14 Fearless Fourteen (23 page)

Stan brought him in. Said he had a sensitive job and no one
could know who he was. I always figured he worked for the bank,
because he was able to get information. He had access to files and
schedules. Or maybe he was one of those computer hackers.“ ”How did
you get in touch with him?“ ”Stan got in touch with him. They were
buddies. Stan was friends with everyone.“ I wanted to get Dom
someplace more secure. I wanted him in cuffs and shackles so he
couldn't get away. I wanted him talking to Morelli. There was a lot
at stake, and I was well aware that I wasn't entirely competent.
Problem was, he was talking, and I didn't want to give him pause to
reconsider and shut up. So I held my breath and pushed on.
”Obviously, something is hidden in Morelli's basement. What is it?“
I asked him. He pulled his pants waistband out and looked down at
himself. I guess making sure they were actually still there. ”It's
two keys on a keychain. I knew I was spotted at the bank, and I'd
be locked away for a while. I saw the camera pan to me before we
took it out. I wasn't sure I trusted the guys, so I changed the
plan. I was supposed to drive the van to a warehouse where we were
going to keep it on ice until the money was safe to use. Instead, I
drove it to a garage I knew about. Then I buried the keys to the
garage and the truck in Rose's basement. Rose was old, and she'd
always promised the house to me.

She always told me I was in her will.“ ”But she was disappointed
that you robbed a bank, and she changed her will.“ ”That would be
Morelli's version. My version goes that he sweet-talked her out of
the house and screwed me like he screwed my sister.“ He'd stopped
holding himself, but he was still standing bent and bowlegged. ”I'm
gonna have cramps for days,“ he said. ”You should register that
knee as a lethal weapon.“ ”It was an accident.“ ”Yeah, right. And
if I stop talking, it's gonna be an accident that you shoot me.“
”Let's skip to where you get out of prison.“ ”That was a real kick
in the head. I break into the house and what do I
find?

Asshole Morelli has poured concrete in the basement. I can't get
the friggin' keys. So I tell everybody, but they don't believe me.
They think I'm juicing them out of the money. And the truth is, I
was thinking about it. I did the time. I figured I deserved extra.
I never ratted on anyone.“ ”And?“ ”It just got more and more fucked
up. Everybody was hungry for the money and nobody trusted anybody
else. And Gratelli thought he was James Bond. He was carrying a gun
and planting bugs he bought at the Spy Store and going around at
night wearing infrared goggles. This is the guy who pissed his
pants as soon as we got into the bank. As a joke, I gave him a map
with directions and told him he couldn't show anyone. I said it was
top secret and it would take him to the money, but he had to guard
it and wait for things to settle down. I told him we'd cut the
other guys out and get more for ourselves. It was directions to
Starbucks, but Gratelli took it serious. Poor dumb, dead shmuck.“
Oh great. I got dyed over directions to Starbucks. ”Anyway, I'm up
shit creek because my nephew is now living in Morelli's house, so I
don't want to give away that the keys are in Morelli's basement.
I'm afraid these sons of bitches will go in there like World War
III. So I'm telling them not to get their shorts in a bunch and
they get all pissed off and snatch Loretta.“ ”How did Gratelli get
shot?“ ”They had Loretta. So I said I would take them to the keys,
but they had to go with me, and we had to wait for a time when I
knew the house was empty. So the three of us wait until everybody
goes out of the house, and then we all go in and troop into the
basement, and I show them the nice, new, perfect concrete floor.
It's in that corner, I say. Under six inches of concrete that
asshole Morelli laid down. And this is sort of the funny part. I
mean, it's not really funny, but... Anyway, Gratelli is sort of
freaking because he has a map in his car that I swear leads to the
money, and he knows it doesn't take him here. He knows it takes him
to Starbucks. And he actually thinks the keys are hidden somewhere
at Starbucks. Stan doesn't know what to make of any of it, but he
has plans for the money, and he's tired of the whole thing. And I
haven't mentioned this before, but Stan has done the occasional
job.“ ”Job?“ ”Wet work.“ ”Yikes.“ ”Yeah. So to make an impression,
and because Stan has already figured out Gratelli isn't an asset,
he pulls his gun and pops Gratelli in the forehead.

