chapter 55
TAM’S DRIVERS WERE totally freaked out. Nothing like this had ever happened, and they didn’t have a contingency in place, let alone a succession plan. His guys did only what they were told, which was not much. Tam didn’t employ freethinkers. He made all the decisions, and those decisions were final.
As discreetly as possible, the driver of the truck slowly exited the hotel parking lot. His partner tried to call Alexa, but it went straight to voice mail. At the first major gas station south of town, they pulled over to refuel and make a plan. After several minutes of discussion, they decided to alert the crew back home with a quick call to sit tight, wait for further instructions, and, most importantly, not breathe a word about the situation to anyone outside the organization. They broke the connection and then called Moon Pie, whom they had met on past drops, to give him a heads-up.
Moon Pie was deep in cold beer when his cell phone rang. He assumed it was Levi, but when he saw the area code, he knew it was Tam.
“Yeah, man,” he answered, hitting the mute button on the remote.
“Moon Pie?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you talk?”
“Yeah, sure. Who the hell is this?”
“Mike. I work for our mutual friend…we’ve met a few times.”
“I remember you. What’s up, man?”
“We got a big problem.”
“Talk to me.”
“He got busted tonight.”
“You’re shittin’ me. Where ’bouts?”
“Tupelo.”
“This ain’t good.” Moon Pie was more concerned about the deal at the moment than about Tam’s arrest.
“Yeah, they got him and his girlfriend.”
“Why did they get her?”
“She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“No, we split with the product and headed south. We just pulled over to call you.”
“Sounds like y’all were lucky. What are you driving?”
“A black pickup with a camper shell.”
“Okay, let me think.” Moon Pie’s mind raced, trying to devise a way to benefit from this. After a long silence, he asked, “Where y’all at?”
“’Bout fifteen or twenty miles south of Tupelo.”
“Okay, here’s what you do for right now. Remember coming through West Point?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. There’s a new hotel right in front of that big Mossy Oak store. Get a room and let me do some more thinkin’, and I’ll get back to you in the mornin’ or sooner. You’re only about thirty minutes away from there now. I gotta relative that’s a lawyer up in Tupelo, and he might can find out what’s going on and at least get Tam’s girlfriend out, and y’all will be close enough to go get her.”
“That makes sense.”
“We also gotta make the trade tomorrow or I’m dead.”
“We’re still good to go. Call us if you learn somethin’ from that lawyer.”
“Don’t worry. I’m on it,” Moon Pie said and hit the end button.
Moon Pie had the money, and he knew where the drugs were going to be parked. This was a unique situation that might prove particularly lucrative. He just didn’t want the Tennessee Mexicans and the Gulf Coast Vietnamese hunting him down like a dog. He punched in the speed-dial number for Levi as he walked to the refrigerator for another beer.