Page 103 of Gideon

That wasn’t the only thing he refused to back down from. They thought he’d miscalculated when he’d decided to push the town down, but he had to make sure no one followed on what Gideon started.

Maybe they had united in their loss, but it wouldn’t last long. It couldn’t. That’s why he’d had to do so much damage. And now that he’d gone this far, he’d keep putting the pressure on until everything panned out like he’d planned. Eventually, they would turn on each other, and then he’d restore the balance he’d spent the last several years perfecting. They had enough to survive, but not so much they were comfortable and had time to think about their hardships. The continued drought had only helped with that, creating a population that was toobroken or too tired to respond to their pitiful state, and they had weather to blame.

If anything, he’d become too soft. He’d grown used to the ease with which he could rule. This was a wakeup call and reminded him to be vigilant.

“How long until the new totem poles are finished?” he asked Phineas, turning their attention away from the bickering. They had business to discuss.

“I told you, these things take?—”

“How long?”

“I don’t know. Four or five weeks?”

“You’ve got two if you want to get paid.”

Phineas’ mouth dropped open. “These are works of art. I can’t just whip them up at your whim.”

“You’re lazy, Phineas. Everyone knows it. If you spent half the time on your work that you do preening yourself, they would have been done already.”

“I only just got the wood in my workshop.”

“And you always have an excuse. I need those totems restored so we can refocus the people. And I’ll need a distraction for Nikki. Anyone have any ideas?”

“Her mom,” Peters said. “She’s a frightened little church mouse. I’ll have a crack at her. Destabilize her.”

“Good. Cole,” Fairfax said. “You work on Nikki.”

Cole raised his eyebrows. “As in…”

“As in, whatever it takes. Give her something to think about besides the church. Tow her car, I don’t care. I want her mind to be away from that church. It won’t take us long to put things back in order around here. This all started because of Gideon. And you’veassured me, Sheriff, that you haven’t spotted him around town anywhere?”

“Nope. He checked out of the motel, and his truck’s nowhere.”

“He could be hiding,” Phineas said.

“Then let him hide,” Peters said. “As long as he’s not bothering us. But I’d be surprised if he hung around. He understood what it would cost him.”

Cole launched toward the window. “What’s that?”

“What?” Peters followed him over.

“I thought I saw something out there.” He rested his hand on the gun at his hip and shifted closer to the window.

“You’re just jumpy,” Fairfax said. “That’s what you get for talking about a mob heading our way instead of focusing on the way forward. Why don’t we stick to the business at hand for the rest of the night?”

“You mean the mess you made?” Cole said.

“Enough,” Peters said, leaning back on the couch and resting his ankle on his knee. “What’s done is done.”

“I agree,” Fairfax said. He’d been waiting for the right moment to share his ideas for the future. It would be the thing he needed to get everyone back on the same page. “I own this town because I have vision. I saw the opportunity, and I took it. What we are now facing, gentlemen, is a brand-new opportunity. We can take this town to the next level.”

“Oh, yeah?” Peters said. “And what’s that?”

“Golf courses and resorts. That is the future. We’re close enough and far enough from some significant hubsthat this is the perfect place to create an oasis. With several houses being vacated, I can begin phase?—”

The sound of a car horn cut him off.

Peters and Cole looked to the window.

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