Chapter 20
Panic
Joel Roberts threw down the afternoon edition of the LA Times in disgust. He couldn’t believe Harvey Hamlin had been found dead in the vault at Bank USA. He knew exactly what that meant. Their worst case scenario just catapulted from bank robbery to murder. He couldn’t imagine what had gone wrong. He picked up the phone and called Sinclair. “I just saw the paper. What the hell happened?”
“Ah. I don’t know, but don’t worry. Everything is fine. The campaign fund is whole again.”
“Well, that’s good news, but what about Fred?”
“Don’t worry about him. If he’s smart he’ll take his million bucks and disappear. It’s perfect, if you think about it. If they think Fred is responsible for the robbery they won’t be looking for anyone else.”
“The Congressman is going to be pissed, though. He likes Fred and wouldn’t have agreed to let him take the fall for murder.”
“I know, but Fred was the perfect patsy, young, naive and honest to a fault. It’s unfortunate about Harvey, but that’s just one less thread that might come unraveled.”
“So, did Harvey’s really die of a heart attack?”
“That’s what my guy tells me, but you’ll have to wait and see what the coroner says.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Harvey had to die and the deed is done,” Sinclair said irritably. “Did you really think I’d trust a drunken asshole like Harvey Hamlin to keep his mouth shut.”
Joel took a deep breath. “No. I suppose not.”
“Don’t worry. Everything is falling into place. Just keep your cool and don’t let the Congressman give you any shit about Fred Fuller. Sometimes there is collateral damage you don’t like, but there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s just fate.”
Joel hung up the phone. He was relieved the campaign fund was whole again, but Fred Fuller worried him. If he got caught and pled innocent, a good defense attorney would do a thorough investigation and their whole plan might get unraveled. Then he had a thought. If Fred got caught, he could volunteer to be his attorney. A smile crept across his face.
Uncommon Thief Page 20