The Quality of the Informant

FROM: Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge Thomas A. Luegner

Subject: Operation Peter Rabbit

Source: 2034XD

Method of Contact: Tel/con

Info:2034XD reports that fugitive Sandra Hartzbecker aka Sandra Hill (FBI #5658940H) met recently in Ensenada with a male adult identified as Paul LaMonica (FBI #9586744L) for the purpose of planning early stages of a stateside forgery scheme. No further information. Rec checks show LaMonica subject of fug. warrant #bhk5906 for escape. Subject escaped from Terminal Island federal prison eleven months ago after overpowering a civilian employee at the institution. He used a counterfeit police identification card to facilitate his escape. Subject is a master printer, many times convicted of counterfeiting U.S. currency, various types of checks, etc. No further information. Hartzbecker is former girl friend/criminal cohort (counterfeit money passer) of LaMonica.

Undeveloped leads: Maintain contact with Source.

Carr slammed the briefcase shut and set it in the backseat exactly as he'd found it. He slipped out of the Corvette, closed the door quietly, and tossed the coat banger back into the trashcan.

Carr climbed into his sedan and started the engine. On the way to his apartment he listened to an all-night jazz station.

Chapter 16

In the morning Carr found the arrest folder in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet marked 'Closed Cases.' A tab on the folder read 'Hartzbecker, Sandra/Passer.' He carried the folder to a desk in the corner of the room and sat down. He opened the folder. There was nothing inside it except some mug shots. Hartzbecker was dressed in a well-tailored pants suit and her hair was in pigtails. Like everyone in such photographs, she wore a frown.

Carr flipped the stack of mug shots over. Each photo was stamped FIELD FILE ON THIS SUSPECT STORED IN THE LAS VEGAS FIELD OFFICE. He flipped the folder shut. There was a phone on the desk. He picked up the receiver and dialed.

'U.S. Treasury. Las Vegas Field Office, Special Agent Cecil True speaking. Good morning.' The agent ran the words together as if reciting Hail Mary number twenty.

'This is Charlie,' Carr said. 'I need a little info.'

'I hope you liked my introduction,' True said. 'I got written up last week for answering the phone, 'Treasury.''

'Do you remember a passer named Sandra Hartzbecker?' Carr asked.

There was a momentary silence. 'That's a roger,' True said. 'German broad…fifty dollar notes; the pinch went down in the Casino Monte Carlo.'

'What happened?' Carr said.

'She was playing craps at one of the high stakes tables dropping fifty dollar bills for chips. The pit boss at the table takes a look at one of the bills and gets suspicious. He calls security and they try to put the arm on her. The fight is on. She scratched the shit out of one of the guards. By the time I got there it was all over but the shouting.'

'Did she talk?' Carr said.

'Nope,' True said. 'She did the 'I cashed a check at a bank in L.A.' act. At the Field Office I poured her purse out on the desk right in front of her. There's nothing in it but counterfeit fifties and a motel key. Of course she said she'd never seen the key before. I put her in the lockup and headed down to the motel. There was about fifty grand in the same variety of fifties in a shoebox hidden under the bed as well as a couple of pairs of men's pants and shirts hanging in the closets along with her stuff. Back at the office I showed her the shoebox and she started crying. Never would cop out on her boyfriend, though. She's really a solid broad. I figured it out anyway. She had an address book in her purse. I can't remember the guy's name right offhand

'Paul LaMonica?' Carr said.

'That's it,' True said. 'I really pressed her, even offered her a deal if she would hand him up, but she stuck by her guns. She kept her story all the way to the joint. A solid broad.Yagotta give her credit.'

'Thanks for the rundown,' Carr said.

'Anytime,' True said. 'By the way, how's our old buddy No Waves?'

'About the same,' Carr said.

'That's why I like it right here in good ol' Las Vegas.' True cleared his voice. 'U.S. Treasury Las Vegas Field Office, Special Agent True signing off. Have a real nice day,' he said in a sarcastic tone.

Carr smiled and shook his head. He hung up the receiver.

It was almost midnight. LaMonica had been catnapping in an overstuffed chair.

The light and sound of a television set filled the hotel room, a talk show featuring a youthful cowboy actor with plucked eyebrows rambling on about the dangers of nuclear power. There was nothing else on.

Like the other cubicles on the top floor of the Tijuana Excelsior, the room was replete with fancy tile work and imitation primitive art. LaMonica rose from the chair and stretched. He stabbed his way through sheer curtains to the spacious balcony.

Sandy, resting on one of the two double beds, remained transfixed by the television.

The view from the balcony was partially obstructed by the downtown bullring, an ominous structure that loomed like some ancient ruin. To the right, American Border Patrol helicopters with powerful spotlights rattled along north of the international boundary searching for intruders. A breeze, tepid and gusting steadily, came from that direction.

'Would you like to go over it again?' LaMonica said to the wind.

'What?' Sandy said. The bed creaked. She went to the dressing table and poured a drink.

'Go over it again,' he said, raising his voice.

Sandy pushed her way through the curtain and stood next to him. She held a drink. 'If I don't have it down by now I never will,' she said between sips.

A helicopter descended suddenly, its beam of light aimed at something moving on the ground. Vehicle lights sped along the fence. After a while the helicopter ascended and followed the border east. Finally it was out of sight.

'Funny, the two of us spending the night together,' Sandy said. 'After that last time I swore I'd never work with you again. And here we are rehearsing an act.'

'I wanted you in on this. I really did,' LaMonica said. His hands held the balcony rail.

'I'm here because I finally said to myself that if you really did rip me off in that last thing, you would never have had the guts to ask me to work with you again,' Sandy said. 'Plus, I sort of respect you…the way you work alone and take care of business. You're not a bullshit artist. And because I have a chance to make enough money to change everything for once and for all. I want out of this fuckin' place. It's a goal.' She held the drink to her forehead.

'What about your boyfriend, Mr. Cool?' LaMonica said. 'You'd just leave him behind?' He smirked.

'I once read in a women's lib book that women should have relationships with lower class men in order to develop confidence,' Sandy Hartzbecker said. 'I think the author was right. My relationship with Mr. Cool has changed me. I feel different after having been with him. He's his own man, but he's concerned about what happens to me. We're equals. We respect each other and always have something to talk about. We share things and look out for one another. The book was right. Fuck what other people think.' Her expression was one of disdain.

'If Lockhart puts you on the spot tomorrow, just turn on the tears and leave the room,' LaMonica said. 'I'll follow you out and then we'll decide what to do next. We have to play it by ear. On the other hand, don't be afraid to push him to the wall. I read him as basically a pussy. He'll cave in with pressure. Even if he tells us to shove it and walks out, don't worry. We can always go back later with a lower offer.'

Like a ritual of good luck, they went over the details again. By the time they'd hashed it all out, Sandy had