Hard Stop Read Free Page B

taking the Maglite out of my mouth.
    Terror and confusion raced across his face.
    “What’s this?”
    “The cops call it a home invasion. Pretty unsettling, isn’t it?”
    “I don’t understand,” he said, buying time while he corralled his faculties.
    One of my worries going in was shocking Donovan into a heart attack. He had to be in his late sixties, in good shape,but nevertheless. Looking at him harden under the light of the flashlight took care of that worry.
    “Who are you?” he asked.
    “You don’t remember?”
    I moved the flashlight to the side so he could see my face.
    “I thought I was unforgettable.”
    “Good God. You have to be out of your mind.”
    “Maybe.”
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
    “You know.”
    “Of course I don’t.”
    He looked down at where I was sitting on him, struggling with the sensation of being pinned by one of his former divisional vice presidents. It was only a little less weird for me, and I’d had a few hours to get used to the idea.
    “You’re not going to lie about a guy named Honest, are you?” I asked.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Honest Boy Ackerman. You sent him to study me. In his words, to find some dirt. What he found was a busted lip and a free night in a secure place. This surprises me, George. I thought you were more circumspect than that.”
    He thought his face wasn’t betraying him, but he was wrong. Few people can keep strong emotion out of their eyes.
    “He’s Marve Judson’s hire,” he finally said.
    “This is where you have to ask yourself,” I said to him, sticking the flashlight closer to his face, “can you convince Marve Judson to tell a jury that he ordered Ackerman to break into my house and assault me, with criminal intent, at night, with a gun? That it was his idea, even when Ackerman says it was all yours? And even if Judson could persuade the court, why would he want to? You think he’s prepared to destroy his career and do years of hard time for you justbecause you’re the Chairman of the Board? Have you gotten that delusional?”
    He just looked at me, running the calculations. We both knew which way the math would work out.
    “I got you, George,” I said. “You’re sunk.”
    “That must give you some pleasure, Sam. You probably think I ruined your life.”
    “You didn’t ruin my life. I did that all on my own. You’re not that good.”
    “You were always mentally unstable,” he said.
    “I’m unstable? Did I hire a guy to attack you in your own house?”
    “That’s not what I was doing,” he said, quietly. He tried to shift under my weight. “And if you don’t mind, I prefer discussing things with people who aren’t sitting on top of me.”
    I moved the Maglite closer to his face. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head.
    “You got anything to drink in this house?” I asked.
    He opened his eyes.
    “Everything.”
    “Okay. But before I get up, here’s the deal. I have Ackerman on ice. I can make a call and the whole thing goes away. Or not. The missile will stay in the silo, or it’ll go off. You can fire back if you want, but which of us has the most to lose?”
    I looked around the sumptuous bedroom. He took the point.
    “Just get off me and we’ll have that drink.”
    I got off and scooped his cell phone off the side table. While Donovan rose unsteadily and pulled on a robe, I took the phone into the bathroom and flushed it down the toilet.
    I escorted him to the library on the first floor, where he kept his booze and a few thousand books, few of which he’d ever read. His wife once proudly told me they’d been selectedby an interior decorator based on the color and composition of their spines.
    I didn’t relax until we were in opposing Chesterfield easy chairs next to the yawning fireplace. The scotch he poured was probably older than both of us.
    “So Ackerman isn’t in police custody,” said Donovan after a sip of his drink.
    “Like I