He was thinking about calling to tell Dallas about the latest developments, but just as he decided to wait until he got back to the motel, his cell phone began to vibrate.
'Yes?'
'Buchanan's a U.S. attorney.'
Monk's head snapped up. 'Repeat, please.'
'The son of a bitch works for the Justice Department.'
Expect the unexpected. Monk took a breath and waited as Dallas read the report. What the hell had the Sowing Club gotten
him into? He could hear voices in the background.
'Where are you?' Monk asked.
'At John's house. We're all here.'
'Who's shouting?'
'Preston.'
He heard another voice yelling. He thought it might be Cameron. Monk was disgusted. They were acting like rats turning on
one another for a scrap of meat. If there hadn't been so much money involved, Monk would have walked away from this mess. Cameron had already become a loose cannon, and from the argument he was listening to now, he knew it wouldn't be long
before the others began to disintegrate.
'I can't believe you didn't immediately run the report,' Monk said. 'You've wasted valuable hours.'
'You told me he was a football coach… No, you're right. I won't make excuses or blame you. I should have run the report
much earlier.'
Monk was somewhat placated by Dallas's taking accountability.
'When can you kill him?' Dallas asked.
'Let me think,' Monk said. 'I don't like to be rushed. These things take time to plan, and I refuse to go off half-cocked. Spontaneity leads to mistakes. But if your report is accurate-'
'It is,' Dallas rushed out.
'Then perhaps he's in Bowen simply because of her. Men will do crazy things for-'
Dallas interrupted him again. 'A piece of ass? You think that after he gave that speech in New Orleans, he drove all that way
just to get laid?'
'You haven't seen her,' Monk said. 'She's quite… lovely. Beautiful, in fact.'
'Okay, so what you're saying is that this Justice guy is in town just to see her. Right? I mean, it does make sense, doesn't it?
She does his surgery, saves his life, so he falls for her, and since he has to return to New Orleans anyway, he figures he might
as well drive out to Bowen and screw her.'
Monk puckered his lips in disapproval of Dallas's vulgar vocabulary. 'Have you reevaluated, then?'
'Hold on,' Dallas said. 'John's saying something.'
Monk patiently waited. He heard Preston arguing, shook his head, and reminded himself once again how much money was at stake.
'The doctor's got to be killed before she remembers where she's seen Cameron before,' Dallas said. 'Buchanan has had death threats, so John thinks we could make it look like a hit on him.'
'And the doctor just happened to be with him and got in the way?'
'Exactly,' Dallas said. 'We're coming to Bowen tomorrow. You stay on the doctor until I call you. And watch for that package.'
'Of course,' he said smoothly. 'And, Dallas, just so you know, I'll be reading those files before I hand them over.'
'You're still concerned your name is there? It isn't. I read the damn thing twice. When this is over, you're going to be set for life. You know that, don't you, Monk?'
'Yes,' he said. 'I am curious about how much money is in that account, however. If it's as sizable as I imagine, I do believe I'm entitled to a percent. Call it profit sharing, if you like, but since I'm taking all the risks…'
Dallas responded to the greedy bastard's demand by hanging up on him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Theo certainly wasn't jealous. Teenage boys got jealous, and he was way beyond that stage in his life. He was getting irritated, though. Michelle was laughing and having a good old time dancing with Noah. Theo sat at the bar making notes while a man explained his problem. The guy had purchased a used car that had a thirty-day guarantee. The man paid cash, drove the car
off the lot, but two blocks later the muffler fell off and the radiator exploded. Since he hadn't owned the vehicle for thirty minutes, he had it towed back to the lot and demanded his money back. The owner of the lot explained that the guarantee of satisfaction only covered the tires and the engine. He also suggested that, next time he purchased a car, he read the fine print before signing.
Michelle laughed again, drawing Theo's attention. He loved the sound of her voice, and from the way Noah was smiling at her, Theo figured he was enchanted too.
Once again turning back to the man sitting next to him, he tried to concentrate. When he glanced over at the couple for about
the hundredth time, Noah had pulled up his T-shirt and was showing Michelle the ugly scar on his chest.
He muttered, 'Enough,' dropped his pen on the counter, and went over to put an end to the dance.
'You trying to impress Michelle with all your bullet holes?'
'I already impressed her with my wit and charm,' Noah said.
She shook her head. 'You were very lucky. That bullet should have killed you,'
'I
She was sure he was joking. 'Did you fall asleep during the sermon and make the minister mad?'
'Something like that.'
'Daddy will want to hear that story,' she said. 'Where is he?'
'He's in the kitchen making sandwiches,' Theo answered.
'You can't still be hungry after the catfish.'
'He offered, said he was making one for himself. He's making one for Noah too.'
Thinking to help her father, she went around the bar and headed to the kitchen. She heard Noah say, 'By the way, Theo, you might want to look at the signup sheet for the fishing deal Saturday. The sheet's tacked to the wall over there.'
'Why do I need to look at it?'
'You've been bumped.'
'No way.' Theo refused to believe him… until he looked. His name had been crossed off, and Noah's was written above it.
Michelle hurried into the kitchen. Her father handed her a paper plate filled with a double-decker turkey sandwich swimming
in mayo and a huge mound of greasy french fries. He carried an identical plate out and set it on the counter.
'If Theo stays another couple of weeks, he'll have to have a bypass,' she said. 'You're killing the man with kindness.'
'Turkey's not bad for you. You said so yourself.'
