Heads You Lose - Lisa Lutz [89]
“Tate, can I get a drink?” Lacey asked, hoping to at least blur it.
“What’ll it be?” Tate asked.
“Whiskey with a beer back,” Lacey replied.
“At two in the afternoon, Lacey?” Tate asked.
“How are you planning on staying in business with an attitude like that?”
Tate poured the shot and pulled the pint. Rafael looked up from his crossword and nodded at Lacey.
“How are you doing, Lace?”
“Okay,” Lacey replied, without making eye contact.
Rafael slid over to the stool next to hers and rolled up his sleeve. “Your fomenting trick worked,” he said.
“Good,” Lacey said, downing her shot. “Can I get another?”
“Sure you’re okay?” Rafael asked.
“Uh-huh. Just got a lot on my mind.”
“He told you, didn’t he?”
“Rafael, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I swear, nobody in this town can keep a secret.”
Lacey was thinking he got it all wrong. Everyone was keeping secrets. That was the problem with this town.
Rafael finished his beer in one swift gulp and headed for the door. A triangle of daylight entered the Timberline and left with him. When the light returned, Lacey swiveled on her barstool and saw Brandy’s unmistakable silhouette limping in her direction. Brandy hooked her cane on the edge of the bar and seated herself next to Lacey.
“What can I get you, Brandy?” Tate asked.
“Easy Jesus,” Brandy replied.
“Refresh my memory,” said Tate.
“Brandy and Dr Pepper.”
“You got it, sweetheart.”
Lacey waited until Brandy’s drink was served and Tate was out of earshot before she launched into her usual questioning.
“So, Brandy, where were you the Sunday before last, between two and three a.m.?”
“You mean the night before your brother asked me to serve as his alibi?” Brandy asked, looking a little too smug for Lacey’s liking.
“Yeah, that night.”
“I was home all evening. Doing my nails, I think.”
“No one can verify your whereabouts?”
“Nope,” Brandy replied. “You’re just going to have to take my word for it.”
Lacey finished her whiskey and looked Brandy in the eye.
“So what are we doing here?” Lacey asked.
“Big Marv just upped his offer to one million.”
“How do you know this and I don’t?” Lacey asked.
“Paul will tell you when you get home.”
“Then why trouble with this secret meeting?”
“You need to take the offer. Now,” Brandy said.
“Well, if he’s up to a million, who says Jay won’t go higher?”
“When you’re buying land, you have to pay cash. Jay can’t access more than that. Neither can Marv. They won’t work together and pool their funds. It’s their final offer.”
“So maybe someone else will join the bidding war.”
“You don’t want any professional surveying that land.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s worth nothing, Lacey.”
“What?”
“It’s worth about a hundred grand, in a good economy. There’s nothing valuable on the property besides the potential for development and, let’s be frank, that urban sprawl isn’t happening anytime soon.”
“So why do the Babalatos think it’s worth something?”
“Terry was playing a long con on them. He hired a phony surveyor, mocked up official-looking documents that made it look like the soil was loaded with rare minerals. Then he outbid them when your parents were selling and they were low on cash. Jakes always planned to sell to the brothers, but chickened out. Too afraid of what the Babalatos would do when they learned the truth. He knew if he sold, he’d have to skip town right away. And he was never ready to leave. I think part of him always hoped he and Deena would get back together.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this the last time we talked?” Lacey asked.
“This stuff is strictly need-to-know. You didn’t need to know. No offense,” Brandy said.
“So how did you even get involved?” Lacey asked.
“I hacked into Terry’s computer.”
“Of course. So why didn’t you tell Paul?”
“He needed to believe he was holding all the cards. You ever see him play poker? He’s got a tell for every Shady Acre of land.”
“You sure about this?” Lacey asked. Suddenly, the Babalatos shot to the top of her