Chapter 24
Will
“I haven’t been here in such a long time,” Julie says as they stop next to their mother’s gravestone.
“Are you sure you’re warm enough?”
“I’m fine, Will. Sit down and relax. You’ve been so tense lately.”
He sits on the grass while Julie sits in her wheelchair. It’s Friday morning, and later today, he’ll be going to the mayor’s house to do what he and the sheriff agreed on. A part of him worries this might be a trap, but at least in this war, he and the sheriff share a common enemy.
“What’s up with the hat?” Julie asks him.
“Bad hair day.” He put it on to cover the bump on his forehead from when Nate had smashed his head against his truck. It doesn’t look as bad as it did a few days ago, but it’s still a subject he doesn’t want to get into with his sister.
“I think about her a lot lately,” Julie says as she watches the simple gravestone. Their mother’s name was Emily Thomas, and people used to say she was the prettiest girl in town. To Will, she was also the strongest, rivaled only by his sister.
“Why lately?” Will asks.
Julie sighs. Her skin is grayer than usual, and her pretty eyes are tired. “You know why.”
He doesn’t answer. He refuses to speak about death with her, not because he’s in denial, but because it will serve no purpose. He’ll have a lifetime without her, but not yet.
“Are you meeting Owen tonight?” she asks.
He shifts on the bench. He will be seeing him because tonight they will try to take down the mayor, and Owen will be sitting with the cops outside. “I’ll see him, yes.”
“Did you end up having that dinner with his aunt?”
“Not exactly, but she and I are on better terms at the moment.” He has been spending most of his time with Owen since they got him out of the hospital, and Sheryl has moved from being wary of his presence to giving him chores around the house.
You two might as well be helpful when you’re not fucking in my spare room.
Julie smiles at him. “Good. I knew that everything would work out for you.” She turns her head toward the other side of the cemetery. “Should we go say hello to him as well?”
She means Joel. It’s something they tend to do, an act of politeness more than anything. “No,” he says. “I’d rather not.”
Julie nods. “It seems that my brother is finally moving on with his life.”
He glances at the top of Joel’s gravestone on the other side of the path, not feeling the familiar sting of guilt. “Maybe I am moving on.” He smiles. “About fucking time, isn’t it?”
*
He expected the two recording devices to be bigger, but the sheriff managed to get hold of an advanced model.
And still, they are big enough to be a challenge to hide.
They agree that Will should plant the two devices only if he has a safe way of doing so.
Even planting one device could be enough if the right information ends up being recorded.
Luckily, Will usually arrives at the mayor’s house with a backpack, so he’ll use it tonight to conceal the two devices until he can plant them.
He sits inside the white van with Owen, the sheriff, and two out-of-town police officers he doesn’t know. They’re supposed to be experts in this sort of thing. There’s another civilian car with two local officers parked in front of the mayor’s house in case of trouble.
“Do you remember where it’s best to hide them?” one of the out-of-town officers asks. He sits in front of a screen, a big set of headphones over his ears.
“Close to the telephone in Ray’s office if possible, or somewhere else that’s close enough. Stay away from places that are often cleaned, and don’t change how things are arranged.”
“That’s right.”
“But you guys might not get anything incriminating tonight,” Owen says. “It can be days until the mayor says something that we can use.”
“We don’t need to stay here the whole time. We can listen from the station. We’re here now to make sure we’re getting a strong enough signal.” He turns to the sheriff. “We’re good to continue.”
The sheriff seems uncomfortable in the small space.
He nods at Will. “You know Ray better than any of us. If you sense him getting suspicious, you abort the plan. I can’t have him knowing he’s in hot water, so I won’t hurry to send help unless I’m absolutely sure you’re in danger.
Going after him too soon will give him and his partners time to weasel their way out of trouble. ”
Will glances at Owen, who chews on his bottom lip. “Understood. I’m not looking for unnecessary risks.”
He exits the van with his backpack strapped over his shoulder. Owen climbs out as well and asks quietly, “Are you sure about this?”
“I am, but maybe you should wait at home. It might take a while until I’m back.”
Owen shakes his head. “I’ll wait here until you’re back safely. You may kiss me now.”
Will smiles and pulls him in for a kiss.
