Chapter Fifteen

“Thanks for coming, man,” Zachary said as Rick playfully slapped him on the back. 

“I’m always here for you.” Rick sat at the bar and had to wonder why so many people ended up at Old Town Bar. The stench reminded him of old socks soaked in beer. But then again, there weren’t too many options in Manorview—a far cry from the endless options in The City. 

“I ordered that brown ale you like.” Zachary lifted his beer glass. “Cheers.”

Rick grabbed his glass. “To friendship. May you always have someone to lean on.”

Zachary smiled and clicked his glass with Rick’s. “Is that someone, you?”

“Of course. Who else is going to give you bad relationship advice?”

“You’re a little too late. Julie and I broke up.”

Rick’s smile faded. “Seriously? Aww man, I’m sorry. When did that happen?”

“A couple weeks ago. She said she didn’t think I’m mature enough for her.”

“You’re both young. How can either of you be mature?”

“I think she never got over my attempted murder.”

Rick took a step back. The more Rick got to know Zach the more he was reminded of his own youth. “Care to explain?”

“Last year an employee named Simon from a rival funeral home tried to kill me. I was stabbed a bunch of times, but I survived. Julie had to help me recover.” Zachary pulled down the collar of his T-shirt revealing a long scar below his clavicle. “I don’t think she wants to deal with that ever again.”

“Geez, is that place still in business?”

Rick took a long gulp of his beer. He felt like he was talking to one of his old buddies before attempting the honest life. The type of trouble those guys used to get into would make anyone’s hair stand up—but not him. To Rick, it felt natural.

Zachary chuckled. “No, stabbing people is an automatic fail. Simon and the owner, Tina, were arrested. The place was shut down. Oh, and incidentally, Marcia and Chris used to work for that rival home. Lily felt bad after it went down the toilet and hired them.” 

Rick’s ears perked up. No wonder Marcia had been an easy sell. She must have had instincts toward the dark side if she had been previously working for a criminal. “Interesting. Sometimes people have good intentions but don’t know how to execute them properly. It depends.”

“On what?” Zachary’s voice went up an octave. 

“On the stakes. Look, I’m not saying they should have stabbed you, but they clearly wanted to protect something important.”

“Yeah, they were protecting the wacko owner. That doesn’t make it right.”

“I’m trying to help you cope that’s all.” Rick sensed he could manipulate Zachary as long as he continued to have his back. The kid had deep-seated abandonment issues that could be easily exploited. 

Zachary inhaled half his beer. “Then you need to talk to Julie because clearly she did not cope well.”

“I can if you want me to. It must all be a misunderstanding. What are the chances that your funeral home goes under attack again?”

“Pretty slim.”

“I’d agree. So what is Julie so worried about? I can talk to her if you’d like.”

“I appreciate that, but I think Lily might get upset. Besides, we have had a couple hiccups lately with bodies going missing. Two went missing the other day—taken right from under our noses. I swear they’re disappearing into thin air.”

Rick sucked in a breath. He’d known this would probably come up. Eventually he hoped he get close enough to Zachary to recruit him into stealing more. But for now he’d play it off. “That is odd. Maybe you have a burglar selling bodies. I thought James had the place locked up tight?”

“Sort of. Nobody has seen anyone or anything out of the ordinary. Between you and me,” Zachary lowered his voice, “Lily thinks you might have something to do with it.”

Rick chuckled. “Of course she does. I’m an outsider. It’s easy to pick on me.”

“I think she’s lost it.”

“Maybe, like I said before, it depends on the stakes. Lily places a high value on her business so she means to protect it at any cost. Even if there’s no proof or logic behind her accusations.” Rick tapped Zachary’s shoulder. “I’m sure you can put in a good word for your big brother.” 

Zachary smiled. “It must be a misunderstanding. Lily’s good at what she does but she ain’t perfect.” He shrugged. “Why would she go down this road with you?”

Rick shook his head. “You got me.” He pointed his index finger up in the air. “Although, I think she might be upset I took Marcia on a date.”

Zachary grinned. “You took Marcia out on a date? You dirty dog.”

Rick’s arms went out in defense. “Hey! I can’t help it if she finds me irresistible.”

Zachary drank his beer while a frown developed between his brows. “Well, she didn’t approach you, that’s for sure.” 

“Listen, I happen to like art and she’s an artist. We are a match made in heaven.”

