Double Jeopardy

19

7:53 P.M.

AL MOROCONI COULDN’T BELIEVE it—he was free! After weeks of stale air, staler food, and constant hassling by shit-for-brains guards, he was finally free.

He’d never really thought it would work. Stupid FBI dickhead—what did he know? Moroconi was willing to give it a whirl—what did he have to lose? But it had worked!

He raced down Commerce, trying to stay out of the light. Word must already be out; soon every cop in Dallas would be circling the area looking for him. He needed a car and he needed it fast.

He veered into the parking lot of Orpha’s Lounge, a sleazy-looking bar with no windows, just a large neon sign that flashed BEER every other second. Lots of cars at Orpha’s, he noted happily.

He looked around for a coat hanger, a heavy object, a sharp stick—anything. He searched for several minutes without success. It was too dark; even if something had been there, he wouldn’t have found it.

He heard a shuffling noise coming from the bar. A tired, half-dead drunk was stumbling out of Orpha’s all by his lonesome. Moroconi grinned. Excellent—the answer to his prayers. Like taking candy from a baby.

Moroconi circled around the parked cars and came up behind the drunk. Moroconi waited until the man walked to his car—a big black pickup truck with oversize tires. While the man groped clumsily for his keys Moroconi wrapped his arm around his throat and pulled him down hard. The drunk fell face first into the gravel and lay there dazed.

Moroconi reached into the man’s pocket, took his keys, and started the truck. The tires squealed as he whipped the truck around the parking lot and headed toward Commerce.

He briefly considered running over the drunk, just for the hell of it. What was it the kids said? Ten points for the old man! But he didn’t have time for that, fun as it might be, and besides, blood-spattered tires might catch a cop’s attention. It would be a long while before that drunk was able to file a police report, and Moroconi would have another car by then.

He pulled onto Commerce and zoomed down the road. He had to get out of downtown before the cops got their act in gear. In fact, he needed to get out of Dallas altogether.

And then, once he was safe, he was going to make a few phone calls to some old friends. …