If I Should Die

He’d been right. “You’re setting her up.”

Swain’s voice was low. “Do you know what she did to my wife?”

“Your wife called her a monster. She stole your money.”

“You don’t understand. Abby was the one bright spot in my life. She had breast cancer, but she would have gotten better.” He paused, uncertain.

Sean pushed. “Here’s what I think happened. Bobbie had someone on the inside of your operation. She turned you in. Made sure the government had enough to lock you up for a long time. You hid some money for your family, but Bobbie found it. Your wife couldn’t get the treatment she needed, and died nearly a year later. You’ve been plotting revenge, but so has Bobbie. She’s been cultivating your son. I don’t know who he trusted, but he was responsible for the vandalism at Joe Hendrickson’s place. Now, Ricky is missing and Bobbie is in town, and she has your entire team in the palm of her hand.”

Swain sighed and leaned back. “You were doing so good for a while.”

Sean’s phone vibrated, and he glanced at the message. When he saw the five numbers on the visitor log, he’d suspected it was a federal ID number, but wasn’t sure. Patrick had come through: Victoria Sheffield had come to visit Paul Swain.

“You’ve been planning since the day you were incarcerated. Maybe things were going well, I don’t know, but in December you had a visit from a very pretty blonde, an FBI agent. I don’t know if she told you she was a Fed, or if she had some false identity, but she was here for forty minutes. I think she connected her undercover investigation into intellectual property theft with your former operation. This is where it gets a bit sketchy for me, because the Fed was in the white-collar unit. But she made the connection with Bobbie’s operation here, probably with the help of Jon Callahan. She was a novice. Looking to prove her worth. She came in here tossing out her credentials and playing big, tough bitch cop, when in fact she was a twenty-something newbie desperately wanting to land a big fish.” Sean was making it all up as he went along, adjusting based on Swain’s reactions. “You told her to get the fuck out-because hell, I’d do the same thing. Unless she offered me something in exchange.”

Tap.

“She’s dead.”

Swain laughed. That wasn’t the reaction Sean was expecting. Had he got the entire scenario wrong? Maybe some of the details, but he was certain Agent Victoria Sheffield came here to get Paul Swain to turn on his former associates.

“Who do you really work for, Mr. Rogan?”

“I am exactly who I said I was.” He took out Sheffield’s missing persons picture.

Swain definitely recognized her, but didn’t say anything.

“She went missing officially on January second. Then you have a visitor on January third. Jon Callahan. He only visited you three times. A week before Joe Hendrickson died, right after he learned about Tim and Adam Hendrickson’s resort plans, and the day after Sheffield went missing.

“So does Callahan work for you or your sister? Or both?”

“Where’s Ricky?” Swain asked.

“I don’t know.”

Tap. Tap.

“Your brother has never visited you. Was he working for Bobbie all along?”

“Butch is an idiot.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“What’s going down in Spruce Lake?” Tap.

Sean stood. “If Ricky dies, it’s on you.”

Swain jumped up and lunged for Sean. The guard burst in and Sean waved him off.

“Tell me, Paul. If you care one iota for that boy, tell me what I need to know to protect him.”

“Do you know who you’re up against? Do you know what Bobbie is?”

“I have an idea.”

“You have no idea. When she was eight, she pushed her best friend down an exploration shaft in the Kelley Mine just to see what would happen. Those shafts are at least fifty feet. My father called it the Hell Hole and used to dump his problems down there. Our father was an evil bastard.”

Sean barely refrained from commenting about pots and kettles.

“When Bobbie was ten, she shot my dog because I ratted her out when she broke Butch’s fingers. Before I banished her, she nearly poisoned Abby and Ricky, to get back at me for chastising her in front of a guy she was horny about. Do you know what she did to her husband?”

“I do.”

He seemed surprised, then shook his head with a half-smile. “You are a masochist. Why do you care? Most people would be running away screaming by now.”

“Bobbie is a fucking psychopathic bully, and I hate bullies.”

Swain stared at him, assessing Sean. Sean let him.

“Can you protect my son?”

“Yes.”

“I’m dead serious, Rogan. Protect him or his fate is your fate. I still have friends on the outside. Friends no one even knows about.”

For the first time, Sean felt a twinge of concern. How could he protect Ricky if he didn’t know where he was hiding? Could he protect Ricky? How deep was the kid involved with Bobbie’s people? Would he even trust Sean?

“You tell me what you know, and I will protect your son or die trying.”

That satisfied Swain. He sat back down. Sean also sat.

“Talk to Jon Callahan.”

Sean shook his head. “He’s playing with her.”

Swain laughed. “Hardly. He wants to kill her.”

“Why? Because she’s a whack job?”

“Whack job. I like that. No. She killed Joe Hendrickson.”

Sean couldn’t prevent the surprise from registering on his face. “Why?”

“Because Joe was talking to the wrong people.”

“Be more specific.”

“I can’t. I still got to live in this prison, Rogan.”

“And was Joe close to Jon and Henry?”

“Yes. And Joe looked out for Ricky, too, especially after Abby died. Joe and I didn’t like each other, but I respected him. There are no honest men in the world, but if there were, it’d be Hendrickson. He left me alone, I left him alone. Bobbie had to make it look like an accident-a heart attack-because a lot of people would have been angry with her for taking him out. Jon was in over his head and Jimmy was panicking. Then Joe’s sons show up in town with this foolish idea for a resort.”

“Why does anyone care about the resort? It’s not a big place.”

“But it’s people. Outsiders. Hikers.” Swain realized that Sean didn’t get that. “Let’s say this. The product has changed. They need more space, warehouses, warmth. If you looked at the town’s gas and heating bill, you’d be surprised.”

They were growing pot. “There has to be more to this than a little weed,” Sean said.

“Little? Hardly. And there is. And that’s where the problem is. Talk to Jon, if you can. He’s changed. It got personal.”

“And it’s not personal for you?”

“It’s business for me. I’ve protected my son as best I can from in here.” He tapped his finger again. Maybe it was more personal than even Swain admitted to himself. “Bobbie wants to teach Ricky the family business, knowing I promised Abby he’d have a real life. She thinks it would be funny. And if he doesn’t join her, she’ll kill him. Not so much to get back at me, though that’s part of it. But because she does not let anyone tell her no.”

“Sweet little sister.”