Chapter 22 Back On Tour #4
“Carry is the daughter of Jenny’s rival.
As the surviving heir of direct bloodline to the Pendergasts, and by the last will and testament of Gerald Easthaus, Carry is entitled to run the Family.
She’s the heiress of the entire family.” Greg leaned back, feeling suddenly totally exhausted.
He ran his hand through his hair. “But Jenny had her family executed in Blue Springs the same day that the ‘Accident’ occurred that claimed Robby and my parents.” Greg ran his hand through his hair again as Harry came back in.
“So, she’s still a threat to Jenny’s consolidated power.
Cassie has been working to protect her, but the only real way to do it is to bring Carry in. ”
“Ohhhh,” she began. “That makes things a lot different and a lot more complex. “How many times has she been brought in before,” and she saw him show 0 on his hand as he silently mouthed ‘none.’ “Never?” she said incredulously. “What are they thinking?”
“According to Cassie, if she didn’t bring her in now, Millard has orders to execute her to eliminate the threat.” Greg leaned back again.
“Did I walk in at a bad time?” Harry asked.
“I was explaining to Veronica what’s going on with Carry and Cassie,” Greg said now sounding completely exhausted. Veronica leaned over and kissed Greg.
“That’s for being honest with me, and sharing how scared you actually are,” she said softly. “And this is for my future husband,” she said as she kissed him deeply. “I love you with all my heart Greg Garrelson. I’m not as mad now as I was, but I’m still upset I was kept out of the loop.”
“It was a need to know basis,” Harry said.
“Hang on,” Greg protested. “Are you telling me you know all this?”
“Of course. Carry and Cassie and I have become good friends.”
“Harry, what’s the risk?” Veronica asked.
“Based on what Keith, Brick and Danny have discussed, if Jenny turns on Carry, it’s all over except for finding her body,” he said somberly.
“If she doesn’t, then we have a chance. The extraction team is in place.
I just can’t respond with the shape of the vehicle outside.
The trunk looks like an accordion and the frame is all bent out of shape.
If we weren’t in danger, I wouldn’t have continued driving it.
Oh, and did I even mention the windows or bullet holes? ”
“Keith is a couple of minutes out,” Greg confirmed. If you want something, best tell Harry now,” he verified. “Then you can ask him questions.”
“Brick is going to be here in a few minutes, Mr. Garrelson,” Marvin said.
“We had a couple of cruisers check the area, but they only found broken glass, some car parts and a bumper scattered about on top of a lot of coolant that spilled everywhere. The cars had to have been towed away from the scene quickly because our guys were there within fifteen minutes.” Marvin just shook his head softly.
“I doubt they could have driven away from that mess I left them in,” Harry said. “I destroyed the back of the Mini-Limo to take out both front ends.”
“Harry,” Marvin said as he moved over to him. “How many dash cams did you have in the rear window?”
“Keith had five in there, why?”
“There’s only one left,” he confirmed. “The others were blown away.”
“Which one was left?” Veronica asked.
“The one in the right rear of the vehicle, near the support beam,” he replied slowly. “Why do you ask?”
“Because those bullets were meant for me,” she said, “And for Greg.” She started to softly sob as it all suddenly hit her. “They were trying to kill us.”
“Indeed, Miss LaFayette. They were indeed,” he said then softly laid his right hand on her left shoulder. “But they failed, and that’s going to be their undoing. Keith’s bringing the video. He says he’s got proof that it was Millard.”
“The Enforcer?” Greg asked quietly in disbelief.
“That’s the one. Bricks going to love this,” Marvin said. “We’ll finally have proof that we can use to get an arrest warrant he can’t lawyer out of.”
“Who is this Enforcer?” Veronica asked.
“Only the most successful assassin/murder for hire hit man in all of Pendergast Family history,” Marvin said with almost an awe of the man in his voice.
“He’s credited with over four hundred confirmed kills, and more than thirty of those were within the Family itself.
” Marvin sat down and looked both Greg and Veronica in the eye.
“We’ll need your testimony to lock this monster up. ”
“I’ll testify, but you can’t ask Veronica to. She’s an innocent victim in all this,” Greg insisted.
“No, future husband of mine. We are walking into this danger together. I’m not going to leave your side,” Veronica insisted.
“Greg, you better latch on and marry this one. She’s the most loyal woman here.”
“So, Tina,” Mark said with deep joy in his voice.
“This is Joes. It’s the very best barbeque in Kansas City in my opinion.
I know that there’s the debates about Gates and Jack Stack, but the sauce here will totally blow you away.
