by David Archer
He looked back at the deputy. “No clue,” he said. “It ain’t as bad as it looks, though. I didn’t even feel it until you pointed it out.”
“Yeah, probably nothing compared to what happened to you in that last big riot at Beaumont, right? Yeah, don’t look so surprised. I checked your story out, and you’re telling the truth. According to your records, you were one of the inmates who got shot up by accident when the federal marshals went in. That right?”
“Wrong place, wrong time,” he said, remembering what he’d been trained to say. “I wasn’t in one of the gangs; I rolled solo. Me and a bunch of other independents were just trying to stay down and out of the line of fire, but one of the marshals got a little trigger-happy. It was touch and go for a little while there, but I made it. Some of the others didn’t.”
Martin nodded, then looked over to where the other deputies were talking with Morgan for a moment. He turned back to Noah. “Listen, Rex,” he began, “this could go about either way for you. That’s Jimmy Morgan’s boy, Ralph, laying there. Just a little while ago, Jimmy was talking to him about taking over some of their operation. If his mind is all messed up, Jimmy could blame some of it on you, or he might respect the fact you tried to stop it. Just keep your cool, no matter what happens, all right?”
Noah looked over at Jimmy, who was standing over the paramedics. He could catch snatches of the conversation, just enough to know that the paramedics were saying Ralph had a chance of recovery. They got him onto a stretcher and wheeled him past Noah on the way to the door, and Noah saw that the boy’s eyes were moving wildly around. Jimmy Morgan was clutching his left hand as he hurried along beside him. The girl that had started it all was holding on to his right.
The bandage on his head told Noah that the bullet had grazed the right side of his cranium. That meant it had probably not penetrated or damaged the frontal lobes, but there was no way to be certain of that. That area of the brain controlled planning, social interactions, and logical thought. If he suffered any serious damage there, there was no way he was ever going to be capable of stepping into his father’s shoes.
Noah considered for a moment the incredible possibility that one of his targets might have been taken off the list on the very evening that he made his first attempt at contact. The odds against something like this had to be unbelievably high, and yet it had happened. Ralph might survive and recover, but there was a possibility he would no longer be part of the organization, in which case there was no longer any reason for Noah to terminate him. All Noah could do was wait and see.
He had gone through all of those thoughts in a matter of seconds but suddenly returned to the present. “All I know,” Noah said, “is I tried. I didn’t know who any of these boys were, but when I saw a gun come out, I figured I should do what I could to stop it.” He shrugged. “All a man can do is try, right?”
Deputy Martin had taken out a notepad and was scribbling down notes to remind himself of Noah’s statements. He’d have to write it up later, but the notes would also serve to help when he spoke with Morgan. He personally thought Morgan ought to be grateful to this new guy, because it was very possible that his interference is what kept the shot from being fatal.
That was how he planned to pitch it, anyway. While it wasn’t officially known, Billy Martin was one of Jimmy Morgan’s people, and he had built himself a position that was strong and enduring. All of the deputies working under the already corrupt sheriff were useful to Morgan, but Billy had taken things a few steps further. With careful thought and planning, and by making sure he often brought news to Morgan before anybody else could, he had gradually risen to a position of trust and delegated authority.
Billy Martin would enforce the laws, but he wouldn’t hesitate to break them, as well. Billy was one of the lieutenants in the Morgan Mafia, and he personally thought this new guy might have potential.
“Okay,” he said after a minute, “just stay here. The sheriff is on his way here now, and he’ll probably want to talk to you.”
Noah pointed at Benny, who was still sitting on the floor. “What about this scumbag? Is somebody going to arrest him?”
Martin looked down at Benny, and his face became a grimace. He looked back up at Noah, and it didn’t improve.
“Rex, you’re in a different world now. You need to understand that the things you saw here tonight may not be quite the way you hear about it tomorrow on the news. Don’t make waves, man—that’s the most important thing to remember right now. Do not argue with anybody about what happened here tonight. Got it?”
Noah made his eyes go wide. “Hell, you’re going to kill him?”
Martin breathed out a sigh and shook his head. “You ever heard of something called the Morgan Mafia?”
Noah nodded. “Yeah, Katie told me about it. I gather that’s the Morgan?”
“That’s him. Now, imagine for a moment that you run your own little, oh, let’s call it a syndicate, right? Somebody, some punk kid hopped up on meth, shoots your son. How would you feel about letting the cops haul him off to jail, where it’s always possible he’ll end up walking away with probation or an order to spend some time in drug rehab?”
Noah grinned. “I’d feel like I didn’t want him to get that kind of opportunity.”
Martin grinned back. “It was a pity all these boys got killed in a shootout with a rival gang, wasn’t it? Poor old Ralph—did you hear about him getting caught in the crossfire?”
Noah nodded once again. “I sure did. Damn shame, that.”
Martin patted him on the shoulder. “I think you might end up doing well, here. You seem to have a real ability to grasp what’s going on around you and adapt to it.”
“How do you think I survived Beaumont?” Noah asked. “When you’re a kid growing up on the street in a two-bit city like Zanesville, Ohio, you have to learn how to make yourself fit in. A guy can get anything he wants if he knows how to ask for it.”
