Corpse Suzette

She fought down
a smile. “And this was the night before she disappeared?”
    He nodded.
    “You might have mentioned
that to me before.”
    “Like I said, I need to
protect the lady’s reputation.”
    “Devon is married?”
    “Well, no, but...”
    “I think the hide you’re
protecting is your own, Sergio. And if you don’t start leveling with me, you
can just kiss that money of yours good-bye.”
    His face darkened, and he
clenched his fists in a way that made her mentally check the Beretta in her
shoulder holster under her jacket. “Don’t say that. I worked hard for that
money. I have plans. I need to get it back. Now!”
    She put on her calmest face
and softened her tone. “Then help me, Sergio. Tell me about the money. How much
are we talking about? I’m not being nosy here. I need to know exactly what I’m
looking for.”
    Again, she watched the
mental battle registering on his face as he decided whether to trust her or
not. Apparently, he thought he had to, because he said, “One and a half million
dollars.”
    Her heart skipped a beat
and her breathing stopped. But only for a moment before she recovered herself
and replied coolly, “Okay. Now we know what we’re working with. And was this
money in an account, in cash...?”
    “In a bank account.”
    “Okay.”
    “And it got stolen.”
    “How, if it was in a bank?”
    “It was transferred out of
my account.”
    “Without your knowledge?”
    “Yeah. Somebody got hold of
my password somehow.”
    “You must have contacted
the bank. What did they say?”
    He slammed his fist down on
the desktop. A nerve in his jaw was twitching as if it were being zapped by a
Taser. “They say that I’m out one and a half million dollars. There’s nothing they
can do about it, or so they say. They were happy to inform me that I was the
one responsible for keeping my password safe and if I didn’t, tough luck. They
told me to tell my story to the cops, not them.”
    “And did you... go to the
cops?” Savannah knew the answer to that one even before he replied.
    “No. I want to keep the
cops out of this. That’s why I hired you. How could she have gotten my
password? That’s what I want to know. I never told anybody that!
Nobody!”
    Savannah glanced down at
the slender notebook computer lying on his desk. “Do you conduct business with
that bank there on your computer?”
    “Sure. That’s the best way
to—” A sick look dawned in his eyes. “Do you think Suzette could have gotten my
password out of my computer?”
    “I have an assistant, a
computer whiz-kid, who could have gotten it in about ten minutes. Is Suzette
computer savvy?”
    “Enough,” he said. “Enough
to figure out when I was visiting porn sites and dating services while we were
living together.”
    “It’s possible then.”
    “Oh, man. You think your
money’s safe because it’s in a bank and look at what can happen.”
    Savannah studied Sergio and
speculated on the ways he might have accumulated one and a half million dollars
of unaccounted-for funds. None were good ones. Especially for a guy who had
served time for embezzlement.
    Sergio wiped one hand
wearily across his face. “Why were you asking me about Rosarita?” he said,
suddenly curious.
    “Don’t you know?” she
asked.
    “No. Why?”
    “It wasn’t your password on
your account?”
    “No. It wasn’t. Why would
you think it was?”
    Savannah’s mental gears
whirred. Don't tell all you know, she told herself. Not to a guy with
half a dozen aliases, a prison record, a missing—and possibly murdered—business
partner.
    “I found a scrap of paper
in her house. The word was written on it.”
    “Why would you think it was
a password?”
    “The notes said, ‘Password, rosarita.' That’s why.”
    Okay, so Granny Reid
wouldn’t be proud. But what Gran didn’t know wouldn’t earn Savannah a trip
behind the woodshed.
    “So, that’s probably the
password for the account where she transferred my money,” Sergio said, excited.
“Do you think you can find that number for me? With that and the password, I
could get my money back.”
    Savannah thought of Tammy
back at the office. Tam probably had those numbers memorized by now as she
tried to find the bank they belonged to.
    “I don’t know. We’ll keep
shaking the tree and see what falls out.” With a sly grin she added, “These
things have a way of working out. If the good Lord thinks you deserve that
money, I’m sure you’ll get it back.”
    His