“Choking,” he whispered painfully. “Choking.”
“Sorry, Bill,” I said. “But you should know better than to sneak up on a man like that.”
For a quick second, I thought about stealing back my money. But then knowing he would only come calling on Bunny again, I decided against it.
“Be seeing you, Bill,” I said.
“You’re gonna regret the day we met, little friend,” he said, his voice hoarse and broken. “I were you, I’d be leaving town immediately. Or else, you’re a dead man.”
“That hurts my feelings, Bill,” I said.
I opened the Jeep door, slipped behind the wheel, and fired her up. Pulling out of the lot, I began to wonder what the hell I’d stepped into exactly. What kind of fate was at work when I’d decided to make the trip up to Loon Lake in the first place? Prison was beginning to seem like a safer place, the war in Iraq a safe haven, and my home with a wife and daughter who no longer cared for me, a happier situation.
I could have just kept on driving as I approached the turn that would take me back to Loon Lake Inn. I would find more money, and I could buy another typewriter somehow. But then as I slowed the Jeep and found myself turning onto the narrow gravel drive, my gut was telling me to stay. Not because I’d spent Sonny’s money, but because I wanted his wife for my own. I wanted Cora to be my wife. I wanted to help her escape this place. I wanted to help her get out from under whatever the hell was going very wrong with this town. Maybe I wouldn’t go so far as to help her kill her husband. But I would help her get the hell out. And that’s all a man of limited means could hope to do.
I parked the Jeep, grabbed my laptop, and quickly made my way back to the secluded cabin. Inside, I plugged the laptop back in and washed myself up for work. Heading back over the trail to the tavern, I knew that I’d have to figure out a way to make change for the customers who would be bellying up to the bar in a matter of minutes. And do it quick. When I spotted the sheriff’s prowler parked in the lot beside the Jeep, my stomach dropped to somewhere around my ankles. He wasn’t here for a drink. Dollars to donuts, he was here to see me.
Once inside, I searched for Cora. She was behind the check-in counter looking so beautiful, I might have pulled her into the back room and made love to her on the spot. But I had to stay controlled and look like a professional.
“Where did you disappear to, Kingsley?” she asked, her face full of smiles.
She was back to being sweet, innocent Cora.
“Went into town for a few things,” I lied.
For a split second, I thought about asking her for some money. But then I thought better of it. Maybe she and I had a thing going, but based on the New York Post account, it was her habit to have a thing going with somebody. Maybe a thing going with several men at once. Who knew what I was getting into by falling for her? All I knew was I wanted her so bad it hurt.
“Sonny’s waiting for you, and he’s not in the best of moods,” she said.
“Something I said?” I offered, which seemed ridiculous considering I’d just had sex with his wife.
“It seems you’re a sheriff magnet,” she said.
“Sheriff’s here to see me, Cora?”
She nodded, her smile no longer painting her face. “I’m on my way out to buy food for the kitchen,” she said, grabbing hold of her car keys. “I’ll check in on you later.” She winked.
I turned for the tavern like a condemned man about to face the gallows.
Sonny was standing behind the bar. He was pouring a beer from the tap. When the mug was full, he placed it in front of the sheriff.
“On the house, Sheriff Woods,” he said. Then, spotting me, “You’re late, Kingsley. Hell of a way to start your first night.”
He grinned almost maniacally when he said it. He wanted me to think he was joking, but I sensed some seriousness in his delivery. Some real anger. Maybe he was testing me to see if I would walk the hell out. But then, I suspected he must have known his wife was the one thing that would keep me around. How the hell could he not have heard us having sex from outside the cabin beyond the trees? How could he not have heard his wife’s passionate screams? Fact is, he must have heard us. And now that he knew how much I liked his wife…how much I lusted for her…he knew he had power over me. Because no way I was leaving this place without her.
Sonny excused himself to the sheriff and made his way back into the kitchen. That left me alone with the upstate lawman. I tried to familiarize myself with the bar back while he quietly sipped his beer. The atmosphere was tense because we both knew why he was here. When I had no choice but to turn around and face him, I pursed my lips and nodded.
He drank some beer, wiped the foam from his mouth with the back of his hand.
“You are indeed late, Mr. Kingsley,” he said. “And the Albany County Parole Board knows it.”
“Pardon me?” I said.
He was wearing that same red-and-black-checked shirt and jeans that he was wearing when I saw him standing outside his office. He was also wearing his cowboy hat, and his long, narrow face was covered in salt and pepper scruff. His eyes were blue and his body was long and hard like a jogger or maybe even a marathoner. Even though I couldn’t see his weapon, I knew he had to be packing the semi-automatic I’d noticed earlier.
He said, “You should have called your parole officer by three o’clock this afternoon for your first check-in. You got a sweet deal not having to report to a halfway house. Be a shame to jeopardize that situation.”
He drank more beer. I had to admit, with everything that had happened since I walked out the gates of Sing Sing, I’d totally forgot to call my parole officer. I’d have to make the call sooner than later.
“You know who I am,” I said like a question. “How’d you manage that?”
