A Father's Wrath (11 page)

The floor rumbled. Everyone in the gym turned
to look.

A big man, also wearing a sweat suit, dropped
the dumbbell he was pretending to lift and ran over to protect
Wayne Norman.

Wayne told his bodyguard, “I’m fine. I’m
fine.”

The bodyguard looked at Joe as if he was ready
to pounce.

When Joe raised his voice, the veins in his
face and neck pulsated, “What? You want some, fat boy? Come
on!”

Everyone in the gym was far from what was going
on now, but still watching.

Wayne said, “No need for violence. We can all
be civilized here.”

Joe said, “I’m gonna find out who you are, and
if you try to fuck with me, I will rip you apart.” He pointed at
the bodyguard and said, “That goes for you too, fat
boy.”

CHAPTER 36

The next morning, while Michelle was still
asleep in bed, Joe tiptoed out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
The living room furniture was gone, the floor was covered with
sheets of plywood, and the sheetrock walls were patched up and
ready to be painted.

Joe retrieved the newspaper from outside, then
proceeded through the living room and into the kitchen, which was
unharmed.

After going to the backyard to pet and feed his
dogs, Joe returned to the kitchen and sat down with a cup of
coffee.

The front page of
the newspaper read,
man accused of bribery
drops dead in midtown
. The article said
that Bradley Bedford had just gotten out of jail and was on his way
to a lunch meeting when he dropped dead of a blood pressure induced
stroke on the sidewalk.

Joe now knew that it was Bradley who had sent
him that email.

He wondered if they would try to come after him
again. He didn’t think so, but he planned on beefing up the
security at his house and at his mother’s house, just in
case.

While sipping his second cup of coffee, Joe
checked his email, then began to sort through the documents for
Richie’s case.

Michelle came into the room, poured herself a
cup of coffee, and sat in the chair next to him. “We have to
talk.”

Joe put his computer into sleep mode, then
turned to Michelle and said, “About?”

“About your steroid use, first of
all.”

Joe chuckled while putting his empty coffee cup
into the sink. “You’ve been watching too many of those after school
specials, and besides, I’m not a cop anymore. Doesn’t that make you
feel better?” He sat back down next to her.

Michelle said, “And what about world war three
out there in your living room? What if I’m here one night and they
break in and kill us both?”

“They’re not coming back.”

“How do you know? I don’t think I can deal with
this.” She stood. “I have to work tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow.
We’ll talk.”

Joe didn’t say anything. The ball was in her
court.

Michelle walked out of the kitchen.

He started up his computer and tried to
concentrate on Richie’s case again.