by Gregg Stutts
She turned the page and stopped on a journal entry she’d written several weeks earlier. It simply read: Say goodbye to Dan. She held her glass high in a mock toast to him then finished her drink. A hint of regret crept in, but she poured another drink and reminded herself that had he kept up his end of the deal, he would still be alive.
Chapter 90
Saturday, August 16th
Max waited until the first bit of sunlight was shining through the window before getting up. He figured he might have gotten two to three hours of sleep at the most. Michelle only slightly more. Fortunately, Carrie slept almost the entire night.
The only news they’d received from Willy came a little after nine o’clock the night before. They were running tests, but the results weren’t back yet. He said Rose had regained consciousness and was resting, but was still battling a headache. Willy said she was annoyed at herself for creating such a fuss.
Max brought chicken biscuits and coffee back to the motel for breakfast. He and Michelle ate quietly together while Carrie slept. “I’ll bet she’s just dehydrated,” he said, hoping Michelle would agree. “It’s just been so hot. And a headache is usually the first sign.”
She nodded her head. “Yeah, hopefully.”
“I have that meeting tonight with Blair. I guess I’ll be going alone.” He took a bite of his biscuit, then wrapped up the rest and threw it in the trash. “I’m not very hungry.”
“Me either.” Michelle threw the rest of hers away too. “You don’t have to go through with this meeting, you know.” She took his hands in hers. “You could just let it go.”
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Did she want him to let it go? Or was she just trying to give him an out if he wanted it? He couldn’t tell. Either way, no one was making him meet with Blair. He didn’t have to go and confront her with the picture of Dan and her in bed. He could just let it all go.
But it wasn’t about exposing an affair. It was about a law that should have never been passed. It was about justice for innocent men who’d been murdered in cold blood. He knew for certain she was integral to passing the law and at least complicit in the murders. And if she had anything to do with Josh’s death, he would exhaust all means to see that she was held accountable.
Carrie stretched, then whimpered, and then began to cry. Max picked her up and cradled her against his chest. He kissed her face and felt tears running down his cheeks. “I can’t let it go, Shelle.” He struggled to get the words out. “I wish I could. I really do.”
Michelle forced a smile through her own tears and nodded her head. “I know.” She wiped her eyes. “I know.”
“I think God has called me to this, Shelle. I sure wasn’t looking for it. It found me. There are now seven people dead. I can’t even believe I’m saying that. Two councilmen. Four cops. And Josh. And those are just the people we know about.”
“I know. It’s hard to believe,” she said. “I just don’t want you to...” She held her hand against her lips.
“...be next.” He finished the sentence she couldn’t.
“Please be careful.” She could only manage a whisper.
“I promise, Shelle. I just can’t let it all go. I’d never be able to live with myself. I’d never be able to look my daughter in the eye and talk about courage or justice or integrity without feeling like a hypocrite.”
Michelle wiped her eyes and held his hand. “And I love that about you. I really do.”
“I do know this—Blair Morgan is deep in this thing. Now I just need to find out how high up it goes.”
Chapter 91
She pulled her phone from her purse. When she saw who was calling, she cursed and was tempted to not answer it. She actually cocked her arm to throw the phone against the wall, but took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, then swiped the screen. “Yes?”
“Yes? Are you serious? Don’t you dare get an attitude with me, Blair.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot going on.” It was stupid to make him an enemy. She knew that. Everyone did.
The man laughed. “You? You have a lot going on? I would tell you to not make me laugh, but you already did.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you...” she said.
He cut her off. “Where are you?”
“I’m in my office,” she said. “Why?”
“I just hope you’ve done everything within your power to make sure our law doesn’t get overturned.”
She reached into her desk and removed a bottle, poured several ounces into a glass and drank half of it. “The election is a week and a half from now. My polling says it’s still close, but I don’t think they’ll vote to overturn it.”
“You don’t think?” he yelled. She held the phone away from her ear. “Look, I’m done with your excuses!”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She finished the glass and poured some more. “Can I make it up to you with dinner? My treat.”
“My team and I are leaving tonight. First, I need to tie up a couple of loose ends.”
“So you found out who unlocked Dave’s phone?” She grimaced even as she asked it. It wasn’t helping her case to remind him of her...indiscretions.
“That situation is taken care of,” he said. “I wish I could say the same for your responsibilities.”
And then there was silence. She looked at her screen and saw he’d ended the call. She should have told him about the picture of her and Dan that the football coach had, but she would deal with that herself.
Chapter 92
Michelle was reading a book while Carrie napped. Max tried distracting himself by watching the Cardinals game. They were up 3-2 over the Cubs in the eighth inning. Baseball made him hungry for a hot dog, but he also knew he was more bored than hungry. They’d been killing time in a cheap motel room all day, waiting for the meeting with Blair.
