The Rented Mule (17 page)

He switched off his office lights and quietly shut the door. As he walked down the hall, smiling broadly, he thought,
I’ll do whatever’s required to get this deal tied off.

J
enny punched in Clarence’s speed dial number on her cell phone as she hurriedly walked past the water features in front of the huge office building. She knew how crazed the entire state’s population was about the two major universities’ football teams. The support of one over the other literally divided families and friends. Since the state was not home to any professional sports, watching Auburn and Alabama play football was a high priority for most. With Cooper at the Auburn football game and half of the state watching it on television or listening on the radio, Saturday night would be the perfect time to kidnap his wife. Stores would be empty, roads deserted, and law enforcement would be occupied with either the game, traffic, fights, or drunk drivers. Jenny was certain Clarence would recognize the opportunity. They would have a several-hour window to make the snatch. There was one major obstacle—they only had a day to prepare.

“Talk to me,” a gruff voice suddenly answered.

Sitting down on the steps facing the fountain, she looked around to make sure no one could overhear her end of the conversation. “Everything’s in place, and listen to this: tomorrow night Auburn plays at home, and our guy’s going, without our
friend
. Apparently, she rarely goes to the games.”

Clarence knew what she was implying was right. The statewide effect of college football in Alabama was well known around the South. If the University of Alabama happened to be playing at home, that would make the timing even better. He had learned recently that the city of Montgomery usually sent approximately one hundred police officers to Auburn for each home football game, which meant less of a police presence in town when they grabbed the Target.

“Hmm, very interesting. This could be perfect timin’. I just need to figure out where to do it. That’s my biggest concern. Come to the Farmers Market Cafe. I’ll buy you a late breakfast. I don’t wanna talk details on the phone.”

“Nah, thanks. I’ll meet you at the hotel.”

“You don’t know what you’re missin’. Okay, then, see ya there,” he replied and then hung up.

He sopped up the last of several runny eggs with a biscuit and then leaned back in his chair and smiled.

W
alking into his home, Cooper was in a foul mood. It started when he saw Kelly’s car, as usual, parked in the center of the garage, effectively taking up two spaces. Every light in the house was on. Both the front and back doors were standing wide open. The kitchen, however, was immaculate, so Millie couldn’t have been gone for more than a few moments. Piper was likely ensconced in her bedroom Skyping with her friends, although she was supposed to be packing for a trip with her church group. Ben was sweaty, most likely from playing basketball with some neighborhood kids and was stretched out on the leather couch watching TV. There was a high probability that Domino’s Pizza would soon arrive. The fact that this was a typical Friday night at the Dixons did nothing to mollify his disposition—it exacerbated it.

“Get off the couch… you’re all sweaty. You know better than that,” Cooper fussed at Ben. “Where’s your mother?”

“I dunno,” he answered as he slid off the couch and onto the carpet, never taking his eyes off the Nickelodeon program.

“When’s the last time you saw her?”

“Uh… I don’t remember.” Ben never looked away from the TV.

“What time do you go to your overnight party tomorrow?”

“After lunch… I can’t wait!” He replied excitedly, and then turned on his back and watched television upside down.

Cooper walked into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator to get a cold drink and then, there not being one, slammed the door. He grabbed a glass and filled it halfway with water from the dispenser on front of the refrigerator. Cooper took a big gulp and then looked around at Millie’s handiwork. Everything was clean and in place. When he was young, she had cleaned his parents’ house. Cleaning really didn’t begin to encompass what she did then… or now—she managed the household. She was an incredible woman.
Kelly could not begin to survive being a wife and mother without Millie, and yet she resented her. Probably for that reason
, he thought.

Cooper didn’t know life without Millie since she had played a substantial role in raising him. The fact that she was selling him her family estate spoke volumes about his connection with her.

Pulling out his shirttail, he returned to the den to attempt a conversation with Ben. “So how was school today?” Cooper bent down to rub the family’s Labrador retriever on the head.

“Fine.”

“Dixie sure smells good,” Cooper said, noting that when clean she was as black as coal.

“I gave her a bath. She loves it. I used y’all’s tub, and Mom got
really
mad,” Ben said as he looked down, embarrassed.

“Why didn’t you use that big tub in the garage?”

“The water’s too cold.” Ben sat up and turned to look directly at Cooper and asked, “Dad, when does dove season open in Alabama?”

