Page 43 of Bad to the Bone
“What about his hiring practices? Can you tell me whether he’s increased his number of employees recently?”
“That isn’t within my….”
“Or his claim that he’ll increase tax revenues—can you tell me what his tax liability has been for the past several years?”
“No, I’m sorry.” Willis stood, his brow furrowed. “I appreciate your concern for the library, Alex, but I cannot abrogate my fiduciary responsibility toward my client by disclosing the information you’re looking for.”
Alex sighed audibly this time.So much for my last hope.“I understand, Mr. Hembree. Thank you for your time.”
ALEXhad already locked the front door and was closing out the store register for the night when Sam tapped on the window. Startled, he hurried around the counter to let her in.
“I struck out with Willis Hembree,” he told her. “He does Odell’s books, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. Did you have any better luck?”
“I haven’t had a chance to look. Officer Narcomey from the Comanche tribal police contacted me this afternoon. They arrested a suspect in last weekend’s double homicide, and he was able to convince the perp to give up the name of the guy he bought the coke from. We haven’t located him yet, but it’s just a matter of time.”
Alex was glad to hear it, though it didn’t do anything to help his chances of averting Odell’s bid from being approved. “That’s good news, but you could have told me at breakfast tomorrow.”
Sam scowled. “That isn’t why I came by. I wanted to let you know that someone tried to break into the Lincoln Ricky Lee bought for Crae.”
“What? When? Is Crae all right?”
“About two hours ago. Crae wasn’t in the car when it happened. The guy was pretty ballsy to begin with to try to break in right in the hotel parking lot. Crae heard the alarm and saw the guy from the window and went out to stop him.” Sam grinned. “He must have thought Crae was no threat. I bet he doesn’t think that anymore.”
Alex laughed. “I can believe that. I’ve seen Crae in action, remember. How badly was he hurt?”
“Not enough to stop him from getting away, unfortunately, but I put a call out to the ER and nearby urgent care centers in case the guy comes in. From what Crae told me, he’ll have some serious bruising, and he’s going to be walking funny for the next day or so.”
“What about Ricky Lee? Wasn’t he there?”
“His window doesn’t face the same direction as Crae’s, so he didn’t see it happen. By the time he got outside, the guy had already taken off. We got a good description from Crae, and I dusted the car for prints, but I already have my suspicions.”
“Odell?” Alex asked.
Sam nodded. “Not him personally, of course, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have hired someone to mess with it. He was pretty damn pissed at Ricky Lee for that stunt he pulled. I don’t know if the guy was trying to steal the car back, or sabotage it somehow, or just vandalize it. But I wanted to let you know so you can be on guard yourself. If Odell is behind this, he may not stop with trying to get back at Ricky Lee.”
