crime.”
“Tell that to John Wayne. I got a standing ovation when I limped out of there.”
Dominguez was basically a professional moocher, running his hungry soldier scam all over town. Tuesday night was The Forge, Thursday was Joe’s Stone Crab during the season, and Katsuya for sushi during the summer. I couldn’t remember the rest of his schedule.
“And how is the lovely Rose Marie?” I asked.
“Great. Due any year now.”
“So if you haven’t been busted, why the hell are you lurking on my porch?”
He wrinkled his forehead and scrunched up his mouth. Looked embarrassed, if that’s possible for a career con artist. “When I was on probation, I had to take some classes.”
“If you took cooking, you wouldn’t have to prey on unsuspecting orthodontists.”
“Actually, I studied for the PI exam. Passed and got my license.”
“Congratulations. I guess they did away with the good character requirement.”
“I used an alias, but I got the badge just the same. I’m a private dick now.”
“So you lied to get some semihonest work. I’m proud of you.”
“Well here’s the thing, Jake. I got a client who knows me and you are tight.”
“ Thick as thieves,” I agreed. “You’re my favorite lowlife. So who’s your client?”
“Call him Mr. X.”
“Okay, that’s creative.”
“Mr. X hires me to find this Russian girl. Natasha . . . something.”
“Nadia Delova.”
“That’s her.”
Now we were getting somewhere , I thought. You pick up leads anywhere you can, even from a phony sergeant. “Why’s Mr. X want to find her?”
“Ah, jeez, Jake. I can’t tell you that. Ethics and all.”
“Let me take a wild guess. Mr. X has a proposal for me.”
“How’d you know?”
“Because, Manuel, you couldn’t find a beet in a cup of borscht.”
“Huh?”
“Mr. X didn’t hire you to find Nadia. He hired you to bribe me.”
“Bribe? No way, José. He wants to do a joint adventure.”
“Joint venture?”
“ Exactamente. And if you find her, there’s fifty large in it for you.”
Manuel grinned at me and rocked back and forth in Granny’s chair. From somewhere down the block came a screeching sound weirdly like a woman’s scream, but I knew it was just a peacock in mating mode.
“Just find her?” I said.
“Well, bring her to Mr. X before the police get to her. Otherwise, no deal.”
“Aw, Sergeant Dominguez. I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because Mr. Y has already offered me a hundred thousand.”
“Who the hell is Mr. Y?”
It took less than a second to come up with the answer. If I’d hesitated, Manuel would have seen the indecision. It’s tough to con a con man. “Didn’t he tell you, Sarge? Mr. Y is Mr. X’s brother.”
“Benny has a brother?”
Benny. One horse had crossed the line. Let’s go for the perfecta. All I needed was the last name. But I couldn’t ask for it without tipping Dominguez that I was just fishing for information.
“Benny’s brother Max,” I said.
Benny and Max sounded good together, I thought.
“Benny never mentioned him. Is he in the same racket?”
“Well,” I said, “they’re into so much.”
Manuel seemed to think about it before a scowl crossed his face. “Wait a second, Jake! You’re pulling one over on me.”
I yanked the rocking chair backward, then shoved it hard forward. Manuel scrambled to stand up, wobbling unsteadily as he got his feet under him. Too much butterscotch soufflé. “Give Benny my regards, Manuel. And get the hell off my porch.”
-13-
What a Hunk
V ictoria was in bed reading her notes, which she had already begun color coding. She wore her pajamas. A present from Steve. Victoria’s Secret pj’s, because, as he put it, with Solomonic wisdom, “What the hell else would I buy you?”
The phone rang, and she sat up in bed.
“Sorry for calling so late,” Lassiter said when she answered.
“I’m still awake, so don’t worry about it.”
He told her about the visit
“Tell that to John Wayne. I got a standing ovation when I limped out of there.”
Dominguez was basically a professional moocher, running his hungry soldier scam all over town. Tuesday night was The Forge, Thursday was Joe’s Stone Crab during the season, and Katsuya for sushi during the summer. I couldn’t remember the rest of his schedule.
“And how is the lovely Rose Marie?” I asked.
“Great. Due any year now.”
“So if you haven’t been busted, why the hell are you lurking on my porch?”
He wrinkled his forehead and scrunched up his mouth. Looked embarrassed, if that’s possible for a career con artist. “When I was on probation, I had to take some classes.”
“If you took cooking, you wouldn’t have to prey on unsuspecting orthodontists.”
“Actually, I studied for the PI exam. Passed and got my license.”
“Congratulations. I guess they did away with the good character requirement.”
“I used an alias, but I got the badge just the same. I’m a private dick now.”
“So you lied to get some semihonest work. I’m proud of you.”
“Well here’s the thing, Jake. I got a client who knows me and you are tight.”
“ Thick as thieves,” I agreed. “You’re my favorite lowlife. So who’s your client?”
“Call him Mr. X.”
“Okay, that’s creative.”
“Mr. X hires me to find this Russian girl. Natasha . . . something.”
“Nadia Delova.”
“That’s her.”
Now we were getting somewhere , I thought. You pick up leads anywhere you can, even from a phony sergeant. “Why’s Mr. X want to find her?”
“Ah, jeez, Jake. I can’t tell you that. Ethics and all.”
“Let me take a wild guess. Mr. X has a proposal for me.”
“How’d you know?”
“Because, Manuel, you couldn’t find a beet in a cup of borscht.”
“Huh?”
“Mr. X didn’t hire you to find Nadia. He hired you to bribe me.”
“Bribe? No way, José. He wants to do a joint adventure.”
“Joint venture?”
“ Exactamente. And if you find her, there’s fifty large in it for you.”
Manuel grinned at me and rocked back and forth in Granny’s chair. From somewhere down the block came a screeching sound weirdly like a woman’s scream, but I knew it was just a peacock in mating mode.
“Just find her?” I said.
“Well, bring her to Mr. X before the police get to her. Otherwise, no deal.”
“Aw, Sergeant Dominguez. I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because Mr. Y has already offered me a hundred thousand.”
“Who the hell is Mr. Y?”
It took less than a second to come up with the answer. If I’d hesitated, Manuel would have seen the indecision. It’s tough to con a con man. “Didn’t he tell you, Sarge? Mr. Y is Mr. X’s brother.”
“Benny has a brother?”
Benny. One horse had crossed the line. Let’s go for the perfecta. All I needed was the last name. But I couldn’t ask for it without tipping Dominguez that I was just fishing for information.
“Benny’s brother Max,” I said.
Benny and Max sounded good together, I thought.
“Benny never mentioned him. Is he in the same racket?”
“Well,” I said, “they’re into so much.”
Manuel seemed to think about it before a scowl crossed his face. “Wait a second, Jake! You’re pulling one over on me.”
I yanked the rocking chair backward, then shoved it hard forward. Manuel scrambled to stand up, wobbling unsteadily as he got his feet under him. Too much butterscotch soufflé. “Give Benny my regards, Manuel. And get the hell off my porch.”
-13-
What a Hunk
V ictoria was in bed reading her notes, which she had already begun color coding. She wore her pajamas. A present from Steve. Victoria’s Secret pj’s, because, as he put it, with Solomonic wisdom, “What the hell else would I buy you?”
The phone rang, and she sat up in bed.
“Sorry for calling so late,” Lassiter said when she answered.
“I’m still awake, so don’t worry about it.”
He told her about the visit
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