Page 23 of Shine On Oklahoma

Vester Caine’s voice was high pitched, for aman. It always sounded vaguely whiny to her, which was funny,because Vester Caine didn’t whine. He was the biggest bully in theschoolyard. He made other people whine.

“I want to talk to Jack.”

“I want a report. Now. Have you convinced himto accept his inheritance?”

She sighed, but didn’t want to do anything toset the bastard off. “The lawyers are coming out here to deal withthe will.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. It’s almost Thanksgiving, youknow, people take time off—”

“Then help ‘em to see the urgency of thesituation.”

“I’m trying.” She was angry. This guy wasgoing to die slow when she got her hands on him. She’d neverthought she had it in her to hurt someone physically, but she waspretty sure she could make an exception for this pig.

“The track bookkeeper says Russell’s got anoutside accountant snooping around the books. Get him to call itoff.”

“The track’s regular bookkeeper works foryou?” So it was something to do with finances behind Caine’sinterest in Aurora Downs.

“Get him to call the guy off,” herepeated.

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“Figure it out. Or maybe your old man sleepsnaked in the meat locker tonight.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Good girl. Just get Dax Russell to acceptthat inheritance, relax and let business go on as it always has.You get him to stand down, Kendra, or your old man dies. You gotme? I’ll kill him.” He ended the call.

Kendra put her phone on the nightstand andpicked up the whiskey.

CHAPTER FIVE

Jack Kellogg had a full house, and a facethat was his best weapon. It was handsome, the face of a lovablerogue, when he wanted it to be. That was the one women usually fellfor, and when necessary, he could morph into heartbroken hero orrugged protector. But lovable was his favorite. It made for a funboyfriend stage and usually a bigger payoff in the end.

His poker face was legendary. He didn’t sitstoic as a rock, wearing a blank stare. He didn’t change a thing.Just kept on being Jack Kellogg, rapier-witted ladies’ man, aliving legend among both flim and flam, currently a guest in anordinary farmhouse in Middle-of-Nowhere, Oklahoma.

Vester Caine kept the place for when heneeded an off-the-grid spot to conduct the messier parts of hisbusiness. Which was fairly often, Jack figured. Caine was one ofthe top heroin importers in the northeast. But you don’t defecatewhere you eat, as the saying goes. And this place was close to thecurrent action.

Jack pushed a few more poker chips to thecenter of the table, leaned back in his seat, and wished he hadn’tgiven up cigars. The other guys were puffing away on some Cubansthat smelled like heaven.

“Maybe I’ll have to talk to my daughtermyself,” he said. “You’re just pissing her off.”

“You’d give it away.” Vester sucked the cigarslow and deep, rolled the smoke around on his tongue withoutletting any escape. “She knows you too well.”

“Me.I’dgive it away.”Deadpan. “This was my idea. I’m not gonna be the one to blow it.”Jack took a cigar from the nearby humidor—it was okay because Cainehad offered one earlier—and ran it under his nose, sniffing it uplike good cocaine. Not that he did that anymore, either.

Getting older sucked. And you couldn’t conFather Time, no matter how good you were.

“Kendra starts to doubt my well-being, youdon’t know what she might do,” he added for good measure.

“I could bench press her with one hand.What’s she gonna do?” Caine set his cigar on the edge of anashtray, still studying his cards.

“Bench pressing my kid isn’t part of ourdeal.” If he thought Vester Caine might actually kill him, as he’dthreatened to do on the phone with Kendra, he wouldn’t have beenquite so relaxed. That wasn’t going to happen, though. He hadapproached Caine with a plan to get the man something he needed,and would pay very well for. Caine had been laundering heroin moneythrough Aurora Downs for fifteen years. If Dax Russell didn’tinherit his father’s track, it would go to the State RacingAssociation, they’d go through the books and find tens of millionsof dollars worth of discrepencies. So Caine needed Dax to inherit.And Jack knew his daughter could get Dax to do anything she wantedhim to do. The guy was nuts about her.

So he brought his idea to Caine within hoursof hearing about the elder Russell’s death. He and Caine were bothbusinessmen. This was a civilized, mutually beneficial arrangement.It should go off without a hitch.

On the other hand, Vester Caine was a killer,and patience was not his strong suit.

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