by Joseph Flynn
Benjamin added, “And maybe Tibbot’s estate might continue the legal fight.”
Ron said, “Huh. Hadn’t thought of either of those things. Does anybody know if Tibbot’s estate means to continue the court battle?”
Nobody did, but Tall Wolf thought if anyone was going to fight Marlene and her big-money backers now, good luck with that.
“Well,” the chief said, “Even with a loose end or two dangling, I guess we should still call it a win.”
“There’s one more thing,” Tall Wolf said.
“What’s that?” Benjamin asked.
“Burkett did find the lost gold. He said he took plenty of it; he used that great big nugget to pay Sideris. I have to think he did that so he wouldn’t leave any paper trail when he hired a killer. But he did not use the gold to make his bid on the property he wanted. So what did he do the rest of his haul? There wasn’t any gold at his house.”
Ron said, “He hid it. God knows where.”
Keely smiled, nudged Ron. “Your town’s got another legend in the making.”
Ron followed Reverend Leverette into the pulpit.
“My name is Ronald Ketchum and, according to the way my lawyer described me in court, I’m a recovering bigot.”
More than a few faces in the gathering smiled knowingly.
Everyone had his or her failings. Some were honest enough to admit them.
Some were even strong enough to overcome them.
“I was angry with my father for most of my life. Wanted nothing to do with him. Shunned him for years. But when the time came that I needed help only he could provide, he stood up for me. Did so at a cost that would have humiliated most people, kept them hiding in the shadows. But he stood up in front of the world, swore an oath and said my failings were his responsibility.
“Don’t blame me, my dad said, blame him.”
Ron shook his head.
“I don’t know that I’ll ever have a child; it’s getting pretty late in the day. But I imagine myself as the kind of man my father proved to be in the last years of his life, and I’ll live my life accordingly. I have an example to guide me now. I wish reconciliation had come earlier, but I’ll always be grateful for the time I had with my father here in Goldstrike.
“And I know this, if someone who was Texas mean like my dad can find redemption, and I believe he has, then there’s hope for the rest of us, too.
“I’ll miss you, Dad. I’m glad that I finally learned to love you.”
Ron, Sergeant Stanley, Walt’s old partner, Paul Martin, and three other cops bore Walt’s casket to the hearse. His remains would be taken to the crematorium. Ron would have an urn with his ashes in them the following day.
The chief said goodbye to Special Agent Benjamin. She shook his hand. Then she surprised the hell out of Keely by kissing her on the cheek and saying, “That was really something, you staying out there with that bomb.”
She reminded Ron she’d be calling him in six months.
As Benjamin walked away, Keely said softly, “What was I supposed to do, leave you guys?”
Tall Wolf shook his head and said to Keely, “Not you.”
He shook her hand and did the same with Ron.
“Nice little town you’ve got here, Chief. I’ll have to come back to visit. When things are quiet.”
“Stay modest,” Keely told him.
When she and Ron had a moment to themselves, she asked him, “Why’s Benjamin going to call you?”
He told her about the special agent’s plan for her baby.
“She’s going to give it up for adoption? To solid citizens? Right here?”
“You’ve a fine mind for details, consulting detective.”
“I do, and I’m thinking you can’t find more solid citizens than a couple of honest cops.”
“Me either. Of course, by then, I might be the mayor. You know, a politician.”
Before Keely could respond, Ron said, “There’s the current mayor. I need a word with him.”
When the mood took him, Clay Steadman could walk through a crowd of fans without any of them daring to approach him. One look at his face told you to keep your distance. He was wearing that look when he was among the last to exit the church.
Ron approached him anyway.
Clay raised a hand and pointed. Like he was warning Ron off. But the chief wouldn’t let himself be deterred.
When he got close to the mayor, Clay said, “Look over there.”
Ron turned and saw a flatbed truck carrying an odd looking contraption.
The chief said, “Is that the —”
“The submersible you asked for is what it is,” Clay said. “It can dive thousands of feet deep into the ocean. A hop to the bottom of our lake is no big deal. You wanted to find that first detonator, remember?”
“I don’t think we need it now,” Ron said.
“No, but there’s at least one and maybe two bodies out there that need to be brought up. I don’t want anyone ever to think they can commit murder or suicide and dump their waste in Lake Adeline. I won’t have it defiled that way.”
Ron decided he wouldn’t either.
