Fate and Destiny (24 page)

“
Is this another of those
things Lenny convinced you of? That you’re scary? I have the
feeling Lenny spent a lot of time destroying you emotionally so he
could control you. Well, stick with me Doug. We will have you on
top of the world in no time.”

Doug’s curiosity shone as
his eyes lifted from his hands. “When I was a little kid. I wanted
to be a cop. Lenny and me would play cops and bad guys, and he
always made me be the bad guy cause he said I was too scary to be a
cop and I looked like a bad guy.”

“
Well, today, you get to
play like a cop. We are going to practice for a while, then call
Charles. You up for it?”

Doug sat up straighter in
his chair, chin lifting, shoulders tipping back.

“
Yes I am.”

Matt smiled. Progress. In
the short time he knew Doug, this was the first time he heard him
directly answer a question instead of nodding or shaking his
head.

23.

Matt and Doug were almost
finished practicing for the phone call when the tinkling of the
bell attached to the front door alerted them someone entered the
building. Before the bell finished jingling, a merry voice called
out, “Hello! I brought you guys lunch! Big appetites
today!”

A tall voluptuous woman
followed the singsong voice. A cascade of curly blonde hair held
captive in a clip at the back of her head in an attempt to control
the unruly mass. Escaping tendrils framed large, wide set eyes,
high arched eyebrows and generous lips. Placing the box laden with
wonderful odors on the counter, she slipped the latch free and let
herself into the office. Doreen rose to greet the visitor and help
unpack the box.

“
Nancy, thanks for
bringing this over. You know Matt is working me like a
dog.”

Laughing at the expected
absurd remark, Nancy caught sight of the men in the back
corner.

“
Doesn’t he always? You
know you have a cushy job, Doreen. I’ll trade you. You go work in
the diner and I’ll stay here painting my nails.”

Laughing, Nancy waggled her
long fingers.

Doreen joined in the
amusement, always willing to laugh at herself as much as anyone
else. Nancy removed two large Styrofoam containers from the box,
expertly stacking them along with napkins and packets of condiments
before advancing to the desk occupied by Matt and Doug. Placing the
boxes on the spot Matt cleared at her approach, Nancy thrust her
hand out to Doug.

“
Aren’t you a cute one? I
don’t think we’ve met. I’m sure I would have remembered such a big
strong man. My name is Nancy. I own the diner here in
town.”

Matt and Doreen exchanged
matching glances as Doreen unloaded more containers. Cute? Doug?
Matt shrugged and Doreen giggled, but both of them looked at Doug
who sat up straight in his chair, eyes wide, the slack look
replaced by a goofy grin and a blush that started from his neck and
raced across his cheeks. Doug stood, shyly extending his hand to
meet Nancy’s. Gripping his meaty palm with both of her hands, the
touch became less of a handshake and more of a caress.

“
I’m Doug. I’m,
uh…”

“
Doug is here working on a
case with me.” Leaving it at that, Matt bit into his burger. Nancy
took the hint. Matt wouldn’t reveal anything until he was good and
ready.

“
I see. How interesting.
Well, I have to get back anyway.”

Doug’s hand remained in
hers.

“
Stop by the diner when
you are done here, or come by for dinner. I’ll make sure you get
something special.”

Preparing to leave, Nancy
let go of Doug’s hand.

“
I put in extra big slices
of pecan pie for you all. Let me know if you like it.”

The last comment came from
over Nancy’s shoulder as she walked to the swinging counter door.
Another smile and wink for the astonished Doug, and out the door
she went.

 
Even after she was
gone, Doug kept staring at the swinging door where she winked at
him. Matt finished off his burger, leisurely dipping a thick slice
of fried potato in ketchup.

“
Doug? You plan on eating
your lunch? We can put it in the fridge if you’ve lost your
appetite.”

Returning to the present
time and place from the past where Nancy still stood at the door,
Doug quickly slipped back into his typical personality. Jaw
dropping, eyes shocked. Matt thought for a moment he may have to
wipe drool from the poor man’s chin.

“
Was she talking to me?
Did you see her? I think she winked. At me.”

Chair tipped back, feet on
the desk, Doreen giggled.

“
Oh Doug! I think Nancy’s
got the hots for you!”

The flush spreading across
Doug’s cheeks grew into a rich crimson mottling into lighter
shades. Grinning around a bite of hamburger, he was unable to show
proper manners in his current amazed condition.

“
Leave him
alone.”

Matt didn’t attempt to hide
his enjoyment at Doug’s response to Nancy.

“
Doreen,
I’m going to call Sammy while Doug finishes eating. You are not, I
repeat
 
not
 
to
tell a soul anything you hear. We are going into confidence mode
now. Got it?”

“
Yes, master. I got
it.”

She made a twisting motion
with her fingers in front of her lips, and then pretended to toss
the imaginary key over her shoulder.

Dialing the memorized
number, Matt patiently listened to the handset ring four times
before the familiar voice answered.

“
Speak.”

“
I hate the way you answer
the phone Sammy.”

“
Matthew! Good to hear
from you. No one’s sick or in jail are they?”

“
At the moment, everyone
is fine. I haven’t arrested anyone in the family lately. The only
one I would even think of putting in a cell is you. Oh, and of
course Doreen, but that’s just so I don’t have to hear her
chatter.”

Doreen pointed at him with
her middle finger without taking her eyes from the computer
monitor. Sammy laughed.

“
Did she stick her tongue
out at you or flip you off?”

“
Got the bird on that
one.”

Doug grinned, pausing in
his hearty consumption of the rest of Matt’s French
fries.