We both look at the stairs and decide it's too much of a pain in
the ass to get Gratelli out of the basement, so we leave. And on
the way out, Stan tells me his friend is getting real restless, and
if I'm messing with them and this isn't for real, I'm going to look
like Gratelli real soon.“ ”Turned out he was the one who looked
like Gratelli.“ ”I don't know what to make of that. I thought they
were tight. I guess when it comes to nine million, things change.“
”So where are we now?“ ”The keys are in the corner by the water
heater. You had the cellar dug up.

I'm surprised you didn't find them.“ ”Morelli had the cement
broken up, but he didn't dig through all the dirt.“ ”You should be
looking happy because you know where the keys are,“ Dom said. ”Why
don't you look happy?“ ”Two men broke into Morelli's house last
night while Morelli and I were out.

Zook heard them come in the back door and called the police, but
it looks like they were in the cellar before leaving.“ ”That's not
good news,“ Dom said. ”And now Stan's dead and the fourth partner
is left. But at least he don't know how to find the garage where I
stashed the van. He still needs me. So he still needs Loretta to be
alive. Otherwise, I'd never deal with the prick.“ This was making
me feel a little less panicky. We could still bargain for Loretta.
We could arrange a hostage swap. ”This is great,“ I said to Dom.
”We can give your partner the money and get Loretta back.“ ”I don't
want Morelli involved. Morelli will never do it. He'll do his cop
thing and turn the money in to the bank. He walked away from my
sister before, and he'd do it again.“ Dom was agitated. He was
pacing around. Obviously, his equipment had dropped back into
place, and he wasn't feeling so vulnerable. Not the time to argue
paternity, I told myself. Let it slide for now. Just find out where
he's got the money. ”Okay, we won't involve Morelli,“ I said.
”We'll do it without him. Where's the money?“ ”I hate Morelli,“ Dom
said. ”I've always hated him. Rotten S.O.B. He's not even bald.“
”Excuse me?“ ”Bald! Go ahead, tell me you didn't notice I'm going
bald.“ Oh boy. He'd flipped out. Just like that. One minute normal,
and the next minute rabid bald guy. ”Maybe you're a little bald on
the top,“ I said, ”but it's not unattractive.“ ”Is Morelli bald?“
”No.“ ”Damn right he's not bald,“ Dom said. ”He's the golden boy.
Has he got hair on his back? On his ass? Does he have hair on his
knuckles? On his toes? No. He's perfect. He's got hair on his
fucking head.“ I thought about Morelli. ”Maybe a little on his
ass,“ I said. Hell, he was Italian. It was practically required for
him to have hair on his ass. We both paused for a moment, our
attention caught by high-pitched whining. ”What's that?“ Dom asked.
The whining changed to yelps, and the realization hit us. ”Dogs,“
Dom said. The pack rounded the back corner of the house and raced
toward us. Five Dobermans with ”killer“ written all over them.
”Run!“ I yelled at Dom. We had a large expanse of rolling lawn
between us and the dogs, and an equally large expanse between us
and the road. We took off, and I could hear Dom pounding after me,
his breath wheezing through his teeth. ”Shoot 'em!“ he was shouting
at me. ”Shoot the fuckers.“ I was running with Dom's gun in my
hand, and while a small corner of my panicked, terrified brain
wanted to stop the beasts in their tracks, the rest of my brain was
seeing them as Snoopy. No way could I shoot them. Probably if they
caught us, they wouldn't hurt us, I told myself. But just in case,
I was running like hell. We reached Dom's car with the dogs at our
heels. I scrambled onto the car and perched on the roof, and Dom
kept running. He crossed the street and disappeared behind another
huge mansion-type house. The dogs stayed with me, surrounding the
car, barking and snarling. Lula had been waiting in the Firebird
all this time. She rolled out of the car, pointed her Glock
skyward, and fired off a shot. The dogs gave one last yip, turned
tail, and ran back to the house. I climbed down from the Lexus,
walked shaky-legged to the Firebird, and collapsed into the
passenger seat. ”That was almost it,“ I told Lula. ”I thought for
sure I was going to be dog food.“ ”Where'd you get the gun?“ ”I
took it from Dom.“ I dropped the gun into my purse and sat back
with my hand over my heart. ”I've gotta join a gym,“ I said. ”I
almost died back there.“ CHAPTER EIGHTEEN It was almost eleven when
Morelli dragged himself through the front door. I'd sent Mooner
home. Gary was tucked away in his camper in the garage. Zook was in
bed. Bob and I were on the couch pretending we were watching
television when really we were just waiting for Morelli. Morelli
gave both of us a kiss on the top of the head and kept going into
the kitchen. We followed after him and watched him knock back a
beer. He dropped his jacket on the floor and threw his gun on the
counter and belched. ”Beer,“ he said by way of explanation. ”Tough
day?“ ”Unh.“ He took a tub of deli potato salad out of the
refrigerator and forked some into his mouth. ”Did you get anything
resolved?“ I asked. ”It's a process.“ His gaze went to the small
table. ”What's with the gun in the plastic bag?“ ”Test it out to
see if it matches either of the murder weapons.“ ”Where'd you get
it?“ I gave him the short version. Morelli tossed the empty potato
salad container into the trash. ”Have you looked in the basement?“
”Yes. Big hole in the corner where the keys were supposedly buried.
