Bishop said he remembered reading both stories in the newspaper. “How’d anybody know the men worked for your drug task force?” he asked.
The chief shrugged. “Well, we were told by a waitress that the bartenders got to know who the undercover policemen were. They didn’t know their names but knew their faces and how they dressed and knew damn well they didn’t belong in the place. It got to where the bartenders would say hello when they came in and sat down. They’d buy a beer and nurse it for an hour. That was as much of a tip off as anything.”
“I guess that was a painful learning experience,” Bishop said. “Getting two men shot.”
“I’d say. After that, we dressed the men in clothes we bought from Goodwill and dirtied them up so the men looked pretty much like the other men who frequented the honkytonks. They quit shaving and drank beer just like the regulars.”
“Good move,” Bishop said. “I’m impressed.”
“Yeah. We figured the way they did it, buying and selling, somebody would come in looking for some weed to buy and the bartender sent them down the hall to a room where they could make the buy. They’d buy from somebody in the room or just pick up a bag and leave money. That’s what our guys were watching for. But after the shootings and the changes we made, they changed the way they were doing it. Now we aren’t sure how they’re doing it, but it has to be something equally sneaky.”
“You’re in a war.”
“We are,” he said. “And as of now the other side is winning.”
“At least you’ve overcome one problem, disguising your men. Sooner or later, a buyer or a bartender is going to make a mistake and you’ll have ‘em.”
“Yeah, don’t I wish.” He answered with a shake of his head, but his face didn’t look like he was convinced.
“Frustrating, huh?” Bishop asked.
“Very.” He turned up his bottle and finished it off. “Damn, I needed that,” he said adding, “I checked on that Watson boy you told me about. Rehab says he’s doing great. They expect to release him in a couple of months. We interviewed him. Didn’t have a hell of a lot to say.”
“Told his mother he’s going back to school. I hope getting a degree will help him grow a set of balls that’ll let him take over management of his dad’s chicken farm,” Bishop said.
The chief agreed.
“Other than that loan, things have been pretty quiet for me,” Bishop told him as he got up to get his friend another beer.
With the fresh beer in his hand, the chief digressed to say something about how some of the states had made the sale of marijuana legal. Ostensibly the stuff was used, at least partly, for medical reasons. “Hell, everybody knows it’s mostly smoked for recreational purposes all over. The medical thing is just lip service. Guess the sales get more in taxes for the states.”
“Yeah, I agree. Hope it’s not going to be legalized around here for a long time, if ever. In my opinion, once you legalize a drug like that, it’s just the start of getting people hooked, and then it only gets worse,” Bishop said.
“That’s what I think too.”
“You don’t have a choice but to keep after them,” Bishop said, and repeated what he’d said before. “Sooner or later somebody will make a mistake, and when they do, whoever you arrest will want to cooperate to stay out of jail. You’ll find out who’s distributing it.”
“That’s what keeps me going.” He stared out at the Creek. “Damn peaceful out here. I wish I could get my wife interested in a place in the country.”
“Could you keep your job?”
He laughed. “Don’t know, but that’s one reason I want to move. Let somebody else enjoy my frustrations.” He looked at Bishop and asked how he’d been doing.
“About the same. I get enough bank jobs to keep me from going stir crazy. I did have an unusual call awhile back.” He told him about his call from Elmer Bryant asking if he’d represent him in a case he was expecting to be filed against him by some woman he’d “accidentally hit” when they were horsing around.
“He’d take care of my carpentry work if I’d represent him. Didn’t have any money,” Bishop said with a laugh. “I told him I didn’t need any help and that I was too busy to help him anyway.”
Jenkins laughed. “Good decision on your part. I know Bryant. He’s a bit of a hot head. Worked for Arnold Construction, but got fired. He attacked his boss.”
“Smart,” Bishop said sarcastically.
“Yeah. Heard he also sold drugs at one time. His supplier got killed so he didn’t have anything to sell. For all I know he’s behind the problems we’re having now. I just can’t catch him.”
“Too bad. As I said, keep after them.”
“I don’t have a choice, do I? The mayor’s been all over me.”
“He has to get onto somebody. You just happen to be handy.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it. It makes me love your place. All isolated. You’re not handy to anybody.”
Bishop agreed with a laugh. That was one of the reasons he liked it as well.
“How’s that new jeep of yours?” the chief asked. He looked like he was getting ready to go.
Bishop told the chief he liked it. He’d broken down awhile back and traded in his old rag top for a hard top. As a result, he no longer had to drive in the rain with water dripping on his head and down his back. It was also quieter. Which meant he could enjoy the music he played while he was on the road.
They finished their beers and the chief went home.
Chapter 6
Kathy showed up a little later with pork chops she’d cooked the night before. She put them in Bishop’s oven to warm while she mixed a salad to go with them. Bishop mixed the drinks, a pitcher of gin and tonic, light on the gin. He’d almost had his quota of drink with the chief.
Then he set the table and they ate dinner on the porch, looking out at the green water of Indian Creek flowing past.
She was a little upset. Freddie had sent flowers to the library for her.