“When can we talk?” he asked the mayor.
“Later. I get tired a lot faster than I used to. Goddamnit.”
Clay Steadman was still up to answering his own door when Ron Ketchum arrived at his house that night. The two of them sat in the living room, drinks in hand, looking out the view window. Lake Adeline was the void in the distance. A few tiny houselights on the far shore shone in the night.
Ron was drinking sparkling water.
The mayor sipped Scotch.
He told Ron, “I’ve done some checking. You’ll be unopposed for mayor.”
“Ought to make campaigning easier.”
Clay offered his trademark razor thin smile.
“Make things easier the first time. After that, it’ll all depend on your record.”
“Burkett said something right before he jumped in the lake.”
“Yeah?”
“He said he had a silent partner in his land deal.”
“Not uncommon.”
“No. But Roger Sutherland told me you were the meanest person he ever worked with.”
“I tend to excel,” the mayor said.
“No doubt. But this afternoon I read the papers of the civil suit Jake Burkett filed against Hale Tibbot. The reason he gave for the suit was he had an agreement with the present owners to buy the land in question for two-hundred and fifty million dollars. They backed out when Tibbot topped that offer by another hundred million.”
“Highly unethical,” Clay said in a whisper.
He sipped his Scotch.
“It occurred to me,” Ron said, “that of all the wealthy people around here, you’re the only one I can think of who’d put up a quarter-billion dollars for that property. And if you and Jake Burkett thought Tibbot had screwed you, you’d both be plenty pissed off.”
“Reasonable assumption.”
“And you told me if you thought Tibbot might actually win the election for mayor, you could see having him killed.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
“It turns out, even a quick check of your background shows you know all sorts of interesting people in Las Vegas.”
“There and many other places.”
“So what I came here to ask you is, were you Jake Burkett’s business partner?”
“I was.”
“And did you put Jake in touch with Helios Sideris?”
The mayor finished his drink and offered Ron one last smile.
“You know, given my current condition, I just can’t remember.”
The chief headed home, leaving the mayor alone.
No, that wasn’t right. Esther Gadwell was working for him now.
Ron hadn’t pushed Clay to see if he knew full well what he’d done.
Helped set up Hale Tibbot to be murdered.
The man didn’t need any distractions. He didn’t have a lot of time lef
t.
And what time there was he needed to make a movie called “Texas Mean.”
About the Author
Joseph Flynn has been published both traditionally — Signet Books, Bantam Books and Variance Publishing — and through his own imprint, Stray Dog Press, Inc. Both major media reviews and reader reviews have praised his work. Booklist said, “Flynn is an excellent storyteller.” The Chicago Tribune said, “Flynn [is] a master of high-octane plotting.” The most repeated reader comment is: Write faster, we want more.
Contact Joe at Hey Joe on his website: www.josephflynn.com. You can also read excerpts of all of Joe’s books on his website.
All of Joseph Flynn’s novels may be purchased online at amazon.com.
The Jim McGill Series
The President’s Henchman, A Jim McGill Novel [#1]
The Hangman’s Companion, A JimMcGill Novel [#2]
The K Street Killer A JimMcGill Novel [#3]
Part 1: The Last Ballot Cast, A JimMcGill Novel [#4 Part 1]
Part 2: The Last Ballot Cast, A JimMcGill Novel [#4 Part 2]
The Devil on the Doorstep, A Jim McGill Novel [#5]
The Good Guy with a Gun, A Jim McGill Novel [#6]
McGill’s Short Cases 1-3
The Ron Ketchum Mystery Series
Nailed, A Ron Ketchum Mystery [#1]
Defiled, A Ron Ketchum Mystery Featuring John Tall Wolf [#2]
The John Tall Wolf Series
Tall Man in Ray-Bans, A John Tall Wolf Novel [#1]
War Party, A John Tall Wolf Novel [#2]
Super Chief, A John Tall Wolf Novel [#3]
The Concrete Inquisition
Digger
The Next President
Hot Type
Farewell Performance
Gasoline, Texas
Round Robin, A Love Story of Epic Proportions
One False Step
Blood Street Punx
Still Coming
Still Coming Expanded Edition
Hangman — A Western Novella
Pointy Teeth, Twelve Bite-Size Stories
Insanity®Diary: A Sixty-Something Couple Takes Shaun T’s 60 Day Challenge
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
About the Author
