"Eddie Vasquez, you have quite a pretty history here." Jax whistled as he read through the tattooed man's rap sheet. "You really like the gang life, huh?"

Eddie jerked his shoulders back and pushed his lips out. "I ain't part of no gang. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a good guy, man."

"Right," Jax said, extending the word for a few beats. "This must be another Eddie Vasquez. Instead of Los Lobos Locos gang, it should say Boy Scouts of America, right?"

Eddie smirked. "Do you wanna see all my merit badges?"

Jax shook his head at Eddie's ignorance and sat across from him in the interrogation room. He watched Eddie's eyelids lower and leaned forward. "Your mother still in the hospital, Eddie?"

Eddie squirmed in his seat like a fish caught on a hook. Jax smiled.

"I hear the hospital bills are pretty high for heart surgeries. She doesn't have insurance. I looked into it. She doesn't even have Medicaid. That necklace could've paid off all of her bills."

Eddie turned his head away from Jax, biting his bottom lip.

"Yeah, I bet your mother's health means nothing to you. I've been told Los Lobos Locos considers themselves a family. They expect you to leave your old life...and your old family behind. So, your mother...you probably don't even know how your mother is doing after last night."

This got Eddie's attention.

"Last night? Did something happen to my mom?"

Jax grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Stop messin' with me, man, and tell me the truth. What's wrong with my mom?"

Eddie futilely tried moving against the handcuffs that secured him to the chair bolted to the ground.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you nothing comes for free in this life?" Jax asked. "I'll tell you about your mother if you tell me about the necklace."

Jax could see Eddie struggling to decide if he should give himself up or find out information about his sick parent. His freedom won and Eddie bit his lip again to keep himself from talking.

"That's okay. I didn't really think you'd care enough to know, anyway. You're not the type." Jax sighed. "Your poor mother probably went through hell trying to raise you and your sisters. You're the only boy, right? How sad for her. Knowing her only son turned out to be a gang banger."

"You don't know me, man!"

"I know enough to know that you're guilty. Your prints are on that necklace. It's only a matter of time before your DNA shows up at the crime scene. Your days are numbered."

"Screw you, pig," Eddie sneered.

"That's it? That's all you have to say to me? Screw you? I know Girl Scouts who are tougher than you. Maybe I really do have the wrong Eddie Vasquez."

Eddie licked his lips and looked away, clearly itching to say something back.

"What really makes me laugh is the fact that even if you're cut loose, you're still going to have to face Los Lobos Locos. I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to keep what you take."

"You don't know anything."

"I've heard stories about your leader. What's his name again? Joseph? Joe? Ahh...that's right. Johnny. Johny Joe."

Eddie bit the inside of his mouth.

"I heard he runs a tight crew. No one is allowed to steal from him. If they do, he cuts off their hands...or worse."

"Shut up. I'm not talking to you about Johnny Joe."

"Fine. Let's talk about something different. How do you know the waitress?" Jax asked, curiosity eating at him.

"Waitress?"

"The waitress at the diner," Jax said, trying to jog his memory. "How do you know her?"

Eddie's brows furled together in consternation. "The old lady? She's a pervert but I don't know her. I just like the pancakes they serve there."

Jax wasn't sure if Eddie Vasquez was playing dumb or not, so he decided to see if he could get him to slip.

"Why were you at the diner so early this morning?"

Eddie didn't answer.

"Were you meeting someone?" Jax asked.

Eddie's look of boredom was soon gone when Jax said, "In any event, I'm sorry about your loss."

"My loss?" Eddie repeated.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." Jax stood up as though he were preparing to leave, mentally counting down. One. Two. Thr—

"Wait!"

Jax's lazy smile of victory was hidden from Eddie. "What is it?"

"Tell me...is my mom okay?" Eddie's voice deepened with emotion.

"I need answers Eddie," Jax reminded him.

"Fine. What do you wanna know?"

Jax turned around and sat down again. "How did you get that necklace?"

Eddie looked down. "I stole it. The other guys saw her wearing it. It was a dare to see who could take it. I tried getting it by flirting with her but she turned me down."

Jax didn't say a word as Eddie continued to spill his guts.

"I had to take it for my mom, man. She lives in the projects. She ain't got no money. The doctors look at you like you're dirt asking me if she had Medicaid. If Los Lobos Locos took it...it would've been spent on something stupid. She didn't want to give it over so yeah...I offed her."

"You offed her?"

Eddie nodded.

"How did you do it?"

"How do you think? I shot her, man. I looked that lady straight in the eyes and pulled the trigger. Life's about choices. It was her or my mom. I chose my mom."

Several more questions were asked before Jax mentioned the diner again.

"When you were at the diner did you ever take the necklace out of your pocket?"

Eddie looked at Jax as though he had grown a second head. "Are you stupid? Hell no I didn't. You think I wanted to get caught? If you hadn't fallen on me, I wouldn't be here."

"Are you sure?" Jax asked again. "Not even just to look at it?"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I'm not that stupid. I didn't take it out of my pocket, man."

"How do you know the waitress?"

"What waitress? The old lady? I told you. I go there sometimes. She's usually working. She likes to flirt. Real touchy-feely. Lately there's been another one. A young one."

"The young one is the waitress who served you today, right?"

Eddie nodded.

"Outside of the diner, how else do you know her?"

"I don't."

"She's not your girlfriend? Relative?" Jax asked.

Eddie scowled. "I ain't got no family but my mom. That waitress is no one I know. I've seen her there at the diner a couple of times. She's cute. Real jittery though. I accidentally touched her fingers once and she acted like I burnt her or something. I thought it was because she was scared of me."

"All those tattoos...maybe she was."

"Naw, man, she got real quiet afterwards. Blushed even and then apologized. She's pretty nice."

"That's it?"

"If I tell you more will you help my mom?"

"I can't make any promises," Jax said.

Eddie cursed under his breath. "You didn't hear this from me, but that bar...Wine Time or whatever. There's a few gang members who work there. They scout out the customers. They work at the bar as bouncers. Sometimes they tell other members when a rich mark is leaving the bar."

Jax tapped his fingers against the interrogation table as he tried to process what he had just been told. Eddie didn't appear to be lying. So the waitress couldn't have seen the necklace and Eddie Vasquez doesn't know her? As Jax walked out of the interrogation room, he promised that one way or another, he would find out the truth.