“I can’t wait to draw you when this is over,” Owen whispers, their foreheads resting against each other. “I’ll draw your right ass cheek first.”
“What’s wrong with the left one?”
“The right one has a small beauty spot I like.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Now you do, so you’d better keep that ass safe tonight. You hear me, Will?”
“I hear you, sweetheart.”
Loud and clear.
Will enters his truck and drives over to the mayor’s house. He notices the car with the two undercover police officers who are sitting in the dark. He hates counting on the local force for protection, but he hates the thought of Ray Walker escaping justice even more.
There are more cars across the sidewalk—rich people’s cars.
He climbs out and walks to stand in front of the tall wooden door, hearing jazz music from inside.
He tries to keep his composure, but he’s all raw nerves tonight.
This could be the last time he’ll ever face this humiliation, and achieving that while taking down the mayor feels too monumental to comprehend.
The door opens before he can knock. Veronica gives him a once-over, managing to look condescending in her dark maid uniform without needing to open her mouth. She tilts her head for Will to enter.
The music is louder inside, and the air is a bit chilly, but he can see the dancing shadows of the living room fireplace down the hall.
He usually leaves his bag in the bedroom on the second floor, but a worrying thought crosses his mind.
Does Veronica go through his things? He never cared enough to give it a thought, but the possibility of that happening turns his blood cold.
She clears her throat impatiently, her presence feeling intrusive in the empty hallway.
“I’ll put my bag upstairs,” he says and hurries up the stairs before she can suggest otherwise.
He exhales when he reaches the second floor.
He steps into the familiar bedroom and decides to put his bag inside the closet instead of at the corner of the room.
He starts to put the bag inside when he has a change of heart.
Wouldn’t this make Veronica more suspicious if she decides to snoop?
Unless… he pulls out the two recording devices from his backpack.
Both are working; he can hear a faint humming when he holds them next to his ear.
He whispers, “I’m on the second floor. I’ll hide these in the closet in case anyone goes through my bag. ”
Once the two devices are safe behind a pile of sheets, he closes the closet and leaves his bag on the other side of the room, where he would usually put it.
He takes a breath and steps outside, then walks down the dim hallway and the curving flight of stairs.
Veronica is waiting by the living room with her stoic expression.
He walks past her and steps into the warm room where music is playing and the mayor’s four guests are deep in conversation.
He was hoping that tonight would be one of the rare occasions Hal had other engagements, but he’s here, as well as Doctor Levi and two older men whose names he can’t remember. He thinks one of them is a lawyer.
“About fucking time,” Hal growls. He’s sitting by the fire, his legs crossed.
His gray horseshoe mustache still looks ridiculous.
Will hasn’t stopped thinking of Nate’s warning about Hal’s agreement with the mayor.
He’s known for years how much Ray hated him, but arranging for Will to be taken away is on another level.
“You should teach him to arrive on time,” Hal tells the mayor, who sits in his favorite armchair, smoking his pipe.
“Go bring more wine, boy,” the mayor says. “Something from Italy.”
“Yes, sir.” Will walks through the side door that leads to the kitchen, then down to the wine cellar, where the air is heavy and thick. He checks out the bottles, looking for something from Italy. Before he can find it, someone walks down the stairs. Will tenses at the sight of the mayor.
“There’s a bump on your forehead.”
“A branch hit me at work.”
The mayor takes a step closer, making the room feel even smaller. “I heard that your boyfriend found himself in a bit of a mess.”
Will tries to keep his surprise from his face. He never mentioned Owen to the mayor. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Don’t lie to me, boy.”
“We broke up. He couldn’t stand the shit he got around town, and after he was almost killed, he decided to go back home.”
The mayor watches him closely, as if peering through his skull to examine his brain. “Is that so? How come he was involved with drug dealers in the first place?”
Will narrows his eyes as if he’s angry. “The fucking sheriff got him doing undercover work. I only found out about it once he was kidnapped by two drug dealers from Eminence.”
“Hmm. And are those two in custody?”
As if you don’t know. “No, they were killed during the police raid. The sheriff wanted Owen to help him get names from them, but that’s not going to happen.”
“Mitch will be wise not to get any more innocent people involved in his mess.”