by Robin Mahle
“Nothing is going to happen to you, okay? I would’ve seen it. We are all coming out of this on the other side.” She paused a moment, considering her choice of words.
“You did see something before, though, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but it was more concern than anything else. Jacob, it’s going to be fine.” She placed her hands around his waist and her face masked in concern. “What is this?” From the waistband of his jeans, she retrieved the firearm. “Jacob, what are you doing with this? How did you get it?”
He stepped back sheepishly. “Dan gave it to me. I was worried when I went in there last night to tell Silas that Alex might not come tonight. Of course, all of that could’ve been avoided had we known…”
“But you have no idea how to use this. I can’t believe he just gave it to you. Why would he do that?”
“Because I asked him to.” He moved closer again. “I was afraid. The visions you had about me. I thought… I thought maybe this was it, you know. If it was going to happen, it would’ve been then. But it didn’t.”
“You can’t take this with you tonight. No way in hell.”
“Why not? I’m wearing a wire. Shouldn’t I have some protection?”
“You will have protection. We’re all going to be in that van not a block away. Jacob, no. I won’t let you do this. It’s far too dangerous. I’m sure the captain would agree with me on this one.” She let out a sigh. “I know you don’t want to do this. That you’re only trying to keep Alex from harm. I respect that. But I’m going to be near enough to help, if it comes down to it. I know what I’m supposed to do now, Jacob. People have tried to keep me from accepting what it is I can do, but I know. And I can prevent anything bad from happening in there.”
“I don’t understand. You mean…”
“I’ve been told to control it. To stop it before someone really gets hurt. But if I can prevent something happening to the ones I’m sworn to protect, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“At what cost, Riley?” Ward walked inside. “This won’t be a situation that will require you to do anything more than be a good cop. There’s nothing else for you to do.”
“And if there is? If this gets out of hand, what then, Captain? I should walk away?”
“If it means you keep a lid on the fire inside you, then yes. I’ve seen that fire burn before. I’ve seen you bend a tornado to your will. Toss folks around like rag dolls. Riley, I don’t want to see any more of it. It changes you. It kills a little part of who you really are.” He peered at Jacob and returned his sights to Riley. “Before we go down this road any farther, I think you need to put a call into your dad.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
“Because he knows things. He’s seen things he never told you before. Things about your grandpa that you need to know. You already know how things ended for him. God forbid you should suffer the same fate. I won’t have it, Riley. I won’t have it at all.”
23
As the evening settled in, the Crooked Horse was about to open. The young bartender inserted his key into the lock of the front door and opened it to a darkened space. He switched on the lights and let the door close behind him. Isaac Bell had moved to Owensville a few months ago, having dropped out of college in pursuit of an easier road to prosperity. Turned out, that road involved cozying up to the likes of Dennis Ackerman, a man who had discovered where Silas Levin resurfaced. The plan had been for Bell to be the go-between. Keep Ackerman abreast of Silas’s plans. And he’d done his duty to the best of his ability.
Ackerman was particularly pleased by Bell’s unearthing of the true reason Silas started up again. It seemed Silas’s back was against a wall and he owed a sizeable debt to a man who would collect at any cost. When word got back to Ackerman about the arrival of said man’s henchman, well, he needed to adapt. This was the reason behind the release of the kid, Alex Laughlin. He needed Alex to play the game with Ackerman’s lackeys, Vaughan and Meisner.
Bell removed the chairs from the tables and set them down as he made his way through the establishment. With the chairs in place, Bell worked his way behind the bar and wiped down the top, dusted off the top shelf liquor, and polished the glasses. It was almost time to open for the night. He hadn’t seen Silas yet, but then he didn’t usually arrive until around 8pm and it was only four o’clock, almost Happy Hour. Isaac Bell speculated as to tonight’s outcome, and as he did, retrieved his 9-millimeter and tucked it into his waistband. The apex of the past few months was arriving tonight, and all bets were off.
The sun was drenched in a bank of coral-hued clouds and dipped below the tree line across from the police station. Riley gazed at nature’s picture show as she stood outside the doors with her phone in her hand. She reflected on what the captain had said. This was a man she trusted with her life and he would never lead her astray, but why tell her this now? What had he known about her own father she did not?
Their past had been tumultuous. From the moment Dan Ward was compelled to save Jack Thompson’s life, the two played a game of tug-of-war ever since where Riley had been concerned. Dan tried to be the father Jack never was, especially when Jack left to start a new and improved family. Dan did his best to fill in and Riley loved him for that. Just as she loved Carl. But it was clear now something had transpired between the two and Dan had chosen to keep it from her. A revelation with which she now struggled to come to terms.
With the phone to her ear, Riley waited for Jack to answer. Her throat dried and her mouth turned to cotton. The relationship they shared was still strained, though it had improved in recent years, primarily for Gracie’s sake. She’d been too young to remember the damage Jack had caused their family, particularly their mother. And Riley didn’t want to taint her opinion of Jack. She had succeeded, save for the fact that Gracie didn’t understand the tensions between her older siblings and Jack. Neither Dillon nor Riley could bring themselves to explain.
