The Foreign Exchange: A Novel (Mambo Reina) by Veronica G. Henry

Author:Veronica G. Henry [Henry, Veronica G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 47North
Published: 2023-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

It had only taken a trumped-up story about a gas leak for Top Dog to warn his men off the house in the Seventh Ward. The one where the Snowman, the former Mr. Beau Winters, inexplicably still sat decomposing. The whole lot of them had sketchy backgrounds, but just two of the men had known enough to make any noise about him, and now one of them was dead. Certain that the other hustler might crack under questioning, maybe try to cut a deal to save his own ass, the man preferred that the NOPD learn of his crime more organically.

Top Dog had returned to the house a couple of times before, anxious about a nosy neighbor or one of the little shits who sometimes stole pipes stumbling on the body and making a stink about it. He chuckled to himself, relishing every bit of that pun. Anything or anyone to draw attention to the body so the authorities could clear it out, and his team could get back to work. But so far, he hadn’t heard a peep.

He was driving down the street for another look when his whole body tingled with an adrenaline rush. Walking up to the house like she owned the place was none other than that short, cocky priestess he’d seen at the Voodoo shop in the Quarter. Her and a butch-looking buddy. What were they doing here?

The man’s gaze lingered on the sidekick. Younger than her friend. A loose-limbed stroll. The baggy sweats didn’t hide the compact but powerful build. He nodded, the tiniest fragment of a smile forming. She was an athlete—no doubt. Now or in the recent past. She had a definitive swagger to her, one that he recognized. That one had skirted the law. It was all in the way she scanned everything around her while looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. And she strutted slightly ahead of the priestess; she wanted to protect her, then.

A formidable pair.

Top Dog drove past them, keeping his head forward, eyes plastered to the rearview mirror. When they slipped inside, he made an abrupt U-turn and crept back down the street. He pulled over a safe distance away. He flexed the fingers of his right hand, open closed, open closed, and waited.

The man figured the smell should hit them before they even found the body. And then, they would either cut and run or turn concerned citizen and notify the cops.

“Come on,” he whispered to himself. What were they doing in there? Inspecting the body?

The man was wondering what had led them here in the first place when he heard the sirens. He slumped down in the car and watched as two squad cars screeched to a halt at the curb in front of the house. By the time the officers had piled out and rushed toward the front door, a small crowd had already gathered.

Top Dog’s heart was thumping. Hand on the door handle, he was about to get

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