Chapter Thirty-six
Matt Lotborn paced the carpeted floor in his office. Fury made him continuously move, and bad health kept his steps short. Face red from too many daytime drinks, overprescribed medications and the weight of his personal debts riding his back, he appeared as a man one breath away from a stroke.
“Tell me you made it happen this time. Jesus, when I asked you to take him out of the running, I didn’t imagine you would go after his truck again. The police have already questioned me about the last accident you guys screwed up.”
“They had nothin’ on you. Can’t arrest a man who was out of the city.”
“They can if there’s any link at all between the perpetrators and this office. It’s called accessory to a crime. That’s why I told you to never come here. That I would meet with you at the ranch.”
Rod, a skinny man without a sign of humanity in his dead expression, appeared bored.
A cigarette hanging from his mouth, he sat back and let his partner do the talking.
And talk he did. In fact, Phil never shut up.
Right now, he was soft-soaping the mayor, kissing ass and smoothing ruffled feathers.
Phil looked at his partner, and then back at Lotborn. “We did as you asked. It seemed easiest to mess with his brake line so there’d be no witnesses to any crime. It’s what you wanted, no witnesses, right? Who’s to say the line didn’t come loose during the run-in we had with him before, right?”
“Unless they checked the major parts like tires and brakes before they released the vehicle. Did you ever think of that?”
“Even if they did, they wouldn’t find where we messed with it.
It’ll look like a natural disaster. Your man’ll be in the hospital for a long time.
No one could survive crashing into a hillside and flipping his ride without a lot of damage.
Look, we want our money now, and we’ll be out of your hair for good. ”
Matt stared at the yappy bastard and then at his sidekick who scared him silly.
When he’d used his don’t-mess-with-me-voice to forbid him smoking in his office, the very same tone that always had his staff and the others on the council jump to do his bidding, the devil blew smoke in his face and stared him down. Gave him the creeps.
Silence reigned, while Matt’s mind flipped from decision to question and back again. Phil began filling it in.
“He should have gone over the railing last time, boss. I still have no idea how he managed to escape with us blocking his way. He must have a good luck charm in his back pocket ‘cause we had the bastard’s ass in a sling.”
“Yet he didn’t go over, did he? I paid you good money, and you let him drive away.
” Matt slammed the desk with his hands, showing the anger that hung over the room like a black cloud.
“He can’t run for mayor. I need this election.
There are outstanding promises I have to keep, or I’m a dead man. Don’t you two knuckleheads get it?”
Rod stood and sauntered over to Matt, who backed away. Cornered, shrinking into the same boy he’d been when the bullies at his elementary school had terrified him, they stood face to face – Rod serious as sin and Matt sagging with horror.
“You pay us now or we’ll take joy in making you sorry and write off this last job as time wasted.”