No keys.“ ”Good riddance. Lets go to bed.“ Morelli was still in the
kitchen when I got back from driving Zook to school. Morelli was
showered and shaved and looked relatively civilized in a blue
button-down shirt and jeans. He had his gun clipped to his belt,
the phone cradled against his neck and shoulder, and he was taking
notes in a small pad he always carried. I poured myself a second
cup of coffee and waited for Morelli to get off the phone. ”You're
getting a late start,“ I said when he disconnected. ”I want to talk
to you, and I didn't want to do it until Zook was out of the house.
There was a padded envelope stuck under my windshield wiper when I
went out this morning. I put the contents in the freezer.“ My heart
stuttered in my chest. ”I've been talking to Larry Skid and Spanner
and the Fed who headed the bank job, and they're going to set up a
sting. I doubt Dom will go back to Bugger's house. And it doesn't
seem likely he'll get in touch with you, so we're going without
him.

Hang the scarf in the window and tell the fourth partner you
talked to Dom and you know everything. Tell him you want to swap
what you know for Loretta. Let the partner suggest how to make the
exchange. He'll be less suspicious of a trap if he sets it up. The
Feds have a garage in place.“ Morelli handed me a page from his
notebook. ”This is the address. Make sure he passes you Loretta
before you give him this information.“ ”Was it another toe?“
”Yeah.“ He poured coffee into a travel mug, and took two
bubble-wrapped packages from the freezer and dropped them into a
plastic bag. ”I'm taking these in with me, along with the gun.
Don't call me on your cell phone if you want to talk about this.
Call me on something that's secure.“ He kissed me and left. I gave
him twenty minutes and hung a red scarf in the window. It was
cashmere and had been a Christmas present from Morelli's mom two
years ago. He'd never worn it. He wasn't a red scarf kind of guy. I
got a call on my cell phone ten minutes after I hung the scarf.
”Who hung the scarf?“ he said. I recognized the voice. Slight rasp.
Flat. ”I did,“ I told him. ”And?“ ”I know everything. I had a
conversation with Dom yesterday. He wants to make a deal for
Loretta.“ ”Why isn't he talking to me?“ ”Afraid, I guess.“ ”But
you're not afraid?“ ”I'm not involved like Dom.“ ”What about
Morelli?“ ”He's not part of it.“ I sat out a full sixty seconds of
silence. I suppose he was debating whether to go forward. Or maybe
he was waiting to see if I'd get nervous and start blabbering.
”Here's the deal,“ he finally said. ”You tell me where the van is
located, and I give you Loretta.“ ”I need Loretta first.“ ”Not
gonna happen, sweetie.“ I hated this guy. I hated his voice. I
hated his arrogance and his ability to kill and maim in cold blood.
And I hated that he called me sweetie. ”You're going to have to
come up with a plan we can both live with,“ I told him. ”I'm a
reasonable guy,“ he said. ”I'll call you back in twenty minutes.“
By the time he called, my eye was twitching and my stomach was
clenched in a knot. The phone rang and I jumped in my seat. I took
a moment to breathe and steady my voice, and I answered the phone.
