Longarm and the Deadly Restitution (9781101618776) by Evans Tabor

Author:Evans, Tabor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin USA
Published: 2012-11-29T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Longarm stepped into Billy Vail’s office and came face-to-face with Mayor James Flannery. They had met before in passing, and their interaction had always been cordial, but it wouldn’t be that way today.

Billy Vail stood up behind his desk with a grim expression. “Custis, I’m sure you know Mayor Flannery.”

“I do.” Longarm extended his hand, which was ignored.

Mayor Flannery was an imposing physical specimen of manhood. He was well over six feet tall, and although he was in his mid-fifties, he looked to be strong and fit. His dark brown hair was slicked straight back, and he had a neatly trimmed beard and piercing brown eyes, Longarm could see a lot of Deputy Henry Plummer in his wealthy and successful father.

“I understand,” the mayor said, biting his words out like chips flying off flint, “that you are equally responsible for the disaster at the Bank of Denver yesterday in which eight people died and many, including my son, were critically wounded.”

“Yes. We lost Deputy Mike Flannery and the bank manager, in addition to the ones that were going to murder and rob everyone in that bank.”

The mayor blinked. “And exactly how do you know that Bully O’Brien and his thugs were going to murder innocent bank employees and customers?”

“I interviewed a woman named Miss Agnes Peterson less than an hour ago. I found her alone in the bank after she had scrubbed blood off the bank’s floors. She was, as you would expect, extremely shaken and upset, but she could tell me what happened in the bank and why it turned into a bloody gun battle.”

The mayor took a deep, steadying breath and glanced at Billy Vail, who said, “I think we should both hear what Miss Peterson had to say to my finest deputy. Mayor, please take a seat and let’s see if we can try and understand exactly what did happen in the bank.”

The mayor’s square jaw was clenched tight, and it took some effort for him to take a seat. When he spoke, his voice shook with fury. “No matter what provoked the gun battle, if you really did know that the Shamrock Gang was going to rob the bank, you should have stopped them before they even entered it, gawdammit!”

“We didn’t yet have anything to arrest them for,” said Billy pointedly.

The mayor turned to Longarm. “Get started, Deputy.”

Longarm wasn’t accustomed to being talked to in that manner, but under the circumstances the mayor’s attitude was completely understandable and even justified.

“Miss Peterson told me that when the gang, your son Henry, and his fellow deputy Mike Flannery entered the bank, the bank employees’ understanding was that it was just going to be a robbery and that no one was to be hurt or killed. But that changed when one of the gang members, and I’m not sure which one, but probably a man named O’Toole, decided that they had to kill everyone or they’d be fingered.”

“That’s what the woman said?”

“Those are almost exactly her words. When that statement was made, the bank manager, Mr.

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