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“That’s a lot,” Titus said, “of cash to need for a journey”

“Well, hey, coet the ht?”

Titus just looked at him

“Oh, right, stupidto, I swear I just forgot”

“You’re pretty forgetful, Claude”

“Look, in the larger sches, it’s a pretty small amount”

“Precisely You put all of us at risk for petty cash”

“I’m sorry Really Here, I have the money It’s in my pants pocket Go see It’s yours, okay? I shouldn’t have done it It won’t happen again”

Titusthe trousers He reached into the pocket and pulled out the bills Titus looked pleased He nodded—the signal—and put the money in his own pocket

“Are we good?” Claude asked

“We are”

“Okay, great Can I, uh, put my clothes back on?”

“No,” Titus said “The suit is expensive I don’t want to get bloodstains on it”

“Bloodstains?”

Reynaldo was right behind Claude now Without a word or warning, he pressed the barrel of the gun against Claude’s head and pulled the trigger

Chapter 18

Brandon aiting on a bench by Strawberry Fields near 72nd Street Two guys couitars and singing Beatles songs One ith the obvious, “Strawberry Fields Forever,” but he wasn’t doing nearly as brisk a business as the guy in the Egg “I Am the Walrus”

“Let me explain that text,” Brandon said “The one Detective Schwartz said my mom sent”

Kat waited Stacy was there too Kat was already feeling too close to this She wanted soive her perspective

“Wait, I’ll show you” He hunched over and started fiddling with his phone “Here, read it for yourself”

Kat took his phone and read the e:

Hi Arrived safely So excited Miss you!

Kat handed it to Stacy She read it and handed it back to Brandon

“It came from your mother’s phone,” Kat said

“Right, but she didn’t send it”

“What makes you think that?”

Brandon almost looked insulted by the question “Mom never says ‘miss you’ I mean never She always finishes with ‘love you’”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m dead serious”

“Brandon, how often has your one away on her own like this?”

“This is the first time”

“Right, so naturally she ht use ‘miss you’ at the end, no?”

“You don’t get it Moned her texts with x’s and o’s and with the word Mo joke She always announced herself Like if she called h I had caller ID and knew her voice better than my own, she would always say, ‘Brandon, it’s Mom’”

Kat looked at Stacy Stacy gave a s The kid always had an answer

“I also saw the surveillance video,” Kat said

“What surveillance video?”