“Speak.”
“I hate the way you answer the phone Sammy.”
“Matthew! Good to hear from you. No one’s sick or in jail are they?”
“At the moment, everyone is fine. I haven’t arrested anyone in the family lately. The only one I would even think of putting in a cell is you. Oh, and of course Doreen, but that’s just so I don’t have to hear her chatter.”
Doreen pointed at him with her middle finger without taking her eyes from the computer monitor. Sammy laughed.
“Did she stick her tongue out at you or flip you off?”
“Got the bird on that one.”
Doug grinned, pausing in his hearty consumption of the rest of Matt’s French fries.
“Okay Sammy, I need you to go to work.”
“I am at work. You talk like I lay around all day playing computer games or something.”
“My apologies. What are you working on?”
A snort greeted Matt from the other end of the line.
“Chess. I swear. Just once, I’m going to beat this damn machine at this game. Damn. How the hell did it get another checkmate?” A flurry of keystrokes as Sammy’s fingers clattered over the keys. “There. That will teach you. I’d like to hear you pull a checkmate when you no longer have that particular option installed.”
The rest of Sammy’s tirade against his computer came across as grumbling although the choice words he called the machine came through loud and clear.
“Sammy, if you are finished? I have serious work for you to do. It involves Andrew.”
Abruptly, all sound through the phone line ceased. Doreen stopped staring at her screen, attention riveted on Matt. Only Doug seemed at ease with the subject of the conversation. His eyes curious, he forked a generous sample of pecan pie into his mouth.
“What about Andrew? I know he’s here, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of him or get up that damn road yet.”
“Andrew is fine. I’m more concerned about who he is with.”
Skimming through the story, Matt gave Sammy a brief rundown of Destiny and the situation at hand. He skipped over the parts where Andrew got shot and Destiny ran away. Finishing up, he heard furious typing through the phone line as well as from Doreen. Sammy was the first to relay any details of the searches they each conducted.
“Casinos have tight security regarding their computer systems, but most of it reports changes. If I don’t change anything, I should be able to sneak in, copy the files, and sneak out.”
“That’s all we really need, just a copy of the proof so we can clear Destiny’s name.”
“Hmmm.” The more Sammy focused, and the deeper into a system he traveled, the less he spoke. Matt always wondered if Sammy thought he was speaking out loud instead of humming. From across the room, Doreen clicked her tongue against her teeth.
“What did you find, Doreen?”
“Mmmnnn”
Matt placed his hand over the receiver mouthpiece. It remained unclear whether Sammy could hear and understand when he went into hacker mode.
Doreen concentrated on her screen, after more clicks of the mouse, she finally responded. Doug’s head swiveled back and forth between Matt and Doreen, engrossed in the process.
“Doesn’t look good. The latest reports out of Vegas are naming Douglas Mancuso and Leonard Brunetti as persons of interest in the death of Marcus DeMont. They are both wanted for questioning.”
Doug’s head slowly riveted from Doreen to Matt. The jovial expression gone, replaced by his standard blank stare, mouth open enough to expose his last bite of pecan pie.
The last thing Matt needed right now was for Doug to get cold feet. He worked too hard to get the big man to relax to lose him now.
“Either means the police are onto Charles, or he fed them more fake proof.”
Doreen continued, making a mental note of Matt’s observation.
“Newswire says Charles DeMont was clearly emotional at a press conference. Mr. DeMont didn’t respond to questions about his inherited wealth. It has been rumored Marcus DeMont was worth approximately $97 million.”
Matt let out a low whistle.
“Certainly not chump change is it?”
“Mmmm.”
Matt forgot all about Sammy humming on the other end of the phone. Removing his hand, he spoke into the receiver.
“You getting anything over there?”
“Hmm? Oh, um.” Sammy cleared his throat. “This one is a little deeper than I thought. For some reason, there are a lot of locks between the doors to the accounting programs. I can make you a high roller if you want though.”
