Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich [52]
So let’s step into Dom’s shoes. I’m ultra-recognizable, and I’m confined to a small area. How would I move around? In disguise or at night. Second problem, I have no money. So either I mooch from someone I trust or else I hold up a convenience store. I’m going to guess he’s mooching.
I called Connie. “Would you run a personal history on Dom for me?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Where was he living when he was sent to prison?”
“That’s easy. He owned a house on Vine Street. When he was sentenced, his wife divorced him and got the house. So far as I know, she’s still living there and has remarried.”
I got the house number from Connie and hung up. I’d forgotten about the ex-wife. This was great. Ex-wives loved ratting on their ex-husbands.
_______
THE VINE STREET house was a small single-family cape with a detached single-car garage. It had a green Subaru sitting in the driveway.
I parked and knocked on the front door. A woman answered and gasped when she saw me.
“Sorry,” I said. “I know I’m blue. I had an accident with some dye.”
“I know who you are,” she said. “You’re Stephanie Plum. There was a piece on you on the late news last night. They said you were involved in the robbery treasure hunt, and you and Brenda got sprayed with blue dye. Do you really know Brenda?”
“Yes.”
“What’s she like?”
“She’s like Brenda. Could I ask you some questions about Dom?”
“Sure, but I don’t know much about him anymore. I haven’t seen him since he got out.”
“I’m interested in the guys he used to hang with.”
“Mostly they were from his old neighborhood. Victor Raguzzo, Benny Stoli, Jelly Kantner. And the guy who was shot. Allen Gratelli. Allen and Dom worked together.”
“Did you think any of those guys pulled the job with him?”
“I could see Allen doing it. Victor, Benny, and Jelly, no.”
“Dom’s hiding out somewhere. Do you have any ideas?”
“He’s not with his mom?”
“No.”
“Jelly would be dumb enough to take him in. Or maybe he’s still seeing Peggy Bargaloski. That’s why I divorced him. I found out he was spending a lot of time at Peggy’s house.”
I gave her my card and told her to call me if she saw Dom.
I drove around the corner, pulled to the curb, and got addresses from Connie. Jelly was living in a second-floor apartment two blocks from Dom’s mother’s house. Peggy was in Cleveland.
I wanted to do a drive-by on Jelly’s house, but I was too obvious in the Zook car. There was a car wash minutes away on the corner of Hammond and Baker, but I didn’t want to put up with the car wash crew and their comments on my blueness. I know that’s chickenshit of me. What can I say? I’m blue, and I’m feeling fragile.
I drove back to Morelli’s house, thinking I’d check on Lula and trade my Zookmobile for Morelli’s SUV. I let myself into the house and couldn’t find anyone. Mooner’s laptop was on the coffee table beside Zook’s, but there was no Mooner or Zook. I walked to the back of the house and looked out. Mooner and Zook were digging in the backyard with Bob. Lula was standing guard with her gun drawn. A small crowd had formed on the perimeter of the crime scene tape. Gary was sitting on the stoop, watching.
“What the heck is this?” I asked Lula.
“We figured it wouldn’t hurt to look. There’s still some undisturbed ground here. And if we find it, we’ll share it with Morelli.”
“Are you insane? If you find it, you’ll hand it over to the authorities! You’re looking for stolen money.”
“Hunh,” Lula said. “You sure got a stick up your ass. When did you get so play-by-the-book?”
“I’ve always been play-by-the-book. You’re the one who doesn’t play by the book.”
“Well, I knew it was one of us.”
“Anyway, I don’t think the money is buried in the backyard.”
“Me, either,” Gary said. “I’m not seeing anything. I told them it was a waste of time, but no one would listen.”
“Yeah, but you might be a nut,” Lula said.
“Hey,” I yelled at Zook and Mooner. “Stop digging. The money isn’t in the backyard.”
A murmur went up from the people pressed against the crime scene tape. Two of them had shovels.
“It isn’t in