Chapter 71
“I don’t understand.”
Freshly showered and smelling good, Lucas Matthews walked into the Bayou sharply dressed in a charcoal gray shirt and slacks with matching shoes, ready for work. Napoleon called him at his new apartment and told him to be at the Bayou at 10:00 that morning. He had a job for him. He must have something special for me. Maybe we’re finally going to take care of Richard Goode. In the month that he worked with Bubbles, he’d learned how to shoot a pistol, how to use brass knuckles, how to brutalize a man without killing him, and why it was important to keep a debtor alive. “If we kill ’em,” Bubbles explained, “we don’t get paid.”
Lucas saw Napoleon and Bubbles sitting at their usual table, having a bite to eat. He greeted them and took a seat.
“You look good, kid,” Bubbles said. “Hard to remember that shabby bum that came in here a month ago.”
“Thanks, man.” Lucas smiled.
“Had a talk with Bubbles last night,” Napoleon said. “Found out some interesting things about you, kid.”
The comment made Lucas feel a little unsettled. Did Bubbles say something about me and Marla? “All good, I hope.” Lucas pretended to be at ease with what he’d just heard.
“Bubbles said you’re doing a great job and you’re ready to go on your own. What do you think? You think you’re ready?”
Relieved, Lucas regained his confidence. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Great. You can start this week’s pick-up by yourself. But I got a special favor I want you to do for me from time to time. You game?”
“Sure, Napoleon,” Lucas said, excited. “What is it, man? You want me to start doin’ the payoffs too?”
Bubbles smiled. “My, my, my. Aren’t we an ambitious boy?”
“No, nothing like that.” Napoleon smiled. “This is a little more personal. I want you to take my car and drive Marla wherever she wants to go.”
Lucas’ smile evaporated. “I thought you wanted me involved with the Richard Goode thing.” He looked at Bubbles to see what he was thinking. Bubbles continued eating his breakfast, not even bothering to look at him. “Have Fort Knox or one of the other guys do it. I wanna be in on the Goode thing.”
Bubbles stopped eating and looked at him, obviously aggravated by Lucas’ arrogance. “Look, kid, do what the fuck he tells you! You got that?”
Lucas was surprised to hear Bubbles take Napoleon’s side; especially after the two warnings he’d given him.
“I thought you and Marla got along, Lucas,” Napoleon said.
“We got along fine, Napoleon.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Lucas looked at Bubbles briefly. He had that same aggravated look on his face. I guess he’s coverin’ his own ass.
“It’s no problem. But why me? Why don’t she drive herself?”
“Marla’s afraid to drive. A couple of years ago, she was blind-sided by a truck haulin’ moonshine. She’s been reluctant to get behind the wheel ever since.”
Lucas mumbled, “She ain’t got no friends to drive her around?”
“Look, man, I told her I’d send someone. She doesn’t like any of my other people and asked me to send you. Now, help me out here, man.”
“Okay, Napoleon,” Lucas said with resignation.
“Great. She’s just got a few errands to run. It shouldn’t take too long. Here’s the keys to my car.” He tossed them to Lucas. “That baby better not have a scratch on it when you bring it back.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t,” Lucas said. “Now, what about the other thing?”
“What other thing?”
“You know. The thing you promised Johnnie. She’s been buggin’ me about it.”
The truth was, Johnnie hadn’t said too much about it. She was surprisingly patient. Lucas knew Johnnie agreed with Napoleon. If they were going to get away with murder, they had to be patient.
“Didn’t I promise to take care of it?” Napoleon asked Lucas.
“Yeah.”
“Trust me then. We’re already planning the thing, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll tell Johnnie. Then maybe she’ll get off my back,” Lucas said. “So, what time do I pick up Marla?”
“Now.”
“Now? I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”
“I’ll call her and have her make something for you. It’ll be ready by the time you get there.”
“Okay. I’m gone,” Lucas said and left. This is just great. Napoleon is gonna end up killin’ me over this shit. I haven’t seen her since the funeral. And now, I gotta drive her around.
Bubbles waited until Lucas left the table then said, “Why you doin’ this to the kid?”
“Because I can! Now, are you sure he got the message?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“Good. It’s all coming together.” Napoleon smiled.
“I don’t understand,” Bubbles said. “When you told me that you thought Marla liked the kid, I thought you should know that I already warned him about her. This is fucked up, man. A lotta good people are gonna die over some pussy, man.”
“Men have always killed and died over pussy, Bubbles. And we’ll continue to kill and die over it. That and money. And for the record, it’s not all about fucking his woman. It’s mainly about the money. But yeah, I’m gonna fuck Johnnie—at least once.”
Bubble stared at Napoleon disapprovingly.
“Look, man, you don’t need to understand everything right now. Just back me up like you’ve always done. And you’re gonna make more money on this thing than you can possibly imagine, okay? Trust me on this.”
“Okay, man. I just don’t wanna kill the kid.”
“We might have to, old friend.”