Noah Wolf Box Set 2

by David Archer

  By the time he was twenty-one, Jimmy Morgan was a multimillionaire. While there were plenty of rumors about his involvement in the crimes, Redford and the local prosecutors were in on the whole thing, so no charges were ever filed against him. When the feds caught wind and tried to set up their own investigation, Redford and his deputies kept them confused and on wild goose chases that left Jimmy standing high and dry. The money it cost Jimmy, in his opinion, was money well spent.

  Over the next couple of years, the operation continued to grow. Through his crew, he managed to find and entice a number of lovely young ladies who were more than willing to negotiate for their affections and move into prostitution. Anthony and the sheriff were more than happy to take another “small percentage” of the new enterprise, and even approached their counterparts in a couple of the neighboring counties and found them just as amenable. Jimmy’s operation spread out, and he grew even more wealthy.

  But then a new local city cop started trying to make trouble. Officer Clayton had gotten wind of Jimmy’s operations and was well aware that most of his fellows were on the take, but this young officer had integrity. After learning quickly that Jimmy was well protected, he contacted an uncle who was with the FBI and launched an investigation of his own.

  By that time, though, Jimmy had reached the level of being essentially untouchable. His crew was extremely protective of him, the way a man might protect a goose that laid golden eggs. The slightest rumor that a federal prosecutor was considering charges was enough to cause something unpleasant to happen to the prosecutor or someone they loved. It was never anything fatal, but the message was loud and clear: leave Jimmy Morgan alone, or things will get much worse in a hurry. No amount of security seemed to be able to prevent these occurrences, so they were quite sufficient in deterring further attempts to prosecute Jimmy.

  Officer Clayton’s involvement in the attempts to take Jimmy down came to light when the office of a federal prosecutor was ransacked one night and word got back to Jimmy. He fumed about it for a couple of days, then went to Sheriff Redford.

  “You need to find some way to shut that kid down,” Jimmy had said.

  “Shut him down?” Redford asked. “From what you’re telling me, it needs to be permanently. This little shit knows way too much; he knows I’ve been working with you. If he’s gotten any evidence together, sooner or later there’s going to be a federal DA who will come after us.”

  Jimmy grinned at him. “Then we need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  At three o’clock the next morning, fire alarms rang out. Officer Clayton’s house, where he lived with his wife and baby daughter, was already engulfed in flames by the time the trucks arrived. Three badly burned bodies were recovered, and the following day Clayton’s uncle arrived. He stormed into the sheriff’s office and demanded cooperation in his intent to hang Jimmy for the fire, but then he did a strange thing. He went back to his hotel room, where he apparently decided to take his own life.

  He had died from a single gunshot to his right temple. The medical examiner, after a brief chat with Redford, didn’t hesitate to rule it a suicide, despite the fact that the man had been left-handed.

  After that, even the feds tended to stay away from Jimmy Morgan. Jimmy’s reach grew and grew, until he was the de facto king of more than half a dozen Northwest Arkansas counties.

  Now he looked at his son and smiled. “Let me ask you a question,” he said. “I know you been moving some goods for us, and you been doing pretty good at it. The trouble is, you’re young, and kids tend to do some pretty stupid things from time to time. You ain’t been using any of those drugs, have you, Ralphie?”

  Ralphie gave him a look that questioned his father’s stupidity. “Aw, hell, no,” he said. “You think I don’t see what that crap does to people? I like keeping my brain fully functional, thank you.”

  Jimmy nodded, his smile getting even wider. “That was one of the first things I figured out when I started taking over the drug business around here. We sell this shit, we sell it to every dumb bastard out there who doesn’t care what it does to his life, but we ain’t stupid enough to use it. If you can keep that in your head, I think maybe that’s the place to start you out. You been working with Ronnie Sneed while he’s been running that operation, but there’s other places I could use him. I want you to start taking over the business from him tomorrow morning. Couple months, I’ll move him plumb up to the main office, get him out of your hair.”

