In Death 08 - Conspiracy in Death

shit. No harm, right?"
    She said nothing, simply stared him down until the sweat popped out on his upper lip. She'd see he was back in a cage, she mused, at the first opportunity. But for now, she had bigger fish on the line.
    "You -- you want info? I ain't your weasel. Never was any cop's weasel, but I'm willing to trade info."
    "Trade?" she said, coldly.
    "Give." Even his tiny brain began to click in. "You ask, I know, I tell. How's that?"
    "That's not bad. Snooks."
    "The old man with the flowers?" Ledo shrugged what there was of his shoulders. "Somebody sliced him open, I hear. Took pieces of him. I don't touch that stuff."
    "You deal to him."
    Ledo did his best to look cagey. "Maybe we had some business, off and on."
    "How'd he pay?"
    "He'd beg off some credits, or sell some of his flowers and shit. He had the means when he needed a hit of something -- which was mostly."
    "He ever stiff you or any other dealers?"
    "No. You don't give sleepers nothing unless they pay up first. Can't trust 'em. But Snooks, he was okay. No harm. He just minded his own. Nobody was doing for him that I ever heard. Good customer, no hassle."
    "You work the area where he camped regularly?"
    "Gotta make a living, Dallas." When she pinned him with her stare again, he realized his mistake. "Yeah, I deal there. It's mostly my turf. Couple others slide in and out, but we don't get in each other's way. Free enterprise."
    "Did you see anybody who didn't look like they belonged down there lately, anybody asking about Snooks or those like him?"
    "Like the suit?"
    Eve felt her blood jump, but only leaned back casually against the wall. "What suit?"
    "Guy came down one night, duded top to bottom. Frigid threads, man. Looked me up." More comfortable now, Ledo sat on the narrow bed, crossed one stick leg over the other. "Figured at first he didn't want to buy his stuff in his own neighborhood, you know. So he comes slumming. But he wasn't looking for hits."
    Eve waited while Ledo entertained himself by picking at his cuticles. "What was he looking for?"
    "Snooks, I figure. Dude said what he looked like, but I can't say that meant dick to me. Mostly the sleepers look alike. But he said how this one drew stuff and made flowers, so I copped to Snooks on that."
    "And you told him where Snooks kept his crib."
    "Sure, why not?" He started to smile, then his tiny little brain began the arduous process of deduction."Man, shit, the suit cut Snooks open? Why'd he do that for? Look, look, Dallas, I'm clean here. Dude asks where the sleeper flops, I tell him. I mean, why not, right? I don't know how he's got in mind to go killing anybody."
    Sweat was popping again as he jumped to his feet. "You can't bounce it back on me. I just talked to the bastard is all."
    "What did he look like?"
    "I don't know. Good." In plea or frustration, Ledo threw out his arms. "A dude. A suit. Clean and shiny."
    "Age, race, height, weight," Eve said flatly.
    "Man, man." Grabbing hanks of his hair, Ledo began to pace the tiny room. "I don't pay attention. It was a couple, three nights ago. A white dude?" He posed it as a question, tossing Eve a hopeful look. She only watched him. "I think he was, maybe white. I was looking at his coat, you know. Long, black coat. Looked real warm and soft."
    Moron, was all Eve could think. "When you talked to him, did you have to look up, or down, or straight on?"
    "Ah... up!" He beamed like a child acing a spelling quiz. "Yeah, he was a tall dude. I don't get his face, Dallas. Man, it was dark and we weren't standing in no light or nothing. He had his hat on, his coat all buttoned. It was cold as a dead whore out there."
    "You never saw him before? He hasn't come around since?"
    "No, just that one time. A couple -- no three nights back. Just the once." Ledo swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. "I didn't do nothing."
    "You ought to get that tattooed on your forehead, Ledo, then you wouldn't have to say it every five minutes. I'm done for now, but I want to be able to find you, real easy, if I need to talk to you again. If I have to hunt you up, it's going to piss me off."
    "I'll be around." His relief was so great, his eyes went shiny with tears. "Everybody knows where to find me."
    He started to dash out, then froze like an icicle when Eve clamped a hand on his arm. "If you see the suit again, Ledo, or one like him, you get in touch. You don't say anything to put the suit off, then you get your ass on your 'link and call me." She bared her