I ignored him. “How did the job site go today?”
Max opened the bottle and took a swig. “Well, I didn’t know if we were pitchin’ or catchin’ yesterday, but we kicked ass today. Back on schedule and maybe even a little ahead.”
I led Max into the living room and sat on the black leather sofa. Max made himself at home in the recliner as always.
“I thought Franklin really fucked us on the Bluestake. I’m not sure why we keep him around.” Max looked at me as he peeled the label from the bottle in his hand.
“You know why. He was my dad’s right-hand man for a hundred fucking years. I can’t fire him.”
“Such a pussy.” Max grinned.
I shrugged helplessly. Franklin was getting a bit senile in his oldage, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about that, other than give him simple jobs and write his paycheck every week.
“I got some information on Powers today.” The grin was gone from Max’s face as he set the bottle on the end table.
I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees. “And?”
“He’s living out past Surprise now at the end of a dirt road.”
“Maybe he realized he isn’t fit for society.”
“I drove out there this afternoon. Nice house. It looks like it’s been there a while but has recently had some renovations. And our boy has a new Camaro in the driveway.”
“Camaro?” I asked puzzled. “He was driving an Avalanche yesterday.”
Max nodded. “Yeah, he has one of those, too.”
“So he’s working as a foreman for a contractor in Phoenix. I happened to know the guy who he works for, so I gave him a call. He said Simon has worked there less than a year. Pretty good employee, I guess. Just takes quite a bit of sick time. He’s been going to Mexico a lot. Like once a month.” Max’s eyes narrowed, watching me closely as I started to put two and two together.
“I see.”
“Yeah. I’m guessing he’s going down there, picking up drugs of some kind, and bringing them back. It would make sense. It would explain why he misses a lot of work. It would explain how he has the money to even consider buying a place like Solomon. And it would explain how a job foreman affords to live the way he does because his income definitely does not explain his assets.”
Max didn’t say anything, giving me time to process everything.
“That motherfucker.”
“Yeah. So what do you want to do?”
I leaned forward again, getting a plan together. “I doubt he’ll buy Solomon Place now that he knows I own it. Why would he do anything that would benefit me in any way? But if he does, that’s fine. I’ll take his money.”
“I really don’t think he knew you owned it, Cane. Simon’s boss said he has been all over the place lately, talking about startingbusinesses and moving to fucking Texas and all kinds of shit. It doesn’t seem like he’s been thinking about you at all, so I think we can chalk this up to one huge coincidence.”
“Yeah, well, if I had run into him at a gas station, I wouldn’t fucking care. But Jada was right in the middle of it.” I looked Max in the eye, driving home my point. “And you know Simon. He doesn’t miss much.”
Max nodded. “I see what you’re saying, but do you really think he would bother trying to fuck with you now?”
“If this is a coincidence like you think, then no. But let’s be real here. A lot of shit went down, and you know he blames me for it. Even though that’s fucking ridiculous.”
“No doubt. And ifyouare right and Simon picked up on something between you and Jada … it isn’t fair to her to be put in the middle of whatever bullshit he may try to pull.”
“I don’t want to get paranoid here because I think he’s smarter than attempting something that will get him in a cot next to his dad. But we do need to use our heads. Watch our backs.”
Max took a final swig of his beer and started fumbling with the label again. “I’ll watch the job sites. To me, that’s where he will try to hit you. That’s what started all this in the first place.” He looked at me seriously. “Especially Benjamin Estates. And I’ll keep my ears on the ground.”
“Who knew that your college roommates would become so helpful this many years later, huh?”
He grinned. “That’s why you gotta be nice to everybody; you never know when you’ll need them.”
