Liar, Liar

by K. J. Larsen

  My eyes widened. “Stacey?”

  “So the old man went on business a few days. So effin what. All them rich guys go on business.”

  “This is different, baby. It doesn’t feel right. What if he’s on to me?”

  “They got nothin’ to pin me to you.”

  “It’s that stupid meddling brother. What if he convinced Roger to file for divorce?”

  “I waited a year for this and I ain’t settling on for allowance. We do this and we roll the rest of our lives.”

  “Don’t cause a scene.” She eyeballed the other tables. “We finish this now. Make it look like an accident.”

  Tattoo broke an ugly smile. “I’m looking forward to this one.”

  He caressed her leg and nibbled her ear. “We got time.”

  She pushed him away. “I gotta be home when Roger calls. I’ll let you know where he is.”

  “You won’t get off that easy in a few days. We’ll have nothing but time.”

  “And money,” she purred.

  Bambi paid the check with a credit card and he followed her to the Escalade.

  I dashed to their table heading the busboy off at the pass. I confiscated their glasses with a tissue, the mic off the flowers, and stuffed a fat bill in the busboy’s hand. I was gone before he closed his mouth.

  I hopped in the passenger seat beside Max.

  “Follow?” he said.

  I copied down biker dude’s license plate.

  “I’d rather ID these clowns. We should get these prints to Rocco. And a copy of the audio to Captain Bob.”

  “I suppose stopping a multi-millionaire’s murder would put you back in the captain’s good graces.”

  I made a face. “If Roger doesn’t weaken and call the black widow first. I’ll give him a call.”

  “You wanna get Roger’s attention? Sit on him. It worked for me. And it definitely worked for Bambi.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was after five by the time we got back to the Precinct and dropped the glasses off with my cousin in Forensics. Captain Bob refused to see me but I left a message and a copy of the tape. I called Roger and threatened his life if he spoke to Bambi. I figured he’d be dead anyway.

  We parked around the corner from my mechanic’s shop. The lights were on and Jack’s bank-robbing nephew was working late. Before long a greasy looking teenager in a jumpsuit drove a late model Volvo through the bay entrance. He scanned the area for witnesses and quickly slammed the door down behind him. Almost immediately the sound of power tools revved to life. Fifteen minutes later the bay doors reopened. What appeared to be a U-Haul truck with a dozen cans of spray paint pulled out and headed for the Dan Ryan.

  “I’ll be damned,” Max said. “Devin has turned his uncle’s business into a chop shop.”

  “Looks that way.”

  “Do you want to call it in?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll stop by tomorrow and tell Devin the cops are on to him. That should shake him enough to straighten up or set up shop elsewhere.”

  My cell phone vibrated in my jean pocket. It was Rocco. I put the phone on speaker.

  “So did you get a read on the glasses I dropped off?”

  “I did, but it will cost you dinner. Maria took the kids to her mom’s for a birthday party. I haven’t met this bodyguard of yours and if you take care of him like you took care of me he’s starving.”

  “He’s supposed to take care of me, Rocco.”

  “Hey, I’m hungry,” Max said.

  “We’re waiting for Devin to lock up so I can B&E Jack’s shop. I need something out of my car.”

  “Eat first. You don’t want to go to jail hungry. The food sucks.”

  “Good tip,” Max said. “Where do we meet?”

  “At Mama Stortini’s on Morgan.”

  My tummy did a flip flop. Stortini’s puts out a seafood linguini that rivals Tino’s.

  “I reserved a table by the window where we can keep an eye on the car and avoid more fireworks,” my brother said.

  The greasy teenager returned in a spanking new Beemer. A purple and gold tassel swung from the rear view mirror, somebody’s graduation gift.

  Max turned the key and jammed the car in drive. “We’re on our way. Devin’s going to be a while.”

  Rocco waited for us in front of Stortini’s and pulled the cones from our parking spot when we approached.

  “Sweet,” Max said.

