Page 52

CHAPTER 52

H ugh greeted us with genuine enthusiasm when we walked in the Wok Inn. He was probably planning on bribing us with a lot of crab rangoon and having Rose or me toss any troublemakers. The place, however, was subdued.

Lionel and Dottie were at their usual table at the far end of the restaurant. Both gave me the stink eye as Hugh seated Rose and me at our usual place next to the fish tank. We ordered and I gave it a minute before I decided it was time to ruin the Ferrells’ dinner.

“You want me to be good cop tonight?” I asked Rose. “You did very well being bad with Barry.”

She frowned at me. “I don’t think good cop is in your skill set.”

“I’m versatile,” I protested.

“In what context?” she said, and I gave up.

We finished our appetizers—crab rangoon, but only two orders—and then we got up and walked over, grabbed two chairs, and sat on either side of the Ferrells’ table. Neither bolted for the door, but they didn’t look happy.

I decided to dispense with small talk. “When does Herc want you to launch the drone tomorrow?”

“Fuck you,” Dottie said, but without much enthusiasm.

“Did you watch the feed today while the drone trailed us?” I asked.

Lionel gave a slight nod. I heard a thump and realized that Dottie had kicked Lionel under the table. At least she hadn’t stabbed him.

“And the drone followed Dmitri back to Betty’s.” I didn’t need either of them to acknowledge that. “I know that because Herc called me and wants me to kill Dmitri and grab the treasure for him.”

Neither of them seemed surprised by that revelation.

“You flew it for Herc, right?” I pressed. “He ordered you to follow us.”

Lionel swallowed hard, then nodded. Dottie glared at him.

Rose spoke up. “Dottie, you saw Louise die this morning. We’ve also lost Ozzie, Melissa, Sid, and Harvey. Coral and Betty were hurt and I got a snake in my oven. Poppy was almost shot. Two Cauldron guys tried to kill Max on the Trail. And now Herc wants Max to take out Dmitri.” She dipped her head a little and spoke more softly. “And you and Lionel are afraid of him now, Dottie. In ways you weren’t before. It’s too much. Herc is out of control.”

“I am not going to kill Dmitri,” I added. “And Herc is going to come down on us for that. He’s told me he’s coming and coming in strong. So it’s time to pick a side. Have you heard from Herc since we got back with the treasure?”

They exchanged a look. Given they were snoops, they weren’t very good at masking.

“I take that as a yes,” I said. “When does he want the drone in the air tomorrow and you to fly it for him?”

Dottie tried protesting. “Why do you think?—”

“Dottie!” Rose snapped. “You need to decide now. Whose side are you on?”

Dottie shook her head. “It’s not that easy.”

“Herc had Lian’s office blown up,” Rose said. “You think he’ll stop at a post office or two?”

I was about to chime in as the bad cop when Lionel surprised all of us by confronting his wife.

“Listen, Dottie,” he said. “We both fucked up. Okay? You’ve been riding my ass about Louise, but your gambling got us in this shit, too. It helped Herc get his hooks into us, and he’s never let go. And he’s never going to let us go.”

I was a fraction of a second faster than Dottie as she snatched a knife from under her leather jacket, twisting her wrist and forcing her to drop it to the floor.

Lionel was unfazed. “I’m not saying that it’s your fault, Dottie. It’s our fault. We’re in this together. The choice isn’t whether we stick with Herc or not. He doesn’t give a shit about us. We either fight him here or we run. Because if he sets up shop here, we’re screwed. And if we run, we’ll just die tired, baby.”

Dottie was staring at her husband. Then, without looking at either of us, still looking at him, she said, “We launch the drone up at fourteen hundred tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll have us fly it over Betty’s place. Unless, of course, our CCTV catches a vehicle leaving Betty’s and heading out of town. Then we put it up ASAP and track. All Herc gives a shit about is the treasure. He figures he can take the town over, no problem, but he wants that treasure, too. Given that, it means he’s coming to town tomorrow afternoon. He wouldn’t trust moving in without overhead imagery.”

“What are you going to do?” Rose asked, her voice soft again.

“Whatever Herc wants,” Dottie said.

“I mean, after the drone. Are you staying to meet him or leaving town?”

Dottie looked at Lionel. “Staying. Where would we go?”

“If you need help, come to us,” Rose said, and I almost stopped her. We couldn’t save everybody.

But Dottie nodded, and Lionel put his hand across the table and gripped hers, and they almost looked like they were a married couple. At least Dottie wasn’t stabbing him with her fork.

“Thank you,” Dottie said, and Rose nodded and we went back to our table, pretending that everything was fine, probably in case Herc had somebody else on the payroll in the restaurant.

I had no idea whether they were on our side or not, but pretty sure the balloon was going up tomorrow at two.