And the smokiness is so uniform throughout the brisket that the flavor is consistent in every bite. ”
“And you promised me burnt ends and fries,” she said sweetly.
“I did indeed my lovely girlfriend,” he said pulling out a seat at the table for her. “You just relax here and I’ll go get our orders.” Mark leaned down and kissed Tina softly. “I want you to know that I will love you for the rest of my life.” He left for the order line.
“That man is beyond anything I’ve ever met,” Tina said as she spoke to herself. “And he wants to marry me. Me. I’m just a lowly waitress who was barely surviving until his boss came along and recommended me to Veronica LaFayette. I can’t believe how lucky I am.”
“Are you alright, Miss?” a gentleman said as he sat down beside her.
“Umm, yeah,” she said with a puzzled look on her face. “Who are you?”
“I’m Keith Davies, the drummer in The Open Heart Band. I overheard you talking to yourself and you mentioned Veronica.”
“Yeah, she’s the big boss. I work for Carry Mitchelson over at Veronique.”
“OH! Yours is the newest scent. Miss Honeysuckle Rose. Welcome to our little group.” Keith smiled.
“Keith?” she said as she tried to make sense of it. “You don’t look like a thirty something security chief.”
“Because I’m not,” he laughed. “I’m the drummer in Veronica’s band.”
“OH! She said. “You might want to move as my boyfriend is coming back with our food.”
“Oh, sorry. It’s just that I heard Veronica’s name and had to find out who this was that said her name so nonchalantly.”
“Honey,” Mark said as he approached with the food. “Who is this?”
“He says he’s the drummer for some band for Veronica.”
“Keith Davies,” he said as he got up and offered his hand. Mark set the food down and shook his hand. “I’m the drummer for The Open Heart Band along with Terry and Tommy Silverstone.”
“Oh, so you’re the drummer,” Mark said finally recognizing things from his time on the tour. “Didn’t you leave the band?”
“Yeah, right after Oslo and that asshole Quinton slept with my girlfriend.”
“WOW!” Mark said. “That’s tough.”
“But I made my way back to the band last year, after Terry reached out to me again.”
“Sorry to hear that she cheated on you, but it’s good you’re back to playing with the band.”
“Yeah. I’m going to order. Would you mind me joining you?”
“Well,” Mark began hesitantly. “We are on a date, so I’m going to defer to Tina.”
“I don’t mind, so long as you don’t keep my burnt ends hostage.”
“Sorry, honey. Here,” Mark said as he pushed the tray forward. “I’ll pray if you want.”
“Can it be a silent prayer?” Tina asked.
“If you aren’t comfortable with prayer in public yet, sure,” Mark confirmed. He bowed his head and offered up thanks quietly before digging in. “I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.”
“Oh, I am sure I will. It all smells so delicious.” Tina picked up her burnt in sandwich and lifted the top, putting a slathering of the sauce all over the burnt ends while Mark prayed silently.
As soon as he lifted his head, she lifted the sandwich to her mouth with sauce dripping out the back as she bit in.
Fortunately this was not her first barbeque and she had strategically placed napkins everywhere.
Her face lit up as the sauce filled her mouth and went flying out the back side of her sandwich.
“THIS IS MARVELOUS!” She shrieked in joy.
“It’s like being back home in Dallas. I love this so much. Thank you for taking me here, Mark.”
“I told you this was the best barbeque place in Kansas City. I wanted to welcome you to my town properly, and I couldn’t think of a better way than this.
If you want, I’ll share some of my cold-slaw with you.
” Mark smiled as he waited for her to finish the second bite of her burnt-ends sandwich.
“I think it’s really good slaw, but it’s not for some people. ”
“Mark! I’m a Texas girl. You don’t dare challenge a Texas girl on what she finds acceptable!” she demanded almost harshly. “Give me a bite of that slaw and I’ll tell you if it’s any good like what my grandma makes.”
“Here you go, sweetheart. Help yourself,” Mark said as he pushed his container of cold-slaw across the table to her. She stuck a fork in and pulled out a big bite, pulling it immediately to her mouth.
“Now, that’s what cold-slaw is supposed to be like!
” she said with joy filling her face. “I feel like I’m at my Grandpa’s barbeque back in south Dallas.
This makes me feel like I’m home,” she said with a smile.
“I’m so happy to have found you, Mark. You really care so much about me that you’ve gone out of your way to make me feel at home in a foreign country. ”
“Maybe a different city, but,,” she shut him up with a look and her fingers pressed against his lips.
“Mark, I’m from Texas. Anything outside of Texas is a foreign country to me,” she said and started laughing. Mark joined her.
“What’s so funny?” Keith asked as he returned with his sandwich.