“The card said it was to congratulate me for my great play,” she said with a frown.
“Sounds like lawyer’s bull, you know,” Bishop said.
“That’s what I thought too. I’ve been around you long enough to recognize it when I see it … and smell it,” she said with a smile.
“What’d you do?”
“I emailed him a thank you and suggested that he shouldn’t have sent them.”
“I doubt he’s going to stop. You’re a challenge and he’s a competitive son of a bitch. He wants to best me too, I think,” Bishop said. “I hope I don’t have to take him on. He looks tough.”
“He’s told me about his fights. You know he used to box when he was an undergrad at Ole Miss.”
“Yeah. He looks like he can still hold his own,” Bishop said.
They changed the subject during dinner and talked about something pleasant.
That was their usual routine. Enjoy each other’s company while they ate something great she’d fixed the night before at her home. Bishop supplied the drinks, something he figured would go well with what she’d brought, usually wine, but beer and other drinks were on their list, never in excess. Neither liked the headaches if they had too much.
He told her about the chief’s drug problems; really the county’s problems, but the chief had the misfortune to be in charge of the task force handling it.
“Sounds like a new bunch of dealers has hit town,” she said. “I haven’t heard anything about it at the library. Not the sort of thing anybody talks about when they’re looking for a book to read.”
“I guess not. But if you do hear anything, let me know and I’ll pass it on. He’s going crazy trying to find where it’s coming from. And who’s dealing.”
She promised to keep her eyes open.
She went to work after the breakfast. By that time, she had as many clothes in one of Bishop’s closets as she did at her home in town and didn’t need to go home to get dressed. They’d discussed selling her
house but it had been her mother’s place and she was reluctant to get rid of it.
“And, you know the folks around here. If we lived together without getting married, they’d talk. I’m not complaining but when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” she said quoting a familiar phrase.
She and Bishop had decided a long time before not to marry, and so far that seemed to be working out.
Bishop spent the day updating reports to the banks about the progress he’d made cleaning up their defaulted loans. Mostly, he was just staying in touch; reminding them that he was still around. As he usually did, he asked if the loans were still current. Fortunately, he hadn’t had any other borrowers with drug problems like he’d run into with Welborn Watson.
He’d email out the reports and meet with the bank managers the next day to discuss what they could accept in the way of the action that had been proposed by him. They usually accepted what he was recommending but when the loan balances were in the millions, his proposals had to be approved by a bank committee. No one man was willing to take responsibility for a loan of that balance so a manager would delegate the responsibility to a committee.
When Bishop took breaks from his bank assignments, he caught up on his homework; cutting the grass, weeding the beds, pruning the trees, and taking care of the regular house maintenance. Oddly enough, he considered it fun.
Working like he did, mostly negotiating or, sometimes, arguing with borrowers and their attorneys, he didn’t get much exercise. Getting out sweating and doing what he considered some real work, was relaxing and kept him in good shape. He also played tennis with Kathy, but that was usually on the weekends when they both had more time. Besides, she wasn’t available just then, she was playing in the finals of the Club tournament that weekend. He’d be there, watching.
*****
Bishop found a seat with a good view of the tennis courts. He’d driven Kathy to the Club and wished her well. He promised her a steak dinner regardless of how the match ended, though he had no doubt that they’d win.
Freddie was walking around talking with everybody. He and Bishop exchanged passing nods as he came up.
Freddie took the time to talk to Shelly, Stan’s partner, and gave her a “good luck” hug. She gave him a peck on the cheek with a big smile. If Stan noticed, he gave no sign.
Bishop suppressed a laugh when he saw it. Ole Freddie is looking for a back up in case his campaign to get Kathy into bed fails.
Kathy and Freddie won the first set 6-2. Stan and Shelly played well, but lost all the big points. Freddie was all over the court. He never missed a shot, even took shots that should have been Kathy’s. But in the second set, Stan and Shelly played over their heads, above their usual level of play. That was Bishop’s assessment. They won a tie breaker on a couple of unbelievably shots that had most of the spectators shaking their heads in wonderment.
The third set went to Kathy and Freddie as expected, since they were the top seed. But Bishop noticed that Freddie was dragging at the end of the second set and looked unsteady on his feet as the third set progressed. He even doubled faulted away one game. Kathy actually won that set with her steady play.
Afterwards, Freddie hugged and tried to kiss Kathy who had to pull away it seemed to Bishop. Next, Freddie gave Shelly the same treatment. Stan got a hand shake and some words of praise for his effort.
Bishop was courtside to congratulate Kathy with a Mississippi, full body hug. She didn’t pull away like she had from Freddie. He gave Freddie a quick “good playing” congratulation.
By that time Stan and Shelly were talking to their parents and friends.
The newspaper and local television reporters asked to interview Kathy and Freddie. They asked Stan and Shelly to hang around. They wanted their story as well.
Bishop listened as Kathy complimented their opponents for their fine play and gave praise to Freddie for his superb play. She also complimented her usual partner, Bishop Bone, for teaching her how to play “cut-throat” tennis, that is, never giving up on any shot till the ball had quit moving.
