Chapter 43
BODIE
I cut the engine a few blocks away and eased the four-door sedan to the curb.
I’d borrowed a car from the impound lot for tonight’s escapade.
No need to alert anyone that I was out and about this evening.
It wasn’t likely that anyone would come across the vehicle unless they were headed to the Phillips House, but better to be safe than sorry.
I crept along the drive, keeping to the edge where the tall trees and bushes would hide my approach.
The small shovel in my backpack clanged against something.
I paused to readjust the contents of my bag.
That’s all I needed, was to get caught sneaking around the event venue.
Of course I’d prepared an alibi just in case but I preferred not to use it.
If luck was on my side I’d be in and out of the yard in the space of fifteen minutes. Ten, if I got really lucky.
I scaled the iron fence that separated the backyard from the front and dashed across the grass to press myself against the building.
Nothing but the sounds of an early-spring evening greeted me.
Crickets chirped. A bullfrog from the nearby pond croaked out a tune.
The breeze danced across the yard, eliciting a song from the wind chimes Lacey had hung on the corner of the porch.
My heart slowed. I could do this. I had to. Lacey had been willing to put everything aside to do what she thought was best for the town. Now it was my turn. I couldn’t move on until I’d neutralized the threat Buck Little represented.
Pulling the map out of my bag with one hand, I fumbled for my mini flashlight with the other.
The small beam of light played over the hand-drawn map.
If the drawing was to scale, two possible stashes sat immediately to my right.
I set down the map and grappled for the small shovel.
Two steps straight ahead and three to the right.
Lifting the piece of freshly laid sod, I pressed the blade of the shovel into the dirt underneath.
Assuming I could trust the notes on the map, I had to dig down only about eighteen inches before I’d strike gold.
Or, in this case, a wad of my grandad’s hoard.
Five minutes later I had yet to hit anything even though I’d dug a wide radius around the site of the supposed treasure.
Dammit. I should have known better than to believe anything Buck Little or my dad told me.
Sweat beaded along my hairline. I would have whipped the long-sleeve black shirt over my head if I wasn’t worried so much about being discovered.
Instead, I wiped a sleeve over my brow and studied the map again.
Pops was meticulous. If he made note of a location, it had to be where he marked it. Accuracy was his style.
I turned the map over. If I looked at the drawing from that angle, I was digging two feet away from where I should.
I walked off the steps and dropped to my knees.
If I didn’t find anything this time, I’d have to give up.
Dad could sell his truck or some acreage to get himself out of the tight space he’d wedged himself into.
The shovel scraped against something hard. It had to be what I was looking for. I carefully dug around the metal box until I could make out the edges. I pulled it out of the ground and opened it.
The smell of dirt and earth and cold cash floated to my nose.
Yes. I counted two thousand dollars in fives and ones before moving on to the next hidey-hole.
As I tucked the bills into the canvas bag I’d brought along, I fought against my conscience.
I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to protect Lacey.
It’s not like I was stealing, just borrowing my granddad’s cash to pay off the old man’s debt.
By the time I collected the whole fifty grand, sweat soaked through my thin T-shirt. I spread the dirt over the last hole I’d dug, careful to replace the sod and pat it down. Eager to get the job done and ready for a nice, warm shower, I packed up my bag and made my way back to the car.
Forty-five minutes later, hair still damp from my recent shower, I sat across the kitchen table from Buck.
I didn’t want to have the money in my possession any longer than necessary and I needed to take action before I changed my mind, so I’d picked up my dad and dropped by Buck’s to unload the cash and hopefully my guilt along with it.
“I gotta say, I didn’t think you would do it,” Buck said.
“Didn’t seem like I had much of a choice.” I slid the backpack off my shoulder, letting it fall to the table. Mayor Little didn’t look nearly as intimidating in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a plain white T-shirt.
“You’re a smart kid,” Buck said. “You’re going to make a great sheriff.”
“No. I don’t want the two of you fixing any election.”
Dad put a hand on my shoulder. “But, son—”
I shrugged it off. “This ends here. I’m done trying to save your ass.
You and Pops are on your own now. I can’t be a part of anything you’ve got going on.
” I’d thought about it as I dug up my grandfather’s stash.
Buying off Buck would fix only my immediate problem.
If I wanted to make Ido a safe place for Lacey, I had no choice but to do the right thing.
Besides, after my fake wedding to Lacey, I’d need to get out of town.
No sense agreeing to take on a job that would only keep me here, close to her.
“Fair enough.” Buck reached for the bag. “Shall we see what we’ve got here?”
“It’s all there,” I said. “Fifty thousand bucks to clear my dad and granddad’s names. That’s what we agreed to, right?”
Buck eyed me through narrowed lids. “Anything you want to tell me, son?”