“In two weeks.”

“Can we take Dixie?”

“I’d rather not.”

“But Dad!”

“She doesn’t mind me, and she wants to retrieve everyone’s birds. She’s a good dog; she’s just not a polished retriever, and it drives me crazy.”

“She’s just a little hardheaded.”

“More than a little. We’ll hunt, just not with Dixie.” Cooper paused, smiling at the thought of Dixie running around out of control. “So you have no idea where Mom is?”

“Nope.”

“How ’bout ‘No, sir,’” Cooper corrected.

The frustrated father stood for a few moments, watching the cartoon on television.
Wow, they sure have changed since Bugs Bunny
.

A door slamming upstairs got Cooper’s attention. Piper raced down the stairs and toward the back of the house.

“Hey, Daddy,” Piper called out as she tried to run past him.

“Whoa, girl.” Cooper grabbed her by the shirtsleeve, stopping her.

“Where you goin’ so fast?”

“My jeans are in the dryer.”

“Do you have makeup on?” Cooper inquired as he leaned down to take a closer look.

“Just lipstick.” Exasperated, Piper rolled her eyes.

“And some kinda war paint on your eyes,” Cooper added, while Ben began laughing.

“All my girlfriends wear it, Dad.”

She said, “Dad” as though it was multisyllabic. Piper had always made excellent grades. Both parents had given her some latitude to grow and express herself, but Cooper hated the thought of makeup because the next step was boys and dating.

“You don’t have a tattoo… do you?” he asked, squinting his eyes.

“Nope, just pierced my tongue though,” she said with a straight face.

“What?!” Cooper exploded.

“Just kiddin’,” she said with a chuckle.

“Are you tryin’ to give me a heart attack?” Cooper said with a smile.

Piper and Ben began laughing. Still chuckling, Piper ran to the laundry room.

“Piper!” Cooper hollered. “Where’s your mother?”

“Next door. She went over to talk about Botox.” Piper yelled from the laundry room.

“Botox?”

“Yeah. Mom was gettin’ a massage today, and all the women were tellin’ her that it would keep her young-lookin’,” Piper explained as she walked back into the room carrying her jeans.

“Why does she need Botox?”

“It’s the ‘in’ thing, Dad.”

Cooper let out a deep sigh. Kelly was driving him crazy. He had to talk to her.

“Dad? Dad!”

“I’m sorry. What is it?”

“I need you to drop me off at Lauren’s house tonight.”

“I wanna go!” Ben exclaimed.

“We’re goin’ to the game and then watchin’ movies,” Piper said as she started up the stairs. “You can’t come.”

“Stop! Hold up those jeans,” Cooper demanded.

Piper held up the pants for inspection and sighed audibly.

“Does your mother know you have those?”

“She bought ’em for me. Relax. They’re in style.
Everybody’s
wearin’ ’em.” Piper said, heavily emphasizing “everybody.”

Cooper heard Kelly’s heels clicking on the hardwood floors behind him at the same time she said, “Those are so cute, and she looks adorable in ’em. Besides, they were well over a hundred dollars.”

“Oh. Well, why didn’t you say so? If they cost a hundred bucks, then that makes ’em okay,” Cooper said sarcastically, watching Piper run up to her room, knowing she intended to wear the low-cut jeans with or without his approval.

“Cooper, I swear, you don’t understand jack. Just let me take care of the kids. Will ya?”

“I also don’t understand why you want Botox.”

“They say it makes you look ten years younger. Don’t you think I’d look better without these crow’s-feet?”

“I think our bank account would look a
whole lot
better if it actually had some money in it,” Cooper contemptuously shot back.

“Well… when y’all sell our business, we’ll be rich… and none of this will matter.”

“Whattaya sellin’, Dad?” Ben asked.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Cooper said, widening his eyes at Kelly.

Cooper was about to lose his cool, but he held it in check. Kelly just walked away. He followed her into the kitchen and watched her open a drawer, pull out the Domino’s menu, and begin dialing their telephone number.

“So what are your plans for tomorrow?” he asked, trying to remain calm.

Kelly hung up the phone before it was answered. She turned around to look at him, her arms crossed. She glared and said, “I’m shopping and running errands
all day
tomorrow. But in the mornin’, you’re gonna need to take Piper to the church at five. I’ll take Ben to his party.”

