Javi sat back in his chair as if he’d lost his appetite. “MaybeTheodoesn’t want to help because he’s the one who took the money. If you go to jail, he’s off the hook.”
“Theo couldn’t have taken the money,” Vero replied.
“Did he know about it?”
“Yes.”
“And he knew where you kept it?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“Because it just doesn’t.”
Ramón shot Javi a warning look as he pressed her. “Don’t tell me you still have feelings for this guy?”
“I never had feelings for him. It wasn’t that kind of relationship.”
“Then why bother making excuses for him? He could have stolen the money when he took you home.”
“He didn’t,” Vero said, losing her patience.
“How do you know?”
“Because I never went home, Javi! I stayed with Theo all night in his room!” Her cheeks reddened as the silence thickened around the table. She lowered her voice. “After the party, I spent the night at his frat house. By the time I got back to my room the next day, the money was gone, and everyone knew it.”
Javi looked like he’d been punched in the gut. “Okay.” He rubbed a hand down his face as he recovered from the blow. “If you were with him all night, that’s at least an alibi. Right?”
“It’s not rock solid,” Ramón said quietly. “The prosecutor can still argue that she took the money out of her room before the party.Vero’s the only one who can say for sure that the money was still in her closet when she left.”
Javi looked confused. “I thought you said you were with Theo before the party.”
“I was,” she said. “But he told my attorney he didn’t know anything about the money. He denied knowing it was ever in my room. Theo was a small-time bookie, and he’d been in trouble for gambling before. If he admitted to the police that he knew about the poker money, he’d have to explain how he and his friends were involved in the games, too. Guess he didn’t want to get himself and his frat brothers in trouble. He probably lied to my lawyer just so none of them would get stuck paying fines and doing community service like Ava and Mia did.”
Javi cracked his knuckles under the table. “Then we’ll just have to persuade Theo to tell the truth.”
Norma gave a begrudging nod. “I agree. We should talk to him. We should ask Don where Theo lives.”
“Don doesn’t know,” Vero said. “He said Theo stopped returning his calls, and even I don’t know where to find him. Theo and his housemates would have all graduated by now.”
“I know someone who might be able to help,” I suggested.
Vero shot me a look. “We are not calling Cam.”
“Who’s Cam?” Norma asked.
It was probably best not to point out that Cameron was an eighteen-year-old high school dropout who had worked as a hacker for the Russian mob. He and Vero didn’t always see eye to eye, probably because they were too much alike (a fact I would be loath to ever point out to either of them). “He has a knack for finding people,” I said.
Vero laughed darkly. “No kidding. He was the one who called the cops and told them where to findme.”
“He never would have made that call if he’d known about your theft charges,” I reminded her. “He feels terrible about what he did. It was all a big misunderstanding.” Cam had assumed Vero had stolen his Lincoln Mark V in retaliation for the time he’d “borrowed” her beloved Charger. But the souped-up purple Lincoln hadn’t belonged to him either. It had belonged to Mrs. Haggerty. And Vero would never have driven that hideous monstrosity if my neighbor hadn’t given her the keys and asked her to do it as a favor. Mrs. Haggerty had been quick to clear up the misunderstanding with our local police, but not before they’d discovered Vero’s warrant in Maryland. “If given the opportunity, I’m sure Cam would want to help.”
“We can find Theo ourselves,” she said stubbornly.
“I’ll bring my rolling pin,” Gloria said. “Your mother and I can be very persuasive.”
“You and Aunt Norma are staying here,” Ramón said. “Someone has to stay and keep an eye on Vero. She shouldn’t be there, in case things get ugly.”