“No, sir. Just want your word that my family’s satisfied their obligation to that little cigar ring you’ve got going.”
I waited for a response. Instead, Buck reached for a piece of paper and a pen. He scratched something across the paper then slid it in front of me.
Are you wearing a wire?
I stared at the black ink, my vision speckled with black dots. Of course Buck would think that. He’d screwed enough people around that he’d naturally be suspicious. Taking in a deep breath, I tried not to wince as the tape I’d used to fashion a makeshift mic stretched across my stomach.
“Of course I’m not wearing a wire. You think I’d risk messing with you? I just want out.” I spread my arms wide, hoping the boost to Buck’s ego would prevent him from initiating a full pat down. “The cash for the out, right?”
Buck nodded, his hand closing around the bag. “Let’s make sure it’s all here first, shall we?”
“Be my guest.” I stood, pacing the large kitchen, my boots clomping on the ceramic tile.
I’d hoped that by catching Buck at home I’d throw him off guard.
Especially in the middle of the night. As I rounded the table, I cast my gaze over the wall of the office across the hall.
Framed photographs hung from floor to ceiling.
I wandered over, my attention caught by a photo of Lacey’s dad shaking hands with Buck.
Must have been during his tenure as mayor.
Seeing how many people Buck had probably manipulated and blackmailed over the years lit a fire in my gut. I couldn’t wait to see the man go down in a bonfire of his own creation, even if it took a piece of me with it.
“Is it all there?” I returned to the kitchen, hands on my hips, ready to put this nastiness behind me.
“All there.” Buck slid the piles of cash he’d counted back into the bag. “Pleasure doing business with you, son.”
“Don’t call me son,” I said as I took the hand Buck offered. “You have the right to remain silent—”
“What’s this?” Buck’s eyes went wide.
I flipped one hand around Buck’s back and reached for the other wrist. “Anything you say can be used against you in court.”
“What’s going on?” Dad stood, looking older than his fifty-some years. “Bodie?”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I can’t be a part of this anymore.”
“What are you talking about? Family comes first.” My dad slammed his fist against the heavy wood table.
The front door opened. As Sheriff Suarez and the two other deputies moved through the living room, my dad cracked open the door leading to the garage then disappeared into the darkness.
Dammit. This was going to be even worse than I thought. I handed Buck over to the sheriff and followed my dad through the door to the garage.
“Dad? Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” The smell of oil hit me as I rounded the front of Buck’s oversized truck.
The door to the backyard hung open on its frame. I passed through and found myself standing on the deck of a giant in-ground pool. My dad was doing his best to put some distance between us but a bad knee and years of limiting his exercise to sitting behind a desk ensured he was no match for me.
“Stop. Let’s end this.” I jogged around the pool.
My dad glanced back over his shoulder. “I’m not going to let you take me down.”
I wouldn’t have to. “Watch out!” I yelled the warning in time but it was too late.
Dad didn’t see the hose someone had stretched out to fill the pool.
His boot caught on it, sending him tumbling to the ground.
He fell on his arm, collapsing onto his chest and rolling right into the deep end of Buck Little’s pool.
I didn’t hesitate. I dove in, headfirst, scrambling to reach the spot where my dad sputtered and splashed. By the time I had an arm around my dad’s shoulders Sheriff Suarez had grabbed the life ring hanging from the fence and flung it toward us.
“Dad, grab on to the ring.” I pushed the ring into my dad’s chest. The stubborn man wouldn’t take it.
“Just let me drown,” my dad wailed.
“You don’t really mean that.” I dragged him to the side of the pool, where the deputies hauled him out of the water.
I climbed out and took the towel Sheriff Suarez handed me. “We can take it from here, Deputy Phillips.”
Nodding, I turned toward my dad. “I’m sorry.”
“I hope you’re happy, son.” Dad huddled on the edge of a lounge chair. “You know Buck was just the front man, don’t you?”
“Doesn’t matter. I did what I needed to do to clear my conscience.”
Dad shook his head. “You turned your back on your family. I thought I’d trained you better than that.”
“No, Dad. You trained me worse. But despite that, I still managed to do the right thing. I wish you luck.” I waited while one of my fellow deputies snapped a set of handcuffs on my dad’s wrists.
Then I turned and walked toward the gate, my heart free from the burden of feeling responsible for my family, but heavy at the thought of what this decision had cost me.
As I walked down the driveway of Mayor Little’s home—make that the ex-mayor’s home—I breathed in a sigh of relief.
Lacey was safe. The threat Buck had issued was null and void.
The only person I wanted to see was Lacey.
But she was off-limits. I couldn’t unload everything that had just happened on her, not when she’d never been aware of the threats Buck had issued in the first place.
So I turned my truck toward home, where at least one warm body waited for me—albeit a four-legged one.