“Ah, pushing the limits of the law there a little aren’t you, cousin?”
“C’mon Matt, you know my ethics are a little higher than that. I wouldn’t really do it.”
Matt didn’t say anything. He knew Sammy wasn’t done yet.
“Unless of course I could get away with it.” Rich laughter filled the telephone receiver. “Okay Matt, I’m going to work on this. I’ll call you when I get in. And let me know if you plan on going to Vegas anytime soon. I’ll set you up.”
A click then the dial tone before Matt could warn Sammy to behave. Hanging up the phone, Matt’s smile faded as he caught a glimpse of Doug.
“You don’t look so good. What’s wrong?”
“You have to arrest me now don’t you? Doreen said they want me now too.”
Matt’s smile returned. “Nope. The report said you were wanted for questioning right?”
Wrinkles creased Doug’s brow as he concentrated, remembering the police report Doreen read. Waiting, watching as the thought process worked through Doug’s mind, Matt realized the man could never successfully tell a lie. His face gave away any emotion. A jury would believe anything he told them as long as he told the truth. The wrinkles across Doug’s forehead faded away as his grin grew larger. His eyes glittered.
“You’re right! They said I was wanted for questioning!”
“That’s right.” Matt couldn’t help but to smile along with Doug. His smile was infectious. “And what did we do all morning?”
“You questioned me!”
“Yes I did, so we did exactly what they wanted us to do didn’t we?”
Enthusiastically, Doug’s head bobbed up and down in agreement.
“We sure did. You know what else?” In his excitement, Doug didn’t wait for Matt to answer. “They also said I was an interesting person!”
Doug proudly beamed at Matt, his enormously thick muscular chest puffing out.
“They’re right too! You are a very interesting person Doug.”
Matt meant every word of it. There was no reason to explain the difference between a person of interest and an interesting person, and he did find Doug extremely interesting.
“Are you ready to make our phone call now, Doug?”
Doug’s chest deflated slightly before puffing back up with determination and pride.
“I think I’m ready. What do I say?”
Matt spent the next hour acting out the part of DeMont for Doug’s benefit, rehearsing a series of possible conversations. When Doug had his questions memorized, Matt prepared to make the call using Lenny’s cell phone, taken from the plow truck before they left the mountain. Opening the door to the modern section of the jail, Matt showed Doug into an interview room, locking the door so no one could interrupt the conversation. Matt kept a pen and paper nearby so he could give Doug assistance if he needed it during the call.
After the equipment was hooked up so Matt could hear the conversation, he began the recording device. DeMont answered on the first ring.
“Hello! So nice to finally hear from you.”
Irritation dripped from each syllable before the sound became muffled as DeMont talked to someone else, placing his hand over the phone.
“How is the job going?”Doug looked to Matt for reassurance, temporarily losing his newly found self-confidence. Matt nodded encouragingly, making a circular motion with his h
and, urging Doug to talk.
“Charles, it’s Doug. Lenny’s in jail.”
Enough silence floated through the open line to worry Matt they lost the call. Finally, DeMont spoke again, his voice controlled and calm although he over-enunciated each word.
“Did he finish the job first or did you take care of it?”
“We didn’t find her. We were coming back when Lenny got arrested.”
“For what?”
“The gun he keeps in his shoulder holster. Something about a permit to have it I guess.”
Matt nodded at Doug again, scribbling on a piece of paper to make DeMont say anything incriminating.
“Finish the job or you will be terminated. Do you understand me?”
Doug’s eyes grew wide. He was smart enough to figure out that in DeMont’s carefully chosen words, terminated didn’t mean fired.
“What do you want me to do? We went looking for her. She wasn’t there. There’s been a lot of snow and the body may have been dragged away by animals or buried under the snow.”
Smiling, Matt gave Doug a thumbs up. Mentioning a body was part of the plan. Both men leaned forward for DeMont’s reply. Instead, more muffled speaking came through the line as DeMont covered the phone again.