  I chuckled. “Rocco gets the best parking places. He uses those cones all over Chicago.”

  I took care of the intros and the guys checked each other out. They were about the same height and in good shape but Max spent more time in the gym and he didn’t need a woman to match his socks.

  When the waiter brought our plates and a bottle of Chianti I turned to Rocco. “What did you find out about the number I found in Charlie’s room?”

  Rocco pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and punched a number in his phone. He held it to my ear.

  A monotone voice answered. “FBI. How may I direct your call?”

  My eyes widened and Rocco clicked the phone shut and stuffed it back in his pocket.

  “Eddie Harr has a mole in the FBI,” he said. “This is a powerful and well connected organization. It’s not too late…”

  “Don’t say it,” I said.

  Rocco grinned. “It’s not too late to be a dispatcher.”

  I scrunched my face. “Is it too late to be an only child?”

  Max changed the subject. “Did you get any prints off the glasses.”

  Rocco brought out a file. “Kenneth Turner and Stacey Pope were married five years ago in Reno. They both have rap sheets. Check fraud, identity theft, nothing real serious, and there’s no record of a divorce.”

  “Good news for Roger,” Max said.

  “Nothing we tell Roger will sound like good news. The woman he loves wants him dead. She’s a scammer, he’s a fool. That’s pretty tough to sugar coat.”

  “I’m going to introduce Roger to Ginny,” I said.

  “Good. Two computer nerds no one else wants. Sounds like a perfect match.”

  The linguini was the best, maybe even better than Tino’s, and it was served with crusty rosemary bread and Italian salad. When the waiter cleared our plates he brought steaming mugs of coffee, a tray of biscotti, and spumoni ice cream.

  “What did the captain say when he heard the tape?”

  “He said, ‘What a goddam idiot.’”

  “Ken or Stacey?”

  “The computer geek. He said the guy’s beat with the ugly stick and thinks a twenty-five- year-old stripper is hot for him.”

  I stiffened. “Looks aren’t everything. There are true Beauty and the Beast romances out there.”

  “Name one.”

  “Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett.”

  “She looks like him without makeup.”

  “Ari and Jackie.”

  “That went well.”

  “Boris and Natasha.”

  “You got me. The problem is we have the tape but it’s not admissible in court. We can probably get a search warrant for the house but we won’t find anything. Even if there’s Prestone anti-freeze in the garage there’s no proof she spiked his iced tea with it.”

  “Damn.”

  “What I can do is call a buddy of mine who works for the Glenview P.D. I can meet him up there and bring them both in for questioning. We’ll play the tape and show them what we’ve got. Bimbo’s marriage to—”

  “It’s Bambi.”

  “Whatever. The marriage is a fraud. Threaten bigamy charges and if we’re lucky Bambi will run back to Nevada and never return.”

  “And Roger’s off the chopping block. He won’t be good to them dead any more.”

  Max nodded. “It should work. But before you bring them in we’d like to tell Roger. He’ll want to freeze her bank and credit card access or she’ll clean him out.”


  “Talk to Roger in the morning. After he takes care of business we’ll bring them in. It’s the best we can do. At least the sucker will be safe.”

  “But someone else won’t,” I said. “She’ll go back to Las Vegas, stick silver whirleys on her nipples and attach herself to a pole—”

  “Go on.” Their eyes glazed over.

  I glared. “And Stacey will find some other poor schmuck.”

  “Rich schmuck,” Max said.

  “Poor rich schmuck to scam, hitch, and kill.”

  Max looked disappointed. “You skipped the part about the lap dance.”

  I threw a biscotti at him.

  “I agree it sucks,” Rocco said, “but without more evidence the best we can do is save this guy’s ass. You did good on this one.”

  “It’s not a wash yet. What if we get more evidence?”

  “You mean enough proof to convict.”

  “Enough proof to send her away until her boobs droop.”

  “Does silicon droop?”

  “I hope it melts,” I said.