“That’s true,” Martin said. “Okay, just wait right here. I’ll get back with you in just a bit.”
Noah sat down at the bar and picked up the beer bottle he had been drinking from. There were still a couple of swallows in the bottom, so he tipped it up and drank them down. He turned around on the bar stool and leaned his back against the bar.
A noise behind him made him glance around, and he saw the bartender standing there. She had just set another beer beside his elbow.
“On the house,” she said. “I saw what you did. You tried to stop this, and I appreciate that.”
Noah picked up the beer and saluted her with it, then took a long pull. “I just did what I thought I had to do. Hope that kid lives.”
“Yeah, don’t we all,” she said. “Morgan’s bad enough when he’s in a good mood. God only knows what things are going to be like around here for the next few weeks.”
“I was just hearing a little bit about Mr. Morgan,” Noah said. “I guess he pretty much runs the show around here?”
“More than you can imagine. I’m Amber, by the way.”
“Rex,” Noah said. “Rex Madison. Kate Madison, the one on the radio? She’s my sister.”
“I know Kate,” Amber said. “She comes in here every now and then and usually sits up here so we can talk. She never mentioned having a brother, though.”
Noah shrugged. “I guess I’m the black sheep of the family,” he said. “I just got out of federal prison a few weeks ago. Katie wasn’t ever very happy about that, and we never were really close. I just got to talking to her a couple weeks ago, and for some reason she suggested I come here and try to get a job and settle down.”
“And how does your wife feel about that?” Amber asked. She grinned when Noah looked up at her. “Hey, when a good-looking man walks into a bar, every woman in the place checks out his left hand. You got a wedding ring on.”
Noah smiled at her. “It’s so new that I almost forget it’s there. Angie and I were high school sweethearts, and it just carried on. She must really love me,
because she waited the whole five years I was gone. We got married not long after I got out, and she’ll be coming here next week. I just came ahead to find us a place to live.”
“And did you find one?”
“Yep. Bought the old Howerton place today.”
“Lonnie Howerton’s old place? Wow, I didn’t think they’d ever get that sold.” She suddenly got an odd look on her face. “You did hear about Lonnie killing himself there, right?”
Noah nodded. “Yeah, and I heard it’s haunted, but then I heard that story is not true. According to the sheriff’s office, Lonnie died in the hospital.”
Amber shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Believe whatever you want,” she said. “My dad went out there and thought about buying the place, but when he went into the kitchen he said it was like walking into a refrigerator. Spooked him so bad he just turned around and walked out.”
“Was that before or after they redid the kitchen? It’s all brand-new in there, now.”
“It was before,” Amber replied. “My dad said he could still see bloodstains on the floor and the cabinets around the sink. He said it got so cold he could see his breath, and that’s why he decided to get out of there.”
“Well, I’ll be moving in within a couple of days. Next time I’m in here, I’ll let you know if I have any spooky experiences, okay?”
The bartender nodded as she wiped down the rest of the bar, but then a voice beside him said, “Rex Madison?”
Noah turned the barstool around again and found himself looking into the eyes of the sheriff. “That’s me,” Noah said.
“I’m Dan Redford,” the sheriff said, “County sheriff. Everybody here tells me you tried to stop this, and I wanted to tell you how much we appreciate that.” He glanced over at where the paramedics were still working on two of the other boys who had managed to survive. “I also heard a lot about some of your earlier experiences. Billy says he checked out your story and it comes back true. Are you the kind of man who can do what needs to be done and keep his mouth shut about it?”
Noah lowered his eyebrows and looked hard at the sheriff, feigning confusion. “Keep my mouth shut? I’m not sure I know what you mean, Sheriff. All I did was try to keep somebody from getting killed, you know?”
The sheriff turned back to him and grinned. “I think you know exactly what I’m saying,” he said. “But maybe this badge is making you nervous. Guess I can understand that. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you’ll catch on right away.”
The sheriff touched the brim of his Western-style hat and then turned and walked back over to Morgan’s men. Noah couldn’t hear the conversation, but each of the men glanced his way more than once. It lasted a few moments, and then the sheriff and one of the men turned and walked out the front door of the bar.
Scott Forney came walking toward Noah, and he had an unusual look on his face. He almost looked like he was trying to decide whether to stand or run, but he didn’t hesitate. As soon as he and Noah were face-to-face, he took hold of Noah’s arm and pulled him to a spot where they were unlikely to be overheard.
“Listen, Rex, I’m not sure what’s going on,” he said. “Seems like everybody in this thing suddenly thinks you’re some hero they been waiting for, something like that. Your sister ever tell you about the Morgan Mafia?”
“Yeah, she did,” Noah said. “I understand that was Morgan himself whose son got shot?”
“That’s right,” Forney replied. “Everybody who was watching pretty much agrees that Ralphie would be dead if it wasn’t for you, and I guess the doctors at the hospital think he’s going to be back to normal pretty soon. Somebody checked the security video footage, and it looks like you yanked him backward just as he was about to fire, and that’s what brought his aim up so the bullet only grazed Ralphie’s head. If you hadn’t, that bullet probably would have gone through one of Ralphie’s eyes.”