He stretched his hands over the bar.
“Where are my manners?” he said. “I’m Sheriff Kevin Woods. You’re Mr. Jonathan or JA Kingsley. But everyone just calls you Kingsley.”
I felt a tightness in my stomach.
“How’d you guess that, Sheriff?” I said.
He glanced at the kitchen door as if he suspected Sonny had his ear pressed against it on the other side.
“Part of my job is to run license plates when sufficiently warranted.”
I pictured my Jeep. The license plate attached to the back bumper. I couldn’t even begin to recite the letters and numbers on it. I was just happy to have it back after being without it for all that time. For all I knew, Leslie might have sold it out from under me. Not because she needed the money. Her family had more than enough money, and they were always willing to hand over as much as she demanded when she demanded it. Maybe therein lay the overall problem. Leslie, and Erin for that matter, never really needed me. And when I went to the joint, they had no use for me. But I’m getting off topic.
“And you decided to run mine,” I said.
His ten spot was laid out on the bar. I was holding off on making change for him simply because I didn’t have any change to give him.
“Never seen your Jeep before. This is a sleepy town. Even in high season, folks rather head over to Lake George or Lake Placid. Good Christ, we can’t even begin to compete with Lake Placid. Even little Paradox Lake does better than us.” He pursed his lips, shrugged his shoulders like he felt defeated. “We’re just a lonely little lakeside community that time forgot.”
In my head, I pictured Big Billy demanding an illegal payout from Bunny.
“Maybe a big investor will come along and drop a whole lot of cash on a Sandals Resort or something like that,” I said.
It was a jest and seemed to make his sad face brighten up a little.
“Funny you should say that, Mr. Kingsley,” he said.
I told him to call me Kingsley.
“Well, Kingsley,” he said, “seems Loon Lake does indeed have an interested investor. Problem is, said investor is not exactly the kind of money we’re loo
king for.”
I shook my head like I didn’t understand. But I was beginning to get it alright. Those goons who roughed up Bunny for their monthly blood money. They worked for my new boss.
“Tell you what,” I said, turning, grabbing the bottle of Jameson off the top shelf, “I’ll join you for one, Sheriff Woods.”
I poured a shot, held it up as if to say cheers, and downed it in one swift pull. I preferred to sip my whiskey, but I didn’t want to risk Torchi seeing me drink from Loon Lake Inn’s stash, so I downed it quickly.
I leaned closer to the lawman.
“Torchi,” I said.
He looked over one shoulder and then the other.
“Here’s the deal, Kingsley,” he said. “He’s not top tier in the Queens-based syndicate, but he’s worked his way up far from the bottom, and he did it by becoming one of the best ambulance chasing lawyers and fixers in Manhattan. He’s still under the misguided impression that no one in this town knows who the hell he really is, nor the dangers he poses.”
I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Why would an active mob member become a lawyer?”
“Not only gives him an air of legitimacy and respect, but he’s forced to deal with the law and the DA on a daily basis. I’m sure that’s the way the family had it planned for him all along.”
“I get it,” I said, pouring a second shot. “It’s like that ancient book, The Art of War. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
“You should know that being a professional solider and an ex-con, Kingsley,” he said.
He finished his beer, and I poured him another. Again, I let his ten spot lie there on the bar only a half inch away from a condensate ring.
“So, where’s this going?” I said. “Why do I get the feeling you want something from me, and it has nothing to do with my parole officer?”
He sipped some of the fresh beer.
“I saw the way you handled that biker crew. They think they own the town now that Torchi has put bids in on every business and residence not only on Main Street but the entire lake—the portion that doesn’t qualify as state land anyway.”
“How much he willing to spend?”
“Tens of millions.”
“So, why don’t people take the cash and get the hell out?”
“People here are simple, Kingsley,” he explained. “They spent their whole life here, and so did their parents, and their parents.”
“Money talks, Sheriff.”
“Yes, it does,” he said. “But those millions Torchi and his bosses are willing to part with ain’t going into the buyouts. They’re going into the lake’s redevelopment.”
I nodded. “He’s paying pennies.”
“That he is,” the sheriff said. “A couple of people have sold out, but many more haven’t and won’t, no matter the offer. The businesses like Bunny’s, who refuse to sell, are being choked out. Torchi makes them pay him a monthly rent like he already owns the properties. And they don’t dare sell to someone with a higher bid for fear of their lives.”
“That’s extortion,” I said. “Why don’t you arrest him?”
He ran his hand down over his tight face. “He’s threatened retribution should I get tough on him with the law. There’s more, but I can’t get into it right now.”
“Give me a hint.”
He leaned in closer so that he could speak under his breath.
“You might have noticed that burned out house in the middle of town.”
“The one with the crime scene ribbon wrapped around the front door?”
“That’s Torchi’s work. An entire family died in that fire.”
“No arrest?”
“The state police are on the take, Kingsley. On his payroll.”
I poured another shot, drank that down.
“Jesus Christ, you have a big problem, Sheriff,” I said.