  Rocco tipped the bottle and the last of the wine splashed in his glass. “Another dead soldier.”

  “It won’t work, sis. The only way is to catch them taking a pot shot at Roger. Tempting but it’s not gonna happen.”

  “Hmm,” I said thoughtfully.

  “I know that look and you can forget it, Cat,” Rocco said.

  “What?”

  “Forget the heroics. We play this one by the book. The last thing you want to do is piss the captain off. He’s still taking heat from upstairs.”

  “Eddie Harr is crooked as they come,” I said. “I can’t believe Captain Bob apologized.”

  “Like he had a choice.”

  Rocco walked outside with us. “No sign of Charlie today?”

  I shook my head.

  “They might think their little car bomb scared you off. Stay away and they could stop swinging.”

  “Like that’s gonna happen,” Max said.

  I snorted. “The people who killed Rita should pay for it. She deserves that.”

  “It won’t bring her back.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  Rocco kissed my cheek. “Be careful, Cat. I’ll see you tomorrow at the party.”

  “Just a heads up, Rocco. I’ll be your sister’s date for the party.”

  Rocco’s eyes narrowed. “You sleeping with my sister?”

  “That’s none of your business,” I said.

  “I’m not,” Max said and Rocco smiled. “Yet.”

  “Max is dodging bullets with me while we figure this thing out. I don’t know how to thank him.”

  “I’ll take that lap dance,” Max said and Rocco frowned.

  Chapter Twenty

  This time the lights were out in Jack’s garage when we cruised by. There were cars parked outside the shop, presumably repairs he intended to return. My faithful Silver Bullet was locked up tight inside.

  We parked and turned off the lights. I pulled on my black hoodie sweatshirt, gathered my pick and tension wrench, hugged Inga, and told Max to wait for me.

  “I’m going with you.”

  “You’re the getaway driver and my lookout. If you see blue lights call my cell. I’ll hit the back door and meet you on the cross street.”

  Max grinned. “God you’re sexy when you’re committing a felony. Anything else?”

  I stepped outside, closed the door, and whispered through the window. “If I’m busted bail me out.”

  A light from the parking lot lit the door of Jack’s Repair Shop like a spot light. An unknowing burglar would try the back but I knew Jack bolts the back door with a bar from the inside. The front entrance was the only way in. Luckily, there wasn’t much traffic this time of night when the proprietors of the neighboring shops had gone home. I moved purposefully to the door and worked my magic holding the pick in my mouth. Setting the tension wrench in the lock, I pulled the pick from my teeth and opened the door. I stepped inside and the odor of wacky tobaccy lingered in the air. The shop was dark but a few small windows filtered light from the street. Establishing my escape route first, I located the back door and unhitched the bar to insure a clean break. Then I saw my car.

  My shiny Honda Accord was pinned in the back of the shop, blocked by several cars. All tuned up and spanking clean. I couldn’t wait get my car back.

  A hand reached around and covered my mouth, smothering my shriek.

  “Don’t scream DeLucky. It’s me.”

  The voice was smooth as silk. I was still and he let me go. I spun around and slugged him.

  “Ouch.”

  “That’s for scaring the crap out of me.”

  “Damn, you pack a punch girl.” He rubbed his arm. “I wondered when you’d be back.”

  “You were here before?”

  “I was watching you and the guy who’s not your boyfriend.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “He’s not right for you.”

  “He made me breakfast.”

  Chance snorted.

  “Besides you told Jack you’re my boyfriend. If I have all these boyfriends I should probably be getting something out of it.”

  “I’m always willing to oblige,” he said, slipping his hands around my waist.

  I felt my face flush and stepped back. “I was thinking more along the lines of jewelry.”

  “Let me know if you change your mind. What are you doing here? Breaking your car out?”

  “For two to five in Joliet? No thanks. I want the package you left in my car.”

  His smile flashed white in the darkness. “Not if I get there first.”