“Riley. Hi. I didn’t expect to hear from you,” Jack began. “Is everything okay? Gracie get back okay?”
“Hi, Dad. Gracie’s fine. She arrived in the city last night.”
“Okay.”
The silence between them was nothing new, but Riley needed answers and it would be up to her to break that silence. “Dad, listen, um, I know about Nate.”
“Know what?” His voice raised an octave.
“I know, Dad. He told me.”
“I see. What is it you want, Riley? You want to talk to him? He’s fine, just so you know. He’s handling it like a champ.”
She rolled her eyes. Jack still had no concept of just how difficult it was to handle such a thing and for a twelve-year-old, it would be nearly impossible. Nate didn’t have Carl Boyd like she had. “I’m glad to hear that, Dad. I would like to, in the future, sit down with him and answer whatever questions he might have.”
“Well, I’m sure he’d appreciate that. I really should get back to work, Riley…”
“Dad, wait.” She took in a deep breath and gazed at the sky. “I need to ask you something. There are some things happening here that I have to deal with. Work things. And, well, I feel as though this thing inside me might want to fix what’s going on. But Dan says maybe that’s not a good idea. He said I should talk to you—about Grandpa.”
Jack was silent for a moment, then began. “What did Ward tell you, Riley?”
“That I should ask you. He didn’t tell me anything. Dad, this is important. If there’s something about Grandpa I don’t know…”
“There’s a lot about your grandfather you don’t know.” He sighed heavily. “After the accident, the one that killed Carl’s family, he was changed. More so than I’d ever seen before.”
“That accident wasn’t Grandpa’s fault. Carl knew that.”
“Oh, he came to that conclusion because of you, but at the time, your grandpa suffered a great deal.”
“He took his own life in the house,” Riley began. “Was it because of the accident?
”
“No. It was part of it, but he suffered from controlling his emotions. And it resulted in some other folks getting hurt.”
“What did he do, Dad?” Riley peered over her shoulder inside the station to see Ward watching her. He quickly turned away.
“He um…” Jack cleared his throat. “He lost his temper a few times and some people got hurt.”
“What do you mean?” she insisted.
“Riley, I mean his ability included not just seeing through folks, it involved being able to move them at his will.”
She immediately thought back to the warehouse and how she’d thrown around those men just like the captain said, like rag dolls. She almost killed one of them.
“Sometimes, if he got real angry, if someone did something bad, he made them pay for it. And one time, it almost cost someone’s life. That was the reason he did what he did. The guilt he felt was unbearable. He saw no other way out.”
Riley closed her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me this? You obviously told Dan.”
“I did. But only because he called on me a while back. Said you had an incident. I guess it was a similar situation. He asked if it could be explained, if it had happened before. So I told him it had.”
“I thought it was just me.” A bolt of fear shot through her. “Does Nate…”
“I don’t know. If he can do that, he hasn’t,” Jack replied. “Riley, I was a terrible father to you three kids; a rotten husband. I know that. I’m trying to make amends.”
“I know you are, Dad.”
“Is it too late?” he pleaded.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. Listen, I have to go now.”
“Wait. Riley, if there’s something going on with your job and you think you might—hurt someone—just step back. Pull back so you don’t. Believe me, you don’t want to live with that kind of pain and guilt. Your grandpa couldn’t, and I sure as hell don’t want you to go through that.”
“Goodbye, Dad.” Riley ended the call and peered up at the dimming sky. A tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away and turned around toward the door. “It won’t end like that for me. I won’t let it.”
Captain Ward stepped away from the door and turned his back as if he hadn’t been watching Riley the entire time. When she entered, he began, “Everything okay?”
The rest of the team appeared busy with their own tasks as the hour drew near to their sting operation.
“You should’ve told me.” Riley brushed by him and returned to her desk.
Ward followed. “Probably, but I didn’t think it was my place, if I’m being honest.”
She just wanted this night to be over. It should never have gotten this far and involved Jacob. “I’m not so sure we should go through with this tonight, Captain.”
“If we want to hold accountable those responsible for taking Laughlin and put an end to this underground operation, we have no choice, Riley.”
“Of course we have a choice. There’s always a choice. We have enough with Laughlin’s statement to arrest those men.”
“No, we don’t. He never saw either of them. We’re only surmising they’re responsible because of their connection to Ackerman and his to Levin. We have nothing if we don’t go through with this.”
He was right. She’d allowed Jacob to become embroiled in this dangerous game just to get the bad guys, ignoring her own visions and feelings about what might come to pass. “Okay. We move forward. But if this takes a turn for the worse, I won’t let you stop me. I’ll do what I have to do to keep Jacob safe.”
Chris Decker emerged from the corridor. “I think it’s time we line things up. Get the boys ready and get our equipment set up. The clock’s ticking.”
“That’s probably a good call,” Ward said. “Where are our two players?”
“I’ll round them up.” Abrams pushed up from his chair and started toward the back.
Ward turned to Riley. “We do this right, and we won’t need any divine intervention, you catch my drift?”
“Yes, sir.”
