by Kim Jones
“I think I can figure it out on my own. Dallas, I know Frankie is dead. There is no way Charlie let him live, but I don’t need the details.”
“I think you do,” I responded, staring down at my knotted hands in my lap. It was now or never. This was my chance to tell Maddie the truth, yet I couldn’t find the right words.
“Dallas,” Maddie said in a tone that forced me to look at her. “If you really think I need to know, or if you want to prepare me because you are afraid I will find out once we get there, you can tell me. I know it wasn’t easy for you, but he knew his fate when he made the decision to go.” I looked at Maddie in confusion. Frankie chose to go?
“I don’t understand,” I said, looking from her to Red, knowing they were both fully aware of how the exchange had been proposed.
“Don’t think he did it for me, or for you. He didn’t. He chose to go willingly to Charlie because he knew he would die regardless. I’m sure he thought Charlie would keep him around and let him work off his debt. That was the only hope he had, so whatever happened, don’t feel like it was too harsh of a punishment. Frankie deserved to die.” Maddie had come to be at peace with the fact that the only dad she had known was dead. But would she be crushed to know that it was me who had killed him? Or would it even matter?
“Maddie, I killed Frankie.” The words were out before I could stop them. One minute my brain was telling me to just spit it out, and the next minute, before the rational side could intercept, I had informed my sister of the worst. I watched her eyes widen in shock, then fall to her lap, with a sigh that had her shoulders slouched in defeat.
“Did Charlie make you do it?” she asked quietly, looking up at me with pity in her eyes. I nodded my head, trying not to show how little it affected me. The hardest part was telling her. She deserved more. She needed to know there had been more to it than what I had offered, but I didn’t need her hating Charlie any more than she already did when we were about to be at his mercy. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it. “I hate that you have to live with that, but know that I hold nothing against you because of it. I couldn’t imagine having to endure what you have been through. I’m glad you told me, Dallas, but I really don’t want to hear anymore.” Maddie offered me a small smile, her eyes pleading for me to just drop the subject. She was so strong. That was a quality that we both shared and had inherited from our father. I smiled back and was relieved when Red took the conversation in a different turn.
“Okay, so this is the plan. We are going to get just what we need and get the hell out of there. Ask your questions, but don’t agree to shit. I mean it, Dallas. I don’t care what he is offering.” Red stood, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder as she pointed a long, orange, fingernail at me. Despite the cool weather, Red wore a sleeveless blouse that complemented her toned, muscular, arms. Good thing our conversation had not come to blows. She grabbed a leather jacket from the chair and pulled a cigarette from the pocket. “I’m going out to smoke. Y’all wrap this shit up. Don’t get all teary eyed and emotional before we leave. In the words of my favorite dance teacher, ‘Save your tears for the pillow.’” Maddie and I exchanged confused looks as Red left us, swinging her hips with enough exaggeration to break something.
“I’m sure she is quoting from some movie or T.V. show, she does that shit all the time. You ready?” Maddie asked, taking a deep breath, and gathering her stuff.
“Yeah, I guess,” I said goodbye to Joanna, ignoring her low-cut top, and left before Maddie could make some snide remark. When we joined Red on the sidewalk, a black Lincoln Town Car sat waiting for us across the street. Charlie Lott was one confident son of a bitch.
Chapter 9
Dallas
The car took us to the Hattiesburg/Laurel airport, which was so small that the only plane that sat on the airstrip was ours. When we boarded, there was no doubt that Charlie had sent us his personal plane. It didn’t even look like an airplane. It looked like the hotel lobby at the Roosevelt. Everything was lined in silver or gold, and the carpet that covered the floor was softer than any I had ever walked on. The chairs were not your traditional aircraft seats, but instead were wide, leather reclining chairs that swallowed you when you sat in them. I almost rolled my eyes at how ridiculous it was, but couldn’t help but wonder if this was something I might want for myself. Red was taking full advantage of the bar, ignoring the man who stood beside it and who offered his help.
“Nah, I got it. Have yourself a seat. I’m sure you deserve it.” The man straightened his back, looking perturbed at Red’s comment, although he didn’t say anything. Maddie was gushing over the lushness of the plane, while I sat completely at ease in one of the chairs. Luxury was not foreign to me, although this had to be the nicest plane I had been on. It was funny to watch the girls act like complete fools over it all, and attempt to play it cool when the pilot arrived to let us know we were preparing for take-off.
“Ladies, I hope you all are enjoying yourselves,” the older man said, eyeing Maddie, appreciatively. I’d rip his fucking eyes out. Not that Maddie was helping the situation by wearing a dress that barely covered her ass, along with four-inch heels. She did look pretty hot. Red looked ever the biker bitch in tight jeans, heeled riding boots and a black, leather jacket. It was more of a designer leather jacket, but there was still no mistaking that she wanted people to gain an impression of who she was. I looked down at my own clothes and frowned, acknowledging that I had worn a very conservative business suit, much like what Charlie had bought for me. “We are about to take off, so I ask that you please be seated and fasten your seatbelts. I will notify you when it is safe to walk around.” With one more full body glance at Maddie, he turned and left. I watched as the man behind the bar gently ushered Red toward her seat, although the look on his face let me know he wanted to push her. I laughed out loud at the thought.