  Ralphie grinned and held up his bottle, clinking it against his dad’s. “I like that,” he said. “I think I’ve come up with a few ideas that might expand that operation quite a bit. Pot and meth are good products, but there are some others I think we’ve been neglecting. Heroin, some of the synthetics, they even got liquid pot now you can use in one of those e-cigarette things. Somebody around here is selling that stuff, might as well be us. Right?”

  Jimmy gave him a thumbs-up. “Good thinking,” he said. “Just do me a favor and check with Ronnie about it first. Make sure there isn’t a reason he’s been letting it slide. I’m not saying it’s not a good idea—just make sure it won’t cause us any problems before we do it.”

  “No problem,” Ralphie said. “I’m out to make us richer, not cause us any trouble.”

  Jimmy went back to looking over the girls, trying to decide which one he wanted to take home for the night. He had never married Ralphie’s mother, and she had decided to split back when the boy was only ten. Trying to take Jimmy’s son when she did so was the mistake that cost her her life, but only Jimmy knew that, and her body had gone up in smoke when a pile of old tires “just happened” to catch fire a couple of days later. As far as Ralphie knew, his mother was living on the West Coast somewhere. He even got a birthday card from her that first year, but his belief that she had deserted him had hardened his heart against her. He wanted nothing to do with her, so the question of her whereabouts never came up.

  Jimmy looked up as the bell over the door tinkled and a tall blond man walked in. The guy looked tough, and he carried himself like he might have been a soldier at one time or another. Jimmy instantly recognized the possible threat. Rival gang leaders from around the state had tried more than once to have Jimmy killed, which is why the tables around him were filled with armed rednecks. Each and every one of them was watching the new guy just as closely as Jimmy, but they started to relax when he sat down at the bar and ordered a beer.

  Jimmy looked over and caught the eye of Scott Forney, who headed up his security detail. “Any idea who that might be?”

  Forney shook his head and slowly got to his feet. He walked over to the bar and sat down beside the blond-haired man, then motioned for the bartender to come over. When she did, Forney ordered a beer of his own and turned to the stranger.

  “Hey, man,” he said. “Ain’t seen you around here before. You new, or just passing through?”

  The big man shrugged. “That all depends,” he said.

  “Yeah? Depends on what?” Forney asked.

  The blond man turned and looked him in the eye. “Depends on whether or not I find work. My sister lives here, and she seems to think this is the ideal place for me.”

  Forney grinned at him. “Really? And who is your sister?”

  “Katie Madison,” the big man said. “Well, Kate is what she goes by around here, but I’ve always called her Katie. I’m Rex Madison, by the way.” He extended a hand, and Forney shook it.

  “Scott Forney,” he said. “Kate Madison, huh? I didn’t even know she had a brother. Don’t think she ever talks about you.”

  “Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that. See, up until not long ago, I was a guest of the federal government down in Beaumont, Texas. Black sheep of the family, you might say. Katie always tried to keep me under wraps—I guess it doesn’t do a girl’s reputation much good to have a brother doing time in a fed joint. I’ve been out a month, but I can’t deal with all the probation crap back in Ohio, so Katie suggested I come give i
t a try here. Just got in this morning.”

  “Federal time always has probation attached to it,” Forney said. He watched the man’s face carefully while he was talking. “Bloody Beaumont, huh? Is it as bad as they say? I’ve heard stories about somebody dying there every week.”

  Rex shrugged. “Ain’t really like that, but it’s bad. I’ve seen both guards and inmates end up dead in the riots, and I saw a guy get his throat slit just for looking into another man’s cell. You learn real quick to keep your eyes on the floor right in front of you all the time. Somebody thinks you’re looking at him, it’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”

  Forney nodded. “So why was you there?”

