The Millionaires

83

“Wha… H-How’re you…?” My mouth’s gaping open as I stare at a dead man. “What the hell’s going on?”

Lumbering toward us, Shep points his gun at me, but he’s far more concerned with Gallo, who’s got a black hole blown through his back. Shep lobs one of his scolding glares at Gillian. She shrugs like she didn’t have a choice.

On the concrete, Gallo’s body is facedown in a slowly widening puddle of blood. The same exact position I last saw Shep in.

“Look familiar?” Shep asks, reading my thoughts.

Still in shock, I can’t take my eyes off him. The sausage forearms. The jagged nose. It’s almost like it’s not him. But it is.

“C’mon, Oliver – say something,” he teases.

My fist clenches around the gun. If Gallo shot him with blanks… and Shep knew it was coming… That’s who Gallo was working with. That’s how they got Duckworth’s worm into the bank. “You were their inside man.”

“See, now that’s why they pay you the big beans.”

My face flushes red and reality slowly settles in like a block of ice melting down the back of my neck. “So all this time… How could you… You were watching all along…”

“Oliver, this isn’t the place for this.”

“So you were there from the start? You knew they’d try to kill us? Or… or was that the goal from the beginning – invite us in and create some scapegoats?”

“Let’s just get out of here and we can-”

“I want an answer, Shep. Is that why you brought us in? To take our heads off?”

“Why don’t we-”

“I want an answer.”

Realizing that I’m not moving, he checks the entrance to the hangar. Still clear. “What did you want me to say, Oliver? I’m so glad you found our secret. Now let’s swipe this three mil, because there’s another three hundred million piggybacked on it? Once you saw the honeypot, I didn’t have a choice.”

“You tried to kill us, Shep.”

“And you tried to hijack our money.”

“Everyone’s a sinner,” Gillian jumps in. Shep glares at her and she quickly backs off. Even though I’ve barely seen them together, it’s clear who drives the relationship.

“When it all comes down, Oliver, this was your choice,” Shep says. “If you weren’t on your revenge fantasy with Lapidus, me and Gallo and DeSanctis would’ve walked away just fine. Besides, if you wanna start calling spades, you’re the ones who worked one over on me.”

“What’re you-?”

“I checked that Antigua bank Charlie showed me on the Red Sheet. The cash was never there.”

“That’s the only thing that saved our lives. If Charlie didn’t do that, we wouldn’t even be standing right now.”

“No, you wouldn’t be standing if I didn’t save your ass back at Duckworth’s,” Gillian once again interrupts.

“You only did that to help yourself,” I shoot back.

Once again, Shep quiets her with an angry glance. “I’m not saying I blame you, Oliver. In fact, I kinda respect it. We all take our opportunities where we find ’em,” he explains, his eyes still on Gillian. “Especially when money’s involved.”

“So you were never going to share it with anyone, were you?” I ask. “Not us… not Gallo… nobody.”

“Let me tell you something, Oliver – Gallo may’ve gotten his mitts on the best idea in the world, but without a bank to put it in, Duckworth might as well’ve reinvented Pong.”

“Then I guess that makes it okay to kill everyone along the way.”

“Like I said at the start – there’re only two perfect crimes: the crime that never took place, and the job where the criminal dies. It’s a pretty good trick if you can pull it off. But if I was gonna be the body they blamed it on… well, to the martyr go the spoils. The only splinter in the eye was when they let you walk out of that train station.”

“And that hatched your great plan? Follow us to Florida, screw over Gallo, and bring in your wife?”

“She fooled you, didn’t she?”

I look at Gillian; she stares right back. She has no hesitation facing me. Like Lapidus always taught – business is business. I just can’t believe I didn’t see it before.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Shep says. “You’ve still got the goose and the golden eggs. Now it’s time to decide what to do with them.”

There’s a brand-new pitch in his voice – like the moment he first offered to split the money with us at the bank. He’s back to Big Brother Shep. Sure, he’ll show us how to hide the money… then, the instant he gets what he wants, he’ll slice us at the kneecaps. It’s the same tone Gallo used two minutes ago. I’m sick of hearing it.

“Don’t say no yet, Oliver. You haven’t even heard the offer.”

“Oh, I haven’t? Let me guess – you’ll wave your gun in my face, and in the process, become the fifth person this week to threaten to kill me unless I tell you where the money is.”

