Mercy

Five minutes later, Theo wanted to punch the man. Noah saw Theo's expression and went behind the bar to find out what was wrong. He heard Theo say, 'Jake didn't suggest that you talk to me, did he?'

'No, but I heard you were helping people who had legal troubles.'

'What's the problem?' Noah asked. He opened a long-neck bottle of beer, tossed the cap in the trash, and walked over to stand next to Theo.

'This is Cory,' Theo said. 'He's got two kids. A boy and a girl.'

Noah squinted at the unpleasant-looking man. He looked more like a grungy teenager than a father of two children. Cory had

long dirty blond hair that hung down in his eyes, and yellow stained teeth.

'How old are you?' Noah asked.

'I'll be twenty-two next month.'

'And you've already got two kids?'

'That's right. I got divorced from Emily over six months ago because I met another woman I wanted to be with. Her name's

Nora, and she and me want to get married. I've moved on, but Emily thinks I ought to keep paying child support, and that don't seem fair to me.'

'So you want me to help you figure out a way you can get out of paying child support?'

'Yeah, that's right. That's what I want. I mean, they're her kids now. They're living with her, and like I said, I'm ready to move on.'

The muscle in Theo's jaw flexed. Michelle was standing in the kitchen doorway, holding an empty pitcher in her hand. She'd

heard the conversation and knew from the way Theo's back had stiffened that he was angry.

His voice continued to be quite mild and pleasant as he remarked to Noah, 'Cory's ready to move on.'

'Are you ready for him to move on?' Noah asked as he set his beer bottle on the counter.

'Sure am,' Theo said.

Then Noah smiled. 'Let me.'

'You can get the door.'

Michelle started forward, then stopped. Theo moved so quickly she was astonished. One second he was smiling at Noah and

the next he was around the bar, had Cory by the nape of his neck and the back of his jeans, and was dragging him across the floor. Noah raced ahead and opened the door, then got out of the way so Theo could toss the man outside.

'Now, that's what I call moving on,' Noah drawled as he shut the door behind him. 'The little prick.'

'He is that.'

'You know what I wonder? How could such a butt-ugly man get two women to sleep with him?'

Theo laughed. 'No accounting for taste, I guess.'

The two men were walking toward the bar when the door behind them opened again and three men rushed inside. The last of

the three looked like a bouncer who'd taken one too many hits in the face. The man was huge, at least six foot four, and his nose obviously had been broken several times in the past. He was frighteningly mean looking and carried a baseball bat.

'Which one of you assholes is Theo Buchanan?'

Ndah had already turned. He had his eye on the baseball bat. Michelle saw him reach behind his back and unsnap the holster housing his gun.

The bar emptied. Even Paulie, who had never been known to do anything in a hurry, made it out the front door in less than five seconds.

'Michelle, go into the kitchen and shut the door,' Theo said before he turned around. 'I'm Theo Buchanan. Now, which one of

you is Jim Carson?'

'That'd be me,' the shortest of the three announced.

Theo nodded. 'I've been hoping you'd stop by.'

'Just who do you think you are?' Jim railed.

'I just told you who I am. Weren't you paying attention?'

'A real smartass, huh? You think you can lock up my money and fix it at my bank so I can't even get a nickel out? You think

you can do that?'

'I did do that,' Theo calmly pointed out.

Jim Carson looked like his brother. He was short, squat, with eyes that were a little too closely set in his moon-shaped face. He didn't smile like his brother, though. While Gary oozed false sincerity, Jim was the master of vulgarity. He took another

threatening step toward Theo and let loose with a string of grossly obscene blasphemies.

Then he said, 'You're going to be sorry you interfered in my business. Gary and I are going to shut down the mill, and then

this town will lynch you.'

'I'd worry about my neck if I were you. How long have you been telling your employees you're on the verge of bankruptcy? Imagine how… disappointed people will be when they find out what your annual take is and what you have squirreled away.'

'Our assets are confidential information,' Jim yelled. 'You might know about our money, but you're an outsider trying to cause trouble, and if you tell anyone, they won't believe you. No one will.'

'People tend to believe what's written in the paper, don't they?'

'What are you saying?'

'I wrote a nice little editorial that's going to be in Sunday's paper. Of course, I want it to be as accurate as possible,' he added. 'So, why don't I fax you over a copy of it tomorrow, and you can check it. Personally, I think it's some of my best work. I listed every cent in every account that you've made over the past five years.'

'You can't do that. It's confidential.' Jim was shouting now.

Theo glanced at Noah. 'You know, I should have added their tax returns for the past five years too. I guess I still could.'

'You're finished, Buchanan. I'm not going to let you cause any more trouble.'

Jim was so angry, his brow was dripping with sweat. The man had worked himself into a lather, and it was obviously infuriating

to him that Theo was unimpressed with his tantrum.

'I've only just started making trouble, Jim. When I'm finished with you and your brother, the employees are going to own the

mill. It's going to happen fast too,' he added. 'And you will be living on the streets. That's a promise.'

'You want to put that baseball bat down now?' Noah asked the giant with the nose splattered all over his homely face.

'Shit, no. I'm not putting this bat down before I use it. Isn't that right, Mr. Carson?'

'That's right, Happy.'

Theo laughed. 'Happy?'

'We live in a strange world,' Noah replied.

'I'm supposed to break Buchanan's legs with this bat, and that's what I'm gorina do. I'm gonna hurt you too,'' he told Noah.

'So you better stop laughing at me, because you're gonna be sorry.'

Noah was now keeping a wary eye on the third man. He was almost as tall as the giant, but had a thin, wiry frame and large cauliflower ears. Both backup men looked like street fighters, but in Noah's opinion, Cauliflower was the real threat. He

probably was carrying a concealed weapon. Oh, yes, he was the one who could give him real trouble, and he was apparently