—
COLE USED ADIMEto unscrew the California plates on the Cadillac and transferred them to the Lexus. When Deese asked why, he said, “Because I don’t think the cops know the California plates, but they’ll know the plates on the Lexus if Harrelson calls them. Now we’re driving a Lexus with California plates, which is different from anything they know. Here in Vegas, driving a Lexus is like driving a Ford.”
Cox asked, “Should I erase my fingerprints? From the Caddy?”
“Too late for that, honey,” Cole said.
She tried anyway, using a sock to rub the steering wheel and the center console and door handles. As she did, she kept muttering, “Oh, God, Oh, Jesus,” and looking over at the Lexus, where Deese waited in the backseat with Gloria Harrelson.
When Cole was finished with the license plates, he pointed to the passenger side and then walked around to the driver’s-side door and got in. Cox got a sack out of the back of the Cadillac and said, “At least I saved some shoes.” In the car, she turned to look at Gloria in the back and asked, “You okay?”
Harrelson just sobbed.
“She’s bummed out because I’ve been feeling her up,” Deese said with a grin. “There’s some nice stuff under all them clothes.”
“Don’t do that,” Cox said. “Please don’t do that, I can’t stand it.” To Cole: “Where are we going? We can’t go back to the house.”
“Don’t know,” Cole said. “We got to figure that out.”
“I know where we’re going,” Deese said. “We need to head north on Highway 95. About two hours... We got gas?”
“We got gas. But if we’re gonna try to do this, we need to make another stop at a Walmart.”
Deese: “What for?”
“We need to buy a couple of metal file boxes.”
Deese: “Why?”
Cole told him. Deese said, “I didn’t think of that.”
“You don’t think a lot,” Cox said. “Period.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Lucas estimated that he’d been asleep for all of fourteen seconds when his phone rang. He groped at its lighted face on the bedside table, looked at the time and caller: one o’clock in the morning, Tremanty.
When Lucas answered, Tremanty said, “The local office got a call from a guy named Harrelson and they eventually called me. Harrelson’s a gambler who’s believed to have a lot of cash on hand. Deese and some other guy, probably Cole, crashed his house tonight, thinking that Harrelson had five million bucks there or in his car. He didn’t. So Deese and the others took Harrelson’s wife and they’re holding her for ransom.”
“That’s nuts,” Lucas said.
“Exactly. Deese shot a friend of Harrelson’s. Killed him. To make his point. And he pistol-whipped Harrelson. Deese says he’ll rape Harrelson’s wife and then kill her if Harrelson doesanything but pay the money. If they see cops, if they don’t get the money, then they’ll rape and kill her. Harrelson believes them.”
“How do they know it’s Deese?”
“He was wearing a mask when he came in, but he took it off. To further make his point.”
“Harrelson called you anyway?”
“The guy’s not stupid,” Tremanty said. “He figures if he pays, they’ll kill his old lady anyway to eliminate a witness.”
“How’s Deese gonna... Harrelson wouldn’t go with him after the payoff... There’d still be witnesses...”
“We’re not dealing with a genius here. While Deese isn’t so bright, he’s perfectly willing to kill at the drop of a hat. In New Orleans, that’s almost the same as being bright. He’s telling the truth, though: he’ll rape and kill the woman if he doesn’t get the money. Probably rape the woman and kill her even if he does. He’s gone over the edge. They’ll call Harrelson in the morning and tell him where to deliver the money.”
“What do you want from me?” Lucas asked. “I’ll do anything you say.”
