Dark and Bloody Ground by Darcy O'Brien Read Free Book Online Page A

money on, except flowers for his grave. What a pitiful story! I am telling you this for your own good. People do not understand how vulnerable and helpless they are. The law can grind you to bits.”
    He said that he felt so sorry for her that he would be willing to represent her, too, at no charge. His fee for her would be a dollar— assuming that Roger wised up and came to an agreement. Roger’s situation was dire. The authorities had already turned up evidence that Lester was not yet at liberty to disclose. This case would require every ounce of his experience and ingenuity. What price could you place on a human life?

4
    T HAT EVENING CAROL SUMMONED LESTER to her room at the motel. He took Ralph Gibson with him and found Carol waiting with Sherry, Louise Farley, and Sharon Wilson. The women did not appear glad to see him. His attempt at pleasantries fell flat.
    Carol handed Lester a brown paper bag. Hefting it, he took it into the bathroom and closed the door. The counter beside the sink was wet and strewn with toiletries, so he emptied the bag out onto the floor. There were five bundles of bills, each secured at both ends with rubber bands. It was all in hundreds, five bundles of five thousand dollars each. It occurred to him that carrying that amount around in a paper bag probably was not such a good idea, so he tucked the bundles under his shirt in the small of his back. Through the door he could hear the women.
    When he came out, Sherry was saying that nobody called her a bitch and a thief and got away with it. If it weren’t for her, they wouldn’t have any money to pay a lawyer. Carol would have lost it or spent it on coke. Ralph Gibson stood in a corner, looking alarmed. Lester stepped between Sherry and Carol and told everyone to calm down and listen to him. They should put everything in his hands, it was the best thing they could do.
    “Roger wants me to have his share,” Carol shouted.
    “I’ll have to hear that from Roger himself,” Sherry said.
    “Ladies! Please!” Lester begged them. “Keep it down!”
    Lester went to the window, leaned against the air conditioner and pushed the curtains apart an inch. The money bulged under the back of his shirt.
    “The FBI are everywhere,” he said. “I’ll bet they have a hundred agents on this thing. They’re scouring the state for that money. I wouldn’t go out with any money on you, if I were you. I wouldn’t keep any in the room, either.” He turned to face the women. “What about the attorneys for Benny and Donnie? Of course, you could try to get the court to appoint some nobody to defend them, if you think you can prove they’re broke. It’s too bad I’m not in a position to help, the way things are at the moment. I can only do so much. I could do a lot for all of you. I know how you must be suffering,” he said to Louise Farley, “as a mother.” He reached out and put his arms around her. “These are trying times. You’re a fine-looking woman and I know you love your son. Don’t cry.” She wasn’t.
    Back in his room, Lester told Ralph Gibson that he ought to fly back to Kentucky the next day. Things at the office would be piling up. Lester pulled out his shirt and tossed the money onto the bed, bundle by bundle.
    “There’s twenty-five grand there. You can take it with you and keep it for me till I get back.”
    Gibson stared at the money silently. Then he said that he did not think he wanted to do that. It was one thing to receive this money. It was another to transport it across state lines. The law against doing that with stolen money was clear.
    “How do you know it’s stolen?” Lester asked. “You know more than I do. How do we know this is Acker money? For all I know, one of the girls inherited it from her grandmother. Maybe Epperson’s parents are paying my expenses.”
    Gibson looked Lester in the eye.
    “All right,” Lester said. “I understand. You’re young. I wouldn’t dream of asking you to do something you