Freddie covered all his bases as well, thanking Kathy for “bailing us out when we needed bailing.”
She sure as hell did, Bishop thought.
After the reporters had finished asking Freddie questions, they wanted to get Kathy’s opinion about the influence a “library” had on a community. Bishop figured somebody, probably the mayor, had asked them to do that, since the library needed as much local support as it could get.
Freddie walked away and headed toward Bishop who was watching Kathy’s interview.
He walked past saying, “Bone” with a nod.
Bishop nodded back.
Once Freddie was a pace behind Bishop, he stopped and Bishop heard him say, “I thought we might have a … well, for lack of a better word, a man to man talk.”
What the hell? Bishop thought. A man to man talk. Be damned. He turned to face the man and shoved out his palms inviting him to “talk.”
Freddie looked at Bone, a serious look was on his face. “I’ve read about your involvements in some Lawton criminal cases. Very impressive. The Chief of Police, … Chief Jenkins, I think, has said some complimentary things about you. Keen insight into the human psyche. Unusual common sense, that kind of thing. Very impressive.”
Bishop shrugged. “I suppose. People say good things when a case ends in their favor. So?”
“I figured I could speak frankly knowing you’d understand,” Freddie said, gesturing toward Bishop with palms up.
“Well? Speak.” Bishop was curious, but began to figure out what Freddie was doing. He was going to bullshit him about Kathy. And that’s exactly what he did.
“You see, Kathy and I kind of have a thing going. She likes me and I like her, but she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings. I told her I’d speak to you about it. Just step back and think. I’ll tell you what I’ve been told. I’m a pretty good looking guy.” He swept over his body with his hands. “I’m younger than you. Probably better in lots of ways I won’t go into, but you can figure it out. I want you to stand aside and let Kathy do what she …”
He glanced behind Bishop and stopped. Kathy had walked up.
He smiled and said, “Kathy, I was just talking to your friend, Bishop.”
Bishop turned to Kathy and said, “We were, but I figure we’d finished. Isn’t that so, Mr. Meyers?”
“We’ll finish it another time, Mr. Bone. I want to add a bottom line.” He said.
“As far as I’m concerned, you added it already,” Bishop said.
Freddie grunted something and told Kathy goodbye. Afterward, he walked back to the court where they’d played. The reporters were thoughtfully asking Stan and Shelly questions.
When they’d finished, Freddie moved in and hugged Shelly again, adding a big smile as he did. Stan took her arm and pulled her away. Shelly turned back briefly and smiled at Freddie as they left. He waved.
*****
Bishop pulled out his iPhone and began punching in numbers. “I wasn’t too sure when the match and the hullabaloo afterwards would end so I haven’t made reservations at the restaurant yet.”
“Bishop,” she said, “If it’s all the same to you, I’d just as soon go to your cabin and have a glass of wine on the porch and just relax. I’ll fix us something out of your fridge.”
“Good idea,” he said. “Damn good idea.”
So she and Bishop left the Club parking lot and drove toward his cabin on Indian Creek instead of the steak house.
As they drove, Kathy asked what he and Freddie were talking about.
“I was going to tell you,” he said, and proceeded to give her the gist of what Freddie had said.
“He’s … well, I think he’s a slime ball. When we would work out … or play, he had his hands all over me, like some kind of … well, foreplay. He never got that close, but that’s the impression he gave me. I resented the hell out of it and told him to quit, but that was like water off a duck’s back. He ignored it
. I’m so glad I’ll never have a reason to see him again. And I sure as hell won’t ever play tennis with him again!”
“Good. I think he was trying to goad me into some kind of reaction against you. He must have figured if I made you mad, you’d turn to him for solace and, bingo, end up solacing in his bed.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t fall for it,” she said.
“I recognize bullshit when I hear it,” Bishop said. “I hope that’s the end of it.”
“It is as far as I’m concerned. If he sends more flowers, I’m going to have ‘em sent back.”
Bishop nodded his head. “Good idea.”
She said, “Looked to me like he had the same plan for the Thomas guy’s partner. I understand they’re engaged.”
“I saw that too. The way he acts reminds me of that saying, any port in a storm.”
“Well said. I get it too.” She squeezed his arm and smiled.
They had wine and nuts on the back porch and she found a couple of steaks in his refrigerator. They barbecued them on his grill and enjoyed dinner and the rest of the evening.
The next day, Sunday, they drove to the Coast, stopping at the Pecan House near Wiggins for a pecan pie en route. They drove home after a relaxing lunch and stroll around the charming little town of Ocean Springs.
*****
Monday morning, Kathy left for the library. Bishop got his files out to see if he needed to make any reports to his bank clients. He didn’t see any and checked his emails.
“Be damned,” he said. Freddie had sent him an email earlier that morning. He read it.
“By now, I assume Kathy had told you that I’ve made advances which she has rejected. I also assume that, with the keen insight into the human psyche that the chief of Police talks about, you know how people hedge their bets. She obviously wants to hang onto you if she can’t have me.”
Death of the Weed Merchant Page 7