“What’s funny?” Maddie asked, taking the seat across from me and exploring the gadgets that controlled the built in massagers.
“Nothing,” I laughed, as Red took the seat next to me and passed me a glass of something that I was sure would ease my nerves.
“Look, this shit is exciting to us. We are poor. Remember?” Maddie said, not bothering to look at me as she closed her eyes, and relaxed further into the seat. I chose to ignore her comment, and instead began mentally preparing myself for my re-acquaintance with the devil.
We landed at a private airstrip just north of Gonzalez, Texas; the same town Charlie and I had spent our time together. It came as no surprise to me that the car took us to the bed and breakfast we had stayed at before. The driver informed us that dinner would be in an hour and he would be back in 45 minutes to take us to the restaurant. We settled into our rooms and freshened up, unknowingly all presenting ourselves in similar attire. We all were dressed in little black dresses with killer heels, and looked as if we were going out for a night on the town, instead of a business meeting with a man that had brought turmoil to all of our lives. The same goal was in mind for each of us; we refused to be intimidated by Charlie. Few words were spoken as our nerves overtook us and we were ushered into the car. My heart beat rapidly in my chest as we pulled up outside a small Italian restaurant that was beautifully decorated with white lights and gas lanterns. We were led to the back of the restaurant to a round table that was set for five. We took our seats and ordered wine, the waiter informing us that our host would be here soon.
“You nervous?” Maddie whispered to me, her own nervousness evident by the way she clasped her hands firmly in her lap to prevent them from shaking.
“Nah. Everything is fine. You?” I asked, knowing she was aware I was lying through my teeth.
“I’m good,” she said, fidgeting with the napkin in her lap.
“You two can lie all the hell you want to. I’m so scared, I might shit my pants,” Red said, gnawing at her long nails, the consistent bouncing of her knee causing the tops of her breast to jiggle without her knowledge. I was just
about to tell her when Charlie’s booming voice caused all of our heads to turn. He looked stunning in a black tuxedo and neck tie. His fingers were littered with diamond rings and his hair was combed neatly, without a strand out of place. You could feel the power radiating from around him as he strode confidently to our table.
“What a lovely surprise. I will never know what I have done to cause the gods to shine down on me and bless me with three beautiful angels,” he said, smiling brightly, and revealing two perfect rows of white teeth, that, at his age, had to be implants.
“They were probably scared of you,” I heard Maddie mutter, as a way of explanation for the gods’ behavior. I kicked her under the table and smiled brightly at Charlie; it came so naturally.
“Dallas, it is so good to see you again. You look as radiant as ever,” Charlie said, taking my offered hand, and bending to kiss it. I smiled sweetly at him in my show of gratitude. “And this must be the beautiful, vibrant Red,” he said, stepping past me to kiss the hand of a very star-struck Red. I watched as she batted her eyelashes, flattered by Charlie’s compliment. Maddie looked at me, and rolled her eyes as Red flirted with Charlie.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Charlie. I have heard so much about you, but Dallas and Maddie failed to tell me how charmingly handsome you were.” If there had been any food in me, I would have vomited all over the white linen table cloth. Red was laying it on thick. She was under Charlie’s spell, and had forgotten who he really was. I had been put under that same spell, so I was more lenient on Red; Maddie-not so much.
“Cut the shit, Red. We don’t need his head swelling any bigger. Charlie, we came here for a reason. There is no need to wine and dine us. Dallas, tell him what you want, so we can get the fuck out of here.” Red and I both looked to Charlie, awaiting his reaction on pins and needles. He was not at all affected my Maddie’s outburst.
“Maddie, it is always a pleasure to see you, too. Would you ladies like to order?” Maddie’s death glare had me re-thinking the veal cutlet I was craving. There would be no dinner with Charlie.
“Charlie, we have to get back. I would like to ask you some questions if you don’t mind.” The disapproval in Charlie’s face had me wanting to shrink in my seat, but I stood my ground and my posture never faltered, as he considered my request.
“Ladies, how about you give Dallas and me a moment. The bar will be happy to accommodate your every need.” I nodded to Maddie and Red, giving them the okay they needed to leave us. I watched them walk away, and as soon as they were out of hearing distance, I addressed the real reason I was here.
“How much money did you loan Frankie and do you think it was enough to convince Stacy to kill me?”
“I never discuss my business, Dallas. If you believe Stacy tried to kill you, then it should not matter how much money he was offered. If you have doubts about him, he must be guilty.” Charlie was right. It didn’t matter how much money was on the table. Did I really need a motive for him to kill me if I was going to accuse him of it anyway? This was the favor I was allowed, so I might as well be straight with him.
“I shouldn’t have asked. You’re right. I don’t believe Stacy is capable of something like that, but money can make people do the impossible. I need to know what happened that night. Frankie told me himself that he tried to poison me, but I don’t know how he went about doing it. He had to use someone to get close to me, and I had a drink with two people that night, Tammy and Stacy.” I sighed, and took a drink of my wine, waiting patiently for the silence to be filled with Charlie’s voice. It was so easy to talk to him. I felt like we were back at the bed and breakfast once again.
