The Bootlegger’s Legacy Read Free Page A

mother and I started to worry about her safety. So, I decided he had to be moved to a nursing home. Putting him in that nursing home was the hardest thing I’d ever done. It felt like I betrayed him. Because of that I didn’t want to be around him, and when I was he seemed to just talk nonsense.”
    Joe knew some of this about Mike’s dad. He’d heard from other people that Mike’s whole family was just a little weird. Mike’s dad, Patrick Allen, had been something of a legend in the 40s and 50s, when he’d been the biggest bootlegger in Oklahoma. Joe had always thought the stories were exaggerated, because the man he’d known was a grandfatherly, easy-to-be-around kind of guy. He was much older than Mike’s mom, although he was always energetic, very outgoing and friendly.
    “Come on Mike, what’s the crazy part?”
    Mike looked worried, then finally spit it out. “My dad kept telling me he had buried millions from his bootlegging days, but that he couldn’t remember where.”
    “Millions—as in dollars?”
    “I guess. Much of this I think was just him losing his mind toward the end. I mean, I knew the stories, that he’d been a big time bootlegger in the past. I thought they just amounted to him arranging a few bottles of something for his neighbors. I asked my mother, and she said he never was into selling whisky. That was just a bunch of rumors made up by people who were jealous of my dad’s success selling insurance and buying his own hardware business. Anyway, I never knew what was true.”
    Mike decided to order another drink, so to be polite Joe joined in. Millions buried in Mike’s backyard—that would go a long way toward solving Mike’s problems. And, of course, he would give some to his best friend since the second grade. Why not relax and see where this was headed?
    The bartender brought their drinks over and asked them to clear the tab since he was going off shift. Joe flopped out his American Express card and gave it to the bartender, mentally noting that this was a business expense since Mike was a client. Of course, Mike hadn’t paid him in about six months—maybe with his dad’s millions things would look better.
    “I know you’re thinking this is nuts, but the strange thing is that after he died I received a package from a lawyer in Dallas with a letter from my dad and a key.” Mike took a drink and eyed Joe to see if he was snickering or actually listening.
    “Go on—tell me what was in the letter.” Mike had his attention.
    “Some of the letter made sense and some didn’t. I have it out in the car in my briefcase—wait just a minute and I’ll go get it.”
    While Mike went to his car, Joe decided to take a bathroom break and use the payphone to call Liz.
    “What the hell are you doing out drinking with Mike? Didn’t you just tell me he was broke and would probably be going out of business? No doubt you’ll be picking up the tab. Sometimes I wonder about you Joe. It’s like you’re smart and stupid at the same time. I don’t want to hear any made up stories about why this is important—if you want to go waste your money drinking and carousing with your lowlife friends, you go right ahead. I’m sick and tired of it—unless you want to consider living alone with no family, maybe you ought to give ol’ Mike a hearty goodbye and get your ass home. This is just about the last—”
    Click. Calling home may have been a mistake. She hadn’t even given him a chance to explain how important this was to Mike. But of course she thought Mike was scum, so she didn’t really care. Hanging up on her was going to create a serious problem. Her threat to divorce him had been going on since about the six-month anniversary of their marriage. Well, he would deal with her later. The first trick was to avoid her until morning, so he’d stay out late, sneak in, and sleep on the sofa in his home office. He kind of liked it there anyway.
    Mike returned and slid into the booth. He handed