Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich [73]
He had a good head start, but in his panic he turned down a cul-de-sac. Lula angled her car across the road and blocked his exit. He swerved coming at us, jumped the curb, and took out about five thousand dollars’ worth of hedge. The house behind it looked like pictures I’ve seen of Versailles.
The Lexus stalled in the hedge, and Dom wrenched the door open and took off for the faux chateau. I ran flat-out after him and tackled him halfway to the house. He was heavier and stronger than I was, but I was willing to fight dirty. I brought my knee up and rearranged his private parts so that they were halfway into his intestines.
Dom grabbed himself and went into a fetal position. He was sweating and gasping for air, and for a moment I was afraid he might throw up. I removed a gun from him and stood.
“You’re out on parole,” I told him. “You’re not allowed to carry a gun.”
He sort of nodded. Still trying to get it together.
“Be a shame to have to shoot you with your own gun,” I said. “So I want you to move nice and slow and not get me excited.”
Another nod.
“You need to listen carefully, because this is serious,” I said. “Your fourth partner has Loretta.”
“I know. I’m trying to help her,” Dom said, “but I can’t get to the money. If I let Morelli in on it, he’ll turn the money back to the bank, and I’m afraid Loretta will be killed, just like Allen.”
“And Stanley Zero.”
Dom locked eyes with me. “What do you mean?”
“Someone put a bullet in Zero. I found him earlier today.”
“Do you know who did it?”
I shook my head. “No. But I’m thinking your fourth partner.”
“Bastard,” Dom said. “I never felt good about him.”
“I need a name.”
Dom was on his feet, still holding himself and a little stooped over, but starting to get color back in his face.
“I don’t have a name,” he said. “He was the inside guy. I never even saw him. 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