“I have to go now. I’m in the middle of something important. I want you to call me back in three hours. Understand me?”
Unsure how to keep DeMont on the phone, Doug looked around wild-eyed. Matt could do no more than shrug, giving Doug his silent permission to end the call.
“Yeah I understand. I’ll call you back.” The cell phone window notified Doug the call had already been disconnected.
24.
“I’m sorry Matt. None of that was any good. He didn’t say anything.”
Doug hung his head, the sense of failure flowing from him.
“It’s okay, buddy. He wouldn’t say anything with other people around. I’m sure that’s why he’s making you call back in three hours. He will be able to talk about it then. We’ll just try again. And don’t let him frighten you. I think he’ll be a lot meaner next time, but we’ll make sure you are ready.”
Doug nodded, sitting up a bit straighter, preparing himself to speak with Charles DeMont again. Leaving the room, they returned to the central office area. Doreen talked on the phone at her desk, discussing which of the McGowan boys was currently dating the mayor’s daughter. Seeing Matt and Doug enter the room, she tipped her head enough to pull her mouth away from the phone.
“Sammy called you back while you were in there. How did it go?”
“Bad. DeMont wouldn’t say anything. There were other people around him. We’re gonna try again later.”
Placing her lips near the phone again, she resumed the conversation where it left off although her eyes showed concern as she watched the men at the corner desk. Matt casually picked up the phone on his desk and called Sammy. Hopefully that lead went better than Doug’s call.
“Speak”
“Would you please learn to say ‘hello’? Do you answer the phone like that when your mother calls?”
“I sure do. She barks at me like a dog.”
Sammy’s laughter relaxed Matt. Sitting back in the chair, feet up on the desk, Matt tried not to notice the stressful expression on Doug’s face.
“So what did you come up with?”
Anxious, Matt wanted to get down to business. Sammy could drag on suspense forever.
“It was crazy man. I tapped into the client directory; I tapped into the employee directory. I tapped into their security line. All of that was easy, but that damn accounting system was locked up tight.”
Hiding his disappointment, Matt could not believe Sammy failed. This would be a first.
“So are you saying you couldn’t get in? What about the laptop? Could you figure out where it was or anything?”
An annoyed huff came from Sammy.
“Who said I didn’t get in? I got what you need. It’s already printed and sitting on my desk. I found other neat stuff too.”
Matt’s relief was so great he wasn’t sure he heard Sammy right.
“You got in? You have the files showing money skimmed from the bank and where it went?”
“Yep. I have this DeMont character’s name signing off on all kinds of stuff. This girl Andrew’s with is one smart cookie. She pulled together everything including signatures of the son on the documents and put them all in one nice neat little package on her computer.”
“Sammy, that’s the best news I’ve had all year. Meet me up at Andrew’s place in about an hour. The road is clear now so I don’t want to hear any excuses, and don’t bring anyone with you. Destiny is still skittish.”
Agreeing, Sammy hung up. Matt could not contain his grin as he looked back and forth triumphantly from Doug to Doreen. Doug’s mind seemed to still be sorting out what he just heard, but Doreen hung up her phone when her keen ears picked up that Sammy had gotten through to the evidence.
“He got it? We can clear her of the charges?”
Hands clasped together, Doreen bubbled with excitement.
“We can’t clear her yet. DeMont is still out there. I would still have to arrest Destiny and let her have her day in court. I need to send copies of the information and a statement from Doug to the authorities in Vegas so they can direct the attention to DeMont and off Destiny. Then she will be able to come out. With substantial proof, the courts up there will be able to clear the warrant for her. I need to see what Sammy came up with first, and I need Destiny to look at it and make sure it’s all there and it’s enough.”
“Okay, I’m ready whenever you are.”
Doreen grabbed a bag from the bottom desk drawer, stood, and went to retrieve her coat from a hook in the lobby.
