Page 32 of Delusional

“I’ll knock the box into Jersey. Don’t you worry about it.”

Owens nodded, satisfied with the answer. Maybe he didn’t give this guy enough credit. Pry was spot-on when he said Owens didn’t know much about the world. That was one of the reasons he preferred to live alone in the woods if he could.

Owens pressed on. There were a number of doors that opened onto the alley, so he explained his plan to Pry exactly.

“The next thing we need to worry about is timing. It looks like this alley is used quite a bit. There are a lot of ways into it from this building or the building behind it. That means you don’t want to be hanging around. You’re going to walk off the street, down this alley, knock that box off the wall, and walk straight on to the next block.”

“That sounds like an order.”

“No, just a plan about how to avoid being identified and arrested.”

They both looked up at the box. Owens had the feeling Pry was about to smack him.

Pry remained silent for a moment as he examined the box. Then he said, “I don’t know why everyone acts like you’re in charge now. Being smart can only take you so far. Sometimes you need to show people how tough you are.”

Owens thought fast. “That’s why we have you.”

That immediately had an effect on the giant man. He even nodded his head and smiled briefly.

“So you know what to do, right, Pry?” Owens said. “You can knock the box out of commission and not be seen?”

“One hundred percent.”

Owens didn’t believe that for a moment. But he hoped it would be hard to screw up this part of the job. They’d find out soon enough.

CHAPTER 36

GARY AND ROB TRILLING left the meeting with Arnold Marks and went directly back to their mother’s house. They wanted to talk to their grandfather right away and ease his growing concerns about Marks buying the family business.

They left Fido the llama at the car lot and drove a Chevy Camaro, one of the lot’s faster vehicles, home. Mona Trilling was not a huge fan of Fido’s, and Gary didn’t want to take the time to transport him in the van, then settle the llama in his pen at Gary’s house next door.

Before they opened Mona’s front door, Gary turned excitedly to his brother and said, “Smells like empanadas.”

Rob let a smile slide across his face. He’d missed his mother’s cooking. New York City might have a thousand options, but nothing was as good as something his mom made. At least nothing he’d discovered since leaving home six years ago.

Chet Trilling sat at the kitchen counter and looked toward the front door as they stepped in. The first words out of his mouth were “Did you sell?”

Gary said no.

A couple of different things made Rob happy at that moment. First: the fact that his grandfather knew exactly what was going on and had asked exactly the right question. Second: the expression on his grandfather’s face when Gary told him he had not sold the car lot. It was inspiring. Chet looked like a teenager, he was so excited by the news.

“How did the man from Los Angeles take it?” Mona asked.

Gary shrugged. “He wasn’t happy, but what choice did he have? He offered us plenty of money, but we refused to sell. He owns most of the businesses on that side of town now. We’re the only holdout.”

His mother didn’t say anything but looked over at Rob. He knew she was looking for a different opinion about the interaction.

Rob took a moment to consider his words. “The guy did understand that we’re not interested in selling. However, there’s something about him I don’t like. I don’t feel like he’s going to let this drop yet.”

Mona asked, “Do you think he might go to the county and convince them to get involved somehow, try to un-incorporate us, then do some sort of eminent domain on our property? Our car lot doesn’t exactly bring in people spending a lot of cash.”

It was Gary who answered. “I hadn’t considered that, Mom. I mean I hadn’t considered that the reason Marks wants our property is because it’s in an incorporated town. The county has no real say. Maybe that’s what makes everything so attractive to him.”

Rob said, “Or he’s a spoiled douchebag who doesn’t like to be told no.”

Gary nodded. “There is that also.”

Chet had a broad smile on his face. Then he chimed in: “No one runs us off.”