Shadow Of Misgivings, Nora Kane [great novels .txt] 📗

the desert sun would have made quick work of them.”

Marv downed the shot. He poured himself another and then held the bottle out towards Margot.

She shook her head and told him, “I’m good.”

“You know what this is going to mean? Mal gone and those boys dead?”

“It means Mal’s gone and those boys are dead.”

“No, it’s going to mean Mal killed them. Even if that’s not what happened, that’s the way they’re going to see it. I’m going to have to choose between my brother and the club.”

“Doesn’t seem like much of a choice to me.”

Marv downed his third shot of whiskey before he said, “It shouldn’t be but it is.”

Margot couldn’t really argue with him there. It wasn’t like he and Mal were close.

“Honestly, it won’t matter. They’re going to see the bodies and blame me. I was the one who brought him and put him up here. It won’t matter how loudly I proclaim my loyalty to the club, they’re going to assume—when shit gets real—that I’m going to have my brother’s back.”

“It’s not an unreasonable assumption.”

“I know. Despite everything that happened between us, when he came around asking for my help, there were no questions asked. I guess I should have asked some questions.”

“Speaking of questions, what did Mal want with Manny?”

“I already told you, I didn’t know. What does it matter now anyway?”

“Mal had a lot of flaws but assuming he killed those guys in the freezers, he wouldn’t do it for no reason. Mal could be violent, but he was never violent for fun.”

“You think whatever he wanted with Manny had something to do with this?”

“It was why he was here.”

“You think I’m lying when I say I don’t know?”

“I think it’s possible.”

“I’m not.”

“Would Manny know? I assume he would want some information before seeing a guy like Mal.”

“He might. Manny wouldn’t be where he was if he wasn’t cautious.”

“Maybe we should ask him.”

“What about all this?”

“Did you tell anyone we were coming?”

“No. They knew I went back to look for Mal though.”

“Any reason for them to think you would have checked the freezer?”

“No.”

“Then we don’t tell them about Cheese and the other two. We wait until we have an idea what’s going on, if we tell them at all.”

“I don’t know. That doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Yeah, well keeping this shit to myself doesn’t sit right with me, either, but it’s still probably the right play. Call Manny, see if you can find out what Mal was up to.”

“Manny won’t talk about that kind of thing on the phone.”

“Go see him then.”

“Only if you come with me.”

“I have a feeling he’ll be hostile toward an ex-cop like myself.”

“He will, but you might have a chance to get him to talk. I won’t.”

“Why is that?”

“We’ve got a hierarchy and he’s at the top. If he orders me to shut up, I’m supposed to shut up.”

“So, if he tells me to shut up, I won’t have to?”

“It would be advisable, but you aren’t bound by any rules other than self-preservation.”

“Can we do it now?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“We need to clean up then. Did you mess with anything in the back?”

“Nope. All I touched were the doors.”

“Wipe them down. I’m not going to call the police, but that doesn’t mean someone else won’t.”

“A Racer wouldn’t.”

“You’re a hundred percent sure on everybody?”

Marv thought about that for a second and then said, “I guess I’m not a hundred percent on everyone.”

“Then wipe everything down.”

“Should I wipe down the bottle?”

“Only if it would be weird for your prints to be on it.”

“This is my clubhouse and I’ve been known to bartend,” Marv said as he found a rag. He went to the back to clean up any fingerprints he might have left.

While he was doing that, Margot cleaned off her glass and the bottle of Maker’s Mark and anywhere else she touched. Unlike Marv, this wasn’t her clubhouse.

Chapter 5

Marv pulled into a mini-mall parking lot and parked his bike.

Margot rolled down her window. “Does Manny work at the iPhone repair shop or the sub sandwich place?”

“Neither. You need to ride with me the rest of the way. Manny isn’t going to be happy talking to you and if he sees you pulling into his driveway in some Japanese car, he’s going to be even more obstinate than usual.”

“You serious?”

“Manny is what some would call set in his ways.”

“Others would call him an asshole.”

“Yeah, but not to his face. You want to do this or not?”

Margot got and locked her car. Marv handed her the extra helmet he had strapped to his leather saddlebags.

“This thing is at least two sizes too big,” Margot told him.

“I’m not planning to wreck.”

“No one ever does.”

Marv smiled to acknowledge the truth in that and then said, “As far as Manny knows, you’re Mal’s woman and that’s why you want to know what’s up. You tell him you’re a private investigator working for me and he’ll toss us both out.”

“Alright, but don’t expect any declarations of undying love. I’m not that good of an actress.”

Marv nodded and motioned to the back of his bike. Margot sat down and held on. Marv drove on out to Manny’s trailer.

“I would think the leader of a big-time outlaw motorcycle gang would have a nicer place,” Margot said as they stood outside of Manny’s double-wide. His place wasn’t as out of the way as the clubhouse, but it was close.

“He can’t exactly declare the money he’s making and buying houses with cash attracts attention,” Marv told her.

A bald man wearing a Devil Racers vest with a chrome revolver stuck