Part One - Brad Kilgore

  Chapter Seven - In his mind, he won.

  Frank returned to the barn.

  His return confused the man on the wobbly chair.

  Frank walked behind the fat man. He removed a nail that had been inserted through the rope and into the noose's knot. It had stopped the rope from slipping and strangling Brad. Slowly, he moved into the field of view of the fat man. He tossed the nail into the burnt part of the barn and said, “I'm sorry. But I feel that I really must apologize to you. I was lying to you earlier. There was an actual brake that kept you from choking yourself to death, but I fixed that now. You are free to die anytime you like.” He wasn’t sorry. He was rooting for the chair to break.

  Kilgore did everything he could not let his surprise show. The corner of his mouth twitched. Everyone has a tell.

  Frank let out a short sarcastic laugh. “Oh yeah. I do understand your predicament. Knowing that I lied to you makes it hard for you to believe me. Don't worry. I'm not going to ask you to trust me. By the way. Aren’t recordings fun? Think about this. The girl you just killed is going to call the state police soon. She’ll say that you’re trying to commit suicide. Plus, you are going to make an emergency call with your confession. Come on, don't look so concerned. I got a good recording. Don't worry, I'm going to do this right.”

  Kilgore breathing was labored, and his mind was foggy.

  Frank continued, “I'm very sorry, but you’re not my only target. You see, the guy you work for owes a large sum of money that he has to get from you to pay what he owes. You no longer have that money. This puts both of you in a bind. All those friends you were going to send after me. They'll be coming after you and him. Maybe, in time, you could forgive me for doing this. But I had to protect myself. This may be hard for you to hear, but you're not that special. Without that money, your value goes way down.” Frank was not really interested in forgiveness.

  Sweat dripped from Brad’s nose, and his legs seemed to wobble. The fat man started to speak, but he was interrupted before he started ranting, “Oh, you won't get away with this. I'll find you....”

  Frank went on, “You will have a lot of trouble staying out of jail. And even more trouble staying alive. But I'm counting on you. That’s why I kept you alive. It doesn't really matter what lie you come up with. Eventually, you will tell the truth. At some point, your desire for revenge will outweigh your common sense. You'll just have to tell everybody about me. The local cops won't do anything. They will be in enough trouble already. The state boys won't believe you. And if the Feds come in, they won't care. That leaves only you and your boss.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “You asshole.” Kilgore tried to shout without much force. He no longer felt his hands.

  Frank continued, “Let me explain. If you start talking about me, then you're going to have to talk about her. She was forced into the situation that caused her death. This means everybody involved will have to make amends. Well, they will be given the chance too. This doesn't absolve you. You've already chosen your path. Today is going to be the best day you'll ever have... for the rest of your life. It isn't enough for you to lose today. You're going to have bad luck for a very long time.”

  Kilgore cursed, but the words were garbled and weak.

  Frank paused before continuing, “Your boss.... Just like you, he will be able to choose. If he makes the wrong choice, he will cause his own downfall. Tell him to make amends, or what he did to his daughters will cost him everything.” His voice trailed off.

  Frank moved to the front of the fat man. With one foot, he tilted the chair back. “He'll come for you. I made sure of it. I took the liberty of helping you out with some things. Especially with some large bets you've been placing around. Besides, he won't be happy with what you did to her being public. Not that he cared about her, but you’re about to disobey him. A copy of your confession is going to him. He does have his pride. He could do something about you making it public. But that won't save him. If he wants to live, he will have to become the man his daughter wanted... needed him to be.” He paused and looked at the ground before looking up at Kilgore again.

  Brad panted.

  Frank's voice intensified and grew hard. “And Kilgore, there's one more thing you need to remember. You're easy to kill. I can do that anytime I want.” He set the chair free.

  Kilgore frantically searched for solid footing. Fear stirred in his soul. Bravado was the only thing that kept it in check. With all the strength he could muster; he spoke. “Dumb ass, he is my partner. We cover for each other.”

  Once again, the fat man was interrupted. Frank spoke up. “How are you going to cover for him? And how is he going to cover for you? The payment is due. Both of you own that. You won't make any more money around here anymore. What good is a partner who killed his daughter and made it public. Makes him look weak. Plus, you cost him half his business? What do you think happens when her sisters find out they were manipulated into setting her up? Her oldest sister married someone worse than you. Come on, have you met her? You know what her father turned her into. That woman is one step from being a monster.”

  Kilgore had found the chair. And after a moment of rapid breathing, he sucked in air. He panted out, “Oh man you are stupid. All of this will just piss him off. He’ll just send someone after you.”

  “And that is the other reason you are alive. I want you to deliver the message. He can make amends, or he can start a war. If he starts a war, I'll finish it. The only thing keeping him alive is gone. Kilgore, I spent all night torturing you. I took away all your money. I sent all your records to the police. I destroyed any access you had to your markers. They aren't going to give you any money. They have protection. I freed the working girls from you, and you can’t get to any of the women you abused. What do you think I'll do to him if he comes after me? Look at what I did to you. And I've only just begun.”

  He tried to yell; a pain graveled voice croaked out, “All of this crap and you don't have the balls to kill me yourself. It doesn't matter what you say; if I'm alive, I win. And you ain't nothing.” The trembling fat man swayed on the chair. He dripped with sweat. He didn't have enough air to continue speaking. In his mind, he won. At least, that is what he would keep telling himself.