“Where did you have a drink?” Charlie asked, pulling his phone from inside the lapel of his suit.
“First with Tammy at Kingston’s, then at the Abbey with Stacy, about two hours later.” I watched as Charlie looked at his phone before placing it back in his pocket, and returning his attention to me.
“Frankie has a connection at Kingston’s. My theory is that he paid someone to slip something in your drink and neither one of them were Frankie or Tammy. The payment was probably made in the form of drugs. My best guess would be crystal-methamphetamine, since that was Frankie’s drug of choice. That should tell you what kind of people you are dealing with. You can request the footage from video surveillance from that night, but my advice would be to let it go. This person holds no ill feelings toward you, nor will you get any kind of satisfaction by eliminating them.” I was flooded with relief, but kept my guard up knowing that Charlie had said this was his theory.
“What are the chances of you being right on this?” I asked, knowing Charlie didn’t like to be doubted, but thinking that, in this situation, he really couldn’t blame me.
“I’m always right, Dallas, but I understand that you need proof. You will have what you need before you leave tonight. While we are here, is there anything else you would like to talk about?” Was it just that easy? I started to question Charlie on just how he was going to retrieve that proof, but thought better of it. I didn’t care how he got it, as long as he did so. I did have another question; one that Charlie couldn’t possibly know the answer to, but into which he could give me some insight.
“The club was paid to protect me until I was twenty-five. Do you see any reason why my father would choose that particular age?”
“The contract your father had with the mayor was for two million dollars and a stretch of land valued at twenty million, with the increase in value estimated to range between thirty-five and fifty million over the course of ten years. The money was paid to Luke in increments of ten thousand dollars a week. There is absolutely nothing significant about the age of twenty-five, it just so happened to be your age when the money ran out.” I sat in shock, staring blankly straight ahead. I couldn’t believe my ears. Two million dollars? That sleazy son-of-a-bitch Mayor Kirkley. That was why he kept throwing out my age-he didn’t want me to know the amount of money that was involved. Was that how much the club had made off of me? And the ol’ ladies had the balls to give me shit about having to follow me around? “Dallas?” Charlie’s voice cut into my thoughts, and I blinked rapidly, allowing my eyes to regain focus before I grabbed my wine to finish off the glass.
“Sorry. It’s just taking me a minute to process what you are saying. How do you know all of this?”
“Once you shared your story with me, I took a further look into all of your problems. I was not sure if you would be able to follow through with my proposal, and I wanted you to have all your questions answered in the event you decided to stay with me.” Was he really that confident in thinking that I would choose him over Luke? Did he really think I could not pull the trigger on the man that ruined my life?
“Well, as you can see, that was a pointless move.” My liquid courage was kicking in, and I suddenly felt that although Charlie had the power to move mountains and shit, he still did not have power over me. It was a much better feeling than seeing him as my friend.
“Now there is the Dallas Knox, shrewd business woman I know. I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your edge. As you know, this one is on me. I have more information that you might be interested in, but of course it comes at a price,” he said, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone again. There was only one thing that Charlie could possibly help me with, and even that was not worth being in his debt. I needed to know if Frankie had contacted anyone else about taking my life. The mayor had said that Frankie had money and connections. Charlie was the best connection on offer, and money was something Charlie had plenty of. Frankie had also borrowed money from Charlie and refused to repay it.
“What kind of price?” I asked the question out of pure curiosity. There was no chance that I would take him up on it, but I had to know.
“First, I want to remind you of how thorough I am. I have just received confirmation that Frankie’s connection was working the night you visited Kingston’s. I also have video footage proving that your drink was
prepared by an extremely nervous employee who fumbled with the small vial, and spilled some out before pouring the rest into your pink, fruity cocktail. It seems that person was your saving grace that night. If the entire vial had made it safely into your glass, you and I would not be having this conversation.” Charlie was good. He had even told me the kind of drink I was having, so that I would not question him. Now that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Stacy was innocent, I should have felt relieved and happy. Hell, I should go visit him. But the need to know what Charlie had to offer surpassed my need to express my happiness at Stacy’s newly discovered innocence.
“The cocktail was quite delicious, even if it was supposed to kill me. ‘Death by bartender’s famous fabulous drink’; not a bad way to go.” Charlie found much more humor than I did in my statement, but I joined him in his laughter, just to appease him. It was forced and he knew it. He was prolonging giving me the information I desired, and wanted the satisfaction of hearing me ask for it once again. “Okay, Charlie, I’ll ask one more time. What is the price of the information that could be useful to me?” He smiled brightly, his eyes full of arrogant satisfaction.
“The ultimate sacrifice.”
I nearly choked at Charlie’s words. He had to be out of his fucking mind. I was not going to kill another human being, even one as sadistic as Frankie.
“Charlie, I’m not a hit man. The only reason I did what I did was because I had no choice,” I said a little too loud.
“You always have a choice, Dallas. You chose the easy way out,” he said, a cigar now dangling from the corner of his mouth.
“Easy? What the hell was easy about that?” He had forced me to kill someone, for crying out loud!