  Chance turned on a run and I pushed him back and clawed past him, racing to reach my car first. He charged after me grabbing the back of my hoodie and towing me toward him. I fought back, propelling forward when my feet slipped in a small pool of oil. Chance caught me in his arms but then lost his footing on the slimy surface and crashed on the concrete floor. I fell on top of him, his muscled body cushioning my fall. I lay stunned for a moment my head on his chest. A giggle rose in my throat until I burst into hysterics. “Nice moves, Chance. Are you okay?”

  No answer. I turned over to face him.

  I touched his face. “Chance, are you hurt?” The panic rose in my voice.

  Savino opened his eyes. “I like this. I figured you’d want to be on top some of the time…”

  In one swift motion his hands diverted my fists while his legs rolled over and swung me beneath him.

  I fought and kicked with a fury but with his powerful shoulders he was stronger and had me pinned. He moved close, his breath hot on my face. He smelled musky and his lips brushed my neck.

  The combat in me poofed like smoke and I stopped struggling. His cheek felt slightly rough and my skin tingled with a heat that rushed through me and headed south.

  I moaned slightly and Chance whispered something in my ear. I didn’t catch what he said but I was thinking the answer was “yes.”

  “What did you say?”

  His breath was hot in my ear. “I said I wonder if Jack knows one of his employees is running an after-hours chop shop.”

  “Ugh!” I heaved with disgust and pushed him off me.

  I clambered to my feet and brushed myself off. Dirty disgusting oil covered my new jeans and I kicked him in the shin.

  “What was that for?”

  I finger combed my hair and tried to gather my composure. “Your shoe’s untied.”

  Chance glanced down and I barreled past him sprinting to the car. I yanked the passenger door open. My fingers stroked the door, around and beneath the seat, searching for something out of place.

  I heard a low chuckle behind me. “Let me in there and I’ll show it to you.”

  Chance offered his hand. I pushed it away and stood on my own. Damn he was easy on the eyes.

  “Fine, Savino.”

/>   He leaned into the car and emerged with a small black bag.

  I gasped. “You tore my seat.”

  “A small hole with a jack knife. You never would have noticed.”

  He opened the bag and poured the contents into my cupped hands. A cluster of pink and red stones danced in the dark.

  I caught my breath.

  “Diamonds from Australia.” His gaze held mine.

  I tore my eyes away. “You’re a thief.” I poured the stones back and slid the black bag into my sweatshirt pouch.

  He smiled. “So? You take dirty pictures. Your Mama told me.”

  I flounced toward the back door and the horrifying thud of metal on flesh jolted my senses. I spun around. Chance Savino lay in a crumpled heap on the cement floor.

  A masked man stepped out of the shadows. My body began to shake. He stroked my face with the hard cold wrench and plucked the black bag from my pouch. The wrench clattered across the smooth floor and he disappeared out the back door.

  I tore after him. “Stop!” I screamed. My phone vibrated in my pocket the moment I heard sirens wail. I ran back to Chance. “Wake up. The cops are coming.”

  “Cat!” Max called from the back door.

  “Over here!”

  He rushed to where I knelt beside Savino.

  “We have to go. There isn’t time.”

  Max hoisted me over his shoulder and hauled me through the door and into the Buick parked in the alley. He hit the gas, narrowly evading the blue neon posse skidding to a stop at Jack’s Garage.

  I breathed again. “Did you see the guy run out the back with the diamonds?”

  “You found diamonds?”

  “Pinks and reds.” I pondered a moment. “Maybe it was Devin. He was tall but I can’t be sure.”

  “Where does Devin live?”

  I gave Max directions to Uncle Jack’s house. “Devin isn’t smart enough to move diamonds.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t a planned hit. He returned to the shop for something and stumbled on…” he looked at me curiously.

  “What?”

  “You were in there a long time. What happened between you and the dead man?”

  I felt my cheeks color. “I couldn’t find the bag in the car and then Chance showed up. He found it right away and someone knocked him out cold and palmed the diamonds.”