Page 91 of Vanish From Sight

“Define safe?”

“Maddie.”

“He will be but you need to sign off. I’ve sent a copy over to your email. Digitally sign it. Send it back. The transfer needs to go through today.”

“Fuck them. They can’t hold him.”

She went quiet.

“Maddie.”

He heard her draw a breath. “The Ruger being held to the back of his head would say different.”

“What?”

“Just sign it, Noah. I get a sense they’ve done this before and they know how to cover their tracks.”

Thoughts of what Alicia had told him about the region, the bad element that had moved in, came to mind. It was true but how deep did it go?

“Put Ironwood on the phone.”

Noah heard Maddie say, “He wants to speak to you.” There was a muffled sound, followed by a sudden shift in backgroundnoise. It was clear that Maddie had just passed the phone to someone else.

He strained to hear the conversation as a new voice came into focus.

“Mr. Sutherland. I have to admit, I never expected you to step up to the plate. That’s very generous.”

“Look, asshole. You touch them and I will burn everything you have to the ground.”

Ironwood chuckled. “I don’t doubt it. The reputation of your family precedes you. Except that was from a different era. A time when the Sutherlands were in a unique position. Hugh was different. A reasonable man. He understood business and how things must operate. That’s changed. Ray? Well, let’s just say that our employer was more than reasonable with him. He chose the wrong option.”

“So, you want to take a life for $400,000?”

“Is that what he said he owed?” Ironwood laughed. “I should have expected that. Oh, you have a lot to learn about your brother. You have been gone a long time, Noah. Still, your sister strikes me as a smart woman. She’s confident that this can be cleared up today. It can be cleared up today, yes?”

“What’s to stop me from raiding your casino right now and arresting you?”

He replied confidently. “Nothing. By all means if you think that’s the way to handle this, do so. But have a conversation with your father first and see what happened to those who tried in the past.”

Noah’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“If it’s paid, this is over and they walk?”

“You have my word.”

“So operating outside of the law is what I can expect from you?”

Ironwood snorted. “Your father knew where to draw the thin blue line. Do you?”

The thin blue line represented the police as a line that kept society from descending into violent chaos. He’d never regarded it as something that could be moved but an immovable wall that chaos bashed up against. He couldn’t help but wonder how different Hugh was from the previous sheriff.

“I look forward to receiving that payment,” Ironwood said before hanging up. Noah stood there with one hand balled tightly, his jaw clenched. It wasn’t just the nerve of this man but it was what he hadn’t been told by Hugh that disturbed him. He checked his phone and found the email from Maddie. He digitally signed it and returned it, then stepped out of the office to make a call to have the funds from his bank sent over.

Whatever hope he had of purchasing the land from Alicia and building a home was gone.

“Noah. Hey!”

He cast a glance over his shoulder to see Callie gesturing for him to gear up.