Barely Legal

56

Dino stopped off at Stone’s to give him the news.

Stone was as incredulous as Monahan. “A thief did it?”

“That’s what the evidence shows.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes more sense than Herbie did it.”

“Then it wasn’t Taperelli.”

“It doesn’t look like it, which is a big weight off my mind. I’ve been kicking myself around all day.”

“So has Herbie. He blames himself for Yvette’s death.”

“You want to tell him?”

“He’s not going to believe you. He’s going to think you’re making it up.”

“You can’t make up fingerprints.”

“Actually, you can. Lift ’em from one place and label ’em as coming from another.”

“My detectives wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh? Including Detective Kelly?”

“Fuck you, too, Stone.”

“Let’s go tell him.”

Herbie wasn’t convinced. “Yvette was killed by a burglar?”

“It’s possible,” Dino said. “In any event, it appears you were robbed.”

“Appears?”

“Do you have a cash box in your walk-in closet?”

“Yes.”

“Anything in it?”

“I keep some cash on hand.”

“How much?”

“A few thousand in hundred-dollar bills, just for emergencies.”

“Any jewels in the jewelry case?”

“Cuff links. Tie clips. A couple of watches.”

“There’s every indication they were stolen at the same time Yvette was killed.”

“She surprised a burglar? I don’t understand.”

“Nothing adds up because the stage was set. She was killed elsewhere, and put in the bed. The gun was put in your hand.”

“Can you prove that?”

“I’m doing my damnedest. The point is no one thinks you did it anymore.”

“But they did,” Herbie said flatly.

Seeing that Dino’s assurances weren’t lifting Herbie’s mood, Stone said, “Most importantly, it looks like this had nothing to do with the court case. Taperelli, the detective, that’s not what this was about. It just happened.”

“Yes, but why?”

Dino shook his head. “I don’t know. But I mean to find out.”