”The keys are taped to the underside of a bench in front of the
train station,“ he said. ”Look for the bus stop with the Nike ad.
When you get the keys, you can use them to get the van. After
you've secured the van, you can call me. The phone number is in the
envelope with the keys. You need to remember two things. If
anything goes wrong, I'll kill Loretta. Then I'll kill her son. And
then I'll kill you. And don't doubt for a moment that I won't.“
”What's the second thing?“ ”Be careful not to set off the
detonation device.“ Oh boy. ”Dom didn't tell me about the
detonation device.“ There was a moment of silence. ”Allen
booby-trapped the van. Allen loved doing that sort of thing. In
this case, it wasn't a bad idea, since none of us could really be
trusted. The key is necessary to disarm the mechanism. So, while
Dom has always known where the van was located, he had no access to
the money without the key. Allen probably could have bypassed his
system, but he didn't know the location of the van. Once Zero was
convinced he knew where the key was located, he eliminated Allen.
And then, of course, I eliminated Zero after we retrieved the keys.
Nine million is much better than four and a half. And I'm telling
you this so you will be careful when inserting the ignition key,
and also so you understand that I'm ruthless.“ I didn't respond.
”Well?“ he said. ”I'll get the van.“ ”No police. If you bring the
police in on this, I'll know. And it won't be good for Loretta.“ ”I
have to make sure she's okay.“ ”She's as okay as anyone could be
who just had two toes removed, and that's as close as you're going
to get to her.“ My newly washed car was at the curb. No more Zook
decorations. Just rust and faded paint and a bunch of dings and
dents. I drove to the office and got there just as Connie was
unlocking the door. No sign of Lula. I called Morelli on the office
phone, and he called me back from a landline. ”He's left the keys
on a bench at the train station. I'm to pick them up and get the
van. When I have the van, I'm supposed to call him. His number will
be with the keys.“ ”We can do this,“ Morelli said. ”We have video
of the van. We can duplicate it and have it in the garage. Get the
keys and I'll get back to you when we're ready.“ The door to the
bonds office banged open and shut and Lula stormed in. ”I swear,“
she said. ”I have a mind not to get married. That man came to my
house stinking drunk last night. I opened the door, and he called
me Charlotte. Who the hell is Charlotte? He said it was his mother,
but I don't believe it for a minute. And then when I said I wanted
to meet his mother, he said she was dead. And I don't think that's
true. I think he don't want me to meet his mama.“ ”We've got a
stack of filing,“ Connie said. ”Are you up to filing?“ ”I'm up to
murder. I'm in a vicious mood. I was ready for a good time, if you
know what I mean. And he fell asleep in the bathroom. I thought he
was getting ready. You know how sometimes men need to get ready?“ I
didn't have that problem. The men in my life were always ready. In
fact, I could do with a little less ready. Connie looked confused
by it, too. ”Ready for what?“ Connie asked. ”Whatever,“ Lula said.
”How the hell do I know what they do in there? Anyway, he's not
coming out and he's not coming out, and finally I go in and he's
asleep on the floor. So I said to him, Hey! And he never even
twitched. And then I pushed him around. And that didn't do nothing.
So I watched some television and went to bed, and when I got up he
was gone. Good thing, too, because I wasn't happy. I'm not marrying
no alcoholic.“ I couldn't imagine Tank or Ranger drunk. They were
always in control. They ate vegetables. They exercised. They didn't
eat butter, and they ate whole wheat bread. What on earth could
drive Tank to drink? The answer was clear. The answer was... Lula.
Big, tough Tank was no match for Lula. ”I have an errand to run,“ I
said. ”I'll be back.“ The train station wasn't far away, and the
bench was easy to find. There was only one with a Nike ad. I
illegally parked, ran over, and sat on the bench. I had my choice
of feeling around or bending over and looking. Neither was
appealing, considering what might be stuck there besides the keys.
I went with the looking and had good luck. The keys and the phone
number were in an envelope held to the seat with electricians tape.
I shoved the envelope into my pocket and motored back to the
office. Connie was on the phone and Lula was filing when I walked
in. I sunk into the couch and paged through one of Lula's bride
magazines. Connie got off the phone and looked over at me.
