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His eyes widened by the smallest fraction. His fingers began tracing circles on the table. “You saying I’m not smart enough?”
“No. Are you saying this robbery was your idea?”
“What robbery?”
Luke smiled. “We’ve got surveillance tape connecting your car to a robbery at Donovan Brothers Brewery. Does that ring any bells?”
Oh, yeah, it did. Frank’s fingers pressed hard against the scarred tabletop. “I want my lawyer,” he grumbled.
“You got it. But when she brings up the idea of a deal, I suggest you listen carefully.”
Despite his own words, even Luke was surprised when Frank’s lawyer and the D.A. reached a deal within the hour. If he cooperated fully in the investigation, his probation would be extended two years, but he’d see no jail time. Fair enough. All they really had was proof that Frank had gotten his hands on the keg somewhere. They certainly couldn’t pin all these robberies on him. But in the end, the deal led to nothing but mystery.
“I never saw the guy. He called and asked me if I wanted in on a deal. Said he got my number from a mutual friend. Normally I wouldn’t go for something like that, but…”
“But what?” Luke asked.
Frank shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed like nothing. He said when I got there, the door would be unlocked and he’d give me the alarm code.”
“When did he call you with the alarm code?”
“That night. Told me to head on over.”
Luke leaned closer. “Did you recognize his voice?”
“Nope. Just sounded like a regular white guy, I think. Nothing special.”
“How did he pay you?”
“Said he wanted the computers and I could keep anything else, and I figured that was good enough for an easy job. But there wasn’t anything else. Not even twenty bucks in the till. That fucking keg was my whole payment, and then I saw the story in the newspaper and I thought, ‘Shit, I’ve gotta get rid of this, too.’ I should’ve dropped it in the creek, but I figured if I left it in the alley, some loser would take it home.”
“He did,” Luke said.
“So what the fuck happened?”
Luke smiled. “Bad time for a traffic stop.”
“Shit,” Frank groaned.
Simone gave him a few seconds to wallow in his misfortune before she spoke. “How did you make the drop?”
“The what?”
Luke gritted his teeth in impatience, but Simone was as cool as always. “How did you deliver the computers?”
“There’s a fence behind the brewery. The guy had already loosened the boards. I just pulled them off, put the computers on the other side and jammed the boards back up. I guess he picked them up from there.”
“Are you kidding me?” Luke asked.
“Nope. I told you it was easy. I didn’t even need a truck.”
The lawyer cleared her throat. “All right, I think Mr. Valowski has been more than cooperative here—”
“We need the phone number,” Simone interrupted.
The guy offered his cell phone, but they all knew it was hopeless. A man who’d put that much thought into a robbery would’ve used a disposable cell. Even the dumbest criminal knew that much.
“Did he ever call again?”
