The Bootlegger’s Legacy (16 page)

“Just sit down over here at the desk. My guys will bring Sally to us in just a minute. In the meantime, you need to start writing a list of your contacts and how much each is being paid.”

Pat sat. “Listen, John, if you try and strong arm these ol’ country boys in Oklahoma, it won’t work. They’ll either take up arms against you or force the legislature to pass laws to legalize booze. Your tactics won’t work in my state.”

“Pat, you’re a backward hick. Let me tell you something. Even your hick friends will start to pay attention once a couple of them are found dead with no balls.”

Well, he might have a point there.

There was a knock on the door, no doubt Giovanni’s two goons, maybe bringing Sally in tow. Giovanni got up and started to open the door when it was suddenly shoved into him, knocking him across the room. Pushing their way into the room were two immense Mexicans. Each one had to weigh three-hundred pounds at least. They almost literally filled up the room. One of them had a gun, which was pointed at Giovanni. Giovanni started to reach into his coat, but one of the giants gave him a backhanded slap across the face with such force that it knocked him against the wall and left him only semi-conscious. They searched Giovanni and took his gun. Then they taped his mouth shut and tied his hands behind his back.

An elegantly dressed man followed the giants into the room once Giovanni was incapacitated. “Pat Allen, my name is Manuel Reyes—I believe we have mutual friends.” He reached out and shook Pat’s hand. “Mr. Giovanni’s friends are upstairs in room 410. I have two additional men up there with them. Your friend Sally is also upstairs waiting for you—she is unharmed.”

Pat wanted to run immediately to Sally, but things were changing fast and he wasn’t sure of himself. “Can I go and see her?”

“Let’s step out into the hall for a minute.” Reyes moved aside and followed Pat into the hall. “Our friends, the Martinez brothers, told me that you should leave now with Sally and return to Oklahoma City. We will clean up this little mess. Once everything is under control they will contact you. Do you need me to do anything further to assist you?”

Pat wasn’t sure he understood what was happening, but at that moment he just wanted to find Sally and get the hell out of Dodge. “No, I don’t need anything else. Thank you so much, and be sure and thank Juan and Francisco for me.”

“Yes sir, I will let them know. Goodbye.”

Pat went up the one flight of stairs and entered room 410. There was no one there—except Sally. Pat was so relieved that he excitedly hugged her so hard he thought it might crush her. She cried and hugged him back just as hard.

“Where are the goons?” he asked her. “I thought there were some Mexicans here holding them—what happened?”

“They just left. They told me to stay here, that you would be here in just a minute. The Mexicans took the goons with them. Pat, I have never in my life been so scared. If I ever get the chance, I am going to put a bullet in that asshole Giovanni. Oh, Pat, I am so glad to see you!”

They hugged again, as if they might hang on to each other and never let go. After a while, though, Pat said they needed to get downstairs to the car and get back to Las Cruces. He told Sally that, if possible, they were going to leave that day for OKC.

El Paso, Texas / Las Cruces, New Mexico / Albuquerque, New Mexico

They practically flew down the stairs, but saw no one. They walked through the lobby and out to the street, where they found Pat’s car. He took the most direct route to get back onto the highway and headed toward Las Cruces. As they left El Paso, Pat felt both a sense of relief and a feeling of dread. He wasn’t sure what was happening. He sure the hell hoped he hadn’t gone from bad to worse.

Pat and Sally didn’t talk much on the drive to Las Cruces. They were both coming down from a huge adrenaline rush. They needed a nap—or maybe one very big drink.

“Sally, I’m so sorry this has happened to you. I had no idea that Giovanni would be so stupid as to try and hurt you to get to me—it just never crossed my mind. I just should never have gotten you involved in this in any way—I’m so sorry.”

Sally just grinned. Pat was a little worried that maybe she’d been so traumatized that something had snapped.

“Pat, I know you didn’t mean for that to happen. I was scared to death, but right now I feel more alive than I ever have. I think I may have become addicted to these life and death situations, what do you think?” She was smiling. Okay, she
had
lost it. Addicted to life and death situations? This girl had gone off the deep end.

“Sally, I think it’s time you find a more normal life—actually, I think
I
need to find a more normal life.”

This struck them both in the funny bone, and they began to laugh and laugh. The release of anxiety had a physical reaction and made them giddy.

After a good laugh the tension was reduced to a more livable level by the time they pulled into the hotel parking lot. They locked the car and went straight to their room. Sally didn’t have a key, but Pat still had his. Once in the room, they sat down and Pat explained what he thought they should do.

“I think we file a flight plan to go up to Albuquerque this afternoon. Spend the night there, refuel the plane in the morning, and then head to Oklahoma City. Does that sound okay to you?”

Sally agreed that she’d sleep better tonight if they were somewhere else—hopefully somewhere that no one could find them. She was acting brave, but her nerves were on edge.

While Pat was on the phone filing his flight plan, Sally packed. They would leave the car at the Las Cruces airstrip with the key hidden in the same place as they’d found it. He would call Emerson that night and let him know to pick it up.

It would be late afternoon before they were airborne, but they would be in Albuquerque before sunset with time to spare. Pat wasn’t comfortable making a night landing, which was why they would stay in Albuquerque before they headed out to OKC in the morning. The Albuquerque airport had an FBO, so Pat called and arranged for the plane to stay overnight, with refueling in the morning, and also gave their ETA. The FBO offered to arrange a hotel room at a nearby hotel and give them a ride to the hotel, then pick them up in the morning. Pat appreciated their customer service.

