“He didn’t strike me as a math whiz. He also didn’t strike me as someone who’d be smart enough to come up with a plan more involved than making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Ken’s eyes darted to the floor.
“He also doesn’t seem like someone with a financial motive to steal from his employer, does he?”
Ken shook his head slowly but said nothing.
“But I know someone who needs money pretty badly. Someone with a sick little girl and a mountain of medical bills, don’t I?”
Ken nodded.
“Look at me, Ken.”
When his eyes finally met mine, I could see they were full of tears. “Please don’t kill me, Aero. I’m all she has left. I’m all Mabel has.”
“Why did you do it, Ken?”
“You said it yourself. Our health coverage doesn’t cover all her expenses and I’m hemorrhaging money. Her mother drained our accounts before she left town and left us with nothing. I’m fucking desperate, Aero. I’m sorry, man. I would never had let Turnip take the fall.”
Desperate men do desperate things.
“Why not come to Sundance for help? The club could have helped you.”
“I was afraid of being in the club’s debt. Afraid that if I borrowed money, Sundance would force me to do illegal things for him. I can’t go to jail. I’m the only family Mabel has left.”
I tucked my gun back into my waistband before reaching into my inside cut pocket, causing Ken to flinch. “Relax. I’m not gonna kill you,” I said taking out a folded piece of paper and handing it to him.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the contact number of a doctor.”
Ken looked at the paper and then back at me.
“This is from the offices of Dr. Emily Larsen,” he said blankly.
“She’s one of the leading Hepatologists in the country and she’s here in Denver,” I replied.
“I know who Doctor Larsen is, she’s a miracle worker and impossible to see.”
“Not according to that piece of paper she isn’t. Not for Mabel. In fact, it says there Mabel has an appointment with Doctor Larsen first thing Monday morning,” I said.
“I don’t understand,” Ken said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
“What you don’t understand is loyalty, but fortunately for you, the Primal Howlers do.”
Ken continued to stare at me, puzzled.
“When Sundance told me to investigate the missing money, it didn’t take me long to piece together what the fuck was going on here. He left it up to me on how to handle the situation, so rather than leave your kid an orphan, I used one of Sundance’s contacts at the medical center to hook you up with Doctor Larsen.”
“But why?”
“This location has always been the club’s highest earning shop and that’s because of you. I also believe you only did what you did to save your daughter’s life. I don’t have a kid myself, but if I did, I can’t imagine there’s anything I wouldn’t do to keep them alive.”
“I still can’t afford any of this,” Ken said.
“Don’t worry about the bills. The club is going to take care of Mabel. And don’t worry about the thirty thousand either. Stick it in her college fund.”
“I’m on the hook with the club, now aren’t I?” Ken asked.
