Page 24 of Trusting Laurence
“Hey Jim. How’s it going?”
“Hey Larry. Doing good here, man. How’s it going your side?”
“Got a bit of a situation, but nothing I can’t handle. Otherwise good, thanks. Listen, bud. The reason I’m calling, would it be possible to pay another visit to Marcus Forrester?”
“Yeah sure. He’s off the danger list and quite lucid, so why not? When did you have in mind?”
“The sooner, the better. I have a feeling he’s the key to solving this puzzle of mine.”
“Let me see what I can organize with the hospital wing, and I’ll call you back.”
“Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.”
Larry set the handset back on its cradle and watched Finn continuing to wear a hole in his carpet. Neither man said a word for long moments as they pondered the mess they now faced. It made Larry sick to his stomach to think there was a leak somewhere in their department. The trick was going to be flushing them out.
Finally, Finn stopped in front of his desk.
“Boss man, what we have is a clusterfuck of note. What I can’t figure out here is, where is the leak coming from? I’ve worked with the men in this department at one point or another, and for the life of me, I can’t see one of ‘em being dirty.” He blew out a frustrated sigh. “How are we gonna get ‘em to blow their cover?”
“That is the question, isn’t it?” Larry couldn’t blame the man. He’d been battling with the same problem. They’d have to be careful how they approached the situation. They didn’t want to show their hand and risk sending the mole deeper underground.
Rock meet hard place.
“Pull up a chair, son. Let’s see what we can figure out,” Larry said as he reached for his desk phone again. “Mary-Beth, can we get a couple coffees in here, please?” Again, he hung up. “Where do you suggest we start?”
Yeah, they were going to need all the coffee they could get. It had already been a long day, and it was about to get a whole lot longer.
Everything hurt.
There wasn’t a spot on his body that didn’t ache like a mother. He couldn’t remember a time he’d been in such god-awful pain.
He needed to find a way out of this hellhole. He wouldn’t survive another beating like this one.That fucker, Keon, got me into this mess sniffing around here. He better get me out of it.
He had requested a meeting with the warden, but the man had yet to show. He needed to set up a meeting with Larry. Maybe if he was willing to be a state witness, they’d put him in witness protection. He had a lot of knowledge he knew they wanted. He just had to be smart about how he went about things.
Just when he was giving up hope of the warden ever making an appearance, the man walked into his room. The look the man gave him always pushed Marcus’s blood pressure up. Like he was barely above pond scum.Superior prick. Who does he think he is anyway? Nothing more than a worker drone.
“Mr. Forrester,” Jim Walker said as he stopped next to Marcus’s bed. “How are you today?”
“Like you care,” Marcus sneered. As the words came out of his mouth, he grimaced internally.Not smart, Marcus. You want this man to help you. He won’t if you keep antagonizing him.Much as he hated to, he apologized. “Sorry, Warden. I’m a bit irritable due to the pain.”
“Yeah, that was quite a beating you took there. Any idea who?”
“No, I have no idea. I didn’t see who it was.”
Jim nodded. “Fair enough. And I take it you’ve got no idea what prompted the attack?”
“No. I keep to myself and don’t get involved with any of the drama around here.”
“Yeah. Did the doctor say how long you’ll still be in here?”
“He informs me I’ll be here for another two weeks, at least.” Marcus replied. He wondered where this conversation was going. The warden wasn’t interested in his health, he’d stake money on it. There had to be an ulterior motive for his visit. He was doomed to be disappointed if he thought the man was going to share his reasons for visiting though.
“Well, I’m glad to see you’re doing better. I’ll see you around.”
Marcus clenched his fists, biting back the scathing words that popped into his head. “See you around, warden.” As he lay watching the man walk away, he realized he hadn’t asked him about contacting Larry Keon. “Warden,” he called out. “I wanted to ask. Mr. Keon was here just before the attack. He was after some information, and I now have what he needs. Would it be possible to contact him to let him know?”
The man turned back. “Sure thing. I’ll see what I can do for you.” He smiled that smirk that rankled to no end. Then pivoted and left the room.