Zachary scrunched up his face. “I don’t know about that. She’s pretty quiet compared to you. It’s more like a surprising match.”

“You told me Julie likes to go to rodeos whenever she has time. I know you don’t like rodeos, but you dated her anyway.” 

“Different. Going to rodeos is a hobby, not a personality trait.”

“Haven’t you heard of opposites attract?” Rick threw his head back and finished his beer in one gulp. 

“It doesn’t matter. If you like each other, I’m happy for you. And you’re probably right; Lily wouldn’t like to see you two together. She’s protective of her staff even if they came from a rival funeral home.”

“Well, that explains why she would pin some crazy body snatcher on me. Everyone has their flaws, but I want you to remember I’m here for you even if your family members falsely accuse me of crimes I didn’t commit. I’m not going anywhere.”

Rick knew that’s what Zachary wanted. As long as he can keep Zachary and Marcia on his side he should be in the clear. How persistent could Lily really be? He had a feeling he might find out. “Any girls in here catch your eye?” He looked around at the girl groups sitting at the bar. “I could be your wingman.”

“Highly unlikely in this dump. Besides, I’m not ready yet.”

“That’s cool. Like I said I’ll be here when you’re ready.” Rick eyed the phone in Zach’s hand. The home screen had not locked yet. He reached over and snatched the phone out of Zachary’s hand.

“Hey!”

“I just want to see something.” Rick began furiously searching Zach’s contact list. And because he was significantly taller than Zachary, he could keep the phone away long enough to make a call. “Hello, Julie?”

“What are you doing?” Zachary complained as he reached for the phone.

But Rick dodged and arched his body away from Zachary’s reach. “My name is Rick. I’m a friend of Zachary Reynolds. We’re having a drink at Old Town Bar catching up when he told me he misses you.”

Zachary put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes.

“You miss him, too? Well, I think you should come by and have a drink. It can’t hurt to have a conversation. Oh great, you’re on your way. We’ll be here waiting.” Rick tapped the screen to end the call. His eyes were wide. “I didn’t think that would work. But it did.”

Zachary snatched his phone back. “What have you done?”

“I took a chance. It paid off.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You can’t be mad when it pays off.”

Zachary took a breath. “Holy cow. I can’t believe that worked. I can’t decide if I should be mad or happy.”

Rick slapped Zachary’s back. “Be happy, man. This is your chance and clearly, she misses you, too.” 

Zachary motioned at the bartender for another round. “I’m in shock.”

“You’ll be fine. Here’s your chance to explain to her that you’ve grown a lot and you're extremely responsible—even though you did nothing wrong. If you want her back, you’ll need to play the game. I’m sure she feels like she made a mistake, or else why would she be coming here?”

“True. I hope this wasn’t a bad idea.” 

“Nah, it’s genius. Drink up.” 

Ten minutes later, Rick noticed a tall brunette walk into the bar. She paused at the door scanning the patrons. 

“Julie,” Zachary announced and waved her over. 

She smiled and headed toward the bar. As she walked her brown hair bounced on her shoulders. 

Rick watched Zachary’s smile spread from ear to ear. This was not just a great idea. It was brilliant. “Hey, I’m Rick. I talked to you on the phone earlier.”

Julie smiled. “I figured. Nice to meet you, Rick.” 

Rick put his hand over his chest. “Sorry for the imposition but he talks about you, so I did what I thought was right.”

Zachary rolled his eyes. “I ordered the beer you like. He handed her the bottle.

“Thanks. I just finished a clinical rotation so I could use a drink.”

“Julie is in nursing school,” Zachary explained.

“A noble profession.” Rick said. “When do you graduate?”

“This coming spring. I’m not sure I’m ready though.”

“You’ll be great,” Zachary said. “You’d be great at anything you chose.”

Rick threw his head back to drink the last few drops of his beer. Then he placed the empty bottle on the bar. His gamble had paid off. Sometimes he couldn’t believe how easily he could manipulate people. With Zachary on his side it would be hard for Lily to convince him that Rick had been anything but an upstanding fellow.

“Well, my work is done here. I’ll let you two get reacquainted.”

Zachary stood up. “Thanks for everything, man. You’re the best.”

“Anytime. I’m here for you.” Rick walked to the front door. Then he turned around. “Remember that,” he said before he walked out.