“What do you mean we? Who said you were going anywhere?” He didn’t have time to play games with her. “You just heard me say this girl is skittish. Hell, she leveled a rifle at me when I showed up!” Mentally slowing, he counted to ten. How did one little sister continuously and successfully get him angered when an entire bar full of drunk and angry bikers couldn’t even ruffle his feathers?
“You heard me. I’m going with you. You can’t stop me from visiting my own cousin. Besides, if this poor girl has only dealt with you men, she will certainly welcome me in.”
Coat and purse in place, Doreen tapped her foot, impatiently waiting at the door.
“Not only that, Sawyer just pulled into the parking lot, so I’m off duty anyway.”
James Sawyer manned the front desk for the second shift. He also performed essential duties for the cells and prisoners. An excellent officer, Sawyer had a knack for dealing with the prisoners and running the station efficiently. If a bullet had not torn into the side of his neck when he responded to a domestic disturbance call, Sawyer would still be patrolling.
Deciding it was easier to give in to Doreen than to spend the next hour arguing with her, Matt conceded, showing his displeasure by gruffly standing, muttering under his breath about damn little sisters.
Doug followed as Matt strode down the aisle, flinging open the counter door and marching past Doreen. As they prepared to go out, Sawyer stepped in, shaking off the snow flurries accumulated in his hat. He smiled at Doreen, a dimple in his right cheek deepening as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Hello Doreen.” Acknowledging Matt, Sawyer tipped his head to his boss. “Sheriff Parker.”
“Good evening, Sawyer. Things are pretty quiet. I think you can let Lenny make his phone call now if he wants to.”
“Will do.”
Sawyer nodded, suddenly ready to get to work. Hand on the door, ready to leave the building, Matt was stopped by Doreen.
“Oh, before we head up there, I want to stop by the diner. We can take dinner up with us.”
At the mention of the diner, Doug perked up, his confidence returning in his stance. As Matt opened the door, Doug nearly shoved him out in his enthusiasm to be on their way.
At the diner, Matt a
nd Doreen ordered dinners to go and left Doug in Nancy’s capable hands. Before they left, Doreen asked one more time if Doug wanted to go with them but he shook his head.
“I don’t need to go. I know everything will be fine up there.”
Matt decided this might not be such a bad idea anyway.
“Okay Doug. Stay here and enjoy your dinner. I will come back and get you when we are finished so you can make that phone call. After that, we will see about getting a hotel room for you.”
Overhearing enough of the conversation between refills on coffee and calling waitresses to pick up orders, Nancy stepped to the counter near Doug.
“He can stay in my spare bedroom. There’s no reason to put him in a hotel.”
Nancy was always friendly, but Matt never heard her offer a room in her house to anyone before. Beauty must be in the eye of the beholder. She also lived in a house next door to the diner, both within walking distance of the police station.
Another box of Styrofoam containers in hand, along with large slices of pie, apple this time, and Matt and Doreen were on their way. One last goodbye around the diner before scurrying through the wind to the Bronco. Being a bachelor, most of what Matt ate came from the diner. On Sundays, he ate at Grandma’s house. She prepared Sunday dinner for the family every week without fail since the day she got married. The dinners started out small, and as the family grew, so did the dinners. These days, Sunday dinners became a production, with the daughters and granddaughters showing up in the morning after church to begin preparing dinner. Aunts, uncles and cousins dropped by at all hours of the day, sampling any food already prepared, playing football in the yard, discussing all of the latest gossip. Grandma loved Sundays, and so did Matt.
Over the years, he became aware of family members bringing special people to the dinners, eventually marrying, and having children. At times, watching the family, seeing the children, learning who would be having a new baby, who would be getting married, and who the new person coming to dinner would be, Matt would feel a place inside him wishing he could bring someone special to Sunday dinner.
Fate and Destiny Page 17