The Target

understand the most basic concept of how the dollar worked. I'm sure you must have been the one who guided him after he and my daughter divorced. I know that she handled all the finances during their marriage, but after? No, Warren, it was you. Now, tell Judge Hunt where the money went."

    "I'm not lying, sir. I swear to you, I don't know. Louey wouldn't tell me. I've got the records, sir. Withdrawals from the bank, nearly all of it. He just took it out, didn't say a thing to me."

    "When did he withdraw the money, Mr. O'Dell?" Ramsey asked.

    "Just before he went to Germany. He was broke, but he still managed to talk the backers out of a huge advance, nearly two hundred thousand, if I remember correctly. Another hundred thousand was coming later, after he was in Germany performing, and that's gone too. Louey took all of it. He didn't tell me a thing, I swear it."

    Gunther stood by the door, silent.

    "You have all of Mr. O'Dell's papers?"

    "Yes, sir."

    "Then we'll be off. Judge Hunt, do you have more questions for Warren?"

    "Yes. Where were you early this morning?"

    Warren O'Dell looked as if he was going to faint. He cleared his throat. He swallowed and made himself cough. He said at last, "I was home in bed."

    "Was anyone with you?"

    "Yes, my girlfriend, Glennis."

    "Give me her phone number."

    In another four minutes, Ramsey was on the phone speaking to Glennis Clark, a waitress at the Downtown Diner over on O Street. He spoke quietly for several minutes. Finally, he hung up. "Unless you have excellent ESP, Mr. O'Dell, and a very strong connection to Ms. Clark, it appears you're telling the truth."

    Ramsey nodded and walked with Mason Lord to the door of the opulent office. He turned and said, "Who are you hiding from, Mr. O'Dell?"

    "Mr. Shaker. He already called me. He's very angry, claims I'm responsible for Louey being in that car. Now that Louey's dead, he won't get his money back."

    "A million bucks is a spit in the ocean for the likes of Mr. Shaker. Why is he really so angry?"

    "Because he can't have Louey," Warren O'Dell said finally. "He really wanted Louey. When he realized that Louey would earn back the money and he couldn't use the debt as leverage, then he kidnapped the kid. Jesus, he'd kill me if he knew I'd told anybody."

    "He wanted Louey to perform in his casino?"

    "That too."

20

    IT WAS AFTER nine o'clock that evening. Everyone had finally moved from the dining room into the huge living room for coffee and some of Miles's low-fat apricot tarts. Emma had begged to stay up so she could help Miles load the dishwasher. After she'd left in Miles's wake for the kitchen, Ramsey told everyone about their encounter with Warren O'Dell. When he said, "And then Mr. O'Dell said Rule Shaker really wanted Louey," Molly stared at him, disbelieving. "He's gay? This Mr. Rule Shaker wanted Louey Santera for a lover? Is that what he meant?"

    "Yeah," said Sherlock. "What's all this about?"

    Ramsey just smiled. Both Sherlock and Molly had understood it just as he had. Their incredulity was as great as his had been.

    Savich sat back in his chair and said, "I'll bet there's an unexpected punch line here. Come on, Ramsey, spit it out."

    Ramsey smiled wider, nodding to Mason as he said, "As it turns out, it was Mr. Shaker's daughter who wanted Louey. Her name is Melissa and apparently she's the apple of her daddy's eye. Anything she wants, Daddy gets for her.

    It was Louey she wanted, and so Mr. Shaker went after him."

    "And ended up killing him." Molly was tired to her bones, worried sick about Emma, and now some gangster's daughter had wanted Louey? She continued, "So her daddy rigged a craps game so Louey would lose big time? And when that didn't work, you're saying this Mr. Shaker had Emma kidnapped to make Louey fall into line? Then he sent men after the three of us? Finally he tried to blow Emma and me up and killed Louey by mistake?" Molly jumped up from her chair, nearly knocking it over. She began pacing up and down, her eyes fastened on the toes of her black Bally loafers. "No, that's as nuts as this Shaker guy being gay. What kind of monster is he? That's sick."

    Mason narrowed his eyes on his daughter, "Get a hold of yourself, Molly. Louey could have had his own daughter kidnapped so he could get his hands on my money and pay back Rule Shaker. It would further seem that finally Rule Shaker tried to kill Emma so that Louey would be frightened enough to do as he wanted him to do. It was