Revenge (8 page)

She kept quiet.
 
She made to go to her truck, but Mercer shook his head.
 
There was nothing she could do for him.
 
They would both just have to wait it out.

M
ercer had been arrested a few times in his life.
 
He had even been in that very sheriff’s station more than once, but this was the first time he had been completely innocent.
 
He hadn’t gone anywhere near the Witherspoon place last night and couldn’t think of a reason why he would be a suspect, other than the fact that Ellis was still carrying a grudge all these years later.

Mercer was taken to an interrogation room, but the younger deputy, whose nametag read Williams, was kind enough to remove the handcuffs and offer something to drink.
 

As Mercer sat and waited, he thought about Tank.
 
The big, angry man was on his way and the longer Mercer sat there, the less time he’d have to get away.
 
If it came right down to it, Mercer could take some unpaved trails out of town.
 
Tank would have more men with him and be better armed, but Mercer knew the area, which might be the advantage that saved his life.

After the better part of an hour, the door finally opened and Ellis came in.

“Who took off those cuffs?”

“Me.
 
I’m a magician, didn’t you know?”

“Do yourself a favor and shut up.”

“You sure know how to carry a grudge, Harv.
 
High school was a long time ago.
 
Who even gives a shit anymore?”

“This isn’t about anything except you beating and robbing Mrs. Witherspoon the other night.”

Mercer shook his head.
 
“Nope.
 
You better keep looking, because I had nothing to do with it.
 
What time did this take place?”

Ellis checked his notes.
 
“One this morning.”

“I was asleep in my hotel room.”

“Can anyone corroborate that story?”
           

Mercer was really wishing Danni had let him spend the night.
 
Normally, Mercer followed the rule of not saying a word to the cops.
 
They used your own defense against you and it was always better to demand a public defender and let them handle it. But he was in a hurry so he risked talking, hoping he could convince Ellis he was innocent and get out of there.

“No one.
 
I was asleep all by myself.
 
Let me ask you this, why are you looking at me?
 
Besides your fondness for me.”

“At the time of the break-in, a witness drove past the Witherspoon place and saw a motorcycle outside her house.

“I’m the only guy in this town that rides a bike?”

“Where are your friends?”

“I don’t have any friends, Harv, at least none on bikes in town with me, so I don’t know what the hell is going on.
 
Maybe do some police work and find out for yourself.”

Ellis didn’t take the bait. He stared Mercer down. “You can say that, but it’s pretty interesting you roll into town and suddenly we have trouble with dumb ass criminals on motorcycles.
 
So I’m going to ask again, where were you at one this morning, and can anyone back it up?”

Mercer thought.
 
No one could verify he was in his room all night.
 
The night clerk at the Camelot could say he checked in sometime around eleven, but he wouldn’t be able to say Mercer had stayed in his room all night, although the clerk looked like a weirdo; the kind of person that could put hidden cameras in the rooms.

“The security cameras,” said Mercer.
 
“The Camelot has security cameras in the parking lot.
 
If they actually are hooked up and recording, you can check those.
 
They’ll show my bike didn’t leave the parking lot all night.”

Ellis gave him a hard look. It took everything Mercer had not to jump over the table and give Ellis what he had coming to him.
 
Ellis didn’t hate Mercer because Specs had died, he hated Mercer because he was into Danni in high school but could never get close to her.
 
She spent all her time with Specs and Mercer and they all thought Ellis was a joke.
 
Mercer hadn’t actually thought of Ellis in all the time he had been gone, and probably wouldn’t have ever again if he hadn’t come back into town, but now that they were face to face it was clear Ellis had spent ten years just waiting to get Mercer up against the wall.

“Wait right here while I check this out.”

Ellis left the room and Mercer was stuck waiting again.
 
The cops had taken his phone so there was no way to check the time.
 
He got up from the chair and paced the room.
 
Too much time was passing.
 
With every second, Tank was getting closer.
 
Mercer wondered who this biker guy was that attacked the old lady, and if he had anything to do with Tank.
 
Maybe the guy who came out before Tank had arrived last night and roughed up the lady?
 
But if that was the case, why didn’t he immediately come after Mercer?
 
He didn’t know and he didn’t care.
 
He just wanted out.
 

Mercer had completely lost track of time by the time Ellis came back in.
 
The deputy sat at the table and didn’t say a word.
 
He flipped through some pages in a folder and made a few notes.
 
Mercer had been around enough cops to know how they acted.
 
They were petty assholes, and if Ellis had real evidence he would have started right away with it.
 
Mercer was sure he was getting released, but this was Ellis’s way of fucking with him, keeping him there just a little while longer.

Finally, Ellis closed the folder.
 
“Security cameras at the Camelot Motel show your motorcycle didn’t move from its parking spot all night, but that doesn’t clear you of the crime.
 
You could have had someone pick you up on their bike.”

“Horse shit.
 
Innocent until proven guilty, Deputy.
 
You can’t just make up something and try to pin it on me.
 
