Page 37 of The Rule of 3

Tanner chewed on the inside of his cheek and nodded slowly. “I guess I’ll be having a chat with my uncle soon. But I have to ask, why haven’t you just approached the board members yourself?”

“I’ve tried, sonny boy. They act like my money ain’t good enough for ‘em. But we all know the power of a family connection, so I expect you to grease the wheels for me. You do, and you get the camera and my endorsement. You don’t, and you can kiss your political aspirations goodbye. Those photos will spread like wildfire after your wife sees ‘em. You’ll be out a wifeanda career.” Smelzer gave a satisfied cackle that made Eli and Tanner’s skin crawl.

As they all disembarked back at the marina, Smelzer reached into his pocket and produced a business card. “This here’s my private number. I expect to hear some great news from you—and soon,” he ordered as he handed it to Tanner. Without a word of thanks or a good bye, he headed toward the parking lot.

“Charming man,” Eli whispered as they watched him stomp away. Then he burst out laughing and said, “At least he thinks I’m pretty.”

Chuckling, Tanner gave Eli an affectionate slap on the back.

About a minute later, a uniformed driver came to retrieve all of Smelzer’s equipment and his fish.

Chapter 30

The first thing Eli did when they got home was arrange to have his detective track down the PI who’d followed them and shot the photos. He wanted to verify that Smelzer knew what he was talking about and he needed to shut down any possible leaks. The next thing he did was to sit down with Tanner and Zoë for a chat.

“If someone brings you a package or an envelope of any kind, donotopen it around anyone else,” he ordered Zoë. “Tanner is being blackmailed by a nasty old codger who says he has photos of the two of us that will ruin your marriage.” He looked at Tanner then and said, “At least we know his game plan now anyway.”

Zoë smiled sweetly and snorted delicately, “As if.” Then she squirmed a little and added, “I wouldn’t mind seeing those photos, though. Maybe y’all can reenact them for me tonight.” She gave them both a sultry look. “I’m sorry he’s trying to ruin you, though, Tanner. He sounds horrible.”

Tanner spoke to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association that was in charge of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail to find out their regulations. Tanner got one woman on the phone who was so chatty, he ventured a question as to whether she’d had any requests from a distillery called Payslee Premium Bourbon.

Laughing, she answered, “Oh my, yes. The owner has made himself something of a pest. I’ve tried to explain to him he needs to be established and have a minimum barrel count of over ten thousand barrels a year before he can apply to our Proof Distillery membership and a minimum of twenty-five thousand barrels a year for our Heritage Distillery membership. He can certainly apply for a Craft Distillery membership—once his barrel count reaches the minimum level, but he doesn’t seem to want that level of prestige and thinks he can just buy his way into a position as a voting member of the board of directors. I don’t think he realizes that our Heritage level members are the premier bourbon distillers in the entire world. He can’t just bully his way in because he has money. Sorry, I think I’ve said too much. That was out of character for me, Mayor Lassiter. Please forgive my talkativeness. He’s not a friend of yours, is he?”

“Not a problem, ma’am,” Tanner assured her. “He’s definitely no friend of mine. I just wondered how he’s been doing with his request. He’s trying to get me to grease the way for him, but I’m not sure that what he brews is worthy of your illustrious labeling.”

“Well, that’s not all, Mayor Lassiter,” she said conspiratorially. “He needs to find another member distillery to sponsor his application before we’ll consider it, and so far, he hasn’t had any luck there either.”

“I see,” Tanner mused. “Well, I certainly thank you for your information. And I hope come November I can count on your support at the polls.”

“Oh, most definitely,” she answered with a smile in her voice. “I like what you stand for, and I hope you win. It was a pleasure talking with you. Give my best to that pretty wife of yours. I hope I can meet you both someday.”

Tanner’s next call was to his uncle. Fred Lassiter was actually Tanner’s great-uncle, and they didn’t know each other particularly well because Fred’s business and home were clear across the state, but Tanner thought the man might be open to speaking to him seeing that theywererelated and Tannerwasrunning for governor.

Tanner was mistaken.

Uncle Fred was not the least excited about Tanner’s candidacy because he was running for the wrong party, and as soon as Tanner mentioned Arvol Smelzer, his uncle nearly hung up on him. Instead, he gave Tanner an earful. “Listen, Tanner, don’t you go getting yourself mixed up with the likes of that arrogant, lying cheater. If you get mixed up with him, you’ll be selling your soul to the devil.”

Soothingly, Tanner explained, “Yes, Uncle Fred, I understand that. I’m not trying to help the man, just make him think I am. He’s… well… blackmailing me, and I’d like to turn the tables on him.”

“Oh! Well, that’s a different barrel of whiskey, son,” Fred laughed softly. “I’m sorry you can’t see it in your heart to run on the correct party’s ticket, but blood is thicker than water, so what can I do to help?”

They had a brief discussion after which they both disconnected, satisfied.

Eli’s office at the campaign headquarters began receiving calls from people offering provisional support for Tanner’s campaign in the form of large donations and huge blocks of confirmed voters, but each promise hinged on whether or not they got approval from Colonel.

All the while, his PI tried and tried to track down anyone who’d been employed by Smelzer to tail Tanner and him. Each time the PI reported back to Eli, it was with no positive results. It was as if the man had vanished.

Tanner got a phone call on his cell one day in late September. It was from an unknown number, so he let it go to voice mail. His curiosity got the better of him before he deleted the message, so he was treated to a familiar nasally voice commanding him, “Tick tock, cocksucker. I ain’t gettin’ any younger. Let’s see some results, or you’ll be sorry!” Tanner saved the message.

Chapter 31

On a rainy afternoon in October, Tanner and Eli’s driver pulled up to the front of Tanner’s office. They’d been at a meeting with an important Kentucky corn growers’ association listening to the farmers’ ideas, and things had gone well, Tanner thought. He and Eli were all smiles until they realized there was a strange man standing outside of Tanner’s office in the rain. He wore a raincoat and a brimmed hat that was pulled way down so that they couldn’t see his face at all. Rather than exiting the car, Tanner ordered the driver to go around the block and phoned Opal.

“Do you know anything about the guy getting himself soaked out front?” he asked her.

Sighing, Opal explained, “He’s looking for you. Says he has to tell you something important—something private. I told him you’d be a while, so he left and came back a couple of minutes ago.”

“Huh,” Tanner mused. “You didn’t tell him to get inside out of the rain?”

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