They loaded the car and headed to the airstrip. The weather wasn’t going to be a problem—not a cloud in the sky. They hauled their luggage from the car to the plane and Pat began his preflight check list. Sally climbed aboard like an old pro and settled in with her headphones on. Pat’s preflight went without a hitch. He taxied to the run-up area, tested his gauges, and confirmed the engine’s various pressure readings.

Visually checking to make sure there was no one on a path into the airstrip, and announcing over the public radio frequency that he was entering the airstrip for takeoff, Pat was ready to go. He gave the plane full power, and while the strip was a little bumpy they were airborne in no time at all. He quickly banked to the right, heading north toward Albuquerque. Both Pat and Sally gave a sigh of relief.

The flight to Albuquerque was smooth and their path took them over thousands of acres of very dense, impressive forests. Sally’s old fear of flying had been replaced by curiosity and she gave a running commentary on the terrain below.

The Albuquerque airport was on the south edge of town and it was within sight in less than an hour. It was used by both commercial and civil aircraft, and required Pat to follow a set of flight procedures and take directions from the control tower. There was no traffic in the area so Pat was given permission to land and instructions on taking a direct path to the runway. Making a slow and easy decent, he landed with a bounce so slight it would have made his old flight instructor proud. Once they left the runway they saw a truck with a flag and sign saying “follow me,” which led them to the FBO parking area. Pat secured the plane as the FBO employee helped Sally with their bags. She came over to Pat, said “Great landing, captain,” and gave him a big kiss with one of those soon-to-be-missed smiles. Pat’s knees felt weak.

They checked into the hotel with no hassles. Neither one of them commented on the fact that he had registered them in separate rooms. He was still not sure how to be with her. He knew they cared about each other, but it was important not to make assumptions one way or the other so two rooms seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do. And as far as Sally was concerned, he wanted to be a gentleman.

As they headed to their respective rooms, Pat suggested they meet in the lobby in about an hour and have some dinner, and Sally agreed. Pat called Emerson and told him that the car was at the airstrip. He also said that they would need to talk in a few days about some changes he was going to make. Pat wasn’t sure what that was going to be, but one way or another something was going to change. He gathered an envelope he had prepared earlier and headed to the lobby bar.

Pat spent some time alone nursing a drink. All in all, it seemed things had worked out. He had no idea what had happened to Giovanni and his henchmen—and really didn’t care. He was still somewhat unsure what to think about the Martinez brothers. Obviously they were more than just the mild-mannered businessmen he’d thought they were—he would have to give that more thought later. Soon Sally entered the bar and he escorted her to a table.

Even after all of the trauma she looked great. He could tell she was very tired, and her nerves were still on edge, but she was smiling. Pat realized how much character there was behind her lovely facade.

“We’ll leave for Oklahoma City tomorrow morning. The flight won’t be too long—we actually more or less follow Route 66 east to the city. Once we get there I have no idea what’s going to happen. The people who helped us are my suppliers in Mexico. I guess they took Giovanni and his goons somewhere, but I don’t know what actually happened.” He paused. Sally was paying attention.

“I guess it’s possible that Giovanni’s still a problem and will show up in Oklahoma City, but my gut tells me that’s not the case. I don’t want you to worry about this, but you need to know what the risks might be. I think it would be best if you left Oklahoma City for a while, just until we can see what’s actually going on.”

Sally looked thoughtful but not particularly concerned. “Well, I guess I was thinking along the same lines. I’m not sure I could handle anymore gangster action, with Giovanni or anyone else. I never want to be that terrified ever again. Plus, you and I have things to work out. You have to figure out what’s going on with your business, and I think you need to find out what’s going on with your family. Me, I need to figure out what the hell’s going on with me. I’d already decided to move to Chicago and stay with my sister. I can get a job up there—waitress or something—and lick my wounds a little until I can decide what I want to be when I grow up.” That came with a smile.

Pat was sad. He’d told her to leave, but that didn’t mean he actually wanted her to be out of his life. What a mess. He cared so much about her and now she was going to disappear. He knew he had to be strong or he was going to cause great harm to Sally, his family, and himself. It might be coming a little late since he was in his sixties, but it was time for him to show some maturity.

“I’m sad you’re leaving even though I know it’s for the best for everyone—especially you, Sally.” He pulled the envelope from his coat and handed it to her. “Listen, when you see what’s in that envelope, please don’t scream at me. I love you Sally, and if we were in a different place in our lives I’d fight to have you stay and be with me. That’s not an old bootlegger’s bullshit—it’s the truth. But you have to go. You’ve suffered all kinds of bad stuff since getting involved with me, and I want to give you the means to get started somewhere else.”

Sally picked up the envelope and looked inside. She didn’t count it. It was a considerable sum in hundred dollar bills. She stared at him for a while—then begin to chuckle. “I see why you were picking your words carefully. The last time you offered me money, I think I threatened to do you in—although, I let you know gifts were okay. Well, Pat, some of my delusions are gone. I need this money, and I appreciate you thinking enough of me to want to help me. I’ll just consider this tidy sum as my wages for being a hostage on your behalf.”

“You really are an amazing woman, Sally Thompson.”

Dinner was pleasant and uneventful. They chatted about the weather, the trip to OKC the next day, the food, the waiter—about anything except themselves or what was going to happen. Each dealt with that subject in his or her private thoughts. Returning to their rooms, they both slept soundly in an exhausted, deep sleep.