The Joy of Revenge Novel Chapter 81

CHAPTER 81 Funeral
Pete McDowell
It was early in the morning when I was released from the hospital. After being discharged, I had one of
my men pick me up and drive me to where my Silver Audi was parked. There was still some smoke coming from the charred remains of the funeral home, the pavement was wet from the rain and a black hearse with my mother’s casket waited patiently on the side of the road until it was time to bring my mother to her final resting place. After last night’s tragic event, her funeral was moved to the afternoon to give people time to decompress from the fire, however I doubted if any of the townsfolk would attend. There was a target on my back and my mother’s friends knew this.
Fortunately, the coffins carrying the drugs had already left before the fire broke out. If not, I would be dealing with a lot more, paying for those drugs from my pocket. I had so much on my plate already. I didn’t want to lose money too.
Parrived home to find the window replaced and the shattered glass and blood cleaned up. I decided to go straight to my room and take a shower. The smell of smoke on my hair, skin and clothes was nauseating.
After getting dressed, I felt much better. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number of my capo. It was really frustrating that he had been missing in action after these two incidents.
“What do you want?” He asked, his voice harsh. I guess I woke the ba stard up.
“I’m guessing you heard about last night,” I said, checking if he was updated.
“Yes, I have. It’s hard to miss a black cloud of smoke in the sky. I also heard our good mayor is now quite the hero,” he said disapprovingly. “Why am I not surprised? It’s like everything you touch turns to s hit. What happened, Pete?
“Honestly, I don’t know. One second, I was closing a deal with Liam, the next… an explosion erupted from the back of the funeral home.”
“You made a deal with Liam? What deal, Pete?” He asked angrily. He was always missing when I needed him, but he always acted angry when he wasn’t informed.
“In exchange for his father, I, uh, I…”
“Spit it out!”
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“In exchange for his father, I asked him to deliver Virtue Sullivan to me on the day of the “I blurted out, knowing he wouldn’t approve. I waited for the insults, but I
him laugh instead..
Spri
?” He asked, amused
zoes in or
answered. “But, because of the fire, I lost my leverage. Theodore Cohen is tly confined in the hospital. Liam has guards manning the premises. No one goes. without his approval.”
was already impressed you had Liam on his knees, now we’re back to square one,” he coffed at my stu pidity. “You don’t need to literally imprison Theodore. All you need to do is remind them what’s at stake. Have one of your men dress up like a nurse and place a note beside Theodore’s bed or f uck around with Liam’s chessboard, you know, the one he has in his office. Give subtle hints to help jog his memory. Remind him this is your town and he
can’t run away from his… obligations.”
Good idea. Simple, yet threatening. I liked it.
“Okay, I’ll do what you’ve suggested,” I said, then I quickly changed the topic. “Back to why I called you. Where the f uck have you been? After my mother dies, a fire conveniently erupts
at the funeral home. I want you to find-”
“You want me to find whoever is doing this to you? I don’t need to. You already know who’s
behind all this, so why bother?” He said, dismissing the idea of looking for the assassin. “If I were you, leave town for a while. After your mom’s funeral, why don’t you fly off to, let’s say, Hawaii? Get a tan, change your hair, get some liposuction done, buy colored contacts, a whole new wardrobe and a whole new identity. While you’re gone, have Lisa sell the house,
then use the money to buy a new one. I heard from a little bird that Norma Martin’s husband. is selling. When you come back, no one will know it’s you unless you wear the ring. Don’t worry. I’ll be in charge of things until you get back. It’ll be business as usual. I’ll even whip Cris into shape.”
I sat down on the edge of my bed and thought about it. Instead of Hawaii, I can fly to the Carribean, get off the grid for a while, then come back as a whole new person. Alejandro De Vega wouldn’t even know it was me. Then I can grab that ba stard’s wife and send her back to him in a body bag.
I have a little under two weeks until the Spring Formal. I could come back, pick Virtue up and fly her to the Bahamas. There, she’ll be my se x s lave and no one would hear from her
again.
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know what? I’ll take that into consideration, I told my capo. “For now, I’ll bury my
other.”
“You do that, Pete,” he said and hung up.
