Facing the Future Read Free Page B

We’re gonna be rich, so they tell me.”
    “I can’t come over then, because I wouldn’t want to be there when they get back.”
    “I think they’re going to let you live here with us when they get a little money.”
    “And how are they getting this money?”
    “Insurance, like I told you. It was Connie’s apartment that burned, you know.”
    “How does that work? The insurance, I mean.”
    “I have no idea. All I know is that my brother was insured and he lost his apartment, so that’s that.”
    “How much is it worth?”
    “I don’t know. Enough for them to risk going back into Chicago when lots of people, and the cops, are looking for them there.”
    “Why are the cops looking for them?”
    “Lots of reasons. I wish they wouldn’t go down there for a while, but when they smell money . . .”
    “But you don’t know how much?”
    “All I know is that it’s a lot, because they have to come there in person.”
    Lionel realized how strange this conversation was. Talia would be looking for some place to live tomorrow. Should he let her stay in his home, where she was now? No, that wouldn’t be good. She had moved in with her brother and his friend, knowing they were up to no good, knowing it was wrong, and knowing it couldn’t last. She would probably be arrested and held until the police determined whether she was in on any of the illegal stuff. Lionel didn’t think she was.
    “Well, I’ll see you, Talia.”
    “You’re not coming over?”
    “Not tonight,” he said. “Maybe I’ll see you soon.”
    Lionel knew he would.

    As soon as Judd and Vicki walked in the door of the storefront with “Thomas Fogarty, Attorney at Law” painted on the window, Tom Fogarty took them to the back, out of sight. He had the answering machine with him. “Here,” he said to Vicki, pointing to a chair. “I need you to record a message.”
    As Fogarty was writing it out, Vicki asked what it was all about.
    “It’s important in a sting to play hard to get,” the sergeant said. “If everything looks too easy for the mark—that’s what we call the victim of the sting—he gets suspicious and might be scared off. We have to get these guys to come to us and keep after us until we arrest them.”
    Vicki recorded the script. “You have reached the law offices of Thomas Fogarty. We will be back in the office tomorrow. Please leave a message after the tone. Thank you.”
    “Won’t this just make them mad and make them not show up?” she asked.
    “The opposite. I’ll be listening in. If they just seem mad and ready to hang up, I’ll pick up and tell them I was just in for a second and heard their call. If they threaten to come and break in if no one’s here, I’ll let ’em. Once they get here, I’ll pretend to be unable to find their file or their check, and you can bet I’ll make them identify themselves thoroughly. They’ll be working so hard to convince me they are who they say they are that they’ll forget about any doubts they’ve had.”
    The other police officers came through the back, and Fogarty briefed everyone on where to be and what to do. Judd was so excited he could hardly stand it. The answering machine was hooked back up to the phone, and Fogarty turned around the Open/Closed sign in the window to indicate his office was closed. The phony secretary’s desk was just messy enough to look real, and, of course, the chair was empty.
    When everyone was in place, they waited.
    “What makes you think they’ll call?” Vicki asked.
    “They’re eager. They want to make sure we’re here and that everything is ready for them. If they don’t call, that’s OK too.”
    But they did.
    Sergeant Fogarty set the answering machine to pick up on the fourth ring, only prolonging their agony. As soon as the message started to play, Fogarty, the other cops, and Judd and Vicki heard LeRoy and Cornelius whining in the background.
    LeRoy swore. “Oh, man, Connie! They can’t be closed! What is