“Just hear him out,” Gillian says, her gun still on me. “We can all get what we want.”

“I already know what I want – and I’m not getting it from you.”

“Then who’re you getting it from?” Shep asks. “The police? Lapidus? All your friends at work? This is bigger than you and Char-” He cuts himself off and quickly glances around. “Where’s your brother?” he asks me.

There’s no way I’ll give him an answer.

“Next door,” Gillian says.

“Go get him,” Shep orders.

“You go get him,” she challenges.

“Did you hear what I said?” Like before, the argument’s over. Hiding her gun in the back of her pants, Gillian heads for the passageway that leads next door.

The instant the door opens, I scream the warning as loud as I can. “Charlie, she’s a li -!”

Shep grabs me by the jaw and clamps his hand over my mouth. I fight to break free, but he’s too strong. Gillian stares me down and shakes her head. “You really are a wuss,” she says, turning away and entering the closet. She slams the door in my face, and the boom bounces against my chest.

Gripping my mouth, Shep holds tight until I finally stop struggling. “Just listen for once, Oliver. If you don’t calm down, none of us’ll get out of here. We’ve got three hundred million to deal with – we might as well-”

“Do I look that stupid?” I ask as I pull his hand from my jaw. He latches on to the shoulder of my shirt. He’s not letting me get far. “You really think we’ll help you?” I ask. “It’s over, Shep. We’re fine where we are.”

“Really? And you actually believe that?” he shoots back. “You haven’t even stopped to think about this, have you, Oliver? The second you step back in that bank, you’re fired. Lapidus’ll bury you faster than you can say ‘professional embarrassment.’ And when you go to the police – even if you can avoid going to jail – even if you give back the money – you think they’re throwing you a victory parade? It’s still your signature on the original wire request. From that alone, your life is over. So now you’ve got no job, no money, and no one who’ll ever trust you again. Worst of all, by the time the lawsuits are done and all your savings are devoured, your mother’s not gonna be able to afford a spool of thread, much less the rest of her credit card and hospital bills. Who’s gonna pay those now, Oliver? And what about Charlie? How long you think he can survive without your help?”

As he says the words, I know he’s right. But that doesn’t mean I’m getting in bed with a viper and his-

“Nobody move!” a female voice shouts behind us.

Spinning around, we trace the sound to the warehouse door. There’s a woman with a gun. The investigator from the condo… the redhead… Joey… She points the gun straight at us – first at me, then at Shep.

Flushed with relief, I take a step toward her, away from Shep.

“I said, don’t move!” she shouts as I raise my hands in the air.

“It’s about time,” Shep says, sounding relieved. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“Excuse me?” Joey asks.

I expect to see some recognition on her face. Shep’s alive – she’s smart enough to fill in the rest. But instead, she seems confused. “Who the hell are you?” she asks.

My arms go numb as they stretch toward the ceiling. I don’t believe it. She has no idea who he is.

“Me?” Shep asks with a crooked grin. He scratches at his forearms and lets out a deep, relaxed laugh. “I’m an investigator – just like you.”

“He’s lying,” I blurt. “It’s Shep!”

“Don’t let him fool you, Ms. Lemont…”

“How do you know my name?” Joey asks.

“I told you – I’ve been investigating this from the start. Call Henry Lapidus – he’ll explain everything.” As he says Lapidus’s name, there’s a new calmness in his voice. He reaches into his jacket…

“Don’t even think it!” Joey says.

“It’s not a gun, Ms. Lemont.” From his chest pocket, he pulls out a black leather wallet. “Here’s my ID,” he says, tossing it at Joey’s feet. She reaches down to pick it up, but never lets us out of her sight.

“I swear to you, Joey – his name is Shep Graves…”

“Ms. Lemont, don’t listen to him…”

“… he faked his death so they’d put the blame on us!”

She glances down at the ID, then slaps it shut.

“So you’re working with Lapidus?” Joey asks skeptically.

Shep nods.

“And he’ll back up your story?”

“Absolutely,” he croons.

I’m not sure if Shep’s bluffing, or if he’s got a whole new card trick up his sleeve. Either way, Joey’s come too far to leave without the truth.

“Noreen, are you there?” she says, speaking into the microphone that’s clipped to her shirt. Nodding to herself, she adds, “Get me Henry Lapidus.”