It had only been a couple of days, but Max couldn’t stand the sight of their room any longer. Every time he went out and came back in, it felt smaller. The dark walls, dark carpet and dark bedspreads were like black holes sucking the life out of him. It didn’t help that the room reminded him of the one he saw on a TV show. The investigator turned the lights out and then scanned the room using a blue light. He didn’t want to think about what it had revealed.
It was hard to imagine how things could get any worse. The scrimmage was cancelled. Rose was in the hospital. And he and his family were hiding out in a motel room thirty miles from home.
Willy had called just once with an update on Rose, but that was hours ago. Some of the lab results were in. There was nothing conclusive, so the doctor mentioned doing more tests. Before hanging up, he asked them to pray. Max didn’t want to worry Michelle, but he could tell Willy knew more than he was letting on.
After a very long day of killing time and waiting for an update on Rose, Willy finally called again a few minutes before 8:00 p.m. But he was only calling to say he was sorry he wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting with Blair.
“Willy, you’re where you need to be. Don’t give a second thought to missing this meeting. I can handle Blair Morgan.”
“I know you can handle yourself, Max. Just know I will be praying for you. You can count on that.”
“I know I can, Willy.” Max squeezed his eyes shut and fought back against the lump in his throat. “I’ll call you when it’s over.”
Chapter 93
An hour later, Max entered the dimly lit bar at a minute before nine o’clock. It was more crowded than he’d expected. He sat down at the one empty booth and kept an eye on the door. The TV over the bar was playing the Yankees-Mariners game, which didn’t interest him much. The server, who didn’t look old enough to even be in a bar, took his order and left.
His stomach felt just like it did before a big game. In his playing days, the butterflies always went away after the first hit. As a coach, they usually went away the moment the game started and his mind was fully engaged in calling plays. He hadn’t yet figu
red out when they were supposed to go away in his new role of amateur detective.
The front door opened and a woman entered. His heart pounded even harder. But it wasn’t her. At 9:06, she still hadn’t showed. He knew Blair Morgan was someone who enjoyed being in control. Making him wait was a game to her.
A group of college guys near the bar erupted when Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning to put the Yankees up 2-0. The server brought his beer and a basket of peanuts. He cracked one open and popped it in his mouth. The Mariners were coming to bat in the bottom of the first. He turned his attention back to the door. And waited.
A large man in a black t-shirt with matching black eyes entered the bar, looked around the room until his eyes settled on Max. He headed right for him, shoving a couple college guys out of his way. Neither of them did anything about it. The man sat down across from Max. “Remember me?”
For a moment, he didn’t, and was about to say so. The look of realization on his face must have been obvious.
“Yeah, now you remember, don’t ya?” Leon said. “Caught me by surprise last time.” He put his large forearms on the table, lifted himself from his seat and leaned close. “But that won’t happen again.” Leon sat down again and folded his massive arms across this chest. “Trust me on that.”
Leon was staring him down, but Max didn’t break eye contact with him. He took a swallow of beer, set the glass down and studied his opponent as he was being studied. If it came to an actual fight, there was no doubt in his mind Leon would pummel him. It wouldn’t even be close. That is, unless he again had the element of surprise on his side. That didn’t seem likely though. Leon was on edge and looked to be itching for a fight.
Max cracked another peanut and dropped it into his mouth. He hoped it appeared to be as casual as he intended it to look. He glanced at the television and saw the Mariners lead off batter had singled to left field. “I guess your mom, I’m sorry, your boss sent you instead of showing up herself?” he said.
Leon stretched his arms out on the seatback. “You’re a funny guy, aren’t ya?”
The night at the marina flashed through his mind. And though he felt sure Leon wasn’t there that night, he was confident that Blair Morgan had been. He’d never forget the scent of her perfume. “What I don’t think is funny is murder,” Max said.
The server approached the table and asked if she could bring anything for Leon. He declined, saying he was about to leave, which Max was glad to hear. The moment she left, Leon moved quickly. It looked like a right jab aimed at Max’s chin. He tried to jerk his head back to dodge the punch, but he banged his head against the wall. A split-second later, he heard a ripping sound. And then it was over.
Leon was sitting back in his seat again. Max looked down and saw his shirt had been ripped open. One of his buttons was now floating in his beer. “Just checking for a wire,” Leon said. “Can’t be too careful.”
Max pulled his shirt back together as much possible considering all but one button had been ripped off. Leon showed some quickness. Now he was sure he’d have no chance in a fight. “Why would I be wearing a wire?” Max said. “You got something to hide?”
