Lucas estimated that he’d been asleep for all of fourteen seconds when his phone rang. He groped at its lighted face on the bedside table, looked at the time and caller: one o’clock in the morning, Tremanty.
When Lucas answered, Tremanty said, “The local office got a call from a guy named Harrelson and they eventually called me. Harrelson’s a gambler who’s believed to have a lot of cash on hand. Deese and some other guy, probably Cole, crashed his house tonight, thinking that Harrelson had five million bucks there or in his car. He didn’t. So Deese and the others took Harrelson’s wife and they’re holding her for ransom.”
“That’s nuts,” Lucas said.
“Exactly. Deese shot a friend of Harrelson’s. Killed him. To make his point. And he pistol-whipped Harrelson. Deese says he’ll rape Harrelson’s wife and then kill her if Harrelson does anything but pay the money. If they see cops, if they don’t get the money, then they’ll rape and kill her. Harrelson believes them.”
“How do they know it’s Deese?”
“He was wearing a mask when he came in, but he took it off. To further make his point.”
“Harrelson called you anyway?”
“The guy’s not stupid,” Tremanty said. “He figures if he pays, they’ll kill his old lady anyway to eliminate a witness.”
“How’s Deese gonna . . . Harrelson wouldn’t go with him after the payoff . . . There’d still be witnesses . . .”
“We’re not dealing with a genius here. While Deese isn’t so bright, he’s perfectly willing to kill at the drop of a hat. In New Orleans, that’s almost the same as being bright. He’s telling the truth, though: he’ll rape and kill the woman if he doesn’t get the money. Probably rape the woman and kill her even if he does. He’s gone over the edge. They’ll call Harrelson in the morning and tell him where to deliver the money.”
“What do you want from me?” Lucas asked. “I’ll do anything you say.”
“Actually, I’m calling you to update you and to see if you might have any idea on how to handle this. I’m heading over to the office. We’re keeping the Vegas cops out of it, for the time being.”
“I’ll get with Bob and Rae,” Lucas said. “We’ll be in touch.”
* * *
—
BOB AND RAE were early-to-bed types and looked stunned when they stumbled into Lucas’s room. Lucas, a night owl, felt fine. But after fifteen minutes, they concluded that they didn’t have much to offer. Lucas called Tremanty and told him such.
Tremanty told him to hold on for a few seconds, apparently walking somewhere, and Lucas could hear voices in the background. When Tremanty came back, the voices were silenced.
“Listen, Lucas . . . Man, the thing is, Harrelson looks like you. Like us, actually, but I’m skinnier, I don’t have the shoulders, and I’ve got to run the team. And he’s clean-shaven, and all. What I’m saying is, we need somebody to put on a golf hat and a golf shirt and be Harrelson tomorrow for the money drop. If there is a money drop.”
“I can do that,” Lucas said. “What’s the plan?”
“Harrelson has to go to the bank to get the money. They may be watching him—in fact, I’m betting on it—so we’re flooding the zone. Our idea is, Harrelson goes to the bank at nine o’clock, when it opens, in a pink golf shirt and khaki slacks and a baseball cap. He takes the cap off out on the steps and looks around so that if they are out there, watching, they’ll see him. You’re already in the bank, in your pink shirt and khakis, and he gives you the cap, you put it on, and you come out fifteen minutes later with the bag.”
“That should work if they’re watching the bank,” Lucas said.
“It’s what we’ve got right now. At least we’ll have somebody in play if they call.”
“What do you want me to do right now?” Lucas asked.
“Go back to bed. Try to get some sleep. We’ve spoken to the bank manager and we’ll get you inside at seven o’clock. So, set your alarm for six. Or I can call you then. We’ll brief you when you’re at the bank, what we know at that point.”
“What do you want from Bob and Rae?”
“If we need to go in heavy somewhere.”
“I’ll tell them,” Lucas said.
The situation felt weird to Lucas: he was usually the guy in charge, running the team, and was not used to being one of the pawns. He