Page 80 of The First Gentleman

CHAPTER 76

Everett, Massachusetts

I n the parking lot of the Encore casino, the man still calling himself Jack Doohan is getting some fresh air when his phone vibrates.

Not his iPhone. The other one.

“Yeah?”

“Good job in Brattleboro.” It’s the same electronically masked voice with the same Jersey-mobster vibe.

“No problem,” says Doohan.

“Appreciate the bonus.”

Which was well earned.

This time, he’d done more than observe and report.

Up at the Vermont hideaway, he’d watched from the trees as two men entered cabin 19.

He heard the soft pop that told him their job was done.

Watched them take off into the woods.

As soon as they disappeared, he put on his paper booties and disposable gloves and slipped through the half-open door.

Subject on the floor; laptop on the table.

Just as he’d expected.

He’d taken the laptop and replaced it with a kilo of his finest cocaine, some pharmaceutical utensils, and a bag of baking soda.

A poor man’s drug lab.

Actually, not so poor.

The coke was worth at least twenty-five grand on the street.

The cost was covered, of course, along with his other expenses.

“We might need you again,” the voice says.

“What do you think about killing women?”

Doohan shrugs.

“I think about it all the time.”