Wicked Break by Jeff Shelby Page B

nine-millimeters.”
    Deacon Moreno was a member of one of the nastier gangs in San Diego.
    â€œHow about Wizard Matellion?” I asked. “Know him?”
    Willie stood up a little straighter and his jaw tightened. “I ain’t talking about Wizard.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    He glared at me. “’Cause dudes who talk about Wizard die. Straight up.”
    â€œNo one’s gonna know,” Carter said.
    Willie stared hard at Carter, then shook his head. “Wizard is a bad motherfucker.”
    â€œHe a South Bay Niner, too?” I asked.
    Willie laughed at me like I was retarded. “Wizard fuckin’ runs South Bay Niners, Sixth Street Triples, and Hoover Down Killas.”
    Carter looked at him. “He runs the whole area?”
    â€œFuckin’ A,” Willie said. “And I ain’t sayin’ no more about him.” He folded his arms back across his chest.
    If Matellion was running the whole show, that meant he was responsible for dozens of murders. It was how they moved up. The more you killed, the more responsibility you got. Fucking fantastic—a case I’d originally thought would be easy had just gone from bad to much, much worse.
    â€œYou got an address for Moreno?” I asked.
    Willie’s face screwed up into a tight ball of anger. “How about if I just drive you right up to his door? Introduce you and shit, let him know I was the one who brought your ass there?”
    Carter stood up and looked at Dana and me. “Why don’t you guys give us a sec?”
    Dana stood. “I’m gonna find the bathroom.” She walked toward the back of the restaurant.
    â€œI’ll be outside,” I said.
    As I stepped outside into the overcast afternoon, my cell phone vibrated. I didn’t recognize the number on the readout.
    I flipped the phone open. “Hello?”
    â€œNoah, it’s Liz.”
    I gripped the phone a little tighter. “Hey.”
    â€œWhere are you?” she asked.
    â€œWorking. Why?”
    â€œI need you to come down to the station.”
    I took a deep breath and watched the traffic go by on Fifth. “Why?”
    She paused for a moment, then said, “I just need you to come down, Noah.”
    â€œIs Mike gonna be there?” I said before I could think better of it.
    Her irritation was nearly tangible through the phone. “Don’t be an ass.”
    â€œWho’s being an ass?” I said, taking a little enjoyment at her annoyance. “Just wondering if your new boyfriend’s gonna be there.”
    â€œI’m trying to do you a favor, Noah.”
    I laughed. “Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
    She paused again and I half expected her to hang up on me. Part of me wanted her to do just that and part of me wanted to start the conversation all over again.
    â€œYour mother’s here,” she said. “In lockup.”
    My throat tightened and goose bumps formed on my forearms. I squeezed the phone so hard I thought it might shatter. I shut my eyes, wishing Liz had said anything other than what she had.
    â€œI’ll be right there.”

Seventeen
    I sat in the Jeep, staring at the police station.
    I’d told Carter about the phone call and he waved me out of the diner. He and Dana would find their own way home.
    He understood.
    I didn’t want to go in angry, frustrated, and disappointed, but I knew I didn’t have that much self-control. I just wanted to corral all three of those emotions before facing my mother for the first time in nearly four years.
    I struggled out of the Jeep, cursing the fact that my body was still hurting. All the driving I’d done hadn’t helped, either. The traffic on Pacific Coast Highway roared behind me. I walked up the steps to the SDPD building and wondered what excuse I was going to hear.
    Liz’s office was on the third floor and I found her sitting at her desk, studying a file spread out in front of her.
    She