Con Artist Legacy

Chapter Fourteen: The Patsy

“Oh yeah, I remember him.”

“And do you remember spending time in Rosswood, about twenty-five years ago?”

“Umm not really, twenty-five years is a really long time.”

“Is any of this helping?” Nate asked, as he placed photographs on the table…of the town and my entire family. The last couple of images were of my uncle Carlo, before and after his death.

Culler didn’t respond, but it was obvious by the way his eyes shifted that he remembered a whole lot more than he was letting on.

C’mon Nate, make him talk.

“I remember a little,” Culler whispered.

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

As I listened to his incredulous tale, I felt slightly removed from the situation. My whole life I complained about my boring life, eager for some excitement…and now I just wanted to put this whole mess behind me.

“So, let me get this straight. You and Metz were in Rosswood looking for a hidden treasure?” Becks spoke up.

“Yeah, Metz and his whole family were obsessed with this necklace man.”

“Why?” Nate asked.

“Don’t know, I think it was worth a lot of money though.”

“You think or you know?”

“Well that depends…” Culler answered, his eyes creasing as he smiled. It was only for a second, but I saw the glimmer in his eyes, and I hoped that Nate saw it too. Culler was a wonderful actor, clearly playing the part of simple-minded man.  

“Give us a few minutes, and we’ll see what we can work out.”

I hurried out into the hallway, hoping to meet Nate as he exited, but then I remembered that it would also mean meeting Becks…so I swiveled around and headed towards the guarded doors instead.

“Do you have a computer I could use here?” I asked one of the men sweetly (the least intimidating one).

“Not here Ma’am, but if you would follow me into my office…”

I gestured for him to lead the way, since we weren’t allowed to walk anywhere without being escorted anyway. Not that I would make it very far on my own, with all the electronically locked doorways in our path.

But even with all the high security measures, it didn’t surprise me that they were letting me use their computers; I suspected they had just assumed I was some kind of law enforcement officer (not just a nosy person).

The ‘office’ was the size of a janitor’s closet, with a tiny barred window that was closer to the ceiling and only let in small rays of light in. A rickety ceiling fan circled around gently, rustling some of the paper-work stacked high around the room.  

I shuffled carefully towards the computer, rolling up my sleeves for some serious work.

“Are you going to just stand there?” I asked the guard. He hadn’t moved an inch since we’d arrive, and his presence was making me slightly self-conscious.  

“It is my office…”

“Well okay, but don’t get in my way.”

My fingers flew around the keyboard, and I could feel the excitement building. It wasn’t everyday that a ‘normal’ person had access to police files and programs.

I wasn’t exactly sure where to start, but since Culler had mentioned that Metz was obsessed with an expensive ‘stolen’ necklace, I decided to start my search with large scale heists.