After brunch, I got dressed into another black suit, slicked my hair back and decided not to wear the ring. My capo was right, the ring was a dead giveaway. I hid my tired eyes with black sunglasses and proceeded to the cemetery for the funeral rites, my men following close behind me. The rain had finally stopped and the sunlight had begun peeking through the dense gray clouds lurking in the sky above, improving my mood.
The burial site was empty. Rows of wet empty chairs stood behind my mother’s casket. After last night, I expected no one would attend, but it still hurt seeing no one was there. I quickly took a seat i
in the front, took off my sunglasses and gestured to the priest to start. My men, or what was left of them, sat in the back, making sure no one came near me.
After the priest blessed the site and sprinkled Holy Water on the coffin, he suddenly paused, looking above my head. That’s when I heard several voices behind me. I turned around and found my men blocking a group a people from entering the site. One of them was Virtue. She was wearing a black puff sleeved belted dress, her long blonde hair cascading below her
shoulders.
I raised my hand at the priest to excuse myself and walked up to my men. Accompanying Virtue was Chip, Bo, Dom and to my utter surprise, Marla. Only the five of them were brave enough to grace my mother’s funeral. I actually felt grateful.
“Let them sit,” I told my men. They moved aside and allowed the group to enter.
“My sincerest condolences, Pete, Virtue greeted me as she walked on the wet grass in her high heels, holding a bouquet of flowers. She was assisted by Chip, who was holding her arm.
She handed me the bouquet and gave me a hug. “Thank you,” I murmured, raising my eyes to
look up at her beautiful face. Honestly, I felt short. She and the three men towered over me.
“Cousins of yours?” She asked pointing at my men.
“Ah, yes,” I lied. “After two consecutive days of tragic accidents, my family is a bit overprotective. Sorry about that. Please, sit,” I gestured to them to sit anywhere they liked.
Virtue wiped her chair with tissue before sitting. She was such a girl scout, even though I’ve noticed she carried such tiny purses. After the others took their seats, I gestured to the
priest to continue.
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I stared at Marla as she held Dom’s arm, hiding her face from me. I couldn’t help, but feel impressed. She looked all shiny and new with her honey blonde hair. She was wearing a simple black dress and black stiletto heels, carrying a nice leather purse which I suspected was a gift from Dom. After winning Miss Honey Bee, she had caught the eye of one of the most sought after bachelors in this town. My eyes narrowed enviously. I had to remind her she was mine before any other.
1 glanced down the row and saw Virtue staring at me curiously. I smiled at her warmly, hoping a smile could conceal my intentions which had inadvertently shown on my face. She, of all people, shouldn’t suspect Marla and I had history.
The funeral proceeded without any further delay. I invited them all to Harold’s for some snacks and drinks after the funeral was over.
“That’s really nice of you, Pete, but we have to get back to work,” Bo said. “Virtue here has to start cleaning up and unpacking those boxes she left in my warehouse.”
“That’s right. Noah should be done with the construction by now,” I said. “Well, I hope to drop by when I get back.”
“You’re leaving?” Virtue asked, surprised.
“Just a short vacation. After all that’s happened, I think I just need to sit down at a beach somewhere and relax,” I said.
“You should. You deserve it,” Chip said, agreeing with me.
“But you’ll miss my grand opening,” Virtue said sadly. “Well, taking care of yourself is more important. We’ll be right here when you get back.”
I watched as they entered their cars, particularly Marla, who had a big smile on her face. Dom treated her like his queen, opening the passenger door of his car for her and ushering.
her inside.
“Boss, where to?” One of my men asked, waiting for my instructions.
“Home. I need to pack. While I get ready for my trip, I need you to bring Marla to me and leave a note on Theodore Cohen’s pillow,” I instructed.
“The girl with Dom?” He asked, puzzled.
“Yes. Have her wait for me in the safe house at Bismarck.”
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Before I leave, I’ll have a little fun first.
Xavier
After Pete drove off, I took out my phone and dialed.
“Sam, I need you to shadow Pete McDowell. Bring your passport and pack some stuff. I’ll have the plane ready to depart.”
“Got it, X.”