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Pacello came up behind her in the doorway. I guess you re
looking for me?
He was dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and rumpled pants.
The same salt-and-pepper crew cut and heavy oversized eye-
glasses Hauck recalled from Raines s video.
I don t have to talk with you, he said. You don t have any
jurisdiction here.
Don t Look Twice 267
May I come in?
No, you can t come in. Pacello eased his daughter out of
the doorway. What you can do is get back in your car there
and drive on home. I don t know anything about any murder. I
barely knew Keith. Sometimes we worked in the same section.
I can t help you.
How did you know I was headed up here? Did Raines warn
you?
I don t know what you re talking about, mister. I came to
visit my family. Is that a crime? And I don t have to continue
this conversation if I don t want to, unless you ve got a war-
rant. I m retired. I don t work for the resort anymore. I don t
know anything about what happened to Keith. That was all
too bad. So if you don t mind, I m sorry . . .
He moved to shut the door.
Hauck caught it before it shut and met the man s eyes. I
can come back with a warrant if you like, Mr. Pacello. A fed-
eral one. I know about how you came to buy your inn. How
you paid off the mortgage. I know precisely where the check
came from. The Pequot Woods. Five hundred and seventy-five
thousand dollars . . . That s a little more than a gold watch for
your ten years. You wouldn t want to have to answer questions
about that, would you? Sort of has the feel of someone who
may have been bought off.
Bought off? Pacello opened the door wider. I don t know
what you re talking about, mister. Bought off for what?
For your silence. Hauck shrugged. For your participation
in a scheme to implicate a federal attorney in a phony gambling
scam. For covering up what happened to Keith Kramer. That is
how you got your little nest egg paid off, right? After falling
three months behind in the payments. Now do you have an idea
what I m talking about, Mr. Pacello?
268 Andrew Gross
Lines tightened on the dealer s face. For a second, he seemed
about to lunge at Hauck.
I also know your place is held in a trust. For your daughter
here. Your grandkids . . .
That s enough, okay?
You don t want to risk that, do you? So far, I m not sure
you ve done anything really wrong. Nothing that a few smart
words from you wouldn t correct. But if you really want me to
come back with that warrant, I m not sure I can promise how
someone else might look at that little transaction down the
line.
You don t understand. Pacello shook his head. His voice
grew hushed. I ve seen what they would do.
It s too late, Hauck said. It s going to come out. Four
people are dead. If it s not me, it ll be someone else.
From behind him, a woman stepped into the doorway. Gray-
ing hair, kind gray eyes. She put a hand on Pacello s shoulder.
Come on, Paul. We always knew this was going to happen.
Get back, Katherine.
No, she said, I won t get back. I won t let this go on any-
more. What s done is done. She stepped onto the landing and
opened the door. Let the lieutenant in.
CHAPTER SEVENTY- ONE
They went out to the back on a screened-in porch that faced
the lake. Two green Adirondack chairs and a couch covered up
for the winter in a canvas tarp. It was cold. Pacello sat with his
elbows on his knees and a brooding expression. His wife and
daughter stayed inside.
You ve got to protect them, he said, more of a plea than a
demand. He ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. Linda and
Cal, they can t know.
I ll do my best, Hauck promised.
No, that s not good enough. You ve got to give me assur-
ances. What s anyone going to think? They know where we are.
They know that place is all I got.
Hauck nodded.
Out on the water, a small boat chugged by, maybe a couple
of hundred yards offshore. Some kind of small fishing boat,
Hauck thought at first, this deep into winter. Maybe checking
traps. An empathetic shiver rippled through him. Cold as crap
out there today.
I didn t do anything wrong, Pacello said. They just told
me they wanted to make this guy Sanger come out alright.
270 Andrew Gross
Sometimes you do a turn for the high rollers, certain friends of
the house. It was part of my job.
False shuffle. Hauck looked at him. You stacked the deck
so he would win. Hauck suddenly realized that was where all
the money had come from in Sanger s account. That and what-
ever else Sanger had won online.
You think I even knew who the hell this guy was? They told
me to keep the table open for him. Let him win. I saw him there
once or twice before and acted like I recognized him. He said
I was his lucky dealer. I didn t do anything other than my job,
Lieutenant. They came to me. I want that clear.
They ? Hauck said. Raines?
He wanted to point the finger at Keith. Pacello nodded.
Make it look like it was him. I knew it was wrong. I knew
there was something else behind it. You ever have to make a
choice, Lieutenant?
Hauck nodded. Every day.
No. Pacello shook his head. A real choice. Something
that defines who you are. That won t go away. I worked thirty
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