Hard Cash Read Online Free PDF Page B

you can bet I'd
keep it. Nobody talks to me that way." She grabbed a piece of toast and
slathered more butter on it than I thought was appropriate.
    "But you don't know where it is?"
    "No, and I wish I did," she said through
a mouthful of toast. "Ricardo had it with him when he went over to South
Padre, but he wouldn't've given it to them if they wanted more."
    "How do you know that?" I asked.
"Maybe he did give it to them."
    She shook her head. "No way. Because he knew
that Blake wasn't going to play ball for the second hundred thousand."
    "And there was no point in handing over the
money if there wasn't going to be a deal?"
    She said, "Right. So I can only assume that
he took it upon himself to fly out here to Las Vegas. Maybe to talk some sense
into Blake. Ricardo was very effective face-to-face, you know." She
polished off the orange juice and said, "Now, Jack, it's your turn. Tell
me what you know."
    I moved around in the booth, looking to get
comfortable, but not quite hitting the target.
    "I held his head as he died." When I
said this, she stopped chewing and put her fork down, slackening her jaw a
little. "I didn't actually see him get hit, but I saw the vehicle that hit
him, saw it as it drove away. I don't know exactly how or why it happened. I
got to your husband right away and he died just a few seconds later."
    For the first time, her eyes mellowed as tears
appeared to well up within them. I didn't see any make their way out onto her
cheek. She reached for the napkin on her lap, then slowly lowered her head and
dabbed at the area around her eyes. From the angle I had, I couldn't tell if
there were any real tears.
    I added, "I really don't think it was
deliberate. You can't be sure of killing a man by running him down. There are
much more reliable ways."
    "Did he say anything about the money? Anything
at all?"
    This bitch
has got a one-track mind.
    "No," I lied. "Nothing about the
money. He didn't really say anything. He just groaned a little, then he passed
away."
    She ordered a refill on her orange juice, probably
to take her mind off crying. I could tell she wasn't on friendly terms with
tears. After another minute of silence, she composed herself.
    Her voice resumed its business rhythm. "Jack,
Detective Madden told me you were a private investigator at one time. Can I
hire you?"
    "Erica, I'm no longer in th —"
    "I want you to help me get that money. I'll
give you ten percent of it. That's ten thousand dollars."
    "No, thanks."
    "Fifteen percent," she said, dropping
her fork on her plate. The clatter got the attention of people a couple of
booths down. "Fifteen thousand dollars. Come on!"
    I put my napkin to my lips, then said, "I
must decline your offer, Erica. This is something I don't care to be dragged
into. Besides, if your husband gave Blake his money back, there's nothing
anyone can do about it." I started to rise from the booth.
    She put a hand on my forearm, tugging me back down
into the seat. Then she said, "Jack, you're already in it. I'm offering
you serious money. You've got to help me!"
    The waitress set her orange juice on the table and
Erica took a few gulps from it, washing down her latest oversized chunk of
pancakes.
    I said, "Help you do what? What are you
getting at?"
    She swished her napkin across her mouth and took a
deep breath. "Again, do I have your assurance that everything we've discussed
here today is confidential?" I said she had that assurance. She continued.
"I have Blake on tape agreeing to offer the bribe to the South Padre
officials."
    "On tape?" I changed positions in the
booth to face her directly. "How did that happen?"
    "I have a taping system in my office. I use
it for my own protection against any 'he said-she said' confrontations. The day
he came to see me, I just pushed the record button out of habit. I have the
whole thing on tape. Him offering the money, saying it should be enough to get
the permits, and on and on."
    "And just what do you plan to do with