“Oh, God! Catherine! No! Why did you have to bring her into this?”
“You know exactly why, and if you don’t start talking fast, your daughter is going to come to an untimely end.”
Schommer looked over to Viper, but he didn’t speak. Instead, he just shook his head. Knowing he needed the extra push, Viper motioned his hand over to Menace. Taking the cue, Menace reached over and pressed the timing mechanism, starting the clock on the explosive. Schommer’s eyes widened with horror as the clock started to tick away. “Please! Don’t do this.”
“Best get to talking, Teach. Three minutes doesn’t give you much time,” Viper warned.
“Turn it off for God’s sake! I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“Can’t do that.” Viper crossed his arms. “You talk or the girl dies.”
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
Schommer’s eyes were trained on the numbers on the clock centered on his daughter’s abdomen as he replied, “I just run the books and determine how much product needs to be made each week to fulfill the month’s quota.”
“Who’s running the show?”
“I’ve only referred to him as Scar, but I don’t know his real name,” Schommer answered quickly. “I’ve never even talked to the guy.”
“Then, who do you give the orders to?”
“A man named Joseph Stark. He’s the go-between.” He looked back over at his daughter as he rattled on, “I tell him what Scar needs to know, and he relays the message.”
“So, you’ve never actually had a face to face with this Scar fella?”
“No. Never.”
“Hmm.” Viper’s eyes narrowed like he didn’t believe him as he asked, “And how do you make contact with this Stark guy?”
“Mostly by coded emails,” Schommer stammered. “I do my job, and if all goes as planned, my cut is dropped off at my office at the end of the month. That’s all I know.”
It seemed odd to hear the articulated professor say the word cut, but Viper seemed more surprised by the location of their meeting. “Your office on campus?”
“It’s the safest place.” Schommer’s breath quickened to the point I thought he’d pass out. “It’s big with lots of people around, so less attention is drawn. People can come and go without question.”
“Who drops off your cut?”
“Different every time.” Schommer shrugged. “Usually just some student or kid they pass off a hundred bucks to.”
“And these emails? Were they done on your work computer?”
“No. I always use my personal laptop.”
“And where is this personal laptop?”
“It’s in the back seat of my car.”
There was only one minute remaining on the timer, but Viper didn’t seem to be in any rush. In fact, he seemed to be drawing the whole thing out as he asked, “So, how long you been working with this Scar guy?”
“I don’t know! A couple of years, I guess.”
“And what made you get into this line of business?”
“Why does any of this matter?” Schommer’s eyes were still fixated on the timer as he pleaded, “Just turn the damn thing off, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know!”
“You’re not in a position to be giving orders, professor.”
There were less than twenty seconds remaining on the clock when Schommer started spouting off, “You have any idea how much money a professor makes? I couldn’t ever make the kind of money I do by teaching anywhere in the country, and with a wife like mine and daughter who wanted to go to an Ivy League college, I had to do something. I was given the offer and took it.”
Schommer’s breath caught and a pained expression crossed his face as he watched the last second tick down on the timer. He continued to hold his breath as he waited for the explosion that never came. A smile crossed Viper’s face as he looked down at the defeated professor and said, “You can breathe easy now. Unlike pieces of shit like you, the Ruthless Sinners live by a code. We’d never hurt an innocent woman.”
Without saying anything more, Viper turned and started out of the room. As he got closer to the door, Schommer started to yell, “Wait! What about Catherine? Let her go! I told you what you wanted to know.”
Ignoring him, Viper stepped out into the hall and slammed the door behind him. Before any of us had a chance to speak, Menace came out of the adjoining room and asked, “Did he break?”
“Yeah. Bringing the daughter in did the trick. I’m going to need you to see what you can find out about a guy named Joseph Stark.”
“You know anything about this guy?”
“No. Just that he’s the liaison between Schommer and Scar.”
“I’m gonna need more than that, Prez.”
“You might be able to find something on Schommer’s laptop.” Viper looked over to Hawk as he said, “You and Rafe go grab the laptop, then get rid of Schommer’s car. He won’t be needing it.”
“You got it.”
“The rest of you clear out and get ready to do your shifts at both of the clubs. I’m counting on you to keep things running while Menace is busy finding this Stark fella.”
“Understood.”
Even though we’d gotten the information we needed from Schommer, there was a heaviness in the air. We all felt it, and we all knew why. There was trouble on the horizon. It was looming over us like a dark cloud, and I had a feeling the storm it’d bring would be nothing like we’d ever seen before.
Chapter 8
Marlowe
The night I’d been dreading for days had finally come. Gladys was officially closing Crockett’s. Everyone, including Rafe and Country, had come to celebrate the occasion. They wanted to take the opportunity to honor Glady’s and her forty-five years of running the bar, and it was clear from the big smile on her face she was having a blast. I, on the other hand, was a mess. I was struggling with the thought of such a memorable chapter in my life coming to an end. So much so, I was on the brink of becoming a crying, sobbing mess. Thankfully, Rafe picked up on my emotional state and reached over and placed his hand on mine as he asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I lied. “Just a little bummed that it’s our last night.”
“That’s understandable. I know you’ll miss the place.”
“I definitely will. More than I realized.”
Rafe gave my hand a light squeeze. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I think they’ll miss you just as much.”
“I don’t know about that, but it means a lot that everyone came out to say goodbye.”
“It’s definitely a hell of a turn out.”
“Damn right, it is.” A proud smile crossed Country’s face as he said, “This place is packed to the gills. Makes me wonder if Gran made the right choice to sell.”
“She looks pretty happy with the decision.” Rafe motioned his head to the end of the counter as he said, “She’s on her third round of shots.”