Justice Lost (Darren Street #3)(15)

“What can we do?” Granny said.

“A few things,” I said. “First off, I need a clean car, an SUV, one that can’t be traced to anyone. Nothing fancy, around a 2008 model, but not so beat-up that it stands out. I can pay, so don’t worry about that. Can you come up with something?”

Granny nodded. “Not a problem.”

“I need a couple of clean IDs, different names, just in case I need to rent cars or whatever I have to do. I want the photos to have beards on my face. I also need a cop uniform, one that looks like a Knoxville patrolman. I could buy the stuff online, but that would leave a trail. Know any good seamstresses?”

“You’re looking at a woman who has made more clothes than the fanciest New York designer, dead or alive.”

“Good. You’re hired. I also need a badge, a cop hat, and a cop blue light. The badge doesn’t have to be perfect, but the hat needs to be pretty spot-on. I’m going to put the blue light on my dashboard. You can buy one of those at Walmart.”

“We’ll figure out where to get everything and send Eugene’s oldest boy.”

“I was also wondering whether you have some kind of tranquilizer you use on the hogs that I could inject him with. I’ll get him unconscious, bring him up here, and spend a little time with him.”

“You don’t want Ronnie and Eugene to help you get him here?”

“I feel like they’ve done enough. No sense putting them in harm’s way again. You guys had a reason to be involved with Clancy because of James, but this is my fight. What he did caused my girl and my baby to die. I’d like to handle it myself. What about the tranquilizers? Do you have anything like that?”

She nodded. “We have a couple of tranquilizers around I’ve gotten from vets over the years. One in particular might work for you, I think, but I need to tell you up front it might kill him. The drug works fine on hogs, but they don’t use it on humans anymore. It’s called ACP, acepromazine. Strong medicine. The vet told me it was developed as an antipsychotic drug for humans, but they’ve come up with better drugs since. It’ll put a pig down in a hurry, though, I can tell you that.”

“Do you inject it?”

“In a muscle. You could stick it in his backside or his shoulder.”

“How long does it take the pig to go to sleep?”

“Seconds.”

“Could you figure out the dose for a hundred-and-eighty-pound man and sell me a syringe full?”

“I suppose I can do that,” she said.

Granny reached across the table and put her hand on my arm.

“Darren, after you do this thing, where will you go from there? This will be five people. Are you going to stay in Knoxville and practice law and act like nothing ever happened?”

I shook my head. “I’m getting out of Knoxville. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m not staying. Just too much pain everywhere I look. I only have a couple of cases going, but I’ll just give them their money back and tell them to find another lawyer. I mean, what are they going to do? They can’t force me to stay. They can threaten to disbar me, but I don’t care if they do.”

Granny took a deep breath. “We don’t want them to disbar you.”

“Why? What difference does it make?”

“Listen, Darren, I know I told you we went legit with the moonshine business, and we tried, but we couldn’t make any money. With all the regulations and the competition, it’s damned near impossible to get ahead legally. So we’ve picked up a few other sources of revenue, went back to some old ones, and I’ve been thinking about expanding. I’ve thought about you a couple of times in that regard, and I’ve come up with something that would involve you if you’re interested. It would be a complete turnaround for you, an about-face, but in exchange for us helping you out with this doctor, I’d like you to give it some serious thought. It’s a big ask, but you’ve made some big asks of us, too. That last man you brought up, here, the one you called Big Pappy? That was a mess. And then I had to get the doctor to patch you up.”

“I remember,” I said. “And again, I thank you. You guys have been so good to me and done so much for me, I’d consider anything you ask me to do.”

“Thank you, Darren.”

“What is it? Do you need a lawyer?”

“I need to make a few phone calls first, work some things out. But if you’re agreeable, I have some old friends who will be extremely helpful.”

“I don’t understand, Granny.”

“Let’s deal with your doctor first. If that works out, and I’m sure it will, then we’ll talk about my idea. I think you’re going to love it. It’ll appeal to your sense of irony.”

“I love irony.”

“I know. This will be irony at its best.”

“You’re killing me, Granny. What do you want me to do?”

She sighed and tapped me on the arm.

“You’re a persistent devil,” she said. “Stephen Morris is up for reelection in November, correct? Didn’t the legislature change the law and make the district attorney’s term seven years?”

“Yeah, I believe that’s right.”

“I want you to run against him, Darren. And if you do, you’ll beat him. I’m going to get you elected as the next district attorney general of Knox County.”