The Death Of Jackson Harris

Chapter 9

Being unwanted wasn't a new thing; in fact, it becomes a regular basis when you take any job regarding law enforcement. I used to receive death threats that weren't even retractable. There are some things that not even detectives can control. For example, Jacob and I can't control the amount of hatred all these people standing around us feel for us. It was a tense moment, and for a second, it seemed like Jacob, and I were having second thoughts. But, before our second thoughts could control us, we both unbuckled our seat belts and stepped out of my car.

"Fucking cops," a man who was walking by sneered. 

It was best to ignore him and instead focus on what we were here for. Jacob seemed to have the same thought process as me because he paid the man no attention at all and instead looked at me before making his way up to the door of the house we parked by. The house could be in better condition, but it was one of the more nicer ones around here. Jacob took one look around at all the neighbors that stared at us with no shame before knocking on the door. Immediately, everyone walked into their homes, not waiting another second to see if the door was even going to open. This didn't help the bundle of nerves in the pit of my stomach at all.

"Maybe he's not here," Jacob mumbled lowly and raised his hand to knock once more.

Before he could make contact once more, the door opened to reveal a tall, muscular, dark-haired man. Even Jacob had to look up a bit to look the man in the eyes. He had a nasty face, his eyes already glaring at us full of hatred. The smell of smoke was heavy in the air, and I had to stop myself from coughing up one of my lungs. He definitely wasn't a man worth messing with.

"What do you want?" the man spoke, a thick accent laced in his voice with a hint of a rasp. "You aren't welcomed."

"Armando, please," someone said from inside the house, and soon another man appeared. "They are just harmless cops."

"Reed Santos," Jacob spoke up first. "Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?"

"I'm innocent," Reed said with a smirk and mockingly put his hands up.  "Don't arrest me."

"This is a serious matter," I stated firmly, not enjoying his lack of respect.

"Please, come in," he said, his grin wide. "A serious matter, you say. We might need some privacy then."

Jacob walked in first, and I walked in right after him, Armando walking behind me while Reed was all the way in the front. Reed was a muscular and tall man, about the same height as Jacob. He had black hair that he gelled back, and his blue eyes held a certain coldness to them. It was like he didn't take anything seriously, yet he was the most serious man to walk the earth. Reed led us to the living room area and gestured for us to sit on the couch while he sat on a table, and Armando stood against the wall. Two more men emerged from the kitchen, and I hesitated not to put my guard up too much to make it obvious, but it was four against two so far. I knew there were most likely more guys here, but the feeling is very different when you're actually in the situation.

"Armando, we can catch up later. You guys go ahead and leave. It's a serious matter anyways," Reed said with a smirk. "I'll scream if I'm in danger."

Armando simply grumbled, and all the guys left the room, only leaving Jacob, Reed, and I. For such a worn-down house, Reed sure dressed like he had money. He had on dress pants and a formal white button-up shirt with a vest. The watch on his wrist cost more than I can imagine, and the way he presented himself was with more confidence than I can muster up on a good day. He walked with knowledge, and the son of a bitch knew that everyone knew that. 

"Now, onto serious matters," he began. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

"Do you know a man named Austin Ruiz?"

"Don't you mean did I know him?"

"You know he died," I stated and watched his reaction. "How?"

"He was once my lawyer. Of course, I know. I also went to school with him once. Believe it or not, I was a good kid in school."

I could physically see Jacob hold in his scoff, and Reed also noticed because his smirk widened. This wasn't good. Reed was letting us know that he knows all the information we've been able to gather up. The most we can do is switch up questions to see if we can get anything on him. But bringing him in with nothing would be absolutely stupid, and he knew it too. In other words, we had to be careful not to screw this up.

"Do you know if he had enemies?"

"No."

"Where were you the morning he was killed?"

"Here."

"Were you two in good standings before he was killed?"

"We haven't been in contact for a while but I'd assume yes since nothing bad happened between us."

"Did he know of your shady businesses?"

"What shady businesses? I am but an honest, working man."

"Honest my ass. He knew something and you had to silence him, didn't you?"

Too forward, Jacob.

"Are you accusing me of something, detective?"

"Just asking a simple question."

"That I don't feel like answering," Reed immediately responded back. "Unless you guys are accusing me of something, I suggest that this is the end of the conversation. I am a busy man anyways."

"If you really were his friend, you'd tell us something," I shot. 

We were already losing. Giving it one last shot wouldn't hurt. He was smart, smarter than Jacob anticipated, apparently. Jacob glanced at me, probably judging me for using the gilt method. His hard-ass, straight-to-the-point, method didn't work, so now it was my turn. The worst that could happen is that we get nothing, like how we were already at.

"I like you, detective, so here's something I can tell you," Reed said and stepped up to me, his lips almost touching my ear before I could react. "Don't waste your time trying to find Jackson Harris."

He pulled back almost immediately, gave me a wink, and walked out of the house. Jacob was silent, and I still stood there in shock. I knew there was a slight possibility that it was gonna be found out sooner or later that I was looking for Jackson Harris, but how does Reed Santos already know? What else does he know that I don't? Was there really someone on the inside of our department?

"That fucker, he left us here like it was our house, and he was the guest. He walked out-"

"Leaving us here to show we were at the bottom and he was at the top," I mumbled and looked around. "This house, it has the simple touch of life here. There's furniture lying around, but in reality, there's nothing here."

"Well, we figured this was a set-up house. I'm sure he has other hideouts," Jacob stated the obvious. "Let's go."

We walked out of the house, and the air felt colder. The feeling sent chills down my spine, and I quickly got into my car. The roads were silent, with almost no sign of life around. The chilling feeling settled down to my core, and I had the slightest feeling that we were being watched. Jacob sensed something off, too, because he didn't say a single word nor make a single sound. Something was off, and something bad was going to happen. This conversation was useless to us, but that doesn't mean it was useless to Reed. Grace was right; her paranoia was speaking to her, warning her not to let us go. Reed looked like a simple man, but he was much more complex. The feeling of his lips almost touching my ear came back to me, and I rubbed my ear on instinct. His words came back to me, and I tried to drive calmly.

Has he known since the start?