“Okay. After I drop off Piper, I’m going to the Auburn game early… since we’re takin’ clients.” Thinking about Brooke, Cooper lamely continued, “Ya know, I oughta help set up the tent and grill and stuff. That sorta thing.”

“Sure. Whatever. Don’t be too late: you’ve got a
long list
of things to get done around here Sunday, so have your fun tomorrow,” she said, dialing the phone. “Want any pizza?”

“No. I’m gonna take a shower… I’ve had a rough day,” an exasperated Cooper replied.

T
he small gang was huddled in room 236 of the hotel trying to make sense out of all the ideas that were being tossed around. So far nothing was sticking.

Jesse Ray wanted to wait; he didn’t think they had done enough prep to be able to safely snatch Kelly, hold her, and get away clean. Clarence appreciated the football angle and what a major distraction to the community the game would be, agreeing with Jenny that it was the perfect opportunity. Jenny was now arguing that she should go with Gates to the game in an effort to learn more about their Client’s motives.

“You know that what we learn will be ten times more valuable than me driving the getaway car,” she explained, directing her comments to Clarence.

“Well, who’s gonna drive?” he asked.

Jenny turned to face Jesse Ray. “Do you know somebody you could call to help us?”

“Sure. I got a second cousin that lives in Dothan. He’s more muscle than brains, which ain’t saying much. He recently did time for stealing manhole covers for scrap.”

“Doesn’t sound smart,” Jenny added.

“Yeah, but it does sound like he’s real strong. Those things are heavy,” Clarence commented.

“He told me he was gettin’ only five bucks each, and he had stole about thirty before he realized it was costin’ him more in gas than he was getting from sellin’ the covers,” Jesse Ray said with a laugh.

“Can we trust him?” Jenny asked sternly.

“With your life,” Jesse Ray responded without hesitation.

“No drug problems?” Clarence inquired.

“The only drug problem he’s ever had was as a kid when his gran’mama drug his narrow ass with her everywhere she went to keep him outta trouble. He hated that. Still bitches about it.”

All the team laughed.

“Okay. Call him. I’ll pay a thousand bucks for a week’s work,” Clarence offered. “But don’t give any details over the phone.”

Jesse Ray nodded and then began scrolling through his cell phone’s address book for the number. At the last family reunion, the two vowed to work together some day. Jesse Ray hoped that he wasn’t back in jail.

“Where do you think we should grab her?” Clarence asked Jenny while they waited for Jesse Ray, who had walked into the bathroom to finish his call.

“I still believe that her neighborhood is out. The mall’s an option; maybe grab her as she gets outta her car.”

“Too risky… and it sounds like the only places that she’d shop would have surveillance cameras.”

Jenny paused a moment and then said, “We could put a leak in her tire, follow her, and snatch her wherever it goes flat.”

“Nah. Too many variables. Keep thinkin’.”

After two minutes of silence, Clarence remarked, “We could deliver a pizza and chloroform her when she answers the door.”

Jenny said, “I’m tellin’ ya, there’s way too many eyes in that neighborhood.”

Jesse Ray walked back into the room as he disconnected the call. He appeared very pleased. “We have a driver. Maynard will be here tonight.”

“Maynard?” Clarence asked. “What’s a Maynard?”

“That’s his name. My second cousin. He’ll be here tonight.”

“Okay. That solves one problem. Now we gotta figure out how to get her where we want her, when we want her,” Jenny summarized.

“Obviously, easier said than done,” Clarence added as he bit into a cold chicken leg that he’d gotten from a KFC takeout bucket.

Everyone was quiet, in deep thought.

Jesse Ray looked back and forth between Clarence and Jenny, who were growing increasingly frustrated, and then he finally said, “Hello? What about me? We’ve got all this highly sophisticated electronic equipment, not to mention an electronic genius at your disposal, and you never axed me!”

“All right, Albert Afrostein, whaddaya suggest?” Clarence asked, smiling.

“While I was perusin’ Cooper’s endless supply of e-mails, I noticed a bunch from his wife. Since she’s using a cheap ISP, I can easily hack into her account, read her address book, and then send an e-mail from one of her friends, asking her to meet someplace because she has something so secret to tell her that she can’t discuss it in an e-mail or over the phone.”