“Mistake,” Rooney murmured. “I saw her, looking for that cat, and I remembered the reward, and Wingfield. I still had his number in my phone. I figured I’d do a good deed. Reunite the kid with her father.”

“You thought you’d snatch the kid and hold her for ransom. You knew Wingfield wasn’t Maya’s father. Tanya as much as told you so, although you had to have realized it the first time you set eyes on her,” Vikki said.

Rooney snapped back to attention. “That kid could be anybody’s. Tanya? She was always working an angle. She found a rich guy and told him he was the baby daddy. That’s on her, not me.”

“Get real,” Joe guffawed. “Any idiot can tell that kid has your exact same eyes. She’s yours, all right. So, did you get Chuck to tell you where he hid all your loot before you killed him?”

“I need you people to go away,” Rooney said. “I think I got a concussion. I need some pain meds.”

“Later,” Vikki said. “Tell us what Chuck told you about the loot from your gold-and-silver-buying scam.”

Rooney looked offended. “Hey, man! We bought that stuff fair and square. All those people? They came to us. We didn’t have to twist anybody’s arm.”

“If everything was on the up-and-up, why’d you run?” Joe asked. “Why leave Tanya behind, holding the bag?”

Rooney probed his jaw with his hand. “Jesus. It’s like they wired my face together with coat hangers. I’m probably gonna be scarred for life now.”

“Don’t try and change the subject,” Joe said. “You ripped off those old people. You bought a thirty-thousand-dollar antique watch from Trudi Maples for three thousand dollars and told her that’s all the gold was worth, but you damn sure knew its true value. You, Chuck, and Tanya operated your con for a good two weeks before we shut you down. We searched your room, after we arrested Tanya, but came up with nothing. Which was why the DA eventually let her walk. You and your pal Chuck were in the wind, but the loot—you didn’t have the loot. Right?”

There was an extended quiet in the room. Vikki helped herself to another caramel and chewed loudly. “Damn, these are good. You might as well tell us the truth, Rooney. You’re looking at a long stretch of prison time. Help us out, fill in the details, and Joe here will try to help you out. Maybe he can even talk the cops in New York into believing you didn’t kill your baby mama.”

“I never touched Tanya,” Rooney repeated. “And you can’t prove I did.”

“Tell us what happened. Five years ago, after we arrested Tanya,” Joe repeated.