  “Because Uncle Sam doesn’t like it when one of his DEA boys gets his head blown off. We had one who got into a little operation we had going back in Cleveland, but he slipped up and got found out, and then he got dead. They couldn’t prove who did it, so they just wrapped us all up, conspiracy bit. I did most of five years over that.”

  “Man, that sucks. What kinda dope?”

  Rex laughed. “You name it,” he said. “Meth, crack, X, heroin, pot, and anything else you can imagine. As long as there was a market, we were selling it.”

  Forney leaned close so that their shoulders were almost touching. “So, tell me,” he said in a stage whisper, “you have anything to do with that fed? Him getting his head blowed off?”

  Rex had his bottle up to his lips, but he turned and glanced at Forney out of the corner of his eye. “Now, come on,” he said. “If I did, would you really expect me to admit it to somebody I just met? And would you even believe me if I said I did it?”

  Forney shrugged and chuckled. “Hey, man, ’s just you and me talking. I ain’t gonna say anything to anybody else.”

  “Cool,” Rex said, “and I’m not gonna be stupid enough to tell you anything that could possibly send me right back to Bloody Beaumont, dig?”

  Forney laughed and sat up again. “So what kinda work you looking for?”

  Rex turned and looked him in the eye. “Kind that makes me a hell of a lot of money.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Okay,” Allison said, “there is no way I’m going to let you marry that girl without a proper wedding. We can do this quick, but after all she’s been through, we’re going to do it right.” She turned and looked at Jenny. “Let your boys take care of Randy; I’m sure they can keep an eye on him for a while. I want you to take Sarah out to Supply and tell Martha I said we need a wedding dress by tomorrow morning. She’s probably got dozens of them out there, and she’s got the staff who can make any alterations it might need. Think you can handle that?”

  Jenny jumped to her feet, squealing and clapping her hands like a little girl. “Yes! Oh, yes!” She hurried across the room and grabbed Sarah by the hand, pulling her to her own feet. “Come on, girl, we’ve got to get you all set up for your big day. First we’ll go pick a dress, then we’ll get your hair and makeup—I’m thinking extensions, give you back that long, beautiful hair. That work for you?”

  Sarah put a hand to her head and rubbed it through the short stubble on her scalp, all that was left of her blonde locks after her ordeal. “Can they put extensions in hair this short?”

  “Of course they can—it’s called superglue. Then it’s off to get you some really racy stuff for your honeymoon. We’ll make you so hot even Noah is gonna melt!”

  Sarah’s face turned red, but she was smiling as Jenny led her out the door.

  Allison got up and walked over to a table at the side of the room, picked up a pen and paper, and scribbled something down. She turned and handed the note to Noah.

  “This is the number of the pastor at my church,” she said. “Don’t worry, he knows exactly who we are and what we do, but he’s genuinely a man of God. Tell him I said he’s performing a wedding tomorrow afternoon, and all he’s gonna want to know is what time.”

  “Thank you,” Noah said.

  “No problem. Now, you go get the marriage license and make whatever preparations you need, while Donald and I take care of the guest list.”

  “Guest list?” Noah’s eyes actually got wider. “What have you got in mind?”

  “Noah, Noah,” Allison said. “Almost everyone in the organization knows who you are. If you’re getting married, most of them are gonna want to be there. Deal with it.”

  Noah shrugged. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. He got to his feet, followed by Neil and Marco, and headed out the door.

  He called the pastor, Reverend Walton, and related Allison’s message. As she had predicted, his only response was to suggest that they hold the service at 4:00 p.m., followed by a reception in the church’s dining hall immediately after.

  “Reception? Should I arrange catering?” Noah asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Reverend Walton said. “I’ve got a dozen ladies in the congregation who think cooking and baking is their calling from God. They’ll be more than happy to make sure there’s a feast ready.”

  “But I don’t even know how many people are coming,” Noah said. “Maybe you should give Allison a call. I think she’s taking care of all that.”