“I just can’t risk arresting Sonny,” he added. Then he looked down into his beer, like he was reliving a whole bunch of bad memories.
I said, “Okay, so Torchi, my present boss, is terrorizing the town with his three goons. He’s already killed an entire family, and the state police are on the take. You’re powerless, and the community doesn’t know where to turn. What the hell you want me to do about it?”
“You’re working at Torchi’s inn. Means you’re already on the inside. You can observe things for me. Keep me informed.”
If only he knew I’d just had wild sex with the boss’s wife.
“Also, this town could use a little muscle. Someone to stand up to Billy and his merry band of thugs. You’re the kind who can take care of business. Looks to me like you learned a thing or two on the battlefield and while you were in the joint.”
“I survived, but I ain’t exactly Rambo,” I said. “But listen, Sheriff, I’m not so sure Torchi will take to my beating his men at will. Maybe it’s you who needs to stiffen up his backbone.”
He gazed into my eyes then. His eyes were colder and harder than granite. The stare spoke to me. It told me he was tough, but that he just couldn’t risk the lives of his residents.
“Torchi is playing totally dumb,” he went on. “Thus the smiley face while he poured me a free beer. He pretends he has no idea who those three bikers are. He’s still playing the country gentleman caretaker ruse. But I know he wants to take over this town and then use it to sell his family’s personally manufactured drugs.”
“His wife, Cora,” I said.
“What about her?”
His face grew tight. Like I’d hit a nerve.
“He loves her,” the sheriff went on. “Maybe by now you’ve gathered how she feels about him.”
“Apparently, she’s just one more Loon Lake resident who’s become his slave.”
He drank down the rest of his beer and slid off his stool. “If you help me,” he said, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Yes, you will,” I said. “But what happens if I decide not to get involved?”
“They’ll come after us,” he said. “The Queens contingent, I mean. And it won’t be just three bikers with beer bellies this time.”
“Still say you should call in the police. The state troopers can’t all be on the take.”
He shook his head like he meant it.
“Can’t take that chance. They’ll burn the whole town with every man, woman, and child in it.”
“So, you want my help…need my help. But I’m just one man, Sheriff.”
“You’re the first civilian around here to stand up to those bastards.”
“That Big Billy pissed me off. Plus, he tried to hurt my feelings.”
“Something tells me you live your life like you got nothing to lose, Kingsley. Loon Lake is at war whether it knows it or not.”
“You want me to drive them out on my own.”
“I want you to put the fear in them that I can’t. And you have my blessing to do whatever it takes. You will not be arrested. You got that? If you cut their heads off and stick them on stakes, you will not face charges, at least not from my office. That, I can guarantee you.”
I poured and downed one last shot.
“Could get ugly, Sheriff. Especially if what you say is true and they come after us with everything they got.”
“We’ll be ready for them if they do. Just tell me what you need to make it happen. I’ll give you everything in my power.”
“Everything?”
“Everything and anything.”
I thought about it for a minute. I desperately needed money. I was also falling in love with Cora. Lastly, I needed a story. Something that would make a great book.
“What can you afford?” I asked.
“One-hundred-thousand. It’s my personal pension.”
“And Cora,” I said. “Cora remains innocent. No matter what.”
“Like I said, watch your back when it comes to the caretaker’s wife. Sonny wants nothing more than to
take over this town, but if he catches you with her, he’ll kill you, and he’ll make it painful and slow. Death by a thousand cuts.”
I nodded and felt a chill run up and down my backbone.
Sonny had already caught us cheating. So, why, then, was he letting me live?
“You can start by giving me two-hundred dollars, Sheriff,” I said.
He smiled wryly, dug into his pocket, pulled out his bankroll. He counted it.
“One-hundred-twenty-three and some change do?”
“It’ll have to.”
He handed me the cash. I brought it to the cash register, opened the drawer, and tossed it inside. Just then, a commotion, and the kitchen door opened.
Sonny stepped back into the bar.
13
“Sheriff Woods,” Sonny barked. “You’re still here.” He was wearing that stained apron again. He was wiping his hands with it. His brow was beaded with sweat, his gray/black hair slicked back against his skull, his face bearing the usual scruff, and his belly filled out the apron like he was pregnant with a basketball. He stepped into the bar back.
“Kingsley, my good man,” he said. “The sheriff drinks for free.”
“You don’t have to do that, Mr. Torchi,” Woods said.
“Nonsense,” Sonny said. “You’re the sheriff. We all depend on you for our safety and security in this town. Isn’t that right, Kingsley?”
I nodded.
“Oh,” Sonny went on. “I assume you and the sheriff are well acquainted by now, Kingsley.”
“We’ve been chatting it up,” Woods added.
“Then you know what a well-respected novelist Kingsley is. He’s here working on a new book.” He smacked me on the back so hard I thought my lungs might bust through my ribs. “He’s a little short on cash right now, so in exchange for a cabin rental he’s gonna become the caretaker’s apprentice. Isn’t that right, Kingsley?”
I cleared my throat of something bitter and foul tasting. Tried to smile.
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