Heads You Lose - Lisa Lutz [68]
Lacey headed back to Mercer, intending to stop by Mapleshade. But when she arrived, Mapleshade was in lockdown—someone had pinched every last penny from the petty-cash box. The prime suspect was Sook. While the staff was searching his room, he snuck out the back. Lacey caught sight of him slipping into the woods and decided to follow. Sook was easy to trail; years of hunting without earplugs had rendered him half deaf, and his path was marked by tiny bits of ribbon hanging from trees. Eventually she caught him crouching down, unearthing a rock.
“Now what are you doing?” Lacey asked, exasperated.
Sook grabbed his heart and sat back on his heels.
“Damn, Lacey, at my age startling a man is tantamount to attempted murder.”
Lacey watched Sook slip a wad of bills into his pocket.
“I saw that, Sook.”
“Then I will ask you to keep your silence. They’ve got a three-strikes policy here at Mapleshade and I am not about to get kicked down to We Care.”
“So you’ve done this before?”
“Do the math.”
“You’ve stolen the petty cash three times?”
“You have no business judging me for illegal behavior.”
“What’s your plan?” Lacey asked. “Since clearly they’re onto you.”
“I’m going to slip these bills into Martha’s underwear drawer.”
“Martha doesn’t even know how to wear underwear anymore,” Lacey replied.
“Exactly,” said Sook. “They’ll forgive her. Probably won’t even count it as a first strike.”
Lacey followed Sook back to Mapleshade. As they approached, Yolanda was exiting the building, clearly on a Sook hunt.
“I told you to stay put, Sook,” she shouted.
Sook slipped the wad of bills into Lacey’s coat pocket and replied, “I needed some fresh air after the Spanish Inquisition.”
Yolanda shook her head in disappointment. She returned to the building followed by Lacey and Sook. In the lobby, all eyes were on the guilty party. Lacey sat down on the couch and stuffed the wad of bills under the cushion.
“Just tell us where the money is, Sook, and we’ll let it slide this time,” Yolanda said.
Lacey could tell she was lying.
“Yolanda,” Lacey said, “I’m sure it’s all an innocent misunderstanding. I bet the money will turn up any day now. You’ll find it just like loose change, under a couch cushion or something silly like that. In the meantime, while tensions are high, why don’t I take Sook off your hands this evening?”
“You want him?” Yolanda said. “You can have him, sweetheart.”
Yolanda then did the oddest thing. She approached Lacey and embraced her. Lacey was disarmed by the warm gesture until she felt Yolanda’s hands patting her down. Lacey pushed Yolanda away, pulled her pockets inside out for emphasis, and said, “I got nothing on me except my wallet and car keys. Now, if you don’t mind, Sook and I will be on our way.”
On the car ride back to the Hansen home, Lacey debriefed Sook on her day’s adventure with Brandy and Big Marv. While they agreed the new evidence was certainly incriminating, neither of them could name the precise crime.
Lacey made Sook a grilled cheese sandwich, which he called the best meal he’d had in months. Lacey felt a twinge of guilt for not having invited him over before.
“You keeping the gun in a safe place?” Sook asked.
“In my nightstand, like your average American.”
“Good girl,” Sook replied.
“I need a shower,” Lacey replied. “Can I get you anything else?”
“I wouldn’t turn down a glass of whiskey,” Sook replied.
Lacey pulled the bottle from their meager liquor cabinet. She poured Sook a stingy glass, trying to be responsible, and then started to put the bottle away.
“Leave it,” Sook said. “There’s no booze at Mapleshade. I’m on vacation today.”
Lacey nodded and left the room.
In the shower, she remembered her lie. The stitches had to come out before Paul got home. She dried off and doused a pair of nail clippers with rubbing alcohol. She cut the first stitch and tugged it out of her arm. She wished she had taken a slug of whiskey beforehand, but continued. By the time she heard Paul’s truck in the driveway, her arm