I went to my office to relax and collect myself. Dagger was so fucking frustrating. He was totally right about the kiss though—it was out of this world. My ankles were still shaking just thinking about it. But I had more important things to consider, like how to make this murder stick. I went over the Devil's Hellions and Death Merchants files to see if I had missed anything.
Moore knocked on the door and walked in. “We got the results back from the lab.”
I shut the files. “Did they find a match on that partial thumb print?”
Moore shook his head and handed me the results. No Match. I waved away Moore and tapped my forehead with a pen for ideas. My only option left was to poke holes in his alibi. Dagger said that he was at The Stinky Goat all night. Let's see what I could find there.
I pulled into the dirt lot of the Stinky Goat. It was only three in the afternoon—a little too early for drinking but the parking lot was full. This town seemed to be different than most. I walked in to find every seat filled and a haze of cigarette smoke. Didn't people have jobs? The place was beyond a shit hole, broken peanut shells covered the floor like carpet. Every step made a crunch beneath my feet. Must be the only bar in town.
I approached a couple sitting in a booth and asked if they knew Dagger Taylor. They shook their heads and I moved on. After a lot of blank stares, I went looking for the owner.
The guy behind the bar was large and looming with a face of granite. His mutton-chops didn't really match the little bit of facial hair on his chin. I squeezed my way into the bar and waved him over. “I'm looking for the owner.”
He wiped his hands with a cloth and flung it over his shoulder. “You found him.”
“You know a Dagger Taylor?”
The owner grunted and nodded, taking an empty glass and filling it with beer from the tap.
“Was he here the night before last?”
He handed me the glass of beer and I declined. The froth looked delicious but I was on on duty. “Yeah he was here along with the rest of the Devil's Hellions MC. They were drinking and fucking all night.”
I smiled and laughed. He was obviously in with the motorcycle club. I grabbed the glass of beer and downed it. I was royally fucked.
I returned to the station with nothing. I could only hold Dagger for forty-eight hours and my time was running out. I had nothing to pin the murder on him and I knew that his MC was responsible. I went back to my office and pounded my head against the desk. Mendoza's card with his phone number was still sitting on the edge.
I grabbed it and dialed his number. Hopefully he had some advice on how to deal with this situation.
“Hello?” a groggy voice answered.
“Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. It's Melissa White.”
He cleared his throat. “Nah it's fine. What can I do for you?”
I took a deep breath and explained the whole situation—the impending MC war, the murder of Garcia, and my arrest of Dagger Taylor.
“These ain't the streets of LA, Sheriff White. You don't just go and arrest one of the Presidents. The MC's rule this town. You need to learn to work with them.”
“I refuse to believe that the police have no power in this town.”
“The MC's control public opinion. If they want the town to turn on the cops then that's what will happen. Most of the folks might be scared of the bikers but they damn sure respect them.”
My head was spinning. How could all this be true? “What am I supposed to do, Mendoza?”
“It's simple, let Dagger go and forget this business about the murder. You'll never find the evidence to take them down, they're too smart and they've been playing this game a lot longer than you.”
I thanked Mendoza for the advice and hung up. I didn't want to believe him but I knew he was right. The more I pushed the MC's the harder they'd push back. If I kept going on this warpath, I'd have too many enemies to deal with. Better to make some unholy alliances and do a little bit of good.
But I still had more than twenty-four hours to keep Dagger. Better let that arrogant bastard rot for a little while longer. His kiss still lingered on my lips. I traced my mouth with my fingertips, remembering how good it was. Dagger was such an asshole.