“I’m done after this. It started with Mallette. It ends with Mallette. For good.”
“In that case… I’ll do what I can.”
“I appreciate it.”
“While we’re on the subject, you happen to know anything about Butch being killed?”
“Yeah.”
“Your handiwork?”
“No,” Jacobs answered. “I was there. They tried to tail us after picking Tiff up from school. Wound up at this place, took out a bunch of their guys. Mallette and Butch were there together. They formed some sort of partnership. Not sure what happened; it was out of our view. We heard the shot, went over to it, found Butch lying there. As far as we can figure it, Mallette put one in his head.”
Buchanan rubbed his chin, thinking about it. “Why? Why would he do that if they formed some kind of alliance?”
“My guess—and that’s all it is—is that they had a falling out. Ever since they formed a partnership, Butch has been losing guys like crazy.”
“Am I to assume that’s due to you?”
Jacobs grinned. “I think that Butch wanted to pull out, and they had some sort of argument, and Mallette killed him.”
“Certainly possible.”
“My theory is that Mallette’s operating with a skeleton crew. He needed Butch’s cooperation to boost his numbers. If Butch left and took his men with him, that would leave Mallette in a hole. He couldn’t have that. So he killed Butch, eliminated his competition, and took his men at the same time.”
“He may look to Ames next,” Buchanan said. “I’ll see if we can find anything out on that level.”
“There’s no way Ames is ever gonna agree to work with Mallette. As soon as he hears about Butch, he’s gonna assume it’s Mallette’s doing.”
“Or yours.”
Jacobs shrugged. “Maybe. But I think Ames and Mallette are basically the same person. I don’t think the two of them could ever work together on anything. If Mallette approached Butch about partnering up, I’m sure he did the same with Ames. Ames probably turned him down on it.”
“Could be. What’s your next move?”
“Right now, I don’t have one. Just have to play it by ear, I guess. Hope something breaks.”
“Need any protection?”
“I think we’re good. I’ve got people on my brother’s place, just in case they try something there again. And I’m taking Tiffany to and from school.”
“What about her parents?”
“Hawaii,” Jacobs replied. “For a few more weeks.”
“OK. Well, if this isn’t settled by then, let me know, and I can have someone sitting on their house.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“Thank you,” Tiffany said.
Buchanan nodded. “No problem. You may not believe this, but I want to end this thing quickly too. It’s time. Don’t you think?”
“It is,” Jacobs answered. “It’s past time. It’s time for this to end.”
3
Reed pushed open the closed door and rushed into the office. Mallette was on the phone, but quickly hung up, sensing the urgency of his underling.
“We’ve got him,” Reed said.
“Who?”
“Ames. He’s agreeing to meet again.”
“Good. Under what conditions?”
“Said he will only meet with you. At a place of his choosing.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t like it, boss. He could be setting you up.”
“I think it’s extremely possible,” Mallette said. “Maybe even likely. It doesn’t really matter, though, especially considering we’re going to be doing the same thing to him.”
“Boss, I know you didn’t exactly get off on the right foot with him, but do you think it’s a good idea to be doing this now?”
Mallette glared at him. “Is it interfering with something for you?”
“Well, it’s just, with Jacobs still out there, and now taking on Ames, we really can’t afford to get into it with him.”
“There will be no getting into it with him. One opportunity. One shot. One dead. That’s all it will take. There will be no war. No extended conflict. No loss of men. Just one will fall.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
“It will work. It has to.”
“Maybe we can take another run at him, bringing him into the fold, like we did with Butch?”
“We both saw how well that worked out,” Mallette said. “I have no illusions about a partnership with Ames working out any better.”
“But if it doesn’t, then we can kill him and take his men.”
“Or we can just do that to begin with and forget all the other nonsense that comes with it. Then we can eliminate all the competition and focus on Brett Jacobs. And finally eliminate him.”
“Should I agree to his terms?”
“Do it. Whatever he wants.”
Reed left the room to set up the meeting. Mallette got back on the phone. Reed was only gone a few minutes before he burst back into the office.
“Boss, they say if you wanna meet, you gotta do it now.”
Mallette stood up. “Well then, let’s go.”
“I don’t like this. We don’t have time to set anything up.”
“Where are we meeting?”
“Uh, I dunno, some vacant building. We’re not gonna be able to get the boys in there in time to set up a shot.”
“You get the boys ready,” Mallette said. “Make it happen.”
Reed huffed, knowing there wasn’t enough time to make it happen like his boss wanted. But Mallette was so fixated on doing things his own way, and patience wasn’t one of his strong points. There would be no talking him out of it. They walked out of the office, Reed calling some of the other men to get them into position.
Reed wasn’t done trying to convince his boss that it wasn’t a good idea. Once they got in the car, and Reed finished talking, he put his phone away, trying to talk his boss out of this meeting.
“OK, the boys are on their way there now, but there’s not enough time.”
“Just give me the gun,” Mallette said, holding his hand out. Reed put a pistol in it. Mallette then stuffed it inside the belt of his pants. “If the boys can’t be ready, then I’ll do it myself.”
“What if Ames has got protection there?”
“I’m not going to have one more night worrying about Wilson Ames. His reign ends now.”
It was a twenty-minute drive to the meeting place,
