Nick dug into the door pocket for the bottled water and ibuprofen he’d stashed there. “Here, get these into you. There’s Twinkies in the bag to cushion the pills.”
“Now I can Find him if I want to.” Brian took the water bottle. “I don’t know why Damon never thought of doing it a bit at a time. Man, it would have saved me from some mega-crashes.”
Damon had figured he was dealing with his stupid little brother who could barely understand simple directions. Nick didn’t point that out, though, just grinned. “Because I’m smarter than Damon.”
Brian tilted his head, then took a big swallow of water as if avoiding comment. Nick waited till he’d emptied the bottle before reaching over to tickle him in the ribs. “Say it. I’m smarter than Damon.”
“Ack.” Brian squirmed away. “You know me way better than Damon ever did.”
“I’ll settle for that.” Nick put the car in gear. “Right. Phase two.”
They parked on the grass a few houses down from McNaught’s, with line of sight to his driveway and put the big sign in the windshield: “For sale: $3000 or BO. Call…” With a burner number for Lori to answer if McNaught was that paranoid of a bastard. Charlie had paid the property owner to rent the space. McNaught could pass the same car sitting there, day after day, and there’d be nothing suspicious about it.
“Now the boring part.” Nick slouched in his seat behind cover of the sign, pulled out his phone and searched the local news. It appeared the vandals had been quiet that day. He started looking for past stories with McNaught. Every glimpse, every mention, was a bit more data on how the big man would jump in a crisis.
Brian tipped his seat way back and cued up a movie on his phone.
Almost two hours later, Nick was considering getting out to stretch when Charlie called. “Hey, I managed to meet up with Sam and persuade him to go out for a drink.”
“He busted curfew?” He’d been sticking close to work and home as ordered the last two days.
“I think McNaught’s threats are losing their power without the man standing there. Sam was mouthing off about people who didn’t want to pay him again.”
“He’s an idiot.”
“Yeah. I might’ve given him a nudge or two. Anyway, he just left the bar. He’s heading straight your way. About five minutes out now.”
“McNaught’s not home yet.” Nick had kept the corner of his eye on that driveway. Nothing had gone up or down it.
“If they’re meeting up at McNaught’s, we need to get close.”
“I can head down on foot. Brian can wait here with the car.”
Brian muttered his disapproval, but Charlie said, “Good idea. Keep in touch.”
Brian said, “I don’t guess I get a voice in this?”
Nick grimaced. “I need you up here, ready to head out. Or to track McNaught, if something goes down.”
“And I’m no good at hiding.” Brian sighed. “Okay. Don’t get shot or anything. Promise.”
“I’ll be careful.” Nick waited till a couple of cars went by, then slid out of the driver’s seat, leaving the door open for Brian, and headed along the road.
A few minutes later, he was settled in behind McNaught’s four-wheeler, watching the back door, twenty feet from where Charlie had let Sam out the last time. Another few minutes and he heard the crunch of wheels on gravel. Sam? McNaught? He ducked lower and cued up his video camera.
The vehicle that appeared was Sam’s old truck. He peeled to a stop, jumped out, and dropped a pile of wood scraps from the back onto the gravel drive. As Nick watched, he poured sharp-smelling fluid on them, dropped a match, and watched the flames leap up the dry tinder. The smile on his face was twisted and wide.
He is a firebug all right. Trying to burn McNaught out? The gravel was a pretty safe spot, though. Thin smoke rose, no more than from a barbecue, the scent laced with a gasoline tang. The flames didn’t seem about to leap to either the house or the shed. After a second, Sam whirled, jumped the two back steps to stuff a piece of paper in the storm door, then ran to his truck and peeled off up the driveway.
Nick cut the video and his phone flashed silently. ~Sam just reappeared.
He texted back. ~He left McNaught a message. And that was a hell of a message. Sam was crazy if he thought McNaught was the type to take a threat.