Carrion: A Novel of America's Coming Financial Nightmare (Black Swan Book 2) by Mark Goodwin

Author:Mark Goodwin [Goodwin, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

Late Saturday evening, Shane, Angela, and Tonya sat around the bed in the basement guestroom of the main cabin. Doctor Ackers checked Paul’s pulse. He offered an anemic smile and stood up. “I’ll leave you all to visit for a while.”

Shane didn’t dare ask how his father was doing. Everyone seemed to know, but no one acknowledged the presence of the death angel hovering like a dark cloud in the room.

A delicate knock came to the door. Shane turned to see Julianna standing in the entrance of the room. She spoke just above a whisper. “Eric Bivens is here. He wanted to know if he could see Paul, only for a minute.”

Paul’s eyes opened. He labored to lift his arm and open his lips. “Send him in.”

“Sure.” She smiled pleasantly and left the room.

Minutes later, Eric walked in. He stood next to Shane. “I wanted to give you the news myself.”

Paul’s voice was feeble. “Let’s hear it.”

“We tallied the votes. You’re the new sheriff, Paul.” Bivens handed the man a gold star badge. “This is just a deputy’s badge, but we’ll get the real one from Hammer soon enough.”

He grinned and clutched the emblem in his weak hand. “Thank you. What about Pastor Joel?”

“Jimmy Teague secured the majority of the ballots in the mayoral race.”

“Jimmy is a good man,” Paul replied.

“Yes, sir; a very good man. Much better than what we had.”

Paul cracked a wider smile. “A rabid polecat would be better than what we had.”

“Yes, sir. Indeed, he would be.” Eric’s smile showed his remorse over the situation.

Paul closed his eyes as if tired from the news. Moments later, he opened them once more. “Eric?”

“Yes, sir?”

Paul held out the badge to Bivens, placing it in his palm. “I’m appointing you acting sheriff.”

“Thank you, sir.” Eric’s lip quivered. “But you’ll be up and about in no time.”

Paul let his face relax and gave a gentle nod. “Even so, you look after things for me in the time being.”

“I will, sir.” Eric lifted his hand slightly to bid farewell to Shane, Angela, Tonya, and Paul. He excused himself from the room, leaving the family alone once more.

Angela put her head on her father’s chest. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“For what, sweetheart?” He patted her gently.

“For Greg. For what he did. It’s his fault. He caused all of this.” She dried her eyes with her shirt sleeve. “If I hadn’t brought him home, none of this would have happened.”

“Oh, baby,” Paul said calmly. “You didn’t know. You’ve been hurt by him more than any of us. Please don’t blame yourself.” He looked to Shane. “What did y’all do with him anyway?”

“Eric has Butterbean watching him. As soon as we take control of the municipal building and the jail, we’ll lock him up for involvement in a criminal organization.”

“What about Hayes’ wife and daughter?”

Shane put his hand on his father’s. “I gave Gina the keys to the Yukon.

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