Chasing the Son by Bob Mayer Read Free Book Online

will yield results,” Dillon said.
    Mrs. Jenrette held up a finger. “Bearing with Mister Rigney’s concerns about discretion, I will have someone check into Mister Farrelli and the mother on Hilton Head. You talk to the Institute people.”
    Dillon glanced at Rigney, obviously not happy about being sidelined in one part of the inquiry, but he responded: “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Don’t worry, Mister Dillon,” Mrs. Jenrette said, not missing a movement in the dark. “You will travel to Hilton Head when needed, armed with more knowledge than you have now.”
    “Yes, ma’am. But may I ask, who will you use for the initial inquiries there?”
    “An old family friend and another Institute man,” she said. “Merchant Fabrou.”
    “The Quad,” Dillon said.
    Rigney stirred and was about to say something but he didn’t get a chance.
    “You have heard of them?” Mrs. Jenrette asked.
    “They are whispered about at the Institute, ma’am” Dillon said. “While you are spoken about.”
    “A well turned comment,” Mrs. Jenrette said, obviously pleased in the way those in power are when hearing what they believe is a truth. “The Quad wields some degree of power in our younger sister city down in Savannah. They are useful at times. This is one of those times. Additionally, as you know since you’ve read the reports, Mister Fabrou’s son, Jerrod, was involved in the incident, so he has a personal stake.” She shifted her attention. “You will talk to Merchant and ask him to investigate further, Mister Rigney?”
    “I will.” He paused. “But do you think it is wise involving Fabrou in this so close to the closing on Sea Drift? We will be seeing him on Saturday.”
    “Hush,” she chided him. She reached out and opened a drawer on the small table to her left. She fumbled inside and drew out an object. She held it out, hand shaking from age and the weight of it. “Take it.”
    Dillon did as she commanded.
    “Recognize it?”
    “It’s a ceremonial bayonet for the M-14 rifle,” Dillon said. He pulled back on the hilt, exposing the metal. “The blade has been chromed. It’s what we use at the Institute for ceremonies and parades. Every cadet, except Toppers who have swords, is issued one along with his rifle.”
    “It’s the weapon used to kill my grandson,” Mrs. Jenrette said. “Brannigan’s fingerprints were all over it. I want you to use it to kill Brannigan and cut out his heart. Understand?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Mister Rigney will provide you with everything you need. Go now. God speed.”
    Dillon pivoted, a maneuver he’d learned on the Quadrangle at the Institute as a frightened seventeen year old. He marched off the porch, bayonet in hand.
    Rigney remained. “I don’t think involving Merchant Fabrou or the Quad is wise. Nor do I think having Mister Dillon interview those young men this week is prudent. Why not let it go until next week, when the deal is done?”
    “I know you don’t,” Mrs. Jenrette said. “But Fabrou will think I’ll be indebted to him. He will believe he has gained an advantage over me. All great philosophy regarding power is essentially the same; whether it be Sun Tzu or the Godfather. To survive and flourish it is always best to keep friends close, but enemies closer. And Fabrou knows Farrelli. They have done business before. Mister Dillon will eventually go down to Hilton Head and in doing so he will discover what Mister Fabrou is up to. Fabrou will show his true colors in how he handles this. I do not trust the man, even though he has agreed to Sea Drift.” She stared at Rigney. “And that is why this is being done now, before we meet on Daufuskie on Saturday. I sense another entire level to this entire affair. What it might be, I have no idea. But there are secrets, Charles. And they might be very dangerous secrets.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “And, as I told Dillon. Fabrou’s son, Jerrod was there.”
    “You fear Sea Drift is at stake in this?” Rigney