“He's not!” I told her, pleading with my eyes for her to believe me. “You’re his mom. He’s going to be happy you came to dinner.” She looked at me with extreme doubt before shaking her finger at me.
“You know, at first you came across as a little mouse. But, I see…” She brought her finger to her eyes before pointing them at me.
“Underneath that mouse mask is the face of a beautiful lioness.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“I wonder how soon before my son discovers this?” I smiled big.
“Dinner's at seven.” I told her.
* * * * *
Gabriel
I looked up from my computer as Kenny and Mac opened my office door and walked in.
“You bastards need to learn how to knock!” I growled at them as I went back to reading the email I had just received from Mercedes with next week’s financial projections. I wasn't happy with what I was seeing. Just like I knew it would, the Peterson merging was having an adverse effect on the numbers. Contrary to what Barry and Kenny assured.
These numbers only worked to seal Peterson's fate. I had already begun putting things into motion that will dissolve that branch of the company. I now owned all their accounts which was the reason I agreed to the merger in the first place. I saw no need holding on to dead weight.
Mac sprawled out in one of the chairs in front of my desk before leaning forward and sliding a nice size file across it. Kenny kept walking toward the rim, scooping up three balls in his hand before taking a seat in the chair next to Mac's. I continued to read my email, ignoring them both for not knocking on my door, rude mother fu****s.
Mac turned his head to look over at Kenny. “I guess he don't want to know what we found out about his beautiful butterfly.”
My gaze rose from the computer and landed on the file. I picked it up before leaning back in my chair opening it. Mac chuckled as he spoke.
“There is no record of a murder happening at her farm. In fact, the last murder to happen in Sweetwater Texas was two years ago. A kid got hit by a drunk driver.” I frowned at his words.
“You sure? She seemed pretty certain she killed the mayor.”
Kenny shook his head. “I don't know how that can be, when I spoke on the phone with Richard Davenport who claimed to be the Mayor of Sweetwater Texas this morning.” He half tossed one of the balls with no effort at all and it went into the hoop. Chump always been good at shooting hoops.
“I don't know who shorty bashed on the head, but it wasn't him.” Mac continued. I looked through the file. Her farm was in foreclosure. There was a lien on it for back taxes as well as several loans that had not been paid.
“Buy the farm Kenny.” I grumbled as I continued to read through the file.
“Yep.” He said before he tossed another one of the balls, smiling when it landed flawlessly in the hoop.
“Man, I'm telling you, I could have made it to the NBA.” I shook my head at him. He'd been spouting the same crap since we were kids.
I was very impressed with the information they had gathered. In my hands was everything from a copy of her grandfather's autopsy records to eyewitness statements of the night her great-grandfather committed a murder suicide, taking his and his wife’s life.
“I want our people to be the first to go in that house. Send an investigator and a cleaner. I want to know what happened the night she left, and then have the area thoroughly cleaned.” Both Mac and Kenny nodded.
The mysteries continued to pile around my southern bella. She claimed she killed a man. Although, she had been good and drunk the night she told me, she believed what she said was true.
Something happened the night she fled her farm, something that I needed to get to the bottom of in order to keep her safe. I thought about the man who had grabbed her out of the washroom at the event.
“What more did you find out about ole’ boy from the ball?”
Kenny shook his head. “Not much. But I did find out something interesting about the guy you murked in the alley.”
I sat the file on the desk in front of me. “What's that?”
“His body disappeared from the morgue. They claim to not have any record of him coming in.” I narrowed my eyes at him. I was not delusional on whether or not I killed a man. I felt his neck snap underneath my hand.
Resting my elbow on the arm of my chair, I used my finger to rub my lip. “Hmm...”
Mac nodded his head in agreement with my sentiment. “Something's up...”
“Yeah it is. Find out if Davenport had any hospital time recently or done any traveling. I want to know what he's into and who he rubs shoulders with. Also, I want copies of the video from the banquet. I don't care if you have to grease the palms of Nate the Fed. I want a clear image of the face of that bastard.”
Kenny grimaced. “The Fed’s bro?” He shook his head. “I got a few more option before it gets that dark.”
Mac, who had not stopped staring at me as if he had a damn problem, finally spoke.
“Gabe, why you kill that dude?” I inhaled sitting back in my chair. I was in no mood to have this conversation with him. Mac acted like a damn woman at times. If I wanted a mother I would reach out to my own.
Kenny also looked at me waiting for an answer. I rubbed my hand down my face trying to ease the pressure that was beginning to build behind my eyes. It wasn't anything I could say outside of
