“Ross, why don’t you ask them to fire up the one computer in this place and tell them you’re here to make a withdrawal.”
He watched the manager step out of his office and behind the counter to the teller, apparently afraid there was going to be a problem. “Jodie, could you access my account, please?”
“How’re you doing today, Ross?” The manager held his hand out and smiled. “How much will you be needing?”
Ross looked back to Cain and put his hands up in question.
“However much it’ll take to bring your account up to date at the feed store and buy another load of feed to fill up the storeroom. And we’ll want that in cash,” said Cain, in answer to the silent question.
The number Ross told the teller obviously surprised the manager, who pushed the girl aside. “You know that isn’t going to happen, Ross. How about we wait until the spring and you sell some off some of the stock, and then we’ll see what we can do?”
Cain moved Ross out of the way to get to the manager. “I believe Mr. Verde asked you for some money, so start tapping away on that antique sitting back there and let’s get to it.”
The manager smirked as he brought up the Verde account. He looked like he’d love to knock the cocky expression off the bitchy woman’s face. “Like I said, Ross, why don’t we wait until spring?”
“Look at the screen, Fred,” ordered Cain.
“My name is Herb.”
“Look at the goddamn screen.”
It took a couple of envelopes to hand over Ross’s money, and ten minutes to make it out of the bank after the manager saw the new Verde account.
“Do I want to know how you got my account number?” Ross patted his coat pocket where his newfound wealth was stashed.
Cain leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Don’t tell anybody, but I’m just a good old-fashioned gangster.”
Ross laughed and felt a genuine affection for the tall rogue his daughter had shared so many years with. The sentiment had nothing to do with the fact that she was willing to help him, no strings attached, which differed vastly from the deal the government was offering. Still chuckling, he asked, “Does that mean I just cut a deal with the devil?”
“Ross, granted, you don’t know that much about me, but I’ll never harm you. Things didn’t work out for Emma and me, but she’s the mother of my son, so that makes you part of my family. I gave you the money freely on behalf of Hayden and myself, and I don’t expect anything from you. Maybe you can send us some of the famous cheese Hayden was telling me about. In addition to the money, you have to accept that there’s still a bit of the devil inside me. It’s what makes life fun, though.”
He patted her on the back, and they continued their walk in a companionable silence. Carol would probably leave him for taking the money, but at least he would be able to sleep at night knowing he wasn’t ruining someone’s life as a way to solve his problems.
The owner of the feed store seemed shocked when Ross handed over enough cash to not only bring his account up to date and get another load of feed, but to leave him with a large credit. Ross watched him lick his fingers and start counting, taking time to keep an eye on Cain.
“How’s this afternoon for the delivery?”
“That’s great, Roy. We’ll have enough time to get back and help the boys unload.” He shook hands with the old man and waved Cain through the door and back to his truck.
Cain watched the countryside go by on their return to the farm like she was daydreaming, but when they were about ten miles away she asked Ross to pull over.
“Are you sick or something?”
“Or something, yes.” She turned her attention to the side-view mirror and waited to see what the sedan that had slowed was going to do. The idiot couldn’t very well pull over without causing more suspicion, so he passed them at the same snail’s pace, like he was searching for a place to pull over down the road.
Cain put her hand on Ross’s sleeve and just watched the car with a smile. There was no place to hide out here. “Let’s just give him a head start.”
“You know who they are, don’t you?”
Cain looked at him and made a decision. She turned on the same small device she had used during her talk with Hayden that morning and expelled a sigh. “Ross, you asked me a question back at the diner, so I’ll answer that one before we get to the buffoons driving around in the most conspicuous-looking cars they could find.”
“You don’t have to do that, but if you do, whatever you tell me won’t go any further than this truck.”
“I know that, Ross, but thanks for saying it anyway. I’m a saloon owner by trade, as far as the government is concerned, but I do dabble in a bit of a hobby.”
“Hobby?”
“That’s what I like to call it, but I didn’t say it wasn’t lucrative. See, Ross, when you go to the store and buy a bottle of liquor or a box of cigarettes, right there on the top is a tax stamp. The one on cigarettes is a real money generator for the state and federal government, but for the average storekeep, well, it really cuts into their profits.”
“Unless they know you.”
Cain laughed at his quick wit. “That’s right, unless they know me. I move merchandise that doesn’t go through all those pesky regulations. They make money and I make money, but Agent Kyle and his bosses—they just get mad.”