“Any idea why he pulled a gun? I mean, that seems like a pretty stupid thing to do in such a simple little argument.”
“I agree with you, but you just never know with a tweaker. He might have had a grudge against Ralph, or maybe he was just at that stage where he was in a rage at everything and everybody. I’ve seen that in meth heads many times.”
Noah shrugged. “Well, if I helped, I’m glad. Maybe the word will get around and it will help me get that job you were talking about.”
“Well, actually,” Forney said, looking around once more to make sure no one could overhear them, “that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Billy talked to Morgan about you, said he thinks you’d be a good addition to our little organization. The sheriff got here after they had left, but Billy got to talk to him and he thinks the same thing, so I got sent over to try to recruit you. If you’re interested, the pay is good—you start out at two grand a week—and you don’t have to worry about going to jail, because the cops all take their orders from the same people we do.”
Noah had let his eyes go wide and was grinning. “Two grand a week? Who do I gotta kill?”
“That’s the kicker,” Forney said. “If you want the job, the first thing you gotta do is finish off Benny Smoot.”
Noah feigned an expression of shock. “Do what? This is BS, man—I just met you and you want me to kill somebody for you?”
“Hey, like I said it wasn’t my idea. Jimmy called, he said he looked into your eyes and saw a killer. You do this, you kill Benny, and you’re going to end up eventually riding high in the organization. Everybody starts at the bottom, but if you do this you won’t stay there very long.”
Noah looked around. “Geez, man, there’s still a half-dozen cops in here. If you’re playing me, they can haul me off to life in prison, or worse, if I do that.”
Forney turned and waved a hand until he caught the attention of one of the deputies. “Hey, Collins,” he yelled. “Come on over here for a minute.”
The deputy named Collins turned and came their way, and Noah was surprised at the size of the man. He probably stood six foot eight and would’ve easily weighed three hundred pounds, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man anywhere. He walked up to them and looked down at Noah and Forney.
“Hey, Scott,” he said. “This the new guy?”
“I’m trying,” Forney said. “I told him what Jimmy wants, but he’s a little nervous about doing anything with you guys standing around.”
Collins looked at Noah. “Here’s what you need to know right now,” he said. “Jimmy Morgan runs everything around here. If he wants you to do something, you can either do it or suffer the consequences. As far as illegality and all that, that’s not really stuff you need to worry about. Jimmy is the law, as far as we’re concerned. Now, I know he wants you to snuff out Benny. If you do, that will prove to him that you’re the man he thinks you are, and you will be well rewarded. If you don’t, that’s fine, but don’t ever be stupid enough to talk about it.” Collins patted him on the head like a little kid and then turned away. He walked back to the other deputies and said something, and then all of them walked out the front door.
Noah looked over at where Benny was sitting, his face ashen and his body trembling. All of the anger that seemed to have triggered the shooting appeared to be gone, and he was realizing what he had actually done. Sure, he had managed to wound Ralph Morgan, but he had also signed his own death warrant. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out, and Benny was no fool.
“You want it done right here?” Noah asked Forney.
“Probably be better if you take him out in the middle of nowhere. Make it someplace where he’ll be found, but not necessarily right out in plain sight. As soon as the body is discovered, we’ll be in touch.” Forney looked at him for another moment, then turned and walked away.
Noah walked over to Benny and reached down to grab his arm. “Come on, Benny,” he said. “You and I have to go take care of some business.”
The skinny drug addict whimpered as he walked along beside Noah, but even as scared as he was, the big black Cha
rger caught his attention. Noah put him into the passenger seat and then walked around to get behind the wheel.
When the engine fired up, Benny smiled. Noah put the car into gear and drove out of the parking lot, made his way through the eastern end of Eureka Springs, and followed Highway 62 toward Berryville. He remembered seeing a spot with a lot of old cars on the side of this road and drove directly to it. He turned in and cut his lights, glad that there was no other traffic on the road at that moment. He slowly cruised the Charger around behind the big garage and got out, then walked around the car and opened the passenger door.
Benny looked up at him. “This is where you’re gonna do it?”
Noah nodded. “It’s nothing personal, Benny,” he said. “Just something I have to do.”
Benny started to cry, and Noah reached in to take hold of his arm. He halfway expected a fight, but Benny didn’t have it in him. He got out of the car and let Noah lead him around behind an old ’47 Cadillac that had seen better days.
Noah put him into a sleeper hold and choked him out, then snapped his neck while he was unconscious. Benny would never awaken from this final nap.
Noah got back into the Charger and waited until there was no traffic in sight before he started the car and pulled out onto the road. He didn’t turn his lights on for a quarter mile.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Since it was already four in the morning, Kate was up when he got home. She was in the kitchen drinking coffee and smiled as he walked in.
“Hey, bud,” she said. “You look like you had quite a night. Is that blood on your shoulder?”
“A bit,” Noah said. “There was a bit of a fracas at the bar tonight, but I think it accomplished what I was out to do.” He told her the story of what had happened and watched her face as he did so. When he finished, she was already shaking her head in disbelief.
