“So this is a call asking me to fix some mess of yours?” I asked. Bryan never knew when the G-men were listening in on his phone so he had been more than a little cryptic when he had asked me to meet him. Most of the cops in St. Paul were bought off so we were safe here though, which was the only reason why I had agreed to see him, I have no interest in being arrested. As a bondsman I know a lot of cops but even they can't do me much good when the feds are involved, and they are very involved when it comes to Bryan.
“Relax Jet, this time I actually need you in your true calling, I need a bondsman.”
“So whoever it is can jump bail? It makes me look bad every time,” I complained, even though we both knew it didn't. The town was a rigged game and I was fixed to win when it came to the law. They looked the other way when it came to the ratio of men I bailed jumped, and sometimes they even recommended me to out of town crooks who didn't know anyone. It was understood that I would get paid back by the crook in question, no matter what, or that crook would find himself in some trouble. I do know people who are willing to work off their debt if they are short on cash.
“Goetz has managed to get himself arrested and even with the cops fixed it looks like we'll need to pay bail,” Bryan continued, acting as if I had never said anything. “We're in between jobs and don't have the cash to pay both bail and general expenses. Besides, everything will look a lot more legit with a respectable man like you paying for his freedom.”
“Doesn't Goetz run with the Barker-Karpis gang?” I demanded, tensing.
“How do you know that? People aren't supposed to know who is in and who isn't, that's why we work in small groups instead of as a whole bunch,” Bryan looked suspicious. I wanted to take the opportunity to tell him not to underestimate my information but that would be distracting from the important part of his sentence.
“You're part of the Barker-Karpis gang now?” I demanded.
“Don't say it so loud,” Bryan hissed at me but I was too angry to care.
“Find someone else. I'm not going to help anyone with the Barkers. There are hundreds of bondsmen in this town, you don't need me so leave me alone,” I said, starting to stand. Bryan stopped me with a hand on my arm.
“What have you got against the Barkers?” Bryan asked. “We've been friends since the old days in Indiana. I think you owe me at least an explanation.” I didn't try to stand up after that, right now things were still friendly and Bryan was still looking relaxed but I knew better. He was becoming more intense, leaning forward slightly, and he could turn mean in a second if anyone upset him, that included me.
“Fine, Arthur Dunlap, that's why I won't help the Barkers, happy?” I snapped. I could see realization make a slow passage across Bryan's face, closely followed by horror. He sat back and gave a long whistle.
“Jesus, Jethro, I never put the pieces together before, even though I knew him. I'm so sorry. You must hate me now.”
“Don't worry about it,” I said. Now that it was out in the open I wasn't angry anymore. “You weren't with them when they shot him so I figure you can't be blamed. We're still friends, but I'm not helping you out on this one.”
“I can understand that. This is going to be a problem though because Fred and Creepy are going to be here in fifteen minutes and I promised them a good answer.”
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment