Dead Money Run (27 page)

If you enjoyed

Dead Money Run

By
J. Frank James

You won’t want to miss
the next adventure with Lou Malloy and Hilary Kelly in…

Only Two Cats

Coming soon…

Chapter 1

“Lo
u
, Lou, wake up.”

“Huh, what’s going on?”

“You tell me,” said Hilary. “I can see lights out at the old dock”

Looking at the alarm clock next to the bed, it was flas
hing four o’clock in the morning.

“Lou, get up. I can see people moving around on the dock.”

“Okay,” I said. “Hand me the two-way. I’ll have to call Crusher.” Dragging myself out of bed, I slipped on a pair of jeans and tennis shoes.

I had been up the night before working on how I could get
the money we had stashed away a year ago in the casino on Cumberland Island that as part of a shakedown of a mobbed up group called the Outfit and I was bone tired.

“You think they are after the money?” Hilary asked.

I gave the question some thought because every time someone tried to break into Turtle Point, Hilary always asked the same question.

“What else would they be after? Better to steal from a thief than a bank,” I said. “I’m going to put the night vision
goggles on and step outside. While I’m gone, keep the twelve gauge shotgun where you can get to it just in case.”

Walking to a closet, I grabbed a Glock
-17 pistol and two clips of ammo. The Glock was fitted for a silencer and I screwed one on the end of the barrel and stuffed a blackjack in the rear pocket of my jeans.

“I may go up to the top floor and watch from the front room with the Marlin 30-30 instead,” said Hilary.

“Suit yourself,” I said. “Just make sure you don’t shoot me or Crusher and keep that shotgun handy.”

“Don’t bend over while you’re out there. The temptation may be too great to pass up.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said and stepped out into the hall.

The house we lived in had once belonged to a
tobacco planter back in the late 1800’s and he had barred no expense when he built it. It had a large descending stairway made out of wood from some live oak and black walnut trees in the area and someone with a night scope could see me descend through the large palladium windows over the front door. Luckily, there was a set of stairways at the end of the hall that led to the kitchen and eating area without going through the main part of the house. Walking down the hallway to the back set of stairs; I put the night goggles on and tried to raise Crusher on the two-way.

“Crusher, this is Malloy, do you copy?”

“Yeah Lou, I’m standing just outside your back kitchen door watching this bunch walking off the dock.”

“You get a head count?” I said.

“There are four of them. One guy is staying with the boat they came in and the other three guys are walking toward one of the maintenance sheds in back of your house.”

“You have Brutus with you?”

“He’s standing right here. He woke me up when he heard the motor from their boat. Whatever they’re riding in, it ain’t any Boston Whaler.”

“Do you think you can bag the guy in the boat?”

“Why? Where you goin?”

“I’m going to take the three heading to the shed,” I said.

“You think the odds are fair? I mean, you against three don’t sound like you want to give them a fighting chance.”

“I hear you. The
y are just here looking for the money. I’m going to try and keep one alive. Hilary is sitting up on the third floor in the crow’s nest with a 30-30 and she probably has them sighted by now. You try and keep the one in the boat in one piece.”

“I can’t promise you that. Brutus’s looking for some a
ction now that he’s up, but I will do what I can.”

“
Give him something to chew on,” I said.

“Where will you be?”

“Standing out near that big tree in front of the shed trying to figure out how to stop this shit,” I said. “It’s getting old.”

“
Lou, try doing it without the money,” said Crusher.