Stress Test by Richard L. Mabry

Author:Richard L. Mabry [Mabry, Richard L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2013-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Lou swallowed hard, then cleared his throat a couple of times. “We’ve got a little problem.”

Once more he stood in front of the big man’s desk. When he looked at the rug he almost expected to see a bare spot from his shuffling feet. The throw rug on which he stood probably cost more than all the suits in Lou’s closet, and there was a rumor that it concealed bloodstains on the floor beneath it, blood from a man who tried to pull a double cross. Lou wasn’t certain of the truth behind that story, and he wasn’t about to find out.

“We’ve got a problem?” the boss echoed. “We’ve got a problem?” The sneer in his voice was mirrored on his face. “Since when do your problems become mine?”

“Sorry. I guess I’ve got a problem.” Lou made a conscious effort to keep his expression neutral. “I visited the doctor’s house last night while he was at work. He’s changed the locks, but that didn’t keep me out.” He paused, waiting for praise, but got none. He steeled himself before delivering the news. “I searched the whole place, looking for a pistol, but it wasn’t there.”

“But you’re sure he had one?”

“I know he had it when Edgar and I were there. I saw it. He shot at us with it. He—”

“I asked you a simple question.” The boss’s voice was quiet, but his tone was unmistakable.

“Yessir. I didn’t find a pistol.”

The big man was silent for a few moments. The blinds were closed today. It added to the trapped sensation Lou always felt in this office—trapped with an unpredictable man who might at any time dispatch Lou with no thought other than how to replace a bloody throw rug afterward.

After what seemed like forever, the boss swiveled back. “Can you get an untraceable handgun?”

Lou didn’t even have to think about that one. He knew a dozen places where he could get a Saturday night special. If nothing else, he could get one of Edgar’s. “Sure.”

The man opened his center desk drawer. His hand disappeared for a moment, and Lou shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, ready to dodge whatever was coming. But the hand emerged holding two hundred-dollar bills. “Get one and come back here tomorrow.”

Lou pocketed the money. “Alone?” Again, no Edgar. Maybe it was that sleigh thing the boss talked about. Well, better him than me.

“Alone.” The boss leaned back. “Do you see where this is going?”

Lou nodded. The big man turned his attention to a pile of papers on his desk, and Lou took his cue to leave. He only relaxed when he closed the office door behind him. Lou had a lot to do, but he was still alive to do it. And if he understood the man correctly, in the near future that might not be true for at least one of the other players in this scenario. He had to make sure that person wasn’t him.

In his car Lou dialed Edgar’s number.

“I need an untraceable handgun,” Lou said when his partner answered.

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