”Vinnie's coming home on Wednesday, and he's not going to be happy
about the number of skips out there,“ Connie said. ”We have a stack
of low-money losers that adds up to a lot of money.“ I knew she was
right. I had a list in my purse. Loretta had been taking precedent
over the job. ”Susan Stitch would be a good place to start,“ Connie
said. ”No way,“ Lula said from behind a file cabinet. ”That's the
monkey lady. I'm not going back there. I hate monkeys. And I
especially hate that monkey. That monkey is the spawn of the
devil.“ ”It was Brenda's fault for letting him out of the
bathroom,“ I said. ”I'm sure he'll be fine as long as we don't drag
Brenda and a film crew along with us.“ Truth is, I was nervous
about the ransom sting, and I wouldn't have minded a diversion
while I waited for Morelli's phone call. I stood and hung my bag on
my shoulder. ”I'm off to North Trenton,“ I said to Connie. I cut my
eyes to Lula. ”Are you coming with me?“ ”I guess I am,“ Lula said.
”Someone's gotta go along and protect your skinny ass.“ ”You didn't
do a lot of protecting yesterday. You sat in the car when I chased
down Dom.“ ”Dam right. I knew there was gonna be dogs. These people
got dogs and all kinds of security shit. Did you think of that? No.
You chased Dom into that yard, and next thing, there was a pack of
killer dogs running after you.“ We got out on the sidewalk, and
Lula looked at my car. ”No more Zook,“ she said. ”I thought the
Zook was an improvement.“ ”It was too recognizable with Zook on
it.“ ”Yeah, Connie and me always knew when you were trying to sneak
past the office.“ I drove to North Trenton and parked in Susan's
lot. We took the stairs, and I knocked on her apartment door. No
one answered, but the door eased open. ”Uh-oh,“ Lula said. ”There's
always dead bodies inside when this happens.“ She stuck her head in
and sniffed. ”I smell monkey,“ she said. I rapped on the open door.
”Anyone home?“ I yelled. No one answered, but I could hear a
television squawking somewhere. I stepped into the apartment and
scanned for the monkey. No monkey in sight. Lula was pressed tight
behind me. ”I better not get attacked by no monkey,“ she whispered.
”I'm gonna be mad at you if I get a monkey on my head. There was
lots of other losers we could have gone after.“ The living room and
kitchen area was unoccupied. The television was blaring from the
bedroom. ”Hello,“ I yelled again. ”Anyone home?“ ”Who could hear
over that television?“ Lula said. ”Sounds like one of them music
video stations.“ We cautiously crept to the bedroom and peeked
through the open door. Susan was naked on top of some guy with a
cast on his leg, and she was going to town on him, grinding and
pounding away in time with the music. ”Oops,“ I said. ”Sorry.“
Susan paused for a moment and covered her breasts with her hands.
”We made up,“ she said. I was telling myself not to look, but my
eyes weren't cooperating. ”Great, but you still have to get your
bond straightened out.“ ”It was for Carl,“ she said. ”He was
unhappy.“ ”Un-hunh.“ I could hear Lula making choking sounds behind
me. ”We'll wait in the hall until you're done,“ I said to Susan.
”Okay,“ she said. ”It never takes long.“ ”Cripes,“ the guy said.
”What's that supposed to mean?“ Lula and I almost knocked each
other over trying to get out of the bedroom. ”I gotta get outta
here before I bust from trying not to laugh out loud,“ she said. ”I
didn't want to be rude, but I was a 'ho for a bunch of years, and I
never seen anyone bouncing around on a wanger like that. That woman
still got some anger left in her. He's lucky if she don't bend
something and do permanent damage.“ Lula was looking at me and not
paying attention to what she was doing. She opened the powder room
door instead of the front door and Carl lunged out at her and
grabbed her face. ”Eeeeee,“ she squealed. ”I got a monkey on my
face. Help! Do something.“ Carl backflipped off her and ran around
the room. ”Get me out of here,“ Lula said. ”Where's the door?
