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I looked at Ruben. “That right?”
Ruben stared down at the ground, refusing to meet my gaze. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Pretty much?”
He didn't say anything.
“Okay,” I said. “I've got another question for you then.”
Ruben ventured a quick glance at me, and I could see the apprehension in his expression.
“You remember some pills Ricky shared with you a while back?” I asked.
His head snapped toward Ricky.
Right before they pulled up, Ricky admitted that while he hadn't shared anything with Patrick, he had given some to Ruben. He couldn't recall exactly when, but he knew it had been within the last month or so.
“What the fuck?” Ruben asked.
“Yeah, what the fuck?” I said.
“Did you give them to him?” Ricky asked.
“Jesus Christ,” Ruben said, his face beginning to redden. “Why the fuck would it even matter?”
“It matters because Patrick had Xanax in his system when he died,” I said. “More of that than anything else. I'm trying to figure out where it came from.”
“And you think, what?” Ruben asked, his eyes narrowed, his jaw locked. “It came from me?”
“I'm starting to think that, yeah,” I said.
“What the hell is going on?” David asked, looking from me to Ruben and then to Ricky.
Ricky shrugged and shook his head, but he knew what was going on. He knew why I was asking, and he knew where this was leading.
“So, did you?” I asked Ruben. “Did you give him Xanax?”
“I don't have to tell you shit,” he muttered.
David took a step toward him, “Did you?” he asked, looking at his friend. “I didn't even know Patrick was using that stuff.”
“We don't know that he was,” Ruben said. His cheeks were red, and a vein in his temple pulsed. “This guy's just saying he did.”
“You want me to call his uncle and get him to confirm?” I asked. I reached into my pocket and held out my phone. “He's a cop, and he's the one who got the call about the toxicology report and told me what they found in Patrick's system.”
That seemed to unsettle Ruben a bit. He bit his lip, chewing furiously at the corner his teeth moving so fast it looked like his lips were chattering.
“What's going on here, Ruben?” Ricky asked, a little uncertainly. “Because I'm getting a weird vibe.”
“This is all such bullshit,” Ruben mumbled. But there was something in his voice, something that sounded more like resignation than outrage.
“What is?” I asked.
He waved his hand in the air. “All of this. It's all total bullshit.”
“You're going to have to be more specific.”
He looked at Ricky with a dark expression. “You know what he was like. The last six months? You know, dude.” He cut his eyes toward David. “So do you. You both do. So don't act like everything was normal with Patrick.”
“You already told me the band was having issues,” I said. “That's not news.”
“We had more than issues, man,” Ruben said, then jabbed his finger in the direction of both Ricky and David. “And they know that, too.”
Ricky and David exchanged looks.
“Explain,” I said.
“I don't need to explain,” Ruben said, snarling at me. “Patrick was fucking up this band.”