“
Okay Sammy, I need you to
go to work.”

“
I am at work. You talk
like I lay around all day playing computer games or
something.”

“
My apologies. What are
you working on?”

A snort greeted Matt from
the other end of the line.

“
Chess. I swear. Just
once, I’m going to beat this damn machine at this game. Damn. How
the hell did it get another checkmate?” A flurry of keystrokes as
Sammy’s fingers clattered over the keys. “There. That will teach
you. I’d like to hear you pull a checkmate when you no longer have
that particular option installed.”

The rest of Sammy’s tirade
against his computer came across as grumbling although the choice
words he called the machine came through loud and clear.

“
Sammy, if you are
finished? I have serious work for you to do. It involves
Andrew.”

Abruptly, all sound through
the phone line ceased. Doreen stopped staring at her screen,
attention riveted on Matt. Only Doug seemed at ease with the
subject of the conversation. His eyes curious, he forked a generous
sample of pecan pie into his mouth.

“
What about Andrew? I know
he’s here, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of him or get up
that damn road yet.”

“
Andrew is fine. I’m more
concerned about who he is with.”

Skimming through the story,
Matt gave Sammy a brief rundown of Destiny and the situation at
hand. He skipped over the parts where Andrew got shot and Destiny
ran away. Finishing up, he heard furious typing through the phone
line as well as from Doreen. Sammy was the first to relay any
details of the searches they each conducted.

“
Casinos have tight
security regarding their computer systems, but most of it reports
changes. If I don’t change anything, I should be able to sneak in,
copy the files, and sneak out.”

“
That’s all we really
need, just a copy of the proof so we can clear Destiny’s
name.”

“
Hmmm.” The more Sammy
focused, and the deeper into a system he traveled, the less he
spoke. Matt always wondered if Sammy thought he was speaking out
loud instead of humming. From across the room, Doreen clicked her
tongue against her teeth.

“
What did you find,
Doreen?”

“
Mmmnnn”

Matt placed his hand over
the receiver mouthpiece. It remained unclear whether Sammy could
hear and understand when he went into hacker mode.

Doreen concentrated on her
screen, after more clicks of the mouse, she finally responded.
Doug’s head swiveled back and forth between Matt and Doreen,
engrossed in the process.

“
Doesn’t look good. The
latest reports out of Vegas are naming Douglas Mancuso and Leonard
Brunetti as persons of interest in the death of Marcus DeMont. They
are both wanted for questioning.”

Doug’s head slowly riveted
from Doreen to Matt. The jovial expression gone, replaced by his
standard blank stare, mouth open enough to expose his last bite of
pecan pie.

The last thing Matt needed
right now was for Doug to get cold feet. He worked too hard to get
the big man to relax to lose him now.

“
Either means the police
are onto Charles, or he fed them more fake proof.”

Doreen continued, making a
mental note of Matt’s observation.

“
Newswire says Charles
DeMont was clearly emotional at a press conference. Mr. DeMont
didn’t respond to questions about his inherited wealth. It has been
rumored Marcus DeMont was worth approximately $97
million.”

Matt let out a low
whistle.

“
Certainly not chump
change is it?”

“
Mmmm.”

Matt forgot all about Sammy
humming on the other end of the phone. Removing his hand, he spoke
into the receiver.

“
You getting anything over
there?”

“
Hmm? Oh, um.” Sammy
cleared his throat. “This one is a little deeper than I thought.
For some reason, there are a lot of locks between the doors to the
accounting programs. I can make you a high roller if you want
though.”

“
Ah, pushing the limits of
the law there a little aren’t you, cousin?”

“
C’mon Matt, you know my
ethics are a little higher than that. I wouldn’t really do
it.”

Matt didn’t say anything.
He knew Sammy wasn’t done yet.

“
Unless of course I could
get away with it.” Rich laughter filled the telephone receiver.
“Okay Matt, I’m going to work on this. I’ll call you when I get in.
And let me know if you plan on going to Vegas anytime soon. I’ll
set you up.”

A click then the dial tone
before Matt could warn Sammy to behave. Hanging up the phone,
Matt’s smile faded as he caught a glimpse of Doug.

“
You don’t look so good.
What’s wrong?”

“
You have to arrest me now
don’t you? Doreen said they want me now too.”

Matt’s smile returned.
“Nope. The report said you were wanted for questioning
right?”

Wrinkles creased Doug’s
brow as he concentrated, remembering the police report Doreen read.
Waiting, watching as the thought process worked through Doug’s
mind, Matt realized the man could never successfully tell a lie.
His face gave away any emotion. A jury would believe anything he
told them as long as he told the truth. The wrinkles across Doug’s
forehead faded away as his grin grew larger. His eyes
glittered.

“
You’re right! They said I
was wanted for questioning!”

“
That’s right.” Matt
couldn’t help but to smile along with Doug. His smile was
infectious. “And what did we do all morning?”

“
You questioned
me!”

“
Yes I did, so we did
exactly what they wanted us to do didn’t we?”

Enthusiastically, Doug’s
head bobbed up and down in agreement.

“
We sure did. You know
what else?” In his excitement, Doug didn’t wait for Matt to answer.
“They also said I was an interesting person!”

Doug proudly beamed at
Matt, his enormously thick muscular chest puffing out.

“
They’re right too! You
are a very interesting person Doug.”

Matt meant every word of
it. There was no reason to explain the difference between a person
of interest and an interesting person, and he did find Doug
extremely interesting.

“
Are you ready to make our
phone call now, Doug?”  

Doug’s chest deflated
slightly before puffing back up with determination and
pride.

“
I think I’m ready. What
do I say?”