Leon looked to his right, then behind him, then back at Max. “I’m just here to deliver some friendly advice, funny guy.” He looked around one more time then leaned across the table. “If you love your wife and your daughter, you’ll forget about whatever picture you’ve got and you’ll keep your nose outta where it don’t belong.”
The surge of adrenaline was so strong, Max could almost feel himself coming out of his seat. In a flash, he imagined his forearm making contact with the left side of Leon’s face, then climbing over the table as he took him to the floor and continued the attack.
But he used every ounce of self-control he had left to stay in his seat. He took a long swallow of beer, set the glass down and pushed it away from him before he could no longer resist the temptation to swing it hard into Leon’s face. “Whatever picture I’ve got is a conversation I’ll have with Ms. Morgan,” Max said.
Leon got out of his seat and stood over him. He put his large hand down on Max’s shoulder and leaned close. Max looked straight ahead, not giving him the satisfaction of making eye contact. He could feel Leon’s hot breath on his face.
“No, that’s not a conversation you’ll have with Ms. Morgan. I’m telling you right now, there ain’t gonna be no discussions.” He got even closer. “This is a matter you’re dropping here and now.” He straightened up, but before walking away added, “Remember what I said; if you love your wife and daughter…” He winked at Max, walked to the door and left
Chapter 94
The moment Leon exited the bar, Max was out of his seat. He dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the table and weaved his way across the bar to follow the man who’d just threatened his wife and daughter. Leon had crossed the street and was headed toward the downtown building that housed the Lakeside municipal offices, including Blair Morgan’s second floor office.
Max waited for several cars to pass then hurried across the street and slipped into the shadows under the awning of a two-man law firm. He reached behind his back and felt for the gun he’d tucked into his belt. He shoved it tighter into his waistband, then adjusted his shirt to conceal it.
He could have lived with Blair Morgan blowing him off. He could have confronted her another time. He could have even lived with Leon McQueen warning him to forget about the picture. But he had threatened Michelle and Carrie. And he had no doubt these people were not only capable of murder, but had in fact, committed multiple murders. It was the look, the wink Leon had given him. It triggered something in him. Doing nothing was not an option.
Leon pulled a cell phone from his pocket, touched the screen and put it to his ear. It appeared he’d graduated to a smart phone after Max had stolen his flip phone the night he knocked him out cold. After a brief conversation, he slipped it back in his pocket, looked up and down the street and entered the building.
Max started to follow him inside when a half-dozen college guys spilled onto the sidewalk from Pete’s. These guys were big and had to be football players from Northern Arkansas State. He tucked himself back into the shadows and waited. They stumbled into the street where they began singing a song Max didn’t recognize. He went back to keeping his eye on the office building Leon had entered.
Two of the drunk college students began yelling and shoving each other in the middle of the street. It took just seconds for it to escalate into a fight. They took swings at each other like a couple of hockey players who couldn’t quite steady themselves. Neither was sober enough to actually land a punch that would do any damage. When a Lakeside police car turned the corner and flipped its lights on, the group of six hurried across the street and congregated twenty feet from where Max was trying to discreetly watch Blair’s office.
Two cops got out of their car and approached the college guys who were becoming less rowdy by the second. Max heard them ask for ID’s, which each guy began fishing for in their wallets. All this activity was a little too close for his liking though. While the cops were focused on the football players, he slipped away, and then saw Leon exit the door he’d just entered. Again, he looked in both directions, jogged across the street and got in his car. Max couldn’t help wondering if it still smelled like meat.
The cops were still busy with the football players as Max opened the door and slipped inside. The lobby was small and unoccupied. The only light was from the streetlight on the corner. A staircase to his left would its way up to the second floor where a light was shining from one of the offices. He reached behind his back and confirmed the gun was still there.
The first step creaked so loudly, he jerked his head around thinking someone had come in off the street. The second step creaked again, but not as loud. He tiptoed up to the landing then turned to ascend the last ten steps to the second floor while keeping his eye on the partially opened office door. From the second floor hallway, he
could see the cops still questioning the college guys, only now a larger crowd had gathered.
He reached behind him and removed the gun, then crept closer to the open door. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. When he took another step, the floor creaked again. From inside the office, he heard, “Leon?”
He pushed the door open and stepped inside Blair’s office. She was seated behind an impressively large desk. One desk lamp provided the only light. There were a couple open files on her desk, a half-empty bottle of brandy and two glasses.
“Sorry, I’m not Leon.” She didn’t seem startled or even surprised to see him. He approached her desk and took a seat. He held the gun on his lap.
She poured several ounces into one of the glasses that wasn’t quite empty and took a sip. “Did you come hear to shoot me, Max?”
