Stone Cold

CHAPTER 60

WHEN ANNABELLE RETURNED to the hotel, Paddy was waiting for her in her room.

She sniffed the air. “You haven’t been smoking.”

“I tossed them in the trash can.”

“Why?”

“I need to be in fighting shape when we go up against Bagger.”

He looked so determined and yet so frail, like a stubborn little boy hell-bent on standing up to a bully, that for an instant Annabelle’s heart went out to him. She felt her hand reach out and touch him on the shoulder. And then the moment passed and she withdrew her fingers.

Yes, he was dying. Yes, he hadn’t technically let her mother die. But he was not suddenly the greatest father on earth. And he would be dead in six months. She was not going to let herself go down that road. She had grieved long and painfully for her mother’s passing. She would not do the same for him.

“Any luck with getting us some help?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Secret Service agent, Alex Ford. Oliver asked him to step in.”

“This bloke Oliver has some damn fine connections. Who the hell is he? I mean, living at a graveyard and all.”

“I’m not really sure who he is,” Annabelle said truthfully.

“But you said you could trust him.”

“I do trust him.”

Paddy looked hopeful. “Secret Service, that’s good stuff. Maybe they can pull in the FBI.”

She slipped off her sandals and sat down in a chair across from him. “I never thought I’d hear you sound so enthusiastic about having feds around.”

“Circumstances change. Right now, I’d take every bloody cop in the country marching in lockstep with us.”

“With Bagger, it might take that. So if I can get the cavalry how do we do it? I need details now, not generalities. How do we get him to confess?”

“You ran a long con on Jerry.”

“Right, so?”

“So you must have his telephone number.”

“I do. And again, so?”

“I’m going to call him and make him a deal he can’t refuse. I’m going to sell you down the river, Annabelle. He’ll offer cash, a ton of it. But I’ll tell him that’s not what I want.”

“So what is your motivation?”

“You bad-mouthed me to the con world after your mum died. Haven’t had a decent gig in years.”

“You’d have to sell that line one hundred percent.”

He stared across at her. “Not a problem, since it happens to be the truth.”

“So you ship me down the river, then what?”

“That’s where the cavalry comes in.” He added, “Obviously that’s a critical part of the plan.”

She stared at him suspiciously. “Obviously.”

“I’ve got the delivery all worked out.”

Annabelle hunched forward. “Tell me every detail of it so I can tell you it’ll never work.”

“Don’t forget, I’ve run a con or two in my day.”

When he’d finished, she sat back, impressed. It had holes, like all initial plans did, but nothing that couldn’t be sufficiently tweaked. It was actually pretty good.

“I’ve got some ideas we can add to it,” she said. “But the underlying concept is sound.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Jerry will do everything in his power to make sure once they leave the pickup spot they won’t be followed.”

“I realize that.”

“Well, since I’m the bait I have a heightened reason for making sure that we will be able to follow him.”

“He’ll send his boys to do the pickup. He won’t be there, just in case it’s a setup,” Paddy pointed out.

“I know that. And that’s our way in, actually.”

“How do you figure?”

The answer that had shot into Annabelle’s head made her smile. “We get to Jerry first.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

“You’re going to do it.”

“I am?” Paddy snapped his fingers. “On the phone call?”

“On the phone call.”

“But we still need the cavalry or none of it does us a damn bit of good,” he added.

She put her sandals back on and grabbed her car keys. “Then I’ll go get it.”