Isaac Bell served the growing Happy Hour crowd at the Crooked Horse. It was a far more upscale establishment than its competitor. Nevertheless, Silas Levin kept the prices low to entice his customers away from the other, more recognized watering hole. As a result, the Crooked Horse was in a hole. In fact, it was the entire reason behind the twice-weekly high-stakes poker games late at night in the backroom. He’d gotten word to a few of his previous associates, who in turn brought in a few extra players to make things interesting. While few, if any, lived in Owensville, they traveled from Terra Haute and other towns just to join in. Silas Levin had a reputation and plenty of people wanted to see him live up to it. A few returned, others had given up hope when their stores dried up. This was why Levin had to recruit local, fresh blood. Alex Laughlin was primed and ready. The kid wasn’t dissimilar to Levin himself, in his younger days. And the kid had come through, until he upped and disappeared. Now all he had was his friend, Jacob Biggs. He was moderately talented, but nothing like the phenom Laughlin was. Levin wondered if there weren’t certain people behind the kid’s disappearance. But now that he had Eli Foster’s minion, Gage Parker, watching over him, there wasn’t time to divert his attention. He had to get through tonight’s game with plenty of cash in hand to turn straight over to Foster himself.
He only needed to get out from under Foster. If he could do that, this would all be over. He truly had wanted to start anew but building a business in a small town where no one knew you and money was still in short supply had taken a toll. Nevertheless, Silas Levin wasn’t a quitter. He was doing what he set out to do with the games and it would only be a matter of time before Eli Foster was in his rear-view.
“Hey, boss?” Bell approached him as he stood near the bar. “Is there anything I can do to help get ready for tonight?”
Levin turned around. “No. We’ll be busy up front here for the next hour or so until Happy Hour finishes. We’ll set up after that. No rush.”
“Yes, sir.” Bell started away but stopped again. “Oh, I heard that Alex Laughlin decided to come back from wherever it was he took off to.”
Silas furrowed his brow. “Where did you hear that?”
“Lots of people around town are talking about it. A few of his co-workers who just left mentioned it too. I overheard them. That’s a good thing, though, right?”
“Yeah. It’s a good thing. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it.” Silas started back toward his office with nagging concern. This was a good thing, but why hadn’t the kid called to tell him? Turned out his buddy, Jacob, was right after all. He’d predicted Laughlin’s return. Interesting.
There was no time to grasp Laughlin’s reasons for disappearing and reappearing just in the nick of time. While the hair on the back of his neck stood, Silas ignored it; he had to. It could be addressed after the game, when the players had all gone home empty-handed.
Silas was at his desk, the nagging feeling eating away at him. “No. This can’t be a coincidence. Biggs. He’s got to be behind it.” He stood from his desk and swiped his keys before walking toward the front of the bar where Isaac still served the patrons. “I have to run out. I’ll be back with enough time to spare. Just hold down the fort.”
“Will do, Silas. No problem.” Isaac observed as Silas marched out the door.
“Hey, man, can I get that beer, or what?” one of the patrons asked.
“Sure. Sorry about that.” Isaac turned to retrieve the bottle of Bud and twisted off the cap. “Here you go. Four-fifty, please.”
The man left a five on the bar top.
“I’ll be right back with your change.” He retreated to the backroom and made the call. “Mr. Ackerman, I thought you should know Silas left in a hurry. Something’s up.”
“Any idea where he’s headed?”
“No, sir. He did say he’d be back in plenty of time for the game. I think it has to do with Laughlin. I did like you asked. I told him the guy reappeared a
nd was coming tonight. He seemed a little surprised.”
“Okay. I’ll take it from here. Thanks.” Dennis Ackerman, Silas’s old business partner, ended the call. “Where are the boys?” he asked his subordinate.
“Grabbing a bite to eat before heading out for the game tonight. Why?”
“In the town, or what?” Ackerman continued.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Did something come up? Anything I can help with?”
“Levin took off. Don’t know where or why. I’m thinking he might be trying to track down our boy, Laughlin.”
“Do you think the guy will hold up under Levin’s pressure?”
“He’d better. If he doesn’t and Silas figures out what we’re doing, we’re fucked. And if we’re fucked, I’ll make sure everyone’s fucked.”
The bullpen looked like a communications command center. The surveillance equipment rested on the two folding tables in the middle of the room, ready to be loaded onto the van. It was the first operation of this kind Riley had seen since her tenure at the police department. In fact, she was pretty sure nothing like this had ever been necessary before, though she would need to ask Ward about that. He’d been a cop here when she was a kid, working under a different captain. She recalled meeting that captain. It seemed like a different place then. Her family had been called in because of Carl’s son and all that he’d brought to town. Jack was still drinking in those days and Riley remembered he’d rubbed the captain the wrong way then. That was the beginning of the turbulent relationship between Daniel Ward and Jack Thompson.
Now, she was here, working as a cop, just as Ward had back in the day. Her life had changed substantially and that was mostly due to Carl and the events leading up to his son’s death. The question was, could she stand up to the likes of Silas Levin when Jacob’s life could depend on it? Just as Ward had confronted the men who killed Carl’s son?