CHAPTER 36
FURY
After another blissful night with Jackie, I walked back into Green’s office the next day ready to take the bull by the horns. I was determined to speed up the process, and if I could manage to push Green just a little, I was sure I could find a way to entrap him or at least get closer to whatever secrets he was hiding.
Luckily, he walked right into my trap like a hungry deer.
“I need a favor,” he said, sitting behind his desk on this Monday morning like he owned the world. The airs this man put on would make Queen Elizabeth blush with humility.
“You change your mind about sending me to New York?”
“No, it’s something closer to home.”
“I see,” I nodded. “What can I do for you?”
“It’s a lot to ask. I know we’re just getting to know each other and I hope, even if you don’t want the job, that you’ll keep my confidence? It’s a touchy subject,” he said, shrugging.
“Of course,” I assured him. “It won’t leave this room.”
“Thank you, Fury,” he said, leaning forward to peer into my eyes, his hands folded calmly on his desk. “I’m afraid my accountant, Will, is getting a little out of hand. It’s possible that soon I’ll need to take some drastic measures to control him.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” he continued. “I hate that it’s come this far. And I’m not quite at the point of committing to this decision, mind you, but I wanted to put out some feelers, so that when the time comes, I’ll have all my ducks in a row, so to speak.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“If things continue on the path they’re on, it’s very possible I may need to have him eliminated.”
“Eliminated?” I asked, lifting a brow. Was this asshole asking me to kill Will for him? The fucking balls on this guy.
“Exactly.”
“Do you mean relocated?” I asked, for clarity. “Fired?”
“No, that won’t solve my problem. I need you to kill him for me and dispose of the body.”
“Wow, Bodhi,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s a heavy request.”
“I know it is. And like I said, I’m not there yet, but every day he gets more and more dangerous. I can’t explain, but trust me, this is the only way.”
“I understand,” I nodded.
“I’ll pay you handsomely, of course. I know it’s a big job. Especially the disposal…,” he said, his voice trailing off.
“How much?” I asked. He didn’t hear, lost in his own thoughts.
“Bodhi?” I asked.
“What?” he said, shaking his head.
“How much will you pay me?”
“Whatever you want,” he shrugged. “Is two million enough?”
I almost fell out of my chair. Whatever Will had on him must be huge for him to shell out that much money to get rid of him.
I paused, appearing to think it over for a moment, before answering.
“I’d need at least four.”
“That’s fine, fine,” he said, with a dismissive wave.
“Okay, then,” I said. “How do you want me to do it?”
“I’ll leave the messy details to you. I don’t even want to know.”
I nodded, gazing over at him curiously.
“When do you want me to do it?”
“Just wait for my call. Have everything prepared and ready to go so you can act on a moment’s notice. I’ll let you know when.”
“Will do.”
“Thank you, Fury,” he said. “I trust you’ll keep this to yourself?”
“Of course. I promise.”
“You’re a god-send,” he said.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
“No, not at all. Did you find anything on the tapes, by the way?”
“Nothing at all except a passing raccoon,” I said. “But I’ll keep checking every day.”
“Thank you, Fury,” he said. “You can go now. I have a lunch meeting with Ross and Conner soon.”
“Have a good day, Bodhi,” I said, standing up and leaving his office. It was almost lunch time, so I lingered around Pearl’s desk for a few minutes chatting with her until Bodhi left.
“I’ll be back in two hours, Pearl,” he said, walking out the door. As soon as the front door closed she turned to me with a smile.
“Well, that means I’m off for lunch, too,” she said. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Have a nice lunch, Pearl,” I said, as she gathered her purse and followed Bodhi out the door. I looked around, wondering how many times Bodhi had ordered someone killed, or if this was the first time. Seizing the opportunity, I walked back into his empty office and began looking around. I opened the drawers of his desk, riffling through various notebooks and letters.
Then, I turned around, looking through the credenza behind his desk, opening the doors and pulling out bank ledgers. I opened the most recent one, skimming down the entries searching for anything unusual, but I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at. Just a bunch of names and numbers that didn’t mean anything to me.
I took out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures to send to Riot. He was the numbers and tech expert. Maybe he could make some sense of them. I was placing the ledger back in the cabinet when I heard Pearl clear her throat behind me.
I jumped up and looked at her.
“Mr. Green would not appreciate you going through his things,” she said, sternly gazing at me over the top of her bifocals.
I walked around the desk, closing the distance between us.
“He asked me to take a look around, Pearl, you know that,” I said, flashing her my most charming smile.
“In his books?”
“Yes, I used to do a little accounting back in the day,” I lied. “He asked for some help with streamlining his expenses.”
“Will’s his accountant.”
“Yes, and we both know he hasn’t been too happy with Will’s performance as of late, right? With all that shouting, even the crows out back have heard his displeasure.”
“That’s true,” she said, smiling and nodding. “Well, I’m sorry to interrupt. I left my lunch at my desk.”
“No worries,” I replied. “I was just leaving myself. Will you lock up?”
“Certainly,” she said, walking back to her desk.
“See you in a few hours,” I replied, walking out to my bike, mentally kicking myself the entire way for not locking the door before rifling through Green’s things. It was such a simple, rookie mistake.
I was slipping, I should have known better.
My anger was tripping me up, clouding my judgement.
Furious with myself, I drove through town and back to the B&B to find Grace. I needed to regroup and refocus.
I couldn’t fuck this up.
I’d never forgive myself if I fucked this up.