Episode 3 of 10 Lowlifes: A Trip to the East Bay

I left the car in town and took the BART out to see Jennifer Hayes. Gas prices had rocketed and with the freeway traffic likely to be rammed the train seemed like the best option.
The station was dead and it gave me time to gather my thoughts about how I was going to tell the client her star witness was dead.

The Hayes family lived in a leafy suburb a long way from the grime of the Tenderlion but nowhere was too far for the crisis of homelessness. Even here among the kids' toys and the apple pie the long arm of desperation to could tap anyone on the shoulder at any time.

Today was trash day. And I knew that the news of Jon's murder was going to stink up her day better than week-old garbage. Jon was her one lead - her one hook into Hayes that she hoped I could reel in and serve up before breakfast.

I wished I could have been there with better news on a different case.

So gave it to her straight: Hayes' informant and her star witness was dead.
She immediately pointed the finger at Hayes.
It felt like she'd jumped to that conclusion with a little too much glee and too little fear.
I guess divorce does ugly things to people.

I let her descend into a rant about her ex-husband and I glanced over at the daughter caught up in this mess - Victoria. She's the prize in this twisted tug-o-war ; where best parent becomes the winner that takes all.
If Hayes is the homeless guy's killer then that means it's a slam dunk even before my client takes to the dock.

For me, it doesn't matter who wins this custody battle. What matters is giving Victoria the kind of home-life every kid deserves. The one I sometimes got.

Dad was a proud Mexican who struggled with his wife being the major bread winner. Dad was a hard worker but he had no schooling. And in the end a lack of self-esteem drove him to drink.

Mom was always a stronger person mentally and she had the advantage of a few college credits. It gave her white collar opportunities.

For Dad, booze led to violence which lead to jail. We all cried when he got banged up even though the guy could be an asshole at times. I guess the need for the love of a parent causes us to put up with a ton of shit before we find the conviction to walk away.

Life settled down for my sisters and me with dad in the slammer but not for mom.
Dad had broken her resolve and she only kept the pieces together until her three girls escaped blue-collar purgatory for college.

I cut Jennifer Hayes' rant short before I lost my perspective.

I asked her what got Larry Hayes hooked on pills in the first place.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• crime noir
• hard-boiled
• murder mystery
• lowlifes
• transmedia
• san
• francisco
• webseries

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