Page 29 of Bad to the Bone
Chapter Fifteen
WHENthey returned to Tillman Motors, another police car was parked in front of the showroom, lights flashing. Odell was talking with Greg Hankins, the patrolman who’d pulled Ricky Lee over the day he arrived in Freeland. Alex, Ricky Lee, and Sam all parked behind Hankins’s unit.
“Why isn’t he in handcuffs?” Odell demanded when Ricky Lee got out of the Lincoln.
“It would have been a bit hard for him to drive back that way.” Sam held up a hand as Hankins took a step forward, his hand moving toward his belt. “Now, Mr. Tillman, I understand Mr. Jennings has wired full payment for this vehicle to your dealership.”
“I don’t believe it! Where would a lowlife like him get over forty thousand dollars?”
“Nowhere legal,” Hankins muttered loudly enough for Alex to hear it. Before he could confront Hankins, Sam continued.
“He’s provided me with verification of the funds transfer. You should be able to validate it on your own end, or I can forward you a copy of the receipt. In either case, there’s nothing to support a charge of automobile theft against Mr. Jennings.”
“I never agreed to sell him anything! That was a brand-new car. It just came off the delivery truck last night. It hasn’t even been through dealer prep. I insist that you arrest him!”
“We could do that, but I doubt we could get the district attorney in Lawton to press charges. Of course, you could always file a civil lawsuit against him, but you’d spend months, if not years, trying to pursue it, and you’d pay far more than the value of the car on attorney costs.” Sam spread her hands. “Why not be reasonable and complete a sales contract with Mr. Jennings? You’ve already received more than you probably would have been able to sell the vehicle for anyway.”
Alex thought Odell was going to refuse, but apparently his mercenary side was stronger than his vindictive side.At least for the moment.
“Skerring!” Odell flicked his thumb toward the showroom. “Take him inside and fill out the paperwork, and have Hicks run the car through dealer prep.” He turned his glare toward Alex. “And after that, I don’t want to see either of you on my property ever again.”
“Hicks isn’t in yet this morning, Mr. Tillman.”
“Don’t do anything special to it on my account, Odell.”
Alex glanced between Hankins, Sam, and Ricky Lee, hesitant to leave him alone even though he knew there was nothing he could do to defuse the situation.
“Thanks for the ride, Alex,” Ricky Lee said with a grin. “Maybe we can meet for lunch once I finish up here. My treat.” He clapped a still stunned Matt Skerring on the shoulder and steered him toward the showroom. Odell stared after them and then stormed off in the direction of the maintenance shop.
Sam shook her head as she and Alex headed to their vehicles. Ahead of them, Hankins flipped off his lights and pulled out onto the road, leaving behind almost as much rubber as Ricky Lee had.
“Thanks for stepping in, Sam.” Alex paused outside the Morrison Hardware truck. “Maybe seeing this set Odell off. He’s not happy with me opposing his bid for the library land.”
“Oh, I think Ricky Lee managed to set him off all on his own.” She opened the door to climb into her patrol car. “Odell isn’t going to take this well. I don’t know what or how, but he’s going to be looking for some way to make Ricky Lee pay for humiliating him. Tell him to watch his back.”
Alex sighed. “That’s something he’s always been good at.”
ALANNAwas all but bouncing when Alex returned to the store after delivering a load of floor tile to the Habitat build site for a group from the Freeland Bible Fellowship to begin installing.
“I heard Ricky Lee almost got arrested for stealing a car from Tillman Motors,” she exclaimed when Alex walked in.
Alex knew better than to underestimate how quickly gossip spread, but he couldn’t help asking, “How did you hear about that already?”
“Justin was on the phone with Chris in the Tillman service department when it happened. Did he really rough up Matt Skerring to get the keys?”
“Of course not!” Alex protested. “And he paid for the car before he drove it off the lot.” Still, the story was already starting to escalate. By the end of the day, he wouldn’t be surprised if rumor had Ricky Lee stealing the car from Odell at gunpoint.
He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “It’s almost one. I’ll take over now if you want to grab some lunch.”
Alanna shook her head. “Justin and I are going to get Chinese when we’re both off work. So why did Odell call the police if Ricky Lee already paid for the car?”
Alex wound up relating the entire incident to Alanna, who seemed much too entertained by it. “Odell must have been mad as piss. I wish I could have seen it. But how did Ricky Lee get that much money to him so quickly?”
More people than Alanna were going to be asking that question as the story spread. Before he could try to come up with an answer, his phone beeped, announcing a text message.
Everything’s legal now. Meet me at the Coffee Pot for lunch?
It took a minute for Alex to realize Ricky Lee must have saved his number when he’d called the previous day.