Someone open the door!“ She found the door, yanked it open, and
Carl scampered out. He ran down the hall, jumped up, and punched
the elevator button. The elevator doors opened, Carl leaped inside,
and the doors closed. ”I didn't see that,“ Lula said. ”I had
nothing to do with it, and I never was here.“ I didn't want to go
back into the bedroom, so I yelled as loud as I could. ”Susan! Your
monkey just got into the elevator.“ ”Oh yes\“ Susan shouted. ”Yes,
yes, yes. Yippie-ki-yay, cowboy!“ ”I'm gonna pretend she heard,“
Lula said. ”I did my best to tell her.“ Lula nodded in agreement.
”Nobody could ask for anything more from you.“ The racket was still
going on in the bedroom. ”Probably we shouldn't wait for Susan to
get done,“ I said. ”Yeah. I just remembered I got something to do.“
We hurried down the stairs and slunk through the lobby to the lot.
We didn't see Carl. ”I hope Carl's okay,“ I said to Lula. ”Carl's
probably on his way to stick up a 7-Eleven.“ CHAPTER NINETEEN I
dropped Lula at the office and went to my apartment to check on
Rex. I leaned over his cage and told him about my day so far. He
was in his soup can and probably wasn't listening, but I talked to
him anyway. I gave him an olive and a corn chip, and I called Susan
Stitch. ”Did you find Carl?“ I asked her. ”Yep. He escapes like
that all the time. He's such a clever little dickens. He was on the
first floor visiting with Mrs. Rooney. He likes to play with her
beagle.“ ”Would this be a good time to get rebonded?“ ”It's
perfect, but you don't have to worry about it. Ron and I are going
to the courthouse together. We're meeting his lawyer there, and
hopefully this can all be worked out.“ ”That's great,“ I said,
assuming Ron was the guy with the leg cast and stiffy. ”Good luck.“
I hung up, and I took a moment to enjoy being in my own space.
Morelli's house had ice cream sandwiches, but my apartment was
home. My apartment was quiet and sane and was free from liberelves
and bank robbers. My cell rang, and I saw on the screen that it was
Morelli. I was tempted not to answer, but I knew he'd keep calling
until I connected. ”Hola,“ I said to him. ”Do you have a landline?“
”Yes. I'll get back to you on my kitchen phone.“ ”Here's the deal,“
he said when we reconnected. ”The address I gave you earlier is
actually a storage facility down by the river. The lockers are big.
Garage-size. People keep furniture and boats and ATVs in them. It's
not a stretch to drive a van into one. It's locker number
twenty-four, and it's rigged with a lock that will open with any
key. Inside is an exact replica of the van used in the robbery. The
key is in the ignition. We've got nine million in dummy money in
the back of the van. All you have to do is go along with the deal.“
”How am I going to communicate?“ ”I'll put a wire on you. Give me
twenty minutes.“ I put the phone down and went back to talking to
Rex. ”I hate this,“ I said to him. ”I don't know if you've noticed,
but I'm not the hero type. I wanted to be Wonder Woman when I was a
kid. Now that I'm an adult, I think kicking ass leaves a lot to be
desired. For one thing, I'm not that good at it. And wearing a wire
makes my stomach feel squishy. I'm always afraid I'll get found
out, and I'll end up with a bullet in the head like Allen
Gratelli.“ It was a sobering thought when said out loud. ”Not that
it would happen,“ I said to Rex. I refilled Rex's water bottle and
gave him an extra bowl of hamster food, just in case. And then Rex
and I waited in silence in the kitchen for Morelli to arrive. Ten
minutes later, Morelli knocked and opened the door. He had a key.
”I'm not supposed to be doing this,“ he said. ”I'm still working
the gang thing, but I didn't want anyone else feeling you up when
they taped the wire.“ ”If something happened to me, you'd take care
of Rex, wouldn't you?“ ”Nothings going to happen to you.“ ”Yes, but
if it did.“ ”If anything happened to you, I'd be so destroyed
they'd have to strap me to a bed and feed me through a tube. After
five or six years, I might be capable of taking care of Rex. In the
interim, you should assign a guardian.“ Morelli had his hands under
my shirt and supposedly was installing the wire, but his thumb kept
tracing a line across the tip of my breast. I was starting to lose
focus. ”If you're trying to get my mind off the ransom, it's
working,“ I told him. ”Yeah, sometimes I love my job,“ he said,