair and under Cindy’s stare Irma joined them at the table. “I haven’t eaten, as a matter of fact,” Irma said, pushing her fork into the rice mixture.
    â€œActually, this is Cuban,” Hannibal said. Then to Cindy, “Irma helped me with that video of Dean Edwards, Cindy. I told her if it looked like news I’d give her a call. But so far it looks pretty tame.”
    Irma was about to launch an outburst, but her taste buds short-circuited that. “Oh my, this is delicious! Now, Mister Jones, do you expect me to believe you didn’t know that family’s tragic history?”
    â€œHistory?” Hannibal asked. “I know almost nothing about this guy. Enlighten me.”
    Irma looked to Cindy who smiled broadly. “Aside from his cook, I’m also Hannibal’s lawyer. I understand confidentiality, if that’s a concern for you, Ms. Andrews.”
    â€œPlease call me Irma,” the reporter said. “And I don’t think there’s a legal problem here, I just wouldn’t want to get scooped if the story got out, you know?”
    â€œI can assure you Cindy won’t talk to any competing reporters,” Hannibal said. “Now how do you come to know Edwards’ background?”
    â€œWell after the interest you showed, I just had a feeling there might be a story there. So I took a look for Dean Edwards in the station’s story database. What I found was hismother, who was convicted of murdering his father a little more than ten years ago.” Irma’s eyes became intense as her story evolved, and Hannibal could see her excitement at digging into the facts and finding a story. She was one of those people who got real joy from her job. “I searched out the video archives so I could hear the entire story, and got a look at his mother. The same woman who came looking for his picture before you.”
    Hannibal sat back from the table. “His mother. Maybe she just now found him.”
    â€œSure,” Cindy put in. “And he didn’t want to have to tell Bea about his mom killing his own dad, so he ran. Poor boy. I hope he comes clean to her. She can certainly handle it.”
    Irma looked lost so Hannibal filled her in. “There’s no crime involved with my job as far as I know, Irma. The person who hired me to find Dean Edwards is his fiancée. But seems to me she deserves to know what you found out. Maybe I can even bring mother and prospective daughter-in-law together.”
    â€œUnlikely,” Irma said. “She’s gone.” Now it was Hannibal’s turn to look lost. Irma chewed