Free Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 07 - Vague Images by Elaine Orr

said it would be a surprise for him.”
    I winced. “There’s a need for a boatload of therapy.”
    “Mom had a lot.”
    “I meant for Kim. So she knows it’s not her fault.”
    Another shrug.
    “So, this is all horrible, but how does it translate into not getting help from the police?”
    He thought for a moment. “Whoever is mad at Dad now knows her name. We were listed as survivors. If they’re paying attention, they can see Kim’s gone. Maybe the people Dad ticked off are looking for her. Now she’s not where anyone can protect her.”
    “But why would they care? You really think they’d hurt someone who was five or six when your Dad did whatever he did?”
    “Leverage,” he said, in a flat tone. “I’ve always figured they want Dad to tell them something.”
    “You said he laundered books at his car dealership . He helped the FBI put someone in jail?”
    “I suppose . My guess is that he either took some money or somebody helped him do it, and they want to know if he had a partner.”
    I groaned . Near the end of our marriage, my husband embezzled money from the bank he worked for. He spent it at New Jersey casinos. “I can’t believe this,” I said, more to myself than Lucas.
    “Maybe he didn’t, but I’m pretty…”
    “I didn’t mean that. My former husband went to jail for embezzling money from the place he worked. I never thought I’d know someone else who did something like that.”
    Lucas’ tone was bitter . “It’s easier than you’d think. If you take a lot at once, somebody notices. But if you set up a command to transfer a little at a time you might not get found out for years.”
    “How do you know that?”  My tone was kind of sharp . I hoped he hadn’t inherited any of his father’s bad habits.
    “Did I tell you I have a double degree in math and computer system design?
    “We hadn’t gotten to that tidbit yet.”
    He laughed for several seconds . “That felt good.” 
    “I remember you wanted a computer video game the year you lived here.”
    “Yeah. That Game Boy was the first electronic gadget I took apart to see how it worked.”
    Only a boy.
    He grew somber again. “I don’t do it, of course, but I could hack into almost any system. Even ones with all kinds of security.”
    “And do you?” What have I gotten myself into?
    “Only for fun, and nothing like stealing money . I made a Burger King ad show a Big Mac once.”
    “How could you even do that?”
    Shrug. “It’s just a digital feed from their advertising firm. It only showed a couple of times, and then the ad was down.”
    “So you hack into a lot of systems?”
    “Of course not. I just meant that if someone could get into a company’s computer and they knew a lot about accounting systems and stuff…”
    His voice trailed off, partially in response to my look, which was intense . “I already knew you were smart. But you’re being really dumb about not getting help looking for Kim. We’re going to the police station right now.”  I think my babysitter voice persuaded him.
     
    WE HAD COMPROMISED. I phoned Lieutenant Tortino’s mobile phone and said I had someone he would want to meet, but there was no way I could get the person to go to the station. Tortino suggested the food pantry, and we settled on the diner. A few of our food pantry customers have been arrested for vagrancy or shoplifting. They would not be happy to see a police officer in the place where they get food.
    Lucas wolfed down a cheeseburger while we waited . I had my favorite item on Arnie’s Diner’s menu, a chocolate milkshake. The diner draws the tourist crowd, but it’s especially popular with locals in the off-season. It’s not just Arnie’s reasonably priced blue-plate specials. It’s the dozens of framed pictures that hang on the walls. They have local people or autographs from celebrities who have eaten at the diner. Most are from long ago. One even has Aunt Madge’s long-dead first husband, Uncle Gordon, who