"Charles Coleman Finlay - An Eye for an Eye" - читать интересную книгу автора (Finley Charles Coleman)

bills Beckett gave me.
Alarms go off as soon as it hits the cash drawer. The money is fake.
Counterfeit. The lady in the food window is old as my grandmother, and sheтАЩs
staring at me with that old lady mixture of disappointment and contempt while the
tire spikes pop up in front and back of my car.
I lean my head forward against the steering wheel to wait for the private cops
to show up. IтАЩm hoping they take a while so I can figure out how to get even with
Beckett.
****
Turns out, I get out of the drive-through situation by pretending to be stupid.
Way I feel right then, thereтАЩs not a lot of pretending involved. The money isnтАЩt
marked or tied to any other crime. When I hear that, I feed them some bull about
getting it for change at a Chopstick CharlieтАЩs cross-town. While they badmouth their
competitors, I dig up enough clean cash from my pocket to pay Thai King again for
the meal. I also talk to the manager and pay upfront for the drop-in call from the
coptractors. Of course, they keep the counterfeit bill. We all know one of them is
going to spend it somewhere else, which is how the stuff stays in circulation.
EverybodyтАЩs happy. Even the grandma in the pickup window favors me with a
complimentary smile and everything is forgiven.
By the time itтАЩs over, IтАЩm not as mad at Beckett either. Thing is, I realize how
lucky I am to get caught spending the counterfeit for small change. If I dropped a
roll of it at a dealer for a new car or something, theyтАЩd have to cart me off to jail. So
the big question is, is it all fake, or was that just one bad bill? Is it an accident, or
have I been set up?
IтАЩm hoping itтАЩs the former, because once IтАЩve calmed down I still want to like
Beckett. ItтАЩs hardly the first time IтАЩve been bagged with a bad bill. Everyone gets one
now and then.
When I get home, I check out the rest of the finderтАЩs fee in the bag.
ItтАЩs all fake.
Every bill.
I know, because after a few random ones turn out fake, I get methodical, like a
freaking bank teller, and check every bill.
 Which means Beckett is fake too. HeтАЩs fooled me better than I thought.
IтАЩm sitting here, on my futon, planning ways to get even with him, trying to
figure out how IтАЩm going to pay my bills, when the phone rings. I donтАЩt even bother
to see who it is before I answer.
тАЬYeah, what?тАЭ is what I say.
тАЬStill the charmer, I see,тАЭ says a voice on the other end that I donтАЩt quite
recognize anymore and also can never forget. When IтАЩm completely silent, she says,
тАЬHey, this is Diane. You still in your old line of work?тАЭ
тАЬNo,тАЭ I say. тАЬI retired recently. Apparently IтАЩm too stupid to do it anymore.тАЭ
But what IтАЩm thinking is, Diane? What the hell? I canтАЩt really concentrate on anything
else.
тАЬWell, get back into it. I need a serious favor and I canтАЩt turn to anyone but
you to do it.тАЭ
And IтАЩm thinking, I canтАЩt possibly rip my heart out and leave it on your
doorstep again because IтАЩve already done that once, and it was one time too many.
тАЬWhat is it?тАЭ
тАЬA friend of mine had something incredibly valuable stolen. She needs
somebody she can trust completely to get it back again.тАЭ