Now let me the fuck out of here.”

“Actually, the law says I can detain you for forty-eight hours if you are a person of interest. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you roll into town and suddenly a rich widow is attacked by people on motorcycles.”

Ellis got up from his seat and motioned for Mercer to do the same.
 
They walked out the door and down the hall to the processing station, where the young deputy returned Mercer’s personal possessions.

Ellis said, “Here’s the deal.
 
You are being released.
 
I, personally, am going to drive you back to Stax.
 
You’ll get on that piece of shit bike of yours and leave town.
 
Then you will never come back here.
 
Ever.
 
If I get word that you are even in the neighboring county, I will personally make sure your ass stays behind bars.
 
I will arrest your ass for loitering if I have to.
 
Is that understood?”

Mercer was walked out into the back of the station and into Ellis’s car.
 
Without the cuffs, Mercer eased himself into the back, thankful not to be knocked around anymore.

They drove back in silence.
 
Mercer made a decision in the back of the squad car.
 
Ellis was right.
 
It couldn’t be a coincidence that he comes back to town and someone on a bike robs and beats the Witherspoon widow.
 
It had to have something to do with Tank.
 
Mercer thought of Danni and realized he couldn’t leave.
 
He couldn’t bring that kind of evil to town and take off.
 

They arrived at Stax and Ellis opened the back door for Mercer to get out.
 

Danni barged out the front door.
 
“What the hell is wrong with you, Harvey?”

Ellis turned to her. “Danni, get out of here.
 
I was serious about charging you if you get in my way.”

She stood her ground.
 
“This isn’t about you suspecting Mercer of anything.
 
This is you getting even because you weren’t part of the cool kids’ club back in high school.
 
Let it go, Harv, it was a long time ago.”

“Seems to me like you’re the one who’s having trouble letting go of that past.”

He walked towards his car and she followed.
 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You really want to go down that road?
 
Fine.
 
You’ve spent the last ten years pining for a dead man and now the closest thing to a substitute comes along and you’re off with him.”

Danni was close to slapping him, but held back.
 
“You don’t know shit, Harvey.
 
You were always on the outside looking in and you still are.”

“Whatever you say, Danni.”
 
He turned back to Mercer.
 
“Get on your bike right now.
 
I’ll follow you to make sure you leave.”

“Harv, I’m not going anywhere.
 
Something is about to go down and I need to take care of it.”

“I told you to call me Deputy Ellis.
 
Now get on your goddamn bike and ride the fuck out of town.”

“You fucking asshole,” snapped Mercer.

“What did you just say,” said Ellis, his hand going to the gun on his hip.

“I called you a fucking asshole, which is what you are.
 
You can’t get over your bullshit, so you’re going to ignore me.
 
You aren’t much of a cop.
 
You’re not much of a man, actually.”

Ellis came towards him and Mercer was ready.
 
Ellis went for his nightstick, but Mercer grabbed his arm and punched him in the face.
 
Ellis’s sunglasses went flying but he recovered faster than Mercer expected.
 
The deputy charged Mercer, wrapped his big arms around him, and slammed him against the brick wall of the bar.
 
Mercer slammed his fists into Ellis’s ears.
 
Dazed, he dropped Mercer and fell back against his car.
 
Mercer got in close and gave a quick one-two into Ellis’s midsection.
 
He made a grab for his gun and aimed it right at Mercer.
 

“Fuck you, asshole.
 
You are going to rot in a prison cell for the rest of your life.”

Mercer heard the distinct sound of motorcycle engines coming down the street.
 
Before he even looked, he knew it was Tank and the rest of his thugs.
 
Mercer, Ellis, and Danni watched as they approached.
 
It all seemed to happen in slow motion.
 
The MC spotted Mercer’s bike and the three of them alongside the building.
 
There were five of them, all burly men with deeply tanned skin.
 
Mercer watched as they drew guns from their belts.
 

He grabbed Danni and pulled her down.
 
They ducked behind Ellis’s car as the shots rang out, bullets bouncing off the brick and shattering the windows of the car.
 
Ellis still had his gun in his hand.
 
He jumped up as they passed and returned fire.
 
He missed the men, but managed to put a couple shots into their bikes.
 
The MC roared off down the street.

Immediately, Ellis was in his car calling for backup.
 
Mercer checked Danni and himself over for bullet wounds, but they had gotten lucky for now.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

Danni nodded, but she was shaking.
 
Tears were starting to stream from her eyes.
 
Mercer wiped them away.

“It’s OK.
 
We’re OK now.”

“Are they going to come back?” she asked.

“No, at least not right away.
 
They were looking for me, but shooting was an impulse.
 
They know they need me alive if they want their money back.”

“What kind of people have you been running with?”

“I wasn’t running with them.
 
Those men corrupted my club and turned it into something nasty.
 
They made a lot of money off spreading their disease and I stole it.
 
They want it back.”

“So you are a fucking criminal.”
 
Ellis was staring at the both of them.
 
“And now you’re brought this shit to my town.”