  “Don’t worry, I shall. You just go on and get ready for the biggest day of your life. And by the way, it wouldn’t hurt anything to see you and your new bride in our pews now and then.” The line suddenly went dead, and Noah stared at his phone for a moment before putting it back in his pocket.

  Noah and Sarah had ridden to the debriefing in the Corvette, but Neil and Marco grabbed him when they got to the garage and stuffed him into the shotgun seat of the Hummer. “Dude,” Marco said, “you’re getting married tomorrow. It is therefore an absolute necessity that your friends kidnap your butt and drag you off for a bachelor party. Since the list of your friends is topped by me and Neil, we get the honors.”

  Noah turned in the seat so that he could look at both of them. “The last thing I need in the world is a bachelor party,” he said. “Just take me down to the courthouse. I have to get the marriage license before anything else.”

  “We’re going, we’re going,” Neil said. “But if you think you’re getting out of a bachelor party, you’re crazy. I mean, come on, how often are we going to get the chance?”

  Noah stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay, I guess. As long as it involves a steak and no dancing girls.”

  “What? No dancing girls?” Marco almost shrieked. “Dude, the dancing girls aren’t for you, they’re for us.”

  Noah turned around and looked him in the eye. “No dancing girls,” he said.

  Marco sputtered a couple of times but then finally gave in. “Fine, no dancing girls. Can we at least have a keg?”

  “As long as we do it at the house,” Noah said. “I can barely deal with Neil’s driving when he’s sober; there’s no way he’s driving after a keg.”

  Neil drove out of the garage and down the street to where the courthouse sat, and he and Marco waited in the Hummer while Noah went inside. They had been waiting for about twenty minutes, with Marco texting furiously on his phone, when Jenny and Sarah suddenly pulled in and parked beside them. Sarah got out of the car and headed inside while Jenny rolled down her window and leaned out. “Seems both applicants have to sign for the marriage license,” she said. “We were just about to start looking at wedding dresses when Noah called, so we had to run back to the car and fly down here. Why is it you guys can never figure out what’s got to be done before you start?”

  “Because then we’d be girls,” Neil said. “Real men don’t read directions, don’t ask for directions, and never let a lack of understanding stop them from at least trying to accomplish their goals.”

  Jenny’s jaw dropped as she stared at him. “Oh my goodness,” she said, “an honest man. Neil, I may have to just marry you.”

  Neil’s eyes went wide, and his mouth opened three times, but no sound came out. Marco leaned forward and clapped him on the back.

  “Dude,” he said, “
you’re really turning into a ladies’ man, aren’t you? What would Lacey say?”

  Jenny burst out laughing. “Relax, Neil, I’m only kidding. You’re sweet, but you’re way too tall.”

  Marco scrambled across the back seat and leaned out the window. “Hey, I’m not that tall,” he said.

  Jenny rolled her eyes at him. “You’re also way too old for me,” she said. “I like my men a little younger.” She winked at Neil once and smiled. “You’re just about the right age, though, Neil. Maybe I should reconsider.”

  Neil rolled up his window and turned on the stereo. Jenny and Marco both burst out laughing.

  It was only about five minutes later that Noah and Sarah came out of the building. Sarah held up the marriage license and waved it in triumph. “We actually got it,” she said. “Can you believe it?”

  “If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t have driven like a maniac to get you here in time,” Jenny said. “Now, get your butt in the car—we have shopping to do.”

  Sarah turned quickly and grabbed Noah, kissing him lightly before getting back into Jenny’s car. The two girls drove away, each of them holding up a hand and waving goodbye.

  Noah shook his head and got back into the Hummer. “Hey,” he said, “what kind of things am I supposed to be doing to get ready for a wedding?”

  “You got a tux?” Marco asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then you’re good. Now, we go eat and drink and make merry, for tomorrow you get wed. You can buy her flowers on the way to the church tomorrow afternoon.” He slapped the back of Neil’s seat, and the skinny kid threw the Hummer into gear and they were off.