him the money?”
“Yep, but he wasn’t happy. He says no more partial payments. How much are you into him for?”
“Don’t worry about Tate. I wouldn’t say he’s all bark, but he’s not going to bite the hand that feeds him. I only owe him a little more. The two K will buy me enough time.”
“Time for?” Paul asked.
“A nice business deal I’ve been working on for a while. It’s in the closing stages. When it wraps up, I’ll have more than enough to pay Tate. And you, of course. Thank you, my brother. You know I’d do the same for you.”
“Wait a minute—this isn’t another koi breeding venture, is it?” Paul asked. He flashed on a memory of Terry screaming obscenities at a pond.
“Absolutely not,” Terry said. “Fish can go fuck themselves.”
“What about that Monopoly stuff—Marvin Gardens? I know you were talking about Marv at We Care Gardens. Don’t tell me you owe him, too?”
“I don’t,” said Terry.
“Come on, Terry. Don’t shut me out. Maybe I can help.”
“It’s best if I keep it need-to-know. You’re going to have to trust me for now. You know I’m good for the two grand. Within a month, scout’s honor.”
“I’m not worried about the money right now.”
“Good. So what’s with the plants?” Terry asked.
“Long story short, we found a dead body on our property Thursday night.”
Terry’s eyes went wide. Apparently it was news to him.
“We moved it to keep the cops away,” Paul continued. “Then it paid us a return visit Saturday night. Lacey figured out that it was Hart Drexel, flipped out, and called the sheriff. I cleared out my plants before they came. You were still at the tower, I guess, and this is the only place I could think to bring them.”
Terry made the ert-ert-ert backing-up sound. “You found a dead body three days ago and didn’t tell me? Man, who’s shutting out who?”
“You weren’t exactly primed to process that kind of news yesterday. What were you so freaked out about anyway, if everything’s going so great?”
“I thought the aforementioned business deal had been compromised,” Terry said. “At the same time, Tate was starting to make angry sounds about his money. You know me, I’m sensitive. Thankfully, you came through for me. Even when you were facing a much hairier situation of your own. I’ll never forget it.”
“Me neither,” said Paul.
Terry waited as long as he could, then added, “We just need to do this last bit of due diligence on the deal.”
“‘We?’ I thought you used up all your favors yesterday.”
“Come on, P-Funk. I’m not complaining about taking care of your plants. Indefinitely, I might add. We’ll be back here in an hour.”
“We’re doing due diligence at night?”
“Night time is the right time,” said Terry with a grin.
Terry hopped into Paul’s truck and said, “Head north.”
Paul took a right when he reached the highway. After twenty minutes Terry said to pull over, pointing to a little inlet off the shoulder.
“We’re about a half-mile from We Care Gardens,” Paul said. “That’s where we’re going, right?”
“Yep,” Terry admitted as they pulled to a stop. He unzipped his backpack and pulled out what looked like two small welder’s masks.
“Put these on,” Terry said.
“What are they?”
“Night-vision goggles,” Terry replied.
“Why do we need them?”
“Because the human eye lacks a tapetum lucidum ,” Terry deadpanned.
“Of course,” Paul said. “Look, Terry, remember when I mentioned the corpse that keeps coming back to my property? This is not a great time for me to get arrested.”
“Not gonna happen,” said Terry. “I just need a lookout. You’ve done most of your job already—I couldn’t risk driving my own car here. This deal is going to be worth it for everyone, man. You and Lacey included. I guarantee you.”
Paul just looked down at the goggles he was still holding.
“I need this, brother,” Terry
“Yep, but he wasn’t happy. He says no more partial payments. How much are you into him for?”
“Don’t worry about Tate. I wouldn’t say he’s all bark, but he’s not going to bite the hand that feeds him. I only owe him a little more. The two K will buy me enough time.”
“Time for?” Paul asked.
“A nice business deal I’ve been working on for a while. It’s in the closing stages. When it wraps up, I’ll have more than enough to pay Tate. And you, of course. Thank you, my brother. You know I’d do the same for you.”
“Wait a minute—this isn’t another koi breeding venture, is it?” Paul asked. He flashed on a memory of Terry screaming obscenities at a pond.
“Absolutely not,” Terry said. “Fish can go fuck themselves.”
“What about that Monopoly stuff—Marvin Gardens? I know you were talking about Marv at We Care Gardens. Don’t tell me you owe him, too?”
“I don’t,” said Terry.
“Come on, Terry. Don’t shut me out. Maybe I can help.”
“It’s best if I keep it need-to-know. You’re going to have to trust me for now. You know I’m good for the two grand. Within a month, scout’s honor.”
“I’m not worried about the money right now.”
“Good. So what’s with the plants?” Terry asked.
“Long story short, we found a dead body on our property Thursday night.”
Terry’s eyes went wide. Apparently it was news to him.
“We moved it to keep the cops away,” Paul continued. “Then it paid us a return visit Saturday night. Lacey figured out that it was Hart Drexel, flipped out, and called the sheriff. I cleared out my plants before they came. You were still at the tower, I guess, and this is the only place I could think to bring them.”
Terry made the ert-ert-ert backing-up sound. “You found a dead body three days ago and didn’t tell me? Man, who’s shutting out who?”
“You weren’t exactly primed to process that kind of news yesterday. What were you so freaked out about anyway, if everything’s going so great?”
“I thought the aforementioned business deal had been compromised,” Terry said. “At the same time, Tate was starting to make angry sounds about his money. You know me, I’m sensitive. Thankfully, you came through for me. Even when you were facing a much hairier situation of your own. I’ll never forget it.”
“Me neither,” said Paul.
Terry waited as long as he could, then added, “We just need to do this last bit of due diligence on the deal.”
“‘We?’ I thought you used up all your favors yesterday.”
“Come on, P-Funk. I’m not complaining about taking care of your plants. Indefinitely, I might add. We’ll be back here in an hour.”
“We’re doing due diligence at night?”
“Night time is the right time,” said Terry with a grin.
Terry hopped into Paul’s truck and said, “Head north.”
Paul took a right when he reached the highway. After twenty minutes Terry said to pull over, pointing to a little inlet off the shoulder.
“We’re about a half-mile from We Care Gardens,” Paul said. “That’s where we’re going, right?”
“Yep,” Terry admitted as they pulled to a stop. He unzipped his backpack and pulled out what looked like two small welder’s masks.
“Put these on,” Terry said.
“What are they?”
“Night-vision goggles,” Terry replied.
“Why do we need them?”
“Because the human eye lacks a tapetum lucidum ,” Terry deadpanned.
“Of course,” Paul said. “Look, Terry, remember when I mentioned the corpse that keeps coming back to my property? This is not a great time for me to get arrested.”
“Not gonna happen,” said Terry. “I just need a lookout. You’ve done most of your job already—I couldn’t risk driving my own car here. This deal is going to be worth it for everyone, man. You and Lacey included. I guarantee you.”
Paul just looked down at the goggles he was still holding.
“I need this, brother,” Terry
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